Vatican City, 13 February 2014 (VIS) –
This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office
to present the Symposium “Sacrosanctum Concilium. Gratitude and
commitment for a great ecclesial movement”, organised by the
Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
The congress, organised in collaboration with the Pontifical Lateran
University and scheduled to take place from 18 to 20 February, will
commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Council Constitution on the
Sacred Liturgy, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 4 December 1963.
The speakers at the conference were
Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Msgr. Juan Miguel
Ferrer Grenesche, under-secretary of the same Congregation, and
Philippe Chenaux, professor of modern and contemporary history of the
Church at the Pontifical Lateran University and director of the
“Vatican Council II” Centre for Study and Research.
In addition, a text prepared by
Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for
Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was read by Msgr.
Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, and a text by Bishop Enrico dal Covolo,
S.D.B., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, was read by
Professor Philippe Chenaux.
Cardinal Canizares commented that the
Council was “an invitation to the Church to be herself, as God
wished her to be and created her, and to act in a manner coherent
with her vocation and with the mission that God Himself has given
her. … With this beginning, which focuses on the theme of the
Liturgy, the emphasis is unequivocally placed on the primacy of God
in the Church; God first of all. … When God is not in first place,
everything else loses its way”.
The Vatican Council II Fathers
demonstrated this priority first by approving the Constitution
“Sacrosanctum Concilium”, clarifying that “worship comes first;
God comes first. Therefore, beginning with the theme of the Liturgy,
the Council explicitly turned attention to God's primacy and at the
same time indicated it as a sure point of orientation for the path to
be followed in the future”.
With regard to “gratitude” and
“commitment”, the prelate added, “We must, indeed, thank God
for this first fruit of the Council … not only for the Constitution
itself, but also for the renewing dynamism of the Church that it has
given rise to, and continues to provide. At the same time, urgent
commitment on our part to the continuation and deepening of the
liturgical renewal hoped for by the Vatican Council II is now called
for. It is true that much has been done, but there remains much still
to do”.
The Symposium will include a component
dedicated to theological and pastoral reflection, and will offer
important opportunities for celebrations and time for prayer; ample
space will also be dedicated to the beauty of art in the service of
liturgy, represented by concerts and exhibitions. The participants
will meet with the Holy Father on Wednesday 19 February during the
general audience.
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