WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY BEGINS TOMORROW

VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is due to begin tomorrow, 18 January, under the theme "We will all be changed by the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ". The Week is promoted by the World Council of Churches (WCC), a worldwide fellowship of 349 Churches seeking unity, common witness and Christian service. The Catholic Church participates in this ecumenical initiative, despite not being a member of the WCC.

  The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally celebrated from 18 to 15 January in the northern hemisphere, and around the time of Pentecost in the southern hemisphere. It brings together Christian parishes and congregations from different confessional families all over the world, who meet and pray together in special ecumenical celebrations.

  Each year ecumenical partners in a particular region are asked to prepare a basic text on a biblical theme. Then an international group with WCC-sponsored (Protestant and Orthodox) and Roman Catholic participants edits this text to ensure it is linked with the search for Christian unity. The text is jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and by the WCC's Commission on Faith and Order which also accompanies the entire production process of the text. The final material is sent to member Churches and Roman Catholic dioceses, which are invited to translate the text and contextualise it for their own use.

  This year's theme comes from St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians which promises the transformation of human life - with all its apparent dimensions of 'triumph' and 'defeat' - through the victory of Christ's resurrection.

  Following the Angelus prayer on Sunday, Benedict XVI invited the faithful, "as individuals and in communities, to participate spiritually, and where possible practically in the Week of Prayer, to ask God for the gift of full unity among the disciples of Christ".
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DAY FOR DIALOGUE BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND JEWS

VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Today in Italy marks the Day for Dialogue between Catholics and Jews, an initiative launched by the Italian Episcopal Conference in 1990 with the aim of increasing mutual understanding among the members of the two religions.

  In an interview with Vatican Radio Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president emeritus of the Italian Rabbinic Assembly, explained that the aim of the Day "is to simplify and intensify Jewish-Christian dialogue. To this end, Jews and Catholics meet to reflect especially on those themes we can confront together, such as the search for peace and mutual understanding after two thousand years of misinterpretation and distressing events. Thus, both the Catholic and Jewish worlds await this Day with high expectations, because the more dialogue is consolidated the more the risk of anti-Semitism diminishes".

  Some years ago the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Italian Rabbinic Assembly agreed to dedicate the Days to the Ten Commandments, and the theme for 2012 is "Thou shalt not kill". Rabi Laras commented: "The command not to kill is vital for men and women, irrespective of their membership of one religion or the other. It is vital to respect and honour human life in all its sacredness and uniqueness. This is an important theme for our own times, in which throughout the world respect for human life is often ignored and violated".

  For his part, Fr. Gino Battaglia, director of the National Office for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue, observed that "the rich Jewish tradition, developed through millennia of studying the Law, makes a fundamental contribution. Yet the validity of this Commandment is evident, and not only in the literal sense of murder being a crime. I am thinking, for example, of the battle to abolish the death penalty, the problem of widespread violence, ... and of respect for life. In this sense, Jesus-Christian dialogue takes concrete form in its commitment to society and to the world".
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NEW DIRECTOR OF THE VATICAN PRESS

VATICAN CITY, 17 JAN 2012 (VIS) - Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. has appointed Fr. Sergio Pellini S.D.B. as director general of the Vatican Press.
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ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER VISITS THE POPE

VATICAN CITY, 14 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Mario Monti, prime minister of the Republic of Italy. The prime minister - accompanied by Giuliomaria Terzi di Sant'Agata, minister for foreign affairs; Enzo Moavero Milanesi, minister for European affairs, and Antonio Catricala, under secretary for the council of ministers - subsequently went on to meet with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. who was accompanied by Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, under secretary for Relations with States.

  "During the cordial discussions consideration was given to the social situation in Italy and to the government's efforts in that field, as well as to the Catholic Church's contribution to national life. Attention also turned to the current international situation, from Europe to the situation in the southern Mediterranean. Finally the parties dwelt on the protection of religious minorities, particularly Christian minorities, in various areas of the world.

  The two parties also confirmed their determination to continue their constructive collaboration, both bilaterally and in the context of the international community.
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INAUGURATION OF JUDICIAL YEAR OF VATICAN TRIBUNAL

VATICAN CITY, 14 JAN 2012 (VIS) - This morning a celebration was held to inaugurate the eighty-third judicial year of the Tribunal of Vatican City State. The event was attended by a number of religious and civil authorities, including representatives of the Italian government and legal system led by Paola Severino, minister of justice.

  The day began with Mass in the chapel of the Governorate, celebrated by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. In his homily he highlighted how, "with the beginning of a new judicial year ... we are again invited to reflect upon the relationship between divine and human justice, so that our consciences may be illuminated and our actions may, as far as possible, correspond to the divine will and its plan of love for each individual and for the community of man". He also mentioned the specific vocation of the Church, which is called to be a sign and instrument of God's love, and of His justice which is always an expression of His merciful love".

  Nicola Picardi, promoter of justice of the tribunal, then presented his inaugural report in which he gave a brief overview of Vatican judicial history before turning to the most innovative aspects of recent norms. These, he said, have been inspired by the development of international relations and the need to adopt an institutional model capable of bearing comparison with other nations, and of contrasting the spread of criminality.

  A broad-ranging reform of the Vatican penal code, together with certain innovations in the field of administration and finance, were made necessary by the 2009 Monetary Convention between Vatican City State and the European Union. In 2010, measures were adopted to harmonise legalisation with European standards in the field of combating money laundering, fraud and the falsification of means of payment.

  New norms were introduced into the Vatican penal code on 1 March 2011 (regarding fraud and the counterfeiting of euros) and on 1 April 2011 (concerning the prevention and countering of the laundering of proceeds resulting from criminal activities and financing of terrorism). These latter norms also impose new obligations on Vatican entities which undertake economic, financial and monetary activities. They must carefully vet their customers and have the duty to report any suspect operations to the Financial Information Authority, which has been set up on the Vatican to contrast illegal economic activities and collaborates with similar authorities in other States.

  Another important aspect of recent reforms concerns the "Motu proprio" of 30 December 2010 for the prevention and countering of illegal activities in the area of monetary and financial dealings. Therein Benedict XVI sought to enact his teachings on economic ethics contained in "Caritas in veritate". According to the "Motu proprio" all dicasteries of the Roman Curia, and other institutions and entities dependent upon the Holy See including the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), which carry out monetary and financial dealings, are subject to the norms on money laundering and financing of terrorism.

  Finally, the promoter of justice also noted that the jurisdiction of the tribunal now extends beyond the limits of the State and covers ecclesiastical persons and entities which, in principle, are beyond the reach of Vatican law.
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