PAPAL TELEGRAM FOR “DEVASTATING ATTACK” AT FLORIDA SCHOOL – POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE – PAPAL MOTU PROPRIO PUBLISHED, “LEARNING HOW TO RESIGN” – THE LENTEN STATION CHURCHES OF ROME

PAPAL TELEGRAM FOR “DEVASTATING ATTACK” AT FLORIDA SCHOOL

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of State, sent the following telegram to Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami for the victims of the high school attack in Florida:

“His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn of the tragic shooting that took place at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. Assuring all those affected by this devastating attack of his spiritual closeness, he prays that Almighty God may grant eternal rest to the dead and healing and consolation to the wounded and those who grieve. With the hope that such senseless acts of violence may cease, Pope Francis invokes upon all of you the divine blessings of peace and strength.”

POPE FRANCIS MEETS WITH VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE

Holy See Press Office Director Greg Burke stated today: “In answer to questions from journalists, I can confirm that several times a month the Holy Father meets victims of sexual abuse, both individually and in groups. He listens to the victims and seeks to help them to heal the serious wounds caused by the sex abuse they underwent. The meetings take place in maximum confidentiality in respect for the victims and their suffering.”

PAPAL MOTU PROPRIO PUBLISHED, “LEARNING HOW TO RESIGN”

Motu Proprio: Learning How To Resign

On 12 February, 2018, Pope Francis signed an Apostolic Letter in the form of a Motu Proprio called “Learning How To Resign” (Imparare a congedarsi), which regulates age-related resignations of holders of honorary titles granted by the Pope

By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp

“The conclusion of an ecclesiastical office needs to be considered an integral part of that service, inasmuch as it requires a new form of availability,” Pope Francis writes in the introduction of his Motu Proprio on the theme of resigning from ecclesiastical positions in the Church.

Interior Attitudes

The Pope offers a reflection on certain interior attitudes that are necessary for those who face resignation due to age, as well as for those whose office may be prolonged due to a variety of realities. He invites those preparing to step down from positions of leadership to “discern through prayer how to live the period about to begin, drawing up a new project of life.” To those who may be requested to serve beyond the age of retirement (75 years), Pope Francis says that this “pontifical decision is not automatic, but it is an act of governing, and as a consequence requires the virtue of prudence which will help…to make the appropriate decision.”

While upholding the contents of the Rescriptum ex audientia of 3 November 2014, Pope Francis says that he wants to establish some modifications to article 2 of that document which states: “Resignation from the above-mentioned pastoral offices is effective only from the moment in which it is accepted by the legitimate authority.”

What has changed?

With the present Motu Proprio, Pope Francis makes two changes to previous legislation: 1) After submitting a letter of resignation, the person remains in office until “the acceptance or extension, for a specified or unspecified amount of time, is communicated to the person” (Art 5). This Article is a change to Canon 189 § 3 of the Code of Canon Law and 970 § 1 of the Code of Canons for the Eastern Churches. 2) Heads of Dicasteries of the Roman Curia who are not Cardinals, as well as other prelates who hold office in the Holy See, or Papal Representatives do not cease holding office automatically on reaching the age of 75. Rather now they must present their resignation to the Supreme Pontiff who “will decide evaluating the concrete circumstances” (Art 2 and 3).

Pope Francis says in his Motu Proprio that he “became aware of the need to update the norms regarding the times and methods of resignation from office upon reaching the age limit.” And he writes that the clarifications he is making come “after having carried out the necessary consultations.”

Source: http://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2018-02/pope-apostolic-letter-motu-proprio-learning-how-to-resign.html

THE LENTEN STATION CHURCHES OF ROME

Yesterday afternoon, February 14, Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent, Pope Francis processed from the church of Sant’Anselmo to the basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill, thus renewing a centuries-old Roman tradition of celebrating Mass at what are known here as Lenten station or stational churches.

At San Anselmo, there was a moment of prayer, followed by a penitential procession to the basilica of Santa Sabina. Joining the Pope in the procession were cardinals, archbishops, bishops, the Benedictine monks of San Anselmo, the Dominican Fathers of Santa Sabina and the lay faithful.

In Santa Sabina, the Holy Father then presided at Mass, delivered a homily, after which there was the rite of the blessing and imposition of ashes. The Pope received ashes as well.

