CHINA: CONSECRATION OF THE NEW BISHOP OF SHAOWU – POPE FRANCIS: “WRATH, A PARTICULARLY DARK VICE”

More on the Sunday killing of a man in a Catholic Church in Istanbul on Sunday, January 28:  https://english.katholisch.de/artikel/50727-victim-in-catholic-church-in-istanbul-was-not-a-christian?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

There seems to be a bit of positive news from China as we have read in recent days, including today, with the appointment and installation of 3 new Catholic bishops. There has been a lot of criticism since the September 22, 2018 agreement signed between the Holy See and China about the appointment of bishops (and renewed in 2020 and 2022).

Basically, the communist Chinese government (PCC) was allowed to name the men they wanted as bishops but the Pope does have the right to disagree with the choice. Full disclosure, I have been one of the main critics of this agreement for reasons I have explained many times in this column and on Facebook.

I assume there was a quid pro quo in each of these recent cases. Is there room to feel positive that three new bishops will minister well to the Catholics in China and also be (allowed to be) active evangelizers?

Acts of the Apostles (at the Ascension): “But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I am hopeful but also a realist.

Following is the news about today’s consecration of the new bishop of Shaowu. After that are links to the two stories about the other new Chinese bishops.

I think Pope Francis’ general audience catechesis on wrath is so important today. Wrath, ire, anger, rage, outrage, indignation, call it what you will but there is so much wrath in the world today. Look at social discourse. Look at political parties. Look at some posts on the Internet.  Let’s listen to and reflect on what Francis said.

CHINA: CONSECRATION OF THE NEW BISHOP OF SHAOWU

Fr. Pietro Wu Yishun has been consecrated as the new Bishop of Shaowu (Minbei) in the Chinese province of Fujian, taking place according to the framework of the Provisional Agreement.

By Vatican News

On Wednesday, 31 January, the new bishop of Shaowu (Minbei) in the Chinese province of Fujian was consecrated.

Father Pietro Wu Yishun was appointed by Pope Francis on 16 December 2023.

The appointment was announced on Wednesday by the Holy See Press Office following his episcopal consecration, as set out in the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China.

Bishop Pietro Wu Yishun was born on 7 December 1964. He was ordained a priest on 15 August, 1992, for the Diocese of Xiamen.

Later sent to Minbei, he served there as a pastor, holding various roles, including being the parish priest of Nanping and responsible for the Apostolic Prefectures of Shaowu and Jian’ou.

Catholic community in Fujian province
The consecration liturgy of the new bishop, reported by the Vatican’s Fides news agency, took place in the Chengguan parish of the Jianyang district, dedicated to the Nativity of Mary, in the city of Nanping (Fujian province).

Bishop Giuseppe Li Shan of Beijing presided over the consecration. Three other Chinese bishops, around eighty priests from various dioceses in China, and over 360 lay faithful participated in the liturgy.

The life of the ecclesial community in the diocese of Shaowu (Minbei), according to Fides, is woven with the ordinary gestures of catechism, liturgies, prayers, charitable works, and the succession of months dedicated each year to St. Joseph, Mary, the Sacred Heart, and the Rosary.

Churches of ancient origin are restored and recovered, and pastoral initiatives are shared according to the priorities suggested by the Pope.

Thus, the diocesan parishes celebrated specific initiatives during the Pauline Year, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI, and the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, announced by Pope Francis.

Prayers were offered in the diocesan parishes for the success of the Olympics and the end of the pandemic. In the face of earthquakes and natural disasters, funds and relief goods are collected for the affected populations.

During the Year of Mercy, concluded Fides, the diocesan community designated two ancient churches, built more than 110 years ago, as sanctuaries with Holy Doors to pass through, thus living communion with the universal Church and the Successor of Peter.

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-01/china-bishop-taddeo-wang-yuesheng-zhengzhou-consecrated.html

https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-01/bishop-consecrated-for-new-diocese-of-weifang-china.html

POPE FRANCIS: “WRATH, A PARTICULARLY DARK VICE”

Continuing his weekly catechesis on virtues and vices, Pope Francis opened today’s general audience by explaining, “it is time to reflect on the vice of wrath. It is a particularly dark vice, and it is perhaps the easiest to detect from a physical point of view. The person dominated by wrath finds it difficult to hide this impulse: you can recognize it from the movements of his body, his aggressiveness, his laboured breathing, his grim and frowning expression.”

