Il Nunzio Romano-Ruteno - The Roman-Ruthenian Herald - Римско-Русский Вестник

Friday, September 20, 2013

FRANCIS: NO HUMAN LIFE IS MORE VALUABLE THAN ANOTHER

Vatican City, 20 September 2013 (VIS) – Today the Pope met with members of the International Federation of Catholic Medical Associations and Catholic gynaecologists, and spoke of the current paradoxical situation of the medical profession. “On the one hand we see progress in the field of medicine, thanks to the work of scientists who passionately and unreservedly dedicate themselves to the search for new cures. On the other hand, however, we also encounter the risk that doctors lose sight of their identity in the service of life”. He referred to the Encyclical Caritas in Veritate to explain that this paradoxical situation is seen also in the fact that, “while new rights are attributed to or indeed almost presumed by the individual, life is not always protected as the primary value and the primordial right of every human being. The ultimate aim of medicine remains the defence and promotion of life”. Faced with this contradictory situation, the Pope renewed the Church's appeal to the conscience of all healthcare professionals and volunteers, especially gynaecologists. “Yours is a singular vocation and mission, which necessitates study, conscience and humanity”, he said.

Again, Francis spoke of the “throwaway culture” that leads to the elimination of human beings, especially those who are physically and socially weakest. “Our response to this mentality is a 'yes' to life, decisive and without hesitation. 'The first right of the human person is his life. He has other goods and some are precious, but this one is fundamental – the condition for all the others'”.

Reiterating that in recent times, human life in its entirety has become a priority for the Magisterium of the Church, the Pope emphasised that “goods have a price and can be sold, but people have dignity, they are worth more than goods and have no price”.

Francis asked those present to “bear witness to and disseminate this 'culture of life' … remind all, through actions and words, that in all its phases and at any age, life is always sacred and always of quality. And not as a matter of faith, but of reason and science! There is no human life more sacred than another, just as there exists no human life qualitatively more meaningful than another”.

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HONDURAS: CONTINUED EFFORTS FOR RECONCILATION AND THE COMMON GOOD

Vatican City, 20 September 2013 (VIS) – This morning in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Pope Francis received in audience Porfirio Lobo Sosa, president of the Republic of Honduras, who subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, S.D.B., accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.

During the course of the cordial discussions, satisfaction was expressed for the good relations between Honduras and the Holy See, and for the gift of a statue of Nuestra Senora de Suyapa, national patron, offered to the Pontiff by the Head of State and displayed in the Vatican Gardens. Emphasis was given to the Church's valuable contribution within the country, especially in the fields of education and healthcare, as well as in charitable works to combat poverty and organised crime.

The discussions then turned to themes of an ethical nature such as the defence of human life and the family, and the importance of continuing efforts in favour of reconciliation and the common good.

Thursday, September 19, 2013

FRANCIS: AVOID THE SCANDAL OF BEING “AIRPORT BISHOPS”

Vatican City, 19 September 2013 (VIS) – At midday, in the Sala Clementina of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience the recently appointed bishops who will participate in the congress organised by the Congregation for Bishops and the Congregation for the Eastern Churches.

Francis encouraged the bishops, in the words of St. Peter, to “tend the flock of God that is in your charge”, and reminded them that “we are called and made Shepherds not by ourselves, but by the Lord, and not to serve ourselves, but rather to serve the flock entrusted to our care, to serve to the extent of offering our lives, like Christ, the Good Shepherd”.

The Pope asked what it means to “tend”, to have “ habitual and daily care” of the flock.

“Three thoughts arise from this”, he explained. First, the importance of welcoming with generosity: “Your heart must be large enough to be able to welcome all the men and women you meet during your days and whom you will seek out as you walk your parishes and your communities”.

Secondly, to accompany the flock: “to walk alongside the faithful and all those who turn to you, sharing joys and hopes, difficulties and suffering, as brothers and friends, but even more so as fathers, who are able to listen, to understand, to help and to orientate”. Francis urged the bishops not to forget the affection they hold for their priests, who are those “closest to the bishop”, who mix with the faithful, who have the “smell of their sheep”, and reminded them to be humble, austere and essential in the service of their flock. “We shepherds are not men with the psychology of princes – ambitious men, who espouse this Church while awaiting another, more beautiful and richer. But this is a scandal! Imagine that a man confesses, saying, 'I am married and I live with my wife, but I continually look at a woman who is more beautiful than her; is this a sin, Father?' The Gospel tells us that this is the sin of adultery. Is there such thing as 'spiritual adultery'? I don't know, think about it yourselves. Do not await another more beautiful, more important, richer Church. Do not fall into the trap of careerism! It is a form of cancer!”

