CATHOLIC SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES MUST NOT BE ISOLATED AND MUST ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH CONTEMPORARY CULTURE

Vatican City, 13 February 2014 (VIS) – “Catholic education is one of the most important challenges for the Church, currently committed to new evangelisation in an historical and cultural context that is undergoing constant transformation”, remarked the Holy Father in his address to participants in the plenary session of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Educational Institutions), whom he received in audience in the Sala Clementina this morning.

The agenda of the plenary session, the Pope commented, includes themes of primary importance such as the implementation of the Apostolic Constitution “Sapientia Christiana”, the consolidation of the identity of Catholic universities, and the preparations for the events which will fall in 2015: the fiftieth anniversary of the Conciliar Declaration “Gravissimum educationis” and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Apostolic Constitution “Ex Corde Ecclesiae”.

Pope Francis proposed three aspects for consideration by the participants: the value of dialogue in education, the qualified preparation of formators and the responsibility of educational institutions to express the living presence of the Gospel in the fields of education, science and culture.

Referring to the first of these points, he said, “Effectively, Catholic schools and universities are attended by many students who are not Christian or do not believe. Catholic educational institutions offer to all an approach to education that has as its aim the full development of the person, which responds to the right of every person to access to knowledge. However, they are also called upon to offer, with full respect for the freedom of each person and using the methods appropriate to the scholastic environment, the Christian belief, that is, to present Jesus Christ as the meaning of life, the cosmos and history. Jesus began to proclaim the good news of the 'Galilee of the people', a crossroads of people, diverse in terms of race, culture and religion. This context resembles today's world, in certain respects. The profound changes that have led to the ever wider diffusion of multicultural societies require those who work in the school or university sector to be involved in educational itineraries involving comparison and dialogue, with a courageous and innovative fidelity that enables Catholic identity to encounter the various 'souls' of multicultural society”.

With regard to the second aspect, the Pope remarked that during his meeting with the Superior Generals, he had emphasised that education in our times “is guided by a changing generation, and that, therefore, every educator – and the Church as a whole is an educating mother – is required to change, in the sense of knowing how to communicate with the young”.

In relation to the responsibility of educational institutions to “express the living presence of the Gospel in the field of education, science and culture”, Pope Francis reiterated the need for Catholic academic institutions to avoid “isolating themselves in the world”, and instead to “know how to enter, with courage, into the Areopagus of contemporary cultures and to initiate dialogue, aware of the gift they are able to offer to all”.

FIFTY YEARS AFTER SACROSANCTUM CONCILIUM: THE CHALLENGE OF LITURGICAL RENOVATION AND DEEPENING

Vatican City, 13 February 2014 (VIS) – This morning a press conference was held in the Holy See Press Office to present the Symposium “Sacrosanctum Concilium. Gratitude and commitment for a great ecclesial movement”, organised by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The congress, organised in collaboration with the Pontifical Lateran University and scheduled to take place from 18 to 20 February, will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Council Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 4 December 1963.

The speakers at the conference were Archbishop Arthur Roche, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Msgr. Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, under-secretary of the same Congregation, and Philippe Chenaux, professor of modern and contemporary history of the Church at the Pontifical Lateran University and director of the “Vatican Council II” Centre for Study and Research.

In addition, a text prepared by Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments was read by Msgr. Juan Miguel Ferrer Grenesche, and a text by Bishop Enrico dal Covolo, S.D.B., rector of the Pontifical Lateran University, was read by Professor Philippe Chenaux.

Cardinal Canizares commented that the Council was “an invitation to the Church to be herself, as God wished her to be and created her, and to act in a manner coherent with her vocation and with the mission that God Himself has given her. … With this beginning, which focuses on the theme of the Liturgy, the emphasis is unequivocally placed on the primacy of God in the Church; God first of all. … When God is not in first place, everything else loses its way”.

The Vatican Council II Fathers demonstrated this priority first by approving the Constitution “Sacrosanctum Concilium”, clarifying that “worship comes first; God comes first. Therefore, beginning with the theme of the Liturgy, the Council explicitly turned attention to God's primacy and at the same time indicated it as a sure point of orientation for the path to be followed in the future”.

With regard to “gratitude” and “commitment”, the prelate added, “We must, indeed, thank God for this first fruit of the Council … not only for the Constitution itself, but also for the renewing dynamism of the Church that it has given rise to, and continues to provide. At the same time, urgent commitment on our part to the continuation and deepening of the liturgical renewal hoped for by the Vatican Council II is now called for. It is true that much has been done, but there remains much still to do”.

The Symposium will include a component dedicated to theological and pastoral reflection, and will offer important opportunities for celebrations and time for prayer; ample space will also be dedicated to the beauty of art in the service of liturgy, represented by concerts and exhibitions. The participants will meet with the Holy Father on Wednesday 19 February during the general audience.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 13 February 2014 (VIS) – Today, the Holy Father received in audience:

- Three prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria on their “ad limina” visit:

- Bishop Petko Jordanov Christov of Nicopoli;

- Bishop Gheorghi Ivanov Jovcek of Sofia and Plovdiv;

- Bishop Christo Proykov, apostolic esarch of Sofia for Catholics of Byzantine-Slavic rite resident in Bulgaria.

