The second day of the Congress had as its central theme: the greatest love story. The day began with the prayer of the rosary followed by two morning Masses, one in English presided by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Bishop of New York at Lucas Oil Stadium and another in Spanish celebrated by Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Bishop of Boston at the Indiana Convention Center.
In their respective homilies, the prelates referred to the Eucharist as the sacred food, indispensable in the life of every Catholic. Without it we cannot establish a relationship and communion with God, said the Bishop of New York. However, Dolan acknowledged that in the USA only 25 % of Catholics are faithful to the Sunday precept and in view of this it is necessary to recover the centrality of the Sunday Mass because without the Eucharist there is no church: "We need to eat this sacred food because we want to be in communion with Him", said the Bishop of New York.
For his part, during the liturgy in Spanish, Cardinal Sean O'Malley said that the world is ruled by people suffering from spiritual amnesia. "They have forgotten God," he said, which causes people not to go to Mass; and he continued, "I see fewer people in Church today than when I was growing up. Many have even forgotten what Mass is all about. Therefore, O'Malley emphasized, this Eucharistic Congress is important because it helps us to understand that as disciples of Christ, the Eucharist must be the center of our lives. "God loves us and nourishes us because the Eucharist is the madness of God's love," the cardinal said.
Impact sessions
At the end of the liturgies, the congress participants attended one of seven "Impact Sessions", i.e. classified and targeted talks for Catholics in different states and stages of life: clergy, parents, youth, catechists and parish leaders. There were also two "encounter" sessions for Catholics seeking to renew their faith through the mystery of the Eucharist and for those looking for practical tools to evangelize their community and become "Eucharistic missionaries.
Among the "impact sessions" in Spanish was a reflection by Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, who spoke about the need to renew the spirit of communion and mission in the Church. The temptation of the culture, said Flores, "is to think that the world is saved by wealth, but it is not so. It is the poverty of Christ that has saved us. The Lord was vulnerable and gave his life for us," said Flores. Therefore, in order to evangelize, "we must touch the poverty of the Lord, because God makes us rich in the richness of his poverty".
Work sessions
The afternoon of the second day of the Congress was structured around the so-called "working sessions" and "special experiences". The former are mini-workshops given by speakers belonging to different lay ministries or Catholic educational institutions such as "Augustine Institute", "Catholic University of America", "Catholic University of America", "The Catholic University of America" and "The Catholic University of America".FOCUS"Exodus 90" or "Our Sunday Visitor", among others. Workshop topics included: "A Biblical Walk through the Mass", "Evangelizing through the Eucharist", "What does it mean to be a Eucharistic people", "The family and Catholic education", "Transforming the world with the Eucharist and evangelization".
In addition, one of the "special experiences" was a round table on the theme "A Synodal Church in Mission", presented by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Bishop of Chicago and Bishop Daniel Flores, among other speakers. In his intervention, Cardinal Cupich indicated that "if there is a crisis of faith in the Church, it is not so much because people do not believe that Jesus is present in the Eucharist, but because people do not fully understand and believe what it means for Jesus to rise from the dead," he said. Likewise, we must focus our attention "on what Christ is doing and what is happening to us as individuals and as a community, that is, to be transformed so that we can more fully assume Christ's mission of bringing justice, peace and love to the world," he said.
Eucharistic Adoration
In the afternoon-evening came one of the most awaited moments for the congress participants: the presentation of the main speakers and the Eucharistic adoration in the Lucas Oil Stadium. The keynote speakers of the day were Mother Olga of the Sacred Heart, founder of the Daughters of Mary of Nazareth in the Archdiocese of Boston, and Father Mike Schmitz, a priest of the Diocese of Duluth. In recent years Schmitz has become one of the celebrities of the English-speaking Catholic world for his video messages, aimed primarily at young people, and his podcasts "The Bible in a Year" and "The Catechism in a Year".
In his presentation, Schmitz spoke of the sacrificial and redemptive aspect of the Holy Mass: "God becomes present among us during the liturgy. In the Mass you are part of the redemption of humanity. Every time it is celebrated, the Father is glorified and the world is renewed". In spite of this, the prelate pointed out that many Catholics ignore this mystery or are indifferent. In view of this, the prelate invited those present to make known the marvel of the Eucharistic mystery and tell the world that "they have been redeemed and that only love can make them saints". The day concluded with the solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, adoration and the final blessing.
Yemen has always been, as we have seen, a crossroads of peoples, cultures and trade routes. It is home to Muslims of various currents, Jews and, to a lesser extent and persecuted, Christians.
We have already outlined, in an article on Iran, the main characteristics of Shiite Islam as compared to Sunni Islam.
In Yemen, Shiite Islam is mainly represented by the Zaydi sect and, to a lesser extent, by other currents such as the Duodecimans (the majority in the rest of the Shiite Islamic world, for example in Iran).
The zayditas They take their name from Zayd ibn Ali, great-grandson of Ali, who was the fourth "rashid" caliph after the death of Muhammad and was also the first Shiite imam. For the Zaydis, there are only five legitimate imams, descendants of Ali and Fatima, daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.
They differ from the Duodeciman Shiites (Imamites) in that they do not believe in the occultation of the last Imam, a central feature of the Duodeciman faith. The theology and jurisprudence of the Zaydites, therefore, are closer to those of the Sunnis, to the point that they are often considered a kind of bridge between Sunnism and Shi'ism.
The Zaydis arrived in Yemen in the ninth century, especially in the northwest, where they established an imamate in Sa'ada. As we have seen in the previous article, the Zaydi imams managed over time to rule much of northern Yemen, gradually consolidating their power, to the point that the Zaydi imamate was able to last for almost a millennium, that is, until the 1962 revolution that led to the creation of the Yemen Arab Republic and put an end to their political domination.
As of today, it can be said that the best known representatives of the Zaydi Islamic current in Yemen (to which an estimated 45% of the population belongs) are the Huthi rebels, i.e. the movement (which later became an armed group) that took its name from Hussein Badreddin al-Huthi (1959-2004), considered one of the greatest spiritual, political and religious leaders by the Yemeni Zaydis, after his assassination,
In fact, Yemeni Zaydis, especially after the reunification of the country (1990), felt increasingly marginalized within the national political scene, also due to the growing Salafist and Wahhabi influence coming from Saudi Arabia.
The Arab Springs and the ensuing unrest in the country were thus an opportunity for the armed Houthi movement to rise to international prominence by capturing the capital, Sana'a, in 2014 and triggering an armed conflict against the internationally recognized government and the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in support of it.
The Houthis, for their part, have received logistical and moral support from Iran, although relations between them and the Tehran regime are by no means straightforward (we have seen that the Houthis are Zaydis while the Iranian regime is Duodeciman).
Alongside the Zaydi majority, there is also, to a much lesser extent (both numerically and in terms of political influence), a Shi'a community among Yemen's Shi'ites. duodecimana or imamita, whose followers believe in a line of twelve imams (political and religious leaders who, in Shi'ism, are believed to belong to the immediate family of Muhammad and are especially beloved and inspired by God, even considered by some to be infallible and partakers of the divine nature), the last of whom, Muhammad al-Mahdi, is considered occult (not dead, but hidden and destined to return as Mahdi, or redeemer, a kind of Islamic messiah).
Although numerically less important, the duodecimanos However, they have a certain visibility in the country precisely because of the support provided by Iran, through the dissemination of religious literature and the construction of cultural centers, which the regime in Tehran uses to promote its doctrine.
Jews in Yemen
Yemen has always been, as we have seen, a crossroads of peoples, cultures and trade routes. It is precisely in this land where we find settled, for millennia, one of the oldest Jewish communities of the Diaspora, one of the proudest and most exotic, considered by many Western Jews as the living testimony of the traditions and the moral, spiritual, but also physical aspect of the people of Israel before its dispersion to the four corners of the world.
The origins of this community are uncertain and, to reconstruct its earliest history, there are more legends than actual sources.
These Jews always lived isolated from the rest of the Diaspora, until the exodus to Israel, apart from some sporadic commercial or religious ties, living scattered in small groups in the south of the Arab country, sometimes almost without contact with each other. The only large community was that of Sana'a, in whose district they were concentrated.
Community customs were characterized by strict adherence to traditions. Marriages, for example, were arranged by parents at an early age and people married as soon as they were teenagers; women were illiterate and dependent on men; bigamy was widespread, to the extent that even until recently in Israel, among the old immigrant families, there were some Yemenis with two wives.
The Judaism of this group was strictly rabbinical and their presence in the country was seen by them as a period of exile that would end with their return to the Promised Land.
For most Yemeni Muslims (especially the Zaydis), Jews were considered impure and were forbidden to live and mingle with the Islamic faithful, as well as being subjected to harassment and discrimination.
The Yemenite Israelites differed from the Muslims both in their outward appearance, especially in the way they dressed, and in other peculiarities, such as language. They spoke a different form of Arabic than the citizens of the Islamic faith, both in vocabulary (the Arabic spoken by the Israelites includes Hebrew and Aramaic words) and in accent.
From 1872, with the occupation of Sana'a by the Ottoman army, the living conditions of the Yemenite Jewish community, quite precarious and miserable, seemed to improve. However, from 1905, the year of the defeat of the Turks by the Zaydi Imams, the quality of life of the Israelites of the South Arab country deteriorated again.
Then, in 1918, at the end of World War I and with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Turkish troops left Yemen for good, where the conditions of the Jewish community remained almost unchanged until 1949-50, the period of mass emigration to Israel.
It was in 1947, following the UN resolution on the partition of Palestine, that the pogrom was merely the culmination of a wave of persecution against local Jews. In response to this event, between 1949 and 1950, with the operation "Flying Carpet", also known as "On Eagle's Wings", the Israeli government organized a massive emigration of a large part of the community to the Jewish State, by means of an air bridge of some 400 flights, which took 49,000 Yemenite and Aden Jews out of the country, that is, almost the entire community.
In the following years, the already meager remaining Jewish community dwindled further, due to constant emigration and harassment, until the 2000s, when the situation worsened further with increasing threats from Islamic extremists and civil war. In fact, many of the remaining Jews were evacuated by international organizations.
In 2016, one of the last groups of Yemeni Jews was relocated to Israel. As of today, only a handful of Jews remain in Yemen, the last vestige of a millennia-old community, living in isolation and under constant threat.
It must be said that in Israel, Jews of Yemeni origin now represent an artistic and cultural elite (many singers, actors and artists are members of this community, despite difficult integration conditions in the past): the most famous internationally are the singers Noa and the late Ofra Haza.
Christianity in Yemen
Christianity has very ancient roots in Yemen, dating back to the 4th century A.D., even here, therefore, long before the birth of Islam. The Christian community settled in particular in the city of Najràn, which we mentioned in the previous article on the "Omarite martyrs" (Himyarites).
After the Islamic conquest in the 7th century, a slow decline began for Christianity, although some communities managed to survive for a few centuries. However, massive conversions to Islam, sometimes forced and sometimes voluntary (due to the difficult living conditions that those who professed Christianity had to endure) led to the almost total disappearance of the Christian faith in the country.
At present, there are only a few Christian communities in Yemen, mostly foreign workers and diplomatic personnel. The churches present are mainly Catholic and Protestant and serve, as is the case in other Islamic countries (we already talked about this in one of the articles on Morocco) mainly foreigners.
Even in Yemen, the Constitution states that Islam is the state religion and Sharia is the source of law. Religious freedom is guaranteed de jure, but de facto is very limited. In fact, apostasy, i.e. conversion from Islam to another religion, is considered a crime punishable by death under Islamic law. The construction of new churches is then almost impossible and missionary activities are strictly forbidden.
The situation of Yemeni Christian converts from Islam is very complicated. If they do not die, they continue to suffer severe persecution and often have to profess their faith in secret to avoid discrimination, violence and arrests.
Yemeni society, which is strongly conservative, tends to marginalize those who do not follow Islam, especially at a time like the present, when tensions and the ongoing conflict further worsen a situation that, for religious minorities, including Christians, was already extremely complicated.
Let us think, in fact, of a case that has caused international commotion, that of the Missionary Sisters of Charity (the order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, present in Yemen for decades). In 2016, four nuns of this congregation were massacred by a commando of armed men who attacked their convent in Aden.
Along with them, several Ethiopian collaborators of the congregation, as well as elderly and sick people being cared for by the sisters at the time, also lost their lives, making a total of 16 dead. This tragic event highlighted once again the dangers to which Christian communities and humanitarian personnel are exposed in this wonderful country which, unfortunately, never finds peace.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Pope grants plenary indulgence for World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly
On July 28, World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly, Catholics will be able to obtain a plenary indulgence, according to a decree published by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
For the fourth consecutive year, the Apostolic Penitentiary, by mandate of the Pope, grants a Plenary Indulgence on the occasion of the feast of St. Peter's Day. World Day of Grandparents and the Elderlywhich this year will be held on Sunday, July 28, 2024.
This year's theme, "In old age do not forsake me," taken from Psalm 71, underscores the importance of honoring and caring for the elderly in society.
The spiritual gift of the indulgence will also be granted on this occasion to various categories of the faithful. First of all, to grandparents, the elderly and all the faithful who will participate in the liturgical celebrations organized throughout the world on this occasion.
The same will be true for those who dedicate their time to visiting the elderly in need or in difficulty, and for all the sick elderly and their caregivers, who are unable to physically attend the celebrations.
The conditions for obtaining the Indulgence are the usual ones: sacramental confession, Eucharistic communion and prayer according to the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff.
By signing the DecreeCardinal Angelo De Donatis, the Major Penitentiary, underlined the pastoral importance of the initiative, inviting priests to make themselves available to hear confessions on this occasion.
This award is part of the broader context of the Catholic Church's efforts to promote the dignity and value of the elderly in the Christian community and in society in general.
The initiative also reflects the special attention that Pope Francis has always devoted to the elderly during his pontificate, recognizing their fundamental role as custodians of memory and transmitters of the faith to new generations. It is no coincidence that, in 2022, the Pontiff himself has dedicated numerous Wednesday catecheses to the "meaning and value of old age," a "new people" and "among the most urgent questions that the human family is called to face in these times."
The message
In the Message written on the occasion of this fourth Day, Pope Francis specifically addresses the problem of the loneliness and marginalization of the elderly in contemporary society, launching an appeal for a cultural change. Above all, it is necessary to overcome the growing individualism and those policies and social choices that do not recognize the dignity of each person "beyond all circumstances".
The change of perspective proposed by the Holy Father does not see the elderly as a burden, but as a precious resource for the family, society and the whole Church. It is not by chance that the Message ends with an appeal for tenderness and closeness towards grandparents and the elderly, inviting them to say "I will not abandon you" and to embark on a journey of intergenerational solidarity.
Prayer
In the prayer written for the occasion, the concerns and hopes of the elderly are expressed and, together with respect for human dignity and the value of each person, there is trust in the renewal of hearts through the Word of God and the invocation of the Holy Spirit.
The fight against loneliness and the invocation of peace also emerge as a crucial theme, looking to the future with renewed hope.
Tenth National Eucharistic Congress opens with 50,000 people in Indianapolis
On July 17, the X National Eucharistic Congress began in the United States. The opening of the event was attended by 50,000 people from all over the country.
On the afternoon of July 17, the X National Eucharistic Congress began in Indianapolis, Indiana. More than 50,000 people gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium to attend the solemn opening of the event. It is the first time in 83 years that the Catholic Church in the United States has gathered at a national level to be, adore and learn about Our Lord Jesus Christ, present in the Most Holy Eucharist.
The Congress began with a solemn procession and exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. A few minutes before, about 50 pilgrims who accompanied the Blessed Sacrament in procession from four different routes covering the four cardinal points of the United States entered amidst applause.
Two years of preparation
Afterwards, adoration began, which was accompanied by live music and moments of silence. Andrew Cozzens, Bishop of Crookston and president of the executive board of the 10th Congress, presided over the solemn Eucharistic act. In his address, the prelate addressed a prayer to Jesus: "Lord, we have prepared ourselves for two years and today we are gathered to celebrate the gift of the Eucharist. In that time we had thousands of hours of adoration in different parts of the country, at the local and diocesan level. We made a 65-day pilgrimage from different parts of the USA. Today we want to be transformed. We want you to transform us into missionary disciples, filled with the joy of the Gospel and grateful for the salvation you have given us. We are sinners, but we are yours. By your blood we were acquired for you. We desire a profound conversion. Change our hearts to be like yours. Our world so needs peace, especially Ukraine and the Holy Land. Give us the gift of unity and peace. We also pray for our country and our church. May we all be one, consecrated in your truth, united as one Church under our Holy Father Pope Francis. Jesus, in you we trust," said Msgr. Cozzens, who at the end imparted the blessing.
After Eucharistic adoration, Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the USA, opened the sessions of the Congress. In his address, he referred to the Eucharist as the sacrament and source of the Church's unity: "Perhaps our main prayer for this Eucharistic Congress is that, as a Church, we may grow in unity so that we may be more fruitful in our mission".
If we are living well the initiative of the Renaissance and the Eucharistic Congress, he said, one of the fruits should be the building of bridges of unity. In this sense, the cardinal exhorted the attendees to ask the Lord during their moments of prayer and adoration to "get out of their comfort zone to avoid the resistances that prevent full unity and a closer relationship with God."
The ways of God
The second keynote speaker on the first day of the Congress was Sister "Bethany", from the diocesan institute of women's religious life "Sisters for Life" (".Sisters of Life"), founded in 1991 by New York Cardinal John J. O'Connor. Its mission is the defense of human life through evangelization (especially to university students) and support for women who are vulnerable or have suffered an abortion.
In her address, Sister Bethany alluded to the Emmaus Road and related it to her experiences in her apostolate in defense of life. The painful experiences in our lives, she said, the betrayals and failures - however unexpected and untimely - "can be invitations to have greater faith, hope and love. In a word, to have greater confidence to accept God's unwavering goodness. In faith, the nun pointed out, we should not measure things according to the world's standards, especially according to success, since "Jesus died suffering what was apparently a total failure. But that is how he redeemed the world: triumphantly on the cross," said Sister Bethany.
The Sister exhorted the attendees "not to cling to worldly ways", seeking only comfort, avoiding the demands of discipleship and resisting the will of the Lord. Sister exhorted the congress participants to bring everything to Jesus during the congress: "Nothing is too much for him. Ask for his mercy. Ask for His grace and surrender to Him", she concluded.
Sessions, exhibitions and relics
In addition to the plenary sessions and opportunities to attend various catecheses, participants in the congress will be able to attend the celebration of Mass in different languages and will also be able to have recourse to the sacrament of confession. Parallel to the event, two exhibitions will be held, the first on the mantle of Turin and the second on the Eucharistic miracles.
There will also be a chapel where the relics of the patron saints of the Renaissance and the Eucharistic Congress will be exhibited: Carlo Acutis, Manuel González García, Pascual Baylón, Junípero Serra, Juan Diego and Elizabeth Ann Seton. Another novelty will be the presentation in the United States of the French musical "Bernadette", which narrates the apparitions of the Virgin of Lourdes to the little shepherdess.
The activities of the Congress will continue until July 21 and can be followed live on its website. web page.
Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur: "My program is to find the hidden treasure in each person".
Joseph Maria Bonnemain has been bishop of Chur, Switzerland, for three years. It is a complex and polarized diocese, although his appointment has opened the way to a phase of normalization. He receives Omnes in his office, answers our questions and explains the context in which he carries out his task as pastor.
As we walk through the main floor of the bishop's palace on our way to his office, Bishop Joseph Bonnemain points out to me some pictures that one of his predecessors had commissioned to represent the virtues of a bishop. He smiles and comments that they are an "invitation to an examination of conscience". I do not ask him which is more necessary, but I notice the representation of the "prudentissimus" bishop. According to what Josef Pieper writes about prudence, in the prudent person "the knowledge of reality" would be "molded towards the realization of the good", and it seems to me very timely in the context of this meeting.
Monsignor Bonnemain explains that this "palatial" area of the House is no longer functional and that, when the necessary money can be raised, his intention is to restore it and make it accessible to visitors. The roots of this episcopal see of Chur (in Spanish, Coira or Cuera) go back a long way. It existed as early as the 5th century; it is the oldest in Switzerland, and even older, the oldest north of the Alps.
I converse animatedly with Monsignor Joseph Bonnemain for several hours. We converse in Spanish: Bonnemain was born in Barcelona and speaks it fluently, although with the occasional insecurities that are logical for someone who does not use a language on a regular basis.
If you like, let's start by getting to know the person of the Bishop of Chur. Who is Joseph Bonnemain?
- An apprentice. I think that to know God and to know man is like diving into two infinities. Therefore, I am more and more aware that we have to learn. In my youth I heard it said of the early Christians: "See how they love each other". That phrase made me a little nervous, because I thought: "see how they love", and not "how they love": how they love, with a love open to all creatures.
I have always been accompanied by the desire to learn to love. In this one is an apprentice until the end of life. And it is also the theme of the "Fratelli tutti"from the Pope. I am an apprentice.
In Swiss public opinion, two traits of his character are known, which are probably related to each other. The first is his fondness for sports...
- My father was a great sportsman, and he did all kinds of sports. As soon as I was a month old he signed me up for a swimming club in Barcelona, where we lived, and he used to take me swimming. I always swam a lot. When I was a student I started to have problems with my back, specifically in the back of my neck, and I started to do weights. I've also done jogging, some soccer and other things, but I've never been a fan of it. athlete.
Then I tried to do sport regularly, in principle twice a week: because I always liked it very much, and perhaps also a little out of vanity, to keep myself in good shape. Since I've been a bishop, it's quite difficult. It is already an achievement if I manage, with effort, to go once a week to the gym. When I became a bishop, a television network wanted to make a program about me, and among other things they filmed me doing weights; that's when the myth started that I do weightlifting.
Another trait is your approachable and direct nature. You get along well with people, and they appreciate that.
- If a bishop does not feel close to the people and is not at the disposition of the People of God, what good is he? This is what the Pope calls "having the smell of sheep", and it is fundamental for a bishop. A shepherd without sheep? He would be wasting his time.
In any case, it is not a trait I have only as a bishop. Before that, for thirty-six years I was close to the sick from morning to night in the hospital where I was chaplain. This very intense personal contact with the sick, with their families, with the 1,300 employees and collaborators of the hospital, from the head doctors to the cleaning staff, has always filled my life. Getting to know them and to get to know them, to become one with the joys, the sorrows, the struggles, the problems, the misfortunes of many people every day, has been a school of life. And not much has changed being a bishop.
Monsignor Joseph Bonnemain in conversation with Omnes in his office (Omnes)
Does he resemble Pope Francis in that respect?
- I have the impression that when the Pope is with the people, he lights up. It is as if the tiredness or the problems he carries on his shoulders disappear. The same thing happens to me: when I am with the people, my energy comes back, the illusion of living.
In your years as a hospital chaplain, what has been most fulfilling to you?
- I like to say that the sick have been my great educators. If I ever do anything sensible as a bishop, it will be because the sick have educated me. On some occasions I have told - although not yet in the Spanish-speaking world - that at the beginning of my service as chaplain I met a sick man, an Italian in his fifties, who was in the terminal phase of cancer. I still had the mentality of a young priest, more or less recently ordained, and almost inexperienced, thinking that in life everything is either black or white, good or bad, without nuances. I was worried because this man was going to die and I did not want him to die without receiving the sacraments. I went to see him once, and he made an excuse: "Now is not a good time..., I am busy. Come another day. After three or four days I tried again, and again he said, "The physiotherapist is coming, I can't." I was getting more and more nervous. I was getting more and more nervous: this man is going to die without the sacraments! On the fourth or fifth attempt he looked at me and said: "Look, Father, what happens is that you scare me. You are young, you have two doctorates, you are a sportsman. No! What I need is an old, fat and good capuchin".
At that moment I thought, "Sepp, here is the Holy Spirit speaking. You have to change. An old, fat, good cappuccino. Good!". You learn from the sick, indeed.
Are you still caring for the sick?
- No, of course not! I have a certain relationship with the medical world, of course. For example, last year, the Swiss association of hospital directors invited me to give a lecture at their congress; two weeks ago, the national association of specialists in ultrasound diagnostics, which brings together some 800 doctors, asked me to give a lecture at their congress held nearby in Davos. Likewise, all the chief physicians of the hospital, or the intensive care staff, have come to visit me here in the bishopric. Yes, I am still in touch, but it is a very different thing from when I was chaplain.
After medical school, he studied canon law. A large part of your service to the diocese has been related to the diocesan courts. What have you learned, and what have you been able to contribute, as judicial vicar?
- Yes, I have been a judicial vicar for forty years. As you know, in that function, we mainly study marriage annulments. I have been able to contemplate the whole range of possibilities in that area. When I had been, let us say, twenty-five years dedicating myself to this, I thought that I had already heard all the nonsense that the human heart can do; however, every day a new story came along, something unbelievable. That is why I often repeat that I have known all the pathology of human love.
But as I have become more aware of this pathology, I have not become skeptical; on the contrary, I have become more enthusiastic about human love. I have become more convinced that marriage is a faithful and lifelong relationship - and open to life - between man and woman, that it is a school of life, an incredible enterprise.
Since I have been dealing with sexual abuse issues, I have come to the conviction that it is a mistake to reduce the problem to the abuse of minors by clergy. It is not a good approach. I have learned, above all, two things. The first is that we must also consider abuse of adults, men or women. Where there is a sensual or sexual theme or contact between two adults in a relationship of dependence, there is abuse, because the one who is in charge of spiritual or pastoral care is in a relationship of superiority with respect to the person he is accompanying or treating. The second is that canon law should not be limited to considering crimes of abuse by clerics. For example, in our German-speaking dioceses in Switzerland, thirty-five to forty percent of those responsible for pastoral care are lay people, not clerics, and they too can abuse. I have presented these two experiences on several occasions through the Bishops' Conference in view of the reforms of the Canon Criminal Law, and finally these two issues have entered the current criminal law.
Even so, it is still difficult for the idea of adult abuse to permeate recent legislation and documents of the universal Church.
What milestones stand out in the past three years since you assumed the leadership of the diocese?
- It depends on what we consider "milestones". I remember now something that, more than a milestone, is a very dear moment for me. It concerns the administration of Confirmation to a group in a parish in Zurich. When I administer Confirmation to young people, I have a meeting with the confirmands a few weeks beforehand. On this occasion the catechist had prepared the meeting in such a way that each of the confirmands had a few moments to tell a little about himself - who he was, what he wanted to do in life -, light a candle and make a wish. It was the turn of a seventeen-year-old boy, originally from Zurich, who, in front of all his companions, lit the candle and expressed this wish: "I ask God that until the end of my life I do not lose my faith". At that moment I thought: just to hear that is worth being a bishop.
And another moment that can also be considered a milestone. It is well known that in the diocese there is a great polarization within the clergy, between the progressives, who would like to change everything, and the traditionalists, who think that everything should remain as it has always been. That is the situation that I found when I was appointed bishop, and that I already knew. Well, two years ago, together with the Presbyteral Council, we wanted to organize a pilgrimage with the priests of the diocese to Sachseln, where St. Nicholas of Flüe, Brother Klaus, who is considered throughout Switzerland as the intercessor of peace and harmony, is buried. We wanted not only those of one "fraction" to come, but also that by going on pilgrimage together we could come a little closer to each other. And at the end of the pilgrimage, as evening was falling, a priest came up to me and said: "You know, Joseph, I have been talking to a brother priest. I have been talking to a brother priest to whom I had made a firm decision never to speak to again in my life.
For me, these are two of the important milestones in these three years. Apart from that, there is the publication of the Code of Conduct of the diocese, concerning the promotion of a just relationship of proximity and distance. Also, a few months ago we published a document or vademecum for the transformation of the diocese in a synodal sense. And we are preparing a diocesan year for 2025-2026, which will have as its theme "Pilgrims of Hope", the same motto of the Jubilee Holy Year.
The Bishop of Chur blesses two parishioners (Communication Office of the Diocese of Chur)
What does the synodal transformation of the diocese consist of?
- In short, it is a matter of applying the criteria of knowing how to listen together, and not trying to implement our own plans on the basis of our own ideas or convictions. We should act with the openness of knowing that the Holy Spirit is speaking to me through what others are saying. Synodality is walking together, trying to discern what God wants. And this at all levels, from the parish council to the leadership of a cantonal ecclesiastical body, in the Curia, etc. There is even a point in the vade-mecum in which the bishop commits himself to appointing a new bishop, when necessary, synodically; I do not know yet how I am going to concretize it.
Your episcopal appointment was a personal decision of Pope Francis, and he has also decided that you will remain in office at least until 2026. What is the Pope's purpose?
- Yes, Pope Francis wrote to me that I should not resign until at least five years after my appointment; what happens after 2026 is open.
Surely the appointment by the Pope responds to the context of a complicated diocese with an enormous polarization. It was a question of finding a way to return to ecclesial normality. I suppose he tried to appoint others who did not accept, and in the end he had no choice but to ask Joseph Bonnemain. I do not think that from the beginning the Pope was enthusiastic about me, but in the end in Rome they must have thought that it was a good solution since I know the diocesan Curia very well after working in it for forty years.
My opinion is that a bishop should not have noble or aristocratic pretensions, and for my taste it would be necessary to do away with all those distinctive symbols. In any case, I do not want to impose it on anyone.
Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur
What is the diocese of Chur like?
- It is a complex diocese. It covers seven cantons, with diverse cultural traditions. In addition, there is a properly ecclesiastical religious organization and a civil one: it is the so-called "dual system", which is not unique to the diocese of Chur but to almost all of Switzerland.
When the State considered the possibility of taking over the collection of church taxes, it made it a condition that the institution it was going to support should have a democratic structure. For this reason, Catholic organizations of cantonal public law were created, recognized by the State, which collect the taxes and also administer them. Duality also exists at the parish level. The parish is not only an institution of canon law, but its faithful constitute a parallel civil figure: it receives the taxes, pays the salaries of those who work in the parish, hires and fires them - including the parish priest - and takes care of a large part of the administration of the goods.
The two aspects, canonical and civil, work in a coordinated manner. This has its advantages, because the priest and those responsible for pastoral care can concentrate on the pastoral aspects, while the administration, financing, construction, repair of the church, etc., are done by these public law entities. Conversely, it is clear that in some way the latter conditions the former, because he who has the money has the power; moreover, it makes all decision-making processes slow, as is often the case in Switzerland.
Forty years ago I thought that this system should be eliminated, but now I think it is not necessary; it can be a good system if the people involved have the right position and mentality as faithful. There is no perfect system, and while we are on earth everything material, financial and organizational is perfectible. The dual system has its pluses and minuses; but it all depends on the people. It is a matter of winning hearts, understanding people, taking great care of dialogue and exchange.
Monsignor Bonnemain in front of the bishop's palace during the conversation with Omnes (Omnes)
It is unthinkable for a Swiss at heart not to be counted on when it comes to making decisions. A Swiss person who thinks "in Swiss" is committed in a responsible way to the common good at the local level: in the fire department, in the children's school, etc.; and, if I am actively committed, I have the right to participate in the decisions. Similarly, in the Church, one cannot expect that one commits oneself and then the parish priest or the bishop alone decides; this does not work.
I cannot appoint a parish priest in this way, directly. When a parish becomes vacant, both the diocesan Curia and the parish public law entity publish an announcement so that priests who might be interested in changing parishes can apply. A dialogue about candidates then begins between the Curia and the parish entity. A discernment council is created: they interview them, they go to the Masses they celebrate, they ask them about their opinion on various topics, and with that X-ray they choose one of them, or none of them. Then, they ask me if this could be the candidate, and I formally present him to be elected by the assembly of the parish entity of public ecclesiastical law; if so, they present him to me so that I can appoint him. Afterwards, they will be the ones to pay his salary, or fire him if they are dissatisfied.
It can be a complicated system, but I believe once again that the recipe is to be close to the people, understand them and motivate them for what is right.
Earlier you mentioned tensions in the clergy. Are there any "Synodal Way" type movements here in Germany?
- No. From the beginning, in Switzerland the path we have followed is the synodal process of the universal Church. There have been groups and surveys at the diocesan level, and all the results of the diocesan surveys were summarized in a national document that was sent to Rome.
In this normal process of the universal Church, of course, there are voices or pressure groups that want to include the whole issue of the ordination of women, the acceptance of homosexuals or other issues that are discussed elsewhere. But they raise it within the general process.
Few people are as familiar with the problem of sexual abuse as you, who since 2002 have been Secretary of the Episcopal Commission on this subject. What has your work involved?
- In fact, in 2002, a group of experts of the Episcopal Conference was created and I was appointed Secretary. It was a provisional appointment, but it lasted twenty years. When I was appointed bishop I thought that after all these years I would leave the subject, but no, I am still there. Now I am responsible in the Conference for the whole issue. The Commission is a group of experts, where there are jurists, psychologists, doctors, canonists... Its mission is to advise the Episcopal Conference on the measures to be taken, not to carry out investigations.
On the other hand, last year the three "columns" of the Church in Switzerland - the dioceses, the cantonal ecclesiastical corporations and the religious orders - made a specific research assignment to the Faculty of History of Law of the University of Zurich, asking for a historical examination of what happened in the field of sexual abuse in the Catholic ecclesiastical sphere from 1950 until now. We made all the archives of the Curiae available to them. That cabinet you see there, behind you, is the secret diocesan archive of our Curia; I opened it for them and left it here for them to read, study or photocopy as much as they wanted. That was only a pilot study. Now we have commissioned the same Faculty to carry out an in-depth study, which will take them three years to prepare.
One of the effects of the publication of the results of this first study, on September 12, 2023, has been the emergence of new complaints: almost two hundred new cases. We had already noticed on other occasions that every time the subject appeared in the media, new victims appeared; we also saw this after the Conference held a public event to ask for forgiveness.
