Vatican City, 7 April 2014 (VIS) – “The Church in Africa, from Vatican
Council II to the Third Millennium. Africa's Homage to Popes John XXIII and
John Paul II” is the title of the Congress that will take place at the
Pontifical Urbaniana University of Rome from 24 to 25 April and which will
be attended by bishops, priests, theologians, scholars and eminent figures
in African culture to appraise the implementation of Vatican Council II in
the continent.
 This initiative was presented in the Holy See Press Office this morning by
Bishop Barthelemy Adoukonou, secretary of the Pontifical Council for
Culture; Archbishop Emergy Kabongo Kanundowi, emeritus of Luebo, Democratic
Republic of the Congo; Msgr. Melchor Sanchez de Toca y Alameda, under
secretary of the Pontifical Council for Culture, and Professor Martin
Nkafu, lecturer at the Pontifical Lateran University.
 “Vatican Council II, an event of grace for the entire Universal Church,
allowed the People of God in Africa to undertake an important turning point
in their historical journey. In effect, the Church in Africa wants to
become a protagonist in the construction of a cultural identity for the
Continent, in a particular way through the Forum of the Symposium of
Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), 'Faith, Culture and
Development'. Fifty years on from the Council, she takes advantage of the
canonisation of Popes John XXIII and John Paul II to take stock of the
implementation of the Council in the African Continent, reading the signs
of the times and taking the necessary initiatives to build her future in
line with the Magisterium of the Popes Paul VI, John Paul I, Benedict XVI
and Francis”.
 The congress will open on 24 with the screening of a video on Popes John
XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II and the first session will take place,
presided by Cardinal Robert Sarah, president of the Pontifical Council “Cor
Unum”, on “Africa and Vatican Council II: an historic perspective”. The
introductory presentation will be “Vatican Council II and its
implementation in the African Church”. This session will conclude with
“Echoes of the work of the Association of African Theologians on Vatican
Council II”.
 The theme of the second session, to be held in the afternoon and to be
presided by  Cardinal John Onaiyekan, metropolitan archbishop of Abuja,
Nigeria, will be “John XXIII, John Paul II and the Church in Africa”. The
issues under consideration will be: “John XXIII, the Council and the
evolution of post-conciliar Africa”, “What have we made of the legacy of
Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II?”, and “The legacy of John Paul
II”.
 On 25 April, the third session will focus on “The Church in Africa 50
years after Vatican Council II: challenges”. Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo
Pasinya, metropolitan archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo,
will preside, and the following issues will be discussed: “The dynamic
structure of the two Synods for Africa”, “Prominent Christian figures in
the African intelligentsia (Julius Nyerere, etc.) and the political
commitment of the lay faithful”, “The place and role of the woman in the
Church and in society”, and “Consecrated life in the mission of the Church
in Africa today”.
 In the afternoon, and presided by Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu of Kinkala
(Republic of Congo) the fourth and final session will take place, dedicated
to “History and activity of the forum 'Faith, Culture and Development'”,
“The ecclesial subject and historic initiative in Africa today”, and “The
Forum 'Faith, Culture and Development': reflection and debate”. The
Congress will conclude with a solemn Mass celebrated by Cardinal Francis
Arinze, prefect emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the
Discipline of the Sacraments.
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 VISIT TO THE ROMAN PARISH OF ST. GREGORY THE GREAT
 Vatican City, 6 April 2014 (VIS) – At 4 p.m. the Holy Father visited the
Roman parish of St. Gregory the Great, in the Portuense quarter. He greeted
faithful and parishioners, and met with children, catechumens, the sick and
the elderly. The Pontiff encountered various aspects of life in the area,
through organisations such as the association for social integration for
the disabled, “Lamp of Wishes”, and the cooperative “The Prow”, which deals
with the reintegration into the workforce of ex-detainees and ex-drug
addicts. He then visited the House of Charity, a parish structure served by
the Carmelite Sisters of Charity and various volunteers. He confessed a
number of penitents and celebrated the Eucharist with the faithful.
