will see them. So, I decided to leave them to Our Lady of Copacabana, the
Mother
of Bolivia, and these two honours will go to the Shrine of Copacabana, to Our
Lady. However, I am taking the the sculpture of Christ with me.
Question: During the Mass in Guayaquil, you said that the Synod will have to
develop true discernment to find concrete solutions to the difficulties faced
by
families. And then you asked the people to pray because even that which may
seem
impure to us, which may seem scandalous or frightening, can be transformed into
a miracle by God. Can you clarify what "impure", "scandalous" or "frightening"
situations you were referring to?
Answer: Here again there is a need for a hermeneutics of the text. I was
talking about the miracle of the wine during the wedding at Cana and I said
that
the jars of water were full, but they were intended for purification. Or
rather,
every person who entered the feast carried out a rite of cleansing, leaving
behind their spiritual impurities. It is a purification rite performed before
entering a house or a temple. A rite that we have in holy water, which is what
remains to us of the Jewish ritual. I said that Jesus made good wine with the
impure water, the worst water. In general, I thought about making this comment:
the family is in crisis, we all know this. ... I was referring to all of this,
in
general: that the Lord may purify us of these crises, of the many things that
are described in the Instrumentum laboris. It is a general issue, not referring
to any particular point.
Question: Seeing how well the mediation went between Cuba and the U.S., do you
think it would it be possible to do something similar between other delicate
situations in other countries on the Latin American continent? I'm thinking of
Venezuela and Colombia.
Answer: The process between Cuba and the United States was not mediation. It
did not have the character of mediation. There was a wish that came ... And
then,
to tell you the truth, three months went by, and I only prayed about the matter
... what could I do with these two who had been like this for more than 50
years.
Then the Lord made me think of a cardinal. He went there and talked; then knew
nothing more and months went by. One day the secretary of State, who is here,
told me, "Tomorrow we will have the second meeting with the two teams." ...
"Yes,
yes, they are talking, the two groups are talking ...". It happened by itself.
It
was not a mediation. It was the goodwill of the two countries, and the merit is
theirs, the merit is theirs for doing this. We did hardly anything, only small
things. And in mid-December, it was announced. ... Now, I am concerned that the
peace process in Colombia must not come to a halt. I have to say this, and I
hope that the process goes ahead. In this sense, we are always willing to help,
in many ways. It would be a bad thing if it did not go ahead. In Venezuela, the
Episcopal Conference is working to make peace there, too. But there too, there
is no mediation.
Question: One thing we have heard very little of is a message for the middle
class, that is, people who work, who pay their taxes, normal people. My
questions is: why are there so few messages for the middle class in the Holy
Father's teaching?
Answer: Thank you, it is a good correction? You are right, it is an error on
my
part. The world is polarised. The middle class is becoming smaller. The
polarisation between rich and poor is great, this is true, and perhaps this has
led me not to take account of it. Some nations are doing very well, but in the
world in general polarisation is very evident. And the number of poor is large.
And why do I speak of the poor? Because they are at the heart of the Gospel.
...
Then with regard to the middle class, I have said a few words, but somewhat "in
passing". But the common people, the simple people, the worker, that is a great
value. But I think you are telling me about something I need to do: I need to
deepen the magisterium on this.
Question: Now that Cuba will have a greater role in the international
community, do you think that Havana will have to improve its reputation with
regard to human rights and religious freedom? And do you think that Cuba risks
losing something in its new relationship with the most powerful country in the
world?
Answer: Human rights are for all, and are not to be respected only in one or
two countries. I would say that in many countries throughout the world human
rights are not respected. ... What will Cuba or the U.S. lose? Both will gain
something and lose something, because this happens in negotiations. Both will
gain, this is sure: peace, encounter, friendship, collaboration. These they
will
gain ... but what will they lose, I cannot imagine. They may be concrete
things.
But in negotiations one always [both] wins and loses. But returning to human
rights, and religious freedom: just think that in the world there are some
countries, even in Europe, where you cannot make a religious sign, for
different
reasons. The same applies to other continents. Religious freedom is not
respected in all the world: there are many places where it is not respected.
Question: Holy Father, in summary, what message did you want to give to the
Latin American Church in these days? And what role can the Latin American
Church
have, also as a sign to the world?
