http://blog.archny.org/index.php/the-good-old-days/comment-page-1/#comment-140910
The article that I responded to was talking about how this is the good ole days for Catholics with our string of wonderful popes in our lifetime, good and holy men...because the Church is not always so lucky.. Since I am still trying to adjust to Pope Francis and going through a translation which is not always accurate... I am still trying to figure him out. I am still trying to figure out what Pope Francis is saying most of the time or why he is saying it?...or what is he getting at?, or who is he talking to?So I commented and addressed all these things and a little more.... It was worth a try ,,, I might have gotten some clarification..of course, not if it does not get posted... I do not think that I was criticizing Pope Francis but some may take it that way...I just had a LOT of questions and I wondered why he did not address some things tha public suare activists are getting beat down with and having to work extra hard...cuz most people can only hear what the media Said that pope Francis Said!
My response to Cardinal Dolan's blog is awaiting moderation and may not make it past the cut...This is it.
Most of the time I am confused about what he IS saying. BUT I have become an expert on what he is NOT saying . I have spent so much time researching and refuting headlines. It seems to me that a lot of people love Pope Francis for things that he is NOT saying (and that makes me nervous). I DO think that it is good that they are ‘listening’ but they are listening to mainstream media and they have not gotten it right , yet!(imho). I see lots of confusion in his wake. I THINK I have gotten some of the message…Don’t be a Pharisee. Do not make the ‘law’ your idol or anything else for that matter. I think that he is calling us back to the beginning -to walk with Jesus as when he walked the earth with the apostles and the disciples- not to do away with the laws or the knowledge and understanding of revelation that has unfolded in the 2000 years since(at least I hope not!). I think he is calling us back to the beginning to remember who we are and what we are about- our mission in this world. I thought there would be more balance . He has addressed the extremes of a traditional position but has not addressed the extremes that result from NO tradition . I think that helps misinterpretations to continue. I am afraid that he does not like ‘tradition’…He seems to be addressing that a lot but he does not correct or address the media misinterpretations … many take silence to be assent. I realize that he cannot go around correcting all the mistakes but there are many people in the public square who defend the Church’s moral stance on important and pertinent issues (including yourself) who are left ‘hanging out to dry’while the misinterpretations get more embedded in reality. I do not think that he intends to do that but that is essentially what is happening in his wake. At least that is the way that I see it.
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/fallout-continues-from-misinterpretations-of-pope-francis-interviews
And it would certainly be nice if people like Bishop Paprocki whose secretary was killed by a gay activist got some affirmation for his recent stance in not allowing the rosary for passage of gay marriage laws to be held in the Cathedral. Or am I just wrong altogether and the media misinterpretations are NOT misinterpretations. Is their view closer to what he is saying in the following article than what I realize?
Basically, I guess I am still not sure what Pope Francis IS saying…I DO listen and try to hear but I am confused more often than not…often I just do not know what he means or where he is coming from…or what he is getting at….It is like I have come in in the middle of a conversation or something..sigh…I do not know how to explain it…but I will keep trying…
Showing posts with label In the words of Pope Francis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In the words of Pope Francis. Show all posts
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Monday, October 21, 2013
Pope Francis did NOT said NO to Women’s Ordination! John Paul II Said NO, DOGMATICALLY!
Pope Francis did NOT said NO to Women’s Ordination! John Paul II Said NO, DOGMATICALLY!
Many people were upset about Pope Francis answer to the question concerning women’s ordination in his interview with the journalists on the way home from WYD in Rio. Most headlines and comments said that Pope Francis said NO to women’s ordination to the priesthood. That is neither a fair nor an accurate assessment of Pope Francis’ answer to the journalist’s question.
It was NOT Pope Francis who said No to the question of women’s ordination!
It was Pope John Paul II who said NO. And he said it in such a way(with a definitive declaration), that all of his successors would be bound by the same restrictions.
Read the English translation below of what Pope Francis said.
Then I will explain EXACTLY what Pope John Paul II did to accomplished this.
Here is the English translation of the interchange that brought up the question of the women’s ordination.
—————————————————————————————————————–
Anna Ferreira: Holy Father, good evening. Thank you. I would like to say “thank you” so many times: thank you for having brought so much joy to Brazil, and thank you also for answering our questions. We, journalists, are so fond of asking questions. I would like to know, why, yesterday, you spoke to the Brazilian Bishops about women’s participation in our Church. I’d like to understand better: how should this participation be for us, women in the Church? If you … what do you think of the ordination of women? What should our position in the Church be?
Pope Francis: I would like to explain a bit what I said on the participation of women in the Church. It can’t be limited to being altar servers or presidents of Caritas, catechists … No! It must be more, but profoundly more!
Even mystically more, with what I’ve said of the theology of woman.
And, with reference to the ordination of women, the Church has spoken and she said : “No.”
John Paul II said it, but with a definitive formulation. That is closed, that door is closed.