Have you noticed any progress since then?
- It does seem to me that we have made progress. I would like to remind you that in this matter I have always stressed the need for "less talk and more action", because I believe that, as a Church, we have already talked enough about this subject. I do not want us to keep repeating "blah, blah, blah", but to take action, to take the victims seriously.
With the passage of time, there have been normative modifications, but also changes at the level of ecclesial culture. There has been a change in mentality, and we have created trust. However, we must continue to work to ensure that this change of mentality is internalized, becomes life and becomes everyone's conviction. That is a long road.
As I always say, we have to achieve a Church that is liberated from itself; that forgets itself; that is not preoccupied with itself. This is also the great daring at the personal level: a self liberated from the self; a self that understands that it is only found in the you and in the we. Man is communication, as Benedict XVI said. As long as in the Church we continue to concern ourselves with the good name, with credibility, with the institution, we have understood nothing. We have to be on the side of the victims and not on the side of the institution. This change of mentality is slowly gaining ground, but there is still a lot to do.
Then, at all levels of the Church, we must take all the necessary preventive measures to create a relationship of distance and closeness, of accompaniment, that is truly professional, in which the right measure is respect, support and freedom. All this is a great undertaking.
Since I have been dealing with sexual abuse issues, I have learned two things: that abuse with adults must also be considered, and that canon law should not be limited to considering crimes of abuse by clerics.
Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur
The Holy See commissioned you a few months ago to investigate allegations of mismanagement against six bishops, and of abuse against a territorial abbot (also a member of the Conference) and other priests. What did this commission entail?
- It was only a preliminary or preliminary investigation, it was not a matter of judging anything. According to canon 1717 of the Code, when there is a possible transgression or an improper way of approaching things, the data is first collected to see if there really is a crime, a mistake or whatever; and it was up to me.
Joseph Bonnemain greets a little girl (Communication Office of the Diocese of Chur)
The press asked whether it was appropriate for me, as a bishop, to investigate the actions of other bishops. The conference of cantonal public corporations proposed that I be assisted by lay experts in law, which I gladly accepted. I was assisted and accompanied by a cantonal judge from French-speaking Switzerland and a professor of criminal and procedural law from the University of Zurich, who did a marvelous job. The final report, of about 21 pages, was written by the three of us together, sentence by sentence, and I submitted it to the Dicastery for Bishops at the end of January 2024. Since then we have been waiting.
In Germany, some have spoken of "systemic causes" of abuse. In your experience, do such causes exist?
- I believe that we can rather speak of "elements" or "circumstances" that favor abuses. For example, one of them is not sufficiently examining and evaluating the suitability of future priests and other pastoral collaborators. At a time when we perceive the lack of priests, clerics and pastoral assistants, or also of vocations in religious orders, we could think: this person wants to enter, so let him enter. The selection would have to be much more serious. We should ask ourselves a hundred times if there is suitability, if there is psychological and affective maturity, if there is a healthy way of understanding sexuality, etc.
One of the measures we have taken as of September 2023 is to demand that all those who are going to begin a path of theological formation in order to later work pastorally, both seminarians and non-seminarian theology students, undergo a thorough psychological examination, in order to clarify if they really have the basic aptitudes for pastoral work based on dealing with people in terms of affectivity, psychic balance, mental health, etcetera. I believe that not taking this into account has been one of those circumstances.
On the other hand, I think it does not help that in the Church there is little distinction of functions, that is, that the person in charge of the diocese is at the same time the one who judges situations. This creates a difficult scenario. Much more effort should be made to diversify the functions of government in the Church. Related to that is also the question of why should clerics be involved in what is simply administration and management. All this is also being raised in the Synod of the universal Church.
Speaking of the Synod on Synodality, what do you expect from the final stage in October?
- I am reading the "Instrumentum laboris", and I see that the approach is that of a missionary synodal Church. What the Pope repeats about the Church going out: "uscire, uscire, uscire...", "going out", "going out", "going out", "going out", "going out". A Church that goes out is a Church that is not preoccupied with itself; that does not care at all about being "rough"; that is convinced that the only place to find God is in the most peripheral periphery, that knows that when we try to take God somewhere we find that He has arrived before us. And it is a matter of "contaminating" this virus, this attitude, to the whole Church. I repeat once again: we need a Church that is not preoccupied with itself, but in love with man, just as God has fallen in love with man.
I also think that one of the concrete results of the Synod will be to make much more use of subsidiarity. I am referring to not wanting to govern everything from the center, but to give concrete solutions for concrete situations, regional or national; to admit that things evolve at a different pace in the different regions of the world: that what is perhaps mature in Switzerland - for example, all that way of collaborating, discerning and deciding among all, something that for us is much more normal than in other countries - may not be so in other places. It would be useful to take into account the different idiosyncrasies. Basically, it is to take seriously the universal vocation of the baptized, and to eliminate all clericalism.
I think that one of the concrete results of the Synod will be to make much more use of subsidiarity: not to want to govern everything from the center, but to give concrete solutions for concrete situations, regional or national.
Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur
Instead of the classic Episcopal coat of arms, you use a simple symbol representing a cross. Why?
- My episcopal motto is: "Man is the way of the Church," taken from the first encyclical of St. John Paul II. It is important to go to the essential, and the essential is this: if God became man in Christ, it is because he is in love with man, with each man and with every man. This is what we must do: go out to meet man. Either we find Christ in every man, or we will never find him.
As for the episcopal coat of arms, my opinion is that we have to thank God that the figure of the "princely bishops" ("Fürstbischöfe"), as some of my predecessors the bishops of Chur were called until 1830, came to an end two centuries ago. My opinion is that a bishop should not have noble or aristocratic pretensions, and for my taste all such distinctive symbols should be done away with. In any case, I do not want to impose it on anyone.
Surely my appointment responds to the context of a complicated diocese with an enormous polarization. It was a question of finding a way to return to ecclesial normality.
Joseph Bonnemain, Bishop of Chur
What are your goals for the future, beyond 2026?
- When I am on the street and meet with people, I try to convey the confidence that God loves us, loves every man and every woman, and therefore will not leave us out of his hand. Sometimes, in the face of wars, climatic disasters, etc., someone asks me if we are not already in the end time of the Apocalypse and if the world is coming to an end. I always tell them that I don't think so. It seems to me rather it is just beginning, because there is a lot to do. There is a lot of work ahead of us until good can take hold, and God is on our side.
My aim is to transmit that confidence, that hope: the conviction of the possibilities of each person, to love each one, to know that in every man and woman there is a hidden treasure to be found. It is possible that it is a bit covered with dirt, but deep down there is what St. Josemaría used to say, and which has always moved me a lot: that all people are good, although some have to discover that they can be good. That is my program
Caring for sheep is demanding and all-consuming. And as weak and sinful as we are, we all feel a sense of responsibility and tenderness toward those in our care: "If you then, who are evil, know how to give good things to your children." (Lk 11:13). We are both sheep and shepherds.
Certainly, we are sheep, and when Jesus looked at the crowds, as today's Gospel teaches us, and saw them as sheep without a shepherd, he also had us in mind. Therefore, He, the Good Shepherd, has given us shepherds, most especially in the Pope, to whom He entrusted primarily the care of the sheep (cf. Jn 21:15-17).
We have to recognize ourselves as sheep, and this is part of our humility. We are in great need of protection and there are many wolves and beasts out there eager to devour us (cf. Jn 10:12; 1 Pet 5:8). If we accept that we need the care of the Good Shepherd, he will keep us safe in his sheepfold (Jn 10:1-16), give us shepherds to guide us and teach us at length, as he taught the multitude.
But we are also shepherds and this means that we must bear the burden of caring for others, whether we are parents, exercise spiritual authority in the Church or simply feel responsibility for siblings, friends, colleagues or subordinates at work.
"Woe to the shepherds who scatter and let the sheep of my flock go astray"-oracle of the Lord.-Jeremiah teaches in the first reading. Woe even to negligent shepherds, so preoccupied with their own comfort that they neglect the sheep in their care. As Cain had to learn, yes, we are our brother's keeper (Gen 4:9). Rather, let us aspire to be among those good shepherds whom God promises, through Jeremiah, to raise up to care for and feed his flock. We are good shepherds when we are good fathers, good priests, good friends or brothers, and good bosses or colleagues.
But, as in the case of Jesus, this will require the loss of personal time and comfort. Jesus had heard of the death of John the Baptist and, no doubt, this was one of the reasons he wanted to withdraw his disciples to a solitary place. He wanted to have time to mourn the death of his friend. He also wanted to spend time with his disciples to help them process and celebrate their early successes in the work of evangelization. Jesus wanted time and space to both mourn and rejoice. Neither was granted. The crowds came and that was the end of his rest. However, he generously taught them "many things". This is to be a shepherd after the heart of Christ: to be willing to give up legitimate rest and self-care when the care of others requires it.
Homily on the readings of Sunday 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Indianapolis prepares for 10th National Eucharistic Congress
From July 17-21, U.S. Catholics in the United States will celebrate the 10th National Eucharistic Congress, a very special event that is part of the Eucharistic Renaissance initiative.
Everything is ready in Indianapolis, Indiana for the start of the X National Eucharistic Congress from July 17-21 which will take place at the Indianapolis Convention Center and Lucas Oil Stadium.
Some of the more than 50,000 registered attendees from across the United States have already begun to arrive. The Congress is the first to be held nationally since World War II and is part of the "Eucharistic Revival" initiative, a three-year program that began in 2022 and has been promoted by the bishops of the country with the goal of renewing the Catholic Church in the United States through the knowledge and encounter of Our Lord Jesus Christ present in the Holy Eucharist.
For this event, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal Luis Tagle as his extraordinary envoy. In the letter of appointment, the pontiff asks the cardinal to "transmit to the parishioners an ardent devotion to the Eucharist" and extends his apostolic blessing to all participants. Cardinal Tagle will preside at the concluding Mass on Sunday, July 21.
What will take place at the Eucharistic Congress
Throughout the five days of the Congress, those attending the X Congress will be able to participate in the Holy Mass in English, Spanish and other languages; they will also be able to attend the Sacrament of Confession and have moments of adoration in front of the Blessed Sacrament. There will also be a section dedicated to the exposition and veneration of the relics of the Blessed Sacrament. Elizabeth Ann SetonManuel González García, Junípero Serra, and Carlo Acutisamong others.
The congress will offer a series of conferences with different themes for different audiences (youth, parish leaders, clergy, etc.). These will be presented by renowned speakers and academics from the American Catholic world, including Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Apostolic Nuncio to the USA, Bishop Robert Barron, Father Mike Schmitz, Father Robert Spitzer, Dr. Scott Hahn and Dr. Hosffman Ospino among many others.
Tim Glemkowski, executive director of the Congress, said that on the eve of the event "there is a lot of excitement and energy" because it has been many months of preparation, but so far "God's grace has been poured out abundantly. For his part, Jason Shanks, who will replace Tim Glemkowski on August 1, indicated that "this moment is part of a much larger movement within our Church" and added that the mission of this Eucharistic Renaissance will not be complete until every Catholic has a personal and profound relationship with our Lord Jesus who is really and truly present in the Most Holy Eucharist.
Praying for peace
Referring to the security of the 10th Congress, due to the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Bishop Andrew Cozzens - Bishop of Crookston and president of the Board of Directors of the 10th Eucharistic Congress - noted that the congress has been planned to guarantee all security conditions. "We have retained the services of a nationally recognized security company, which has been working in coordination with intelligence units and law enforcement authorities at the local, state and federal levels."
The prelate added that it is a privilege "to gather in prayer with Our Lord Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at a time when our country and the world need the peace that comes only from Him. We will be praying for the healing of divisions in the U.S. and for an end to violence," Bishop Cozzens concluded.
Preparations for the Eucharistic Congress
As part of the Eucharistic Renaissance and in preparation for the Tenth Congress, various initiatives were carried out throughout the country at the local and diocesan levels, including a national Eucharistic pilgrimage that culminated in Indianapolis on July 16 and traveled 6,500 miles along four routes. A total of 250,000 people participated in the pilgrimage. Dozens of Eucharistic congresses and diocesan processions with the Blessed Sacrament also took place.
Also, with the help of theologians, the organizers produced a series of seven formative videos called "Jesus and the Eucharist". This material was designed to be part of and encourage small study groups at the parish level. So far the videos have had 300,000 views on multiple streaming platforms. More than 12,000 parish leaders and a team of "Eucharistic preachers" participated in the dissemination of these initiatives. At the end of the congress, the bishops will send "Eucharistic missionaries" whose task will be to go to the peripheries of their communities and continue to foster love and knowledge of Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar.
Some of the liturgies and sessions of the Congress can be followed from July 17 to 21 at the website of the event.
In the devastated Ukraine, the work of the Holy See's diplomacy
More than two years after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Holy See's diplomatic work has focused on the humanitarian issue.
Andrea Gagliarducci-July 16, 2024-Reading time: 4minutes
There was no time to rejoice over the release of two Greek Catholic priests imprisoned for more than two years, when the dream of peace in Ukraine was again put to the test.
Indeed, Russia attacked Kiev on July 8, striking two major Ukrainian medical centers, including Ukraine's largest pediatric hospital, leaving 27 dead in the capital alone and 38 in total, and more than a hundred wounded.
It was a brutal attack, which led, exceptionally, to the Holy See to send a communiqué highlighting Pope Francis' "deep anguish" and his call for "concrete ways to put an end to the ongoing conflicts".
The statement came on July 10, and also referred to the attack on a UN-run school in Gaza. But while the Holy Land's entry onto the scene is relatively more recent, coming on the heels of the Israeli response to the brutal attacks of October 8, 2023, in the last two years Pope Francis has always addressed a thought to the "tormented Ukraine" at the end of general audiences and Angelus prayers.
However, the diplomacy of the Holy See seems blocked, unable to really work. The Holy See's willingness to mediate went unheeded. Nevertheless, the Holy See succeeded in the humanitarian field and, above all, in the exchange of prisoners.
Release of the two Greek-Catholic priests
On June 28, news arrived that Greek Catholic priests Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta had been released from Russian captivity. The two, members of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, were released after a prisoner exchange. They had spent almost two years in captivity after being arrested in Berdyansk on November 16. They had not been heard from for a long time.
The Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, to which the two priests belonged, has spared no effort in recent years to have the two priests released, and so has the Holy See, which has opened discreet channels in these almost two years to allow the release of the two priests.
Before the urbi et orbi blessing of last Easter, Pope Francis launched the "All for All" campaign, in which he called for a full prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine. The release of the two priests is also part of the efforts of this campaign.
The prisoner exchange is a separate initiative from that of the return home of Ukrainian children currently on Russian territory because of the war.
The return home of the children - deported according to the Ukrainians, taken in by families according to the Russians - was the objective of the Cardinal's mission. Matteo Zuppi, Pope's envoy to Ukraine and Russia - as well as to the United States and China - precisely in order to open a channel of exchange. The mechanism worked, albeit for a smaller number of children than the Ukrainians had claimed. Now, there is also a good sign of the prisoner exchange mechanism.
In short, the Holy See's diplomacy is yielding some positive results. So much so that His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, major archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, wished to thank Pope Francis directly in a statement published on June 29 for having "personally contributed to the release of our Redemptorist priests Bohdan and Ivan", stressing that "despite the great obstacles, since their captivity lasted more than a year and a half, the efforts of Vatican diplomacy achieved a victorious result".
In addition to thanking the Holy See's diplomats, Cardinal Parolin and Cardinal Zuppi, "to whom the Holy Father entrusted the care of the release of Ukrainian captives and prisoners," Shevchuk also gave special thanks to Archbishop Visvaldas Kulbokas, apostolic nuncio to Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Zelensky also thanked the Holy See for its work.
The diplomatic front
What is happening on the diplomatic front? Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, who participated in the High Level Summit for Peace in Ukraine, held in Switzerland on June 15-16, gave clear guidance.
The Holy See did not sign the final declaration because it was only an observer country. However, it shared its spirit with a speech by Cardinal Parolin.
While noting Russia's absence from the summit, Parolin recalled that the only way to have a true, stable and just peace is "dialogue between all the parties involved," and expressed his hope that "the diplomatic efforts currently being promoted in Ukraine and supported by so many nations will be enhanced."
Parolin recalled that the Holy See "reaffirms the validity of the fundamental principle of respect for the sovereignty of every nation and the integrity of its territory," not trivial words that are a clear condemnation of Russian aggression.
At the same time, he added that the Holy See is "concerned about the tragic humanitarian consequences of the conflict" and is therefore at the forefront of work to facilitate the repatriation of children and encourage the release of prisoners.
In fact, the Holy See is also an observer in the International Coalition for the Repatriation of Ukrainian Children from Russia and is in direct contact with the Russian and Ukrainian authorities through a mechanism created following the visit of Cardinal Matteo Zuppi to Kiev and Moscow.
The Holy See also declares itself concerned about the lack of respect for the Geneva Conventions in the treatment of prisoners, both civilian and military, and regrets "the difficulty of setting up with the International Red Cross Committee a joint medical commission that could deal with the situation of prisoners of war in need of urgent care."
But above all, Cardinal Parolin also stated that the Holy See is committed to maintaining contacts with both the Russian and Ukrainian authorities and is ready to assist in the implementation of possible mediation initiatives that are "acceptable to all parties and beneficial to those concerned."
In short, in case of a glimmer of hope for peace, the Holy See would be ready to help.
The authorAndrea Gagliarducci
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
I was about 12 years old when in a group dynamic that took place in my school, a wise and close nun asked us: "Who do you admire and why?"
There were varied answers, some mentioned famous actors or actresses, others mentioned some outstanding sportsmen, I remember that I thought very seriously first of my parents but I wanted to refer to someone external because that was how the others did it and I said, "St. John Bosco!"
My parents spoke to me a lot about him because they were Salesian collaborators. They spoke of him with admiration, I remember that I was impressed to know that he was a great educator and that he approached young people with the power of love. He used to juggle and other tricks to attract them to Jesus. He invited them to be always cheerful with a sincere smile.
As the years have gone by, I realize that his personality has influenced me. I have wanted to be like him in many aspects and definitely, his example has contributed in my own way of life, in which I try to please God even in the midst of stumbles and falls.
84 % of people say that having a role model has made them feel more confident about what they want in life. Those who admire someone do so because of certain personality traits that harmonize with a sense of life.
When children and young people have role models and reflect on the reasons why they do so, they find meaning in their lives. And this is indeed a formidable pillar for building healthy, happy, holy and fruitful lives.
In today's world, our children follow "influencers" who do not necessarily practice virtues or have high ideals. There are many who only invite us to experience new, extreme, chilling sensations...
Parents are there to guide. Let us introduce our children to true role models. There are young people who know how to enjoy life in a healthy way and attached to a mature faith.
Three of them are relatively recent and are on their way to the altars. Let's review a little of their life and qualities: Schäffer, Frassati and Acutis.
Guido Shäffer
Guido Shäffer (1974-2009) Brazilian, the "surfing angel". With a cheerful character, he had a passion for surfing because when he practiced it he felt closer to God. From a Catholic family, he lived his faith naturally. He organized with friends to pray the Rosary on the beach before taking the waves. He was a doctor and entered the seminary because he wanted to become a priest. He worked at the Santa Casa de Misericordia (Holy House of Mercy) caring with deep closeness to poor patients and especially to people with HIV. He had a prayer group called "Fire of the Holy Spirit". For this reason, his life is described in the book entitled: "Guido, messenger of the Holy Spirit".
He died at the age of 34 while surfing... The board he was carrying hit him in the back of the head and he suffered a concussion. He had once remarked that he would like to die like that, at sea, doing what he loved most. He died shortly before being ordained a priest, leaving an indelible mark on those who knew him.
Pier Giorgio Frassati
Pier Giorgio Frassati (1901-1925), Italian. Mountaineer. He learned the faith from his mother, but his father was anticlerical and a non-believer. At a time when Italy was in conflict after the First World War, he said: "I would give my life to end the war".
He participated in Catholic organizations that were committed to doing good. He dedicated himself to caring for the poor, the sick and the homeless. He wanted to be close to the miners who suffered terrible unjust conditions, practically slavery. He founded a youth group of prayer and adoration which he jokingly called "The Suspicious Guys" whose maxim was: "few but good as macaroni". When he died of polio, many, many people came to his funeral, the poor he loved, his friends and so many who admired him. His father regretted not having known his son well and it is said that Pier Giorgio's first miracle was the conversion of his father who later died receiving the Holy Oils while he was already a son of the church.
Carlo Acutis
Carlo Acutis (1991-2006). Italian, "God's influencer". Son of Catholic parents but not practicing. Since he was a child he showed great love for the Eucharist, for the Marian invocations, for the sacred sites. A millennial, a true digital native who knew how to evangelize with new technologies. He could become "the patron saint of the web". He created a site on Eucharistic miracles and another on Marian apparitions, thus attracting young people to the themes of faith. He was an ideal catechist for his times, with great pedagogy and conviction. He used to say that the Eucharist is the highway to heaven.
May we in every family know how to speak about those we admire. Let us make the exercise of getting to know more about these young and current saints who can inspire us so much. How much the face of the earth would change if our greatest influencers were like them: healthy, happy and holy!
To remove suffering from our lives prevents us from maturing and understanding our human nature and, therefore, our vulnerability.
July 15, 2024-Reading time: 3minutes
You have to be very brave to do what the Canadian singer has done in her documentary "I am: Céline Dion" (Prime). His testimony fills with dignity the disease and pain. Taboo subjects in our western society, but which must be talked about.
The film, directed by Irene Taylor, shows us the most human face of the successful and multimillionaire artist: without makeup, in everyday clothes, without any glamour, the person in her crudest reality. A crudeness that comes from suffering for 17 years from a rare syndrome known by its acronym SPR (Stiff Person Syndrome) that causes muscle stiffness and painful spasms that incapacitate her not only to continue with her musical career as an international star but also for the most basic chores of ordinary life.
"I am" allows us to admire her beauty, her success and her prodigious voice with fragments of her best performances and, at the same time, to contemplate the same person in her moments of failure, of pain, of uncertainty. Which of Céline's two stories is the good one and which is the bad one? Can the two be separated? What is more admirable about her, her incredible voice modulation while interpreting My heart will go on Or the indescribable groan with which he endures the terrifying spasmodic crisis that, for six interminable minutes, he shows us in his documentary?
A single story, a single person endowed with infinite dignity in any circumstance, in any situation, because pain, illness or moral suffering are part of human life, of every human life, and are not incompatible with happiness.
In a world overflowing with ibuprofen and paracetamol, the slightest pain seems unbearable. We also have an appetite for so-called "soul medicines" such as anxiolytics or antidepressants, because we have lowered the threshold of psychological suffering to a minimum.
I have always been struck by the testimony of missionaries working in the poorest and most abandoned areas of the planet when they emphasize the joy of the people they serve as opposed to the sadness of the people of our first world. Also paradoxical is the essential joy of children who have suffered from a disability from a very young age or that of cloistered nuns whose lives are filled with deprivation.
Could it be that, by trying to flee at all costs from any suffering, what we actually achieve is to live it with more anguish? What is worse, the pain or the fear of pain? What produces more suffering, contemplating the hypodermic needle approaching the arm or the prick itself, thanks to which we can avoid illness and even death?
Avoiding even the slightest pain ends up working against ourselves, impairing our ability to cope with it when it does present itself in a serious way. To remove suffering from our lives prevents us from maturing and understanding our human nature and, therefore, our vulnerability. That's why I think this documentary is so necessary, because it unmasks the falsity of this sick world of instagrammable happiness that drives so many to despair and even suicide. I am Celine gives us a bath of humanity in the face of the bubble of vanity to which social networks have led us.
And no, it is not a matter of basking in the suffering of the rich and famous to make our gray life more bearable, nor of extolling suffering out of a kind of masochism, but of contemplating it and facing it, without hiding it, as a mystery that belongs to the essence of man. A mystery that is illuminated in the light of Jesus Christ. He, as the Good Samaritan, teaches us how to alleviate the pain of those who suffer around us. That is why accompanying, caring and healing have historically been verbs elevated to a heroic degree by those who believed that "you did it to me"; and, on the other hand, the Crucified One invites us to be sharers in his sufferings and to complete with our own suffering what is lacking in his.
At Salvifici DolorisIn his letter, St. John Paul II summed up this double aspect of the meaning of suffering: "Christ, at the same time, taught mankind to do good with suffering and to do good to those who are suffering".
Céline Dion's pain, like yours or mine, can be transformed into life with the power of Jesus. It is the power of giving oneself for others, or, as one of our beloved singer's greatest hits says, to give oneself for others, The power of love.
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
Many couples have realized the need for accompaniment along the way. Hence the importance of initiatives such as "Kana Welcome", a project in which several couples meet monthly to train, talk and create community.
Martina Berlin-July 15, 2024-Reading time: 3minutes
According to official statistics, 12,341 marriages took place in Berlin in 2022. In the same period there were 5,851 divorces. Catholics represent a minority in the German capital; in the entire archdiocese, which also covers a large part of the federal states of Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, making it the second largest German diocese, they make up only seven percent of the total population. In 2023, 1,610 baptisms, 1,952 first communions, 1,157 confirmations and just 269 marriages were recorded.
Reality shows that fewer and fewer Catholics are opting for canonical marriage, and those who do often find themselves insufficiently prepared for this important step.
Unaccompanied marriages
When my husband and I attended a training course in marriage preparation almost 25 years ago, conversations with the priest were limited to checking for canonical impediments and the details of the ceremony. We did not receive much guidance on the meaning of Christian or Catholic marriage or the support we could receive in times of crisis (which inevitably come).
A few years ago, a friend told me about an intensive and fruitful marriage preparation program in her spiritual community. We wondered if, even if we were already married, we could receive some kind of follow-up in our married life. We discovered that very few Catholic marriages had this type of accompaniment, although those that did found it to be of great benefit.
Over time, we came to understand that marriage can be difficult and that crises are inevitable, for some sooner, for others later. We were concerned to see marriages fail, couples break up, and friends who loved each other become enemies. We wondered: shouldn't it be different for us Christians? Isn't God the third member of our covenant? How can we invite God into our marriage and allow our faith to help us weather the storms?
Together with other couples from our parish (St. Matthias in the Berlin district of Schöneberg) we started to look for programs for couples. We visited parishes, participated in courses and shared our experiences. We discovered marriage preparation and marriage crisis courses, got to know the offers of "Equipe Notre Dame" in France and "Marriage Encounter" in the USA, participated in online courses for families and invited couples from "Marriage Encounter" to join us.Kana Welcome".
"Kana welcome", marriages as protagonists.
"Kana Welcome" is an offer for couples who practically organize themselves. The principle comes from the "Chemin Neuf" community, a charismatic movement within the Catholic Church with an ecumenical vocation: four or five couples meet in nine monthly sessions and spend a weekend or a family day together. One of the couples takes on the organization, and the couples take turns leading each of the evenings. At the end of the sessions, a joint activity can be organized in the parish, such as a breakfast or a coffee, which allows the parish to get to know "Kana Welcome" and couples who did not yet know the parish to find a place for their spiritual life.
The concept of "Kana Welcome" seemed accessible to us because of its simplicity. The topics, detailed in a booklet, focus on daily life as a couple, but can be adapted according to needs. For us, it was crucial to include a spiritual aspect to the meetings. That is why our evenings begin and end with prayer, and the meetings are presided over by a pious image.
Our pastor enthusiastically supported our initiative. At each meeting, he gives a short spiritual introduction related to the theme of the day and gives us a blessing before leaving. Then, one of the couples introduces the theme, and the discussion takes place in pairs following a rule: one speaks and the other listens, then the roles are exchanged. This dynamic helps the more talkative ones learn to listen and the quieter ones are encouraged to express their opinions. At the end, we all come together to share our reflections and end with a final prayer. The program is deliberately simple, with no late-night discussions.
This activity allowed us to finally reserve "time for ourselves", as married couples, despite our busy schedules.
Renewing the promise
"Kana Welcome" has been with us for a year now. It was exciting and new to talk so intensely and to allow the other to express himself: there were many surprises, both pleasant and difficult. But it is worth the risk, as new paths can emerge for our relationship.
One participant comments, "The combination of talking as a couple, spending time together and sharing experiences creates a supportive and caring environment that helps us build a happy and satisfying relationship. We have found these monthly meetings to be very valuable to our relationships."
Conversations and exchanges help us to live a happier relationship; we always invite the "third party" to bless our marriage, to fulfill the promise we made to each other when we got married:
"I receive you, as my husband/wife and give myself to you, and promise to be faithful to you in prosperity and adversity, in sickness and in health, and so to love and respect you all the days of my life."
Pope's message of sobriety and communion in mission
At the Angelus this Sunday, Pope Francis conveyed the message of the Lord in the evangelizing mission that St. Mark gathers: communion, harmony and sobriety of life. He also recalled Sea Sunday, which the Church celebrates today, and encouraged us to pray for peace to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose feast day is Tuesday, July 16.
Francisco Otamendi-July 14, 2024-Reading time: 2minutes
St. Mark recounts in gospel of this Sunday, July 14: "He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them power over unclean spirits. And he commanded them to take nothing for the journey, neither bread, nor bag, nor money in their purses, but only a staff; and that they should wear sandals and not two tunics".
The Pope has taken up this message of Jesus in the AngelusHe encouraged us to carry out an evangelizing mission "in communion, harmony among all, and sobriety in our Christian life. For example, the Holy Father asked himself: "Do I feel the joy of proclaiming the Gospel, of bringing, where I live, the joy and the light that flow from the encounter with the Lord? To this end, do I commit myself to walk alongside others, sharing with them ideas and skills, with an open mind and a generous heart? And finally, do I cultivate a sober lifestyle, attentive to the needs of my brothers and sisters?
The Pontiff began by directly following the Gospel son of Jesus' sending the disciples out, two by two, carrying "only what is necessary and not going alone, but together, as a community", "in order to be free", because otherwise we will fall into slavery.
He also invited the Romans and pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square to ask the Mother of God, Queen of Apostles, to "help us to be true missionary disciples, in communion and sobriety of life", and to grant peace to the martyred Ukraine, to Palestine, to Israel, to Myanmar....
Sober lifestyle
Pope Francis has reiterated on more than one occasion that in the proclamation of the Gospel it is important to know how to maintain sobriety. "Knowing how to be sober in the use of things," he stressed, "sharing resources, abilities and gifts, and dispensing with the superfluous, so as to be free and so that all may have what is necessary to live in dignity and actively contribute to the mission."
Somewhat later, Francis added that we must know how to "be sober in our thoughts and feelings, abandoning partial visions, prejudices and rigidities which, like useless baggage, weigh down and hinder the journey, in order to favor instead discussion and listening, and thus make witnessing more effective".
In the same way, the Holy Father encouraged us to observe what happens in our families or in our communities, above all, "when we are satisfied with what is necessary, even if it is little, with God's help, we manage to get along and get along, sharing what we have, giving up something and supporting one another". And this "is already a missionary proclamation, before and more than words, because it embodies the beauty of the message of Jesus" in the concreteness of life. "A family or community that lives in this way, in fact, creates around it an environment rich in love, in which it is easier to open oneself to faith and to the newness of the Gospel, and from which to begin again better, more serene".
If instead, everyone goes his or her own way, if what matters are only things - which are never enough - if we do not listen to each other, "if individualism and envy prevail, the air becomes heavy, life becomes difficult and meetings become more a cause for anxiety, sadness and discouragement than for joy," he concluded, before praying the Marian prayer of the Angelus.
Cristian Mendoza: "Integral wealth is not only about giving money".
Interview with the author of "In Search of the Indispensable", a volume that deals with these indispensable riches, whether material, rational or spiritual, and how to deal with their scarcity.
"If you work, there is no poverty. If you pray, there is no sin. If you are silent, there is no war. If you are wise, you will have no fear." This Sanskrit aphorism is the axis around which the priest and professor, Cristian Mendoza, revolves his reflections on the povertythe wealthand the human attitude towards them in "In search of the indispensable".
This small book, published by Rialp, makes an interesting approach to the concepts, attitudes and, especially, the personal commitment inherent to every Christian in the spiritual and material development of society.
It is not a book of socioeconomic theory, not even of "economics" in the usual sense, but a reflection that, as its author points out in this interview with Omnes, combines the mandate to guard the creation that God gives to man in the genesis with the detachment of material goods.
Your book deals with poverty or wealth in an integral way (human, spiritual and material). In order to understand one or the other, do we have to take into account the others? Is it possible to develop one of them without the others?
-We could think of each of the possible riches as a gateway to other riches, which widen the possibility of access, but do not occur automatically.
For example, when we have more material wealth we could have more human wealth (education, culture, etc.) but not necessarily.
Or, by having greater spiritual wealth, we give value to higher goods and therefore understand the value of sobriety, of avoiding the superfluous which could lead to greater material wealth.
It states that no one aspires to poverty..., but we see attitudes of "extolling" mediocrity, is it sustainable in the long term?
-The human poverty that mediocrity represents is not sustainable in the long term, because by maintaining one poverty, the ground is prepared for other poverties. In this case, those who do not make an effort to work better will end up with greater material and possibly also spiritual poverty.
As St. Paul VI said, the aspiration for development is part of man's vocation.
The Judeo-Christian tradition considers the Creator who entrusted Adam and Eve with all creation, so we can think that God wants the human being to be very rich in every way.
Poverty and wealth always refer to "the other", can we say that they come with the human being, and will there always be poverty?
-Of course, there will always be poverty because there will always be human possibilities for improvement in every sense. For the same reason there will always be riches.
Poverty and wealth refer to another in the sense that we are always rich or poor with respect to another, it is a measure of value.
The important thing is to think about who that other is: we can learn a lot from our parents, friends, mentors, but also from great sages, writers or saints who have left their mark on this world.
