Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – Pope Francis has sent a message to the cardinal archbishop of Florence, Giuseppe Bettori, Grand Chancellor of the On the occasion of the Sophia University Institute, Loppiano, Italy, following the conferral of a doctorate honoris causa in “Culture of Unity” to His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
The Holy Father greets those present, expresses his closeness, and offers a special thought for his beloved brother Bartholomew, to whom, he writes, “I renew my sentiments of profound esteem and heartfelt appreciation, rejoicing in the present initiative which, as well as constituting heartfelt recognition for his commitment to the promotion of the culture of unity, contributes favourably to the common journey our Churches take towards full and visible unity, to which we aspire with dedication and perseverance”.
“In the hope that the Sophia University Institute, following the charism of the Focolari Movement and open to the action of the Spirit, may continue to be a place of encounter and dialogue between different cultures and religions, I assure my prayerful remembrance and, asking for your prayers, I impart my Blessing to all present”, the Pope concludes….
Vatican City, 27 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning in the Holy See Press Office a press conference was held to present the 51st International Eucharistic Congress, to take place in Cebu, Philippines from 24 to 31 January 2016 on the theme “Christ in you, our Hope of glory; the Eucharist, source and goal of mission”. The speakers were Archbishop Jose S. Palma of Cebu, Philippines, Archbishop Piero Marini, Italy, president of the Committee for the International Eucharistic Congresses, and Fr. Vittore Boccardi, S.S.S., member of the same committee.
Archbishop Palma commented on the importance of the choice of Asia and the Philippines to host the Congress. “In recent years, Asia is the continent that has become one of the great engines of world growth in the economic and social point of view”, he said. “From the religious point of view, however, it is still a contingent that has to be evangelised; … where the Catholic Church is a small minority; in spite of being the continent where Jesus was born, lived, died and rose again. The 51st Eucharistic Congress, therefore, could become the mirror of the Asian Church in the sense that it will see how the Catholic Church carries out its task of evangelisation. As with the previous Congresses, representatives of the different Churches and a myriad of pilgrims from all over the world will be attending”.
The Congress, he continued, is expected to be attended by “around 20 cardinals, 50 bishops from other countries and at least 100 Filipino bishops who gather for the Catholic Bishops Conference Plenary Assembly in January 2016. As of October 2015, we already have 8,345 registered pilgrims representing 57 nations”. In addition, said Archbishop Palma, so far there are 600 registered host families ready to welcome pilgrims.
The events of the Congress will be divided into two main parts: the first, the “Theological Symposium”, will take place from 20 to 22 January, and the “Congress Proper”, from 24 to 31 January. The basic themes for reflection during the Theological Symposium are: “The Christian Virtue of Hope”; “Eucharist in the Gospel of St. John”; “Liturgy and Inculturation”; “The History of the Novus Ordo”; “Evangelising the Secular World” and “A Catechism on the Sunday Eucharist”. During the Congress Proper, the themes will be “Christ our Hope of Glory”; “Christian Hope”; “The Eucharist as Celebration of the Paschal Mystery”; “The Eucharist as Mission”; “Mission as Dialogue”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with Cultures”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with the Poor”; “The Eucharist and Dialogue with other Religions” and “The Eucharist and Mary”.
Archbishop Marini, with reference to the theme of the Congress, affirmed that “the evangelical announcement and faith in the Lord Jesus professed by the Christian community are important and necessary for Asia, but must be presented in accordance with the methods of dialogue, methods that have distinguished the activity of the particular Churches of the continent in the last thirty years. It is precisely this programme of dialogue with cultures, religious traditions and the multitudes of the poor that forms, in an entirely natural and evident way, the fabric of pastoral reflections contained in the basic text. The text explains that the Eucharist is the source and culmination of the mission of the Church and identifies the added value offered by the Eucharistic celebration for a mission that is committed to leavening through the enzymes of dialogue, reconciliation, peace and future, of which Asia is in great need”.
“The Eucharistic Congresses, then, will go to Cebu to recall that the mission is an exchange of gifts between those who announce and who receive the evangelical message”, he added. “They go to the city that is the cradle of Christianity in the East to give and to receive, to evangelise and to be evangelised, to speak but also to listen. In that human environment that is not linked to the labyrinth of rationalism, the celebration of the Eucharistic mystery is bound with the experience of poverty, suffering and affections and continues to build communities that wish to break bread in the Kingdom of God”.
Finally, Fr. Boccardi commented that the event in Cebu, along with the World Youth Days, World Family Day, and so on, will become “an extraordinary resource for bearing witness, through its celebration, to how the Eucharist is not only the source of life in the Church but also the place of its projection in the world. Every particular Church that celebrates the Eucharist in any part of the world, is called upon to demonstrate the maturity of giving to others, of mutual listening, of availability and concrete collaboration so that the community of faithful might become the house of God and of our brothers amid the homes of mankind. There it will be possible to live that ‘dialogue of life” that is a starting point for the joyful witness of the Gospel”….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday noted there was a strong growth in vocations to the priesthood and religious life from among the gypsy people, holding out an Indian bishop from among them as case in point. “Today we have with us Bishop Devprasad Ganawa, a son of this people,” Pope Francis said, pointing to the first bishop from among the gypsies appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, in 2009 and then to Udaipur, Rajasthan, in 2012. The remark of Pope Francis came in his meeting with some 7000 gypsies from around the world who on Monday ended a 4-day pilgrimage to Rome, to commemorate 50 years of the historic visit of Blessed Pope Paul VI to a gypsy camp in Pomezia, near Rome.
