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Forty-seventh year, number 5 (2331) Vatican City Friday, 31 January 2014

At the General Audience the Holy Father speaks about the importance of the Sacrament of Confirmation

This journey must not stop halfwayAnd an appeal on behalf of workers and the unemployed

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning,In this third catechesis on the Sacra-ments, we pause to reflect on Con-firmation or “Chrismation”, whichmust be understood in continuitywith Baptism, to which it is insepar-ably linked. These two Sacraments,together with the Eucharist, form asingle saving event — called “Christi-an initiation” — in which we are in-serted into Jesus Christ, who diedand rose, and become new creaturesand members of the Church. This iswhy these three Sacraments were ori-ginally celebrated on one occasion,at the end of the catechumenal jour-ney, normally at the Easter Vigil.The path of formation and gradualinsertion into the Christian com-munity, which could last even up toa few years, was thus sealed. Onetravelled step by step to reach Bap-tism, then Confirmation and theEucharist.

We commonly speak of the sacra-ment of “Chrismation”, a word thatsignifies “anointing”. And, in effect,

through the oil called “s a c re dChrism” we are conformed, in thepower of the Spirit, to Jesus Christ,who is the only true “anointedO ne”, the “Messiah”, the Holy Oneof God. The word “Confirmation”then reminds us that this Sacramentbrings an increase and deepening ofbaptismal grace: it unites us morefirmly to Christ, it renders our bondwith the Church more perfect, and itgives us a special strength of theHoly Spirit to spread and defendthe faith, ... to confess the name ofChrist boldly, and never to beashamed of his Cross (cf. Catechismof the Catholic Church, n. 1303).

For this reason, it is important totake care that our children, ouryoung people, receive this sacra-ment. We all take care that they arebaptized and this is good, but per-haps we do not take so much care toensure that they are confirmed. Thusthey remain at a midpoint in theirjourney and do not receive the HolySpirit, who is so important in theChristian life since he gives us thestrength to go on. Let us think alittle, each one of us: do we trulycare whether our children, ouryoung people, receive Confirmation?This is important, it is important!And if you have children or adoles-cents at home who have not yet re-ceived it and are at the age to do so,do everything possible to ensure thatthey complete their Christian initi-ation and receive the power of theHoly Spirit. It is important!

Naturally it is important to pre-pare those being confirmed well,leading them towards a personalcommitment to faith in Christ andreawakening in them a sense of be-longing to the Church.

Confirmation, like every Sacra-ment, is not the work of men but ofGod, who cares for our lives in such

a manner as to mould us in the im-age of his Son, to make us capableof loving like him. He does it by in-fusing his in us his Holy Spirit,whose action pervades the wholeperson and his entire life, as reflec-ted in the seven gifts that Tradition,in light of the Sacred Scripture, hasalways highlighted. These sevengifts: I do not want to ask you ifyou remember the seven gifts. Per-haps you will all know them.... But

I will say them on your behalf.What are these gifts? Wisdom, Un-derstanding, Counsel, Fortitude,Knowledge, Piety and Fear of theLord. And these gifts have been giv-en to us precisely with the HolySpirit in the Sacrament of Confirma-tion. I therefore intend to dedicatethe catecheses that follow those onthe Sacrament to these seven gifts.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Christ cannot be dividedThe Week of Prayer for Christi-an Unity concluded on Saturday,25 January, with Vespers in theBasilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls. Before the ecumenical cel-ebration the Holy Father prayedat the tomb of St Paul with Gen-nadios Zervos, Metropolitan ofthe Ecumenical Patriarchate ofConstantinople to Italy andMalta, and David Moxon, theArchbishop of Canterbury’s Rep-resentative to the Holy See.

PAGE 16

At the Angelus

Openness toall nations

PAGE 5

Message for for the 48th WorldCommunications Day

Connected but scandalouslydistant

PAGE 8/9

The implied theology in Tolkien’s‘The Lord of the Rings’

Fundamentally religiousand Catholic

DAV I D MOXON ON PAGE 12

Relations with the AnglicanCommunion and World MethodistCouncil

Common priorities

ANTHONY CURRER ON PA G E 10

CONTINUED ON PA G E 3

At the General Audience on Wednesday 29 January, Pope Francis spoke to thefaithful about the Sacrament of Confirmation. It is a sacrament, he said, which isoften given little attention and yet is “so important in Christian life”. After hiscatechesis, the Holy Father made an appeal on behalf workers and theunemployed, which was prompted by the presence of the families of severalemployees of a struggling Tuscan factory. He expressed his sincere desire that“every possible effort be made by the competent bodies to ensure that work, whichis a source of dignity, be of central concern to everyone”. The following is atranslation of the Holy Father’s catechesis, which was delivered in Italian.

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 31 January 2014, number 5

VAT I C A N BULLETINAUDIENCES

Tuesday, 21 January

Bishop Nunzio Galatino of Cassanoall’Ionio, Secretary General ad inter-im of the Italian Episcopal Confer-ence (CEI)Wednesday, 22 January

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean ofthe College of CardinalsThursday, 23 January

Cardinal Camillo Ruini, Vicar Gen-eral emeritus of His Holiness for theDiocese of RomeArchbishop Celestino Migliore, titu-lar Archbishop of Canosa, ApostolicNuncio to PolandArchbishop Miguel Maury Buendía,titular Archbishop of Italica,Apostolic Nuncio to Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan and TadjikistanArchbishop Héctor Rubén Aguer ofLa Plata, ArgentinaArchbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri,General Secretary of the Synod ofBishopsBishop Eduardo María Taussig ofSan Rafael, ArgentinaBishop Adolfo Armando Uriona,F D P, of Añatuya, ArgentinaFriday, 24 January

Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller,Prefect of the Congregation for theDoctrine of the FaithMsgr Pio Vito Pinto, Dean of theTribunal of the Roman RotaCollege of the Prelate Auditors ofthe Tribunal of the Roman RotaH.E. Mr François Hollande, Presid-ent of the French Republic, and hisentourageSaturday, 25 January

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for BishopsFr José Gabriel Funes, S J, Directorof the Vatican Observatory, with FrJózef Marian Maj, S J, Vice-Directorand AdministratorMr Bray Barnes, President of the In-ternational Catholic Conference ofScouting, with Mr Roberto Co-ciancich and Fr Jaques GageyMonday, 27 January

Cardinal Angelo Amato, SDB, Prefectof the Congregation for the Causesof SaintsBishops of the Episcopal Conferenceof Austria, on an ad Limina Aposto-lorum visit:

— Cardinal Christoph Schönborn,O P, Archbishop of Vienna, with Aux-iliary Bishops: Bishop Franz Scharl,titular Bishop of Ierafi; BishopStephan Turnovszky, titular Bishopof Ancusa

— Bishop Ägidius Johann Zsif-kovics of Eisenstadt

— Bishop Ludwig Schwarz, SDB,of Linz

— Bishop Klaus Küng of SanktPölten, with Auxiliary: Bishop Ant-on Leichtfried, titular Bishop ofRufiniana

— Bishop Christian Werner, titularBishop of Wiener Neustadt, MilitaryOrdinary for Austria

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father appointed BishopRonald William Gainer as Bishop ofHarrisburg, USA . Until now he hasbeen Bishop of Lexington (24 Jan.).

Bishop Gainer, 66, was born inPottsville, Pennsylvania, USA . Hewas ordained a priest on 19 May1973. He was ordained a bishop on22 February 2002, subsequent to hisappointment as Bishop of Lexing-ton, Kentucky.

The Holy Father appointed MsgrMyron Joseph Cotta from the clergyof Fresno, as Auxiliary Bishop ofSacramento, USA, assigning him thetitular see of Muteci. Until now hehas been Vicar General and Moder-ator of the Curia (24 Jan.).

Bishop-elect Cotta, 60, was bornin Dos Palos, California, USA . Heearned an associates degree. He wasordained a priest on 12 September1987. He has served in parish min-istry and as vicar general and mod-

erator of the Curia, as vicar for theclergy, as director of the Office forPermanent Formation of the Clergy,as director of the Office for thePropagation of the Faith, as directorof Pastoral Support of Priests, as su-pervisor of the Safe EnvironmentProgram, as director of the SensitiveClaim Board, as member of the Dio-cesan Finance Council; and as mem-ber of the Diocesan PersonnelBoard, and as diocesan consultor.

The Holy Father appointed as Aux-iliary Bishop of the Archdiocese ofBamberg, the Federal Republic ofGermany, Fr Herwig Gössl from theclergy of the said archdiocese, as-signing him the titular episcopal seeof Balecium. Until now he has beenVice-Rector of the Major Seminaryof Bamberg and Würzburg (24Jan.).

Bishop-elect Gössl, 46, was bornin Munich, Bavaria. He was or-dained a priest on 26 June 1993. Hehas served in parish ministry inBayreuth, Hamberg and Weisendorf,and as a member of the DiocesanCommission for Liturgy, and ashead of vocational pastoral care.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Francis TekeLysinge of Mamfe, Cameroon. Itwas presented in accord with can.401 § 1 of the Code of Canon Law.He is succeed by Bishop AndrewNkea Fuanya, Coadjutor of the saiddiocese (25 Jan.).

Bishop Nkea Fuanya, 47, wasborn in Widikum, Cameroon. Hewas ordained a priest on 22 April1992. He was appointed Auxiliary ofMamfe, Cameroon on 10 July 2013.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Bishop Alberto MariaCareggio of Ventimiglia-San Remo,Italy. It was presented in accordwith can. 401 § 1 of the Code ofCanon Law (25 Jan.).The Holy Father appointed Fr Ant-onio Suetta from the clergy of theDiocese of Albenga-Imperia, asBishop of Ventimiglia-San Remo,Italy. Until now he has been Rectorof the Seminary and Treasurer of thesaid diocese (25 Jan.).

Bishop-elect Suetta, 51, was bornin Loano, Italy. He was ordained apriest on 4 October 1986. He holdsa licence and a doctorate in theo-logy. He has served in parish min-istry and as director of diocesanCaritas; and as canon of the cathed-ral chapter. He was chaplain of theprisons in Imperia and co-foundedand president of the social cooperat-ive “Il Cammino” which helps toplace troubled youth in the work-force. He also taught fundamentaltheology, ecclesiology and mari-o l o g y.

EASTERN CHURCHES

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation of Archbishop Elias Chacourof the Archieparchy of Akka forGreek-Melkites, Israel. It waspresented in accord with can. 210 ofthe Code of Canons for the EasternChurches (27 Jan.).The Holy Father appointed Arch-bishop Moussa El-Hage, OAM, ofHaifa and the Holy Land for Ma-ronites, Israel, and Maronite Patri-archal Exarch in Jerusalem, Palestineand Jordan, as Apostolic Adminis-trator sede vacante et ad nutum Sanc-tae Sedis of the Archieparchy ofAkka for Greek-Melkites, Israel (27Jan.).

COLLEGE OF CARDINALS

The Holy Father appointed Arch-bishop Ilson de Jesus Montanari, tit-ular Archbishop of Caput Cilla andSecretary of the Congregation forBishops, as Secretary of the Collegeof Cardinals (28 Jan.).

VAT I C A N CITY STAT E

The Holy Father appointed asCounsellor of Vatican City State:Prof. Vincenzo Buonomo, OfficeHead of the Pontifical Representa-tions at the organizations and bod-ies of the United Nations for food

Pope Francis receivesthe President of France

the contribution that religionmakes to the common good andthe good relations that existbetween France and the HolySee. They also underlined theirmutual commitment to maintain-ing dialogue and constructive co-operation on questions of com-mon interest. The conversationcovered issues of internationalconcern, including the problemsof poverty and development, mi-

gration and protection of the en-vironment. They spoke especiallyabout conflict in the Middle Eastand certain regions of Africa, ex-pressing the hope that in thesedifferent countries, peaceful coex-istence can be restored throughdialogue and the participation ofall members of society, with fullrespect for the rights of allpeople, especially the ethnic andreligious minorities. CONTINUED ON PA G E 6

On Friday, 24 Janu-ary, Pope Francismet with FrenchPresident FrançoisHollande, who alsomet with Secretary ofState, ArchbishopPietro Parolin andwith the Secretaryfor Relations withStates, ArchbishopDominique Mam-b erti.

In the course oftheir cordial conver-sation they discussed

number 5, Friday, 31 January 2014 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

General Audience CatechesisCONTINUED FROM PA G E 1

Cardinal Tauranand Maria Voce

h o n o re dThe University of Notre Damechose to confer honorary degreeson Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran,President of the Pontifical Coun-cil for Interreligious Dialogue,and Maria Voce, President of theFocolare Movement, at a cere-mony in Rome on Monday, 27J a n u a r y.

“We are extraordinarily proudto add to the number of ouralumni such distinguished fig-u re s , ” said Fr John Jenkins, CSC,President of the University.

Cardinal Tauran and Fr Jen-kins addressed the convocationabout the special responsibility ofCatholic universities to contributeto cross-cultural dialogue. “Uni-versity academics and studentsare on the front lines of interreli-gious dialogue,” said the Cardin-al.

After the convocation, MariaVoce spoke about how commit-ment to “a life of love based onthe Gospel” can illuminate ourunderstanding of the law and hu-man interaction. “It is in ... thisone commandment,” she said,“that we discover the joy of beingactive participants in building amore fraternal and a more justh u m a n i t y. ”

The ceremony took place at thenew Notre Dame Rome Center,which now serves as the home tostudy abroad programs as well asthe focal point for the Uni-versity’s academic and culturalendeavors in Rome.

To the University of Notre Dame

Defend the freedom of the ChurchAnd continue to offer an uncompromising witness to your Catholic identity

On Thursday, 30 January, the HolyFather met with Trustees of theUniversity of Notre Dame in theVa t i c a n ’s Clementine Hall. Thefollowing is the English text of thePope’s remarks which were given inItalian.

Dear Friends,I am pleased to greet the Trustees ofNotre Dame University on the occa-sion of your meeting in Rome,which coincides with the inaugura-tion of the University’s Rome Cen-ter. I am confident that the newCenter will contribute to the Uni-versity’s mission by exposing stu-dents to the unique historical, cul-tural and spiritual riches of theEternal City, and by opening theirminds and hearts to the impressivecontinuity between the faith of StsPeter and Paul, and the confessorsand martyrs of every age, and theCatholic faith passed down to themin their families, schools and par-ishes. From its founding, NotreDame University has made an out-

standing contribution to the Churchin your country through its commit-ment to the religious education ofthe young and to serious scholarshipinspired by confidence in the har-mony of faith and reason in the pur-suit of truth and virtue. Consciousof the critical importance of thisapostolate for the new evangeliza-tion, I express my gratitude for thecommitment which Notre DameUniversity has shown over the yearsto supporting and strengtheningCatholic elementary and secondaryschool education throughout theUnited States.