It is also true that there will always be someone richer and poorer than us, which can lead us to be more supportive of our time, our creativity, etc.
Finally, the perception of our poverty or wealth determines us: feeling spiritually poor leads, for example, to the search for inner peace, for a greater balance, for a weighting of one's own life, which are very healthy.
Development (material, spiritual) is to work God's gifts, so why do we see in the Church certain "reticence" or even contempt for economic development or for the "rich"? Have we fallen into the capitalist reductionism of wealth?
-Christianity does not reject wealth, but the disorderly attachment to material goods. Jesus on earth was a friend of wealthy people, as were surely Lazarus, Martha and Mary who lived in Bethany and who were known among the Jews. So was Joseph of Arimathea, who the Scripture explicitly says was a rich man.
Finally, the Lord dealt with Nicodemus who was a principal in the Synagogue and called as an apostle Matthew who was a publican, a tax collector, who possibly had the means to live.
The message of the Gospel asks us to live the virtue of poverty which is detachment of material goods, but he also asks us to guard the goods of the earth in the name of God, and for this it is appropriate to make the best use of one's talents, an attitude that is a source of riches.
In the book, the author presents clear examples of initiatives of different types: educational, economic, and labor initiatives that have addressed development in a comprehensive manner. Are they applicable to the different types of society we see?
-They are applicable in many cases, but above all they are increasingly necessary. After publishing the book, I learned about an initiative that aims to generate human wealth, allowing those who do not have enough resources to pay for a psychologist or psychiatrist to see a therapist.
A university in Sao Paolo (Brazil) trains hundreds of ladies to listen to other ladies, improving their relationships with their children and husbands, changing education and the family. This will most likely result in greater material and spiritual wealth.
Integral wealth is not only produced by giving money, but it is often necessary to develop and recognize the talents of those around us.
Sea Sunday and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Star of the Seafarers
The Day of the Sea Sunday, born in England in 1975, is celebrated in the Church on the second Sunday of July, and remembers millions of seafarers and the chaplains and volunteers of 'Stella maris' (Apostleship of the Sea). Next to it is the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on July 16, which is celebrated in many coastal towns around the world.
Francisco Otamendi-July 13, 2024-Reading time: 6minutes
"By paying tribute to seafarers each year, precisely during the second Sunday of July, also known as Sea Sunday, Catholic communities around the world wish to focus attention on those people who work in this sector and pray for them."
These include "crews of vessels carrying goods, port workers, tugboat operators and stevedores, coastguards, vessel traffic personnel, salvage personnel, customs agents and fishermen, and all those with whom they collaborate, as well as their families and communities," notes a Message by Cardinal M. Czerny S.J., Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development of the Holy See, written for this Sunday and dated June 24.
The total number of these workers and their families is surely in the millions, the text notes. "On Sea Sundaygives visibility to the everyday aspects of their lives that would otherwise remain invisible. Today, as in the past, seafaring means long periods of absence, months or even years, from home and land. Both seafarers and their families can miss significant moments in the lives of their loved ones."
Example of St. Paul
"The example of St. Paul, who spent much time on the high seas during his missionary journeys, is a source of encouragement and strength," he adds. "Christianity spread by sea to distant lands; there was no other option. The Church today can draw inspiration from the inhabitants of coastal communities, who were the first to hear the entirely new message of Christ from the mouths of the apostles who traveled by sea and from other missionaries."
"The arrival of new vessels meant more encounters and exchanges, greater openness to novelties and to the immense possibilities that existed beyond the local shores. The call to welcome the stranger can challenge us when we prefer to remain socially and spiritually isolated. We cannot open ourselves to the possibilities of life if we prefer the comfort of the familiar. The path of openness is the path of hope", writes Prefect Michael Czerny in a text collected by the episcopal conferences.
Dignity of seafarers
The cardinal then goes on to address issues concerning the dignity and rights of seafarers, such as possible injustices. "Undoubtedly, the salary they receive can be an incentive so that these sacrifices can be worthwhile for them; even so, this benefit can be threatened by injustices, exploitation and inequality. It is wonderful, therefore, when volunteers, chaplains and members of local Churches in ports, who are actively involved in the pastoral care of seafarers, stand up for the dignity and rights of seafarers."
Moreover, it is recalled that in the face of the tendency to remain distant and distant from one another, "Pope Francis affirms: 'True wisdom presupposes an encounter with reality (...). The problem is that a path of fraternity, local and universal, can only be traveled by spirits that are free and ready for real encounters" (Fratelli tutti, 47, 50).
Integration into the life and pastoral ministry of the Church
"The pastoral care of the sea can help, in many ways, to integrate the periphery with the center, for example, by meeting, in person and in prayer, with seafarers, improving the material and spiritual conditions of workers, defending their dignity and rights, and promoting international relations and those policies aimed at protecting the human rights of those who travel and work far from their families and their countries of origin."
"The Church is called to serve every member of the human family. Since seafarers come from all the countries of the world and profess all the world's religions, including them in the life and pastoral care of the Church facilitates a growth in mutual understanding and solidarity among all peoples and religions," continues the Cardinal, who turns in conclusion to the Virgin Mary: "We ask Our Lady, Star of the Sea, to accompany all those whose life and work are marked by the sea and to be their guiding star on the way to Christ."
Virgen del Carmen and Seafarers' Day
"Care for the seas; care for their people" is the motto with which the Church celebrates the People of the Sea Day 2024. This day is celebrated every year on July 16, coinciding with the feast of its patron saint, the Virgen del Carmen.
In addition to European countries such as Italy and Spain, in Latin America devotion to the invocation of the Virgin of Mount Carmel is profound: she is the Queen and Patroness of ChilePatroness of ColombiaPerpetual Mayoress of Lima (Peru), Patroness of the Venezuelan Army, Marian reference in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico..., etcetera.
The Bishop Luis Quinteiropromoter of the Apostleship of the Sea in Spain, and apostolic administrator of Tui-Vigo in writing these lines, has argued what this year's theme responds to. "In the current context of serious environmental problems and a persistent lack of consideration for the needs and rights of seafarers, especially in some countries, Mary calls us to care for the seas and to care for their people. Pollution of the seas is a pressing problem, assistance to seafarers a constant demand. Therefore, 'we must take care of them'".
Origins
The devotion to Our Lady of Mount Carmel has its roots in Mount Carmel in Holy Landwhere the first Christian hermits lived. These hermits, inspired by the prophet Elijah, venerated Mary as the Flower of Carmel. The Carmelite Order, founded in the 12th century, adopted Our Lady of Mount Carmel as its patron saint and spread her devotion throughout the world, explained the CARF Foundation.
Pope Francis has highlighted the role of Our Lady of Mount Carmel as guide and protector of sailors and fishermen, underlines the same Foundation. In a general audience, he commented: "Our Lady of Mount Carmel is a star that guides those who seek peace and security in their faith".
The prior of the convent of Santa Teresa in Madrid, P. Antonio Gonzalez, Barefoot CarmeliteDuring an intense week due to the novenas in the temples, he commented to Omnes, among other aspects, that "the devotion to the Virgin of Mount Carmel was born in the bosom of our Order", and that "the scapular is a central piece of our habit".
Scapular of Carmel
The historian and also a Discalced Carmelite Daniel de Pablo Maroto has highlighted some experiences that make him live with special intensity the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Among others, "the memory of the Mount Carmel in Palestinewhere the Carmelite convent of 'Stella Maris', Star of the Sea, is located, with the shrine of the image of the Virgin of Mount Carmel; a sanctuary that overlooks the beautiful bay of Haifa, an extraordinary gift for the eyes".
"The principal grace and prerogative of the use of the Carmelite scapular," the Carmelite author also writes, "comes from a centuries-old verbal tradition (1251) confirmed in a fourteenth-century liturgical document as a revelation of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to St. Simon Stock that sounds like this: 'This will be the privilege for you and all Carmelites: whoever dies with it [the scapular] will not suffer the fire of hell: that is, whoever dies with it will be saved.'"
Sabbath Promisea
Later a second protective grace of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was added to the wearers of her scapular, adds Daniel de Pablo: "the so-called 'Sabbath privilege', also in connection with the death of the Christian: the same Lady promised her confreres to leave purgatory as soon as possible, at the latest on the Saturday following their death. In short, the 'privileges' of wearing the scapular of Carmel are help in all the stages in which her confreres may find themselves: 'In life I protect; in death I help; and after death, I save'".
"Today, the use of the scapular is a widespread devotion among devotees of Our Lady of Mount Carmel," reports CARF Foundation. "This small garment, reminiscent of the Carmelite habit, is worn around the neck and symbolizes that yoke which Jesus invites us to carry, but which Mary helps us to carry. People who wear it commit themselves to live a life of prayer, devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and commitment to the Church."
It is also fair to point out that there is another invocation of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Virgin of the Rosary, to which many people have devotion, and which is celebrated in October. The presence of the Virgin of the Rosary among the men of the sea, the GaleonaThe Dominican friar explained to Omnes, for example, that the city of Cadiz, whose Patron Saint she has been for 150 years, is deeply rooted in the city of Cádiz. Friar Pascual Saturio.
The Pope's message in Trieste: Participation and democracy from the heart
On Sunday, July 7, Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to Trieste to close the 50th Social Week of Italian Catholics, promoted by the country's Episcopal Conference on the theme of democracy. More than 1200 delegates took part.
On July 7, Pope Francis made a pastoral visit to Triestewhere the Church in Italy had summoned delegates from all over the country to participate in the 50th Social Week of Italian Catholics. He spoke to some ten thousand people, stressing the need for a restored and, above all, participatory democracy.
While the initiative was opened by the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the closing ceremony was marked by the participation of the Pope. Francis first met at the Trieste Congress Center with the 1,200 delegates who had been discussing the theme of democracy throughout the week, and then celebrated Holy Mass before the more than 8,000 faithful gathered in Piazza Unità d'Italia.
Denouncing corruption, social exclusion and the culture of waste, the Pope urged Christians to an active engagement in public life, which must be rooted in an "incarnate and prophetic" faith. He then stressed the importance of moving from mere attendance at the polls to a more authentic participation, nourished by both creativity and solidarity, in order to build a more just and fraternal society. Indeed, faith must enter into history and heal the wounds of society, thus becoming a leaven of hope and justice.
The crisis of democracy
Before the delegates convened by the Italian Episcopal Conferencewhich has organized the Social Weeks for decades, the Pope highlighted the crisis of modern democracy, comparing it to a "wounded heart".
He went on to reiterate how democratic participation is undermined by corruption, social exclusion and the well-known culture of exclusion. "Every time someone is marginalized, the whole social body suffers. The throwaway culture draws a city where there is no place for the poor, the unborn, the fragile, the sick, children, women, the young, the elderly."
Then, quoting Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo, creator also of the Catholic Social Weeks, the Pontiff described democracy as a civil order in which "all social, juridical and economic forces, in the fullness of their hierarchical development, cooperate proportionately for the common good, reverting in the final result to the prevailing benefit of the lower classes". This concept highlights how a healthy democracy must aspire to the common good, especially for the benefit of the weaker classes.
The responsibility of Christians
The Pope also stressed the responsibility of Christians in social transformations, calling for an active and at the same time critical, formative and participatory commitment from the earliest age. At this point he referred to another Italian politician, Aldo Moro, who affirmed that "a State is not truly democratic if it is not at the service of man, if it does not have as its supreme goal the dignity, freedom and autonomy of the human person".
Hence the call to restore the heart of democracy, through creativity and solidarity: "as long as our economic and social system continues to produce only one victim and there is only one discarded, universal fraternity cannot be celebrated", he added.
A restless faith
In his homily, however, the Pope recalled the experience of Jesus and the prophets, who were often rejected and considered a source of scandal because of the way they treated their communities. The Pope then criticized consumerism and indifference, calling them a "plague" and a "cancer" because they sicken the heart and make people selfish.
The solution, rather, is to live a restless faith that puts its finger on the wounds of society and becomes a leaven of hope. "We need the scandal of faith, a faith rooted in the God who became man and, therefore, a human faith, a faith of flesh, which enters into history, which caresses the lives of people, which heals broken hearts."
Building a civilization of fraternity
Finally, addressing the Triestine community, but with a projection that concerns all people of good will, the Pontiff stressed the importance of not being scandalized by Jesus, but of being indignant in the face of situations of degradation and suffering: "Let us carry in our flesh the prophecy of the Gospel, with our choices rather than with words.
Therefore, a restored and participatory democracy is only possible - summing up the Holy Father's vision - through an incarnated and prophetic faith, capable of facing social and political challenges with courage and creativity. In this way it also becomes a source of life and hope for the entire human community.
Social weeks
The Social Weeks were born in 1907 on the initiative of Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo, a Catholic economist and sociologist. Since their creation, they have provided a forum in which Catholics can discuss the main problems of society and identify proposals and strategies to promote the common good.
A review of the media reveals multiple articles on so-called "medical abortion". They emphasize the supposed safety and security of the abortion method based on mifepristone and misoprostol. This conclusion, however, is erroneous.
Before delving into the various health and moral concerns associated with medication abortion, we must first understand what this type of abortion entails. The term "drug" should be understood as "any substance used to treat a disease or ailment," according to the Cambridge Dictionary.
Pregnancy is neither a disease nor an illness, and the drug mifepristone was not developed to treat or cure any disease or illness. It is a self-induced abortion pill used to end the life of a child in its mother's womb. Therefore, the term "medical abortion" is misleading, and the term "chemical abortion" is more appropriate.
Chemical abortion
Chemical abortion is a two-drug process. It begins with mifepristone (brand name Mifeprex, legally known as RU486), which blocks the hormone progesterone, which is essential for maintaining a woman's pregnancy by preparing her body for conception and regulating her menstrual cycle, as American gynecologist Steven R. Goldstein points out. Blocking this hormone impairs and ruptures the uterine lining and prevents the transfer of adequate nutrition to the developing fetus, resulting in death.
Misoprostol (marketed as Cytotec) is taken 24 to 48 hours after taking mifepristone to cause uterine contractions in the body, with the main objective of emptying the uterine cycle. All of this occurs in the first trimester of pregnancy.
The child's heart is detectable at this stage, and its brain and lungs are also developing, explains M. Israel in a paper published by "The Heritage Foundation"in March 2021.
When does life begin?
The use of mifepristone and the chemical abortion process, in general, are neither safe nor something that can be supported in good conscience. First, we must recognize that life actually begins at conception.
Regarding this, the American College of Pediatricians, a national medical association of physicians and licensed health professionals, made a statement in March 2017, which focused on the scientific evidence of when an individual human life begins: "The predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception-fertilization. At the moment of fertilization, the human being emerges as a complete, genetically distinct, zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the right environment to grow and develop. The difference between the individual in its adult stage and in its zygotic stage is one of form, not of nature."
On the other hand, Dr. Maureen Condic, a neuroscientist and member of the U.S. National Science Board, writing about the scientific view of the beginning of human life, stated: "The conclusion that human life begins with the fusion of sperm and egg is indisputable, objective, based on the universally accepted scientific method of distinguishing different cell types from each other and on ample scientific evidence. Moreover, it is totally independent of any specific ethical, moral, political or religious view of human life or human embryos."
In a 2017 survey, 4,107 Americans were asked when they believed the life of a human being begins. Respondents represented a diverse demographic and political spectrum: 62 % held pro-choice views, with 66 % identifying as Democrats; 57 % were women and 43 %, men; 63 % had graduated from college. When asked who was most qualified to determine when a human life begins, 80 % chose biologists over philosophers, religious leaders, voters, and Supreme Court justices. When asked to explain their answer, 91 % of those who chose biologists said the reason was because they are objective experts in the study of life.
The same study surveyed 5,557 biologists from 1,058 academic institutions. 63 % of the participants were nonreligious, 63 % were male, 95 % had a PhD, 92 % were Democrats, and 85 % were pro-choice. The sample also included biologists born in 86 different nations around the world. When asked when they believed human life begins, 95.7 % of the biologists agreed with the underlying biological view that it begins at fertilization.
Abuses of the abortion pill
Biology is the study of life. Its meaning comes from the Greek words "bios" (meaning life) and "logos" (meaning study). Biologists study the origin, growth and structure of living organisms. When people who study life inform us that the life of a human being begins at fertilization, should we not do everything possible to protect the life of the child growing inside its mother's womb?
Every abortion takes the life of a human being, but chemical abortion can also damage the life of a woman. mothereven to death. If chemical abortion is legalized, abortion pills may end up in the hands of traffickers, abusive partners and others who plan to use them for nefarious purposes.
The legalization of chemical abortion may increase the number of forced abortions, and there have already been reports of pregnant women being given abortion pills without their knowledge or consent. In 2006, a Wisconsin man gave his girlfriend a drink to which he added mifepristone. The next morning she became ill and miscarried the 14-week fetus.
Let's cite other cases. In 2013, a man tricked his pregnant girlfriend by giving her an abortion pill supposedly to treat her infection, resulting in the loss of their child, L. Mungin told CNN in September 2013. In 2014, CBS News echoed the case of a Kansas man who was arrested for buying Mifepristone pills online and placing them in his girlfriend's food, causing the death of the fetus.
In 2015, Herald Sun picked up the story about a Norwegian man who slipped abortion pills into his ex-girlfriend's smoothie and caused her to miscarry. She lost the baby in her 12th week of pregnancy, and two years later, in 2017, a Virginia doctor was accused of slipping 4 mifepristone pills (800 mg instead of the standard 200 mg) into his girlfriend's tea, resulting in the death of her unborn child. He pleaded guilty to fetal homicide and received a three-year prison sentence, while losing his medical license.
That year, a Michigan man attempted to murder his unborn child by secretly slipping mifepristone into his girlfriend's water bottle. His girlfriend became suspicious and turned the water over to police, who determined that it contained the abortion-inducing drug. The man had obtained the mifepristone from a New York dealer who was later charged and convicted.
Meanwhile, a study from the same year 2018 entitled "Exploring the feasibility of obtaining mifepristone and misoprostol from the internet",identified 18 websites selling abortion pills without a prescription or any relevant medical data, such as medical history. The paper concluded that obtaining abortion pills from rogue pharmaceutical websites is feasible in the U.S. Do we really want to include the possibility of someone seeking to buy abortion pills online and using them for evil purposes, such as abusing their pregnant partners and killing their children?
What scientific studies say
When evaluating chemical abortion from a medical point of view, we must examine the negative health effects on the mothers who undergo the procedure.
A Finnish study, coordinated by Marko Niinimäki and published in the National Library of Medicine, of 42,619 abortions found that chemical abortion has four times the complication rate of surgical abortion and that one-fifth of all chemical abortions end in complications. Overall, the report found that chemical abortion caused approximately four times as many adverse events as surgical abortion.
At least one adverse complication occurred in 20 % of women who underwent chemical abortion and 5.6 % of those who underwent surgical abortion. 15.61 % of patients who underwent chemical abortion reported hemorrhage as an adverse consequence, compared with 2.11 % of patients who underwent surgical abortion.
Similarly, a journalistic audit entitled "Abortion Pill 'Less Safe Than Surgery" published in The Australian investigated approximately 6,800 surgical and chemical abortions. According to the audit, 3.3 % of women who used mifepristone in the first trimester of their pregnancy went to the emergency room, compared with 2.2 % who used a surgical method.
In addition, 5.7 % (1 in 18 patients) of mifepristone users were found to require readmission to the hospital, compared with 0.4 % (1 in 250) of surgical abortion patients. The use of mifepristone in second-trimester abortions resulted in 33 % of women needing some type of surgical intervention, while 4% suffered major bleeding.
At the same time, a California retrospective observational retrospective report, using data from U.S. Medicaid (the U.S. government-funded healthcare program that provides free or low-cost coverage to millions of citizens), found a 5.2 % complication rate for chemical abortion versus a 1.3 % complication rate for first-trimester surgical abortion. It also mentioned that the risk of complications present in taking an abortion pill was four times higher than that of surgical abortion (U. D. Upadhyay, National Library of Medicine, 2015).
Bleeding and other complications
Furthermore, a 2016 Swedish study in which 119 women who had undergone chemical abortion were interviewed found that almost half of them (43 %) bled more than expected, and a quarter (26 %) bled for more than four weeks (M. Hedqvis, in Sexual & Reproductive Healthcare, 2016).
In this regard, Dr. Ingrid Skop, Director of Medical Affairs at the Charlotte Lozier Institute, and a practicing obstetrician-gynecologist with more than 25 years of experience, wrote regarding the mifepristone-misoprostol chemical abortion regimen in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. There he stated that "the average woman undergoing a chemical abortion will bleed for 9-16 days and 8 % will bleed for over a month. Most will experience side effects of childbirth such as cramping, heavy bleeding, nausea, vomiting, fever, chills, headache, diarrhea, and dizziness. Many will experience the emotional devastation of looking at the body of their aborted child."
In addition, Dr. Skop explained that mifepristone contributes to an altered inflammatory response by blocking glucocorticoid receptors, which increases the risk of Clostridium sordellii infection and sepsis, sometimes leading to death. This was affirmed in a pharmacotherapeutic study in which the propensity of mifepristone to develop infection, possibly leading to lethal septic shock, was noted (R. P. Miech, Annals of Pharmacotherapy, 2005).
In conclusion, the results of Finnish, Australian, American and Swedish research and other medical studies, together with Ingrid Skop's personal experiences, corroborate each other's observations: chemical abortion causes adverse effects on women's health.
Risks for women
It could be argued that some selective biases influenced the various scientific/medical research conducted on the adverse effects and risk factors associated with mifepristone.
However, it is quite telling that both the manufacturer of mifepristone, Danco Laboratories, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) acknowledged the risks of Mifepristone to women's health: "Almost all women receiving Mifeprex and misoprostol will report adverse reactions, and many can be expected to report more than one such reaction."
A congressional report submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Government Reform, entitled "The FDA and RU486: Lowering the Standard for Women's Health" (2006), draws attention to the physical risks to women taking the RU-486 regimen. These include reactions such as "abdominal pain; uterine cramping; nausea; headache; vomiting; diarrhea; dizziness; fatigue; back pain; uterine bleeding; fever; viral infections; vaginitis; rigors (chills/shivering); dyspepsia; insomnia; asthenia; leg pain; anxiety; anemia; leukorrhea; sinusitis; syncope; endrometritis, salpingitis, pelvic inflammatory disease; decreased hemoglobin greater than 2 g/dL; pelvic pain; and fainting."
The same Congressional report questions the safety of mifepristone and recommends its withdrawal from U.S. markets by stating that "FDA's integrity in the approval and oversight of RU-486 has been deficient and requires the withdrawal of this dangerous and deadly product before more women suffer the known and expected consequences or deaths."
"RU-486 is a dangerous drug for women, its unusual approval demonstrates an inferior standard of care for women, and its withdrawal from the market is warranted and necessary to protect public health," the report adds. The FDA also warned healthcare professionals about sepsis infection and recommended a high index of suspicion for serious infection and sepsis in those undergoing chemical abortion.
Problems caused are not reported
As of 2018, FDA has been made aware of 24 deaths, 4,195 adverse events, 1,042 hospitalizations, 599 cases of blood loss requiring transfusions, and 412 cases of mifepristone-associated infections (A. F. a. D. Administration, Mifepristone U.S. Post-Marketing Adverse Events Summary through 12/31/2018).
The true numbers of the various problems and adverse events caused by mifepristone may be much higher due to problems with the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).
A report by The Heritage Foundation sheds light on this issue: "As a condition of becoming a certified prescriber, the prescribing agreement originally required prescribers to report serious adverse events and complications to Danco, which, in turn, submits periodic reports to the FDA. These adverse events...are compiled in the FDA's FAERS. But when a woman experiences a complication of abortion, she is likely to report it to an emergency department or other outpatient facility rather than to the prescriber who prescribed the abortion pill regimen....
There is no way to know how often EDs and other facilities fail to report complications to Danco or the FDA, as they may not know that the woman is undergoing an elective chemical abortion rather than a spontaneous abortion" (M. Israel, at www.heritage.org, March 2021).
Opacity
In addition, women seeking medical treatment for adverse reactions after taking mifepristone may be too ill or refuse to disclose that they have taken the RU-486 drug regimen because they do not want that to appear in their medical records.
Medical professionals who do not supervise chemical abortion procedures, but who may treat infected or bleeding patients, are not required to report adverse effects of mifepristone, regardless of whether that health care worker is aware that a patient has taken the RU-486 drug regimen.
Physicians performing chemical abortions may also be unaware of adverse events that occur after administering RU-486, which exempts them from the reporting requirement, according to the 2006 congressional study cited above.
This same Government Reform Committee report on mifepristone also explained the contraindications present in the system: "Although RU-486 is approved for use up to 49 days of pregnancy, in the United States it is routinely prescribed up to 63 days of pregnancy. Physicians also often prescribe a different dosing regimen than that approved by the FDA. Therefore, it has been suggested that there is, in fact, a disincentive on the part of prescribing physicians to report adverse events that may be attributable to a physician's negligence or willingness to prescribe a regimen that is outside of the FDA-approved regimen for RU- 486" .
In 2016, the FDA reduced the reporting requirements so that only deaths had to be reported to the FDA itself.
Conclusion
After considering abundant scientific and governmental sources, it is obvious that chemical abortions harm everyone. Chemical abortion is not medicine because medicine cures, while abortion kills. It is unsafe because of its history of causing health complications in women, including septic shock, infections, and prolonged or severe bleeding.
It is not socially safe because abortion pills have been purchased over the counter for malicious purposes, such as the murder of unborn children without their mothers' knowledge. Lax oversight and deficiencies in the FDA reporting system mean that the true harm caused by chemical abortifacients is still uncertain and that the number of women significantly harmed by the abortion pill regimen may be substantially higher than expected.
The reality is that we cannot allow chemical abortion to be legalized. Why legalize something that has proven to be dangerous, with cases where it has been unethically obtained and misleadingly used against women, while we lack full knowledge of its true causalities?
Every human life has inherent dignity and should be treated as such. A free society is one in which human beings enjoy equal dignity, regardless of age, sex, health status or other vulnerability.
If we do not respect, value and protect life from conception, we will not support, care for and defend the life of someone long after they are born. Let us contribute to a free and moral society by doing our part to ensure that chemical abortion is not legalized.
Vatican finances, the balance sheets of the IOR and of the St. Peter's Obligation
There is an intrinsic relationship between the budgets of the Oblates of St. Peter's and the Institute for works of Religion.
Andrea Gagliarducci-July 12, 2024-Reading time: 4minutes
There is a close relationship between the annual declaration of the St. Peter's obolus and the balance sheet of the Istituto delle Opere di Religione, the so-called "Vatican bank". Because the Obolo is destined to the charity of the Pope, but this charity is also expressed in the support of the structure of the Roman Curia, an immense "missionary budget" that has expenses, but not so many incomes, and that must continue to pay salaries. And because the IOR, for some time now, has been making a voluntary contribution of its profits precisely to the Pope, and these profits serve to lighten the budget of the Holy See.
For years the IOR has not had the same benefits as in the past, so that the portion allocated to the Pope has decreased over the years. The same situation applies to the Obolo, whose income has decreased over the years, and which has also had to face this decrease in the IOR's support. So much so that in 2022 it had to double its income with a general divestment of assets.
That is why the two budgets, published last month, are somehow connected. After all, the Vatican finances have always been connected, and everything contributes to helping the Pope's mission.
But let's look at the two budgets in more detail.
The St. Peter's Oblong
Last June 29, the St. Peter's Oblates presented their annual balance sheet. Revenues were 52 million, but expenses amounted to 103.4 million, of which 90 million were for the apostolic mission of the Holy Father. Included in the mission are the expenses of the Curia, which amount to 370.4 million. The Obolo thus contributes 24% to the budget of the Curia.
Only 13 million went to charitable works, to which, however, must be added donations from Pope Francis through other dicasteries of the Holy See totaling 32 million, 8 of which were financed directly through the obolo.
In summary, between the Obolus Fund and the funds of the dicasteries financed in part by the Obolus, the Pope's charity financed 236 projects, for a total of 45 million. However, the balance deserves some observations.
Is this the true use of the St. Peter's Obligation, which is often associated with the Pope's charity? Yes, because the very purpose of the Obligation is to support the mission of the Church, and it was defined in modern terms in 1870, after the Holy See lost the Papal States and had no more income to run the machine.
That said, it is interesting that the budget of the Obolus can also be deducted from the budget of the Curia. Of the 370.4 million of budgeted funds, 38.9% is earmarked for local Churches in difficulty and in specific contexts of evangelization, amounting to 144.2 million.
Funds earmarked for worship and evangelization amount to 48.4 million, or 13.1%.
Dissemination of the message, that is, the entire Vatican communication sector, represents 12.1% of the budget, with a total of 44.8 million.
37 million (10.9% of the budget) was allocated to support the apostolic nunciatures, while 31.9 million (8.6% of the total) went to the service of charity - precisely the money donated by Pope Francis through the dicasteries -, 20.3 million to the organization of ecclesial life, 17.4 million to the historical heritage, 10.2 million to academic institutions, 6.8 million to human development, 4.2 million to Education, Science and Culture and 5.2 million to Life and Family.
Income, as mentioned above, amounted to 52 million euros, 48.4 million of which were donations. Last year there were fewer donations (43.5 million euros), but income, thanks to the sale of real estate, amounted to 107 million euros. Interestingly, there are 3.6 million euros of income from financial returns.
As for donations, 31.2 million came from direct collection by dioceses, 21 million from private donors, 13.9 million from foundations and 1.2 million from religious orders.
The countries that donate the most are the United States (13.6 million), Italy (3.1 million), Brazil (1.9 million), Germany and South Korea (1.3 million), France (1.6 million), Mexico and Ireland (0.9 million), Czech Republic and Spain (0.8 million).
IOR balance sheet
The IOR 13 million to the Holy See, compared to a net profit of 30.6 million euros.
The profits represent a significant improvement over the €29.6 million in 2022. However, it is necessary to compare the figures: they range from the 86.6 million profit declared in 2012 - which quadrupled the previous year's earnings - to 66.9 million in the 2013 report, 69.3 million in the 2014 report, 16.1 million in the 2015 report, 33 million in the 2016 report and 31.9 million in the 2017 report, to 17.5 million in 2018.
The 2019 report, meanwhile, quantifies profits at 38 million, also attributed to the favorable market.
In 2020, the year of the COVID crisis, the profit was slightly lower at 36.4 million.
But in the first post-pandemic year, a 2021 still unaffected by the war in Ukraine, it returned to a negative trend, with a profit of only €18.1 million, and only in 2022 did it return to the €30 million barrier.
The IOR 2023 report speaks of 107 employees and 12,361 customers, but also of an increase in customer deposits: +4% to €5.4 billion. The number of clients continues to fall (they were 12,759 in 2022, even 14,519 in 2021), but this time the number of employees also decreases: they were 117 in 2022, they are 107 in 2023.
Thus, the negative trend of clients continues, which should give us pause for thought, bearing in mind that the screening of accounts deemed not compatible with the IOR's mission ended some time ago.
Now, the IOR is also called upon to participate in the reform of Vatican finances desired by Pope Francis.
Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, president of the Council of Superintendence, highlights in his management letter the numerous accolades the IOR has received for its work in favor of transparency over the past decade, and announces: "The Institute, under the supervision of the Authority for Supervision and Financial Information (ASIF), is therefore ready to play its part in the process of centralizing all Vatican assets, in accordance with the Holy Father's instructions and taking into account the latest regulatory developments.
The IOR team is eager to collaborate with all Vatican dicasteries, with the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA) and to work with the Investment Committee to further develop the ethical principles of FCI (Faith Consistent Investment) in accordance with the Church's social doctrine. It is crucial that the Vatican be seen as a point of reference."
Surprise and excitement among passers-by and neighbors when they saw Pope Francis at the doors of an optician's near Piazza del Popolo in Rome where he went to get a new pair of contact lenses on July 8, 2024.
One of the most beloved and venerated images of Rome is that of the "Salus Populi Romani".
Tradition has it that this icon, which is visited by the Pope before and after each trip, was made by St. Luke the Evangelist himself and brought to Rome by St. Helena in the 4th century.
To her intercession is attributed the salvation of the Roman city from the plague that devastated it in the 6th century.
Now you can enjoy a 20% discount on your subscription to Rome Reports Premiumthe international news agency specializing in the activities of the Pope and the Vatican.
St. Benedict, patron saint of Europe: his "vision of peace" is not utopian
The Church celebrates St. Benedict of Nursia (Italy) on July 11, founder of the Benedictine Order and declared patron saint of Europe in 1964 by St. Paul VI. Pope Francis and his predecessors have turned to St. Benedict in search of peace and human coexistence in a wounded Europe.
Francisco Otamendi-July 11, 2024-Reading time: 5minutes
Although the Rule of St. Benedict ['ora et labora', pray and work] does not contain an appeal on the theme of peace, "it is an excellent guide for a conscious and practical commitment to peace". In fact, its message goes beyond the walls of monasteries and shows "how human coexistence, with God's grace, can overcome the dangers arising from disputes and discord".
This was stated by the Pope in a Message addressed to participants in an ecumenical symposium at the Benedictine Archabbey of Pannonhalma in western Hungary in September 2023, which emphasized two other ideas.
The first is that the patron saint of Europe knew "the complexity of linguistic, ethnic and cultural traces, which represent both a richness and a potential for conflict". However, he had a serene and peaceful vision, because he was fully convinced of the "equal dignity and equal value of all human beings". This applies especially to foreigners, who should be welcomed according to the principle of "honoring all men".
Pope Francis: "Search for peace without delay".
This also means "knowing how to take the first step in certain difficult situations", because "discord must not become a permanent state". Establish peace "before sunset," said St. Benedict. This, the Pope reminds us, "is the measure of the availability of the desire for peace".
