NOTE ON CONGREGATION FOR THE EVANGELISATION OF PEOPLES

VATICAN CITY, 30 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique on 28 June:

  "In the face of news reports which have been circulating with regard to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples (formerly known as 'De Propaganda Fide'), it has been deemed necessary to recall some objective facts to protect the reputation of this important body of the Holy See and the Catholic Church.

  "The Congregation is the body responsible for directing and co-ordinating the work of evangelisation and missionary co-operation throughout the world.

  "Its first and fundamental aim is therefore to guide and support young Churches, located in areas of recent or scant evangelisation, territories which, according to long tradition, are subject to the jurisdiction of the congregation for all aspects of Church life.

  "Thus it co-ordinates the presence and action of missionaries in the world, submits candidates for the episcopate to the Holy Father and is responsible for the formation of local clergy, catechists, and pastoral workers.

  "This function is exercised by members of the congregation of the highest level, mostly cardinals, many of whom come from the mission countries themselves, and who meet regularly. In ordinary management the congregation is directed by the cardinal prefect and other superiors, in accordance with their duties.

  "In order to fulfil its duties, the congregation administers and maintains a large number of educational structures in Rome, among them the Pontifical Urban University (about 1400 students in the current academic year) and several colleges, where an estimated 150 seminarians, 360 priests, 150 religious and lay people from the five continents are currently studying.

  "This vast work, which requires a considerable amount of financial resources, is only part of the congregation's commitments for, as is well-known, it annually bestows to the churches of the territories under its jurisdiction (1080 districts) an ordinary financial subsidy which in many cases is the main or a major source of revenue for dioceses, apostolic vicariates, prefectures, 'sui iuris' missions, etc. Besides this, the congregation sends annual subsidies for the formation of local clergy. For the Holy See, this is an indispensable instrument for the growth and maturation of these Churches, which are among the most vital and promising for the future of the Catholic Church. Thanks to the congregation and to other countless activities in support of missions by Catholics around the world, a significant number of priests, seminarians and other pastoral workers can study in Rome, close to Peter's Successor".

  "Moreover, every year funding is given to aid projects for the construction of new churches and pastoral institutions, for literacy projects, healthcare and hospitals, particularly for children and education, often in regions that are among the world's poorest. This series of initiatives, and numerous others, are promoted and co-ordinated by the Pontifical Mission Societies, which is part of the dicastery. If we consider the relationship between the quantity of personnel and resources deployed, it is evident that operating costs are far lower than any international organisation engaged in the field of co-operation".

  "The Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples derives its resources mainly from the collections of World Mission Sunday, all distributed through the national Pontifical Mission Societies and, secondly, the income of its financial assets and real estate. This patrimony has been formed over decades through numerous donations from benefactors from all walks of life, who intended that part of their property be bequeathed to serve the cause of evangelisation.

  "The administration of this patrimony is of course a complex and challenging task, one which requires the advice of experts from different professional backgrounds and which, like all financial transactions, may also be exposed to errors of judgement and to fluctuations in the international market.

  "Nevertheless, as a result of sound administration and the growing generosity of Catholics, this legacy has continued to increase. At the same time, in recent years the awareness has gradually emerged of the need to improve profitability and to this end structures and procedures have been established to ensure a professional management that is in line with the highest standards.

  "This note aims to recall the identity, value and great significance of an institution vital to the Holy See and the entire Catholic Church, responding to Jesus' command: 'Go into all the world and proclaim the good news to the whole creation'. It has earned and deserves the support of all Catholics and those who care about the good of man and his integral development".

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POPE CREATES A DICASTERY FOR NEW EVANGELISATION

VATICAN CITY, 28 JUN 2010 (VIS) - This evening in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Holy Father presided at first Vespers for the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul Apostles.

  The ceremony was attended by a delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, sent by His Holiness Bartholomew I and composed of His Eminence Gennadios (Limouris), metropolitan of Sassima; His Eminence Bartholomaios (Ioannis Kessidis), bishop of Arianzos and assistant to the metropolitan of Germany, and Deacon Theodoros Meimaris of the patriarchal see of Fanar.

  In his homily the Pope reflected on the Church's missionary vocation. He began by recalling how Servant of God Giovanni Battista Montini, when elected as Peter's Successor, "chose the name of the Apostle of the Gentiles". In the year 1974 "he called an assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the theme of evangelisation in the modern world, and about a year later published the Apostolic Exhortation 'Evangelii nuntiandi'".

  Turning then to consider the figure of the Venerable John Paul II, Benedict XVI highlighted how, "with his apostolic trips and the insistence of his Magisterium on the urgent need for a 'new evangelisation', he was the living embodiment of the missionary nature of the Church. ... It is obvious to everyone that my predecessor gave extraordinary impulse to the mission of the Church, not only because of the distances he covered, but above all because of the genuine missionary spirit that moved him and that he left us as inheritance at the dawn of the third millennium.

  "Taking up this inheritance", the Pope added, "at the beginning of my Petrine ministry I affirmed that the Church is young, she is open to the future. And I repeat as much today at the tomb of St. Paul: the Church is an immense force for renewal in the world, not by her own power but by the power of the Gospel".

