Following today’s statements from the Holy See Press Office, I offer two stories – one from Sunday and the second from Monday’s press conference on a new papal document about pontifical universities – that I did not present in yesterday’s column due to the breaking news about and from China.
In the meantime, an update regarding the photos I published last Thursday that showed “sky writing” above the Vatican – planes whose chemtrails created large Xs in the sky. The Vatican gendarmerie wrote that, while what I saw was not indeed dangerous or strange, they wanted to thank me for my email in this regard and for being alert to what they described as “the wakes of condensation from the planes” that could have (and did) cause concern for some people. I was told that what appeared to be the optical illusion of planes flying right over Vatican City (which IS a no-fly zone) was caused by the extreme altitude of the planes, making it seem they were directly over the Vatican. Obviously, the Vatican has wonderful systems in place that can monitor people, movements and objects.
HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE STATEMENTS ON CHINA, CHILEAN BISHOP
1. From Holy See Press Office this afternoon (my translation from the Italian):
“As a follow up to some information that recently arrived regarding the case of Bishop Juan de la Cruz of Osorno, Chile, the Holy Father has decided that Bishop Charles J. Scicluna, archbishop of Malta and president of the College that examines appeals (in matters of delicta graviora) in the Ordinary Session of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will go to Chile to listen to those who have expressed the desire to present elements in their possession.”
2. Statement from Holy See Press Office Director Greg Burke:
“With reference to widespread news on a presumed difference of thought and action between the Holy Father and his collaborators in the Roman Curia on issues relating to China, I am able to state the following:
“The Pope is in constant contact with his collaborators, in particular in the Secretariat of State, on Chinese issues, and is informed by them faithfully and in detail on the situation of the Catholic Church in China and on the steps in the dialogue in progress between the Holy See and the People’s Republic of China, which he follows with special attention. It is therefore surprising and regrettable that the contrary is affirmed by people in the Church, thus fostering confusion and controversy”.
POPE TO UKRAINIAN GREEK-CATHOLIC CHURCH: I AM CLOSE TO YOU
(Vatican News) On Sunday afternoon Pope Francis paid a visit to the basilica of Santa Sofia, home to Rome’s Greek-Catholic Community of Ukrainians, to thank the community that lives in Rome and to pray at the tomb of Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Stepan Czmil. (Vatican photo)
The Pope exchanged greetings with the Major Archbishop of Kiev, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, and in his address recalled the great models of Cardinal Josyp Slipyi, Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Stepan Czmil, and Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, former Major Archbishop of the Greek-Catholic Church of Ukraine.
Francis also paid a visit to the crypt to pray at the tomb of Salesian Ukrainian Bishop Czmil. Describing the bishop as “a person who has done me so much good,” the Pope explained that when he was a boy in Argentina, the bishop taught him, “to serve at Mass, to read your alphabet. From him I learned the beauty of your liturgy, from its stories the living testimony of how much faith has been tried and forged in the midst of the terrible atheistic persecutions of the last century.”
In his address, Pope Francis noted the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and the suffering of the people there and said, “I am here today to tell you all that I am close to you: close with my heart, with my prayers, and when I celebrate Mass.” He then prayed that the weapons of war would be silenced.
The Holy Father also noted the numerous Ukrainian women of great faith, courage and charity, telling them, “you are precious and you bring to many Italian families the proclamation of God.”
WITH NEW APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION, POPE REFORMS CATHOLIC HIGHER EDUCATION
On Monday, the Vatican released the text of Pope Francis’ new Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium (The Joy of Truth), on Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties.
By Christopher Wells (Vatican News)
Pope Francis has issued a new Apostolic Constitution, Veritatis gaudium, revising the norms governing Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties – that is, institutions granting pontifical degrees in fields such as theology, philosophy, and canon law, as well as numerous other disciplines.
Updating Sapientia christiana
The new document updates the previous Apostolic Constitution, Sapientia christiana, issued in 1979 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council. Since its promulgation, Sapientia christiana has been amended three times, and other normative texts have been published, including the Code of Canon Law and the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches.
In addition, the Holy See has entered into various agreements concerning higher education and the awarding of academic degrees. The work of producing a new Apostolic Constitution that takes account of these changes was entrusted by Pope Francis to the Congregation for Catholic Education.
