The spirit of the family is the constitutional charter of the Church

Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) – During the period of the Synod dedicated to “The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world”, the catechesis of the Wednesday general audiences will focus on various aspects of the relationship between the Church and the family, the Pope announced this morning to the thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square. Francis asked all to pray for a good outcome of the Synod assembly, and underlined that the family deserves all the dedication of which the Church is capable, and therefore the Synod is called upon to interpret the care of the Church for the family in our times.

“Men and women of today are in need of a robust injection of family spirit”, he continued. “Indeed, the style of relations – civil, economic, legal, professional, and as citizens – would appear very rational, formal and organised, but also very 'dehydrated', arid and anonymous. At times this becomes unbearable. While seeking to be inclusive in its forms, in reality it abandons an ever greater number of people to solitude and exclusion”.

The family, however, “opens for the whole of society a far more human prospect: it opens children's eyes onto life … and introduces them to the need for bonds of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect; it encourages the planning of an inhabitable world and the belief in relationships of trust, even in difficult situations. … And we are all aware of the indispensable nature of the care of the family for its smallest members, the most vulnerable, the wounded, and even those who have encountered the most disasters in the conduct of their lives”.

Nevertheless, the Pope remarked, “the family is not granted due recognition or support in the political and social organisation of contemporary society. I would add: not only does the family not receive adequate recognition, but it no longer generates learning. At times it would seem that, in spite of all its science and technology, modern society is still not able to translate this knowledge into better forms of civil coexistence. … In this situation, the opposite extremes of this brutalisation of relationships – that is, technocratic obtuseness and amoral familism – come together and feed into one another. It is a paradox”.

“The Church perceives today, at this precise point, the historical meaning of her mission with regard to the family and genuine family spirit; starting from a careful revision of life. .. It could be said that the 'family spirit' is a constitutional charter for the Church. This is how Christianity should appear and should be. … The Church is and must be the family of God”.

The Pope recalled that when Jesus invited Peter to follow Him, He said that He would have made him a “fisher of men”. “And this called for a new type of net. We could say that today families are one of the most important nets for the mission of Peter and the Church. It is not a net that takes prisoners! On the contrary, it liberates from the treacherous waters of abandonment and indifference, that drown many human beings in a sea of loneliness and indifference. Families are well aware of the dignity of being sons and not slaves or outsiders”.

“From here, from the family, Jesus begins again his path among human beings to persuade them that God has not forgotten them. From here Peter takes strength for his ministry. From here the Church, in obedience to the Word of the Master, goes out to fish offshore, sure that if it takes place, the catch will be miraculous. May the enthusiasm of the Synod Fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, kindle the zeal of a Church that abandons the old nets and goes out to fish again, trusting in the Word of her Lord. Let us pray intensely for this! Indeed, Christ promised and reassures us: if even a bad father does not refuse to give bread to his hungry children, of course God would not refuse to give the Spirit to those who, imperfect as they are, ask with impassioned insistence”.

Rapporteurs and moderators of the Circuli Minori of the Synod

Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy See Press Office today published the following list of rapporteurs and moderators of the Circuli Minori:

RAPPORTEURS

Circulus Gallicus “A”: Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Lille, France, elected

Circulus Gallicus “B”: Msgr. Francois-Xavier Dumortier, S.J,. elected

Circulus Gallicus “C”: Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, elected

Circulus Anglicus “A”: Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz, elected

Circulus Anglicus “B”: Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, elected

Circulus Anglicus “C”: Bishop Mark Benedict Coleridge, elected

Circulus Anglicus “D”: Archbishop Charles Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., elected

Circulus Italicus “A”: Rev. Fr. Manuel Jesus Arroba Conde, C.M.F., elected

Circulus Italicus “B”: Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, elected

Circulus Italicus “C”: Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla, elected

Circulus Hibericus “A”: Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan, O.A.R.,elected

Circulus Hibericus “B”: Archbishop Baltazar Porras Cardozo, elected

Circulus Germanicus: Archbishop Heiner Koch, elected

MODERATORS

Circulus Gallicus “A”: Cardinal Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, elected

