The Vatican

Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria in Rome with the Pope

The presence of His Holiness Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, together with Pope Francis at Wednesday's General Audience, and their final blessing together, visualized the growing friendship of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt with the Catholic Church. The Pope's catechesis on the passion for evangelization focused on the example of St. Francis Xavier.

Francisco Otamendi-May 10, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes

Pope Francis presided over Wednesday's General Audience in St. Peter's Square together with His Holiness Tawadros II, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, of the See of St. Mark, to commemorate a double anniversary. 

On the one hand, as the Holy Father Francis said, "to celebrate with me the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III in 1973. It was the first meeting between a Bishop of Rome and a Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which culminated in the signing of a memorable joint Christological declaration, exactly on May 10".

"In remembrance of this event, His Holiness Tawadros came to see me for the first time on May 10 ten years ago, a few months after his election and mine, and proposed to celebrate every May 10 the "Coptic-Catholic Friendship Day" that we have been celebrating since then," added the Pope, who greeted "with great joy" Tawadros II and his delegation for having traveled to Rome, and thus recalled in his message in various languages, a customary feature of the Holy Father's Wednesday catechesis.

"We call each other on the phone, we send each other greetings and we remain good brothers, we have not quarreled! Dear friend and brother Tawadros, I thank you for accepting my invitation on this double anniversary, and I pray that the light of the Holy Spirit will illuminate your visit to Rome, the important meetings you will hold here, and in particular our personal conversations," the Pope noted. 

"The Coptic martyrs are also our martyrs."

"I sincerely thank you," Francis added, "for your commitment to the growing friendship between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. Your Holiness, dear Bishops and friends all, together with you I implore Almighty God, through the intercession of the Saints and Martyrs of the Coptic Church, to help us grow in communion, in a single and holy bond of faith, hope and Christian love." 

"And speaking of the martyrs of the Coptic Church, who are also our martyrs," the Pope concluded his greeting, "I would like to recall the martyrs of the Libyan beach, who became martyrs a few years ago. I ask all present to pray to God to bless the visit of Pope Tawadros to Rome and to protect the entire Coptic Orthodox Church. May this visit bring us closer to the blessed day when we will be one in Christ. Thank you.

As reported by the agency Vatican official, Pope Francis and the Coptic Orthodox Patriarch jointly signed the preface to the commemorative book published by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting between Pope St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III.

Patriarch Tawadros II: peace and unity 

The Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, for his part, congratulated Pope Francis in his brief address "on behalf also of the members of the Holy Synod and all the organs of the Coptic Orthodox Church on the tenth anniversary of his divine election as Pope and Bishop of Rome. I appreciate all that you have done during this time of service to the whole world in all fields, and I pray that Christ will preserve you in full health and grant you the blessing of a long life."

He also encouraged the path towards unity between the two Churches, invoking for the whole world "a peace that transcends all minds, praying that it may reach all places and be the priority of leaders and peoples".

"We have chosen love, even if we go against the current of the greedy and selfish world; we have accepted the challenge of love that Christ asks of us and we will be true Christians and the world will become more human, because the whole world will know that God is love and that this is his highest name."

"Let us walk together on the path of life," Patriarch Tawadros II noted, "bearing in mind that 'this is the promise he has made to us: eternal life' (1 Jn 2:25), accompanying and supporting one another with prayers in keeping with this promise. Despite the differences in our roots and affiliations, we are united by the love of Christ who dwells within us, and the multitude of our apostolic fathers and saints surrounds and guides us. I pray with you today that God will hear our prayers."

Example of St. Francis Xavier

On the resumption ofl cycle of catechesis on the 'passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer', the Pope focused his meditation on the theme "Witnesses: St. Francis Xavier" (2 Cor 5:14-15.20).

"In our itinerary of catechesis on the witnesses of the Gospel, today we meet St. Francis Xavier. This Spanish saint is patron of the missions, along with St. Therese of Lisieux," the Pope explained. "Francis was born in Navarre and did his university studies in Paris. There he met Ignatius of Loyola, who accompanied him in the experience of the Spiritual Exercises. The encounter with Christ that he had during those days changed his life. Years later, Ignatius, Francis and other friends formed the "Society of Jesus", and placed themselves at the Pope's disposal to attend to the most urgent needs of the Church in the world". 

Then, "sent to India as apostolic nuncio, Francis Xavier carried out an extraordinary evangelizing work, catechizing children, baptizing and caring for the sick. But his apostolic zeal impelled him to always go beyond what was known, and so he traveled to other places in Asia, such as the Moluccas and Japan, until he died with the desire to announce the Gospel in China". 

Our Lady of Fatima: rosary for peace

"Next Saturday we will celebrate the memory of Our Lady of Fatima"Pope Francis also recalled. "Let us accept his invitation and pray the Rosary this month for peace in the world. May the Risen Lord accompany you, and may the Blessed Virgin Mary protect you".

In his greeting in Polish, the Pope made special reference to the doctors who, thanks to the Redemptoris Missio Foundation, will be working in the coming weeks to save the lives of women and mothers in the Central African Republic.

"St. Francis Xavier teaches us that the proclamation of the Gospel on the peripheries of the world always goes hand in hand with medical and educational assistance," the Holy Father recalled. "This support, as well as our prayer for peace, is also necessary for the martyred Ukraine. As you participate in the Marian prayers of May, praying the Rosary, remember especially the women and children afflicted by the war. I bless you from my heart!" Pope Francis said. 
In his greeting to the Spanish-speaking pilgrims, the Pope encouraged: "Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the holy shepherds of the Church - such as St. John of Avilamay he help us to always extend the horizons of our mission and strengthen us to love and serve him in every circumstance. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you. Thank you very much.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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ColumnistsMaria José Atienza

Installment rights

If the protection of human life does not underpin the rule of law, no other so-called "rights" will be truly just.

May 10, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

Nobody today believes that all human beings intrinsically enjoy inviolable dignity and rights. At least in the current political and legislative spectrum in much of the West. 

There are those who think - and legislate or protect laws - that you are not human being, personuntil another The woman who gestated it, the State, lawyers, politicians or doctors. There are those who defend that you cannot eat an egg because it is "potentially" a chick, but who do not bat an eyelid when affirming that a 12-week embryo is not a human being. Or simply, it is not a human being with rights. 

Apparently, in the current Spanish legal system, rights are "obtained" in installments, like washing machines: one day you can be killed freely and the next day it is a little more difficult. The problem of all this lies in the fact that the terms are, therefore, agreed by majorities, and end up yielding to an assimilation of the idea as a right outside of time.

Hitler also knew that those whom he imprisoned or executed without regard (Jews, homosexuals, gypsies...) were human beings, but, according to his criteria, their rights should be subject to the wishes or the "improvement of the lives" of others. In that case there was no talk of time limits, it is true, but there was talk of origins or tendencies. It's a big deal - it's a big deal. The plot, embellished with better or worse success, has not changed much. 

The affirmation of the Constitutional Court's note to this effect states that "there is a gradual limitation of the constitutional rights of women according to the progress of gestation and the physiological-vital development of the fetus, as well as in attention to the possible appearance of circumstances that imply an extraordinary affectation of the woman's rights" (circumstances such as having Down Syndrome, which makes it "even less worthy of protection"). Underlying this is the idea that the unborn child is the enemy. The enemy to beat.

The Spanish Constitutional Court, with its "consecration" of the "right to abortion" has not only legislated against itself, elevating to the category of a right, that is, something good and defensible, what was previously "decriminalized", an evil that was not penalized because of some "more weighty" assumption.

At no time is there any mention of maternity assistance, psychological support for pregnancy or reconciliation laws. What the Constitutional Court affirms, in essence, is that there are people with a constitutional right to live and people with a constitutional right to eliminate to others; without offering alternatives to those women or even pushing for abortion is their choice, almost unconsciously. 

It is worth recalling the words of Benedict XVI in the celebration of Maundy Thursday 2010: "Christians, as good citizens, respect the law and do what is just and good. It consists in the fact that they reject what is not right, but injustice, in the legal systems in force.".

If the lifeIf the protection of life: prenatal, infantile, with psychic problems, with vital alterations, old or handicapped does not sustain the right of a people, then we cannot speak of Justice, of Peace, of Universal Rights. Because these are not paid in installments.

The authorMaria José Atienza

Director of Omnes. Degree in Communication, with more than 15 years of experience in Church communication. She has collaborated in media such as COPE or RNE.

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The Vatican

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of unity

On May 10 and 11, the Holy Father Francis and His Holiness Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, will celebrate together the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting of their predecessors, Pope St. Paul VI and Pope Shenouda III, which took place in May 1973.

Antonino Piccione-May 10, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPan-Orthodox Council: overcoming disagreements to return to a common directionRelated News"Mosul's true identity is harmonious coexistence."

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the meeting between St. Paul VI and Shenouda III, Patriarch Tawadros will attend the General Audience on Wednesday, May 10. On Thursday, May 11, he will hold a private meeting with Pope Francis, with whom he will have a moment of prayer, and then visit the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.

The Patriarch will also meet with the faithful of the Coptic community residing in Rome, for whom he will celebrate a Eucharistic liturgy in the papal basilica of St. John Lateran on Sunday, May 14.

The Coptic Church

The Coptic Church is the main Christian church in the country. EgyptThe theologically characterized by the Monophysite confession, which distinguishes it from Catholicism and the so-called Orthodox confession, but unites it with the Syro-Jacobite Church.

It has its origin in the schism of the Monophysites after the Council of Chalcedon (451) and from it derived the Coptic Church of Nubia, now disappeared, and the Coptic Church of Ethiopia, which continued to depend hierarchically on it until 1959.

It has about 10 million faithful who reside mainly in Upper Egypt, but also in Sudan, Palestine, Jerusalem and other countries of the Middle East. The ecclesiastical hierarchy is formed by the Patriarch (whose official title is "Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark"), resident in Cairo, about sixty metropolitans and bishops members of the Holy Synod and other bishops with special assignments or residing outside Egypt.

It also includes some 1,500 married priests and hundreds of monks. It is a member of the Ecumenical Council of Churches and other ecumenical organizations, has sent observers to the Second Vatican Council and initiated a doctrinal dialogue with the Catholic Church (in 1973 its Patriarch Shenouda III paid an official visit to Paul VI).

There is also a Coptic Catholic Church, the Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria, erected in 1824, reestablished in 1895 and governed by a patriarch. It comprises 6 dioceses with about 200,000 faithful.

The Pope and Tawadros II: An Ecumenical Journey

"The Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt," reports a tweet from the Secretariat of State, "is one of the most important realities in the ecclesial panorama of the Middle East, where, in recent times, Christian communities are facing situations of great difficulty."

In an interview granted to the Vatican media last April, Father Hyacinthe Destivelle, head of the Dicastery for Unity, had described this important visit as a "milestone" in the ecumenical journey.

The Joint Declaration signed by Pope Montini and Patriarch Shenouda on May 10, 1973 served "as a model for similar agreements with the other Eastern Orthodox Churches, which recognize the first three Councils".

Prayer meeting with the Pope

At the heart of the May 11 prayer meeting is the theme of the ecumenism of blood, in memory of the many martyrs of the different Christian confessions.

There have already been important steps in the past, such as the sending of observers to the Second Vatican Council by Patriarch Cyril, the return of the relics of St. Mark in 1968, the aforementioned visit in '73 and the initiation of a bilateral Joint Commission between the Coptic and Catholic Churches.

Theological relations now take place within the framework of a Joint Commission between the Catholic Church and all the Eastern Orthodox Churches in which the Coptic Church plays a special role, because the co-chairman is from the beginning a Coptic bishop.

Liturgical celebration

On May 14, the Patriarch will celebrate with his faithful, who number around 100,000 in Italy, in the Basilica of St. John Lateran. In this case, the use of the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome has been granted taking into account the historical character of the visit and the number of faithful, who will surely be thousands.

The Patriarch will not celebrate at the altar of the Pope, he will have his own altar where he will officiate the liturgy in the Coptic rite. It should be noted in this regard that the Ecumenical Directory states in point 137 that "if priests, ministers or communities who are not in full communion with the Catholic Church do not have a place or the liturgical objects necessary to celebrate their religious ceremonies worthily, the diocesan bishop may allow them to use a Catholic church or building and also lend them the objects necessary for their worship".

This is also explained in point 33 of the Ecumenical Vademecum. Moreover, the Coptic Orthodox Church is an apostolic Church whose sacraments are recognized by the Catholic Church and which shares the same conception of the Eucharist and the priesthood. Given the special character of the visit, this authorization was also intended to be a fraternal gesture addressed to the Coptic Church.

The martyrs: a bridge of union

We all have in mind the martyrdom of the 21 Copts in Libya, killed on February 15, 2015, of whom Pope Francis has always said, "They are also our martyrs."

The common prayer will take place in the chapel Redemptoris Mater of the Apostolic Palace on the theme of the "ecumenism of blood". "For Pope Francis - said Father Destivelle - the blood of the martyrs is the seed of unity. The martyrs are already gathered in heaven, the Pope always says, they are not killed because they are Catholics, Orthodox or Protestants, but because they are Christians. So they are already gathered in the glory of God because they suffered for the name of Christ. The blood of the martyrs cries out louder than our divisions".

The authorAntonino Piccione

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RelatedRelated NewsPan-Orthodox Council: overcoming disagreements to return to a common directionRelated News"Mosul's true identity is harmonious coexistence."
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Evangelization

Cardinal Newman

Cardinal Newman suffered three "spiritual illnesses" that completely transformed his life from Anglican intellectual to cardinal and saint of the Catholic Church.

Pedro Estaún-May 10, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
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John Henry Newman was born on February 21, 1801 in London, into an Anglican family of bankers. He was the first-born of six siblings. At the age of seven he began attending school in Ealing, where he distinguished himself by his diligence and good conduct. There he manifested a certain shyness and marginality, for he took no part in school games. He himself said to have been in these early years "very superstitious".

From a young age he showed a great interest in reading the Bible, and also in the novels of Walter Scott, which were then in the process of publication. Later he read some works of skeptics such as Paine, Hume, Voltaire and was probably influenced by their ideas.

First conversion

At the age of fifteen, during his last year at school, he had a first "conversion", which marked his life from then on. Apart from his studies in which he always excelled, he acted in plays, played the violin, won oratory prizes and wrote articles in periodicals.

His happy childhood came to an abrupt end in March 1816. There was a financial collapse brought on by the Napoleonic wars and his father's bank was forced to close. Newman stayed at school during the vacations that summer because of the family crisis. The period from early August to December 21, 1816, Newman always regarded as the turning point in his life. Alone at school and shocked by the family disaster, he fell ill in August. He later came to see this time as one of the three great providential illnesses of his life, for it was in the autumn of that year that he had a religious conversion under the influence of one of his teachers, the Reverend Walter Mayers. 

Up to this point, Newman had had a conventional upbringing in a Church of England household, where the emphasis was on the Bible instead of dogmas or sacraments, and a kind of evangelical "enthusiasm" would have been frowned upon. His faith was then identified as evangelical and Calvinist and he came to hold that the Pope was the Antichrist. He enrolled in Theology at Trinity College, Oxford, and in 1819 he joined Lincoln's Inn. Wishing to remain at Oxford, he gave private lessons at Oriel, "the acknowledged center of intellectualism at Oxford."

Work in the Anglican church

At the celebration of the Holy TrinityOn Sunday, May 29, 1825, Newman was ordained a priest of the Church of England and was later appointed parish priest of St. Clement's, Oxford. For two years, he was actively engaged in parish work, but also found time to write articles for the Encyclopædia Metropolitana. In 1825, he became vice-principal of St Alban's Hall, and there he had his first clear idea of the Catholic Church. In 1826 he became professor-tutor at Oriel. At the end of 1827, Newman suffered a kind of nervous breakdown caused by overwork and the family's financial problems, adding to this the sudden death of his younger sister. 

From 1833 onwards, he led the Oxford Movementa religious current within the Anglican Church that attempted a "middle way", a third way, between Protestantism and the Catholic Church and that tried, in turn, to demonstrate that the Church of England was the direct descendant of that of the apostles. Newman argued, however, that the doctrine of the Church as defined at the Council of Trent was totally incompatible with the Articles of the Anglican Church.

The second providential disease

In 1842 he retired to Littlemore where he lived under monastic conditions with a small group of followers. Years earlier, since 1816, he had begun to read to the Fathers of the Churchwhich he considered his second providential illness.

His life was one of great physical austerity, as well as anxiety, and little by little he became reconciled with the creed and liturgy of the Roman Church, although he was not yet determined to become a Catholic because he found obstacles such as devotion to the Virgin and the saints. It was then that he wrote: "In 1843 I took two very important steps: 1) In February I made a formal retraction of all the harsh things I had said against the Church of Rome. 2) In September I renounced my benefice of St. Mary, Littlemore".

Conversion to Catholicism

Two years later, in 1845, he clearly realized that his arguments about the relationship of the Roman Catholic Church with that of England were stronger than he thought. Surrendering to the authority of his own argument, he converted to Catholicism and was ordained a Catholic priest on June 1, 1847, in Rome. He celebrated his first Mass on June 5, 1847. At the encouragement of Pope Pius IX, he founded the first Oratory of San Felipe Neri Faber as his superior. There he gave courses and lectures on "The Present Position of Catholics in England". In 1877, when his works from the Anglican period were republished, he added to the two volumes a long preface and numerous notes in which he criticized and counter-argued his anti-Catholic assertions from the original version.

In 1889, at the age of 88, he received from Pope Leo XIII the dignity of cardinal and became a member of the College of Cardinals. He died the following year, on August 11, 1890. More than a century later, in 1991, Cardinal Newman was proclaimed venerable after a thorough investigation of his life and works by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. In July 2009, the Holy See promulgated the decree attributing a miracle to his intercession. On September 19, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI beatified Cardinal Newman in the United Kingdom, in a solemn and multitudinous Mass. In 2019, Pope Francis canonized the Englishman.

The authorPedro Estaún

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Culture

Omnes Forum on Sacred Architecture in the 21st Century

On Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 p.m., we will have an interesting Omnes Forum on the subject of Sacred architecture in the 21st century together with architects Emilio Delgado and Ignacio Vicens and priest Jesús Higueras.

Maria José Atienza-May 9, 2023-Reading time: < 1 minute

Sacred architecture in the 21st century is the theme of the Omnes Forum to be held next Tuesday, May 16, at 7:30 pm.

For this we will have an excellent panel of speakers composed by Emilio Delgadoarchitect and professor at the Francisco de Vitoria University; Ignacio Vicensarchitect, professor of Projects, and the priest Jesus Higueraspastor of St. Mary of Cana in Madrid.

The twentieth and twenty-first centuries have been, especially after the dispositions adopted at the Second Vatican Council, a time of substantial changes in the conception and development of sacred spaces.

The theological and pastoral conceptions of the last centuries and their projection in the different sacred constructions reveal an interesting range of proposals and examples that have been carried out in recent years.  

The forum, sponsored by the construction company Cabbsawill be moderated by Alfonso Riobó, director of Omnes, and will take place, in person, at the ESIC Assembly Hall (Avenida Juan XXIII, 12. Pozuelo de Alarcón (Madrid)).

As a follower and reader of Omnes, we invite you to attend. If you would like to attend, please confirm your attendance by sending an email to [email protected].

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The Vatican

Preparations for the Jubilee Year 2025 are continuing

The Sala Stampa of the Holy See hosted the presentation of the next Jubilee Year, entitled "Jubilee 2025: Achievements and Projects". Rino Fisichella and Msgr. Graham Bell, proprefect and undersecretary, respectively, of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

Loreto Rios-May 9, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The preparation of the jubilee began on February 11, 2022, when Monsignor Fisichella received a letter from Pope Francis charging him with the preparation and celebration of the 2025 Jubilee.

Relations with the Italian government, the Lazio Region and the Municipality of Rome have been initiated. On April 19 of this year, the first bilateral meeting between the Holy See and the Italian government took place.

Preparatory Commissions

In recent months, four commissions and a technical committee have been set up to support the work of the Dicastery for Evangelization. First, the pastoral commission, made up of representatives of each Dicastery of the Roman Curia and representatives of the different ecclesial realities (bishops, priests, consecrated persons, lay people, catechists...), and whose purpose is to promote initiatives related to the Jubilee in the local churches.

Secondly, there is the cultural commission, in charge of elaborating cultural activities of various genres, such as exhibitions, concerts or performances, as well as evaluating the different cultural proposals that come to the Dicastery. The start of the cultural activities will begin with an exhibition in a church in Piazza Navona of the Spanish artist El Greco. The exhibition will feature works that have never left Spain and the theme will revolve around "hope in Christ," the central theme of the Jubilee. Works from a theological triptych will be on display: Baptism, Christ embracing the cross y El Salvador blessing.

For its part, the communication commission brings together, among others, journalists and social media experts, while the ecumenical commission will promote interreligious dialogue around the theme of hope and organize events in connection with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which coincides with 2025.

The technical committee will be in charge of logistical matters, management of the basilicas, security, health, volunteers, etc.

Jubilee preparation

In preparation for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis has dedicated the year 2023 to the rediscovery of the four constitutions of the Second Vatican Council. For this purpose, the Dicastery has published the Council Notebooks. For the moment, in addition to Italian, these texts can only be found in Spanish, thanks to the speed with which the BAC publishing house has translated them under the name of Council Booklets. Materials for the preparation of the Jubilee 2025.. However, translation into other languages is in progress.

The year 2024 will be dedicated to prayer in preparation for the final stretch of the Jubilee.

Jubilee slogan and logo

The theme of the Jubilee will be "Pilgrims of Hope". The logo represents humanity arriving from four points of the earth, on a sea that symbolizes the difficulties of life, but embracing each other and the cross of Christ as a sign of communion. It is shaped like a sail and ends in an anchor that sinks into the sea, symbol of hope, faith, security and certainty in the victory of good over evil.

In addition, the official Jubilee anthem has also been announced, which was selected in a competition that had 270 participants from 38 different countries. The text to be set to music was by Pierangelo Sequeri, and the music selected, once the jury's decision is known, will be by Francesco Meneghello.

Website and app

Starting tomorrow, the Jubilee website (www.iubileum2025.va), which will be available in nine different languages. In September, registration will be open on this website to participate in the Jubilee events and the pilgrimage to the Holy Door.

Through the website, you can find information about the Holy Door and the basilicas, as well as all the news of the Jubilee.

Also starting in September, the Pilgrim's Area will be active, which is the personal area of those who have formalized their registration. The pilgrim will receive a digital version of the Pilgrim's Card, with a QR code necessary to access the events, both for individual pilgrims and groups.

In addition, if the pilgrim makes a donation, with this card he/she can also get discounts in transportation, restaurants, etc.

The Jubilee app will also be available in September, iubilaeum2025, for iOS and Android.

The Jubilee, a door to hope

The ordinary Jubilee will begin with the opening of St. Peter's Holy Door in December 2024. There will be numerous events for different profiles (artists, security forces, families, meetings...). The youth meeting is scheduled from July 28 to August 3, 2025.

Accompanying the preparations for the Jubilee are these words of Pope Francis: "We must keep alight the flame of hope that has been given to us, and do everything possible so that everyone may regain the strength and certainty to look to the future with an open mind, a trusting heart and a broad outlook".

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  • The Central Committee of German Catholics, irritated by reluctance to its proposals, wants to "assume leadership".
The World

The Central Committee of German Catholics, irritated by reluctance to its proposals, wants to "assume leadership".

Irme Stetter-Karp, the president of the Committee, declares herself "furious" and proposes to unilaterally change the rules governing the Synodal Way, so that the bishops cannot veto decisions. She also says that a Church as an "absolutist system of power" must come to an end.

José M. García Pelegrín-May 9, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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At its most recent assembly, held last weekend, the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) reaffirmed its determination to pursue its "reformist course." The president of the ZdK, Irme Stetter-Karpexpressed his "fury" over the recent reactions of some bishops and cardinals of the Curia to the decisions of the Synodal Way. Specifically he referred to the Cardinal's reply Arthur RocheThe letter was issued by the Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, in a letter dated March 29. The Synodal Way had voted to allow bishops to grant permission for lay people to preach within the celebration of the Eucharist and to administer sacraments such as Baptism, Anointing of the Sick and Marriage.

Cardinal Roche recalled the Instruction "Ecclesiae de misterio" (1997), according to which the homily of a Eucharistic celebration is reserved to priests or deacons, without the diocesan bishop being authorized to grant a dispensation. It also recalled that this instruction spoke of "mission territories" and "cases of special need" for lay people to be extraordinary ministers of Baptism; and warned of a lax interpretation: "It does not appear that such situations exist in any diocese in the area of the German bishops"; therefore, "there is no approved rite in German for the celebration of Baptism by an extraordinary minister".

For Stetter-Karp, this and similar responses mean that "we are experiencing a Church that is characterized at various levels by men who cement their power, reject developments and further deepen the rifts between the Church and the world." This Church - he continued - must come to an end "as an absolutist system of power".

In addition to insisting that the decisions of the Synodal Way be implemented in all German dioceses, he emphasized that the constituent session of the "Synodal Commission" will be held in November. Its creation was decided in September 2022, at the 4th Plenary Assembly of the Synodal Way. Initially it was planned to create a "Synodal Council" which, at the national level, would coordinate the work of the Bishops' Conference (DBK) and the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK), and at the diocesan level it would be a governing body with the participation of lay people, who could even impose themselves on the respective bishop. However, the Vatican prohibited - not once, but on several occasions - the creation of such a governing body "at the national, diocesan or parish level".

To get around this prohibition, there was now talk of a "Synodal Commission" which, in addition to preparing the "Synodal Council", would be responsible for resolving questions which, due to lack of time, could not be the subject of the Synodal Assemblies. In order to achieve a fait accompli, the presidents of the Synodal Way -Mons. Georg Bätzing, president of the DBK and Irme Stetter-Karp, president of the ZdK, hastened to set the date for the constituent session of this "Synodal Commission": November 10 and 11. This announcement came as a surprise to the bishops, who had not been consulted before. Rudolf Voderholzer of Regensburg responded by reminding them that the resolutions of the Synodal Assembly are not legally binding in themselves and that a resolution of the Bishops' Conference is required, which also applies to the creation of a "Synodal Commission".

Therefore, Stetter-Karp is now demanding that, in this future body, some of the rules that have hitherto governed the Synodal WayThe requirement that resolutions be adopted with a double two-thirds majority: that of all the assembly members and that of the bishops. Now, the requirement of two-thirds of the bishops would no longer be accepted, since it would mean that a minority of bishops could veto a resolution. She pointed out that a minority of German bishops had expressed in recent months "fundamental doubts about the legitimacy of the path taken". For the president of the ZdK, that would be a "sign of weakness" on the part of the German Bishops' Conference. Matthias Sellmann, a pastoral theologian from Bochum, went even further: the ZdK should now take the lead in the process.

However, the financing of the "..." has yet to be clarified.Synodical Commission"The Standing Council of the German Bishops' Conference was to have taken a decision on the matter in April. The President of the ZdK now expects such a decision to be made in June.

In this context, Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, who participates in the "support group" for the synodal process in the diocese of Basel (Switzerland) and who had been invited to the ZdK meeting, referred to the fact that, in Switzerland, the decision on finances is not made by the bishops, but to a large extent by lay bodies. Thomas Söding, vice-president of the ZdK, asked, "Why is it not standard practice that those who pay the church tax decide on its use?"

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The Vatican

A website and an app to prepare for Jubilee 2025

Rome Reports-May 9, 2023-Reading time: < 1 minute
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The Holy See Press Office has released the first steps leading up to the celebration of the Jubilee of 2025.

A website and an app will help pilgrims prepare for the Jubilee year.

As the year 2025 approaches, the Dicastery and the Municipality of Rome are collaborating to accommodate and welcome the more than two million pilgrims estimated to attend the Jubilee in two years' time.

AhNow 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.
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The Vatican

The protection of minors is also central in the Churches of first evangelization

A collaboration agreement has been signed in the Vatican between the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and the Dicastery for Evangelization, through which both the Churches of long tradition and those of recent foundation will be able to develop a program for the protection of minors. 

