| 25 - 16.10.2008 SUMMARY
- WRITTEN INTERVENTIONS
- NOTICES
WRITTEN INTERVENTIONS
Today and tomorrow morning will continue the works by the Working Groups ( Session II, III, IV), for the draft and the approval by every Working Group of the projects for the texts of the Propositions (the formulae of Synodal consensus regarding certain subjects deemed important by the Synodal Fathers, suggestions offered to the Holy Father as the fruit of the Synodal Work),
we hereby publish the written interventions, not presented in the Hall.
The following Synodal Fathers only delivered their interventions in writing:
- Rev. Father Adolfo NICOLÁS, S.I., Superior General of the Society of Jesus (SPAIN)
- H. Em. Card. Varkey VITHAYATHIL, C.SS.R., Archbishop Major of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, President of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church (INDIA)
- H. Em. Card. Leonardo SANDRI, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churchs (VATICAN CITY)
Below are the summaries of the interventions not presented in the Hall, but delivered in the written form by the Synodal Fathers:
- Rev. Father Adolfo NICOLÁS, S.I., Superior General of the Society of Jesus (SPAIN)
In these days of the Synod we have heard a good number of those aspects that make the Holy Scriptures such a precious gift from God.
And yet we continue to feel that there will always be new or unanswered. The questions that reach us most often are of a pastoral character. The people of God continue to ask the pastoral question: How can we read the Scriptures so that they produce in us, in our hearts, in our families and in our communities all the good effects that Christian Tradition has proclaimed through the Centuries?
Allow me to address just one concrete aspect within the wider pastoral breadth of the question. This aspect is the so-called "Medicinal" or "Transforming" power of the Word of God. It is my conviction that the Word of God can claim in a high degree a ''therapeutic'' role in the life of the Christian community.
Every time we "enter" the World of the Bible, we are exposed to a New World: God's World; God's action; God's teaching of his people. The encounter, if real, can be shocking, surprising, enlightening, soothing or consoling. lt can also be misunderstood and lost.
Thus the conditions of the encounter are all important. Pastors and Ministers of the Word have to become good helpers for good and fruitful encounters. We need to know where people really are(diagnosis); we need the skills for presenting the Word (teaching, preaching, biblical catechesis); we are expected to be good company in the search for depth (contemplation); and we are ordained or commissioned for good Christian leadership (service of love for community and Christian living).
Which means that Pastors and Ministers of the Word need training for good diagnosis, for wise application of forms of reading, for deeper prayer and interiorization of the Word of God, and for a meaningful accompaniment that helps the faithful discern the action of the Spirit in and through the reading of the Bible.
Since this is a fine skill that requires deep spiritual sense, adequate training and discerned commissioning, it seems highly needed that this training be included in the preparation for pastoral minis1ry and in programs of ongoing formation for all Priests. Moreover all Parishes and/or Dioceses should have access to Centers or Trained persons that can offer this service to individuals or communities and who can train catechists and other lay ministers in this important service.
[00297-02.03] [IS002] [Original text: English]
- H. Em. Card. Varkey VITHAYATHIL, C.SS.R., Archbishop Major of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, President of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church (INDIA)
As the Instrumentum laboris n. 43 says, "Proclaiming the Gospel is the raison d'être of the Church and her mission." This is true not only of the Universal Church, but also of the individual Churches. Every individual Church or which is called the sui iuris Church exists for proclaiming the Gospel, through her unique and rich heritage or patrimony of liturgy, theology, spirituality and discipline. Moreover, evangelization and pastoral care are two integral dimensions of one and the same mission - preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Without pastoral care, those evangelized cannot be formed into a community of believers and cannot be nourished in their faith through the ministry of the Word and the Sacraments.