The vision which guided Fr Ed-ward Sorin and the first religious ofthe Congregation of Holy Cross inestablishing the University of NotreDame du Lac remains, in thechanged circumstances of the 21stcentury, central to the University’sdistinctive identity and its service tothe Church and American society. Inmy recent Apostolic Exhortation onthe Joy of the Gospel, I stressed themissionary dimension of Christiandiscipleship, which needs to be evid-

ent in the lives of individuals and inthe workings of each of theC h u rc h ’s institutions. This commit-ment to “missionary discipleship”ought to be reflected in a specialway in Catholic universities (cf.Evangelii Gaudium, n. 132-134),which by their very nature are com-mitted to demonstrating the har-mony of faith and reason and therelevance of the Christian messagefor a full and authentically humanlife. Essential in this regard is theuncompromising witness of Catholicuniversities to the Church’s moralteaching, and the defense of herfreedom, precisely in and throughher institutions, to uphold thatteaching as authoritatively pro-claimed by the magisterium of herpastors. It is my hope that the Uni-versity of Notre Dame will continueto offer unambiguous testimony tothis aspect of its foundational Cath-olic identity, especially in the face ofefforts, from whatever quarter, to di-lute that indispensable witness. Andthis is important: its identity, as itwas intended from the beginning.To defend it, to preserve it and toadvance it!

Dear friends, I ask you to pray forme as I strive to carry out the min-istry which I have received in service

to the Gospel, and I assure you ofmy prayers for you and for all asso-ciated with the educational missionof Notre Dame University. Uponyou and your families, and in a par-ticular way, upon the students, fac-ulty and staff of this beloved Uni-versity, I invoke the Lord’s gifts ofwisdom, joy and peace, and cordi-ally impart my Apostolic Blessing.

Searching for the truthThe University of Notre Dame“comes from the heart of theC h u rc h ” and “strives to be acommunity of scholars and studentsdevoted to the pursuit of truth andharmony with faith”. Fr JohnJenkins, President of the University,said this in his address to the HolyFather at the beginning of theaudience on Thursday. Thepresident recalled that the Uni-versity was established in 1842 by agroup of priests of the Congregationof the Holy Cross, which had beenfounded by Basile-Antoine MarieMoreau (1799-1873), who wasbeatified on 15 September 2007. Bl.

Moreau used to say that “educationis the art of bringing young peopleto completeness”. After speakingbriefly about various organizationswithin the University, including theAlliance for Catholic Education,which serves parochial schools inthe U.S., as well as the TanturEcumenical Institute which fostersecumenical and interfaith dialogue,Fr Jenkins declared that NotreD ame’s community relies on theguidance and protection of Mary.He also presented the Pope with astatue of the Visitation as a sign of“our devotion to Our Lady and ourdevotion to serving the Church”.

When we welcome the Holy Spir-it into our hearts and allow him toact, Christ makes himself present inus and takes shape in our lives;through us, it will be he — Christhimself — who prays, forgives, giveshope and consolation, serves thebrethren, draws close to the needyand to the least, creates communityand sows peace. Think how import-ant this is: by means of the HolySpirit, Christ himself comes to doall this among us and for us. That iswhy it is important that childrenand young people receive the Sacra-ment of Confirmation.

Dear brothers and sisters, let usremember that we have receivedConfirmation! All of us! Let us re-member it, first in order to thank

the Lord for this gift, and then toask him to help us to live as trueChristians, to walk always with joyin the Holy Spirit who has been giv-en to us.

SPECIAL GROUPS

I greet all the English-speakingpilgrims present at today’s Audi-ence, especially those from Scotland,Ireland and the United States. Myspecial greeting goes to the pilgrim-age group from the Diocese of Rap-id City, accompanied by BishopRobert Gruss. Upon you and yourfamilies I invoke God’s blessings ofjoy and peace!

I greet the families of workersfrom Shellbox Castelfiorentino withCardinal Giuseppe Betori and, as I

express my closeness, I also wish toexpress my sincere desire that everypossible effort be made by the com-petent bodies to ensure that work,which is a source of dignity, be acentral concern to everyone. Maywork not be lacking! It is a sourceof dignity!

I address a special thought toyoung people, to the sick and to newly-weds. This Friday we will celebratethe memorial of St John Bosco.Dear young people, may his role as afather and teacher accompany youduring your years of study andformation. May you, dear sick, notlose hope even in the most difficultmoments of suffering. And may you,dear newlyweds, be inspired by thisSalesian’s model of love in provid-ing an integral education for yourc h i l d re n .

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 31 January 2014, number 5

Message read at the 18th Public Session of the Pontifical Academies

The ‘luminous’ dimension of faithAfter expressing his personal greetingsto participants in the 18th PublicSession of the Pontifical Academies inthe Great Hall of the Palazzo SanPius X, the Secretary of State,Cardinal elect Pietro Parolin, readPope Francis’ message. The following isa translation of the the message whichwas written in Italian.

To my Venerable BrotherCardinal GIANFRANCO RAVA S I

President of the Pontifical Councilfor Culture and of the CoordinatingCouncil of the Pontifical AcademiesOn the occasion of the 18th PublicSession of the Pontifical Academies,I am pleased to convey my cordialgreetings to you, which I gladly ex-tend to the Presidents, the Academi-cians, as well to the Cardinals, Bish-ops, Ambassadors and to all the par-ticipants.

This year’s session, intentionallyconvened on the day of the liturgicalmemorial of St Thomas Aquinas,has been organized by the PontificalAcademy named after him and bythe Pontifical Academy of Theology.It’s theme is: “Oculata fides. Inter-preting reality with the eyes ofChrist”. This theme recalls an ex-

pression of the Doctor Angelicusquoted in the Encyclical Letter Lu-men Fidei. I thank you for havingchosen to reflect on this theme andas well as on the relationshipbetween the Encyclical and the re-cent Apostolic Exhortation EvangeliiGaudium.

In both of these Documents, infact, I wished to invite the Churchto reflect on the “luminous” dimen-sion of faith and on the connectionbetween faith and truth, whichshould be investigated not only withthe eyes of the mind but also withthose of the heart, that is, within theperspective of love. St Paul states:“One believes with the heart” (Rom10:10). “Through this blending offaith and love we come to see thekind of knowledge which faith en-tails, its power to convince and itsability to illumine our steps. Faithknows because it is tied to love, be-cause love itself brings enlighten-ment. Faith’s understanding is bornwhen we receive the immense love ofGod which transforms us inwardlyand enables us to see reality withnew eyes” (Lumen Fidei, n. 26). Inthe days following Jesus’ R e s u r re c -tion, his disciples did not contem-plate a purely interior or abstracttruth, but rather a truth disclosed tothem in the encounter with the Ris-en One, in the contemplation of hislife and of his mysteries. Rightly didSt Thomas Aquinas speak of an ocu-lata fides, a faith which sees! (cf.ibid., n. 30).

This leads to important con-sequences both for the actions of be-lievers and for the method of workproper to theologians: “Tru t hnowadays is often reduced to thesubjective authenticity of the indi-vidual, valid only for the life of theindividual. A common truth intimid-ates us, for we identify it with theintransigent demands of totalitariansystems. But if truth is a truth oflove, if it is a truth disclosed in thepersonal encounter with the Otherand with others, then it can be setfree from its enclosure in individualsand become part of the commongood.... Far from making us inflex-ible, the security of faith sets us on ajourney; it enables witness and dia-logue with all” (ibid., 34).

This perspective — of an entireChurch on a journey and entirelymissionary — was developed in theApostolic Exhortation on the pro-clamation of the Gospel in today’sworld. The “dream of a ‘missionaryoption’ ... capable of transformingeverything” (Evangelii Gaudium, n.27) regards the whole Church andevery part of her. The PontificalAcademies are also called to thistransformation, so that their contri-bution may not be lacking to the ec-clesial Body. It is not a matter of ex-terior work carried out “on thefaçade”. It is rather a matter, also foryou, of concentrating more “on theessentials, on what is most beautiful,most grand, most appealing and atthe same time most necessary” (ibid.,35). In this way, “the message is sim-plified, while losing none of itsdepth and truth, and thus becomesall the more forceful and convin-cing” (ibid.). Therefore, beloved andesteemed brothers and sisters, I askfor your qualified collaboration inthe service of the mission of thewhole Church.

In order to encourage all of those,including young scholars and theo-logians, who wish to offer their owncontribution to promoting and at-taining a new Christian humanismthrough their research, I am de-lighted to award ex aequo the Ponti-fical Academies Award, dedicatedthis year to theological research andto the study of the works of StThomas Aquinas, to two youngscholars: Rev. Prof. AlessandroClemenzia for the work Nella Trinitàcome Chiesa. In dialogo con HeribertMühlen, and to Prof. Maria SilviaVaccarezza for her work entitled: Leragioni del contingente. La saggezzapratica tra Aristotele e Tommasod’Aq u i n o .

Finally, wishing the Academiciansand all those present a fruitful en-gagement in their respective fields ofresearch, I entrust each of you to thematernal protection of the Vi rg i nMary, Sedes Sapientiae, I ask you toremember me and my ministry inprayer, and I cordially impart a spe-cial Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 28 January 2014

Liturgical Feast of the theologian Saint celebrated on 28 January

Thomas and the experience of GodINOS BIFFI

In his intention to consecrate him-self to the “zealous study of Wis-dom”, Thomas Aquinas declaredthat his entire effort would beaimed at “showing clearly the truthwhich the Catholic faith professesand eliminating the contrary er-ro r s ”: “his every word and disposi-tion must ‘speak God’” (Summacontra Gentiles, I, 2). The theolo-gian’s profession was his supremeinterest in life: his time and hisworks were to be entirely trans-figured by sacred doctrine and thusby the exercise of his intellect,which theology both includes anddemands. Moreover, he was con-vinced that all of reality had its be-ginning and end in God, just as allof reality is closely oriented anddestined to return to him — and infact, it is on this circularity that theSumma Theologiae is based.

“Almost all philosophical reflec-tion”, he wrote, “is ordered to theknowledge of God”, he wrote(Summa contra Gentiles, I, 4, 3)which represents “the apex of hu-man inquiry” (ibid.). It could besaid that the Angelic Doctor wasunable to conceive of a true philo-sophy that is objectively and sens-ibly atheistic, and therefore unableto admit a “laïcité” — to use a re-current modern term, used in an in-credibly confused way — which didnot entail a radically religious qual-ity. In a certain sense, I believe thatno thinker has perceived the pres-

ence of God in reality as clearly asthe Angelic Doctor did, above allthanks to his sensibility with regardto “b eing”, the “b eing” which per-tains to beings but especially be-longs to God, to the point that it ishis essence and definition.

By examining the beings of ex-perience, he clearly perceives thatthey do not subsist by themselves;they exist in as much as they arecalled into existence by an abso-lutely transcendent and incompar-able Cause, outside any “genus”(extra genus) (Summa Theologiae, I,6, 2, ad 3), on which they radicallydepend, as on their source, which isequivalent to saying that they arecreated by the “first Being” (ibid., I,3, 1, c). In fact, to be created meansexactly: to receive being; while tocreate means “to give being”: “Tocreate is to give being” and to givebeing “ex nihilo” (from nothing) —as Thomas clarifies (Scriptum superlibros Sententiarum, I, 37, 1, 1) — thatis, without anything assumed orpreexisting. In other words, to becreated means to pass from “non-b eing” absolutely to “b eing”(Summa Theologiae, I, 45, 1). Thesesubstances “were brought fromnon-being to being by creation”(De Substantiis Separatis, 18), where-fore “there can be nothing amongthose things that are which doesnot come from God, universalcause of all being” (Summa Theolo-giae, I, 45, 2, c). Furthermore, allbeings need to be kept in being byGod. “The being of every creature

depends so much on God thatthese [creatures] would not subsisteven for a second but would be re-duced to nothing, unless they wereconserved in their being by thework of divine power” (ibid, 104, 1,c). Concerning these presupposi-tions, one might speak of the “fa-miliarity” of Thomas, philosopherand theologian, with God: a famili-arity of thought, of “p ro f e s s i o n ”,and a familiarity of life. We knowfrom biographers how ardent andassiduous his prayer was, yet, inthis sense two significant evalu-ations emerge.

The first thing to say, before any-thing else, is that he had such avivid sense of God's transcendence,of his unattainableness. He wouldrepeat: “In the present (life) our in-tellect is united to God by comingto know what he is not” (In Di-onysii de Divinis Nominibus, 13, 3);“We, to speak more truly and cor-rectly, know what God is not” (In I

Sententiarum, 34, 3, 1, c); “We haveno name which is adequate, or adefinition which sufficiently com-prehends God” (De Potentia 7, 5, ad6); “In this life, the more perfectlywe come to know God, so we un-derstand that all the more does hesurpass that which our intellect cangrasp of him” (Summa Theologiae,II-II, 8, 7, c); “Go d’s essence alwaysremains hidden to us; the greatestknowledge we can have of him herebelow consists in recognizing thathe transcends what we can think of

Santi di Tito, “The Vision of St Thomas” (1593)

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At the Angelus with the children of Catholic Action at the conclusion of the month of peace

A place of opennessto all nations

As in GalileeIn his commentary on the Scrip-tures, almost every day the Bishopof Rome clearly offers reasons andpoints of reflection for everydaylife not only to Catholics. Emblem-atic in this regard was his Sundayreflection on the Gospel passagethat quotes Isaiah’s prophecy con-cerning “Galilee of the nations”where, according to Matthew theEvangelist, Jesus’ public ministrybegan, significantly in a border re-gion. Pope Francis noted that itwas characterized by the presenceof various foreign peoples. Theprophet himself wishes to emphas-ize this reality when he speaks ofthe confines of that “district” (thisis the meaning of the name of ‘Ga-lilee’) and he identifies it as be-longing to “the pagan nations”.

To day’s world can be describedin the very same way, a worldwhere Christ’s Church is sent towitness to that light which, alreadyin the vision of the Jewish prophet,was destined to reach all peoples,without exception. Indeed thiscentral theme has been the subjectclosest to the heart of Jorge MarioBergoglio, since the Feast of StMatthew 1954, when he began tounderstand the direction his lifewould take. Mission, therefore, isat the heart of the Church, as theArchbishop of Buenos Aires wouldtell his brother Cardinals in thespeech he delivered at the GeneralCongregations which preceded the

conclave that led to his election asBishop of Rome.

Mission, as the fundamental dy-namic within the history of Chris-tianity, has always had to face fron-tiers, those that Pope Francis callsthe “p eripheries”, even in tradition-ally Christian countries. Just asHenri Godin and Yvan Daniel, thetwo priests who published the fam-ous report France, pas de mission?,on the religious situation in theworld of labour, during the Nazioccupation of Paris, foresaw in1943: “Let us not deceive ourselves:tomorrow not only our own home-land but the entire world is likelyto become ‘mission territory’: whatwe are experiencing today, otherpeoples in turn will also experi-ence”.

