POPE'S MESSAGE FOR THE WORLD DAY OF THE SICK

VATICAN CITY, 18 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Made public today was the Holy Father's Message for the nineteenth World Day of the Sick which will be held, as is traditional, on 11 February, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.

  The Pope begins his Message by recalling his pastoral visit to the Italian city of Turin last May where, he writes, "I had the opportunity to pause in reflection and prayer before the Holy Shroud, before that suffering face which invites us to meditate upon the One Who took upon Himself the passion of mankind in all times and places, including our own sufferings, difficulties and sins".

  Having noted that "suffering remains charged with mystery, and is difficult for us to accept and to bear", Benedict XVI mentions the case of the Apostle Thomas, who struggled to believe in the redemptive passion but, "faced with Christ showing His wounds, his reaction was transformed into a moving profession of faith: 'my Lord and my God'".

  It is, the Pope goes on to explain, "through the wounds of Christ that, with the eyes of hope, we can see the evils afflicting humanity. ... God, Truth and Love personified, wished to suffer for us and with us. He became man in order to suffer with man, to suffer truly in flesh and blood. Hence in all human suffering we are joined by One Who shares and carries that suffering with us; all suffering contains 'con-solatio', the consolation of God's compassionate love, and so the star of hope rises".

  Referring then to the next World Youth Day, due to be held in Madrid, Spain, in August 2011, the Pope addresses himself to young people "who are undergoing the experience of sickness. Often the Passion, the Cross of Jesus, scares us because it seems to be the negation of life", he writes. "In fact, the opposite is true! The Cross is God's 'yes' to mankind. ... Only He is capable of freeing the world from evil, and of bringing His Kingdom of justice, peace and love, to which we all aspire".

  The Pope also expresses his affection for all sick people, whom he tells of his "participation in the sufferings and hopes you experience every day, in union with the crucified and risen Christ, that He may bring peace and healing to your hearts. With Him, may the Virgin Mary also watch over you, the Virgin whom we trustingly invoke as 'Health for the Sick' and 'Consoler of the Suffering'".

  At the end of his Message, the Pope calls on the authorities "to dedicate ever greater energy to healthcare structures capable of bring help and support to the suffering, especially the poor and needy". He also greets "the bishops and priests, consecrated persons, seminarians, healthcare workers, volunteers, and everyone who lovingly dedicates themselves to cure and alleviate the wounds of their suffering brothers and sisters, in hospitals, care homes and families. Always be aware that in the face of the sick you see the Face of faces: the Face of Christ".
MESS/                                    VIS 20101220 (520)

HOLY FATHER VISITS THE VATICAN APOSTOLIC LIBRARY

VATICAN CITY, 18 DEC 2010 (VIS) - This morning Benedict XVI made a visit to the Vatican Apostolic Library to mark its recent reopening following three years of restoration. The Pope had last visited the library in June 2007 shortly before the rebuilding work began.

  On his arrival he was welcomed by Cardinal Raffaele Farina S.D.B., archivist and librarian of Holy Roman Church, and by Msgr. Cesare Pasini and Ambrogio Maria Piazzoni, respectively prefect and vice prefect of the library, who accompanied him on his tour, in the company of members of the Library Council. Following a brief prayer to bless the newly restored areas, the Pope was shown the results of the refurbishment then taken through each of the rooms and halls of the library. At the end of his visit, Benedict XVI expressed his thanks to those who work in the library and reiterated the importance the institution has for the Apostolic See and for the Universal Church. He concluded the visit by imparting his apostolic blessing.

BXVI-VISIT/                                VIS 20101220 (180)

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 18 DEC 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as his special envoy to the closing celebrations of the Jubilee Year of the Church in Vietnam, called to mark the 350th anniversary of the creation of the first two apostolic vicariates in the country, and the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Catholic hierarchy. The celebrations are due to take place at the Marian shrine of LaVang from 4 to 6 January 2011.

 - Appointed Archbishop Antonio Mennini, apostolic nuncio to the Russian Federation and to Uzbekistan, as apostolic nuncio to Great Britain.

 - Appointed Bishop Joseph Karikkassery, auxiliary of Verapoly, India, as bishop of Kottapuram (area 3,300, population 3,333,467, Catholics 89,569, priests 137, religious 330), India.

 - Appointed Fr. Santiago Gomez Sierra, dean of the cathedral chapter in Cordoba, Spain, as auxiliary of Seville (area 14,036, population 1,875,462, Catholics 1,865,000, priests 691, permanent deacons 43, religious 2,839), Spain. The bishop-elect was born in Madridejos, Spain in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1982.
NA:NN:NER:NEA/                            VIS 20101220 (190)

ST. JOSEPH, LEGAL FATHER OF JESUS AND "NEW MAN"

VATICAN CITY, 19 DEC 2010 (VIS) - At midday today, fourth Sunday of Advent, the Pope appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

  Today's reading from the Gospel of St. Matthew, he said, "recounts the birth of Jesus from the point of view of St. Joseph. He was engaged to Mary who, 'before they lived together, ... was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit'".

