As the Council stated, the Church's role is to ensure that each member of the
faithful shall be led in the Holy Spirit to the full development of his own
vocation in accordance with Gospel preaching, and to sincere and active
charity' and to exercise that liberty with which Christ has set us free. It is
through us, Pope Benedict continues, that the Lord reaches souls, instructs,
guards and guides them. St Augustine, in his Commentary on the Gospel of St
John, says: let it therefore be a commitment of love to feed the flock of the
Lord; this is the supreme rule of conduct for the ministers of God, an
unconditional love, like that of the Good Shepherd, full of joy, given to all,
attentive to those close to us and solicitous for those who are distant,
gentle towards the weakest, the little ones, the simple, the sinners, to
manifest the infinite mercy of God with the reassuring words of hope.
 Therefore, said the Pontiff, the Church is Christ's - she is His bride - and
all the bishops, in communion with the Successor of Peter, have the task and
the duty of guarding her and serving her, not as masters but as servants. The
Pope, in this context, is not the supreme lord but rather the supreme servant
- "Il servus servorum Dei", the guarantor of the obedience and the conformity
of the Church to the will of God, to the Gospel of Christ, and to the
Tradition of the Church, setting aside every personal whim, despite being - by
the will of Christ Himself - the supreme Pastor and Teacher of all the
faithful and despite enjoying supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary
power in the Church.
 Finally, Francis reminded those present that there remains a year before the
next Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in which to develop,
with true spiritual discernment, the ideas that have been proposed, and to
find concrete solutions to many difficulties and innumerable challenges that
families must confront; to give answers to the many discouragements that
surround and suffocate families. There is a year to work on the "Relatio
Synodi", the faithful and clear summary of everything that has been said and
discussed in this hall and in the small groups. He concluded by asking the
Lord to accompany and guide all the participants in the Synod in their journey.

___________________________________________________________

 Audience with the Prime Minister of Vietnam: important step in relations with
the Holy See
 Vatican City, 18 October 2014 (VIS) - Today His Holiness Pope Francis
received in audience the prime minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,
Nguyen Tan Dung, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro
Parolin, accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations
with States.
 In the course of the cordial conversations, the Parties expressed their
satisfaction at today's meeting, which marks an important step in the process
of strengthening bilateral relations between the Holy See and Vietnam, this
being the second visit of Prime Minister Dung to the Vatican, following that
of 2007. The Church's commitment to contributing to the development of the
country, thanks to its presence in various areas which benefit society as a
whole, was highlighted. In this context, sincere appreciation was expressed
for the support given by the Authorities to the Catholic community in keeping
with the developments sanctioned by the Constitution of 2013 with regard to
religious policy, as well as for the assistance given to the non-resident
Papal Representative of the Holy See to Vietnam in the discharge of his
mission, which is aimed at promoting relations between Church and State with a
view also to the common objective of diplomatic relations. The Parties then
discussed some issues which, it is hoped, will be further examined and
resolved through the existing channels of dialogue.
 Finally, there was an exchange of views on some current regional and
international issues, with particular reference to initiatives aimed at
promoting peace and stability in the Asian continent.

___________________________________________________________

 Christians and Hindus: together to foster a culture of inclusion
 Vatican City, 20 October 2014 (VIS) - "Christians and Hindus: together to
foster a culture of inclusion" is the theme of the Message addressed to
followers of Hinduism by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the
Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, on the occasion of Deepavali,
the festival of lights, to be celebrated on 23 October this year. The document
was co-authored by Fr. Miguel Angel Ayuso Guixot, M.C.C.J., secretary of the
same dicastery.
 "It is true that globalisation has opened many new frontiers and provided
fresh opportunities to develop, among other things, better educational and
healthcare facilities", according to the text. "It has ushered in a greater
awareness of democracy and social justice in the world, and our planet has
truly become a 'global village' due in large part to modern means of
communication and transportation. It can also be said, however, that
globalisation has not achieved its primary objective of integrating local
peoples into the global community. Rather, globalisation has contributed
significantly to many peoples losing their sociocultural, economic and
political identities".
 "The negative effects of globalisation have also had an impact on religious
communities throughout the world since they are intimately related to
surrounding cultures. In fact, globalisation has contributed to the
fragmentation of society and to an increase in relativism and syncretism in
religious matters, as well as bringing about a privatisation of religion.
Religious fundamentalism and ethnic, tribal and sectarian violence in
different parts of the world today are largely manifestations of the
discontent, uncertainty and insecurity among peoples, particularly the poor
and marginalised who have been excluded from the benefits of globalisation".
 "The negative consequences of globalisation, such as widespread materialism
and consumerism, moreover, have made people more self-absorbed, power-hungry
and indifferent to the rights, needs and sufferings of others. This, in the
words of Pope Francis, has led to a globalisation of indifference which makes
us slowly inured to the suffering of others and closed in on ourselves. Such
indifference gives rise to a 'culture of exclusion' in which the poor,
marginalised and vulnerable are denied their rights, as well as the
opportunities and resources that are available to other members of society.
They are treated as insignificant, dispensable, burdensome, unnecessary, to be
used and even discarded like objects. In various ways, the exploitation of
children and women, the neglect of the elderly, sick, differently-abled,
migrants and refugees, and the persecution of minorities are sure indicators
of this culture of exclusion".
 "Nurturing a culture of inclusion thus becomes a common call and a shared
responsibility, which must be urgently undertaken. It is a project involving
those who care for the health and survival of the human family here on earth
and which needs to be carried out amidst, and in spite of, the forces that
perpetuate the culture of exclusion".
 "As people grounded in our own respective religious traditions and with
shared convictions, may we, Hindus and Christians, join together with
followers of other religions and with people of good will to foster a culture
of inclusion for a just and peaceful society".