Yesterday the Holy Father received in audience Bishop Nunzio Galantino of Cassano all'Jonio, secretary general “ad interim” of the Italian Episcopal Conference.

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City, 13 February 2014 (VIS) – The Holy Father has:

- confirmed the erection of the archiepiscopal esarchate of Krym of the Ukrainians, Ukraine by the Synod of the Greek Catholic Church, with territory from the current archiepiscopal esarchate of Odessa-Krym;

- confirmed the transfer of Bishop Vasyl Ivasyuk from the office of archiepiscopal esarch of Odessa-Krym to the eparchy of Kolomyia-Chernivtsi of the Ukrainians.

- given his assent to the canonical election by the Synod of the Greek Catholic Church of Pr. Mykhaylo Bubniy, C.SS.R., as first bishop of the archiepiscopal eparchy of Krym, Ukraine. The bishop-elect was born in Khlivchany, Ukraine in 1970, took his religious vows in 1996 and was ordained a priest in 1977. He holds a licentiate in canon law from the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. He has served in pastoral roles in Novoiavorivsk, Kokhavino and Lviv, and is currently superior of the Community of Redemptorist Fathers in Ivano-Frankivsk and priest in the parish of “Our Lady of Perpetual Help” in the same city.

THE EUCHARIST INSPIRES FORGIVENESS AND ENCOUNTER WITH OTHERS

Vatican City, 12 February 2014 (VIS) – The Eucharist and its relation to our life, as Church and as Christians, was the theme of Pope Francis' catechesis during this Wednesday's general audience in St. Peter's Square.

“How do we live the Eucharist … when we go to Mass on a Sunday? What is it for us? Is it just an opportunity to celebrate, a consolidated tradition, a way of getting one's bearings and feeling better, or is it something more?” asked the Holy Father, who then went on to indicate three signs for understanding how we experience this relation.

The first is our way of living with others. “In the Eucharist Christ renews the gift of Himself that He made on the Cross”, he explained. “His entire life is an act of the fullest sharing of Himself for love. This is why He loved to stay with the disciples and with those He met. For Him, this meant sharing their yearnings, their problems, that which stirred their soul and their life. Now, when we participate in the Holy Mass, we find ourselves with many people … but the Eucharist that I celebrate, does it lead me to consider them as brothers and sisters? Does it inspire me to go towards the poor, the sick, the marginalised? Does it help me to recognise Christ's face in them?”

The grace of being forgiven and willing to forgive is a second sign. “In reality, those who celebrate the Eucharist do not do so because they believe themselves to be better, or wish to appear better than others, but because they are aware that they are always in need of being accepted and regenerated in God's mercy, made flesh in Jesus Christ. If anyone among us does not feel in need of God's mercy, if he does not consider himself to be a sinner, it is better that he not go to Mass! We go to Mass because we are sinners and because we wish to receive God's forgiveness, to participate in Christ's redemption, his forgiveness. That 'I confess' that we say at the beginning is not merely a 'pro forma', it is a true act of penance! … In that bread and that wine we offer and around which we gather, the gift of the body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of our sins is renewed every time. This best summarises the deepest sense of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, and in turn it opens our hearts to the forgiveness of our brothers and to reconciliation”.

The relationship between the Eucharistic celebration and the life of our Christian communities is the third sign. “It must always be clear that the Eucharist is not something that we do; it is not our commemoration of what Jesus said and did. No. It is an act of Christ! It is a gift from Christ, Who is made present and gathers us around Him, to nourish us with His Word and His life. This means that the mission and the very identity of the Church spring from this, from the Eucharist, and there they assume their form. … a celebration may prove to be impeccable, beautiful, from an external point of view, but if it does not lead to an encounter with Jesus, the risk is that it does not lead to the nourishment of our hearts and lives. Through the Eucharist, instead, Christ wishes to enter into our existence and the permeate it with his grace, so that in every Christian community there is coherence between liturgy and life”.

The Pope concluded by encouraging us to “live the Eucharist with a spirit of faith and prayer, of forgiveness, of care for the needs of many of our brothers and sisters, in the certainty that the Lord will grant that which he has promised – eternal life”.

Following the catechesis the Pontiff greeted, among others, a delegation from the Czech Republic, which included a group of prelates from the Czech Bishops' Conference on their “ad limina” visit. Pope Francis asked all those present to pray for him and blessed the Czech Church and population, along with the crowns for the Palladium of the Bohemian Lands, an ancient icon of the Virgin Mary with the child Jesus which is venerated in Stara Boleslav, a few kilometres from Prague, to which the people have always appealed in times of war or danger for the country and the Czech population.