In a press conference introducing Veritatis gaudium, the prefect of the congregation, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, said the Holy Father had encouraged their work in an address on 13 February 2014: “The 50th anniversary of the Conciliar Declaration [Gravissimum Educationis], the 25th anniversary of Ex corde Ecclesiae and the updating of Sapientia christiana, lead us to reflect seriously on the many formational institutions around the world and on their duty to be an expression of a living presence of the Gospel in the field of education, of science and of culture.”
Cardinal Versaldi said Pope Francis made the decision to issue a new Apostolic Constitution after being presented with the revision of Sapientia christiana. The new Constitution, he said, indicates the meaning and the basic criteria for a renewal and a revival of ecclesiastical studies, especially in light of the “missionary” orientation of the Church, as described in Pope Francis’ Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium.
What’s new
Following Cardinal Versaldi’s presentation at the press conference, the secretary of the congregation, Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani highlighted some of the most important innovations in the Veritatis gaudium. In particular, he mentioned the significance of bringing all ecclesiastical universities and faculties into line with the Holy See’s Agency for the Evaluation and Promotion of Quality in Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties (AVEPRO). Archbishop Zani also noted the guidelines governing relations between ecclesiastical academic institutions and their civil counterparts.
Notably, Archishop Zani said Veritatis gaudium makes provisions for “distance learning,” the possibilities for which have increased significantly since the publication of Sapientia christiana. The new Constitution also includes regulations concerning migrants and refugees, requiring ecclesiastical institutions to adopt procedures to provide for those who may not possess the required documentation for admittance.
The full text of the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium can be found on the Vatican website.
POPE REVAMPS ECCLESIASTICAL UNIVERSITIES IN NEW APOSTOLIC CONSTITUTION
An excellent summary of Veritatis gaudium was done by my EWTN colleague, Elise Harris:
Vatican City, Jan 29, 2018 / 06:40 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Monday Pope Francis released a new apostolic constitution calling for a “radical” reform to the nature and curriculum of ecclesiastical universities and institutions.
“The primary need today is for the whole People of God to be ready to embark upon a new stage of Spirit-filled evangelization,” the Pope said in the document, “Vertatis Gaudium.”
This new stage of evangelization, he said, “calls for a resolute process of discernment, purification and reform. In this process, a fitting renewal of the system of ecclesiastical studies plays a strategic role.”
Signed Dec. 8, 2017, and published Jan. 29, 2018, the 87-page document is Francis’ is titled “Veritatis Gaudium,” meaning “the joy of truth.”
The document deals specifically with ecclesiastical universities and faculties, which, differing from regular Catholic universities, offer Vatican-approved degrees required to teach in seminaries or at pontifical universities.
It consists of two parts dedicated to general norms and specific norms, and also contains an appendix and norms of application. The document is meant to “update” previous norms, and abrogates any prior rules which contradict the new ones laid out by Pope Francis in Veritatis Gaudium.
The document abrogates any contrary norms established by John Paul II’s 1979 Apostolic Constitution “Sapientia Christiana,” issued after a careful study of the Second Vatican Council’s decree “Optatam Totius” on ecclesiastical studies. However, John Paul II’s 1990 Apostolic Constitution “Ex corde Ecclesiae” is not impacted , as it deals specifically with Catholic colleges and universities, rather than ecclesiastical academic entities.
Criteria
In the foreword for his new constitution, Pope Francis, who has often spoken of the importance of education, said that while offering a great contribution to the Church’s life and mission, Sapientia Christiana “urgently needs to be brought up to date.”
“While remaining fully valid in its prophetic vision and its clarity of expression, the constitution ought to include the norms and dispositions issued since its promulgation, and to take into account developments in the area of academic studies in these past decades,” he said.
“There is also a need to acknowledge the changed social-cultural context worldwide and to implement initiatives on the international level to which the Holy See has adhered.”
Francis noted that the world is currently living not only a time of change, but it is also experiencing “a true epochal shift, marked by a wide-ranging anthropological and environmental crisis,” such as natural, social and financial disasters which are swiftly reaching “a breaking point.”
This reality, he said, requires “changing the models of global development and redefining our notion of progress.” However, a great problem in doing this is the fact that “we still lack the culture necessary to confront this crisis. We lack leadership capable of striking out on new paths.”
Because of this, he said that on the cultural level as well as that of academic training and scientific study, “a radical paradigm shift” and “a bold cultural revolution” are needed which involve a worldwide network of ecclesiastical universities and faculties which are capable of promoting the Gospel and Church Tradition, but which are also “ever open to new situations and ideas.”
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