  "The challenges of the present are certainly beyond human capacities", said the Holy Father. "Not only is there physical hunger, there is also a more profound hunger which only God can satisfy. Man in the third millennium also seeks an authentic and full life; he needs truth, profound freedom and gratuitous love. Even in the deserts of the secularised world man's soul thirsts for God, for the living God".

  Benedict XVI pointed out that "there are regions of the world that still await their first evangelisation while others have already received it but need more profound attention. In others again, the Gospel has long standing roots and has given rise to an authentic Christian tradition but - over recent centuries and following complex dynamics - the process of secularisation has led to a serious crisis of meaning in Christian faith and in membership of the Church".

  And he went on: "It is in this perspective that I have decided to create a new organisation, in the form of a Pontifical Council, with the fundamental task of promoting renewed evangelisation in countries where the first announcement of the faith has already been heard and where there are Churches of ancient foundation, but where a progressive secularisation of society is being experienced, a kind of 'eclipse of the meaning of God'". These countries, he said, "are a challenge to us to find the adequate means to re-present the perennial truth of the Gospel of Christ".

  The Holy Father concluded by affirming that "the challenge of the new evangelisation calls to the universal Church, it asks us to remain committed to the search for full unity among Christians. In this context, one eloquent sign of hope are the reciprocal visits between the Churches of Rome and of Constantinople on the feasts of their respective patrons. For this reason we today welcome, with renewed joy and recognition, the delegation sent by Patriarch Bartholomew I".

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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, 30 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience Archbishop Andre-Joseph Leonard of Mechelen-Brussels and president of the Belgian Episcopal Conference.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 30 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

 - Appointed Cardinal Marc Ouellet P.S.S., archbishop of Quebec, Canada, as prefect of the Congregation for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America. He succeeds Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, whose resignation from the same office the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Appointed Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life and rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, as president of the recently-announced Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation.

 - Appointed Fr. Enrico dal Covolo S.D.B., professor of ancient Greek Christian literature at Rome's Pontifical Salesian University and ordinary member of the Pontifical Theological Academy, as rector of the Pontifical Lateran University.

 - Appointed Msgr. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life, as president of the same academy.

 - Appointed Archbishop Celestino Migliore, Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations in New York, as apostolic nuncio to Poland.

 - Appointed Fr. John Richard Cihak as a master of pontifical ceremonies.

 - Appointed Bishop Blase J. Cupich of Rapid City, U.S.A., as bishop of Spokane (area 63,325, population 741,000, Catholics 101,700, priests 152, permanent deacons 55, religious 303), U.S.A. He succeeds Bishop William S. Skylstad, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same diocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

 - Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Boston, U.S.A. presented by Bishop Emilio S. Allue S.D.B., in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law.

 - Appointed Fr. Arthur L. Kennedy, rector of the St. John Seminary, and Fr. Peter J. Uglietto, rector of the Blessed John XXIII National Seminary, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Boston (area 6,386, population 4,112,000, Catholics 1,874,000, priests 1,286, permanent deacons 257, religious 2,712), U.S.A. Bishop-elect Kennedy was born in Boston in 1942 and ordained a priest in 1966. Bishop-elect was born in Cambridge, U.S.A. in 1951 and ordained a priest in 1977.

 - Accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Hartford, U.S.A. presented by Bishop Peter A. Rosazza, in accordance with canons 411 and 401 para. 1 of the Code of Canon Law.
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PETER'S PENCE: A CONCRETE SIGN OF THE POPE'S CHARITY

VATICAN CITY, 26 JUN 2010 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received members of the "Circolo di San Pietro" who gave him, as they traditionally do every year, the "Peter's Pence" collection which is raised annually in parishes and religious institutes of the diocese of Rome. 

  In his brief remarks to them, the Pope spoke of the recently-concluded Year for Priests, during which the Church dedicated particular attention to the figure of St. John Mary Vianney, the holy 'Cure of Ars'. He was, said the Holy Father, "a model of evangelical life, not only for priests but also for lay people, especially for those ... who work in the vast field of charity. Indeed, one specific aspect of the life of that humble priest was his detachment from material goods".

  Benedict XVI expressed the hope that the example of St. John Mary Vianney may represent "a constant invitation to open our arms to all people in need of a tangible sign of solidarity". He likewise exhorted the members of the "Circolo di San Pietro" to continue "to represent this concrete sign of the Pope's charity towards those in need, in both material and spiritual terms".

  Having then expressed his thanks for "Peter's Pence", the Holy Father highlighted how the collection "is an eloquent testimony of evangelical charity because it expresses, on the one hand, the affection felt by this city's inhabitants and pilgrims towards Peter's Successor and, on the other, the Holy See's real solidarity with many situations of suffering and poverty which, unfortunately, continue to exist in Rome and in many other parts of the world".

  "Through your commitment to go out and meet the needs of the less fortunate", the Pope concluded, "you spread a message of hope that arises from faith and adherence to the Lord, and you become heralds of His Gospel. May charity and witness continue to be the leading aspects of your apostolate".

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