Answer: The Latin American Church has a great asset: it is a young Church ...
with a certain freshness, also some informalities, it is not very formal. In
addition it has a rich body of theological research. I wanted to encourage this
young Church and I believe that this Church can offer us much. One thing that
really struck me was that in all three countries, in the streets, there were
many fathers and mothers with their children. ... I have never seen so many
children! It is a people - and also a Church - that has a lesson for us, for
Europe, where the declining birthrate is worrying, and there are few policies
for helping large families. France has a good policy for helping large families
and it has achieved a birthrate of more than two per cent, but in others it
remains at zero percent. ... The greatest asset of this people and of this
Church
is that it is a living Church. I believe we can learn from this and correct it
as otherwise, if we no longer have children ... It is what touches me most
about
this tendency to cast aside: children are discarded, the elderly are discarded,
and through the lack of work, the young too are discarded. These new nations of
young people give us greater strength. For the Church, I would say that a young
Church - with many problems, because it has problems - I think that this is the
message I find: do not be afraid of this youth and this freshness of the
Church.
It can also be a somewhat undisciplined Church, but with time it will become
disciplined, and it offers us much that is good.
___________________________________________________________
The Holy See regards the Iranian nuclear programme in a positive light
Vatican City, 14 July 2015 (VIS) - The director of the Holy See Press Office,
Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., made the following statement this morning
regarding
the nuclear agreement with Iran:
"The agreement on the Iranian nuclear programme is viewed in a positive light
by the Holy See. It constitutes an important outcome of the negotiations
carried
out so far, although continued efforts and commitment on the part of all
involved will be necessary in order for it to bear fruit. It is hoped that
those
fruits will not be limited to the field of nuclear programme, but may indeed
extend further".
___________________________________________________________
Other Pontifical Acts
Vatican City, 14 July 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed:
- Fr. Emmanuel Fianu, S.V.D., as bishop of Ho (area 5,893, population 658,845,
Catholics 200,670, priests 82, religious 92), Ghana. The bishop-elect was born
in Tegbi, Ghana in 1957, gave his perpetual vows in 1984, and was ordained a
priest in 1985. He studied biblical theology at the Pontifical Biblical
Institute, Rome, and has served in a number of administrative and academic
offices, including admonitor of the S.V.D. District in Lome, lecturer in
biblical sciences at the St. Jean Paul II Seminaire and the Institute St. Paul
of Lome; secretary for the Commission for liturgical publications for
Ghana-Togo; rector of the College of the Divine Word, Rome; secretary for
formation for the Africa-Madagascar S.V.D. Provinces; and coordinator for the
AFRAM zone, based in Accra. He is currently secretary of the General Council of
his Congregation. He succeeds Bishop Francis Anani Kofi Lodonu, whose
resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age
limit was accepted by the Holy Father.
- Msgr. Jorge Enrique Concha Cayuqueo, O.F.M., as auxiliary of the archdiocese
of Santiago de Chile (area 9,132, population 6,290,000, Catholics 4,205,000,
priests 877, permanent deacons 339, religious 3,109), Chile. The bishop-elect
was born in Carahue, Chile in 1958, gave his solemn vows in 1983, and was
ordained a priest in 1986. He holds a doctorate in social sciences from the
Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, and has served in a number of roles,
including provincial secretary for formation and studies, parish vicar,
guardian
of the "San Felipe de Jesus" formation house in Santiago and commissioner for
the Holy Land in Chile. He is currently provincial minister for the Franciscan
Province of the Most Holy Trinity in Chile, president of the Conference of
Provincial Ministers of the Southern Cone (Argentina, Paraguay and Chile) and
first deputy president of the Conference of Religious in Chile.
- Fr. Benedictus Son Hee-Song as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Seoul (area
17,349, population 10,143,645, Catholics 1,472,815, priests 908, religious
2,282), Korea. The bishop-elect was born in Kyenki Yeonchenun Chadari, Korea,
and was ordained a priest in 1986. He studied theology in Innsbruck, Austria,
obtaining a licentiate and doctorate. He has served in a number of roles,
including parish priest, lecturer at the Catholic University of Seoul, deputy
director of the Commission for reviewing publications; and secretary general of
the Episcopal Commission for the doctrine of faith. He is currently director of
archdiocesan pastoral ministry, member of the presbyteral council, member of
the
pastoral council, member of the Commissions for continuing formation of the
clergy, for foreign missions, and for the management of day care centres for
the
elderly of Seoul, member and deputy director of the Commission for the
protection of the holy sites of martyrdom in Seoul, and secretary general of
the
Episcopal Commission for the lay apostolate.
___________________________________________________________
For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va
Copyright (VIS): the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source: V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html
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* Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
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