___________________________________________________________

 Audiences
 Vatican City, 20 October 2014 (VIS) - On the afternoon of Friday, 17 October,
the Holy Father received in audience Park Geun-hye, president of the Republic
of Korea, and entourage.

___________________________________________________________

 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 20 October 2014 (VIS) - The Holy Father has:
 - appointed Rev. Can. Gyorgy Snell as auxiliary of the diocese of
Esztergom-Budapest (area 1,543, population 2,088,000, Catholics 1,254,000,
priests 443, permanent deacons 23, religious 734), Hungary. The bishop-elect
was born in Kiskiralysag, Hungary in 1949 and was ordained a priest in 1972.
He has served in a number of pastoral roles, including deputy parish priest in
Kiskunlachaz-Pereg and Budapest-Rakoskeresztur, parish priest in
Budapest-Rakoskeresztur, and dean. He is currently priest of St. Stephen's
Basilica in Budapest, director of the diocesan superintendency for Catholic
schools, and canon of the metropolitan chapter.
 - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Mati,
Philippines, presented by Bishop Patricio H. Alo, in accordance with canon 401
para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law
 On Saturday, 18 October, the Holy Father:
 - accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the metropolitan
archdiocese of Malta, presented by Archbishop Paul Cremona, O.P., in
accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law;
 - appointed Bishop Norbert Turini of Cahors, France, as bishop of
Perpignan-Elne (area 4,116, population 454,737, Catholics 302,600, priests 85,
permanent deacons 20, religious 79), France.
 - appointed new members of the Pontifical Biblical Commission and renewed the
mandate of members of the previous five-year term. The aforementioned
Commission for the 2014-2019 is composed of the following members:
 Rev. Knut Backhaus, Germany;
 Fr. Pietro Bovati, S.J., Italy;
 Sister Nuria Calduch Benages, M.N., Spain;
 Rev. Eduardo Cordova Gonzalez, Mexico;
 Professor Bruna Costacurta, Italy;
 Msgr. Pierre Deberge, France;
 Rev. Juan Miguel Diaz Rodelas, Spain;
 Rev. Luis Henrique Eloy e Silva, Brazil;
 Pr. Francolino Goncalves, O.P., Portugal;
 Rev. Adrian Graffy, Great Britain;
 Professor Mary E. Healy, United States of America;
 Rev. John ChijiokeIwe, Nigeria;
 Rev. Thomas Manjaly, India;
 Rev. Hugo Orlando Martinez Aldana, Colombia;
 Rev. Levente Balazs Martos, Hungary;
 Rev. Jean Bosco Matand Bulembat, Democratic Republic of Congo;
 Rev. Fearghus O'Fearghail, Ireland;
 Rev. Johan Yeong-Sik Pahk, Korea;
 Rev. Eleuterio Ramon Ruiz, Argentina;
 Rev. Henryk Jozef Witczyk, Poland.
 - appointed Professor Yves Coppens, lecturer in paleoanthropology and
prehistory at the College de France in Paris, France, and Professor Ada E.
Yonath, lecturer in biochemistry and director of the Helen and Milton A.
Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly at the Weizmann
Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel, as ordinary members of the Pontifical
Academy of Sciences.

___________________________________________________________

For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html

--- MPost/386 v1.21
 * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)