THIRTY-FIVE BISHOPS IN CUBA TO IMPROVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGIES

Vatican City, 28 January 2014 (VIS) – The Pontifical Council for Social Communications is organising a seminar on communication, to be held in February in Havana, Cuba. During the four days during which the meeting will take place, the participants, thirty-five bishops from Central America and the Caribbean, will reflect upon the meaning of communication in today's world, how to communicate and what to communicate, according to Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the dicastery.

The seminar will focus on the Pope's message for World Social Communications Day, “Communication at the service of an authentic culture of encounter”, and will have the principal aim of offering bishops the tools for improving their communication strategies in their dioceses.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 28 January 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed Archbishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, secretary of the Congregation for Bishops, as secretary of the College of Cardinals.

IN MEMORIAM

Vatican City, 28 January 2014 (VIS) – The following prelates died in recent weeks:

- Bishop Arvaldis Andrejs Brumanis, emeritus of Liepaja, Latvia, on 17 December at the age of 87.

- Cardinal Ricard Maria Carles Gordo, archbishop of Barcelona, Spain, on 17 December at the age of 87.

- Bishop Francisco Manuel Vieira, emeritus of Osasco, Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 23 December at the age of 88.

- Bishop Soane Lilo Foliaki, S.M., emeritus of Tonga, Pacific (Oceania), on 24 December at the age of 80.

- Bishop Joaquim Goncalves, emeritus of Vila Real, Portugal, on 31 December at the age of 77.

- Bishop Salvatore Nicolosi, emeritus of Noto, Italy, on 10 January at the age of 91.

- Bishop Alphonsus Augustus Sowada, O.S.C, emeritus of Agats, Indonesia, on 11 January at the age of 80.

- Bishop Francis Joseph Pierre Deniau, emeritus of Nevers, France, on 12 January at the age of 77.

- Bishop Jose de Jesus Garcia Ayala, emeritus of Campeche, Mexico, on 15 January at the age of 103.

- Bishop John Mackey, emeritus of Auckland, New Zealand, on 20 January at the age of 96.

- Bishop Kurt Krenn, emeritus of Sankt Polten, Austria, on 25 January at the age of 77.

DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

Vatican City, 27 January 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father today received in audience Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. During the audience he authorised the promulgation of decrees concerning the following causes:

MARTYRDOM

- Servant of God Pietro Asua Mendia, Spanish diocesan priest, killed in hatred of the faith in Liendo, Spain in 1936.

HEROIC VIRTUES

- Servant of God Giuseppe Girelli, Italian diocesan priest (1886-1978).

- Servant of God Zacarias of St. Theresa (ne Zacarias Salterain Viscarra), Spanish professed priest of the Order of Discalced Carmelites (1887-1957).

- Servant of God Marcelle Mallet, Canadian foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Quebec (1805-1871).

- Servant of God Maria Benita Arias, Argentine foundress of the Servants of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament (1822-1894).

- Servant of God Margerita De Brincat, Maltese foundress of the Franciscan Sisters of the Heart of Jesus (1862-1952).

- Servant of God Seraphine (nee Noemy Cinque), Brazilian professed nun of the Congregation of Adorers of the Blood of Christ (1913-1988).

- Servant of God Elisabetta Sanna, Italian laywoman and professed Tertiary of the Order of Minims of St. Francis (1788-1857).

ANGELUS: GOD PREFERS TO START OUT FROM THE PERIPHERIES, TO REACH EVERYONE

Vatican City, 26 January 2014 (VIS) – The beginning of Jesus' public life, starting from “Galilee of the Gentiles”, as it was called by the prophet Isaiah, was the topic of Pope Francis' reflection during this Sunday's Angelus, attended by thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Jesus' mission, he said, “did not set out from Jerusalem, the religious, social and political centre, but rather began in a peripheral zone, an area regarded with disdain by the most devout Jews, on account of the presence in the region of various foreign populations. For this reason, the prophet Isaiah referred to it as 'Galilee of the Gentiles'”.

“It was a border area, a transit zone where people of different races, cultures and religions encountered one another. Galilee therefore became a symbolic place for the opening of the Gospel to all peoples. From this point of view, Galilee resembles today's world: the co-presence of various cultures, the need for comparison and encounter. We too are immersed every day in a 'Galilee of the Gentiles', and in this type of context we can become fearful and give in to the temptation to build barriers, to feel more secure, more protected. But Jesus teaches us that the Good News He brings is not reserved for a part of humanity, but rather is to be communicated to all. It is a joyful proclamation, destined to all those who await it, but also to those who perhaps no longer await anything, or who no longer have even the strength to seek and to ask”.

Setting out from Galilee, Jesus “teaches us that no-one is excluded from God's salvation; on the contrary, God prefers to begin in the periphery, with those who are last in line, to reach everyone. He teaches us a method, His method, which however expresses the content, the mercy, of the Father. … We are all invited to heed this call, to come out of our own comfort zone and reach out to the peripheries in need of the light of the Gospel”.

Jesus began his mission “not only from a location far from the centre, but also with men one might describe as having a 'low profile'. To choose his first disciples and future apostles, he did not seek in the schools of scribes or among doctors of the Law, but among simple people committed to preparing themselves for the coming of the Kingdom of God. Jesus goes to call them where they work, on the banks of the lake: they are fishermen. He calls them and they follow Him, immediately. They leave their nets and go with Him; their lives become an extraordinary and fascinating adventure”.

“The Lord calls today too! The Lord passes along the streets of our everyday lives. Today, too, in this very moment, the Lord passes through the squares. He calls us to go with Him, to work with Him for the Kingdom of God, in the 'Galilees' of our times”.