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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

Unicuique suum

IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fiftieth year, number 3 (2480) Vatican City Friday, 20 January 2017

Pope Francis greets the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland on the Feast of Saint Henrik

With the simplicity of childrenCelebrating the international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Christianmission is notborne alone

In a Message for the 54th WorldDay of Prayer for Vocations, tobe celebrated on 7 May, PopeFrancis reflects “on the missionarydimension of our Christian call-ing”. He observes that “thosewho, drawn by God’s voice anddetermined to follow Jesus, soondiscover within themselves an ir-repressible desire to bring theGood News to their brothers andsisters through proclamation andthe service of charity”. Indeed thePontiff writes, “all Christians arecalled to be missionaries of theGosp el”, recalling that “God sur-passes all our expectations andconstantly surprises us by his gen-e ro s i t y ”. The Pope described “theevangelical basis and inspirationof mission” by offering “t h re escenes from the Gospels: the in-auguration of Jesus’ mission inthe synagogue at Nazareth (cf. Lk4:16-30); the journey that, afterhis resurrection, he makes in thecompany of the disciples of Em-maus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, finally,the parable of the sower and theseed (cf. Mt 4:26-27)”.

Blessing of animals on the Day of Saint Anthony the Abbot

Noah’s Ark in Rome

In our life “when things becomedark” extra prayer is needed. TheHoly Father emphasized this atWe d n e s d a y ’s General Audience

PAGE 3

Cardinal Angelo Co-mastri, Archpriest ofSaint Peter’s Basilica,celebrated Mass onTuesday morning, 17January, the Feast ofSaint Anthony the Ab-bot, Patron Saint ofbreeders and farm an-imals. Concelebratingthe liturgy with him atthe main altar of theVatican Basilica, were15 chaplains for theItalian Association ofBreeders (AIA) and theItalian agricultural as-sociation, Coldiretti.Later, in Rome’s PiusXII Square, just outsidethe Vatican, farmersfrom across Italygathered together witha veritable “Noah’sArk” for the traditionalannual blessing oftheir animals.

CONTINUED ON PA G E 5 PAGE 11

To The Global Foundation

For the common good

PAGE 5

Letter to young people

Set out for a new land

PAGE 7

“We need the simplicity of children.They will teach us the way to JesusChrist”. Pope Francis shared thisobservation in an address to theEcumenical Delegation from Finlandon Thursday morning, 19 January.The Holy Father received theDelegation on the occasion of the Feastof Saint Henrik, noting that the grouphas made this pilgrimage annually forover 30 years during the Week ofPrayer for Christian Unity, beingcelebrated from 18 to 25 January. Thisyear’s pilgrimage took on even greatersignificance as 2017 marks the 500thanniversary of the LutheranReformation, as well as 50 years ofofficial ecumenical dialogue betweenLutherans and Catholics. The followingis the English text of the Pontiff’saddress, which he delivered in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,I joyfully welcome all of you, mem-bers of the Ecumenical Delegation,who have come as pilgrims fromFinland to Rome on the occasion ofthe feast of Saint Henrik. I thankthe Lutheran Bishop of Turku forhis kind words ... in Spanish! Formore than 30 years, it has been afine custom for your pilgrimage totake place during the Week of Pray-er for Christian Unity, which callsus to draw closer to one anotheranew through conversion. True ecu-menism is based on a shared conver-sion to Jesus Christ as our Lord andRedeemer. If we draw close to him,

we draw close also to one another.During these days let us pray morefervently to the Holy Spirit so thatwe may experience this conversionwhich makes reconciliation possible.

On this path, we Catholics andLutherans, from several countries,together with various communitiessharing our ecumenical journey,reached a significant step when, on31 October last, we gathered togeth-er in Lund, Sweden, to commemo-

rate through common prayer the be-ginning of the Reformation. Thisjoint commemoration of the Re-formation was important on boththe human and theological-spirituallevels. After fifty years of official

Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni dies

Prefect emeritus of theApostolic Signatura

PAGE 4

Cardinal Wuerl to the Canon LawSociety of America

A refreshing openness

PAGE 8

Words of hopebecome a prayer

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

VAT I C A N BULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 12 January

Hon. Mr Nicola Zingaretti, Presi-dent of the Lazio RegionHon. Mrs Virginia Raggi, Mayor ofRomeBishop Han Lim Moon, titularBishop of Thucca in Mauretania,Auxiliary of San Martin, ArgentinaMr Xavier Emmanuelli, co-Founderof “Médecins Sans Frontières”, andPresident of “Samusocial Interna-tional”H.E. Mr Denis Fontes de SouzaPinto, Ambassador of Brazil, on afarewell visitFriday, 13 January

Cardinal Fernando Filoni, Prefect ofthe Congregation for the Evangeliz-ation of PeoplesArchbishop Luigi Pezzuto, titularArchbishop of Turris in Proconsu-lari, Apostolic Nuncio in Bosnia andHerzegovina, in Montenegro andMonacoArchbishop Bruno Musarò, titularArchbishop of Abari, ApostolicNuncio in the Arab Republic ofEgypt; Holy See Delegate to theLeague of Arab StatesSaturday, 14 January

H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas, Presid-ent of the State of Palestine, with hisentourageCardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsMonday, 16 January

H.E. Mr Alpha Condé, President ofthe Republic of Guinea, with his en-tourage

Cardinal George Pell, Prefect of theSecretariat for the EconomyH.E. Mr Kenneth Francis Hackett,Ambassador of the United States ofAmerica, with his wife, on a farewellvisitArchbishop Filippo Santoro ofTaranto, ItalyCardinal Edoardo Menichelli, Arch-bishop of Ancona-Osimo, Italy

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Lucio AngeloRenna, O. Carm., of San Severo,Italy (13 Jan.).The Holy Father appointed Fr Gio-vanni Checchinato from the clergyof the Diocese of Latina-Terracina-Sezze-Priverno, as Bishop of SanSevero. Until now he has been par-ish priest and head of the diocesanoffice for the pastoral care of schol-astic and university education andfor the teaching of the Catholic reli-gion (13 Jan.).

Bishop-elect Checchinato, 59, wasborn in Latina, Italy. He holds a de-gree in theology and a specializationin moral theology. He was ordaineda priest on 4 July 1981. He hasserved in parish ministry and as:teacher of professional ethics at the

Regional School of Formation fornurses and teachers of philosophicalethics and moral theology at thePaul VI Institute of Religious Sci-ences in Latina and at the RegionalSeminary in Anagni; assistant ofCatholic Action for Adults and Fam-ilies; director of the office for familypastoral care; co-founder and ethicsconsultant for the diocesan advisorycentre; rector of the Pontifical Leon-ine College in Anagni.

ROMAN CURIA

The Holy Father appointed as mem-ber of the Congregation for theDoctrine of the Faith, Cardinal SeanPatrick O’Malley, OFM Cap., Arch-bishop of Boston, USA, President ofthe Pontifical Commission for theProtection of Minors (14 Jan.).The Holy Father confirmed the fol-lowing Consultors of the Congrega-tion for Divine Worship and theDiscipline of the Sacraments: MsgrGiovanni Di Napoli, professor ofliturgy at the Faculty of Theology ofSouthern Italy, San Luigi of Naplessection, and at the Seminary ofSalerno, secretary of the Centre forLiturgical Action; Msgr ClaudioMagnoli, professor at the Faculty ofTheology of Northern Italy, head ofthe service for the Liturgical PastoralMinistry of the Archdiocese of Mil-an and head of the Pontifical Am-brosian Institute for Sacred Music;Msgr Vincenzo De Gregorio, headof the Pontifical Institute of SacredMusic; Msgr Massimo Palombella,SDB, director of the Sistine ChapelChoir; José Luis Gutierrez Martin,of the Prelature of Opus Dei, direct-or of the Institute of Liturgy of thePontifical University of the HolyCross in Rome; Fr Marko Rupnik,S J, professor of liturgical art at thePontifical Liturgical Institute, direct-or of the Centro Aletti in Rome;Msgr Bruce Edward Harbert, formerprofessor of liturgy and sacramentaltheology, parish priest; Fr JaumeGonzáles Padrós, director of theHigher Institute of Liturgy in Bar-celona, Spain; Fr Olivier-Marie Sarr,OSB, professor at the Pontifical SaintAnselm Liturgical Institute in Rome;Mr Elias Frank, professor of liturgic-al law at the Pontifical UrbanianUniversity, Rome; Msgr PatrickChauvet, professor of theology, arch-priest of Notre-Dame Cathedral,Paris, France; Fr Robert McCulloch,SSC, procurator general of the Mis-sionary Society of Saint Columban;Fr Olivier Thomas Venard, O P,

deputy director of the Ecole biblique earchéologique française de Jérusalem;Mr Marc Aeilko Aris, professor atthe L u d w i g - Ma x i m i l i a n - U n i v e rs i t ä t inMunich; Ms Donna Lynn Orsuto,professor at the Institute of Spiritu-ality of the Pontifical GregorianUniversity, Rome, at the PontificalSaint Thomas Aquinas University(Angelicum) and at the Saint JohnPaul II Institute for Studies on Mar-riage and Family, co-founder anddirector of The Lay Centre, FoyerUnitas, Rome; Ms Valeria Trapani,professor of liturgy at the Saint Johnthe Evangelist Theological Facultyof Sicily in Palermo, Italy, memberof the Diocesan Liturgical Commis-sion of Palermo; and Mr AdelindoGiuliani, official at the LiturgicalOffice of the Vicariate of Rome (14Jan.).The Holy Father appointed the fol-lowing as members of the PontificalCommission for Latin America: Car-dinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Car-dozo, Archbishop of Mérida,Venezuela; Cardinal Sérgio daRocha, Archbishop of Brasilía,Brazil; Cardinal Carlos AguiarRetes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla,Mexico (14 Jan.).

EASTERN CHURCHES

The Holy Father gave his assent tothe canonical election by the Synodof Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Ma-jor Archiepiscopal Church of FrThomas (Tomy) Tharayil as Auxili-ary Bishop of the Archieparchy ofChanganacherry, India, assigninghim the titular episcopal See of Ag-rippiass. Until now he has been dir-ector of the Danahalaya Institute ofFormation (14 Jan.).