“In its most acute manifestation, ” he continued, “wrath is a vice that concedes no respite. If it is born of an injustice suffered (or believed to be suffered), often it is unleashed not against the offender, but against the first unfortunate victim. There are men who withhold their rage in the workplace, showing themselves to be calm and composed, but at home they become unbearable for the wife and children. Wrath is a pervasive vice: it is capable of depriving us of sleep, of barring the way to reason and thought.” (Vatican photos)

One of the results of wrath, said the Holy Father, is that “it destroys human relationships. It expresses the incapacity to accept the diversity of others, especially when their life choices diverge from our own. It does not stop at the misconduct of one person, but throws everything into the cauldron: it is the other person, the other as he or she is, the other as such, who provokes anger and resentment. One begins to detest the tone of their voice, their trivial everyday gestures, their ways of reasoning and feeling.”

Pope Francis noted that “Wrath makes us lose lucidity, doesn’t it? Because one of the characteristics of wrath, at times, is that sometimes it fails to mitigate with time. In these cases, even distance and silence, instead of easing the burden of mistakes, magnifies them. For this reason, the Apostle Paul – as we have heard – recommends to Christians to face up to the problem straight away, and to attempt reconciliation: “Do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26). It is important that everything dissipate immediately, before sundown. If some misunderstanding arises during the day, and two people can no longer understand each other, perceiving themselves as far apart, the night cannot be handed over to the devil.!

Importantly, the Pope also explained that “the passions are to some extent unconscious: they happen, they are life experiences. We are not responsible for the onset of wrath, but always for its development. And at times it is good for anger to be vented in the right way. If a person were never to (feel) anger, if a person did not become indignant at an injustice, if he did not feel something quivering in his gut at the oppression of the weak, it would mean that the person was not human, must less a Christian.

Francis ended by noting that “holy indignation exists, which is not wrath but an inner movement, a holy indignation. Jesus knew it several times in His life (cf. Mk 3.5): He never responded to evil with evil, but in His soul, He felt this sentiment, and in the case of the merchants in the Temple, He performed a strong and prophetic action, dictated not by wrath, but by zeal for the house of the Lord (cf. Mt 21:12-13). We must distinguish well: zeal, holy indignation, is one thing; wrath, which is bad, is another.”

POPE’S FEBRUARY PRAYER INTENTION: FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL – ON USSCB BIBLE LICENSE FEES, “MONEY IS NOT THE POINT”

I found the second story fascinating. I had no idea such fees were required to reprint scripture in church bulletins. I presume members of a church’s parish council know this.

POPE’S FEBRUARY PRAYER INTENTION: FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL

Pope Francis releases his prayer intention for the month of February 2024, and invites everyone to pray for the terminally ill and their families.

By Deborah Castellano Lubov (Vatican news)

Pope Francis’ monthly prayer intention this February is for the terminally ill and their families.

The Pope invited the Church to pray for this intention in this month’s The Pope Video, which is entrusted to the entire Catholic Church through the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network.

This month’s Video comes during the month in which the Church observes the liturgical memorial of Our Lady of Lourdes, 11 February, on which the World Day of the Sick takes place.

Pope Francis explains that “when some people talk about terminal illnesses, there are two words they often confuse: incurable and un-‘carable.’ But they are not the same.”

Caring even if no cure
He cites his predecessor Pope St. John Paul II, in saying, “Cure if it is possible; always take care.”

The images from The Pope Video for February exemplify situations showing love and tenderness for the terminally ill, and depending on how they are interpreted, depict a series of failures or successes, the failures being “if the only acceptable outcome is a cure,” and successes instead being “if the objective is the care of the patient.”

Pope Francis explains clearly that even when little chance for a cure exists, “every sick person has the right to medical, psychological, spiritual and human assistance.”

“Healing,” he acknowledges, “is not always possible, but we can always care for the sick person, caress them.”

Guarantee of closeness and support
Reflecting on the importance of palliative care, Pope Francis reaffirms that such care “guarantees the patient not only medical attention,” but also “human assistance and closeness.”

Meanwhile, when speaking about the role of the family, he underscores that those suffering “should not be left alone in these difficult moments.”

The role of the family “is decisive,” the Pope said, stressing relatives “need access to adequate means so as to provide appropriate physical, spiritual and social support.”