But I’d like to say something about this. I’ve said it, but I repeat it. Our Lady, Mary, was more important than the Apostles, than bishops, deacons and priests.
In the Church, woman is more important than bishops and priests; how, it’s what we must seek to make more explicit, because theological explicitness about this is lacking. Thank you.
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Pope Francis’ words concerning women’s ordination were,
“And, with reference to the ordination of women
the Church has spoken
and she said : “No.”
John Paul II said it,
but with a definitive formulation.
That is closed, that door is closed.”
———–
Most people just heard the word ‘NO” in that answer.
And judging by the articles, the media also seems to have only heard the word “No” ( which may be part of the reason why most people heard it that way.).
BUT, what does that answer mean exactly?
Why did Pope Francis say that the Church has spoken and she said no?
His next sentence EXPLAINS how the Church has already addressed this issue and said no;
“John Paul II said it, but with a definitive formulation.”
——————
Most of us would not understand how this explains that the CHURCH HAS SPOKEN AND SHE SAID NO.
Most of us would not realize exactly what Pope Francis was referring to
when he said that John Paul II had said it.
AND most of us would not understand what Pope Francis meant
by the phrase ‘a definitive formulation’.
The explanation for this short but very full and very concise answer:
A Definitive Formulation is the formula used by a pope for speaking ‘ex cathedra’, that is, speaking from the chair of Peter. Speaking from the chair of Peter, ex cathedra, is considered to be infallible.
As stated in Vatican I , speaking ex cathedra means that
◾it is a dogma Divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra,
◾he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church,
◾and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves and not from the consent of the Church irreformable.
◾it is a dogma Divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra,
◾he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church,
◾and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves and not from the consent of the Church irreformable.
The conditions required(the definitive formulation) for ex cathedra teaching are also mentioned in this Vatican decree. (These are listed at the end of this 'paper'.)
In his Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, issued on May 22, 1994,
John Paul II used this ‘definitive formula’ for ex cathedra to state that
'the Catholic priesthood is reserved to men and that the Church cannot ever ordain women.'
SO, THE ANSWER THAT POPE FRANCIS GAVE ON THE SUBJECT ON WOMEN’S ORDINATION was actually referring to the fact that John Paul II had unequivocally defined that the Catholic priesthood is reserved to men alone as an unchangeable, 'infallible' doctrine of the faith .
Since doctrines are considered to be part of the ‘deposit of faith’, they CANNOT be changed.”
Therefore, Pope Francis said, “The Church has spoken and she said no. John Paul II said it."
And THAT is why he said,
“That is closed, that door is closed.”
(Note: Disciplines are not considered to be part of the deposit of faith and these can be changed. The doctrines of the Church are considered to be part of the 'deposit of faith' and cannot be changed in the Catholic Church.)
Pope Francis did NOT close the door on women’s ordination!
It was already closed before he got there.
The door was closed by John Paul II in his Apostolic Letter, Orinatio Sacerdotalis.
Here is a description of the Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalisit taken from the website , The Evangelization Station .
"This may have been John Paul II’s most controversial apostolic letter. In it he announced “in a definitive mode” that the Catholic priesthood is reserved to men, and therefore the Church cannot ever ordain women. By making this announcement in these unquestionable terms, the Pope made it clear that his successors would be bound by the same restriction, since the all-male priesthood was established not by human rules by divine command."
.
Here is the actual statement(underlined below), taken from the Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, that reserves the Catholic priesthood to men alone stating that the Church has NO authority to confer priestly ordination onto women:
“Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.
Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.”
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Below, I have copied the Apostolic Letter,Ordinatio Sacerdotalis (with a brief introduction) and the pertinent excerpts from Vatican I documents on infallibility and the conditions required for ex cathedra teaching (the definitive formula).-======================================================================
In this Apostolic Letter, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II INTENTIONALLY made a definitive statement that the Catholic priesthood is reserved to men. He used the formula (as defined in the First Vatican Council) for teaching 'ex cathedra'.
Ex cathedra makes this an INFALLIBLE doctrine of faith .
(Speaking, ‘ex cathedra’, from the chair (of Peter), defines the statement made by the pope to be infallible DOGMA!)
====================
(all emphasis, italics and highlighting in the Apostolic Letter below are mine)
APOSTOLIC LETTER ORDINATIO SACERDOTALIS OF JOHN PAUL II TO THE BISHOPS OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH ON RESERVING PRIESTLY ORDINATION TO MEN ALONE
Venerable Brothers in the Episcopate,
1. Priestly ordination, which hands on the office entrusted by Christ to his Apostles of teaching, sanctifying and governing the faithful, has in the Catholic Church from the beginning always been reserved to men alone. This tradition has also been faithfully maintained by the Oriental Churches.
