VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 111
DATE 17-06-2014

Summary:
- THE CHURCH IS REJUVENATED BY MOTHERHOOD
- THE POPE TO MAGISTRATES: BE AN EXAMPLE OF MORAL INTEGRITY FOR SOCIETY
- ANNE-MARIE PELLETIER FIRST WOMAN TO WIN THE RATZINGER PRIZE

___________________________________________________________

 THE CHURCH IS REJUVENATED BY MOTHERHOOD
 Vatican City, 17 June 2014 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. yesterday in the Paul VI Hall the
Holy Father met with the representatives of the diocese of Rome, gathered to
participate in the Diocesan Pastoral Congress on the theme "A people who raise
children. Community and family in the major stages of Christian initiation".
During his address, Pope Francis spoke on the issue of the "society of
orphans": of parents who do not spend enough time playing with their children
because of their long working hours, and because of their fatigue when they
arrive home that leads the young to be deprived of time spent freely with their
parents. He emphasised that nowadays we need this sense of gratuity within the
family, in parishes, in society as a whole, and that the Lord is revealed to us
in gratuity, or rather as Grace: "But if we do not have a sense of gratuity
within the family, at school, in the parish, it will be very difficult to
understand what the grace of God is: that grace that cannot be bought or sold,
that is a gift from God, and is indeed God Himself". He also commented on other
social aspects that contribute to the "orphanhood" of the young: "a
technological society that multiplies to infinity the opportunities for
pleasure, distraction and curiosity, but is not able to lead man to true joy",
and added that only by encountering Jesus can be encounter true joy and
understand that we do not lead our lives in vain, as a task has been conferred
to each one of us".
 The Holy Father went on to describe the Church as a mother who knows how to
raise her children. "The great challenge faced by the Church is that of being a
mother", he said, "not a well-organised NGO full of pastoral plans. ... The
Church needs to rediscover her maternity. She must be a mother; maternity is
the grace that we must now ask of the Holy Spirit in order to go ahead in our
pastoral and missionary conversion. However, the Church grows not by
proselytism but by maternal attraction, through tenderness, through the
testimony of her many children". The Pope remarked that the Mother Church has
aged somewhat, to the risk of becoming "Grandmother Church", and that she must
therefore be rejuvenated, "but not by taking her to a cosmetic surgeon, no! The
Church becomes younger when she is able to generate more sons; the more
children she has, the younger she becomes". The Pontiff added that this means
recovering the memory of the Church. In a world in which there exists little
sense of history and fear of time, a world in which the present reigns supreme,
in which language is increasingly abbreviated and everything becomes rapid,
making us slaves to our situation, we must recover the memory of God's
patience. "God is not hasty during our history of salvation, and has
accompanied us throughout history". The Pope therefore urged the priests and
clergy present not to close the doors of their churches, but rather to welcome
all with an open heart, as a family, asking the Lord to make them able to
participate in their difficulties and in the problems that children and the
young frequently encounter in their lives.
 "People hope to find Jesus' gaze in us, often without realising it; they seek
a serene and joyful gaze that enters the heart. But the whole parish must
transform into a welcoming place, not only the priests and catechists". The
Pope encouraged those present to ask themselves whether their parishes were
truly welcoming, whether their celebrations were scheduled to favour the
participation of the young, if they spoke the language of youth and if their
communities kept their doors open.
 Before concluding, the Pope acknowledged that the work carried out by priests
is not easy. "It is easier to be a bishop", he affirmed, "because we can always
maintain a distance and hide ourselves behind the title of 'Your excellency',
and defend ourselves in this way. But being a priest, when the parishioners
knock on the door, when they talk to you about their problems ... it is not
easy". He commented that the Church in Italy is strong because of her priests,
and urged them not to forget the memory of evangelisation and always to stay
close to the faithful. "We want a Church of faith, who believes that the Lord
is able to make her a mother, to give her many children; our Holy Mother
Church".

___________________________________________________________

 THE POPE TO MAGISTRATES: BE AN EXAMPLE OF MORAL INTEGRITY FOR SOCIETY
 Vatican City, 17 June 2014 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis received in
audience the members of the High Council for the Italian Magistrature, to whom
he expressed his esteem for their work which "aims at the good functioning of a
sector that is vital for social coexistence". He also apologised for not having
received them yesterday as scheduled, explaining that "in the mid-morning I
felt unwell and had a fever, so I had to cancel all my appointments. I am sorry
for this".
 The ethical aspect of the work of magistrates was the first point in his brief
address, and highlighted that as in all countries, there are legal norms
intended to protect their freedom and independence to carry out their important
and delicate task with all the necessary guarantees ... responding adequately
to the role that society has conferred upon them and maintaining an irrefutable
impartiality".
 The independence of the magistrate and his aim, justice, "require a careful
and punctual application of the law", he continued. "The certainty of the law
and the balance of the various powers in a democratic society are summarised in
the principle of legality, over which the magistrate presides. The judge is
responsible for decisions that affect not only the rights and property of
citizens, but which have consequences for their very existence".
 The Pope listed some of the intellectual, psychological and moral qualities
that all representatives of the magistrature must possess, and which offer a
guarantee of reliability, giving special emphasis to prudence, which "is not a
virtue because it means staying put: 'I'm careful, I don't move', no! It is a
virtue of governance, a virtue for moving ahead", a virtue that enables one "to
weigh with serenity the reason of law and fact that must be at the base of any
judgement. One is more prudent when one has a heightened inner equilibrium, and
is able to control the impulses of one's own character, one's own personal
views, one's own ideological standpoints".
 "Italian society expects much of the magistrature", he remarked, "especially
in the current context characterised by the progressive erosion of our heritage
of values and the evolution of democratic structures". He urged the magistrates
not to let down the legitimate expectations of the people, and always to make
efforts to be "an example of moral integrity for all of society".
 Finally, he recalled some illustrious magistrates, such as Vittorio Bachelet,
who led the High Council of the Magistrature through times of great difficulty,
and who fell victim to terrorism during the "years of lead", the period of
social and political unrest in Italy between the 1960s and 1980s, and Rosario
Livatino, killed by the Mafia, whose cause for beatification has been opened.
"They offered exemplary witness to the style typical of the faithful lay
Christian: loyal to institutions, open to dialogue, and firm and courageous in
their defence of justice and the dignity of the human person".