Pope Francis concludes by asking for prayers and a commitment from everyone so that “the terminally ill and their families always receive the necessary medical and human care and assistance.”

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network
The Pope Video is an official global initiative with the purpose of disseminating the Holy Father’s monthly prayer intentions. It is carried out by the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network (Apostleship of Prayer). Since 2016, The Pope Video has had more than 203 million views across all the Vatican’s social networks and is translated into more than 23 languages, receiving press coverage in 114 countries.

The videos are produced and created by The Pope Video Prayer Network team, coordinated by Andrea Sarubbi, and distributed by La Machi Communication for Good Causes. The project is sponsored by Vatican Media. For more information: The Pope Video.

The Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network is a Vatican foundation, with the mission of mobilizing Catholics through prayer and action in response to the challenges facing humanity and the mission of the Church. These challenges are presented in the form of prayer intentions entrusted by the Pope to the entire Church.

ON USSCB BIBLE LICENSE FEES, “MONEY IS NOT THE POINT”

(THE PILLAR – January 30, 2024)

The U.S. bishops’ conference told bishops last month that if parishes want to reprint Scripture in bulletins or worship aids, they need to pay USCCB licensing fees for the privilege. While a memo to bishops said that fees are meant to protect copyrights, a USCCB official told The Pillar that the licensing fees mostly aim to discourage parish production of liturgical worship aids.

“It appears that numerous parishes may be reproducing the daily and Sunday readings in their worship aids or bulletins without a license from the USCCB,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio wrote in a Dec. 4 memo sent to U.S. bishops.

The archbishop warned that unlicensed reproduction of scripture readings “risk undermining the ability of the Conference (on behalf of the Confraternity for Christian Doctrine) to enforce its rights against commercial endeavors that use these Scripture translations in for profit manners.”

“I ask that you please advise your parishes of the situation and encourage them to become licensees if they are not already. The current rate is from $200 per year for up to 250 copies per Sunday to $1,500 per year for 1,500 copies or more per week,” Broglio explained.

TO CONTINUE: https://www.pillarcatholic.com/p/on-usccb-bible-license-fees-the-money?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

VATICAN INSIDER: PATRONS OF THE ARTS IN THE VATICAN MUSEUMS

VATICAN INSIDER: PATRONS OF THE ARTS IN THE VATICAN MUSEUMS

My special guest in VI’s interview segment this week is Msgr. Terence Hogan, Coordinator of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums. He is a wonderful story teller and we learn about the Patrons’ history, the Chapters around the world, various restorations projects – tapestries, wood, mosaic, painting, sculpture, etc. and some little known secrets about restoration. You’ll also learn how to become a patron of the arts in the Vatican Museums and the benefits of membership in the Patrons.

https://www.patronsvaticanmuseums.org/en

N THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest whom you are searching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

 

POPE FRANCIS: BLESS THE PERSONS, NOT THE UNION

I read the Pope’s talk to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith I don’t know how many times to see if the content, his words matched the title of this Vatican news article. Did the Pope today give a command or make a suggestion with “Bless the persons, not the union”?  Or is that title a take on the Holy Father’s actual words? Perception?

I ask because, as you read this Vatican summary, you will see words at the end that I have emphasized in bold (something I never do with a papal speech).

For example: Secondly, he noted, “when a couple spontaneously approaches [a minister] and asks for them, he is not blessing the union, but simply the people who together have requested it.”

For me this is all about perception. Does Francis know (I’ve asked this countless times) that, for millions around the globe, perception is reality? Two people approach (a minister) and ask to be blessed. They are together – the key word, together.  The priest is blessing two people together. The perception is that he is blessing a couple, a union.

The Pope did not specify but if the two people are a same sex couple, what is being blessed?  Obviously I want to clarify that if the priest calls each person individually by name and blesses them individually, that would seem to meet DDF standards. But will we ever know that unless a couple tells us.

POPE FRANCIS: BLESS THE PERSONS, NOT THE UNION

In an address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Pope Francis discusses the Sacraments, human dignity, evangelisation, and Fiducia supplicans.

Joseph Tulloch (Vatican news)

Pope Francis addressed the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith on Friday, as the department brought its annual plenary assembly to a close.