“Dear consecrated people, your brothers and sisters look up to you with trust and hope for your role and all you are able to do for reconciliation within society and the Church,” the Pope told the religious and priests from among the nomadic people. He urged them to accompany their people not only in their spiritual journey but also in their daily life with all their struggles, joys and preoccupations.
Noting that the nomadic people are subject to discrimination, Pope Francis said, “No one must feel isolated and no one is entitled to trample on the dignity and the rights of others.” adding, “Time has come to uproot secular prejudice, preconceived ideas and the reciprocal diffidence that are often at the base of discrimination, racism and xenophobia,” the Pope stressed.
The Pope’s meeting with Gypsies wore a carnival look with music and dance. At the end, the Pope crowned a statue of the Virgin Mary with Jesus.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram to the head of the Slovak Bishops’ Conference expressing his condolences on the death of Cardinal Ján Chryzostom Korec, S. J., Bishop emeritus of Nitra, Slovakia. Cardinal Korec died on Saturday 24 October 2015 in Nitra. He was 91 years old.
In the telegram, addressed to Archbishop Stanislav Zvolenský of Bratislava, Pope Francis described the late Cardinal as a “zealous and generous pastor who, during his long ecclesial ministry showed himself to be a fearless witness of the Gospel and a strenuous defender of the Christian Faith and the rights of the human person.” The Holy Father noted that Cardinal Korec was imprisoned during Soviet Communist rule in what was then Czechoslovakia – but although he was impeded for many years from exercising his episcopal ministry, the Pope said, “he was never intimidated” but always gave “a luminous example of strength and confidence in the divine providence, as well as of fidelity to the See of Peter.”
Pope Francis offered thanks to God for His gift of Cardinal Korec to the Church, and prayed that the Lord might welcome him into “His eternal joy, after so many sufferings.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Bishops from around the world have appealed to the COP 21 meeting in Paris to create a “fair, legally binding, and truly transformational” climate agreement. The bishops are the presidents of several regional episcopal bodies representing every continent on earth, and presented their appeal on Monday in the Holy See Press Office. The Paris meeting taking place from 7- 8 December will bring together leaders from governments, business and finance, the United Nations, NGOs, and other members of civil society to help create an agreement to protect the environment. Citing Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, Laudato si’, the bishops reaffirm “the natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone.” The full text of the appeal is below. APPEAL TO COP 21 NEGOTIATING PARTIES The following appeal is issued by Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops from across the globe representing the continental groupings of national episcopal conferences. It is addressed to those negotiating the COP 21 in Paris and it calls on them to work toward the approval of a fair, legally binding and truly transformational climate agreement. Representing the Catholic Church from the five continents, we Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops have come together to express, on our own behalf and on behalf of the people for whom we care, the widely-held hope that a just and legally binding climate agreement will emerge from the negotiations of the COP 21 in Paris. We advance a ten-point policy proposal, drawing on the concrete experience of people across the continents, and linking climate change to social injustice and the social exclusion of the poorest and most vulnerable of our citizens. Climate Change: challenges and opportunities In his encyclical letter, Laudato si’ (LS), addressed ‘to every person living on this planet’ (LS 3), Pope Francis claims that ‘climate change represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity today’ (LS 25). The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all (LS 23). The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone (LS 95). Whether believers or not, we are agreed today that the earth is essentially a shared inheritance, whose fruits are meant to benefit everyone. For believers, this becomes a question of fidelity to the Creator, since God created the world for everyone. Hence every ecological approach needs to incorporate a social perspective which takes into account the fundamental rights of the poor and the underprivileged (LS 93). Damage to climate and environment has enormous repercussions. The problem arising from the dramatic acceleration of climatic change is global in its effects. It challenges us to re- define our notions of growth and progress. It poses a lifestyle question. It is imperative that we find a solution that is consensual, because of the scale and global nature of the climate’s impact, it invites a solidarity that is universal, a solidarity that is ‘intergenerational’ and ‘intragenerational’. (LS 13, 14, 162) The Pope defines our world as ‘our common home’ and, in the exercise of our stewardship, we must keep in mind the human and social degradation which is a consequence of a damaged environment. We call for an integral ecological approach, we call for social justice to be placed centre stage ‘so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor’ (LS 49). Sustainable development must include the poor While deploring the dramatic impact of rapid climate change on sea levels, extreme weather events, deteriorating ecosystems and the loss of biodiversity, the Church is also witness to how climate change is affecting vulnerable communities and peoples, greatly to their disadvantage. Pope Francis draws our attention to the irreparable impact of unrestrained climate change in many developing countries across the world. Moreover, in his address to the United Nations the Pope said the misuse and destruction of the environment are also accompanied by a relentless process of exclusion.1 Courageous Leaders seeking enforceable agreements The building and maintenance of a sustainable common home requires courageous and imaginative political leadership. Legal