A mission without borders en-trusted to the inventiveness andcourage of Christian communities.To carry the joy of the Gospel —Evangelii Gaudium is the title ofthe programmatic document of thispontificate — “to all those who arewaiting for it, but also to thosewho perhaps are no longer waitingfor anything and who haven’t eventhe strength to seek and to ask,” asthe Pope said. In speaking aboutthe Galilee of our own day, he con-cluded with a question: “May eachone of you think: the Lord ispassing by today, the Lord iswatching me, he is looking at me!What is the Lord saying to me?”

G.M.V.

“The Lord is calling today” passingthrough “the paths of our daily life....Let’s let his gaze rest on us, hear hisvoice, and follow him!” This was PopeFra n c i s ’ invitation to the faithfulpresent in St Peter’s Square for theAngelus on Sunday, 26 January. Thefollowing is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s words.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!This Sunday’s Gospel recounts thebeginnings of the public life of Jesusin the cities and villages of Galilee.His mission does not begin in Jerus-alem, the religious centre and alsothe social and political centre, but inan area on the outskirts, an arealooked down upon by the most ob-servant Jews because of the presencein that region of various foreignpeoples; that is why the ProphetIsaiah calls it “Galilee of the na-tions” (Is 9:1).

It is a borderland, a place oftransit where people of differentraces, cultures, and religions con-verge. Thus Galilee becomes a sym-bolic place for the Gospel to opento all nations. From this point ofview, Galilee is like the world oftoday: the co-presence of differentcultures, the necessity for comparis-on and the necessity of encounter.We too are immersed every day in akind of “Galilee of the nations”, andin this type of context we may feelafraid and give in to the temptationto build fences to make us feel safer,more protected. But Jesus teaches usthat the Good News, which hebrings, is not reserved to one part ofhumanity, it is to be communicatedto everyone. It is a proclamation ofjoy destined for those who are wait-ing for it, but also for all those whoperhaps are no longer waiting foranything and haven’t even thestrength to seek and to ask.

Starting from Galilee, Jesusteaches us that no one is excludedfrom the salvation of God, rather itis from the margins that God prefersto begin, from the least, so as toreach everyone. He teaches us amethod, his method, which also ex-presses the content, which is theFa t h e r ’s mercy. “Each Christian andevery community must discern thepath that the Lord points out, butall of us are asked to obey his call togo forth from our own comfort zonein order to reach all the ‘p eripheries’in need of the light of the Gospel”(Apostolic Exhortation, EvangeliiGaudium, n. 20).

Jesus begins his mission not onlyfrom a decentralized place, but alsoamong men whom one would call,refer to, as having a “low profile”.When choosing his first disciplesand future apostles, he does notturn to the schools of scribes anddoctors of the Law, but to humblepeople and simple people, who dili-gently prepare for the coming of theKingdom of God. Jesus goes to callthem where they work, on thelakeshore: they are fishermen. Hecalls them, and they follow him, im-mediately. They leave their nets andgo with him: their life will become

an extraordinary and fascinating ad-v e n t u re .

Dear friends, the Lord is callingtoday too! The Lord passes throughthe paths of our daily life. Eventoday at this moment, here, theLord is passing through the square.He is calling us to go with him, towork with him for the Kingdom ofGod, in the “Galilee” of our times.May each one of you think: theLord is passing by today, the Lord iswatching me, he is looking at me!What is the Lord saying to me? Andif one of you feels that the Lord saysto you “follow me” be brave, gowith the Lord. The Lord never dis-appoints. Feel in your heart if theLord is calling you to follow him.Let’s let his gaze rest on us, hear hisvoice, and follow him! “That the joyof the Gospel may reach to the endsof the earth, illuminating even thefringes of our world” (ibid., n. 288).

After the Angelus, the Pope greetedSara Guidi and Matteo Brendel, whowere at the window with him. Bothchildren are part of Catholic Action inthe Diocese of Rome which concludedtheir celebration of peace in the monthof January:

Now you can see that I am notalone: I am accompanied by two ofyou, who came up here. They arebrave, these two!

Today we celebrate the WorldDay for Leprosy. This disease al-though being eradicated still affectsmany people in conditions of graveindigence. It is important to remainin active solidarity with these broth-ers and sisters alive. Let us assurethem of our prayer; and let us prayalso for those who assist them andwho, in different ways, committhemselves to fight this disease.

I am close in prayer to Ukraine,in particular to those who have losttheir life in these days and for theirfamilies. My wish is that a construct-ive dialogue may develop betweeninstitutions and civil society and,avoiding any recourse to violence, sothat the spirit of peace and the quest

for the common good may prevail inthe hearts of all people!

Today there are so many childrenin the square! So many! With themI would like to turn our thoughts toCocò Campolongo, who at threeyears old was burned in a car inCassano allo Jonio. Brutality likethis to such a little child seems un-precedented in the history of crime.

Let us pray with Cocò, who is safewith Jesus in heaven that whoeverperpetrated this crime may repentand convert to the Lord.

In the upcoming days, millions ofpeople who live in the Far East or inother parts of the world, includingthe Chinese, Koreans, and Viet-namese will be celebrating the lunarnew year. I wish all of them a lifefull of joy and hope. May the irre-pressible yearning for fraternity thatdwells in their hearts find in the in-timacy of the family a privilegedplace where it can be discovered,taught and realized. This is will bethe precious contribution to thebuilding of a more humane worldwhere peace reigns.

Now I turn to the boys and girlsof Catholic Action of the Diocese ofRome! Dear children, this yearagain, accompanied by the CardinalVicar, many of you have come at theend of your “Caravan of Peace”.Thank you! Thank you so much!Now let’s listen to the message thatyour friends next to me are going tore a d .The children read the message.

And now these two good childrenwill release the doves — symbols ofp eace.

I wish everyone a happy Sundayand good lunch. Goodbye!


Collaboration in strengthening peace

Diplomatic relations betweenthe United States and the Holy See

A photographic exhibition was organ-ized by the Embassy of the UnitedStates of America to the Holy See, tocelebrate the 30th anniversary of diplo-matic relations (10 January 1984).During the inauguration of the exhibi-tion, which took place on Thursday, 23January, at the Palazzo della Cancel-leria, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti,Secretary for Relations with States,gave the following address.

Mr Ambassador,Your Eminences,Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gen-tlemen,I am happy to extend my sincerestthanks to you, Mr Ambassador, forthe kind invitation to speak on theoccasion of the commemoration ofthe 30th Anniversary of the estab-lishment of diplomatic relationsbetween the United States of Amer-ica and the Holy See.

As we are all aware, relations exis-ted long before then. The first high-level contact between the Holy Seeand the United States of Americawas made in 1788, when GeorgeWashington informed Pope Pius VI,through Benjamin Franklin, that inthe newly-born Republic there wasno need for authorization from theState for the appointment of a Bish-op, in that the Revolution hadbrought freedom to the colonies,first and foremost, that of religiousfreedom. The Pope then appointedFr John Carroll, a Jesuit priest, asthe first Catholic Bishop in theUnited States of America, constitut-ing thus the Catholic hierarchy inthe newly independent Country.From that first diocese, the PremierSee of Baltimore, there are nowmore than 200 dioceses in theUnited States. Nevertheless, almosttwo centuries would pass before dip-lomatic relations were established.This occurred in 1984, thanks toBlessed John Paul II and to Presid-ent Ronald Reagan, who appointedWilliam Wilson, at that time alreadyhis Personal Representative to theHoly See, as the first U.S. Ambas-sador to the Holy See, while Arch-bishop Pio Laghi, later Cardinal,already serving in Washington asApostolic Delegate, became the firstApostolic Nuncio to the UnitedStates. Since then there have been10 Ambassadors, including Ambas-

sador Hackett, and five ApostolicNuncios, including the present one,Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò.

The relations between the HolySee and the United States havegrown, slowly but steadily, strongerover time. This has been demon-strated by the Papal Visits to theUnited States: since the Visit ofPope Paul VI to New York in 1965there have been seven visits byBlessed John Paul II and, in 2008,the Visit of Pope Benedict XVI.Since the first visit of a U.S. Presid-ent to the Vatican, by WoodrowWilson in 1919, there have been nu-merous visits. President BarackObama visited Pope Benedict XVI in2009 and he will shortly be comingagain to meet Pope Francis, at theend of March.

The building of relations betweenthe Holy See and the United Statesdown through the years has enabledan important dialogue also on theinternational level. If indeed theUnited States represents one of theprincipal actors on the internationalscene, and the Church and the HolySee share in the joys and the hopes,the sorrows and the anxieties of hu-manity, the Church “offers to man-kind the honest assistance… in fos-tering that brotherhood of all menwhich corresponds to this destiny oftheirs” (Gaudium et Spes n. 3).

On the 21 March, 1848, theUnited States Senate debated a

budgetary proposal for the alloca-tion of funds for the Chargé d’Af-faires to Pope Pius IX, appointed byPresident James Polk. During thedebate, Senator Lewis Cass, in refer-ring to Pope Pius IX, said the fol-lowing: “The eyes of Christendomare upon its sovereign…. Much isexpected of him…. The diplomacyof Europe will find full employmentat his Court, and its ablest profess-ors will be there in the Vatican”.

I don’t think that it would be outof place to say that the claims ofSenator Cass are also being proventrue today with Pope Francis, whocontinues to encourage the Churchand the international community tonot be mere onlookers concerningthe great challenges that afflict hu-manity but to engage in tacklingthem. This has been demonstratedby the numerous meetings that theHoly Father has had from the veryfirst days of his pontificate withHeads of State, Heads of Govern-ment, and leaders of internationalorganizations, who have all desiredto meet with him and to discusswith him the problems of our times,which are many and serious. Theserequire determination and consulta-tion by all the actors of the interna-tional scene. Here, then, is the ne-cessity and importance of an evercloser dialogue between the HolySee and the United States of Amer-ica. The Holy Father, in hisApostolic Exhortation EvangeliiGaudium points out that “for theChurch today, three areas of dia-logue stand out where she needs tobe present in order to promote fullhuman development and to pursuethe common good: dialogue withstates, dialogue with society — in-cluding dialogue with cultures andthe sciences — and dialogue withother believers who are not part ofthe Catholic Church” (n. 238).

Pope Leo XIII, in his EncyclicalLonginqua of 1895, referred to theearliest relations between the HolySee and the United States of Amer-ica. And I quote: “…at the epochwhen the American colonies, having,with Catholic aid, achieved libertyand independence, coalesced into aconstitutional Republic the ecclesi-astical authority was happily estab-lished amongst you; and at the verytime when the popular suffrageplaced the great Washington at thehelm of the Republic, the first Bish-op was set by apostolic authorityover the American Church. Thewell-known friendship and familiarintercourse which subsisted betweenthese two men seems to be an evid-ence that the United States ought tobe conjoined in concord and friend-ship with the Catholic Church” (n.4).

It is my wish, therefore, that thefriendship and cooperation betweenthe Holy See and the United Statesbe ever more strengthened withinthe family of Nations, in order thatthe world may progress in buildingpeace, justice and fraternity.

Archbishop Dominique Mamberti and H.E. Mr Ken Hackett, U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See,at the inauguration of the commemorative exhibition (23 January)

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VAT I C A N BULLETIN

and agriculture (FA O, I FA D , PA M )and Director of the DegreeCourse in Jurisprudence at thePontifical Lateran University ofRome (25 Jan.).

TRIBUNAL OF THE ROMANRO TA

The Holy Father appointed asPrelate Auditors of the Tribunalof the Roman Rota: Msgr Anto-nio Bartolacci, Head of theChancery of the said Tribunal,and Fr Manuel Saturino da CostaGomes, SCI, Professor of CanonLaw at the Faculty of Theologyand Director of the Institute ofHigh Studies of Canon Law atUniversidade Católica Por-tuguesa, and Judge of the Patri-archal Tribunal of Lisbon (23Jan.).

FINANCIAL IN F O R M AT I O NAUTHORITY

The Holy Father accepted the re-quest of Cardinal Attilio Nicorato resign from his office as Pres-ident of the Financial Informa-tion Authority. The SupremePontiff appointed as President adinterim of the said authority Bish-op Giorgio Corbellini, titularBishop of Abula, who will contin-ue to be President of the Officeof Work of the Apostolic See andof the Disciplinary Commissionof the Roman Curia (30 Jan.).

NECROLO GY

Bishop emeritus Kurt Krenn ofSankt Pölten, Austria, at age 77(25 Jan.).

Cardinal Sarah visits territories affectedby typhoon in the Philippines

On behalf of Pope Francis, Cardinal Robert Sarah, President of the Pon-tifical Council Cor Unum, visited the Philippines from 26 to 31 January.He visited the territories that were affected by the Typhoon Haiyan,which struck on 8 November last year. This was announced in a state-ment from the Dicastery, stressing that the purpose of the initiative wasto bring a sign of comfort and spiritual closeness to the people of thePhilippines, who are now working to reconstruct their country, and in or-der to promote a network of aid to those already working there.

The Cardinal, on behalf of the Pope, has assured the completion,through Cor Unum, of the project of constructing a new orphanage and ahome for the elderly. The building will include, among other things, asmall convent for nuns, a chapel and a dispensary.


Pope Francis to the Tribunal of the Roman Rota

Judges but pastors firstIn every case people are waiting for justice

As “you carry out your juridical work,do not forget that you are pastors!Behind every practice, every professionand every cause, there are persons whoare waiting for justice”. The Pope saidthis to the members of the Tribunal ofthe Roman Rota on Friday morning,24 January, in the Clementine Hall.The following is a translation of thePope’s address which was given inItalian.

Dear Prelate Auditors, Officials andCollaborators of the ApostolicTribunal of the Roman Rota,I am meeting with you for the firsttime, on the occasion of the inaug-uration of the juridical year. I cordi-ally greet the College of PrelateAuditors, beginning with the Dean,Msgr Pio Vito Pinto, whom I thankfor the words he addressed to me onbehalf of all present. I also greet theOfficials, the Advocates and othercollaborators, as well as the mem-bers of the Rotal Studium. Thismeeting offers me the opportunityto thank you for your valuable eccle-sial service. My acknowledgments goin a special way to you, RotalJudges, who are called to carry outyour delicate work in the name andby mandate of the Successor ofPe t e r.

The juridical dimension and thepastoral dimension of the Church’sministry do not stand in opposition,for they both contribute to realizingthe Church’s purpose and unity ofaction. In fact the judicial work ofthe Church, which represents a ser-vice to truth in justice, has a deeplypastoral connotation, because it aimsboth to pursue the good of thefaithful and to build up the Christi-an community. Such activity consti-tutes a peculiar development of thepower of governance, turned towardthe spiritual care of the People ofGod, and is therefore fully insertedin the journey of the mission of theChurch. It follows that the judicialoffice is a true diakonia, that is, aservice to the People of God in viewof strengthening the full communionbetween individual members of thefaithful, and between them and theecclesial body. Furthermore, dearJudges, through your specific min-istry, you offer a qualified contribu-tion in confronting emerging pastor-al themes.

