(Vatican Radio) A international conference marking the 20 th anniversary of the restoration of Michelangelo’s frescos in the Sistine Chapel is into its final day.
The two day event organised by the Vatican Museums is entitled “The Sistine Chapel 20 years later: New breath, new light.”
Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Arnold Nesselrath of the Vatican Museums.
The conference is focusing its attention Friday on the new air conditioning and purification system and the new state of the art lighting which have been installed in the Chapel and were unveiled earlier this week.
One of the participants at the gathering is Arnold Nesselrath, Delegate for the Scientific Department and Laboratories at the Vatican Museums, speaking about the philosophy of the lighting project.
He told Vatican Radio that “It (the lighting system) was something that was due after the restoration of the frescos of the 15 th century from the pontificate of Sixtus the 5 th because they are a great symphony with the frescos of Michelangelo. They are telling the history of salvation and to bring this out you need to support this with a fairly unique lighting system…”
Mr Nesselrath adds that the installation of the new OSRAM lighting system was done in collaboration with the art historians and technicians of the Vatican Musuems. He also said there was no intervention on the frescos. “They remained as they were at the end of 1999…”
The conference concludes October 31 st at Rome’s Auditorium Conciliazione.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) On Thursday the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldissseri, met with a group of British parliamentarians at the Vatican.
Addressing the group, Cardinal Baldisseri spoke about Pope Francis’ efforts to renew the Synod of Bishops. “Pope Francis wished to reform the synodal structure so that it could better discuss and consult on major questions facing the Church, just as it did in the early centuries of Christianity.” He stressed the “rediscovery of the synodal process” as one of the most important contributions of the recent Synod. “A very important aspect of the Church’s life is based on our understanding that the Spirit of the Risen Christ is given to all the baptized,” he said. “Synods are not about taking a poll or voting in a democratic way on Church teaching and practice but they embody a humble openness to the fact that the Lord is leading the pilgrim church through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Below, please find the complete text of Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri’s address:
Mr. Ambassador,
Distinguished Members of the British Parliament,
Dear Friends,
It is an honor and privilege for me to address you today on the theme of the recent Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization that we just concluded in the Vatican one week ago. I am very grateful for your kind invitation.
First allow me to offer you some background on the meaning of “synod.” The very word “synod” comes from a Greek word formed by combining roots meaning “together” and “going” or “way;” literally, journeying forward on the way together. The word “Synod” has been used over the centuries to refer to an assembly of bishops, as in the Oriental Church, at which Church leaders would elect the patriarch and establish church law.
In September 1965 at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, Blessed Pope Paul VI, the Council’s helmsman, desired to build upon the tremendous fraternal spirit that reigned during the Council’s sessions and to strengthen the bonds that united the Bishop of Rome with the bishops of the world. He created the Synod of Bishops to give the world’s bishops a voice – a sounding board that would advise the pope on various aspects of the Church’s life. From the beginning, synodal assemblies would be consultative, not legislative.
Since Blessed Paul VI established the format in 1965, the global gatherings have certainly not produced new dogma or overturned Church teachings. The majority of Synods took place during the long pontificate of St. John Paul II. The final documents of these meetings are called “Apostolic Exhortations” and clearly bear the mark of the reigning Pontiff.
No one can deny that the synodal process and structure had grown tired with the passage of time, and there seemed little opportunity for evaluation or renewal. Pope Francis mentioned this in an interview last year. He said, “Synodality should be lived at various levels. Maybe it is time to change the methods of the Synod of Bishops, because it seems to me that the current method is not dynamic. This will also have ecumenical value, especially with our Orthodox brethren. From them we can learn more about the meaning of episcopal collegiality and the tradition of synodality” (Civiltà Cattolica, Sept. 19, 2013).
Within months of his election as Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis appointed me as the new General Secretary to head the Vatican’s Synod office. The Synod of Bishops is a body outside the Curia itself, accountable to the Pope but also to the bishops. The Holy Father’s desire was clear: he wished to give new life to this important body and allow it to become once again a sounding board, a place for authentic dialogue, debate and fraternal sharing – all for the good of the Church. Pope Francis wished to reform the synodal structure so that it could better discuss and consult on major questions facing the Church, just as it did in the early centuries of Christianity.
The most recent Synod, from October 5-19, did not come in the normal sequence of every four years. It was an Extraordinary Synod bringing together the presidents of national bishops’ conferences, heads of Eastern Catholic churches and members of the Roman Curia. Although the number of participants in the extraordinary synod was smaller, it also included twenty-six voting members named by the Pope, three priests chosen by the Union of Superiors General, sixteen expert advisers, eight representatives of other Christian communities and thirty-six observers, more than half comprised of married couples who addressed our assembly.