And the second, the Holy Father pointed out, is that "the search for peace in justice cannot tolerate any delay, it must be pursued without hesitation." "The St. Benedict's vision of peace is not utopian, but is oriented towards a path that God's friendship towards mankind has already traced out and which, however, must be traveled step by step by each individual and by the community".
The Hungarian ecumenical event delved into many aspects of the theme of peace, at a time when "globalized humanity is wounded and threatened by a gradual world war which, waged directly in some regions of the planet, has consequences that damage the lives of all, especially the poorest," said the Pontiff according to the official Vatican agency, and in which "the war in Ukraine has dramatically called us to open our eyes and hearts to many people who suffer because of the war".
St. Paul VI called him 'pacis nuntius' (herald of peace).
"I believe that St. Benedict, called 'pacis nuntius' (herald of peace) by Pope Paul VI when he was proclaimed patron of Europe, would address us with this word: peace! It is not an obvious word, it is not an abstract concept but a truth to be pursued and lived", he said. Mr. Fabrizio MessinaDirector of the State Library of the National Monument of St. Scholastica [twin sister of St. Benedict].
A library that owes its origins tosaintBenito, because it is, in fact, the library of the Monastery of Santa Scholastica of Subiaco, one of the twelve monasteries that were founded near the city, in the valley of the Aniene, by St. Benedict himself.
"The peace that Benedict brings us is the peace of Christ. It is the peace for which Christ gave his life. If we do not open our doors to Christ, we will remain without peace," Don Fabrizio Messina added to the Vatican agency, which asked him how it is possible, in the current European scenario devastated by the war in Ukraine, to walk paths of peace in the footsteps of St. Benedict.
For Ukraine, for Russia...
The library director's response was as follows. First of all, the historical fact: "St. Benedict, when he began his personal search for God, did so by going up to Subiaco and seeking the Lord. This happens to him in an early hermit-like experience. As St. Gregory the Great reminds us, Benedict lives alone with himself under the gaze of God. It is a search for God which is, therefore, a search for peace".
Then, the illustrious Benedictine entered into the question. "The true search for peace for Europe, for Ukraine, for Russia and for all the countries involved in this senseless slaughter is precisely to find in Christ the source of peace, of light. Just as St. Benedict did. A peace that is not only intimate, but personal. But it is a peace that can truly be given to others because it is the peace of Christ. He himself said it: 'I leave you my peace', not as the world gives it".
Benedict XVI: "From his spiritual leaven Europe was born".
On April 9, 2008, the then Pope Benedict XVI spoke to the faithful of St. Benedict of Nursia in a General Audience. He began by saying. "Today I am going to speak of St. Benedict, founder of Western monasticism and also patron of my pontificate. I begin by quoting a phrase of St. Gregory the Great who, referring to St. Benedict, says: 'This man of God, who shone on this earth with so many miracles, shone no less for the eloquence with which he knew how to expound his doctrine'."
"The great Pope [St. Gregory the Great] wrote these words in 592; the holy monk had died fifty years earlier and was still alive in the memory of the people and above all in the flourishing religious Order he founded. St. Benedict of Nursia, by his life and work, exercised a fundamental influence on the development of European civilization and culture".
Continuing with the thread of the argument, Benedict XVI added: "The work of the saint, and in particular his 'Rule, were a true spiritual leaven that changed, over the centuries, far beyond the confines of their homeland and their time, the face of Europe, giving rise, after the fall of the political unity created by the Roman Empire, to a new spiritual and cultural unity, that of the Christian faith shared by the peoples of the continent. Thus was born the reality we call 'Europe'.
Years earlier, in 1999, St. John Paul II wrote a letter to the Abbot of Subiaco, in which he expressed his joy on learning that "the great Benedictine monastic family wishes to remember with special celebrations the 1500 years since St. Benedict began in Subiaco the 'schola dominici servitii', which would lead, in the course of the centuries, countless men and women, 'per ducatum Evangelii', to a more intimate union with Christ".
Heroic virtues of Robert Schumann
On July 11, 2021, Pope Francis, hospitalized at the Gemelli, remembered St. Benedict on social media: "Today we celebrate the feast of St. Benedict, abbot and patron of Europe. An embrace to our protector! We congratulate Benedictines and Benedictine women all over the world." In addition, the Holy Father sent "best wishes for Europe" so that it "may be united in its founding values."
A few weeks earlier, in June, the Pope had recognized the heroic virtues of the French politician and founding father of the European Union, Robert Schuman, by declaring him venerable. On that occasion, the priest Bernard Ardura, promoter of Schuman's cause, gave an interview to the Pope on the occasion. interview to Omnes on his canonization process.
"Europe must cease to be a battlefield on which rival forces bleed out," Schumann had said in a speech. "On the basis of that realization, which we paid so dearly for, we want to go down new paths that will lead us to a united and definitively pacified Europe," words that are considered vital for the reconciliation of France and Germany.
James Mallon: "We must learn to speak the language of those who know nothing of the Gospel".
Omnes interviews James Mallon, founder of Divine Renovation Ministry, a project that seeks to give Catholics and their parishes back the desire and tools necessary for evangelization.
James Mallon is a priest who carries out his pastoral work in Canada. For years, he has been promoting "Divine Renovation Ministry"(Divine Renewal), a ministry that aims to revive missionary work in parishes so that Catholics are fully aware of their call to evangelize.
This desire of James Mallon is also fulfilled in projects such as "AlphaThe "Alpha" courses are courses through which people can approach the Catholic faith through relaxed sessions. It is precisely in this context that Father Mallon spoke to Omnes during the SED (Salir, Evangelizar, Discipular) meeting organized by "Alpha" from July 5 to 7 in Alicante.
Like the sessions they organize, this "Alpha" meeting was a key element in the formation of all the participants in matters of faith, during days of shared discussions, meals and moments of formation.
The presence of figures like James Mallon shows the importance of having that "desire to evangelize," about which the priest speaks in this interview with Omnes. A desire, he explains, that is born naturally when a Catholic really encounters Jesus Christ, a moment in which he discovers that God himself is calling him to the mission.
The evangelizing renewal starts from the proposal to "go out". What do we lack in order to take the step of "going out"?
– You are talking about desire here. And I think that’s the litmus test of authentic full faith. Sometimes, the desire to evangelize is present, but we don’t do it because we are afraid, because we don’t know how to do it, we don’t have a tool to do it, we don’t know what to do. That's a very different thing. The Lord can handle fear, we all deal with fear. We can learn methods and tools, but the absence of desire, that’s where your question is getting at. The absence of desire is a bigger issue.
And I’d say there’s two primary reasons. If you have no desire for others to meet Jesus, I’d just ask this question: Have you met Him yourself? Who is the Jesus that you commune with? Who is the Jesus to whom you pray? To whom you listen? Do you encounter the Jesus of the Gospel? Because if you have an authentic relationship with Him, if you really know Him, how can you not have the desire? Sometimes our sinfulness, our brokenness and our struggles can lower the desire en our hearts, but it doesn’t remove it completely. I think the desire can be inflamed the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit destroys fear.
The mission is aimed at people in very different situations in relation to the faith. How can we reach those who know nothing about it, or those who are not even thinking of going to church?
– Sometimes the best of our parishes are saying to people on the outside to come on in. But if you think about it, to people who have no faith or no connection with the Church, we expect them to make the journey. The missionary is the one who makes the journey, the missionary is sent to seek and save the lost. But often, we expect those people, the other, to make the journey to us. But this is the opposite of what God has called us to do. Jesus ultimately is the primordial sent one. Jesus is the sent one, the original missionary who goes. And so we need to go.
It’s not about simply going, it’s a question of how we go. Jesus emptied Himself, and humbled Himself, he turned Himself obedient. And that’s the way to Jesus. We shouldn’t hold on to our lifestyles and preferences. We need to go in an incarnational way. Jesus came as one of us, He came amongst us. He pitched his tent amongst us. We need to go amongst the people who know nothing of the Gospel. learn to speak their language. Sometimes our evangelistic tools as Catholics presume too much.
You propose a way of acting that bears fruit in other places as well. Who benefits more, the parish or the individual?
– If evangelization is successful and fruitful, how can it not benefit both? My own experience is nothing more than life giving and incredible to experience that God has used me to bring people to Him. When a parish receives new believers who have met the Lord it benefits tremendously, so I think that fruit definitely benefits both.
Can the "divine renewal" you have put in place be applied in regions with a different mentality or approach than in your country, Canada?
– I’ve been blessed to travel all over the world and I take two things. One is that we are all very different, and number two, that we are all the same, specially as Catholics who have the same basic issues, the same basic struggles. I haven't yet met problems or struggles in any country that I do not in response say that is the exact same way in Canada.
Divine renovation is not a method, it is a model based on lived principles in a context. We are not going to tell you how to play these principles. But the three principles are simply number one the power of the Holy Spirit, number two the primacy of evangelization and number three the best of leadership.
No matter your context, if the Holy Spirit showed up in power, would that benefit your parish? If you actually made evangelization the most important thing in your parish, do you think it would benefit your parish? If the leadership of your parish improved, would that benefit your parish?
These three principles makes me think that Divine Renovation is applicable. Right now Divine Renovation ministry is working in 94 different countries and it seems that it’s bearing fruit.
We talk about "evangelizing", renewing parishes and studying methods. What does it tell us about the "evangelizer"?
Jesus sends his apostles out to preach lacking basic resources, but with the only thing they really need: his mandate. He gives them "authority over unclean spirits." but "he instructed them to carry for the road a staff and nothing else, no bread, no saddlebag, no money loose in the girdle.". They could wear sandals, but not two tunics. Interestingly, in other accounts in which Jesus sends his disciples, he also insists on radical poverty, but there are slight differences as to what they may or may not wear. For example, in Mt 10:10 they are not allowed to carry a staff or sandals. The point is that what matters is radical poverty, but what exactly radical poverty is can vary according to circumstances. In some places something really is an indispensable necessity; in others it is not.
Jesus is telling us that the only essential requirement is His command, the call from Him, the authority He gives us. If we have this, nothing else is as important. And without it, nothing will succeed. There is an episode, for example, in which the Israelites - having refused to enter the Promised Land when God told them to do so - try to do so later, but against their will. Not surprisingly, the whole effort ends in complete disaster (Num 14:39-45; Deut 1:41-45).
A similar idea appears in today's first reading, in which Amaziah the priest orders the prophet Amos to leave the sanctuary at Bethel and return to the land of Judah. This is "the sanctuary of the king and the house of the kingdom."he tells Amos. A previous king, at the time of the schism between the north and the south of Israel, had erected Bethel as a sanctuary to prevent people from going to Jerusalem. It was a nationalized religion. For Amaziah, the authority of Bethel came from the king. But Amos counters by saying that his own authority came from God. He had not been part of a family or group of prophets, but God called him when he was a simple sycamore farmer. It is God's call that counts, not the king's patronage.
That is why today's readings teach us to look for our support where it is to be found: in God, not in possessions, not in human power. The only thing that matters is that God has called us, has called us, has called us, has called us. "chosen in Christ"as we heard in the second reading. Christ's call is all the authority and support we need.
Homily on the readings of Sunday 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Religious representatives from around the world commit to promote the ethical development of AI
Religious representatives from around the world signed the document "Rome Call for AI ethics" on July 10 in Hiroshima, with the aim of promoting technological development that does not lose sight of the dignity of the human being.
On July 9 and 10, several representatives of religions from all over the world met at HiroshimaJapan, in an event that aims to promote a genuine commitment to the pursuit of peace through the signing of the document "Rome Call for AI Ethics".
The event was initiated by the Pontifical Academy for Life, Religions for Peace Japan, the Peace Forum of the United Arab Emirates and the Commission for Interfaith Relations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. By signing the document, influential people from all over the world and from various fields commit themselves to fostering a sense of responsibility in the development of the Artificial Intelligence.
During the first day of the event, attendees heard presentations not only on the ethics of using Artificial Intelligence, but also on scientific, technological and legislative developments. Among the personalities who spoke in the sessions were Microsoft President Brad Smith and Amandeep Singh Gill, Technology Envoy of the Secretary General of the United Nations.
Interfaith cooperation
On the other hand, on the 10th, the signing of the document took place. The President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Archbishop Paglia, highlighted the importance of this event saying that "all religions are called to work together for the good of humanity".
Yoshiharu Tomatsu, secretary of "Religions for Peace Japan", said that the challenges that come with the development of Artificial Intelligence move them to commit to "promote inclusiveness and mutual respect for everyone".
For his part, Shaykh Abdallah Bin Bayyah, Chairman of the UAE Peace Forum, stressed that "cooperation, solidarity and working together are necessary to deal with developments in Artificial Intelligence, where interests, dangers and benefits are mixed, to ensure that systems and products are not merely advanced, but also morally correct."
The representative of the Commission on Interfaith Relations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, Eliezer Simha Weisz, also stated that "as people of faith, we have a unique responsibility to infuse moral clarity and ethical integrity into our pursuit of Artificial Intelligence."
"Rome Call for AI Ethics, a proactive engagement
Pope Francis, who was not present at the signing, wished to send a brief message message to all the participants of the event. As head of the Catholic Church, he called on the signatories "to show the world that we are united in calling for a proactive commitment to protect human dignity in this new machine age."
In addition, the Pontiff stressed the importance of involving members of different religions in this "Rome Call" commitment. He assured that "recognizing the contribution of the cultural riches of peoples and religions in the regulation of Artificial Intelligence is key to the success of your commitment to the wise management of technological innovation".
The representatives who attended this event in Hiroshima join the other great personalities who have already signed the document promoted by the Vatican. The Anglican Church, IBM and the Sapienza University are other well-known entities that have also committed themselves to developing Artificial Intelligence without losing sight of ethics based on the dignity of the human being.
The author of the letter to the Hebrews exhorts us to live in search of peace and holiness, because finding peace will help us to live fully in this life, and finding holiness will lead us to live eternally in the next life. Living in peace with everyone around us will achieve the most sublime gifts and virtues that will spiritualize life. These healthy lifestyles will be fertile soil for sowing fruits of holiness. When we think of saints, of whom do we think of? The names of St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Teresa of CalcuttaSt. Ignatius of Loyola, St. John Bosco. Although the list is long, in reality there are only about 10,000 saints recognized by the Catholic Church. If we calculate that there were 300 million inhabitants on earth when the Christian era began, and today we are about 8 billion, not counting all those who have died in the last 2000 years, then 10,000 saints is a tiny fraction in relation to the billions of beings who have lived in the human population!
Why is it so difficult to become a saint?
We have heard of the long processes that sometimes take years when the Church diligently analyzes the life, miracles and teachings of a candidate for beatification or canonization. Let us rather think that it is difficult to be declared a saint, but day by day you and I are supposed to live in processes of sanctification, which also means purification and transformation, even if we are never declared saints.
Holiness is not only a mystical experience of some gifted and privileged few who have lived heroically the virtues. Holiness is also a goal and a human trajectory related to purity of heart, purity of intentions and acts to which we are all called to manifest. As Psalm 24:3-4 says, who shall ascend the mountain of the Lord, and who can stand in His holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.
Many people ask themselves, can we be saints in a corrupt world, full of seductions to evil, where the normal is the sinful and the banal? Evil has always existed. Let us remember some biblical characters. For example, in Noah's time, the rampant sin of the paganized world in all its surroundings defied divine mercy, to the extent that God wanted to wash the face of the earth of all wickedness with the flood. But he set aside one family who found refuge in the heart of God and in the shelter of a boat. That ark is a symbol of the Church where we seek protection from the evil outside, to find refuge in one another under the shelter of a family and spiritual community of brothers and sisters in faith.
Let us also remember Moses who, after renouncing the seductions of Pharaoh's palace life, led his people out of the abundance of Egypt and into the wilderness to purify themselves and rid themselves of the identity of slaves before entering a land of free men. Throughout salvation history there have been many of us who have found in the heart of the ark and in the refuge of the Church the protection and wisdom necessary to grow in obedience to God and in holiness. We have also known prophets, pilgrims, and hermits who have needed the desert and the cloisters to silence the voices of the world and learn to listen only to the voice of God.
In each case it is the same search for God of hungry and thirsty hearts to find the meaning of life and purpose in Him. We need correction from our brothers and sisters in community. Living in community offers us a model of healthy and replicable behavior. But we also come to moments of holiness in our personal deserts alone with God, to engage in deep analysis and conversations with Him that will give us personal revelation of the Holy Spirit and communion of hearts.
What is your path to holiness?
I am convinced that very few of us will be declared saints, but all of us will be able to experience moments of holiness.
To live moments of holiness is to cleanse the heart and strip the mind of everything that does not allow us to seek and long for God's will. To live moments of holiness is to live seeking to please God above pleasing the flesh or the expectations of the world. To achieve this we will need inner healing, as St. Paul suggests in Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, brethren, in view of God's mercy, I urge each of you, in spiritual worship, to offer your body as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God. Do not conform yourselves to the present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to prove what is the will of God, good and acceptable and perfect".
Those of us who follow Jesus, walk in faith, depend on His grace and also strive in acts of love and mercy, the complement of all integrated in the same experience.
As 1 Peter 1:15-16 says: "But be holy in everything you do, just as he who called you is holy; for it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'"
We will approach holiness if we resist spiritual mediocrity, if we speak the truth and act in charity. We will approach holiness with moral, spiritual and behavioral discipline. Everything that projects us to be better human beings will help us to sanctify ourselves. The invitation to holiness is an invitation to constant changes and transformations: change of nature, moderating reactions, impulses, tendencies, passions, and eradicating obsessions.
The opposite of holiness is the degradation of our human behaviors by normalizing and excusing moral decadence, sin, defects and imperfections. The opposite of holiness is also when we sin not only with deeds, but also with thought. The opposite of holiness is to take pleasure in the worldly, to be attracted to the corrupt, to enter into complicity with sin, and to harbor its consequences without desire to change. The enemy's plan is decadence. In that plan of decadence and loss, is the acceptance of sin as part of the normality of life. The enemy always wants us to believe that being a sinner is part of the complexity of being a simple human being.
In Jesus' plan we are presented with a longed-for program of healing and overcoming, leading us to perfection. Jesus said, "be holy as your heavenly Father is holy" (Matthew 5, 48). Do you know how else Jesus described the Father? As loving, caring, compassionate, understanding: so all these attributes are synonymous with holiness.
Although holiness has always seemed to us a mirage or an unattainable reality, the truth is that we can all live moments of holiness. When do we live moments of holiness? As Matthew 25:35-36 says "when I was hungry and you gave me food, thirsty and you gave me drink, naked and you clothed me, in prison and you came to visit me".
When do we experience moments of holiness? When we go against the desires and impulses of the flesh; when we accept the circumstances that cannot be changed and commit to what we must and can change; when we pair wisdom with humility and when we exchange resentment for empathy and mercy.
When do we live moments of holiness? When we seek God's presence in the silences, bustles and crossroads of life, and show hunger and thirst for His gifts, to please His heart, and when we turn every sacrifice into thanksgiving and praise.
When do we experience moments of holiness? When we are kind, helpful, grateful, faithful, authentic, compassionate: because all this is contrary to human instincts, and to manifest this new nature we need the Spirit of God whom we also call the Holy Spirit.
We will live moments of holiness every time we sacrifice ourselves in love by responding to a needy person, caring for a sick person, whether it corresponds to us or not; when we do not abandon our elderly parents in a nursing home but dedicate ourselves to them in the last years of their lives, feeling that the cross is not heavy but bearable because it is carried with authentic love.
We will live moments of holiness when we defend the truth over lies, when we defend the faith and propagate it tirelessly until we get others to convert and change their lifestyles.
We will live moments of holiness when we allow ourselves to be used prophetically and miraculously by God who always needs vessels available and obedient to His call and the impulses of grace.
We will live moments of holiness when we leave a confessional having accepted Jesus' forgiveness and mercy, and when we are able to forgive others when they offend us, just as He taught us; and when we prostrate ourselves before the Blessed Sacrament in profound reverence surrendering our burdens to Him and raising to Him our untiring praises.
We will live moments of holiness when, while we could opt for evil, for deceit, for fraud, we choose goodness, truth and sincerity: instead of hoarding, we share: instead of denying others of our bread or benefits, we share them.
Juraj Šúst: "Thomism can both defend faith and dialogue with secular culture".
Omnes interviews Slovak philosopher, publicist and activist Juraj Šúst, who is the organizer of the BHD festival, one of the most important cultural events in Central Europe. This year's theme was "(Christian) Culture?". He tells us about this initiative, as well as about his own intellectual journey.
Andrej Matis-July 10, 2024-Reading time: 11minutes
Juraj Šúst studied philosophy at the University of Trnava, where he also received his doctorate. He is an active person known to the Slovak public mainly as president of the "Ladislav Hanus Society" (SLH) and organizer of the festival "Bratislava Hanus Days" (BHD).
The BHD is a festival focused on discussions of Christian culture and engagement. It offers a variety of lectures, debates, workshops and artistic performances that aim to connect Christian faith with current social and cultural issues. The festival is held in Bratislava, and in recent years has attracted personalities such as Robert P. George, Scott Hahn and Philip-Neri Reese, O.P.
The history of Hanus and its involvement in the SLH and the BHD testify to the need for an open dialogue between faith, the secular world and cultures, as well as to the crucial role of the laity in contemporary Catholic education and intellectual life.
At this year's BHD, one of the featured guests was Professor Robert P. George, who spoke at one of the sessions about his minor intellectual conversion. It happened that in an elective he was assigned to read a text in which he was not very interested. He went to the library to read it, and when he did he experienced an intellectual conversion. It was Plato's "Gorgias," and it was a turning point for Professor George: he then decided not to look for what he liked around him and to devote himself to one and only one thing: the search for truth.
Have you experienced any similar intellectual conversion? What was your path to philosophy?
- What happened was that in high school I was looking for a way to make sense of my life. My family came from a Catholic background, not very intellectually reflective, but at the same time I respected it. At the same time, however, I was clashing with what secular culture offered me: it often seemed to me, even in a good way, more action-oriented, richer than what I saw in my Catholic world.
I grew up with these two perspectives, and in a way I chose philosophy to resolve them. In the end, studying it was disappointing to me. There we were studying the history of philosophy, while I wanted to address my existential questions, like Plato and Socrates. But along with my studies, I also met a particular person who was a kind of Socrates for me, and that got me going.
Who was a philosophical role model for you?
- At that time I was sympathetic to liberal philosophies, as well as trying to live my Catholic life.
I had read Popper's idea of an open society and it seemed reasonable to me, as it was about being open to all points of view in society; he was against Marxism and communism and totalitarian regimes. At that time he also seemed to me to be tolerant of religion.
How did you go from Popper to Thomism?
- Popper interested me during my studies, but what I always missed in his philosophy is that he did not give answers to the big questions. He only answered the practical and pragmatic questions, about how to live together without enmity. But for me, as a young person, I was interested in knowing what truth is, how I should live, and he didn't give me an answer to that... So that wasn't enough for me. Plato opened to me the classical question, the search for truth, and later I met Augustine, who influenced me because he was a very suggestive thinker and also a radical Catholic. That attracted me, and I said to myself: I have to be as radical a Catholic as he was. Augustine touched me very deeply and helped me to discover the beauty of Thomas as well.
How did you come on this personal philosophical journey to SLH, which opens the doors of philosophy and the search for truth to many other young people?
- I came to SLH about a year into its existence.
At the beginning my attitude was lukewarm: I felt a little bit that I did not find my way to others, some opinions seemed to me a pose, but little by little this was changing and when I was offered to be part of the training team of this community I accepted it.
During my studies in Krakow I attended the Tišner Days festival, which was attended by local and foreign philosophers; at that time Robert Spaemann also attended. I was fascinated by the fact that many young people attended these conferences. I had never experienced anything like that in Slovakia, and I said to myself: "I wish we had something like that in my country!
And now we have it.
- We already have it.
The Ladislav Hanus Society also organizes the Hanus Days in Bratislava, a festival in which speakers and audience form a dynamic community. This year, in the framework of a discussion with Prof. Robert P. George, an older man who lived through communism in Slovakia raised the question of how it is possible that during the forty years of communism - when the Church was persecuted - we were able to transmit the faith to young people, and now, during the (almost) forty years of consumerism, we are not able to do so. Do you think that SLH is somehow a means to succeed in transmitting the faith?
- I will not speak for others, but for myself I can say that SLH has helped me to respond rationally to issues that the Church teaches, but which were not entirely clear to me at the time: abortion, sexual morality, the relationship between Church and State.
SLH helped me in many ways to find, or at least to seek, a rational basis for what the Church teaches. For me, SLH was life-changing in that sense, and I would like SLH to have that effect on all who come in contact with it.
Last year Scott Hahn came to BHD, and the presence of such a personality who has more than 10 titles published in Slovakia resonated with people. How was that possible?
- There is a nice story behind it. The auxiliary bishop of Bratislava, Jozef Haľko, often told us: "Invite Scott Hahn". We tried first officially through Scott's website. We got no response. Then we learned that a former student of ours had studied in Trumau at the theological school with Scott Hahn's son. It also turned out that there was a retired priest in Slovakia who had spent a long time in the United States, where he had been a military chaplain. He was excited about the idea of inviting Scott Hahn to Slovakia and helped us make it happen. All these things came together.
What was it like for you to have Scott Hahn here?
- Very nice. We wanted Scott not only to be at our festival that week, but also to meet with priests, bishops, and it all came together. Scott was enthusiastic and I think it bore a lot of fruit, especially for the priests.
Philosopher Juraj Šúst during a lecture.
This year Philip Neri Reese, O.P., came to BHD, and last year Thomas White, O.P.. This year we also had Matt Fradd, a layman known for his podcast "Pints with Aquinas." What is your relationship to Thomism?
- Very fervent. I see Thomism as an intellectual tradition of the Catholic Church that did not come about by accident. It is a union of classical Greek philosophy with the Christian faith, which has been cultivated for centuries. It is true that in the 19th century it went through a crisis of reduction to manualism that provoked the resistance of two generations. But neither biblical criticism nor biblicism itself can stand on its own without a quality philosophy, and Thomism is making a strong comeback today. Today, Thomism is the only relevant theology that can both defend the faith and dialogue even with religious or secular cultures.
Some thinkers say that Thomism is simply out of fashion....
- Thomism today is much richer than before, because even the advances in biblical studies can be translated into that. And because of the emphasis placed in the twentieth century on other philosophies, such as phenomenology, contemporary Thomism can also be nourished by this. It need not be closed in strict syllogisms, but can be a very varied theology and philosophy. For my part, I am very glad that even today there are still quality Thomists who are worth inviting to our festival.
Ladislav Hanus, after whom SLH is named, was a Catholic priest; you are a layman, the father of a large family. Alfonso Aguiló, one of the guests at this year's BHD, also talked about how historically Catholic education was in the hands of priests and religious and now it is passing into the hands of the laity. Can we say that this change is also taking place in the field of intellectuals, and do you feel part of this change?
- I am not sure if the time of the laity has not come because there is a crisis of priests and religious. I like it when in education there is a collaboration of laity and priests, and I also believe that the role of the priest as a teacher is in a certain way irreplaceable. It would be a big mistake if the laity started to reclaim that role. I think that, at least in Slovakia, this tendency is not so strong, and that seems to me appropriate. At the same time, it is true that in the Church during the last decades we have testimonies of different lay people in various countries who have launched many initiatives, and I think that this new era can also teach us something new about cooperation between priests and laity.
We have mentioned Alfonso Aguilar and education. Aguiló's opinion is that home education is a reaction to the fact that we have to defend ourselves from this world, and that it is not an ideal reaction. He thinks that we should not withdraw from the public space, but stay in it and be present in educational institutions. You are the father of six children, who are home-schooled, what is your experience and your opinion on this? Or is this a controversial question?
- That is an excellent question. I have an opinion on it. Let's see where to start...
It is true that home schooling is a reaction. It is a reaction to the crisis of Catholic education. This crisis is deeper in the West, but it is already there in Slovakia as well. And the crisis consists in the fact that Catholic schools are Catholic in name, so to speak, but having ceased to emphasize the orthodoxy of the faith of the teachers and especially of the students, the culture in those schools is as it were indistinguishable from the secular culture in which religion and its manifestations are a kind of sticker. Today, even in Slovakia, I perceive that the Church understands Catholic schools as a space for the evangelization of pupils and children. In my opinion, this is regrettable.
So, do you think that the school is not the right ground for evangelization?
- Certainly we need schools where there is space for evangelization, but we also need schools where there is space for catechesis, for growth in faith. For this space to open up, it is essential that there be children and teachers who share the Catholic faith, who love Jesus Christ and want to learn to love him even more, starting from the knowledge of the truth. And, knowing the truth, they will love Christ even more. And this must be clear, unequivocal, uncompromising and evident to all the actors involved in the school in question.
In your opinion, can evangelization and catechesis take place in the same institution, or do we need two different types of schools?
- We need two types of schools. Schools according to Benedict, "ora et labora", where there is a "regula" or rule, where we can learn to live according to the Catholic source, without compromise. Schools that can be a beacon in the neighborhood, in the region in which they are located.
And we also need schools according to St. Dominic, as Father Philip-Neri Reese told me when he was in Bratislava for the BHD. Schools where there is a Catholic spirit, a Catholic mind, where the Catholic tradition is preserved in its fullness and where at the same time the teachers are able to communicate with the contemporary world. Schools where everyone can study.
Even non-Catholics?
- Even non-Catholics. In my opinion, Fr. Reese was referring primarily to universities, although I can imagine high schools of this type as well. But universities are best suited for this, in my opinion. In such schools, Catholic culture can make inroads into the contemporary secular world. And it can, in a certain way, show this world that it has the best presuppositions to be an arbiter capable of dialogue between cultures, between religions, between secularism and religion, because it has the enormous tradition of realistic Thomistic philosophy. What it did in the past with Arab and Jewish culture, it can achieve today with the current cultures that make up contemporary society. These are two types of schools that we need. And what we do not need are formal Catholic schools.
So, the reason you chose homeschooling is because we lack honest Catholic schools?
- Yes. But there is yet another reason. Home education in the first years of life is very beautiful. Parents are the first educators, and education implies not only educating, but also forming. It is natural that children learn the basics of mathematics, language, religion, etc. at the kitchen table. And they learn it as an integral part of their lives. It is not that I have to learn something for exams and thanks to that I will get into some good school and start a successful career, but that I learn everything as an integral part of my daily life. And in this context, what is important is not the career, awards and diplomas, but living the Catholic faith in a beautiful way, in fullness, in unity with tradition and in full unity with everyday life. And where can you get it better than in the family circle? So home education is not just an escape from the world, or an option that remains when all else fails. At least in the first years of life, it is also a natural and attractive option.
Don't your children miss their friends?
- Homeschooling does not have to be done in isolation. The families meet, coordinate, inspire and today, thanks to technology, connecting and communicating is easier than in the past. But it can become a challenge if you don't live in a community where there are other families interested in homeschooling.
What do you think about the content of education in today's schools?
- There is a tendency today to teach children to think, but this is often no more than a fig leaf in the face of uncertainty about what to think. We don't tell children what to think because we ourselves don't know what to think. But, of course, critical thinking is good in itself. But we have to teach children to think in such a way that faith is not just a label for them, but that the light of faith illuminates their thinking in every area of their lives. This is something we have to rediscover and restore. Reconnect with something that was once there, and even improve it.
J.J. Rousseau is famous for his book "Emile or Education", but paradoxically he did not care for his son. You have six children, how do you manage, how do you balance your wonderful job with taking care of your family?
- I try not to separate work from family. I want my children to see what their father does and that they can like it. So that they don't see work as something that takes their father away from the family, but as something that they can also benefit from. My educational goal is for my children to see in their father that he loves Christ, that this is something he will never give up, that we celebrate Sunday together, that we dedicate it to God Our Lord, that we go to Holy Mass together, that we eat Sunday together.... and this takes precedence over everything else, over his friends, etc. They don't always receive it with enthusiasm, but I insist on it and I think that if I transmit something to my children, it is at least this: that dad not only talked about God, but lived his relationship with Him.
What world would you like to leave your children? Where do you place your hope for Western culture?
- There must be more families who seek to live the radicality of faith, families whose children are then seeds of Christian life that will one day grow and flourish. While it may not bring about total change at the societal level, there will be many oases where people can be touched by the love of Christ.
I believe that this will demand this martyrdom from us Christians. Also in daily life, but perhaps also in other more difficult situations. I believe that, as secularism is more aggressive, there will be clashes with faith, and if one does not want to be lukewarm but unequivocal, one will have to rely on the chivalrous element in life. This is also something I try to guide my children towards.
A long document, consisting of 112 points divided into two sections, plus an introduction and conclusions. This is the outline of the Instrumentum Laboriswhich will serve as a guide for the second session of the synodal assembly next October "How to be a missionary synodal Church".
New baptismal ministries, such as that of listening, the role of women in the Church's decision-making processes, including the question of the diaconate, new ways of exercising the Petrine ministry and the revitalization of the Pastoral Councils are some of the aspects that emerge from the document that will serve as the basis for the work of the Assembly.
Several listening levels
Cardinal Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, explained how "during the period between the First and Second Sessions, the Synod's journey continued to be characterized by a profound exercise of listening, a listening carried out at various levels.
It was thus confirmed that the Synod is, above all, a formidable gymnasium of listening. A listening that involves "the sense of faith of the People of God, the voice of the pastors and the charism of theologians". Grech recalled that "after the celebration of the First Session, the Synod 'returned' - so to speak - to the local Churches".
A second consultation that led, "despite time constraints", to the General Secretariat of the Synod receiving "no less than 108 National Syntheses prepared by the Episcopal Conferences (out of 114), to which must be added 9 Replies received from the Eastern Catholic Churches, 4 from the International Meetings of Episcopal Conferences and the Synthesis of the Union of Superiors General and the International Union of Superiors General representing Consecrated Life".