Bishop-elect Tharayil, 44, wasborn in Changanacherry, India. Heholds a doctorate in psychology. Hewas ordained a priest on 1 January2000. He has served in parish min-istry and as: secretary to the then-Archbishop Joseph Powathil; pro-fessor at various seminaries and in-stitutes.

STA R T OF MISSION

On 13 December 2016, ArchbishopGábor Pintér, titular Archbishop ofVelebusdus, began his mission asApostolic Nuncio in Belarus withthe presentation of his Letters ofCredence to H.E. Mr AlexanderLukashenko, President of the Re-public.

NECROLO GY

Archbishop Patricio FernándezFlores, Archbishop emeritus of SanAntonio, USA, at age 87 (9 Jan.).Bishop Robert Sarrabère, Bishopemeritus of Aire et Dax, France, atage 90 (11 Jan.)

With the President of GuineaOn Monday morning, 16 January,the Pope received in audienceH.E. Mr Alpha Condé, Presidentof the Republic of Guinea, whosubsequently met with CardinalPietro Parolin, Secretary of State,accompanied by Archbishop PaulRichard Gallagher, Secretary forRelations with States.

During the cordial discussions,the existing good relationsbetween the Holy See andGuinea were evoked, with em-phasis on a number of issues ofmutual interest, such as the integral development of the person, the pre-servation of the environment, the fight against social injustice andpoverty, and the development of adequate policies for facing the problemof migration. In this context, the parties did not fail to recognize the roleand the important contribution offered to the country by Catholic institu-tions, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare, as well as inthe promotion of interfaith dialogue with the Muslim community.

Attention then turned also to the political and social situation of theRegion, with special reference to the concrete efforts made by the Repub-lic of Guinea to contribute to peacemaking.

number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

At the General Audience the Pontiff offers a lesson from the Prophet Jonah

Words of hope become a prayer“When things become dark, moreprayer is needed! And there will bemore hope”. This lesson from the Bookof Jonah was offered by Pope Francisat the General Audience held in thePaul VI Hall on Wednesday, 18January. The following is a translationof the Holy Father’s catechesis, whichhe gave in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning.In Sacred Scripture, among theprophets of Israel, a rather anomal-ous figure stands out, a prophet whoattempts to avoid the Lord’s call byrefusing to place himself at the ser-vice of the divine plan of salvation.It is the Prophet Jonah, whose storyis narrated in a small book of onlyfour chapters, a type of parable thatbears a great lesson, that of themercy of God who forgives.

Jonah is a prophet “going out”and also a prophet in flight! He isan “out-going” prophet whom Godsends “to the periphery”, to Nine-veh, in order to convert the peopleof that great city. But Nineveh, to anIsraelite like Jonah, was a threaten-ing reality, the enemy which placedJerusalem itself in peril, and there-fore was to be destroyed, certainlynot to be saved. Therefore, whenGod sent Jonah to preach in thatcity, the prophet, who knows theL o rd ’s goodness and his desire toforgive, seeks to avoid his task andflees.

During his flight, the prophetenters into contact with pagans, themariners on the ship that heboarded in order to distance himselffrom God and from his mission.And he flees far, because Ninevehwas in the area of Iraq and he fledto Spain, he seriously fled. And itwas actually the behaviour of thesepagan men, as that of the people ofNineveh later on, that today allowsus to reflect a bit on the hope which,in the face of danger and death, isexpressed in prayer.

Indeed, during the sea voyage, amighty tempest breaks out, and Jo-nah goes down to the ship’s cargohold and falls asleep. The mariners,however, seeing themselves lost,“each cried to his god”: they werepagans (Jon 1:5). The captain of theship wakes Jonah, saying to him:“What do you mean, you sleeper?Arise, call upon your god! Perhapsthe god will give a thought to us,that we do not perish” (Jon 1:6).

The reaction of these ‘pagans’ isthe right reaction in the face ofdeath, in the face of danger; becauseit is then that man fully experienceshis frailty and his need for salvation.

The instinctive dread of dying re-veals the necessity of hope in the Godof life. “Perhaps God will give athought to us, that we do not per-ish” are the words of hope whichbecome prayer, that supplicationfilled with anguish which rises to thelips of mankind in the face of an im-minent danger of death.

We too easily disdain the turningto God in need as if it were only aprayer of self-interest, and thereforeimperfect. But God knows our

weakness. He knows that we remem-ber him in order to ask for help, andwith the indulging smile of a father,God responds benevolently.

When Jonah, recognizing his re-sponsibility, throws himself into thesea in order to save his travel com-panions, the storm quiets down. In-cumbent death led those pagan mento prayer, enabling the prophet, inspite of it all, to live his vocation inservice to others, sacrificing himselffor them, and now he leads the sur-vivors to recognize and praise thetrue Lord. The mariners who, in thegrip of fear, had prayed to theirgods, now, with sincere fear of theLord, recognize the true God, offersacrifices and make vows. Hope,

which had induced them to pray tobe spared from death, is revealed aseven more powerful and ushers in areality that goes even beyond whatthey were hoping: not only do theynot perish in the storm, but they be-come open to recognizing the onetrue Lord of heaven and earth.

Afterwards, even the people ofNineveh, in the face of the prospectof being destroyed, pray, spurred byhope in God’s forgiveness. They dopenance, invoke the Lord and con-vert to him, beginning with the kingwho, like the ship’s captain, givesvoice to hope: “Who knows, Godmay yet repent and turn from hisfierce anger, so that we perish not?”(Jon 3:9). For them too, as for the

crew in the storm, facing death andbeing saved from it led them to thetruth. Thus under divine mercy, andeven more in the light of the PaschalMystery, death can become, as itwas for Saint Francis of Assisi, “oursister death” and represent, for everyperson and for each one of us, thesurprising occasion to know hopeand encounter the Lord. May theLord help us to understand this linkbetween prayer and hope. Prayerleads you forward in hope, andwhen things become dark, moreprayer is needed! And there will bemore hope. Thank you.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I greet the English-speaking pil-grims and visitors taking part into day’s Audience, particularly thosefrom New Zealand, the Philippines,Canada and the United States ofAmerica. Upon you and your fami-lies, I cordially invoke an abundanceof joy and peace in our Lord JesusChrist. God bless you!

I address a cordial welcome to theItalian-speaking pilgrims. I expressto all the hope that your visit to theEternal City may inspire each one tostrengthen the Word of God so asto be able to recognize the Saviourin Jesus.

Lastly I greet the young people, thesick and newlyweds. Today begins theWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity,which this year has us reflect onChrist’s love which encourages ustoward reconciliation. Dear youngpeople, pray that all Christians mayreturn to be one family; dear sickpeople, offer your suffering for thecause of the unity of the Church;and you, dear newlyweds, experiencegratuitous love as that of God forh u m a n i t y.

Pope Francis meets with the Presidentof the State of Palestine

On Saturday morning, 14 January,the Holy Father received in audi-ence H.E. Mr Mahmoud Abbas,President of the State of Palestine,who subsequently met with Cardi-nal Pietro Parolin, Secretary ofState, accompanied by ArchbishopPaul Richard Gallagher, S e c re t a r yfor Relations with States.

During the cordial discussions,the parties evoked the existinggood relations between the HolySee and Palestine, sealed by theGlobal Agreement of 2015, whichregards essential aspects of the lifeand activity of the Church inPalestinian society. In this context,mention was made of the importantcontribution of Catholics to favour-ing the promotion of human dig-nity and assistance to those most inneed, especially in the fields ofeducation, health and aid.

Attention then turned to thepeace process in the Middle East,and hope was expressed that d i re c tnegotiations between the Parties

may be resumed to bring an end tothe violence that causes unaccept-able suffering to civilian popula-tions, and to find a just and lastingsolution. To this end, it is hop edthat, with the support of the inter-national community, measures canbe taken that favour mutual t ru s tand contribute to creating a climate

that permits courageous decisionsto be made in favour of peace. Em-phasis was placed on the import-ance of safeguarding the sanctity ofthe Holy Places for believers of allthree of the Abrahamic religions.Finally, particular attention wasdedicated to the other conflicts af-fecting the region.

“Jonah and the whale”, Pieter Lastman

page 4 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

Prefect emeritus of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni dies at 94To the Most Gracious Ms Luisa Santandra

Upon hearing the sad news of the death of your dear uncle, Car-dinal Gilberto Agustoni, I wish to express to you and your familymy participation in the mourning which strikes those who knewand esteemed the dear departed Cardinal, for so many years anhonest and diligent collaborator of the Holy See, in particular asPrefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, offer-ing a witness of priestly zeal and faithfulness to the Gospel. As Iraise fervid prayers to the Lord Jesus that, through the intercessionof the Virgin Mary, He may offer the late Cardinal the eternal re-ward promised to his faithful disciples, I convey wholeheartedly theApostolic Blessing to you, to the religious Daughters of Saint Maryof Leuca who assisted him, and to those who mourn his passing.

FRANCISCUS P P.

Swiss Cardinal Gilberto Agustonipassed away on Friday, 13 January, atthe age of 94. Throughout his life heserved in various roles in the Churchand in the Roman Curia. He held theTitle of Cardinal-Priest of the TitularChurch of Santi Urbano and Lorenzoa Prima Porta. He chose as his epis-copal motto ‘Christus spes gloriae’:Christ, our hope of glory. His funeralwas presided by Cardinal-Dean AngeloSodano on Tuesday, 17 January, at theAltar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Ba-silica. The following is a brief biographyof Cardinal Agustoni along with atranslation of the telegram in whichPope Francis expressed his condolencesto the late Cardinal’s niece.

Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni, Prefectemeritus of the Supreme Tribunal ofthe Apostolic Signatura, was born inSchaffhausen, Switzerland, on 26July 1922. He had one sister andfour brothers, two of whom also be-came priests. After attending thediocesan seminary of Lugano, theyoung Agustoni was sent to Rome,where he studied theology at thePontifical University of SaintThomas Aquinas. Due to the war,Bishop Angelo Jelmini of Luganocalled him back to Switzerland, andhe continued his studies at the Uni-versity of Fribourg, from which heearned a degree in sacred theology.

He was ordained a priest on 20April 1946 in Lugano Cathedral andwas appointed assistant chaplain tothe diocesan Catholic Action. Hewas entrusted in particular with theyoung people and students at thevarious Swiss universities. He wasresponsible above all for formationand developed programmes foryoung people and the Association ofCatholic Explorers.

