DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

Vatican City, Vatican City,  (VIS) - Today, during a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:

MIRACLES

- Blessed Antonio Primaldo e Compagni, killed in 1480 in Otranto, Italy.

- Blessed Laura Montoya, Colombian foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and of St. Catherine of Siena (1874-1949).

- Blessed Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, Mexican co-foundress of the Handmaids of St. Margaret Mary and of the Poor (1878-1963).

- Venerable Servant of God Antonio Franco, Italian bishop of Santa Lucia del Mela (1585-1626).

- Venerable Servant of God Jose Gabriele del Rosario Brochero,  Argentinian priest (1840-1914).

- Venerable Servant of God Cristobal of St. Catherine (ne: Cristobal Fernando Valladolid), Spanish priest and founder of the Congregation and the Hospital of Jesus of Nazareth in Cordoba (1638-1690).

- Venerable Servant of God Sofia Czeska-Maciejowska, Polish foundress of the Congregation of the Virgins of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1584-1650).

- Venerable Servant of God Margherita Lucia Szewczyk, Polish foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God - Seraphic Sisters (1584-1650).

MARTYRDOM

- Servant of God Miroslav Bulesic, Croatian priest, killed in hatred of the faith in 1947.

- Servant of God José Javier Gorosterratzu, Spanish, and five companions of the Congregation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1938.

- Servants of God Fr. Riccardo Gil Barcelon and Antonio Arrue Peiro, Postulant, of the Congregation of the Small Work of Divine Providence, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Manuel de la Sagrada Familia, (ne Manuel Sanz Dominguez), Spanish professed monk and Reformer of the Order of San Girolamo, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Maria di Monserrat (nee Giuseppa Pilar Garcia y Solanas) and eight companions, Spanish professed nun, along with Lucrezia Garcia y Solanas, laywoman, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Melchora de la Adoración Cortés Bueno, Spanish, and fourteen companions of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.

HEROIC VIRTUES

- Servant of God Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Montini, Italian, Supreme Pontiff (1897-1978).

- Servant of God Francesco Saverio Petagna, bishop of Castellamare di Stabia, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1812-1878).

- Servant of God Juan José Santiago Bonal Cortada, Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne (1769-1829).

- Servant of God Fr. Louis-Marie Baudouin, French priest, (1765-1835).

- Servant of God Marcelina de San José (nee Luisa Aveledo), foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver, Venezualan (1874-1959).

- Servant of God Claudia Russo, Italian foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1889-1964).

- Servant of God Maria Francisca de las Llagas (nee Rosa Elena Cornejo), Ecuadorean  foundress of the Congregation of Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate (1874 -1964).

- Servant of God Clara Ludmilla Szczesna, Polish cofoundress of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1863-1916).

- Servant of God Consuelo (nee Joaquina Maria Mercedes Barceló y Pagés), Spanish cofoundress of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (1857-1940).

AUDIENCES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience  Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

MARY'S FAITH IN THE LIGHT OF THE MYSTERY OF THE ANNUNCIATION

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The faith of Mary in the light of the mystery of the  Annunciation was the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during the last general audience of 2012, celebrated in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

In the annunciation the angel greets Mary with the words "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you". "This greeting is an invitation to rejoice, and announces the end of the sadness of the world in relation to the limits of life, suffering ... the darkness of the evil that seems to obscure the light of divine goodness. It is a greeting that marks the beginning of the Gospel, the Good News", explained the Pope.

The reason for the invitation to rejoice offered to the Virgin is in the second part of the phrase: "The Lord is with you". In Mary "the anticipation of the definitive coming of God is made tangible; the living God dwells within her". The expression "full of grace" further clarifies the source of Mary's joy, which "arises from her communion with God, ... from being the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. ... Mary is the being who has, in a singular way, opened the door to the Creator, who has placed herself in His hands, without limits" and lives with "care to recognise the signs of God in the journey of His people; she enters into a story of faith and hope in God's promises, which constitute the very fabric of her existence. ... Like Abraham, Mary entrusts herself entirely to the word announced by God's messenger, and becomes the model and mother of all believers".

Benedict XVI underlined another important aspect: "the openness of the soul to God and to His action in faith also includes an element of obscurity. The human being's relationship with God does not eliminate the distance between the Creator and His creature. ... But he who, like Mary, opens himself completely to God, reaches acceptance of divine will, even though it is mysterious and often does not correspond to our own wishes. ... It is thus for Mary - her faith experiences the joy of the Annunciation, but passes also through the darkness of the crucifixion of the Son, before finally arriving at the light of the Resurrection".