  In the text "St. Joseph is presented as a 'righteous man', faithful to God's laws and ready to do His will. For this reason he is admitted into the mystery of the Incarnation after an angel of the Lord, appearing to him in a dream, tells him: 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins'. Thus Joseph abandons his plan to repudiate Mary secretly, and takes her to him because now his eyes see in her the work of God".

  Despite having suffered some anguish, "Joseph acted 'as the angel of the Lord commanded him', certain he was doing the right thing. By giving the name of 'Jesus' to that Child Who upholds the entire universe, he entered the ranks of the humble and faithful servants, similar to the angels and the prophets, similar to the martyrs and the Apostles. ... St. Joseph announced the prodigies of the Lord, bearing witness to Mary's virginity and to God's gratuitous action, and protecting the earthly life of the Messiah. Thus we venerate Jesus' legal father because in him we see the emergence of the new man, who looks with trust and courage to the future, who does not follow his own plans but entrusts himself entirely to the infinite mercy of the One Who fulfils the prophecies, the One Who opens the time of salvation".

  The Pope concluded his remarks by entrusting "all pastors" to St. Joseph, universal patron of the Church, "encouraging them", he said, "quietly to present Christ's words and actions each day to the faithful and to the whole world. ... Let us trustingly invoke the Virgin Mary, full of grace 'adorned by God', that, during the Christmas which will soon be upon us, our eyes may open and see Jesus, and our hearts may joy at this incredible encounter of love".

ANG/                                    VIS 20101220 (430)

BENEDICT XVI, ROMAN CURIA EXCHANGE CHRISTMAS GREETINGS

VATICAN CITY, 20 DEC 2010 (VIS) - Today in the Sala Regia of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father held his traditional meeting with the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and members of the Roman Curia and of the Governorate of Vatican City State, in order to exchange Christmas greetings.

  Recalling the principal events of the past twelve months, the Pope noted how "with great joy we began the Year for Priests and, thanks to God, were able to conclude it with much gratitude, though it was very different to how we had imagined. Among us as priests and among the laity, also and especially the young, a renewed awareness arose of the great gift of the priesthood of the Catholic Church, which was entrusted to us by the Lord. One again we came to understand how beautiful it is that human beings are authorised to pronounce the name of God and, with complete authority, the word of forgiveness, and thus that they are able to change the world, to change life. How beautiful it is that human beings are authorised to pronounce the words of consecration. ... How beautiful it is to be able to remain, with the strength of Lord, close to mankind in his joys and sorrows".

  "Thus our shock was even greater when, precisely in this year and in a dimension that we could not imagine, we became aware of the abuse of minors committed by priests who distort the Sacrament into its antithesis: under the veil of the sacred they inflicted profound harm on human beings in their infancy, causing damages that lasts a lifetime.

  "In this context", the Pope added, "a vision of St. Hildegard of Bingen came to my mind, who disturbingly describes what we experienced this year".

  "In St. Hildegard's vision the face of the Church was soiled with dust, and this is how we saw it. Her vestments were torn, and the fault was of priests. Just as she saw and expressed her vision, so have we lived this year. We must humbly accept this humiliation as an exhortation to truth and a call to renewal. Only the truth saves. We must ask ourselves what we can do to repair, as much as possible, the injustice committed. We must ask ourselves what was wrong in our announcement, in our entire way of determining Christian existence, that such a thing could happen.

  "We must discover a new resolve to be faithful and good. We must be capable of penance. We must strive to do everything possible, when preparing people for the priesthood, to ensure such a thing can never happen again. This is also the place to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone working to help victims, to restore their trust in the Church and their capacity to believe in her message.

  "In my meetings with victims of this sin, I have also always encountered people who, with great dedication, remain close to those who are suffering or have been damaged. This is also an occasion to thank the many good priests who humbly and faithfully transmit the Lord's goodness and who, amidst so much devastation, are witnesses of the beauty of the priesthood, a beauty which has not been lost".

  The Holy Father went on: "We are aware of the particular gravity of this sin committed by priests and of our consequent responsibility. Yet we cannot remain silent concerning the context of our time in which we see these events taking place. There is a market for child pornography which, in some way, seems to be increasingly considered by society as something normal. The psychological devastation of children in whom human beings are reduced to the level of a market commodity, is a frightening sign of the times".

  In this context, the Holy Father mentioned the problem of drugs, "which with increasing strength extends its tentacles to the entire world. ... All pleasure becomes insufficient and excess under the delusion of intoxication turns into violence that rends entire regions. And all this in the name of a fatal misunderstanding of freedom, in which precisely man's freedom is undermined and in the end completely cancelled.