In 1950, after meeting the youngpriest on several occasions, CardinalOttaviani, then Assessor of the Con-gregation of the Holy Office, askedthe Bishop of Lugano that Fr Agus-toni be assigned as his secretary.After much persistence on the partof the senior prelate, the Bishopeventually acquiesced. Thus, Agus-toni began his work at the Holy See

on 1 July 1950, after Cardinal Ottavi-ani had obtained the Pope’s permis-sion for the Dicastery — which had aparticularly serious and sensitiverole, especially before its reformafter the Second Vatican Council —to employ a priest who was not yet30 years old.

This was also the reason why theCardinal Assessor closely followedthe young official in his Congrega-tion. To complete his training in thetheological sciences, Cardinal Ot-taviani encouraged the young priestto study law at the Pontifical Later-an University, from which he laterearned a licentiate. In the meantime,Fr Agustoni continued his work atthe Dicastery, eventually headingone of the departments. Duringthose years, he was also appointedcommissioner at the Congregationfor the Discipline of the Sacraments,dealing with marriage cases. Imme-diately after the Council, he wasnamed consultor to the Consilium adexsequendam Constitutionem de SacraL i t u rg i a , working in this capacity asa liaison between these two Dicaster-ies which were the most deeply in-volved in the difficult and historicalundertaking of post-conciliar litur-gical renewal. He was subsequentlynamed consultor to the Congrega-tion for Divine Worship establishedby Pope Paul VI.

In May 1970, Fr Agustoni joinedthe ranks of the Ecclesiastical Magis-trature as Prelate Auditor of theTribunal of the Roman Rota, wherehe remained until December 1986,when Pope John Paul II app ointedhim Secretary of the Congregationfor the Clergy and titular Bishop ofCaprulae. The Holy Father himselfordained him a bishop the following6 January.

Bishop Agustoni worked at theCongregation for the Clergy at aparticularly significant period due totwo events of ecclesiastical import-ance. In fact, the General Synod ofBishops on “The Formation ofPriests in the Circumstances of thePresent Day” was being preparedand was then celebrated in 1990,producing the document P a s t o re sDabo Vobis. At the same time, theHoly Father had established a Com-mission to draft the new Catechismof the Catholic Church. The Com-mission was presided over by Car-dinal Ratzinger and included amongits members the Cardinal Prefect of

the Congregation for the Clergy, asthe Dicastery was more concernedby this subject than any other, givenits institutional competence in thearea of catechesis. The Congregationwas thus specifically required to col-laborate and it was incumbent uponAgustoni, as the Secretary of theDicastery, to co-ordinate this collab-oration.

The Secretary of the Congrega-tion for the Clergy was a memberby right of the International Coun-cil for Catechesis, an office estab-lished on par with the Dicastery andwhich proved a valid instrument forstudy and consultation in the specif-ic area of catechesis because itsmembers come from all the differentparts of the world. This Councilwas given a fresh impetus, particu-larly with a view to the publicationof the new Catechism of theChurch, which was being preparedat that time. He also played an act-ive part in drafting the ApostolicConstitution Pastor Bonus and theGeneral Regulations of the RomanCuria which John Paul II a p p ro v e din February 1992.

In May 1991, Bishop Agustoni wasnamed a member of the SupremeTribunal of the Apostolic Signatura,while he continued to be Secretaryof the Congregation for the Clergy.However, scarcely a year later, inApril 1992 the Holy Father appoin-ted him Pro-Prefect of the same Su-preme Tribunal, to succeed CardinalAchille Silvestrini, who had been ap-pointed Prefect of the Congregationfor the Eastern Churches. As Pro-Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal,Bishop Agustoni was also namedPro-President of Vatican City’s Su-preme Court of Appeal. He was cre-ated cardinal by John Paul II on 26November 1994, with the Title ofSanti Urbano e Lorenzo a PrimaPorta, at which time he was appoin-ted Prefect of the Supreme Tribunalof the Apostolic Signatura, a role inwhich he continued to serve until1998.

The late Cardinal took part infour assemblies of the Synod ofBishops, and in the Special As-sembly for America in 1997. He alsoserved on several occasions as thePontiff’s Special Envoy. CardinalAgustoni’s funeral was held on Tues-day, 17 January, in the Vatican Ba-silica.

On Tuesday, 17 January, at the Altar of the Chair in Saint Peter’s Basilica,Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals, togetherwith many brother Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops, gathered for thefuneral Mass celebrated for Cardinal Gilberto Agustoni. At the conclu-sion of the service, Pope Francis presided at the Rites of the UltimaCommenatio — Final Commendation — and the Valedictio — the Valedic-tion, or Final Farewell.

A final farewell

number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 5

Holy Father addresses a Delegation of The Global Foundation

Striving for the common good“Those who cause or allow others to bediscarded — that’s a boomerang!”, theHoly Father said, and as such willbecome themselves “like soullessmachines. For they implicitly accept theprinciple that they too, sooner or later,will be discarded”. Speaking to adelegation of The Global Foundation,whom he received on Saturday, 14January, in the Clementine Hall, thePope warned against a “society thathas made mammon, the god of money,the centre of its attention” and hecalled for efforts “to reverse the illsproduced by an irresponsibleglobalization”. The following is theEnglish text of the address which theHoly Father delivered in Italian.

Dear Friends,I am pleased to join you for thisnew edition of the RomanRoundtable of The Global Founda-tion. Inspired by the Foundation’smotto — “Together We Strive for theGlobal Common Good” — you havegathered to discern just ways of at-taining a globalization that is “co-op erative”, and thus positive, as op-posed to the globalization of indif-ference. You seek to ensure that theglobal community, shaped by the in-stitutions, agencies and representa-tives of civil society, can effectivelyachieve international goals and ob-ligations that have been solemnlydeclared and assumed, such as thoseof the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment and the SustainableDevelopment Goals.

Before all else, I would restate myconviction that a world economicsystem that discards men, womenand children because they are nolonger considered useful or produc-

great numbers of people still livingin conditions of grave material andmoral poverty, and a blind faith inthe unbridled development of mar-ket forces alone. My Predecessorasked if such an economic systemwould be the model to propose to

several months ago, and who is asymbol and icon of our time, in someway represents and recapitulatesthose efforts. She bent down to com-fort the poorest of the poor, left todie on the streets, recognizing ineach of them their God-given d i g n i t y.

poor. We need to learn “com-passion” for those suffering frompersecution, loneliness, forced dis-placement or separation from theirfamilies. We need to learn to “sufferwith” those who lack access tohealth care, or who endure hunger,cold or heat.

This compassion will enable thosewith responsibilities in the worlds offinance and politics to use their in-telligence and their resources notmerely to control and monitor theeffects of globalization, but also tohelp leaders at different politicallevels — regional, national and inter-national — to correct its orientationwhenever necessary. For politics andthe economy ought to include theexercise of the virtue of prudence.

The Church remains ever hopeful,for she is conscious of the immensepotential of the human mindwhenever it lets itself be helped andguided by God, and of the goodwill present in so many people,small and great, poor and rich,businessmen and labourers alike. Forthis reason, I encourage you to drawconstant inspiration from theC h u rc h ’s social teaching as you con-tinue your efforts to promote a co-operative globalization, workingwith civil society, governments, in-ternational bodies, academic and sci-entific communities, and all otherinterested parties. I offer you mycordial good wishes for every suc-cess in your endeavours.

I thank all of you for your atten-tion and I assure you of my prayers.I also ask you to bring my personalgreetings, together with my blessing,to your families and all your associ-ates. Thank you!

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ecumenical dialogue between Cath-olics and Lutherans, we have suc-ceeded in clearly articulating pointsof view which today we agree on.For this we are grateful. At thesame time we keep alive in ourhearts sincere contrition for ourfaults. In this spirit, we recalled inLund that the intention of MartinLuther five hundred years ago wasto renew the Church, not divideher. The gathering there gave usthe courage and strength, in ourLord Jesus Christ, to look ahead tothe ecumenical journey that we arecalled to walk together.

In preparing the common com-memoration of the Reformation,Catholics and Lutherans noted withgreater awareness that theologicaldialogue remains essential for re-conciliation and that it is advancedthrough steadfast commitment.Thus, in that communion of har-mony which permits the Holy Spir-it to act, we will be able to find fur-ther convergence on points of doc-trine and the moral teaching of theChurch, and will be able to drawever closer to full and visible unity.

I pray to the Lord that he may be-stow his blessing on the Lutheran-Catholic Dialogue Commission inFinland, which is working dili-gently towards a common sacra-mental understanding of theChurch, the Eucharist and ecclesialm i n i s t r y.

Therefore 2017, the commemor-ative year of the Reformation, rep-resents for Catholics and Lutheransa privileged occasion to live thefaith more authentically, in order torediscover the Gospel together, andto seek and witness to Christ withrenewed vigour. At the conclusionof the day of commemoration inLund, and looking to the future,we drew inspiration from our com-mon witness to faith before theworld, when we committedourselves to jointly assisting thosewho suffer, who are in need, andwho face persecution and violence.In doing so, as Christians we areno longer divided, but ratherunited on the journey towards fullcommunion.

I am pleased to recall also thatthis year the Christians of Finlandcelebrate the centenary of theFinnish Ecumenical Council, which

is an important instrument in pro-moting communion of faith and lifeamong you.

Finally, in 2017 your homeland,Finland, will celebrate one hundredyears as an independent State. Maythis anniversary encourage all theChristians of your country to pro-fess faith in the Lord Jesus Christ —as did Saint Henrik so zealously —offering a witness of faith to theworld today and putting that faithinto practice through concrete actsof service, fraternity and sharing.

In the hope that your pilgrimagemay contribute to further strength-ening the good cooperationbetween Orthodox, Lutherans andCatholics in Finland and in theworld, and that the common wit-ness of faith, hope and love maybear abundant fruit through SaintHenrik’s intercession, I willingly in-voke God’s grace and blessingupon you all. And, dear brotherBishop, I wish to thank you for thelovely idea of bringing your grand-children with you: we need the sim-plicity of children. They will teachus the way to Jesus Christ. Thankyou, thank you so much!

chines. For they implicitlyaccept the principle thatthey too, sooner or later,will be discarded, whenthey no longer prove usefulto a society that has mademammon, the god ofmoney, the centre of its at-tention.