When the question of the ordination of women arose in the Anglican Communion, Pope Paul VI, out of fidelity to his office of safeguarding the Apostolic Tradition, and also with a view to removing a new obstacle placed in the way of Christian unity, reminded Anglicans of the position of the Catholic Church: “She holds that it is not admissible to ordain women to the priesthood, for very fundamental reasons. These reasons include: the example recorded in the Sacred Scriptures of Christ choosing his Apostles only from among men; the constant practice of the Church, which has imitated Christ in choosing only men; and her living teaching authority which has consistently held that the exclusion of women from the priesthood is in accordance with God’s plan for his Church.”(1)
But since the question had also become the subject of debate among theologians and in certain Catholic circles, Paul VI directed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to set forth and expound the teaching of the Church on this matter. This was done through the Declaration Inter Insigniores, which the Supreme Pontiff approved and ordered to be published.(2)
2. The Declaration recalls and explains the fundamental reasons for this teaching, reasons expounded by Paul VI, and concludes that the Church “does not consider herself authorized to admit women to priestly ordination.”(3) To these fundamental reasons the document adds other theological reasons which illustrate the appropriateness of the divine provision, and it also shows clearly that Christ’s way of acting did not proceed from sociological or cultural motives peculiar to his time. As Paul VI later explained: “The real reason is that, in giving the Church her fundamental constitution, her theological anthropology-thereafter always followed by the Church’s Tradition- Christ established things in this way.”(4)
In the Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, I myself wrote in this regard: “In calling only men as his Apostles, Christ acted in a completely free and sovereign manner. In doing so, he exercised the same freedom with which, in all his behavior, he emphasized the dignity and the vocation of women, without conforming to the prevailing customs and to the traditions sanctioned by the legislation of the time.”(5)
In fact the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles attest that this call was made in accordance with God’s eternal plan; Christ chose those whom he willed (cf. Mk 3:13-14; Jn 6:70), and he did so in union with the Father, “through the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1:2), after having spent the night in prayer (cf. Lk 6:12). Therefore, in granting admission to the ministerial priesthood,(6) the Church has always acknowledged as a perennial norm her Lord’s way of acting in choosing the twelve men whom he made the foundation of his Church (cf. Rv 21:14). These men did not in fact receive only a function which could thereafter be exercised by any member of the Church; rather they were specifically and intimately associated in the mission of the Incarnate Word himself (cf. Mt 10:1, 7-8; 28:16-20; Mk 3:13-16; 16:14-15). The Apostles did the same when they chose fellow workers(7) who would succeed them in their ministry.(8) Also included in this choice were those who, throughout the time of the Church, would carry on the Apostles’ mission of representing Christ the Lord and Redeemer.(9)
3. Furthermore, the fact that the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Mother of the Church, received neither the mission proper to the Apostles nor the ministerial priesthood clearly shows that the non-admission of women to priestly ordination cannot mean that women are of lesser dignity, nor can it be construed as discrimination against them. Rather, it is to be seen as the faithful observance of a plan to be ascribed to the wisdom of the Lord of the universe.
The presence and the role of women in the life and mission of the Church, although not linked to the ministerial priesthood, remain absolutely necessary and irreplaceable. As the Declaration Inter Insigniores points out, “the Church desires that Christian women should become fully aware of the greatness of their mission: today their role is of capital importance both for the renewal and humanization of society and for the rediscovery by believers of the true face of the Church.”(10)
The New Testament and the whole history of the Church give ample evidence of the presence in the Church of women, true disciples, witnesses to Christ in the family and in society, as well as in total consecration to the service of God and of the Gospel. “By defending the dignity of women and their vocation, the Church has shown honor and gratitude for those women who-faithful to the Gospel-have shared in every age in the apostolic mission of the whole People of God. They are the holy martyrs, virgins and mothers of families, who bravely bore witness to their faith and passed on the Church’s faith and tradition by bringing up their children in the spirit of the Gospel.”(11)
Moreover, it is to the holiness of the faithful that the hierarchical structure of the Church is totally ordered. For this reason, the Declaration Inter Insigniores recalls: “the only better gift, which can and must be desired, is love (cf. 1 Cor 12 and 13). The greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven are not the ministers but the saints.”(12)
4. Although the teaching that priestly ordination is to be reserved to men alone has been preserved by the constant and universal Tradition of the Church and firmly taught by the Magisterium in its more recent documents, at the present time in some places it is nonetheless considered still open to debate, or the Church’s judgment that women are not to be admitted to ordination is considered to have a merely disciplinary force.
Wherefore, in order that all doubt may be removed regarding a matter of great importance, a matter which pertains to the Church’s divine constitution itself, in virtue of my ministry of confirming the brethren (cf. Lk 22:32) I declare that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church’s faithful.
Invoking an abundance of divine assistance upon you, venerable brothers, and upon all the faithful, I impart my apostolic blessing.
From the Vatican, on May 22, the Solemnity of Pentecost, in the year 1994, the sixteenth of my Pontificate.
NOTES
1. Paul VI, Response to the Letter of His Grace the Most Reverend Dr. F.D. Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, concerning the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood (November 30, 1975); AAS 68 (1976), 599.
2. Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Inter Insigniores on the question of the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (October 15, 1976): AAS 69 (1977), 98-116.
3. Ibid., 100.
4. Paul VI, Address on the Role of Women in the Plan of Salvation (January 30, 1977): Insegnamenti, XV (1977), 111. Cf. Also John Paul II Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles laici (December 30, 1988), n. 51: AAS 81 (1989), 393-521; Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1577.
5. Apsotolic Letter Mulieris Dignnitatem (August 15, 1988), n. 26: AAS 80 (1988), 1715.
6. Cf. Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, n. 28 Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, n. 2b.
7. Cf. 1 Tm 3:1-13; 2 Tm 1:6; Ti 1:5-9.
8. Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, n. 1577.
9. Cf. Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, nn. 20,21.
10. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Inter Insigniores, n. 6: AAS 69 (1977), 115-116.
11. Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem, n. 27: AAS 80 (1988), 1719.
12. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Declaration Inter Insigniores n. 6: AAS 69 (1977), 115.
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Ex Cathedra is (infallibly) defined in the First Vatican Council.
Dogmatic Definition of 1870
Vatican Council, Sess. IV, Const. de Ecclesiâ Christi, c. iv, holds:
We teach and define that it is a dogma Divinely revealed that the Roman pontiff when he speaks ex cathedra, that is when in discharge of the office of pastor and doctor of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic authority, he defines a doctrine regarding faith or morals to be held by the universal Church, by the Divine assistance promised to him in Blessed Peter, is possessed of that infallibility with which the Divine Redeemer willed that his Church should be endowed in defining doctrine regarding faith or morals, and that therefore such definitions of the Roman pontiff are of themselves and not from the consent of the Church irreformable.
The conditions required for ex cathedra teaching are mentioned in the Vatican decree:
◾The pontiff must teach in his public and official capacity as spiritual head of the Church universal, not merely in his private capacity as a theologian.
◾He must be teaching some doctrine of faith or morals in a manner that explicitly and solemnly defines an issue.
◾His teaching cannot contradict anything the Church has taught officially and previously.
◾It must be evident that he intends to teach with his supreme Apostolic authority. In other words, he must convey his wish to determine some point of doctrine in an absolutely final and irrevocable way. There are well-recognized formulas that are used to express this intention, such as “We declare, decree and define, . . .”.
◾It must be clear that the Pope intends to bind the whole Church. Unless the Pope formally addresses the whole Church in the recognized official way, he is assumed to not intend his teaching to be ex cathedra and infallible (unless he is reiterating what has always been taught).
◾There will be an anathema attached to the definition that outlines consequences for not assenting to it. For ex., in Pope Pius XII’s infallible definition regarding the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, there are attached these words, viz: “Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.”
◾The pontiff must teach in his public and official capacity as spiritual head of the Church universal, not merely in his private capacity as a theologian.
◾He must be teaching some doctrine of faith or morals in a manner that explicitly and solemnly defines an issue.
◾His teaching cannot contradict anything the Church has taught officially and previously.
◾It must be evident that he intends to teach with his supreme Apostolic authority. In other words, he must convey his wish to determine some point of doctrine in an absolutely final and irrevocable way. There are well-recognized formulas that are used to express this intention, such as “We declare, decree and define, . . .”.
◾It must be clear that the Pope intends to bind the whole Church. Unless the Pope formally addresses the whole Church in the recognized official way, he is assumed to not intend his teaching to be ex cathedra and infallible (unless he is reiterating what has always been taught).
◾There will be an anathema attached to the definition that outlines consequences for not assenting to it. For ex., in Pope Pius XII’s infallible definition regarding the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, there are attached these words, viz: “Hence if anyone, which God forbid, should dare willfully to deny or to call into doubt that which we have defined, let him know that he has fallen away completely from the divine and Catholic Faith.”
Pope meets with International Commission on English in the Liturgy
Pope meets with International Commission on English in the Liturgy
=========================================================================
Lord , Be with , guide and protect Pope Francis!
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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with members of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy telling them that the “fruits of their labours had helped to form the prayer of countless Catholics. Lydia O’Kane reports 
Below is a translation of the Holy Father's Address to the “International Commission on English in the Liturgy” (ICEL)
My Brother Bishops,Dear Friends,
I welcome the members and staff of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy as you gather in Rome to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Commission’s establishment. I thank Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and a former President of ICEL, for presenting you. Through you, I send greetings and the expression of my gratitude to the Conferences of Bishops which you represent, and to the consultors and personnel who cooperate in the ongoing work of the Commission.