  "To oppose these forces we must look at their ideological foundations. In the 1970s it was theorised that paedophilia was entirely consistent with man and with children. This, however, was part of a basic perversion of the concept of 'ethos'" in which "nothing is good or bad in itself, everything depends on the circumstances and on the intended goal. ... Morality was replaced with a calculation of consequences, and by this process ceased to exist. The effects of these theories are evident today. Against them, Pope John Paul II, in his 1993 Encyclical 'Veritatis splendor', indicated with prophetic force the great rational tradition of Christian 'ethos' as the essential and permanent foundations for moral action. Today this text must once again be placed at the centre as a way to form consciences".

  Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the Synod of the Churches of the Middle East which began when he consigned the "Instrumentum laboris" during his apostolic trip to Cyprus in June. "Even if full communion is not yet granted to us", said the Pope referring to the Orthodox Church, "we have nevertheless established with joy that the basic form of the ancient Church unites us profoundly with one another: the sacramental office of bishops as the bearer of apostolic tradition, the reading of Scripture according to the hermeneutic of the 'Regula fidei', the understanding of Scripture in its manifold unity centred on Christ, developed under divine inspiration, and finally, our faith in the central place of the Eucharist in the Church's life".

  "We witnessed impressive manifestations of the rich Christian culture of the Christian East. But we also saw the problems. ... The wrongs and the deep wounds of the past were all too evident, but so too was the desire for the peace and communion that had existed before. Everyone knows that violence does not bring progress; indeed, it gave rise to the present situation. Only in a spirit of compromise and mutual understanding can unity be re-established. To prepare the people for this attitude of peace is an essential task of pastoral ministry.

  "During the Synod itself", he added, "our gaze was extended over the whole of the Middle East, where the followers of different religions - as well as a variety of traditions and distinct rites - live together. ... In the turmoil of recent years, the tradition of peaceful coexistence has been shattered ... with the result that we witness with increasing alarm acts of violence in which there is no longer any respect for what the other holds sacred. ... In the present situation, Christians are the most oppressed and tormented minority. For centuries they lived peacefully together with their Jewish and Muslim neighbours. During the Synod we listened to wise words from the Counsellor of the Mufti of the Republic of Lebanon against acts of violence targeting Christians. He said: when Christians are wounded, we ourselves are wounded. Unfortunately, though, this and similar voices of reason, for which we are profoundly grateful, are too weak. Here too we come up against an unholy alliance between greed for profit and ideological blindness.

  "On the basis of the spirit of faith and its rationality", the Pope went on, "the Synod developed a grand concept of dialogue, forgiveness and mutual acceptance, a concept that we now want to proclaim to the world. The human being is one, and humanity is one. Whatever damage is done to another in any one place, ends up by damaging everyone. Thus the words ... of the Synod must be a clarion call, addressed to all people with political or religious responsibility, to put a stop to Christianophobia; to rise up in defence of refugees and all who are suffering, and to revitalise the spirit of reconciliation".

  The Holy Father also dwelt on his apostolic trip to the United Kingdom in September, during which he beatified Cardinal John Henry Newman, focusing his remarks on "two points that are connected with the theme of the responsibility of Christians at this time and with the Church's task to proclaim the Gospel".

  On the subject of his meeting with the world of culture at Westminster Hall in London, the Pope noted how "Alexis de Tocqueville, in his day, observed that democracy in America had become possible and had worked because there existed a fundamental moral consensus which, transcending individual denominations, united everyone. Only if there is such a consensus on the essentials can constitutions and law function. This fundamental consensus derived from the Christian heritage is at risk wherever its place, the place of moral reasoning, is taken by purely instrumental rationality. ... In reality, this makes reason blind to what is essential. To resist this eclipse of reason and to preserve its capacity for seeing the essential, for seeing God and man, for seeing what is good and what is true, is the common interest that must unite all people of good will. The very future of the world is at stake".

  On the subject of Cardinal Newman, the Holy Father highlighted the blessed's conversion to a "faith in the living God" in which he recognised that "God and the soul, man's spiritual identity, constitute what is genuinely real, what counts. ... Where such a conversion takes place, it is not just a person's theory that changes: the fundamental shape of life changes. We are all in constant need of such conversion: then we are on the right path.

  "The driving force that impelled Newman along the path of conversion was conscience", meaning "man's capacity for truth: the capacity to recognise precisely in the decision-making areas of his life - religion and morals - a truth, the truth. At the same time, conscience - man's capacity to recognise truth - thereby imposes on him the obligation to set out along the path towards truth, to seek it and to submit to it wherever he finds it. ... The path of Newman's conversions is a path of conscience - not a path of self-asserting subjectivity but, on the contrary, a path of obedience to the truth that was gradually opening up to him".

  Finally, the Holy Father also made brief mention of his trips to Malta, Portugal and Spain where, he said, "it once again became evident that the faith is not a thing of the past, but an encounter with the God Who lives and acts now".
AC/                                    VIS 20101220 (1770)