CONGRESS MARKS ANNIVERSARY OF CODE OF EASTERN CANON LAW

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, a press conference was held to present a forthcoming congress marking the twentieth anniversary of the publication of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. The congress is due to take place on 8 and 9 October.

  Participating in today's press conference were Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts; Archbishop Cyril Vasil S.J., secretary of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta Ochoa de Chinchetru, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, and Fr. Michael J. Kuchera, dean of the Faculty of Eastern Canon Law at the Pontifical Oriental Institute.

  In his remarks Archbishop Coccopalmerio explained how the congress is being organised by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts in collaboration with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Oriental Institute. The meeting, he said, will be divided into three sections each of which will deal with one of three major themes: the historical evolution of Eastern Canon Law, the legislative activity of the Eastern Churches, and the ecumenical aspects of Eastern Canon Law.

  The congress will be attended more than four hundred participants, including experts, canon lawyers, professors and students. Representatives from the Orthodox world will also be present, as will members of other Churches and of non-Christian confessions.

  The congress will come to an end on Saturday 9 October when the participants are due to be received in audience by the Holy Father.
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PREPARATORY MEETING FOR APOSTOLIC VISITATION TO IRELAND

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - At midday today the Holy See Press Office published the following English-language communique:

  "On 5 October the prefect and the secretary of the Congregation for Bishops and representatives from the Holy See held a preparatory meeting in Rome with the apostolic visitators named by the Holy Father for the Apostolic Visitation to the four metropolitan archdioceses of Ireland: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, archbishop emeritus of Westminster, England; Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley O.F.M. Cap., archbishop of Boston, U.S.A.; Archbishop Thomas C. Collins of Toronto, Canada, and Archbishop Terrence T. Prendergast S.J. of Ottawa, Canada.

  "Mindful of the tragic abuse of children that has taken place in Ireland, the participants discussed the particular aspects of this important Visitation. Pastoral in nature, the Visitation 'is intended to assist the local Church on her path of renewal' and is a sign of the Holy Father's desire, as the Successor of Peter, to offer his pastoral solicitude to the Church in Ireland. The visitators will give particular attention to victims of abuse and their families, but will also meet with and listen to a variety of people, including ecclesiastical authorities, lay faithful and those involved with the crucial work of safeguarding of children.

  "On 6 October, as had been previously planned, Cardinal Sean B. Brady, archbishop of Armagh, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Archbishop Dermot Clifford of Cashel and Emly, and Archbishop Michael Neary of Tuam, celebrated the Mass of the Holy Spirit together with the visitators and superiors from the Congregation for Bishops and the Secretariat of State. The meeting that followed, marked by fraternal warmth and mutual collaboration, summarised the discussions from the previous day and focused on the organisation of the Apostolic Visitation and the archdioceses involved.

  "All participants are hopeful that this significant endeavour will be an instrument of purification and healing for the Church in Ireland and help to restore the trust and hope of the faithful there".
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

 - Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum".

 - Archbishop Ubaldo Ramon Santana Sequera F.M.I. of Maracaibo, Venezuela, president of the Episcopal Conference of Venezuela, accompanied by Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo of Merida, first vice president; Archbishop Roberto Luckert Leon of Coro, second vice president; Bishop Jesus Gonzalez de Zarate, auxiliary of Caracas and secretary general of the episcopal conference; and by Cardinal Jorge Liberato Urosa Savino, archbishop of Caracas.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 7 OCT 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, as prefect of the same congregation. He succeeds Cardinal Claudio Hummes O.F.M., whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Archbishop Robert Sarah, secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum". He succeeds Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the archdiocese of Manizales, Colombia, presented by Archbishop Fabio Betancur Tirado, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law. He is succeeded by Coadjutor Archbishop Gonzalo Restrepo Restrepo.
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ST. GERTRUDE: A UNIQUE INFLUENCE ON CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALITY

VATICAN CITY, 6 OCT 2010 (VIS) - In his general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, the Pope dedicated his catechesis to St. Gertrude, "one of the most famous mystics and the only woman in Germany to receive the title of 'Great'", which was given to her "for her great cultural and evangelical importance. With her life and thought she made a uniquely incisive contribution to Christian spirituality", he said.

  Born in the year 1256, at the age of five "she entered the convent, as often happened at that time, for education and study. There she spent her whole life".

  Gertrude "was an outstanding student. ... She went on to dedicate herself totally to God in monastic life and for twenty years nothing exceptional happened: her principal activities were study and prayer". Then, at the age of twenty-five, "she had a vision of a young man who took her by the hand and guided her to loosen the knot of thorns oppressing her soul. In that hand, Gertrude recognised ... the One Who saved us with His blood on the cross: Jesus.

  "From that moment her life of intimate communion with the Lord became more intense", the Holy Father added. She abandoned "the profane humanistic sciences for theological studies, and in her monastic observance she moved from a life she herself defined as 'negligent' to one of intense mystical prayer, showing exceptional missionary ardour".

  Gertrude, Pope Benedict explained, "understood that she had been distant from God, ... that she had dedicated herself too avidly to liberal studies, to human knowledge, disregarding the spiritual sciences and depriving herself of the taste of true wisdom. Now she was being led to the mountain of contemplation where she abandoned the old self to clothe herself in the new".

  This German saint "dedicated herself to writing, to revealing the truth of faith with clarity, simplicity, grace and conviction, serving the Church with love and faithfulness, and becoming much appreciated by theologians and men of piety". Among her writings - of which few remain "because of the events that led to the destruction of the convent of Helfta" - are the "'Herald of Divine Love' or 'The Revelations', as well as the 'Spiritual Exercises', a rare jewel of mystic spiritual literature", said the Holy Father.

  "Gertrude added other prayers and penance to those imposed by the monastic rule, with such devotion and faithful abandonment to God that she aroused in those who met here the conviction of being in the presence of the Lord. And in fact God Himself brought her to understand that He had called her to be an instrument of His grace. Yet Gertrude felt unworthy of this immense divine treasure, and confessed that she had not protected and cherished it". She died in 1301 or 1302.

  In closing, Benedict XVI highlighted how the example of St. Gertrude "shows us that the focal point of a happy and authentic life is friendship with Jesus the Lord. This is learned through love for Sacred Scripture and the liturgy, through profound faith and through love for Mary, so as to gain increasing knowledge of God and, therefore, to know true happiness which is the goal of our existence".

  Having concluded his catechesis, the Holy Father reminded the various pilgrim groups present that October is the month dedicated to the Holy Rosary, and that tomorrow marks the feast day of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary.

  "The Rosary", he said turning to address Polish pilgrims, "is a special prayer of the Church and a spiritual weapon for each one of you. May meditation on the lives of Jesus and Mary be a light for all of us on our evangelical journey of spiritual renewal and conversion of heart".
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