Thanking officials for their “precious work”, the Pope recalled that, in his 2022 reform of the Roman Curia, he divided the Dicastery into two sections, one concerned with Doctrine and the other with Discipline. (2022 Vatican photo)

It was the former subject, the Pope said, that he wanted to touch on in his address, and he offered a number of thoughts organised around three words: ‘Sacraments’, ‘dignity’, and ‘faith’.

New document from DDF
The first word that Pope Francis touched on in his address was ‘Sacraments’.

The Sacraments, he said, “feed and make grow the life of the Church”, he said, and thus require “special care” on the part of those who administer them.

“Let us,” the Pope urged the DDF officials, “love and cherish the beauty and saving power of the Sacraments!”

Pope Francis then moved on to discuss dignity, noting that the DDF is “working on a document on this subject.“

“I hope,” he said, “that it will help us, as a Church, to always be close to all those who, without fanfare, in concrete daily life, fight and personally pay the price for defending the rights of those who are disregarded.”

Proclaiming the Gospel today
The Pope’s third subject, faith, was the one he dwelt on for the longest period.

“We cannot hide the fact,” he said, ”that in large areas of the planet, faith, as Benedict XVI put it, no longer constitutes an obvious prerequisite for common living.”

Indeed, Pope Francis noted, faith is often “denied, mocked, marginalised, and ridiculed.”

The proclamation and communication of faith in today’s world, he said, must therefore take a number of factors into account.

In particular, Pope Francis specified the “new urban cultures, with their many challenges but also the unprecedented questions of meaning they raise,” the need for “missionary conversion of ecclesial structures,” and, finally, “the centrality of kerygma [‘proclamation’] in the life and mission of the Church.”

“It is here,” the Pope said, “that help is expected from this Dicastery.”

Pastoral blessings
It was “in this context of evangelisation,” Pope Francis continued, that he wanted to mention the recent Declaration Fiducia supplicans.

The purpose of the “pastoral and spontaneous blessings” discussed in the Declaration, the Pope stressed, is to “concretely show the closeness of the Lord and the Church to all those who, finding themselves in different situations, ask for help to continue—sometimes to begin—a journey of faith.”

In this regard, the Pope emphasized two points.

Firstly, he said, “these blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not require moral perfection to be received.”

Secondly, he noted, “when a couple spontaneously approaches [a minister] and asks for them, he is not blessing the union, but simply the people who together have requested it.”

“Not the union,” the Pope stressed, “but the persons, naturally taking into account the context, sensitivities, the places where one lives, and the most appropriate ways to do it.”

In this regard, the Pope emphasized two points.

Firstly, he said, “these blessings, outside of any liturgical context and form, do not require moral perfection to be received.”

Secondly, he noted, “when a couple spontaneously approaches [a minister] and asks for them, he is not blessing the union, but simply the people who together have requested it.”

“Not the union,” the Pope stressed, “but the persons, naturally taking into account the context, sensitivities, the places where one lives and the most appropriate ways to do it.”

A GOOD NEWS DAY…

A GOOD NEWS DAY…

Haiti: Six abducted nuns released in Port-au-Prince

Six nuns of the Congregation of Saint Anne who were taken hostage by armed men on 19 January have been released, along with two abducted laypeople, according to Haitian Archbishop Max Leroy Mésidor of Port-au-Prince. The six sisters of the Congregation of Saint Anne who were kidnapped on 19 January in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, have been released. The two laypeople – reportedly their bus driver and a niece of one of the nun – were also released.

Unidentified armed men had stopped the bus on which they were travelling, demanding a ransom of 3.5 million dollars, according to local media reports. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/church/news/2024-01/nuns-kidnapped-in-haiti-are-released.html

China: New Bishop of Zhengzhou consecrated

Father Taddeo Wang Yuesheng was appointed by Pope Francis as the Bishop of Zhengzhou on December 16, 2023, and the announcement of his appointment coincides with the day of consecration, within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. (photo AFP or licensors)

Bishop Taddeo Wang Yuesheng is the new Bishop of Zhengzhou, in the Chinese province of Henan. His episcopal consecration took place on January 25, 2024. Pope Francis made the episcopal appointment on December 16, 2023.

