austraLasia #2800
Pope ordains Savio Hon and four other bishops
VATICAN CITY, 5 February 2011-- Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass this morning in St Peter's Basilica, during which he ordained five new bishops who will exercise their ministry in the Roman Curia or as Papal representatives. The five are: Archbishops Savio Hon Tai-Fai, Chinese, 59 years of age, Salesian and member of our EAO Region, now Secretary of the Congregation for the evangelisation of Peoples; Marcelo Bartolucci, Italian, 66 years of age, Secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; Celso Morga Iruzibieta, Spanish, 63 years of age, Secretary for the Congregation for the Clergy; and Bishops Antonio Guido Filipazzi, Italian, 47 years of age, Apostolic Nuncio; Edgar Peña Parra, Venezuelan, 50 years of age, Apostolic Nuncio.
In his homily Benedict XVI recalled the passage from Acts on the primitive Jerusalem community, the theme for the recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Pope emphasised certain aspects of the episcopal ministry, observing, through a metaphor of particular interest to some of the candidates before him that “the Pastor should not be like a bamboo bending in the wind, but a servant of the spirit of his times”...
“Being intrepid, having the courage to go against the prevailing current, belongs to the essential task of the Pastor. He should not be like a bamboo in the swamp, but instead – like the image from Psalm 1 – be like a tree with deep roots, firm and well-founded”. “This", the Pope explained, "has nothing to do with being rigid or inflexible. Only where stability exists can there be growth”.
He then went on to recall Cardinal Newman, and his three 'conversions'. He said that “to live is to be transformed”. But, Benedict XVI insisted, “his three conversions and their corresponding transformations constitute, however, a single consistent path: the path of obedience directed to truth, God; the path of true continuity which is precisely what progress is”.
“Faith has real content”, the Pope then said, commenting on the expression “perseverance in the teaching of the Apostles”. “Faith is not some indeterminate spirituality, an indefinable sense of transcendence. God's acting and speaking achieved something real. We can count on the stability of his Word”. “By being in communion with the Apostles, remaining in their faith, we are actually in contact with the living God”.
“This is the objective", the Pope continued, "which the Bishop's ministry serves: so this may not be interrupted, this succession in communion”. "This is the essence of the Apostolic succession: preserving communion with those who encountered Jesus in a visible and tangible way, keeping Heaven open, God's presence amongst us". “Only through communion with the Successors of the Apostles can we also be in contact with God incarnate”. "The opposite is also true", observed the Pope: “thanks to communion with God, thanks to communion with Jesus Christ, this chain of witnesses is held together”.
“No bishop is alone, said Vatican II, but he is always part of the College of Bishops. And this is not confined simply to the time of his own generation. All generations are entwined with collegiality, the Church lives on through time. My dear brother bishops, hold to the mission of preserving this Catholic communion", the Pope added.
Benedict XVI also commented on the “breaking of the bread”, which was a feature of the first community in Jerusalem, recalling that “the holy Eucharist is the centre of the Church and must be the centre of our Christian and priestly lives”.
“The social dimension, sharing, is not a mere appendage added to the Eucharist, but part of it”. “Faith is always expressed through love and justice towards each other and our social activity is to be inspired by faith; and that faith is lived in love" the Pope concluded
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AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
Pope ordains Savio Hon and four other bishops
VATICAN CITY, 5 February 2011-- Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass this morning in St Peter's Basilica, during which he ordained five new bishops who will exercise their ministry in the Roman Curia or as Papal representatives. The five are: Archbishops Savio Hon Tai-Fai, Chinese, 59 years of age, Salesian and member of our EAO Region, now Secretary of the Congregation for the evangelisation of Peoples; Marcelo Bartolucci, Italian, 66 years of age, Secretary of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints; Celso Morga Iruzibieta, Spanish, 63 years of age, Secretary for the Congregation for the Clergy; and Bishops Antonio Guido Filipazzi, Italian, 47 years of age, Apostolic Nuncio; Edgar Peña Parra, Venezuelan, 50 years of age, Apostolic Nuncio.
In his homily Benedict XVI recalled the passage from Acts on the primitive Jerusalem community, the theme for the recent Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Pope emphasised certain aspects of the episcopal ministry, observing, through a metaphor of particular interest to some of the candidates before him that “the Pastor should not be like a bamboo bending in the wind, but a servant of the spirit of his times”...
“Being intrepid, having the courage to go against the prevailing current, belongs to the essential task of the Pastor. He should not be like a bamboo in the swamp, but instead – like the image from Psalm 1 – be like a tree with deep roots, firm and well-founded”. “This", the Pope explained, "has nothing to do with being rigid or inflexible. Only where stability exists can there be growth”.
He then went on to recall Cardinal Newman, and his three 'conversions'. He said that “to live is to be transformed”. But, Benedict XVI insisted, “his three conversions and their corresponding transformations constitute, however, a single consistent path: the path of obedience directed to truth, God; the path of true continuity which is precisely what progress is”.
“Faith has real content”, the Pope then said, commenting on the expression “perseverance in the teaching of the Apostles”. “Faith is not some indeterminate spirituality, an indefinable sense of transcendence. God's acting and speaking achieved something real. We can count on the stability of his Word”. “By being in communion with the Apostles, remaining in their faith, we are actually in contact with the living God”.
“This is the objective", the Pope continued, "which the Bishop's ministry serves: so this may not be interrupted, this succession in communion”. "This is the essence of the Apostolic succession: preserving communion with those who encountered Jesus in a visible and tangible way, keeping Heaven open, God's presence amongst us". “Only through communion with the Successors of the Apostles can we also be in contact with God incarnate”. "The opposite is also true", observed the Pope: “thanks to communion with God, thanks to communion with Jesus Christ, this chain of witnesses is held together”.
“No bishop is alone, said Vatican II, but he is always part of the College of Bishops. And this is not confined simply to the time of his own generation. All generations are entwined with collegiality, the Church lives on through time. My dear brother bishops, hold to the mission of preserving this Catholic communion", the Pope added.
Benedict XVI also commented on the “breaking of the bread”, which was a feature of the first community in Jerusalem, recalling that “the holy Eucharist is the centre of the Church and must be the centre of our Christian and priestly lives”.
“The social dimension, sharing, is not a mere appendage added to the Eucharist, but part of it”. “Faith is always expressed through love and justice towards each other and our social activity is to be inspired by faith; and that faith is lived in love" the Pope concluded
_________________
AustraLasia is an email service for the Salesian Family of Asia Pacific. It also functions as an agency for ANS based in Rome. For queries please contact admin@bosconet.aust.com . RSS feeds - just go to Bosconet, click on austraLasia 2011 in the sidebar. You will see the RSS orange icon in your browser address bar - add it from there. Or be interactive with the EAO blog Cetera Tolle. Avail yourself of the Salesian Digital Library at http://sdl.sdb.org
