Vatican City, 7 April 2014 (VIS) – “The Church in Africa, from Vatican
Council II to the Third Millennium. Africa's Homage to Popes John XXIII and
John Paul II” is the title of the Congress that will take place at the
Pontifical Urbaniana University of Rome from 24 to 25 April and which will be
attended by bishops, priests, theologians, scholars and eminent figures in
African culture to appraise the implementation of Vatican Council II in the
continent.
 This initiative was presented in the Holy See Press Office this morning by
Bishop Barthelemy Adoukonou, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture;
Archbishop Emergy Kabongo Kanundowi, emeritus of Luebo, Democratic Republic of
the Congo; Msgr. Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, under secretary of the
Pontifical Council for Culture, and Professor Martin Nkafu, lecturer at the
Pontifical Lateran University.
 “Vatican Council II, an event of grace for the entire Universal Church,
allowed the People of God in Africa to undertake an important turning point in
their historical journey. In effect, the Church in Africa wants to become a
protagonist in the construction of a cultural identity for the Continent, in a
particular way through the Forum of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of
Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), 'Faith, Culture and Development'. Fifty years
on from the Council, she takes advantage of the canonisation of Popes John
XXIII and John Paul II to take stock of the implementation of the Council in
the African Continent, reading the signs of the times and taking the necessary
initiatives to build her future in line with the Magisterium of the Popes Paul
VI, John Paul I, Benedict XVI and Francis”.
 The congress will open on 24 with the screening of a video on Popes John
XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II and the first session will take place,
presided by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor
Unum”, on “Africa and Vatican Council II: an historic perspective”. The
introductory presentation will be “Vatican Council II and its implementation
in the African Church”. This session will conclude with “Echoes of the work of
the Association of African Theologians on Vatican Council II”.
 The theme of the second session, to be held in the afternoon and to be
presided by  Cardinal John Onaiyekan, metropolitan archbishop of Abuja,
Nigeria, will be “John XXIII, John Paul II and the Church in Africa”. The
issues under consideration will be: “John XXIII, the Council and the evolution
of post-conciliar Africa”, “What have we made of the legacy of Popes John
XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II?”, and “The legacy of John Paul II”.
 On 25 April, the third session will focus on “The Church in Africa 50 years
after Vatican Council II: challenges”. Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya,
metropolitan archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, will
preside, and the following issues will be discussed: “The dynamic structure of
the two Synods for Africa”, “Prominent Christian figures in the African
intelligentsia (Julius Nyerere, etc.) and the political commitment of the lay
faithful”, “The place and role of the woman in the Church and in society”, and
“Consecrated life in the mission of the Church in Africa today”.
 In the afternoon, and presided by Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu of Kinkala
(Republic of Congo) the fourth and final session will take place, dedicated to
“History and activity of the forum 'Faith, Culture and Development'”, “The
ecclesial subject and historic initiative in Africa today”, and “The Forum
'Faith, Culture and Development': reflection and debate”. The Congress will
conclude with a solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect
emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments.
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 VISIT TO THE ROMAN PARISH OF ST. GREGORY THE GREAT
 Vatican City, 6 April 2014 (VIS) – At 4 p.m. the Holy Father visited the
Roman parish of St. Gregory the Great, in the Portuense quarter. He greeted
faithful and parishioners, and met with children, catechumens, the sick and
the elderly. The Pontiff encountered various aspects of life in the area,
through organisations such as the association for social integration for the
disabled, “Lamp of Wishes”, and the cooperative “The Prow”, which deals with
the reintegration into the workforce of ex-detainees and ex-drug addicts. He
then visited the House of Charity, a parish structure served by the Carmelite
Sisters of Charity and various volunteers. He confessed a number of penitents
and celebrated the Eucharist with the faithful.
 In his homily, the Pope spoke about resurrection and life, “the Lord's good
promise”. “Today I invite you to think for a moment in silence: where is my
inner necrosis? Where is the part of my soul that is dead? Where is my tomb?
Let us think, just a moment, all of us, in silence. Let us think: what is the
part of my heart that can be corrupted, because it is attached to some sin or
sins? Remove the tombstone, remove the tombstone of shame and let the Lord say
to us, as he said to Lazarus, 'Come forth!', so that all of our soul might be
healed, may be resurrected through the love and strength of Jesus. He is able
to forgive us. We all need this, all of us. We are all sinners, but we must be
careful not to become corrupt! We are sinners, but He forgives us. Let us
listen to Jesus' voice that, with the power of God, says to us, 'Come forth!
Come out of the tomb you have inside. Come forth. I willgive you life, I will
make you happy, I bless you, I want you with me”.
 The Holy Father concluded by giving pocket-sized copies of the Gospel to the
faithful, and he encouraged them always to keep them at hand and to read a
little each day, wherever they may be.
.
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 POPE FRANCIS: JESUS DOES NOT RESIGN HIMSELF TO ANY TOMB
 Vatican City, 7 April 2014 (VIS) – At midday today, the fifth Sunday of Lent,
the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic
Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims present. “The
resurrection of Lazarus”, he said, “was the culmination of the prodigious
signs given by Jesus: it is a gesture too great, too clearly divine to be
tolerated by the high priests, who, when they became aware of this fact, took
the decision to kill Jesus”.
 “We believe that the life of those who believe in Jesus and follow his
commandments will, after death, be transformed into new life, full and
immortal. Just as Jesus was resurrected with his own body, but did not return
to an earthly life, in this way we will be resurrected with our bodies, that
will be transformed into glorious bodies. He awaits us next to the Father, and
the love of the Holy Spirit that revived Him will also revive those who are
united with Him”. “'Lazarus, come forth!' This peremptory cry is addressed to
all men, because we are all marked by death, all of us; it is the voice of He
Who is the master of all life and wants all of us 'have life in abundance'.
Christ does not resign Himself to the tombs we have built with our choices of
evil and death, with our mistakes and our sins.
 “He invites us, indeed he almost orders us to come forth from the tomb in
which our sins have buried us. He insistently calls us out of the darkness of
the prison in which we have confined ourselves, content with a life of
falsehood, selfishness, and mediocrity. … It is an invitation for all of us to
true freedom. … An invitation to free ourselves of our bonds, the bonds of
pride. Because it is pride that makes us into slaves, slaves to ourselves,
slaves to many idols, to many things. Our resurrection begins here: when we
decide to obey Jesus' command to come into the light, to life; when the shroud
falls from our faces – often we are shrouded by sin, and these shrouds must
fall away! - and we rediscover the courage of our original face, created in
the image and semblance of God”.
 Before concluding, Francis repeated, “There is no limit to the divine mercy
offered to all. … The Lord is always ready to lift the tombstone of our sins,
that separate us from Him, the light of the living”.

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 THE POPE GIVES A POCKET-SIZED GOSPEL: FREELY RECEIVE, FREELY GIVE!
 Vatican City, 5 April 2014 (VIS) – Following today's Angelus, the Pope prayed
a Hail Mary for the Tutsi victims of the genocide that devastated Rwanda
twenty years ago. He encouraged the Rwandan people to “continue with
determination and hope the process of reconciliation that has already borne
fruit, and in your commitment to the human and spiritual rebuilding of the
country”, and added, “Do not be afraid! Build your society on the rock of the
Gospel, in love and harmony, as only in this way can lasting peace be created”.
 The Pope mentioned the people of L'Aquila who, five years after the
earthquake that destroyed the city claiming many lives, are working for its
reconstruction, and also prayed for the victims of the outbreak of the Ebola
virus in Guinea and neighbouring countries.

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