PAPAL TELEGRAM FOR DEATH OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT
Pope Francis has sent a telegram of condolences to Msgr. Jean-Marie Mate Musivi Mupendawatu, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Health Workers following the death today of Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the same dicastery, at the age of 67. The Pope noted that he died, “after a long and painful illness, lived in a spirit of faith and Christian testimony.” (news.va photo ANSA)
“I wish to express my spiritual participation in mourning with the dicastery and, while I recall his generous ministry, first as pastor of the diocese of Radom and then in the service of the Holy See, I raise fervent prayers to the Lord for the his soul, entrusting him to the maternal intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Poland. With these sentiments I invoke for the departed collaborator the eternal reward promised to faithful servants of the Gospel, and I gladly impart to you, to the staff and collaborators of the Pontifical Council, and to the relatives of the dear prelate, the comfort of my apostolic blessing”.
Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers, died overnight at the age of 67 after a long illness.
He was born in Kupienin, Poland, April 7, 1949; and was ordained a priest on May 25, 1973.
Pope St. John Paul II appointed Zimowski bishop of the Diocese of Radom, Poland, on 28 March 2002; and he was appointed President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Care Workers by Pope Benedict XVI on April 18, 2009.
In 2014, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
POPE NAMES 16 NEW MEMBERS TO COMMUNICATIONS SECRETARIAT
Two days after naming American Greg Burke as director of the Holy See Press Office, Pope Francis named yet another American, a woman, as a member of the Secretariat for Communications. Kim Daniels, an attorney, has served as spokesperson for the president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is the director of Catholic Voices USA.
Daniels joins the ranks of 15 other new members of the secretariat in a sign that the Holy Father is further internationalizing this dicastery.
Following are the newly-appointed Members of the Secretariat for Communication: Cardinal Béchara Boutros Raï, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Lebanon; Cardinal John Njue, archbishop of Nairobi, Kenya; Cardinal Chibly Langlios, bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti; Cardinal Charles Maung Bo, archbishop of Yangon, Myanmar; Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches; Cardinal Beniamino Stella, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy; Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, Ireland; Archbishop Gintaras Grušas of Vilnius, Lithuania; Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, Italy; Bishop Stanislas Lalanne of Pontoise, France; Bishop Pierre Nguyên Văn Kham of My Tho, Vietnam; Bishop Ginés Ramón García Beltrán of Guadix, Spain; Bishop Nuno Brás da Silva Martins, auxiliary of Lisbon, Portugal; Dr. Kim Daniels, advisor to the Episcopal Conference of the United States of America for the ad hoc Commission on religious freedom; Dr. Markus Schächter, professor of ethics of mass media and in society in the Jesuit faculty of philosophy in Munich, Germany; and Dr. Leticia Soberón Mainero, psychologist and expert in communication, formerly advisor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (Mexico and Spain).
Bishop Marcello Semeraro is also the Secretary of the C9 Council Cardinals that advises Pope Francis.
The Secretariat is led by Msgr. Dario Edoardo Viganò, former head of CTV, Vatican Television Center.
Pope Francis’ Apostolic Letter Issued Motu Proprio “For The Establishment Of The Secretariat For Communications,” was promulgated on June 27, 2015.
The Motu proprio begins:
“The current context of communications, characterized by the presence and development of digital media, by the factors of convergence and interaction, demands both a rethinking of the Holy See’s information system, and a commitment to reorganize it, while appreciating what has been developed historically within the framework of communications of the Apostolic See, certainly moves towards a unified integration and management.
“For these reasons I believe that all of the realities which, in various ways up to the present have dealt with communications, should be incorporated into a new Dicastery of the Roman Curia, which will bear the title Secretariat for Communications. In this way, the Holy See communications system will respond ever better to the needs of the mission of the Church.
“Therefore, after having examined the reports and studies submitted, having recently received the study on its feasibility, and having heard the unanimous opinion of the Council of Cardinals, I institute the Secretariat for Communications and establish it as follows.
Art. 1
The Dicastery, according to what was presented by the Vatican Media Commission, instituted on 30 April 2015, will combine the following Bodies within the set time limit: the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; the Holy See Press Office; the Vatican Internet Service; Vatican Radio; the Vatican Television Centre; L’Osservatore Romano; the Vatican Printing Press; the Photo Service; and the Vatican Publishing House.