___________________________________________________________

 ANNE-MARIE PELLETIER FIRST WOMAN TO WIN THE RATZINGER PRIZE
 Vatican City, 17 June 2014 (VIS) - This morning a press conference was held in
the Holy See Press Office to present two events organised by the "Vatican
Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict XVI": the 2014 Ratzinger Prize, which
will be awarded on 22 November, and the congress to be held in the Pontifical
Bolivarian University of Medellin in Colombia (23-24 October 2014).
 The speakers at the conference were Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the
Scientific Committee of the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict
XVI", Msgr. Giuseppe Scotti, president of the Foundation, and German Cardona
Gutierrez, Colombia's ambassador to the Holy See. Cardinal Ruini announced the
names of the prizewinners: the French Professor Anne-Marie Pelletier and
Professor Waldemar Chrostowski. Professor Pelletier is the first woman ever to
win the Prize, and is a scholar of hermeneutics and biblical exegesis who has
also focused on the issue of women in Christianity; Professor Chrostowski, the
first ever Polish prizewinner, is a priest, biblicist and expert on
Catholic-Jewish dialogue.
 Anne-Marie Pelletier, born in 1946, taught general linguistics and comparative
literature at the University of Paris X, then Marne-la-Vallee, as well as
theology of marriage at the Catholic Institute of Paris. She has for some years
taught sacred scriptures and biblical hermeneutics at the Notre Dame faculty of
the seminary of Paris. Since 2013 she has held the role of professor of
biblical teaching at the European Institute of Science of Religions (IESR). Her
research extends to Judaism and Christianity at the College des Bernardins, and
the monastic world. She has published widely: notable works in the field of
hermeneutics and biblical exegesis are "Lectures du Cantique des Cantiques. De
l'enigme du sens aux figures du lecteur", "Lectures bibliques. Aux sources de
la culture occidentale", "D'age en age les Ecritures. La Bible et
l'hermeneutique contemporaine", and "Le livre d'Isaie, l'histoire au prisme de
la prophetie". With regard to the question of women in Christianity, she has
written two books: "Le christianisme et les femmes. Vingt siecles d'histoire",
and "Le signe de la femme".
 "Pelletier is therefore a most distinguished figure in contemporary French
Catholicism", commented Cardinal Ruini, "who unites deserved scientific
prestige and a great and versatile cultural liveliness with an authentic
dedication to causes of the highest importance for Christian witness in
society".
 Msgr. Waldemar Chrostowski was born in 1951 in Chrostowo, Poland. He holds a
doctorate in theology and in 2013 received the title of university professor
from the President of Poland. He is the general editor of the journal
"Collectanea Theologica" and is the president of the Association of Polish
Biblicists. His scientific and didactic production is extensive and includes
his dissertation "Prophets before history. The interpretation of the story of
Israel in Ezekiel 16, 20 and 23 and their reinterpretation in the Bible of the
Seventies", the two volumes of "The Garden of Eden - known testimony of the
Assyrian diaspora" and "Assyrian diaspora of the Israelites", "God, Bible,
Messiah", and "The Church, Jews, Poland". He teaches in the faculty of theology
of the Warsaw Academy, now Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University, and in various
other universities and seminaries.
 "Msgr. Chrostowski is engaged in Catholic-Jewish and Polish-Jewish dialogue
and has for some time been a member of the commission of the Polish episcopate
for dialogue with Judaism. He unites scientific rigour with passion for the
Word of God, service to the Church and engagement in interreligious dialogue",
concluded Cardinal Ruini.
 Msgr. Giuseppe Antonio Scotti went on to present the convention "Respect for
life, path for peace", which will take place from 23 to 24 October in the
Bolivarian University of Medellin, Colombia. The congress is the fourth since
the institution in 2010 of the "Vatican Foundation: Joseph Ratzinger - Benedict
XVI" and, like the previous ones, will count on the participation of the
universities in the host country, along with the local Church and
representatives of civil society and politics. Since the first encounter,
organinsed in Bygdoszcz, Poland, 275 universities have taken part, involving
1600 teachers and students who have carried out projects of reflection and
research related to the theme.
 "The appointment in Medellin this October ... once more emphasises that
universities - the young people and people who study, think and seek there -
can and wish to take an active and committed role in the construction of a
fully human future, aware that our times, marked by globalisation, with its
positive and negative aspects, as well as bloody conflicts and threats of war,
necessitate renewed and concerted commitment to seeking the common good, and
the development of the whole of humanity and the whole human person".

___________________________________________________________

For more information and to search for documents refer to the site:
www.visnews.org and www.vatican.va

Copyright (VIS):  the news contained in the services of the Vatican
Information Service may be reproduced wholly or partially by quoting
the source:  V. I. S. - Vatican Information Service.
http://www.vatican.va/news_services/press/vis/vis_en.html

--- MPost/386 v1.21