This rich material, to which must be added the Observations freely sent by individuals and groups (including some Faculties of Theology and Canon Law), constitutes the framework for the document presented today, because its purpose is now to submit to the discernment of some - the Members of the Synod, who will meet again in October - what has been said by all - the local Churches in which the People of God live".
The Maltese Cardinal also recalled the consultations and meetings held with theologians, which led to the "constitution of 5 Study Groups, made up of 33 experts of different formation and experience, called to deepen some of the fundamental questions that permeate the Synthesis Report": the missionary synodal face of the local Church (1), of the groupings of Churches (2) and of the universal Church (3), as well as the synodal method (4) and the question of "place", understood not only in a geographical sense, but in a cultural and inseparably theological sense (5).
The contributions of these groups have also been incorporated into the Instrumentum Laboris and will form the basis of a theological aid to be published in the near future".
These five groups have been joined by 10 others, announced by the Pope, called to examine in depth "themes on which the Synodal Assembly has already reached a significant consensus and which, therefore, seemed sufficiently mature to be able to move on to the phase of elaborating concrete proposals for reform to be submitted to the Holy Father".
These Groups are already operational or, in some cases, will be operational shortly: they will present a first report of their activities at the Second Session, to offer their conclusions to the Bishop of Rome possibly in June 2025.
In addition to this, the Commission of Canonists, called to study a project of reform of the canonical norms directly involved in the synodal process, has been operational since 2023. More recently, the SECAM (Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar) has initiated a path of theological and pastoral discernment on the accompaniment of persons in a situation of polygamy.
These two organizations will also provide an initial report on their activities in October.
The synthesis of listening
The synodal process then included listening to pastors, both bishops and pastors: "Their voices resonate also in the document that is published today," said Grech, who described the Insrtumentum Laboris as "a colorful concert of voices, a true polyphony, rich in timbres and accents."
For his part, the General Rapporteur, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, Archbishop of Luxembourg, illustrated the work of the local Churches carried out since the closing of the first session: "The reports received show a Church that is alive and on the move. In fact, what stands out most when reading not only the reports, but also the experiences and good practices that have reached the General Secretariat, is that the synod, the synodal process, has been and continues to be a time of grace that is already bearing numerous fruits in the life of the Church. From Kenya to Ireland, from Korea to Brazil, the reports underline this renewed dynamism that the listening offered and received is bringing to the communities".
And not only: "They unanimously attest, without hiding the work and difficulties of the synodal conversion, also a feeling of joy and gratitude, as reported, for example, by the Episcopal Conference of the United States".
Another particularly interesting element, Hollerich stressed, "was the widespread adoption of the 'Conversation in the Spirit': this synodal method was introduced into the meetings of various ecclesial structures."
The Cardinal also recalled the formation initiatives on synodality and some fruits that are already evident: a certain maturity in the synodal journey of the local Churches, the parochialism that is evident in the contributions, the capacity for re-reading and self-evaluation.
For their part, the two special secretaries of the Assembly, Father Giacomo Costa and Monsignor Riccardo Battocchio, were in charge of illustrating in greater detail the contents of the Instrumentum Laboris. "The introduction is fundamental for understanding the document," said Costa, recalling the affirmation of an African Church: "From now on, no one will be able to consider the local Churches as mere receivers of the proclamation of the Gospel without being able to make any contribution. The Church is harmonious, not homogeneous, and it is a harmony that cannot be taken for granted".
First section: The basics
Battocchio explained that the first section, the "Fundamentals" section, contains "elements that support and orient the journey of conversion and reform that the people of God is called to undertake". It gathers the fruits of the journey begun in October 2021, but which has more distant roots. It serves to verify the existence of a consensus on some decisive aspects: to be the People of God, to be a sign of unity in Christ, to be a Church that welcomes and is called to give".
Battocchio affirmed that starting from the "recognition of the differences between men and women, it will be necessary a greater recognition of the charisms, vocation and role of women in all areas of the life of the Church" and "new ministerial and pastoral forms will have to be explored". Reflection on women's access to the diaconate will be addressed in study group number 5, in collaboration with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Second section: relationships, roads and places
The second section is divided into three parts. The first part speaks of "relationships", beginning with the "foundational relationship with God". Then, the relationships between the baptized, those that preserve communion with the ministers and those that exist between the Churches. It foresees the possibility of establishing other forms of baptismal ministry, such as the ministry of listening and accompaniment," distinct and differentiated from ordained ministries.
The following is the chapter "Pathways". A very strong need is that of "integral formation with shared common moments". Then the formation to discernment: to let oneself be guided by the Spirit". Then the "essential theme" of decisions: "How to develop ways of making decisions while respecting roles". Finally, transparency, not only in the area of sexual and financial abuse, but also, for example, in ways of respecting human dignity.
The last part refers to "Places", that is, to the concrete contexts in which relationships are incarnated. Starting from the plurality of ecclesial experiences, the Instrumentum Laboris "invites us to go beyond a static vision of places.
The experience of territorial rootedness has changed over the years". Great attention is given to the digital environment, as well as to "rethinking some aspects of the territorial articulation of the Church and enhancing the circularity of the ecclesial reality".
In this perspective, a re-evaluation of the particular Councils is proposed.
Finally, service to the unity of the Bishop of Rome, in order to study ways of exercising the Petrine ministry that are open to the new situation of the ecumenical journey and to Christian unity.
The Spanish bishops gathered at a meeting of the extraordinary plenary meeting, the fifth in its history, they have approved three documents: the Integral Reparation Plan to minors and persons with equal rights, victims of sexual abuse, the lines of work including this remediation plan as well as the guiding criteria for comprehensive reparation for victims of sexual abuse of minors or adults in law.
At the conclusion of this Extraordinary Plenary Assembly, the President of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, Msgr. Luis Argüello has emphasized that this plan of Comprehensive Repair focuses especially on those cases that "have the doors closed" due to the civil statute of limitations, death of the perpetrator or other situations.
"This reparation plan wants to be subsidiary. When legal, civil, criminal, canonical or civil remedies have ended or the possible means of reparation have ended, the Church keeps its doors open to listen to any victim," stressed the president of the Spanish bishops.
In addition to the documents, the bishops have approved the constitution of an advisory commission, made up of people from various fields, including the Church, psychology and people close to victims' associations. This commission will have its own rules of procedure to know how to act.
At the press conference given by Argüello together with the president of CONFER, Jesús M. Díaz Sariego, the president of the Spanish bishops asked the public administrations and society to respect the rules of operation of the Church and explained that "it is not a decree-law, which obliges but rather, in the Church we provide ourselves with criteria of communion so that those people who decide they have the right to this reparation can go to a diocese, or to an advisory commission to address the path of reparation".
The Church has affirmed Luis ArgüelloI know that nothing by itself can heal the pain suffered by so many victims of abuse, but we express our firm commitment to continue on this path of reparation and collaboration with the prosecution and the forces of the state when these crimes occur.
This plan foresees that in the hypothetical case that a victim does not find shelter in one instance of the Church, diocese or congregation, he or she can always turn to "another door" to follow his or her path of reparation.
Comprehensive repair
This reparation plan will address the process from different areas and is born, to a large extent, from the listening done from different areas of the Church to victims of abuse in recent years.
The president of the bishops wanted to point out that "an integral reparation requires time, people and economic compensation. There is money, but also time and people. The Church responds with the resources of its communion of life and its communion of goods to whatever it has to deal with".
This means that, in addition to the work of accompaniment, prevention and formation that is already being carried out, the Church will have to assume possible financial compensation for victims of abuse.
Also in the subsequent press conference, the president of the EEC explained that he "is not the head of the bishops" and that what has been approved in this extraordinary assembly cannot be obliged to comply with it, but he stressed that the fact that it has been approved practically unanimously by the bishops, gives to understand the commitment of the Spanish Church in this case.
A plan born out of commitment, not obligation
In relation to the qualification of unilaterality, that shortly before a member of the Government of Spain put on this reparation plan, the president of the bishops of Spain wanted to emphasize that "of course it is unilateral. It is our decision, which responds to a moral obligation, not a juridical one, on our own initiative". Argüello has turned this reproach of the government around, pointing out that for them it is "a recognition because when the legal way is closed, a non-legal door has to be opened".
Both Argüello and Díaz Sariego emphasized the Church's willingness to work together with other social and governmental bodies in the fight against abuse.
A work of years
"The Church's work of reparation does not begin or end today," Bishop Argüello stressed. In this sense, both the president of the bishops, together with the president of the Spanish Conference of Religious, recalled the path that the Church took "more than 20 years ago when these cases of people abused by members of our communities became known" and, especially, in the last six years.
10 questions on the Synod's 'Instrumentum Laboris' published today
The 'Instrumentum Laboris' (IL, Instrument of Work), for the members of the second session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in October with the theme 'How to be a missionary synodal Church',was made public today. The conclusions of the Assembly, which is a consultative body, will be submitted to the Pope for a possible Apostolic Exhortation.
Francisco Otamendi-July 9, 2024-Reading time: 10minutes
The document is 32 pages long and consists of an introduction, foundations, three parts and a conclusion, entitled 'The Synodal Church in the World'. The IL articulates the syntheses received to animate the Assembly's reflection on the central question of October: 'How to be a synodal Church on mission'.
In the conclusion, the text appeals to the encyclical Fratelli tuttiwhich "presents us with the call to recognize ourselves as sisters and brothers in the risen Christ, proposing him not as a status, but as a way of life. The Encyclical underlines the contrast between the times in which we live and the vision of living together prepared by God. The veil, the blanket and the tears of our time are the result of the growing isolation from one another, the increasing violence and polarization of our world and the uprooting of the sources of life".
Synodal missionary Church: deep listening and dialogue
"This Instrumentum laboris," explains the General Secretariat of the Synod, whose titular is Cardinal Mario Grech, "questions and interrogates us on how to be a missionary synodal Church; how to engage in deep listening and dialogue; how to be co-responsible in light of the dynamism of our personal and communal baptismal vocation; how to transform structures and processes so that all can participate and share the charisms that the Spirit pours out on each one for the common good; how to exercise power and authority as service."
"Each of these questions is a service to the Church and, through her action, to the possibility of healing the deepest wounds of our time," the final part of the document adds.
The 'Instrumentum laboris' can be found in several languages on the official website of the General Secretariat of the Synodwhich contains a specific section for the work of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly. In addition to the IL, this section contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Infographics and other useful documents not only for the preparation of the members of the assembly, but also for any other person or group wishing to deepen their knowledge of the Synodal Church.
In February of this year, Pope Francis ordered that a few study groups analyze ten issuesand will present their conclusions, if possible, before June 2025. One of the questions and answers in this outline, to clarify doubts, refers to this issue.
Questions and answers
The General Secretariat of the Synod has prepared some questions, ten to be precise, with their answers, which Omnes is transmitting here.
What is the 'Instrumentum laboris'?
- As its Latin expression indicates, the 'Instrumentun Laboris' (IL) is first and foremost a working instrument for the members of the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This also justifies its language and the use of theological notions and categories in some of its parts. A theological aid, soon to be published, will facilitate its reading and will allow for a deeper study of the theological notions and categories used.
It is born from the reflections that the Episcopal Conferences, the Eastern Catholic Churches and other international ecclesial realities, as well as the reports presented by the pastors during the three-day working meeting of the Pastors for the Synod, have made around the Synthesis Report of the First Session (October 4-29, 2023) in light of the indications given by the General Secretariat of the Synod through the document Towards October 2024.
The IL thus articulates the syntheses received in order to encourage the Assembly's reflection on the central issue of the october assembly How to be a synodal Church in mission.
As a working instrument of the XVI Assembly, the IL is not a magisterial document, nor a catechism. Neither is it a text that offers prefabricated answers, nor a document that pretends to address all the questions related to the need to be more and more "synodal in mission".
It is a document, fruit of listening, discernment and reflection on the synodality that has matured in the course of the synodal process. It is a basic text, articulated but essential, conceived above all as a support for the method with which the assembly will be called to work and to encourage prayer, dialogue, discernment, the maturation of a consensus starting from some convergences matured along the way in view of the delivery to the Holy Father of a Final Document of the XVI Assembly.
The 'Instrumentum laboris' has its origin in the reports received by the General Secretariat of the Synod. Who sent these reports?
- In December 2023, the General Secretariat, through the document 'Towards October 2024', invited the entire Christian community to reflect on the guiding question indicated for the Second Session of the XVI Assembly: How to be a Synodal Church in Mission, proposing a series of differentiated paths and activities based on the Synthesis Report, approved by the members of the XVI Assembly at the end of the work of the First Session, in October 2023.
The aim was to keep the synodal dynamism alive by promoting at the local level a reflection on how to strengthen the differentiated co-responsibility in the mission on the part of all the faithful and, at the same time, to ask the Episcopal Conferences, the Eastern Catholic Churches and the groupings of Churches to reflect on how to articulate the dimension of the Church as a whole and its rootedness at the local level, thus gathering the fruits of the reflection around the Synthesis Report.
Despite the short time available, by June 30, 2024, no less than 108 reports had been received from the Episcopal Conferences (out of 114), 9 from the Eastern Catholic Churches (out of 14), in addition to the contribution of the USG-UISG (respectively, the International Union of Major Superiors and the International Union of Superiors General). In addition to the contribution of some dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the General Secretariat also received more than 200 comments from international entities, university faculties, associations of the faithful or communities and individuals.
Obviously, in drafting the Instrumentum laboris, the General Secretariat also took into account the reports presented by the pastors during the three-day working session of the International Meeting of Pastors for the Synod, as well as those of some working groups: the five groups created by the General Secretariat of the Synod to deepen the theological study of five areas of reflection, in the wake of what was repeatedly requested by the Assembly (the face of the missionary synodal Church; the missionary synodal face of the groupings of Churches; the face of the universal Church; the synodal method; the "place" of the synodal Church in the mission), and a specific commission of canonical experts created to support the work of the theologians.
In this sense, the Instrumentum Laboris can truly be considered a Church document that has been able to dialogue with diverse sensibilities and different pastoral fields.
Who drafted the 'Instrumentum laboris'?
- Like any other document of the General Secretariat of the Synod concerning the synodal process, the Instrumentum Laboris (IL) is the fruit of a work in which a large number of people from various parts of the world and with different competencies have participated.
First of all, a group of theologians (men and women, bishops, priests, consecrated men and women and lay people) from different continents, but also the members of the XV Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod accompanied by some Consultors of the same Secretariat.
A first version of the document was then sent to some seventy people, representatives of all the People of God (priests, consecrated men and women, lay people, representatives of ecclesial realities, theologians, pastoral agents and a significant number of pastors) from all over the world, from different ecclesial sensibilities and from different theological "schools".
This broad consultation was carried out in order to maintain consistency with the principle of circularity (what comes from the base, goes back to the base) that animated the entire synodal process. This verification of the material prepared in the light of the reports received was also an exercise, on the part of the General Secretariat, of that accountability that characterizes the synodal Church.
Finally, after due modifications, the IL returned to the hands of the Ordinary Council which, after a series of amendments, approved it and transmitted it to the Holy Father for final approval.
How is it structured?
- The Instrumentum Laboris consists of five sections. After the introduction, the IL opens with a section dedicated to the Fundamentals of the understanding of synodality, which re-proposes the awareness matured along the way and sanctioned by the First Session.
There follow three intimately intertwined parts, which illuminate the missionary synodal life of the Church from different perspectives: (I) the perspective of Relationships - with the Lord, among brethren and among Churches - which sustain the vitality of the Church much more radically than its structures; (II) the perspective of Pathways which concretely sustain and nourish the dynamism of relationships; (III) the perspective of Places which, against the temptation of an abstract universalism, speak of the concreteness of the contexts in which relationships are incarnated, with their variety, plurality and interconnectedness, and with their rootedness in the nascent foundation of the profession of faith.
Each of these Sections will be the subject of prayer, sharing and discernment in one of the modules that will mark the work of the Second Session. A summary of the IL is available at www.synod.va
This 'Instrumentum laboris' seems, in its structure, somewhat different from the previous one, which contained many sheets with many questions, why was this structure chosen?
- The Assembly is an evolving reality and the Instrumentum Laboris is at the service of the Assembly and not the other way around. If in the First Session it was necessary to bring about convergences in the face of the many questions that arose from the broad consultation of the People of God at the local, national and continental levels, now it is necessary that from these convergences it be possible to arrive at a consensus. Whereas in the First Session the members were asked to choose the thematic area in which they wished to make their contribution, in the Second Session all members will address the same text and discuss the same proposals.
The 'Instrumentum Laboris' is for the members of the XVI Assembly, but how can local synodal groups and, in general, the faithful who will not participate in the October Assembly use it? How can they contribute to the work in October?
- The 'Instrumentum laboris' is addressed primarily to the members of the Second Session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. However, it is also a valuable tool for individual groups at diocesan and national levels who wish to continue their journey of reflection and discernment on how to journey together as Church; and to carry out ecclesial initiatives. For example, the IL can offer a special opportunity for an encounter - even virtual - between members of the Assembly and at least the national team in the preparation phase of the October meeting, also through the synodal method of Conversation in the Spirit.
In this way, the representative role of each of the members of the Assembly can become tangible. In any case, it is important that those who are interested in the synodal conversion of the Church in view of the mission continue their commitment so that the ecclesial dynamism initiated with the consultation of the People of God in 2021 does not fade away and that the exercise of co-responsibility in the mission of the Church continues to develop at the local level, as it is already doing.
In addition, the IL will certainly help to understand how important it is for the faithful to accompany the work of the Assembly with prayer, asking the Holy Spirit - the true protagonist of the work of October - to sustain the great task entrusted to the members of the Assembly.
The 'Instrumentum Laboris' mentions a theological subsidy. What is it?
- To accompany the relatively concise Instrumentum laboris, the General Secretariat of the Synod considered it appropriate to offer some theological and canonical insights on the themes contained in the IL, in order to help the members of the Assembly - without excluding a wider circle of recipients - to recognize and understand the roots and implications of what is contained in the IL.
"Deepening" from a theological point of view means: underlining the reference of individual themes to Sacred Scripture, to the Tradition of the Church, to the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, to the recent Magisterium of the Bishop of Rome of the world episcopates.
"Deepening" from the canonical point of view means: to show how discernment regarding individual issues can be translated into regulated and verified practices also through the normative instrument.
Rather than an organic text, the Grant will be presented as a series of "glosses" to the IL. In fact, an updated version of the IL will contain some references to the Grant in the margins of individual chapters.
Some topics have been entrusted to the 10 working groups created by Pope Francis. How should this decision be interpreted? Is it a way of eliminating these topics from the Assembly debate?
- From the beginning, Pope Francis insisted that this Synod is not about this or that topic, but about synodality, about how to be a missionary Church on the way. The October Assembly and all the theological questions and pastoral proposals for modification have this purpose. The Assembly should therefore be a time in which each participant, placing himself on a journey that began in 2021 and bringing the "voice" of the people of God from which he comes, invokes the help of the Holy Spirit and that of his brothers and sisters to discern God's will for his Church, and not an opportunity to impose his own vision of the Church.
At the same time, Pope Francis welcomed the convergence that the members of the Assembly had expressed during the First Session around a number of relevant issues concerning the life and mission of the Church in synodal perspective, on which the Assembly had reached a consistent consensus, almost always higher than 90%, through the creation of 10 specific working groups. These are important issues, some of which require to be dealt with at the level of the whole Church and in collaboration with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
It is not, therefore, a matter of subtracting certain questions from the debate of the assembly, which has already expressed a convergence as to their importance, but of providing useful elements from the theological and canonistic point of view to offer to Peter's ministry.
Therefore, these groups should already be considered a fruit of the synodal journey. Experts and bishops from different parts of the world are participating in these groups, identified on the basis of their experience and respecting the variety of geographical origins, disciplinary backgrounds, gender and ecclesial status necessary for an authentically synodal approach.
They are collecting and enriching existing contributions on the topics assigned to them. The Groups should conclude their work, if possible, before the end of June 2025.
What can we expect at the conclusion of the Synod?
- The celebration of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will not mean the end of the synodal process. The Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio (EP), which governs the entire synodal process, recalls that the synod consists essentially of three phases: consultation of the faithful, discernment by the pastors and the implementation phase.
These three phases should not be understood only in a chronological sense. In fact, with the celebration of the XVI Assembly, according to the EP, we would be in the phase of discernment of the pastors, which would be followed by the moment of reception of the work of the Assembly by the local communities.
However, the discernment of pastors accompanied almost the entire synodal process (i.e., already in the consultation phase, which in fact already saw the discernment of pastors at the local, national and continental levels).
Moreover, we can testify that the "implementation" phase has already begun immediately after the first meetings. The synodal "fruits" are already numerous: many are the testimonies of those ecclesial realities that have changed their ecclesial actions in a synodal sense with a greater co-responsibility of all the baptized faithful.
Therefore, the conclusion of the Second Session will not be the end of the synodal process, but only an important moment in the discernment of the pastors.
On the other hand, in previous synods a final document was approved and delivered to the Holy Father. This document contained some indications that the Assembly wished to give to the Pope. Normally, after a few months, the Pope would deliver to the whole Church a document called the Post-Synodal Exhortation, which contained some provisions related to the topic in question.
It is expected that this Assembly will also produce a final document to be submitted to the Holy Father for a possible exhortation. The purpose of the Synodal Assembly is to offer guidance to the Pope. The Synod is consultative and not deliberative.
Where can IL be found?
- The 'Instrumentum laboris' can be found in several languages on the official website of the General Secretariat of the Synod (www.synod.va), where a specific section has been created for the work of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly. In addition to the IL, this section also contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), Infographics and other useful documents not only for the preparation of the members of the assembly, but also for any other person or group wishing to deepen their knowledge of the synodal Church.
On Viganó's schism, "the Church always hopes for conversion".
Carlo Maria Vigano, a former nuncio to the United States, has been found guilty of the crime of schism after repeatedly expressing unacceptable criticism of the Pope and ecclesial communion. Davide Cito, Professor of Canon Criminal Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, explains the canonical aspects of this issue.
Last July 4, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Mons. Carlo Maria Viganò of the crime of schism and confirmed the latae sententiae excommunication he had incurred for the "public declarations, from which it follows his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, of communion with the members of the Church submitted to him and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council".
Carlo Maria Vigano, a native of Varese, was ordained a priest in 1968. He soon joined the diplomatic corps of the Holy See. He held various positions within the Roman Curia, the last of which was as apostolic nuncio to the United States from 2011 to 2016. After resigning his post for reasons of age, he became a constant critic of Pope Francis. Criticisms that have been raising their tone in recent years to the point of denying the legitimacy of the Pope, asking for his resignation or not accepting the teachings of the Second Vatican Council.
What has happened for the former representative of the Holy See in the United States to sign his separation from the See of Peter? We spoke with Davide Cito, Professor of Canonical Criminal Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, who highlights the canonical juridical foundations that support this decision of the Holy See, but reminds us that the door of the Church is always open.
A few days ago we learned of the declaration of guilt of schism by Carlo M. Viganó, former nuncio to the United States. Why is the Church declaring him guilty?
-As it appears in the press release issued by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith On July 4, a canonical penal process was carried out by the same Dicastery, which is the competent body to judge crimes against the faith committed by Bishops.
In the case of Monsignor Carlo Maria Viganò, he was "accused of the reserved crime of schism (canons 751 and 1364 CIC)" and art. 2 of the Norms on the crimes reserved to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
He has been found guilty because the facts that make up the crime of schism have been proven, summarized in the words of the communiqué: "His public declarations are well known, resulting in his refusal to recognize and submit to the Supreme Pontiff, of communion with the members of the Church subject to him and of the legitimacy and magisterial authority of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council".
At the same time, his guilt has been proven in the sense that he has committed these criminal acts, especially serious because they touch the very identity of the Church, being crimes against the faith, with freedom and will, aware of the consequences of his actions. For this reason, Msgr. Viganò "was declared guilty of the reserved crime of schism. The Dicastery declared excommunication. latae sententiae ex can. 1364 § 1 CIC".
Do the reasons Viganó gives for his position have any canonical support?
-Considering the statements repeatedly made by Msgr. Viganò, who, on the other hand, has refused to appear before the judge, showing once again his contempt for the legitimate authority of the Church, do not seem to have any canonical support.
To deny, among other things, the legitimacy and magisterial authority of an ecumenical council, such as the Second Vatican Council, is inadmissible on the part of a Catholic faithful.
At the same time, as happens in the crime of heresy, in which the heretic thinks that he, and not the Church, has the true faith, in the crime of schism, the schismatic affirms that he represents and defends the true Church against the same Church considered false and illegitimate.
The schisms in the East, the West or the one that gave rise to the Anglican Church are well known. Are we talking about the same type of schisms?
-I really don't think so. The schisms of East and West to which you refer have a complex origin with doctrinal, disciplinary and also political problems, which were later reflected in the conflict over the ecclesiastical authorities that had to preside over the Eastern Churches and then over the Anglican community.
Moreover, the historical complexity of these schisms goes hand in hand with the ecumenical journey that the Catholic Church is undertaking with these Churches and Christian communities to travel the path of unity among Christians.
In this case, instead, there are no Churches or communities involved, but an individual Archbishop who, for personal reasons, although always with apparently very noble justifications, and without presiding over some kind of ecclesial community, (which he has never had), goes about simply rejecting the legitimate authority of the Church in all the fields in which the Church acts, trying to appear as a "victim" of the authority he does not recognize, and at the same time "defender" of a true Church that is really only in his mind.
Why do some give rise to other Churches and others do not? Are all Christian sects schismatic?
-To give rise to Churches in the strict sense it is not enough to try to "create" them, but it is necessary the presence of a true episcopate, in which apostolic succession is given, and it is also necessary to believe in the sacrament of Holy Orders.
On the other hand, schism is a deviation from the Catholic Church, in the sense that a Christian community or sect is not schismatic for that reason. To be schismatic, one must first be a Catholic. In fact, as a canonical crime it affects only Catholics and not other baptized persons.
What is the canonical difference between schism and heresy? Do both entail excommunication?
-Although both offenses are included in the title ".Of offenses against the faith and unity of the Church." and therefore go against the good of the faith, and for this reason are so serious, and carry the penalty of excommunication that manifests in some way the loss of full communion with the Church, are differentiated by the object of the criminal act.
In the case of heresy, the object of the crime is to deny a truth of faith, for example, the divinity of Jesus Christ or the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
In schism, on the other hand, is the refusal to submit to the Supreme Pontiff or to maintain communion with the members of the Church subject to him. Since the Roman Pontiff "as successor of Peter, is the perpetual and visible principle and foundation of the unity both of the bishops and of the multitude of the faithful" (Lumen Gentium, 23), schism directly attacks the fundamental structure of the Church in its hierarchical constitution.
At the same time, since it is the Church and her Magisterium that teach the truths of faith and guard the faithful in the faith, by denying the authority of the Pope and communion with him, one places oneself outside the communion of the Church.
For legal and practical purposes, in what situation is Viganó now? What steps would he have to take to have this excommunication lifted?
-Since the penalty of excommunication has been declared, i.e., it has public effects, reference must be made to can. 1331 §2 of the Code of Canon Law which establishes the effects of the penalty of excommunication when it has been declared. For example, he is forbidden to celebrate Mass and if he attempts to do so, he must be rejected or the liturgical ceremony must cease.
All acts of regimental power imposed by him are invalid; he may not receive ecclesiastical pensions and may not validly receive any type of commission or function in the Church. At the same time, if he acts contrary to the prohibitions established by the canon, other canonical penalties can be added, not excluding expulsion from the clerical state.
Evidently, the Church always hopes for the conversion of the faithful who have committed crimes, which is why excommunication is such a medicinal penalty, in order for the subject who has committed a crime to repent. Repenting of his actions and manifesting his unity and obedience to the Successor of Peter is the path to the cessation of the penalty of excommunication and thus to return to full communion with the Church.
Christians are and must be conservative, in the sense that they receive God's gifts, make them their own and pass them on generously. At the same time, they are and must be progressive, because Christian revelation affirms the value of time as a space in which God acts and man responds freely and personally.
July 9, 2024-Reading time: 5minutes
In an interesting essay by the Irish priest Paul O'Callaghan entitled "Challenges between faith and culture. Two blood brothers in the dynamics of modernity."(Rialp, 2023), includes a lucid chapter on the expansion of the notion of gratitude through an integration of conservatism and progressive liberalism. I will try to summarize the ideas that I found most relevant by using the word "progressive" instead of "liberal", as I believe it is better understood in the Hispanic context.
Modern culture is clearly marked by a choice between conservatism and progressivism. People are drawn in one direction or the other, but not both: two opposing cultural styles are offered that meet and clearly mark the kind of decisions people make, how they relate to each other and how they respond to ultimate questions. Which of the two best represents the profile of a Christian believer who tries to thank God for the gifts received or is it really possible and desirable to integrate them?
Conservatives
The designation of conservative and progressive is temperamental and personal. Some people want to hold on to what they have, to what has been handed down to them, to what comes from the past; they clearly prefer practical experience and wisdom. Perhaps they do so out of fear of losing what is good in exchange for acquiring what is promised to be better; or perhaps out of an attitude of recognition and gratitude for what is available to them through those who have gone before them.
Conservatives are generally a bit fearful of losing what they have, perhaps lazy, not always generous with their possessions, although they tend to be satisfied and pleased with life as it is, are often nostalgic, more realistic than idealistic, inclined to lead others to adjust their priorities "for their own good", attached to the predictable, accepting and defending the collective, the status quo, the way things are. As a result, they can be perceived as authoritarian and, at times, pessimistic. On the other hand, most of the time they humbly thank God for what they have received and express their gratitude by using the created world as it was made and not abusing it. In brief terms, we could say that the conservative is a person of faith.
Progressives
Others, however, are convinced that what has been handed down to them, what they have received from the past and from others, is imperfect or even decadent and needs to be renewed or changed, not just received with unconditional gratitude. They feel free, entitled and able to challenge the status quo. "By definition," says Maurice Cranston, "a liberal is a man who believes in freedom. They are convinced that change and progress are possible and necessary, whether in law, structures or established ways of doing things. They are substantially pro-rights, impatient with the rigid and static, often willing to discard what they have received from others, from the past. They are often averse to tradition and sometimes give the impression of being ungrateful.
The progressive impulse is motivated by a sincere and generous desire to improve things and overcome evil in society or by an improper lack of appreciation for what has been received from others in the past. They may be overconfident in their ideas and projects, more idealistic and theoretical than realistic, less prepared to listen and learn from the past, to rectify or correct their ideas or vision as necessary, to be dissatisfied with their own identity; they may be impatient, restless and agitated, easily willing to allow "others" to change them, more individualistic than collectivist. They want to change things, they live for the future, impatiently dreaming of "the new heavens and the new earth" spoken of in Revelation (21:1-4). The progressive fundamentally waits.
Speaking of conservatives, Roger Scruton observes that "their position is correct but boring; that of their detractors, exciting, but false." For this reason, conservatives may have a kind of "rhetorical disadvantage" and as a result "conservatism has suffered philosophical neglect." As historian Robert Conquest used to say, "one is always right-wing on the issues one knows first hand" or Matthew Arnold who criticized progressivism by stating that "liberty is an excellent horse to ride, but to ride somewhere."
Religion, conservatives and progressives
Although many believers regard religion as a liberalizing force, for the most part religions are generally regarded as "conservative" elements within society: they help people hold on to things, to reality. However, the idea that religion is conservative cannot be applied univocally to all religions, and certainly not to Christianity. That is why we can ask ourselves: is true Christianity conservative or progressive? Christianity concerns all aspects of human life and society. Christian anthropology is essentially integrative, as is Christian life and spirituality. The only thing that Christians reject and flatly exclude in man is sin, which separates them from God, from others, from the world and from themselves, destroying life in the broadest sense of the word.
Christianity, affirmative synthesis
Since Christianity excludes nothing substantial from the human composite - neither body nor spirit, neither freedom nor determination, neither sociability nor individuality, neither the temporal nor the eternal, neither the feminine nor the masculine - it would seem that both the "conservative" and the "progressive" aspects of individual human life and of society as a whole should be held simultaneously, if possible, in an affirmative and overcoming synthesis. A Christian can be either conservative or progressive by temperament, but his true Christian identity must have something of both.
As Methodist (progressive) pastor Adam Hamilton once said, "When people ask me, 'Are you conservative or progressive,' my answer is always the same: Yes. But which? Both! Without a progressive spirit we become dull and stagnant. Without a conservative spirit, we are unanchored and adrift." What hinders this integration is precisely the divisive presence of sin in the heart of man.
Christians are and must be conservative, in the sense that they receive God's gifts through the Church of Jesus Christ, make them their own and transmit them with generosity and creativity to those who succeed them. At the same time, they are and must be progressive, because Christian revelation affirms the reality and value of time as a space in which God acts and man responds freely and personally to his grace and word. Fundamental concepts are time, freedom and the untouchable and irreplaceable dignity of every human person who lives with and for other people. In addition, Christianity gives particular weight to conversion (in Greek "metanoia") which literally implies "going beyond death" and evokes the need to overcome one's own conviction and present situation.
Christianity was originally an enormous novelty in the personal lives of millions of men and women who broke with their personal failures and sins, with the Judaism of their time, with the common lifestyle in society, with idolatry, establishing a profoundly renewed vision of the dignity of all people, especially women and children, of the value of marriage and sexuality, a new liturgy, a new approach. A new beginning, a progress, a projection into the future, into eternity. The power of God injected into the lives of sinful men produced an amazing transformation and liberation in personal and social life; it released previously unknown energies among men; it launched them out into a life of meaningful and passionate work and evangelization. It did it before, it does it now; it will continue to do so until the Lord comes in his glory.