The “Ordinary” Synod of Bishops, which will include a larger assembly of Church leaders, will meet at the Vatican from October 4-25, 2015, to continue the discussion on pastoral approaches to the challenges facing families today. The most recent Extraordinary Synod prepared the agenda for discussion for that Ordinary Synod which will have as its theme: The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World.
Many of you undoubtedly followed the recent Extraordinary Synod in the mainstream media, and you may have received indications or impressions that the Synod was a time of great tension, revealing differing opinions within the Church. This morning I would like to share with you what this experience was for us – a journeying together – and how the results of this Extraordinary Synod have an impact not only on the Church but on the world.
I wish to stress one of the most important contributions of the recent Synod, and hopefully a constitutive part of future Synods – the rediscovery of the synodal process. A very important aspect of the Church’s life is based on our understanding that the Spirit of the Risen Christ is given to all the baptized. Synods are not about taking a poll or voting in a democratic way on Church teaching and practice but they embody a humble openness to the fact that the Lord is leading the pilgrim church through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Last fall, in preparation for the recent Synod, Pope Francis had the Synod office send out a questionnaire to the whole Church, raising very important topics that included the problems facing the family today: the extensive practice of divorce, cohabitation, contraception, procedures of artificial procreation, same-sex unions and polygamy (cf. Instrumentum Laboris, n. 27). We received responses to the consultation from 101 bishops’ conferences (an almost 89% response rate) and nine-hundred and eighty-three Catholic organizations and individuals. Though the timing of the questionnaire was somewhat problematic given the short turnaround for responses, the process nevertheless ensured that the Synod did not begin with abstractions and hypotheses but from a real, direct knowledge of the many challenges sweeping across the globe.
Some responses questioned the Church’s teaching or encouraged greater understanding of people who cannot always live up to that teaching. I stressed on several occasions over the past year that we must recognize that the faithful perceive the truth about the Gospel and its values and their input cannot be ignored. But the bishops have the responsibility and authority to discern ways to apply the constant teaching of the Church.
Synodal Members who took part in the recent Extraordinary Synod described an honest and prayerful attempt to discern answers to complex pastoral challenges across many cultures and ways of thinking. They said the discussions allowed for a genuinely dynamic synod, and that its overall purpose was achieved: to find ways of preaching the Gospel of the family in contemporary society and to find pastoral solutions for families facing difficult situations. The Synod’s purpose was to highlight the Church’s teaching on the family, which always reveals the missionary and pastoral dimension of that teaching, and the Church as merciful, healing, loving and welcoming.
During the first week of the Synod, instead of reading their presentations, the bishops had three or four minutes to summarize their texts – focusing only on one theme – and included ideas or clarifications that had come from listening to their brother bishops.
The second week of the synod was taken up mainly by work in small groups, organized according to language, that treated every theme that had been raised during the prior week. Instead of brainstorming propositions for the Pope, the small groups worked, theme by theme, on amending the summary report, which will be used as the working document for the 2015 Synod.
The recent Synod ended with a ‘Synod Report’, each paragraph of which Synod Members were able to vote for or against. The votes, which were published with the final text, indicated where there was or was not a two-thirds majority. This Report or “Relatio” now forms the starting point for the next Synod on the family, to take place in a year’s time.
We spoke together about the beauty, dignity and sacredness of marriage – as a vital institution for the Church and for the world. We recalled the words of St. John Paul II, that “the future of humanity passes through the family.” The pastoral mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel of the family clearly and with humility, accompanying people in difficult or exceptional situations. That is what comes first. From this point, we learn to move together towards conversion and towards the goodness of life that God has for us and that Jesus opens for us all. This positive approach flows right through the “Relatio” or Synod Report.
Pope Francis spoke about his duty to guarantee the unity of the Church and to remind the faithful to follow the Gospel of Christ. He also stressed that pastors must see it as their duty to nourish the flock that the Lord has entrusted to them, not only welcoming the lost sheep with fatherly care, but also going out and finding them.
It was hardly surprising that there was such a huge media interest in the recent Synod, unlike many previous Synods. Our Synodal experience together in Rome focused on important issues pertaining to marriage, family, and sexual morality – including those that are controversial both within and outside the Church. For this reason, it generated increased interest in certain areas of Church teaching. The themes we addressed touched on the reality facing the majority of Catholics in their every day life.