Even though the right of every individual Church to preach the Gospel everywhere in the world under the guidance of the Roman Pontiff (OE 3, CD 25) and the right of all the faithful of the Oriental Churches to have pastoral care by their own bishops and priests throughout the world are recognized by the Second Vatican Council and the two Codes of Canon Law (CI C 383 §2 and CCEO 148 and 193), the Syro-Malabar Church is neither given new mission territories in India, Africa, etc., nor the freedom to exercise her right to give pastoral care by her own bishops and priests to the hundreds of thousands of migrants in India, in the Gulf Countries, Europe and elsewhere even after forty-three years of the conclusion oft he Second Vatican Council.
For me this is a grave injustice. At the same time we know that the Word of God is a Word of justice as the Instrumentum laboris states in several places. As our Holy Father, Benedict XVI teaches us in his Encyclical Letter, Spe salvi, "the Christian message was not only "informative" but "performative" (Spe salvi 2). This means that it is not enough to proclaim the Word of God in its authenticity, but must be lived by the people. The Church has not only to preach the Word of justice to the faithful, but they should be pastorally helped to live by it. It is more so when it concerns practising justice within the Church. Peace is disturbed when justice is not done, because peace is the fruit of justice. Justice will also build up communion. In the case of the Syro-Malabar Church, this justice has been denied for many centuries. It is high time that this Synod reflected over this unjust situation within the Church and proposed lasting remedies.
[00296-02.03] [IS080] [Original text: English]
- H. Em. Card. Leonardo SANDRI, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churchs (VATICAN CITY)
1. I thank the Lord and the Church for the powerful return to the Word of God, thanks to the impulse of Vatican Council II. That was a Biblical renewal according to the Life-Giving Tradition of the Church. That renewal is still ongoing, and it may receive helpful stimuli from the Synod.I thank the Holy Father for this convocation that involves us in a collegial discipleship dealing with the Divine Word. Making ourselves listeners to and disciples of Christ, who speaks in the Church (Ipse loquitur duro sacrae Scripturae in Ecclesia leguntur ... SC 7), we offer the highest example of our being Christian shepherds: the Word of God is the evangelical gate by which we enter the fold. Whoever does not enter by this gate is a hired man not a shepherd (cf Jn 10:2).
So we say thank you to God and to the Church for Dei Verbum whose profundity and relevance we recognize. In the Instrumentum Laboris we find precious pointers. We would hope, nonetheless, to find in the final document a connecting thread that efficiently organizes its content.
2. Constant personal and community commitment in favor of all Biblical initiatives in the academic field, such as in ordinary Catholic education and making the daily pastoral an act of obedience to the Word, are to be encouraged in attachment to the Word. The Word of God will always lead us to the Sacrament, especially the Holy Eucharist, from which springs forth ecclesial communion. From the perspective of daily obedience, I would like to highlight the importance of the further study and personal appropriation of the Word of God after the liturgical proclamation.
3. The priority of Biblical formation in all the categories of the people of God should be reaffirmed. The criterio princeps, though, in the approach to the Biblical sciences should be that they do not negate, through their sometimes exaggerated criticism, the sense of an existential meeting with Christ. What is indispensable, therefore, is the zeal of the shepherds, above all in the homily, and in order not to extinguish the prophetic charge of the Word of God, we have to insist that it never transforms itself into an opportunity for secular or even personal argumentation, and that it be the moment of highest obedience to the Word in a true sense for the preachers of the Word. Formation in the seminaries and ordinary updating of the clergy and of us bishops remain a priority and should be accompanied by the prayerful Biblical spirituality, in which we decide ever more each day to look for and find Christ and with Him the brothers we should lead with us on a daily basis in obedience to the faith.