It was announced on Thursday in conjunction with the consecration of the new diocesan pastor, which took place within the framework of the Provisional Agreement between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China. https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2024-01/china-bishop-taddeo-wang-yuesheng-zhengzhou-consecrated.html

JANUARY 23: FEAST OF ST. MARIANNE OF MOLOKAI’I – ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON’S POEM FOR ST. MARIANNE COPE

JANUARY 23: FEAST OF ST. MARIANNE OF MOLOKAI’I

St. Marianne entered my life in July 2008, when I flew to Hawaii for the first time to explore the story of a miracle that would lead to Blessed Fr. Damien’s canonization. Marianne and a number of her Franciscan sisters had answered a call by Hawaii’s then king to come and work with the leper colony on Kalaupapa, Molokai’i. She worked side by side with Fr. Damien, and then for decades after his death. I learned of her story when I explored Kalaupapa on that first visit.

On that visit, I also met and interviewed the miracolata, Audrey Toguchi. We became good friends and still are today!  I saw her in December (my 12th trip to Hawaii) when I was there for the cause of Joseph Dutton. Audrey is the young lady on the right! She is a living history book on Damien, Marianne, Joseph Dutton, Kalaupapa and pretty much all of Hawaii! By the by, on the left is Dr. Maria Devera, president of the Joseph Dutton Guild in the diocese of Honolulu, and the mover and shaker behind the guild and the cause!

I’ve written countless stories on Joan’s Rome about Molokai’i and its two saints, Fr. Damien and Mother Marianne, and a possible third saint, Joseph Dutton. I’ve also done a number of interviews for “Vatican Insider,” my EWTN weekend radio show. Several have been with Honolulu’s  Bishop Larry Silva. Interesting enough, one of his grandfathers had leprosy and was exiled to Kalaupapa on Molokai’i and eventually buried there!

When St. Marianne’s remains were brought back to Hawaii in July 2014 to rest in Our Lady of Peace cathedral, I wrote this blog about my Hawaii pilgrimages “in search of saints”: (https://joansrome.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/st-marianne-cope-is-coming-home-to-hawaii-nuncio-appeals-for-dialogue-and-end-to-israel-gaza-conflict-1987/

In addition to the report below about Stevenson’s poem for St. Marianne, here is another wonderful Aleteia story about St. Marianne Cope: https://aleteia.org/2016/10/09/st-marianne-cope-she-opened-up-her-heart-and-soul-the-lepers/

Happy feast day, Mother Marianne! Continue to watch over your children!

ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON’S POEM FOR ST. MARIANNE COPE

Known for his books, including ‘Treasure Island’ and ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,’ Stevenson visited St. Marianne Cope in Hawaii.

St. Marianne Cope had a profoundly generous heart. When an appeal was sent for help in caring for lepers in Hawaii, Cope leapt at the chance and was eager to help those in need.

One day in May 1889, poet and author Robert Louis Stevenson came to Hawaii while he was sailing the ocean with his family. Stevenson is best known for his books Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. At the time he was visiting a variety of islands, looking for a place to write that was favorable to his health, and spent an extended amount of time in Hawaii.

While in Hawaii, he visited St. Marianne Cope and observed the heroic charity she possessed while serving the leper colony there. Stevenson stayed for eight days, and before leaving, he wrote the following poem.

TO MOTHER MARYANNE

To see the infinite pity of this place,
The mangled limb, the devastated face,
The innocent sufferer smiling at the rod—
A fool were tempted to deny his God.
He sees, he shrinks. But if he gaze again,
Lo, beauty springing from the breast of pain!
He marks the sisters on the mournful shores;
And even a fool is silent and adores.

Guest House, Kalawao, Molokai.

He was so impressed by St. Marianne that he had a piano shipped to her after he left her community.

JOSEPH DUTTON CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION MOVES TO ROME!

JOSEPH DUTTON CAUSE FOR CANONIZATION MOVES TO ROME!

The diocesan phase of Joseph Dutton’s cause was closed yesterday in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was during a special Mass, a moment for me that was filled with great joy but you could see some tears through the joy.

On December 18, I wrote about my just-concluded trip to Honolulu: When an historical commission for a cause of canonization has finished its work, the Vatican asks that all members meet within the diocese of the cause for canonization, and there is a specific agenda for that meeting, including the fact that each member of the commission presents a written report of their year or more of work on the cause, questions are asked of each one of us, and we must sign a number of documents in the presence of the diocesan notary.