Circulus Gallicus “B”: Cardinal Robert Sarah, elected

Circulus Gallicus “C”: Maurice Piat, C.S.Sp., elected

Circulus Anglicus “A”: Cardinal George Pell, elected

Circulus Anglicus “B”: Cardinal Vincent Nichols, elected

Circulus Anglicus “C”: Eamon Martin, elected

Circulus Anglicus “D”: Cardinal Thomas Christopher Collins, elected

Circulus Italicus “A”: Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, elected

Circulus Italicus “B”: Cardinal Edoardo Menichelli, elected

Circulus Italicus “C”: Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, elected

Circulus Hibericus “A”: Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. elected

Circulus Hibericus “B”: Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, elected

Circulus Germanicus: Cardinal Christoph Schonborn, O.P.,elected

Other Pontifical Acts

Vatican City, 7 October 2015 (VIS) – The Holy Father has appointed:

- Fr. Luy Gonzaga Nguyen Hung Vi as bishop of Kontum (area 25,240, population 1,775,200, Catholics 300,649, priests 169, religious 477), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in Ha Noi, Vietnam, in 1952, and was ordained a priest in 1990. He holds a licentiate in liturgy from the Institut Catholique of Paris, France, and has served as parish vicar of Binh Cang in Nha Trang, director of the minor seminary of Kontum in Ho Chi Minh City, and secretary of the episcopal office in Kontum. He is currently pastor of the parish of Phuong Nghia, Kontum. He succeeds Bishop Michael Hoang Duc Oanh, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Bishop Carmelo Cuttitta, auxiliary of the archdiocese of Palermo, Italy, as bishop of Ragusa (area 1,029, population 221,835, Catholics 213,252, priests 130, permanent deacons 8, religious 276), Italy. He succeeds Bishop Paolo Urso, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese upon reaching the age limit was accepted by the Holy Father.

- Fr. Peter Huynh Van Hai as bishop of Vinh Long (area 6,772, population 3,976,552, Catholics 199,404, priests 205, religious 775), Vietnam. The bishop-elect was born in 1954 in Ben Tre, Vietnam, and was ordained a priest in 1994. He holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Institut Catholique of Paris, France, and has served as head of vocations for the diocese of Vinh Long. He is currently lecturer in philosophy in the major seminaries of Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City.

It is not easy to be a prophet, says Cardinal Alencherry to the Synod

Vatican City, 6 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning at 9 a.m., with the recitation of the Terce prayer, the third Congregation of the General Ordinary Assembly on the Family opened in the Synod Hall.

His Beatitude Cardinal George Alencherry, major archbishop of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India, and president of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church, pronounced a homily in which he underlined, in the light of the Bible readings, the prophetic mission of the Church in our times.

“The reading from Jeremiah gives us a message very much applicable to the goal of our Synodal deliberations on family”, he began. “Prophet Jeremiah uttered a few oracles to the royal family of Judah cautioning the King against the ruin that may fall upon the Kingdom, if the King does not render Justice and righteousness and save the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Josiah and Jehoiakim were the kings of Judah, at that time. We know that both of them were weak kings, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and the temple. Owing to the failures of the kings the people were driven to exile and all the sufferings that arose from it. Josiah and Nebuchadnezzar, the kings of Judah, could not render justice and righteousness and save the oppressed from the hand of the oppressor. Justice means the acceptance of the reign of God and righteousness is the grace of God resulting from the acceptance of God’s reign. The kings of Judah failed in their responsibility to give justice and righteousness to the people, and accordingly the people had to suffer the consequences”.

“The words of the prophet are applicable to rulers and leaders of all the times and also to the people governed by them. In many countries of the world people are denied justice and righteousness as a result of the promotion of individualism, hedonism and oppression by secularist values and lines of action. The question arises as to whether the leaders of the Church have come forward with a prophetic role like that of Jeremiah to support the people with the Word of God and by personal witness”.

“Jeremiah had to suffer the cost of his prophetic role”, the Cardinal observed. “His life was a symbol of the message he gave. Suffering and ruin he had to take upon himself. He was asked to accept three signs in his life: not to marry, not to attend funerals and not to attend parties”.

“'Do not take a wife': Jeremiah is not to experience the deep love of a bride, for the bride, Israel, has rejected Yahweh’s love. He must experience loneliness, as Yahweh experiences loneliness. In Christian times, celibacy becomes a sign”.