I would now like to sketch a briefprofile of the ecclesiastical judge.Firstly, his human profile: to be ajudge requires a kind of human ma-turity, that is expressed in calmjudgment, detached from personalviews. Part of human maturity isalso to be able to immerse oneself inthe mentality and legitimate aspira-tions of the community in whichone carries out one’s service. Likethis, he will become an interpreter ofthe animus communitatis which char-acterizes that portion of the Peopleof God affected by his work. He willalso be able to exercise justice in away adapted to the exigencies of theconcrete situation, and not in a leg-alistic and abstract way. As a result,superficial knowledge of the situ-

ation of people awaiting his judg-ment will not suffice; rather, he willfeel the need to enter more deeplyinto the situation of the parties in-volved, studying in depth the docu-ments and every element relevant tothe judgment.

The second aspect is the judicialone. In addition to the requirementsof juridical and theological doctrine,in the exercise of his ministry thejudge is characterized by his know-ledge of law, the objectivity ofjudgement and fairness, by judgingwith imperturbable and impartialequidistance. In his work he is alsoguided by the intent to safeguardtruth, respecting to the law, withoutoverlooking the delicacy and hu-manity proper to a pastor of souls.

The third aspect is the p a s t o ra lone. As an expression of the pastoralconcern of the Pope and Bishops,the judge is required not only tohave proven competence, but also tohave a genuine spirit of service. Heis the servant of justice called totreat and judge the condition of thefaithful, who with confidence turn tohim, by imitating the Good Shep-

herd who cares for the woundedlamb. That is why he must be in-spired by pastoral charity; that char-ity which God poured into ourhearts through “the Holy Spirit whohas been given to us” (Rom 5:5).Love — St Paul writes — “bindseveryone together in perfect har-mony” (Col 3:14), and constitutesthe soul as well as the function ofthe ecclesiastical judge.

Your ministry, dear judges and of-ficials of the Tribunal of the RomanRota, lived out in the joy andserenity that come from workingwhere the Lord has placed us, is aspecial service to the God of Love,who is close to every person. Youare essentially shepherds. As youcarry out your juridical work, do notforget that you are pastors! In everycase, every profession and everycause, people are waiting for justice.

Dear friends, I thank you and Iencourage you to proceed in yourmunus with scrupulosity and gentle-ness. Pray for me! May the Lordbless you and may Our Lady protectyou.

Nearly 400 casesdecided in 2013In 2013 “nearly 400 cases weredecided, more than double thenumber in previous years,lowering the number of casespending, several of which haveunfortunately gone on for toolong”. The Dean of the Tribunalof the Roman Rota, Msgr PioVito Pinto, stated at the start ofthe audience.The Rota, he said, wishes tocontinue “to be an authentic signof solicitude in the ministry ofecclesial justice”. The Dean alsowelcomed a shift in the tendencyto favour negative rulings overpositive, a turnaround uniquely“anchored in the fontal andfactual truth, illumined by theHoly Spirit, thanks to thecontribution of different humanand juridical sensibilities”. Andhe then expressed their“commitment to being evencloser” to the Pope “in thisdifficult but blessed work ofdiscerning timing, so that God’stime may prevail.”Msgr Pinto told Pope Francisthat the entire family of theRoman Rota “would like, asformerly with Pope Benedict, topromise you perfect obedience tothe Magisterium and to thosedecisions which God will inspireyou to make for the fundamentalspiritual good of the Church”.

Thomas and the experience of GodCONTINUED FROM PA G E 4

regarding him” (De Veritate, 2, 1, ad9).

Neither the philosopher nor thetheologian — although they speakabout God with certainty — havehim at their absolute disposition,and in this sense both move withinthe opacity of faith, they workwithin the world of signs, since heinhabits inaccessible light and hisbeing remains radically incompre-hensible and unfathomable. Hencetheir constitutive religious sense,humility, and even gratitude, awareof how in every instant they are be-ings held in being by the “memory”of God, by the divine gift of being.

The second consideration tomake known is that according to StThomas it is not only possible toseek God and to be united to himby means of the knowledge — withthe limitations mentioned above —of the intellect but also through theknowledge which comes from love,wherein knowledge finds its com-pletion: “Love is the terminus (end)

of knowledge”, affirmed the Angel-ic Doctor (Summa Theologiae, II-II,27, 4, 1m); “by the flame of charityis given the knowledge of thet ru t h ” (Super Evangelium Iohannis,c. 5, lect. 6). To use his own words:“For there is true wisdom wheneverthe work of the intellect is perfec-ted and brought to completionthrough a peaceful resting and anaffectionate love” (Super secundamepistolam ad Corinthios, c. 13, lect.3).

Thomas aligns himself here withthe school of Pseudo-Dionysius, anauthor he knew well and who pro-foundly influenced him, althoughhe was critical of his neo-Platonicvision of reality. Likewise, he distin-guished clearly between “learning”and “exp eriencing”, discere divinaand pati divina (Summa theologiae, I,1, 6, 3m).

We recall here a particularly illu-minating text from the Commentaryon the Sentences: “In some, wisdomis present by virtue of study andlearning doctrine, joined to asharpness of intellect”, and then we

are dealing with an intellectual vir-tue; “in others, however, it is foundthanks to a certain affinity for di-vine things (affinitas ad divina), asDionysius of Hierotheus says (DeDivinis Nominibus, 2), that such aone learns divine things by suffer-ing them — as the Apostle says: ‘thespiritual man judges all things’, andit is written in 1 Jn 2:27 ‘his anoint-ing teaches you about everything’”(In III Sententiarum, 35, 2, 1, 1, sol.1).

To conclude, Thomas writes:“some are lamps only in regard totheir office, but as regards love theyare extinguished: for as a lamp can-not illuminate unless it is lit by fire,thus a spiritual lamp does not shineunless it first burns and is inflamedby the fire of charity. Therefore aburning ardour is placed before en-lightenment, because knowledge ofthe truth is granted by an inflamedcharity” (Super Evangelium Iohannis,c. 5, lect. 6). Anyone who neglectsthese texts by Thomas would havea limited knowledge of him.

number 5, Friday, 31 January 2014 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 8/9

Pope Francis’ message for the 48th World Communications Day

Connected but scandalously distant

communication as “neighb ourliness”.Whenever communication is primar-

ily aimed at promoting consumption ormanipulating others, we are dealingwith a form of violent aggression likethat suffered by the man in the parable,who was beaten by robbers and leftabandoned on the road. The Leviteand the priest do not regard him as aneighbour, but as a stranger to be keptat a distance. In those days, it wasrules of ritual purity which conditionedtheir response. Nowadays there is adanger that certain media so conditionour responses that we fail to see ourreal neighbour.

It is not enough to be passersby onthe digital highways, simply “connec-ted”; connections need to grow intotrue encounters. We cannot live apart,closed in on ourselves. We need to loveand to be loved. We need tenderness.Media strategies do not ensure beauty,goodness and truth in communication.The world of media also has to be con-cerned with humanity, it too is calledto show tenderness. The digital worldcan be an environment rich in human-ity; a network not of wires but ofpeople. The impartiality of media ismerely an appearance; only those whogo out of themselves in their commu-nication can become a true point ofreference for others. Personal engage-ment is the basis of the trustworthinessof a communicator. Christian witness,thanks to the internet, can therebyreach the peripheries of human exist-ence.

As I have frequently observed, if achoice has to be made between abruised Church which goes out to thestreets and a Church suffering fromself-absorption, I certainly prefer thefirst. Those “s t re e t s ” are the worldwhere people live and where they canbe reached, both effectively and affect-ively. The digital highway is one ofthem, a street teeming with people whoare often hurting, men and womenlooking for salvation or hope. By

munication helps us to grow closer, toknow one another better, and ulti-mately, to grow in unity. The wallswhich divide us can be broken downonly if we are prepared to listen andlearn from one another. We need to re-solve our differences through forms ofdialogue which help us grow in under-standing and mutual respect. A cultureof encounter demands that we be readynot only to give, but also to receive.Media can help us greatly in this, espe-cially nowadays, when the networks ofhuman communication have made un-precedented advances. The internet, inparticular, offers immense possibilitiesfor encounter and solidarity. This issomething truly good, a gift from God.

This is not to say that certain prob-lems do not exist. The speed with

us to feel closer toone another, creat-ing a sense of theunity of the humanfamily which can inturn inspire solidar-ity and serious ef-forts to ensure amore dignified lifefor all. Good com-

call to discover the beauty of faith, thebeauty of encountering Christ. In thearea of communications too, we need aChurch capable of bringing warmthand of stirring hearts.

Effective Christian witness is notabout bombarding people with reli-gious messages, but about our willing-ness to be available to others “by pa-tiently and respectfully engaging theirquestions and their doubts as they ad-vance in their search for the truth andthe meaning of human existence” (Be-nedict XVI, Message for the 47th WorldCommunications Day, 2013). We needbut recall the story of the disciples onthe way to Emmaus. We have to beable to dialogue with the men and wo-men of today, to understand their ex-pectations, doubts and hopes, and tobring them the Gospel, Jesus Christhimself, God incarnate, who died androse to free us from sin and death. Weare challenged to be people of depth,attentive to what is happening aroundus and spiritually alert. To dialoguemeans to believe that the “other” hassomething worthwhile to say, and toentertain his or her point of view andperspective. Engaging in dialogue doesnot mean renouncing our own ideasand traditions, but the claim that theyalone are valid or absolute.

May the image of the Good Samarit-an who tended to the wounds of theinjured man by pouring oil and wineover them be our inspiration. Let ourcommunication be a balm which re-lieves pain and a fine wine which glad-dens hearts. May the light we bring toothers not be the result of cosmetics orspecial effects, but rather of our beingloving and merciful “neighb ours” tothose wounded and left on the side ofthe road. Let us boldly become citizens

Through the looking glass of an iPhone

“On the global level we see a scandalous gapbetween the opulence of the wealthy and the utterdestitution of the poor.... Good communicationhelps us to grow closer, to know one another better,and ultimately, to grow in unity”

means of the internet, the Christianmessage can reach “to the ends of theearth” (Acts 1:8). Keeping the doors ofour churches open also means keepingthem open in the digital environmentso that people, whatever their situationin life, can enter, and so that the Gos-pel can go out to reach everyone. Weare called to show that the Church isthe home of all. Are we capable ofcommunicating the image of such aChurch? Communication is a means ofexpressing the missionary vocation ofthe entire Church; today the social net-works are one way to experience this

spired by Christianity, such as the vis-ion of the human person, the nature ofmarriage and the family, the proper dis-tinction between the religious andpolitical spheres, the principles ofsolidarity and subsidiarity, and manyothers.

How, then, can communication be atthe service of an authentic culture ofencounter? What does it mean for us,as disciples of the Lord, to encounterothers in the light of the Gospel? Inspite of our own limitations and sinful-ness, how do we draw truly close toone another? These questions aresummed up in what a scribe — a com-municator — once asked Jesus: “Andwho is my neighbour?” (Lk 10:29).This question can help us to see com-munication in terms of “neighb ourli-

of the digital world. The Church needsto be concerned for, and present in, theworld of communication, in order todialogue with people today and to helpthem encounter Christ. She needs to bea Church at the side of others, capableof accompanying everyone along theway. The revolution taking place incommunications media and in informa-tion technologies represents a great andthrilling challenge; may we respond tothat challenge with fresh energy andimagination as we seek to share withothers the beauty of God.

From the Vatican, 24 January 2014,the Memorial of St Francis de Sales.

Communication at the Service of anAuthentic Culture of Encounter

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Today we are living in a world which

is growing ever “smaller” and where, asa result, it would seem to be easier forall of us to be neighbours. Develop-ments in travel and communicationstechnology are bringing us closer to-gether and making us more connected,even as globalization makes us increas-ingly interdependent. Nonetheless, di-visions, which are sometimes quitedeep, continue to exist within our hu-man family. On the global level we seea scandalous gap between the opulenceof the wealthy and the utter destitutionof the poor. Often we need only walkthe streets of a city to see the contrastbetween people living on the street andthe brilliant lights of the store win-dows. We have become so accustomedto these things that they no longer un-settle us. Our world suffers from manyforms of exclusion, marginalization andpoverty, to say nothing of conflictsborn of a combination of economic,political, ideological, and, sadly, evenreligious motives.

In a world like this, media can help

which information is communicated ex-ceeds our capacity for reflection andjudgement, and this does not make formore balanced and proper forms ofself-expression. The variety of opinionsbeing aired can be seen as helpful, butit also enables people to barricadethemselves behind sources of informa-tion which only confirm their ownwishes and ideas, or political and eco-nomic interests. The world of commu-nications can help us either to expandour knowledge or to lose our bearings.The desire for digital connectivity canhave the effect of isolating us from ourneighbours, from those closest to us.We should not overlook the fact thatthose who for whatever reason lack ac-cess to social media run the risk of be-ing left behind.

While these drawbacks are real, theydo not justify rejecting social media;rather, they remind us that communica-tion is ultimately a human rather thantechnological achievement. What is it,then, that helps us, in the digital envir-onment, to grow in humanity and mu-tual understanding? We need, for ex-ample, to recover a certain sense of de-liberateness and calm. This calls fortime and the ability to be silent and tolisten. We need also to be patient if wewant to understand those who are dif-ferent from us. People only expressthemselves fully when they are notmerely tolerated, but know that theyare truly accepted. If we are genuinelyattentive in listening to others, we willlearn to look at the world with differ-ent eyes and come to appreciate therichness of human experience as mani-fested in different cultures and tradi-tions. We will also learn to appreciatemore fully the important values in-

Sadao Watanabe (1913-1996), “The Good Samaritan”

In a world that seems to be getting smaller due to developments in communicationtechnology, there is still division between people. The Pope wrote this in his message forthe 48th World Communications Day. The theme of the message is “Communication atthe Service of an Authentic Culture of Encounter”. The day will be celebrated on 1June. The following is the English text of the Pope’s message.

ness”. We might para-phrase the question inthis way: How can we be“neighb ourly” in our useof the communicationsmedia and in the new en-vironment created by di-gital technology? I findan answer in the parableof the Good Samaritan,which is also a parableabout communication.Those who communicate,in effect, become neigh-bours. The Good Samar-itan not only draws near-er to the man he findshalf dead on the side ofthe road; he takes re-sponsibility for him. Je-sus shifts our under-standing: it is not justabout seeing the other assomeone like myself, butof the ability to makemyself like the other.Communication is reallyabout realizing that weare all human beings,children of God. I likeseeing this power of

BRETT T. ROBINSON*

The call of Pope Francis to take the Gospel to the streetsalso includes the digital ones. The first message of PopeFrancis for World Communications Day is consistent withthe Holy Father’s concern for reaching individuals wherethey are. Today that often means the virtual confines of thedigital environment.