 In his homily, the Pope spoke about resurrection and life, “the Lord's
good promise”. “Today I invite you to think for a moment in silence: where
is my inner necrosis? Where is the part of my soul that is dead? Where is
my tomb? Let us think, just a moment, all of us, in silence. Let us think:
what is the part of my heart that can be corrupted, because it is attached
to some sin or sins? Remove the tombstone, remove the tombstone of shame
and let the Lord say to us, as he said to Lazarus, 'Come forth!', so that
all of our soul might be healed, may be resurrected through the love and
strength of Jesus. He is able to forgive us. We all need this, all of us.
We are all sinners, but we must be careful not to become corrupt! We are
sinners, but He forgives us. Let us listen to Jesus' voice that, with the
power of God, says to us, 'Come forth! Come out of the tomb you have
inside. Come forth. I willgive you life, I will make you happy, I bless
you, I want you with me”.
 The Holy Father concluded by giving pocket-sized copies of the Gospel to
the faithful, and he encouraged them always to keep them at hand and to
read a little each day, wherever they may be.
.
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 POPE FRANCIS: JESUS DOES NOT RESIGN HIMSELF TO ANY TOMB
 Vatican City, 7 April 2014 (VIS) – At midday today, the fifth Sunday of
Lent, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican
Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims
present. “The resurrection of Lazarus”, he said, “was the culmination of
the prodigious signs given by Jesus: it is a gesture too great, too clearly
divine to be tolerated by the high priests, who, when they became aware of
this fact, took the decision to kill Jesus”.
 “We believe that the life of those who believe in Jesus and follow his
commandments will, after death, be transformed into new life, full and
immortal. Just as Jesus was resurrected with his own body, but did not
return to an earthly life, in this way we will be resurrected with our
bodies, that will be transformed into glorious bodies. He awaits us next to
the Father, and the love of the Holy Spirit that revived Him will also
revive those who are united with Him”. “'Lazarus, come forth!' This
peremptory cry is addressed to all men, because we are all marked by death,
all of us; it is the voice of He Who is the master of all life and wants
all of us 'have life in abundance'. Christ does not resign Himself to the
tombs we have built with our choices of evil and death, with our mistakes
and our sins.
 “He invites us, indeed he almost orders us to come forth from the tomb in
which our sins have buried us. He insistently calls us out of the darkness
of the prison in which we have confined ourselves, content with a life of
falsehood, selfishness, and mediocrity. … It is an invitation for all of us
to true freedom. … An invitation to free ourselves of our bonds, the bonds
of pride. Because it is pride that makes us into slaves, slaves to
ourselves, slaves to many idols, to many things. Our resurrection begins
here: when we decide to obey Jesus' command to come into the light, to
life; when the shroud falls from our faces – often we are shrouded by sin,
and these shrouds must fall away! - and we rediscover the courage of our
original face, created in the image and semblance of God”.
 Before concluding, Francis repeated, “There is no limit to the divine
mercy offered to all. … The Lord is always ready to lift the tombstone of
our sins, that separate us from Him, the light of the living”.

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 THE POPE GIVES A POCKET-SIZED GOSPEL: FREELY RECEIVE, FREELY GIVE!
 Vatican City, 5 April 2014 (VIS) – Following today's Angelus, the Pope
prayed a Hail Mary for the Tutsi victims of the genocide that devastated
Rwanda twenty years ago. He encouraged the Rwandan people to “continue with
determination and hope the process of reconciliation that has already borne
fruit, and in your commitment to the human and spiritual rebuilding of the
country”, and added, “Do not be afraid! Build your society on the rock of
the Gospel, in love and harmony, as only in this way can lasting peace be
created”.
 The Pope mentioned the people of L'Aquila who, five years after the
earthquake that destroyed the city claiming many lives, are working for its
reconstruction, and also prayed for the victims of the outbreak of the
Ebola virus in Guinea and neighbouring countries.

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