“'Do not go into a house where there is mourning': Jeremiah is not to mourn or show compassion to the dead, because Yahweh has lost all feelings for his people. They will die unlamented”.

“'Do not go into a house where there is a celebration': Jeremiah is not to join any celebration, because there is nothing to celebrate. Jeremiah is called to lead a terrible life, and no wonder he goes into deep depression and bitter lament. It is not easy to be a prophet”.

“The pastors of the Church in the present times are called to take upon their lives a prophetic role of suffering and kenosis, similar to that of the prophet Jeremiah”, concluded His Beatitude, citing Pope Francis' words in his apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”:

“I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the centre and then ends by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. If something should rightly disturb us and trouble our consciences, it is the fact that so many of our brothers and sisters are living without the strength, light and consolation born of friendship with Jesus Christ, without a community of faith to support them, without meaning and a goal in life. More than by fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear of remaining shut up within structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make us harsh judges, within habits which make us feel safe, while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: 'Give them something to eat'”.

First General Congregation: the Synod is the Church that walks together to see reality with the eyes of faith, says the Pope

Vatican City, 5 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning at 9 a.m. the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world” commenced in the Vatican. In the presence of the Holy Father, the first to speak was the Honduran Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga, who presented to the Synod Fathers a brief meditation summarising the intentions and spirit of the Assembly.

“Brothers, who come from the four corners of the world summoned by Peter, moved by the love of Jesus and the Mother Church”, he began. “St. Paul invites us, indeed, to joy. The joy of the gospel that Pope Francisco tirelessly proclaims worldwide. But as he himself has told us, the greatest risk in the world today, with its multiple and overwhelming consumption, is an individualistic sorrow that springs from the comfortable and covetous heart, the feeble search for superficial pleasures, the isolated consciousness. Sometimes it saddens us to hear how the world has focused on this Synod as if we came together as two opposing sides to defend entrenched positions. Therefore, with Jesus Christ joy is always born and reborn'”.

“But let us take heart”, he continued. “We are not a Church in danger of extinction or indeed far less. Neither is the family, although it is threatened and opposed. Nor do we come to mourn or lament the difficulties. Psalm 26 tells us: 'Be brave, take heart. Hope in the Lord'. Let us all have one mind: let us all seek the unanimity that comes from dialogue, not ideas defended at all costs. St. Paul reminds us to have same sentiments as Christ. Live in peace: as Evangelii Gaudium tells us, dialogue contributes to peace, because the Church proclaims the 'Gospel of peace'. To proclaim Jesus Christ, Who is peace in person, the Mother Church encourages us to be instruments of peace and credible witnesses of a reconciled life. It is time to know how to plan a culture that favours dialogue and the pursuit of consensus and agreements as a form of encounter. We are not in need of a project of few and for the few, or an enlightened or minority that appropriates a collective sentiment”.

“Therefore, we wish to begin the Synod in peace”, he concluded. “It is not the peace of the world, made of compromises and commitments that frequently are not fulfilled. It is the peace of Christ, peace with ourselves. And the conclusion is clear: 'The God of love and peace will be with you'. So we can say, 'Stay with us, Lord', not because the day is ending, but rather because it is beginning. A new day for the families of the world, believers or not, families tired of the uncertainties and doubts sown by various ideologies such as deconstruction, cultural and social contradictions, fragility and loneliness. Abide with us Lord, so that this Synod indicate a path of joy and hope for all families”.

The Holy Father than introduced the work of the first day, explaining that “the Synod is not a convention or a locutory; it is not a parliament or a senate, where an accord is sought. The Synod, instead, is an ecclesial expression, that is, the Church who walks together to read reality with the eyes of faith, and which therefore does not represent a museum to be looked at or even to be protected, but is rather a living source from which the Church slakes her thirst so as to slake the thirst and enlighten the deposit of life”.

