HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE REJECTS UNFOUNDED CLAIMS ABOUT THE IOR AND THE AIF

Vatican City, 9 February 2012 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office has issued a communique rejecting claims made in an article entitled "Money Laundering: Four Priests under Investigation. The Silence of the Vatican" which appeared yesterday in the Italian newspaper "L'Unita". Extracts from the communique are given below.

"The article ... unfortunately reveals a considerable lack of serious research by the author.

"We must begin by making two introductory observations. The title of the article refers to silence on the part of the Vatican. ... This is completely groundless because the Holy See and the authorities of the Vatican have duly cooperated with magistrates and other Italian authorities. The claims made in the article are merely a reworking of past criticisms. ... They are, in fact, 'recycled' accusations which the same journalist has already published on a number of occasions in the past. Repeating them once again does not make them true; rather, we must ask ourselves whether the article was not intended as a kind of advertisement for an evening television show.

"As to the contents of the article, we must clarify the following".

"The principal accusation is that the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR) has been involved in illegal activity and that is has failed to assist the Italian authorities who were pursuing these individuals" (the alleged money launderers).

"This is incorrect. Firstly, the article fails to report that, beginning in the years 2006-2007, the IOR has been determinedly committed to analysing accounts and verifying clients in order to ascertain and report the presence of any suspicious transactions. These efforts by the IOR (which, strangely, the media seem to ignore) to identify suspect operations pre-date by several years the adoption by Vatican City State, on 30 December 2010, of Law No. 127 to Counter Money Laundering.

"Moreover, as the Italian authorities are aware, and as emerges from documentation in the possession of officials both of the Holy See and of the Republic of Italy, the IOR has repeatedly cooperated with the Italian authorities at all levels. ... The IOR supplied information, even outside official channels, in the period preceding the establishment of the Vatican Financial Information Authority (AIF). The cooperation of Paolo Cipriani, director general of the IOR, has been described as 'punctual and complete' in documents written by Italian officials. Indeed, in one case, it was precisely rapid action on the part of Mr. Cipriani that enabled one of the individuals identified to be accused".

"Following consultation with the AIF, we can confirm the following:

"(1) It is not true that the IOR failed to provide information to the AIF on the issues in question.

"(2) It is not true that the AIF failed to forward this information to the Italian Financial Information Unit.

"(3) The Italian authorities have never made a request to the AIF regarding one of the individuals mentioned in the article, Msgr. Messina; therefore it is clearly impossible for the AIF to 'respond' to its Italian counterpart.

"These points regarding communication between the AIF and its Italian counterpart are all confirmed by documents held by the AIF, identified with specific protocol numbers.

"Furthermore, the article does not report that on 6 June 2011 one of the individuals mentioned therein - Fr. Bonaccorsi - was declared innocent, a sentence confirmed on appeal.

"The sadly defamatory effect of the article arises from the use of the term 'incriminated' to refer to Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, president of the IOR, and to Paolo Cipriani. Neither of them has ever been incriminated, but merely investigated".

PRESENTATION OF LOGO FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY 2013

Vatican City, 9 February 2012 (VIS) - The logo for World Youth Day 2013 has been revealed in the John Paul II Centre in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. WYD 2013 will be held in that Brazilian city next year.

Vatican Radio has announced that the logo, work of a young Brazilian artist Gustavo Huguenin, portrays a heart (symbol of youth) in the colours of the national flag (green and yellow). At the centre of the heart is the silhouette of the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. At the top is a cross, in recollection of the fact that the core of WYD is Christ Himself.

AUDIENCES

Vatican City, 9 February 2012 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience:

- Archbishop Francisco Montecillo Padilla, apostolic nuncio to Tanzania.

- Eighteen prelates of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, on their "ad limina" visit:

- Cardinal Francis Eugene George O.M.I., archbishop of Chicago, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishops Francis J. Kane, George J. Rassas, Andrew Peter Wypych and Alberto Rojas.

- Bishop Edward K. Braxton of Belleville.

- Bishop Robert Daniel Conlon of Joliet in Illinois, accompanied by Auxiliary Bishop Joseph M. Siegel, and by Bishop emeritus Joseph Leopold Imesch.

- Bishop Daniel Robert Jenky C.S.C. of Peoria.

- Bishop Thomas J. Paprocki of Springfield in Illinois.

- Bishop Christopher J. Coyne, auxiliary of Indianapolis.

- Bishop Charles C. Thompson of Evansville, accompanied by Bishop emeritus Gerald Andrew Gettelfinger.

