“A propitious occasion” to “renew responsibility by seeking ways to
prevent all threats of armed conflict, through the promotion of greater social
justice, freedom and solidarity”. Pope Francis expressed this hope in a message
signed by Archbishop Angelo Becciu, Substitute of the Secretariat of State, for
the occasion of the Second Unveiling of the Panels
War and Peace at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The two large frescoes painted by Brazilian artist Candido Portinari
(1903-1962) have returned to their previous splendour after a meticulous,
five-year restoration. Beginning on 8 September 2015, it is possible to once
again admire them at the UN General Assembly Hall, the site of the unveiling
ceremony. The panels, measuring 14 metres high by 10 metres wide, have also
been displayed in Brazil and France, thanks to the “Portinari Project” directed
by the artist’s son, José Candido Portinari, at the Catholic University of Rio
de Janeiro. The murals illustrate the ruin and desolation of humanity on one
side, and portray a healthy and harmonious world on the other. In the message addressed to Cardinal Orani João Tempesta, Archbishop of
São Sebastiao do Rio de Janeiro, the Pontiff’s words are directed to all people
in this world who, as the Evangelii Gaudium decries, are “being torn apart by wars and violence, and wounded by a
widespread individualism which divides human beings, setting them against one
another as they pursue their own well-being” (n.
99). The message concludes: “In faithfulness to the commitment
subscribed in this building of the United Nations here in New York, we
anxiously await the time in which nations “shall beat their swords into
plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword
against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4)….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis issued two Apostolic Letters motu proprio on Tuesday, by which he introduced reforms to the legal structures of the Church, which deal with questions of marital nullity. One of the Letters motu proprio , known by its Latin title, Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus – or “The Lord Jesus, Clement Judge” – reforms the Code of Canon Law (CIC) governing the Latin Church, while the other, Mitis et misericors Iesus or “Clement and merciful Jesus” – reforms the Code of Canon Law for Oriental Churches (CCEO).
According to the prefatory remarks attached to both Letters, the reforms are the result of an expert group appointed to study the current state of law and practice in the Church as far as marriage law is concerned. The Holy Father goes on in the preface to explain that the reforms are guided by seven specific criteria, ample excerpts of which Vatican Radio offers below in its own unofficial English translation:
That there be only one sentence in favor of executive nullity – It appeared opportune, in the first place, that there no longer be required a twofold decision in favor of marital nullity, in order that the parties be admitted to new canonically valid marriages: the moral certainty reached by the first judge according to law should be sufficient.
A single judge under the responsibility of the Bishop – The constitution of a single judge in the first instance, who shall always be a cleric, is placed under the responsibility of the Bishop, who, in the pastoral exercise of his own proper judicial power shall guarantee that no laxity be indulged in this matter.
The Bishop is judge – In order that the teaching of the II Vatican Council be finally translated into practice in an area of great importance, the decision was made to make evident the fact that the Bishop is, in his Church – of which he is constituted pastor and head – is by that same constitution judge among the faithful entrusted to him. It is desired that, in Dioceses both great and small, the Bishop himself should offer a sign of the conversion of ecclesiastical structures, and not leave the judicial function completely delegated to the offices of the diocesan curia, as far as matters pertaining to marriage are concerned.
Increased brevity in the legal process – In fact, beyond making the marriage annulment process more agile, a briefer form of trying nullity cases has been designed – in addition to the documentary process already approved and in use – which is to be applied in cases in which the accusation of marital nullity is supported by particularly evident arguments. In any case, the extent to which an abbreviated process of judgment might put the principle of the indissolubility of marriage at risk, did not escape me [writes Pope Francis – ed.]: thus, I have desired that, in such cases the Bishop himself shall be constituted judge, who, by force of his pastoral office is with Peter the greatest guarantor of Catholic unity in faith and in discipline.
Appeal to the Metropolitcan See – It is fitting that the appeal to the Metropolitan See be re-introduced, since that office of headship of an Ecclesiastical province, stably in place through the centuries, is a distinctive sign of the synodality of the Church.
The proper role of the Bishops’ Conferences – The Bishops’ Conferences, which must be driven above all by the anxious apostolic desire to reach the far-off faithful, should formally recognize the duty to share the aforesaid conversion , and respect absolutely the right of the Bishops to organize judicial power each within his own particular Church.
There-establishment of vicinity between the judge and the faithful, in fact, shall not be successful if the stimulus does not come from the Conferences to the single Bishops, along with the necessary assistance, to put into practice the reform of the marital nullity process.
Appeal to the Apostolic See – It is fitting that the appeal to the ordinary Tribunal of the Apostolic See, i.e. the Roman Rota, be maintained: this, in respect of a most ancient juridical principle, so that the bond between the See of Peter and the particular Churches be reinforced – having care, in any case, in the discipline of the use of said appeal, to contain any and all abuse of right, in order that the salvation of souls be given no cause for harm.
