VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 146
DATE 01-09-2015

Summary:
- Pope's letter on the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
- Pope Francis' prayer intentions for September
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Pope's letter on the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy
 Vatican City, 1 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has sent a letter to
Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
New Evangelisation, regarding the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, in which he
reaffirms his hope that the jubilee indulgence will lead every person to a
"genuine experience of God's mercy" and explains that it can also
be obtained by
incarcerated persons. In addition, he grants to all priests, notwithstanding any
provision to the contrary, the faculty to absolve from sin those who have
resorted to abortion, repenting and asking forgiveness with a sincere heart, and
establishes that those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach the priests of
the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall
validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins. The following is the
full text of the letter:
 "With the approach of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy I would like to focus
on several points which I believe require attention to enable the celebration of
the Holy Year to be for all believers a true moment of encounter with the mercy
of God. It is indeed my wish that the Jubilee be a living experience of the
closeness of the Father, whose tenderness is almost tangible, so that the faith
of every believer may be strengthened and thus testimony to it be ever more
effective.
 "My thought first of all goes to all the faithful who, whether in individual
Dioceses or as pilgrims to Rome, will experience the grace of the Jubilee. I
wish that the Jubilee Indulgence may reach each one as a genuine experience of
God's mercy, which comes to meet each person in the Face of the Father who
welcomes and forgives, forgetting completely the sin committed. To experience
and obtain the Indulgence, the faithful are called to make a brief pilgrimage to
the Holy Door, open in every Cathedral or in the churches designated by the
Diocesan Bishop, and in the four Papal Basilicas in Rome, as a sign of the deep
desire for true conversion. Likewise, I dispose that the Indulgence may be
obtained in the Shrines in which the Door of Mercy is open and in the churches
which traditionally are identified as Jubilee Churches. It is important that
this moment be linked, first and foremost, to the Sacrament of Reconciliation
and to the celebration of the Holy Eucharist with a reflection on mercy. It will
be necessary to accompany these celebrations with the profession of faith and
with prayer for me and for the intentions that I bear in my heart for the good
of the Church and of the entire world.
 "Additionally, I am thinking of those for whom, for various reasons, it will be
impossible to enter the Holy Door, particularly the sick and people who are
elderly and alone, often confined to the home. For them it will be of great help
to live their sickness and suffering as an experience of closeness to the Lord
who in the mystery of his Passion, death and Resurrection indicates the royal
road which gives meaning to pain and loneliness. Living with faith and joyful
hope this moment of trial, receiving communion or attending Holy Mass and
community prayer, even through the various means of communication, will be for
them the means of obtaining the Jubilee Indulgence. My thoughts also turn to
those incarcerated, whose freedom is limited. The Jubilee Year has always
constituted an opportunity for great amnesty, which is intended to include the
many people who, despite deserving punishment, have become conscious of the
injustice they worked and sincerely wish to re-enter society and make their
honest contribution to it. May they all be touched in a tangible way by the
mercy of the Father who wants to be close to those who have the greatest need of
his forgiveness. They may obtain the Indulgence in the chapels of the prisons.
May the gesture of directing their thought and prayer to the Father each time
they cross the threshold of their cell signify for them their passage through
the Holy Door, because the mercy of God is able to transform hearts, and is also
able to transform bars into an experience of freedom.
 "I have asked the Church in this Jubilee Year to rediscover the richness
encompassed by the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The experience of
mercy, indeed, becomes visible in the witness of concrete signs as Jesus himself
taught us. Each time that one of the faithful personally performs one or more of
these actions, he or she shall surely obtain the Jubilee Indulgence. Hence the
commitment to live by mercy so as to obtain the grace of complete and exhaustive
forgiveness by the power of the love of the Father who excludes no one. The
Jubilee Indulgence is thus full, the fruit of the very event which is to be
celebrated and experienced with faith, hope and charity.
 "Furthermore, the Jubilee Indulgence can also be obtained for the deceased. We
are bound to them by the witness of faith and charity that they have left us.
Thus, as we remember them in the Eucharistic celebration, thus we can, in the
great mystery of the Communion of Saints, pray for them, that the merciful Face
of the Father free them of every remnant of fault and strongly embrace them in
the unending beatitude.
 "One of the serious problems of our time is clearly the changed relationship
with respect to life. A widespread and insensitive mentality has led to the loss
of the proper personal and social sensitivity to welcome new life. The tragedy
of abortion is experienced by some with a superficial awareness, as if not
realising the extreme harm that such an act entails. Many others, on the other
hand, although experiencing this moment as a defeat, believe they they have no
other option. I think in particular of all the women who have resorted to
abortion. I am well aware of the pressure that has led them to this decision. I
know that it is an existential and moral ordeal. I have met so many women who
bear in their heart the scar of this agonising and painful decision. What has
happened is profoundly unjust; yet only understanding the truth of it can enable
one not to lose hope. The forgiveness of God cannot be denied to one who has
repented, especially when that person approaches the Sacrament of Confession
with a sincere heart in order to obtain reconciliation with the Father. For this
reason too, I have decided, notwithstanding anything to the contrary, to concede
to all priests for the Jubilee Year the discretion to absolve of the sin of
abortion those who have procured it and who, with contrite heart, seek
forgiveness for it. May priests fulfil this great task by expressing words of
genuine welcome combined with a reflection that explains the gravity of the sin
committed, besides indicating a path of authentic conversion by which to obtain
the true and generous forgiveness of the Father who renews all with his presence.
 "A final consideration concerns those faithful who for various reasons choose
to attend churches officiated by priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X. This
Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one. From various quarters, several Brother
Bishops have told me of their good faith and sacramental practice, combined
however with an uneasy situation from the pastoral standpoint. I trust that in
the near future solutions may be found to recover full communion with the
priests and superiors of the Fraternity. In the meantime, motivated by the need
to respond to the good of these faithful, through my own disposition, I
establish that those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of
the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall
validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins.
 "Trusting in the intercession of the Mother of Mercy, I entrust the
preparations for this Extraordinary Jubilee Year to her protection".

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 Pope Francis' prayer intentions for September
 Vatican City, 1 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father's universal prayer
intention for September is: "That opportunities for education and employment may
increase for all young people".
 His intention for evangelisation is: "That catechists may give witness by
living in a way consistent with the faith they proclaim".

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 Other Pontifical Acts
 Vatican City, 1 September 2015 (VIS) - The Holy Father has renewed the Special
Commission for the Liturgy in the Congregation for the Oriental Churches,
composed as follows:
 - Archbishop Piero Marini, president;
 - Fr. McLean Cummings, secretary;
 - Fr. Tedros Abraha, O.F.M. Cap., member;
 - Fr. Cesare Giraudo, S.J., member;
 - Fr. Thomas Pott, O.S.B., member;
 - Archimandrite Fr. Manuel Nin, O.S.B., member;
 - Fr. Rinaldo Iacopino, S.M., member;
 - Msgr. Paul Pallath, member.

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