In 1991, Saint John PaulII, responding to the fall ofoppressive political systemsand the progressive integra-tion of markets that wehave come to call globaliza-tion, warned of the risk thatan ideology of capitalismwould become widespread.This would entail little orno interest for the realitiesof marginalization, exploita-tion and human alienation,a lack of concern for the

To Members of the Ecumenical Delegation from Finland

tive according to criteria drawn fromthe world of business or other or-ganizations, is unacceptable, becauseit is inhumane. This lack of concernfor persons is a sign of regressionand dehumanization in any politicalor economic system. Those whocause or allow others to be dis-carded — that’s a boomerang! Thetruth is that, sooner or later, theywill be discarded — whetherrefugees, children who are abused orenslaved, or the poor who die onour streets in cold weather — b e-come themselves like soulless ma-

those seeking the road to genuineeconomic and social progress, andoffered a clearly negative response.This is not the way (cf. CentesimusAn n u s , 42).

Sadly, the dangers that troubledSaint John Paul II have largely cometo pass. At the same time, we haveseen the spread of many concrete ef-forts on the part of individuals andinstitutions to reverse the ills pro-duced by an irresponsible globaliza-tion. Mother Teresa of Calcutta,whom I had the joy of canonizing

She was accepting of every humanlife, whether unborn or abandonedand discarded, and she made hervoice heard by the powers of thisworld, calling them to acknowledgethe crimes of poverty that they them-selves were responsible for (cf.Homily for the Canonization of MotherTeresa of Calcutta, 4 September 2016).

This is the first attitude leading tofraternal and cooperative globaliza-tion. It is necessary above all foreach of us, personally, to overcomeour indifference to the needs of the

page 6 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

Holy Father visits Santa Maria a Setteville parish on the outskirts of Rome

Inspired by the Spirit within“A parish where there is no gossip is aperfect parish; it is a parish of sinners,yes, but of witnesses”. Inspired by theGospel reading for the Second Sundayof Ordinary Time, Pope Francisindicated this ideal of the Christiancommunity to the faithful of the SantaMaria a Setteville parish in Guidonia.On Sunday afternoon, 15 January, theBishop of Rome resumed the pastoralvisits that had been interrupted duringthe Extraordinary Holy Year, with avisit to this parish on the outskirts ofthe city. The following is a translationof the homily that he gave duringMass in the parish church.

The Gospel presents us John at themoment in which he bears witnessto Jesus. Seeing Jesus come towardhim, he says: “Behold, the Lamb ofGod, who takes away the sin of theworld! This is he of whom I said,‘After me comes a man who ranksbefore me’” (Jn 1:29-30). This is theMessiah. He bears witness. And sev-eral disciples, upon hearing thistestimony — John’s disciples — fol-low Jesus: they go after Him and arehappy: “We have found the Messi-ah” (Jn 1:41). They felt Jesus’ p re s -ence. But why did they encounterJesus? Because there was a witness;because there was a man who borewitness to Jesus.

This is how it happens in our life.There are many Christians who pro-fess that Jesus is God; there aremany priests who profess that Jesusis God, many bishops.... But doeseveryone bear witness to Jesus? Oris being Christian ... a way of lifelike another, like being the fan of ateam? ‘Yes, I’m a Christian...’. Orhaving a philosophy: ‘I follow thesecommandments, I’m a Christian, Imust do this...’. Being Christian,first of all, is bearing witness to Je-sus. The first thing. This is what theApostles did: the Apostles bore wit-ness to Jesus, and because of this,Christianity spread throughout theworld. Witness and martyrdom: thesame thing. One bears witness insmall ways, and some reach great-ness, giving their life in martyrdom,like the Apostles. But the Apostlesdid not take a course to become wit-nesses to Jesus; they did not study,they did not go to university. Theyfelt the Spirit within and followedthe inspiration of the Spirit; theywere faithful to this. But they weresinners, all! The Twelve were sin-ners. ‘No, Father, only Judas!’. No,poor man.... We do not know whathappened after his death, becausethere is also God’s mercy at thatmoment. But all were sinners, everyone. Envious, they had jealousyamong them: ‘No, I must have thefirst place, and you the second’; andtwo of them spoke to their motherso she went to ask Jesus to give thefirst place to her sons.... They werelike this, with all their sins. Theywere also traitors, because when Je-sus was captured, they all fled, fullof fear; they hid: they werefrightened. And Peter, who knew hewas in charge, felt the need to comea little closer to see what was hap-pening; and when the priest’s house-keeper said: ‘You too were...’, he

said: ‘No, no, no!’. He denied Jesus;he betrayed Jesus. Peter! The firstPope. He betrayed Jesus. These arewitnesses! Yes, because they werewitnesses of the salvation that Jesusbrings, and everyone converted forthis salvation, they let themselves besaved. It is beautiful when, on theriverbank, Jesus performed that mir-acle [the miraculous catch of fish]and Peter says: “Depart from me, forI am a sinful man, O Lord” (Lk5:8). Being a witness does not meanbeing a saint, but being a poor man,a poor woman who says: ‘Yes, I ama sinner, but Jesus is the Lord and Ibear witness to him, and I seek todo good every day, to correct mylife, to take the right path’.

I would only like to leave you amessage. We all understand this,what I have said: sinful witnesses.But, reading the Gospel, I do notfind one [certain type of] sin in theApostles. There were some brutes,who wanted to burn down a villagethat had not welcomed them....They had many sins: traitors, cow-ards.... But I do not find one [inparticular]: they were not gossip-mongers; they did not speak ill ofothers, they did not speak badly of

Pope Francis celebrated Massat the parish of Santa Maria aSetteville in the Roman suburbof Guidonia on Sunday, 15January, where he spent muchof the afternoon withparishioners, clergy and staff.The Pontiff reminded the sickmembers of the parish thatJesus is close to them.Answering some of the youngpeople’s questions, Pope Francissaid he too has struggled withhis faith, sometimes feeling“days of total darkness — I toohave walked for days like thatin my life”. He advised them:“Do not be afraid. Pray and bepatient, and then the Lordshows up, makes you grow infaith and enables you to gof o r w a rd ”.Francis cautioned parents notto fight in front of theirchildren and to never go to bedwithout first making peace.“Never end the day withoutmaking peace”, he said. “Th e‘cold war’ of the day after isvery dangerous: do not end theday without making peace”.In his homily during Mass,Pope Francis urged the faithfulto avoid gossip as the Apostlesdid. The Apostles “did terriblethings; they betrayed the Lord”,he said, but they did not gossip.“We are all sinners. But acommunity where there aregossipmongers is a communitythat is incapable of bearingwitness”.

parish? No gossiping. None. If youhave something against another, goand say it to his face, or tell the par-ish priest; but not among yourselves.This is a sign that the Holy Spirit isin a parish. Other sins, we all havethem. There is a collection of sins:one takes this, one takes that, butwe are all sinners. But like a wood-worm, what destroys a community isgossip, behind others’ backs.

I would like this community, onthis day of my visit, to make the res-olution not to gossip. When youhave the desire to gossip, bite yourtongue: it will swell, but it will doyou so much good, because in theGospel these witnesses to Jesus —sinners: they even betrayed theLord! — they never gossiped aboutone another. This is beautiful. Aparish where there is no gossip is aperfect parish; it is a parish of sin-ners, yes, but of witnesses. This isthe witness that the first Christiansbore: ‘As they love each other, asthey love each other!’. Love eachother at least in this. May the Lordgive you this gift, this grace: never,never speak ill of one another.Thank you.

one another. In thisthey were good. Theydid not ‘rip off others’.I think of our com-munities: how manytimes this sin of ‘flayingone another’, of dispar-aging, of believing one-self superior to anotherand secretly speakingill! In the Gospel, theydid not do this. Theydid terrible things; theybetrayed the Lord, butdid not do this. Even inone parish, in one com-munity who knowswhere ... this onecheated, this one didthat..., but then theyconfess, they convert....We are all sinners. Buta community wherethere are gossipmongersis a community that isincapable of bearingwitness.

I will say only this:do you want a perfect

number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 7

Pope Francis’ Letter to Young People looking toward the 2018 Synod

Set out for a new land

Presentation of the Preparatory Document

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Dear Young People,I am pleased to announce that inOctober 2018 a Synod of Bishopswill take place to treat the topic:“Young People, the Faith and Voca-tional Discernment”. I want you tobe at the centre of attention, becauseI carry you in my heart. Today thePreparatory Document is beingpresented, a document which I alsoentrust to you as your “compass” onthis journey.

I am reminded of the words thatGod spoke to Abraham: “Go fromyour country and your kindred andyour father’s house to the land thatI will show you” (Gen 12:1). Todaythese words are also addressed toyou. They are the words of a Fatherwho invites you to “go forth”, to setout towards a future which is un-known but which will lead to certainfulfillment, an encounter to whichhe himself accompanies you. I inviteyou to hear God’s voice resoundingin your heart through the breath ofthe Holy Spirit.

When God said to Abram, “Go!”,what did He want to say to him?

Certainly not to withdraw fromhis family or the world. Abram re-ceived a compelling invitation, achallenge, to leave everything andset out for a new land. What is this“new land” for us today, if not amore just and fraternal society whichyou deeply desire and wish to build,even in the peripheries of the world?

But unfortunately, today, “Go!”also takes on a different meaning,that of the abuse of power, of in-justice and of war. Many youngpeople among you are subjected tothe real threat of violence and areforced to flee their native land.Their cry rises to God, like that ofIsrael, enslaved and oppressed bythe Pharaoh (cf. Ex 2:23).

I would also like to remind youof the words that Jesus once said tothe disciples who asked him:“Teacher [...] where are you stay-ing?”. He replied, “Come and see”(Jn 1:38-39). Jesus also turns hisgaze upon you and invites you togo with him. Dear young people,have you met this gaze? Have youheard this voice? Have you felt thisurge to set out on this journey? I

am sure that, although din and con-fusion seem to rule the world, thiscall continues to resonate in yoursoul so as to open it to the fullnessof joy. This will be possible to theextent that, accompanied also byprofessional guides, you will be ableto undertake a journey of discern-ment so as to discover God’s planfor your life. Even when the path ismarked by uncertainties and prat-falls, God, rich in mercy, will extendhis hand to help you up.

In Krakow, at the opening of thelast World Youth Day, I asked youseveral times: “Can things change?”.

