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VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 37
DATE 25-02-2014
Summary:
- THE POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT SYNOD
- ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH
- OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
___________________________________________________________
THE POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT SYNOD Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; Pope Francis has written a letter to families asking them to pray for the next Synod of Bishops, which will be celebrated in the Vatican in October, and the theme of which will be "The pastoral
challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation". The letter, dated 2
February, Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, is published in full below:
"Dear families,
With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about an
event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened
to discuss the
theme of "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization". Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
This important meeting will involve all the People of God -; bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world -; all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting
through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and mission
in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of
the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that the
Spirit may illumine
the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context, the
re
will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in
September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary
pastoral means
to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that
comes from the Gospel.
I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord in
the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the
Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally 'seen' salvation. Anna, despite her advanced
age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of
that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times of mutual
support... Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates
our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.
Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure
which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed
Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united
in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord."
___________________________________________________________
ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, commented in his presentation of the Pope's letter to families that during these months the family has been, more than ever
before, in the mind and the heart of the Church. He gave examples including the
pilgrimage of families for the Year of Faith, the Holy Father's encounter with engaged couples on 14 February, last week's extraordinary Consistory in the Vatican, the next
Synod which will take place in October, and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, U.S.A., scheduled for September 2015.
"Pope Francis, with this letter to the 'dear families' of the world, wishes to involve them in the Synod path", explained the Archbishop. ... Prayer is the first form of participation in this joint path. Families -; and this is the Pope's intention -; are not simply the object of attention, but are also the subjects of this pilgrimage, given that they form a majority within the Church,
and are marked by the Sacrament of Marriage".
"One must not forget that that spread of early Christianity occurred through a network of families", he added. "It is an important lesson for our times, in which we invoke a new missionary season for evangelical preaching. ... The
Pope asks Christian families to be aware of the responsibility of their mission
in times of confusion and restlessness. He asks for their help. In addition, if
there is a theme of Christian life, for which the support of the family is indispensable both
to the Pope and to the Church, then this is it. If there were no families, then
Jesus' Word -; the word of the Church, the word of the Pope -; on the married love which is able to open us up to God's unconditional love for all, would appear
abstract, unrealistic and ineffectual".
"But families, thanks to God, exist and have a living presence", concluded the prelate. "Therefore, it is important for Pastors and families to live 'in harmony in prayer' in this time, as if in a spiritual Cenacle that gathers the whole world together, waiting for the Spirit to evoke a renewed Pentecost".
___________________________________________________________
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; The Holy Father has:
- appointed Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary of the diocese of Down and Connor, as bishop of Derry (area 2,500, population 327,000, Catholics 245,700, priests 116, religious 107), Ireland.
- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of Poznan, Poland, presented by Bishop Zdzislaw Fortuniak, upon having reached the
age limit.
___________________________________________________________
Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il
sito: www.wisnews.org e www.vatican.va
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</style> <input type"hidden" value"VISnews140225" id"id_oggetto" />VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE YEAR XXII - # 37DATE 25-02-2014Summary: - THE POPE WRITES A
LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR
THE NEXT SYNOD - ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH - OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS___________________________________________________________ <!--?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8" standalone"yes"?-->
THE POPE WRITES A LETTER TO FAMILIES ASKING THEM TO PRAY FOR THE NEXT SYNOD
Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; Pope Francis has written a letter to
families asking them to pray for the next Synod of Bishops, which will be celebrated in the Vatican in October, and the theme of which will be "The pastoral
challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation". The letter, dated 2
February, Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, is published in full below:
"Dear families,
With this letter, I wish, as it were, to come into your homes to speak about
an event which will take place at the Vatican this coming October. It is the Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which is being convened
to discuss the
theme of "pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization". Indeed, in our day the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel by confronting the new and urgent pastoral needs facing the family.
This important meeting will involve all the People of God -; bishops, priests,
consecrated men and women, and lay faithful of the particular Churches of the entire world -; all of whom are actively participating in preparations for the meeting through practical suggestions and the crucial support of prayer. Such support on your part, dear families, is especially significant and more necessary than ever. This Synodal Assembly is dedicated in a special way to you, to your vocation and
mission in the Church and in society; to the challenges of marriage, of family life, of the education of children; and the role of the family in the life of the Church. I ask you, therefore, to pray intensely to the Holy Spirit, so that
the Spirit may
illumine the Synodal Fathers and guide them in their important task. As you know, this Extraordinary Synodal Assembly will be followed a year later by the Ordinary Assembly, which will also have the family as its theme. In that context,
there will also be the World Meeting of Families due to take place in Philadelphia in September 2015. May we all, then, pray together so that through
these events the Church will undertake a true journey of discernment and adopt the necessary pastoral
means to help families face their present challenges with the light and strength that comes from the Gospel.
