(Vatican Radio) The Vatican issued a statement on Tuesday announcing the work of the cataloguing and digitalizing of the archival material possessed by the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, the Apostolic Nunciature in Buenos Aires, and the Vatican’s Secretariat of State related to Argentina’s Military Dictatorship Period (1976-1983) has ended.
The statement said the Executive Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina met with Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, and Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States, on Saturday, 15 October, to assess the project.
The Executive Committee of the Episcopal Conference of Argentina is composed of the President, Archbishop of Santa Fe de la Vera Cruz, José María Arancedo; the First Vice President, Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Primate of Argentina, Cardinal Mario Aurelio Poli; the Second Deputy, Archbishop of Salta, Mario Antonio Cargnello; and the Secretary General, Bishop of Chascomus, Carlos Humberto Malfa.
The statement noted the process of organization and digitization, “which was performed in accordance with the decisions and directives of the Holy Father, and is the continuation of work already started years ago by the Episcopal Conference of Argentina, has ended.”
It went on to say “based on a protocol to be established soon,” the documents will be able to be accessed and consulted by the victims, the immediate family members of the desaparecidos (disappeared) and detained, and – in the case of religious and ecclesiastical personnel – their superiors.
The statement said those involved wanted to “emphasize this work was performed by having it its heart the service of truth, justice, and peace by continuing a dialogue open to the culture of encounter.”
It concluded by saying “the Holy Father and Episcopate of Argentina entrust their homeland to the merciful protection of Our Lady of Luján, trusting in the intercession of the beloved Saint José Gabriel del Rosario Brochero.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said God’s Kingdom grows through its members showing docility and warned Christians against concentrating too much on structures and organization charts. He was speaking during his morning Mass on Tuesday celebrated in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence.
Taking his inspiration from the day’s readings, Pope Francis reflected on the nature of God’s Kingdom during his homily, saying it is not a fixed structure but constantly evolving and describing what helps it to grow. He stressed that God’s Law is not just there to be studied but to journey forward with during our lives.
“What is the Kingdom of God? Well, perhaps the Kingdom of God is a very well-made structure, everything tidy, organization charts all done, everything and the person who does not enter (into this structure) is not in the Kingdom of God. No, the same thing can happen to the Kingdom of God as happens to the Law: unchanging, rigidity… the Law is about moving forward, the Kingdom of God is moving forward, it is not standing still. What’s more: the Kingdom of God is re-creating itself every day.”
The Pope reminded how Jesus in his parable about things in our daily lives spoke about the yeast that does not remain yeast because in the end it is mixed in with the flour and therefore it is on a journey and becomes bread. And then there is the seed that does not remain a seed because it dies and gives life to the tree. Both the yeast and the seed, explained Pope Francis, are on a journey to do something but in order to do this they die. It is not a problem of smallness, be it small, of little count or a big thing. It’s a question of journeying and whilst on this journey the transformation occurs.
The Pope went on to warn against being a person who sees the Law but does not journey forward and has a rigid attitude.
“What is the attitude that the Lord asks from us in order that the Kingdom of God can grow and be bread for everybody and is a house too for everybody? Docility: the Kingdom of God grows through docility to the strength of the Holy Spirit. The flour ceases to be flour and becomes bread because it is docile to the strength of the yeast and the yeast allows itself to be mixed in with the flour… I don’t know, flour has no feelings but allowing itself to be mixed in one could think that there is some suffering here, right? But the Kingdom too, the Kingdom grows in this way and then in the end it is bread for everybody.”
Just as the flour is docile to the yeast, continued Pope Francis, the seed too allows itself to be fertilized and loses its identity as a seed and becomes something much larger: it transforms itself. He said it’s the same with the Kingdom of God that is journeying “towards hope” and “journeying towards fullness.”
Saying the Kingdom of God re-creates itself every day, the Pope stressed that the Kingdom grows through our docility to the Holy Spirit that, just like the pinch of yeast or the tiny seed, transform themselves in order to grow. He warned that if Christians do not journey forward they become rigid and this rigidity makes them orphans without the Father.
“A rigid person only has masters and no father. The Kingdom of God is like a mother that grows and is fertile, gives of herself so that her children have food and lodging, according to the example of the Lord. Today is a day to ask for the grace of docility to the Holy Spirit. Many times we are not docile to our moods, our judgements. ‘But I do what I want….’ The Kingdom does not grow in this way and neither do we grow. It is docility to the Holy Spirit that makes us grow and be transformed like the yeast and the seed. May the Lord give us all the grace of this docility.”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s representative to the United Nations has decried the fact that hundreds of millions of people still face hunger and undernourishment, in a speech given on Monday to the UN General Assembly.