And you shouted in unison a re-sounding “yes!”. That shout camefrom your young hearts which donot tolerate injustice and cannotbow down to the “throw-away cul-t u re ” nor give in to the globalizationof indifference. Listen to the cry thatrises from your innermost self! Evenwhen, like the prophet Jeremiah,you sense your youthful inexperi-ence, God encourages you to gowhere he sends you: “Do not beafraid, [...], for I am with you to de-liver you” (Jer 1:8).

A better world can be built thanksalso to your efforts, to your desirefor change and to your generosity.Do not be afraid to listen to theSpirit who proposes bold choices.Do not hesitate when your con-science asks you to take a risk in or-der to follow the Master. TheChurch also wishes to pay attentionto your voice, your sensitivity andyour faith; even your doubts andyour criticisms. Make your voice

heard, let it resonate in your com-munities and let it be heard by yourpastors. Saint Benedict urged theabbots to consult the young peopletoo, before any important decision,because “the Lord often reveals tothe youngest what is best” (Rule ofSaint Benedict, III, 3).

In this way, on the journey of thisSynod too, my brother bishops andI wish even more to “work with youfor your joy” (2 Cor 1:24). I entrustyou to Mary of Nazareth, a youngperson like yourselves, to whomGod turned his loving gaze, that shemight take you by the hand andguide you to the joy of a full andgenerous “Here I am” (cf. Lk 1:38).

With fatherly affection,

From the Vatican, 13 January 2017

On Friday morning, 13 January, a conference was held in the Holy See PressOffice to present the Preparatory Document for the 15th Ordinary GeneralAssembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2018 on the topic“Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment”. For the occasion,the Pope sent a Letter to Young People. In speaking of a challenge “to leaveeverything and set out for a new land”, Francis invited young people to build“a more just and friendly society”. The following is a translation of theHoly Father’s Letter which was written in Italian.

On Friday morning, 13 January, aconference was held in the HolySee Press Office to present the Pre-paratory Document for the 15th Or-dinary General Assembly of theSynod of Bishops. The Synod, tobe held in October 2018, will focuson the theme “young people, faithand vocational discernment”. Car-dinal Lorenzo Baldisseri and BishopFabio Fabene, respectively SecretaryGeneral and Undersecretary of theSynod of Bishops, spoke at thepress conference along with uni-versity students Elvis Do Ceu Nic-olaia Do Rosario and Federica Ceci.

Cardinal Baldisseri explainedthat the document, which was sentto episcopal conferences, councilsof the Eastern Churches, dicasteriesof the Roman Curia and the Unionof Superior Generals, marked thebeginning of the Synod’s consult-ing phase with “‘the entire Peopleof God’, to gather information onthe current condition of youngpeople in the variegated contexts inwhich they live, so as to be able tocarry out an adequate discernmentwith a view to the drafting of theInstrumentum Laboris, and is in con-tinuity with the journey the Churchis already undertaking under theguidance of the Magisterium ofPope Francis”, the Cardinal said.“The centrality of joy and love, un-derlined several times in the text”,

he continued, “clearly links toEvangelii Gaudium and Am o r i sLaetitia. There are also references toLaudato Si’, Lumen Fidei and theteaching of Pope Benedict XVI”.

The Cardinal described the threeparts of the Preparatory Document.“The first urges listening to reality.The second highlights the impor-tance of discernment in the light offaith in order to make life choicesthat truly correspond to the will ofGod and to the good of the per-son. The third focuses on the pas-toral action of the ecclesial com-munity. The evangelical image ofthe ‘beloved disciple’ introduces thethree parts as a brief presentationof the journey”.

Following the Document is aQuestionnaire, which Cardinal Bal-disseri indicated “is an integral partof the document, rather than asimple appendix. This too is di-vided into three parts. The firstrelates to the gathering of statisticaldata. The second is composed ofquestions. The novelty is consti-tuted by the fact that, along withthe general questions proposed toeveryone indiscriminately (15 innumber), there are three specificquestions for each geographicalarea, to which a response is reques-ted only for those who belong tothe specified continent. The thirdpart relates to the sharing of prac-

tices, according to methods that areclearly expressed. The aim of thisthird part, also a novelty, is to en-rich all the Church by bringingawareness of experiences, often ofgreat interest, that take place in thedifferent regions of the world, sothat they may be of help to all”.The information gleaned “from theanswers will serve for the draftingof the Instrumentum Laboris, thedocument handed to the SynodFathers prior to the Assembly”,Cardinal Baldisseri concluded.

Bishop Fabene illustrated the ini-tiatives planned by the GeneralSecretariat of the Synod to accom-pany and support the examinationof the Preparatory Document in theparticular Churches in all the con-tinents. “Firstly”, he observed, “it isimportant to involve young peoplein the preparatory stage of the Syn-od Assembly because the next Syn-od wishes not only to ask how toaccompany the young in discerningtheir life choice in the light of theGospel, but also to listen to the de-sires, plans and dreams that theyoung have for their life, as well asthe difficulties they encounter inrealizing their plan in the service ofsociety, in which they ask to be act-ive agents”.

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

Preparatory Document

Cardinal Wuerl speaks at the annual convention of the Canon Law Society of America

A refreshing opennessREENGAGING

VAT I C A N COUNCIL II

The starting point for an overviewof where we are today and the tasksof synodality in the Church are theSecond Vatican Council and its ex-traordinary impact on the life of theChurch. Over 50 years ago in 1962when Pope, now Saint, John XXIIIopened the Second Vatican Councilhe highlighted that it had, as itsgoal and purpose, to support “theC h u rc h ’s apostolic and pastoral mis-sion by making the truth of theGospel shine forth to lead all peopleto seek and receive Christ’s lovewhich surpasses all knowledge (cf.Eph. 3:19).”1

However, much happened betweenthe close of the Council in 1965 andthe election of Pope Francis in 2013.

culture, and how in the circum-stances of our time do we effectivelyand pastorally respond.

In the 2015 Synod, the focus con-tinued with emphasis on the sub-stance of the Church’s teaching onmarriage and family and its relev-ance today. The Synod reaffirmedthat there is a difference among theteaching on the indissolubility ofmarriage, the pastoral response tothose in broken marriages, and thefaithful’s own conscientious judg-ment concerning their relationshipto the Sacraments. These realitiesare greatly related but they are notthe same thing.

Pope Francis’ decision to allowfree discussion, respect for diver-gence of opinion, transparency inthe process and the publication ofthe results of the voting by the bish-ops at each stage of both synodscreated a refreshing openness thatresulted in a new appreciation of asyno d.

I have been present in some capa-city for eleven synods and as a bish-op member for seven. The last two,the 2014 and the 2015 gatheringswere, in my opinion, the most open,engaging and reflective of episcopalcollaboration and consultation.

As the 2014 Synod was completingits work, the Holy Father enlargedthe writing committee responsible forthe preparation of its report, the Re-latio Synodi. His charge to it was topresent what was the consensus ofthe Synod Fathers. The Relatio Syn-odi was then made public and becamethe working paper for the next synod(2015) with the invitation for world-wide consultation engaging all of theconferences of bishops. Next followedthe 2015 synod on “The Vocation andMission of the Family in the Churchand in the Contemporary World”,which had as its initial working paperthe Relatio of the 2014 synod.

Examples of Pope Francis’ newperspective include his innovativeuse of the synod structure by callingfor two back-to-back assemblies. Inthis way, he engaged a very largenumber of bishops in the one pro-cess since the membership of bothsynods was elected by conferences ofbishops and during the interval eachconference of bishops was asked tobe actively engaged in responding tothe first synod, 2014, and preparingthe material for the second synod,2015.

I would add that his invitation toopenness among the bishops inthese discussions is a part of his in-novation or perspective. We can re-call his advice at the beginning ofthe synod 2014-2015 process to thebishops to speak with openness and

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CONTINUED FROM PA G E 7

It seems to me that in God’sProvidential Plan and in light of allthat has transpired over the past 50years, we now are able to reconnect,again, in an authentic manner, withthe renewing energy of the Council.

Ecclesiologically what Pope Fran-cis has done is to refocus, onceagain, on the ministry of the Collegeof Bishops as was the case in theSecond Vatican Council in the docu-ment, Lumen Gentium.

Pope Francis sees the bishops ofthe Church having one specific role,the Curia another, and all at the ser-vice of the Gospel. He also recog-nizes the work of the laity who havethe responsibility for the sanctifica-tion and transformation of the tem-poral order and the witnessing of Je-sus and his Gospel to a world so in

ing and pastoral ministry of theChurch. In February of 2014, theHoly Father, at a consistory of thecardinals, asked us to begin to re-flect on the challenges to marriagetoday. He then called for a Synod in2014 that addressed the difficultiesthat marriage faces. It reminded usof the heavily secular culture we livein, of the materialism that is a partof the mentality of many people, theindividualism that dominates ourculture, particularly in the Westernworld and in the United States.

It was clear that the overwhelm-ing majority of bishops shared theHoly Father’s vision that there hasto be a way to present the Church’steaching new in ardor, method andexpression rather than simply cometogether to repeat and restate whatis already known. As was quotedlater, one bishop indicated that ifthe purpose of the 2014 Synod wassimply to repeat, doctrinally andpastorally, the Church’s teaching itcould have ended by the second dayand there would have been no needat all for the 2015 Synod.

The open discussion within thesynod is clearly a hallmark of PopeFr a n c i s ’ view of synodality. At notime was there disagreement on theC h u rc h ’s doctrine. But there waslively engagement on how thatteaching is received, understood, ap-propriated and lived in our modern

In this context, the General Sec-retariat of the Synod will providea website to consult the young viaa questionnaire on their expecta-tions and their life. “The questionswill relate to all young people be-cause, as affirmed in the Preparat-ory Document, God’s plan regardsall the youth of our time, and theyall have the right to be accompan-ied without exclusion”, the Bishopcontinued. “The answers to thequestionnaire will provide thebasis for the drafting of the Instru-mentum Laboris, along with thecontributions that will be receivedfrom interested bodies”.

A statement by university stu-dents Do Rosario and Ceci fol-lowed. “At the moment at whichthe Preparatory Document of theupcoming Synod is presented toall the Churches of the world, weare convinced that the bishops willlisten to the young people in theirdioceses, even those who livefarthest from the ecclesial worldbut who strongly desire attentionand meaningful answers. We are

sure that [the bishops] will be ableto ‘waste time’ with us, the young,not only to speak but also to listento what we have to say, with theaim of building together a young-er, fresher Church open to com-parison and encounter”, they said.“In addition, as young people whoexperience every day in our situ-ation the beauty and the freedomof being Christians, we want tospeak to the hearts of our peers allover the world, urging them not toclose themselves off but instead towelcome the opportunities that theChurch offers us with the upcom-ing Synod assembly”.

