CARDINALS DISCUSS PROBLEMS FACED BY DICASTERIES OF CURIA

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 2005 (VIS) - Today, at the end of the eleventh General Congregation of Cardinals in the period of the vacant see, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following statement to journalists:

  "The 11th General Congregation of Cardinals was held this morning in the New Synod Hall.

  "After reciting the prayer to the Holy Spirit, the cardinals dedicated the entire morning to an exchange of ideas on the problems of the Church and of the world.

  "Also today, several cardinals who headed congregations and pontifical councils of the Roman Curia laid out the most important problems faced by their dicasteries.

  "There were 138 cardinals in today's congregation.

 "With the Regina Coeli prayer, the General Congregation concluded."
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WORLD MISSION DAY: "BREAD BROKEN FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD"

VATICAN CITY, APR 15, 2005 (VIS) - Made public today was a message written by John Paul II for World Mission Day, which is due to be celebrated on October 23 and which has as its theme: "Mission: Bread broken for the life of the world." The Message is dated February 22, 2005, Feast of the Chair of St Peter, and has been published in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese.

  Extracts from the Message are given below:

  "World Mission Sunday, in this year dedicated to the Eucharist, helps us to better understand the 'eucharistic' sense of our life as we relive the emotion of the Upper Room when, on the eve of His passion, Jesus offered Himself to the world."

  "In my recent Apostolic Letter 'Mane nobiscum Domine' I invited you to contemplate Jesus in the 'breaking of the bread' offered for the whole of humanity. Following His example we too are called to offer our life for our brothers and sisters, especially those most in need. ... In this way, while the Eucharist helps us to understand more fully the significance of mission, it leads every individual believer, the missionary in particular, to be 'bread, broken for the life of the world.'

  "In our day human society appears to be shrouded in dark shadows while it is shaken by tragic events and shattered by catastrophic natural disasters. ... Present in the Eucharist, the same Redeemer ... continues through the centuries to show compassion for humanity poor and suffering.

  "And it is in His name that pastoral workers and missionaries travel unexplored paths to carry the 'bread' of salvation to all. ... Jesus alone can satisfy humanity's hunger for love and thirst for justice; He alone makes it possible for every human person to share in eternal life: 'I am the living bread which has come down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live for ever' (Jn 6,51)."

  "We who nourish ourselves with the Body and Blood of the crucified and risen Lord, cannot keep this 'gift' to ourselves; on the contrary we must share it. Passionate love for Christ leads to courageous proclamation of Christ; proclamation which, with martyrdom, becomes a supreme offering of love for God and for mankind. The Eucharist leads us to be generous evangelizers, actively committed to building a more just and fraternal world.

  "I sincerely hope the Year of the Eucharist will inspire every Christian community to respond with 'fraternal solicitude to some of the many forms of poverty present in our world" (Mane nobiscum Domine 28), because 'by our mutual love and, in particular, by our concern for those in need we will be recognized as true followers of Christ (cf. Jn 13:35; Mt 25:31-46). This will be the criterion by which the authenticity of our Eucharistic celebrations is judged.' (Mane nobiscum Domine 28)."

  In Christ's name "missionaries all over the world proclaim and witness to the Gospel. ... How many missionary martyrs in our day! May their example draw numerous young men and women to tread the path of heroic fidelity to Christ! The Church has need of men and women willing to consecrate themselves wholly to the great cause of the Gospel.

  "World Mission Sunday is an opportune occasion to increase our awareness of the urgent necessity to participate in the evangelizing mission undertaken by the local communities and many Church organizations, in particular the Pontifical Mission Societies and the Missionary Institutes. This mission requires the support not only of prayer and sacrifice, but also of concrete material offerings. I take this opportunity to recall once again the valuable service rendered by the Pontifical Mission Societies and I ask you all to support them generously with spiritual and material cooperation."
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CARDINALS HEAR MEDITATION ON THE STATE OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 2005 (VIS) - Today, at the end of the tenth General Congregation of Cardinals in the period of the vacant see, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following statement to journalists:

  "The tenth General Congregation began this morning at 9 in the New Synod Hall. There were 142 cardinals present.

  "After the invocation to the Holy Spirit, the cardinals listened to the first of the meditations concerning the problems of the Church and the enlightened choice of the new Pontiff (Apostolic Constitution, 'Universi Dominici gregis', no. 13d) given by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., preacher of the Papal Household.

  "At the end of the meditation the cardinals dedicated a period of time to silence and prayer.