“Despite progress made since 1990 in reducing hunger, nearly 800 million people are still undernourished, at a time when global challenges to reducing malnutrition are becoming increasingly more complex,” – said Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Holy See’s Permanent Representative to the UN in New York – “An equally troubling fact is that more than two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, among whom are some of the most vulnerable members of the world’s population, including more than 200 million children under the age of five years, who are either stunted or wasted.”
The Archbishop went on to reaffirm the Holy See’s commitment to “firm, political and societal” action in order to combat world hunger and undernourishment.
The full text of Archbishop Auza’s speech is below:
Mr. Chair,
The Secretary General’s report (A/71/283) on agricultural development, food security and nutrition provides both a timely and candid account of progress being made on the two fundamental global concerns of ending hunger and eliminating malnutrition for all. The Secretary General’s report serves as a stark reminder of the magnitude of the challenges that still lie ahead if we are to end hunger, improve nutrition, and achieve food security by 2030. Despite progress made since 1990 in reducing hunger, nearly 800 million people are still undernourished, at a time when global challenges to reducing malnutrition are becoming increasingly more complex. An equally troubling fact is that more than two billion suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, among whom are some of the most vulnerable members of the world’s population, including more than 200 million children under the age of five years, who are either stunted or wasted.
The challenges to increase agricultural productivity, to address the effects of climate changes, and to reduce food losses are compounded by mass migrations of peoples, both within and between countries, and by war and violence that have uprooted large populations from productive areas. Consequently, as the Secretary General’s report observes, it is already clear that without a “firm political and societal commitment, large segments of the world’s population will remain undernourished by 2030.”
This “political and societal commitment” is fundamental if we are to reach the second sustainable development goal “to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030. In his June 2016 Address to the World Food Programme in Rome, Pope Francis warned of the dangers of seeing hunger and poverty purely as statistics and of slowly becoming immune to other people’s tragedies, viewing them almost as something “natural” and thus inevitable in the world in which we live. We must thus “denaturalize” extreme poverty by seeing it as a troubling reality and not as an inevitable statistic, “because” – as the Pope affirmed – “poverty has a face: it has the face of a child; it has the face of a family; it has the face of people, young and old; it has the face of widespread unemployment; it has the face of forced migrations, and of empty and destroyed homes.”
The Pope also asked to “debureaucratize” hunger. In his Address to the Second International Conference on Nutrition of the Food and Agricultural Administration in November 2015, Pope Francis spoke of the paradox that, while there is more than enough food for everyone, yet not all can eat, even as we witness “waste, excessive consumption and the use of food for other purposes.” The “bureaucratization” of hunger also finds expression in the paradox that whereas various forms of aid and development projects are obstructed by political decisions and policies, by skewed ideologies and by impenetrable customs’ barriers, the trade in weaponry is not. The Pope lamented the fact that “it makes no difference where arms come from; they circulate with brazen and virtually absolute freedom in many parts of the world. As a result, wars are fed, not persons. In some cases, hunger itself is used as a weapon of war.”
In closing, my delegation reiterates its commitment to the goal of ending hunger and eliminating malnutrition for all by 2030. For it to become a reality, however, we will need not only increased food production and better food distribution: we must also summon the finest human qualities of peace, social justice, solidarity, compassion and empathy, so that we may be aware of the hungry and thirsty around us and around the world.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on Tuesday published a new instruction on the burial of the dead and on the conservation of the ashes in cases of cremation.
The instruction reiterates the long held view that the Church is not opposed to the practice of cremation, though it continues to recommend that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.
However the new document insists that ashes should not be kept in private houses and that the scattering of ashes on land or at sea is not permitted.
Please see below the full English text of the new instruction from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Instruction Ad resurgendum cum Christo regarding the burial of the deceased and the conservation of the ashes in the case of cremation
1. To rise with Christ, we must die with Christ: we must “be away from the body and at home with the Lord” (2 Cor 5:8). With the Instruction Piam et Constantem of 5 July 1963, the then Holy Office established that “all necessary measures must be taken to preserve the practice of reverently burying the faithful departed”, adding however that cremation is not “opposed per se to the Christian religion” and that no longer should the sacraments and funeral rites be denied to those who have asked that they be cremated, under the condition that this choice has not been made through “a denial of Christian dogmas, the animosity of a secret society, or hatred of the Catholic religion and the Church”. Later this change in ecclesiastical discipline was incorporated into the Code of Canon Law (1983) and the Code of Canons of Oriental Churches (1990).
During the intervening years, the practice of cremation has notably increased in many countries, but simultaneously new ideas contrary to the Church’s faith have also become widespread. Having consulted the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and numerous Episcopal Conferences and Synods of Bishops of the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has deemed opportune the publication of a new Instruction, with the intention of underlining the doctrinal and pastoral reasons for the preference of the burial of the remains of the faithful and to set out norms pertaining to the conservation of ashes in the case of cremation.