Giovanni Tridente-May 9, 2023-Reading time: 5 minutes

A collaboration agreement has been signed at the Vatican between the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors (Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith) and the Dicastery for Evangelization: the formation of bishops and the exchange of good practices are fundamental.

Not only the Churches of ancient history and tradition, but also the Churches of recent foundation may further develop special care and attention for the protection of minors and vulnerable persons, in order to give an adequate response in all those circumstances in which the clergy are unfortunately guilty of such behaviors.

All this will be possible thanks to a "specific agreement of collaboration and exchange" signed on April 21 by Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, proprefect of the Section for First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and Cardinal Patrick O'Malley, OFMCap, president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.

There will be three specific areas in which the collaboration between the two bodies of the Roman Curia will be concretized.

Attention to victims

A first focus will be on victims. The agreement states that more effective ways of including victims will be identified, based on previous experience. In this regard, the network of so-called Memorare Centers will be developed to help dioceses set up offices to listen to victims and, where appropriate, facilitate complaints. 

Through these Centers it will be possible to host informative sessions by members and staff of the Vatican Commission, in order to provide more updated procedures on safeguarding.

Service to the dioceses

A second service will concern individual dioceses, with greater and more specific attention to bishops during visitations. ad limina to Rome. 

The Commission will offer meetings and conferences to foster a deeper understanding of how best to exercise child protection in each country and will take the opportunity to urge the adoption and implementation of the guidelines required by the Vatican for each diocese.

Support for the bishops 

With individual pastors of local Churches in mind, the Commission will make its international network of experts available to them so that bishops are more aware of their role in listening to victims, creating safe environments for minors and vulnerable people, and handling complaints.

It will be both ongoing formation and an initial criterion to be given to newly appointed bishops, obviously in the ecclesiastical circumscriptions under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Evangelization. 

Finally, a special collaboration will be carried out with the Pontifical Work of Missionary Childhood, which depends on the Dicastery and is present in more than 130 countries, focusing especially on the missionary protagonism of children in favor of their needy peers. 

In this regard, the agreement provides for the exchange of information and the promotion of synergistic actions in the field of education and prevention.

In line with the reform of the Curia

The signing of the document is in line with the provisions of the apostolic constitution. Praedicate Evangelium on the reform of the Roman Curia, to ensure the sharing of common service criteria among the various bodies, especially in the area of the protection of minors and the most vulnerable.

The Agreement - which will have an initial duration of three years - also responds to the specific request Pope Francis made to the Commission for the Protection of Minors in April of last year, when he received its members in audience, to help the Bishops identify and share the "best methodsThe "guardianship" program is also helping to heal survivors and "the survivors' rights".taking into account that justice and prevention are complementary"..

The results of this collaboration will be collected annually in the Report on Safeguarding in the Church, which will be given to the Pontiff, as he requested in the same audience last year.

A great opportunity

For Cardinal O'Malley, president of the Pontifical Commission, the initiative represents a great opportunity to provide a fundamental service also to those dioceses in which economic resources are often limited, but which should not miss the opportunity to develop adequate programs to welcome victims of abuse. 

It is essential, in fact, to ensure "a strong pastoral involvement with those who have been injured" and to continue to guarantee safe places for children and young people.

More training

For his part, Cardinal Tagle judges this Agreement as "a great exercise in interdicasterial work".This is evidently the result of the recent reform of the Roman Curia, which is more oriented to the formative aspect: "This is what I see: the formation in this field of bishops, priests, seminarians, religious.".

In addition, it is necessary to "better understand the impact of abuse and violent behavior on the lives of individuals and communities."even in those territories of first evangelization where the Church still represents a small community. For Cardinal Tagle, finally, we cannot rule out an extension of this perspective of protection, which obviously must be made even more "culture in the Church".to other Dicasteries of the Holy See.

Indeed, in addition to the concern for the clergy, we must not forget other areas where abuses occur, such as the family - thus involving the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life - or where situations of poverty occur - involving in this case the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development.

Doctrine of faith

Since March 2022, the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, by virtue of the new Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, has been placed within the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, although with its own autonomy in terms of personnel, members and proposals, and with its own Delegate President who directs it.

Among the mandates received from Pope Francis is that of overseeing the directives that the Episcopal Conferences are called upon to adopt to protect minors and to respond appropriately to these behaviors (art. 78, 2 of the Praedicate Evangelium), especially to ensure that they do not lose their effectiveness and are verified in a timely manner.

The Commission has the responsibility to create Church-wide reporting mechanisms for those who have suffered abuse. This is something that was first codified in the Motu Proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi 2019, the fruit of the Pope's meeting that same year with the Church's top leaders.

It will be in the hands of the Annual Report requested by the Pope to describe in detail the nature of the adequacy of safeguarding policies and procedures adopted at all levels of the Church, including their implementation and effectiveness, highlighting good practices and providing appropriate feedback. A "vital tool" to reinforce the credibility of the Church's efforts in this sad area of sexual abuse.

New members

The Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors was instituted by a chirograph on March 22, 2014, one year after the election of Pope Francis. In April 2015 the Statute was approved; in March 2022, with the publication of the new Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, the body was integrated, as mentioned above, into the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Finally, in September last year, Pope Francis appointed ten new members, including seven women and three men, bringing their number to 20. 

With the resignation of Jesuit Hans Zollner, there are now 19 members. The Plenary Assembly of the Commission is expected shortly, which should also better define the recent integration with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

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Vocations

Mon Carmelo: "In the Philippines there are neighborhoods where they only receive Communion once a month".

Mon Carmelo decided at a very young age to leave everything to follow the Lord's call. His desire was to be able to bring the Eucharist to those neighborhoods in the Philippines where there are hardly any priests. Today, years later, he has fulfilled that dream and has baptized 50 children in three weeks. 

Sponsored space-May 9, 2023-Reading time: 6 minutes
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Mon Carmelo Fidel Marcaida comes from a Catholic family and entered the seminary at a very young age. He studied theology at the Bidasoa International Seminary in Pamplona. With great simplicity and good humor he tells us about his experience and pastoral work at present, as well as the challenges that a priest lives in the Philippines today. He is currently parochial vicar in the diocese of Masbate.

What was your vocation like?

-I come from a very Catholic family, and I have an uncle who is a priest. I entered the Minor Seminary when I was 12 years old, but I had no idea what it was, I went because some friends of mine were there. I was about 15 years old when I began to discover my vocation. Seeing the priests at Mass, I thought: "I want one day to go out and celebrate Mass like them". That's how it all started.

After four years in the Minor Seminary, I decided to enter the Major Seminary to become a priest. But I was 17 years old and there came a time when I thought: "No, I'm too young and I'm already giving my whole life to be a priest. I haven't enjoyed any of my life yet, it's too soon, I'm not sure yet." Besides, I was in a moment of great spiritual dryness. I talked to my parents and told them I wanted to leave the seminary. So I went to another university, to study another career.

I wanted to try to know myself well, making sure that the Lord was calling me. I played soccer at a university, I had many friends, many parties, a normal life of a university student, which is very different from the life of a seminarian. But after almost two years I said to myself: "No, I believe that the Lord is calling me to be a priest". I didn't know what was going to happen, but I decided to think about it. I spent five months in discernment, with prayer, spiritual direction, formation, Mass... Thank God, after those five months I spoke with the bishop and my formator and decided to return to the seminary.

How did you come to Pamplona to do your studies?

I did four years of philosophy and then the rector called me to talk about the possibility of studying theology. The rector asked me where I wanted to study and I told him that I wanted to study in Manila, which is very close to my city and was very convenient for me. But he told me: "We want to send you to Spain to study theology there". I was in shock and then I started crying in front of the rector. I was so scared and I told him: "I can't, I can't. I study, but I'm not that smart. I study, but I am not smart enough to be able to be out of the country and do another degree in another language. No, no, no, no way, I'm not going to do it, it's impossible, I can't do it".

I kept crying, so the rector told me: "Come on, you better go to the chapel, pray a little and in two weeks we'll talk again". I went to the chapel right away. I didn't understand anything. I said to myself: "How can this be? I want to decide my future, I have everything planned and it is clear to me that I am going to study in Manila. I kept saying to the Lord: "This going to Spain, it is not your will, is it? I cannot do it, and You know it", I was talking to Him like this.

It was two weeks of very intense prayer. Then I began to think that being a priest is pure obedience to the will of the Lord and the will of the bishop, who is an instrument of the Holy Spirit. I thought that, when I became a priest, I would always have to be willing to do the Lord's will and that going to Spain was his will at that moment. I decided to accept out of pure obedience. At least try, because, to get the scholarship to study in Spain or Rome you have to compete among dioceses and among seminarians, they make you interviews, exams....

We were eight seminarians for a scholarship. Imagine that. I was with them and I saw that they were very intelligent and I thought for sure they were not going to give it to me. They were among the best in Philippinesand they chose me! I thought, "Surely the Holy Spirit is moving around here".

How was your experience in Spain?

When I arrived at the seminary in Spain, the first thing I did was to go directly to the chapel and get on my knees and pray: "Lord, I am already here, I know that it is your will, I know that you have brought me here and I trust that you are going to take me back to the Philippines without any failed subjects".

Then, it was a difficult process, it was very hard for me to learn Spanish and to be with people from different countries and cultures. But it is also true that Bidasoa welcomed me very well, and the first thing I felt was: "I am at home". Bidasoa made me feel like a member of a big family, with people who are always looking out for everything you need. Bidasoa has helped me a lot. I always say that being ordained a priest has been the fruit of prayer: of my parents, of my friends, of the people, and my own prayer too, despite my failures, of being a sinner and not being worthy to receive ordination and the priesthood.

What is your current pastoral work?

-I am in a parish as a parochial vicar, we are three priests (one pastor and two vicars). I teach Latin at the Minor Seminary and Spanish at a university here in my diocese (although I don't speak it very well, I teach Spanish).

He speaks it very well!

(laughs)

How do you value the support of the benefactors of the CARF Foundation in facilitating the studies of priests or future priests in Rome or Pamplona? 

-Here in the Philippines, studying in the seminary is very expensive. There are many boys who want to become priests, but because of money they don't enter the seminary. And that makes me very sad and worries me a lot. I am very grateful to have parents who have been able to support me and the Foundation. CARFIt has helped me a lot to be able to respond well to the call of the Lord. Besides, they take you to study in the best university, the best seminary, you are in a huge house (for me it is like a five-star hotel, without comparison with the seminaries here in the Philippines) and with the best education to form me well and then administer the sacraments to the people who need them. For that I am very grateful. Paying for the seminary is not easy.

Once they have finished their studies, the CARF Foundation gives them the famous backpack of sacred vessels. What does it contain?

-It has a chalice, a paten, cruets for wine and water, and also everything you need for the anointing of the sick, baptisms and confession. Only with this backpack, you have everything you need to celebrate any sacrament.

Mon Carmelo's backpack

I have used it many times, because here in the Philippines there are many barrios. In my parish we say about 5 masses a day, one in the parish and four outside, in the chapels, in the barrios, in the mountains... You can't imagine what the life of a priest is like here. In Spain it is very different, because you can get anywhere by car. Here you have to ride a horse, a boat, a boat... It's a story. You have to travel for hours, walk on trails or rivers to get to a neighborhood to celebrate Holy Mass. That's why I'm very grateful to the Foundation CARF for the backpack.

Then this backpack is very important for your activity.

-Yes, it is very important. I always have it next to my door, like a doctor, who has to be always ready for everything. "Father, see if you can celebrate Mass or administer the anointing"..., and I have everything there.

When I celebrated Holy Mass for the first time with this backpack, the truth is that I was reminded of my time in the seminary. One day I was asked: "Why do you want to become a priest? And I answered that to bring to the people the Eucharist, which is the source of Christian life. Here in the Philippines there are many places that have the possibility of receiving Communion only once a month. I have seen so many people who are thirsty for the sacraments, especially the sacrament of the Eucharist, and sometimes the priests do not come to celebrate Mass for them. So one of the reasons I wanted to be a priest was to bring the Eucharist to the people, and with this backpack I am fulfilling that dream. Surely the Lord has planted all these desires in my heart, to want to be a priest to bring the sacraments to these neighborhoods.

Do you have any anecdotes related to this backpack?

-I don't know if you know the movie John Wickwhich is Keanu Reeves' action movie. He has a backpack of weapons, guns, bullets, bombs, and he always carries it with him too. One time I took the backpack out in a neighborhood and opened it. I put it on the table and some kids said to me, "You look like John Wick, who always carries his gun backpack, and you, Mon Carmelo, always carry that priest backpack too." I laughed so hard. Yes, it is my gun satchel. I have been ordained to bring the sacraments to the people where the priests do not reach. With this backpack I am doing all that. It has been very easy. This backpack, here at least, costs a lot of money. So I am very grateful for this gift. I call it my gun backpack, my doctor's backpack. But gun backpack sounds better. It is complete, it has everything.

I am really enjoying it very much. After 15 years of waiting, this moment has come to be able to celebrate Mass, to be with the people, listening, praying, administering the sacraments....

Thanks to the CARF Foundation, I am eternally grateful. I ask the benefactors to continue helping to be able to buy the briefcases, how many people will benefit from this briefcase. How many people will be able to receive the Lord for their help. A benefactress of the CARF Foundation, when they gave it to me, told me: "Don't forget us when you celebrate Holy Mass. Every time I open this backpack, I remember and pray for them. I always remember.

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Books

Love in C. S. Lewis

The author, based on C.S. Lewis' "The Four Loves", talks about affection, friendship, courtesy and companionship.

Santiago Leyra Curiá-May 8, 2023-Reading time: 5 minutes
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C.S. Lewis states in his famous book "The four loves" that, since God is blessed, omnipotent and creator, in human life happiness, strength, freedom and fruitfulness (mental or physical) constitute similarities with the divine. However, no one thinks that the possession of these gifts has a necessary relationship with our sanctification; none of these qualities constitutes a passport to Heaven.

C.S. Lewis and the Art of Love

Our imitation of God in this life has to be an imitation of the incarnate God: our model is Jesus. He of Calvary, of the workshop, of the roads, of the crowds, of the clamorous demands and harsh enmities, of the lack of peace and quiet, of the continually interrupted. All this, so strangely different from what we might think of as the divine life in itself, but so similar to what the life of the incarnate God was.

C.S. Lewis (Flickr / Levan Ramishvili)

In the beauty of nature C.S. Lewis found a meaning to the words glory of God: "I do not see how the phrase "fear of God" could say anything to me if it had not been for the contemplation of certain imposing and inaccessible cliffs; and if nature had not awakened in me certain longings, immense areas of what is called "love of God" would not have existed in me". 

Those who do not love those who live in the same town, the neighbors they often see, will hardly come to love the people they have not come to see. It is not love to love one's children only if they are good, one's wife only if she is physically well preserved, one's husband only as long as he is successful. Every love has its art of loving.

As Ovid said, "if you want to be loved, be kind". C.S. Lewis says that some women are likely to have few suitors and some men are likely to have few friends, because they have nothing or little to offer them. But he says that almost anyone can become the object of affection because there need not be anything manifestly valuable between those whom affection unites.

Affection

Affection is the most humble love, it does not give itself importance; it lives in the realms of the private and the simple. The best affection does not wish to hurt or dominate or humiliate. The better the affection, the more it is right in tone and timing.

Affection, besides being a love in itself, can become part of other loves and color them completely. Without affection, the other loves might not fare so well.

Befriending someone is not the same as being affectionate with him, but when our friend has become an old friend, everything about him becomes familiar. Affection teaches us to observe the people who are there, then to put up with them, then to smile at them, then to like them, and finally to appreciate them.

God and his saints love what is unlovable. Affection can love what is unattractive, it does not expect too much, it turns a blind eye to the faults of others, it easily recovers after a quarrel, as it is kind, it forgives. It discovers the good that we might not have seen or that, without it, we might not have appreciated.

Affection produces happiness if there is, and only if there is, common sense, honesty and justice, that is, if something more is added to mere affection. Justice, honesty and common sense stimulate affection when it declines. As in all love, affection needs kindness, patience and self-denial, which can elevate the affection itself above itself.

Courtesy

There is a difference between courtesy that is required in public and domestic courtesy. The basic principle for both is the same: "that no one should give himself any kind of preference". In public, a code of behavior is followed. At home, one must live by what is expressed in that code, otherwise one will experience the overwhelming triumph of whoever is more selfish. Those who forget their manners when they come home after a social gathering do not really live a true courtesy here either, they only imitate those who live it.

The more familiar the meeting is, the less formality there is; but that does not mean that the need for education is less. At home, anything can be said in the right tone, at the right moment, a tone and moment that have been designed not to hurt and, in fact, do not hurt.                                                                         

Who has not found himself in the uncomfortable situation of being a guest at a family table where the father or mother has treated his or her grown-up child with a discourtesy that, if addressed to any other young person, would have meant simply ending all relations between them? Certain defects in the family politeness of adults provide an easy answer to the questions: why are they always away, why do they like any house better than their own home?

Friendship

Few value friendship because there are few who experience it. Indeed, we can live without friendship, without friends. Without conjugal love or eros, none of us who live would have been engendered and, without affection, we could not have grown and developed. But we can live and grow without friends.  

Friendship is the world of freely chosen relationships. Friendship is selective, it is the affair of a few. I have no obligation to be anyone's friend and no human being in the world has a duty to be mine. Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like the artThe universe itself, because God did not need to create.

Each member of the circle of friends, in his intimacy, feels small before all the others. Sometimes he wonders what he is doing among them. He feels lucky, lucky to be in their company without merit. Although for some people today, behaviors that do not show an animal origin are suspicious, friendship is the least biological of all loves.

If lovers are usually face to face (love between a man and a woman is necessarily between two people), on the other hand, friends go side by side sharing a common interest and two, far from being the number required by friends, is not even the best. True friendship is the least jealous of loves. Two friends are happy when they are joined by a third... a fourth....

Beyond partnership

A forerunner of friendship is found in the companionship of clubs, gatherings, etc. But friendship arises outside the mere companionship, when two or more companions discover that they have in common some ideas or interests or, simply, some tastes that the others do not share and that until that moment each one thought that it was his own and only treasure or his cross. For that reason, the typical expression with which a friendship is usually initiated can be something like this: "What, you too? I thought I was the only one.

In friendship, it is not a matter of always acting solemnly. God, who made healthy laughter, forbids it. As someone said, "Man, please your Maker, may you be content and not give a damn about the world."

The authorSantiago Leyra Curiá

Corresponding member of the Royal Academy of Jurisprudence and Legislation of Spain.

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Initiatives

José María Arizmendiarrieta: the company at the service of the human being

The priest, declared Venerable, promoted a business model based on the Social Doctrine of the Church. The European Parliament organized seminars in which his project, the Mondragon Corporation, was discussed.

Loreto Rios-May 8, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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On Wednesday, May 3, the round table "Towards a new model for Europe's companies" took place at the European Parliament in Brussels, with the participation of members of the European Commission and the European Commission. Arizmendiarrieta Foundation and COMECE, among others.

The event was subtitled "From the Mondragon experience towards a participatory and inclusive business model". In the afternoon, a round table on the same theme was held in the ecumenical Chapel for Europe, in which the Spanish model of the Mondragon Corporation.

José María Arizmendiarrieta

This model emerged based on the Social Doctrine of the Church, promoted by the Venerable José María Arizmendiarrieta.

Arizmendiarrieta (1915-1976) was a Catholic priest originally from a rural area of the Basque Country. In 1922 he entered the Minor Seminary of Castillo-Elejabeitia. Due to the Civil War, he could not be ordained until 1940. In 1941 he was sent to the parish of San Juan Bautista, in the industrial town of Mondragón (Guipúzcoa).

There, he sought to Christianize the world of work and founded the Mondragon Professional School. "Before being an employee, before being a worker, before everything else, you are baptized," he said. In the 1950s he founded Ulgor, a company that sought a reform in the concept of the company that was centered on the person and not on exploiting him, as well as the San José Cooperative and the Caja Laboral. He considered that "the working world will not believe in the social doctrine of the Church if it does not see it incarnated in the reality of social works".

A more humane business model

"The cooperative formula requires that human activity share and involve higher human values, so that work, capital, [business] organization are not ends in themselves, but means to better serve higher human interests," it states in the statutes for Talleres Ulgor. "The company cannot and should not lose any of its efficiency virtues because of the fact that human values enjoy a clear prevalence over purely economic or material resources; on the contrary, it should accentuate its efficiency and quality".

He also considered that the Christian's mission "is to demonstrate to society that business can be organized in a more humane way and that man can be treated as his dignity requires without detriment to productivity, quite the contrary".

An example of the results of these efforts is the cooperative company Eroski, which emerged from this impulse and belongs to the Mondragon Corporation.

Event in Brussels with the collaboration of the Arizmendiarrieta Foundation.

The event in Brussels, organized by the European Parliament and the Commission of European Episcopal Conferences, was attended by the Bishop of Bilbao, Monsignor Joseba Segura, two European experts, John Kearns and Lucy Anns, and two members of the Governing Council of the Arizmendiarrieta Foundation, Jon Emaldi and Gaspar Martínez.

Topics such as how to achieve more humane and competitive European companies or the importance of the Mondragon cooperative experience were discussed, as well as the model of company participatory and inclusive, among others.

For the Arizmendiarrieta Foundation, the seminar organized jointly with the European Parliament and the Commission of European Bishops' Conferences on the "European Year of Intercultural Dialogue" was a great opportunity for the European Parliament and the Commission of European Bishops' Conferences. Inclusive participatory business model has meant a qualitative leap in its diffusion at an international level and a step that brings us closer to the possibility of the proposal being evaluated by some European body, an aspect on which we will be working in the near future. It is, on the other hand, a complement to the favorable reception it has already had so far in Catholic environments, such as UNIAPAC (association of the 43 national organizations of managers and entrepreneurs around the world, with more than 40,000 affiliates), the Economy of Francis and the Dicastery for Integral Human Development itself", says Juan Manuel Sinde, president of the Arizmendiarrieta Foundation.

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Saint Athanasius. Fidelity and fortitude

The fourth century was marked by great heresies and crises, but also by great theologians who defended Catholic doctrine, often at the cost of great suffering. One of these great Fathers is St. Athanasius, whom the Church commemorates every May 2.

Antonio de la Torre-May 8, 2023-Reading time: 5 minutes

We have seen the tremendous earthquake that the heresy of Arius provoked in a Church that was entering an era of stability and prosperity after the peace of Constantine. The first years of the fourth century, in fact, brought social peace for Christianity, but at the same time witnessed the outbreak of a long war between Arians and Nicenes. The former defended the doctrines of the Alexandrian Arius, which for many bishops represented a bridge to the dominant culture of the time and for others represented a certain continuity with their theological and cultural traditions. The latter defended the orthodoxy established at the Council of Nicaea, in which they saw the best way to safeguard the Trinitarian doctrine and faith in the divinity of Christ, considered the fundamental pillar of the Church's saving message.

A combative and brilliant bishop

In this convulsive environment, and forming the main part of the second side, not to say that he is its leader, we find the powerful figure of St. Athanasius. As with other holy fathers, we know very little about his origin and his early years. It seems that he may have been born in the years before 300, since in the first decades of the fourth century he carried out his ministry as a deacon as a close collaborator of Alexander, the bishop of Alexandria who had to face the outbreak of the Arian crisis.

In 328, three years after the Council of Nicaea, he was appointed bishop of Alexandria. He had to confront the doctrines of Arius in the same diocese of the heretic, which was also affected by other tensions, such as the Meletian schism. The fight against Arianism will be a pressing priority in his episcopal magisterium, which he will develop throughout his life in brilliant pastoral and theological writings. Even so, he would not neglect the guidance of his faithful in the most diverse facets of the life of a community, as we see in his extensive collection of Easter Letterswritten annually to announce Easter to the Egyptian dioceses that depended on Alexandria.

 In any case, the urgency that St. Athanasius perceives in the Arian question is motivated by what it implies as a denial of the Church's saving message. In fact, Arius maintains that the Word (Logos), the Son of God, does not share the divine essence with the Father, being a kind of created god (more in keeping with the dominant culture of Neoplatonic Hellenism). But the Christian tradition affirmed that humanity could only be saved, restored, renewed and recreated if it became solidary with a truly divine Word, as happens in the Incarnation. In this salvific mystery par excellence, the one who unites himself to humanity is someone fully divine, and therefore can communicate to men the salvific gifts of incorruptibility, immortality, divinization and knowledge of God.

Ultimately, the salvation of man is only possible if humanity is assumed in the Incarnation by someone truly divine. If the Word is not God, man is not saved, and furthermore, the Trinitarian preaching of the Christian tradition is invalidated. Given the seriousness of these consequences, we understand the urgency with which St. Athanasius fought the Arian heresy. This polemic, however, he developed it with a very firm tone, strong theological positions, little pastoral condescension and a relationship with bishops and rulers that was not at all political. For this reason he was the object of denunciations and rejections, which were concretized in the Synod of Tyre in 335, where a committee of philo-Arian bishops forced the deposition of St. Athanasius and obtained from the emperor Constantine his banishment to Trier, in remote Gaul.

Roads of exile

Thus began his long journey through the deserts of exile, to which his firm adherence to Nicene orthodoxy and his complex relationships with bishops and emperors led him throughout his life. He suffered five exiles under five successive emperors: Constantine (335-337), Constantius I (339-345), Constantius II (356-361), Julian (362-363) and Valens (365-366, a few years after his death in 373). These experiences, however, were cause for lucid reflections. Thus, the Easter Letter X (written from Trier) and the Speech against the Arianswritten at the same time, are two fundamental works in the long polemic with Arianism.

During his second exile, this time in Rome, he will write his important treatise on The decrees of the Council of Nicaea. The Council had chosen the term homoousios (of the same essence or nature) to define how the Father and the Son share the same ousia divine. St. Athanasius will clearly defend this term, which, on the other hand, will identify the minority section of those bishops, the homoousianswho defended the Nicene orthodoxy. Among them was also St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers, and author of a very important theological treatise About the Trinitythe first of its kind.

The next exile was in the desert, where he was sent by Constantius II. But once again in this situation, St. Athanasius enriched his thought and literary production. His stay in the desert brought him into contact with the great monastic tradition of the Egyptian desert, founded by St. Anthony Abbot. About him, St. Athanasius will write his Life of AntonioThe monks are presented as the custodians of the true doctrinal and spiritual tradition and, therefore, firm adversaries of Arianism and protectors of those who, like St. Athanasius, suffer for opposing it. The monks present themselves as custodians of the true doctrinal and spiritual tradition and, therefore, firm adversaries of Arianism and protectors of those who, like St. Athanasius, suffer for opposing it. In order to exhort the faithful of Egypt to remain faithful to the truth and not to fall into the nets of compromise and false unity, he writes a vibrant Letter to the Bishops of Egypt and LibyaIn the face of the confusion and division among the bishops, he urged them not to approve in their dioceses formulas of faith opposed to Nicea or ambiguous.

Tradition, saved

For years, St. Athanasius continued to be involved in conflicts, ecclesiastical tensions, episcopal ambiguities, succession crises of the emperors and recurrent banishments. In fact, the earthquake unleashed by Arius would not cease in the East until the Emperor Theodosius decreed Nicene orthodoxy. homoousiana However, despite not seeing the end of the crisis, St. Athanasius remained faithful to his mission of explaining, defending and spreading the doctrine received from the Apostolic Tradition.

He will still write the Letters to SerapionIn it we have an important reflection on the theology of the Holy Spirit: that the Nicene faith declares that the Father and the Son share the same and unique divine essence does not mean denying the divinity of the Holy Spirit. Although St. Athanasius tends to emphasize the unity within the Trinity (so as not to lower the divinity of the Son), he will not forget the rich Alexandrian theological tradition, very interested in the diversity of the three divine persons and their relationships among themselves: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Finally, we can highlight its Easter Letter XXXIX (already of the year 367), in which he expounds the tradition of the diocese of Alexandria on the books accepted in the canon of Sacred Scripture. We have in it one of the oldest expositions of the tradition of the Holy Fathers on the canon of the Bible. 

