VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 157
DATE 16-09-2015

Summary:
- The universal scope of the family
- Francis asks for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States
- The Pope to EU environment ministers: it is time to honour our ecological
debt
- Briefing on the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 The universal scope of the family
 Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - In the catechesis of today's general
audience, Pope Francis concluded his reflections on marriage and the family, on
the eve of events directly linked to this theme: the World Meeting of Families
in Philadelphia and the Synod of Bishops in Rome. "Both have a global reach,
which corresponds both to the universal dimension of Christianity and to the
universal scope of the fundamental and indispensable human community of the
family".
 "Our civilisation currently appears marked by the long term effects of a
society managed by economic technocracy. The subordination of ethics to the
logic of profit is sustained by substantial means and enjoys enormous media
support. ... A new alliance of man and woman would seem not only necessary, but
also strategic for the emancipation of peoples from their colonisation by
money", he continued. "This alliance must once again guide politics, the
economy
and civil coexistence. It decides the habitability of the earth, the
transmission of the sentiment of life, and the bonds of memory and hope".
 "Of this alliance, the matrimonial-familiar community of man and woman is its
generative grammar, its 'golden bond', so to speak. Faith draws upon knowledge
of God's creation: He entrusted to the family not only the care of intimacy for
its own sake, but also the project of making the entire world domestic. It is
precisely the family that is at the origin and the base of this worldwide
culture that saves us: it saves us from many attacks, many forms of
destruction,
and many forms of colonisation, for instance by money and ideologies, that so
threaten the world. The family is a base from which we defend ourselves".
 "The Biblical Word of creation has provided us with the fundamental
inspiration
for our brief reflections on the family during the Wednesday audiences. ...
God's
creation is not simply a philosophical premise: it is the universal horizon of
life and faith. The divine plan consists only of creation and its salvation. It
is for the salvation of the creature - of every creature - that God became man.
... The world He created is entrusted to man and to woman: what happens between
casts the die for all that follows. Their refusal of God's blessing leads them
fatally to the delirium of omnipotence that ruins all things. It is what we
call
'original sin'. And we all come into the world with the legacy of this
disease".
 However, "we are not cursed or abandoned to our own devices. 'I will make you
and the woman enemies to each other. Your descendants and her descendants will
be enemies', God says to the deceitful and enchanting snake. With these words
God bestows upon the woman a protective barrier against evil, to which she may
resort, if she wishes, for every generation. This means that the women bears a
secret and special blessing, for the defence of her creature against the Evil
One. ... Many stereotypes exists, often offensive, regarding the woman as
temptress who inspires evil. Instead, there is space for a theology of the
woman
worthy of this blessing from God, for her and for her generation".
 "God's merciful protection of man and woman never ends. ... The symbolic
language
of the Bible tells us that before casting them out of the Garden of Eden, God
gave them animal skin tunics and dressed them. This gesture of tenderness means
that, even in the painful consequences of our sin, God does not want us to
remain naked and abandoned to our destiny as sinners. This divine tenderness,
this care for us, we see incarnate in Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God 'born of
woman'. ... It is God's caress to our wounds, our mistakes, our sins. But God
loves us as we are and wants to lead us ahead with this plan, and the woman is
the strongest at taking it forward".
 "The promise God makes to man and woman, at the origin of history, includes
all
human beings, up to the end of history. If we have enough faith, the families
of
the peoples of the world will recognise themselves in this blessing. In any
case, may whoever allows him- or herself to be moved by this vision, regardless
of the people, nation, or religion to which he or she belongs, walk with us and
become our brother or sister, without proselytism. Let us walk together under
this blessing and with God's aim to make us all brothers and sisters in life in
a world that goes ahead and that is born precisely of the family, the union of
man and woman".

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 Francis asks for prayers for his trip to Cuba and the United States
 Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - After today's catechesis the Holy
Father mentioned that this Saturday he will commence, with high expectations,
his apostolic trip to Cuba and the United States of America. The main reason
for
the trip is the Eighth World Meeting of Families, which will take place in
Philadelphia, but Francis will also visit the central headquarters of the
United
Nations to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the founding of this
institution.
 "Until then, I greet with affection the Cuban and American faithful who,
guided
by their pastors, are preparing themselves spiritually. I ask all to accompany
me with prayer, invoking the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit and the
intercession of Mary Most Holy, patroness of Cuba as Our Lady of Charity del
Cobre, and patroness of the United States as the Immaculate Conception".
 He also spoke about the forthcoming beatification of Pio Alberto del Corona
(1837-1912), bishop of San Miniato, Italy, and founder of the Dominican
Brothers
of the Holy Spirit, to take place this Saturday in the same diocese. "He was a
committed guide and a wise teacher of the people entrusted to him. May his
example and his intercession help the Church to walk in the spirit of the
Gospel, bringing fruit to good works".