I was on the Historical Commission for the cause of canonization of Joseph Dutton and we finished our work in November and had our meeting in the diocese of Honolulu in December, as you know from what I have posted.

I learned in December that, the commission’s work being done, Mass would be held on January 21 in Honolulu’s Our Lady of Peace cathedral to close the diocesan phase of the cause for Dutton, a huge moment on any path to canonization! Two copies of our reports would now go to Rome to be studied and evaluated by dicastery staff. One copy of the commission reports stays in the diocese that originated the cause.

I knew only one thing. After years of work on the Dutton Guild and then almost a year of research for the Historical Commission, I would have to be at that January 21 Mass!

However, the Lord had other plans. The back pain issues I have been suffering since my return from Hawaii, obviously meant that trip would not happen.

Thus, yesterday, January 21 was a day when I smiled through tears. Several of my dearest friends did a Face Time with me while waiting in the cathedral for Mass and I truly felt present because I’ve been there many times for Mass.

The noon Mass presided over by Bishop Larry Silva was streamed live so I was able to follow that, including a final half hour dedicated to the administrative matters that close a diocesan phase for a cause of canonization.  I saw so many of my Hawaii friends, especially those on the Dutton Guild, such as Guild president Dr. Maria Devera, Pat Boland, a Guild member and member of the Historical Commission, and Msgr. Robert Sarno, episcopal delegate to Dutton’s cause.

Now is the time for prayer. Prayer that the cause proceeds positively in Rome. Prayer that, through the intercession of Servant of God Joseph Dutton, a miracle occurs. One miracle is needed for beatification and a second miracle for canonization. That second miracle must occur after beatification.

No photos of yesterday’s Mass at this moment.

The following story almost seems miraculous!|

Lost Joseph Dutton collection found in Wisconsin parish rectory basement

CLICK ON ABOVE TITLE TO READ FULL FASCINATING ARTICLE IN THE HAWAII CATHOLIC HERALD!

Here’s the great website put together by the Dutton Guild of the diocese of Honolulu: https://www.josephdutton.org/

VATICAN INSIDER: YEAR ROUND NATIVITY SCENES IN ITALY – POPE HANDS SPEECH TO UNIVERSITY GROUP, SAYS HE IS “A LITTLE SHORT OF BREATH”

VATICAN INSIDER: YEAR ROUND NATIVITY SCENES IN ITALY

Tune in this weekend to Vatican Insider not only for a Vatican news roundup but to listen to a Special I have prepared in lieu of an interview!

For many in Italy – institutions, churches, businesses and families – the Christmas season lasts up to and including the February 2 feast of the Presentation. For decades under Popes John Paul and Benedict XVI, the Christmas tree and nativity scene stayed up in St. Peter’s Square until that date, as did many of the presepe in various Vatican offices, in the Paul VI Hall and places like the Vatican post office, bringing the Christmas spirit of joy to countless people.

So, in that prolonged Christmas season and spirit of joy, this week I bring you a special on some extraordinary nativity scenes that you can actually see all year round in Italy. Gather the children around, the young and young at heart, as you listen to this special.

Here’s a clue to one spot! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG83Ra-oH3I

IN THE UNITED STATES, you can listen to Vatican Insider (VI) on a Catholic radio station near you (stations listed at www.ewtn.com) or on channel 130 Sirius-XM satellite radio, or on http://www.ewtn.com. OUTSIDE THE U.S., you can listen to EWTN radio on our website home page by clicking on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” VI airs at 5am and 9pm ET on Saturdays and 6am ET on Sundays. On the GB-IE feed (which is on SKY in the UK and Ireland), VI airs at 5:30am, 12 noon and 10pm CET on Sundays. Both of these feeds are also available on the EWTN app and on www.ewtnradio.net ALWAYS CHECK YOUR OWN TIME ZONE! For VI archives: go to https://www.ewtn.com/radio/audio-archive and write the name of the guest for whom you are serarching in the SEARCH box. Below that, will appear “Vatican Insider” – click on that and the link to that particular episode will appear.

POPE HANDS SPEECH TO UNIVERSITY GROUP, SAYS HE IS “A LITTLE SHORT OF BREATH”

In today’s issue of  Starting Seven, The Pillar’s daily newsletter, Luke Coppen quotes a story reported by Agensir about a papal audience today with a university group in which Pope Francis talks about “shortness of breath.” Agensir (Religious Information Service) was founded in 1988 on the initiative of the Italian Federation of Catholic Weeklies and with the support of the CEI (Italian Episcopal Conference).

