VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 108
DATE 10-06-2015

Summary:
- General audience: the family, the closest hospital
- The tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals comes to an end
- The Holy See and the United States sign agreement against tax evasion
- The Holy See at the 39th Conference of the FAO: sustainable human development
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 General audience: the family, the closest hospital
 Vatican City, 10 June 2015 (VIS) - Illness, a common experience in the life of
families from childhood until advanced age, was the theme of the Pope's
catechesis during this week's Wednesday general audience. "The family has
always
been the 'closest hospital'. And still, today, in many parts of the world, the
hospital is a privilege enjoyed by few, and is often far away. Mothers,
fathers,
brothers, sisters and grandparents provide care and help heal the sick".
 In the Gospel there are many encounters between Jesus and the sick, and his
commitment to caring for them. Christ "presents himself publicly as one who
fights against sickness and who has come to cure man of every ill: ills of the
spirit and of the body". The Pope remarked that the scene in the Gospel of Mark
- "that evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed
by
demons" - is "truly moving. ... If I think of today's great cities, I ask
myself,
where are the doors before which we can bring the sick, hoping they will be
healed. Jesus never withdrew from their care, He never passed them by, He never
turned away. And when a father or a mother, or even simply friends brought an
invalid before Him, for Him to touch and heal, He wasted no time; healing came
before the law, even sacred laws such as rest on the Sabbath".
 Jesus sent His disciples to fulfil the same task and He gave them the power to
heal. "We must keep in mind what He said to the disciples in the episode of the
man born blind. The disciples - with the blind man before them - debated about
who had sinned, him or his parents, to provoke his blindness. The Lord said
clearly: neither him nor his parents; 'but that the works of God might be
displayed in him'. And He healed him. Here is the glory of God! Here is the
task
of the Church! To help the sick, not to get lost in talk. To help, console,
alleviate, always to be near: this is her task".
 "The Church invites us to continual prayer for our dear ones who are sick, and
prayer for them must never be lacking. Rather, we must pray more, both
personally and as a community. ... Faced with sickness, difficulties can also
arise in the family as a result of human weakness. But in general illness
strengthens family bonds. And I think of how important it is to educate
children, starting from infancy, on the importance of solidarity in times of
sickness. An education that shelters them from sensitivity to human sickness
hardens the heart and anaesthetises the young to the suffering of others,
rendering them incapable of facing up to suffering and living the experience of
limits".
 "The weakness and suffering of our most loved ones ... can be ... a school of
life
... and especially when illness is accompanied by prayer and the fraternal,
affectionate closeness of families. The Christian community is well aware that
the family, during the trials of sickness, must not be left alone. ... This
Christian closeness of family to family, is a true treasure for a parish: a
treasure of wisdom, that helps families in difficult moments and enables them
to
understand the Kingdom of God more clearly than through words".

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 The tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals comes to an end
 Vatican City, 10 June 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press Office,
Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., gave a briefing this morning on the work of the
tenth meeting of the Council of Cardinals, which began on Monday and concluded
this morning in the Domus Sanctae Marthae. The Holy Father attended all the
sessions, both morning and afternoon, on Monday and Tuesday; however as usual
he
did not participate in this morning's session due to the Wednesday general
audience.
 Cardinal Laurent Mosengwo Pasinya was unable to attend the meeting.
 The first day was dedicated largely to the examination of the draft Preamble
of
the new Constitution, which will be further elaborated.
 With regard to financial and economic reform, Cardinal Pell, prefect of the
Secretariat for the Economy, presented a report with updated information on the
financial reforms. He mentioned the appointment of the new Auditor General, the
approval of the new Statute for Pension Funds and the completion of the list of
bodies subject to the control and supervision of the Council for the Economy,
in
accordance with its Statutes. He also referred to three new initiatives of the
Council for the Economy, constituting three working groups: one for the
analysis
of income and investments; one for human resources management, and a third for
the study of the existing IT systems, their compatibility and their efficiency.
He concluded by reporting on the progress of the various current activities of
the Secretariat for the Economy.
 In the afternoon session of 8 June 2015, the Council of Cardinals received a
report from Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap. with a proposal for the
Holy Father regarding allegations of the abuse of office by a bishop connected
to the abuse of minors, originally prepared by the Pontifical Commission for
the
Protection of Minors. Cardinal O'Malley's report also included a proposal
regarding allegations of sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by
clergy.
 For each proposal, the report indicated the general terms which define it,
issues relating to procedure and to the competent Tribunal, as well as the
advantages of the proposal compared with other possible solutions. The text
concludes with a list of five specific proposals made to the Holy Father, which
are listed below. It is proposed that:
 1. because the competence to receive and investigate complaints of the
episcopal abuse of office belongs to the Congregations for Bishops,
Evangelisation of Peoples, or Oriental Churches, there is the duty to report
all
complaints to the appropriate Congregation;
 2. the Holy Father mandate the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to
judge bishops with regard to crimes of the abuse of office when connected to
the
abuse of minors;
 3. the Holy Father authorise the establishment of a new Judicial Section in
the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and appointment of stable personnel
to undertake service in the Tribunal. The implementation of this decision would
follow consultation with the prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith;
 4. the Holy Father appoint a secretary to assist the prefect with the
Tribunal.
The secretary will be responsible for the new Judicial Section and the
personnel
of the section will also be available to the prefect for penal processes
regarding the abuse of minors and vulnerable adults by clergy. This appointment
will also follow the consultation with the prefect of the Congregation;
 5. the Holy Father establish a five-year period for further development of
these proposals and for completing a formal evaluation of their effectiveness;
 The Council of Cardinals agreed unanimously on these proposals and resolved
that they be submitted to the Holy Father, Pope Francis, who approved the
proposals and authorised the provision of sufficient resources for this
purpose.
 In the morning of 9 June the Council of Cardinals heard a report given by
Msgr.
Dario Vigano, director of the Vatican Television Centre and president of the
Commission for Vatican communications instituted by the Holy Father Francis on
23 April 2015 (made public on 30 April), and expressed its unanimous approval
of

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