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May 23

Pope reflects on Psalm 149 during weekly catechesis

Rome, 23 (NE) During his weekly catechesis, Pope John Paul II reflected today morning about Psalm 149. Addressing thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father said that "the prayer which this Psalm inspires is the gratitude of a heart filled with jubilation."

"The Psalm is filled with the sound of song, praise, joy and festive dance. It is a prayer of thanksgiving from a grateful heart, a prayer of the hasidim and anawim. The hasidim are the pious faithful, those who respond to the Lord's paternal love with fidelity. The anawim are the humble poor, those whose whole trust is all in the Lord." "Because they choose to be morally good, they suffer violence and rejection. In the New Testament Saint Paul too refers to God's special love for such people: 'God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are'".

"The second part of the Psalm", the Pope further explained, "speaks of war, and voices the people's happiness at the defeat of its enemies. The Psalm is a morning prayer, and in this way it expresses hope of victory over the evils of the day. This is the moral triumph of the poor and humble: the Lord 'crowns the poor with salvation'."

The Pope concluded the catechesis emphasizing that "the song of Mary in the Gospel of Luke - the 'Magnificat' - is the echo of the best sentiments of the 'sons of Zion': joyful praise to God the Savior, gratitude for the great things done for her by the Almighty, battle against the forces of evil, solidarity with the poor, faithfulness to the God of the Alliance."

Cardinals in consistory stress importance of family life

Rome, 23 (NE) The importance of family was one of the main themes touched yesterday by Cardinals during the extraordinary consistory being held in the Vatican. According to Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Holy See Press Office director, most cardinals indicated the need for a strong formation for family life and for a reflection on an anthropology of human sexuality. They also felt that the Church should produce a lexicon of terms relating to the "new" sexuality and to themes relating to the family. Navarro-Valls pointed out that the Pontifical Council for the Family is already working on such a lexicon. He said, by way of example, that some of the "new" terms regarding human sexuality, such as "sexual health," or "gender," emerged in recent years during the United Nations conferences on population, women, social development and human settlements in which Holy See delegations took part.

Navarro-Valls also announced that several Cardinals have thanked Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, for the document "Dominus Iesus" and suggested that it be used in interreligious dialogue. Commenting other interventions, he said that Cardinal Avery Dulles spoke of the primacy of Peter and its importance for the unity of the Church. Theoretically, he stated, one could think that primacy creates a great ecumenical difficulty; still, it is precisely the lack (of such a primacy) in other Christian confessions which creates difficulties of doctrinal and disciplinary types, for example.

Chile: Campaign encourages contribution of faithful to the works of the Church

Santiago de Chile, 23 (NE) Last week the Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile began a campaign to encourage the faithful be more conscious of the necessity of contributing to the financing of the works of the Church. In a message to foster this campaign, the Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Francisco Javier Errazuriz Ossa, made some reflections "to make this invitation to co-responsibility more understandable... This contribution is a duty of every Catholic who has capacity to make it." "Canon Law establishes it so... But, beyond the sense of duty, let's revive the meaning of this obligation. It is a sign of belonging to the Family of God, and also of co-responsibility," added the Cardinal.

"We have all received the assignment of being missionaries and taking the Gospel to all the boundaries of earth and to the heart of every human being. We all want our Church to be maternal and welcoming, to be the leaven of communion, and also missionary. We want the Church to give our customs the truth and the vivifying and crystalline force of the Gospel. Therefore we are concerned with what this People of God in Santiago does. We want to contribute, so that 'it has all that it needs for divine worship, missionary work and charity, and the necessary support for its ministers.'"

Argentina: Bishops highlight necessity of recovering culture of values

Buenos Aires, 23 (NE) At the end of the 81st Plenary Assembly of the Bishops Conference of Argentina, held in San Miguel, Buenos Aires, the Argentinean Bishops reiterated their call to face the crisis which affects the country with a "magnanimous spirit." In their message published at the end of the Assembly, the Prelate advised that "for its extension in time and its intensity, the crisis in the scale of values suffered by those who govern and its impact over institutions constitutes a real danger to the identity and integrity of the nation."

"It's necessary to remake our culture, recovering the values which gave us existence. This requires the development of an education which promotes the human person and clearly discerns the false values we daily live with," highlighted the message of the Argentinean Episcopate. "Only assuming a life of authentic justice and true freedom, in which men are the principle, the objective and subject of every institution, will we be able to find the paths to guide us to the construction of a fairer and more equalitarian society, recreating the social bonds so deteriorated now, in the middle of an environment of violent insecurity and fear."

"Today the country requires something new. Wherever we are we can do something to generate a greater communion. We ourselves, as ministers of reconciliation, unity and communion, make a commitment to strengthen our work in the reconstitution of these bonds," said the message. On the other hand, during the Assembly it was revealed that in October, 2002, the Second National Missionary Congress will be held and in 2004 the National Eucharistic Congress, held every 10 years, will take place.