Vatican news photo

In Starting Seven, Coppen wrote: During a Jan. 19 audience with Catholic university representatives, Pope Francis said that he was “a bit short of breath” and unable to “deliver a lengthy address” (agensir.it).

Following are the Pope’s words via a Google-aided translation from the Italian:

“I have a long speech to read, but I’m breathing a little hard; you see, still this cold that won’t go away! I take the liberty of delivering the text to you for your reading. And thank you, thank you very much.” The Pope said this off the cuff at the beginning of the audience granted to a delegation of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC), on the occasion of the celebration of the centenary of its foundation.

Agensir’s report on the papal remarks continues: “I would like to thank you for this meeting, for the good that the universities, our Catholic universities, do,” Francis continued off the cuff, before delivering the speech prepared for the occasion: “sowing science, the Word of God and ‘true humanism. Thank you so much. And don’t get tired of moving forward: always forward, with the beautiful mission of Catholic universities. It is not confessionality that gives them identity: it is one aspect, but not the only one; it is perhaps that clear humanism, that humanism that makes us understand that man has values ​​and that they must be respected: this is perhaps the most beautiful and greatest thing about your universities. Thank you very much.”

POPE SAYS “EMBRACE PURE LOVE, BEWARE OF LUST”

At the start of the general audience today, the Pope announced that a circus would perform for the pilgrims present in the Paul VI Hall. To see that performance, go to minute 40 of this video of the general audience:  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2024-01/pope-at-audience-resist-the-vice-of-lust.html

Here are some Vatican photos:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

My summary of the audience catechesis is a bit longer than usual but the Holy Father’s words on love are very beautiful and powerful and bear repeating.

POPE SAYS “EMBRACE PURE LOVE, BEWARE OF LUST”

Beginning today’s general audience. Pope Francis told the faithful who filled the Paul VI Hall, “today, let us listen well to the catechesis, because afterwards there will be a circus that will perform for us.

“Let us continue our journey concerning vices and virtues. The ancient Fathers teach us that, after gluttony, the second ‘demon’ – that is, vice – that is always crouching at the door of the heart is that of lust, called porneia in Greek. While gluttony is voracity with regard to food, this second vice is a kind of ‘voracity’ with regard to another person, that is, the poisoned bond that human beings have with each other, especially in the sphere of sexuality.”

“Be careful,” Francis emphasized, “in Christianity, there is no condemnation of the sexual instinct. There is no condemnation. A book of the Bible, the Song of Songs, is a wonderful poem of love between two lovers. However, this beautiful dimension, the sexual dimension, the dimension of love, of our humanity is not without its dangers, so much so that St Paul already had to address the issue in the First Epistle to the Corinthians. St Paul writes: “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and of a kind that is not found even among pagans” (5:1). The Apostle’s reproach concerns precisely an unhealthy handling of sexuality by some Christians.”

The Holy Father then goes on to “look at the human experience, the experience of falling in love. There are so many newlyweds here: you can talk about this.

Why this mystery happens, and why it is such a shattering experience in people’s lives, none of us know. One person falls in love with another, falling in love just happens. It is one of the most astonishing realities of existence. Most of the songs you hear on the radio are about this: loves that shine, loves that are always sought and never attained, loves that are full of joy, or that torment us to the point of tears.”

The Pope then turned to the vice that is opposed to love: “In our catechesis on the virtues and the vices, we now turn to lust, which is opposed to the beauty of that love which the Creator has implanted in our hearts and called us to cultivate in our relations with others, especially by the responsible use of our sexuality. Lust poisons the purity of love by turning it from a chaste, patient and generous acceptance of another person in all the mysterious richness of his or her being, into a egotistic desire for possession and immediate satisfaction. God’s gift of sexuality, which finds sublime expression in conjugal love, is at the service of human fulfilment and authentic freedom, whereas lust enchains us in selfishness and emptiness. May our hearts always treasure the beauty of love, which shares in the mystery of God’s own unconditional love for us, created in his own image.”

Pope Francis exclaimed that, “This ‘garden’ where wonders are multiplied is not, however, safe from evil. It is defiled by the demon of lust, and this vice is particularly odious, for at least two reasons. At least two.