I am writing this letter to you on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
in the Temple. The evangelist Luke tells us that the Blessed Mother and Saint Joseph, in keeping with the Law of Moses, took the Baby Jesus to the temple to offer him to the
Lord, and that an elderly man and woman, Simeon and Anna, moved by the Holy Spirit, went to meet them and acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah. Simeon took him in his arms and thanked God that he had finally 'seen' salvation. Anna, despite her advanced
age, found new vigour and began to speak to everyone about the Baby. It is a beautiful image: two young parents and two elderly people, brought together by Jesus. He is the one who brings together and unites generations! He is the inexhaustible font of
that love which overcomes every occasion of self-absorption, solitude, and sadness. In your journey as a family, you share so many beautiful moments: meals, rest, housework, leisure, prayer, trips and pilgrimages, and times
of mutual support... Nevertheless, if there is no love then there is no joy, and authentic love comes to us from Jesus. He offers us his word, which illuminates our path; he gives us the Bread of life which sustains us on our journey.
Dear families, your prayer for the Synod of Bishops will be a precious treasure which enriches the Church. I thank you, and I ask you to pray also for
me, so that I may serve the People of God in truth and in love. May the protection of the Blessed
Mother and Saint Joseph always accompany all of you and help you to walk united
in love and in caring for one another. I willingly invoke on every family the blessing of the Lord." ___________________________________________________________ <!--?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8" standalone"yes"?-->
ARCHBISHOP PAGLIA: FAMILIES ARE A MAJORITY IN THE CHURCH
Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president
of the Pontifical Council for the Family, commented in his presentation of the Pope's letter to families that during these months the family has been, more than ever
before, in the mind and the heart of the Church. He gave examples including the
pilgrimage of families for the Year of Faith, the Holy Father's encounter with engaged couples on 14 February, last week's extraordinary Consistory in the Vatican, the next
Synod which will take place in October, and the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, U.S.A., scheduled for September 2015.
"Pope Francis, with this letter to the 'dear families' of the world, wishes to
involve them in the Synod path", explained the Archbishop. ... Prayer is the first form of participation in this joint path. Families -; and this is
the Pope's intention -; are not simply the object of attention, but are also the subjects of this pilgrimage, given that they form a majority within the Church, and are marked by the Sacrament of Marriage".
"One must not forget that that spread of early Christianity occurred through a
network of families", he added. "It is an important lesson for our times, in which we invoke a new missionary season for evangelical preaching. ...
The Pope asks Christian families to be aware of the responsibility of their mission in times of confusion and restlessness. He asks for their help. In addition, if there is a theme of Christian life, for which the support of the family is indispensable
both to the Pope and to the Church, then this is it. If there were no families,
then Jesus' Word -; the word of the Church, the word of the Pope -; on the married love which is able to open us up to God's unconditional love for all, would
appear abstract, unrealistic and ineffectual".
"But families, thanks to God, exist and have a living presence", concluded the
prelate. "Therefore, it is important for Pastors and families to live 'in harmony in prayer' in this time, as if in a spiritual Cenacle that gathers the whole world together, waiting for the Spirit to evoke a renewed Pentecost". ___________________________________________________________ <!--?xml version"1.0" encoding"UTF-8" standalone"yes"?-->
OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
Vatican City, 25 February 2014 (VIS) -; The Holy Father has:
- appointed Bishop Donal McKeown, auxiliary of the diocese of Down and Connor,
as bishop of Derry (area 2,500, population 327,000, Catholics 245,700, priests 116, religious 107), Ireland.
- accepted the resignation from the office of auxiliary of the archdiocese of
Poznan, Poland, presented by Bishop Zdzislaw Fortuniak, upon having reached the
age limit.
___________________________________________________________ Per ulteriori informazioni e per la ricerca di documenti consultare il sito: <a href"
http://www.wisnews.org" target"_blank" moz-do-not-send"true">www.wisnews.org e <a href"
http://www.vatican.va" target"_blank" moz-do-not-send"true">www.vatican.va Il servizio del VIS viene inviato soltanto agli indirizzi di posta elettronica che ne hanno
fatto richiesta. Se per qualunque motivo non si desidera continuare a riceverlo, si prega di visitare nostra pagina dinizio: <a href"
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php" target"_blank" moz-do-not-send"true">
http://212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/italinde.php </span>
Copyright (VIS): Le notizie contenute nei servizi del Vatican Information Service possono essere riprodotte parzialmente o totalmente citando la fonte: V.I.S. - Vatican Information Service.
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