The elegant Aventine neighborhood overlooks the Circus Maximus and the Baths of Caracalla. Situated on the Aventine’s Piazza Pietro d’Illyria, the basilica of Santa Sabina (St. Sabina) – chronologically the first Lenten station church – was established at the start of the fifth century by a priest named Peter who was from Illyria.

In 1222 Pope Honorius III gave the adjacent ancient turreted palace of the Crescenzi family to the Dominicans as a monastery and, in fact, over the years both Sts. Dominic and Thomas Aquinas lived here. Modifications and additions in the 16th century basilica altered its appearance.

In the early 1900’s, the church was restored to its original design. It has three aisles and 24 fluted Corinthian columns. Little is left of the original mosaics. In the middle of the nave is the mosaic tombstone dedicated to Munoz de Zamora, master general of the Dominicans and a biographer of St. Dominic. Adjacent to the church is the cloister built by St. Dominic in 1220 and restored between 1936-39.

The practice of station churches had its origins in the first centuries of Christianity when most of the early Popes celebrated the liturgy on special days at special churches in the Eternal City. This eventually became principally a Lenten devotion. In his liturgical reform, Pope St. Gregory the Great, who reigned from 590 to 604, established a station church for each day of Lent, thus making the whole season a pilgrimage on the path to conversion while preparing for Easter. The first Station Church every year is always St. Sabina where the Pope celebrates Ash Wednesday Mass.

In the early days of the Church, Lent was a time in which catechumens began their journey of faith and conversion prior to receiving Baptism.

Part II of the story of Lenten Station Churches will appear here tomorrow.

In the meantime, here is the schedule of station churches for the first week of Lent. This is from the web site of the Pontifical North American College (www.pnac.org) which every Lent published the names of the churches, some history, and usually some photos. The priests and seminarians walk to these churches every day. The distance to the church from NAC and the time NACers will leave the campus is indicated on this table, IE, they left at 6:15am this morning for the 35-minute walk to San Giorgio al Velabro. Sunday Mass is usually at the College.

SAN GIORGIO (photos from romaoggi, Wikipedia and rometour.org)

Wishing you a prayerful pilgrimage and Lent!

Date Lenten Day Church Map Walking time Departure
2/14/2018 Ash Wednesday S. Sabina all’Aventino [Map] 40 min. 5:55 AM
2/15/2018 Thursday S. Giorgio al Velabro [Map] 35 min. 6:15 AM
2/16/2018 Friday Ss. Giovanni e Paolo [Map] 50 min. 6:05 AM
2/17/2018 Saturday S. Agostino [Map] 20 min. 6:30 AM
2/18/2018 Sunday–WEEK I S. Giovanni in Laterano [Map]

HOW POPE JOHN PAUL II CONVINCED FIDEL TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS – MIAMI ARCHBISHOP RECALLS CATHOLIC PERSECUTION IN CUBA, PRAYS FOR PEACE

Two post-Castro stories, a papal spokesman and a bishop….

HOW POPE JOHN PAUL II CONVINCED FIDEL TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS

(La Stampa newspaper) – The Polish Pope’s former spokesman, Joaquin Navarro-Valls said the late Fidel Castro “wanted to know everything there was to know about John Paul II.”

“Fidel Castro kept me talking for six hours. He was fascinated by John Paul II and although he was jealous of his inner life. I sensed he wanted to delve deeper… I told him he was a lucky man because the Pope prayed for him every day. For once he was silent.”

On the occasion of Pope Wojtyla’s visit to Cuba in January 1998, the role of Joaquín Navarro-Valls, John Paul II’s spokesman, went far beyond his official duties as director of the Holy See Press Office. He talked about it with Andrea Tornielli in an interview with Italian daily La Stampa. (It is customary in Italian media to often use the family name of a Pope when referencing him, thus Pope Wojtyla).

How did the Pope’s visit to the island come about after he had helped bring down the Berlin Wall, one of the last bastions of communism? “John Paul II had been sending delegates to Cuba for a decade or so. The Vatican “minister for foreign affairs”, Jean Louis Tauran also went. The Pope was eager to visit the island but he still hadn’t received an invitation. Finally, in November 1996, Castro came to Rome for an FAO meeting, he was received in the Vatican and formally invited the Pope.”

How did you prepare for the visit? “We worked for the whole of 1997 to organise it. Three months prior to the visit, in October that year, I went to Havana and met Fidel. It was a long meeting that went on for six hours and ended at around three in the morning. Castro was fascinated by John Paul II, he wanted to know everything there was to know about him, who his family was, what his life had been like. He wanted to know more about Wojtyla as a man and gave away his admiration for him. I sensed he wanted to delve deeper. I said to him: “Mr. President, I envy you”. “Why?” “Because the Pope prays for you every day, he prays that a man of your education may find the way of the Lord again.” For once, the Cuban president was silent.”

