POOR AND FREE CHURCH IN DIALOGUE WITH THE MODERN WORLD

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2009 (VIS) - At 9.30 a.m. today Benedict XVI arrived at the "Tenente Alfredo Fusco" military airport near the Italian city of Brescia. There he was welcomed by Bishop Luciano Monari of Brescia, by Gianni Letta, under secretary of the council of ministers who represented the Italian government, and by various other political, ecclesiastical and civil authorities.

  Following the welcome ceremony the Pope travelled to the parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption in Botticino Sera where he venerated the mortal remains of St. Arcangelo Tadini (1846-1912), pastor of that parish, who was canonised on 26 April this year.

  Having then arrived in Brescia, the Pope travelled by popemobile through the city's Piazza della Loggia where a plaque commemorates the eight victims of a bomb attack which took place there on 28 May 1974. At 10.15 a.m. the Holy Father visited the city's cathedral where he paused briefly before a monument dedicated to Paul VI, venerated the relics of St. Andrew and St. Benito, and prayed before the Blessed Sacrament.

  At 10.30 a.m., in the nearby square named after Paul VI, which was crowded with faithful, he presided at Mass and pronounced a homily.

  At the beginning of his homily the Pope expressed his joy at being able to celebrate the Eucharist "at the heart of the diocese of Brescia, which saw the birth and early education of Servant of God Giovanni Battista Montini (Pope Paul VI), ... who consecrated his entire life to the Church.

  "The Church", Pope Benedict added, "is a tangible spiritual organism which prolongs the oblation of the Son of God over time and space; an apparently insignificant sacrifice compared to the dimensions of the world and history, but decisive in the eyes of God. ... The Church, which is born ever and anew from the Eucharist, from the self-giving of Jesus, is the continuation of this gift, of this superabundance which finds expression in poverty, of this whole which offers itself in a fragment. It is the Body of Christ that incessantly gives of itself, a Body broken and shared, constantly adhering to the will of its Head".

  Quoting then from Paul VI's "A Thought about Death", Benedict XVI highlighted his predecessor's "vision of a 'poor and free' Church. ... This", he affirmed, "is how the ecclesial community must be in order to communicate with modern mankind. The Church's meeting and dialogue with mankind of our times was something particularly close to Giovanni Battista Montini's heart throughout his life".

  Paul VI "dedicated all his energies to serving a Church that was, as far as possible, conformed to her Lord Jesus Christ so that, encountering the Church, modern men and women may encounter Him, Christ, because it is of Him that they have most need", said Benedict XVI, who went on to ask: "How can we not see that the question of the Church - her importance in the plan of salvation and her relationship with the world - remains absolutely vital even today? And, indeed, that the growth of secularisation and globalisation have rendered this even more urgent in the face of the neglect of God, on the one hand, and of relations with non-Christian religions, on the other?"

  The Holy Father also referred to the Year for Priests, reminding the clergy present of the Encyclical "Sacerdotalis caelibatus" in which Paul VI wrote: "The consecrated celibacy of sacred ministers actually manifests the virginal love of Christ for the Church, and the virginal and supernatural fecundity of this marriage".

  "May the splendour of divine beauty shine out in each of our communities, and may the Church be a luminous sign of hope for humanity in the third millennium", the Pope concluded.

  After Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Pope recalled how Paul VI "placed his own priesthood under the maternal protection of the Mother of Jesus, and this bond accompanied him all his life".

  For this reason, during Vatican Council II, he proclaimed Mary Most Holy "as Mother of the Church, highlighting, with great ecumenical sensibility, that 'devotion to Mary ... is a means essentially ordained for guiding souls to Christ and so uniting them to the Father, in the love of the Holy Spirit'".
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HOLY FATHER VISITS BIRTHPLACE OF PAUL VI

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2009 (VIS) - Early this afternoon the Pope travelled to Concesio, near the Italian city of Brescia, where he visited the house in which Paul VI was born on 26 September 1897 and greeted some relatives of the late Pontiff.

  Subsequently, in the "Vittorio Montini" Auditorium, he inaugurated the new headquarters of the Paul VI Institute, and assigned the International Paul VI Prize, which was awarded to Bernard Meunier, director of a series of books published in Paris entitled "Sources Chretiennes".

  In his address the Holy Father explained that the prize was being awarded for "the commitment shown by this historic series - founded in 1942 by, among others, Henri de Lubac and Jean Danielou - to a renewed discovery of ancient and mediaeval Christian sources".

  Going on then to speak about one particular aspect of Giovanni Battista Montini's personality, his commitment to education, Benedict XVI recalled how "the educator Montini, student and priest, bishop and Pope, was always aware of the need for a qualified Christian presence in the world of culture, art and civil society, a presence rooted in the truth of Christ and, at the same time, attentive to man and his vital needs".

