VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - N° 189
DATE 29-10-2014

Summary:
- General Audience: the relationship between the visible reality and spiritual
nature of the Church
- Pope Francis' appeal to the international community: stop the spread of
Ebola and assist the suffering
- Statistics on the Catholic Church in Turkey
- Private and informal meeting between the Pope and President Evo Morales:
affection and closeness to the people and Church of Bolivia
- The Holy See in the United Nations: peace must be negotiated in the Middle
East
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 General Audience: the relationship between the visible reality and spiritual
nature of the Church
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Church: spiritual nature and
visible reality. “Two different things or a single Church?�, said the Pope
in this Wednesday's general audience, returning in his catechesis to the theme
of the Church. “If the Church is always one�, he continued, “how can we
understand the relationship between the visible and spiritual reality?�.
 Francis commented that when we speak about visible reality we must not think
only of the Pope, bishops, priests, nuns and consecrated persons. “The
visible reality of the Church is constituted by the many baptised brothers and
sisters throughout the world who believe, hope and love. … The Church is all
of us�. Therefore, the visible reality of the Church cannot be measured or
known in its entirety. “How can we know all the wonders that Christ is
capable of achieving through us, in the hearts and lives of people?� he
said. “See: even the visible reality of the Church goes beyond our control,
beyond our strength, and it is a mysterious reality, as it comes from God�.
 To understand the relationship between the visible and spiritual realities of
the Church we must look to Christ, “whose body is the Church and from whom
She is generated, in an act of infinite love. Indeed, also in Christ, through
the mystery of the Incarnation, we recognise a human nature and a divine
reality, united in the same person in a wonderful and indissoluble way. This
applies in a similar way to the Church … who is a mystery too, in which what
we are unable to see is more important than what we can see, and can be
recognised only with the eyes of faith�.
 The Holy Father went on to ask how visible reality could be placed at the
service of the spiritual nature of the Church, explaining that it is possible
by following the example of Christ, “who made use of His humanity, as He was
also a man, to announce and implement the divine plan for redemption and
salvation, as He was God. Through her visible reality, from all that we see,
the sacraments and the witness of all Christians, the Church is called each
day to be close to every person, beginning with the poor; to the suffering and
the marginalised, so as to make them aware of Jesus' compassionate and
merciful gaze�.
 Before concluding, he asked all the faithful present to pray for the gift of
faith, “so that we are able to comprehend how, despite our limits and our
poverty, the Lord has truly made us instruments of His grace and the visible
sign of His love for all humanity. We can become the source of scandal, it is
true. But we can also become the source of witness, saying through our lives
what Jesus wants from us�.

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 Pope Francis' appeal to the international community: stop the spread of Ebola
and assist the suffering
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" After today's catechesis, Pope
Francis expressed his grave concern regarding the worsening of the Ebola
epidemic, “this implacable disease that is spreading especially in Africa,
and in particular among the most disadvantaged populations�.
 The Holy Father expressed his affection and closeness in prayer to those
affected, along with the doctors, nurses, volunteers, religious institutes and
associations “who are making heroic efforts to help our stricken brothers
and sisters�. He renewed his appeal to the international community “to
take all necessary measures to eradicate the virus and to alleviate the
suffering of those who are so sorely afflicted�.
 Addressing the faithful present in St. Peter's Square, he concluded, “I
invite you to pray for them and for those who have lost their lives�.

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 Statistics on the Catholic Church in Turkey
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Holy Father will make an
apostolic visit to Turkey from 28 to 30 November. The following statistical
data on the Catholic Church in the country is provided by the Central Office
of Church Statistics.
 Turkey has an area of 774,815 square kilometres and a population of
76,140,000 inhabitants of whom 53,000 are Catholics â€" 0.07 % of the
population. There are 7 ecclesiastic circumscriptions, 54 parishes and 13
pastoral centres. The work of the apostolate is carried out by 6 bishops, 58
priests, 7 male religious and 54 female religious, and 2 permanent deacons.
There are 2 lay members of secular institutes, 7 lay missionaries and 68
catechists. There are 4 major seminarians.
 In addition, the Catholic Church in Turkey has 23 educational centres
consisting of pre-schools, primary schools, middle schools and secondary
schools, as well as 6 centres of special education. There are also 3
hospitals, 2 clinics and 5 homes for the elderly and disabled.