May 22

Cardinals begin extraordinary consistory in the Vatican

Rome, 22 (NE) Pope John Paul II presided yesterday the opening ceremony of the extraordinary consistory of the College of Cardinals, which will take place in the Vatican during this week. The consistory, the sixth convoked by the Pope, will reflect on the challenges that the Church must face at the beginning of the third millennium.

Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, Dean of the College of Cardinals, greeted the Holy Father on the part of all 183 members of the College of Cardinals, including those who, for good reason, could not be present at the consistory. He thanked the Pope for having "faith" in the cardinals as they meet to reflect on the "concrete and operative ways" in which the Church can respond to the grace of the Jubilee Year 2000. "We are filled with joy at being close to you in the service that Your Holiness offers to the Church and the world with farsightedness and a dedication which is generous and borne with suffering. We are also happy to be together again for the fraternal moments which the consistory offers us."

Pope John Paul, in his remarks, noted that "the composition of this venerable assembly, which brings together cardinals from every corner of the earth and belonging to the most varied cultures, demonstrates well the unity, universality and missionary nature of the Church." He said that "the meeting which starts this morning is as important as ever and is ideally linked to the Great Jubilee, whose echoes are still alive in all of us. .. I pray to the Spirit, who allowed us to live extraordinary ecclesial experiences, to continue to lead us and help us see the challenges emerging in the current passage of a millennium."

The Holy Father recalled that in "Novo millennio ineunte," he had "underscored the need to highlight well the 'concrete traits of a program' for the evangelizing action of the Church at the dawn of the third millennium. It is a matter of focussing on priority missionary objectives and the most suitable work methods, as well as seeking the means necessary." "In these days," he concluded, "we will be listening to reflections and testimonials; we will fraternally face pastoral problems and challenges; we will seek together the most suitable methods for being, still today, credible signs of God's love for man."

Cardinals call for "globalization of holiness"

Rome, 22 (NE) Unity within the Church, Mass Media and Evangelization, Holiness, the need to reinforce the Christian identity in all cultures though catechesis, the dialogue between faith and culture, and The Family were some of the main issues touched by the Cardinals during the first day of the extraordinary consistory. According to Holy See Press Office Director, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, nearly all, if not all of the 16 speeches yesterday morning emphasized the concept of holiness. The cardinals said there must be "a globalization of holiness." Holiness, and the search to attain it, they said, must be part of a Christian's everyday life: It must be an ordinary, not an extraordinary, fact of life. "We need," they said, "a true, audacious pastoral ministry of holiness." Also, the speeches which touched upon the media and evangelization focussed on the new evangelization, making the point that it is not just a question of the Church using the media but of her participating in the culture of the media. "The dialectic with the media is the new areopagus," said one cardinal. To assist in the new evangelization, the media must help in making the person of Jesus Christ better known. Another cardinal, referring to the Catechetical Directory which the Holy See sends to dioceses periodically as a tool for catechesis, suggested that a similar directory be prepared for the new evangelization.

Preparations continue for National Eucharistic Congress in Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, 22 (NE) "Come to the Lord's Supper!" is the motto of the XIV National Eucharistic Congress of Brazil, to take place from July 19 to 22 in Campinas, Sao Paulo. Pope John Paul II has designated Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, as the special envoy to the Congress. "The Church of Brazil becomes very happy with such a nomination since Cardinal Saraiva has a Portuguese origin, and thus has a bond with our country," commented the Secretary of the National Bishops Conference of Brazil (CNBB), regarding the designation. In addition, concerning the organization of the Congress, the Committee of Reception and Accommodations pointed out that to date it has gotten almost the totality of the required places for the almost 4.000 representatives of the participating delegations to stay. As well, it was informed that a document and the Official CD of the Eucharistic Congress, which has 16 songs inspired in the Eucharistic devotion, is being distributed all over Brazil.

Italy: National Encounter of Families to be held in October

Rome, 22 (NE) Rome will host the National Encounter of Families, organized by Italy's Bishop's, Conference to take place from October 20 to 21. The encounter aims to recall the celebration of the Jubilee of Families and give it continuity, as well as to reflect on the teachings of Pope John Paul II on marriage and the family. The event was announced last week within the framework of the general assembly of the Italian Bishop's Conference. "The national encounter," stated Bishop Dante Lafranconi, Bishop of Savona-Noli and president of the Episcopal Commission for family and life, "will be an occasion to verify the path of the family pastoral in Italy and to restate that the way of matrimony is a way of holiness." There will be an encounter with Pope John Paul II on the afternoon of Saturday 20. The Pontiff will preside over the Eucharist the following day.

Pope John Paul II also emphasized the importance of the family, as he addressed the Bishops present at the General Assembly of the Italian Bishops' conference. "A decisive factor for the present and the future of Italy -that needs stability and harmony- surely is the family," stated the Pontiff. "It is necessary that families increasingly become protagonists of evangelization and social life, so that their authentic physiognomy be fomented and their role be adequately acknowledged." "Therefore, I renew the call to defend the rights of the family founded in matrimony without confusing it with other kinds of living together," he stated. He also emphasized that "a commitment to the family is inseparable from a commitment in favor of human life."

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