The courage of St. Athanasius, his fortitude, his fidelity to the doctrine received from tradition, his acceptance of the orthodoxy defined at Nicaea and his brilliant ability as a writer and theologian, make him an exceptional figure. Thanks to him and to the great Fathers of the fourth century, Catholic doctrine was saved from succumbing to the worldliness of the Arian crisis, and thus the Church was able to continue to sustain its salvific mission in the midst of the world.

The authorAntonio de la Torre

Doctor of Theology

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Looking to heaven and the rosary for peace, proposals of the Pope

On this Fifth Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis suggested that "we should not allow ourselves to be swept away by the present" and that "we should look upwards, towards heaven, towards the goal", because "we are called to eternity, to the encounter with God". At the end of the Regina Caeli he encouraged us to pray the rosary "asking Our Lady for the gift of peace, especially in the martyred Ukraine".

Francisco Otamendi-May 7, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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On the Fifth Sunday of Easter, Pope Francis invited the Romans and pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square "not to be afraid," because the Lord shows us, in the Gospel of this Sunday's liturgy (Jn 14:1-12), where to go and how to go. Where "is heaven. Let us remember the goal. Let us think that we are called to eternity, to the encounter with God". And how to go: "The compass to reach heaven is to love Jesus," he said. 

In commenting on the Gospel passage, which narrates "the last discourse of Jesus before his death", the Pope He said: "The hearts of the disciples are troubled, but the Lord speaks reassuring words to them, inviting them not to be afraid. He, in fact, is not abandoning them, but is going to prepare a place for them, and to guide them towards that goal".

"The Lord thus indicates to all of us today the wonderful place to go. And at the same time, he tells us how to go. Where to go and how to go. He teaches us the way to go," the Pontiff explained. 

"Jesus uses the familiar image of the house, a place of relationships and intimacy. In the Father's house, he says to his friends and to each one of us, there is room for you, you are welcome, you will be welcomed forever with the warmth of an embrace, and I am in heaven preparing a place for you. He prepares us for that embrace with the Father, the place for all eternity," he added.

"Brothers and sisters, this word is a source of consolation, it is a source of hope for us. Jesus has not separated himself from us. He has opened the way for us, anticipating our final destiny, the encounter with God the Father, in whose heart there is a place, there is a place for each one of us."

Do not lose sight of the goal

"So," he continued, "when we experience fatigue, bewilderment, even failure, let us remember where our life is headed. We must not lose sight of the goal. Even if we run the risk of forgetting it, of forgetting the final questions, the important ones: where are we going? Where are we walking towards? Why is life worth living?"

"Sometimes, especially when there are big problems to face, there is the feeling that evil is stronger, and we ask ourselves: what should I do, what path should I follow? Let us listen to Jesus' answer," Francis continued. "I am the way, the truth and the life. Jesus himself is the way to follow, to live the truth and to have life in abundance. He is the way, and therefore, faith in him is not a package of ideas to believe in, no. It is a path to follow. No. It is a path to follow, a journey to accomplish, a journey with Him. It is to follow Jesus, because He is the way that leads to happiness that does not perish. 

"To follow Jesus is to imitate him," the Pope pointed out. "Especially with gestures of closeness and mercy towards others. This is the compass to reach heaven. To love Jesus, the way, becoming signs of his love on earth."

"And from heaven, from the heart, let us renew today the choice of Jesus, the choice to love Him, and to walk behind Him. May the Virgin Mary, who, following Jesus, has already reached the goal, sustain our hope," he concluded.

Asking Our Lady for the gift of peace

In his concluding remarks, after the prayer of the Regina caeli, the Pope informed that tomorrow at Pompeii In this month of May," he said, "let us pray the rosary asking the Blessed Virgin for the gift of peace, especially for the tormented Ukraine. May the leaders of the nations hear the cry of the people who desire peace".

Earlier, the Pope asked for a round of applause for two people who reached the altars yesterday. In Montevideo (Uruguay), the bishop was beatified. Jacinto VeraHe was a pastor who cared for his people, witnessed to the Gospel with a generous missionary impulse, and favored social reconciliation in a tense climate due to the civil war," he said.

"And in Granada (Spain), she has been beatified. Conchita Berrechegurenwho in 1927, at the age of 22, bedridden due to a serious illness, endured her sufferings with great spiritual strength, arousing admiration and consolation in everyone".

The Pontiff greeted faithful from many countries, in particular from Australia, Spain, England, and the students of St. Thomas College in Lisbon, among other pilgrims. Meter Association with its founder, don Fortunato di Noto, who are committed to preventing and combating violence against minors". Today they are celebrating the 28th day of child victims. "I am close to you and I accompany you with my prayers and my affection. Never tire of being on the side of the children. Christ the Child is there waiting for you," he said.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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RelatedRelated NewsThe dwelling places of the Father's house. Fifth Sunday of Easter (A)Related NewsPope calls for a Rosary for peace in Ukraine
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The World

The coronation of King Charles III, "profoundly Christian".

The coronation of King Charles III of the United Kingdom, and his wife Camilla as Queen Consort, by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, was "profoundly Christian", with the participation of "the whole spectrum of Christian denominations", as announced by the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Gerard Nichols. It has combined tradition with elements of a "multicultural and multi-faith" society, in the words of King Charles III.

Francisco Otamendi-May 7, 2023-Reading time: 6 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsFarewell to the Queen of England

Away from London's pomp and circumstance, the coronation of the King Charles III at Westminster Abbey has made all Christian denominations and other religious traditions visible. It was also an opportunity to offer a secularized world a religious ceremony, a reference to the transcendent, to the spiritual sphere, which millions of people around the world were able to watch on television and on the Internet.

A solemn ceremony was planned, "a thorough and faithful expression of Christian faith and hope," wrote the Cardinal Nicholsthe Primate of England and Wales. And so it was. The Primate had also recalled that "excluding the Vatican City State, there is only one other country in the world in which the inauguration of the Head of State takes place in a religious ceremony". 

"For us, it is an ancient tradition that contributes greatly to the sense of identity and continuity of this complex modern society and all that we bring to the world at large," he added. The Pope Francis was represented at the coronation by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State. The ceremony was attended by more than two thousand guests, diplomatic representatives from over two hundred countries and one hundred heads of state. 

Archbishop of Canterbury: "to serve". 

The Archbishop of CanterburyJustin Welby, Primate of the Anglican Church, who has just participated in an ecumenical peace pilgrimage to South Sudan with Pope Francis and Scottish Presbyterian pastor Iain Greenshields, anointed the king with the holy oils.

In his brief homily, the Archbishop of Canterbury noted that "the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, was anointed not to be served, but to serve. Service is love in action," care for the vulnerable, care for the young, care for the natural world. "We have seen these concerns in our king," he said.

"It is the Spirit of God who gives strength and draws us to love in action." So did Jesus, "who laid aside all privilege and gave his life. His throne was a cross and his crown was made of thorns. Each of us has received God's call to serve. Each of us can choose God's way today. Grant me the grace that in your service I may find perfect freedom," he concluded.

At the end of the ceremony, and before leaving Westminster Abbey, King Charles III was greeted by religious leaders of other traditions, who addressed him as "close in faith" and received a gesture of recognition from him. The British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, of Hindu origin and religion, read an excerpt from the Letter of St. Paul to the Colossians.

"Defender of the faith"

The coronation rite of King Charles III can be considered from different angles, but it has not been, as it is evident, a secular act. Millions of people were able to watch a meticulous ceremony that made Charles III "defender of the faith" and "supreme governor of the Church of England", an important reference of the Protestant tradition, in which the 'God save the King' was not missing.

Buckingham Palace had assured in a statement that the ceremony would reflect the current role of the monarch and look to the future, without leaving traditions behind. It further noted that "the coronation is a solemn religious service, along with an occasion for celebration and pageantry." 

The ceremony, and the events before and after, testified in this sense that "religion is not a private thing" and "that it can be shown in the public social sphere", contrary to the heritage received from the French Revolution, as the Jewish Harvard professor reflected. Joseph WeilerRatzinger Prize 2022, at an Omnes Forum.

Prayer for the king in parishes

The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales had requested that a Mass be celebrated on Friday, May 5, "for His Majesty the King on the occasion of his Coronation." It was also requested that at the end of the Mass, prior to the final blessing, a prayer be recited Prayer for the King. 

It was also noted that in the Sunday masses on May 7, parishes could include in the prayer of the faithful an intention for the King and the Royal Family, and at the end of the mass the Prayer for the King followed by singing Domine, salvum fac and/or the national anthem. The suggested text is as follows:

PRAYER FOR THE KING

O Lord, save Charles, our King.

And hear us on the day when we call upon you.

O Lord, hear my prayer.

And let my cry come before you.

The Lord be with you.

And with your spirit.

Almighty God, we pray,

that your servant Charles, our King,

who, by your providence has received the government of this kingdom,

may continue to grow in every virtue,

that, imbued with your heavenly grace,

be preserved from all that is harmful and evil

and, blessed with your favor

can, with his consort and the royal family,

finally reach your presence,

by Christ who is the way, the truth and the life

and who lives and reigns with you

in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

God, forever and ever.

Amen.

Details of the coronation ceremony

With a similar structure, for the past 900 years the ceremony has taken place at Westminster Abbey, and since 1066 the liturgical celebration has been conducted by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The coronation featured some of the ceremonies seen at the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II last year.

The opening words of the coronation of King Charles III that could be heard "are very significant," Cardinal Nichols has written. "The first to speak is a chorister, who says, 'Your Majesty, as children of the Kingdom of God we welcome you in the name of the King of Kings,' and King Charles responds, 'In your name, and according to your example, I come not to be served, but to serve.'"

"The ceremony that follows is profoundly Christian in every feeling and action, combining history and innovation, action and word, music and silent prayer," continued the cardinal, who recalled that "the history of these lands is deeply marked by our religious history. Until the sixteenth century, the coronation was Catholic. For the last four hundred years it has been a service of the Church of England and continues to be so". 

The Catholic Primate considers that "this time many aspects of the event reflect and reinforce the profoundly changed relationship between our two Churches". And it relates that, "as is well known, Pope Francis gave King Charles a relic of the true Cross of Christ. The relic was embedded in a silver cross, which will be carried at the head of the first procession on the coronation day."

Cardinal Vincent Gerard Nichols recalls that "the ceremony contains many traces of its Catholic origins: the chanting of the Kyriethe Veni Sancte Spiritusthe Te Deum and the Gloriawith an arrangement written in the 16th century by William Byrd for recusant Catholics".

And he reveals that "as Cardinal Archbishop of Westminster, I was invited to participate in the blessing of the newly crowned king, a development that represents a further step in the healing of our ancient common wounds."

Religious freedom in the United Kingdom

King Charles recently stated that he takes this oath as a "fully committed and devoted member of the Church of England." He also said that while this solemn duty is his constitutional duty, he also has other duties, less solemnly expressed but equally sincere. He explained that these are the duty to uphold the exercise of religious freedom in the United Kingdom and the welcome of people of other religious faiths and of all faiths."

One of the most important innovations of this coronation that has been witnessed, in the cardinal's opinion, "is that the king prays publicly, so that everyone can hear him. This prayer takes place immediately after the oath. 

The king prays: "Grant me to be a blessing to all your children, of all faiths and convictions, that together we may discover the ways of goodness and be guided in the paths of peace, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

The faith of Queen Elizabeth II 

A review of statements made during these months shows that Charles III follows in the footsteps of his mother, Elizabeth II, who died on September 8, 2022. Already when she was 21 years old, and six years away from becoming queen, transmitted a public commitment, saying: "I declare before all of you that all my life, whether long or short, I will dedicate to your service... God, help me to fulfill my vow well".

In her later years, Elizabeth II was increasingly explicit in her profession of religious faith, mainly through her annual Christmas messages, a tradition begun by her grandfather, George V, in 1932, and continued by her father, George VI. Thus he spoke about his faith: "For me, the teachings of Christ and my own personal responsibility before God provide a framework within which I try to conduct my life. I, like many of you, have derived great comfort in difficult times from the words and example of Christ."

English Cardinal Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has pointed out that "as supreme governor of the Church of England, the importance and example that the Queen gave to interfaith relations is something that King Charles III has sought to maintain, during these days of mourning in which he has agreed to accede to the throne and has visited the principal places in the United Kingdom." 

With Muslims

Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, Muslims of all ages signed a book of condolences during an interfaith ceremony at the Baitul Futuh Grand Mosque in London. "Our loyalty to the king" will be "as strong as the loyalty we show to her majesty the queen," said Rafiq HayatThe president of the British Ahamdiyya Muslim community.

"We believe he will be a very good leader for Muslims and that he will bring the different faiths together," especially because "when he speaks, people listen," and "this will have a lot of weight in the relations between the Muslim world, the Christian world and the Jewish world," he added.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Family

Hector Franceschi: "It is the marital consent of the spouses that creates the family."

Canonist Hector Franceschi explains the anthropological and juridical aspects of marriage and the family. He explains that "it is not the very existence of children that constitutes the family", but that the family has already been formed in the nuptial covenant.

Antonino Piccione-May 7, 2023-Reading time: 8 minutes
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Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on June 4, 1962, Héctor Franceschi is a priest incardinated in the Prelature of Opus Dei. He is a professor of Marriage Law at the Faculty of Canon Law of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he is Director of the Center for Legal Studies on the Family. He is also a judge of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of the Vicariate of Rome and of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Vatican City State.

Prof. Hector Franceschi, what is the meaning of the expression "legal anthropology of marriage", which since the late 1980s has been one of the central themes of your academic activity and scientific production?

-The juridical anthropology of marriage and the family seeks to study and understand each of the interpersonal relationships that constitute their framework, emphasizing the intrinsic juridical dimension of these relationships. From a perspective that we could call "juridical realism", according to which these realities are not mere cultural constructions or the result of the positive juridical orders of the States or of the Church.

Marriage and the family are original and originating realities, with their own intrinsic juridical dimension that must be recognized so that society, the Church and States can develop truly just normative systems that protect and promote the dignity of the human person, not understood as an isolated individual, but as a "being in relationship", which can only find its fulfillment in respect for the truth, for what "is", and in the search for the intrinsic and objective goods of family relationships.

An expression that is a child of the Holy Scriptures and that even finds explicit traces in some papal pronouncements: is it so?

-The expression "juridical anthropology of marriage" was taken up by Benedict XVI in his 2007 Address to the Roman Rota, affirming that "the anthropological and salvific truth of marriage - even in its juridical dimension - is already presented in Sacred Scripture. Jesus' response to the Pharisees who asked his opinion on the licitness of repudiation is well known: "Have you not read that the Creator from the beginning created them male and female, and said: 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder'" (Mt 19:4-6).

The quotations from Genesis (1:27; 2:24) re-propose the marital truth of the "beginning", that truth whose fullness is found in relation to the union of Christ with the Church (cf. Eph 5:30-31), and which was the subject of such extensive and profound reflections by Pope John Paul II in his catechetical cycles on "human love in the divine plan".

Later, Benedict XVI makes an explicit reference to juridical anthropology when he states: "Starting from this double unity of the human couple, an authentic juridical anthropology of marriage can be elaborated (...) The contracting parties must commit themselves definitively precisely because marriage is such in the design of creation and redemption. And the essential juridical nature of marriage resides precisely in this bond, which for man and woman represents a requirement of justice and love from which, for their own good and that of all, they cannot withdraw without contradicting what God himself has done in them".

What position to adopt, then, in the face of juridical positivism and a relativistic and merely existential vision of the human person, marriage and the family, in order to make possible a real and fruitful dialogue with contemporary society?

-With regard to juridical positivism, Benedict XVI affirms: "For positivism, the juridical nature of the conjugal relationship would be solely the result of the application of a formally valid and effective human norm. In this way, the human reality of married life and love remains extrinsic to the 'juridical' institution of marriage. A hiatus is created between law and human existence that radically denies the possibility of an anthropological foundation of law".

Then, with regard to a relativistic view of family relationships, he observes: "In the face of the subjectivist and libertarian relativization of sexual experience, the tradition of the Church clearly affirms the naturally juridical nature of marriage, that is, its belonging by nature to the sphere of justice in interpersonal relationships. From this perspective, law is truly intertwined with life and love as its intrinsic duty-being. Therefore, as I wrote in my first Encyclical, 'in an orientation founded on creation, eros leads man back to marriage, to a bond characterized by uniqueness and definitiveness; thus, and only thus, is his intimate destiny fulfilled.' (Deus caritas est, 11). Love and law can thus be united to the point that husband and wife owe each other the love they spontaneously desire: love is in them the fruit of their free will for the good of the other and of their children; which, on the other hand, is also the requirement of love for their own true good."

Precisely because marriage and the family are institutions that belong to the order of reality, of being, their juridical nature is manifested in three essential dimensions: the interpersonal, the social and, in the case of the baptized, the ecclesial. Which of these dimensions is, in your opinion, the most important and why?

-Of the three dimensions, the most important is the first - the interpersonal - since the consent of the contracting parties is the foundational moment of the family community. In fact, if matrimonial consent were lacking, recognition by society and the Church would lose all meaning. This recognition does not have a constitutive character, but rather the recognition of a reality which, it is true, has in itself a social dimension, but which is above all a reality that only two persons, man and woman, can establish by means of their very personal consent, which no human power can supplant (cf. can. 1057 § 1 CIC).

The civil authority and the Church have the power to regulate the exercise of the right to marry, not so much to define or limit it arbitrarily, but rather so that citizens and the faithful can recognize the essential elements of marriage and the family community and thus, through the norms of the particular juridical order, can recognize the family and distinguish it from what the family is not.

In many Western countries, we no longer have a family model. The family is no longer "recognized", but rather "ignored" by state legal systems. In the face of this loss of orientation, how does the Church react?

-The Church has made a great effort to deepen our understanding of the beauty and grandeur of the reality of marriage and the family, an effort that has received a great impetus with Pope Francis' convocation of two Synods on the Family and, more recently, in the new itinerary for marriage preparation that the Holy See has proposed to the Episcopal Conferences and to individual bishops. The Church wants to embark on a new rediscovery of the familyclarifying the intrinsic truth of marriage and the family, also in the light of revelation in Christ, both to its own faithful and to society as a whole, aware of its mission as guardian of a truth it has received as a gift and as a mission, in which the very dignity of the person is at stake.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of pages of the Church's Magisterium have been devoted to clarifying the various aspects of the constitution and development of the family. However, the idea that - speaking in purely juridical terms - the Church would extend her jurisdiction to marriage, but not to the family, is widespread among the Church's jurists. While marriage would be a "contract" elevated to the dignity of a sacrament - which would justify the Church's jurisdiction over it - the family, on the other hand, would be a reality that would enjoy a juridical dimension, but not a "canonical" one. The family would obviously be the object and goal of the Church's pastoral action and Magisterium, but from a strictly juridical point of view, it would have little to do with the Church's juridical order.

On the other hand, it seems to me that this "Family Law" must be found at the basis of any juridical order on the family and marriage, that is, a "Family Law" that is neither canonical nor civil, but founded on the "family reality" and on the recognition of the dignity of the sexed human person, and this is what the juridical anthropology of marriage and the family is aiming at. In other words, "Family Law" cannot limit itself to the study of the positive norms of a given legal system, but must go beyond, to the truth of things, recognizing the existence of a field of reflection that has as its object the intrinsic juridical nature of the family.

Is it correct to say that marriage and family have a legal dimension that is not only intrinsic, but also common to both natural institutions?

- John Paul II affirmed: "What does the family as an institution expect from society? First of all, to be recognized in its identity and accepted in its social subjectivity. This subjectivity is linked to the identity proper to marriage and the family". As important as admitting the intrinsic juridical dimension of marriage and the family is to realize that both have the same juridical nature. Drawing on the words of John Paul II just quoted, we could argue that the identity of the family is linked to that of marriage and vice versa.

In other words, the family is founded by the conjugal covenant, i.e., by marriage. in fieriand a covenant that enjoys the necessary vital openness to the family will be truly matrimonial. This openness is realized in the traditional good of the offspring or, to use the terminology of the Code of Canon Law, in the essential purpose of the generation and education of offspring (cf. can. 1055 § 1 CIC).

In other words, there can be no true marriage if at the same time there is no family. At the very moment of the nuptial covenant, not only is the first family relationship - the conjugal one - constituted, but also the family is born. It is not the very existence of children that constitutes the family, but the openness and ordination to fertility, which is part of the very gift and acceptance as spouses. In fact, it is the marital consent of the spouses that creates the family.

Marriage, therefore, illuminates the path towards the juridical nature of the family, precisely because the efficient cause of both is the same: matrimonial consent. This path towards understanding the inseparable relationship between marriage and family enriches both institutions, because we understand why the family is founded on marriage and, at the same time, we grasp more easily the family nature of the first "family relationship", which is the conjugal one.

Ultimately, law and anthropology can only listen to each other in an attempt to define the duty to be and the dimension of justice inherent in the various spheres of human sexuality and, therefore, in marriage and the family. How?

Whereas ancient kinship systems revolved around the figure of the "father", the kinship system of the Christian West was built around the notion of a loved one. The spouses, in this biblical expression, constitute the unit, and in the family tree they occupy the place of a single social subject: husband and wife are no longer two, but one (for parental purposes, of course).

Contemporary systems have progressively moved away from this legal tradition since divorce has been accorded the same value as the recognition of the right to a divorce. ius connubii (right to marry). Modern legal systems pretend to be built on a falsely "spiritualistic" vision of the human person, understood as "a self-designed freedom", a freedom that would be unlimited to the extent that technology and scientific progress allow it to design itself at will. This is what happens in many Western systems of family law, which deny any objectivity in the fact of being male or female, recognizing, for example, the "right to change sex".

The same dynamic can also be observed in the field of filiation, as demonstrated by the majority of artificial fertilization techniques, the possible cloning of embryos, the phenomenon of "surrogate wombs", etc. According to this anthropological vision, family relationships would be nothing more than socially significant contractual relationships that would not exist as long as the State did not recognize them, but without limits to this power of "recognition", which, instead, would be an absolute power of creation, without any basis in the truth of the person and of individual family relationships. To stop this process of constant deconstruction, the importance of anthropological studies must be underlined.

At present, in my opinion, the problem lies in the fact that anthropologists are not jurists: they do not say what a particular kinship system should be like, but limit themselves to studying and describing it as it is (or as it appears). This is why the development of a "juridical anthropology of marriage and the family" is desirable, one of whose objectives would be to study kinship systems in the light of the dignity of the person. It would not be a matter of creating an artificial system, made "in a laboratory", but of analyzing the logic and dynamics of family identities and relationships, as dimensions ontologically linked to the human person as a "being in relationship".

The legal culture would thus have a basis on which to build the different family systems, taking into account that the fundamental concepts and notions would not be constructed "aprioristically" by the States, but would be defined by the scientific community, provided that it is open to the study of reality and does not blindly follow the dictates of the State or of a certain ideology or pressure groups.

The authorAntonino Piccione

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EditorialOmnes

Surrogacy: forgetting fundamental rights 

The alleged right to paternity and maternity, crystallized in practices such as surrogacy, overrides the legitimate rights of the child.

May 7, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

"Any decision, law or policy that may affect children has to take into account what is in the best interest of the child." This is one of the fundamental rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child which governments from all over the world, religious leaders, NGOs and other institutions signed on November 20, 1989, and which today are once again very topical. Remembering this maxim is not trivial in the face of an issue such as surrogacy, whose debate is at the forefront of the socio-cultural terrain of the West.

In a society marked by the right to have rights, the so-called right to maternity / paternity, in practices such as surrogacy, overrides the legitimate rights of the "created" minor and those of the gestating woman who becomes a mere instrument, "a 'womb' at the disposal of the contractor, opening the way to the exploitation and commercialization of the human person."The Spanish bishops have pointed out, in this regard, in a note on surrogacy.

 Many legal, ethical and medical aspects are involved in this process of surrogacy, as highlighted by the many experts from different fields who have contributed to the dossier that Omnes has produced on this practice.

Realities such as the one addressed in these pages highlight the need for a transversal and committed reflection that promotes a recovery of the ethical and moral principles on which a truly humane society is based and aimed at respecting and safeguarding the dignity of every human being.

As Pope Francis recalls in Laudato Si'The common good presupposes respect for the human person as such, with basic and inalienable rights ordered to his integral development".. Putting technical and medical progress at the service of a practice that underlies, in an extreme way, an anti-human capitalism that makes the human being himself an object of transaction, economic or emotional, cannot be admitted as part of that integral development that States and citizens must serve in their social and communitarian task.

It is incumbent upon all of us to work for the common good that means "The more we care for, on the one hand, and use, on the other, that set of institutions that give juridical, civil, political and cultural structure to social life, which is thus configured as a polis, as a city. One loves one's neighbor all the more effectively, the more one works for a common good that also responds to his real needs." (Caritas in veritate, 7).

 Initiatives such as the Casablanca Declaration, signed recently in the Moroccan capital, are, as the signatories themselves emphasize, a starting point for refocusing the "social gaze" on the inviolable dignity of human beings at all stages of their lives.

The authorOmnes

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Latin America

Uruguay celebrates beatification of its first bishop

On May 6, the Church will have a new Blessed, Monsignor Jacinto Vera, the first bishop of Uruguay. His beatification will take place in the capital of the country, which has been in preparation since December 17, 2022.

Paloma López Campos-May 6, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
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Uruguay is celebrating. On May 6, the capital of the country, Montevideo, will host the beatification ceremony of the first Uruguayan bishop, Monsignor Jacinto Vera. The episcopate The country speaks of him as a "holy man, father of the poor, he was the person closest and most loved by the eastern people, both in cities and in the countryside, in the second half of the nineteenth century". He was recognized by all as a "man of good, of unity and of peace".

Monsignor Jacinto Vera (Wikimedia Commons)

The local church is grateful for the figure of Monsignor Vera as "Father and Patriarch, as Master and ever-living example of holiness". The parishes are already completing the preparations begun in 2022, when the miracle of Monsignor Jacinto Vera was approved.

The beatification will take place on May 6 at 4 p.m. in the Olympic Tribune of the Centenario Stadium, located in the city of Montevideo, capital of the country. Cardinal Paulo Cezar Costa, Archbishop of Brasilia, will preside over the celebration. Eucharisticas a representative of Pope Francis.

The Cardinal Daniel SturlaArchbishop of Montevideo, recalls the figure of the soon-to-be-blessed and his pastoral work in an interview published in "Humanitas"a magazine on anthropology and Christian culture. Sturla pointed out that the first bishop "traveled the whole of Uruguay three times, on horseback, by stagecoach, by cart, and when he arrived at a place, he was the first to hear confessions, then to perform baptisms, regularization of marriages, he is an extraordinary figure. Besides, he organized the Uruguayan Church".

A life of dedication

Jacinto Vera was born on an immigrant ship bound for Uruguay in 1813. He was ordained a priest in 1841, standing out for his cheerful personality, his austere style and his dedication to the poor and the sick.

He was appointed Vicar Apostolic in 1859. During this period he had to face interventions of religious hospices, campaigns to discredit him and the need to renew the clergy. In 1865 he was named bishop, participated in the First Vatican Council and finally, in 1878 he was proclaimed the first bishop of Montevideo.

He died in 1881 with a reputation for holiness. Uruguayans consider him father of the Church in the country and father of the poor. Now, with joy, they celebrate the beatification of their first bishop.

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Books

The extraordinary event

A book about the conversion of Manuel García Morente, professor and dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the Central University of Madrid.

Juan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner-May 6, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsG. K. Chesterton. On the centenary of his conversion

Among the most representative books of the conversion literature of the 20th century is "The Conversion of the Church".The extraordinary event". A title that invites curiosity, isn't it? It is a brief and electrifying booklet, resolved with the diaphanous pen of the professor and dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Letters of the Central University of Madrid, Manuel García Morente (Arjonilla, Andalusia, 1886 - Madrid, 1942).

