HIGH PERCENTAGE OF EPISCOPAL CONFERENCES RESPOND TO THE SYNOD QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE FAMILY

Vatican City, 26 February 2014 (VIS) – The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops met on 24 and 25 February to discuss the results of the enquiry opened in November 2013 with the distribution of a questionnaire on themes relating to the family to episcopal conferences around the world. There has been a very high percentage of responses, and observations from individuals and groups from all over the world have been added.

On the afternoon of 24 February the Council was presided over by the Holy Father Francis, who also emphasised in this way the importance he attributes to both the Synod structure as an expression of episcopal collegiality and the theme that will be considered by the upcoming Extraordinary Assembly of 2014 and the Ordinary Assembly of 2015.

The draft synthesis of the answers received was unanimously appreciated. It enables the voice of the Church to be heard in all her components and in a variety of contexts and situations, both with regard to the urgency of proclaiming the Gospel of the family with renewed zeal, and in relation to the challenges and difficulties connected with family life and the crises it may face.

The observations made during the discussion will be considered in the drafting of the Instrumentum laboris from which the work of the Synod will proceed. The unitary character of the two stages expected for synodal reflection on the family, so that at the end of the Ordinary Synod proposals will be presented to the Holy Father, on the basis of which he will prepare his Apostolic Exhortation.

The Ordinary Council was attended by the relator general, Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, and the special secretary, Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto.

During the meeting the Holy Father blessed the new wing of the seat of the Secretariat General along with the Chapel and new offices.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 26 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Msgr. Jose Carlos de Souza Campos as bishop of Divinopolis (area 8,824, population 780,000, Catholics 668,000, priests 101, religious 117), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Itauna, Brazil in 1968 and was ordained a priest in 1993. He holds a licentiate in fundamental theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, and has held a number of pastoral roles, including priest of the parishes of “Senhor Bom Jesus” in Pedra do Indaia, “Nossa Senhora Aparecida” in Divinopolis, “Nossa Senhora de Fatima” in Itauna and “Sant'Ana” in Itauna; professor of philosophy in the “Sao Jose” diocesan seminary, administrator of the “Sao Judas Tadeu” parish in Divinopolis, and vicar general of the diocese of Divinopolis. He has also served as representative of priests, and member of the council of formators, the presbyteral council and the college of consultors, and professor of religious anthropology and fundamental theology in various study centres. He is currently administrator of the diocese of Divinopolis and priest of the Cathedral.

THE POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT SYNOD

Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – Pope Francis has written a letter to families asking them to pray for the next Synod of Bishops, which will be celebrated in the Vatican in October, and the theme of which will be “The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation”. The letter, dated 2 February, Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, is published in full below:

“Dear families,

With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened to discuss the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization”. Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.

This important meeting will involve all the People of God – bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world – all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the Spirit may illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.

I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally 'seen' salvation. Anna, despite her advanced age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual support… Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.

Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord.”

ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH

Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, commented in his presentation of the Pope's letter to families that during these months the family has been, more than ever before, in the mind and the heart of the Church. He gave examples including the pilgrimage of families for the Year of Faith, the Holy Father's encounter with engaged couples on 14 February, last week's extraordinary Consistory in the Vatican, the next Synod which will take place in October, and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, U.S.A., scheduled for September 2015.

“Pope Francis, with this letter to the 'dear families' of the world, wishes to involve them in the Synod path”, explained the Archbishop. … Prayer is the first form of participation in this joint path. Families – and this is the Pope's intention – are not simply the object of attention, but are also the subjects of this pilgrimage, given that they form a majority within the Church, and are marked by the Sacrament of Marriage”.

“One must not forget that that spread of early Christianity occurred through a network of families”, he added. “It is an important lesson for our times, in which we invoke a new missionary season for evangelical preaching. … The Pope asks Christian families to be aware of the responsibility of their mission in times of confusion and restlessness. He asks for their help. In addition, if there is a theme of Christian life, for which the support of the family is indispensable both to the Pope and to the Church, then this is it. If there were no families, then Jesus' Word – the word of the Church, the word of the Pope – on the married love which is able to open us up to God's unconditional love for all, would appear abstract, unrealistic and ineffectual”.

“But families, thanks to God, exist and have a living presence”, concluded the prelate. “Therefore, it is important for Pastors and families to live 'in harmony in prayer' in this time, as if in a spiritual Cenacle that gathers the whole world together, waiting for the Spirit to evoke a renewed Pentecost”.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- appointed Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary of the diocese of Down and Connor, as bishop of Derry (area 2,500, population 327,000, Catholics 245,700, priests 116, religious 107), Ireland.

- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Poznan, Poland, presented by Bishop Zdzislaw Fortuniak, upon having reached the age limit.