Indeed, the prefatory remarks make clear from the very start, that the single most important principle guiding the Holy Father’s action and the work of reform undertaken, is that of salus animarum – the salvation of souls – which is the suprema Ecclesiae lex – the supreme law of the Church.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the bishops of Portugal on Monday, during the course of the bishops’ ad limina visits. In remarks prepared for the occasion and delivered in written form, the Holy Father encouraged the bishops, “To persevere in the commitment of a constant and methodical evangelization, convinced that a truly Christian formation of conscience is of extreme and indispensable importance to help social maturity, and to assure the true and balanced well-being of Portugal.”
Click below to hear our report
The Holy Father went on to discuss the challenge of reaching young people, especially, with the Gospel.
“The Church in Portugal needs young people capable of responding to the God who calls them,” he said. “Do not you want, dear brothers,” concluded Pope Francis, “for that Apostolic zeal or sense of initiative [necessary] to the obtaining of this, with the use of human endeavor linked to the efficacy of divine aid.
(from Vatican Radio)…
Vatican City, 7 September 2015 (VIS) – This morning the Holy Father received in audience the bishops of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, at the end of their “ad Limina” visit, and subsequently handed them a written discourse in which he praises, among other things, the growth of synodality as a style of pastoral life in the country’s particular Churches and various initiatives including the general enquiry on the beliefs and faith of the Portuguese people, the first response to which is the Note “Promoting pastoral renewal in the Church in Portugal” (April 2013). The Pope also emphasised that the five-yearly reports of the bishops suggest that the Church in Portugal has more positive than negative aspects and lives serenely, guided by common sense, and is listened to by the majority of the population and national institutions, even though her voice is not always followed. The people are hospitable, generous, religious and peace-loving, and the episcopate is fraternally united. The priests are well-prepared both spiritually and culturally, and consecrated persons are faithful to the charism of their founders, while the laity expresses in the world the effective presence of the Church. However, the Pope notes the abandonment of Christian practice by young people after their confirmation, precisely at an age at which they take up the reins of future life, and asked if this is perhaps due to a failure of catechesis to grow with them and to respond to their questions and concerns. He therefore invites the bishops to rethink the question of a global catechetical path covering different ages and offers them encouragement, recalling that the Lord assures His constant presence and His infallible assistance to the Church….
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis celebrated Mass on Monday morning in the chapel of the Santa Marta residence, with the recently-elected Patriarch of Cilicia of the Armenians, His Beatitude Gregory Peter XX Ghabroyan, as well as with the Bishops of Synod of the Apostolic Armenian Catholic Church and the Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches, Cardinal Leonardo Sandri.
Click below to hear our report
In remarks following the readings of the day, the Holy Father spoke of the many Christians, who continue to be persecuted, and of the complicit silence of many powerful world leaders. Even today, “Perhaps more than in the early days,” said Pope Francis, [Christians] are persecuted, killed, driven out, despoiled, only because they are Christians”:
“Dear brothers and sisters, there is no Christianity without persecution. Remember the last of the Beatitudes: when they bring you into the synagogues, and persecute you, revile you, this is the fate of a Christian. Today too, this happens before the whole world, with the complicit silence of many powerful leaders who could stop it. We are facing this Christian fate: go on the same path of Jesus.”
The Pope recalled, “One of many great persecutions: that of the Armenian people”:
“The first nation to convert to Christianity: the first. They were persecuted just for being Christians,” he said. “The Armenian people were persecuted, chased away from their homeland, helpless, in the desert.” This story – he observed – began with Jesus: what people did, “to Jesus, has during the course of history been done to His body, which is the Church.”
“Today,” the Holy Father continued, “I would like, on this day of our first Eucharist, as brother Bishops, dear brother Bishops and Patriarch and all of you Armenian faithful and priests, to embrace you and remember this persecution that you have suffered, and to remember your holy ones, your many saints who died of hunger, in the cold, under torture, [cast] into the wilderness only for being Christians.”
The Holy Father also remembered the broader persecution of Christians in the present day. “We now, in the newspapers, hear the horror of what some terrorist groups do, who slit the throats of people just because [their victims] are Christians. We think of the Egyptian martyrs, recently, on the Libyan coast, who were slaughtered while pronouncing the name of Jesus.”
Pope Francis prayed that the Lord might, “give us a full understanding, to know the Mystery of God who is in Christ,” and who, “carries the Cross, the Cross of persecution, the Cross of hatred, the Cross of that, which comes from the anger,” of persecutors – an anger that is stirred up by “the Father of Evil”:
“May the Lord, today, make us feel within the body of the Church, the love for our martyrs and also our vocation to martyrdom. We do not know what will happen here: we do not know. Only Let the Lord give us the grace, should this persecution happen here one day, of the courage and the witness that all Christian martyrs have shown, and especially the Christians of the Armenian people.”
(from Vatican Radio)…