2. The resurrection of Jesus is the culminating truth of the Christian faith, preached as an essential part of the Paschal Mystery from the very beginnings of Christianity: “For I handed on to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures; that he was buried; that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures; that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve” (1 Cor 15:3-5).
Through his death and resurrection, Christ freed us from sin and gave us access to a new life, “so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life” (Rm 6:4). Furthermore, the risen Christ is the principle and source of our future resurrection: “Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep […] For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Cor 15:20-22).
It is true that Christ will raise us up on the last day; but it is also true that, in a certain way, we have already risen with Christ. In Baptism, actually, we are immersed in the death and resurrection of Christ and sacramentally assimilated to him: “You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead” (Col 2:12). United with Christ by Baptism, we already truly participate in the life of the risen Christ (cf. Eph 2:6).
Because of Christ, Christian death has a positive meaning. The Christian vision of death receives privileged expression in the liturgy of the Church: “Indeed for your faithful, Lord, life is changed not ended, and, when this earthly dwelling turns to dust, an eternal dwelling is made ready for them in heaven”. By death the soul is separated from the body, but in the resurrection God will give incorruptible life to our body, transformed by reunion with our soul. In our own day also, the Church is called to proclaim her faith in the resurrection: “The confidence of Christians is the resurrection of the dead; believing this we live”.
3. Following the most ancient Christian tradition, the Church insistently recommends that the bodies of the deceased be buried in cemeteries or other sacred places.
In memory of the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord, the mystery that illumines the Christian meaning of death, burial is above all the most fitting way to express faith and hope in the resurrection of the body.
The Church who, as Mother, has accompanied the Christian during his earthly pilgrimage, offers to the Father, in Christ, the child of her grace, and she commits to the earth, in hope, the seed of the body that will rise in glory.
By burying the bodies of the faithful, the Church confirms her faith in the resurrection of the body, and intends to show the great dignity of the human body as an integral part of the human person whose body forms part of their identity. She cannot, therefore, condone attitudes or permit rites that involve erroneous ideas about death, such as considering death as the definitive annihilation of the person, or the moment of fusion with Mother Nature or the universe, or as a stage in the cycle of regeneration, or as the definitive liberation from the “prison” of the body.
Furthermore, burial in a cemetery or another sacred place adequately corresponds to the piety and respect owed to the bodies of the faithful departed who through Baptism have become temples of the Holy Spirit and in which “as instruments and vessels the Spirit has carried out so many good works”.
Tobias, the just, was praised for the merits he acquired in the sight of God for having buried the dead, and the Church considers the burial of dead one of the corporal works of mercy.
Finally, the burial of the faithful departed in cemeteries or other sacred places encourages family members and the whole Christian community to pray for and remember the dead, while at the same time fostering the veneration of martyrs and saints.
Through the practice of burying the dead in cemeteries, in churches or their environs, Christian tradition has upheld the relationship between the living and the dead and has opposed any tendency to minimize, or relegate to the purely private sphere, the event of death and the meaning it has for Christians.
4. In circumstances when cremation is chosen because of sanitary, economic or social considerations, this choice must never violate the explicitly-stated or the reasonably inferable wishes of the deceased faithful. The Church raises no doctrinal objections to this practice, since cremation of the deceased’s body does not affect his or her soul, nor does it prevent God, in his omnipotence, from raising up the deceased body to new life. Thus cremation, in and of itself, objectively negates neither the Christian doctrine of the soul’s immortality nor that of the resurrection of the body.
The Church continues to prefer the practice of burying the bodies of the deceased, because this shows a greater esteem towards the deceased. Nevertheless, cremation is not prohibited, “unless it was chosen for reasons contrary to Christian doctrine”.
In the absence of motives contrary to Christian doctrine, the Church, after the celebration of the funeral rite, accompanies the choice of cremation, providing the relevant liturgical and pastoral directives, and taking particular care to avoid every form of scandal or the appearance of religious indifferentism.
5. When, for legitimate motives, cremation of the body has been chosen, the ashes of the faithful must be laid to rest in a sacred place, that is, in a cemetery or, in certain cases, in a church or an area, which has been set aside for this purpose, and so dedicated by the competent ecclesial authority.
From the earliest times, Christians have desired that the faithful departed become the objects of the Christian community’s prayers and remembrance. Their tombs have become places of prayer, remembrance and reflection. The faithful departed remain part of the Church who believes “in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church”.
The reservation of the ashes of the departed in a sacred place ensures that they are not excluded from the prayers and remembrance of their family or the Christian community. It prevents the faithful departed from being forgotten, or their remains from being shown a lack of respect, which eventuality is possible, most especially once the immediately subsequent generation has too passed away. Also it prevents any unfitting or superstitious practices.