The Synod is, furthermore, “a protected space where the Church can experience the action of the Holy Spirit. In the Synod the Spirit speaks through the language of all those who let themselves be guided by God, Who always surprises us, by God Who shows to the smallest among us what He hides from the wise and the intelligent, by God Who created the law and the Sabbath for man and not vice versa, by God Who leaves his ninety-nine sheep to seek the one lost sheep, by God Who is always greater than our logic and our calculations. However, let us remember that the Synod may be a space for the action of the Holy Spirit only if we participants clothe ourselves in apostolic courage, evangelical humility and trustful prayer”.

“Apostolic courage so that we do not let ourselves be afraid neither before the seductions of the world, that tend to extinguish in the heart of men the light of the truth, substituting it will small temporary lights, neither before the hardening of some hearts that, in spite of good intentions, distance people from God”, underlined the Pope.

“Evangelical humility so that we empty ourselves of our own conventions and prejudices in order to listen to our brother Bishops and to fill ourselves with God. Humility that leads us not to point a finger at others to judge them, but rather to offer them a hand to help them up without ever feeling superior to them”.

“Trustful prayer is the action of the heart when it opens to God, when it calms our mood so we hear the gentle voice of God that speaks in the silence. Without listening to God, all of our words will remain words alone, that nether satisfy nor serve. Without allowing ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, all our decisions will be mere decorations that instead of exalting the Gospel, cover or conceal it”.

“Dear brothers”, concluded Francis, “as I said, the Synod is not a parliament where, in order to reach a consensus or a common accord we resort to negotiation, pacts or compromise; the only method of the Synod is to open itself to the Holy Spirit with apostolic courage, with evangelical courage and with trustful prayer so that He may guide us, enlighten us and let us put before our eyes not our own personal views, but our faith in God, fidelity to the Magisterium, the good of the Church and the salus animarum”.

The president delegate, the cardinal archbishop of Paris Andre Vingt-Trois, then commented that the Pope's decision to convoke two sessions of the Synod of Bishops on the mission of the family in the contemporary world has been fruitful and that the episcopate has borne witness to this. The particular Churches have made efforts to contribute to the work by answering to the questionnaire that informed the Instrumentum Laboris. “Our Synod is led by the Church”. The cardinal also mentioned the Motu Proprio Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, with which the Holy Father has reformed the canonical procedures regarding the declaration of nullity of marriage, which offers valuable direction on the spirit according to which this phase of the Synod should unfold. “Without casting doubt on the sacramental tradition of our Church, nor its doctrine on the indissolubility of marriage, you invite us to share our pastoral experiences and to open the paths of mercy by which the Lord calls all those who wish to and are able to enter into a space for conversion with a view to forgiveness”.

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod, explained the working methods of the Synod of Bishops in this extraordinary assembly, including the time available for interventions by the Synod Fathers and the greater space accorded to the Circuli Minori to foster more intense debate, as well as the importance conceded to the contributions by couples and the relationships between the Synod and the media.

Finally, the general rapporteur, the cardinal archbishop of Ezstergom-Budapest, Peter Erdo, illustrated the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris, which begins by listening to the challenges to the family, placing them in the contemporary socio-cultural context, and its anthropological change, characterised by a “flight from institutions” leading to institutional instability and the predominance of individualism and subjectivism. He then spoke about the discernment of the family vocation, the divine pedagogy of the family and indissolubility as a gift and a task, mentioning the family in the Magisterium of the Church and its missionary dimension, as well as “wounded” families, placing them in the context of mercy and truth. The cardinal touched upon the theme of the evangelising dimension of the family and ecclesial accompaniment of family units, as well as the issue of reproductive responsibility and the challenges of education.

“Listening to the Word of God, our response must show the sincere and fraternal attention to the needs of our contemporaries, to transmit to them the liberating truth and to be witnesses of our greatest mercy. To face today's challenges to the family. The Church must convert and become more alive, more personal, and more community-based, also at the levels of the parish and the small community. It would appear that a community reawakening is already in process in many areas. So that it might be more general and increasingly profound, we ask that the light of the Holy Spirit show us also the concrete steps we need to take. In this way, the vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world, the theme of this Synod, would appear in the serene and concrete light that enables us to grow in hope and trust in God's mercy; in that mercy to which Pope Francis wished to dedicate an extraordinary Jubilee. Let us thank the Holy Father for this decision of hope and entrust our work to the Holy Family of Nazareth”.