Founded as part of the implementation of the great liturgical renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Divine Liturgy, ICEL was also one of the signs of the spirit of episcopal collegiality which found expression in the Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, 22-25). The present anniversary is an occasion for giving thanks for the work which the Commission has accomplished over the past fifty years in providing English translations of the texts of the liturgy, but also in advancing the study, understanding and appropriation of the Church’s rich sacramental and euchological tradition. The work of the Commission has also contributed significantly to that conscious, active and devout participation called for by the Council, a participation which, as Pope Benedict XVI has rightly reminded us, needs to be understood ever more deeply “on the basis of a greater awareness of the mystery being celebrated and its relation to daily life” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 52). The fruits of your labours have not only helped to form the prayer of countless Catholics, but have also contributed to the understanding of the faith, the exercise of the common priesthood and the renewal of the Church’s missionary outreach, all themes central to the teaching of the Council. Indeed, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out, “for many people, the message of the Second Vatican Council was perceived principally through the liturgical reform” (Vicesimus quintus annus, 12).
Dear friends, last evening you celebrated a solemn Mass of thanksgiving at the tomb of Saint Peter, beneath the great inscription which reads: Hinc una fides mundo refulget; hinc unitas sacerdotii exoritur. By enabling the vast numbers of the Catholic faithful throughout the world to pray in a common language, your Commission has helped to foster the Church’s unity in faith and sacramental communion. That unity and communion, which has its origin in the Blessed Trinity, is one which constantly reconciles and enhances the richness of diversity. May your continuing efforts help to realize ever more fully the hope expressed by Pope Paul VI in promulgating the Roman Missal: that “in the great diversity of languages, a single prayer will rise as an acceptable offering to our Father in heaven, through our high priest Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit”.
To you, and to all associated with the work of the Commission, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abiding joy and peace in the Lord.
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I DO hope that the HOly Father realizes that there was purposeful mistranslations and mistakes made in our translation and that it was just in the last few years that it was corrected!!! Oh Lord, I AM so grateful that we had Pope Benedict to give us back soe of the reverence and to correct the English amongst other things... I just do not trust that Pope Francis KNOWS what is going on and has gone on in this country.... Poppy, MAKE SURE THAT HE KNOWS, PLEASE!
Lord, Bewith Pope BenedictLord , Be with , guide and protect Pope Francis!
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2013-10-18 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday met with members of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy telling them that the “fruits of their labours had helped to form the prayer of countless Catholics. Lydia O’Kane reports Below is a translation of the Holy Father's Address to the “International Commission on English in the Liturgy” (ICEL)My Brother Bishops,Dear Friends,
I welcome the members and staff of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy as you gather in Rome to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Commission’s establishment. I thank Archbishop Arthur Roche, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, and a former President of ICEL, for presenting you. Through you, I send greetings and the expression of my gratitude to the Conferences of Bishops which you represent, and to the consultors and personnel who cooperate in the ongoing work of the Commission.
Founded as part of the implementation of the great liturgical renewal called for by the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Divine Liturgy, ICEL was also one of the signs of the spirit of episcopal collegiality which found expression in the Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium, 22-25). The present anniversary is an occasion for giving thanks for the work which the Commission has accomplished over the past fifty years in providing English translations of the texts of the liturgy, but also in advancing the study, understanding and appropriation of the Church’s rich sacramental and euchological tradition. The work of the Commission has also contributed significantly to that conscious, active and devout participation called for by the Council, a participation which, as Pope Benedict XVI has rightly reminded us, needs to be understood ever more deeply “on the basis of a greater awareness of the mystery being celebrated and its relation to daily life” (Sacramentum Caritatis, 52). The fruits of your labours have not only helped to form the prayer of countless Catholics, but have also contributed to the understanding of the faith, the exercise of the common priesthood and the renewal of the Church’s missionary outreach, all themes central to the teaching of the Council. Indeed, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out, “for many people, the message of the Second Vatican Council was perceived principally through the liturgical reform” (Vicesimus quintus annus, 12).
Dear friends, last evening you celebrated a solemn Mass of thanksgiving at the tomb of Saint Peter, beneath the great inscription which reads: Hinc una fides mundo refulget; hinc unitas sacerdotii exoritur. By enabling the vast numbers of the Catholic faithful throughout the world to pray in a common language, your Commission has helped to foster the Church’s unity in faith and sacramental communion. That unity and communion, which has its origin in the Blessed Trinity, is one which constantly reconciles and enhances the richness of diversity. May your continuing efforts help to realize ever more fully the hope expressed by Pope Paul VI in promulgating the Roman Missal: that “in the great diversity of languages, a single prayer will rise as an acceptable offering to our Father in heaven, through our high priest Jesus Christ, in the Holy Spirit”.
To you, and to all associated with the work of the Commission, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of abiding joy and peace in the Lord.
Pope sends video message in English to Philippines conference
Pope sends video message in English to Philippines conference
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday sent a video message (http://t.co/Oni0OdY0Zk) in English to participants at the conclusion of a conference in the Philippines organized by the archdiocese of Manila. The three day Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization has been focused on three main goals: creating an experience of God in the context of the new millennium, strengthening bonds of communion in the Philippine church, and inspiring the faithful to live by the spirit of mission.
Some five thousand delegates from across South East Asia have been taking part in the meeting which concludes on Friday with the papal message and a Mass celebrated by the nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto.