“First, because it destroys relationships between peoples. To prove such a reality, unfortunately, the daily news is sufficient. How many relationships that began in the best of ways have then turned into toxic relationships, of possession of the other, To love is to respect the other, to seek his or her happiness, to cultivate empathy for his or her feelings, to dispose oneself in the knowledge of a body, a psychology, and a soul that are not our own, and that must be contemplated for the beauty they bear. That is love, and love is beautiful. Lust, on the other hand, makes a mockery of all this: lust plunders, it robs, it consumes in haste, it does not want to listen to the other but only to its own need and pleasure;

“But there is a second reason why lust is a dangerous vice. Among all human pleasures, sexuality has a powerful voice. It involves all the senses; it dwells both in the body and in the psyche, and this is very beautiful;…Sexual pleasure that is a gift from God is undermined by pornography: satisfaction without relationship that can generate forms of addiction. We have to defend love, the love of the heart, of the mind, of the body, pure love in the giving of oneself to the other. And this is the beauty of sexual intercourse.”

In concluding remarks, Francis said, “Winning the battle against lust, against the “objectification” of the other, can be a lifelong endeavour. But the prize of this battle is the most important of all, because it is preserving that beauty that God wrote into His creation when He imagined love between man and woman. …  That beauty that makes us believe that building a story together is better than going in search of adventures – there are so many Don Juans out there; building a story together is better than going in search of adventures; cultivating tenderness is better than bowing to the demon of possession – true love does not possess, it gives itself; serving is better than conquering. Because if there is no love, life is sad, it is sad loneliness.”

***************

POPE CHANGES RULES ON PROCUREMENT AND EXTRAORDINARY EXPENSES OF DICASTERIES

The following Vatican news article describes two new motu proprio by Pope Francis that were published today. These are documents issued by the pope on his own authority and of his own initiative. They are usually not in response to a request by another party. The two motu published today are No. 69 and 70 by Pope Francis of his pontificate.

Interestingly enough, in the almost 27 years of his pontificate, St. John Paul issued only 30 motu proprio. Benedict XVI, in almost 8 years, issued 13 motu proprio.

POPE CHANGES RULES ON PROCUREMENT AND EXTRRAORDINARY EXPENSES OF DICASTERIES

The Pope’s decisions are communicated in two motu proprios released today. A spending limit is set, beyond which Vatican offices must request the approval of the Secretariat for the Economy.

By Vatican News

Measures to better define the expenditure management of the Vatican Dicasteries, and to improve transparency in procurement.

Pope Francis has intervened on these subjects with two documents released today, 16 January.

The first is an apostolic letter in the form of a motu proprio, with which the Pope specifies “the limits and modalities” of the ordinary administration of the Holy See’s Dicasteries.

In three articles, in line with Praedicate Evangelium’s reform of the Roman Curia, the Pope establishes that a Vatican entity is required to request the approval of the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy when an act of expenditure exceeds 2% of the total costs of the entity itself, with the figure deduced from the average of the final balance sheets of the last three years.

“In any case,” we read, “for acts whose value is less than EUR 150,000, approval is not required.”

Another section of the document sets a 30-day limit for receiving approval, beyond which a lack of response is equivalent to granting the request. In any case, this procedure “must be concluded within and no later than forty days”.

Procurement regulations
With the second letter, which also takes the form of a motu proprio, the Pope intervenes to further clarify the regulations governing the Vatican procurement code promulgated in 2020.

Here too, in line with Praedicate Evangelium, Francis emphasises that the motu proprio intends to continue the “discourse undertaken to favour transparency, control and competition in the procedures for the awarding of public contracts”, for a “more effective application” of norms, which, with the latest modifications, take into account the “observations of the Institutions linked to the Holy See”, the Governorate and the experience “accrued in recent years”.

The first article in paragraph 2 in particular offers clarification, redefining the regulations’ aims in four new points, in conformity, it says, “with the principles of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the canonical order of the Holy See and the Vatican City State and the Encyclical Letter Laudato si'”. The four points concern “the sustainable use of internal funds”, “the transparency of the award procedure”, “equal treatment and non-discrimination of bidders” and “the promotion of effective competition among bidders, in particular through measures to counter unlawful competition agreements and corruption.” (Vatican photo – Apostolic palace)