On July 6 and 7, the town of Levoča in northern Slovakia witnessed one of the most well-attended Marian pilgrimages in Europa. More than five hundred thousand people have attended the religious ceremonies and activities of the pilgrimage. In a country with a population of five million, this influx highlights the deep devotion and spiritual significance that the pilgrimage has for Slovaks. During these days, the sacrament of confession has played a prominent role, with numerous priests available to offer this service to pilgrims both day and night.
The program of the pilgrimage was varied: on Saturday, in addition to the various Masses, including one in the Greek rite, there was a mini festival of Christian music that attracted many young people. On Sunday there were events such as the Stations of the Cross, the prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours, the recitation of the rosary and, at the end, a solemn Mass presided over by the Bishop of Spiš, Msgr. František Trstenský.
In his homily, Bishop Trstenský encouraged those present to be faithful to the Gospel and to proclaim it with joy; he stressed that this joyful attitude is a necessity of our times: "Let us not be afraid to live our faith with joy, to rejoice in it, because the Lord is with you. I wish you the joy of evangelization. Our Slovakia does not need sad proclaimers, but joyful ones, who have themselves experienced the joy of proclamation".
History of the Marian pilgrimage to Levoča.
The Marian pilgrimage to Levoča, which is held annually around the feast of St. Cyril and St. Methodius (celebrated in Slovakia on July 5), is one of the oldest and most significant pilgrimage events in Slovakia. Its roots go back to the Middle Ages, when in 1247 the first chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary was built in Levoča (in the north-eastern region of Spiš). This act was a response to the numerous miracles that allegedly occurred at this place. The pilgrimage quickly became an important spiritual event that attracted believers from all over the region and even from neighboring countries.
The Levoča pilgrimage continued even during the Turkish invasions, when believers sought refuge and spiritual support. In the 17th century, a Baroque basilica was built on Mariánska Hora hill, which still serves today as the main pilgrimage church. This basilica is a true architectural gem that offers its visitors not only a spiritual experience, but also an aesthetic delight with its magnificent architecture and decoration.
The significance of this pilgrimage site did not go unnoticed in Rome. Pope John Paul II elevated the church of the Visitation of the Virgin Mary to a minor basilica (basilica minor) on January 26, 1984. This title recognizes the importance and spiritual significance of this place. Eleven years later, on July 3, 1995, the largest pilgrimage in the history of Levoča was held, in which more than 650,000 people participated in the presence of the Pope himself.
Prominent personalities
The Marian pilgrimage to Levoča has attracted many prominent personalities from various areas of public life. Among the most important of these is Pope John Paul II, who visited Levoča during his. apostolic journey to Slovakia in 1995. His presence gave the pilgrimage a special significance and strengthened its international dimension. In addition, the pilgrimage is regularly attended by bishops, priests and other spiritual leaders who strengthen with their presence the spiritual significance of this event.
Among other prominent personalities who have visited Levoča during the Marian pilgrimage are various Slovak politicians, cultural personalities and artists, who come not only in search of spiritual inspiration, but also to support tradition and cultural heritage.
Pilgrimage during communism
The Marian pilgrimage to Levoča acquired special significance during the communist era, when the regime repressed and policed religious life. In these difficult times, the pilgrimage became a symbol of resistance and spiritual strength for many believers. People made pilgrimages to Levoča despite the risk of persecution or punishment.
The pilgrimage represented a refuge and a place where believers could freely express their faith and obtain spiritual support. This spiritual and moral strength that the pilgrimage represented helped to maintain hope and strengthen people's inner strength at a time when fundamental rights and freedoms were being systematically violated. Pilgrims met with clandestine priests and religious, who provided spiritual support and encouragement.
Pilgrimage today
Today, the Marian pilgrimage to Levoča is an event that annually attracts tens of thousands of believers. Preparations for the pilgrimage begin several months before the event, so that everything is perfectly organized. In addition to the main religious ceremonies, which include masses, prayers and processions, the pilgrimage is accompanied by various cultural and social events.
The Levoča pilgrimage is today a modern spiritual event that combines traditional values with new forms of spiritual expression. Many young people take the opportunity to go on pilgrimage to find inner peace and strengthen their faith. The organizers ensure that the program is rich and varied, offering various forms of spiritual and cultural enrichment.
One of the highlights of the pilgrimage is the night procession, which begins at the basilica and ends at the top of Mariánska Hora hill. This procession symbolizes spiritual pilgrimage and a deep inner experience for many pilgrims. Pilgrims carry candles, illuminating the way, which creates an unforgettable visual and spiritual experience.
Number of participants
Every year, a large number of believers participate in the Marian pilgrimage to Levoča. During the weekend when the main pilgrimage takes place, approximately 500,000 to 600,000 pilgrims flock there. This huge number of people, especially significant in a country with a population of five million, testifies to the importance and popularity of this spiritual event, which transcends the borders of Slovakia and attracts believers from various countries.
(TK KBS/ Martin Magda)
Importance for the region
The Marian pilgrimage is of great importance not only for believers, but also for the entire Spiš region. Annually, it attracts thousands of visitors, which has a positive impact on the local economy. Accommodations, restaurants and stores experience an increase in demand and footfall during the pilgrimage, bringing financial benefits to local residents.
In addition to the economic benefit, the pilgrimage also has cultural and social importance. It maintains and strengthens traditional values such as faith, family and community. For many people, the pilgrimage is an opportunity to reunite with old friends and family, which contributes to the strengthening of social ties.
Challenges and future of the pilgrimage
Like any major event, the Marian pilgrimage to Levoča faces challenges. One of the main ones is ensuring the safety and comfort of all participants. The organizers collaborate with local authorities to ensure sufficient possibilities for accommodation, parking and other services.
Another challenge is to maintain and develop the tradition in the context of the modern world. With the growing influence of digitalization and globalization, it is important to find ways to attract young people and maintain their interest in the pilgrimage. In this regard, the organizers are looking to use social networks and modern media to promote the pilgrimage and attract a wider audience.
The Marian pilgrimage to Levoča is a significant spiritual and cultural event that brings together believers from all over Slovakia and abroad. Its rich history, the presence of prominent personalities and its modern form make this pilgrimage a unique experience that attracts thousands of people annually. Despite the challenges posed by the contemporary world, the Marian pilgrimage to Levoča remains a strong symbol of faith, tradition and community.
Catholic Scientists: Guillermo Giménez Gallego, the Light of Faith in the Laboratory
Jesuit Guillermo Giménez Gallego focused his research on protein chemistry. Omnes offers this series of short biographies of Catholic scientists thanks to the collaboration of the Society of Catholic Scientists of Spain.
Josefa Zaldívar-July 8, 2024-Reading time: 2minutes
Guillermo Giménez Gallego (March 31, 1945 - July 8, 2022) was a Jesuit priest and biologist. Born in Ceuta, at the age of 16 he entered the Jesuit Novitiate at the Colegio de San Francisco de Borja in Cordoba, where he studied Humanities.
In 1965 he moved to Alcalá de Henares, where he obtained his ecclesiastical degree in Philosophy.
In 1970 he resided in Granada where he worked as assistant director of the Colegio Mayor "Loyola" and studied Biological Sciences with an extraordinary prize at the University of Granada (1974). Later, he moved to Madrid where he did his doctoral thesis at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) also with extraordinary prize.
He began to work as an associate professor at the UAM, which he combined with his studies in Theology at the University of Comillas. In 1981 he was assigned as a Scientific Collaborator of the CSIC at the Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas (CIB).
He was ordained deacon in 1982 and priest in 1983, and then worked at the Merk Institute for Therapeutic Research. He then returned to Spain and joined the CIB, where he was appointed director in 1996-1999 and 2002-2004.
He retired in 2015 but remained associated with the IBC as a Research Professor. "ad honorem" until his death.
Guillermo knew how to choose a very fruitful research topic, which was protein chemistry, which allowed him to create a great school. He studied numerous proteins involved in various diseases, but the star protein of his career was undoubtedly the acidic fibroblast growth factor (aFGF).
During his stay at the Merk Institute, he isolated this factor from the human brain. He then sequenced the gene encoding it. This allowed him to synthesize aFGF in large quantities in order to study its three-dimensional structure and design specific inhibitors.
He has received numerous awards: National Research Award in the Biomedicine category in 1993, Basic Research Award of the Spanish Society of Cardiology in 1995 and president of the sixth section of the Royal National Academy of Pharmacy since 2007.
Guillermo was an exemplary Catholic scientist who knew how to bring the light of Christianity to research laboratories.
The authorJosefa Zaldívar
Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) Society of Catholic Scientists of Spain
Pope encourages Catholics in Trieste to participate in political life
Pope Francis made a brief visit to Trieste, Italy, where he met with participants in the 50th Catholic Social Week. In his speeches, the Holy Father highlighted the need to engage in politics as Catholics seeking the common good.
On July 7, Pope Francis traveled to TriesteItaly, during a brief apostolic visit on the occasion of the 50th Social Week of Catholics in Italy, celebrated from July 3-7 with the theme "At the Heart of Democracy. Participate between history and the future".
During the meeting, the Holy Father addressed the participants of the conference, thanking them for their activity, which is particularly relevant today because "it is evident that in today's world the democracyLet us tell the truth, it is not in good health. This is of interest and concern to us, because the good of man is at stake, and nothing that is human can be alien to us".
For this reason, Francis said, we must "assume the responsibility of building something good in our time," a mission that Catholic Social Week takes into account thanks to its promoter, Blessed Joseph (Giuseppe) Toniolo.
Christians cannot ignore this situation, the Pontiff explained. "Just as the crisis of democracy is transversal to different realities and nations, in the same way, the attitude of responsibility in the face of social transformations is a call addressed to all Christians, wherever they live and work, in all parts of the world."
The wounded heart of democracy
The Pope compared the crisis of democracy to "a wounded heart" marked by the social exclusion of the poor, the elderly and children. A "culture of waste" has been fostered, in which those in power have lost the ability "to listen to and serve the people". This goes against the true meaning of democracy, said the Pope, because what is important is not only to be able to vote, but "that everyone can express themselves and participate.
Faced with this, the Pontiff pointed to "the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity" as good bases for recovering democracy. "Indeed, a people is held together by the bonds that constitute it, and the bonds are strengthened when each one is valued," Francis affirmed.
The Pope then called for "a democracy with a healed heart" that continues to "cultivate dreams for the future" and promote "personal and community involvement." For this reason, the Holy Father encouraged Catholics to participate in political life to promote the common good and "to be a voice that denounces and proposes in a society that is often mute and where too many have no voice."
"This is the role of the Church," Francis concluded. A Church that must "engage in hope, because without it we manage the present but do not build the future. Without hope, we would be administrators, balancers of the present and not prophets and builders of the future".
Pope highlights the scandal of a human God
Following his presence at the closing day of Catholic Social Week, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass. During his homily, he asked those present to question what obstacles prevent them from believing in Jesus. Just as for his contemporaries, who could not understand "how God, the almighty, can reveal himself in the frailty of a man's flesh," for many today Christ is still a scandal.
For many it is difficult to understand "a faith founded on a human God, who is inclined towards humanity, who cares for it, who is moved by our wounds, who assumes our weariness". In short, it is a scandal for society to see "a weak God, a God who dies on the cross for love and asks me to overcome all selfishness and offer my life for the salvation of the world".
However, Francis affirmed that "we need the scandal of faith. We do not need a religiosity closed in on itself, which looks to heaven without concern for what is happening on earth." The Pope went on to say that "we need the scandal of faith, a faith rooted in the God who became man and, therefore, a human faith, a faith of flesh, which enters into history, which caresses people's lives, which heals broken hearts, which becomes the leaven of hope and the seed of a new world."
The Pope and the commitment to peace
Pope Francis took up this idea during his reflection at the Angelus prayer, where he affirmed that "charity is concrete, love is concrete", so it is not enough to remain with the idea of living for love and to serve others, but it must be manifested in concrete acts.
The Pontiff ended his trip to Trieste by asking Catholics to renew their "commitment to pray and work for peace."
The figure of the priest in the history of literature is of great interest, because it allows us to realistically approach the worldview that today's society has about the person of the priest.
Juan Carlos Mateos González-July 7, 2024-Reading time: 9minutes
As it appears in many literary works, the priest is derogatorily described as "clerical", and his person and mission are clearly negatively judged. In the history of literature the figure of the priest has always been very present, but in the current novel it has acquired a generalized critical tone: the behavior and attitudes of clerics are usually ridiculed, and a certain desire, somewhat implicit, to spread a great "social discredit" on the figure of the priest is perceived. The Christian and clerical heritage, especially if we refer to contemporary literature, is seen as a heavy burden from which society must free itself as soon as possible, in order to acquire its autonomy, maturity and emancipation.
The classics
In the Spanish Golden Age, Cervantes introduces us to the clergyman of the town where his knight of the sad figure was born. He is a clergyman who is a reader, although poorly enlightened. A cleric who was afraid of literature. He decides that the books of chivalry that had driven his good neighbor Don Quijano mad should be thrown on the stake. Cervantes does not judge, because he did not want to "make blood" with the clerical establishment. Cervantes tells things that happened to him, because he knows well that to those clerics nothing happens but what St. Teresa said: that "they knew no more and were not good enough for more".
Quevedo, in his immortal "Historia del Buscón llamado Pablos", presents a dirty clergyman "like a rat in a masonry, with a shabby cassock, almost green with discoloration and full of filth" (Quevedo, in his immortal "Historia del Buscón llamado Pablos").. Quevedo, who knew the clerical establishment well, because he was an assiduous visitor of convents and chapels, did not like the greed of many of the priests with whom he dealt. And to this aspect, we must add the personal disagreements withThey were "priest-poets" of his contemporaries: Góngora and Lope de Vega. Those were times when many writers were priests and/or religious: Fray Luis de León, Tirso de Molina, Calderón de la Barca, San Juan de la Cruz... They used to be very well educated, very cultured, and because of the way they were treated and studied, they were very close to those who served as clergymen.
The first novels
We had to wait a few centuries for a priest to appear in the novel as a protagonist. He arrived in 1758 with the "Historia del famoso predicador Fray Gerundio de Campazas" (History of the famous preacher Fray Gerundio de Campazas)., by Jesuit Francisco José de Isla: an amusing satire against the high-flown and hollow preachers, "frightening priests of the pulpits of the region".. A book full of irony and mockery, because it was the way to point out one of the most common clerical defects.
In the first novels of the 19th century, when the writer imagined that the priest was a sufficiently rich vein not to be wasted, what was used were several "clichés" of the rural world and of the more or less public customs, by which the priest did not give an example in accordance with his status. The priest, for example, maintained an affair life or lived a "double life". We can recall what St. Teresa wrote in the "Book of Life" (chap. V) when, on her way through Becedas, she learned that the priest was living an "amancebado" with a woman.
It is usually a cliché that the priest who had a maid at home, his treatment usually drifts towards something too familiar, that "literary" goes beyond the possible service to the house. Normally, it is also a "literary cliché", to speak ill of the priest, it was resorted, to speak ill of his fondness for good food or his evening habit of drinking chocolate jícaras with croutons. In fact, there is a chocolate that was called "del canónigo" and that was advertised on the walls of the bars of the villages with a fat mosén that was leaning over the cup and on the way to his mouth the picatostes, already smeared with the thick and almost olfactory chocolate. Clarín composed "La Regenta" with similar "narrative elements".o Juan Valera "Pepita Jiménez" o Juan Valera "Pepita Jiménez" o Juan Valera "Pepita Jiménez".or Torrente Ballester's "Los gozos y las sombras".o Pérez Galdós "Fortunata y Jacinta"...
Bad habits, doubtful vocations
These bad habits, according to some, came about because in the seminaries the future priests were given a formation/deformation that only dealt with the defects to be avoided and the moral pitfalls against which they had to be forewarned, rather than the virtues with which the priest had to be adorned. Juan Valera, for example, takes it to almost dramatic consequences, within the general sentimentalism of the novel "Pepita Jiménez".(1874), the experience of the seminarian Luis de Vargas, from the moment he encounters Pepita Jiménez, a widowed woman of exquisite sensitivity, against whom the seminarian does not find many arguments. The seminarian realizes that the path God is calling him on is not the one that, perhaps a little "unconsciously", he had taken.
In the novels of Pérez Galdós there are also numerous clergymen "without vocation", a vocation, the priestly one, that the Canarian writer repeatedly questioned. The priests who parade through Galdós' novels are not too exemplary: neither those who appear as ordinary characters in the life of the people, nor those others whom Galdós paints with a critical and acerbic gaze. "Tormento" (1883) is, possibly, the first Spanish novel to deal with the "problem of the priestly celibacy"and its bad experience, especially when the priest's life is crossed by the love of a woman. Although, certainly, Galdós does not make "a thesis" with this theme.
This Galdosian vision of the clergyman who in the middle of the world does not live his celibacy joyfully, is picked up by Leopoldo Alas Clarín, in what is possibly one of the three best novels of Spanish literature, "La Regenta" (The Regent).(1885). Clarín plays with the feelings and temptation of the cathedral's Magistral canon, who has too much vanity and not enough sense. He is overcome by social and domestic circumstances, which endanger his fidelity to a vocation that he does not know how to orient it, so that it is not devoured by a city (Vetusta Oviedo) in which he lives daily.
In the 20th century, in 1943, Gonzalo Torrente Ballester published his first novel: "Javier Mariño"., where there is much that is autobiographical in this account of the Galician teacher: there are evident memories of his time in a seminary where, despite all his efforts, a supposed priestly vocation "did not take root". The author does not spend too much time clarifying some of his character's behavior; however, there is no doubt that, despite the accusations that have been made against this novel, the book has the honesty not to deceive anyone. In the end, if there is any vocation that should be examined with sincerity, it is that of one who believes himself called to the priestly life.
Realities and prejudices
But it is not all drama and conflict. The vision that some more recent novels have had on the priests, have manifested moments of "glorious exaltation". Santos Beguiristain, "Por esos pueblos de Dios".(1953) and José Luis Martín Descalzo, "Un cura se confiesa" (1953) and José Luis Martín Descalzo, "Un cura se confiesa" (1953).(1961), left some of those "laudatory" elements in the personal vision of themselves and their priesthood that they "came to novelize", because their personal history was what gave plot to their novels. The priests who appear in these books are real priests, without great virtues, with the defects that we all have, and, above all, with a great illusion to carry to the goal the priesthood that they received when they were still village boys, full of dreams and hopes.
In the second half of the twentieth century, two main accusations were leveled against the clergy: the introduction of the notion of sin and the greedy quest for power. It is recurrent to recall the "clerical horror" (Lourdes Ortiz), because "with so much sin, with so much demon" (Ray Loriga in "The worst of it all"), "with so much sin, with so much demon" (Ray Loriga in "The worst of it all")., 1992) aim to introduce men into the "labyrinth of guilt" (such as the character of Juan Mirón, by Luis Landero in "Caballeros de fortuna")., 1994).
In this way, writers create "psychological spaces" in which it is not possible to enjoy, "in a repressive, mediocre and hypocritical society" (Lourdes Ortiz), inhabited by a "herd of sweet and bovine creatures who still went to mass on Sundays" (Lucía Etxebarría, "Beatriz y los cuerpos celestes"...)., 1998). The priests seek to impose a "cemetery order" (Francisco Umbral, "Los helechos arborescentes")., 1979) and a "religion of slaves" (F. Umbral, "Las ninfas") and a "religion of slaves" (F. Umbral, "Las ninfas")., 1975).
This tension is the common thread of our most recent novel: the clerical figure of the priest is the antithesis of that which asks for and allows the enjoyment of the body and of life. "The Outskirts of God".by Antonio Gala clearly reflects the struggle and victory of Sister Nazareth, who becomes Clara Ribalta when she leaves the convent and is reunited with love and life in the "outskirts of God".. It is "irrefutable proof" of this hedonistic "thesis", because within the Church, even if there are some people (including priests) who try to open other perspectives, the denial of life ends up being imposed. So they say. That is why it is understandable that there are no vocations, because "young people try to make the most of their youth and their life without calculations or plans"., as the retired Luciano points out to his religious sister in "A Tent by the Water".(1991) by Gustavo Martín Garzo.
Through the imposition of their ideas and the control of consciences, the priests are presented as exponents of a subtle domination of society. Thus they configure these "petty" cities, "cemeteries of dry leaves", "cemeteries of dry leaves"., closed by a "classical and closed morality", in the manner of the "Levitical City"., Raúl del Pozo's native Cuenca, 2001, or the Valladolid of Umbral's adolescence, described in "El hijo de Greta Garbo" (Greta Garbo's son)., marked by"the clerical paisanaje"., superb and fatuous, far from the sensibility of the people, or the Oilea of "Where it is always October"., by Espido Freire (2001).
In a similar way, León Luis Mateo Díez describes in "La fuente de la edad" (The Fountain of the Ages)as a "cursed city", a "lost corpse", closed in its "petty memory", whose inhabitants are "children of ignominy" because they are governed by the most hypocritical and useless and by "the cassocks". Even a later generation of writers, such as Valdeón Blanco, defines the city of Valladolid as "theological, Augustinian and conventual"., opposed to the development of the modern, industrial and university city ("The Red Fires")., 1998).
The priestly figures appear, therefore, in a dark light, focused mainly on their behavior and intra-ecclesial relations. In "Mazurka for Two Dead Men", by Camilo José Cela, the ambivalence of the Galician priests is manifested, in line with the general production of the author.
Coordinates of a negative vision
Also authors who move more directly in a Christian environment do not hide their "anticlerical" attitude, including José Jiménez Lozano and Miguel Delibes. The former, already in his first work "Un cristiano en rebeldía" denounces the "hard mind" of the men of the Church, an attitude that has marked the inquisitorial attitude of the Church in Spain, as he wants to prove in his research on "Los cementerios civiles y la heterodoxia española" (Civil cemeteries and Spanish heterodoxy).. It is a theme that appears in novels such as "El sambenito."o "History of an Autumn"., but which continues today in works such as "A Man in the Line", "A Man in the Line", "A Man in the Line", "A Man in the Line" and "A Man in the Line".(2000).
Miguel Delibes, for his part, portrays the dark and sour character of a narrow and somber religiosity, which can border on hypocrisy ("La sombra del ciprés es alargada", "Mi idolatrado hijo Sissi", "Cinco horas con Mario")., In the face of which he wants to open up closer and more human religious perspectives in "Lady in Red on a Gray Background".or "Letters from a voluptuous sexagenarian".. His latest novel "The Heretic".The dedication itself contrasts an inquisitorial religiosity with the authentic free religion, proper to the spirit.
Completely autobiographical is Javier Villán's story "Sin pecado concebido" (Without conceived sin).(2000). The author's time in the Seminary of Palencia was not, precisely, a joyful and peaceful time, nor was it a time of harmony with himself. The author begins by saying that "the first night I spent in the Seminary was a sad night" (2000).. Many more would follow. And the fact is that "the days of those nights were not hymns of glory and tranquility". Javier Villán recounts, with evident detachment, some of the experiences he had to endure during the years he lived in the diocesan formation house. In the end, he ended up abandoning it because, possibly, says the author bitterly, "the future does not exist"..
The subtitle of the book already gave us a glimpse of the end to which he wanted to lead us: "Joys and tribulations of a seminarian".This rejection of clerical training is driven, above all, by the imposition of dogmas or irrational truths, and especially by the "dams it presents to the enjoyment of life", to the unfolding of instincts, to the play of desire... Therefore, he concludes: "God is not found in the worship presided over by priests, but outside the temples, in contact with the earth and nature".
We are seeing how two coordinates converge in the consideration of the figure of the priest, but which mutually feed each other, causing a negative view of the priest. On the one hand, we detect the historical weight that has passed into the collective imagination of Spanish society, and on the other, the emancipation of man, exalting his rational autonomy and his free will to be able to get what he wants, his cravings, desires and instincts, all under the banner of the claim of the "new freedoms". Thus, the priestly function seems to "embody" a repression that must be overcome. The figure of the priest focuses the role and meaning of the Church, as the institutionalization of a particular religion, and that of Christianity, in terms of its historical magnitude.
Conclusions
Faced with the postponement of the figure of the priest (and of what he represents), what is the panorama that is drawn in the light of Spanish literature? What is intended to be eliminated is the mediating role of individuals and of the institution.
On the one hand, the novel has opened up the perspective of a "religion of nothingness" (J. Bonilla, Javier Marías, J. A. Mañas, G. Martín Garzo and F. Umbral, who uses the expression), dominated by the experience of loneliness, anguish and meaninglessness. Umbral, who is the one who uses the expression), dominated by the experience of loneliness, of anguish, of meaninglessness... This option leaves man alone and abandoned, subjected to destiny or to the absurd, and therefore refers to the force of desire as the only path to life, the only way to escape from nothingness. Without access to a founding reality, or to a loving origin or a hoped-for goal, life is reduced to a game of masks that exhausts itself in its mere appearance.
On the other hand, the perspective of a "religion of the Whole" that aspires to the fusion with Life with all the range of possibilities of enjoyment and cruelty (A. Gala, T. Moix, L. A. de Villena, F. Sánchez Dragó, J. L. Sampedro) opens up. Neither in this form of religiosity (which can be considered paganism or syncretism) mediators are required. Each one has to look for the adequate means to enter into the "ecstasy" that certain experiences can bring, and can indistinctly assume the violence and/or disinterest that this life manifests, with respect to concrete individuals.
The protagonist of most Spanish novels is left alone before the Nothingness or the immoderation of the All. Against this background, the figure of the priest, acting "in persona Christi et in nomine Ecclesiae", can be outlined in a clearer way.. It must make perceptible the mission of a Church that lives from the permanent call of the Lord who, as sent by the Father in the power of the Spirit, communicates and testifies to a gift capable of rescuing man from his solitude, from the fatality of destiny or from a totality that ends up annulling the eternal value of the person.
Miguel Ángel Martínez: "Through science it is easy to reach God".
Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, physician and epidemiologist, is one of the most relevant scientists on the international scene. In this interview, he talks about the relationship between his scientific and Christian facets, and how research is also a way of serving others.
Miguel Ángel Martínez-González is a physician, researcher and epidemiologist, professor of Preventive Medicine and Health Public University of Navarra and Associate Professor of Nutrition at Harvard University. He has published the following books with Planeta Health for sure (2018), What do you eat? (2020), Healthcare in flames (2021) y Salmon, hormones and screens (2023). In 2021, he was included in the "Highly Cited Researchers 2021" list of Clarivatewhere he is among the 6,600 most cited scientists in the world. The Ministry of Science and Innovation awarded him the prestigious Gregorio Marañón National Research Award in Medicine in 2022 for his contributions on the importance of nutrition, Mediterranean diet and healthy lifestyle in the field of preventive medicine.
How does your scientific side enrich your faith, and vice versa?
I think that for a scientist, especially when one is in the first division in research, there are many dangers that can spoil all his work, related to ego, pride, vanity, the desire to appear, etc. And this has very bad consequences for the professional work of a researcher, because it often turns out that senior researchers want to be everywhere and do not allow young people to have sufficient relevance and prominence, or to be able to continue their work in the long term. Planting trees whose shade will benefit others is something that I am very committed to, precisely because of my faith, because it seems to me that the theme of Christianity is that he who gives is happier than he who receives. That attitude of generosity, of knowing how to hide at many times and give way to others, that others begin where you have finished, are values of faith that certainly make research much more productive in the long run. It is much more effective to make thirty people work than to work as thirty, but, when the ego takes over, one wants to be everywhere, to appear, and does not allow the people who are collaborating to show their heads. You have to know how to take steps back at the right time, especially when you are reaching the peak of your career and you are approaching retirement. That step back makes the research more productive, because more people get involved, take the lead and take the reins.
And, vice versa, professional work enriches faith. Delving into human biology always has a sense of fascination with how the human being functions, his control mechanisms, his organs, his physiology, etc. And it is very difficult for that not to lead to God. One discovers some really impressive wonders. That fascination seems to me to be a very powerful force for approaching faith and God.
Also, through the work, one acquires many relationships with other people and sees many opportunities to help them spiritually, to try to bring them closer to God with an apostolic zeal that is inherent in Christianity. I have been with several of the recipients of the National Youth Research Awards, which were given for the first time last year, and the conversations with them, in a natural way, ended up transmitting aspects of the faith, aspects that you have inside you because of your Christian belief. This helps, and the same when you have an important scientific work, which takes up a lot of your time. It gives you the opportunity, especially with your students, with the people to whom you are directing your thesis or who are training with you as young professors, to open their horizons to the supernatural and to see that through science it is easy to reach God. In all lifestyle and public health issues, which is the field in which I have developed my scientific career, you see that in the end what goes against human nature harms the human being. You see it with scientific data, not only from faith. Putting into the body a series of substances that are not typical of natural foods, or getting carried away by a series of behaviors that are fundamentally hedonistic, consumerist, ends up producing more physical and mental illnesses. Somehow, you say: "The Bible was right". In the end, science proves that humility, sobriety, the right use of reason and putting order in our concupiscibles appetites has an impact on health, and when you see it with the data of studies with tens of thousands of people, it strengthens your faith.
So you could say that believing is healthy?
Yes, in Boston, two of the people who work with me at Harvard are also collaborating with the Human Flourishing Center run by a very prestigious Harvard professor, a convert to Catholicism, named Tyler VanderWeele. One of the most powerful papers he has published, in one of the best medical journals, shows how religious practice prevents suicide. This is something that has been proven with empirical data, that having religious convictions and practicing them reduces the risk factors for suicide.
I remember that when I designed the large cohort study that we had in Navarra 25 years ago at Harvard, with the help of the professors there, one of them, who was not exactly a believer, said to me: "Look, if you are going to recruit former students from the University of Navarra, where there are so many Catholics, it will lower mortality rates, because they will die less, they will have fewer diseases". And he was an atheist, but he told me: "I already have a lot of experience having done epidemiological studies and I see that when people have more religious practice they have better health habits, they get drunk less, take drugs less, have less sexual promiscuity, go to the doctor when it is their turn and are more responsible for their own health". In the end, when a population has more Christian beliefs, they have better healthy habits, and that reduces mortality rates. So, logically, it is a health benefit.
Is your interest in research just scientific or also a way to help others?
Of course, helping is the driving force, it is an absolute priority. I repeat this a lot to my collaborators and I always try to keep it in mind. I recently met with a group of cardiologists in Madrid, because we are developing a very ambitious study that I have been funded by the European Research Council, and I said to them: "We are going to incorporate a lot of doctors into this study, and they may ask: 'And if I contribute patients to this study, are you going to give me a certificate of participation, are you going to put me in the articles as an investigator? And I said, 'Of course, we'll do all this, but that's not what's important.' You have to think about the service you are doing to a lot of patients who have a problem that we are going to give a solution to." I also explained to them that if a doctor examines a patient in the emergency room who comes in with chest pain, tells him that nothing is wrong, and the patient goes home and dies because he had a myocardial infarction and you had not detected it, this is a terrible medical failure. But in public health, if you tell the patient: "There is nothing wrong with this habit", and it turns out that this habit is increasing mortality by 10 %, but it is shared by 70 % of the population, millions of deaths are produced by not doing it properly. What we do in public health has immense repercussions. I was told the other day at Harvard at a conference I gave: it takes a great sense of responsibility and courage to carry out public health studies, because the lives and health of millions of people are at stake and, logically, we have to see Jesus Christ in each one of them, just as in clinical medicine. What happens is that, when it comes to epidemiology and public health, it is on a large scale. Maybe you don't see it as immediately as the patient who you haven't done the EKG and dies of a heart attack, but the reality is that, with the decisions we make in public health and with the research we do, we can be benefiting or harming millions of people. And in those people we have to see Jesus Christ, because, if not, we have lost the Christian meaning of life.
Do you think that in the scientific field there is a prejudice towards believers, or is it already overcome?
No, no, the prejudice exists, and it is absolutely unfair, because it is just that, a prejudice. The reality is that we must have the perspective that Catholics are not second-class beings, and that we have the same right to investigate as anyone else. We cannot be people who are marginalized. Here we must also exercise fortitude and courage and not allow ourselves to be cornered, not be timorous or self-conscious. I believe that we Catholics must have the conviction that faith provides a more global, complementary vision, and that it makes us raise our sights and be more rigorous, precisely because we have faith. Because we see that what we do here has repercussions beyond this life, and that gives us a great sense of responsibility. God is going to ask me to account for all of this. And the transcendence beyond life on this earth is something that helps us to do our professional work better, and above all with St. Josemaría's vision that this work is sanctifiable. So, logically, we look at that work with much more solidity than if we didn't have faith.
The 2023 St. Peter's Oblong, between generosity and financial challenges
Data from the St. Peter's Obligation for 2023 show that the Vatican's charitable works continue to be a priority, despite the existing difficulties in meeting the expenses required for this aid.
The Annual Report 2023 of the St. Peter's Obolus published in recent days delves as always into the financial and charitable activities of the Holy See, but reveals how the past year was marked by some economic challenges, while continuing to record the generous solidarity of the faithful around the world.
Overall, the document certifies income of 52 million euros, of which 48.4 million euros came from direct donations and 3.6 million euros from financial income. However, expenses far exceeded income, reaching 109.4 million euros. This resulted in a deficit of 57.4 million, forcing the fund to withdraw 51 million from its assets to meet its charitable commitments.
Donations to the Obole reflect the universal character of the Catholic Church. Dioceses remain the main source of contributions (64.4 %), followed by foundations (28.8 %). The United States tops the ranking of donor countries with 13.6 million euros, followed by Italy (3.1 million) and Brazil (1.9 million). Also significant are the contributions from GermanyThe presence of the Church's mission in the countries of South Korea and France demonstrates a truly global commitment to the Church's mission.