García Morente was a Kantian philosopher, who declared himself to be an agnostic in the religious sphere. However, after a courageous intellectual journey and the irruption of an extraordinary event in his life, he ended up converting to Catholicism. By then he was not a youngster: he was 51 years old, had daughters and was a widower. And his conversion was so radical that a few years later he decided to enter the seminary. 

This booklet was born before García Morente was ordained. priestly. Let us be precise: these pages correspond to the letter that the author sent to his spiritual director to confide to him - with that intimate and secret passion that crackled in the depths of his heart - the mystical experience that had confirmed him in the faith. Naturally, this letter had no pretension of being published: its only public was that spiritual director. Thank God, the letter came to light after the author's death. 

If you are already encouraged to read the book and you don't want spoilers, you better abandon this article and go to the library. If this spoiler thing doesn't bother you, you can read on and get a glimpse more or less of what the "extraordinary event" consisted of.

The extraordinary event

The event occurred in Paris, during the night of April 29-30, 1937. But we must go back a few months before that night to understand what happened. 

Madrid. García Morente is suffering with the Civil War. He is stripped of his professorship and deanship and, to make matters worse, he receives the news that his son-in-law, an exemplary husband of 29 years, had been killed by the popular militias in Toledo.

The professor is worried about his family and summons his daughters and grandchildren to come and take refuge with him in his house in Madrid. They come, but García Morente realizes that, for him, no refuge is safe. His life is in danger and it is urgent to flee the country. He runs to Paris. There he spends several months alone, penniless and anguished by the uncertainty and constant danger to which his family is exposed.

The days go by in the midst of a deep uneasiness: García Morente is working hard so that his family can also travel to the French capital, but his movements are severely hindered by the authorities. Uncertainty, impotence and loneliness are suffocating him. What to do?

The sense of

In this context of psychological oppression, García Morente's reflection on the meaning of life accelerates: Who directs his life, is it possible that everything is governed by a random chain of efficient causes, or is there an intelligent and superior being that governs History? Suddenly a philosophical and existential itinerary of profound depth had exploded in his heart. 

His approach to these questions is rigorously intellectual: he takes pencil and paper and faces his questions. Step by step, with care and sincerity, he develops the arguments to see where logic leads him. He reflects on the circumstances and deliberates on how to overcome the crisis that is taking his breath away. 

On April 28, after much pondering, García Morente takes a decisive step: he concludes that there must be a Providence. Now, let us not be hasty, the idea of the Higher Being that at that moment is being sketched in his mind is still distant, abstract and metaphysical. But at least it is real: "The mere thought that there is a wise Providence was enough to reassure me, although I did not understand or see the reason or concrete cause of the cruelty that the same Providence practiced on me, denying me the return of my daughters".

The intellectual battle

Then the mental storm arose, interludes between fury and doubt, a very intense intellectual battle. Until, at a moment of obligatory rest, the professor turned on the radio and listened with great delight to "L'Enfance du Christ", by Berlioz. "You cannot imagine what this is, if you do not know it: something exquisite, very soft, of such delicacy and tenderness that no one can listen to it with dry eyes."

Minutes passed: "An immense peace had taken possession of my soul. It is truly extraordinary and incomprehensible how such a profound transformation can take place in such a short time, or is it that the transformation is taking place in the subconscious long before one is aware of it?

At last the encounter with the living Providence arrives: feelings of peace, joy, promise. Sleep breaks in, at last the longed-for rest for a man so eaten up by nervousness! But something breaks the sweetness of the night: an agitated awakening; it is strange, it is as if there were a presence watching him... García Morente gets up, opens the window and: "I turned my face towards the inside of the room and I was petrified. He was there. I did not see Him, I did not hear Him, I did not touch Him. But He was there.

Among the testimonies of conversion that 20th century literature offers us, that of Manuel García Morente is one of the most eloquent for our current sensibility. By way of epilogue I can tell you that the story ended very well. García Morente's family managed to get to Paris. He was ordained a priest and two years later he rested forever in the arms of Divine Providence.

The authorJuan Ignacio Izquierdo Hübner

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Initiatives

Siena Educación organizes the First Ibero-American Meeting of Humanities Teachers

This weekend, May 6 and 7, the I Ibero-American Meeting of Humanities Teachers will take place at the CaixaForum (Madrid).

Loreto Rios-May 5, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
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The event will be attended by writer Fernando Savater, Carmen Iglesias, director of the Royal Academy of History, mathematician Andreas Schleicher, psychologist Javier Urra, writer Isabel San Sebastián and the head of Telefónica's artificial intelligence strategy, Richard Benjamins, among others.

There will also be space for youtubers from the educational field, such as José Antonio Lucero (The cradle of Halicarnassus), Enric F. Gel (Addicted to Philosophy), Rosa LiarteDaniel Rosende (Unboxing Philosophy) or Carlos González (History in comments).

Claiming a humanistic education

"In times of supremacy of STEM and digital skills, it is even more necessary to strengthen the humanistic skills of students; skills that, as a compass, guide them in a world marked by uncertainty, ambiguity and liquid thinking," says José María de MoyaSiena Educación's general manager.

"The goal is to turn this meeting into a permanent space for training, best practices and innovation in the Humanities," explains De Moya, for whom "teachers of humanities subjects are key agents for the development of intellectual maturity and the students' capacity for critical judgment."

Objectives of the meeting

The event is dedicated to Spanish-speaking teachers of Philosophy, History and Religion and the objective is to promote initiatives in favor of the teaching of Humanities. As indicated on its website, it has the following purposes:

-To highlight the value of humanistic knowledge to public opinion in these times marked by uncertainty and technological advances.

-Recognize the usefulness and the need to integrate the humanities in the digital transformation of the classroom.

-To demand a humanist education within school curricula that offers a complete, transversal and integral education to students.

-To promote Humanities subjects and their teachers as key agents for the development of students' intellectual maturity and capacity for critical judgment.

-To create a space for relationships, innovation and best practices for teachers of humanities subjects in Spain, Portugal and Latin America.

Tickets for the event

The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. on May 6. Tickets can be purchased through the webThe event is promoted by Siena Educación, a communication agency in the field of education. The event is promoted by Siena Educación, a communications agency in the educational field, which publishes the magazines Magisterio y Nursery School.

At the meeting, which has the collaboration of Puy du Fou and Vicens Vives, the Haz Apasionantes tus Clases de Historia Awards, which inaugurate their first edition this year, will be presented.

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ColumnistsCelso Morga

Celibacy, the fruit of what is human?

Is celibacy the fruit of the human, and can its roots be found somewhere beyond human impositions?

May 5, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
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One of the most recurring statements when talking about the celibacy of the priests is that it is simply an ecclesiastical law. Or, speaking more abstractly, that it is purely an ecclesiastical discipline. Another way of saying practically the same thing is to affirm that it is not a dogma of faith. Another of the most common assertions is to say that ecclesiastical celibacy was instituted at the beginning of the 12th century in two Lateran Councils, the first in 1123 and the second in 1139. As if a tree of such magnitude and altitude in the Church had arisen spontaneously and developed as if all of a sudden, in a few days of a Council, fruit of the decision of some bishops gathered in Rome. 

The phenomenon of secularization, the darkening of the faith, especially in countries with an ancient Catholic tradition, and, as a consequence, the accompanying crisis of priestly vocations, is forcing a profound reflection and debate on the meaning and convenience of priestly celibacy today.

In short, is it a norm willed by the Spirit of the Lord Jesus or is it the fruit of changing historical circumstances? St. Paul VI, in the encyclical Sacerdotalis Coelibatus and St. John Paul II, in his first letter to priests on Holy Thursday 1979, following the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, affirm that priestly celibacy is inspired by the example of our Lord, by apostolic doctrine and by the whole of Tradition.

Back to Christ     

Is this statement true, certain, serious? To understand, wholeheartedly accept and promote ecclesiastical celibacy as a precious jewel of the Church of Christ, one must go back to the beginning. It is intimately linked to the mystery of the Incarnation. As early as the Council of Nicaea (325) it was dogmatically established that Christ is not in the line of the ancient "celibates".children of godsThe "God of the universe", submitted to the supreme God. He himself is God, the personal revelation of God: "God is God".God and true man".

What Christ thinks, lives, says, works, has absolute value. The whole of Christianity is thus subtracted from the purely human, from time and history. It is the appearance of something absolutely new, which does not admit of any correlation or connection backwards. It breaks the series of natural causes, where one derives from the other. It is essentially new and supernatural.

Celibacy in Sacred Scripture

It is in the person of Jesus Christ, in his example and his preaching, in his total mystery, that priestly celibacy is rooted. Certainly, in the history of ecclesiastical celibacy, the example of the priesthood of the Old Covenant will also have its influence. This commanded priests to abstain from conjugal relations during the exercise of their ministry in the Temple. But it is the person of Christ, his example of life and his doctrine that will appear as decisive throughout the history of the Church in establishing this "celibacy of the priesthood".multiple harmony"(PO, 12) between New Testament priesthood and celibacy.

Christ lived celibate and very few have dared to question this reality, which is unanimously transmitted by Sacred Scripture and Tradition. Suffice it, in this regard, to quote Karl Barth's famous phrase: "I am a celibate".it is a fact - and the Protestant ethic in its exaltation of marriage, which arose in the struggle against the Roman celibacy of priests and religious, has forgotten this point - that Jesus Christ, of whose humanity there was no doubt, had no other lover, girlfriend, wife, family and home outside his community.".

The authorCelso Morga

Archbishop emeritus of the Diocese of Mérida Badajoz

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Culture

Marian devotions in Chile

History of the sanctuaries of La Tirana and Lo Vasquez in Chile.

Pablo Aguilera L.-May 5, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
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The sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Tirana is one of the most famous in Chile. It dates back to the 16th century and its origins are related to the love story of an indigenous princess and a Spanish soldier.

The sanctuary of Lo Vásquez is another of the most important in the country and its festivities take place on December 8, the day of the Immaculate Conception.

Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora del Carmen of La Tirana

1800 km north of Santiago, the capital of Chile, in the middle of the Pampa del Tamarugal, is the town of La Tirana, with a population of only 840 inhabitants. In this desert landscape is located a famous sanctuary of the Virgin Mary called "La Tirana".

The sanctuary has its roots in the dawn of the Spanish conquest and the evangelization of the sixteenth century. Its origins are linked to the legend of an Inca princess, Ñusta Huillac, a woman who, according to history, was considered a "tyrant" because of her drastic decisions. Fleeing from Diego de Almagro's expedition, the feisty princess took refuge in the forests of the Tamarugal, where she became a leader, attacking the Spaniards who entered the forests. Ñusta Huillac took prisoner one of them, Vasco de Almeida, with whom she fell in love. This fact motivated her conversion to Christianity around 1540.

The truth about eternity and, with it, the prolongation of her love, strongly attracts her and she requests Baptism. For this reason she was considered a traitor and condemned to death together with Vasco de Almeida. At her request, and taking into account her high lineage, her executioners placed a cross on her tomb, which, years later, would be discovered by Friar Antonio de Rondón, who followed the expedition of Pedro de Valdivia.

The Hermitage

The clergyman built a hermitage in the place and placed an image of the Virgin, quickly becoming a place of worship to the Mother of the Lord by the indigenous people. It became a place where faith in Jesus Christ and love for the Virgin began to develop and be expressed. Family type dances were initiated and the cult was limited to those who lived in the area.

Thus, this devotion in the place begins to gain strength from the eighteenth century, when the number of parishioners who want to worship the Holy Virgin increases. The place receives the name of Pozo del Carmen de La Tirana or Pozo del Carmelo. However, the name was gradually shortened to "La Tirana".

Current devotion

In just one week, eleven months of silence and stillness are transformed into devotion, religiosity, songs and dances in this town. Between July 12 and 18, the Pampa del Tamarugal dresses up in its best clothes in honor of the Virgin of La Tirana. With a strong Christian and Andean influence, the celebration takes place between "diabladas", "Chinese dances", "morenadas" and "huaynos", in which more than 220,000 people visit the Virgin in demand of health, work and dignity.

Currently, about 200 dance troupes, mainly from the towns of Iquique, Pedro de Valdivia, Arica, María Elena and Antofagasta, come to the town to renew its spirit. The festival offers a series of characteristics such as the variety of "companies" or "brotherhoods", which intermingle with old, traditional and new dances, giving a carnival character to the celebration. On the night of July 15 to 16 -the solemnity of the Virgen del Carmen-, the attendees gather in the square to make "la espera del alba" or vigil. Then the national anthem is sung. On the same day, the Mass and the procession take place, where tens of thousands of faithful go to deliver offerings, entrust their children to the Virgin's care, etc. On the 17th the celebration ends with the farewell dances.

Unfortunately, because of the COVID pandemic, this ancient festival could not be held from 2020 to 2022. As the sanitary conditions have greatly improved, it is very likely that it will be able to take place this year.

Pilgrims at the Sanctuary of Lo Vasquez on December 8

The origins of the current Sanctuary of Lo Vásquez The first images of the Virgin Mary - 80 km from Santiago, the capital of the country - date back to the first half of the 19th century, in the family chapel of a hacienda located on the side of the road that links Santiago with Valparaíso. There, an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The parish archives of Casablanca contain the first baptisms performed by the parish priest in the Lo Vásquez Chapel in 1849.

The image of the Virgin was crowned in 1951 and the temple has been transformed into a beautiful sanctuary where Our Lady is venerated by thousands of Chileans. At present, the number of parishioners who congregate around December 8, the day of the Purisima, exceeds 800,000 people, becoming the most important Marian pilgrimage in the country, with the participation of many institutions. Many pilgrims walk dozens of kilometers from various cities and towns in central Chile to fulfill their "mandas" (promises) made to Our Lady for a favor granted. Many thousands come on this occasion to the Sacrament of Penance in the numerous confessionals that are installed in annexes to the temple and participate in the Masses that are celebrated almost without interruption for two days.

The authorPablo Aguilera L.

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Pope's teachings

Words and gestures of life: Christ is risen!

The Pope's preaching is always light and life. After Lent comes Easter. What should be the fundamental attitudes that correspond to the joyful proclamation that Christ is alive?

Ramiro Pellitero-May 4, 2023-Reading time: 8 minutes

Lent opens to Easter, which is the passage to Life. Still within Lent, the Church recalls the resurrection of Lazarus to express that Easter is the fulfillment of hope. The Pope pointed out: "Jesus gives life' even when it seems that there is no more hope. It happens, at times, that one feels hopeless - this has happened to all of us - or that one meets people who have stopped hoping, bitter because they have lived bad experiences, the wounded heart cannot hope." (Angelus 26-III-2023, fifth Sunday of Lent). 

Maybe we too, he added, carry some weight, some suffering, some sin, something that weighs us down, like the stone that covered the tomb of Lazarus. "And Jesus says: 'Come out!". But this requires opening the heart, looking towards his light, discarding fear. He awaits our collaboration, "....like little mirrors of love", for "illuminating the environments in which we live with words and gestures of life"to bear witness to the hope and joy of Jesus. 

Jesus suffered for us, for me

On the threshold of the Holy Week, the homily of the Palm Sunday (April 2, 2023) brought us forward to the contemplation of the sufferings of Jesus, up to his feeling of "abandonment" on the cross. "¿And why did it go so far?"asks the Pope and immediately responds, "For us". And also specifically: "that everyone says to himself: for me"There is no other answer. For us. All of us, listening to the abandonment of Jesus, "that everyone says to himself: for me". "He did it for me, for you, so that when I, you or anyone else finds their back against the wall, lost in a dead end, sunk in the abyss of abandonment, sucked into the maelstrom of so many unanswered whys, there is hope. Him, for you, for me". 

Francis combines pains and sins, perhaps because of that mysterious link (necessarily causal) between sin and suffering. "So that each one can say: in my falls - each one has fallen many times -, in my desolation, when I feel betrayed, or have betrayed others, when I feel rejected or have discarded others, when I feel abandoned or have abandoned others, let us think that He has been abandoned, betrayed, discarded. And there we find Him. When I feel bad and lost, when I can't go on any longer, He is with me; in my many unanswered whys, He is there.".

What is Jesus' attitude on the cross? "While experiencing extreme abandonment, he does not give in to despair - that is the limit - but prays and trusts." (cf. Ps 22:2; Lk 23:46), and forgives his executioners (v. 34). Thus he declares that "God's style is that of closeness, understanding and tenderness.". Francis turns to us and points to himself: "I also need Jesus to caress me and come close to me, and that is why I go to look for him in the abandoned, in the lonely.". Because even now "there are many 'abandoned christs": entire villages, the poor, migrants, unborn children, the elderly alone.

The Holy Spirit and priestly anointing

At the Chrism Mass the Pope preached on the Holy Spirit and the meaning of priestly anointing (cfr. Homily on Holy Thursday, 6-IV-2023). For, in fact, every Christian, and especially every priest, can say: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me" (Lk 4:18), "because the Lord has anointed me"(Is 61:1). But the Anointed One par excellence (meaning Messiah and Christ) is Jesus. Anointed by God the Father with the Holy Spirit from the womb of Mary, he manifests himself as anointed at his baptism in the Jordan. Then, the Holy Spirit always accompanies him in his life and ministry. Jesus anointed his apostles definitively at Pentecost. He then changed their hearts and led them to overcome difficulties and weaknesses, for the witness they were to give of him. 

Every priest has to travel this path, passing through a "paschal stage" of crisis, temptation or trial, more or less long lasting: "We all, sooner or later, experience disappointments, hardships, weaknesses, with the ideal that seems to wear out amidst the demands of reality, while a certain routine imposes itself and some trials, once difficult to imagine, make fidelity seem more uncomfortable than at one time". 

There, the successor of Peter points out, lurks the risk of mediocrity, which presents itself in the form of three temptations: "that of compromise, whereby one is satisfied with what one can do; that of substitutes, whereby we try to 'recharge' ourselves with something more than our anointing; that of discouragement - which is the most common - where, dissatisfied, one follows by inertia".

But that crisis, Francis adds, can also become a turning point, as one author writes: "Decisive stage of the spiritual life, in which it is necessary to make the final choice between Jesus and the world, between the heroism of charity and mediocrity, between the cross and a certain well-being, between holiness and an honest fidelity to religious commitment." (R. Voillaume, The second call, in S. Stevan, ed. The second call. The courage of fragility, Bologna 2018). It is time to take up again the path of trust in God, humility and fortitude. And thus be able to receive as a "second anointing" with the Holy Spirit precisely in the fragility of our reality. 

The Pope underlines: "It is an anointing that deepens the truth, that allows the Spirit to anoint our weaknesses, our hardships, our inner poverty. Then the anointing smells anew: of Him, not of us.".

In this way every priest can collaborate with the harmony promoted by the Holy Spirit, in unity and diversity (cf. H. Mühlen, Der Heilige Geist als Person. Ich - Du - Wir, Münster in W., 1963). And that will be manifested in his words, in his comments, in his kindness..., in his gestures.

On the evening of Holy Thursday, Jesus' last supper with his disciples manifests "the nobility of the heart". of the Lord, especially in the washing of the feet (cf. Homily at the Mass "In Coena Domini", April 6, 2023). Washing the feet was a task for slaves. And Jesus makes this gesture to make them understand that he is going to die for us, to free us from our sins. He is not afraid of our weaknesses, he only wants to accompany us in our lives, in the face of so much pain and injustice. Francis observes: "It is a gesture that announces how we should be, one with the other.". And we can also each think "Jesus has washed my feet, Jesus has saved me, and I have this difficulty now." And the Pope comforts us, in the name of Christ:"But it will pass, the Lord is always by your side, he never abandons you, never abandons you, never abandons you, never abandons you.". 

Remembering and walking

Through the cross, which was already announced on Palm Sunday, we arrive at the Easter Vigil. The Pope encouraged us to undertake "the disciples' journey from the tomb to Galilee" (Homily, April 8, 2023). 

In the face of difficulties, sealed tombs, our disappointments and bitterness, we should not remain in lamentation, thinking that there is nothing more to do, that things will not change. Rather, we must follow the example of the holy women, who transmitted the news of the resurrection and the indication to go to Galilee. 

But what does it mean to go to Galilee, Francis asks. And he offers two complementary answers. On the one hand, "to come out of hiding to open up to the mission, to flee from fear to walk towards the future.". "And on the other hand, and this is very beautiful, it is a return to the origins, because it all began in Galilee. There the Lord met and called the disciples for the first time. So to go to Galilee is to return to the original grace, it is to recover the memory that regenerates hope, the 'memory of the future' with which the Risen Lord has marked us.".

That is to say: the Lord invites us to move forward, to look to the future with confidence; and at the same time he brings us back to our "...".past grace"We went back to the Galilee of our love story with him, of our first call. 

"Brothers and sisters"the bishop of Rome asks usIn order to resurrect, to begin again, to resume the journey, we always need to return to Galilee, that is, not to return to an abstract, ideal Jesus, but to the living memory, to the concrete and throbbing memory of the first encounter with him. Yes, in order to walk we must remember; to have hope we must nourish our memory.". 

It does us a lot of good, Francisco insists, to go back to that first moment: "Ask yourself how it was and when it was, reconstruct its context, time and place, relive its emotions and sensations, relive its colors and flavors.". Easter strength enables us to".removing the stones of disillusionment and distrust"to remember and to walk, proclaiming the Lord of our lives.

This proclamation that the Lord is "the resurrection and the life" for us and for the world (cf. Jn 11:25) is the core of the Easter proclamation: Christ is risen! And the content of what we wish to be effective for everyone, with this greeting: Happy Easter!

This is what the Pope said on Easter Sunday: "At Easter, the road speeds up and becomes hurried, because humanity sees the goal of its journey, the meaning of its destiny, Jesus Christ, and is called to run towards Him, the hope of the world."(Urbi et Orbi Message, April 9, 2023).

The Lord comes when we proclaim Him

Already in the Easter season, in the "Regina caeli" (which replaces the "Angelus"), Francis has broken down the attitudes, words and gestures proper to Christians. 

On Easter Monday he recalled the example of the women, the first to go to the tomb to honor the body of Jesus with aromatic ointments. They are not paralyzed by sadness and fear. "Their will to make this gesture of love prevails over everything. They are not discouraged, they come out of their fears and anxieties." "Behold!"insists Francisco "the way to meet the Risen One: to come out of our fears, our anxieties and our anguish." (Homily 10-IV-2023).

The Pope invites us to pay attention to this detail: "Jesus meets them when we go to proclaim him. When we proclaim the Lord, he comes to us". And he explains: "Sometimes we think that the way to be close to God is to have him close to us; because then, if we expose ourselves and begin to speak, judgments and criticisms come, perhaps we do not know how to respond to certain questions or provocations, and then it is better not to speak and keep quiet: no, that is not good! On the other hand, the Lord comes while he is being announced. You always meet the Lord on the way of proclamation. Announce the Lord and you will find him. Seek the Lord and you will find him. Always on the way, this is what women teach us: Jesus is found by bearing witness to Him. Let us put this in our hearts: Jesus is found by bearing witness to him.".

This always happens with good news: when we share it, we relive it and it makes us happier. It also happens with the Lord: "Every time we announce it, the Lord comes to meet us. He comes with respect and love, as the most beautiful gift to share. Jesus dwells in us more each time we proclaim him.".

And that is why it invites us to ask ourselvesWhen was the last time I bore witness to Jesus? What am I doing today so that the people I meet may receive the joy of his proclamation? And also: can anyone say: this person is serene, happy, good because he has met Jesus? Can this be said of each one of us?"

We find you with and in others 

Divine Mercy Sunday (which began in 2000 at the initiative of John Paul II) presented us with the figure of Thomas, the "unbelieving apostle" (cf. Jn 20:24-29). This apostle, says Francis, represents a little of all of us. He has suffered great disappointment, seeing his master nailed to the cross without anyone doing anything to prevent it. Now he leaves the cenacle, without fear of being arrested, and then returns, although he finds it hard to believe. And then Jesus rewards him, showing him his wounds. 

"Jesus shows them to them, but in an ordinary way, coming before all, in community, not outside."(homily 16-IV-2023). For the Pope, it is as if Jesus said to Thomas.If you want to know me, don't look far away, stay in the community, with the others; and don't go away, pray with them, break bread with them.". 

And this is what it says to us as well: "There that is where you can find me, that is where I will show you, imprinted on my body, the signs of the wounds: the signs of Love that overcomes hatred, of Forgiveness that disarms vengeance, the signs of Life that defeats death. It is there, in community, that you will discover my face, while with your brothers and sisters you share moments of doubt and fear, clinging even more tightly to them. Without community it is difficult to find Jesus". It was a lesson in ecclesiality, for without the Church, the family of God, we would not be able to meet the Lord. 

Therefore, the Pope asks us: "Where do we look for the Risen One? In some special event, in some spectacular or flashy religious act, solely in our emotions and sensations? Or in the community, in the Church, accepting the challenge to remain there, even if it is not perfect?"

And he assures us that, "in spite of all its limitations and downfalls, which are our limitations and downfalls, our Mother Church is the Body of Christ; and it is there, in the Body of Christ, that the greatest signs of his love are still and forever imprinted.". 

This reflection of Peter's successor is deeply moving. And he still challenges us when he concludes with the last question: "If in the name of that love, in the name of the wounds of Jesus, we are ready to open our arms to those who are wounded by life, excluding no one from God's mercy, but welcoming everyone."

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Latin America

Corrado Maggioni: "Mary leads us to the Eucharist."

The next International Eucharistic Congress will be held in Quito, Ecuador, September 8-15, 2024.

Giovanni Tridente-May 4, 2023-Reading time: 6 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsAdorers: "Living close to pain is possible through the Eucharist and prayer".Related NewsPope to close Eucharistic Congress in Budapest and go to SlovakiaRelated NewsThe Eucharist at the center. From Ireland to Ecuador, the devotion always alive.

Preparations for the next Eucharistic Congress have already begun and, starting in September of this year, registrations will be opened through the official website. Omnes interviewed the president of the Pontifical Committee for International Eucharistic Congresses, Fr. Corrado Maggioni, a priest of the Montfortian Missionaries. The cleric also offers some ideas for rekindling love for the Eucharist and devotion to the Virgin Mary, in view of the upcoming 2025 Jubilee dedicated to hope.

The next International Eucharistic Congress will be held in September 2024 in Quito (Ecuador), taking advantage of the 150th anniversary of the consecration of the country to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. How are the preparations going?

The complex organizational work required for an International Congress has been going on for some time and now we are preparing to face the most difficult part of the last year.

The Local Committee of the Congress is managing the preparatory phase under the responsibility of the Archbishop of Quito, with the collaboration of different commissions (liturgical, theological, logistic, economic, communication, cultural, pastoral). The event naturally involves all the bishops and dioceses of Ecuador, whose delegates are already operational. We are now at the point where, after collecting possible ideas and initiatives, we must examine them and begin to implement them concretely.

The showcase of the Congress is the website https://www.iec2024.ecThe website, where you can find information and news, constantly updated, and from next September it will be possible to register to participate in the Congress from September 8 to 15, 2024. From my recent trip to Quito, I can attest to the enthusiasm that animates those already involved in the organization of the Congress, aware that for the churches of Ecuador this important ecclesial event has already begun and is showing its first fruits.

What will be the theme of this next edition?

The motto of this Congress, approved by Pope Francis, reads: "Fraternity for the healing of the world", illuminated by the words of Jesus: "You are all brothers and sisters" (Mt 23:8). The Basic Text, which is being elaborated, will take up this motto of evident Eucharistic significance, and which, translated into the different languages, will be the reference for the catechetical and reflection meetings in the different countries. The theme will be studied in depth at the Theological Symposium to be held in Quito immediately prior to the Congress, and will then be the object of reflection, dialogue, confrontation and experience during the days of the celebration of the Congress. Eucharistic CongressThe event will be attended by delegations from Ecuador and several other countries.

Of course, along with reflection, the reason for the Congress is the celebration of the Eucharist, in a special way of closing, called statio orbis, because there the representation of the people of God - bishops, priests, deacons, religious and laity - from all over the world is summoned.