The Holy Father’s message is focused on the prospect ofauthentic encounter in a digital culture. Pope Francis in-vokes the well-worn image of the highway — a comparisonoften drawn by those who view the Internet as an “inform-ation superhighway.” In his recasting of the highway ana-logy, the Holy Father considers the hollowing out of rela-tionships that occurs in a world of speed and efficiency, “Itis not enough to be passersby on the digital highways,simply “connected”; connections need to grow into true en-counters. We cannot live apart, closed in on ourselves.”

tion is not merely the transportation of bodiless messagesbut the ritualization of embodied experience.

The Good Samaritan “tended to the wounds of the in-jured man by pouring oil and wine over them.” For PopeFrancis, communication can be the “balm which relievespain” and the “fine wine that gladdens hearts.” Like oiland wine, the language, symbols and images that make uponline communication are media for delivering the compas-sion and grace that divine charity demands.

In his book Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI re f l e c t son the passersby in the parable of the Good Samaritanwith remarkable charity, “There is no need to suppose thatthey were especially cold-hearted people; perhaps they wereafraid themselves and were hurrying to get to the city asquickly as possible, or perhaps they were inexpert and didnot know how to go about helping the man—esp eciallysince it looked as though he was quite beyond help any-w a y. ”

How often we find ourselves in this situation online. Thedrive-by nature of digital communication does not move usin the way that the physical presence of another might. Itis unclear, lacking the subtle cues of the other’s presence,what might best alleviate their suffering. Further, theerosion of empathy fostered in part by the digital devicesthemselves renders many helpless when confronted with thepain of another.

Being immersed in a digital environment of informationand images while attempting to remain grounded in thereal is a difficult task. Pope Francis offers a solution in theform of another highway analogy, the road to Emmaus. Je-sus, the mysterious travel companion who encourages thefaith of the disciples by quoting the prophets and Scrip-ture, enlivens the conversation. But is not until Jesus re-veals Himself to them in the breaking of the bread thattheir eyes are truly opened.

Here the Holy Father provides a Christian vision forcommunication in the digital streets. Communicationshould not be viewed as a mere mode of transport. Rather,communication is a ritual encounter in which somethingreal is exchanged and solidarity is strengthened. We leadby listening and entering into authentic dialogue, “to un-derstand [the other’s] expectations, doubts and hopes, andbring them the Gospel, Jesus Christ himself … To dialoguemeans to believe that the “other” has something worth-while to say.”

The ways in which Christ can be manifested onlinethrough charitable communication are as manifold as themillions of online exchanges that take place every day. Letus bring the living bread of Emmaus to the highways, sideroads and outposts of the digital frontier by privilegingpresence over just passing by.

*Visiting Professor of Marketing in the Mendoza College ofBusiness at the University of Notre Dame

To stretch the analogy a bit further, theimage of people encased in vehicles of mod-ern transportation, closed in on themselvesas they rush from one thing to another, mir-rors the modern communications environ-ment. The sublime subtleties of nature are amere blur from the climate controlled con-fines of a car or plane. The suffering of indi-viduals homeless, stranded or injured hardlypenetrates the callous veneers of steel andglass that fly by in pursuit of maximum effi-c i e n c y.

A transmission view of communication,wherein media are merely modes of messagetransport, lacks the depth of engagementthat authentic encounter requires. The HolyFather admonishes, “only those who go outof themselves in their communication can be-come a true point of reference for others.”

The world as seen through the glass andsilicon of iPhones and laptops often lacks theethical force of a face-to-face encounter. Jew-ish philosopher of communication Em-manuel Lévinas says that the human face“orders and ordains us” to serve the other.Thus, a popular social networking site likeFacebook presents an opportunity for ethicalencounter but only if the encounter is rootedin solidarity and service to the other.

It is here that we are reminded of the mostunique proposition of our faith, the glory ofthe Incarnation. It is in this vein that PopeFrancis uses the parable of the Good Samar-itan to call us out of ourselves on the digitalhighway to encounter the visceral realities ofour fellow travelers. Authentic communica-


Relations with the Anglican Communion and World Methodist Council

Coincidences and common prioritiesANTHONY CURRER*

2013 has been an remarkable year forrelations with the Worldwide Anglic-an Communion. We have both anew Pope and a new Archbishop ofCanterbury: the latter change wellanticipated, the former, very much asurprise. Both Pope Francis andArchbishop Justin Welby bring ex-traordinary gifts to their new minis-tries, and new accents and emphasesto relations between the two Com-munions.

The coincidence of this dualchange was made all the more strik-ing by the fact that ArchbishopWelby was enthroned just two daysafter the Papal Inauguration. Theenthronement ceremony at Canter-bury Cathedral said much about the85 million strong Anglican Commu-nion of which the Archbishop isnow the most senior bishop. Therewere traditional elements which re-called Christianity’s long history inBritain: the Archbishop was en-throned on the Chair of St Au-gustine of Canterbury, which hasbeen used for enthronements sinceat least the 13th century; and kissedthe Canterbury Gospels, written inItaly and believed to have been giv-en to St Augustine by PopeGregory. However, there was alsomusic and dancing from India andAfrica reflecting the presence of theAnglican Communion in 165 coun-tries and its particular growth inAfrica.

The service also told us muchabout Archbishop Welby himself.The enthronement was on 21 March,the old date for the feast of St Bene-dict (the date kept by Anglicans),and a new composition, commis-sioned for the occasion by the arch-bishop’s parents, was a setting of theopening words of the Rule of St Be-nedict: “Listen, Listen, O MyChild”. Archbishop Welby is an ob-late of the Order of St Benedict,and also cites the influence on hisspirituality of St Ignatius of Loyolaand new Catholic communities inFrance. In November he invitedfour members of the Chemin Neufcommunity to live at LambethPalace and to pray with him daily.

The strong presence of the Afric-an Church points to two phases ofthe Archbishop’s past: firstly as anoil executive with responsibility fordevelopment in West Africa, andsecondly, when as a Canon of Cov-entry Cathedral responsible for theInternational Centre for Reconcili-ation, he worked on peace buildingprojects chiefly in Nigeria. As aformer businessman he has alreadyproved himself a keen critic of con-temporary business practice in de-fence of the underprivileged.

Lastly, we should note the ecu-menical nature of ArchbishopWe l b y ’s enthronement. In an innov-ation, the Archbishop signed a cov-enant during the service, agreeing towork with the other Presidents ofthe Churches Together in England.Cardinal Kurt Koch and Msgr MarkLangham from the Pontifical Coun-cil for the Promotion of ChristianUnity were among the ecumenical

guests, as were many members ofthe Catholic hierarchy of Englandand Wales. Indeed the epistle wasread by the Archbishop of Westmin-ster, Vincent Nichols. Earlier PopeFrancis had sent a message of sup-port in which he wrote, “The pastor-al ministry is a call to walk in fidel-ity to the Gospel of our Lord JesusChrist. Please be assured of myprayers as you take up your new re-sponsibilities, and I ask you to prayfor me as I respond to the new callthat the Lord has addressed to me”.

The resonances between the prior-ities of the new Archbishop and thebold statements of Pope Francis, areevident enough. Pope Francis fam-ously has called for “a poor Church,for the poor” and has challengedstructures and policies that promiseprosperity for all but fail to deliver:“the excluded are still waiting”(Evangelii Guadium n. 54). AtLampedusa the Pope called theworld’s attention to the plight of mi-grants, and he continues to awakenus to the suffering in the world froma “globalization of indifference”.The synergy between the newpontiff and the new primate wasmost apparent when, on 14 June,Archbishop Welby made his first vis-it to Rome as Archbishop of Canter-bury. He was accompanied by theArchbishop of Westminster, the Vin-cent Nichols, and at his own re-quest, went first to the tombs of StPeter and Blessed John XXIII to praybefore visiting Cardinal Koch at theoffices of the Pontifical Council for

Promoting Christian Unity. Arch-bishop Welby had a private audi-ence for the Holy Father, PopeFrancis, in the Pope’s library. In theaddresses that followed, Pope Fran-cis greeted Archbishop Welby withthe words that Paul VI used in greet-ing Archbishop Michael Ramsey,“we are pleased to open the doors toyou, and with the doors, our heart,pleased and honoured as we are ...to welcome you ‘not as a guest or astranger, but as a fellow citizen ofthe Saints and the Family of God’”(cf. Eph 2:19-20). The Holy Fatherwent on to praise both the theolo-gical work undertaken by theAnglican-Roman Catholic Interna-tional Commission, and on-goingco-operation at all levels, highlight-ing the Archbishop’s recent defenceof the institution of the family builton marriage and their shared con-cerns for peace, particularly in Syria,and for social and economic justice“giving a voice to the cry of thep o or”.

Responding, Archbishop Welbyacknowledged his own debt to bothCatholic Social Teaching and to thespirituality of new orders in theCatholic Church in France. Thus invisiting Rome he came to a placewhere, he said, “I can feel myself athome”. He echoed many of thePop e’s themes, particularly in callingboth communions to advocacy ofthe poor and suffering, and linkedthe ecumenical endeavour to the callfor peace when he said, “It is onlyas the world sees Christians growing

visibly in unity that it will acceptthrough us the divine message ofpeace and reconciliation”. Overlunch at Domus Sancta Marta, aftermidday prayer had been celebrated,Pope Francis and Archbishop Welbycontinued to talk about their sharedconcerns. His Holiness highlightedthe plight of women and childrenwho were the victims of human traf-ficking and suggested possible fu-ture co-operation in this area.

The Anglican-Roman Catholic In-ternational Commission, the officialbody appointed by the two Commu-nions to engage in theological dia-logue, held the third meeting of itsthird phase (ARCIC III), at theMosteiro de São Bento, Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, (29 April – 7 May2013) under the co-presidency ofArchbishop Bernard Longley (Cath-olic) and Archbishop David Moxon(Anglican). In continuing to pursuethe mandate given by Pope BenedictXVI and Archbishop Rowan Willi-ams in 2006, the Commission ex-amined a number of case-studies inorder to analyse how our Churchstructures operate in the discernmentof ethical teaching. Given the con-vergences of Pope Francis and Arch-bishop Welby around the themes ofthe Church’s social teaching and hu-man trafficking, it is striking that thefirst case studies looked at the theo-logy of work and the developmentof Church teaching on slavery. Thesecond area examined centred onthemes which will be considered inthe forthcoming Extraordinary Syn-od of Bishops on the Family. In par-ticular the Commission looked atthe area of divorce and remarriage.It is important to emphasise that inexamining these areas the Commis-sion is examining the respective pro-cesses of eccesial discernment anddecision making, rather than seekinganswers to the ethical questionsthemselves. In doing so the Com-mission has deliberately chosen casestudies which exemplify both con-vergence and divergence betweenthe traditions.

ARCIC III is also charged with pre-paring the documents of ARCIC II forpresentation to the respective au-thorities, and in the meeting at Rioconsiderable time was devoted, andgood work accomplished, towardsthis end. This theme of the recep-tion of the work of ARCIC f e a t u re dagain in the annual informal talksbetween the Pontifical Council forPromoting Christian Unity theAnglican Communion held inNovember at the Anglican Centre,Rome. These talks provide an op-portunity for key members of bothtraditions to share information, anddiscuss developments in a positive,open and informal atmosphere. Themeeting was chaired by Bishop Bri-an Farrell, Secretary of the PontificalCouncil for Christian Unity and wasattended by Cardinal Koch and FrCurrer, also from the PontificalCouncil, representatives from theAnglican Communion Office andthe co-chairs of the InternationalCommissions, ARCIC and IARCCUM.This latter body, the InternationalAnglican — Roman Catholic Com-mission on Unity and Mission, to


give it its full title, presented plansfor the launch of a website on whichto publish archival material fromARCIC. Through the websiteIARCCUM hopes to further its mis-sion in promoting best practice inecumenical co-operation and to pro-mote the reception of the work ofthe International Dialogue.

This year, the Very Reverend Can-on David Richardson retired afterfive years as Director of the Anglic-an Centre in Rome and as represent-ative of the Archbishop of Canter-bury to the Holy See. CanonRichardson has been a great friendto the Pontifical Council in plan-ning events, sharing information andfollowing developments within theAnglican Communion. His ministrywas celebrated in a service of Ves-pers at the oratory of San FrancescoSaverio, Caravita, Rome, at whichCardinal Walter Kasper presided,Canon Richardson himself preached,and Msgr Langham spoke in appre-ciation of Canon Richardson’s min-i s t r y.

Canon Richardson’s replacementboth as Director of the AnglicanCentre in Rome, and as the Arch-bishop of Canterbury’s official rep-resentative to the Holy See, is Arch-bishop David Moxon, formerly thesenior Anglican bishop in New Zeal-and. Archbishop Moxon has servedas the Anglican co-president of theAnglican-Roman Catholic Interna-tional Commission in its thirdphase, and will continue to do so. Acommissioning service of Vespers forArchbishop Moxon, attended byBishop Brian Farrell and MsgrLangham, was held again at theoratory of San Francesco Saverio,Caravita, on 23 May.

Towards the end of 2013 two is-sues which mark our ecumenical re-lations resurfaced. In November theGeneral Synod of the Church ofEngland voted, by an overwhelmingmajority (378 to 8), in favour of apackage of measures inviting theHouse of Bishops to bring a draftdeclaration and proposals for a man-datory disputes resolution procedureto the Synod in February 2014. Thisdispenses with the normal RevisionCommittee process and clears theway for a vote on the ordination ofwomen to the episcopate in July2014. In the same month the Arch-bishops of Canterbury and Yorkpublished the Report of the Houseof Bishops’ Working Group on Hu-

signs of agreement and co-operation,both from the archbishop of Canter-bury. In his Christmas sermon theArchbishop said, “Even in a recover-ing economy Christians, the servantsof a poor and vulnerable Saviour,need to act to serve and love thepoor. How we have been remindedof that in the past year by PopeFr a n c i s ”. And in an interview givenon New Year’s Eve ArchbishopWelby described Pope Francis as an“extraordinary man” and went on,“The Pope has been hugely effect-ive. I would certainly put him as myperson of the year”.

Relations between the WorldMethodist Council and the CatholicChurch remain strong. The Pontific-al Council has been greatly assistedby the Methodist Minister in Rome,Reverend Kenneth Howcroft, who isregularly consulted to discuss topicsof interest or to exchange informa-tion. However, in July Rev How-croft was elected president of theMethodist conference and will besucceeded by Rev. Dr Timothy Mac-quibban, currently SuperintendentMinister of the Cambridge Method-ist Circuit and Co-Chair of the Ox-ford Institute for Methodist Theolo-gical Studies. While we congratulateRev Howcroft, we will be very sorryto see him go.

Upon the election of Pope Fran-cis the President of the World Meth-odist Council, Bishop Paulo de Tar-so Oliveira Lockmann, and the Gen-eral Secretary, Bishop Ivan Abra-hams, sent a congratulatory letter toCardinal Koch. They promised pray-ers for the Holy Father and wrote:“Thanks to our theological dialogueof some 45 years, we have discoveredhow much we hold in common, ‘onefaith, one Lord, one baptism, oneGod and Father of us all’ (Eph 4:5).We rejoice in the name he haschosen, for all Christians honour thename of Francis, a saint we sharefrom before the divisions of thewestern Church. Remembering thisapostle to the poor, we findourselves in the company of JohnWesley, our founder, with his pas-sion for holiness of heart and life,and for social holiness, whichreaches out to the needy”.