What did you ask Castro on behalf of the Holy See? “I explained to him that now that the date of the visit was set – for 21 January 1998 – it would be interesting if it were a great success. ‘Cuba needs to surprise the word,” I told him. Fidel agreed. So I added something about the surprises the Pope was expecting. I asked Castro for Christmas, which was just around the corner, to be celebrated as an official holiday for the first time since the start of the Revolution.”

How did the Líder Máximo react? “He said it would be very difficult as Christmas fell right in the middle of the sugar cane harvesting season. To which I responded: ‘But the Holy Father would like to be able to publicly thank you for this gesture once he lands in Havana.’ After a long discussion, Castro finally said yes, although he did add; ‘But it could be for this year only.’ All I said was: ‘Great, the Pope will be grateful to you for this. And as for next year, we’ll see.’ As we know, to this day, Christmas is still celebrated as a public holiday in Cuba.”

How did Pope Wojtyla view Castro? “On the flight to Havana, a journalist asked the Pope what advice he would give to the US president regarding the stance it should adopt towards Cuba: ‘To change!’ he replied. Then he was asked what he expected from Cuba’s president and this is how he responded: ‘I expect him to explain his true nature to me, as a man, as a leader and as a commander in chief’. I wasn’t on that flight, I was already in Havana. I received the text of that reply and I showed it to Castro while I was waiting for the Pope to land. That way there would be a written agenda for their meeting. The face-to-face meeting lasted quite a while and at the end of it they both came out smiling. I remember the mass in the Plaza de la Revolución with the Castro brothers in the front row and the crowd shouting ‘Libertad! Libertad!’ as the Pope pronounced his homily. And I remember the words with which Fidel bid John Paul II goodbye at the airport before he set off back to Rome: ‘Thank you for everything you said, even for those words I may not have liked.’ He had this human elegance about him as Wojtyla smiled: that visit marked the beginning of long but real process of opening up”.

MIAMI ARCHBISHOP RECALLS CATHOLIC PERSECUTION IN CUBA, PRAYS FOR PEACE

MIAMI (CNS) — On the day the news of Fidel Castro’s death spread, Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami was one of the first Catholic Church officials to respond early Nov. 26. “Fidel Castro is dead,” he wrote in a statement. “The death of this figure should lead us to invoke the patroness of Cuba, the Virgin of Charity, calling for peace for Cuba and its people.”

Later that day at Ermita de la Caridad, a Miami shrine that honors Cuba’s patron Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre and one built, he said in his homily, “with the sacrifices of the (Cuban) exiles,” he focused on the suffering of Catholic Cuba and the news of Castro’s death. The 90-year-old former leader of Cuba reportedly died late at night Nov. 25.

“The Cuban people are a noble people, but also a people who suffer,” Archbishop Wenski said. “And now, on the eve of this first Sunday of Advent, to emphasize the words of Christ ‘at the hour you least expect, the Son of Man will come,’ we have learned that Fidel Castro has died.” He continued: “Each human being, each of us, will die. We will all be judged one day. Today, it is his (Fidel Castro’s) turn. God’s judgment is merciful, but it doesn’t cease to be just.”

Archbishop Wenski asked those gathered to invoke Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre and ask for her intercession. “She has accompanied the Cuban people for more than 400 years,” he said, including during the country’s battle for independence and she “suffered with the church when the Marxist obscurantism wounded and decimated (the church).” She has been there in good times and in times of turmoil, in the Cuban prisons and in the agricultural “forced labor camps” the Cuban government operated, he said.

Referencing recent moments in the history of the island when Catholics hid their faith fearing persecution by a government and a society that looked down on religion, he said the Virgin was present in the prayer cards people hid in their dressers, as church members were “forced to survive by publicly denying their devotion.” And Mary is there with those who, despite all the challenges they have faced, continue to pass on the gift of faith to their children and grandchildren on the island.

She remains on the island today, he said, and continues to lavish her motherly love “in prisons that still are not empty and in the midst of women who walk demanding freedom.”

Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre is present, Archbishop Wenski said, with those inside and outside Cuba, who “fight for respect for human dignity and to establish a future of freedom, justice and peace.”