Listen to Pope Francis giving his first public address in English since the start of his pontificate:
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
I greet all of you with the peace and joy of Our Lord. The first Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization is a worthy offering to the Year of Faith. For this I thank all of you, my brother Bishops, the priests, religious men and women, seminarians and the lay faithful who organized and are participating in the conference. I am happy to learn that you came to Manila from different parts of the Philippines and Asia. The Holy Spirit is actively at work in you. The Church of Christ is alive!Through this conference, I hope you would experience again the loving presence of Jesus in your lives, that you would love the Church more and that you would share the Gospel to all people with humility and joy. Do not get tired of bringing the mercy of the Father to the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the young people and families. Let Jesus be known in the world of politics, business, arts, science, technology and social media. Let the Holy Spirit renew creation and bring forth justice and peace in the Philippines and in the great continent of Asia that is close to my heart.
Please pray for me. I promise to pray for you, especially to Our Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization. Mabúhay ang PilipÃnas! Mabúhay ang Asia! Pagpaláin kayó ng Dios!
[Long live the Philippines! Long live Asia! God bless you!]
Click the link above to get to the recording of the Pope speaking English!
It is delightful! :) or the video message link in the article, though I have not tried that one
2013-10-18 Vatican Radio
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday sent a video message (http://t.co/Oni0OdY0Zk) in English to participants at the conclusion of a conference in the Philippines organized by the archdiocese of Manila. The three day Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization has been focused on three main goals: creating an experience of God in the context of the new millennium, strengthening bonds of communion in the Philippine church, and inspiring the faithful to live by the spirit of mission.Some five thousand delegates from across South East Asia have been taking part in the meeting which concludes on Friday with the papal message and a Mass celebrated by the nuncio to the Philippines, Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto.
Listen to Pope Francis giving his first public address in English since the start of his pontificate:
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ,
I greet all of you with the peace and joy of Our Lord. The first Philippine Conference on the New Evangelization is a worthy offering to the Year of Faith. For this I thank all of you, my brother Bishops, the priests, religious men and women, seminarians and the lay faithful who organized and are participating in the conference. I am happy to learn that you came to Manila from different parts of the Philippines and Asia. The Holy Spirit is actively at work in you. The Church of Christ is alive!Through this conference, I hope you would experience again the loving presence of Jesus in your lives, that you would love the Church more and that you would share the Gospel to all people with humility and joy. Do not get tired of bringing the mercy of the Father to the poor, the sick, the abandoned, the young people and families. Let Jesus be known in the world of politics, business, arts, science, technology and social media. Let the Holy Spirit renew creation and bring forth justice and peace in the Philippines and in the great continent of Asia that is close to my heart.
Please pray for me. I promise to pray for you, especially to Our Mother the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization. Mabúhay ang PilipÃnas! Mabúhay ang Asia! Pagpaláin kayó ng Dios!
[Long live the Philippines! Long live Asia! God bless you!]
Friday, October 18, 2013
ALL WYD'SWYD / JMJ / GMG - Totus2us
WYD / JMJ / GMG - Totus2us
"You are the hope of the Church and of the world. You are my hope."
Blessed John Paul II repeated these words many times, both at the gatherings of young people on his pilgrim journeys and in particular at World Youth Days, which had their beginnings in 1984 when JPII held an International Youth Meeting in St Peter's Square on Palm Sunday, and a week later on Easter Sunday entrusted young people with the Cross. This simple wooden Cross has been carried round the world by young people ever since. 1985 was declared an 'International Year for Youth' by the UN; Pope John Paul II wrote his Apostolic Letter Dilecti Amici to the youth of the world and in December announced the institution of World Youth Day.
World Youth Day has been celebrated on Palm Sunday every year since on a diocesan level, with an annual messsage from our Holy Fathers. There have also been 11 international World Youth Days - in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Compostela, Czestochowa, Denver, Manila, Paris, Rome, Toronto, Cologne, Sydney & Madrid. They've taken on a 5 day structure: 3 days of catechesis, prayer and celebration, Stations of the Cross on the Friday, a pilgrimage on the Saturday for a prayer vigil with the Pope and the final Mass on the Sunday. The 12th international WYD is in Rio de Janiero this July. WYD 1995 in Manila is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest gathering in the history of the world (estimates of 6 million) & JMJ 2000 in Rome in the Jubilee is the largest gathering in the history of Europe (over 2 million). They've received v little press coverage but things might change in Rio :o)
If you've been to a WYD & would be up for sharing something of your experience, please do contact the Totus2us team. We so want to give witness to these grace-filled, happy, wonderful, life-affirming, friend-making, faith-building and courage-giving days. Testimonies from WYD Madrid on Totus2us's World Youth Days podcast.
