(Vatican Radio) The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis has included among members of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia the following Cardinals created in the public Consistory of 14 February 2015:
1) In the Council of Cardinals and Bishops of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, His Eminence Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura;
2) in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, His Eminence Cardinal Ricardo Blazquez Perez, Archbishop of Valladolid (Spain);
3) in the Congregation for Oriental Churches, the Eminent Cardinals: Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo (Italy);
4) in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, His Eminence Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura;
5) in the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, His Eminence Cardinal Dominique Mamberti, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura;
6) in the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the Eminent Cardinals: John Atcherley Dew, Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand); Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, Archbishop of Hanoi (Vietnam); Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok (Thailand); Arlindo Gomes Furtado, Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Cape Verde); Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga (Tonga);
7) in the Congregation for the Clergy, the Eminent Cardinals: Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal); Alberto Suarez Inda, Archbishop of Morelia (Mexico);
8) in the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, the Most Eminent Cardinals: Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar); Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, Archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay);
9) in the Congregation for Catholic Education, His Eminence Cardinal José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, Bishop of David (Panama);
10) in the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, His Eminence Cardinal John Atcherley Dew, Archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand);
11) in the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, the Most Eminent Cardinals: Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, Archbishop of Hanoi (Vietnam); Alberto Suarez Inda, Archbishop of Morelia (Mexico);
12) in the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum,” the Eminent Cardinals: Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento (Italy); Arlindo Gomes Furtado, Bishop of Santiago de Cabo Verde (Cape Verde); Soane Patita Paini Mafi, Bishop of Tonga (Tonga);
13) in the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People the Most Eminent Cardinals: Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel, Archbishop of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia); Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento (Italy);
14) in the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Healthcare workers, His Eminence Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona-Osimo (Italy);
15) in the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Eminent Cardinals: Charles Maung Bo, Archbishop of Yangon (Myanmar); Ricardo Blazquez Perez, Archbishop of Valladolid (Spain); José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, Bishop of David (Panama);
16) in the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Eminent Cardinals: Manuel José Macário do Nascimento Clemente, Patriarch of Lisbon (Portugal); Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij, Archbishop of Bangkok (Thailand);
17) in the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, his Eminence Cardinal Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, Archbishop of Montevideo (Uruguay).
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis has included among members of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia the following Cardinals created in the public Consistory of 14 February 2015: 1) In the Council of Cardinals and Bishops of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State, His Eminence Cardinal Dominique…
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(Vatican Radio) The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic life issued a final communiqué on Monday morning, announcing the release of the Concluding Message following the five-day International Congress for Formators under the sponsorship of the Congregation that concluded on Saturday.
The focus of the Congress was on forming the people who, in turn, are – or will be – responsible for the formation of people in religious life – and the theme of the Concluding Message followed the structure of the Beatitudes as proclaimed by Christ in the Sermon on the Mount, and recounted in the Gospel according to St. Matthew (5:1-10).
Click below to hear our report
Signed by the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, the final Message included a list of twelve priorities for those responsible for forming formators, ranging from the need to cultivate an intense, personal life of prayer, to the importance of showing the joy of religious life – especially to young people, and the need to be fearless companions along the way of Christian life for all those under their care.
“Dear formators,” the Message concludes, “The Church loves you, appreciates you, and prays for you: without your service consecrated life could not exist.”
The Congress opened on April 7 th , and concluded on Saturday, April 11 th , with Pope Francis granting a special audience to the more than 12 hundred participants, in Paul VI Hall.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic life issued a final communiqué on Monday morning, announcing the release of the Concluding Message following the five-day International Congress for Formators under the sponsorship of the Congregation that concluded on Saturday. The focus of the Congress was on forming the people…
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(Vatican Radio) The Church is a place of “openness” where people should say things with frankness. That’s what Pope Francis said at the morning Mass at Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican on Monday. The Pontiff added that only the Holy Spirit is able to change our attitude, the story of our lives, and to give us courage – just as the Apostles were inspired by Christ’s Resurrection.
“We cannot keep silent [about] what we have seen and heard,” Pope Francis said in his homily, alluding to the day’s First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles where Peter and John ask the Lord to enable them to speak freely and openly.
Speak frankly without fear
The Pontiff recalled that Peter and John, having performed a miracle, had been jailed and threatened by the priests not to speak in the name of Jesus. But they continue to do so and when they return to the others, they encourage them to proclaim the Word of God “with frankness.” They entreat the Lord “to take note of their threats” and enable His “servants” “to not flee” but to proclaim His Word “boldly.”
“And today too, the Church’s message is the message of the path of openness, the path of Christian courage,” the Pope said. “These two simple [men]- as the Bible says – with no education, had courage. A word that can be translated as ‘courage,’ ‘straightforwardness,’ ‘freedom to speak,’ ‘not being afraid to say things’ … It’s a word that has many meanings, in its original form. Parrésia, that frankness … and their fear gave way to ‘openness,’ to saying things with freedom. ”
Francis then reflected on the Gospel passage today that recounts the somewhat “mysterious” dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus,” regarding “second birth” and “having a new life, different from the first.”
Proclaiming Christ, without “advertising”
The Pope pointed out that in this story too, “on this journey of openness,” the “true protagonist” is “precisely the Holy Spirit”, “because He is the only one able to give us this grace of courage to proclaim Jesus Christ”:
“And this courage of proclamation is what distinguishes us from simple proselytism. We do not advertise, says Jesus Christ, to have more ‘members’ in our ‘spiritual society’, no? This is not necessary. There’s no need; it’s not Christian. What the Christian does is to announce with courage, and the proclamation of Jesus Christ causes, through the Holy Spirit, that astonishment that keeps us going. ”
The real protagonist of all this, the Pope resumed, is the Holy Spirit. When Jesus talks about being ‘born again,’ he said, He makes us understand that it is “the Spirit that changes us, that comes from anywhere, like the wind: we hear his voice.” And, he added, “only the Spirit is able to change our attitude”, to “change the story of our lives, to change our being.”
Courage, a grace that comes from the Holy Spirit
It is the Spirit, the Pope affirmed, which gives Peter and John, “these simple, uneducated men…this strength to proclaim Jesus Christ up until the final witness: martyrdom”:
“The path of Christian courage is a grace given by the Holy Spirit. There are so many paths that we can take that also give us a certain amount of courage. ‘But look at that brave decision he has taken! And look at this one: look how he laid out this plan well, organized things, [bravo]!’ This helps, but it is an instrument of something bigger: the Spirit. If there is no Spirit, we can do many things, much work, but it is not of any use.”
After Easter, added Francis, the Church “prepares us to receive the Holy Spirit.” In the “celebration of the mystery of the death and resurrection of Jesus,” he prayed, may we remember “the whole history of salvation” and “ask for the grace to receive the Spirit to give us the true courage to announce Jesus Christ “.
(from Vatican Radio)…