The students concluded with an“appeal to the media: we ask youto dedicate greater space to theworld of young people, castinglight on many of the positive as-pects and not just the elements ofweakness and turbulence. Help us,with the instruments you have atyour disposal, to become agentsnot only of a future yet to come,but also and above all a presentthat already calls to us today tobuild the civilization of love”.

The accompanying excerpt from the keynoteaddress, “Pope Francis: Fresh Perspectives onSynodality”, delivered on 10 October 2016 byCardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop ofWashington, D.C., to the Canon Law Societyof America, is the second of a series to bepublished in L’Osservatore Romano’s weeklyedition in English.

It is only in understanding those in-tervening five decades that we can, Ibelieve, appreciate the guidance theHoly Spirit continues to give theChurch and the place of Pope Fran-cis in God’s Providential plan.

Immediately following the Coun-cil in the late 60s and a greater partof the 70s, there emerged both path-ways of renewal and developmenttotally consistent with the directionof the Council and, on the otherhand, ways that diverged dramatic-ally from what the Council said andthe received tradition of the Church.This was particularly evident in theareas of liturgy and catechesis wherethe “spirit” of the Council was in-voked to override the actual wordsin the texts of the Council and thetradition of the Church whichprovided both the context and thecontinuity for understanding theCouncil and its future impetus.

What emerged was a new hermen-eutic often invoked to support litur-gical aberration and catecheticalmisrepresentation. The “hermeneuticof discontinuity” was also used tojustify new theological directionsthat disengaged from the receivedtradition and were barely recogniz-able as part of the Catholic heritage.

It was Pope Benedict XVI whobegan explicitly to point out thefailings and unacceptability of thehermeneutic of discontinuity whichhe contrasted with the true hermen-eutic of renewal or reform.

POPE FRANCIS:FRESH PERSPECTIVES

In March 2013, guided by the HolySpirit, the Cardinals of the Churchchose Jorge Mario Bergoglio to fillthe Chair of Peter. He took thename Francis.

marriage and family today, and re-flects the consensus of those meet-ings and many voices. In the workof the synod, in the preparation ofits documents, and the final exhorta-tion we can see Pope Francis’ a p p re -ciation and engagement of synodal-i t y.

The Holy Father has highlighted,once again, the role of bishops incollaboration with him in the overallresponsibilities for leadership, teach-

need of the hopeof the Gospel.

We can see thePop e’s perspectiveon synodality withthe post-synodalapostolic exhorta-tion, Amoris Laeti-tia. It follows onthe Synods ofBishops that met,one in October of2014 and the otherin 2015, to discussthe challenges to

number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 9

Reflection on the Church in the Exhortation ‘Amoris Laetitia’

At her most luminousBROTHER ALOIS

“When the Church tirelessly listens,heals, reconciles, she is at her mostluminous: a communion of love,compassion, consolation, a clear re-flection of the Risen Christ. Neverdistant, never on the defensive, freeof severity, she is able to radiate inour human hearts the humble certi-tude of faith”. Whenever I readAmoris Laetitia, these few lines ofBrother Roger immediately return tomind and, once again, I am struckby the spiritual proximity betweenPope Francis and the founder of ourTaizé community: the same pastoralheart, the same attention to thepoor, to the young, to those whofeel distanced from the faith, thesame appeal to the joy of the Gos-pel. And above all, the same basic,primordial insistence on God’s un-conditional love for every human be-ing. God cannot help but love. Noone is excluded, neither from hislove nor from his forgiveness. TheChurch is called to bear witness toit. All this was present in EvangeliiGaudium and now has a dominantplace in Amoris Laetitia, which waswritten to give strength to womenand men committed in Christianmarriage.

The Pope’s Exhortation beginsnot by expounding the problemsknown by many families nor by enu-merating the rules that they must re-spect. The Pope seeks first of all thelight that the Word of God bringsto family life. This modality touchesus, Taizé brothers, because it is im-possible not to have a positive ecu-menical resonance. Throughout theBible, the Pope says, we find famil-ies with their “love stories” and“family crises”, families torn apart, attimes, by sorrow and pain, but thatseek to pass on the faith to theirchildren. Jesus himself “knows theanxieties and tensions experiencedby families”.

to sinners and walks with them. Hetestifies that God loves uncondition-ally. Some of his parables show thatthis love goes even beyond what isjust and ordinary: it seems exagger-ated that, when the prodigal son re-turns, the father would organizesuch a celebration; the owner of thevineyard gives the impression of sur-

of what we observe inTaizé. In fact, for manyyears, we have valuedthe 7th-century Egyp-tian Coptic icon thatportrays Christ puttinghis arm around theshoulder of a friend.With this gesture, Jesustakes upon himself theburdens, the mistakes,all the weight that fallsupon the other. He isnot in front of hisfriend, but moving for-ward beside him, ac-companying him. Thisfriend is Saint Mena,but is also each andevery one of us towhom Christ comes tosupport with his mys-terious presence.

Walking in the foot-steps of Christ, theChurch is invited to ac-

company people with that samemercy, especially those who are mostwounded. We are surprised to seethe extent to which this icon toucheshearts, especially those of youngpeople. When they realize that theyare being accompanied and notjudged, they are ready to pay atten-tion to the Gospel message.

Reading the Word of God, we seethat fidelity in marriage is one ofChrist’s great demands: the demandto love one’s enemies, or to sell allthat one has in order to follow him,can surprise and confound us. Buthis request is not a heavy burdenthat he lays upon the shoulders ofothers. It expresses all the beautyand all the fruitfulness of a life livedby following him. And, while ex-pressing this request, Christ mani-fests at the same time a deep lovefor those who are unable to fullysatisfy it, for we are all sinners. Thisis the specific character of the Gos-pel message.

The Pope bears witness to thisspecific character and with it con-tributes to changing the image ofthe Church as seen by some of ourcontemporaries. Over the centuries,the vision of God as a harsh judgehas devastated the conscience ofmany and has become an obstacle tofaith. Likewise today, wrongly orrightly, the Church is too often re-garded as the guardian of a rule ofperfection, offering an unattainablemoral code, an inaccessible idealthat causes fear and from whichpeople turn away. It happens thatthe fear of a condemnatory God andChurch paralyzes Christians andeven drives them to hide their mis-takes, to trivialize or justify them.Understanding that God is mercyand forgiveness enables us to admitthat we can make mistakes, to acceptthem and to find in forgiveness thestrength to change.

In speaking about the family, thePope is well aware that some wouldprefer that he give precise generalguidelines in order to avoid confu-sion, but he sincerely believes thatthere is another path. He calls fordiscernment in each situation. As inthe Gospel, Christ links need andmercy, likewise the Pope does notseparate doctrine and pastoral care,as there is an intimate bond betweenthem. The Pope seeks to make sucha link. Mercy is not a concession ofhuman weakness, but encourages thejourney toward a greater love, to-ward the Gospel ideal.

To discern certainly means to re-cognize the gap that exists betweenactual situations and the absolute ofthe Gospel, but without fixating onit. To discern means to discover howthe Holy Spirit is present and activein every situation, even the most im-perfect. His presence is not a rewardfor those who would be perfect; hedwells even in those who are mostwounded and supports them. It isvery important to emphasize this soas to appreciate what all of usalready experience. Then it willgradually become possible for every-one to move forward with Christand to go even further. The pastoralgaze of love and understanding, farfrom relativizing Christ’s call, trans-mits the momentum necessary formeeting the evangelical need.

If I may, I would like to concludewith a question that we Taizé takeparticularly to heart. “Accompany-ing, discerning and integratingweakness” is the title of the eighthchapter of Amoris Laetitia. Couldthis spiritual dynamic, which thePope applies to family life, also beextended to other spheres and adap-ted in particular to the relations withChristian denominations?

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 8

clarity, to listen with humility andto be open to the Holy Spirit.

At the end of all of the discus-sions and all of the reflections car-ried out over two full years, therehas emerged this 2016 apostolic ex-hortation Amoris Laetitia that Iwould call a “consensus exhorta-tion.”

This apostolic exhortation is con-firming for us the validity of theSecond Vatican Council’s call forcollegial reflection, that is, the bish-ops coming together and workingtogether, always with and neverwithout Peter.2

In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francisdraws deeply and richly on theteaching of his predecessors andfrom the heart of the Catholic theo-logical tradition. This engagementis evident in the reaffirmation ofthe doctrine of the Church in re-gard to marriage and the moral life— a point which the Holy Fathermakes repeatedly.3 The teaching onmarriage and human love ofBlessed Paul VI, Saint John Paul II,

and Benedict XVI is featured prom-inently in the document. Particu-larly notable is the rich use of JohnPaul II’s catechesis on the body andon human love.

In urging concrete steps to sup-port married couples and families,and bring hope and healing tothose in difficult situations, PopeFrancis follows in the longstandingtradition of the Church Magisteri-um. The continuity is made clearby the astounding amount of cita-tions from previous pontificates andthe tradition of the Church in gen-eral.

For example, there are 41 cita-tions from the teachings of SaintJohn Paul II, 25 citations to theSecond Vatican Council, 14 cita-tions to Saint Thomas Aquinas, 13citations to the Catechism of theCatholic Church, 8 citations to themagisterium of Benedict XVI, 6 cita-tions to Blessed Paul VI, and more.While we can refer to Amoris Laeti-tia as a “consensus document”, wemight also name it the “continuityexhortation”.

Pope Francis picks up thethreads of the energizing focus ofthe Council while standing on thefoundational work of his prede-cessors. But this is more than mererepetition of certain points of doc-trine.

There is a sense in which one cansee in this exhortation a renewedcall to recognize our Catholic iden-tity, our connectedness to theChurch and how our ministry isvalidated precisely in our participa-tion in and adherence to the articu-lated Magisterium of the Church.This articulation includes that of allof the popes, not just the onessome might deem more Catholicthan others.

