POPE RECALLS TIME AS CONCILIAR EXPERT IN NEMI

Vatican City, 10 July 2012 (VIS) - "A wonderful memory, perhaps my fondest memory of the entire council." With these words yesterday, the Holy Father recalled his time at the center of the Divine Word Missionaries in Nemi 47 years ago when he was one of the young expert theologians charged with preparing the decree on the Church's missionary activity for Vatican Council II.

Benedict XVI thanked the Society of the Divine Word for having given him the possibility to return to the "Ad Gentes" Center after more than four decades and to recall that, at the time of the Council, he was living "in the center of Rome, at the Santa Maria del Anima seminary, with all the noise [of the city], which is also nice. But being here in the green countryside, having this glimpse of nature and also this fresh air, was beautiful in itself. Then there was the companionship of so many great theologians, with the important and wonderful task of preparing the decree on missions".

Benedict XVI's meeting with the 150 participants of the Society of the Divine Word's general chapter as well as members of the community's mother house in Rome was very warm. The Holy Father recalled that the order's superior general at the time was Fr. Johannes Schutte. "He had suffered greatly in China where he was convicted and expelled from the country. He was full of missionary zeal, of the need to bring a new impetus to the missionary spirit and I was alongside him. I was a very young and not very important theologian;I didn't know why they had invited me but, for me, it was a great gift".

"Fulton Sheen was also there, fascinating us with his afternoon speeches, and Father Congar, and the great missionaries of Leuven. It was a spiritual enrichment for me, a great gift. The decree was not very controversial. There was this controversy, which I have never really understood, between the schools of Leuven and Munster: was the main scope of the mission the 'implantatio Ecclesiae' or the 'Evangelii' announcement? But everything converged in the one spirit of the need to bring the light of the Word of God, the light of God's love, to the world and to give new joy to this proclamation".

"Thus in those days was born a good and beautiful decree that was accepted almost unanimously by all the Council Fathers. It was complemented very well for me by 'Lumen Gentium' because in it we find a Trinitarian ecclesiology that begins, above all, from the classical idea of the 'bonum diffusivum sui', the good that carries with it the need to communicate, to give itself, a good that cannot be locked within itself. The good, this same good, is essentially 'communicatio'. This is already apparent in the Trinitarian mystery, as God is in Himself, and is spread throughout salvation history and in our need to give others the good that we have received".

"Remembering all this I have often thought of those days in Nemi, which were an essential part of the experience of the Council for me. I am pleased to see your society flourishing - your father general has spoken of six thousand members in many countries and nations. Clearly, missionary zeal is still alive and it lives only if there is the Gospel's joy, if we experience the good that comes from God and that wants to and must communicate itself. Thank you for your missionary zeal".

In closing, the Holy Father wished the Verbites all the blessings of the Lord and "much inspiration" during their chapter general. "May the same inspiring power of the Holy Spirit that accompanied us almost visibly in those days be again present among you and help you to find the path for your society as well as for the Gospel mission 'ad gentes' for the following years. Thank you all and may the Lord bless you. Pray for me as I pray for you".

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 10 July 2012 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father appointed Bishop Pedro Mario Ossandon Buljevic as auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of Santiago de Chile (area 9,132, population 5,905,000, Catholics 4,098,000, priests 801, permanent deacons 332, religious 2978), Chile. The bishop, who is titular of La Imperial, was formerly auxiliary bishop of the diocese of Concepcion, Chile.

THE VERBITES "AD GENTES" CENTRE WELCOMES THE POPE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - Benedict XVI this morning made a private visit to the "Ad Gentes Centre" of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, located in the village of Nemi. It was in that building, then called the International Centre of the Society of the Divine Word, that the Vatican Council II Commission on Missions met from 29 March to 3 April 1965. Among the participants was a young theologian and expert of the conciliar assembly, Joseph Ratzinger.

The Holy Father left Castelgandolfo by car at 11.30 a.m. and was welcomed on his arrival at Nemi by Fr. Heinz Kuluke, superior general elect; Fr. Antonio Pernia superior general, and Fr. Giancarlo Girardi, procurator general. The Holy Father then moved on to the chapel to meet with the 150 participants in the general chapter of the order and the community of the Mother House in Rome. After adoring the Blessed Sacrament, and listening to a welcome address from Fr. Pernia, the Pope made some brief remarks.

Having completed his visit, Benedict XVI returned to the Apostolic Palace.

MIRACLES ARE NOT A SHOW OF POWER BUT SIGNS OF GOD'S LOVE

Vatican City, 8 July 2012 (VIS) - At midday today, his first Sunday at Castelgandolfo, the Pope emerged onto the balcony overlooking the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered below. He remarked on today's reading from St. Mark's Gospel concerning the refusal of the people of Nazareth to recognise the divinity of Jesus, and the scandal provoked by the fact that "the carpenter, the son of Mary" who had lived among them, should preach like a prophet.

In this context, the Holy Father mentioned the phrase "Nemo propheta in patria", meaning no one is a prophet in his own land. This, he said, "is understandable because their human familiarity made it hard for them to go further and open themselves to the divine dimension. It was difficult for them to believe that this son of a carpenter was the Son of God", while Jesus Himself drew on the example of the prophets of Israel who were likewise disdained. Because of this spiritual closure in Nazareth, "Jesus 'could do no deeds of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them'. Indeed, the miracles of Christ were not a show of power, but signs of God's love, which is realised wherever it finds reciprocity in the faith of man".

"The astonishment and scandal of His fellow citizens was met with amazement on the part of Jesus. In a certain sense, He too was scandalised. Although He knew that no prophet is accepted in his own land, yet His own people's closure of heart was something obscure and impenetrable to Him. How was it possible that they did not recognise the light of Truth? Why did they not open to the goodness of God Who chose to share our humanity?. The man Jesus of Nazareth is the transparency of God, God dwells in Him fully and, while we always seek other signs, other prodigies, we do not realise that the true sign is Him, God made flesh. He is the greatest miracle of the universe: all the love of God contained in a human heart and a human face".

After praying the Angelus the Pope greeted French-speaking pilgrims saying: "During the summer do not take a vacation from God; pray and go to Sunday Mass".

He then addressed some words to Polish faithful, particularly participants in a pilgrimage organised by the Family of Radio Maria to the shrine of Jasna Gora where they are praying "for the homeland, families and freedom of expression". He also greeted members of the "Work of the New Millennium" Association who are meeting in Lublin with followers of other religions and who this evening will gather to pray for peace in the former concentration camp of Majdanek. "I participate spiritually in these initiatives", the Pope said, "and implore goodness and peace for the world, for Poland and for each one of you".

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of Ischia, Italy, presented by Bishop Filippo Strofaldi, in accordance with canon 401 para. 2 of the Code of Canon Law.

- Appointed Msgr. Sebastian Francis, vicar general of the diocese of Melaka-Johor, Malaysia, as bishop of Penang (area 46,855, population 6,500,000, Catholics 66,000, priests 46, religious 97), Malaysia. The bishop-elect was born in Johor Bahru, Malaysia in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1977. He studied in Rome and has been active in pastoral care and in education. He succeeds Bishop Antony Selvanayagam, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, as pontifical legate to the consecration of the cathedral of the diocese of Karaganda, Kazakhstan, due to take place on 9 September.