From 12 to 18 October, the Inter-national Methodist — Catholic dia-logue met at Simpsonwood Confer-ence Center, Norcross, Georgia,U.S., for the third meeting of itstenth phase, under the co-presidencyof Reverend Dr David Chapmanand Bishop Donald Bolen, who re-placed Bishop Michael Putney whohas had to stand down due to illhealth. The theme of this phase is“The Universal Call to Holiness”,and papers examined Catholic andMethodist respective approaches toanthropology, grace, eschatologyand the Saints.

It was typical of the friendlinessin which these meetings are conduc-ted that the Commission was able towelcome back former Methodist co-chair Prof Geoffrey Wainwright, andbenefit from his wisdom throughoutour sessions. Though ill, formerCatholic co-chair Bishop Putney wasable to address all the Commissionmembers from Australia by a livevideo-link. He spoke about how hewas coping with his illness and thathe was supporting the work of thedialogue in prayer. Since our meet-ing Commission members have con-tinued to pray for Bishop Michaeland were very moved to receive aletter which Bishop Michael wroteto the priests of his diocese. He con-cludes, “As always, I am delightedto leave my life entirely in the handsof God whom I discover more andmore each day loves me, and every-one, more than I can ever imagine”.

*Pontifical Council for PromotingChristian Unity

man Sexuality, known asthe Pilling Report. While itis emphasized that the re-port does not constitute anew policy statement fromthe Church of England, itdoes make 18 recommenda-tions, chief amongst whichis a proposal for “facilitatedconversations” over a twoyear period so that, as theofficial press release stated,“Christians who disagreedeeply about the meaningof scripture on questions ofsexuality, and on the de-mands of living in holinessfor gay and lesbian people,should understand eachother’s concerns moreclearly and seek to heareach other as authenticChristian disciples”.

For all the difficulty thatthese issues pose, the yearended with two remarkable

On the new Syro-Malabar Eparchy in Melbourne

Among St Thomas ChristiansGEORGE ALENCHERRY*

The Syro-Malabar Church is one of the 22 OrientalChurches in the Catholic Communion and is thesecond largest in the number of faithful, the first beingthe Ukrainian Catholic Church. This Church has overfour million faithful spread all over the world of which3.3 million are in India. The cradle of this Church isKerala and its Head is the Major Archbishop whoseSee is Ernakulam-Angamaly, situated in the central re-gion of Kerala. The Church has at present 31 Eparchiesof which five are Archeparchies including the one ofthe Major Archbishop. Twenty-nine Eparchies are inIndia; of the other two, one is the Syro-Malabar Ep-archy of St Thomas the Apostle, Chicago (USA) andthe other is the recently erected (11 January 2014) Syro-Malabar Eparchy of St Thomas the Apostle, Mel-bourne (Australia). The Bishop of Chicago has juris-diction over all the Syro-Malabar faithful in theUnited States with the additional responsibility of be-ing Apostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malabar faithful inCanada. Similarly the newly appointed Bishop of Mel-bourne has the jurisdiction over the Syro-Malabarfaithful in the whole of Australia and he is alsoApostolic Visitator for the Syro-Malabar faithful inNew Zealand.

The Syro-Malabar Church hails from the preachingof St Thomas the Apostle in India from 52-72 A D. ThisChurch, known in the early days as the Church of StThomas Christians, was in contact with the East SyrianChurch from early centuries up to the 15th century.They were also following the East Syrian liturgy fortheir worship. With the arrival of Western colonialpowers to India and the consequent influx of Latinmissionaries in the 15th century, began a new phase inthe history of this Church. Although the contact withthe Latin missionaries opened the Church to the West-ern World, it adversely affected the identity andautonomy of this ancient Indian Church and led to a

most unfortunate split in the community in 1653. Afterthis split, the section of the St Thomas Christians whoremained faithful to the Apostolic See was brought un-der the jurisdiction of the Latin Hierarchy based inVerapoly. It is this community of St Thomas Christianslater came to be known as the Syro-Malabar Church.

The struggle for autonomy continued in the com-munity of the Syro-Malabar faithful and the first meas-ure to appease their demands was to give a Vicar Gen-eral of their own rite in the person of Bl. Chavara Kur-iakose Elias. After repeated requests from the com-munity, the Syro-Malabar faithful were separated fromthe jurisdiction of the Latin Hierarchy in India andtwo Vicariates of Trichur and Kottayam were created in1887 under the direct governance of the Apostolic See.These two Vicariates were restructured into three Vi-cariates of Trichur, Ernakulam and Changanacherry in1896 and in 1923 the Syro-Malabar Hierarchy was es-tablished with Ernakulam as the Metropolitan See andTrichur, Changanacherry and Kottayam as suffraganSees. But only on 16 December 1992, the Syro-MalabarChurch was elevated to a Major Archiepiscopal sui iur-is Church with the title of Ernakulam-Angamaly. Thesui iuris status of the Church has very much helped forits growth within India and abroad.

The new Eparchy of Melbourne has a Syro-Malabarpopulation over 40,000, the main concentrations beingin Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Adelaide,Parramatta, Perth, and Townsville. Bishop Bosco Pu-thur, the first Syro-Malabar Bishop of Melbourne willhave his See and the cathedral in Melbourne itself. Hisinstallation will be on 25 March 2014. He is alreadyknown to the Episcopal Conference of Australia whichhas wholeheartedly supported the creation of the Syro-Malabar Eparchy and has warmly welcomed the newBishop.

*Cardinal-Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Church


Anglican Archbishop on the implied theology in Tolkien’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Fundamentally religious and CatholicDAV I D MOXON*

Ever since the world famous booksThe Hobbit and The Lord of the Ringsfirst came out, and now followingthe emerging movie series by theNew Zealand film producer PeterJackson, there has been much dis-cussion about whether the authorJ.R.R. Tolkien intended to reveal hisown very devout catholic faith in theworks, or not. If he did intend this,consciously or otherwise, there hasalso been much discussion aboutwhether this faith is orthodox, orwhether it is ‘s y n c re t i s t ’ with thecontamination of many other cosmo-logies and myths. This article exam-ines these issues in detail.

There is no doubt that Tolkienwas a Christian through andthrough. In a number of places inhis work we see his imagination in-fluenced, even if only sometimessubconsciously, by his biblical faith.The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien wrotein a letter to a friend, “is of course afundamentally religious and Cathol-ic work; unconsciously so at first,but consciously in revision”. Tolkienonce told his student W.H. Audenthat the characters he created in thestory could embody “in the gar-ments of time and place, universaltruth and everlasting life”.

Clyde S. Kilby visited Tolkien on4 September 1964, who told himthat he was often given a story as ananswer to prayer. Kilby notes thatTolkien commonly referred to Christas “Our Lord”, and was moved bythe degradation of the birth ofChrist in a stable with its filth and

mercy to Gollum and receive mercyat the end. Purity of heart does giveglimpses of the Divine light. TheFellowship of the Ring are ulti-mately seeking to restore peace toMiddle-earth and they are rightlythe children and agents of Eru,To l k i e n ’s word for God in the Sil-marillion. The Fellowship of theRing suffer terrible persecution forthe cause of right but the ring bear-ers are given a spiritual kingdom tolive in.

The Fellowship of the Ringseemed to echo the community lifeof Christian discipleship. The com-pany of the nine walkers develop agreat solidarity. When one of thecompany suffers, they all suffer,when one rejoices, they all rejoice.To sustain them they eat lembas, theelven bread that seems to resemblethe Eucharistic bread thatstrengthens and restores. The wordlembas can be translated as “wayb re a d ” or “life bread”. Tolkien wrote

(ring) of the world, Gandalf as theprophetic mission of Christ, by chal-lenging, foretelling and enacting,and Aragorn as the kingship ofChrist, by sharing the suffering ofthe people he was called to lead to anew kingdom. Frodo, Gandalf andAragorn all placed themselves inharm’s way for the greater good.

Further it is the obscurity andsmallness of the Hobbits that isused to save the rest, if their resili-ence and vision can be sustained.This is the great theme of the In-carnation, that the world is not re-deemed by the power of the RomanEmpire or the culture of the Greeks,but from an obscure place calledNazareth where most of the peoplereject the one who is sent. The bib-lical record often tells stories of thedivine way, which chooses what isfoolish to confound worldly wisdom.(1 Cor 1:27).

However, is reading theology intoThe Lord of the Rings wishful think-ing, or worse, an activity of whichTolkien would disapprove because

to the Biblical Garden of Eden isthe idea of an original state of cre-ation in which a tree is a symbol ofdivine knowledge: this is also thecase in The Silmarillion where thetrees of valar are created in the un-dying lands.

Another example is the p e rs o n i f i c a -tion of wisdom from Proverbs chapter8. In the figures of Tom Bombadil,the Lady Galadriel, Princess Arwen,and Gandalf we see expressions ofthe Sophia of God. Tom Bombadiland Lady Goldberry can be com-pared to two ‘Genesis’ figures whohave not fallen: they have retainedtheir original wisdom and humility,have not grasped for ownership ofnatural things but have sought to begood gardeners and caretakers in theworld which they enjoy as a gift.The elves and the ents are similarlyunfallen and enjoy a oneness withthe natural creative forces of the uni-verse: they still clearly image thecharacteristics of Iluvatar the All-father who created them as primaryb eings.

Another example is the Biblicalvision of the intermediary role of An-gels. When Tolkien was asked whatrole Gandalf played he replied ‘akind of angel’. This angel is a signof solidarity as well as wisdom andis prepared to become involved inthe drama and uncertainties of lifeat risk to his own being.

Still another, the fall of humankindand some angels. Tolkien portrayedhis world as a fallen one, before thecoming of Christ, which is why evilseems to be capable of covering thewhole earth in the form of Sauron,

manure. Tolkien saw this as a sym-bol of the real nature of holy thingsin a fallen world. He spoke of hisspecial regard for the Gospel ac-cording to St Luke because it in-cludes many references to women.Tolkien gave special reverence toMary of Nazareth, the mother of Je-sus: indeed images of Mary come tomind in the characters of Galadrieland Elbereth.

Although Tolkien may not havebeen wishing to be explicit, biblicalimagery and the principles of theGospel seem implicit in manyplaces; for example the place of treesat the beginning of creation: central

he has said clearly enough that thereis “no message” in his tale? Somehave also suggested that it is diffi-cult to understand how a devoutRoman Catholic could write withsuch conviction about a world whereGod is not worshipped. Neverthe-less, a quick look at the basis of allTo l k i e n ’s mythology in chapter oneof The Silmarillion suggests other-wise.

“There was Eru, the One, who inardar is called Iluvatar; and he made

The word lembas can be translated as“way bread” or “life bread”. Tolkienwrote that “it fed the will”

that “it fed the will”. Thehobbits sometimes offerprayers of deliverance toElbereth, the Mary-likequeen of the stars. Thequest the Fellowship are ondisplays St Paul’s threeChristian virtues: Faith in their lead-er and their mission, Hope that theircause will ultimately be vindicatedbeyond the walls of the world, andultimately an undying Love for eachother. Frodo and his friends re-peatedly offer to lay down their livesfor each other having no sure hopeof victory.

Frodo, Gandalf and Aragorn canbe seen to represent different imagesof Christ: Frodo as the high priest-hood of Christ, by bearing the sin

In the original state of creation a treewas a symbol of divine knowledge

who has fallen from a high-er form of being. Howeveras with the first Testamentof the Bible there are fore-tastes of what will come inChrist and there are char-

acters who prefigure aspects ofChrist. In the story Christian prin-ciples are finally restored eventhough they are not directly named.

The journey of the Hobbits in“The Lord of the Rings” displays allthe aspects of the teachings of Jesusin the Beatitudes. Although they arepoor in spirit, the kingdom is re-stored to them. Even though theHobbits are sorrowful, they are un-expectedly consoled. Although theyapproach life with a gentle spirit,they do eventually inherit the earth.Although they often hunger andthirst to see right prevail, they aresatisfied. Bilbo and Frodo show


first the Ainur, the Holy Ones, thatwere the offspring of his thought,and they were with him beforeaught else was made. And he spoketo them, propounding to themthemes of music; and they sang be-fore him, and he was glad...”.

Tolkien once responded to FatherRobert Murray, S J, who had seen“The Lord of the Rings” as a storyabout grace, by saying:

“I know exactly what you meanby the order of grace; and of courseby your references to Our Lady,upon which all my own small per-ception of beauty both in majestyand simplicity is founded”.

However, with typical Tolkiensubtlety he goes on to say: “I havecut out practically all references toanything like religion, to cults andpractices in the imaginary world. Forthe religious element is absorbed in-to the story and the symbolism”.

As Patricia Meyer Spacks says inan essay: “A theological scheme isimplied though not directly stated inThe Lord of the Rings and it is ofprimary importance to the work.The fact of freedom of the will im-plies a structured universe, a uni-verse like the Christian one in thatonly through submission to thegood can true freedom be attained— willing acceptance of evil involvesnecessary loss of freedom; a universelike the Christian one, further, inthat it includes the possibility ofgrace ... if the trilogy ... deals with apre-religious age, the fact remainsthat the author includes in it all thenecessary materials for religion. Us-ing a natural theology “Anima nat-uraliter christiana”, Tolkien sawnature and grace as intimately inter-twined in all life.

The whole framework of the ringtrilogy as Richard Purtill says “isthat of a struggle between good andevil on a cosmic scale, with everyonehaving to choose one side or anoth-er. Furthermore, there is a plan be-hind what happens; Frodo wasmeant to find the ring”.

Although God is not mentionedat all in the book, the characters of-ten sense that some providentialpower, unnamed and unknown, isguiding events but they do notknow if the story will end well orbadly. In The Hobbit, Bilbo hasmercy on Gollum even when Gol-

and when that comes, the pity ofBilbo may rule the fate of many —yours not least”.

This mercy turns out to be thekey to the redemption of everythingin the last dramatic moments of thejourney of the ring on MountDoom; Gollum has survivedthrough mercy, but then his addic-tion and obsession turn in on them-selves and cause the destruction ofthe ring of power. This hope comes

Further, evil is presented in mono-chrome hues of grey and shadowand darkness, whereas the freepeoples of Middle-earth are presen-ted in their colourful diversity anddistinctiveness. Evil is presented as adisembodied, lidless eye of flamewhose power-crazed gaze is literallyone-eyed. By contrast the freepeoples of Middle-earth see frommany points of view being of verydifferent height, build and race. Inthe film the spread of the shadowcauses those parts of Middle-earthwhich are dominated by it to losethe beautiful variety of creation andto become enslaved in a relentlessand ultimately lifeless reign of dom-ination and absolute rule.