1 Pope John Paul II, ApostolicConstitution Fidei Depositum (1992).

2 Cfr. Dogmatic Constitution onthe Church Lumen Gentium (1964),22.

3 Pope Francis, Post-SynodalApostolic Exhortation Amoris Laeti-tia (2016) 307.

In the first chapter, the Popeplaces the Word of God at thecentre of his reflection, proposing itto families not as a sequence of “ab-stract ideas” but as a “source ofcomfort and companionship”. TheWord of God, a companion. ‘Ac-company’ is one of the key wordsused by the Pope. To accompany: aGospel value that one can nevermeditate upon enough. Christ cameto earth to express God’s ‘yes’ tohumanity. Jesus comes to meeteveryone, and in particular he goes

passing the measure when he offersthe same wage to those workingonly the last hour as to those whohad been working since early morn-ing. The fact is that God’s mercygoes beyond justice: he does notnegate it but brings it to perfect ful-fillment.

The Pope points out that if manyof our contemporaries need accom-paniment, it is because they feel thatthey are orphans, and this is particu-larly true for many young people. Ihear in these words a confirmation

Cardinal Wuerl to the Canon Law Society of America

page 10 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

Prayer for the safe releaseof Fr Tom Uzhunnalil

Fr Joaquín Hernández Sifuentes fought against drug trafficking

Another missing priest found dead in Mexico

Church of San Callisto

Help for the homeless

“This is the confidence we have in ap-proaching God: that if we ask anythingaccording to his will, he hears us” (1Jn 5:14)

H.B. Cardinal Baselios Cleemis,Major Archbishop-Catholicos of theSyro-Malankara Church and Presi-dent of India’s Conference ofCatholic Bishops (CBCI) has ap-pealed to India’s government leadersto do everything possible to obtainthe release of Fr Tom Uzhunnalilwho was kidnapped last March inYe m e n .

Fr Tom was seized on 4 March2016 after a militant group stormedinto a home for the sick and elderly,run by Bl. Mother Teresa’s Mission-aries of Charity in Aden, in thecountry’s south-west. Four sisters ofthe religious congregation and 12 laypeople were killed in the attack.

In a 13 January statement, theCBCI President said, “With much an-guish, supplication and prayer wehave been awaiting the release of FrTom Uzhunnalil for the past 10months” and that, for this reason,

the CBCI “has been in constant con-tact with the Minister for ExternalAffairs, Mrs Sushma Swaraj, and theForeign Ministry”, and “has alsobeen in touch with Bishop PaulHinder, Apostolic Vicar of SouthernArabia, Yemen”. The Bishops, theCardinal said, have been assuredthat Fr Tom “is alive and safe”.

The Cardinal stated that “theBishops have intensified their effortsand have been in close contact withthe Indian Foreign Ministry” sincethe appearance of a video on 24December, in which Fr Tom pur-portedly made an appeal. “Thewhole Catholic Church and espe-cially the Church in India is veryworried and concerned about FrTo m ”, whom the CBCI President de-scribed as a “generous and selflessCatholic priest”.

The Cardinal has asked “thewhole Church in India and allpeople of good will to pray for thesafety and liberation of Fr Tom ...,for the conversion of those who areholding him captive, and ... thatGod may give them the grace torealize the injustice of their acts”.The Cardinal and the CBCI call onall parish priests, religious and layleaders together with the faithful, tohold a day of Prayer for Fr TomUzhunnalil on Saturday, 21 Januaryor Sunday, 22 January.

The Community of Sant’Egidio, inresponse to the emergency causedby the cold front sweeping acrossEurope, as of Saturday, 7 Januaryhas kept open the doors of theChurch of San Callisto in Rome’sTrastevere neighbourhood, offeringthe homeless a place to sleep atnight.

The church and its buildings arewithin the extraterritorial propertyof the Holy See. The church is anancient place of worship, builtaround the well where Pope Callix-tus I was martyred in 222. The cur-rent building dates back to the 17thcentury. It is a rectory linked to theparish of Santa Maria in Trastevereand is under the care of the Com-munity of Sant’Egidio, which car-ries out activities of worship andcatechesis, especially for the elderlyand people with disabilities.

There are approximately 30homeless people — Italians andforeigners — who are currentlyspending the night in the churchand adjacent buildings, all ofwhich are equipped with heating,beds, blankets and bathrooms.

Dinner is offered to the guestsaround 7 PM in the nearby refec-tory, after which they can accessthe church between 8 and 10 PM.In the morning the guests leavethe building at about 8. Volunteers

from the Community of Sant’Egi-dio welcome the homeless and re-main there during opening hours,including the night shift. Theguests are assisted by volunteerswho help them find solutions totheir material and health-relatedneeds. Where possible, in the daysfollowing their first arrival, at-tempts are made to find morestable forms of accommodation.

Sovereign Military Order of MaltaThe Holy See Press Office issued the following statement on 17 January:

In relation to the events of recent weeks concerning the SovereignMilitary Order of Malta, the Holy See wishes to reiterate its supportand encouragement for the commendable work that members and vol-unteers carry out in various parts of the world, in fulfillment of the aimsof the Order: tuitio fidei (the defence of the Faith) and obsequium pau-perum (service to the poor, the sick and those in greatest need).

For the support and advancement of this generous mission, the HolySee reaffirms its confidence in the five Members of the Group appoin-ted by Pope Francis on 21 December 2016 to inform him about thepresent crisis of the Central Direction of the Order, and rejects, basedon the documentation in its possession, any attempt to discredit theseMembers of the Group and their work.

The Holy See counts on the complete cooperation of all in this sensi-tive stage, and awaits the Report of the above-mentioned Group in or-der to adopt, within its area of competence, the most fitting decisionsfor the good of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and of theC h u rc h .

Another unfortunate victim has been added to thelist of Catholic priests killed in Mexico in relation totheir role in the fight against drug trafficking. TheDiocese of Saltillo in the state of Coahuila de Zar-agoza has confirmed that Fr Joaquín Hernández Si-fuentes, a diocesan priest at the Sacred Heart parish,was found dead on 12 January in Parras, some 120kilometers to the west. He had been missing since 3January, when he had been due to take a short holi-day. According to Church sources, a friend becamesuspicious after finding the priest’s home in disarray,along with his fully packed suitcase and the glasseshe would have needed to drive. Neighbours reportedhaving seen two men drive off in the priest’s car,though they did not see Fr Hernández accompanythem. According to police, the priest had beenbeaten before he died. Two men are being held inconnection with his murder.

Fr Hernández was ordained in 2004 at the age of30 and served in several parishes before being trans-ferred to Saltillo in 2013. In a written statement, the

diocese expressed that Fr Joaquín “sought perfectionin all he did”, and that his close relationship to thepeople has been reflected in an outpouring of lovefrom the faithful since his disappearance.

In a press conference, Bishop José Raul VeraLopez of Saltillo offered words of comfort to FrHernández’ family and said it was the first time sucha tragedy has hit the diocese since he became itsbishop. He called for prayers and invited local cit-izens to realize that, just as all members of society,even members of the clergy can be victimized bycrime. “We are living in a deteriorated environment”,the bishop of Saltillo said, “in a fragmented societywhere priests do not live under a glass bell tower”.Sixteen priests have died violent deaths in Mexicoover the last four years. More than 30 have beenkilled since 2006.

Funeral services were held for Fr Hernández Si-fuentes on 15 January at the Cathedral of Saltillo,where the local community gathered to bid him theirfinal farewell.

number 3, Friday, 20 January 2017 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 11

Message for the 2017 World Day of Prayer for Vocations

The Christian missionis not borne alone

The Church needs priests who are hopeful and serene, so as to express “the truetreasure they have discovered” and to go out joyfully and make it known to all.Pope Francis writes this in his Message for the 2017 World Day of Prayer forVocations, which will be celebrated on 7 May. In the Message, the Pope explainsthat “as disciples, we do not receive the gift of God’s love for our personalconsolation”, but as “men and women touched and transformed by the joy ofGod’s love, who cannot keep this experience” just to themselves. The following isthe English text of the Holy Father’s message.

Led by the Spirit for Mission

Dear Brothers and Sisters,In the last few years, we have con-

sidered two aspects of the Christianvocation: the summons to “go outfrom ourselves” to hear the Lord’svoice, and the importance of the ec-clesial community as the privilegedplace where God’s call is born,nourished and expressed.

Now, on this 54th World Day ofPrayer for Vocations, I would like toreflect on the missionary dimension ofour Christian calling. Those who,drawn by God’s voice and determ-ined to follow Jesus, soon discoverwithin themselves an irrepressibledesire to bring the Good News totheir brothers and sisters throughproclamation and the service ofcharity. All Christians are called tobe missionaries of the Gospel! Asdisciples, we do not receive the giftof God’s love for our personal con-solation, nor are we called to pro-mote ourselves, or a business con-cern. We are simply men and wo-men touched and transformed bythe joy of God’s love, who cannotkeep this experience just toourselves. For “the Gospel joy whichenlivens the community of disciplesis a missionary joy (Evangelii Gaudi-um, 21).

Commitment to mission is notsomething added on to the Christianlife as a kind of decoration, but isinstead an essential element of faithitself. A relationship with the Lordentails being sent out into the worldas prophets of his word and wit-nesses of his love.

Even if at times we are consciousof our weaknesses and tempted todiscouragement, we need to turn toGod with confidence. We must over-come a sense of our own inadequacyand not yield to pessimism, whichmerely turns us into passive spectat-ors of a dreary and monotonous life.There is no room for fear! God him-self comes to cleanse our “uncleanlips” and equip us for the mission:“Your guilt has departed and yoursin is blotted out. Then I heard thevoice of the Lord saying, ‘Whomshall I send and who will go for us?’

And I said, ‘Here am I, send me’”(Is 6:6-8).

In the depths of their heart, allmissionary disciples hear this divinevoice bidding them to “go about”,as Jesus did, “doing good and heal-ing all” (cf. Acts 10:38). I have men-tioned that, by virtue of baptism,every Christian is a “Christopher”, abearer of Christ, to his brothers andsisters (cf. Catechesis, 30 January2016). This is particularly the casewith those called to a life of specialconsecration and with priests, whohave generously responded, “Here Iam, Lord, send me!”. With renewedmissionary enthusiasm, priests arecalled to go forth from the sacredprecincts of the temple and to letGo d’s tender love overflow for thesake of humanity (cf. Homily at theChrism Mass, 24 March 2016). TheChurch needs such priests: serenelyconfident because they have dis-covered the true treasure, anxious togo out and joyfully to make itknown to all (cf. Mt 13:44).