Finally, Francis referred to the importance of staying with the flock: the stability of remaining in the diocese without seeking change or promotion. He urged the bishops as far as possible to avoid being absent from their diocese, and if unavoidable, to do so for the shortest period possible and not on a regular basis. “Espouse your community, be profoundly bonded to it! I beg you, please, to stay among your people. … Avoid the scandal of being 'airport bishops'!” Francis urged the bishops to welcome their people “with affection, with mercy, with fatherly gentleness and firmness, with humility and with discretion; know how to recognise your limits, and have a good dose of humour”.

Friday, September 13, 2013

A POPULATION THAT DOES NOT CARE FOR CHILDREN AND THE ELDERLY ABUSES THE MEMORY OF THE PAST AND PROMISE FOR THE FUTURE

Vatican City, 13 September 2013 (VIS) – Francis sent a message to participants in the 47th Social Week for Italian Catholics, which will be held from 12 - 15 September in Turin, to commend their choice of the theme “The Family: Hope and Future for Italian Society” and for linking the family with these two concepts. The Pope also commented that for the Christian community, the family is “a path for generations through which faith, love and fundamental moral values are transmitted, as well as concrete solidarity, hard work, patience, and also plans, hope, and future. All of this - which the Christian community lives in the light of faith, hope and charity - it has never kept to herself, but every day it becomes leaven in the dough of society, for the greater common good.”

The tradition of the Social Weeks began in 1907 and one of its promoters was the blessed Giuseppe Toniolo. This will in fact be the first Week convened since his beatification on 28 April 2012. The Weeks are proposed as high profile cultural and ecclesiastical initiatives which aim to face and, if possible, anticipate the at times radical challenges posed by the evolution of society.

“Hope and future”, writes the Pope, “presuppose memory. The memory of the elderly gives us the support we need to continue on our path. The future of society ... is rooted in the elderly and the young: the latter because they have the strength and youth to carry history forward, and the former because they are the source of living memory. A population that does not take care of the elderly and of children and the young has no future, because it abuses both its memory and its promise”.

“As the Church, we offer a concept of the family rooted in the Book of Genesis, of the unity in the difference between man and woman, and the fruitfulness of this complementarity, and we recognise it as an asset for all, as the first natural society. … The family understood in this way remains the first and principle building block of society and of an economy on a human scale. … The consequences, positive or negative, of decisions of a principally cultural or political nature in relation to the family touch upon the various areas of the life of a society and a country”.

In his message, Pope Francis reiterated that we cannot ignore the suffering of many families caused by a lack of employment, housing problems, the fractures that may develop within a family or a marriage, and “the violence that unfortunately lurks and does damage inside our homes”. However at the same time, he concluded, we must remember the “simple, but beautiful and courageous witness given by many families, who experience matrimony and parenthood with joy, illuminated and supported by the grace of the Lord, without fear of facing the moments of the cross that, lived in union with the Lord, do not obstruct the path of love, but rather make it stronger and more complete”.

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Vatican Says Clerical Celibacy in the Roman Communion is Open to Discussion

VATICAN CITY 12 September 2013 (ORCNS) - Archbishop Pietro Parolin, the new Secretary of State of the Vatican, said yesterday that clerical celibacy is open to discussion in the Roman Communion. He pointed out that celibacy is not a dogma of the Church, but a discipline. The Roman Communion did not make celibacy a requirement for the Roman Rite until the Second Lateran Council in 1139. Married clerics are still common within Eastern Rite Catholicism, the Orthodox, and Old Roman Catholics.

Archbishop Pietro Parolin
Credit: Osservatore Romano

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

TO THE FAITHFUL IN IRAQ, JORDAN AND EGYPT: FAITH IS A FORCE FOR JUSTICE IN THE WORLD

Vatican City, 4 September 2013 (VIS) – In his greeting in various languages, the Pope addressed the Arabic-speaking faithful, especially those from Iraq, Jordan and Egypt, encouraging them to “be always united with Christ, building his Kingdom with fraternity, sharing and merciful works. Faith is a potent force capable of making the world a more just and beautiful place! Be an example of God's mercy and demonstrate to the world that trials and tribulations, difficulties, violence and evil can never defeat He Who has vanquished death: Jesus Christ”.

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Copyright © VIS - Vatican Information Service - 00120 Città del Vaticano

APPEAL FOR SYRIA AND THE MIDDLE EAST: RAISE A CRY FOR PEACE

Vatican City, 4 September 2013 (VIS) – “This coming Saturday we will experience together a special day of fasting and prayer for pace in Syria, the Middle East”, said the Pope at the end of the catechesis of today's general audience. “I renew my invitation to all the Church to live this day intensely, and from this moment on, express my gratitude to those brothers and sisters, Christians and of other religions, and to men and women of good will who wish to join, wherever they may be and in their own way, in this moment. I particularly urge the faithful and pilgrims in Rome to participate in the prayer vigil here in St. Peter's Square at 7 p.m., to invoke from the Lord the gift of peace. Let us raise a cry for peace all over the world!”