XXVIII World Youth Day - "“Go and make disciples of all nations!”" (cf Mt 28:19)
Papa BXVI's Message to Young People - in Albanian, Croatian, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian & Spanish
XXVI World Youth Day - "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith" (Col 2:7)
Papa BXVI's Message to Young People - in Albanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Ukrainian & Vietnamese
Theme from Acts 1, 8 - Benedict XVI's message to the youth of the world - in Albanian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, English, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Macedonian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian & Vietnamese
Theme from Mt 2, 2 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
Theme from Mt 5: 13,14 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
Theme from Jn 1:14 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
Theme from Jn 1:38-39 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
Theme from Jn 10:10 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
Theme from Romans 8:15 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
Theme from John 14:6 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
Theme from 1 John 4:16 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
Theme from 1 Peter 3:15
- St Peter's Square, Rome
John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Dilecti Amici to the youth of the world
- read in English, French, German, Italian, Latin & Spanish
John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day - 20th December, 1985
- St Peter’s Square, Rome
John Paul II presents and entrusts young people with the Cross - Easter Sunday, 1984
This also explains the idea of holding World Youth Days. At the very beginning, during the Jubilee Year of Redemption, and then again for the International Year of Youth, sponsored by the United Nations (1985), young people were invited to Rome. This was the beginning. No one invented the World Youth Days. It was the young people themselves who created them. Those days, those encounters, then became something desired by young people throughout the world. Most of the time these Days were something of a surprise for priests, and even bishops, in that they surpassed all their expectations.
The World Youth Days have become a great and fascinating witness that young people give of themselves. They have become a powerful means of evangelization.In the young there is, in fact, an immense potential for good and for creative possibility. Whenever I meet them in my travels throughout the world, I wait first of all to hear what they want to tell me about themselves, about their society, about their Church.And I always point out: ‘What am I going to say to you is not as important as what you are going to say to me. You will not necessarily say it to me in words; you will say it to me by your presence, by your song, perhaps by your dancing, by your skits, and finally by your enthusiasm.’
We need the enthusiasm of the young. We need their joie de vivre. In it is reflected something of the original joy God made in creating man. The young experience this same joy within themselves. This joy is the same everywhere, but it is also every new and original. The young know how to express this joy in their own special way.
It is not true that the Pope brings the young form one end to the world to the other. It is they who bring him. Even though he is getting older, they urge him to be young, they do not permit him to forget this experience, his discovery of youth and its great importance for the life of every man. I believe this explains a great deal.
The very day of the inauguration of my papal ministry, on October 22nd 1978, at the conclusion of the liturgy, I said to the young people gathered in St. Peter’s Square: ‘You are the hope of the Church and of the world. You are my hope.’ I have often repeated these words."
World Youth Days - Jornadas Mundiales de la Juventud - Journées Mondiales de la Jeunesse - Giornate Mondiali della Gioventù
"You are the hope of the Church and of the world. You are my hope."
were the words of the new Pope to the young people in St Peter's Square on 22 October 1978.
Blessed John Paul II repeated these words many times, both at the gatherings of young people on his pilgrim journeys and in particular at World Youth Days, which had their beginnings in 1984 when JPII held an International Youth Meeting in St Peter's Square on Palm Sunday, and a week later on Easter Sunday entrusted young people with the Cross. This simple wooden Cross has been carried round the world by young people ever since. 1985 was declared an 'International Year for Youth' by the UN; Pope John Paul II wrote his Apostolic Letter Dilecti Amici to the youth of the world and in December announced the institution of World Youth Day. World Youth Day has been celebrated on Palm Sunday every year since on a diocesan level, with an annual messsage from our Holy Fathers. There have also been 11 international World Youth Days - in Buenos Aires, Santiago de Compostela, Czestochowa, Denver, Manila, Paris, Rome, Toronto, Cologne, Sydney & Madrid. They've taken on a 5 day structure: 3 days of catechesis, prayer and celebration, Stations of the Cross on the Friday, a pilgrimage on the Saturday for a prayer vigil with the Pope and the final Mass on the Sunday. The 12th international WYD is in Rio de Janiero this July. WYD 1995 in Manila is in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest gathering in the history of the world (estimates of 6 million) & JMJ 2000 in Rome in the Jubilee is the largest gathering in the history of Europe (over 2 million). They've received v little press coverage but things might change in Rio :o)
If you've been to a WYD & would be up for sharing something of your experience, please do contact the Totus2us team. We so want to give witness to these grace-filled, happy, wonderful, life-affirming, friend-making, faith-building and courage-giving days. Testimonies from WYD Madrid on Totus2us's World Youth Days podcast.
2013 - 12th international WYD / JMJ - Rio, Brazil
XXVIII World Youth Day - "“Go and make disciples of all nations!”" (cf Mt 28:19) 
Papa BXVI's Message to Young People - in Albanian, Croatian, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovenian & Spanish
..