frameworks are required which clearly establish boundaries and ensure the protection of the ecosystem (LS 53). Reliable scientific evidence suggests that accelerated climate change is the result of unrestrained human activity, working to a particular model of progress and development, and that excessive reliance on fossil fuels is primarily responsible. The Pope and Catholic Bishops from five continents, sensitive to the damage caused, appeal for a drastic reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide and other toxic gases. We join the Holy Father in pleading for a major break-through in Paris, for a comprehensive and transformational agreement supported by all based on principles of solidarity, justice and participation.2 This agreement must put the common good ahead of national interests. It is essential too that the negotiations result in an enforceable agreement that protects our common home and all its inhabitants. We, Cardinals, Patriarchs and Bishops, issue a general call and make ten specific policy proposals. We call on COP 21 to forge an international agreement to limit a global temperature increase to within those parameters currently suggested from within the global scientific community to avoid catastrophic climatic impacts, especially on the poorest and most vulnerable communities. There is, we agree, a common but also differentiated responsibility of all nations. Different countries have reached a different stage on the development spectrum. The need to work together in a common endeavour is imperative. Our ten calls: to keep in mind not only the technical but particularly the ethical and moral dimensions of climate change as indicated in Article 3 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). to accept that climate and atmosphere are global common goods that are belonging to all and meant for all. to adopt a fair, transformational and legally binding global agreement based on our vision of the world that recognises the need to live in harmony with nature, and to guarantee the fulfilment of human rights for all, including those of Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and workers. to strongly limit a global temperature increase and to set a goal for complete decarbonisation by mid-century, in order to protect frontline communities suffering from the impacts of climate change, such as those in the Pacific Islands and in coastal regions. to ensure that the temperature threshold is enshrined in a legally binding global agreement, with ambitious mitigation commitments and actions from all countries recognising their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities (CBDRRC), based on equity principles, historical responsibilities, and the right to sustainable development. to secure that the emissions reductions by governments are in line with the decarbonisation goal, governments need to undertake periodic reviews of the pledges they make and of the ambition they show. And to be successful these reviews need also to be based on science and equity and shall be mandatory. to develop new models of development and lifestyles that are climate compatible, address inequality and bring people out of poverty. Central to this is to put an end to the fossil fuel era, phasing out fossil fuel emissions, including emissions from military, aviation and shipping, and providing affordable, reliable and safe renewable energy access for all. to ensure people’s access to water and to land for climate resilient and sustainable food systems, which give priority to people driven solutions rather than profits. to ensure inclusion and participation of the poorest, most vulnerable and impacted at all levels of the decision-making process. to ensure that the 2015 agreement delivers an adaptation approach that adequately responds to the immediate needs of the most vulnerable communities and builds on local alternatives. to recognise that adaptation needs are contingent on the success of mitigation measures taken. Those responsible for climate change have responsibilities to assist the most vulnerable in adapting and managing loss and damage and to share the necessary technology and knowhow. to provide clear roadmaps on how countries will meet the provision of predictable, consistent, and additional finance commitments, ensuring a balanced financing of mitigation actions and adaptation needs. All this would call for serious ecological awareness and education (LS 202-215). Prayer for the Earth God of love, teach us to care for this world our common home. Inspire government leaders as they gather in Paris: to listen to and heed the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor;
to be united in heart and mind in responding courageously;
to seek the common good and protect the beautiful earthly garden you have created for us, for all our brothers and sisters, for all generations to come. Amen. _________________ 1 Address of the Holy Father, United Nations Headquarters, New York, Friday 25 September 2015. 2 Address of the His Holiness Pope Francis to the Environment Ministers of the European Union, Vatican City, 16 September 2015. BISHOP SIGNATORIES TO THIS DECLARATION: HIS EMINENCE OSWALD CARDINAL GRACIAS Archbishop of Bombay, India
President of FABC (Asia) HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP GABRIEL MBILINGI Archbishop of Lubango, Angola
President of SECAM (Africa) HIS EMINENCE PÉTER CARDINAL ERDŐ Archbishop of Esztergom –Budapest
President of CCEE (Europe) HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH KURTZ Archbishop of Louisville
President of USCCB (USA) HIS EMINENCE REINHARD CARDINAL MARX Archbishop of Munich, Germany
President of COMECE (Europe) HIS GRACE ARCHBISHOP JOHN RIBAT Archbishop of Port Moresby, PNG
President of FCBCO (Oceania) HIS EMINENCE RUBEN CARDINAL SALAZAR GÓMEZ Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia
President of CELAM (Latin America) HIS EXCELLENCY BP. DAVID DOUGLAS CROSBY OMI Bishop of Hamilton, Canada
President of CCCB-CECC (Canada) HIS BEATITUDE BECHARA BOUTROS CARDINAL RAI Patriarch of Antioch (Maronite)
President of CCPO (Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient) Written in collaboration with our Catholic networks CIDSE and Caritas Internationalis and with the sponsorship of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. (from Vatican Radio)…