VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 174
DATE 07-10-2015

Summary:
- The spirit of the family is the constitutional charter of the Church
- Rapporteurs and moderators of the Circuli Minori of the Synod
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 The spirit of the family is the constitutional charter of the Church
 Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) - During the period of the Synod dedicated
to "The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and the
contemporary world", the catechesis of the Wednesday general audiences will
focus on various aspects of the relationship between the Church and the family,
the Pope announced this morning to the thousands of faithful gathered in St.
Peter's Square. Francis asked all to pray for a good outcome of the Synod
assembly, and underlined that the family deserves all the dedication of which
the Church is capable, and therefore the Synod is called upon to interpret the
care of the Church for the family in our times.
 "Men and women of today are in need of a robust injection of family spirit",
he
continued. "Indeed, the style of relations - civil, economic, legal,
professional, and as citizens - would appear very rational, formal and
organised, but also very 'dehydrated', arid and anonymous. At times this
becomes
unbearable. While seeking to be inclusive in its forms, in reality it abandons
an ever greater number of people to solitude and exclusion".
 The family, however, "opens for the whole of society a far more human
prospect:
it opens children's eyes onto life ... and introduces them to the need for
bonds
of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect; it encourages the
planning of an inhabitable world and the belief in relationships of trust, even
in difficult situations. ... And we are all aware of the indispensable nature
of
the care of the family for its smallest members, the most vulnerable, the
wounded, and even those who have encountered the most disasters in the conduct
of their lives".
 Nevertheless, the Pope remarked, "the family is not granted due recognition or
support in the political and social organisation of contemporary society. I
would add: not only does the family not receive adequate recognition, but it no
longer generates learning. At times it would seem that, in spite of all its
science and technology, modern society is still not able to translate this
knowledge into better forms of civil coexistence. ... In this situation, the
opposite extremes of this brutalisation of relationships - that is,
technocratic
obtuseness and amoral familism - come together and feed into one another. It is
a paradox".
 "The Church perceives today, at this precise point, the historical meaning of
her mission with regard to the family and genuine family spirit; starting from
a
careful revision of life. .. It could be said that the 'family spirit' is a
constitutional charter for the Church. This is how Christianity should appear
and should be. ... The Church is and must be the family of God".
 The Pope recalled that when Jesus invited Peter to follow Him, He said that He
would have made him a "fisher of men". "And this called for a new type of net.
We could say that today families are one of the most important nets for the
mission of Peter and the Church. It is not a net that takes prisoners! On the
contrary, it liberates from the treacherous waters of abandonment and
indifference, that drown many human beings in a sea of loneliness and
indifference. Families are well aware of the dignity of being sons and not
slaves or outsiders".
 "From here, from the family, Jesus begins again his path among human beings to
persuade them that God has not forgotten them. From here Peter takes strength
for his ministry. From here the Church, in obedience to the Word of the Master,
goes out to fish offshore, sure that if it takes place, the catch will be
miraculous. May the enthusiasm of the Synod Fathers, inspired by the Holy
Spirit, kindle the zeal of a Church that abandons the old nets and goes out to
fish again, trusting in the Word of her Lord. Let us pray intensely for this!
Indeed, Christ promised and reassures us: if even a bad father does not refuse
to give bread to his hungry children, of course God would not refuse to give
the
Spirit to those who, imperfect as they are, ask with impassioned insistence".

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 Rapporteurs and moderators of the Circuli Minori of the Synod
 Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today published
the following list of rapporteurs and moderators of the Circuli Minori:
 RAPPORTEURS
 Circulus Gallicus "A": Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Lille, France, elected
 Circulus Gallicus "B": Msgr. Francois-Xavier Dumortier, S.J,. elected
 Circulus Gallicus "C": Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "A": Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "B": Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "C": Bishop Mark Benedict Coleridge, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "D": Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., elected
 Circulus Italicus "A": Rev. Fr. Manuel Jesus Arroba Conde, C.M.F., elected
 Circulus Italicus "B": Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, elected
 Circulus Italicus "C": Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla, elected
 Circulus Hibericus "A": Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, O.A.R.,elected
 Circulus Hibericus "B": Archbishop Baltazar Porras Cardozo, elected
 Circulus Germanicus: Archbishop Heiner Koch, elected
 MODERATORS
 Circulus Gallicus "A": Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, elected
 Circulus Gallicus "B": Cardinal Robert Sarah, elected
 Circulus Gallicus "C": Maurice Piat, C.S.Sp., elected
 Circulus Anglicus "A": Cardinal George Pell, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "B": Cardinal Vincent Nichols, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "C": Eamon Martin, elected
 Circulus Anglicus "D": Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, elected
 Circulus Italicus "A": Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, elected
 Circulus Italicus "B": Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, elected
 Circulus Italicus "C": Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, elected
 Circulus Hibericus "A": Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. elected
 Circulus Hibericus "B": Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, elected
 Circulus Germanicus: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, O.P.,elected

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
 - Fr. Luy Gonzaga Nguyen Hung Vi as bishop of Kontum (area 25,240, population
1,775,200, Catholics 300,649, priests 169, religious 477), Vietnam. The
bishop-elect was born in Ha Noi, Vietnam, in 1952, and was ordained a priest in
1990. He holds a licentiate in liturgy from the Institut Catholique of Paris,
France, and has served as parish vicar of Binh Cang in Nha Trang, director of
the minor seminary of Kontum in Ho Chi Minh City, and secretary of the
episcopal
office in Kontum. He is currently pastor of the parish of Phuong Nghia, Kontum.
He succeeds Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh, whose resignation from the pastoral
care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy
Father.
 - Bishop Carmelo Cuttitta, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Palermo, Italy, as
bishop of Ragusa (area 1,029, population 221,835, Catholics 213,252, priests
130, permanent deacons 8, religious 276), Italy. He succeeds Bishop Paolo Urso,
whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the
age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
 - Fr. Peter Huynh Van Hai as bishop of Vinh Long (area 6,772, population
3,976,552, Catholics 199,404, priests 205, religious 775), Vietnam. The
bishop-elect was born in 1954 in Ben Tre, Vietnam, and was ordained a priest in
1994. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Institut Catholique of Paris,
France, and has served as head of vocations for the diocese of Vinh Long. He is
currently lecturer in philosophy in the major seminaries of Can Tho and Ho Chi
Minh City.

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