But even where the shadows arethickest, amid the hopelessness alight shines. When Sam sees a startwinkling above the dark clouds ofMordor, Tolkien writes: “The beautyof it smote his heart, as he lookedup out of that forsaken land, andhope returned to him. For like ashaft, clear and cold, the thoughtpierced him that in the end theShadow was only a small andpassing thing: there was light andhigh beauty forever beyond itsre a c h ”.

Although Sauron and Sarumanpromise power and control, all thisdistortion and warping leads to en-slavement. The sin is not to set thewill free but to increasingly limit itsoptions in a kind of captivity. To dothe good is to enlarge the freedomof the will and the imprisoning

ive, Frodo’s defeat does not bring acomplete failure. The evil that camefrom Sauron finally turns back on it-self through Gollum’s addiction, butonly because the Fellowship of theRing has struggled valiantly to theend.

There is no simplistic ‘happy’ending. The self-giving life doesproduce a joy at the end, but thisjoy also sees the Fellowship come toan end and Frodo’s scars remain,even though he and Gandalf set sailfor the undying lands. So it is withChrist in Resurrection

However the theme of joy under-girds this trilogy. Evil seems mostlyto have the upper hand, yet the un-derlying intuition is that this worldis created in joy: it cannot always beapparent because it needs to be em-braced and guarded. Part of this joyis a longing for home where eating,singing and drinking complementloyalty and duty.

For those of us in the “Fo u r t hAge of Middle-earth”, in thepresent, we could do no better thanend with Tolkien’s words to his sonabout the Eucharist, the centre ofhis own 20th-Century Christianfaith, which was the centre of hisworld.

“Out of the darkness of my life,so much frustrated, I put before youthe one great thing to love on earth:the Blessed Sacrament... There youwill find romance, glory, honour, fi-delity and the true way of all yourloves upon earth, and more thanthat: Death: by the divine paradox,that which ends life, and demandsthe surrender of all, and yet by thetaste (or foretaste) of which, whatyou seek in your earthly relation-ships (love, faithfulness, joy), canalone be maintained, or take on thatcomplexion of reality, of eternal en-durance, which every man’s heartd e s i re s ”.

Tolkien has been compared to ajeweler who, having worked on fash-ioning a beautiful diamond thatnature had yielded up to him roughcast from the rocks of ages, and hav-ing worked on its fashioning and re-fining for many years, finally holdsthe jewel up to the sun, and beginsto see ever refracting points of lightcoming from its many sided andGod given beauty.

*The Archbishop of Canterbury’s officialrepresentative to the Holy See; formerlythe senior Anglican bishop in NewZealand

lum has threatened his life:“It was pity that stayed hishand”. Gandalf later says,“Pity, and mercy: not tostrike without need”. Al-though Frodo had wishedthat Bilbo had killed Gol-lum, Gandalf gives a classicChristian explanationwhich some see as the mor-al and spiritual turningpoint of the story as awhole.

“(Gollum) Deserves(death)! I daresay he does.Many that live deservedeath. And some that diedeserve life. Can you giveit to them? Then do not betoo eager to deal out deathin judgment... I have notmuch hope that Gollumcan be cured before hedies, but there is a chanceof it. And he is bound upwith the fate of the ring.My heart tells me he hassome part to play yet, forgood or ill, before the end;

Tolkien once told his student that thecharacters he created in the story couldembody “in the garments of time andplace, universal truth and everlasting life”

power of evil can bebroken only by thetranscendent power ofgood. In The Lord of theRings the surrender ofcoercive power isachieved through radic-al self-sacrifice and evendeath. In this way the

through faith choices as RichardPurtill explains.

“Frodo rises to greater heights be-cause from the beginning he acceptsthe burden of the Ring purely forthe sake of others. It is no mere ad-venture that sends Frodo riding outof the Shire, but a willingness tosuffer so that others may be saved —a willingness which is tested to thelast grim degree on the black plainsof Mordor. Frodo is not Christ, theRing is not the Cross, and the salva-tion his sacrifice wins is a purely sec-ular salvation. But there are obvi-ously echoes of these greater realitiesin the fictional “Pa s s i o n ” of Frodo.“Greater love has no man than this,that a man lay down his life for hisfriends”, says Christ, and Frodo’sjourney is at least an illustration ofthis... The growth of Frodo in cour-age and loyalty is clear enough asthe story develops.

Tolkien believed that evil in a pre-Christian world like The Lord of theRings may appear to be very power-ful but it is inferior to goodness inone crucial respect: it lacks a holyimagination. The Dark Lord, Saur-on, could not imagine that the hob-bits would not use the ring to try todefeat him with force. He could notimagine anyone wanting to destroysuch a powerful means of domina-tion. This means his eye is turnedaway from the long-suffering pil-grimage of the hobbits towardsMount Doom and he does not no-tice their agonizing progress or theirgoal until it is too late.

gospel that is yet to come is echoedin the story. So too is the companyof the nine members of the Fellow-ship of the Ring an echo of theband of disciples. The Fellowshipwill only achieve their mission overevil through companionship and notalone: nine walkers seeking to out-distance nine riders, who are anecho themselves of the Horsemen ofthe Apocalypse.

In the end Frodo is overcome bythe power of the ring and our heroichobbit is unable to complete hismission. But because Tolkien’s uni-verse is providential and not acci-dental, redemptive and not destruct-


Morning Mass at the Domus Sanctae MarthaeThursday, 23 January

Hearts free of envy andjealousy

Pope Francis spoke about jeal-ously and envy and described themas the doors through which the devilentered the world. The Bishop ofRome drew upon the day’s firstReading from 1 Samuel (18:6-9; 19:1-7), where we read that, after thechosen people conquered the Phil-istines through David’s courage, “thewomen came out of all the cities ofIsrael, singing and dancing, to meetKing Saul”. Saul too “was happy”,the Pope remarked, “but somethinghe heard displeased him. As the wo-men sang David’s praises, “bitternessand sadness” arose in Saul’s heart.When he heard the women's songs,“he was incensed” by the words theirsongs contained.

It was then, the Holy Father said,that “a great victory was turned intogreat defeat in the king's heart, thesame bitterness that took hold ofCain's heart: the worm of jealouslyand envy began to gnaw”.

The same thing happened to Saulthat happened to Cain when theLord asked him: “Why are youangry, and why has your counten-ance fallen?” (Gen 4:6). In fact,Pope Francis explained, “the wormof jealously leads to resentment,envy, bitterness” and also instinctivedecisions, such as the one to kill. Itis not by chance that Saul and Caindetermined in their hearts to commitmurder. Thus, Saul decided to killD avid.

This same reality is repeatedtoday “in our hearts”, the Pope ad-ded. “It is an evil disquiet, whichwill not tolerate that a brother orsister have something that I do nothave”. And thus “instead of praisingGod, as the women of Israel didover the victory” we prefer to with-draw into ourselves “stewing in ourfeelings, cooking them in the brothof bitterness”.

Jealousy and envy are the doorsthrough which the devil entered theworld, the Pope continued, emphas-izing that it is the Bible which af-firms it: “through the devil’s envyevil entered into the world”. And“jealousy and envy open the doorsto every evil thing”, causing strifeeven between believers. The Popereferred explicitly to the life ofChristian communities, underliningthat when “some members sufferjealousy and envy, they end in divi-sion”. Pope Francis called this divi-sion a “strong poison”, the samepoison that is found in the firstpages of the Bible, in account ofCain and Abel.

The Holy Father then describedwhat happens in the heart of a per-son who is consumed by jealousyand envy. First comes bitterness:“the envious and jealous person is abitter person, he doesn’t sing, hedo esn’t praise, he doesn’t know whatjoy is; he is always looking” at whatothers have. And unfortunately bit-terness “spreads through the entirecommunity” since all who fall prey

to this poison become “sowers ofbitterness”.

The second poison fruit of jeal-ously and envy is gossip. There arethose who cannot bear for anyoneelse to have anything, the Pope said,and so “the solution is to put theother person down, so that I am abit higher. And the instrument forcarrying this out is gossip: alwayslook and you will see that jealousyand envy are always lurking behindgossip”.

“Gossip divides communities, itdestroys communities,” he said. “Itis the devil’s weapon. How manybeautiful Christian communitieshave we seen go well” but then “theworm of jealously and envy entered”some of its members “and sadnesscomes” and “they take offence”.Hence the Pope’s warning to notforget the episode concerning Saul,because in his case “after a great vic-tory, a process of defeat began. Aperson who is under the influence ofenvy and jealousy kills. John theApostle tells us: ‘whoever hates hisbrother is a murderer’. And someonewho is envious, who is jealous, be-gins to hate his brother”.

The Pope concluded his homilyexpressing this hope: “Today at thisMass let us pray for our Christiancommunities, that the seed of jeal-ousy not be sown among us; thatenvy have no place in our hearts,and in the hearts of our communit-ies. In this way, we can go forwardjoyously praising the Lord. It is agreat grace: the grace not to fall intosadness, resentment, into jealouslyand envy”.

Friday, 24 January

How to create dialogue

Pope Francis continued his reflec-tion on the first book of Samuel(24:3-21), which recounts the con-frontation between Saul and David.“Ye s t e rd a y, ” the Pope remindedthose who were present at the morn-ing celebration of Mass, “we heard

the word of God, which allowed usto see what jealousy does, what envydoes in families and in Christiancommunities. We saw this storyplayed out in the opposition Saulharboured in his heart against Dav-id: so jealous was he that he wantedto kill him”.

“To day,” the Pope continued, “theword of God allows us to see anoth-er attitude, that of David”, who“knew very well” that he was “indanger; he knew that the kingwanted to kill him. And he foundhimself in a situation in which hecould have killed the king, and thestory would have ended there”. Andyet “he chose another path”; he pre-ferred “to draw near, to seek to clari-fy the situation, to explain himself,he chose the path of dialogue tomake peace”.

Instead, Saul “brooded over bit-terness in his heart”. He insultedDavid “because he believed him tobe his enemy. And this bitternessgrew in his heart”. Unfortunately,the Pope said, “these imaginings al-ways grow stronger when we listento them within ourselves. And theycreate a wall that distances us fromthe other person”. Ultimately, weend up “isolated in the bitter brothof our resentment”.

Yet David, “by the Lord’s inspira-tion”, breaks this mechanism ofhatred “and says no, I want to talkto you”. And thus it is, the Pope ex-plained, "that the path of peace be-gins, with dialogue”. But, hewarned, “dialogue is not easy, it isdifficult”. And yet, it is only “withdialogue that we build bridges ofpeace in relationships rather thanwalls that distance us”.

“For dialogue to occur, what weneed above all else is humility. Itwas David who, in humility, said tothe king: look, ‘I could have killedyou, I could have done this to you,but I don’t want to do it! I want tobe close to you because you are theauthority, you are the Lord’s anoin-ted!’”. David’s act was an “act of hu-mility”.

We don’t need to raise our voicein order to dialogue “what we needis meekness”. And “we need to con-sider that the other person hassomething more that we do”, asDavid did. Looking at Saul, he saidto himself: “He is the Lord’s anoin-ted, he is more important than Iam”. We need to do what we prayedfor in the opening of Mass: becomeall things to all”.

“Humility, meekness, becomingall things to all” are three basic ele-ments of dialogue. However, theHoly Father noted, even though “itis not written in the Bible, to do thiswe have to eat a lot of crow: yet wemust do it because that’s how peaceis made!” Peace is made “with hu-mility and humiliation”, by seekingalways to “see in the other personthe image of God”. Solutions to somany problems are found “t h ro u g hdialogue in families, in communities,in all quarters”. It requires a readi-ness to acknowledge to another per-son: “But listen, excuse me, this iswhat I thought...”. The right atti-tude is “to humble oneself: it is al-ways good to make a bridge, alwaysalways!”. This is in keeping with themanner of someone who wants “tobe Christian”; even if, as the Popeadmitted, “it is not easy, it is noteasy!”. And yet “Jesus did this, hehumbled himself unto the end, heshowed us the way”.

The Pope then offered anotherpractical piece of advice: to open updialogue “we need to not allow toomuch time to pass”. Problemsshould be addressed “as soon aspossible, at the first possible oppor-tunity once the storm has passed”.Right away, we need “to draw nearin dialogue, because time makeswalls grow, as it makes weeds growand impede the growth of thewheat. Once walls have grown, re-conciliation is so difficult; it is sodifficult!”. The Bishop of Romemade reference to the Berlin Wall,which for many years had been anelement of division, and he notedthat the possibility “also exists inour hearts” of becoming like Berlin,of putting up a wall against others.Hence the Holy Father’s invitation“not to let too much time pass” and“to seek peace as soon as possible”.

In particular, the Pope wished tospeak to spouses: “It is normal foryou to argue, it is normal”. Seeing asmile from several couples who werepresent at morning Mass, he re-minded them that “in marriage thereare arguments, and sometimes evenplates go flying”. However, he ad-vised, “never end the day withoutmaking peace; without talking,which sometimes only takes a smallg e s t u re ”.

“I am afraid of these walls thatgrow each day and breed resentmentand even hatred,” the Pope said. Heagain pointed to young David: “hecould have gotten perfect revenge”,he could have killed the king, but“he chose the path of dialogue withhumility, meekness, sweetness”. PopeFrancis concluded by asking “StFrancis di Sales, the Doctor of gen-tleness and sweetness” to give “all ofus the grace to build bridges withothers, and never walls”.

On Thursday morning, 23 January, following the celebration of Mass at the Domus SanctaeMarthae the Holy Father met Mother Liza Chemmayath Thomas, Superior General of the Teresian

Carmelites, and Sr Sucy Kinattingal, Postulator for the cause of their foundress Eliswa Vakayil(1831-1913). The nuns greeted Pope Francis and gave him a picture of Bl. Vakayil, the first woman

religious from Kerala and the first to have started a local congregation.


Monday, 27 January

When priestsdon’t make news

Pope Francis reflected on the firstReading from the second Book ofSamuel (5:1-7,10), which tells of theanointing of King David. “We havelistened to the account of that meet-ing” when “all the tribes of Israelcome to David at Hebron and pro-posed that he be made king”. “D av-id was the king of Judah, howeverhis kingdom was divided”. The eld-ers of the people “saw that the onlycapable of being king was David”.Therefore “they went to him tomake a covenant”, the Pope said.“Surely they spoke, they discussedhow they ought to make a covenant.And in the end they decided tomake him king”. “This was not, letus say, a democratic decision”. ThePope said. “Rather, it came fromtheir unanimous agreement: “youshall be king!”.

“This was a first step,” the Popecontinued. “Then came the second:King David made a covenant withthem” and the elders of the people“anointed David king of Israel”.Here we see the importance of theanointing, he said. “Without thisanointing David would have onlybeen head and organizer of a com-pany that carried forward this polit-ical society of the kingdom of Is-rael”. “The anointing is somethingelse”, and it was “the anointing thatconsecrated David king”.