- Bishop Kevin Carl Rhoades of Fort Wayne - South Bend, accompanied by Bishop emeritus John Michael D'Arcy.

- Bishop Dale Joseph Melczek of Gary.

- Bishop Timothy L. Doherty of Lafayette in Indiana.

JESUS' PRAYER BEFORE DYING

Vatican City, 8 February 2012 (VIS) - The prayer of Jesus at the moment of His death, as narrated by St. Mark and St. Matthew was the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during his general audience, held this morning in the Paul VI Hall.

"In the structure of the narrative", the Pope said, "Jesus' cry rises at the end of three hours of darkness, which had descended upon the earth from midday to three o'clock in the afternoon. Those three hours of darkness were, in their turn, the continuation of an earlier period which also lasted three hours and began with the crucifixion. ... In biblical tradition darkness has an ambivalent meaning: it is a sign of the presence and action of evil, but also of the mysterious presence and action of God Who is capable of vanquishing all darkness. ... In the scene of Jesus' crucifixion darkness envelops the earth, the darkness of death in which the Son of God immerses Himself, in order bring life with His act of love".

"Insulted by various categories of people, surrounded by a darkness covering everything, at the very moment in which He is facing death Jesus' cry shows that, along with His burden of suffering and death apparently accompanied by abandonment and the absence of God, He is entirely certain of the closeness of the Father, Who approves this supreme act of love and of total giving of Self, although we do not hear His voice from on high as we did in earlier moments".

Yet, the Holy Father asked, "what is the meaning of Jesus' prayer? The cry addressed to the Father: 'my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'" He explained that "the words Jesus addresses to the Father are the beginning of Psalm 22, in which the Psalmist expresses the tension between, on the one hand, being left alone and, on the other, the certain knowledge of God's presence amongst His people. ... The Psalmist speaks of a 'cry' to express all the suffering of his prayer before the apparently absent God. At moments of anguish prayer becomes a cry.

"This also happens in our own relationship with the Lord", the Pope added. "In the face of difficult and painful situations, when it seems that God does not hear, we must not be afraid to entrust Him with the burden we are carrying in our hearts, we must not be afraid to cry out to Him in our suffering".

"Jesus prays at the moment of ultimate rejection by man, at the moment of abandonment. However, He is aware that God the Father is present even at the instant in which He is experiencing the human drama of death. Yet nonetheless, a question arises in our hearts: how is it possible that such a powerful God does not intervene to save His Son from this terrible trial?"

The Holy Father explained that "it is important to understand that the prayer of Jesus is not the cry of a person who meets death with desperation, nor that of a person who knows he has been abandoned. At that moment Jesus appropriates Psalm 22, the Psalm of the suffering people of Israel, at that moment He takes upon Himself not only the suffering of His people, but also that of all men and women oppressed by evil. ... And He takes all this to the heart of God in the certainty that His cry will be heard in the resurrection. ... His is a suffering in communion with us and for us, it derives from love and carries within itself redemption and the victory of love.

"The people at the foot of Jesus' cross were unable to understand, they thought His cry was a supplication to Elijah. ... We likewise find ourselves, ever and anew, facing the 'today' of suffering, the silence of God - many times we say as much in our prayers - but we also find ourselves facing the 'today' of the Resurrection, of the response of God Who took our sufferings upon Himself, to carry them with us and give us the certain hope that they will be overcome".

"In our prayers", the Holy Father concluded, "let us bring God our daily crosses, in the certainty that He is present and listens to us. The cry of Jesus reminds us that in prayer we must cross the barrier of 'self' and our own problems, and open ourselves to the needs and sufferings of others. May the prayer of the dying Jesus on the cross teach us to pray with love for so many brothers and sisters who feel the burden of daily life, who are experiencing moments of difficulty, who suffer and hear no words of comfort, that they may feel the love of God Who never abandons us.

POPE CALLS FOR SOLIDARITY TOWARDS VICTIMS OF BAD WEATHER

Vatican City, 8 February 2012 (VIS) - Following his catechises during this morning's general audience, Benedict XVI launched an appeal for solidarity with victims of the current period of extremely cold weather. "Over recent weeks", he said, "a wave of freezing weather has affected a number of regions in Europe causing great disruption and widespread damage. I wish to express my closeness to the people suffering such extreme meteorological conditions, and ask for prayers for the victims and their families. At the same time, I encourage people to show solidarity that, those affected by these tragic events may receive generous assistance".