"This is not different to the journey of faith each of us takes: we encounter moments of light but also periods in which God seems to be absent, his silence weighs heavily in our hearts and his will does not correspond to our own", commented the Holy Father. "The more we open ourselves to God ... like Abraham and like Maria, the more He renders us able, through His presence, to live every moment in life in the peace and certainty of His loyalty and His love. However, this means leaving behind ourselves and our own plans, so that the Word of God might be the guiding light for our thoughts and actions".

After losing Jesus in the Temple, Mary "must renew that profound faith with which she answered 'yes' to the Annunciation. ... And Mary's 'yes' to the will of God, to the obedience of faith, is repeated throughout her life up to its most difficult moment, that of the Cross".

"There is a fundamental attitude that Mary adopts in relation to the events of her life", explained the Pope. "We see that she 'treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart'. We might say that she ... arranged every single element, every word, every event as part of a greater whole and, comparing and conserving them, recognised that everything originates from God's will. Mary does not stop at an initial superficial comprehension of what is happening in her life, but rather knows how to observe in depth, allowing herself to be questioned by events, elaborating upon them, discriminating among them, and thus acquiring the comprehension that only faith may guarantee. It is the profound humility of Mary's obedient faith that welcomes also what she is not able to comprehend in the action of God, allowing God to open her mind and heart."

"The solemnity of the Birth of the Lord, which we will soon celebrate, invites us to experience the same humility and obedience of faith. The glory of God is not made manifest in the triumph or power of a king, it does not shine from a resplendent palace, but rather finds its dwelling in the womb of a virgin, and reveals itself in the poverty of a child. The omnipotence of God, also in our life, acts with the often silent strength of truth and love. Faith tells us, therefore, that in the end the defenceless power of the Child triumphs over the noise of worldly powers".

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Peter Loy Chong of the clergy of Suva as archbishop of Suva (area 18,333, population 1,297,683, Catholics 101,050, priests 81, religious 162), Fiji. The archbishop-elect was born in Natovi, Fiji in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1992. He has fulfilled  pastoral roles in the parishes of Lautoka, Vatukoula and Soleva, and received his doctorate in theology from the Jesuit School of Theology of the Santa Clara University in California, United States of America. He succeeds Archbishop Petero Mataca, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Chaldean Church presented by His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, and convoked the Synod of Bishops of the same Church in Rome on 28 January 2013 to elect a successor. The Synod will be presided by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Jacques Ishaq as administrator of the Chaldean Church pending the election of the patriarch.

RELIGION AND PUBLIC SPACE

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Department of Science of Education at the "Roma 3" University has organised an international seminar, concluding today, on the theme "Religion and public space".

The conference examines the following issues: the redefinition of public space in relation to the new presence of the religious; the debate surrounding the acceptance or refusal of religious symbols in public places; the ways in which the various religious presences engage with politics, culture and with the presence of symbols in public places; the concept of current religious pluralism in two nations in which Catholicism has, until recent times, occupied a position of 'monopoly' or near-monopoly and/or within protected 'religious markets'; the relationships between political and religious leaders.

The philosopher Massimo Introvigne, co-ordinator of the Observatory on Religious Freedom of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, opened yesterday's symposium with a presentation entitled "Religious freedom and relations between States and religions: different models in conflict?". This was followed by a round table discussion on "The case of Italy", "Church and State in Italy and Brazil: problems and moments", "Religious freedom, public space and judicial systems: redefinitions and new scenarios", "Secularity in pluralistic Italy", "Secularism as an ideology", and "Lay aggregations between secularisation and desecularisation".

The first day concluded with a debate on "Religion and politics in Italy".

This morning discussions focused on "The case in Brazil", in particular "Catholic Charismatic Renewal and evangelical Pentecostalism in Brazil: doctrinal divergence and political convergence", "Human rights in the Catholic Church in Brazil: from political to moral discourse", and "Religious symbols in public spaces: different configurations of Catholicism". At 10.30 a.m. the sociologist Franco Garelli gave a presentation on "Religion and public space", then at 11.30 there was a round table discussion on "Religion and politics in Latin America". The latter focused on the themes of "Marian sanctuaries as public space: Catholicism and nation in Argentina", "Argentina: the complicity of silence", "Revolutionary pastoral: some considerations regarding guerilla priests in Latin America", "The relationship between Church and State in Argentina during the last military government (1976-1983)" and "The Church of liberation and new popular governments".

The afternoon session will consist of a presentation by Enzo Pace at 3 p.m. entitled "Achilles and the tortoise: Italian Catholicism facing unprecedented religious diversity"; the seminar will then conclude with a debate on "Religion and public space".