Charitable projects
Despite financial difficulties, the Óbolo has maintained its commitment to supporting charitable works. In 2023, €13 million went to 236 projects in 76 countries. Africa was the main beneficiary, receiving 41.6 % of the funds for direct aid projects, followed by Asia (21.4 %) and Europe (18.5 %).
Specifically, the projects focused on three main areas: extension of the evangelizing presence (43 % of the funds), with the construction of new churches and pastoral structures in countries such as Guatemala, Tanzania and Albania; social projects (33 %), including initiatives such as support for the "Open Hospitals" project in Syria and assistance programs for pregnant women in Mexico; and, finally, support for local Churches in difficulty (24 %), with the financing of activities such as the renovation of seminaries and religious houses in countries such as Congo, Angola and Sri Lanka.
Supporting the apostolic mission
A significant figure refers to the support of the Holy Father's apostolic mission: 90 million euros, that is, 24 % of the total expenses of the Vatican Dicasteries and entities (370.4 million), were covered by the Obligation.
These funds have contributed to several areas considered crucial: 35 million for the support of local Churches in difficulty; 12 million for worship and evangelization; 11 million for the diffusion of the message; 9 million for apostolic nunciatures and 8 million for the service of charity.
Humanitarian impact and future challenges
Through the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia, Pope Francis has donated a total of about 45 million euros for charitable works in 2023. However, this ongoing commitment to the most needy comes up against an increasingly complex financial reality. The deficit recorded also in 2023 raises doubts about the long-term sustainability of the current funding model.
In fact, the need to draw on assets to cover current expenses may force the Holy See to review its fundraising strategies and the way it distributes resources.
Transparency and trust
This does not detract from the fact that the detailed publication of this data confirms the desire for transparency, allowing believers and benefactors to know how resources are used. It is also a way of maintaining and reinforcing the trust of the donors themselves. With the understanding that as the Church continues to respond to growing humanitarian needs around the world, it will be crucial to balance generosity with prudent financial management to ensure the continuity of the evangelizing mission over the long term.
In a previous articleWe recalled the other ancient name of Ethiopia, Abyssinia, from the Habeshat (Abyssinians), one of the first Semitic-speaking Ethiopian peoples of Sud-Arabic (Sabaean) origin, who had colonized the Ethiopian plateau as early as pre-Christian times.
Well, this people, the Sabeans, are originally from Yemen, a nation located in the extreme south of the Arabian Peninsula, which has been the cradle of ancient civilizations, although today it is one of the poorest countries in the world, plagued for decades by famine and civil wars, in particular the one that today has as its protagonist the armed group of the Huthi (Shiite-Zaydi), supported by Iran, against the central government and other Sunni-inspired groups.
Some data
Yemen, land of natural wonders, such as the island of Socotra, and architectural wonders, such as Shibam (called the Manhattan of the desert), the ancient city of Sana'a or the city of Taiz (to name a few) is today a republic that, de juremanages the entire territory of the country.
However, de facto, due to destabilization following the civil war that started in 2015, there are two governments at loggerheads: one, the one recognized by the international community, is led by Prime Minister Ahmad Awad bin Mubarak (in power since February 2024); the other by Abdel-Aziz bin Habtour of the General People's Congress (party of Arab nationalist ideology founded by the first president and dictator of unified Yemen, 'Ali 'Abd Allah Saleh, later assassinated in 2017 by Houthi rebel militias as part of the Yemeni civil war).
The already complex political situation is aggravated by the presence of terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and the Islamic State (ISIS), which operate in parts of the country. The capital itself, Sana'a, is not controlled by the legitimate government, but by the Houthi rebels, so that Aden, the country's fourth largest city and main port, is considered the provisional capital.
The total area of Yemen is about 528,000 km² (slightly larger than Spain). The country is bordered to the north by Saudi Arabia, to the east by Oman, to the south by the Gulf of Aden and to the west by the Red Sea.
The population is around 30 million, with a high population growth and an average age of less than 25 years. The majority of Yemenis are of Arab ethnicity, and the official language is Arabic, although there are small communities that still speak South Arab languages (Soqotri, Mehri, etc.), descendants of the ancient South Arab language (other than Arabic) that was spoken in the region at the time of the Sabeans.
Islam is the predominant religion, with a Sunni majority (53%) and a sizeable Shia minority (47%), mainly Zaydis. Only 0.05% of the population does not practice Islam (there are small communities of Christians and Hindus), and the very ancient Yemeni Jewish community emigrated en masse to the newly founded Jewish state after the birth of Israel. The last handful of Jews remaining in the country, threatened by both Al Qaeda and Shiite rebels, fled to Israel or the United States in 2009.
Ancient history: Sabeans and Himyarites
As we said at the beginning, Yemen (from the Semitic root y-m-n, meaning both "right" and "south", "south": Ben-yamìn, or Benyamìn, the last son of Jacob, in Hebrew means "son of the right", or "of good fortune") has seen great cultures and civilizations flourish on its territory, also because of its territory characterized by a variety of landscapes, including mountains, deserts and coasts. The central mountainous regions are particularly fertile, while the coastal areas are warm and humid.
Between the 9th century BC and the 6th century AD, several kingdoms settled in the region. Among them, the kingdom of Sheba, famous for the legendary queen who visited King Solomon in Jerusalem (mentioned in both the Bible and the Koran).
The Sabeans, who spoke southern Arabic, were skilled traders of incense and spices, for which the area was also famous among Greeks and Romans. They were also excellent builders, so much so that they created one of the wonders of the ancient world, the Ma'rib dam (of which some ruins can still be admired today), built in the 7th century BC, which was one of the most advanced hydraulic engineering works of antiquity. This dam allowed the irrigation of a large area of land and made the region one of the most fertile in Arabia, to the point of being known as Arabia felix.
The dam was rebuilt several times over the centuries, but its final collapse around 570 AD (just at the advent of Islam) contributed to the ultimate decline of the kingdom of Sheba.
Other great kingdoms were those of Ma'in and Qataban, but above all that of Himyar (the Himyarites), whose main city, Najràn, was known both for the products of its fertile fields and for its trade, to the extent that it was the starting point of the most important caravan route between Syria and Arabia (also traveled by Muhammad himself when he traded aromas with Syria) and was mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Greco-Roman geographer, in his work Geography.
It was precisely in Najràn that the infamous episode of the "Homerite martyrs" (i.e. Himyarites) took place, whose history is linked to the Himyarite king Yusuf As'ar Yath'ar, better known as Dhu Nuwas, who, converted to Judaism, carried out a policy of persecution against the Christians of his kingdom that culminated, in 523 AD, with the massacre of 20,000 Christians of the region, with the massacre of 20,000 Christians, men, women and children, burned alive, it is said, in a great burning pit. The most famous of these martyrs is Saint Areta of Najràn, who was the head of the local Christian community. The Catholic Church commemorates St. Areta and the Homerite martyrs on October 24.
It is said that even Muhammad, the founder of Islam, felt great admiration for these martyrs, whose story had become famous shortly before his birth (it is described and condemned by the Koran) due to the great indignation caused even far from the Himyarite kingdom, to the point that the Christian king of Axum (in Ethiopia), with the support of the Byzantine Empire, intervened to depose Dhu Nuwas and put an end to the Himyarite dynasty, establishing Axumite control over the region.
From the arrival of Islam to the present day
From the 7th century AD, the country underwent rapid Islamization. The new faith was accepted by the locals, who contributed to spreading it beyond the Arabian Peninsula, especially in East Africa and Southeast Asia. During the medieval period, the region was under the control of several Islamic dynasties, such as the Abbasids, Fatimids and Rasulids.
From the 16th century, Yemen also became part of the Ottoman Empire, which maintained control alternating with local dynasties, in particular the Zaydi Imams, a Shiite sect that ruled the northern mountainous regions. The power of the Zaydi Imams was consolidated in 1918, after the end of World War I and the Ottoman withdrawal, with the creation of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen.
In the south, the port of Aden had become an important British trading base. The British presence then gradually extended to the so-called Aden Protectorate, which grouped together the numerous sultanates and sheikhdoms of the region. It was the beginning of a division, between the north and the south of the country, which would have long-lasting consequences in Yemeni politics.
In 1962, an Egyptian-backed military coup overthrew the Zaydi imam of the north and proclaimed the Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Years of civil war followed between republican and royalist forces, supported by Saudi Arabia. The civil war ended in 1970 with the victory of the republicans and the establishment of a republic.
The south, on the other hand, became independent in 1967, after a long conflict against the British, as the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, with a Marxist-Leninist government supported by the Soviet Union. This state was unique in the region for its communist ideology and remained practically isolated from the rest of the Arab world.
On May 22, 1990, North Yemen and South Yemen finally united, forming the Republic of Yemen, with Ali Abdullah Saleh, former founder of the Arab nationalist General People's Congress party and president of the North, as president (and dictator) of the new unified state.
However, the transition was not smooth and tensions between the north and south persisted, culminating in a civil war in 1994, in which the north, led by Saleh, managed to prevail over the south.
During the 2000s, Saleh's government faced numerous problems, including conflict with Houthi rebels in the north, secessionist movements in the south, and the presence of terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
The Arab Springs of 2011 also produced massive protests in Yemen against corruption, unemployment and repression by Saleh's government. After months of protests and violence, Saleh was forced to step down in 2012, ceding power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, in a transition plan brokered by the Gulf Cooperation Council. A transition that, however, did not heal the deep political and social divisions.
In 2014, Houthi rebels took control of the capital, Sana'a, and forced Hadi to flee. This triggered a full-scale civil conflict in 2015, with the intervention of a military coalition led by Saudi Arabia (guilty of massacres against the civilian population) in support of Hadi's government.
The conflict has caused one of the world's worst humanitarian crises: according to UN estimates, at least 7,400 to 16,200 people have died in Yemen since the outbreak of the war, which has also displaced more than 3 million people and caused widespread famine.
To date, the country remains divided and unstable, with the north under the control of Houthi rebels, the internationally recognized government controlling parts of the south and the west coast, with Saudi coalition support, and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) claiming autonomy in the south.
Peace efforts, mediated by the UN and other international organizations, have led to ceasefires that, unfortunately, are only temporary, and a lasting resolution of the conflict still seems far off. The humanitarian crisis continues, and the civilian population suffers from hunger, disease and a lack of the most essential services.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Spanish bishops finalize plan for comprehensive reparations to abuse victims
Following the meeting of the Permanent Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference, the bishops will meet on July 9 in an Extraordinary Plenary Assembly to approve the new Plan of Integral Reparation for Victims of Sexual Abuse.
The Standing Commission of the Spanish Episcopal Conference met at the beginning of July. After the sessions, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference, Francisco César García Magán, appeared before the media to report on the work carried out.
The first topic addressed by the Secretary General during the meeting was press conference was the approval by the Standing Commission of the "Plan of Integral Reparation for the Victims of Sexual Abuse of Minors and persons with similar rights (PRIVA)". This is, in the words of García Magán, "a plan of action in cases where it is not possible to follow the judicial route, neither civil nor canonical", but which also seeks "full reparation to the victims".
This plan, which will seek the approval of all the Spanish bishops in the Extraordinary Plenary Assembly convened for July 9, has been carried out in dialogue with the Secretary General of the Spanish Conference of Religious (CONFER). Likewise, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference assures that they have held meetings with the victims and have dialogued with the Government of Spain. However, when asked by the journalists, García Magán explained that they will not explain to what extent the contact with the victims has influenced PRIVA.
Response to victims of abuse
Although the PRIVA document has not yet been released, at the press conference they did say that it "establishes criteria for the evaluation and application of the plan". The cases to which it is mainly oriented are those "in which the victimizer has died or the case is time-barred, in order to offer an adequate reparation that responds to the demand that each particular case requires".
The objective, explained Monsignor García Magán, is to be able to carry out an authentic accompaniment, so that the victims have spiritual, medical and psychological assistance, and that they receive economic reparation.
In the same way, the Secretary General announced that the document does not indicate any number of victims, as they consider that "the important thing is to give an answer, not a number".
Seminaries, the Council of Nicaea and supernatural phenomena
Another of the topics dealt with by the Permanent Commission was "the draft of the Plan for the application of the criteria for the reform of the seminaries in Spain". After the contributions made in recent days, the document will be submitted for study during the Plenary Assembly to be held in November.
On the other hand, the President of the Episcopal Commission for the Doctrine of the Faith proposed to the Permanent Commission that "a Declaration be drawn up on the occasion of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea. According to what was explained in the press conference, such a Declaration would take place during "an ecumenical celebration based on the Creed".
The same Episcopal Commission has also worked on the question of the role that the Episcopal Conference would have "in the process of discerning supernatural phenomena and apparitions in the light of the document"The Vatican on this issue.
Major events in 2025
Monsignor García Magán also pointed out during the press conference that the Episcopal Conference is working on two major events that will take place in 2025. On the one hand, there are the activities that the Spanish Church is preparing for the Jubilee; on the other hand, there is the National Vocations Congress that will take place next year in Madrid from February 7 to 9.
The Permanent Commission during a working session (Flickr / Spanish Episcopal Conference)
Other issues and a mistake in the press release
Finally, the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference mentioned that the Permanent Commission has approved the calendar for 2025. As events to be highlighted, the bishops will hold their spiritual exercises from January 12 to 18; the Plenary Assemblies will be from March 31 to April 4 and from November 17 to 21; finally, the Permanent Commission will hold its working meetings on February 25 and 26, June 17 and 18, and on September 30 and October 1.
García Magán took advantage of his intervention to point out that there was an error in the press release sent to journalists. The bishops carried out an "internal reflection on the document 'Fiducia supplicans'", but it was not really foreseen "the publication of any document" in this regard, contrary to what the note indicated.
Belorado case and migratory crisis
In response to questions made after his intervention, the Secretary General has indicated that "officially there has been no talk of Belorado", in reference to the excommunication of the Poor Clare nuns of Burgos. In spite of this, García Magán has described the case as "a painful and very regrettable issue", while praising the performance of the Archbishop of Burgos, who is standing out for his "clarity, charity and patience".
In another order of things, the secretary spoke briefly about the migratory crisis in the Canary Islands and the note of the bishops of the islands, supported by the Episcopal Conference. In this sense, he declared that the episcopate rejects "the ideological and political use of the migratory crisis" and has described the work of helping immigrants as a defense of life in its totality.
Appointments and renewals
To conclude his speech, the Secretary General mentioned some of the appointments and renewals of positions that took place during the meeting of the Standing Committee.
Among the appointments are the national consiliary of the "Cursillos de Cristiandad" movement, the bishop of Alcalá de Henares, Monsignor Antonio Prieto, and the spiritual advisor of the "Catholic Charismatic Renewal of Spain" association, the priest Francisco Javier Ramírez de Nicolás.
On the other hand, among the renewals are José Gabriel Vera as director of the secretariat of the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications, and Manuel Bretón as president of Cáritas Española.
Chilean Bishops' Conference warns against limiting conscientious objection to abortion
The bishops of Chile claim to the State that the new regulation for conscientious objection in the case of abortions is unconstitutional and will cause discrimination to health personnel because of their religious beliefs.
Last May, the Chilean Ministry of Health drafted a new regulation on "Conscientious objection in the health sector". abortion", which would replace the one in force since 2018, in which health professionals and institutions can declare themselves objectors through a simple procedure. In order to have legal value, it is required to be approved by the Comptroller General of the Republic.
On July 1, Bishop René Rebolledo, president of the Episcopal Conference of Chileon behalf of all the bishops, gave a detailed report on the presentation addressed to the Comptroller's Office pointing out that it is unconstitutional and illegal. In its document it recalls that conscientious objection is a fundamental human right rooted in freedom of conscience, so that restricting this right may affect other fundamental rights such as equality and non-discrimination. This is clearly established in the Chilean Constitution.
In addition, the Health Code explicitly mentions those who are authorized by law to be conscientious objectors: the surgeon and the rest of the personnel who perform their functions inside the surgical ward during the intervention.
Discrimination on the basis of beliefs
The new regulation would encourage arbitrary favoring of non-objectors in the distribution of shifts and in the hiring of medical personnel. Also, an important modification is made in view of the assignment of shifts to be performed by the chiefs of service linked to gynecology-obstetrics; it establishes that the lists of conscientious objector personnel will be kept in view in order to "favor the presence of non-objector personnel in the distribution of shifts". This is a discrimination based on the moral or religious beliefs of the medical personnel -which affect their availability- and not on their suitability.
The bishop emphasizes that the Regulation conditions the free exercise of conscientious objection in that it obliges institutions (public and private health facilities) and their medical teams and officials (natural persons) who are conscientious objectors, to adopt and follow bureaucratic and burdensome requirements that, although they do not impede the exercise of the right, make it disproportionately difficult in such a way that, as a whole, they constitute incentives designed to alter the objector's status as an objector.
This new regulation eliminates the current provision that states that those who have declared conscientious objection "will maintain that status in all healthcare centers where they perform their duties, regardless of whether they are public or private". The elimination of this provision obliges the objector who provides services in different establishments to go through the necessary procedures again to manifest his conscientious objection.
Detrimental to a fundamental right
Rebolledo, there are five measures that impose conditions that hinder and/or discourage the free exercise of the right to conscientious objection. The approval of the Regulation would mean the detriment of the fundamental right to conscience and to live according to one's religious convictions.
Other organizations, such as "Comunidad y Justicia", also present a similar request to the Comptroller's Office, which will resolve it in the following months.
The document "The Bishop of Rome", published by the Dicastery for Christian Unity, allows us to look at the figure of the Pope from an ecumenical and synodal perspective.
How should the Pope's ministry be understood and exercised? This is a central question for the Catholic Church, for its relations with other Churches and Christian communities, as well as for the development of its evangelizing mission.
This is what the study paper published by the Dicastery for Christian Unity under the title "The Bishop of Rome. Primacy and Synodality in Ecumenical Dialogues and Responses to the Encyclical 'Ut unum sint'" (13-VI-2024).
In that encyclical, St. John Paul II invited in 1995 to rethink the ways in which the Pope can exercise his ministry, so that "he can fulfill a service of faith and love" recognized by all concerned (n. 95). Since then, the now Dicastery, formerly the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, has been working to gather the responses to this invitation, especially those arising from the theological dialogues of ecumenism.
In the subtitle, "primacy and synodality" indicates not only the circumstance of the synodal process currently underway as a reference, but, more profoundly, the fact that the figure of the primate and his ministry are to be expressed within the framework of the synodality of the Church.
The text also responds to the findings of the Pope FrancisToday the Petrine ministry cannot be fully understood without this openness to dialogue with all believers in Christ" (Homily on the eve of the Conversion of St. Paul, January 25, 2014).
For reasons of space, we limit ourselves here to presenting the main theological issues involved and the final proposals of the Dicastery to the Catholic Church as a whole.
Fundamental theological issues
Francis has noted, "The path of ecumenism has enabled us to come to a deeper understanding of the ministry of the Successor of Peter, and we must trust that it will continue to do so in the future" (Homily on the eve of the Conversion of St. Paul, 25-I-2014).
As fruits of the ecumenical dialogues, four issues have been identified where new approaches or nuances have emerged.
1) The biblical foundations of the Petrine ministry. There is a recognition of Peter's special place, as a believer and as an apostle, among the twelve apostles; and that, precisely because of his fragility, he makes the grace of God and the primordial capital of Christ in the Church shine more brightly. Thus "three fundamental dimensions emerge in the Church's confession of faith: a communitarian dimension, a collegial dimension and a personal dimension" (n. 37). On the other hand, a distinction is made between the "mother Church" (of Jerusalem), within the New Testament, and the later primacy of the Church of Rome.
In addition to recognizing the special place of Peter, the category of the episcopate is emphasized, with mutual interdependence of help and service among its members and at the service of the whole Church. In this framework, the meaning of authority in the Church and the "Petrine function" are understood, with the special task of caring for and expressing unity, facilitating communication, mutual help or correction and collaboration in the mission. As successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome has primacy.
2) "Divine right" was an argument used by Vatican Council I (1870) in its declaration on the Roman primacy (const. "Pastor aeternus"), while both the Orthodox and Protestants considered it simply a human or historical development. Today it is understood that this expression, ius divinum (as well as others such as "Petrine office"), is placed in the context of a universal primacy conceived within the collegiality of the bishops, the koinonia-communion and the historical dimension of the Church. The (doctrinal) essence of the primacy can be lived (and has been lived) in very different (historical) forms.
3) and 4) With regard to Vatican I's definitions of the primacy of jurisdiction and papal infallibility, various theological-ecumenical dialogue groups have pointed out the need to deepen the interpretation of Vatican I's dogmatic definitions, "not in isolation, but in the light of the Gospel, of the whole tradition and in their historical context" (n. 59).
Deepening Vatican I in the Light of Vatican II
As regards the latter, the historical context, we must remember: the risks of conciliarism; the interruption of the Council by the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war; the distinction between the statements of the Council and its intentions (to ensure the unity of the Church in faith and love, as well as its freedom to proclaim the Gospel and its independence in the appointment of ecclesial offices); the distinction between the text and its interpretation is also important (cf. the Letter of the German bishops of 1875, endorsed by Pope Pius IX, with the affirmation that the episcopate is as much a divine institution as the papacy; and that the infallibility of the Pope is placed within the framework of the infallibility of the Church under certain conditions, and not above, but at the service of the Word of God).
Overall, it is understood that "Vatican I can only be correctly received in the light of the teaching of the Second Vatican Council" (n. 66). This resituated the papal ministry in its relationship to the episcopate (episcopal collegiality). And it re-established the connection between the sacramental and juridical "powers" granted through episcopal ordination, maintaining that the exercise of the bishop's authority is ultimately controlled by the supreme authority of the Church. In our day - the document observes - "the conciliar concept of collegiality has been further developed within the broader principle of synodality, especially in the teaching of Pope Francis" (n. 66; cf. Francis, Address on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Institution of the Synod of Bishops, 17-X-2015).
Yet, despite these declarations, the ecumenical dialogues still point to some difficulties with regard to certain principles: ensuring the expressions of infallibility in the light of the revelation given in Sacred Scripture; placing infallibility at the service of the indefectibility of the whole Church (the certainty that the gates of hell will not prevail against it); facilitating the exercise of episcopal collegiality; valuing the "reception" of doctrine by the faithful (pertaining to the "sensus fidei et fidelium").
Proposals of the Dicastery for Unity
In the Dicastery's proposals, a distinction is made between contributions, principles and suggestions for a renewed understanding and exercise of the Primacy.
a) Contributions. The text underlines that we are facing an opportunity to move forward in some directions: a common reflection on the nature of the Church and its mission in the world; the interdependence between primacy and synodality at all levels of the Church; the understanding of synodality as a fundamental quality of the whole Church including the active participation of all the faithful; the distinction and interrelation between collegiality and synodality.
As future steps in the theological dialogues, the following are proposed:
- Improve the connection and articulation between ecumenical dialogues, especially between Eastern and Western ones;
- Jointly address primacy and synodality as ecclesial dimensions.
- Keep in mind that "the primatial ministry ('one') is an intrinsic element of the dynamics of synodality, as are the communitarian aspect that includes the whole People of God ('all') and the collegial dimension that is part of the exercise of the episcopal ministry ('some')" (Francis, Address to the Orthodox-Catholic working group St. Irenaeus, October 7, 2011).
- Articulate this tripartite reflection at the local, regional and universal levels.
- Clarify the vocabulary (more precise meaning of synodality/conciliarity, collegiality, primacy, authority, power, administration, government, jurisdiction; understand the meaning of "universal Church" not as power but as authority at the service of communion.
- Promote the reception ("ecumenical reception") of the results of these dialogues so that they become a common heritage among the People of God, facilitate access to the documents of the dialogue, organize academic events, encourage responses and the local application of some of them.
- To give due value to the "dialogue of life alongside doctrine". In the words of Francis, "the dialogue of doctrine must be theologically adapted to the dialogue of life that takes place in the local and daily relationships between our Churches; these constitute an authentic 'locus' or source of theology" (Address to the Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches, 23-VI-2022).
- Promote particular gestures and symbolic actions on the part of the Bishop of Rome, with creativity and generosity, encouraging theological reflection on them.
b) Principles and suggestions for the renewed exercise of primacy
In order to assume and respond to the proposals of the ecumenical dialogues and other studies on the renewal of the exercise of the primacy, the following lines are suggested:
- The inspiration of the principle of subsidiarity to facilitate the participation of all the People of God in synodality.
- The Catholic re-reception or official commentary of Vatican I, in the light of Vatican II, the ecclesiology of communion and the framework of the "hierarchy of truths" (UR 11). The Roman primacy should be explained by underlining the ecumenical convergence on the biblical foundation, the historical evolution and the theological significance of primacy and synodality. This may facilitate the understanding of Vatican I terminology.
- The clearest distinction between the different responsibilities of the Pope, highlighting his episcopal ministry at the local level (and in this sense the significance of the cathedral of the Diocese of Rome: St. John Lateran).
- Progress in the synodal configuration of the Church, with concrete reflections in institutions and practices, inspired by the Eastern Catholic Churches, and making use of the new means of communication, all according to the diversity of levels and cultural contexts.
- The deepening of the juridical status of the episcopal conferences, endowing them with the appropriate authority, taking the model of the ancient patriarchates (cfr. LG 23), as well as that of the continental episcopal bodies.
- The study of the possibility that the Synod of Bishops be a deliberative body, always with and under the successor of Peter.
- The possibility of constituting a permanent synod representing the episcopal college.
- The promotion of synodality ad extra through "conciliar communion" (meetings of church leaders to promote, through processes of joint discernment, the "practical ecumenism" of prayer, action and joint Christian witness).
- The invitation to other Christian communions to participate in Catholic synodal processes.
Conclusion
The conclusion of the document stresses that the primacy must be rooted in the mystery of the Cross, and that Christian unity is above all a gift of the Holy Spirit which we must implore in prayer, since "spiritual ecumenism" is the soul of the ecumenical movement.
This is how Francis put it: "Unity will not emerge as a miracle in the end. Rather unity emerges on the way; the Holy Spirit does it on the way. If we do not walk together, if we do not pray for one another, if we do not collaborate in the many ways we can in this world for the People of God, then unity will not happen! But it will happen on this road, in every step we take. And it is not we who do it but the Holy Spirit, who sees our good will" (Homily on the Vespers of the Conversion of St. Paul, 25-I-2014).
One would think that when Jesus returned to his own town, Nazareth, where he had grown up, he would have been well received. Surely they knew him and would have liked him. Well, they knew him, or thought they knew him, and that was precisely the problem.
They had watched him grow up. He was the local carpenter. They knew his close relatives. They were surprised that he knew so much. In the 30 years before he left Nazareth, he had probably never preached in the synagogue. That is why, in today's Gospel, we hear his neighbors say: "Where does he get all this? What wisdom is this that has been given to him? And these miracles that his hands perform? [...] And they were scandalized because of him.".
Jesus left them as the carpenter of the people. He returned as the Savior of the world. He had not changed. He had always been the Savior of the world, but he had kept it hidden. Now he reveals the truth about himself. But these people were not willing to let their comfort be disturbed. They did not want to know more.
We can face the same danger. We have little knowledge of our faith and this prevents us from wanting to go deeper. That is the great tragedy: we become complacent. We do not want to know more.
One of the worst possible curses is to know a little and think that's enough. As the saying goes: "Knowing little is dangerous." Arguably the Church's greatest theologian, St. Thomas Aquinas, to whom God once said: "You have written well about me, Tomás"Later, he had a vision of God in heaven. This vision so shocked him that he put down his pen and never wrote again. Compared to what he had seen in that vision, he thought that everything he had written was "straw". He died a few months later.
God is always more. He is infinite. There is so much to learn about Him. The great mystic St. Catherine of Siena described getting to know God as diving into an infinite ocean where there is always more to discover. God will fulfill us to the extent that we allow ourselves to be fulfilled. If our desire is like a thimble, God will give us a thimble full of himself. If our desire is like a bucket, God will give us a bucket full of himself. If our desire is like a reservoir, God will fill us like a reservoir. And if our desire is like an ocean, God will fill us like an ocean. Ultimately, the question is: How much do I want to know God?
Homily on the readings of Sunday 14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B)
The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.
Antonia, mother of Carlo Acutis: "My son is a sign of hope for young people".
Antonia Salzano, mother of Carlo Acutis, speaks in this interview with Omnes about her son, whom she considers "a great sign of hope for young people" because of the normal life he led. The young Italian, as his mother joyfully tells us, will be canonized during the next Jubilee.
"A great and uncontainable joy". The mother of Carlo Acutis overflowed with emotion when she heard the news that Pope Francis, during the Ordinary Public Consistory The Pope had decided that his son would be canonized during the Jubilee of 2025 on a date yet to be determined.
In conversation with Omnes, Antonia Salzano explains that this news was awaited with anxiety and concern: "Charles has many devotees scattered all over the world and the canonization will now allow the cult to be universal: this will also give us the possibility to carry out other initiatives in honor of Charles such as, for example, the construction of a church or the dedication of some chapels".
Love without limits
The young man who would soon be elevated to the honors of the altars died at the age of 15 from fulminant leukemia. In the three days of agony that preceded his death, Charles declared to offer his painful sufferings for the Pope and the Church. Great was his love for the EucharistHe repeatedly called her "my highway to Heaven", and for Our Lady: a boundless love that led him to attend daily Mass and to pray the Holy Rosary.
Like many boys his age, he was passionate about web design. He is still famous for his online exhibition on the Eucharistic miracles, which has garnered millions of hits around the world, to the point that some hope he could be designated patron saint of the Internet.
Attention to the little ones
"Carlo is a great sign of hope for young people," his mother explains, "because he has lived what young people live: the joys, the fears, the hopes. And Carlo tells them: 'if I have succeeded, you can too'".
She is really sure that her son is a spur on the difficult but fascinating path to holiness, because Carlo "transmits values that can be shared by everyone, even by believers and non-believers. He has really looked very intensely at the existential peripheries that Pope Francis is so fond of today".
In Milan, recalls Antonia, "Carlo looked after the cloisters, he had a special care for the immigrants, he befriended them: at his funeral, the church was full, crowded, with many of them. They were doormen, service men, caretakers: he had befriended them. For him, each person was a world, he made no distinctions. He had a smile and a good word for everyone".
Balm for a wounded world
The new saint with the contagious smile can be a balm for a world wounded by wars, divisions, hatred and misunderstandings. As his mother says: "He was used to building bridges. He welcomed everyone. These wars arise from rivalry, envy, the lust for possession and power. Carlo, on the other hand, was a child who would give up even a pair of shoes because he was aware that there are so many people starving in the world. He would tell me: 'Mom, a pair of shoes is enough for me, instead of spending money on new shoes, let's help the sick. Let's do a good deed.
To be essential
When Carlo was still very young, about six years old, he used to scold his younger cousins for always leaving the water tap running. Antonia still remembers: "He would tell them: 'don't waste water, it's a precious commodity and one day it will run out. Carlo already had these feelings in his heart, he was used to living the essential. Seeing this world in which in many nations there is opulence and waste, my son used to say that the Earth, in a way, is a spinning garbage can, and perhaps he was not wrong. When he went to the beach in the summer, his favorite game was to go out to sea with his boat and pick up the garbage that came to the surface at high tides."
Growing devotion
Devotion to Carlo is growing in the world every day. His mother does not hide the fact that "even now we struggle to keep up with all the reports that come in. Every day we receive news of possible miracles of healings and conversions. Those who don't know him, now, with the upcoming canonization, will have the opportunity to know more about him and pray to him."
Carlo Acutis (Image by OSV)
Antonia then recalls the extraordinary exposition on the Eucharistic miracles that took place when he was teaching catechism and whose aim was to make Christ known and loved. It reached every continent. For example, in the United States alone it has been welcomed in 10,000 parishes. "Often Carlo," the woman adds, "marveled at the miles-long lines to attend a concert or a ball game, lines he didn't see in church. He disliked it so much that he would say: 'If people realized the importance of the Eucharist, the churches would be so full that people would no longer be able to enter.
Frequent confession
Carlo's love for the Eucharist led him to go to confession once a week. "Carlo," his mother explains, "tried, through constant and assiduous examinations of conscience, to remove from his soul all those burdens that prevented him from flying high. He wanted to be a saint, but he jokingly said that he did not want to be like St. Francis, whom he loved and considered too sublime a mystic to achieve it. The Lord, in his goodness, pleased him".
The two miracles
The first miracle related to Carlo's beatification, which took place in Assisi on October 10, 2020, concerns the healing of a Brazilian child suffering from a rare congenital anatomical anomaly of the pancreas. The second, which led to her sanctification, concerns a Costa Rican girl, a student in Italy, who underwent surgery for a head injury following an accident. When her daughter was struggling between life and death, the mother of this poor young woman went to pray at the tomb of Carlo, whose remains rest in the Sanctuary of Despojo in Assisi. "That woman knelt before my son's tomb," Antonia recalls with emotion, "and remained there all day: in the end she obtained this great grace. Many people in Costa Rica had also joined her prayers. Her faith was heroic.
Conversion instrument
The fact that Carlo will be canonized during the Great Jubilee of 2025 represents for Antonia a great opportunity for the whole Church: "My Carlo is an instrument of conversion. He can be a model for everyone, especially for young people. The Jubilee is a time of grace, a time in which the Lord calls us to change our lives and to adhere to the project of holiness that He has for each one of us". There is a phrase that the mother of this new saint likes to repeat and will never forget: "We are all born as originals, but many die as photocopies.
Two films about Carlo Acutis
On the occasion of the upcoming canonization of Carlo Acutis, Contractor+ makes available to its users the two films about "God's influencer" directed by José María Zavala: "El Cielo no puede esperar" and "El latido del Cielo".
In both tapes you can find various testimonies from friends and family members who talk about the young Acutis, his exposition of the Eucharistic miracles and the impact he has had on the lives of hundreds of people.
