VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXVI - # 37
DATE 23-02-2016

Summary:
- Heydar Aliyev Foundation funds restoration of catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus
and Peter
- Theological and pastoral perspectives, a decade after "Deus caritas est"
- In memoriam

___________________________________________________________

 Heydar Aliyev Foundation funds restoration of catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus
and
Peter
 Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - This morning Cardinal Gianfranco
Ravasi,
president of the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Commission
for Sacred Archaeology, along with Mehriban Aliyeva, president of the Heydar
Aliyev Foundation (HAF), Azerbaijan, presented the results of the restoration
of
the Roman catacombs of Sts. Marcellinus and Peter "ad duas lauros", entirely
funded by the HAF.
 On the basis of an agreement signed in 2012, the Foundation presided over by
Aliyev has funded the restoration of the paintings of the cubicle of Susanna
and
the fossor, the niche of Daniel, the arcosolium of Orpheus, the cubicle of Our
Lady with two Magi, and the cubicle of the praying matron. The most advanced
conservation techniques, especially laser-based cleaning, have enabled the
removal of a tenacious black patina that had provided resistant to all
traditional cleaning methods. The last procedure, recently completed, involved
the cubicle of the "praying matron", in an advanced state of deterioration. The
newly-revealed frescoes consist of a central medallion with the Good Shepherd
surrounded by the Biblical episodes of Jonah, Daniel among the lions and Noah
in
the Ark. In the corners there are praying male figures and birds. On the walls
there is a rich decorative pattern with floral, plant-based and fantasy
elements. On the wall of the entrance there is the notable figure of a praying
woman, which although only just recognisable before restoration, now makes a
strong visual impact. The figure, framed by two slender trees, may represent
the
deceased entombed in the cubicle.
 During the presentation, which took place at the Pontifical Council for
Culture, Cardinal Ravasi and the president of the HAF announced that their
collaboration will continue and its next objective will be the restoration of
the monumental complex of St. Sebastian Outside-the-Walls on the Via Appia
Antica, currently only partially open to the public. The agreement relates to
an
extraordinary collection of sarcophagi, some situation in the perimeter of the
Basilica of St. Sebastian (Museum of Sculptures and Epigraphic Museum), others
"in situ" in their mausoleums. The Pontifical Commission for Religious Art has
proposed to the HAF a conservation programme for the restoration of around
fifteen sarcophagi. Aliyeva expressed her appreciation of the proposal on
behalf
of the Foundation, and a new agreement will be signed for the financing of the
restoration works to render the complex accessible to the public.

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 Theological and pastoral perspectives, a decade after "Deus caritas est"
 Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - An international conference entitled
"Love will never end. Prospects ten years on from the Encyclical Deus caritas
est" will be held on Thursday 25 February in the Vatican's New Synod Hall.
Organised by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", the conference forms part of
the
programme of events for the Jubilee of Mercy and has the aim of examining in
depth the theological and pastoral implications of Pope Benedict XVI's first
Encyclical for today's world, especially in relation to the activity of those
who work in the Church's charitable service. The event will be attended by,
among others, representatives of the episcopal conferences and Catholic
charitable organisations from all over the world.
 The conference will begin with greetings from Msgr. Giampietro Dal Toso,
secretary of the "Cor Unum", followed by an intervention from Cardinal Gerhard
Ludwig Muller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
entitled "The Encyclical Deus caritas est: a theological reading". The
subsequent speakers will be Michel Thio, president of the International
Confederation of St. Vincent de Paul, Marina Almeida Costa, director of Caritas
Cabo Verde, and Roy Moussali, executive director of the Syrian Society for
Social Development. In the afternoon the theme of the meaning of love for the
three monotheistic religions will be considered by Rabbi David Shlomo Rosen,
director of the Department of Religious Affairs of the American Jewish
Committee
of Jerusalem, Professor Saeed Ahmed Khan, lecturer at the Wayne State
University
of Detroit, U.S.A., and the philosopher Fabrice Hadjadj, director of the
Institut Philanthropos of the University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
 The second day will begin with a presentation from Cardinal Luis Antonio G.
Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines and president of Caritas
Internationalis, entitled "The importance of Deus caritas est for the
charitable
service of the Church today", followed by interventions from Alejandro Marius,
president of the Asociacion Civil Trabajo y Persona, Venezuela, and Eduardo M.
Almeida, representative in Paraguay of the Inter-American Bank. At midday the
participants will be received in audience by Pope Francis in the Apostolic
Palace. The afternoon session will open with contributions from Rev. Professor
Paolo Asolan, lecturer at the Pontifical Lateran University, Rome, and
Professor
Rainer Gehrig, lecturer at the Catholic University of Murcia, Spain.
 The morning sessions will be moderated by Martina Pastorelli, president of
Catholic Voices Italia, and the afternoon sessions by Professor Luca Tuninetti,
lecturer at the Pontifical Urbanian University, Rome.
 Holy Mass will be celebrated on 25 and 26 February at 6 p.m. in the Church of
Santa Maria della Piet  in Camposanto dei Teutonici (Our Lady of Mercy in the
German Cemetery). On the first day Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president
emeritus of "Cor Unum"; will preside, and on the second, Cardinal Robert Sarah,
prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the
Sacraments.
 The conference will be fully broadcast by web streaming on the Pontifical
Council "Cor Unum" website, at
www.corunumjubilaeum.va .
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 In memoriam
 Vatican City, 23 February 2016 (VIS) - The following prelates have died in
recent weeks:
 - Bishop Ian Murray, emeritus of Argyll and The Isles, Scotland, United
Kingdom, on 22 January at the age of 83.
 - Bishop Emile Jean Marie Henri Joseph Destombes, M.E.P., apostolic vicar
emeritus of Phnom-Penh, Cambodia, on 28 January at the age of 80.
 - Bishop John Baptist Kakubi, emeritus of Mbarara, Uganda, on 11 February at
the age of 86.
 - Bishop Barry Philip Jones of Christchurch, New Zealand, on 13 February at
the
age of 74.
 - Archbishop Carlos Quintero Arce, emeritus of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, on
15 February at the age of 96.
 - Bishop Gregorio Garavito Jimenez, S.M.M., emeritus of Villavicencio,
Colombia, on 16 February at the age of 96.

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