2011 - 11th international WYD / JMJ - Madrid, Spain
XXVI World Youth Day - "Planted and built up in Jesus Christ, firm in the faith" (Col 2:7) 
Papa BXVI's Message to Young People - in Albanian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Ukrainian & Vietnamese2008 - WYD - Sydney, Australia
XXIII World Youth Day - 15th - 20th July, 2008
"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses"Theme from Acts 1, 8 - Benedict XVI's message to the youth of the world - in Albanian, Burmese, Cambodian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, English, Filipino, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Macedonian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Thai, Ukrainian & Vietnamese
2005 - WYD / WGT - Cologne, Germany
XX World Youth Day - 16th - 21st August, 2005
"We have come to worship Him"Theme from Mt 2, 2 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
2002 - WYD / JMJ - Toronto, Canada
XVII World Youth Day - 23rd - 28th July, 2002
"You are the salt of the earth ... you are the light of the world"Theme from Mt 5: 13,14 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese & Spanish
2000 - WYD / GMG - Rome, Italy
XV World Youth Day - Youth Jubilee - 15th - 20th August 2000
“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us”Theme from Jn 1:14 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
1997 - WYD / JMJ - Paris, France
XII World Youth Day - 19th - 24th August, 1997
“Teacher, where are you staying? Come and see.”Theme from Jn 1:38-39 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian, Portuguese & Spanish
1995 - WYD - Manila, the Philippines
X World Youth Day - 10th - 15th January, 1995
“As the Father sent me, so am I sending you”1993 - WYD - Denver, USA
VIII World Youth Day - 10th - 15th August, 1993
“I came that they might have life, and have it to the full”Theme from Jn 10:10 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
1991 - WYD / SDM - Czestochowa, Poland
VI World Youth Day - 10th - 15th August, 1991
“You have received a spirit of sonship”Theme from Romans 8:15 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
1989 - WYD / JMJ - Santiago de Compostela, Spain
IV World Youth Day - 15th - 20th August, 1989
“I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”Theme from John 14:6 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
1987 - WYD / JMJ - Buenos Aires, Argentina
II World Youth Day - 11th - 12th April, 1987
“We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards ourselves.”Theme from 1 John 4:16 - John Paul II's message to the youth of the world - in English, French, Italian & Spanish
I World Youth Day - Palm Sunday, 1986
“Always be prepared to make a defence to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you”Theme from 1 Peter 3:15
1985 - International Year for Youth
International Youth Meeting - Palm Sunday, 1985- St Peter's Square, Rome
John Paul II's Apostolic Letter Dilecti Amici to the youth of the world
- read in English, French, German, Italian, Latin & Spanish
John Paul II announces the institution of World Youth Day - 20th December, 1985
1984 - Holy Year of the Redemption
International Youth Meeting - Palm Sunday, 1984- St Peter’s Square, Rome
John Paul II presents and entrusts young people with the Cross - Easter Sunday, 1984
Pope John Paul II - in Crossing the Threshold of Hope (1994):
"Every parish priest in Rome knows that my visits to the parish must conclude with the meeting between the Bishop of Rome and the young people of the parish. And not only in Rome, but anywhere the Pope goes, he seeks out the young and the young seek him out. Actually, in truth, it is not the Pope who is being sought out at all. The one being sought out is Christ, who knows ‘that which is in every man’ (Jn 2:25), especially in a young person, and who can give true answers to his questions! And even if they are demanding answers, the young are not afraid of them; more to the point, they even await them.This also explains the idea of holding World Youth Days. At the very beginning, during the Jubilee Year of Redemption, and then again for the International Year of Youth, sponsored by the United Nations (1985), young people were invited to Rome. This was the beginning. No one invented the World Youth Days. It was the young people themselves who created them. Those days, those encounters, then became something desired by young people throughout the world. Most of the time these Days were something of a surprise for priests, and even bishops, in that they surpassed all their expectations.
The World Youth Days have become a great and fascinating witness that young people give of themselves. They have become a powerful means of evangelization.In the young there is, in fact, an immense potential for good and for creative possibility. Whenever I meet them in my travels throughout the world, I wait first of all to hear what they want to tell me about themselves, about their society, about their Church.And I always point out: ‘What am I going to say to you is not as important as what you are going to say to me. You will not necessarily say it to me in words; you will say it to me by your presence, by your song, perhaps by your dancing, by your skits, and finally by your enthusiasm.’
We need the enthusiasm of the young. We need their joie de vivre. In it is reflected something of the original joy God made in creating man. The young experience this same joy within themselves. This joy is the same everywhere, but it is also every new and original. The young know how to express this joy in their own special way.
It is not true that the Pope brings the young form one end to the world to the other. It is they who bring him. Even though he is getting older, they urge him to be young, they do not permit him to forget this experience, his discovery of youth and its great importance for the life of every man. I believe this explains a great deal.
The very day of the inauguration of my papal ministry, on October 22nd 1978, at the conclusion of the liturgy, I said to the young people gathered in St. Peter’s Square: ‘You are the hope of the Church and of the world. You are my hope.’ I have often repeated these words."
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