How does an architect take on the task of erecting a building that is to be a bond of union between people and God and a sign of the Church that it welcomes? This is the reflection of the author, a specialist in sacred architecture.
I have been studying the foundations and history of contemporary religious architecture for some time, and I have noticed that the liturgy has been the subject of intense controversy among specialists since before the Second Vatican Council. But as an architect, I can do no more than observe the process from the outside, or, in other words, try to understand it from my own discipline.
Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini recalled that historically churches have been designed by clerics, not architects. This is not the case today, and so the reflections that follow will focus more on the architects who design churches than on the clerics who commission them. So, we might ask: how does an architect who has to build a Catholic church work? Where does he go? What does he think?
What is a church?
For the Code of Canon Law (1983), a Catholic church is nothing other than a space consecrated for the public celebration of divine worship. But when defining with a minimum of precision what architectural object is a church, we have to answer two questions: what it represents and how it is used.
A first significant reference appears in the passage narrated in the Gospel of Luke 22:12, which explains how Jesus Christ gives instructions to his disciples to prepare the Passover meal. He instructs them to go to the house of an acquaintance who will show them a large room where they can arrange everything. That room spacious and arranged can be presented as a spatial paradigm of the space of Christian worship. In fact, in the "Ritual of dedication of churches and altars".(1977), Paul VI only asked for a church to be adequate and decorous (II.I.3).
In reality, any church should be able to assume four basic uses: to welcome the faithful who congregate to pray, both communally and individually; to contextualize the proclamation of the Word of God and the celebration of the Eucharist; to favor the reservation and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; and to allow the celebration of the other sacraments, especially in the case of parish churches.
The order of these four functions is not fortuitous, but responds to a conceptual hierarchy that has been a frequent topic of discussion in recent decades.
It is also generally accepted that one of the proper functions of the church is its expressiveness, understanding as expressive or symbolic that building that possesses a qualified atmosphere that refers to other realities. This atmosphere must put the spirit in tension and educate in the sense of the sacred. Thus, the spiritual and pedagogical dimensions of every temple appear.
Much has been written about the symbolic in religious architecture, and sometimes in an abusive manner. We speak of symbolism when in order to understand a reality of a spiritual nature we need to resort to a material intermediary that refers us intuitively to it; this intermediary is the symbol.
If a church is well adjusted to its liturgical use, it will already be in accordance with the intuitive, profound and simple symbolism contained in the Catholic liturgy. This is at the antipodes of the somewhat naive tendency that tends to identify spiritual space with empty or evocative space. A church is not that, because Christian worship is based on an objective fact: the paschal sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
How an architect works
Now, every architect knows that there comes a time when concepts, however suggestive, have to be translated into shapes and numbers. Every architect knows that there comes a time when concepts, however suggestive they may be, have to be translated into shapes and numbers. How big is an altar? What are the dimensions of a baptistery? What is the right amount of light for a liturgical celebration?
When an architect is faced with a religious architecture project, he usually performs some preliminary tasks.
First, he will recall those churches that have impressed him most in his personal experience. Then he will turn to design manuals: what does Ernst Neufert say about churches? And Ching? If he's a bit more knowledgeable, he'll consult Cornoldi's book or Bergamo-Prete. And if he is Mexican, he will probably have heard of the schemes of Fray Gabriel Chávez de la Mora, recently deceased.
You will then review the most important architectural works that have been built in recent years, both in printed catalogs and on the Internet, or even international awards such as the Frate Sole. Perhaps - if the architect is really committed to the subject - he will read the documents of his ecclesiastical circumscription, which are difficult to translate into forms but which there is no choice but to justify. These documents always refer to a previous jurisprudence, in a continuous process of updating, for the analysis of which he is not usually qualified. He could even consult the original sources, that is, the documents of the Second Vatican Council. If he does so, his bewilderment will be absolute.
In the end, the architect will end up resorting to the story of the chalk circles told by Leo Rosten: "Once upon a time there was a lieutenant in the Czar's army who, in riding through a small shtelThe astonished lieutenant noticed a hundred chalk circles on one side of the barn, each with a bullet hole in the center. The astonished lieutenant stopped the first one he met and inquired about the targets. The man sighed, "Ah, that's Shepsel, the cobbler's son. He's a bit peculiar. -I don't mind. He's such a good shot... You don't understand me, the man interrupted. You see: Shepsel shoots first and then draws the chalk circle".
On this subject, it is easier to come up with something and then try to justify it, than to do it the other way around.
Unexpected factors
Every temple can be considered as a great receiver - a transistor, an antenna, a router - which, in a certain way, has the mission of revealing those realities that we, with our senses, cannot perceive. That is why it is necessary that churches be temples, that is, that they be capable of summoning nature so that it too may participate in divine worship. This is not achieved by making the headwall transparent, for example, but by recovering the spatial archetypes that Jean Hani talks about in his book "The symbolism of the Christian temple". (1962): the door, the road, the grotto, the mountain, etc.
Religious architecture is a problem of total ambience. It is not a matter of arranging the faithful around the altar. The impression that the faithful receive - and which allows them to get in touch with the divine - is the sum of many factors, among which I would like to highlight three: the sense of welcome, the liturgical formation of the community and the ars celebrandi of the priest, that is, his way of celebrating Holy Mass. Any architect who wants to design a church should be aware of this.
From a spatial point of view, the sensation of welcome can be identified, at first, with the existence of an area preceding the worship space: the atrium. When entering a church, the atrium should act as a transitional space between the profane and the sacred. Our body and spirit need time to perceive the conceptual changes. That is why the atrium is the place of welcome par excellence, where community is created, experiences and even material goods are shared. The atrium is an essential space in churches, especially in urban churches.
Reception - and also dignity - can be threatened by poor upkeep of the building. I am not referring only to damage or dirt, but also to posters for announcements or church campaigns, to screens for projecting song lyrics, not to mention improvised adjustments to liturgical furnishings. Any of these objects has much more visual power than the architecture itself.
Thus, space becomes inconsequential, sometimes almost ridiculous, and the ridiculous is incompatible with the sacred. This was condemned by the Second Vatican Council, when it called for noble simplicity for all objects destined for worship.
I dare to say that before inventing new forms for the churches it is necessary to recover the dignity of the celebration: to deepen every gesture and every word through study and prayer.
Theologically speaking, the Church, as an institution, is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but it is also the People of God and the Body of Christ. This last quality-the Body of Christ-was the central claim of the Liturgical Movement, on which the reform of the celebrative space was based for decades, following Pauline theology. But it remained hidden after the Council, when the charismatic and popular ecclesiology served as an excuse to generate spaces for the celebration of the Body of Christ. assembly members.
If the liturgy is cared for, if there is passion for the Word of God, if with the appropriate liturgical education the faithful understand, point by point, what happens in each celebration, if they try to live throughout the week what they celebrate on Sunday; if, in short, the Mass is the center and source of the whole life of the Christian faithful (which, let us not forget, is the capital node of the liturgical reform), then the church, as a building, will be able to contribute all that it has to contribute.
To paraphrase Rudolf Schwarz, we could say that a well-celebrated mass in an inconsistent space is preferable to a poorly celebrated mass in a perfect space. This does not exempt the architect -quite the contrary- from applying all possible intensity to his project.
Some concluding remarks
I would like to say a word about the location of the tabernacle. For more than a thousand years the tabernacle was the center of the churches.
Several studies point out that its displacement to a side chapel after the Second Vatican Council has influenced the drastic reduction of Eucharistic piety in recent decades. And although in some countries of the world there have been attempts to recover devotion to the Blessed Sacrament through the construction of perpetual adoration chapels, from an architectural point of view, I consider it necessary for the tabernacle to return to permanently preside over the ecclesial space, as suggested in the latest edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (2002, numbers 314-315). Otherwise, we will build empty buildings, which will be neither Houses of God, nor Gates of Heaven, nor even Temples of the Holy Spirit.
So, how should a Catholic church be built after Vatican II? Summarizing all that has been said, we can affirm that religious architecture is a living phenomenon, in constant change; architects and clerics alike talk, discuss, periodically publish articles and books on these questions. So do the Pope and the bishops.
On these bases, the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship issues instructions, pastoral notes, recommendations, letters, etc. But it is not until all this material is incorporated into a new edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missalcannot be considered binding.
To date, Latin editions (editio typica) of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal There have been three: 1969/70, 1975 and 2002 (reprinted in 2008 with some modifications).
In Spain, the 2002 version was implemented in 2016 (the previous ones had been implemented in 1978 and 1988, respectively).
Therefore, before starting to design a church, any architect should do two things: read chapter 5 of the latest edition of the General Instruction of the Roman Missalentitled "Arrangement and ornamentation of churches for the Eucharistic celebration", because that is where it all is. At the same time, we must not lose sight of the fact that each bishop is sovereign: he is the one who decides how things are done in his diocese.
By following these guidelines, in half a century's time we will be able to build again a true architecture in conformity with the spirit and the letter of the Second Vatican Council. I think that this is, quite simply, what needs to be done.
The authorEsteban Fernández-Cobián
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Spanish Bishops encourage integration of migrant minors
Dialogue between the different competent public administrations, and urgent inter-territorial solidarity accompanied by an integral welcome to favor the social integration of young migrants, is the message of the Spanish Episcopal sub-commission for migrations, and the bishops of the Canary Islands.
Francisco Otamendi-July 2, 2024-Reading time: 3minutes
The bishops of the two dioceses of the Canary Islands, Monsignors José Mazuelos and Bernardo Álvarez, and Auxiliary Bishop Cristóbal Deniz, have made a call not to forgetthe contributions that migrants make to our society, which are remarkable", and to "create a culture of encounter, overcome the phobia of foreigners, fight against mafias and promote the development of the countries of origin".
As Pope Francis' encyclical 'Fratelli tutti' affirms, and the bishops recall, "these are global realities that require global action, avoiding a 'culture of walls' that favors the proliferation of mafias, fed by fear and loneliness".
The bishops also point out that "many of our brothers and sisters would not embark on such an uncertain and dangerous journey if their people and countries were living in more just situations and if Spain and Europe were more effective in promoting ways for legal, orderly and safe migration".
"Together with Church entities that work with and for migrant children, adolescents and young people," they add, "we emphasize that their protection and integration is a duty before Spanish and European laws and a moral good that every Catholic must promote.
With the bishops of the Canary Islands, they trust in the dialogue between the competent public administrations to establish a comprehensive model of reception that "favors the social integration of migrant children, adolescents and young people, as well as a positive interaction with the social environment where they are received".
Requirements to reduce migratory flows
The Spanish episcopate considers that "we need to foster a culture of encounter that helps us to grow as humanity. With Pope Francis we think that "we need, on the part of all, a change of attitude towards immigrants and refugees, the passage from a defensive and suspicious attitude, of disinterest or marginalization, to an attitude that places as a foundation the "culture of encounter", the only one capable of building a more just and fraternal world, a better world" (Message for the Day of Migrants and Refugees 2014).
The prelates of the Canary Islands rejected "the ideological instrumentalization and alarmist speeches that may take place around migrant minors or the complex phenomenon of migration", and stressed that "without conditions of life, work and dignity for the populations of the countries of origin, it will not be easy to reduce migratory flows". They also showed their "joy at the news that our leaders and most of our politicians have opened a path of hope to help the people of the Canary Islands to find a solution to this reality".
The Canary Islands are in an "extreme" situation with migrant minors, said Candelaria Delgado, the Canarian government's Minister of Social Welfare, Equality, Youth, Children and Families, a few days ago.
Pope: migrants flee insecurity and oppression
In its message For the 110th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which will take place on September 29 this year, Pope Francis has focused his words on the theme "God walks with his people".
The Pontiff states that "it is possible to see in the migrants of our time, as in those of every age, a living image of the people of God on the way to the eternal homeland"; and that, like the Jews in the Exodus, "migrants often flee from situations of oppression and abuse, insecurity and discrimination, lack of development projects". Along with these serious threats, "they encounter many obstacles on their way," such as lack of resources, dangerous and poorly paid jobs, and disease.
Archbishop Argüello: support for regularization of migrants
In early March, almost immediately after being elected president of the Episcopal Conference, Archbishop Luis Argüello of Valladolid publicly supported the Popular Legislative Initiative (ILP) for the regularization of almost 400,000 foreigners residing in Spain before November 2021, stressing that "it is time to overcome a polarization caused by political interests".
In this line, Argüello stated on the social network X, formerly Twitter, that "human dignity asks us to welcome, protect, promote and integrate these neighbors, many of them minors," and wrote a statement in this sense. In the same sense, the has stated the Archbishop of Madrid, Cardinal José Cobo.
Together with the figure of St. Thomas, the review of Omnes focuses its gaze on the reality of the West in which the aging of the population is an unavoidable challenge that the Church must face with the deepest charity and justice.
July 2, 2024-Reading time: 2minutes
St. Thomas Aquinas used to say that "mercy is in itself the greatest of virtues, since it belongs to it to turn to others and, even more, to help them in their deficiencies". This phrase fits with this double number The July and August 2024 issue of Omnes, in which the figure of Aquinas and the elderly in today's world will be the focus of the magazine's contents.
Triple anniversary
St. Thomas Aquinas, one of the names without which philosophy and theology cannot be understood today, is very much up to date.
2023 marked the 700th anniversary of his canonization, while 2024 marks the 750th anniversary of his death, and in 2025, the 800th anniversary of his birth.
In the letter that Pope Francis addressed to the bishops of the dioceses directly related to the Angelic Doctor, he pointed out that the main legacy of the distinguished Dominican is based "above all on holiness, characterized by a particular speculation which, nevertheless, has not renounced the challenge of allowing itself to be provoked and measured by experience, even by the unprecedented problems and paradoxes of History, a dramatic and at the same time magnificent place, in order to discern in it the traces and the direction towards the Kingdom to come". Indeed, the inspiration, method, teachings and reflections of one of the greatest Doctors of the Church are still fully relevant eight centuries after his death.
Our seniors
Along with the figure of St. Thomas, the special issue of Omnes focuses its gaze on the reality of the West, in which the aging of the population is an unavoidable challenge that the Church must face with the deepest charity and justice, as well as with the creativity necessary to avoid reductionism and take advantage of the great potential of the elderly in the life of society and of the Church.
There are many initiatives around the world that not only take care of the elderly, but also make them the main protagonists.
The challenge of the culture of integral care, of valuing and rediscovering an older but not an aging society, is undoubtedly one of the main tasks of politicians, pastors and the faithful in today's world.
This "turning to others" to which St. Thomas refers in the phrase we have recalled and which, for Christians, translates into the exercise of charity, the principal virtue among all the virtues and the central trunk of faith.
As I said Benedict XVIIt is beautiful to be old! In every age it is necessary to know how to discover the presence and blessing of the Lord and the riches it contains. We must never allow ourselves to be trapped by sadness! We have received the gift of a long life. To live is beautiful also at our age, in spite of some 'ailments' and limitations. May the joy of feeling loved by God, and not sadness, always be on our faces.
St. Thomas Aquinas is the protagonist of the July-August issue of the magazine
The July-August 2024 issue of Omnes magazine features St. Thomas Aquinas. The Church celebrates the triple anniversary of Aquinas: 2023 marks 700 years since his canonization; 2024 marks 750 years since his death; and 2025 will mark 800 years since his birth.
The July-August 2024 print journal has St. Thomas Aquinas as its protagonist and features contributions from key authors for the current interpretation of Aquinas' thought. Taking advantage of the occasion of his triple anniversary, the new issue of Omnes aims to show the great influence of this doctor of the Church.
Among the names that sign the collaborations are Lluís ClavellThe event was attended by the following: Lorella Congiunti, former president of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas; Lorella Congiunti, president of the International Society of St. Thomas Aquinas; and Alan Joseph Adami, professor of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The dossier is completed with articles on the axes of Aquinas' thought, his vision of man and his interpretation of Aristotelian thought.
Special for seniors
The summer special of Omnes magazine is dedicated to the elderly, care and the culture of integration. Through the analysis made by specialists such as María Teresa Bazo or Mario J. Paredes, this special sheds light on the situation of the elderly and tries to suggest ideas with which to improve their standard of living and inclusion in society.
Among the articles are also the stories of several elderly people who have decided to continue contributing all they can on a daily basis.
Papal primacy, the Synod and the apostolic journey
Giovanni Tridente, Federico Piana and Ramiro Pellitero write about current events at the Vatican. Among the topics they discuss this month are the new document "The Bishop of Rome" and the "Instrumentum Laboris" for the upcoming Synod session.
In addition, there is a report dedicated to the apostolic journey that Pope Francis will make in September 2024. In what will be his longest tour to date, the Holy Father will visit Indonesia, Singapore, East Timor and Papua New Guinea.
Reasons, Étienne Gilson and the Letter of Barnabas
This month Juan Luis Lorda talks in his article in Reasons about Étienne Gilson, author of one of the most panoramic books on Christian thought of the 20th century. As Lorda explains, Gilson relates in his book how the great themes of knowledge were transformed thanks to the interpretation of Christian authors.
In Reasons there is also an interesting report written by Jerónimo Leal on the "Letter of Barnabas". This article explains the prophecies and prefigurations that refer to Christ.
"Loving always more" and first Christians
As part of Experiences, this issue of Omnes presents the "Amar siempre más" project, a pastoral initiative based on three pillars or areas: family, spiritual and social.
On the other hand, this month's Initiatives correspond to ".Early Christians"The website, created by some university students, gathers information about the first communities of followers of Christ.
Culture, Gospel and books
As every month, the magazine also includes brief meditations on the Gospel; an approach to an important cultural figure, in this case Nobel laureate Adolfo Pérez Esquivel; and reviews of several books that may be ideal for this summer.
The July-August 2024 magazine is available in digital format for subscribers of the digital and digital and print versions. For those with a print subscription, a copy will be delivered to your home in the next few days.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Days of rest are coming, and it does not hurt to review what concept of rest we have. There are two biblical premises. Genesis 2:1-2 says: "So the heavens and the earth and the whole universe were finished. And when he (God) had finished his work on the seventh day, he rested on the seventh day". And Jesus said: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest".
Francisco Otamendi-July 2, 2024-Reading time: 3minutes
The text of the Genesis He continues: "And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it he rested from all the work that God had done when he created". Thus God sanctified rest, as Jesus would do with work (thirty years in Joseph's workshop), and also with rest, when he was weary from the road.
The undersigned is a journalist, not an expert in Sacred Scripture, nor in vacation arts, nor in psychology. Here are just a few points that can help us to rest, in some of the meanings of the term that the Royal Spanish Academy. These are:
1. To cease in work, to repair the forces with stillness.
2. To have some relief from worries.
3. To relieve oneself, to have relief or consolation by communicating to a friend or trusted person one's woes or hardships.
4. Rest, sleep.
5. Said of a person: to be calm and careless because he or she has confidence in something or someone.
6.To relieve someone at work, to help someone at work.
There are more meanings of the term "rest", but these are enough for a quick reflection from a Christian perspective, which anyone can do.
1. Ceasing to work, restoring strength through quietness.
This is the first meaning. It points out the Catechism of Catholic Doctrine that "just as God 'ceased on the seventh day from all the work that he had done' (Gn 2:2), so too human life follows a rhythm of work and rest. The institution of the Lord's Day helps everyone to enjoy sufficient time of rest and solace to enable them to cultivate their family, cultural, social and religious life" (n. 2184).
2. To have some relief from worries
St. Matthew writes: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart, and you will find your rest. For my yoke is easy to bear and my burden is light".
In the well-known fragment of abandonment to Providence, St. Luke records. "And he said to his disciples, 'Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on; for life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Look at the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and God feeds them; how much more valuable are you than the birds! Who among you, by dint of being overburdened, can add one hour to the time of his life? Therefore, if you cannot do the least, why fret about the rest?"
3. To relieve oneself, to communicate to a friend evils or hardships.
Pope Francis: "God, in the Decalogue, shows another light of what rest is, which is 'contemplation and praise'. "To rest as an escape from reality, the Decalogue opposes rest as a blessing of reality," he added in a General Audience in 2018.
"For us Christians, the Lord's Day is Sunday, and in the Eucharist, which means 'to give thanks,' we find the culmination of that day of contemplation and blessing, in which we welcome reality and praise the Lord for the gift of life, thanking him for his mercy and for all the good things he grants us." Resting in the Lord is a doctrine established by spiritual authors. Francisco on several occasions recalled the words of the Psalm: "My soul rests in God alone", and the need to cultivate silence and prayer.
In the same catechesis, the Pope said that "rest is also a propitious moment for reconciliation, to confront difficulties without escaping from them, to find the peace and serenity of those who know how to value the good things they have, even in the bed of pain or poverty".
4. Rest, sleep
Numerous physicians, psychiatrists and psychologists have argued the beneficial properties of sleep, in a society where the time needed for sleep is often cut back. They have also done so with the support of moderate exercise, according to age and with medical indication or supervision.
5. To be calm and careless because we trust something or someone.
This issue has been mentioned in points 2 and 3 above. Perhaps one can add the convenience of cultivating friendshipThis is the kind of love that is given "in two directions and that desires every good for the other person, love that produces union and happiness", as St. John Paul II wrote, and on which Pope Francis meditated in the Apostolic Exhortation Christus vivit and in their catechesis.
6. Relieving someone at work, helping another person
Caring for others, especially the most needy, the poor, the elderly and the sick, in addition to fulfilling the mandate of charity, is always beneficial to the spirit, and good proof of this are the testimonies of the many people who give themselves to others.
Lluís Clavell: "Family is the highest form of friendship".
In this interview, Lluís Clavell, former president of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas, answers Omnes' questions about the concept of the family in Aquinas' writings, the relevance of his thought and its influence today.
The family is one of the great issues of today. However, the fact that it is a topic of enormous relevance today is no reason to think that in the past it was not an issue of great importance. So much so, that as early as the twelfth century St. Thomas Aquinas He reflected on this and left for posterity certain thoughts that may be key for the 21st century.
Lluís Clavell is also professor of Metaphysics at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he was rector from 1994 to 2008. He was also a consultant to the Pontifical Council for Culture and was a member of the board of directors of the International Society Thomas Aquinas.
In this interview, the former president of the Pontifical Academy of St. Thomas Aquinas answers Omnes' questions about the concept of the family in Aquinas' writings, the relevance of his thought and its influence today.
How does St. Thomas Aquinas define the family?
- On these more theological topics I have to confess my limits. I have always dealt with this rather from the side of philosophy, for example from the side of friendship. Aristotle devotes to this subject no less than two books of the Nicomachean Ethics. The family is the highest form of friendship, and interpersonal love between spouses is the most educational thing there is. It is not that great things have to be invented: when children see how parents love each other, they learn almost everything. St. Thomas speaks of the family as a spiritual womb. It is the place where the child grows, is formed, learns what freedom is, many things, not only how to use language.
What other lesser-known aspects of St. Thomas' thought are currently resurfacing?
- Recently, for example, at the Academy of St. Thomas in Rome, a plenary session was held in which a volume dedicated to the emotions according to St. Thomas was presented. Theologians, too, have studied this quite a bit. Perhaps it was less frequent before, because a more purely intellectual vision, centered on dogma, was followed. But it can be seen that St. Thomas, who has a lot to say about the emotions, is now also more studied.
The same happens in other aspects. For example, now there is a Thomism that is called "biblical Thomism", more focused on commentaries on the writings of Sacred Scripture and on the Psalms. St. Thomas himself also composed poetry, liturgical hymns, which we still sing today and which we like.
What then, according to St. Thomas, is the importance of the family?
- The family, on the one hand, is a sign of destitution: we are born, we need to learn to speak, to be taught... The family is a necessity. But it is also greatness, which is an aspect that some do not see. I am referring to the greatness of the family as a life project, because life is not simply about succeeding in a job.
Reading St. Thomas, we see that he captures this very well: we need family, because we are children; but at the same time it is a great thing, because animals do not really have a family. Many people discover this when they have a family disaster: it is the hardest thing that can happen to you. The family is to be able to love, and to love with a love of donation, gratuitous, reciprocal, total. St. Thomas goes so far as to say that, from this point of view, the human race is superior to the angels. Angels help us, but angels do not have children, while human beings do.
It is important to see the family not only as a need, as indigence, but as something more, a life project. Now we are frightened by the decline in the birth rate, but this means that perhaps we have put in place modules of work and triumph that look at only one part of what the human person is.
How does the vision of St. Thomas influence today's world?
- St. Thomas lived in a very remarkable period. There was the birth of the universities, and he was well acquainted with Neoplatonism and St. Augustine, but Aristotelianism reached him, as an irruption, and it also reached him through people from Arab countries or countries conquered by the Arabs, as in the case of Spain. He is a person who, together with his training in Neoplatonism, knows Aristotle well, which was not only philosophy; it was also science, biology, physics, etc.
Therefore, he is in an ideal, incredible situation, which made it possible for him to offer us something that has continued to last through the ages. It amazes me that in these years we have reflections such as that of Alistair MacIntyre on the fragmentation of knowledge. It was one of the books that had the greatest impact on me, I was living in the fragmentation of knowledge, and I was a bit aware of it, but the university helped me a lot to try to unite, to make the different kinds of knowledge communicate. Tomás tried to do it, and that is why also when you cultivate this field, you feel his help, which is something from the past, but you feel it as something very current.
For example, we will soon have a world congress on Philosophy (1-8 August, in Rome), in which the Ibero-American Network of Philosophy is also participating. It is focused on a philosophy that crosses borders, and we have been invited to have a session on St. Thomas, along with others dedicated to other great philosophers of history.
And now a curious question, what influence do you think this resurgence of Aquinas' thought has on the recent European elections?
- The family has entered a somewhat more controversial phase since the anthropological revolution of 1968, and more recently with some measures taken by European governments, including the European Parliament. The results of the European elections show that the Philosophy and Theology of St. Thomas is of great interest. Speaking now of the recent elections, a young philosopher, trained at the Complutense, in Political Science studies, has commented that a Europe that ignores the truth of the person leads to frustration. One can see in the election results that there is also a rebellion against this.
This young philosopher comments that the denial of the truth of the person among the European elites leads to a change as a reaction. There are people who interpret it only from a political point of view, but this author, who is a politician but at the same time a philosopher, believes that it is not only a political question, but also an anthropological one, there is a certain awareness in young people that it is convenient to change, to highlight things that are important to be happy and to build a better Europe. The issue of the defense of the Christian roots of Europe is there: I think it is not dead and it is done in dialogue. A philosopher well equipped with the modern and the ancient has a lot to say.
In a disconnected, individualistic and inhuman world like ours, in the face of the popularization of the contactlessThe Church will be the sacrament of salvation as long as she is capable of being a visible sign of fraternity.
July 1, 2024-Reading time: 4minutes
After the "Give each other fraternal peace" no one, absolutely no one, shook the hand of the neighbor on the bench. And the two people to whom I extended my hand rejected it by returning a gentle oriental greeting. I don't know about you, but I see the danger of a Christian life. contactless.
It was certainly not the Sunday parish Eucharist, but one of those Masses on a weekday, in a centrally located church, early in the morning, where the faithful do not usually know each other.
They arrive right at the start time, sit away from each other and then rush off to get to their jobs in nearby offices and stores on time, so it is understandable that there is no trust, but the popularization of bowing has become pandemic, never better said, since the Covid. Soon, instead of "peace with you", we will say "namaste".
The call to minimize contact during this world catastrophe was more than justified, but, after a while, the hygienic motivation becomes an excuse that hides, in my opinion, something deeper, a subtle form of individualistic faith that places those who practice it at the antipodes of Christian faith.
The mystery of the Incarnation broke the barrier between God and man. Jesus is God who touches and who allows himself to be touched. During his public life, he rebuked the scruples of the Pharisees and their fear of becoming impure through physical contact and, with his death on the cross and the consequent tearing of the veil of the temple, he also signaled the end of the cultic separation between men and "the holy".
Just a few weeks ago we took up the Sunday readings of Ordinary Time which, in the cycle B in which we are, correspond to the Evangelist Mark. This is a Gospel that presents us with a Jesus who, if you will allow me to use the expression, is rather "stumpy", if you will allow me to use the expression.
We see him take Peter's mother-in-law and Jairus' daughter by the hand, touch the sick skin of the leper and the atrophied tongue of the deaf-mute, embrace the children, take them in his arms, lay hands on them and ask them to let them come close to him.
We also see him squeezed in a crowd or in a crowded house, and he even let himself be kissed by Judas in Gethsemane, which indicated that this was a customary form of greeting.
The summit of Jesus' desire to enter into physical contact with his disciples of all times is found in the institution of the Eucharist, where he not only invited us to touch him, but to actually eat him (that is our faith).
We are not circumstantially corporeal spirits, but a unity of body and soul; and, in the Church, members of the one body of Christ, of which he is the head. Therefore, not only the Eucharist makes present this intimacy with the sense of touch, but also the other sacraments.
Thus, in Baptism, we see the sign on the forehead, the anointing on the chest and on the head, the laying on of hands or the rite of the "baptism of the mother", and so on.effetá"At ordination, the bishop imposes his hands on the future priest and anoints his hands with holy chrism; at Confirmation, we also see the imposition of hands and anointing, as well as signs such as the sponsor's hand on the shoulder of the confirmandi or the bishop's embrace or kiss of peace.
In confession, we can see the priest place one or two hands on the penitent's head during absolution; in the anointing of the sick, the minister applies oil on the forehead and hands of the faithful; and in marriage, the contracting parties shake hands, put the ring on each other and give each other the kiss of peace (and this is as far as I can read because then it has to be consummated).
In all these "visible signs of an invisible reality," as the word sacrament is defined, the action of God who washes, heals, nourishes, fortifies, unites, creates, blesses, forgives, transmits his power, welcomes... In short, he loves, because a faith without works, a spiritual action without corporal correspondence, is a dead faith.
We are not angels, but human beings made in the image and likeness of God, of flesh and blood, the same one that will be resurrected transformed and that will accompany us eternally. Why do we reject it, allowing ourselves to be carried away by traditions far removed from what Jesus Christ taught us?
When our disincarnated spiritualism becomes most painful is when we reject the Lord's favorites, the poor, the sick, the elderly, the migrants... With them, Pope Francis warns us, "we can have compassion, but generally we do not touch them.
We offer him the coin, but we avoid touching the hand and throw it away. And we forget that this is the body of Christ! Jesus teaches us not to be afraid to touch the poor and the excluded, because He is in them. Touching the poor can purify us of hypocrisy and make us care about their condition. Touch the excluded.
In a disconnected, individualistic and inhuman world like ours, in the face of the popularization of the contactlessThe Church will be the sacrament of salvation as long as she is able to be the visible sign of a community of true brothers and sisters who, as such, are not afraid to hold hands.
As believers in God the Trinity, a God who is a community of persons in intimate relationship, we must be clear that no one is saved alone, but by the hand of another. Yes, from the hand of the one next to him.
Journalist. Graduate in Communication Sciences and Bachelor in Religious Sciences. He works in the Diocesan Delegation of Media in Malaga. His numerous "threads" on Twitter about faith and daily life have a great popularity.
Subscribe to Omnes magazine and enjoy exclusive content for subscribers. You will have access to all Omnes
Pope encourages the Church and society to "exclude no one"
Pope Francis stressed during his Angelus meditation that "God does not keep us at a distance," so Catholics need to follow his example to welcome and love people "without labels."
During the Angelus Pope Francis, on Sunday, June 30, on the basis of the Gospel of the dayThe fact that Jesus touched two women considered impure according to Jewish law was emphasized.
Christ, said the Pontiff, "challenges a mistaken religious conception, according to which God separates the pure on the one hand and the impure on the other". God, as our Father, does not make such a distinction, "because we are all his children, and impurity does not derive from food, sickness or even death, but impurity comes from an impure heart."
God does not keep us at a distance
This is the lesson we must learn from this Gospel passage, the Pope explained. "In the face of the sufferings of the body and spirit, in the face of the wounds of the soul, in the face of situations that overwhelm us and even in the face of sin, God does not keep us at a distance, God is not ashamed of us, God does not judge us." What the Lord does, Francis pointed out, is to draw near "to allow himself to be touched and to touch us," because in this way he saves us from death.
Christ, the Holy Father affirmed, looks at every Christian to say: "I suffered all the consequences of sin in order to save you. And with this, the believer is filled with hope.
Faced with this, the Pope encouraged everyone to ask themselves: "Do we believe that God is like this? Do we allow ourselves to be touched by the Lord, by his Word, by his love? Do we enter into relationship with our brothers and sisters, offering them a hand to lift them up, or do we keep our distance and label people based on our tastes and our preferences?"
Francis concluded his meditation by asking that "we look to the heart of God, so that the Church and society may not exclude, may not exclude anyone, may not treat anyone as 'impure', so that everyone, with their own history, may be welcomed and loved without labels, without prejudice, so that they may be loved without adjectives".
The Pope, the Protomartyrs and Peace
After praying the Angelus, the Pope wanted to greet "the children of the Missionary Circle 'Misyjna Jutrzenka'" from Poland, and pilgrims "from California and Costa Rica. He also mentioned "the Daughters of the Church" and "the boys of Gonzaga, in Mantua".
As usual, the Holy Father prayed for peace, placing this intention in the hands of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He also recalled the Roman Protomartyrs and pointed out that "we too live in times of martyrdom, even more so than in the first centuries". He wanted to send a message of support to all Christians who suffer persecution and violence for living their faith, and asked all Catholics to support them and be "inspired by their witness of love for Christ".
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies such as cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting, or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The storage or technical access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The storage or technical access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
Technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.Storage or technical access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a request, voluntary compliance by your Internet service provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved solely for this purpose cannot be used to identify you.
Marketing
The storage or technical access is necessary to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or multiple websites for similar marketing purposes.
Tenth National Eucharistic Congress opens with 50,000 people in Indianapolis
