 Vatican City, 14 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace the Holy Father received in audience the participants in the Plenary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation. “In our time we often encounter an attitude of indifference towards faith, which is no longer considered relevant to human life”, he said. “It is important that we Christians demonstrate that we live faith in a concrete way, through love, harmony, joy, suffering, because this gives rise to questions, as at the beginning of the Church's path: why live like this? What is the impetus for our actions? These are questions which lead us to the heart of evangelisation, which is the witness of faith and charity”. Pope Francis remarked that many people have drifted away from the Church, and in this situation “there is a need for Christians who help show God's mercy and tenderness towards every creature”. He went on to emphasise the importance of encounter, of seeking out and going towards “those who have lost their faith and the deeper meaning of life. … The Church”, he emphasised, “is sent to reawaken everywhere this hope, especially where it is suffocated by difficult and at times inhuman existential conditions, where hope cannot breathe. … We need the oxygen of the Gospel, the breath of the Spirit of the Risen Christ, to reignite [hope] in our hearts. The Church is the house where the doors are always open not only to welcome everyone in to breathe love and hope, but also so we can take this love and hope outside”. The Pope, in this way, explained that “in the Church, this is not left to chance or improvisation”. Commitment is necessary in the diocese and in the parish to catechesis as a moment of evangelisation. He recalled that many times, for instance, he has encountered children who do not know how to make the sign of the Cross, and remarked that the work of catechists is a valuable service to new evangelisation, while emphasising that parents should be “the first catechists, the first educators in faith in their own families, by their witness and by their words”. FREEDOM WITH OR WITHOUT GOD, 24 YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE BERLIN WALL Vatican City, 14 October 2013 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”, which will be celebrated this year in Berlin, from 26 to 28 November. The initiative, promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture in collaboration with the archdiocese of Berlin and the German Bishops' Conference, aims to relaunch dialogue between believers and non-believers in relation to the most important issues of the contemporary world. The speakers in the conference were: Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, president of the German Bishops' Conference; Fr. Hans Langendorfer, S.J., secretary general of the German Bishops' Conference; Joachim Hake, director of the Catholic Academy of the Archdiocese of Berlin, and Fr. Laurent Mazas, executive director of the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”. The encounter will address issues such as the depth of ethical humanism, the greatness of faith in God, the freedom of art and beauty, respect and creation, aspects and models of man, the grace and dignity of human nature and worship. With the title “If there is no God, everything is permitted”, the “Courtyard of the Gentiles” will be inaugurated in the Red City Hall of Berlin, and will be followed by a discussion on the theme “Look at man: God's creation endowed with creativity, or his own creator?” at the Charite University of Medicine; finally, the theme of respect, blasphemy and artistic liberty will be considered at the Berlin Deutsches Theater. “There exist many experiences of freedom with and without God in Berlin, and they are as varied as the inhabitants of this city”, said Archbishop Zollitsch. “The paths of their lives and their freedom intertwine continually, like the processions in the Bode Museum. The Courtyard of the Gentiles wishes to show the richness and the depth of Catholic faith, and to express esteem for the positions held by non-believers, but also to see in faith the traces of unbelief”. |
| ENTRY TO AUDIENCES OR CELEBRATIONS PRESIDED BY THE HOLY FATHER IS ALWAYS FREE Vatican City, 12 October 2013 (VIS) – The Prefecture of the Papal Household communicates that for the canonisation of Blesseds John XVIII and John Paul II on Sunday 27 April 2014, participation is open to all those able to find space in St. Peter's Square, Piazza Pio XII and Via della Conciliazione, without any need for tickets. As on other occasions, the faithful are warned against ticket touts or requests for money by agencies or tour operators in order to obtain tickets. Attendees are also reminded that the tickets to participate in audiences or celebrations presided by the Holy Father are entirely free. |
| AUDIENCES Vatican City, 14 October 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in audience: - William Lacy Swing, director general of the International Organisation for Immigration (IOM), with his wife and entourage. - Cardinal Raffaele Farina, archivist and librarian emeritus of the Holy Roman Church. - Archbishop Leo Boccardi, apostolic nuncio to Iran. - Archbishop Vincenzo Pelvi, military ordinary emeritus for Italy. - Bishop Fernando Panico of Crato, Brazil. On Saturday, 12 October the Holy Father received in audience: - Carlos Avila Molina, ambassador of Honduras to the Holy See, presenting his letters of credence. - Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S., prefect of the Congregation for Bishops. |
| OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS Vatican City, 14 October 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father appointed Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vatso, Italy, respectively as relator general and special secretary of the 3rd Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled to take place from 5 to 19 November 2014. On Saturday 12 October, the Holy Father: - appointed Msgr. Angel Jose Macin as bishop of Reconquista (area 35,000, population 276,000, Catholics 243,000, priests 46, permanent deacons 1, religious 65), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Malabrigo, Argentina in 1967 and was ordained a priest in 1992. He holds a licentiate in theology from the Catholic University of Argentina and a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome. He is a member of the Argentine Society of Theology. He has served in a number of academic and pastoral roles, including professor of science of religion at the San Benito Institute of Victoria, ordinary professor and director of studies at the interdiocesan seminary “La Encarnacion” in Resistencia, parish vicar of “Santa Ana”, Florencia, professor of New Testament at the diocesan seminary San Nicolas, Buenos Aires, parish priest of “Nuestra Senora del Huerto”, Malabrigo, assessor of social pastoral care and professor of sacred scripture at the Institute “Juan Pablo II” in Reconquista, and diocesan administrator of Reconquista. - appointed Msgr. Ilson de Jesus Montanari, official of the Congregation for Bishops, as secretary of the same dicastery, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. Archbishop-elect Montanari was born in Sertaozinho, Brazil in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1989. He holds a licentiate in dogmatic theology from the Gregorian Pontifical University, and has served in a number of pastoral, academic and administrative roles, including parish priest of the parish “Sao Joao Batista” in Sertaozinho, professor of theology at the Study Centre of the archdiocese of Ribeirao Preto and the archdiocesan seminary of Uberaba, chancellor and co-ordinator of pastoral activity for Ribeirao Preto, member of the presbyteral college and the College of Consultors of Ribeirao Preto, and official of the Congregation of Bishops. In 2011 he was named chaplain of His Holiness. - appointed Msgr. Diego Giovanni Ravelli, official of the Apostolic Almoner, as Office Chief of the Apostolic Almoner. |
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