Art. 2
Such Bodies, from the date of publication of the present Motu Proprio, shall continue their respective activities, observing however, the indications provided by the Secretariat for Communications.
Art. 3
The new Dicastery, in accord with the Secretariat of State, will assume responsibility for the Holy See’s institutional website: www.vatican.va, and the Twitter service of the Supreme Pontiff: @pontifex.
Art. 4
The Secretariat for Communications will begin its proper functions on 29 June 2015, having as its provisional headquarters Palazzo Pio, Piazza Pia, 3, 00120 Vatican City State.
All that I have determined with this Apostolic Letter, issued Motu Proprio, I prescribe that it be observed in all its parts, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, even if worthy of special mention, and I dispose that it shall be promulgated by publication in the daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano, and thereafter in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.
HOLY FATHER SENDS CONDOLENCES FOR ITALIAN TRAIN COLLISION
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has sent a telegram of condolences to the local archbishop after Tuesday’s deadly train collision in southern Italy.
At least 25 people were killed and around 50 were wounded in the crash, some of them critically. (news.va photo)
In Tuesday’s telegram addressed to Archbishop Francesco Cacucci of Bari-Bitonto, and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Pope expressed “his warm and heartfelt participation in the suffering” of the families affected by the tragedy.
The Pope assured them of his “fervent prayer of intercession for those tragically killed and,” and prayed for the “swift healing of the wounded.”
Finally, Pope Francis bestowed his apostolic blessing, and entrusted all those affected by the tragedy to the “Maternal protection of the Virgin Mary.”
The crash occurred at around 11:30 in Southern Italy’s Puglia region, tearing apart three carriages and sending debris into the surrounding olive groves.
The two trains collided while on the same track connecting the small towns of Corato and Andria.
There was no immediate indication of the cause of the crash, but the government has promised a full and swift investigation.
Tuesday’s incident is Italy’s worst railway disaster in recent years.
The last major rail disaster in Italy was in 2009 when a freight train derailed the central Italian town Viareggio, killing more than 30 people living close to the tracks in the subsequent fire.
THERE’S ALSO THIS…..
EXPERIMENTAL THIRD ENTRANCE DESIGNED TO REDUCE LINES INTO COLOSSEUM. A third entrance to the Colosseum, at the Via Labicana corner of the amphitheatre, will be in operation on a trial basis from 15 July until 31 October. The entrance will be reserved for groups of up to 50 people that have booked tours with accredited guides. Visitors coming through the new entrance will enter directly onto the arena floor, with daily numbers estimated at between 1,800 and 2,400, depending on the opening hours of the season. Culture officials say the experimental measure is designed to reduce the queues while maintaining current safety standards, which limit the number of visitors to 3,250 at any one time. The news comes ten days after Italy pledged €18 million of state funds to rebuild the Colosseum’s central arena floor, by the end of 2018.
THE TEATRO DELL’OPERA SUMMER SEASON AT THE BATHS OF CARACALLA. The three operas in the Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma summer season at the Baths of Caracalla are Nabucco (9 July-9 Aug), Il Barbiere di Siviglia (18 July-10 Aug) and Madame Butterfly (19 July-8 Aug). Nabucco is a new production by the Teatro dell’ Opera, conducted by John Fiore and directed by Federico Grazzini. Grazzini is young, talented and a graduate of Milan’s prestigious Piccolo Theatre. He won considerable praise for his lively modern interpretation of Rigoletto at the Marcerata opera festival last year. Baths of Caracalla, www.operaroma.it.
RETAKE ROMA, THE VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT that tackles urban decay in the capital, is holding an event aimed at Rome’s international community, in Piazzale Appio on Monday 18 July from 17.30-20.30. In addition to removing illegal graffiti and stickers, the Midsummer Chillout and Retake involves aperitivi at LeFoodie, art, live music and English conversation. Throughout the event Rome-based artist Katherine Krizek will turn rubbish cans into street art and Italian singer songwriter Francesco Bolognesi will perform live. The clean-up is supported by the group American Free Exchange and the U.S. Mission to the UN agencies in Rome, together with refuse management agency AMA Roma and the Roman police décor section PICS. (The three preceding stories are from www.wantedinrome.com)
Joan's Rome 