How do you think love for the Eucharist can be rekindled in a world characterized by individualism and ephemerality?

There are no ready-made recipes capable of kindling in hearts the holy fire that "Eucharistically" consumes life. Moreover, the world in which the early Christian communities flourished was also marked by individualism and ephemerality, as well as by other anti-evangelical logics. One needs a reason to attend Mass. It presupposes faith in Christ, that is, having centered in one's own experience the decisiveness of the encounter with Him, Lord and Master. As long as God remains a nameless ghost and Jesus something ideal, a figure of the past, perhaps a reference among others according to "I like it - I don't like it", I do not see fertile ground for the sacramental economy to take root, at the center of which is the Sunday Eucharist.

In the past, people used to go to Mass out of duty, out of habit, although we should not generalize, since we are the children of generations of men and women who lived the Christian faith. However, the change of era that we are going through in our countries of ancient evangelization shows that a general belief that is awakened only on the occasion of baptisms, first communions and funerals no longer works. A religiosity made up of acts of worship dictated by obligation or guilt, inspired by the idea of a God to be duped or to defend oneself against or to demand material well-being, does not help.

The challenge to rekindle love for the Eucharist is to become aware that the Gospel is truly revolutionary, first of all for me. Until I feel in my heart the fire of the divine Presence that loves me freely and therefore changes my life, I will not be able to feel the need to participate in the Mass, which is the action through which Christ today continues to speak to us truly and to nourish us with his Body so that those of us who commune with him become his living Body in the world. The Gospel provokes faith in Christ and we find Christ in the sacraments of the Church. If I appreciate Christ, I will also appreciate the Mass.

How much can devotion to the Virgin Mary, Mother of Our Lord, help in this renewed apostolate?

To whom should we look to resemble Christ if not first of all to Mary? She is the first believer, the first who says in the Gospel "here I am, let it be done to me", the first Christian because she let Christ live in her, opening her whole person, spirit, soul and body to him. Yes, even the body, for it is in our flesh that Christ wants to dwell.

The Virgin Mary is decisive for our salvation, because through her we have received the Savior. But she is also decisive because of her exemplary response of faith, which teaches us to be disciples of her Son. Marian devotion is not optional for Jesus' disciples; it is part of their baptismal DNA. Mary is our mother and we are her children by the testamentary will of Jesus who, before giving his last breath on the cross, called Mary to be the mother of all his disciples and these heirs of his same love for his Mother.

In this light, well described in the Gospel of John 19:25-27, Mary continues to love her Son maternally in the disciples of Jesus. And we, loving her with filial affection, cultivate for her the same love that Jesus professed for her. Devotion to Mary does not distance us from Christ, but rather it conforms us more easily to Christ. Otherwise, it would not be true devotion, but false.

In fact, the "Marian" dimension permeates the Eucharistic celebration. The historical body of Christ, born of the Virgin, is the foundation of the Eucharistic Mystery. Without the coming of Mary there would be no Incarnation and without the Incarnation we would have no sacraments. The signs change, but the reality is identical: the body and blood that we receive on the altar are of the same Christ who took flesh and blood from the Virgin, by virtue of the Holy Spirit. In this sense, Mary guides us towards the Eucharist, just as she helps us to celebrate it worthily: in communion with her and following her example, we listen to and keep the Word of God and become one Body with Christ. It is not forcing things if we say that true Marian devotion increases true Eucharistic devotion.

In 2025 we will celebrate a new Jubilee centered on hope. How can we show a tired world the hope that comes from Jesus incarnate in history?

There are not many answers to this question. The authentic way to show in whom we have placed our hope is the credible witness that we are able to offer. Certainly not an aggressive witness, that is, one that reproaches others for not being like us, for not thinking like us, nor the Pharisaic witness satisfied with our own good works and despising those of others. I believe that credible witness is only that which is "evangelical", that is, similar to salt, leaven, light, which is paid in the first person. For to give flavor, the salt must dissolve, to ferment the dough the yeast must disappear, to illuminate, the flame must consume the oil.

This is the "paschal" logic that sealed the entire existence of Jesus Christ. It is well illustrated by the simile of the seed that "must" die in the earth so that the ear full of grain can sprout. The very elements of the Eucharistic banquet, the bread and wine, speak to us of gratuitous gifts, of effective conversions. In fact, bread does not grow in nature, but is the fruit of a series of oblations: the grains of wheat are ground to become flour, which is then kneaded and finally baked on the fire.

Wine also tells a story of offerings: from the grapes martyred in the vat we obtain a wine that rejoices family ties and forges friendships. This paschal logic, made of death for the life of others, is also the message that Pope Francis never tires of reminding us of when he speaks of the Church going forth, concerned not with herself but with others, poor in means but rich in the power of the Gospel, close to wounded humanity, compassionate and merciful towards mortal flesh that needs to be saved.

Only in this way will the Church be able to resemble Christ and bear witness to the hope that comes from God-with-us and for-us. The hope of the Jubilee will be that which we are able to draw from the "paschal" experience of our persons, made of fragile clay but pregnant with the power of re-creation. Encouraged by this original Christian awareness, we will be able to cross the desert knowing that we will not be disappointed. Following the example of the One who "by dying destroyed death," as is sung in a preface to the Easter season we are living.












The authorGiovanni Tridente

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Gospel

The dwelling places of the Father's house. Fifth Sunday of Easter (A)

Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Easter and Luis Herrera offers a short video homily.

Joseph Evans-May 4, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

Jesus seems hurt by Philip's seemingly casual request: "Lord, show us the Father and it is enough for us.". There are various levels of ignorance in what Philip asks: as if he is asking for something small, as if the Father is something that can simply be shown, as if the thirst for divinity can be quenched so easily... But Jesus focuses on one aspect of this ignorance, and tells him: "I have been with you so long, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how do you say, 'Show us the Father'?"

And he insists, underlining the great reality that Philip, and undoubtedly the other apostles as well, had not grasped: Jesus as the revealer of the Father, because he is one with the Father: "Believe me: I am in the Father and the Father in me."

As Jesus approaches his paschal mystery, the ultimate expression of God's saving plan for humanity, through which we will be brought to share in the life of the Trinity, he feels the need to speak to us more about this life, a life he came to earth to give us the power to share. He himself is the way to this life, as he tells Thomas: "I am the way, the truth and the life." Through Jesus we have access to the Trinitarian life and his very return to the Father is to prepare our "habitation" in the Father's house: "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places.... When I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.". Heaven, and the Christian life that is its foretaste, is to be at home in God's own life, in the family life of the Trinity. Jesus goes to the Father to take us with him.

Today's other readings seem unrelated to the Gospel, but they have a subtle link to it. Each, in its own way, addresses the priestly life of the Church. In the first reading, the Apostles institute the diaconate for the work of service, so that they themselves can focus on the more directly priestly tasks of prayer and preaching. The psalm encourages us to praise God with joy and song. In the second reading, St. Peter says to the early Christians who form "a royal priesthood". Each text tells us about the "priestly soul". that every Christian has received in Baptism. We must live a priestly existence, turning everything we do into an act of adoration and sacrifice to God. But this priestly existence, as we see in Jesus, becomes "active" the more we become aware of our own divine filiation. In any relationship, the more one loves, the more one is willing to offer oneself to the other, and there is no greater love than the paternal-filial love between God the Father and Jesus, his Son. The more we love God as Father and long to take everyone to heaven, the more willing we will be to become priests of our own sacrifice to Him.

Homily on the readings of Sunday, Easter Sunday V (A)

The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.

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The Vatican

The Pope in Hungary: building bridges

The Holy Father's apostolic trip to Hungary focused on themes such as peace, reconciliation and attention to the poor. However, there was also controversy in the country regarding the political interpretation of his visit.

Daniela Sziklai-May 3, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
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In the days leading up to the trip, the subject of the Holy Father's visit to Hungary had already sparked controversy due to the different interpretations of his statements, but this became even more pronounced after his departure.

Different interpretations

While Viktor Orbán's right-wing nationalist government was happy to claim the pastoral trip as a confirmation of the Pope's commitment to the traditional social values of the European Union, commentators critical of the government tended to highlight the Holy Father's statements less in line with official government policy.

"They want to make the apostolic journey a political event, to show the Vatican and the world how Christian our nation is. But in the meantime they exclude others because - as they argue - the Pope comes exclusively 'to them' and not to others," complained a commentator in the daily newspaper Népszavacritical of the government.

For its part, the semi-official newspaper Magyar NemzetThe Hungarian journalist, close to the government, focused on the struggle of "Christian Hungary" against the "faithless West": "Although it seems that we are gradually becoming a curiosity in Europe because of our Christian faith, we stand firm. For us, the fundamental law starts from God, even if we have had and have to hear a lot from the cultured West because of our 'reactionary attitude'. (...) We faithful Hungarians carry the cross of Christ. We do it with joy, because to believe is to act according to our heart, to remain faithful in good days and in bad, in peace and in bloodshed."

Budapest: the city of bridges

However, the Holy Father himself did not take one side or the other, but stressed in many ways the importance of "building bridges" during his visit.

Budapest is "the city of bridges, of saints and of history," he said in his first speech Friday at the Hungarian government headquarters, a former Carmelite monastery. In subsequent speeches, the pope also reached out to the poor and marginalized, such as meeting with the needy, homeless and refugees at St. Elizabeth's Church. "The poor and the needy are at the heart of the Gospel," he recalled at the place of worship dedicated to St. Elizabeth of Hungary, great helper of the poor.

In this context, commentators critical of the government pointed out that Hungary had only significantly relaxed the rules for social institutions last year, as a result of which these institutions now have to meet less stringent requirements than before to serve the poor and homeless.

On Saturday morning, the Holy Father visited an institution for the blind and disabled. The home for the blind Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann Institute in Budapest was founded by the nun and social worker Anna Fehér (1947-2021) during the communist era and is currently managed by the Kolping Association. The residence is named after the ophthalmologist and father of the family László Batthyány-Strattmann (1870-1931), beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2003. This aristocrat devoted himself entirely to the poor, founded hospitals and self-sacrificingly cared for his poorest patients. In March 2023, the process for the beatification of his wife, Maria Theresia Coreth, who was Batthyány-Strattmann's closest collaborator and confidant, will begin.

Personal impression of the visit

During his three-day pastoral visit, Francis fulfilled the usual appointments on these occasions, such as meetings with representatives of the State, the local Church and young Christians, but he also brought his personal touch.

For example, outside the official program, he received the Russian Orthodox bishop in Hungary, Hilarion (Alfeyev). Metropolitan Hilarion had been one of the most influential figures in the Moscow Patriarchate as head of the foreign office since 2009. But, a few months after Russia's attack on Ukraine in 2022, he was deposed by Patriarch Cyril for unknown reasons and appointed bishop of the tiny Russian Orthodox community in Hungary. Pope Francis told reporters on his return trip from Budapest about his talks with Hilarion that "they had not only talked about Little Red Riding Hood," but also, for example, about the question of peace in Ukraine.

Also not on the official program was a private meeting of the Pope with the mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony. This politician opposed to the government has been in office since 2019, and repeatedly complains about the lack of government financial support for the capital.

However, Karácsony told the media that the conversation with the Holy Father "did not deal with the issues of everyday politics." Rather, he said, they talked about how politics can be based not on division, but on the unification of opposites. Karácsony presented the Holy Father with an old photograph of Budapest's Chain Bridge, again bringing the theme of "bridge building" to the forefront.

Second visit to Hungary

This was Pope Francis' second visit to the Hungarian capital. This has led some Hungarian bishops to claim that, with the exception of Italy, Hungary is the only country that the Holy Father has visited more than once. In reality, however, he had already been to Greece and Cuba twice during his pontificate.

Whereas in September 2021 Francis spent only a few hours in Budapest for the World Eucharistic Congress and then traveled directly to Slovakia - a fact that some commentators interpreted as a criticism of the Hungarian leadership - he has now taken three days to meet with the people and visit various institutions.







The authorDaniela Sziklai

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The Vatican

Pope reflects on "the importance of taking care of our roots".

The Pope held his Wednesday audience during which he spoke about his recent trip to Hungary "through two images: roots and bridges".

Paloma López Campos-May 3, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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During the general audience on Wednesday, May 3, Pope Francis spoke about his apostolic journey to Hungarywhich ended last Sunday. For this, he has used two images: roots and bridges.

Francis pointed out that he went to Hungary "as a pilgrim to a people whose history - as he said - is a story of the past. St. John Paul II - has been marked by "many saints and heroes, surrounded by multitudes of humble and hard-working people"".

Roots

Among the roots of the Hungarian people, "there are above all the saints: saints who have given their lives for the people, saints who have witnessed to the Gospel of love, saints who have been light in moments of darkness; many saints of the past who today exhort us to overcome the risk of defeatism and the fear of tomorrow, remembering that Christ is our future".

The country's Christians were put to the test many times, "but while attempts were made to cut down the tree of faith, the roots remained intact: a hidden Church remained strong, with many clergy secretly ordained, who witnessed to the Gospel by working in the factories, while grandmothers evangelized in secret". In spite of everything, the Pope affirmed, "the common bonds of faith and people helped the return of freedom".

Loss of freedom

Today, however, freedom is threatened once again. "Especially with the white gloves of a consumerism that anesthetizes, so that we are satisfied with a little material well-being and, forgetting the past, we float in a present made on the scale of the individual. But when the only thing that counts is to think of oneself and to do what one wants, the roots are drowned."

Francis pointed out that this problem is not found only in Hungary, but "it has to do with the whole of Europe, where dedicating oneself to others, feeling community, the beauty of dreaming together and creating large families is in crisis."

For this reason, the Pope invited the audience to reflect "on the importance of taking care of the roots, because only by deepening the branches will they grow upwards and bear fruit. Let us ask ourselves: What are the most important roots of my life, do I remember them, do I take care of them?

The bridges

As for the second image mentioned at the beginning by the Holy Father, Francis recalled the bridges that cross the city of Budapest. This led the Pope to point out that Hungary is a country that "is very committed to building "bridges for tomorrow": its attention to ecological care and to a sustainable future is great, and it is working to build bridges between generations, between the elderly and the young, a challenge that cannot be renounced today by all".

For its part, the Church must also build bridges "because the proclamation of Christ cannot consist only in the repetition of the past", but always needs to be updated. Therefore, "let us ask ourselves: am I, in my family, in my parish, in my community, in my country, a builder of bridges, of harmony and unity?

The Pope and Hungarian culture

Francis noted that he was moved during his visit "by the importance of music, which is a characteristic feature of Hungarian culture. Everywhere there was music: organ, piano, violin, many instruments, and a lot of singing. The young people with disabilities sang "Long Live Music!", and this meant: long live harmony, long live fraternity, which gives hope and joy to life!".

Finally, the Pope wished to address the Virgin Mary, alluding also to the beginning of the month of May: "To the Queen of Hungary we entrust this beloved country, to the Queen of peace we entrust the building of bridges in the world, to the Queen of Heaven, whom we acclaim in this Easter season, we entrust our hearts so that they may be rooted in the love of God".

The Pope after Mass in Budapest with a famous icon of St. Mary (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
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ColumnistsAntonio Moreno

May of Death and Resurrection

Does it make sense to remember the Passion in the middle of the Easter season, in the middle of the celebration of the Resurrection?

May 3, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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On the Cross, Jesus carried out the greatest act of love ever performed by a human being and, to talk about love, it is always a good time, don't you think? 

The month of May offers us various opportunities to reflect on God's great love for us, which he manifested on the Cross. 

La Cruz

On the one hand, the May crosses, a manifestation of popular religiosity that has a deep tradition and is still very popular both in Spain and in Latin America. Crosses decorated with flowers in every street or square offer this double aspect of the cross, as a place of death and life, of pain and joy, of darkness and light and color. The origin of this festivity is to be found in the celebration, on May 3, of the Feast of the Invention (discovery) of the Holy Cross.

On this day, the discovery of the true cross of Christ is commemorated, along with two others, in the excavations conducted by St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, in Jerusalem. A cross that these days has returned to the limelight since the Holy See has donated two small fragments of it, as an ecumenical gesture on the occasion of the centenary of the Anglican Church of Wales. These relics of the so-called Lignum Cruciswill be incorporated into the cross that will preside this week over the celebration of the consecration of Charles III as the new king of England.

Jubilee Holy Year

Likewise, during this Easter season, the Jubilee Holy Year was opened in Liébana, whose monastery of Santo Toribio has been a place of pilgrimage over the centuries precisely because it is the custodian of nothing more nor less than the fragment of the Lignum Crucis largest in the world.

Until April 16, 2024, we have the opportunity to join the thousands of pilgrims who will come to win the Jubilee in this special year, venerating this relic that speaks to us of loving to the point of giving life, of giving life by loving.

The Mystery Man

Finally, until June 30, the Cathedral of Guadix, in the province of Granada, hosts the exhibition ".The Mystery Man"The exhibition offers once again a unique opportunity to reflect on this duality of death and life through a unique approach to the figure of the executed man whose image appears on the Shroud of Turin.

Whether or not Jesus is that "mysterious man" of the shroud, the truth is that the exhibition is designed to bring us closer to the central mysteries of our faith: the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. I had the opportunity to visit it recently and, after an introduction in which the visitor is immersed in the way in which Rome executed those condemned to the penalty of the cross, I was able to learn through detailed panels and audio guides, the history of the shroud, its influence on Christian iconography of all times, and the great unknowns of an image whose formation science has not yet been able to explain.

The highlight of the visit comes when you can see up close a hyper-realistic sculpture, with hair and marks, of the man in the Holy Shroud, being able to contemplate every wound, every sore, every bloodstain. My sensation, as a spectator, was very different from that felt before the multiple and beautiful devotional images that are venerated in our churches and chapels with titles such as Santísimo Cristo de... or Nuestro Padre Jesús de....

Knowing how to recognize

The fact of not naming this mysterious man, whose signs of martyrdom coincide fully with those reported in the Gospels, made me get much closer to the humanity of Jesus and ask myself: Would I have recognized God in Jesus if I had met him face to face in life or would he have seemed to me "one of many", as St. Paul says in his famous hymn in the Letter to the Philippians? And with the question, a denunciation: why am I not able to see God and feel the devotion deserved by the flesh and blood Christs in whom He assured that He would become incarnate when He said: "I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me to drink..."? 

In a message on the occasion of the ostension of the Shroud in 2013, Pope Francis emphasized this idea, affirming that "this disfigured face resembles so many faces of men and women wounded by a life that does not respect their dignity, by wars and violence that afflict the most vulnerable... However, the face of the Shroud conveys a great peace; this tortured body expresses a sovereign majesty. It is as if it lets a condensed but powerful energy shine through; it is as if it were saying to us: have confidence, do not lose hope; the power of God's love, the power of the Risen One, conquers all".

It is with this hope that I want to remain in this month of May of Death and Resurrection. Because the Cross was worth it.

The authorAntonio Moreno

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.

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Dario VitaliFrom the synodal experience of sharing, synodality itself is understood".

Dario Vitali, member of the Preparatory Commission for the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, highlights in this interview the unity shown by the continental Assemblies of the Synod.

Federico Piana-May 3, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
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"The wording of the Instrumentum laboris goes through the entire first phase of listening in the particular Churches and the subsequent discernment in the national Bishops' Conferences and in the seven continental assemblies". This is what Dario Vitali, member of the Preparatory Commission of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, affirms.

In this interview with Omnes, Vitali explains that the working paper for the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops dedicated to synodality, which will be held from October 4 to 29, will be in essence the result of the consultation of the entire People of God that took place at the first phase.

The priest, who teaches dogmatic theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University and consultant to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and the Dicastery for the Clergy, emphasizes that it was not just any kind of listening, but "a capillary listening, which did not exclude anyone".

What has emerged from this listening?

-There is a unity in the synodal process that makes it possible to show how all the interventions, all the contributions of the particular Churches, all the syntheses of the Episcopal Conferences and all the seven documents of the Synod of Bishops' Conferences, and the seven documents of the Synod of Bishops' Conferences, all of which are Continental Assemblies are the result of the same way of working.

A listening that started from the People of God and then developed through what has been defined as conversation in the Holy Spirit. What does all this produce? It produces a process of growth in consensus that starts from the listening of all.

And what do the seven documents of the Continental Assemblies show?

-First of all, they emphasize the beauty of this experience. Those who have participated affirm that it is an ecclesial experience that is worth living and also worth repeating because it allows participation and builds mission and communities.

All the syntheses of the Continental Assemblies emphasize the Synodal Church and what can be changed in it, both in terms of mentality and structures.

Another aspect that emerges from the syntheses of the Continental Assemblies is the fact that synodality is not only a theoretical aspect......

-We have often heard synodality spoken of in theoretical terms that we then try to convert into praxis. In reality, it is a matter of inverting the approach to show how it is precisely from the truly synodal experience of sharing that synodality can be understood in depth.

What is the spirit in which the Instrumentum laboris will be drafted?

-Obviously, the spirit will be respectfully synodal.

Recognition of the elements that create the most consensus will become the focal point of the Instrumentum laborisThe synodal method itself foresees confrontation in the light of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of peace, of order and not of disorder.

The authorFederico Piana

 Journalist. He works for Vatican Radio and collaborates with L'Osservatore Romano.

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The Apostolic Nuncio, a key figure in Vatican diplomacy

In this interview, Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski, Undersecretary of the Section for Relations with States and an expert in Vatican diplomacy, explains the figure of Apostolic Nuncios.

Antonino Piccione-May 2, 2023-Reading time: 8 minutes

Mirosław Stanisław Wachowski was born in Pisz (Poland) on May 8, 1970. Ordained a priest for the Diocese of Ełk on June 15, 1996, he graduated in Canon Law at the Pontifical Lateran University.

He joined the Diplomatic Service of the Holy See on July 1, 2004, and has worked in the Pontifical Representations in Senegal, in the International Organizations in Vienna, in Poland and in the Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State.

outlines the contribution of the Holy See's diplomatic action with regard to contemporary issues and its ability to impact concrete problems.

How did the Pontifical Legates come into being and to what extent do their features shape the action and role of Apostolic Nuncios today?

- The dispatch of the first representatives of the Holy See, named Apocrisari (in Latin Responsible), was linked to the fact that they were to intercede on behalf of the interests of the Apostolic See and express their request to the imperial court.

Its permanent establishment did not take place until the 6th century, with the papacy of Agapito I, although at that time they had no right of jurisdiction. The last apocrisarius acted in 743 at the court of Emperor Constantine V, where we find him with the task of reporting the instructions of Pope Zacharias during the first phase of the conflict of the images, in confrontation with the iconoclasts.

Historiography teaches us that heresy was seen as a factor of disorder, as something that had to be curbed in order to maintain and preserve a balanced coexistence, so the presence of the Apocrysiar was one more reason to maintain a balanced development of society and avoid conflicts.

The custom of representation by the Bishop of Rome, however, originated prior to the figure of the Apocrisarius, with the sending of Legates to Councils and Synods.

The first certain testimony of this representation is found in the Council of Arles in 314, where the Bishop of Rome, Sylvester, sent the presbyters Clodius and Vitus and the deacons Eugenius and Cyril to "take" his place.

The transition between Antiquity and the Middle Ages saw the emergence of yet another figure representing the Holy See, the so-called Vicar Apostolic, charged primarily with regulating ecclesiastical relations in the various parts of Europe and confirming the primacy of Rome in the various Churches.

From the second half of the ninth century onwards, especially with the Pope Nicholas IThe custom of sending legates from Rome to resolve the most difficult issues in which the litigants appealed to Rome became widespread.

The emergence in the 15th century of the great nation states is at the origin of a change of pace on the front of pontifical diplomacy. Is this the case?

- The Holy See sent Bishop Angelo Leonini to Venice as apostolic nuncio on April 30, 1500, thus initiating a stable representation before the States.

The activity of the pontifical representatives reached its peak in the period of the Peace of Westphalia, in 1648, where a new arrangement of Europe and a new way of conceiving relations and power between states was decided.

The Congress of Vienna then confirmed the previous custom of granting precedence to the Nuncios and Representatives of the Pope.

A new impulse to the missionary work of the Church was given by Gregory XVI, with special attention to the Near East.

The first Apostolic Delegation was created in 1827 with the appointment of Bishop Losana as Apostolic Delegate of Mount Lebanon. It would be the Pontificate of Leo XIII that gave greater vigor and importance to the Nuncios and Legates to the Catholic peoples.

Leo XIII himself affirmed this on August 20, 1880 in an address to the Cardinals: it is the right of the Roman Pontiff to have in certain places someone who represents his person and permanently exercises his jurisdiction and authority.

From a normative point of view, what are the precise references of the law of legation and how should they be interpreted in relation to the special nature of the Holy See?

- In 1917, the Code of Canon Lawwhere canon 265 establishes the basis for the Roman Pontiff's legations, affirming his right to send his legates wherever he wishes.

The foundation of this right is closely related to its mission towards all the Churches scattered throughout the world, with which it must communicate and through which it must evangelize those who do not yet believe. Free and independent of any civil power, also because it concerns the relationship between the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops.

To better understand the role of the Pontifical Representatives, the Holy See has two meanings: in a broad sense, it is the Roman Pontiff with the Roman Curia; strictly speaking, the Holy See is the Roman Pontiff as supreme authority.

For international law, only and exclusively the figure of the Roman Pontiff, i.e., the Holy See in the strict sense, is relevant. In the CIC of 1983, the function of the Apostolic Nuncios Canon 362 specifies: "The Roman Pontiff has the original and independent right to appoint and send his Legates both to the particular Churches of the various nations or regions and to the States and Public Authorities, as well as to transfer and dismiss them, respecting, however, the norms of international law concerning the sending and dismissal of Legates accredited to Governments".

The right of the Roman Pontiff to send his own Legates is therefore defined by two precise terms: native and independent. Can you specify its content and scope?

- By original right is meant an original right belonging to the Pontiff as head of the universal Church and depositary of the primary responsibility to provide for its needs.

The expression independent law, instead, it means that the Holy See does not depend on any other power and, therefore, no limits are imposed on it, not even when it carries out its international activity.

The best explanation of the right affirmed in canon 362 is found in the preamble to canon 362. Motu proprio Sollicitudo Omnium EcclesiarumIn this document, the theological and pastoral reasons for the functions of the Pontifical Representatives are set forth with effectiveness and clarity: "The solicitude of all the Churches, to which we have been called by the arcane will of God and for which we will one day have to give an account, demands that, sent as representatives of Christ to all peoples, we make ourselves adequately present in all the regions of the earth and that we seek an exact and complete knowledge of the conditions of each of the Churches".

The Bishop of Rome, in fact, by virtue of his office, has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, which he can always exercise freely [...] Through Our Representatives, who reside in the various nations, We become sharers in the very life of Our children and, as if inserting Ourselves in it, We come to know, in a more rapid and certain way, their needs and aspirations at the same time".

The diplomatic thrust of the Holy See has been relevant in building a harmonious and peaceful international community, thanks to actions that have sometimes contributed to the resolution of difficult crises or brought international issues to the attention of global governance. How to reconcile the primary role of the Nuncio with the yearning for the protection of every human person?  

- The Legates of the Holy See are at the service of the Catholic Church and not of a State, whose members do not live in a specific territory, but are dispersed throughout the world. Consequently, the objectives guiding diplomatic activity are not limited to the faithful of the Catholic Church, but the activity of the Nuncios is often an opportunity to draw the attention of the international community to the various issues affecting the religious freedom of every believer.

In this way, the Holy See concretely realizes the goal of enhancing and protecting the dignity of every human person. There is also a "visual" aspect to the action of the Nuncios, which derives from the specific ecclesial nature of the Holy See's diplomacy, and that is the priestly or episcopal character of the pontifical representatives.

Pope John XXIII established in 1962 that the Apostolic Nuncios, even from the beginning of their mission - and not only a few years later, as under the pontificate of Pius XII - were conferred the episcopal dignity, not as a matter of honor, but to better underline the function of liaison between the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops of the local Churches.