  Pope Paul VI's concern for education "was shown buy his many initiatives dedicated to the new generations, in turbulent and difficult times such as the events of 1968. Courageously he indicated the way that leads to the meeting with Christ, as a liberating educational experience and the only true response to the desires and aspirations of the young, who had fallen victims to an ideology".

  "Paul VI defined himself as an 'elderly friend of the young'. He was able to recognise and share their torment as they were torn between the desire to live, the need for certainty, the longing for love, the sense of being lost, the temptation to scepticism and the experience of disillusionment. He learned to understand their hearts, and recalled that the agnostic indifference of modern thought, critical pessimism and the materialist ideology of social progress are not enough for the spirit, which is open to completely different horizons of truth and life".

  After then expressing the view that Paul VI was "a master of life and courageous witness of hope", the Holy Father explained that his predecessor "was not always understood; on the contrary, on more than a few occasions he was assailed and isolated by the then-dominant cultural movements. Nonetheless, firm even though physically frail, he led the Church without faltering. He never lost faith in the young, renewing in them, and not only in them, the invitation to trust in Christ and to follow Him along the path of the Gospel".

  Benedict XVI concluded by expressing the hope that "the love of this Pope for the young, his constant encouragement to trust in Jesus Christ - an invitation reiterated by John Paul II and which I too renewed at the very beginning of my Pontificate - may be perceived by the new generations".
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LIVING OUR BAPTISM MEANS REMAINING UNITED TO THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 8 NOV 2009 (VIS) - At 6.15 p.m. today, the Pope visited the parish of St. Anthony in Concesio, near the Italian city of Brescia, where Paul VI was baptised.

  Speaking of the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, the Holy Father recalled words used by Paul VI in 1959 when he was still archbishop of Milan: "In the world in which we live there is often 'a cloud marring the pleasure of calmly contemplating the divine sky, ... there is a temptation to believe that the faith is a tie, a chain to be thrown off, something old and outdated which serves no purpose'. And thus man comes to think that 'economic and social life is enough to respond to all the aspirations of the human heart'".

  In this context the Pope mentioned St. Augustine's "Confessions" where the saint writes that "our hearts are restless until they find rest in the Lord. Only if we find the light that illuminates and gives fullness of meaning can human beings be truly happy", said the Holy Father. "That light is faith in Christ, a gift received at Baptism that must be constantly rediscovered in order to pass it on to others".

  Benedict XVI encouraged people not to forget "the immense gift received the day on which we were baptised. At that moment Christ bound us to Himself forever. Yet do we, for our part, remain united to Him through choices coherent with the Gospel? It is not easy being Christian. It takes courage and tenacity not to conform oneself to the mentality of the world, not to allow oneself to be seduced by the temptations ... of hedonism and consumerism; to face, if necessary, misunderstandings and sometimes even persecution. Living our Baptism means remaining firmly united to the Church, even when we see her face darkened by certain shadows and stains".

  It is the Church "that has regenerated us for divine life and accompanies us throughout our journey. Let us love her, let us love her as a true mother. Let us love and serve her with a faithful love which translates into tangible acts within our communities, not surrendering to the temptation to individualism and prejudice, and overcoming all rivalries and divisions. Thus will we be true disciples of Christ".

  At the end of his visit, the Pope travelled to the military airport of Ghedi, whence he departed by plane for Rome where he arrived at 8.15 p.m.
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EXPLOITING THE POSITIVE ASPECTS OF SPORT

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Pope to Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, and to participants in a study seminar on the theme: "Sport, education and faith: a new season for Catholic sport associations", being held in Rome on 6 and 7 November.

  "Through sporting activities", writes the Holy Father, "the ecclesial community contributes to the formation of young people, providing an environment appropriate for their human and spiritual growth. Indeed, sporting initiatives - when aimed at the integral development of the individual and administered by qualified and competent personnel - represent a fruitful opportunity for priests, religious and lay people to become real educators and life-teachers for the young.

  "Thus it is necessary", the Pope adds, "that in our own time - when there is a pressing need to educate the new generations - the Church should continue to support sport for the young, making full use of sporting activity in its positive aspects such as, for example, the capacity to simulate competitiveness, courage and tenacity in pursuing goals, while avoiding, however, any tendency that disfigures its nature with practices that can even damage the body, as in the case of doping".

  Benedict XVI highlights how, "through co-ordinated educational activities, mangers, trainers and Catholic workers must present themselves as experienced guides for adolescents, helping them to develop their sporting potential without overlooking those human qualities and Christian virtues that bring the individual to full maturity".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences five prelates from the National Conference of Bishops of Brazil, on their "ad limina" visit:

    - Bishop Nelson Westrupp S.C.I. of Santo Andre.

    - Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis of Aparecida.

    - Bishop Edmilson Amador Caetano O.Cist of Barretos.

    - Bishop Moacir Silva of Sao Jose dos Campos.

    - Bishop Salvatore Paruzzo of Ourinhos.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 7 NOV 2009 (VIS) - Holy Father appointed:

 - Fr. Hubertus Leteng of the clergy of the diocese of Ruteng, Indonesia, rector of the major seminary of Ritapiret, Maumere, as bishop of Ruteng (area 7,136, population 711,903, Catholics 647,696, priests 218, religious 273). The bishop-elect was born in Taga, Indonesia in 1959 and ordained a priest in 1988.

 - As consultors of the Pontifical Council for Culture: Fr. Pio Estepa S.V.D., secretary for missions of the Society of the Divine Word; Fr. Jorge Juan Fernandez Sangrador, director of the secretariat for culture of the archdiocese of Madrid, Spain, and Marco Impagliazzo, professor of contemporary history at the University for Foreigners of Perugia, Italy and president of the Sant'Egido Community.
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MIGRANTS ARE A VALUABLE RESOURCE

VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2009 (VIS) - At midday today the Pope received participants in the Sixth World Congress for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Refugees. The event - which is being held in the Vatican from 9 to 12 November - has as its theme: "A pastoral response to the phenomenon of migration in the era of globalisation".

  In our own day the phenomenon of migration "has assumed immense importance", said the Holy Father, also noting how "the economic divide between poor countries and industrialised countries is growing ever wider".

  Many people, he went on, "are forced to abandon their own lands and communities of origin; willing to accept work in conditions that in no way accord with human dignity".

  "Many migrants abandon their countries to flee from humanly unacceptable living conditions, yet without finding elsewhere the welcome they were hoping for. Faced with situations of such complexity, how can we not stop and reflect on the consequences of a society founded exclusively on material growth?"

  "True development", the Pope continued, "always has the characteristic of solidarity. ... It is necessary to find adequate responses to the great social changes taking place, clearly bearing in mind that there can be no effective development if we do not support encounter among peoples, dialogue between cultures and respect for legitimate differences.

 "From this point of view", he added, "why not consider the current worldwide phenomenon of migration as a situation favourable to understanding between peoples, and to the building of peace and a form of development that involves all nations?"

  "Migrations invite us to focus on the unity of the human family, the value of acceptance, hospitality and love for others". This, the Pope concluded, "is why the Church invites the faithful to open their hearts to migrants and their families, in the knowledge that they are not just a 'problem', but also a 'resource' that must be appropriately used for the progress of human beings and their authentic development".
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ANGLICANORUM COETIBUS AND COMPLEMENTARY NORMS

VATICAN CITY, 9 NOV 2009 (VIS) - The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith today published the Apostolic Constitution "Anglicanorum coetibus", which provides for personal ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church, and some Complementary Norms for the same Apostolic Constitution.

  Both documents are dated 4 November, feast of St. Charles Borromeo, and are signed, the first by the Pope, and the second by Cardinal William Joseph Levada and Archbishop Luis F. Ladaria S.J., respectively prefect and secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

  An English-language communique released by the congregation recalls how on 20 October, Cardina Levada "announced a new provision responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Catholic Church.

  "The Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus' which is published today introduces a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing personal ordinariates, which will allow the above mentioned groups to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. At the same time, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is publishing a set of Complementary Norms which will guide the implementation of this provision.

  "This Apostolic Constitution opens a new avenue for the promotion of Christian unity while, at the same time, granting legitimate diversity in the expression of our common faith. It represents not an initiative on the part of the Holy See, but a generous response from the Holy Father to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups. The provision of this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church.

  "The possibility envisioned by the Apostolic Constitution for some married clergy within the personal ordinariates does not signify any change in the Church's discipline of clerical celibacy. According to the Vatican Council II, priestly celibacy is a sign and a stimulus for pastoral charity and radiantly proclaims the reign of God".

  The Apostolic Constitution contains thirteen sections which concern, among other things: the formation of the new ordinariates which possess, according to paragraph 3 of section 1, "public juridic personality by the law itself (ipso iure)" and are "juridically comparable to a diocese"; the power of the ordinary, "to be exercised jointly with that of the local diocesan bishop in those cases provided for in the Complementary Norms"; candidates for Holy Orders; erection, with the approval of the Holy See, of new Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life; the "ad limina" visit of the ordinary, etc.

  The Complementary Norms concern the jurisdiction of the Holy See; relations with episcopal conferences and diocesan bishops; the ordinary; the faithful of the ordinariate; the clergy; former Anglican bishops; the governing council; the pastoral council, and personal parishes.
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