4. The prayerful gaze will help us to find the right balance in the consideration of the election of ancient and modern Israel, and the mystery of the call to all the peoples. Thus the Word of God becomes an ecumenical and inter-religious path; a path for cultural dialogue with those who do not recognize themselves in any religion. A highway to confront the grave and urgent challenges of our times in the service of man and his dignity, liberty and peace. It is even capable of drawing today from the chaos of post-modern thought, with its heavy relativist and nihilist impetus, good soil for a humanity that, thanks to thinking of Christ drawn from the Scriptures, loves, hopes and works towards a future based on solidarity. Faced with the apparently unstoppable drive of the sects in every continent, most notably active in Europe and the Americas, the Word of God will stem the flow of confusion and compose better prospects for the future.
5. The Eastern Churches were able to evangelize cultures that were very far from the thinking of Christ and generate admirable liturgical, theological and spiritual traditions, lived by disciples who were faithful to the point of martyrdom. I render homage to those who remain faithful to the Word of Christ, especially in the East, in the darkest adversities of the present, and I unhesitatingly invite the Synodal Fathers to pray as brothers and as shepherds for the present and future of the Christian East. Thank you.
[00298-02.04] [IS004] [Original text: Italian]
NOTICES
- BULLETIN
- PRESS CONFERENCES
- BRIEFINGS FOR THE LANGUAGE GROUPS
- GUIDED VISIT AT THE TOMB OF SAINT PAUL APOSTLE
- INFORMATION POOL FOR THE SYNOD HALL
- TELEPHONE NEWS-BULLETIN
- OPENING HOURS OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE
BULLETIN
The following Bulletin, Bulletin No. 26, on the work of the eighteenth General Congregation on Friday 17 October 2008, with the Reports from the Small Groups, will be available for the accredited journalists at the end of the General Congregation.
PRESS CONFERENCES
At the Second Press Conference on the works of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of today, Thursday 16 October 2008 at 12:45, the following will intervene:
- H. Em. Card. William Joseph LEVADA, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (VATICAN CITY)President Delegate of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H. Em. Card. George PELL, Archbishop of Sydney (AUSTRALIA)President Delegate of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H. Em. Card. Odilo Pedro SCHERER, Archbishop of São Paulo (BRAZIL)President Delegate of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H. Em. Card. Peter Kodwo Appiah TURKSON, Archbishop of Cape Coast, President of the Association of the Episcopal Conference of West Africa (A.C.E.A.O.) (GHANA), President of the Commission for Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H.E. Most. Rev. Diarmuid MARTIN, Archbishop of Dublin (IRELAND) Member of the Commision for Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H.E. Most. Rev. Luis Antonio G. TAGLE, Bishop of Imus (PHILIPPINES) Member of the Commision for Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
At the Third Press Conference on the works of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of Friday, 24 October 2008 at 12:45, the following will intervene:
- H.E. Most. Rev. Gianfranco RAVASI, Titular Archbishop of Villamagna di Proconsolare, President of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications (VATICAN CITY) President of the Commission for the Message of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H.E. Most. Rev. Santiago Jaime SILVA RETAMALES, Titular Bishop of Bela, Auxiliary Bishop of Valparaíso (CHILE)Vice President of the Commission for the Message of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
At the Fourth Press Conference on the works of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Saturday, 25 October 2008, at 12:45, the following will intervene:
- H. Em. Card. Marc OUELLET, P.S.S., Archbishop of Québec (CANADA), Relator General of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H.E. Most. Rev. Laurent MONSENGWO PASINYA, Archbishop of Kinshasa, President of the Episcopal Conference (CONGO R.) Special Secretary of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
- H.E. Most. Rev. Filippo SANTORO, Bishop of Petrópolis (BRAZIL), Member of the Commission for Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
The press conferences are presided by Rev. Father Federico LOMBARDI, S.I.; Director of the Holy See Press Office, Secretary ex-ufficio of the Commission for Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
BRIEFING FOR LANGUAGE GROUPS
Please note that there are changes regarding the briefing locations of the Press Officers indicated in Bulletin No 2: the French Language Group will meet at the Holy See Press Office, instead of at Vatican Radio. The precise location will be announced each time.