The ecclesiastical nature of pontifical diplomacy carries within itself a natural attention to all dimensions of human life, and for this very reason it should not be forgotten that a whole series of questions which, on the other hand, are of primary interest to the diplomacy of States, remain outside the scope of the diplomacy of the Holy See: for example, political alliances, military structures, commercial and financial relations, the promotion of tourism, etc.All these areas of action are of no interest to the diplomacy of the Holy See, except, occasionally, for possible moral implications.

Paul VI asked himself some questions that still resurface from time to time: does the Holy See have reason to use this form of activity called diplomacy? Is it not totally foreign to the nature and purpose of the Church? Does it not run the risk of assimilating the Church to institutions and organisms of the temporal order, with which it cannot and should not be confused?

- The same Pontiff emphasized that the diplomatic activity of the Holy See responds in a very appropriate way to the current evolution of international life and to the present needs of the mission that the Church must fulfill in the contemporary world, that mission of which the Second Vatican Council spoke, solemnly affirming that the Church is called to render decisive assistance to society, strengthening and completing the union of the human family. And it is precisely this action that the Holy See intends to carry out through its pontifical representatives: to contribute to the strengthening of the bonds between nations, in a loyal reciprocity, attentive to the recognition of the rights and duties of each one. The responsibility to protect fundamental human rights is therefore connatural to the very nature of the Church.

Suffice it to recall that the proclamation of the Gospel has never been divorced from charity and concern for those most in need. Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, speaking at the General Assembly of the United Nations, consciously declared that the role of the Church on the international scene is that of "expert in humanity".

Pope Francis reiterated this foundational idea during his meeting with the members of the UN General Assembly: "Integral human development and the full exercise of human dignity cannot be imposed. They must be built and realized by each individual, by each family, in communion with other human beings and in right relationship with all the environments in which human sociability develops.

Without the recognition of certain insurmountable natural ethical limits and without the immediate application of these pillars of integral human development, the ideal of "saving future generations from the scourge of war" (Charter of the United Nations, Preamble) and of "promoting social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom" risks becoming an unattainable mirage or, worse still, empty words that serve as an excuse for any abuse and corruption, or for promoting ideological colonization through the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles alien to the identity of peoples and, ultimately, for promoting ideological colonization through the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles alien to the identity of peoples, worse, empty words that serve as an excuse for any abuse and corruption, or to promote ideological colonization through the imposition of anomalous models and lifestyles alien to the identity of peoples and, ultimately, irresponsible".

Can we draw a identikit of the Apostolic Nuncio in the light of the Magisterium of Pope Francis?

- On the occasion of the Jubilee of Mercy, on September 17, 2016, Pope Francis recalled how the Apostolic Nuncio must "auscultate" the heart of the Pope and let his "breath" reach the Churches of the world by getting involved, traveling, meeting and dialoguing with everyone. He must support and not only correct, he must distance himself from gossipers and careerists, he must not promote "friends of friends" or embrace political lines or ideological battles, he must avoid personalistic visions, overcome bureaucratic logic and propose names of candidates to the Episcopate who are true witnesses of the Risen One and not "bearers of résumés".

The Pope invited his representatives to be wherever they are in the world "wholeheartedly, with undivided minds and hearts". In addition to observing, analyzing and informing, it is necessary for the Apostolic Nuncio to meet, listen, dialogue, share, propose and work together, so that sincere love, sympathy and empathy with the people and the local Church may shine forth; therefore, the gaze of the Pontifical Representative must be broad and deep.

Also on that occasion, Pope Francis asked that in carrying out his function and in the enormous task of guaranteeing the Church's freedom from any form of power that wants to silence the truth, he not limit himself to understandings, agreements or diplomatic negotiations, but work so that the Church can be free to announce the Gospel to all, in all places, on all occasions, without delay, without repulsion and without fear. In this sense, the Pontifical Representative will not embrace political lines or ideological battles, because the permanence of the Church rests on fidelity to her Lord.

An important part of the Nuncio's work is to be a "man of reconciliation" and mediation, impartial and objective in his encounters with each person, favoring communion on every occasion. Finally, the Nuncio is also a hard-working and charitable man, who works for peace and lavishes himself in works of charity, especially towards the poor and marginalized, thus fulfilling his mission and his role as father and pastor.

The authorAntonino Piccione

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Our Lady of Mercy, Patroness of the Dominican Republic

History of the invocation of the Virgin of Mercy from its origins until her arrival in Santo Domingo.

César Arturo Abréu Fernández-May 2, 2023-Reading time: 5 minutes
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Our Lady of Mercy is one of the most beloved devotions of the Dominican Republic. The devotion was born in the 13th century, when the Virgin appeared to two saints and the King of Aragon to ask for the foundation of a religious order dedicated to the rescue of Christians held captive by the Saracens.

In 1494, some Mercedarians traveling with Columbus took a picture of the Virgin of Mercy to America, thus initiating her devotion in the New World.

The history of the invocation

The particular invocation of the Virgin of Mercy has its origin when on August 1, 1218 the Mother of God appeared separately to three illustrious people from Barcelona in her invocation of the Virgin of Mercy: St. Peter Nolasco, who would be the founder of the Order of Mercy, King James I of Aragon and St. Raymond of Peñafort, a Dominican friar. Days later, the three met in the cathedral of Barcelona and shared having had the same apparition of the Virgin. She asked them to found a religious order dedicated to the redemption of captives. Nine days later, the order was founded by St. Peter Nolasco.

Their particular mission was to show mercy to Christians held captive by Muslims and Saracen pirates. Many of its members, known as Mercedarians, exchanged their lives for that of prisoners and slaves, the number of them being estimated at 300,000.

Our Lady travels to America

On September 25, 1493, a large fleet commanded by Columbus, composed of 14 caravels and 3 galleons, left Spain. On board were 1,500 men, including thirteen missionaries led by Father Boíl, among them two Mercedarians: Juan Infante and Juan de Solórzano. Before leaving, the Queen of Spain had given them both a picture of the Virgin of Mercy that would accompany them on their journey to America. It is the first invocation of the Mother of God that traveled to the New World.

They disembarked on January 2, 1494 in a place chosen by Columbus to establish the first Hispanic foundation in America, and on January 6, the day of the Epiphany or manifestation of God to men, the first Eucharist was celebrated in the New World, in which the 13 missionaries participated. Thirteen so that, as in the last supper, one would mystically represent Christ and the others the twelve apostles, a celebration that surely counted with the presence of the picture of the Virgin of Las Mercedes.

El Santo Cerro

Juan Infante, one of the two Mercedarians, was Columbus' confessor, and as such always accompanied him. According to legend, he was also with him when Columbus, in early March 1495, while marauding in the vicinity of the fort of La Concepción de la Vega, from the top of a hill, gazed in ecstasy at the beauty of the valley he had named the Vega Real.

Overwhelmed by the exuberant landscape, he thought of honoring God by placing on the top of the mountain -for the first time in America- a gigantic cross, symbol of the Christian faith. Later, Juan Infante had a rustic chapel built next to it to venerate the Virgin of Las Mercedes. Since then, both devotions - that of the Holy Cross and that of the Virgin of Las Mercedes - have been together in what today is called Santo Cerro.

Columbus and the Virgin of Mercy

The devotion spread throughout the island, turning the hill into a place of pilgrimage, reflection and marked devotion. Columbus himself, in his codicil of August 1505, months before his death, recommended to his son Diego to support a chapel where he would pray for his soul, as if with his already hesitant index finger he pointed to the Holy Hill: "and if this could be on the Island of Hispaniola, which God gave me miraculously, I would be happy if it were there where I invoked it, which is in La Vega, which is called La Concepción".

With the arrival in 1527 of Friar Francisco de Bobadilla, Vicar General of the Mercedarians, and twelve other priests, the Mercedarians spread throughout Santo Cerro, Santiago and Azua, building monasteries in those places, which contributed greatly to the strengthening of the devotion to the Virgin of Mercy throughout the island of Hispaniola.

The earthquake of 1641

During the months of August and September 1641, a strong earthquake shook the city of Santo Domingo. Some chronicles state that strong aftershocks lasted for more than forty days, with a death toll of 24 people. Frightened, the inhabitants of the city went to the image of Our Lady of Mercy that is in the Convent of this Order, and, on the eve of her feast of the Nativity (September 7), they experienced the divine favor and some wonders happened. For this reason, the following year, 1615, the Curia and the Royal Audience declared Our Lady of Mercy patroness of the city and the island, celebrating her feast on September 8 of each year. In 1710, by Royal Decree, her feast day was moved to September 24.

The Battle of the Limonade

On January 21, 1691, the Spanish army of Santo Domingo, under the command of Field Master Don Francisco de Segura y Sandoval, confronted the French in the Sabana Real de la Limonade, a confrontation in which the Creoles were victorious. The combat had been hard-fought, and they invoked Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes. In the body of the battle there was a canvas with her image, while the soldiers from the eastern part of the island invoked the Virgin of Altagracia, whose action was decisive in the triumph of the Creole arms.

From there, the faith in Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes was strengthened and the cult of the Virgin of Altagracia began throughout the island. The battle took place on January 21, the date on which Altagracia Day is celebrated.

The Virgin and Toussaint

In 1801, Toussaint Louverture invaded Santo Domingo in the name of France. The day after his arrival he attended the cathedral, where there were many faithful praying, and requested the parish priest to place the Host on the virile, kneeling with his hands folded on his chest. His assistants informed him that, while he was doing this, some of the damsels in attendance were smiling sarcastically and, what was worse, informed him that three Creole soldiers had turned their backs so as not to salute him.

Angry, Toussaint ordered that the next day everyone gather in the parade ground with the intention of committing a general beheading.

When the next day arrived and all the inhabitants were assembled, men, women and children separated, surrounded by the cavalry with their drawn sabers, ready to slit their throats, Toussaint approached the ladies and with his baton touched them, asking them: "French or Spanish? When he touches Dominga Núñez, she reproaches him: "Bold, learn some manners!". 

Angry, he climbs the stage to order the slaughter. The sky, clear up to that moment, suddenly darkened. Thunder shook the earth and, suddenly, a space opened up in the sky, and a beam of white light appeared. Toussaint, frightened, looked at the light and ordered everyone to withdraw. Asked by his assistants the reason for his attitude, he answered: "It was her, Our Lady! I saw her! I saw her!". The Virgin of Las Mercedes had interceded once again in favor of the Creoles.

Our Lady of Mercy ©Dustin Muñoz

Patroness of the Dominican Republic

When the Dominican Republic was proclaimed on February 27, 1844, after the Trinitarians launched into the air the cry of "God, Homeland and Liberty", three exclamations came from those present at that historic moment: "Long live the Dominican Republic! Long live the Virgin! Long live Duarte!". From that moment on, the Virgin of Las Mercedes was instituted as Patroness of the Dominican Republic.

The authorCésar Arturo Abréu Fernández

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Unemployment and occupational accidents, concerns of the Church

Bishops and Church entities ask the public authorities to make an effort to put an end to the scourge of unemployment and "to make work a place of encounter and not a place of conflict".

Maria José Atienza-May 1, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The celebration of May 1st, Workers' Day, highlights the need to continue working for the universalization of decent work that respects the rights of all people. On this occasion, the organizations that promote the platform Church for Decent Work (Caritas, CONFER, HOAC, Justice and Peace, YCW and YCW) and many bishops have dedicated their weekly letters to reflect on work and its main shortcomings.

Occupational accidents

"On this feast of labor, the Church wants us to become aware of our responsibilities in the world of work", these words, from the weekly letter of the Bishop of Cordoba, Msgr. Demetrio Fernández, show the Church's concern about the precariousness of employment suffered by thousands of people in our country.

It is no coincidence that the entities promoting the platform Church for Decent Work have recalled, on the occasion of May Day "in the year 2022 a total of 1,196,425 occupational accidents occurred in Spain, of which 826 were fatal". A "worrying" figure, as the Bishop of Cordoba emphasizes.

In this regard, the entities that make up the platform are Church for Decent Work have expressed their support for the creation of "solidarity movements that defend health and safety at work together with other people and groups; to strengthen associations to reinforce dialogue with the Administrations; and to support the work carried out by trade unions to maximize prevention and demand compliance with labor regulations".

The person at the center

The note issued by the platform Church for Decent Work points out that "work is for life" and denounces that the "economic logic of this system separates work from the person, strips the person of his or her essence and creative capacity and of his or her very being; it builds precariousness, insecurity and subjects the worker to long working hours, to high production rates and deprives him or her of a well-deserved rest". "When the person is dislocated from the center, selfishness appears in all directions. Exploitation of the person, abuse in the schedules and in the production, precariousness in the working conditions. And in the sense of the worker, absenteeism, lack of interest, lack of responsibility". Msgr. Demetrio Fernandez in relation to this lack of humanity in labor relations.

The drama of unemployment

For its part, the archbishop of Toledo has fixed his gaze on the drama of unemployment, which affects some 3 million people in Spain. For Msgr. Cerro Chaves, "when there is no work, the panorama of the present and the future darkens. Without work, when unemployment is installed in society, in families, in young people, it affects physical, psychological and spiritual health. Without work, it is easy for people to fall ill and many find it difficult to find the meaning of life".

Work, a means of sanctity

Both the Archbishop of Toledo and the Archbishop of Cordoba emphasize in their letters how work is a means of holiness for ordinary Christians.

"With the proper work a person can take care of his own needs and those of his family, he can project his life and take care of his vital needs, he can make a better world", says Msgr. Fernandez who encourages us to follow the example of "Jesus the worker with his father Joseph the worker, [so that] each one of us contributes the best of ourselves to build a new world, also a new world in labor relations".

Thus, Cerro Chaves concludes his letter with the following reminder Laborem Exercens John Paul II and underlining his prayer that "the mission that through work one's own dignity is dignified is fulfilled, doing good and knowing as Christians that work is also a means of holiness.

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Our Lady of Altötting

The shrine of Altötting in Bavaria is one of the oldest in Germany and the one that receives the most visits throughout the year. It is one of the "Shrines of Europe", the seven most outstanding Marian shrines in Europe, and has received papal visits from Pius VI, St. John Paul II and Benedict XVI.

José M. García Pelegrín-May 1, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The Marian invocation that probably enjoys the greatest devotion in Germany - at least it is the Marian shrine that receives the most visits - is the Brown Madonna ("Schwarze Muttergottes") of Altötting, a Bavarian town located about 90 kilometers east of Munich. On their web page they include the testimony of Benedict XVI, who described Altötting as "the heart of Bavaria and one of the hearts of Europe". He continues: "For more than 1250 years it has been the spiritual center of Bavaria and, for more than 500 years, the most important Marian shrine in Germany".

In addition, together with Częstochowa (Poland), Einsiedeln (Switzerland), Lourdes (France), Loreto (Italy), Fatima (Portugal) and Mariazell (Austria), is one of the so-called "Shrines of Europe", the seven most important Marian shrines in Europe.

The sanctuary

Although the first chapel was built in the 8th to 10th centuries, the present form is due to the 15th century Gothic additions, which coincided with a tradition that made it known throughout Germany and beyond, and which marks the beginning of the shrine's history: it is said that in 1489, a three-year-old boy fell into a river and drowned. After rescuing the lifeless child, the desperate mother took him to the chapel dedicated to Our Lady and placed him on the altar. There she began to pray with others for the salvation of her son, and after a short time, life returned to the body of the apparently dead child.

The present image, 64 centimeters high, was probably carved from linden wood in Burgundy or the Upper Rhine region and arrived in Altötting in the 14th century. Its black hands and blackened face are reminiscent of a type of wood carving that was widespread in the early Middle Ages: there are 272 "black virgins" in Europe. Among the most famous are those of Einsiedeln, Loreto, Częstochowa, and Montserrat. In addition to silver inlays, the image has been covered since 1518, initially with fabrics from the wedding dresses of Bavarian princesses. The Elector Maximilian I (1573-1651) of Bavaria donated the scepter and crown.

Both the interior and exterior walls of the holy chapel are covered with more than 2000 votive images, donated in gratitude for the miracles worked through the intercession of Our Lady of Altötting. Part of the pilgrims surround the chapel, some on their knees and carrying wooden crosses, to commend their intentions to Our Lady. In addition, in the chapel are buried the hearts of prominent Bavarian personalities, including Emperor Charles VII (1697-1745), six kings, including the famous Ludwig II (1845-1886), three prince electors, twelve prominent noblewomen and five bishops.

Papal visits

The Altötting shrine has been visited by three popes. The first documented papal visit dates back to 1782, when Pius VI - who had been coldly received by Emperor Joseph II in Vienna - was warmly welcomed in Bavaria. He returned to Rome via the Marian shrine at the invitation of the Bavarian Elector Karl Theodor. Pius VI celebrated Mass in the holy chapel and gave his blessing to a crowd gathered there.

On November 19, 1980, he was in Altötting, Germany. St. John Paul II. The visit to the Marian shrine was one of the highlights of his first trip to Germany as Pope. The Mass with the Pope brought together more than 60,000 faithful - including the author of these lines - on the esplanade of the chapel. The Pope was accompanied by the Archbishop of Munich, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, as host. On the occasion of his trip, John Paul II planted a linden tree. The "papal linden tree" and a larger-than-life bronze statue commemorate this visit.

Benedict XVI's relationship with Altötting was very close throughout his life. He was born on April 16, 1927 in Marktl am Inn, about 15 kilometers from the Marian shrine. In the preface to the city guide, he writes: "I had the good fortune to be born very close to Altötting. Therefore, the pilgrimages to the shrine with my parents and siblings are among my earliest and most beautiful memories."

After accompanying John Paul II in 1980, and while he was Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger She came on several occasions. These were both official visits - in 1989 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the shrine and in 1999 on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the Marian congregation - and private visits, for example on the occasion of his 75th birthday. In 2006, as Pope, he visited Altötting as part of his visit to Bavaria. There he was made an honorary citizen of the city.

In May 2021, Pope Francis chose Altötting as one of the locations for the "prayer marathon" to pray for the end of the pandemic caused by COVID-19.

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The Vatican

Pope bids farewell to Hungary with a call for hope

Sunday, April 30, was the last day of Pope Francis' apostolic journey to Hungary. During the day, the Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass and had a meeting with cultural and academic representatives.

Paloma López Campos-April 30, 2023-Reading time: 6 minutes
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At 6 p.m. a plane took off from Hungary to take Pope Francis back to Rome. After a few full days in the Hungarian nation, the Holy Father bid farewell in a ceremony without speeches at Budapest's international airport.

Just a few hours earlier, Francis celebrated Holy Mass in Kossuth Lajos Square, where the Hungarian Parliament is located. During the homily, the Pope invited all the participants to contemplate the figure of the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, taking the today's readings. For this reason, he noticed two of Jesus' actions, which, as the GospelHe works for his sheep: first he calls them, then he leads them out".

God's call

That initial call of the Lord is the origin of new life. "At the beginning of our salvation history is not us with our merits, our abilities, our structures; at the origin is God's call, his desire to reach us, his concern for each one of us, the abundance of his mercy that wants to save us from sin and death, to give us life in abundance and endless joy."

The Pope emphasized that Christ, long before any of us could respond, "bore our iniquities and bore our faults, leading us back to the heart of the Father". And not only that, but "even today, in every situation of life, in what we carry in our hearts, in our wanderings, in our fears, in the sense of defeat that sometimes assails us, in the prison of sadness that threatens to imprison us, He calls us."

From God's universal call is born one of the essential characteristics of the Church: catholicity. As Francis explained in his homily, "this is catholicity: all of us Christians, called by name by the Good Shepherd, are invited to welcome and spread his love, to make his sheepfold inclusive and never exclusive. And, therefore, we are all called to cultivate relationships of fraternity and collaboration, without dividing ourselves among ourselves, without considering our community as a reserved environment, without allowing ourselves to be dragged down by the concern to defend each one's own space, but opening ourselves to mutual love".

A Church on the way out

The Pope then explained the second action of Christ narrated in the Gospel. "First we are gathered into the family of God to be constituted his people, but then we are sent out into the world so that, with courage and without fear, we may be heralds of the Good News, witnesses to the love that has regenerated us."

It is the Lord himself who "urges us to go out to our brothers and sisters. And let us remember it well: all of us, without exception, are called to this, to go out of our comforts and have the courage to reach all the peripheries that need the light of the Gospel".

Pope greets people after Holy Mass (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

But what does it really mean to be a Church going forth? The Holy Father summed it up in a single phrase during the sermon: "to be on the way out" means for each of us to become, like Jesus, an open door.

Francis insisted on this idea by making a request addressed to all. "Please, let us open the doors! Let us also try - with words, gestures, daily activities - to be like Jesus, an open door, a door that never closes in anyone's face, a door that allows us to enter to experience the beauty of the Lord's love and forgiveness."

Finally, the Pope wanted to send to all Christians, and especially to Hungarians, words of encouragement. He asked that "we should never lose heart, never let ourselves be robbed of the joy and peace that he has given us; let us not close ourselves up in problems or apathy. Let us allow ourselves to be accompanied by our Shepherd; with Him, our lives, our families, our Christian communities and all Hungary will shine with new life".

Saint Mary, Queen and Patroness

The Holy Father prayed the Regina Caeli and gave a brief meditation, as he does when he presides the prayer from the Vatican. In his words he thanked the political representatives, diplomats and authorities for their presence. He also addressed the priests, seminarians, consecrated men and women, members of the clergy and representatives of other religions to thank them for their collaboration and assistance.

In his meditation, he wanted to place all Hungarians under the protection of the Virgin Mary. He included in this petition the whole of Europe, saying: "from this great city and from this noble country I would like to entrust once again to her heart the faith and the future of the entire European continent, which I have been thinking about these days and, in a particular way, the cause of peace".

The Pope continued his prayer: "You are the Queen of peace, instill in the hearts of men and of those responsible for nations the desire to build peace, to give the young generations a future of hope, not of war; a future full of cradles, not of tombs; a world of brothers, not of walls".

And he concluded with the following words: "We pray to you for the Church in Europe, that she may find the strength of prayer; that she may discover in you humility and obedience, the ardor of witness and the beauty of proclamation. To you we entrust this Church and this country".

Cultivating knowledge

During his last meeting, Pope Francis met with representatives of the cultural and academic world. At the beginning of his speech, taking the Danube River as an image, he paused for a moment to speak about culture, which "in a certain sense, is like a great river: it flows through various regions of life and history, putting them in relation, it allows us to navigate the world and embrace distant countries and lands, it satiates the mind, waters the soul, makes society grow. The same word culture derives from the verb cultivate. Knowledge entails a daily sowing that, penetrating the furrows of reality, bears fruit".

The Pope took several examples from the writings of Romano Guardini to speak about culture. In the face of a gloomy analysis that could be made about knowledge and technique used solely to obtain power, Francis called for universities to become the opposite. "The university is, in fact, as the name itself indicates, the place where thought is born, grows and matures open and symphonic. It is the temple where knowledge is called to free itself from the narrow limits of having and possessing to become culture, that is, the cultivation of man and his fundamental relationships: with the transcendent, with society, with history, with creation."

Culture and contemplation

Culture, properly understood, "deepens contemplation and molds people who are not at the mercy of the fashions of the moment, but well rooted in the reality of things. And who, humble disciples of knowledge, feel that they must be open and communicative, never rigid and combative".

In this way, immobility is excluded, because "those who love culture are never satisfied, but carry within themselves a healthy restlessness. He searches, questions, risks and explores; he knows how to leave his own certainties to venture with humility into the mystery of life, which is harmonized with restlessness, not with habit; he is open to other cultures and realizes the need to share knowledge".

Knowing yourself

Along with culture, self-knowledge grows. The Pope recalled the phrase of the Delphic oracle: "Know thyself". "But what does it mean to know yourself? It means to know how to recognize one's limits and, consequently, to curb one's presumption of self-sufficiency. It does us good, because it is above all by recognizing ourselves as creatures that we become creative, immersing ourselves in the world, rather than dominating it. And while technocratic thought pursues a progress that admits of no limits, the real man is also made of fragility, and it is often precisely there that he understands that he depends on God and that he is connected to others and to creation.

To summarize the idea, Francis said that "to know oneself requires holding together, in a virtuous dialectic, the fragility and greatness of man. From the wonder of this contrast arises culture; never satisfied and always searching, restless and communitarian, disciplined in its finitude and open to the absolute. I would like you to cultivate this passionate discovery of truth".

Search for truth

The Pope concluded his speech by inviting everyone to seek the truth, rejecting ideologies. "It was Jesus Christ who said: 'The truth will set you free'".

For this reason, the Holy Father explained that "the key to accessing this truth is a knowledge that is never detached from love, relational, humble and open, concrete and communitarian, courageous and constructive. This is what universities are called to cultivate and faith to nourish. I therefore wish this and all universities to be a center of universality and freedom, a fruitful work of humanism, a workshop of hope".

A short and fruitful visit

After the meeting at the university, Francis went to Budapest's international airport for a 6:00 p.m. flight directly to Rome, ending his apostolic journey in Hungary.

Pope Francis bids farewell to Hungary at Budapest International Airport (CNS photo/Vatican Media)
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Initiatives

Gastronomic Fair of the Sea for parishes in Nicaragua

The parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is holding a Gastronomic Fair in Nicaragua to help with charitable works organized by the Catholic Church.

Néstor Esaú Velásquez-April 30, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsWeek of life in the Diocese of Leon, Nicaragua

The parish community of Santo Tomás Apostle, in the diocese of León, Nicaragua, is preparing this April 29 and 30 to hold the 27th edition of the Gastronomic Fair of the Sea, an initiative that offers local, national and foreign visitors different seafood products.

The parish of St. Thomas the Apostle is located in the Port of Corinto, which is the main commercial port of the country and the second most important for the arrival of cruise ships.

The beginnings

It was Joseph Schendel, a priest of German origin, who initiated different social projects in this parish, projects that have been continued by the different parish priests. priests who have succeeded him. For more than 40 years this parish has been creating projects to help the poorest and neediest, which are materialized in several charitable works: Santa Eduviges Home for the Elderly, Parish Institute Presbítero Emilio Santiago Chavarría, Children's Dining Room, Parish Dispensary, a special education school, Parish Caritas and the Catholic channel Santa Cruz Television. 

To support these works, 27 years ago a woman named There Arana had the initiative to make a fair with seafood products. This fair grew with the help of all the communities of the parish and hearts of good will. Later it became known as the "Gastronomic Fair of the Sea", whose organization and execution has always been the responsibility of the Catholic Church in Corinto, for the benefit of the social works of this parish community.

Teamwork

The management of the preparation of the fair corresponds to the different commissions, integrated by parishioners of the parish of Santo Tomás. These have different roles for the good execution of the services offered to all visitors and begin their work months before the celebration of the Fair.

What began 27 years ago today counts on the collaboration of more than three hundred people, including parishioners, institutions, municipal services, port workers, the Church and others who identify with the cause.

Last Tuesday, April 18, the fishing boat that brought the seafood that will be delivered to the communities for the preparation of the more than fifty dishes that will be offered on April 29 and 30 in the twenty-seventh edition of the Gastronomic Fair of the Sea.

On April 24, Marcos Francisco Diaz Prado, current pastor of the parish of St. Thomas the Apostle, presented at a press conference the progress and preparations for this fair. He also emphasized the importance of this event in the support of the charitable works carried out by the parish.

The authorNéstor Esaú Velásquez

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The Vatican

Pope Francis outlines the Gospel path in Hungary

During his second day in Hungary, Pope Francis visited the poor and the sick, met with young people, the Greek Catholic community and the Orthodox Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary.

Federico Piana-April 29, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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Pope Francis early this morning began the second day of his apostolic journey to Hungary. Shortly before 9 a.m., he paid a visit to the Catholic center dedicated to Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann, which includes an institute for the blind and a home for visually impaired children with special educational needs.