The Synod was an attempt to “lend an ear to the rhythm of our time,” as Pope Francis put it. Across the Western world, the collapse of the cultural narrative of marriage means fewer marrying and more and more children born into families lacking necessary stability. This is a serious challenge, because the family is the “school of humanity” according to Gaudium et Spes, the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World” (n. 52), and also the “domestic church,” the locus of spiritual life for most ordinary people, as well as the primary vehicle for learning and handing on faith down the generations.
The recovery of the Gospel of the family is key to a more missionary Church that can walk with contemporary people, binding their wounds and guiding them into the spiritual life. The Church is called to live in the harmony of mercy and justice, the pastoral and doctrinal, working out how to be both compassionate mother and clear teacher.
His Eminence, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, participated as a Member of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops and recently published a very timely Pastoral Letter to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Westminster, which sums up beautifully the experience of the Synod. He wrote that it was an opportunity to strengthen and reinvigorate the pastoral practice of the Church. Allow me to quote from that Letter: “This Synod … was about the pastoral care that we try to offer each other, the ‘motherly love of the Church’, especially when facing difficult moments and experiences in family life … At the end of our meeting Pope Francis spoke at length about his joy and satisfaction at its work. He told us to look deeply into our hearts to see how God had touched us during the Synod, and to see how we may have been tempted away from the promptings of the Holy Spirit. The Synod, he insisted, has been a spiritual journey, not a debating chamber” (Pastoral Letter on the Synod on the Family, October 26, 2014).
I would like to conclude with the words of Pope Francis himself at the closing of the Synod, with which he summarized the synodal experience as a “journey” moving towards the next stage of the Synod to take place in 2015. The Holy Father said, “I can happily say that – with a spirit of collegiality and of synodality – we have truly lived the experience of ‘Synod,’ a path of solidarity, a ‘journey together.’ And it has been “a journey” – and like every journey there were moments of running fast, as if wanting to conquer time and reach the goal as soon as possible; other moments of fatigue, as if wanting to say ‘enough’; other moments of enthusiasm and ardour (…). A journey where the stronger feel compelled to help the less strong, where the more experienced are led to serve others, even through confrontations (…). This is the Church, One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and composed of sinners, needful of God’s mercy(…). It is the Church that is not afraid to eat and drink with prostitutes and publicans. The Church that has the doors wide open to receive the needy, the penitent, and not only the just or those who believe they are perfect! The Church that is not ashamed of the fallen brother and pretends not to see him, but on the contrary feels involved and almost obliged to lift him up and to encourage him to take up the journey again and accompany him toward a definitive encounter with her Spouse, in the heavenly Jerusalem.”
Thank you very much for your attention and interest. Let us continue our journey together.
+Lorenzo Cardinal Baldisseri
Secretary General, Synod of Bishops
Vatican City
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday received the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schultz, in private audience in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.
Listen to the report by Linda Bordoni :
The meeting between Pope Francis and President Schultz was an occasion for the two men to look ahead to the Pope’s journey to Strasbourg scheduled to take place next month.
They had already met here in the Vatican exactly one year ago when Schultz’s visit coincided with the publication of an essay written by him to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Saint Pope John II’s visit to the European Parliament back in 1988.
“It would be a great honour” – Schultz wrote in an editorial at the time – to hear again the message of the Holy Father, his words of foresight, solidarity and hope”. And it was in that occasion that he invited Pope Francis to address the plenary yet again, something he will do in the morning of November 25 before going on to give another address to members of the Council of Europe.
After his first audience with the Pope, President Schulz released a statement on his visit saying there are many issues on which the two men share similar views and on which – he said – we can join forces: like “the protection of refugees in the Mediterranean, the fight against poverty and social exclusion or improving the prospects of young people both within and outside the EU”.
During a brief encounter with a few journalists after the meeting, President Schultz told me that today details of the visit to Strasbourg were further defined…
“We prepared the visit of the Pope to the European Parliament which I think is an exceptional moment for the European Parliament and we talked about the circumstances and the political framework the Pope will find when he delivers his address”.
Obviously, he didn’t give too much away, but he did tell me that European Parliamentarians – across the spectrum – are preparing to give Pope Francis a unanimous warm and enthusiastic welcome.