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 Private and informal meeting between the Pope and President Evo Morales:
affection and closeness to the people and Church of Bolivia
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., explained yesterday afternoon that
President Evo Morales’ visit to the Vatican was due to his attendance at the
International Meeting of Popular Movements, organised by the Pontifical
Council “Justice and Peace�. Participants in the event received in
audience by the Pope on the morning of 28 October.
 The visit was not, therefore, organised through the usual diplomatic
channels. The private and informal meeting between the Holy Father and the
President which took place yesterday evening was an expression of affection
and closeness to the Bolivian people and Church, and of support for the
improvement of relations between the authorities and the Church within the
country.

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 The Holy See in the United Nations: peace must be negotiated in the Middle
East
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See
Permanent Observer at the United Nations in New York participated in the
Security Council Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East, including
the Palestine question. The nuncio's address, structured in six points,
focuses on the Holy See's conviction that peace in the Middle East may be
achieved only through negotiation and not by unilateral decisions imposed by
force.
 “As regards the Israeli-Palestinian question, the Holy See reiterates its
support for a two State solution�, he affirmed. “Israel and Palestine,
with the vigorous support of the competent organs of the United Nations and of
the whole international community, must work toward the final objective, which
is the realisation of the right of the Palestinians to have their own State,
sovereign and independent, and of the right of the Israelis to peace and
security�.
 “As regards the horrific situation in Syria�, he continued, “the Holy
See urgently calls on all parties to stop the massive violations of
international humanitarian law and fundamental human rights, and on the
international community to help the parties find a solution. There is no other
way to alleviate and put an end to the untold sufferings of the entire nation,
where half of its population needs humanitarian assistance and around a third
has been displaced�.
 With regard to Lebanon, “the Holy See calls for international solidarity,
at this time that the country is gravely affected by the Syrian crisis and by
the massive presence of refugees, and exhorts Lebanon to find a solution as
soon as possible to the vacancy of the Presidency of the Republic. The Holy
See reaffirms its support for a sovereign and free Lebanon. Lebanon is a
'message', a 'sign' full of hope for the coexistence of the various groups
that form it�.
 Turning to the “grave violations and abuses committed by the so-called
'Islamic State' in Iraq and Syria, the competent organs of the United Nations
must act to prevent possible new genocides and to assist the increasing number
of refugees. The Holy See appeals in particular for the protection of the
ethnic and religious groups, including the Christian communities, who are
specifically targeted and victimised because of their ethnic origins and
religious beliefs. The Holy See insists on the respect of the right of these
communities and all the displaced persons to return to their homes and to live
in dignity and safety�.
 “The Holy See hopes that the United Nations take the escalating, ruthless
phenomenon of international terrorism as an occasion to urgently re-enforce
the international juridical framework of a multilateral application of the
responsibility to protect people from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing,
crimes against humanity and all forms of unjust aggression. With lessons
learned from our failure to stop recent horrors of genocide and presently
confronted with blatant, massive violations of fundamental human rights and of
international humanitarian law, the time is for courageous decisions�, urged
the Permanent Observer.
 “The Holy See reiterates its call to all the religious leaders in the
region and everywhere in the world to play a leading role in promoting
interreligious and intercultural dialogue, in promptly denouncing every use of
religion to justify violence, and in educating all to reciprocal understanding
and mutual respect�, the nuncio concluded.

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 29 October 2014 (VIS) â€" The Holy Father has appointed Bishop
Giuseppe Negri, P.I.M.E., of Blumenau, Brazil, as coadjutor of the diocese of
Santo Amaro, (area 563, population 3,281,000, Catholics 2,624,000, priests
192, religious 448), Brazil.

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