The ninth briefing for the language groups will take place on Friday 17 October 2008 at approximately 13:10.
We would like to remind the Audio-Visual Operators (cameramen and technicians) and photographers to request their access permits (very restricted) from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
On Tuesday, 21 October 2008, the Press Officers will be accompanied during the briefings by the following Synodal Fathers:
Italian Group:
- H. Em. Card. Angelo BAGNASCO, Archbishop of Genoa, President of the Episcopal Conference (ITALY)
English Group:
- H.E. Most. Rev. Terrence Thomas PRENDERGAST, S.I., Archbishop of Ottawa (CANADA), Member of Commission of Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
French Group:
- H.E. Most. Rev. Joseph AKÉ, Bishop of Yamoussoukro (IVORY COAST), Member of Commission of Information of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
Spanish Group
- H. Em. Card. Oscar Andrés RODRÍGUEZ MARADIAGA, S.D.B., Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, President of the Episcopal Conference, President of the Episcopal Conference (HONDURAS)
German Group:
- H.E. Most. Rev. Kurt KOCH, Bishop of Basel, Bâle, Basilea (SWITZERLAND)
GUIDED VISIT AT THE TOMB OF SAINT PAUL APOSTLE
In the occasion of the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the synod of Bishops 5 - 26 October 2008 and within the year dedicated to Saint Paul, the Holy See Press Office has organized, for accredited journalists guided visits to his tomb and to the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall. This visit has been offered free of charge by Opera Romana Pellegranaggi Service and will take place on Thursday 23 October 2008 with the following time table:
09.45 gathering at the Holy See Press office
10.00 Departure with the open Bus offered by Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi
11.00 guided visit of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Wall. The special guide expert
will be His Eminence Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza of Montezemolo, Archpriest of the
Basilica.
The audio head phone-guide of the open Bus could be used during the guided visit.
At the end of the visit, the open Bus will bring the journalists back to the Holy See Press Office.
Who ever desire taking part is invited to subscribe at the Holy See Press Office before and not after the 21st October 2008
[00299-02.02] [NNNNN] [Original text: Italian]
INFORMATION POOL FOR THE SYNOD HALL
The seventh Information Pool for the Synod Hall will be formed for the opening prayer of the Eighteenth General Congregation, on Friday morning, 17 October 2008.
The registration lists for the pool are available for the editors at the entrance (on the right) at the Information and Accreditation Office of the Holy See Press Office.
The audio-visual operators (cameramen and technicians) and photographers are kindly requested to apply to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications to participate in the Information Pool at the Synod Hall.
We would also like to remind the participants in the Information Pool that they are kindly requested to be at the Press Area at 8:30 am, outside the entrance of the Paul VI Hall, where they will be called by name to enter the Synod Hall, always accompanied by an officer of the Holy See Press Office or from the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
TELEPHONE NEWS-BULLETIN
During the period of the Synod, a telephone news-bulletin will be available:
- +39-06-698.19 for the ordinary daily Bulletin of the Holy See Press Office;
- +39-06-698.84051 for the Bulletin of the Synod of Bishops - morning session;
- +39-06-698.84877 for the Bulletin of the Synod of Bishops - afternoon session.
OPENING HOURS OF THE HOLY SEE PRESS OFFICE
During the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy See Press Office will observe the following opening hours:
- Thursday 16 October: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
- Friday 17 October: 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
- Saturday 18 October: 9.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.
- Sunday 19 October: 10.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.- From Monday 20 October to Saturday 25 October: 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m.
- Sunday 26 October: 9.00 a.m. to 1.00 p.m.
The staff of the Information and Accreditation Desk (to the right of the entrance hall) will be available:
- Monday-Friday: 9.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.
- Saturday: 9.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m.
Notice of any changes will be communicated as soon as possible and will be posted on the Bulletin board in the Journalists Area of the Holy See Press Office, published in the Bulletin of the Commission for Information on the XII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
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