VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 165
DATE 26-09-2014

Summary:
- Pope Francis receives in audience the Focolare Movement
- Holy Father's calendar for October 2014
- Comments of the Holy See on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child
- Cardinal Parolin encourages people of faith to condemn terrorist acts
- Comments of the Holy See on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child
- The KAICIID deplores the abuse of religion to justify violent conflict
- Cardinals Nichols, Soo-Jung and Brenes Solorzano take possession of their
titular churches
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Pope Francis receives in audience the Focolare Movement
 Vatican City, 26 September 2014 (VIS) - Contemplate, go forth, and educate:
these were the three directions Pope Francis gave this morning to the Focolare
Movement, whose general assembly takes place in Rome this week.
 The Work of Mary, better known as the Focolare Movement, was born within the
bosom of the Catholic Church "from a small seed that, over the years, has
grown into a tree that now extends its branches in all the expressions of the
Christian family and also among members of different religions, and among many
who cultivate justice and solidarity alongside the search for truth".
 Pope Francis referred with great affection and admiration to Chiara Lubich,
founder and firs president of the Focolare Movement, commenting that,
"faithful to the charism from which it was born and by which it is nurtured,
the Focolare Movement now finds itself faced with the same task that awaits
the Church as a whole: offering, with responsibility and creativity, its
special contribution to this new season of evangelisation". He gave three
directions on how to achieve this: contemplate, go forth, and educate.
 To contemplate, it is necessary to "enlarge one's inner capacity to
accommodate Jesus and the gift of the Holy Spirit, to make contemplation the
indispensable condition for a supportive presence and effective action that is
truly free and pure". To contemplate means living in the company of brothers
and sisters, breaking the bread of communion and fraternity with them,
together crossing the threshold that leads to the Father, since contemplation
that excludes others is a deception. It is narcissism".
 The next step is to "go forth like Jesus from the bosom of the Father to
proclaim the word of love to all, unto His sacrifice on the Cross. We must
learn from Him, from Jesus, the 'drive to go forth and give, to go out from
ourselves, to keep pressing forward in our sowing of the good seed'. We must
not linger, but rather, with God's help, must aim high and broaden our
horizons! And to do this, we must go forth with courage 'unto him without the
camp, bearing his reproach'. He awaits us in the suffering and in the cries of
our brothers, in the wounds of society and in the questions posed by the
culture of our times. It pains the heart when we see a Church, faced with a
humanity with many wounds - moral, existential, of war - making philosophical,
theological and spiritual Byzantisms, while lacking a spirituality of action.
It is necessary to go forth, because the Church is like a field hospital. In
this type of hospital, the first thing you do is tend to the injured, rather
than analysing their cholesterol levels; you do that later".
 Finally, the third direction: educate. "It is necessary, as the Gospel
demands, to form new men and women, and to do this there must be a school in
humanity that measures up to the humanity of Jesus. ... Without adequate
education of the new generations, it is illusory to imagine the realisation of
a serious and lasting project in the service of a new humanity".
 "Chiara Lubich, in her time, coined an expression that remains relevant in
our times", concluded the Holy Father. "Today, she said, we need to form
'world-people', men and women with the soul, the heart and the mind of Jesus
and therefore capable of recognising and interpreting the needs, worries and
hopes that reside in the heart of every person".

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 Holy Father's calendar for October 2014
 Vatican City, 26 September 2014 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations
of the Supreme Pontiff has published the following calendar of liturgical
celebrations over which the Holy Father will preside during the month of
October:
 Sunday 4: At 6 p.m. in St. Peter's Square, prayer vigil in preparation for
the Synod on the family.
 Sunday 5: 27th Sunday of Ordinary Time. At 10 a.m. in the Papal Chapel of the
Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for the opening of the Extraordinary Synod of
Bishops on the family.
 Sunday 12: 28th Sunday of Ordinary Time. At 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica,
Holy Mass for thanksgiving for the equipollent canonisation of the French
Canadian Saints Marie de l'Incarnation, O.S.U. (1599-1672), and Francois de
Montmorency-Laval, M.E.P. (1623-1708).
 Sunday 19: 29th Sunday of Ordinary Time. At 10.30 a.m. in the Papal Chapel of
the Vatican Basilica, Holy Mass for the conclusion of the Extraordinary Synod
of Bishops on the family and the beatification of the Servant of God, Supreme
Pontiff Paul VI.

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 Comments of the Holy See on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child
 Vatican City, 26 September 2014 (VIS) - The Holy See has communicated to the
competent offices of the United Nations in Geneva the document "Comments of
the Holy See on the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child". The Concluding Observations were presented by the Committee on the
Rights of the Child on 5 February, following the reports, written responses
and interactive dialogue submitted to the Committee by the Holy See as a State
signatory of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
 The full English text of the Holy See's comments may be consulted at
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2014/documen
s/rc-seg-st-20140205_concluding-observations-rights-child_en.html
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 Cardinal Parolin encourages people of faith to condemn terrorist acts
 Vatican City, 26 September 2014 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin participated in the United Nations Security Council Open Debate on
terrorism, held last Wednesday, 24 September in New York, on "Threats to
international peace and security caused by terrorist acts". Cardinal Parolin
began by congratulating the U.S.A. on assuming the presidency of the Security
Council and applauded the timely convocation of the debate, which came "at a
time when every region of the world faces the dehumanising impact of
terrorism". He continued, "This is not a phenomenon which impacts only certain
peoples, religions or regions, but rather is a crime which impacts the entire
international community. The ongoing, and in some regions escalating use of
terrorism is a reminder that such as shared challenge requires a shared
commitment from all nations and all people of good will".

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