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 The Pope to EU environment ministers: it is time to honour our ecological debt
 Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - This morning, before the Wednesday
general audience, the Pope received the environment ministers of the European
Union who will soon face two important events: the adoption of the Sustainable
Development Goals and the COP 21 in Paris. Francis remarked that their mission
is increasingly important since the environment is a "collective good, a
patrimony for all humanity, and the responsibility of each one of us - a
responsibility that can only be transversal and which requires effective
collaboration within the entire international community".
 He went on to suggest to the ministers three principles which should inspire
their work, starting with the principle of solidarity. "A word that is
sometimes
forgotten, and at other times abused in a sterile fashion. We know that the
people most vulnerable to environmental degradation are the poor, who suffer
the
most serious consequences. Solidarity therefore means creating effective tools
able to unite the fight against environmental degradation with the struggle
against poverty. Many positive experiences exist in this area, such as the
development and transfer of appropriate technologies able to make the best use
of human, natural and socio-economic resources, rendering them more accessible
at local level, so as to guarantee sustainability also in the long term".
 Secondly, there is the principle of justice. "In the encyclical 'Laudato si''
I
spoke about our ecological debt, especially between the North and the South,
linked to commercial imbalances with consequences in the environmental sphere,
such as the disproportionate use of natural resources historically made by some
countries. We must honour that debt. These latter are required to contribute to
settling the debt by offering a good example, substantially limiting their
consumption of non-renewable energy, contributing resources to countries in
need
to promote policies and programmes of sustainable development, adopting
suitable
systems for managing forests, transport and refuse, and facing the serious
problem of food waste, promoting a circular model for the economy and
encouraging new attitudes and lifestyles".
 Thirdly, there is the principle of participation, which "requires the
involvement of all the parties involved, including those who often remain
marginal to decision-making processes. Indeed, we live in a very interesting
historical moment: on the one hand, science and technology place unprecedented
power in our hands, whereas on the other, the correct use of such power
presupposes the adoption of a more integral and integrating vision. This
requires us to open the doors to dialogue, a dialogue inspired by a vision
rooted in that integral ecology that is the subject of 'Laudato si''. This is
obviously a great cultural, spirital and educational challenge: solidarity,
justice and participation respecting our dignity and respecting creation".
 The Pope concluded by encouraging the ministers in their work, emphasising
that
both he and the Holy See would guarantee their support "to adequately respond
to
the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor".

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 Briefing on the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals
 Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press
Office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., held a briefing this morning on the
results
of the eleventh meeting of the Council of Cardinals with the Holy Father, which
began on Monday 14 November.
 "The proposal for a new Congregation, provisionally entitled "Laity, Family
and
Life", was again taken into consideration", said Fr. Lombardi. "In this regard
Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, designated by the Holy Father in recent months to
prepare a study on the feasibility of the project, was heard. At the end of
their reflections the Council presented to the Pope a proposal orientated
towards the implementation of the project.
 Consideration of the proposal for a new Congregation dedicated to "Charity,
Justice and Peace" was resumed and further reflections were made without yet
reaching, however, a conclusive proposal by the Council.
 The Cardinals went on to reflect on the procedures for the appointment of new
bishops, or more specifically on the qualities and requisites for candidates in
view of the needs of today's world, and on the related issue of information
gathering. Naturally the theme will need to be explored further and developed
in
collaboration with the competent Dicasteries concerned.
 The Prefect of the new Secretariat for Communication reported to the Council
on
the first steps taken so far and in particular on the appointment of a group to
draw up the Statutes for the new Dicastery. The working group has been
constituted and has already commenced activity. It is made up of
representatives
of the institutes variously involved. The Statutes, while taking into account
the progressive phase of consolidating the different entities that will form
the
Secretariat, defines the structure of the Dicastery as "definitive". Particular
attention will be given to evaluating legal and administrative aspects of the
communication activities of the Holy See. The regulations will subsequently be
drafted and issued.
 The Cardinals expressed their unanimous appreciation and stressed that,
despite
the progressive nature of the work, precise guidance must be given to the
institutions involved so that, as the Motu Proprio requires, the reform can
make
decisive progress towards integration and unitary management.
 The theme proposed during the last session of the Council regarding issues
linked to the abuse of minors was again taken into consideration. The matter of
how to implement proposals was explored in further depth, especially with
regard
to the possibility of accelerating the resolution of the many cases still
pending.
 A draft Preamble of the new Constitution was also re-evaluated.
 Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodríguez Maradiaga was absent for health reasons.
 The next session of the Council is scheduled to be held from 10 to 12
December".

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 16 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has accepted the
resignation from the pastoral ministry of the diocese of Cajazeiras, Brazil,
presented by Bishop Jose Gonzalez Alonso upon reaching the age limit.

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