Certainly many questions arisewhen we speak of the Christian mis-sion. What does it mean to be amissionary of the Gospel? Whogives us the strength and courage topreach? What is the evangelicalbasis and inspiration of mission? Wecan respond to these questions bymeditating on three scenes from theGospels: the inauguration of Jesus’mission in the synagogue at Naz-areth (cf. Lk 4:16-30); the journeythat, after his resurrection, he makesin the company of the disciples ofEmmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-35) and, fi-nally, the parable of the sower andthe seed (cf. Mt 4:26-27).

Jesus is anointed by the Spiritand sent. To be a missionary dis-ciple means to share actively in themission of Christ. Jesus himself de-scribed that mission in the syn-agogue of Nazareth in these words:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to bringgood news to the poor. He has sentme to proclaim release to the cap-tives and recovery of sight to theblind, to let the oppressed go free,and to proclaim the year of theL o rd ’s favour” (Lk 4:18-19). This isalso our mission: to be anointed bythe Spirit, and to go out to our broth-ers and sisters in order to proclaimthe word and to be for them ameans of salvation.

Jesus is at our side every step ofthe way. The questions lurking inhuman hearts and the real chal-lenges of life can make us feel be-wildered, inadequate and hopeless.The Christian mission might appearto be mere utopian illusion or atleast something beyond our reach.

Yet if we contemplate the risen Jesuswalking alongside the disciples ofEmmaus (cf. Lk 24:13-15), we can befilled with new confidence. In thatGospel scene, we have a true“liturgy of the street”, preceding thatof the word and the breaking of thebread. We see that, at every step ofthe way, Jesus is at our side! Thetwo disciples, overwhelmed by thescandal of the cross, return home onthe path of defeat. Their hearts arebroken, their hopes dashed and theirdreams shattered. The joy of theGospel has yielded to sadness. Whatdoes Jesus do? He does not judgethem, but walks with them. Insteadof raising a wall, he opens a breach.Gradually he transforms their dis-couragement. He makes their heartsburn within them, and he openstheir eyes by proclaiming the wordand breaking the bread. In the sameway, a Christian does not bear theburden of mission alone, but real-izes, even amid weariness and mis-understanding, that “Jesus walkswith him, speaks to him, breatheswith him, works with him. He sensesJesus alive with him in the midst ofthe missionary enterprise” (EvangeliiGaudium, 266).

Jesus makes the seed grow. Fi-nally, it is important to let the Gos-pel teach us the way of proclama-tion. At times, even with the best in-tentions, we can indulge in a certainhunger for power, proselytism or in-tolerant fanaticism. Yet the Gospeltells us to reject the idolatry ofpower and success, undue concernfor structures, and a kind of anxietythat has more to do with the spiritof conquest than that of service. Theseed of the Kingdom, however tiny,unseen and at times insignificant, si-lently continues to grow, thanks toGo d’s tireless activity. “The kingdomof God is as if a man should scatterseed on the ground, and shouldsleep or rise night and day, and theseed should sprout and grow, heknows not how” (Mk 4:26-27). Thisis our first reason for confidence:God surpasses all our expectationsand constantly surprises us by hisgenerosity. He makes our effortsbear fruit beyond all human calcula-tion.

With this confidence born of theGospel, we become open to the si-

lent working of the Spirit, which isthe basis of mission. There can beno promotion of vocations or Chris-tian mission apart from constantcontemplative prayer. The Christianlife needs to be nourished by attent-ive listening to God’s word and,above all, by the cultivation of apersonal relationship with the Lordin Eucharistic adoration, the priv-ileged “place” for our encounterwith God.

I wish heartily to encourage thiskind of profound friendship with theLord, above all for the sake of im-ploring from on high new vocationsto the priesthood and the consec-rated life. The People of God needto be guided by pastors whose livesare spent in service to the Gospel. Iask parish communities, associationsand the many prayer groups presentin the Church, not to yield to dis-couragement but to continue pray-ing that the Lord will send workersto his harvest. May he give uspriests enamoured of the Gospel,close to all their brothers and sisters,living signs of God’s merciful love.

Dear brothers and sisters, todaytoo, we can regain fervour in preach-ing the Gospel and we can encour-age young people in particular totake up the path of Christian dis-cipleship. Despite a widespreadsense that the faith is listless or re-duced to mere “duties to discharge”,our young people desire to discoverthe perennial attraction of Jesus, tobe challenged by his words and ac-tions, and to cherish the ideal thathe holds out of a life that is fullyhuman, happy to spend itself inlove.

Mary Most Holy, the Mother ofour Saviour, had the courage to em-brace this ideal, placing her youthand her enthusiasm in God’s hands.Through her intercession, may we begranted that same openness of heart,that same readiness to respond,“Here I am”, to the Lord’s call, andthat same joy in setting out (cf. Lk1:39), like her, to proclaim him tothe whole world.

From the Vatican, 27 November 2016First Sunday of Advent

“Emmaus”, Janet Brooks-Gerloff (1992)

page 12 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 20 January 2017, number 3

Holy Father’s appeal for child migrants

Our little brothersand sisters

“It is necessary to adopt every possible measure to guarantee protectionand security to migrant minors, as well as their integration”. PopeFrancis shared this hope at the Angelus on Sunday, 15 January. Beforereciting the prayer with the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’s Square, hecommented on the day’s Gospel reading. The following is a translation ofthe reflection given by the Holy Father in Italian.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!At the centre of today’s Gospel reading (Jn 1:29-34) there is thismessage of John the Baptist: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takesaway the sin of the world!” (v. 29). It is a message accompanied bythe gaze and the hand gesture that indicate Him, Jesus.

Let us imagine the scene. We are on the bank of the RiverJordan. John is baptizing; there are many people, men and women

Dear brothers and sisters, why have we focused so long on thisscene? Because it is decisive! It is not an anecdote. It is a decisivehistorical fact! This scene is decisive for our faith; and it is also de-cisive for the Church’s mission. The Church, in every time, is calledto do what John the Baptist did: point Jesus out to the people, say-ing, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of theworld!”. He is the One Saviour! He is the Lord, humble, in themidst of sinners, but it is He, He: there is no other powerful onewho comes; no, no it is He!

These are the words that we priests repeat each day, during theMass, when we present to the people the bread and wine becomethe Body and Blood of Christ. This liturgical gesture represents thewhole mission of the Church, which she does not proclaim herself.Woe, woe when the Church proclaims herself; she loses her bear-ings, she doesn’t know where she is going! The Church proclaimsChrist; she does not bring herself, she brings Christ. Because it isHe and only He who saves his people from sin, frees them andguides them to land and to true freedom.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Lamb of God, help us tobelieve in Him and follow Him.

After the Angelus, the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate the World Day ofMigrants and Refugees, dedicated to the theme “Child Migrants,the Vulnerable and the Voiceless”. These little brothers and sistersof ours, especially if unaccompanied, are exposed to so manydangers. I tell you there are many! It is necessary to adopt everypossible measure to guarantee protection and security to migrantminors, as well as their integration.

I address a special greeting to the representatives of various eth-nic communities. Dear friends, I hope you may live peacefully inthe places that receive you, respecting their laws and traditions, andat the same time, safeguarding the values of your culture of origin.Encountering different cultures is always an enrichment for all! Ithank the M i g ra n t s Office of the Diocese of Rome and those whowork with migrants to welcome and support them in their diffi-culties, and I encourage you to carry on in this work, always recall-ing the example of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Patron Saint ofmigrants, the centenary of whose death is this year. This courageous

of various ages, who have come there, to the river, to receive bap-tism from the hands of the man who reminded many of Elijah, thegreat Prophet who nine centuries before had purified the Israelitesof idolatry and led them back to the true faith in the God of theCovenant, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

John preaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand, that theMessiah is about to reveal himself, and one must prepare, convertand act with righteousness; and he begins to baptize in the RiverJordan in order to give the people a tangible means of repentance(cf. Mt 3:1-6). These people came to repent their sins, to make pen-ance, to begin their life anew. He knows; John knows that the Mes-siah, the Lord’s Consecrated One, is now nearby, and the sign torecognize Him will be that the Holy Spirit will descend upon Him.Indeed, He will bring the true baptism, baptism in the Holy Spirit(cf. Jn 1:33).

And thus, the moment arrives: Jesus appears on the river bank,in the midst of the people, the sinners — like all of us. It is his firstpublic act, the first thing he does when he leaves his home in Naz-areth, at the age of 30: he goes down into Judea, goes to theJordan, and is baptized by John. We know what happens. We cel-ebrated it last Sunday: the Holy Spirit descends upon Jesus in theform of a dove and the voice of the Father proclaims him the be-loved Son (cf. Mt 3:16-17). It is the sign that John has been waitingfor. It is He! Jesus is the Messiah. John is disconcerted, because Hemanifests himself in an unimaginable way: in the midst of sinners,baptized with them, or rather, for them. But the Spirit enlightensJohn and helps him understand that in this way God’s justice is ful-filled, his plan of salvation is fulfilled: Jesus is the Messiah, theKing of Israel, however, not with the power of this world but as theLamb of God, who takes upon himself and takes away the sins of thew o rl d .

Thus, John points Him out to the people and to his disciples.Because John had a large circle of disciples, who had chosen him asa spiritual guide, and some of them actually become the first dis-ciples of Jesus. We know their names well: Simon, later called Peter,his brother Andrew, James and his brother John. All were fisher-men, all Galileans, like Jesus.

Exhausted migrants sleepon the deck of a vessel after

being rescued from theMediterranean sea (AP)

Sister dedicated her life tobringing the love of Christto those who were far fromtheir homelands and fami-lies. May her witness helpus to take care of our for-eign brothers and sisters, inwhom Jesus is present, of-ten suffering, rejected andhumiliated. How often inthe Bible the Lord asks usto welcome migrants andforeigners, reminding usthat we too are foreigners!

I warmly greet all of you,dear faithful from variousparishes of Italy and of oth-er countries, as well as theassociations and variousgroups; in particular thestudents of the MeléndezValdés Institute of Villa-franca de los Barros, Spain.

I wish everyone a happySunday and a good lunch.Please, do not forget topray for me. Thank you!Ar r i v e d e rc i ! “Baptism of Jesus”, Kiko Argüello