After entering some of the rooms that house the little ones, some of whom are seriously ill, the Holy Father wanted to express his gratitude for all that this institute accomplishes, thanks to the generosity of its workers. "This is pure Gospel. Jesus came to take reality as it was and to carry it forward. It would have been easier to take ideas, ideologies and carry them forward without taking reality into account. This is the Gospel way, this is the way of Jesus," said the Pope, addressing the director of the center, Father György Inotay, arm in arm.

Embracing the poor and refugees

Afterwards, it was in the church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary where the Pontiff ideally embraced all the refugees and the poor of the country. The parish was packed with 600 people from all over the country and refugees from different parts of the world such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and Nigeria.

Pope Francis was moved to listen to the testimonies of a refugee family from Ukraine, of the mother of a Greek Catholic family and of a married couple who dedicate their lives to welcoming and supporting those most in need. In his address, the Holy Father recalled that "charity is not simply material and social assistance, but is concerned with the whole person and desires to set him or her on his or her feet with the love of Jesus: a love that helps to acquire beauty and dignity."

The Pope with the Greek-Catholic community

A few steps from the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary is the parish dedicated to the protection of the Mother of God. And it was here that, immediately after his embrace of the poor and refugees, Pope Francis met with the Greek Catholic community of Budapest.

The Metropolitan Archbishop of Hajdudorog, Msgr. Péter Fülöp Kocsis, welcomed the Pontiff in what turned out to be a brief visit in which there was no speech by the Pope. In his welcoming address, the Archbishop wanted to emphasize how the proximity of the two churches, one of Latin rite and the other of Byzantine rite, represent "the poetic and theological image of the two lungs, that of the East and that of the West, with which the Church of Christ breathes, giving life to the Mystical Body".

Pope to young people: aim high, Jesus believes in you

Take in your hands "your life to help the world to live in peace. Let us ask ourselves, each one of us: what am I doing for others, for the Church, for society? Do I live thinking of my own good or do I put myself at stake for someone else, without calculating my own interests? ".

To the thousands of young Hungarians gathered this afternoon at the László Papp Budapest Sports Arena - the last public meeting today before the private meeting this afternoon with members of the Society of Jesus - the Pope addressed these profound questions, suggesting that they begin to ask themselves about the ability to love according to Jesus, that is, to serve. After listening to the testimonies of the young people, Francis also exhorted them to overcome every obstacle by placing themselves in close relationship with the Lord: "Prayer," said the Pope, "helps to do this, because it is a dialogue with Jesus.

The Pope and the Orthodox Metropolitan Hilarion

There was also an unscheduled audience. This morning, at the end of the first part of the day's engagements, at the nunciature in Budapest, the Pope received privately the Orthodox Metropolitan of Budapest and Hungary, Hilarion. The Holy See Press Office reported that "the conversation was cordial and lasted about 20 minutes".

The authorFederico Piana

 Journalist. He works for Vatican Radio and collaborates with L'Osservatore Romano.

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The Vatican

Pope in Hungary: "The poor and the needy are at the heart of the Gospel".

The Pope continued his trip to Hungary visiting the children of the Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann Institute and the poor and refugees. He also had a brief meeting with Metropolitan Hilarion, representative of the Russian Orthodox Church.

Loreto Rios-April 29, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes
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After celebrating Mass in private earlier in the morning, the Pope visited the children at the Blessed László Batthyány-Strattmann Institutewhere he arrived at around 8:45 a.m. The director, György Inotay, greeted the Pope in his welcoming speech with the Franciscan prayer, thanking the Pontiff for his visit. Afterwards, the Pope went to the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary for a meeting with the poor and refugees.

Meeting with the poor and refugees

Francis was received by the parish priest and the president of Caritas Hungary, Msgr. Antal Spányi. "Bishop Ottokár Prohászka urged the Hungarian Church to engage responsibly and effectively with the needy as early as the beginning of the 20th century, and in 1931 Caritas was founded and continued its work with great vigor until 1950, when it was banned by the communist regime. However, it continued to work almost clandestinely in the parishes until 1991, when Caritas Hungary was officially reinstated," said Spányi in his welcoming address.

The meeting included the testimony of a Greek Catholic family, a refugee family from Ukraine and a deacon and his wife.

"The trip took several days, we were very tired, we were able to take very little with us. When we arrived in Hungary, at first there were good people who took care to provide us with accommodation and gave us the help we needed. Later they took us in at the Caritas Catholic Integration Center. We received financial help (...) which was a lifeline for my family in the first days of poverty, and also gave us encouragement and hope. For us and our children, Hungary was the beginning of a new life, a new possibility. Here we were welcomed and found a new home," explained Oleg Yakovlev, father of the Ukrainian refugee family.

Speech at the Church of St. Elizabeth of Hungary

The Pope then gave a speech in which he thanked the Hungarian Church for its charity towards the poor. He pointed out that "the poor and the needy - let us never forget it - are at the heart of the Gospel: Jesus, in fact, came 'to bring the Good News to the poor' (Lc 4,18). They, then, indicate to us an exciting challenge, so that the faith we profess does not become a prisoner of a cult far removed from life and does not become prey to a kind of 'spiritual egoism', that is, of a spirituality that I build to the measure of my inner tranquility and my satisfaction".

In conclusion, he pointed out that "when you strive to bring bread to the hungry, the Lord makes joy blossom and perfumes your existence with the love you give. I wish you to always bring the perfume of charity to the Church and to your country. And I ask you, please, to continue to pray for me".

Following his speech, the Pope paid a visit to the Greek Catholic community of Budapest in the Church of the Protection of the Mother of God.

After lunch at the Nunciature, he had a cordial meeting with Metropolitan Hilarion, representative of the Church of Russia.

In the afternoon, the Holy Father met with young people at the Papp László Budapest Sports Arena.

Pope meets with young people in Budapest
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  • Samuel Sueiro: "For Henri de Lubac to do theology was to announce the faith."
Culture

Samuel Sueiro: "For Henri de Lubac to do theology was to announce the faith."

The French Episcopal Conference has opened the process of beatification of Henri de Lubac. Samuel Sueiro, doctor in Theology and coordinator of the scientific committee in charge of the Spanish edition of his complete works, talks to us about the great French theologian.

Loreto Rios-April 29, 2023-Reading time: 7 minutes
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On March 31, the French bishops voted to open the cause of beatification of the theologian Henri de Lubac (1896-1991). Ediciones Encuentro is currently working on the publication in Spanish of his complete works.

How did you become interested in Henri de Lubac?

I got to know H. de Lubac mainly while working on my doctoral thesis. I concentrated on one of his last works, unfinished by his own admission: The spiritual posterity of Joachim of Fiore. I was able to immerse myself in his archives and learn about his theological concerns. In the end, it was like peeking into the whole of his thought through a small window.

I admire the profound unity in his biography between the ideas he develops and the vocation he lives. Or, to put it another way, I think it is truly fortunate to have a witness like de Lubac: a great connoisseur of tradition who, from it, helps us to discern at every moment what God asks and what God gives us, for the Church and for the world.

And from the field of theology there is a phrase of his that has always resonated in me in a special way: "The true theologian," he says, "has the humble pride of his title of believer, above which he places nothing. For him, doing theology meant proclaiming the faith in dialogue with today's world, and to do so he had to look at the great tradition, discern the issues at stake, but above all be a believer, open to accept the life that God offers us.

Henri de Lubac is one of the most relevant intellectuals of the 20th century. What challenges have you encountered when translating him?

There were already quite a few translated books by Henri de Lubac in Spanish. We have had many of them for many years. But it is true that Ediciones Encuentro was considering the possibility of making a translation of the critical edition of the Complete Works of Henri de Lubac. A collection launched in French in 1998 that aims to reprint everything that Henri de Lubac had published, but accompanied by introductory studies, notes, explanations, indexes... The usual instruments of the critical edition of an author.

Right now the complete work is planned in 50 volumes, of which thirty are well advanced. Encuentro's editorial project is centered on this new edition. There is a scientific committee that endorses the collection and works on the different volumes, so that each case is evaluated: if in some titles the Spanish translation we already have is good, we try to buy the rights or revise it; if not, we order a new one and revise it, etc. In this sense, perhaps these are the main challenges.

There is a very hard work of rereading and adaptation of the critical apparatus, reviewing each reference -always very numerous in the case of an author like H. de Lubac, the fruit of an impressive erudition-. Basically, it is a matter of helping the reader and the Spanish-speaking researcher. That is why it is a slow work. In this sense, Ediciones Encuentro has made a commitment to one of the great theologians of the 20th century that is a great legacy for the 21st.

Which of your works would you recommend to today's readers? Could you mention one in particular that has had a special relevance for you?

As I said, the panorama of the complete work adds up to fifty titles. Choosing one among fifty is frankly very difficult. Even so -as it is a question of taking a risk-, I would mainly opt for two. The first is Catholicism. Social aspects of dogma. It is his first great book and, for many, his great programmatic work, because it contains the germ of the great intuitions that Henri de Lubac will develop as he faces the various circumstances through which his biography will pass.

Approach Catholicism is to rediscover in the great wellsprings of the patristic and medieval tradition those fresh waters in which to immerse oneself and from which to drink in order to move forward. It is to enter into that great potential of the Christian tradition, capable of showing - as he says - the social aspects, which are not at all fictitious, but which weave a communion with God and, therefore, with others, unceasingly fruitful. On a personal note, the second book that I would highlight, in addition to Catholicismis its Meditation on the Church. It was originally conceived as a series of conferences for the formation of the clergy at the end of the 1940s. The book was sent to press in 1950, although due to various circumstances it was not published until three years later.

If we compare, for example, the chapters, themes and expressions that we find in Meditation on the Church with the dogmatic constitution Lumen gentium on the Church we discover an astonishing harmony. Between one text and the other there is more than a decade of distance and, nevertheless, both share really similar intuitions and approaches. Because they place us before an understanding of the Church that today may sound very commonplace -thank God-, but which at the time implied a novel and necessary approach, to understand the Church as mystery, as mediation, sacrament... Also from its own vocation, from the vocation of knowing itself to be a community chosen by a God who wants to count on us, who does not want to be a God without us.

St. John XXIII appointed Lubac as a member of the Preparatory Commission for the Second Vatican Council. What is the relationship of Lubac's thought to the Council?

In the summer of 1960, half in passing, Lubac learned that he had been appointed by John XXIII as an expert advisor to the Council's Preparatory Commission. His work is very difficult to pinpoint if we want to look for it in a specific text or passage, but scholars who have analyzed this question have first perceived a great harmony between Lubac's main intuitions and many of the Council's ideas. Lubac had to work not only in the preparation, but later John XXIII appointed him advisor to the Council. Once it began, he belonged to the advisory commission of the Council and had to work on many texts.

To stick to the four major constitutions, it is easy to see how they are in harmony with the text of Lumen gentium -as I have just pointed out, not to mention with Dei Verbum -whose commentary is one of the most valuable to this text, the position of the Church before the modern world reflected in the famous Scheme XIII -which would give rise to Gaudium et spes- even some great experts such as J. A. Jungmann, who worked on the first approved constitution, have been involved in this process.Sacrosanctum Concilium-They recognize the Lubacian imprint on the theological relationship between the Eucharist and the Church.

But also in other documents we can find this fundamental harmony between his theology and the conciliar magisterium: atheism or dialogue with other religions are themes where the convergence is total. To use a very eloquent expression of Joseph Ratzinger, in his opinion, perhaps H. de Lubac was the most influential theologian in the "mentality" of the Council Fathers. He was not the theologian in vogue, one of those who made the most statements to the press, and nevertheless, in the mentality that discerned within the classroom how to propose the faith at the height of the times, the influence of Henri de Lubac was certainly decisive.

It should not be forgotten that Lubac was over sixty-five years old when the Council began and had a mature body of work behind him. Paul VI himself, for example, had confessed to being a great reader of Henri de Lubac before becoming Pope. He never concealed his admiration for Lubac's witness. Even when he was Pope, he did not lack occasions to mention him expressly. I honestly believe that, without the theological efforts of people like Henri de Lubac and others of his generation, it would not have been possible to have such a fruitful work as the Second Vatican Council.

You were a friend of Ratzinger and St. John Paul II. What can you tell us about this friendship, both intellectually and personally?

In the elaboration of some conciliar documents, I think especially on the occasion of the famous Scheme XIII, H. de Lubac shared many working sessions with the then Archbishop of Krakow.Karol Wojtyła- and from there a rich friendship was forged. From that time on, Wojtyła himself asked him for some forewords to his books, and he was a great promoter of the translation of Lubac's works into Polish. The relationship was woven especially during the Council.

When, many years later, in 1983, he created him a cardinal, there is a colorful anecdote, which is collected in the second volume of the Works published by Encuentro -Paradox and mystery of the Church-I would like to share an anecdote - as I say - of a conversation around the table between John Paul II and Henri de Lubac, acknowledging each other's work on the conciliar texts. Certainly there was a theological friendship, so to speak. They were well acquainted with each other's thinking and there is a mutual influence. Of his relationship with Ratzinger I have already mentioned his eloquent conviction about his influence on the mentality of the conciliar fathers.

But Ratzinger himself has confessed on several occasions how the book Catholicism marked a milestone for him in his theological elaboration, already from his time as a theology student: to see that there was a way of thinking about the faith that returned to the great tradition and that did not get entangled in questions that were sometimes so dry because they were detached from the more spiritual side of the faith... After the Council, as a member of the International Theological Commission and other circles such as the journal CommunioRatzinger, for example, always confessed his admiration and his debt to Lubacian thought.

What is the status of your beatification process and what steps are to be expected now?

First of all, I believe that he is to be welcomed as good news. He is perhaps the only recent contemporary theologian on the road to the altars. It is a work that had been initiated some years ago, especially by the then Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, who, being himself a seminarian in Paris, often visited Lubac and was able to immerse himself in his theology at his hand.

As Archbishop of Lyon, I believed that undertaking this discernment on the person of H. de Lubac was a debt owed to the diocese itself, because it was the great city around which Henri de Lubac's teaching and the first years of his theological elaboration developed. This is how this process began. Various testimonies were collected from people who knew Henri de Lubac. Henri de Lubac closely. I know that among them the testimony of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI was compiled and that it was one of the most eloquent, if I may say so.

In order to begin the cause, the French Episcopal Conference has given the green light to proceed. For the time being, we will be reviewing his life, trying to detect his heroic virtues to see if in his doctrine as well as in his life we perceive a clear path of holiness. Let us hope that this will continue. I know that from the International Association Cardinal Henri de Lubac we are working not only for the diffusion of his work with scientific rigor, but also to bring forward this good news, as is the eventual beatification of Henri de Lubac.

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Family

The value of parenthood

Today's Western society is experiencing an identity crisis with respect to the meaning and role of fatherhood. Rediscovering fatherhood, its meaning and its complementarity with motherhood is key to the recovery of the basic social fabric.

José Miguel Granados-April 29, 2023-Reading time: 4 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsMariolina Ceriotti: Training to be a parent, day after dayRelated NewsLong live fathers! The ACdP extols the father figure in cities throughout Spain.Related NewsFathers, mothers and mothers

The figure of the male-father, in communion and complementarity with the female-mother, is truly great. However, for various reasons, in our culture there is an identity crisis with respect to the meaning and role of the father. Thus, for example, his authority is often misunderstood or misrepresented.

Therefore, we attempt to answer the question about the value of parenthood by considering its fundamental dimensions. But let us begin with the consideration of a significant analogy.

Protect

"-I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn, and if by life or death I can save you, so will I." These are the words of the heir to the crown of the kingdom of Gondor - addressed to the "hobbit" Frodo, the modest bearer of the ring of dark power that he must destroy, in a mission of decisive importance and almost impossible - in the famous epic The Lord of the Ringsby J. R. R. R. Tolkien.

The noble task of the ruler consists in safeguarding his subjects with prudence and fortitude, uniting them, defending them from their enemies, achieving peace, working selflessly for the prosperity of his people, consolidating the territory, guaranteeing the fulfillment of just laws, ensuring the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, promoting social initiative and solidarity with the most needy... The ruler who fulfills these functions deserves obedience and respect.

For his part, the father's mission is to protect, that is, to create a safe habitat for the members of his family. The diligent father uses all his strength and abilities to defend his family members: he strives and risks so that they can live and grow in a peaceful home, in a trusting environment; he passes on to them the inheritance of a dignified and profitable existence. The father manifests his responsibility towards his offspring: he considers them as a part or extension of himself, and takes care of them. Sigmund Freud was right to say: "I can think of no childhood need as strong as the need for a father's protection."

Giving life

To be a father means to unite oneself to one's spouse in order to beget in love: it means to offer the seed of oneself, to assume with grateful wonder the miracle of each human life and the fruitfulness of one's own flesh and blood in conjugal communion.

The process of human development involves the passage from filiation to spousal parenthood. To be a child means to recognize the gift received: to accept with a clear conscience the existence of someone who precedes me, of a good father and a good mother who have transmitted my being with generous love. The first consequence is joyful gratitude, in the form of respect and honor to those who have originated one's own life.

Commit

After discovering and assuming one's filial identity, one must advance in one's personal development until one reaches nuptiality. This implies the unfolding of the gift received through the effort in one's own maturation and growth, in order to reach the height of the great gift of humanity received.

The child leaves childhood and grows up: little by little he becomes an adult and becomes capable of commitment, self-giving and self-giving. The spousal dimension leads him to make promises in a deliberate way: in this way he establishes covenant bonds, becomes responsible for persons, assumes directive tasks in personal and community life. He also understands that he must remain faithful to the word he has given and loyal to the persons united to him by just bonds. Fabrice Hadjadj rightly points out that paternity "it is an adventure: the risk of a future for the other... as the father hides, pushing his children forward".

On the other hand, immaturity implies the irresponsibility of those who refuse to make commitments and do not want to live for others, but selfishly opt for their own interest or comfort. Then, his existence is frustrated: he stagnates in an infantile individualistic phase, does not reach the adult condition, renounces to grow; betrays his existential mission to make of his own life a gift; fails to fulfill his intimate vocation to transmit the life received, to take care of it and to increase it; breaks some link in the chain of the family tradition, renounces to his own role in existence, and harms the community. In this sense, the writer Mario Francis Puzo said: "a man who does not know how to be a good father is not a real man".

Guide

Pope Francis recalls that "Being a parent means introducing the child into the experience of life, into reality. Not to hold him, not to imprison him, not to possess him, but to make him capable of choosing, of being free, of going out".

In fact, the father - in collaboration with the mother - is the one who first inserts the new generations into the social and working world: he educates them in the importance of participating in a community as an active member; he also instructs them in the virtues of living together; he testifies to the need to resist in tribulations, to remain serenely in the assigned position, fulfilling one's obligations in the service of others. And, finally, every earthly father, being someone fallible, is called to show - with his humble and courageous example of overcoming - the importance of overcoming one's limitations and mistakes, as well as the courage to get up after falls and failures.

In short, the good father is a shepherd who guides his family: he defends, orients, leads, stimulates, feeds, nourishes, heals, corrects, offers rest and care, leads on the right path; he is a teacher of true values: he teaches the moral good; he shows by his life how to live in the truth of love; he communicates the memory of tradition, the wisdom of a people and its culture; he must be a reference, model and guide, pointing out the path and the meaning of life: he goes ahead, with perseverance, transmitting courage and hope. Truly, it is a sublime task: as G. K. Chesterton affirmed, "God chooses ordinary men as fathers to carry out his extraordinary plan.".

Reflect

In short, the proper presence of the father unites, soothes, comforts, balances, blesses. In this way, it leads towards the goal, it puts in contact with the roots and the end of life, with the transcendent God, source of all gifts.

Said C. S. Lewis said that the famous Christian writer George MacDonald "learned first of all from his own father that Fatherhood has to be at the heart of the universe." For every father is called to be, in the last analysis, a participation, a glimpse and reflection of God the Father himself, "from whom every fatherhood in heaven and on earth is named." (Eph 3:15).

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The Vatican

Pope Francis in Hungary: "Christ guides history".

During his apostolic journey to Hungary, Pope Francis gave a speech at his meeting with bishops, priests, seminarians, consecrated persons and pastoral ministers.  

Paloma López Campos-April 28, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
RelatedRelated NewsPope arrives in Budapest, "central place of history".

As part of the apostolic journey to HungaryPope Francis met with priests, seminarians, bishops and consecrated persons. During his speech he wanted to remind everyone of one of the most important requirements: "to interpret the changes and transformations of our time, trying to face the pastoral challenges in the best possible way". Something that, Francis affirmed, "is only possible by looking to Christ as our future".

If we forget that Jesus is the future and that our life is in his hands, "we will look for human means and instruments to defend ourselves from the world, enclosing ourselves in our comfortable and tranquil religious oases; or, on the contrary, we will adapt ourselves to the changing winds of worldliness and, then, our Christianity will lose vigor and we will cease to be salt of the earth".

The interpretation of history

Therefore, the Holy Father encouraged us to avoid two temptations in the interpretation of history: on the one hand, the catastrophic reading, "which feeds on the defeatism of those who repeat that all is lost, that the values of the past no longer exist, that we do not know where we will end up"; and on the other hand, the naive interpretation that hides in conformism. The solution is to "welcome as a fruitful plant the time in which we live, with its changes and its challenges, because through all this the Lord is drawing near. In the meantime, we are called to cultivate the time that has come to us, to read it, to sow the GospelWe are called to a prophetic welcome".

Recognizing God's presence

Francis defined this acceptance as the recognition of "the signs of God's presence in reality, even where it does not appear explicitly marked by the Christian spirit and comes to meet us with that character that provokes and challenges us". At the same time, it is the ability to see everything through the lens of the Gospel.

In the face of today's prevailing secularism, "the temptation can be to become rigid, to close ourselves off and adopt a combative attitude. But such realities can represent opportunities for us Christians, because they stimulate faith and the deepening of certain themes".

Openness to dialogue

The current situation, the Pope pointed out, demands that we Christians open ourselves to dialogue, which is not easy either, in part also because of the overload of work that many priests suffer.

For this reason, "it is necessary to begin an ecclesial reflectionsynodalWe must all work together to update pastoral life, without being satisfied with repeating the past and without being afraid to reconfigure the parish in the territory, but making evangelization a priority and initiating an active collaboration between priests, catechists, pastoral workers and teachers".

Testimony of communion

But Francis warned that good pastoral care is only possible by following the commandment of love given by Christ. "If we are distanced or divided, if we become rigid in our positions and in groups, we do not bear fruit. It causes sadness when we are divided because, instead of playing as a team, we play the game of the enemy: bishops disconnected from one another, priests in tension with the bishop, older priests in conflict with younger ones, diocesans with religious, presbyters with laity, Latins with Greeks; we polarize ourselves on issues that affect the life of the Church, but also on political and social aspects, entrenching ourselves in ideological positions."

In view of this, the Holy Father recalled that "the first pastoral ministry is the witness of communion, because God is communion and is present where there is fraternal charity".

Faith in Hungary

In conclusion, Francis repeated that "Christ is our future, because it is He who guides history. Your confessors of the faith were firmly convinced of this: so many bishops, priests, men and women religious martyred during the atheistic persecution; they bear witness to the granite faith of the Hungarians".

He invited those present to be welcoming and witnesses of the Gospel, "but above all be women and men of prayer, because history and the future depend on it. I thank you for your faith and fidelity, for all the good that you have and do".

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The Pope's message in the Hungarian Book of Honor

"As a pilgrim and friend I come to Hungary, a country rich in history and culture; from Budapest, city of bridges and saints, I think of all Europe and pray that, united and in solidarity, it may also be today a house of peace and a prophecy of welcome."

Maria José Atienza-April 28, 2023-Reading time: < 1 minute
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The Vatican

Pope says it is a mistake to create test-tube embryos and then dispose of them

The Pope addressed a message to the participants of the Congress "The Billings Revolution. 70 years later, of fertility knowledge and personalized medicine" that brings together hundreds of people at the University of Sacro Cuore.

Maria José Atienza-April 28, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

Seven decades after Drs. John and Evelyn Billings unveiled their natural method of fertility recognition, this method continues to be "timely and stimulating". These are the words of Pope Francis in the message he addressed to teachers of natural methods, doctors, psychologists, students and others who, on April 28-29, gathered in Rome for a congress.

A conference to continue to deepen in medical-scientific issues, the value of knowledge, the worrying reality of the declining birth rate and infertility of the couple, as well as proposals and experiences on training and intercultural and interreligious dialogue.

Billings Method Update

In his message to them, the Pope emphasizes that the Billings method "could have seemed outdated and less reliable in comparison with the claimed immediacy and safety of pharmacological interventions. In fact, however, his method has continued to prove timely and stimulating, since it has led to serious reflection on a number of essential areas. These include the need to educate in the value of the human body, an integrated and integral vision of human sexuality, the ability to appreciate the fecundity of love even when it is not fertile, the construction of a culture that welcomes life, and ways of dealing with the problem of demographic collapse."

The Pope highlighted "the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of the conjugal act", the central theme of the encyclical. Humanae vitae and affirmed that "when these two meanings are consciously affirmed, the generosity of love is born and strengthened in the hearts of the spouses, disposing them to welcome a new life. Without this, the experience of sexuality is impoverished, reduced to sensations that soon become self-referential."

No to "alternative ways" of having a child

"The Billing methods along with others like it, represents one of the most appropriate means to responsibly realize the desire to become parents" continues the Pope in the message in which the pontiff adds that "while it is appropriate legitimate desire to conceive with the most advanced scientific knowledge and technologies that can improve fertility, it is wrong to create test-tube embryos and then dispose of them, trade in gametes and resort to the practice of surrogate motherhood".

Pastoral value of fertility knowledge

The Pope praised the work of the Center for Studies and Research for the Natural Regulation of Fertility, which has been present since 1976 at the Catholic University of Sacred Heartemphasizing the pastoral value of knowledge of fertility and natural methods "as it helps couples to be more aware of their marital vocation and to witness to the Gospel values of human sexuality".

He also stressed the need for a true education in sexuality for young people and married couples "going back to the great book of nature, learning to respect the value of the body and the generation of life, with a view to authentic experiences of conjugal love".

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The Vatican

Pope arrives in Budapest, "central place of history".

Pope Francis has begun his apostolic journey to Hungary. Arriving in Budapest, the Holy Father described the capital as a "central place of history".

Paloma López Campos-April 28, 2023-Reading time: 5 minutes
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Pope Francis left Rome on Friday morning, April 28. The Pontiff's destination was Hungary, where he landed after a flight accompanied by many journalists.

At 11:00 a.m., the welcoming ceremony took place, during which there was a meeting with the President of the Republic, Katalin Novák, and with the Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán. After the ceremony, the Pope will meet with members of civil society and the diplomatic corps, and later with priests, deacons, consecrated persons, seminarians and pastoral ministers.

During his address to the authorities, Francis described Budapest as "a central place in history" and as a city "called to be a protagonist of the present and the future". For this reason, the Pope took advantage of his intervention to give some ideas, taking Budapest as "city of history, city of bridges and city of saints".

City of history

The Holy Father considered the Hungarian capital as a city of history due to its antiquity, although "its splendor takes us to modernity, when it was the capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire".

In spite of everything, its history knows of painful events, "not only invasions of distant times but, in the last century, violence and oppression provoked by the Nazi and Communist dictatorships, how can we forget 1956? And, during the Second World War, the deportation of hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, with the rest of the population of Jewish origin locked up in the ghetto and subjected to numerous atrocities".

However, in the face of these events there were courageous people, such as Nuncio Angelo Rotta, whom Francis mentioned. The various situations that Budapest has gone through make it "the center of a country that knows the value of freedom and that, after having paid a high price to dictatorships, carries within itself the mission of guarding the treasure of democracy and the dream of peace".

Community policy

To draw a parallel with European history, the Pope reminded those present of the founding of Budapest, 150 years ago, "with the union of three cities: Buda and Óbuda, to the west of the Danube, and Pest, located on the opposite shore. The birth of this great capital in the heart of the continent evokes the unitary path undertaken by Europe, in which Hungary finds its own vital channel".

These manifestations of unitThe passion for community politics and for multilateralism seems to be a beautiful memory of the past. "The passion for community politics and for multilateralism seems to be a beautiful memory of the past; it seems that we are witnessing the sad decline of the choral dream of peace, while the soloists of war prevail".

