Vatican City, 16 December 2015 (VIS) – The report of the Moneyval Committee, dated 8 December, confirms that during the last two years the Holy See and Vatican City State have achieved significant progress in the construction of an adequate and functioning institutional and regulatory framework for preventing and combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism (c.f., in particular, paragraphs 18-19: Vatican tribunals have frozen 11.2 million Euros as a result of the current investigations). With regard to the Office of the Promoter of Justice, the investigations are complex from a technical point of view, and require careful analysis. They have a strong international or transnational dimension, involving offences committed outside Vatican territory and persons from outside the Vatican (c.f. Paragraph 18). The Holy See has established an international network that enables it to collaborate actively with other States in these cases, at the levels of both the AIF and the tribunals. The information and statistics contained in the Report demonstrate this clearly. The Vatican Tribunal requested and received reciprocal legal assistance (letters rogatory) from other States. The Report confirms that mutual legal assistance is widely used (paragraph 79). The Holy See welcomes the Moneyval Committee’s invitation to strengthen further the capacity of its Tribunals and Gendarmerie to conduct more incisive investigations in criminal matters, and to punish the crimes of money laundering and the financing of terrorism committed within the sphere of the Holy See and Vatican City State. …
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednsday. In his catechetical remarks to the faithful, the Holy Father focused on the signs of the recently-opened Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy, saying that by practicing charity, mercy and forgiveness, we can be a sign of the power of God’s love to transform hearts and to bring reconciliation and peace.
Below, please find the official English summary of the Holy Father’s reflection
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Dear Brothers and Sisters: The Jubilee of Mercy was inaugurated this past week by the opening of the Holy Door, not only here in Rome but in dioceses worldwide, as a visible expression of our communion in the universal Church. Fifty years ago, the Second Vatican Council reminded us that the Church is called to be, in Christ, the visible sign of God’s merciful love for the entire human family. Each of us, by practicing charity, mercy and forgiveness, can be a sign of the power of God’s love to transform hearts and to bring reconciliation and peace. By passing through the Door of Mercy during this Holy Year, we show our desire to enter more deeply into the mystery of Christ’s redemptive love. Jesus tells us that he himself is the door to eternal life (cf. Jn 10:9), and he asks us, through genuine conversion, to open the doors of our hearts to a more sincere love of God and neighbour. A special sign of grace in this Jubilee of Mercy is the sacrament of Penance, in which Christ invites us to acknowledge our sinfulness, to experience his mercy, and to receive the grace which can make us ever more effective signs of his reconciling love at work in our world.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis says the Church must be humble, poor and trusting in the Lord.
Speaking during Mass at Casa Santa Marta on Tuesday morning the Pope emphasized the fact that poverty is the first of the Beatitudes, and that the poor are the Church’s true riches.
Commenting on the first reading from the Book of Zephaniah in which Jesus rebukes the chief priests and warns them that even prostitutes will precede them into the Kingdom of Heaven, Pope Francis said that still today temptations can corrupt the witness of the church.
“A Church that is truly faithful to the Lord – he said – must be humble, poor and trusting in God”.
The Pope also made it quite clear that to be a humble Church or a humble person one must be prepared to say: “I am a sinner”. Humility – he said – is not a pretense; it’s not a theatrical attitude. True humility demands that the Church and that each and every one of us take a first step and recognizes one’s sinfulness.
And if anyone has the habit – Francis said – of being judgmental, pointing to the defects of others and gossiping about them, then he is not a humble person.
The second step – he said – is poverty, which “is the first of the Beatitudes.”
To be poor in spirit, he explained, means that one is “attached only to the riches of God.”
So – Pope Francis continued – we must say “no to a Church that is attached to money, that thinks of money, that thinks of how to earn money.”
The Pope recalled the martyrdom of the Deacon Lawrence, an heroic witness in the first millennium who assembled the poor before the emperor saying they represented the real gold and silver of the Church, and he warned against some ancient customs which demanded monetary offers from pilgrims in order to pass through the Holy Door.
“As is known – said the Pope – in a temple of the diocese, to pass through the Holy Door, naively they said to people that you had to make an offer: this is not the Church of Jesus, this is the Church of these chiefs priests, attached to money ” he said
The third step – he said – for a humble Church is to always trust in the Lord that never disappoints.
“Where is my faith? In power, in friends, in money? It is in the Lord! The legacy that God promised to leave us is of a humble and poor people who trust in the name of the Lord. Humble because it knows it sins; poor because it is attached to the riches of God; trusting in the Lord because it knows that only He has its good at heart” he said.
Pope Francis concluded with the prayer – as we prepare for Christmas – for a humble heart, a poor heart, a heart that trusts in the Lord who never disappoints.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Tuesday issued his message for the World Day of Peace, 1 Jan 2016. The theme of the Message is: “Overcome indifference and win peace.”
You can find the full text of the Pope’s message for the World Day of Peace here.
Listen to Ann Schneible’s report:
In the message, dated 8 Dec 2015, the Pope acknowledged the various forms of war, terrorism, and persecution present in today’s world, but said there is reason to hope. He cited several events over the course of the year 2015, including the various initiatives confronting climate change, the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, and the Jubilee of Mercy.
Referencing the theme of the message, the Holy Father then highlighted various forms of indifference in society. First, there is indifference to God, which in turn leads to indifference to one’s neighbour and subsequently to the environment.