I’m lb
(from Vatican Radio)…
“The path towards unity begins with a change of heart, an interior
conversion”. Pope Francis emphasized this when he met with a delegation of
the Old Catholic Bishops’ Conference of
the Union of Utrecht. He referred to the “increasing distance between us on matters of ministry and ethical
discernment”. The Pope also reflected on “our shared ecumenical journey” which
demonstrates the need for “convincing witness to the truth and values of
the Gospel” in a Europe which is “ so confused about its own identity and
vocation” and thirsty for God. The
following is the English text of the Holy Father’s address. Your Grace, Your Excellencies, I am pleased to welcome you, the members of the Old
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Union of Utrecht, as your visit offers us a
valuable opportunity to reflect on our shared ecumenical journey. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the promulgation
of the Second Vatican Council’s Decree Unitatis
Redintegratio , which inaugurated a new era of ecumenical dialogue and
expressed the enduring commitment of the Catholic Church to seek the unity of
Christ’s disciples. For all of us, the International Roman Catholic/Old
Catholic Dialogue Commission plays a significant role in seeking ever greater
fidelity to the Lord’s prayer, “that all may be one” (cf. Jn 17:21). It has been possible to build new bridges of a
more profound mutual understanding and practical co-operation. Convergences and consensus have been found,
and differences have been better identified and set in new contexts. While we rejoice whenever we take steps towards a
stronger communion in faith and life, we are also saddened when we recognize
that in the course of time new disagreements between us have emerged. The
theological and ecclesiological questions that arose during our separation are
now more difficult to overcome due to the increasing distance between us on
matters of ministry and ethical discernment. The challenge for Catholics and Old Catholics, then,
is to persevere in substantive theological dialogue and to walk together, to
pray together and to work together in a deeper spirit of conversion towards all
that Christ intends for his Church. In
this separation there have been, on the part of both sides, grave sins and
human faults. In a spirit of mutual forgiveness and humble repentance, we need
now to strengthen our desire for reconciliation and peace. The path towards unity begins with a change of heart, an
interior conversion (cf. Unitatis Redintegratio , 4). It is a spiritual journey from encounter to
friendship, from friendship to brotherhood, from brotherhood to
communion. Along the way, change is inevitable. We must always be
willing to listen to and follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit who leads us
into all truth (cf. Jn
16:13). In the meantime, in the heart of Europe, which is so
confused about its own identity and vocation, there are many areas in which
Catholics and Old Catholics can collaborate in meeting the profound
spiritual crisis affecting individuals and societies. There is a thirst for
God. There is a profound desire to
recover a sense of purpose in life. There is an urgent need for a convincing witness
to the truth and values of the Gospel.
In this we can support and encourage one another, especially at the
level of parishes and local communities. In fact, the soul of ecumenism lies in
a “change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer
for the unity of Christians” ( Unitatis
Redintegratio , 8). In prayer for and with one another our differences are
taken up and overcome in fidelity to the Lord and his Gospel. I am always aware that “the holy task of reconciling
all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ transcends
human energies and abilities” ( Ibid ,
24). Our hope is rooted in the prayer of Christ himself for the Church.
Let us immerse ourselves evermore in that prayer so that our efforts may always
be sustained and guided by divine grace. …
Vatican City, 30 October 2014 (VIS) – On 14 October, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Permanent Observer at the United Nations, spoke during the General Debate of the UNGA First Committee held in New York. “The past year has seen progress on the elimination of chemical weapons”, he affirmed; “yet reports of the continued use of chemical weapons, including chlorine gas, reminds the international community to redouble its efforts to eliminate once and for all chemical weapons and any use as a weapon of dual-use chemicals”. “With regard to nuclear weapons, the third conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, which will be held in December in Vienna, Austria, is a sobering reminder of the deep frustration of the international community at the lack of speedy progress on nuclear disarmament, and of the inhuman and immoral consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction”. He remarked that the ninth Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference will take place very soon in New York, and that nearly all the States represented in the room are parties to the treaty. “The NPT’s central promise of nuclear weapons States to gradually disarm in exchange for non-nuclear-weapon States to refrain from acquiring nuclear arms remains at an impasse”. As a consequence, he continued, the Holy See delegation “urges this Committee and the preparation for the ninth NPT Review Conference to focus on the need to move beyond nuclear deterrence, and work toward the establishment of lasting peace founded on mutual trust, rather than a state of mere non-belligerence founded on the logic of mutual destruction. In this regard, the Holy See urges all states to sign and/or ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty without further delay, because it is a core element of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime”, adding that the establishment of weapons of mass destruction free zones, in the opinion of the Holy See delegation, “would be a big step in the right direction, as it would demonstrate we can indeed move toward a universal agreement to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction”. The archbishop concluded by emphasising that the Holy See “welcomes the progress, however modest, in the areas of conventional weapons”, but remains “deeply concerned that the flow of conventional arms continues to exacerbate conflicts around the globe”. He expressed the delegation’s hope that “this year’s session will respond to this challenge, and recognise the grave consequences of the proliferation and use of conventional weapons on human life throughout the world”….