VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXVI - # 18
DATE 28-01-2016
Summary:
- Audience with the president of Togo: joint commitment to peace and security
in
West and Sub-Saharan Africa
- Presentation of the World Day of the Sick
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts
___________________________________________________________
Audience with the president of Togo: joint commitment to peace and security in
West and Sub-Saharan Africa
Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) - The Holy Father Francis today received
in
audience the president of the Republic of Togo, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe, who
subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, accompanied
by
Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, secretary for Relations with States.
During the cordial discussions the Parties acknowledged the good existing
relations between the Holy See and Togo, and the prospects for their further
consolidation. Mention was made of the contribution of the Catholic Church to
the development of the country and the integral progress of the Togolese
population, especially in the field of education.
Attention then turned to various challenges affecting West and Sub-Saharan
Africa, with special emphasis on the need for joint commitment to the promotion
of security and peace in the Region.
___________________________________________________________
Presentation of the World Day of the Sick
Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office
a press conference was held to present the 24th World Day of the Sick, to be
celebrated in Nazareth in the Holy Land on 11 February, feast day of Our Lady
of
Lourdes, on the theme "Entrusting oneself to the merciful Jesus like Mary: 'Do
whatever he tells you'", based on the account of the wedding at Cana according
to the Gospel of St. John.
The panel was composed of Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the
Pontifical Council for Health Care Workers (Health Pastoral Care), Msgr.
Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of the same dicastery, Rev.
Augusto Chendi, under-secretary, Rev. Fr. Pietro Felet, S.C.I., secretary
general of the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land and local
referent for the organisation of the World Day of the Sick 2016.
The place where the Day will be held - Nazareth, in the Holy Land - is the
first point to highlight, said Archbishop Zimowski. Nazareth is the place of
the
incarnation, where Jesus began His salvific mission and in Galilee cured many
people, as is narrated in the Gospel of St. Mark, read in these days, in which
Christ calls to the sick to heal them and, in turn, is called to by them. "In a
certain sense we are all constantly called upon, although each person in a
different way", explained the prelate. "The human being suffers in different
places and, at times, suffers terribly. He calls to another person as he is in
need of his help and his presence. At times we are intimidated by the fact of
not being able to heal, of not being able to help like Jesus. Let us try to
overcome this embarrassment. The important thing is to keep going, to stay
beside the man who suffers. He needs, perhaps more than healing, the presence
of
another person, of a human heart full of mercy, of human solidarity".
"These are doctors, nurses, all the representatives of the healthcare
professions. They are the institutions that serve human health. ... We must
support this great tradition at all costs: the work of doctors and nurses is
treated not only as a profession but also and perhaps firstly as a service, as
a
vocation. Care for the physically impaired and the elderly, care for the
mentally ill - these sectors constitute, more than any other aspect of social
life, the measure of the culture of a society and the state".
Secondly, the archbishop remarked that the Day occurs in the context of the
extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, and that there will be a visit to the Basilica
of the Holy Sepulchre and the Basilica of the Agony in Gethsemane, the places
where Christ gave Himself to the Father for our salvation. "Jesus unites
humanity through His Cross, and the celebration of the World Day of the Sick in
the Holy Land will help us to realise the wish Pope Francis expressed in the
Bull of Indiction, that is, that 'this Jubilee year celebrating the mercy of
God
will foster an encounter with [Judaism and Islam] and with other noble
religious
traditions; may it open us to even more fervent dialogue so that we might know
and understand one another better; may it eliminate every form of
closed-mindedness and disrespect, and drive out every form of violence and
discrimination'. Every hospital and clinic, as the Holy Father reminds us, can
be a visible sign and place for promoting the culture of encounter and peace,
where the experience of sickness and suffering, as well as professional and
fraternal help, may contribute to overcoming every limit and division".
Finally, the archbishop spoke about the role of servants at the wedding of
Cana, who Mary told to do as Christ told them. "Naturally, the miracle takes
place through Christ's work; however, He sought human help in completing the
prodigy. He could have made the wine appear directly in the amphorae. But He
wants to count on human collaboration, and asks the servants to fill them with
water. How precious and pleasing to God it is to be servants of others! This,
more than anything else, makes us similar to Jesus, Who 'came not to be served,
but to serve'".
"The fruit of this Day must be concrete: the closeness of our hearts that is
expressed in mercy towards the sick and needy, who must feel the closeness or
proximity, material and spiritual, of the entire Christian community", he
concluded. "It is important that they are not left abandoned or alone as they
face such a delicate moment in their life".
Fr. Chendi explained that the programme of the Day is divided into three
parts:
liturgical moments; theological-pastoral insights, with the presence on 9
February in the Pontifical Institute Notre Dame Centre of Jerusalem of the
Catholic Ordinaries and Patriarchs and bishops of the sister Churches of the
Holy Land; and concrete gestures of charity, such as visits to various
hospitals
and healthcare structures present in the area.
The under-secretary also mentioned that plenary indulgence granted by Pope
Francis to those who participate in this Day, with the explicit intention that,
through corporal and spiritual works of mercy "they will encounter a renewed
and
authentic witness and discover the Christian meaning of suffering and its
sharing among brothers".
With regard to the theological and pastoral dimension, the congress of 9
February "will offer the opportunity to identify problems, also of an ethical
and pastoral nature, that are urgent from both a legislative and a clinical and
care-related point of view. In particular, in the name of the inviolable value
of every human life and the unique dignity characteristic of every person,
attention will be paid to issues regarding the end of life and the care of
people with different pathologies, both physically and psychologically
invalidating".
In relation to the charitable dimension, Fr. Chendi explained that the visits
to various entities working in the Holy Land, both Catholic and non-Catholic,
will constitute "a tangible sign of what Pope Francis describes in his message
as Mary's tenderness in Cana of Galilee, which translates into a predisposition
towards serving those in need and in particular our brothers and sisters in
sickness".
___________________________________________________________
Audiences
Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received
in
audience:
- Archbishop George Panikulam, apostolic nuncio in Uruguay;
- Leonardo DiCaprio.
___________________________________________________________
Other Pontifical Acts
Vatican City, 28 January 2016 (VIS) - The Holy Father has appointed Fr. Jose
Hirais Acosta Beltran as bishop of Huejutla (area 6,014, population 557,987,
Catholics 502,752, priests 96, religious 67), Mexico. The bishop-elect was born
in Pezmatlan, Mexico in 1966 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He has served
in
a number of pastoral roles in the diocese of Huejutla, including parish vicar,
vice rector of the minor seminary, professor and formator at the major seminary
and judge at the ecclesiastical tribunal. He is currently diocesan
administrator, prefect of studies and spiritual director of the major seminary
of Huejutla, defender of the bond in the diocesan tribunal and member of the
college of consultors.
___________________________________________________________
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
--- MPost/386 v1.21
* Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)
|