6. For the reasons given above, the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence is not permitted. Only in grave and exceptional cases dependent on cultural conditions of a localized nature, may the Ordinary, in agreement with the Episcopal Conference or the Synod of Bishops of the Oriental Churches, concede permission for the conservation of the ashes of the departed in a domestic residence. Nonetheless, the ashes may not be divided among various family members and due respect must be maintained regarding the circumstances of such a conservation.
7. In order that every appearance of pantheism, naturalism or nihilism be avoided, it is not permitted to scatter the ashes of the faithful departed in the air, on land, at sea or in some other way, nor may they be preserved in mementos, pieces of jewelry or other objects. These courses of action cannot be legitimized by an appeal to the sanitary, social, or economic motives that may have occasioned the choice of cremation.
8. When the deceased notoriously has requested cremation and the scattering of their ashes for reasons contrary to the Christian faith, a Christian funeral must be denied to that person according to the norms of the law.
The Sovereign Pontiff Francis, in the Audience granted to the undersigned Cardinal Prefect on 18 March 2016, approved the present Instruction, adopted in the Ordinary Session of this Congregation on 2 March 2016, and ordered its publication.
Rome, from the Offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, 15 August 2016, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Gerhard Card. Müller, Prefect
Luis F. Ladaria, S.I., Titular Archbishop of Thibica, Secretary
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) The President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran has sent a Message to Hindus for the Feast of Deepavali (Diwali), entitled Christians and Hindus: Promoting hope among families .
“The health of society depends on our familial bonds and yet we know that today the very notion of family is being undermined by a climate that relativizes its essential significance and value,” Cardinal Tauran writes.
“It is in the family that children, led by the noble example of their parents and elders, are formed in the values that help them develop into good and responsible human beings,” – the Cardinal Tauran continues – “Too often, however, the optimism and idealism of our youth are diminished by circumstances that affect families. It is especially important, therefore, that parents, together with the wider community, instil in their children a sense of hope by guiding them towards a better future and the pursuit of the good, even in the face of adversity.”
The full text of the Message is below
PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
Christians and Hindus: Promoting hope among families
MESSAGE FOR THE FEAST OF DEEPAVALI 2016
Vatican City
Dear Hindu Friends,
1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, we offer our best wishes as you celebrate Deepavali on 30 October 2016. May your celebrations around the world deepen your familial bonds, and bring joy and peace to your homes and communities.
2. The health of society depends on our familial bonds and yet we know that today the very notion of family is being undermined by a climate that relativizes its essential significance and value. So too, family life is often disrupted by harsh realities such as conflicts, poverty and migration, which have become all too commonplace throughout the world. There are, however, strong signs of renewed hope due to the witness of those who hold fervently to the enduring importance of marriage and family life for the wellbeing of each person and society as a whole. With this abiding respect for the family, and keenly aware of the global challenges daily confronting us, we wish to offer a reflection on how we, Christians and Hindus together, can promote hope in families, thus making our society ever more humane.
3. We know that the family is “humanity’s first school” and that parents are the “primary and principal” educators of their children. It is in the family that children, led by the noble example of their parents and elders, are formed in the values that help them develop into good and responsible human beings. Too often, however, the optimism and idealism of our youth are diminished by circumstances that affect families. It is especially important, therefore, that parents, together with the wider community, instil in their children a sense of hope by guiding them towards a better future and the pursuit of the good, even in the face of adversity.
4. Providing a formation and education in hope is thus a task of paramount importance for families (cf. POPE FRANCIS, Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia , 274-275), as it reflects the divine nature of mercy which embraces the disheartened and gives them purpose. Such an education in hope encourages the young themselves to reach out, in charity and service, to others in need, and so become a light for those in darkness.
5. Families, therefore, are meant to be a “workshop of hope” (POPE FRANCIS, Address at the Prayer Vigil for the Festival of Families, Philadelphia, 26 September 2015), where children learn from the example of their parents and family members, and experience the power of hope in strengthening human relationships, serving those most forgotten in society and overcoming the injustices of our day. Saint John Paul II said that “the future of humanity passes by way of the family” (Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio , 86). If humanity is to prosper and live in peace, then families must embrace this work of nurturing hope and encouraging their children to be heralds of hope to the world.
6. As Christians and Hindus, may we join all people of good will in supporting marriage and family life, and inspiring families to be schools of hope. May we bring hope’s light to every corner of our world, offering consolation and strength to all in need.
We wish you all a joyful Deepavali !
Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran President
+ Miguel Ángel Ayuso Guixot, MCCJ Secretary
(from Vatican Radio)…