Pope Francis also addressed what he referred to as an “indifference to mercy,” as seen with the Genesis account of Cain murdering his brother Abel. In contrast, God intervenes, the message reads: “He sees, hears, comes down, and delivers. God does not remain indifferent. He is attentive and He acts.”
“Mercy is the heart of God,” the Pope writes, and therefore must be the heart of all His children.
Pope Francis said we are called to “compassion, love, mercy and solidarity” in our relationships with one another. He added that “the conversion of our hearts” is needed for us to become “open to others in authentic solidarity.” The Pope called for the building of a culture of solidarity and mercy in order to overcome indifference.
This begins with families, which are the “first place where the values of love, fraternity, togetherness and sharing, concern and care for others are lived out and handed on.” He spoke also of the role of teachers, and communicators. The Pope added that communicators in particular should be “mindful” of how they obtain and disseminate information, saying their methods should always be “legally and morally admissible.”
Pope Francis went on to say that peace is the fruit of a culture of solidarity, mercy, and compassion.
It is also a sign of the Jubilee of Mercy, which began 8 Dec, in which all are called to recognize indifference, and “improve the world around us.”
The Holy Father said these efforts begin with our families, neighbours, and places of employment. They extend to civil society’s care for vulnerable persons, such as “prisoners, migrants, the unemployed, and the infirm.”
On the subject of migrants, the Pope asked that legislation on migration be reviewed, in a way that facilitates their integration into society, with special attention given to legal residency in order to avoid criminal behaviour.
Pope Francis appealed to national leaders to offer assistance to men and women suffering from lack of work, land, and lodging.
The Pope concluded by entrusting the reflections contained in the message to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Monday, 14 December 2015, Pope Francis received Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefect for the Congregation for the Causes of Saints in a private audience. In the course of the audience, the Holy Father authorized the Congregation to promulgate decrees regarding:
1. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Blessed Maria Elisabetta Hesselblad, Founder of the Order of the Most Holy Saviour of Saint Bridget; born a Flågavik, Sweden on 4 June 1870, died at Rome 24 April 1957.
2. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Servant of God Ladislao Bukowiński, diocesan Priest; born in Berdyczów, Ukraine, on 22 December 1904, died in Karaganda, Kazakhstan, 3 December 1974.
3. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Maria Celeste Crostarosa (née Giulia), Foundress of the Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer; born in Naples, Italy, on 31 October 1696, died in Foggia, Italy, 14 November 1755.
4. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Maria di Gesù (née Carolina Santocanale), Foundress of the Congregation of the Capuchin Sisters of the Immaculata of Lourdes; born in Palermo 2 October 1852 and died in Cinisi, Italy, 27 January 1923.
5. The miracle attributed to the intercession of the Venerable Servant of God Itala Meta, Benedictine Oblate of the Monastery of Saint Paul in Rome; born in La Spezia, Italy, 28 August 1904, and died there 29 April 1957.
6. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Angelo Ramazzotti, Patriarch of Venice, Founder of the Institute for Foreign Missions; born in Milan, Italy, 3 August 1800 and died in Crespano del Grappa, Italy, on 24 September 1861.
7. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Joseph Vithayathil, diocesan Priest, Founder of the Congregation of Sisters of the Holy Family; born in Puthenpally, India, on 23 July 1865, died at Kuzhikkattussery, India, 8 June 1964.
8. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Joseph Mary Arizmendiarrieta, diocesan Priest; born in Markina, Spain, 22 April 1915, and died in Mondragón 29 November 1976.
9. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Giovanni Schiavo, professed Priest of the Congregation of San Giuseppe; born in Sant’Urbano, Italy, 8 July 1903 and died at Caxias di Sul, Brazil, 27 January 1967.
10. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Venanzio Maria Quadri (né Antonio), professed Religious of the Order of the Servants of Mary; born in Vado di Setta, Italy, 9 December 1916, and died in Rome 2 November 1937.
11. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God William Gagnon, professed Religious of the Hospitaller Order of St John; born in Dover, USA, 16 May 1905 and died in Hô Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, 28 February 1972.
12. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Teresa Rosa Ferdinanda de Saldanha Oliveira e Sousa, of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, Foundress of the Congregation of Portugal of the Dominican Sisters of Saint Catherine of Siena; born 4 September 1837 in Lisbon, Portugal, and died there on 8 January 1916.
13. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Maria Emilia Riquelme Zayas, Foundress of the Institute of the Missionaries of the Most Holy Sacrament and of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate; born in Granada, Spain, 15 August 1847, and died there 10 December 1940.
14. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Maria Speranza della Croce (née Salustiana Antonia Ayerbe Castillo), Co-founder of the Recollected Missionary Augustines; born in Monteagudo, Spain, 8 June 1890 and died there 23 May 1967.
15. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Emanuela Maria Maddalena Kalb (née Elena), professed Sister of the Congregation of Sister Canonesses of Santo Spirito in Sassia; born in Jarosław (now in Poland) on 12August 1899, and died in Krakow, Poland, on 8 January 1986.
16. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Nicola Wolf, Layman and Father of a family; born in Neuenkirch, Switzerland on 1 May 1756 and died at Sant’Urbano, Switzerland, on 18 September 1832.
17. The heroic virtue of the Servant of God Teresio Olivelli, Layman; born in Bellagio, Italy, on 7 January 1916, and died in the concentration camp at Hersbruck, Germany, on 17 January 1945.
(from Vatican Radio)…