 Vatican Radio REPORT Nigeria’s new ambassador to the Holy See, Francis C. Okeke, presented his
credentials to Pope Benedict XVI on Monday, underlining his government’s desire
to work closely with the Vatican on “reduction of religious extremism,
interreligious dialogue, and human rights”. Dr Okeke – he trained and worked as
a medical doctor before taking up this diplomatic post - becomes his country’s
first resident ambassador to the Holy See, though the two states have had
diplomatic relations for over three decades. Speaking to Vatican Radio’s
Philippa Hitchen, Ambassador Okeke talked about his government’s efforts to
improve security and tackle terrorism in the north of Nigeria, as well as about
the decision to work more closely with the Vatican on a whole range of common
concerns….FIVE YEARS SINCE THE MOTO PROPRIO SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM Vatican City, 6 November 2012 (VIS) - In a message sent in the name of Benedict XVI on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Letter "Summorum Pontificum", Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. affirms that "by this Motu Proprio, the Holy Father wished to respond to the hopes of the faithful regarding the forms of liturgy", prior to Vatican Council II. Benedict XVI's Apostolic Letter "Motu Proprio data", "Summorum Pontificum" on the use of the Roman liturgy prior to the reform of 1970, was published on 7 July 2007, and came into effect on 14 September of the same year. In his message the secretary of State notes that "it is good to conserve the richness that has developed in the faith and prayer of the Church and to accord it due space, at the same time fully recognising the value and sanctity of the ordinary form of the Roman rite”. Cardinal Bertone adds that in the Year of Faith, which coincides with "the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican Council II, the Holy Father invites all the faithful to make a special demonstration of their unity in faith; in this way they will become effective agents of new evangelisation”. The message, written in French, was read out on the the occasion of the international pilgrimage to Rome, "Una cum Papa nostro", organised by "Coetus internationalis Summorum Pontificum". The pilgrimage culminated in a Mass presided by Cardinal Antonio Canizares, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, celebrated according to the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. Among those participating were faithful belonging to groups linked to the use of the 1962 Missal, which was approved by John XXIII and remained in force until the reforms of the Council. |
| ARCHBISHOP MAMBERTI ADDRESSES INTERPOL GENERAL ASSEMBLY Vatican City, 6 November 2012 (VIS) - Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States, yesterday addressed the eighty-first session of the general assembly of the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL), which is currently being held in Rome on the theme: "Challenges for police facing contemporary criminal violence". Archbishop Mamberti noted that "crime has undergone a substantial increase, both in quantitative terms and as regards the use of violence. The characteristics of criminal activity have evolved in a worrying fashion, as the aggression and atrocity of incidents has augmented dangerously. Furthermore, criminal activities have now assumed a planetary scale, with systems of coordination and criminal pacts which traverse national frontiers". "The struggle against all forms of violence, especially in its most brutal forms, presupposes a moral duty to help create the conditions necessary to ensure violence does not arise and develop. People who work with the forces of law and order, and the police organisations you represent, are well aware that the most effective antibody to any form of criminality is a country's citizens. Alliance and solidarity between citizens and police is the strongest bastion against criminality". The archbishop went on: "Actions that help create a society ordered for the common good include the removal of factors which give rise to and nourish situations of injustice. In this field a primary and preventative role belongs to education inspired by respect for human life in all circumstances. Without this, it is not in fact possible to create a strong social fabric, united in its fundamental values and able to resist the provocation of extreme violence. In this context, the most important place in which human beings are formed is the family. There children experience the value of their own transcendent dignity, as they are accepted gratuitously on the basis of the stable and reciprocal love of their parents. There they experience the first forms of justice and forgiveness, which cements family relationships and acts as a foundation for the correct insertion into social life". |
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