  "As of today the following are part of the Particular Congregation: Cardinals Giovanni Battista Re for the Order of Bishops, Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga for the Order of Priests and Crescenzio Sepe for the Order of Deacons.

  "There was a drawing of lots for the assignments of the rooms the cardinals will occupy in the Domus Sanctae Marthae.

  "Following several clarifications on the interpretation of the Apostolic Constitution Universi Dominici gregis, the cardinals resumed an exchange of ideas on the situation of the Church and the world.

  "With the Regina Coeli prayer, today's General Congregation concluded."
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JOHN PAUL II, A MODEL OF SIMPLICITY AND DETACHMENT

VATICAN CITY, APR 14, 2005 (VIS) - Last evening in St Peter's Basilica, Archbishop Leonardo Sandri, substitute of the Secretariat of State, presided at the sixth "novendiali" (nine days of mourning) Mass for the repose of the soul of John Paul II.

  During the Eucharistic celebration, to which members of the Roman Curia were especially invited, Archbishop Sandri affirmed: "To us, above all, falls the task of bringing to fruition the legacy that this extraordinary Pope left to the Church and to the entire world in the course of his life and at the moment of his death."

  "In the Apostolic Letter 'Novo millennio ineunte,' which the Pope signed at the end of the Great Jubilee Year 2000, he traced the guidelines for the beginning of the third Christian millennium, indicating Vatican Council II as the 'sure compass' to guide the Church's journey in the new millenium. ... By calling the Year of the Rosary, he again wished to highlight the importance of devotion to the Virgin Mary. With the special Year of the Eucharist that we are now living, ... the Supreme Pontiff reiterated the centrality of the Eucharistic mystery in the Church."

  The substitute of the Secretariat of State emphasized the late pontiff's great love "for Christ, truly present in the Sacrament of the altar. This love becomes almost an invocation in the title of the Apostolic Letter 'Mane nobiscum Domine,' his last document for the Year of the Eucharist."

  "Those who were able to follow the Pope's daily activity most closely, witnessed his profound love for the Eucharist. Before taking important decisions, he would spend a long time before the Most Holy Sacrament, taking the dossiers to be studied with him into his private chapel, and setting aside a time for reflection and prayer before the Tabernacle. Each choice would thus always and exclusively arise from the search for God's will and for the true good of the Church."

  Archbishop Sandri referred to "a new element that emerged of the personality and the spirituality of the Pope, especially in the months marked by a progressive worsening of his health: the simplicity and poverty of his life. Those who had the opportunity to meet him on various occasions in the last weeks could not avoid feeling a sense of admiration for the modesty of the furnishings that surrounded him, as well as for his humility and simplicity, his sense of detachment and the complete willingness with which he abandoned himself in God's hands."

   "Here is the great example," the archbishop concluded, "and the precious teaching that the late pontiff leaves to each of us called to work in the Roman Curia, the heart of Catholicism. It is an example of simplicity and detachment, of faithful and disinterested service in the Lord's vineyard, of constant willingness and docile compliance with the will of God."
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OFFICIAL OATH OF CONCLAVE ASSISTANTS

VATICAN CITY, APR 13, 2005 (VIS) - Today, the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff made it known that in the Hall of Blessings at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 15 officials and assistants of the conclave will be called to take their oath.

  All those involved in the forthcoming conclave - both clergy and laity, as approved by the cardinal camerlengo and by the three cardinal assistants, and in keeping with the norms of para. 48 of the Apostolic Constitution 'Universi Domini gregis' -  will have to swear and sign the prescribed oath. In accordance with para. 46 of Universi Dominici gregis, the following people must be in the Sala Regia at 4.30 p.m. on that day:

 - The Secretary of the College of Cardinals.

 - The master of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff.

 - The masters of pontifical ceremonies.

 - The religious who supervise the pontifical sacristy.

 - The ecclesiastic chosen by the cardinal dean to help him in his duties.

 - The religious charged with hearing confessions in the various languages.

 - Doctors and nurses.
 
 - The personnel for preparing meals and cleaning.

 - Technical service personnel (Universi Dominici gregis, paras. 5 and 51).

 - Personnel responsible for transporting the cardinal electors from the 'Domus Sanctae Marthae' to the Apostolic Palace.

 - Elevator attendants at the Apostolic Palace.

 - Priests admitted as assistants to some of the Cardinals.

  After having been instructed on the meaning of the oath, they will have to pronounce and personally sign the prescribed formula before Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, camerlengo of Holy Roman Church, and in the presence of two masters of pontifical ceremonies (Universi Dominici gregis, paras. 48).
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