“What is the difference betweenbeing a political organizer of acountry and being an anointedking?,” the Pope asked. “When Dav-id was anointed king of Judah bySamuel, he was young, he was ayoung man. The Bible says thatafter the anointing the Spirit of theLord descended on David”. And so“the anointing makes the Spirit ofthe Lord descend upon the personand be with him”.

The passage from today’s liturgy“says the same: David became great-er and greater, for the Lord, theGod of hosts, was with him”. And“this is what is specific to theanointing”.

The Bishop of Rome then recalledD avid’s attitude towards Saul, “whowanted to murder him through jeal-

ousy and envy”. David “had the op-portunity to kill King Saul but hedidn’t want to do it: I shall neverlay hands on the Lord’s anointed, heis someone chosen for the Lord,anointed by the Lord!”. In hiswords, the Pope said, there is “thesense of the sacredness of a king”.

“We have inherited this in theChurch in the person of the bishopsand priests”. Bishops, in fact, “a renot chosen merely to carry forwardan organization called a particularChurch. They are anointed. Theyhave the anointing and the Spirit ofthe Lord is with them”. We bishops,the Pope said, “we are all sinners,but we are anointed! We all want tobe holier each day, we want to bemore faithful to this anointing”. ThePope continued: “what makes theChurch, what gives unity to theChurch is the person of the bishop,in the name of Jesus Christ, becausehe has been anointed: not becausehe has a majority vote, but becausehe is anointed”.

The particular Church derives itsstrength from this anointing and,through participation, priests arealso anointed: the bishops lay handsand effect this anointing in them …for bishops and priests, this anoint-ing is their strength and their joy”.Strength, because therein “they findtheir vocation to lead a people for-ward, to help the people” and to“live at the service of the people”.And joy, “because they feel theyhave been chosen by the Lord, pro-tected by the Lord with that lovewith which the Lord protects us all”.

That is why, he said, “when wethink of bishops, of priests — b othare priests because this is the priest-hood of Christ: bishop and priest —we should think of them in this way:as anointed”. Otherwise, he said “wecannot understand the Church” and“not only would we not understandher but we would also be unable toexplain how the Church continueson only by human strength. A dio-cese moves forward because itspeople are holy ... and because onewho is anointed helps it to grow”.The same is true for a parish, which“carries on because it has many or-ganizations ... but also because ithas a priest: an anointed one wholeads it forward”.

We only remember “a small hand-ful of the many holy bishops, themany priests, the many holy priests”who have dedicated “their entirelives to the service of the diocese, ofthe parish”. Therefore, we also onlyremember of small portion “of themany people who have received thestrength of faith, the strength of loveand hope from these anonymousparish priests whom we do notknow. And there are many!.... Parishpriests in the countryside and parishpriests in the city who by theiranointing gave their people strength,transmitted doctrine, conferred thesacraments; that is, holiness”.

The Pope then said: “someonemight object: but, Father, I read inthe newspaper that a bishop didsuch, or that a priest did such andsuch!”. To this objection the Popereplied: “yes, I read it too! But tellme: do the newspapers print all thegood that so many priests do, somany priests in so many parishes inthe city and countryside? The char-ity they show? The work they do tocarry their people forward?” And headded: “No, this isn’t news!” Theproverb still holds true: “A singletree falling in the forest causes moresound than an entire forest thatslowly grows and matures”.

Pope Francis concluded hishomily by inviting those present tothink “about David’s anointing” andabout “our courageous, holy, goodand faithful bishops and priests”.He also asked those present to prayfor them: “It is thanks to them thatwe are here today, since it was theywho baptized us”.

Tuesday, 28 January

The prayer of praise

Pope Francis continued his reflec-tion on the second Book of Samuel(6:12-15, 17-17) which tells of David’sdancing before the Ark of the Lordon its entry into Jerusalem. “KingD avid,” the Pope said, “offered sac-rifice in honour of God; he prayed.Then his prayer became exultant ...it became the prayer of praise and ofjoy, and he began to dance. TheBible says: ‘David danced before theLord with all his might’”, and he re-joiced greatly as he offer praise tothe Lord. “That,” Pope Francis said,“was truly the prayer of praise”.

Pope Francis remarked: “Ithought immediately of Sarah aftershe gave birth to Isaac: ‘God hasmade laughter for me; everyone whohears will laugh over me’. This eld-erly woman at the age of 90 laughedand danced for joy”. David wasyoung, but he also “danced, hedanced before the Lord. This is anexample of the prayer of praise”.

The prayer of praise is quite dif-ferent than the prayer we normallyraise to God, the Pope continued,when “we ask something of theL o rd ” or even “thank the Lord”.“We often leave aside the prayer ofpraise”. It doesn’t come so easily tous, he said. Some might think thatthis kind of prayer is only “for thosewho belong to the renewal in thespirit movement, not for all Christi-ans. The prayer of praise is a Chris-tian prayer for all of us. Each dayduring Mass, when we sing: ‘H o l y,

H o l y. . . ’, this is the prayer of praise.We praise God for his greatness, forhe is great. And we tell him beauti-ful things, because we like it to beso”. And it does not matter if we aregood singers, the Pope remarked. Infact, he said, it is impossible to ima-gine that “you are able to shout outwhen your team scores a goal andyou cannot sing the Lord’s praises,and leave behind your composure alittle to sing”.

Praising God is “totally gratuit-ous”, Pope Francis continued. “Wedo not ask, we do not thank. Wepraise: you are great. ‘Glory be tothe Father, and to the Son, and tothe Holy Spirit...’. We say this withall our heart. It is also an act ofjustice, for he is great, he is ourGod. Let us think about a goodquestion we can ask ourselves today:How is my prayer of praise? Do Iknow how to praise the Lord? Orwhen I pray the Gloria or the Sanc-tus, do I only pray with my lips andnot with all my heart? What doesD avid’s dancing say to me? AndSarah who dances for joy? As Davidenters into the city, he beginssomething else as well: celebration.The joy of praise leads us to the joyof celebration”. This celebrationthen extends to the whole family,the Pope continued. “Each personwas given a cake of bread and de-parted to his own house to celeb-rate” (cf. v. 19). But when Davidreentered his household, he had toface the reproach and scorn ofMichal, the daughter of King Saul:“‘A re n ’t you ashamed of what youhave done?. How could you havedone this, you the king, dancing infront of everyone? Are you notashamed?’ I wonder how manytimes in our hearts we hold in con-tempt good people who praise theL o rd ? ” so spontaneously, as it comesto them.

In the Bible, the Pope recalled,we read that “‘Michal had no childto the day of her death’. What doesthe word of God mean here? Thatjoy, that the prayer of praise makesus fruitful. Sarah was dancing forjoy at 90 years old in the great mo-ment of her fruitfulness! Fruitfulnessgives praise to the Lord”. The manor woman who praises the Lord,who prays by praising the Lord andrejoice “as they sing the Sanctus atMass” is fruitful. On the otherhand, the Pope said, those who“close themselves into the formalityof a cold, measured prayer perhapsend up like Michal, in the sterilityof formality”.

“Let us think of and imagine Dav-id who dances with all his might be-fore the Lord. Let us think abouthow beautiful it is to offer the pray-er of praise. Perhaps it will do usgood to repeat the words of thepsalm we just prayed, number 23:‘Lift up your heads, O gates! Andbe lifted up, O ancient doors! Thatthe King of glory may come in, theLord strong and mighty, he is theking of glory! Lift up your heads Ogates! Who is this king of glory?The Lord of hosts, he is the king ofglory!’”. This ought to be our prayerof praise, Pope Francis said. And heconcluded: when we raise this prayerto the Lord we ought “to say to ourheart: ‘Lift up your hearts, for youstand before the king of glory’”.


Pope Francis concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the Basilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls

Christ cannot be divided

“Has Christ been divided?” (1 Cor1:13). The urgent appeal which StPaul makes at the beginning of hisFirst Letter to the Corinthians, andwhich has been proclaimed at thisevening’s liturgy, was chosen by agroup of our fellow Christians inCanada as the theme for our medita-tion during this year’s Week of Pray-e r.

The Apostle was grieved to learnthat the Christians of Corinth hadsplit into different factions. Someclaimed: “I belong to Paul”; whileothers claimed: “I belong to Apol-los” or “I belong to Cephas”, andothers yet claimed: “I belong toChrist” (cf. v. 12). Paul could noteven praise those who claimed tobelong to Christ, since they were us-ing the name of the one Saviour toset themselves apart from their otherbrothers and sisters within the com-munity. In other words, the particu-lar experience of each individual, oran attachment to certain significantpersons in the community, had be-come a yardstick for judging thefaith of others.

Amid this divisiveness, Paul ap-peals to the Christians of Corinth“by the name of our Lord JesusChrist” to be in agreement, so thatdivisions will not reign among them,but rather a perfect union of mindand purpose (cf. v. 10). The commu-nion for which the Apostle pleads,however, cannot be the fruit of hu-man strategies. Perfect union amongbrothers and sisters can only comefrom looking to the mind and heartof Christ (cf. Phil 2:5). This evening,as we gather here in prayer, may werealize that Christ, who cannot bedivided, wants to draw us to himself,to the sentiments of his heart, to hiscomplete and confident surrenderinto the hands of the Father, to hisradical self-emptying for love of hu-manity. Christ alone can be the prin-ciple, the cause and the driving forcebehind our unity.

As we find ourselves in his pres-ence, we realize all the more that wemay not regard divisions in theChurch as something natural, inevit-able in any form of human associ-ation. Our divisions wound Christ’sbody, they impair the witness whichwe are called to give to him beforethe world. The Second VaticanCouncil’s Decree on Ecumenism, ap-pealing to the text of St Paul whichwe have reflected on, significantlystates: “Christ the Lord founded oneChurch and one Church only.However, many Christian communit-ies present themselves to people asthe true inheritance of Jesus Christ;all indeed profess to be followers ofthe Lord but they differ in outlookand go their different ways, as ifChrist were divided”. And theCouncil continues: “Such divisionopenly contradicts the will of Christ,scandalizes the world, and damagesthe sacred cause of preaching theGospel to every creature” (UnitatisR e d i n t e g ra t i o , 1). We have all beendamaged by these divisions. None ofus wishes to become a cause of scan-dal. And so we are all journeying to-gether, fraternally, on the road to-

Pope Francis concluded the ecumenical celebration ofVespers on Saturday afternoon, 25 January, in theBasilica of St Paul Outside-the-Walls by greeting therepresentatives of each of the various Christian de-nominations. Joining him in this gesture of brother-hood and friendship was Orthodox Archbishop Gen-nadios Zervos, Metropolitan of the Ecumenical Patri-archate of Constantinople to Italy and Malta andExarch of Southern Europe, and David Moxon, theArchbishop of Canterbury’s Representative to the HolySee, and Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome. At

the beginning of the celebration, the Pope prayed withthem before St Paul’s tomb. Assisting him in the recit-ation of second Vespers — on the Solemnity of theConversion of St Paul and the conclusion of the Weekof Prayer for Christian Unity — were CardinalJames Michael Harvey, Archpriest of the basilica,and his predecessor Cardinal Francesco Monterisi.At the conclusion of Vespers, on behalf of PresidentCardinal Kurt Koch, who was unable to attend,Bishop Brian Farrell, Secretary of the PontificalCouncil for Promoting Christian Unity, thanked Pope

Francis for his attention to ecumenical dialogue. Heremarked on how the gift of unity requires conversionfrom all people. Also present were members and of-ficers of the ecumenical dicastery, with UndersecretaryMsgr Andrea Palmieri, 30 students from the Ecu-menical Institute at Bossey, and many of the Ortho-dox and Eastern rite students in Rome. Welcomingthe Pope and accompanying him in the celebrationwas Fr Edmund Power, the Abbot of the Basilica, aswell as other Benedictine monks. The following is theEnglish text of the Holy Father’s homily.

wards unity, bringing about unityeven as we walk; that unity comesfrom the Holy Spirit and brings ussomething unique which only theHoly Spirit can do, that is, reconcil-ing our differences. The Lord waitsfor us all, accompanies us all, and iswith us all on this path of unity.

Christ, dear friends, cannot be di-vided! This conviction must sustainand encourage us to persevere withhumility and trust on the way to therestoration of full visible unityamong all believers in Christ. To-night I think of the work of twogreat Popes: Blessed John XXIII andBlessed John Paul II. In the courseof their own lives, both came to real-ize the urgency of the cause of unityand, once elected Bishops of Rome,they guided the entire Catholic flockdecisively on the paths of ecumen-ism. Pope John blazed new trailswhich earlier would have been al-most unthinkable. Pope John Paulheld up ecumenical dialogue as anordinary and indispensable aspect ofthe life of each Particular Church.With them, I think too of Pope PaulVI, another great promoter of dia-logue; in these very days we are

commemorating the 50th anniversaryof his historic embrace with the Pat-riarch Athenagoras of Con-stantinople.

The work of these, my prede-cessors, enabled ecumenical dialogueto become an essential dimension ofthe ministry of the Bishop of Rome,so that today the Petrine ministrycannot be fully understood withoutthis openness to dialogue with allbelievers in Christ. We can say alsothat the journey of ecumenism hasallowed us to come to a deeper un-derstanding of the ministry of theSuccessor of Peter, and we must beconfident that it will continue to doso in the future. As we look withgratitude to the progress which theLord has enabled us to make, andwithout ignoring the difficultieswhich ecumenical dialogue ispresently experiencing, let us allpray that we may put on the mindof Christ and thus progress towardsthe unity which he wills. And tojourney together is already to bemaking unity!

In this climate of prayer for thegift of unity, I address a cordial andfraternal greeting to His EminenceMetropolitan Gennadios, the repres-entative of the Ecumenical Patriarch,and to His Grace David Moxon, therepresentative in Rome of the Arch-bishop of Canterbury, and to all therepresentatives of the variousChurches and Ecclesial Communit-ies gathered here this evening. Withthese two brothers representingeveryone, we have prayed at theTomb of Paul and have said to oneanother: “Let us pray that he willhelp us on this path, on this path ofunity and of love, as we advance to-wards unity”. Unity will not comeabout as a miracle at the very end.Rather, unity comes about in jour-neying; the Holy Spirit does this onthe journey. If we do not walk to-gether, if we do not pray for one an-other, if we do not collaborate in themany ways that we can in this worldfor the People of God, then unitywill not come about! But it will hap-pen on this journey, in each step wetake. And it is not we who are doingthis, but rather the Holy Spirit, whosees our goodwill.

Dear brothers and sisters, let usask the Lord Jesus, who has madeus living members of his body, tokeep us deeply united to him, tohelp us overcome our conflicts, ourdivisions and our self-seeking; andlet us remember that unity is alwaysbetter than conflict! And so may hehelp us to be united to one anotherby one force, by the power of lovewhich the Holy Spirit pours intoour hearts (cf. Rom 5:5). Amen.

L'osservatore Mother Eliswa

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