The Pontiff warned that the idea of community among nations is being lost, "it even seems that politics at the international level has the effect of inflaming tempers rather than solving problems, forgetting the maturity it reached after the horrors of war and regressing to a kind of warlike childishness".

Europe, fundamental

Francis encouraged the fostering of a spirit of community in Europe, "because Europe, thanks to its history, represents the memory of humanity and is therefore called to play its proper role: that of uniting those who are far away, welcoming peoples into its bosom and not allowing anyone to remain forever an enemy."

City of bridges

The Pope then spoke of Budapest as a city of bridges. "Seen from above, the pearl of the Danube shows its peculiarity precisely thanks to the bridges that unite its parts, harmonizing its configuration with that of the great river. This harmony with the environment leads me to congratulate the ecological care that this country carries out with great effort".

The Holy Father took the opportunity to distinguish between unity and uniformity. Again, returning to Europe, Francis quoted one of the founding fathers of the European Union who said: "Europe will exist and nothing that constitutes the glory and happiness of every nation can be lost. It is precisely in a larger society, in a more effective harmony, that the individual can be affirmed".

Therefore, the Pope explained, what is needed is harmony, "a whole that does not crush the parts and parts that feel well integrated into the whole". Francis pointed out that he thinks "of a Europe that is not a hostage of the parts, falling prey to self-referential populism, but that also does not become a fluid or gaseous reality, a kind of abstract supranationalism that does not take into account the life of the peoples".

City of saints

The Pope also pointed out Budapest as a city of saints and made reference to the first king of Hungary, St. Stephen. This implies that "Hungarian history is marked by holiness, and not only of a king, but of a whole family: his wife, Blessed Gisela, and his son St. Emeric".

That first monarch, with a Christian spirit, wrote to his son: "I recommend you to be kind not only to your family and relatives, or to the powerful and wealthy, or to your neighbor and your inhabitants, but also to foreigners". He also left him another piece of advice: "Be meek so as never to fight against the truth".

Therefore, Francis warned that the monarch's behavior harmonized truth with meekness. His reign "is a great teaching of faith. Christian values cannot be witnessed through rigidity and closed-mindedness, because the truth of Christ entails meekness and gentleness, in the spirit of the Beatitudes."

The Pope also mentioned St. Elizabeth, "a precious stone of the Gospel," who dedicated her life to the sick and had a hospital built for them.

Sound secularity

The Holy Father concluded his address to the authorities by thanking them "for the promotion of charitable and educational works inspired by these values and in which the local Catholic structure is engaged, as well as for the concrete support to so many Christians who are experiencing difficulties in the world, especially in Syria and Lebanon".

Francis took the opportunity to recall that collaboration between Church and State is important, but that to be fruitful "it needs to safeguard the appropriate distinctions". For this reason, "a healthy secularism does good, so that it does not fall into generalized secularism, which is allergic to any sacred aspect and then immolates itself on the altars of profit".

On the other hand, the Pope made reference to the reception of refugees, saying that "it is an issue that we must face together, communally, because in the context in which we live, the consequences, sooner or later, will have repercussions on everyone".

The speech ended by thanking those present for listening and showing the closeness of the Holy Father to the Hungarian people: "I thank you for having listened to what I had intended to share with you, I assure you of my closeness and my prayer to all Hungarians with a special remembrance for those who live outside the homeland and for those I have met during my life and who have done me so much good".

A short trip

On Saturday 29, Pope Francis will continue his visit to the country. In the morning he will have a meeting with children, and then he will go to speak with the poor and refugees. He will also visit the Greco-Latin community, meet with young people and have a private meeting with members of the Society of Jesus at the nunciature.

On Sunday, the last day of the trip, the Holy Father will celebrate Mass in the morning, after which there will be a meeting with university students and cultural representatives. At 17:30, there will be a farewell ceremony after which the Pope will return to Rome.

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Culture

The Pontifical Seditionaries, a peculiar figure at the service of the Pope

The pontifical seditionaries are a group of people traditionally at the service of the pope. The sediarios, dressed in full dress, were once the men who were given the honor of carrying the pontiff's throne on their shoulders during liturgical celebrations.

Hernan Sergio Mora-April 28, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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Throughout the centuries they have seen wars, invasions, plundering, exile and a thousand vicissitudes, but always at the service of the Pope: they are the 'Sediari', a lay institution that comes from the Pontifical Palaphrenes and that today are part of what is called the "Pontifical Family".

From the 'Palafrenieri Pontifici' to the 'Sediari'.

The 'Palafrenieri Pontifici' date back to the 10th century. They were in charge of the Pope's escort, accompanying the Holy Father as he rode in a sumptuous procession to take possession of his chair in St. John Lateran (today's Cathedral of Rome), when he left for a public ceremony, or simply when he moved from one place to another. Their name "Palafreneros" comes from the fact that they accompanied His Holiness taking the reins and bridle of the horse that the pontiff rode.

Historical documents indicate that the Archconfraternity of the Pontifical Palafrenieri used to meet in a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter. In 1565 Pope Pius IV authorized the construction of a church for them: Sant'Anna dei Palafrenieri, today accessible to the public within the walls of the Vatican City-State. The church with its elliptical plan was commissioned to the architect Giacomo Barozzi, known as "il Vignola".

In 1507 Pope Julius II instituted the "Noble College of the Pontifical Palafreneri", confirmed on April 15, 1517 by Pope Leo X, which already included the Pontifical Seditionaries, with whom they also shared the motto.

sediarios
Pope John Paul I in the chair carried by sedieri ©CNS file photo

In fact, the Sediarios -another body made up of gentlemen- became more and more related to the Palafreneros once the Pontiff began to use the gestatorial chair, which was carried on the shoulders of several men. So much so that in 1565 both institutions were officially in charge of the transfer of the Pontiff.

After the Lateran Pacts of 1929, the so-called 'Concordat' between the Church and the Italian State, and in view of the disuse of horses, the Palafreri gathered definitively in the Sediari and the seat of their Archconfraternity left the Vatican walls and moved to the Church of "Santa Caterina della Rotta", a stone's throw away from Palazzo Farnese.

It is not necessary to go too far back in time to remember that the Seditaries used to carry the chair that carried the Holy Father to audiences or events. A custom that ended in 1978, when St. John Paul II did not want to use it, not even for the inauguration ceremony, and has since fallen into disuse.

Newspapers today

Augusto Pellegrini, Gentleman of His Holiness and former dean of the Sala of the Pontifical Antechamber, specifies for Omnes that "the Sediarios have a dean, but he is not called 'dean of the Sediarios' but rather Dean of the Sala of the Pontifical Antechamber.

Today the 'sediarios de numero' are four people, who help the Dean of the Pontifical Antechamber Hall - currently Roberto Stefanori - to receive those who visit the Holy Father during the week in the meetings that usually take place in the Library of the Apostolic Palace".

"In addition to them," adds Pellegrini, "there are the 'sediarios de sobrenúmero', who are summoned by the Dean when a greater participation of them is necessary. (For example, during Wednesday hearings). 

Without the presence of horses or saddles, the sediarios continue, today, with their work in step with the times. Presided over by the Prefect of the Pontifical Household, they are persons of trust of the Pope, active in the Vatican to assist the Holy Father in audiences and whom the Pontifical Yearbook includes as the lay part of the pontifical family.

The authorHernan Sergio Mora

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Experiences

Meeting Christ in Magdala

The Magdala organization is organizing the first meeting of young people on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It will be a 10-day trip during which the participants will be able to visit the places where Jesus walked and preached.

Paloma López Campos-April 28, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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From July 21 to 31 a group of pilgrims will visit the places where Christ preached. The initiative stems from the organization MagdalaIn addition to having an archaeological preservation task of great interest, it is intended to be a meeting point between Jewish and Christian history.

The Magdala project, promoted by the Regnum ChristiThe center has a prayer center for Christians of all denominations ("Duc in altum"), an institute for the development of human dignity and spiritual and psychological renewal ("Magdalene Institute"), an archaeological park, which includes the oldest synagogue in the world ever found, and a guesthouse. All this is in a unique enclave on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, as is the ancient city of Magdala, where Mary Magdalene is believed to have been from.

In 2023, the Magdala organization has decided to organize a pilgrimage that will be repeated annually until 2033. The aim is to prepare Christians for the third millennium of the Resurrection of Jesus. All the information is available on the website "Encounter Magdala".

Travel itinerary

  • DAY 1: On Friday, July 21, travelers will arrive at Tel Aviv airport. They will then transfer to a hotel in the Galilee.
  • DAY 2: The group will be able to visit Mount Arbel, take a boat trip on the Sea of Galilee and go to Magdala. Here they will attend Mass with the priest Juan Solana, who initiated the great project that is today the organization.
  • DAY 3: The pilgrims will go to Mount Tabor, to Nazareth (they will attend Mass at the Church of the Annunciation), to the home of Mary and the Holy Family, and to Cana.
  • DAY 4: Travelers will visit Caesarea Philippi and the Golan Heights, meditating on the conversion of St. Paul. Later, they will return to Magdala to attend a musical event with international artists such as Ana Bolivar, Paola Pablo and David Filio.
  • DAY 5: Pilgrims will go to see the last Crusader stronghold in the Holy Land and Mount Carmel. Again, they will then go to Magdala for worship and praise near the Sea of Galilee.
  • DAY 6: Walk along the "Via Maris" in Galilee, visit the Mount of Beatitudes, the Primacy of Peter and Capernaum.
  • DAY 7: The pilgrims will go to Jericho, renew baptismal promises in the Jordan River, visit the Dead Sea and hike in the Judean desert.
  • DAY 8: The groups will go to Bethlehem and attend Mass at the Church of the Nativity. Afterwards, they will start visiting Jerusalem, passing by Mount Zion, the Tomb of David, the Upper Room and the Israel Museum, among other places.
  • DAY 9: The pilgrims will continue to visit Jerusalem. They will pass by the Grotto of Gethsemane, the Mount of Olives, various churches, the Tomb of Mary, Calvary and the Holy Sepulcher, as well as many other points of great interest in the Holy City.
  • DAY 10: On the last full day in the Holy Land, pilgrims will be able to go to ancient Jaffa, today Tel Aviv, and to Caesarea Maritima, where there will be a celebration of the Eucharist.
  • DAY 11: On July 31, the group will leave Holy Land.

Practical issues

The entire trip is priced from $1,300, which does not include airport taxes, airfare, or personal expenses. The group of pilgrims will be divided into several different hotels and will be provided with buses for transportation.

In addition, there will be guides in English and Spanish throughout the tour. There will also be daily Masses, in addition to those indicated in the itinerary.

Coming soon...

What if I can't go this year? No problem, because Magdala assures that next year they will repeat the experience. In fact, they have already opened the registration to receive any kind of update on next year's "Encounter".

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Culture

Milagros Tejedor. Caring for caregivers

Rooted in San Sebastian (Spain) for decades, Milagros Tejedor chairs the Association for the Family Care of Dependent Patients (APCF), made up of people from various professions who, at the end of their working lives, help in the comprehensive training of caregivers. 

Francisco Otamendi-April 27, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

The hand that rocks the cradle in various populations around the world is usually an immigrant. And the one that takes care of the elderly and the sick, too. Milagros Tejedor and some other people detected in the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the Basque Country, fifteen years ago, the need to listen and offer personalized training to caregivers. So they set up the Association for the Family Care of Dependent Patients. 

"The caregiver often carries out his or her work alone, which is physically and psychologically exhausting." explains Milagros Tejedor. "Also, we all, at some point in our lives, become occasional caregivers for our families, and in these situations it is very helpful to know that there is someone who can guide us on how and in what way we can do it properly.".

The geriatrics seminars are prepared by Dr. Istúriz Marquina and Dr. Paisán Grisolía, who are members of the Board of Directors. "They are very professional, to cover the needs that our elderly may have, and that their caregivers can care for them at home with the help and follow-up of the corresponding medical services."he points out.

The Association also carries out "We listen to the caregivers and give them personalized attention and help them adapt to our environment, so that in a shorter rather than longer period of time, they can achieve family reunification and social adaptation".The president adds. It is about "The majority of the group is made up of Latin American workers, who live difficult situations until their definitive integration. We have from many countries, Central America - Honduras, Nicaragua... -, also Bolivia, now many are arriving from Colombia, Peru, some Africans, and from Nepal, this has been going on for some time".. 

Professional quality and values

Where did this woman's concern for others come from? Let's dive a little into her life story. Milagros Tejedor González studied at the Jesuitinas and at the Valladolid School of Commerce, and graduated as a commercial teacher. She also recalls that she was a student of the writer Miguel Delibes.

In her family Christian customs were lived and was closely linked to the brotherhood of the Virgen de las Angustias. They were all members of the brotherhood, and she still is, even when she moved with her family to San Sebastian, for marriage and work reasons. "We went every year to participate in the silent and magnificent Holy Week processions of Valladolid, to bring our children closer to their roots, and to care for and enjoy our parents."he says. 

Milagros Tejedor, who has three children and eight grandchildren, and a husband who is a medical immunologist, was a court officer by competitive examination, worked for many years in the Labor Magistracy, and then moved to a Criminal Court, where she was able to observe "the bitter face of life"which made him more humanized. 

"Our task is a grain of sand".he says. However, after all these years of work, "numerous families in our environment contact us to ask for our help, trusting in the professional quality and values acquired by the caregivers who come to our association. For a while we were unique and pioneers in this, now also the Administration of Guipuzcoa gives training courses for caregivers".

The Association has been organizing annual cycles of seminars for the past fifteen years, followed by a month of internships in homes for the elderly. In this context, in December, it organized visits to the San Ignacio, Hermano Gárate and Zorroaga homes for the elderly, in collaboration with the Eskibel school choir.

The authorFrancisco Otamendi

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Sunday Readings

Good shepherds, wise sheep. Fourth Sunday of Easter (A)

Joseph Evans comments on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter and Luis Herrera offers a short video homily.

Joseph Evans-April 27, 2023-Reading time: 2 minutes

Today is known as Good Shepherd Sunday because each year the gospel is taken from John 10 where Jesus speaks of himself as the Good Shepherd. 

It is also known as Vocations’ Sunday because, in 1964, Pope St Paul VI established this day as a special day to pray for vocations. 

The logic is obvious and can be found in those words from the prophet Jeremiah, when God says: “I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding” (Jer 3:15). Let us ask God to grant us authentic shepherds of souls, who, in imitation of Christ, are ready to lay down their life for the sheep, tend the weak, seek out the lost, and guide all to good pastures.

Israel in Jesus’s time was a profoundly agrarian society and sheep mattered. The Davidic king, the anointed ruler from the line of David, was seen as shepherd of his flock. David himself was a shepherd boy when anointed to be king, taken “from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be prince over my people Israel” (2 Sam 7:8). And the Israelites could get very tender over their sheep, as we see in the parable which Nathan told David after the latter’s great sin. The prophet speaks of a poor man who had a single. "little ewe lamb … it grew up with him and with his children; it used to eat of his morsel, and drink from his cup, and lie in his bosom, and it was like a daughter to him." (2 Sam 12:3).

But in today’s gospel (Jn 10:1-10), Jesus adds a slightly different nuance. He is not only the Good Shepherd, as he will explain, he is also the gate of the sheepfold, the only legitimate way to go in and out of it. If we see the sheepfold as the Church, the place we are nourished and kept safe from wolves, then we only enter it through Christ. As Christ enters us through the Eucharist, we enter him through Baptism. But Jesus encourages us to ‘go in and out’ of the fold, not to abandon the Church, but in the sense of leaving its obvious confines – the parish, the home life of a Christian family – to go into the world to witness to our faith. 

Guided by Jesus the Good Shepherd, we go out to witness, with his word in our hearts, but we return to the fold to be restored, fed and renewed. Jesus here is speaking to us of the very dynamic of Christian life: we need parish and home life yet must not stay locked in them but should rather witness in our work and leisure. 

Finally, Jesus warns us against false teachers, "....“thieves … who come only to steal and kill and destroy”, who try to gain access to the fold in some other way than through him. With such people, let’s be like the sensible sheep Jesus speaks of:“A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

Homily on the readings of the Fourth Sunday of Easter (A)

The priest Luis Herrera Campo offers its nanomiliaA short one-minute reflection for these Sunday readings.

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The Vatican

Lay and religious, voting members at the next Synod

The Holy See today made public a series of changes to the composition of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.10 new members belonging to Institutes of Consecrated Life and 70 non-Bishop members, representing other faithful of the People of God (priests, consecrated persons, deacons, lay faithful) will be added to the members with voting rights.

Maria José Atienza-April 26, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will have, for the first time, non-bishop members with the right to vote. There will be 10 members of religious orders (5 women and 5 men) and 70 non-bishops, including priests, consecrated persons, deacons and lay faithful.

Together with the incorporation of a new figure, the facilitatorsThe main novelty of the next Assembly will be the presence of experienced people whose task will be to facilitate the work at the different moments of the Assembly. Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops focused on the theme of synodality.

The note issued by the Holy See points out that "the current regulations continue to refer to the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio with some modifications and novelties" and refers to Pope Francis' approval of "the extension of participation in the Synodal Assembly to 'non-bishops' (priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, lay men and women). This choice is in continuity with the progressive appropriation of the dimension of the synodal dimension. synodal constitutive of the Church and the consequent understanding of the institutions through which it is exercised".

Ten religious replace the "ten clerics".

The ten religious men and women who will form part of this Assembly replace the "ten clerics belonging to Institutes of Consecrated Life, elected by the respective organizations representing the Superiors General" that were foreseen in previous synods.

The nuns will be chosen by the International Union of Superiors General and the male ones by the Union of Superiors Generalrespectively.

Women and young people, chosen by the Pope

In addition, this Synod will have another 70 new members who will come from the local Churches. Among them are expected to be priests, consecrated persons, deacons and lay faithful.

Although each of the International Meetings of the Episcopal Conferences and the Assembly of Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches will propose 20 names, the new members will be chosen by the Pope from the resulting list of 140 persons. Among them, it is specified "that 50% of them be women and that the presence of young people is also valued". They will have the right to vote, something they did not have before, and it has been requested that "not only their general culture and prudence, but also their knowledge, both theoretical and practical, as well as their participation in various capacities in the synodal process" be taken into account.

On the other hand, the Holy See indicates, "in addition to the 70 non-bishop members mentioned above, it is worth mentioning that it will also be possible to count non-bishop members among the pontifically appointed members".

The last novelty of this Assembly refers to "the representatives of the Dicasteries" that will participate and that "are those indicated by the Holy Father".

The note issued by the Holy See also recalled that "all elections must be ratified by the Roman Pontiff", that is, the Pope must approve the names proposed, bishops or not, to be members of this Assembly.

Some bishops' conferences, such as the Spanish one, have already announced that they have sent to Rome their proposal of bishops as synod fathers.

The names of those elected will not be released until their election has been confirmed by the Pope.

Non-voting participants

The Holy See recalled that, in the Assembly, "other persons who do not have the title of "President" also participate in the Assembly. member"i.e., "who do not have the right to vote".

These non-voting participants include experts and, for the first time, facilitators, that is, experienced people whose task will be to facilitate the work at the different moments of the Assembly, as well as "fraternal delegates, members of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities", as the Vatican has pointed out.

An impulse to episcopal specificity

According to the Holy See, this broadening of participation in the Assembly "reinforces the solidity of the process as a whole, incorporating in the Assembly the living memory of the preparatory phase, through the presence of some of those who were its protagonists, thus restoring the image of a Church-People of God, founded on the constitutive relationship between common priesthood and ministerial priesthood, and giving visibility to the circular relationship between the prophetic function of the People of God and the discernment function of the Pastors".

The entry of non-bishop members into the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops not only does not dilute but "confirms" the episcopal specificity of the Assembly (bishops continue to represent 75% of the participants) but, at the same time, "does not limit its composition".

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Spain

Jesus Torres: "Africa evangelized me".

Next Sunday, April 30, will be celebrated the Day of Native Vocations, with the theme "Get on the road, don't wait any longer". It coincides with the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, which this year will have the theme "Vocation: grace and mission".

Loreto Rios-April 26, 2023-Reading time: 3 minutes
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The presentation of the Native Vocations Day took place today at the headquarters of the Pontifical Mission Societies. José María Calderón, director of OMP Spain, pointed out the close relationship that exists between this day and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, since as a universal Church we must pray for the emergence of vocations on a national and universal level. In the same way, he indicated that there is a temptation to pray that "there be missionaries", but that, even if there were thousands, it would be necessary to continue praying for vocations in the evangelized territory. The presentation was also attended by Jesús Torres, a missionary in Africa.

Importance of native vocations

"A missionary is still a foreigner," the director pointed out. "We must have our own vocations to take over from the missionaries so that the Church can be strong (...) To feel with the Church means that the reality of Christians in other parts of the world also concerns me (...). It is a day to grow in the Catholic sense of the Church, of concern for one another".

Jesús Torres, missionary in Africa

The presentation was attended by Father Jesús Torres, diocesan priest and missionary of the Spanish Institute of Foreign Missions (IEME). Jesus has lived in Mozambique for 26 years, and he told briefly that from a very young age he knew that his vocation was to be a missionary, but without ceasing to be a diocesan priest.

After 14 years as a rural priest in the diocese of Segovia, he went as a missionary to Mozambique. "I found a Church that fascinated me. That intuition that I had of what it should be to live the Gospel I found in Africa". He adds: "Africa evangelized me (...) It revealed to me that Church in which we had to walk together".

Torres arrived in Mozambique in 1985. At that time, Mozambique had some 500 years of evangelization, and it was a living church at the level of Christian communities. However, there were no native vocations. He understood that this Church had to grow. The diocese of Beira, when he arrived, had only four Mozambican priests, including the bishop. It was a town already evangelized, a church of Mozambicans, but without Mozambican priests.

According to this missionary, this situation derives from the time when Mozambique was a Portuguese colony, since the evangelizers at that time considered that, being Mozambique Portuguese territory, they could always send the priests that were needed. Later, St. Paul VI had an intuition: "Africa must be evangelized by Africans". This was of great importance for Africa in general and produced a renaissance in the Mozambican Church, which began to have native bishops.

"We missionaries have to know how to retire."

Jesús Torres pointed out that "the first evangelization is to implant the Church, and that is what we missionaries are for". But, once implanted, there was a lack of native vocations. The first seminaries were founded, but the revolution in Mozambique cut short the momentum. Just when he arrived in the country, the bishop at the time had made the decision to open seminaries, since they were the only way for the local church to grow. The bishop asked him to help him as a teacher in the seminary of the diocese of Beira.

In addition to his pedagogical work, he also visited the most remote villages, where he found lively Christian communities, but, again, without priests of his own. As a result of this work, native vocations began to emerge. "We missionaries have to know how to withdraw and how to implant the local church," he said.

Since 1993, Jesus was rector of the seminary, a position he held for thirteen years. He indicated to the bishop that as soon as the first students were ordained, the position of rector had to be filled by a Mozambican.

"We missionaries have a hard time trusting"

In 2011 he returned to Spain to serve as a priest in his diocese, although he has maintained contact with his former students in Mozambique. This year he has visited those communities where he was a missionary, and where Mozambican priests who were his students are now practicing.

In the three dioceses in Mozambique there are about 100 priests, and the majority of the parishes are directed by native priests. There has been, without a doubt, a growth, but he affirms, however, that at present there is a slight setback, because "it is difficult for the missionaries to trust that they will be able to carry out this growth".

He comments that white bishops have recently been reappointed and that two seminaries are led by Mozambicans, but one is once again led by foreigners.

The missionary made an appeal to trust: "The way is not for the missionaries to return (...) That is the importance of this Day of Native Vocations. It is the only way of growth, and that growth requires trust".

He also pointed out the importance of the Work of St. Peter the Apostle and of donations for the missions to be able to move forward.

Video of the presentation of the Native Vocations Day, OMP Spain
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The Vatican

Vocation is a call to love, recalls Pope

The World Day of Prayer for Vocations, instituted by St. Paul VI in 1964, is celebrated on April 30. Its aim, as Pope Francis points out, is "to help the members of God's people, personally and in community, to respond to the call and the mission that the Lord entrusts to each one in today's world, with its wounds and its hopes, its challenges and its conquests."

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Pope Francis has published his message for the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, to be celebrated on April 30. This year, the Pontiff proposes to reflect on the idea that vocation is grace and mission, because "it is a free gift and, at the same time, it is a commitment to set out on a journey, to go out, to bring the Gospel".

The origin of every vocation is love, "because this is, from always and forever, the dream of God: that we live with Him in communion of love". Francis recalls this through the words of St. PaulIn Christ, God the Father "chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will" (Ef 1, 4-5)".

Will and freedom

The Pope says that this call to love, which becomes concrete for each one of us in a vocation, is "inscribed in our innermost being and is the bearer of the secret of happiness". But it can also come unexpectedly. This is how the Pontiff tells it: "It was like this for me on September 21, 1953, when, while going to the annual student's feast, I felt the impulse to enter the church and go to confession. That day changed my life and left an imprint that lasts to this day." However, everyone receives the call in a different way, because "God's imagination to call us is infinite".

Yes, a response is expected from everyone. It is in this harmony between the will of God and the freedom of man that vocation lives. The Pope points out that "the gift of vocation is like a divine seed that sprouts in the soil of our life, opens us to God and opens us to others to share with them the treasure we have found".

Vocation as mission

Every vocation is also a sending out into the world. Francis says that "there is no vocation without mission. And there is no happiness and full realization of oneself without offering to others the new life we have found. The divine call to love is an experience that cannot be silenced".

In fact, the Pope recalls what he has already said in his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii GaudiumEach one of us, without excluding anyone, can say: "I am a mission on this earth, and that is why I am in this world".

It is the mission of every Christian to be a living witness to the joy of Christ and his Church. This "translates into works of material and spiritual mercy, in a lifestyle open to all and meek, capable of closeness, compassion and tenderness, which goes against the current with respect to the culture of discarding and indifference".

Without voluntarism, with Christ

However, the Pope warns that we cannot fall into voluntarism. Our witness "is not born simply from our abilities, intentions or projects, nor from our will, nor even from our effort to practice the virtues, but from a profound experience with Jesus". As an example of an experience with Christ, Francis mentions the next World Youth Day, which will take place in August and will be held in Lisbon.

For we are not witnesses of something, but "of Someone, of a Life". And for this reason, we are "marked by fire by this mission to enlighten, bless, enliven, raise up, heal, liberate" (Apostolic Exhortation, Apostolic Exhortation, p. 4). Evangelii gaudium, 273)".

Personal vocation, universal spirit

The Pope wanted to recall that "in the Church, we are all servants according to different vocations, charisms and ministries". Therefore, the mission of the laity, "committed to building up the family as a small domestic church and to renew the various environments of society with the leaven of the Gospel; in the witness of consecrated women and men, totally dedicated to God for their brothers and sisters as a prophecy of the Kingdom of God; in the ordained ministers (deacons, priests, bishops) placed at the service of the Church; in the service of the poor and the needy; in the work of the Church; in the work of the Church; in the work of the Church; in the work of the Church; in the work of the Church; in the work of the Church; and in the work of the Church. Wordof prayer and the communion of God's holy people".

The personal mission of each one must also be seen in the overall richness of the Church. "In this sense, the Church is a vocational symphony, with all vocations united and diverse, in harmony and at the same time outbound to radiate in the world the new life of the Kingdom of God". To conclude his message, the Pope quotes the prayer composed by St. Paul VI for the first World Day of Vocations:

"Jesus, divine Shepherd of souls, who called the Apostles to make them fishers of men, draw to You also the ardent and generous souls of the young, to make them Your followers and Your ministers; make them sharers in Your thirst for universal redemption. [...]discover the horizons of the whole world for them. [...]that, responding to your call, they may prolong your mission here on earth, build up your mystical Body, the Church, and be "salt of the earth and light of the world" (Mt 5,13)".

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