VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXV - # 218
DATE 04-12-2015

Summary:
- Audience with the president of the Philippines: dialogue in Filipino society
and peace in Mindanao
- The Pope thanks the Council for the Economy
- First sermon of Advent: Christ, light of the people
- The Jubilee of Mercy is at hand
- Audiences

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 Audience with the president of the Philippines: dialogue in Filipino society
and peace in Mindanao
 Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father Francis received
in
audience the president of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno S. Aquino
III, who subsequently met with Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin,
accompanied by Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, under-secretary for Relations with
States.
 During the cordial discussions, the dialogue between the various members of
Filipino society was evoked, as well as the contribution of the Catholic Church
to the life of the country. Special reference was made to the peace process in
Mindanao, with the hope that commitment from the Parties may guarantee stable
and lasting peace to the region.
 This was followed by an exchange of opinions on the international and regional
situation, with special reference to the question of climate change and the
COP21 Conference in Paris.

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 The Pope thanks the Council for the Economy
 Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today
announced
that a according to a communique issued yesterday, 3 December, the Holy Father
participated in a meeting of the Council for the Economy. The Holy Father
explained that the reason for his visit was to personally thank and encourage
Council members for the important role they fulfil in the supervision of the
financial and administrative structures of the Holy See. He further confirmed
the central role of the Council in this work of reform to which the Holy Father
is committed.
 On behalf of the Council, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, the Coordinator of the
Council, warmly thanked the Holy Father for his presence at the meeting and
reconfirmed its full commitment to the financial and administrative reforms
initiated by Pope Francis. Since its institution the Council has dedicated
significant time and energy to the consideration and eventual implementation of
measures aimed at transparency and a more effective management of the resources
of the Holy See.

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 First sermon of Advent: Christ, light of the people
 Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Redemptoris Mater
chapel, in the presence of the Holy Father, the preacher of the Papal
Household,
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, O.F.M. Cap., pronounced the first sermon of Advent,
on
the theme "Christ, light of the people: three meditations on Lumen Gentium on
the fiftieth anniversary of the closing of Vatican Council II".

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 The Jubilee of Mercy is at hand
 Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press
Office, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for New
Evangelisation, along with Bishop Jose Octavio Ruiz Arenas and Msgr. Graham
Bell, respectively secretary and under-secretary of the same dicastery,
presented the organisation of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (8 December
2015 to 20 November 2016) and the ways in which the faithful and pilgrims will
be able to participate, also explaining some of the initiatives linked to this
event which is intended to show how "mercy is the very foundation of the
Church's life".
 With regard to the most immediate organisational aspects of the Jubilee,
Archbishop Fisichella said that a Reception Centre for Pilgrims has been open
in
Via della Conciliazione 7 from 1 December. "It is a place where information can
be obtained on the Jubilee programme, for registering for the pilgrimage to the
Holy Door, for collecting tickets for the various events for which a free
access
ticket is required, and for collecting the 'testimonium' of participation in
the
Jubilee". He emphasised that only the Pontifical Council for New Evangelisation
is authorised to certify presence at the Jubilee and in the pilgrimage on foot,
via the information point. Any other certificate issued by other entities is
not
to be considered authentic. The Centre will be open from 7.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.
every day, including Saturday and Sunday.
 An important contribution will be given by volunteers, who will provide a
reception and help service to all pilgrims, especially in Via della
Conciliazione, St. Peter's Square, in the other Basilicas and in the Jubilee
Churches. The number of volunteers will rise to 800 to 1000 at major events.
The
archbishop also commented that a collection of Pastoral Resources prepared by
the Pontifical Council is now complete in ten languages, including Ukrainian
and
Korean.
 With regard to the Mass and opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica,
"the celebration will take place in St. Peter's Square beginning at 9:30 a.m.
It
will be introduced by readings taken from the four Conciliar Constitutions (Dei
Verbum, Lumen gentium, Sacrosanctum concilium e Gaudium et spes), along with
two
passages taken from Unitatis redintegratio on ecumenism and Dignitatis humanae
on religious liberty". He continued, "As is well known, this day will mark the
fiftieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council. The
reading of these passages is intended to recall the profound teaching which
came
forth from that event, and its continued significant importance for the life of
the Church. It was an event that we cannot forget and was reflected upon and
achieved over the course of three intense years, in the light of mercy, as Pope
Francis himself reminded us in the Bull, citing Saint John XXIII and Blessed
Paul VI. In the procession for the Eucharistic celebration will be carried the
Book of the Gospels prepared specifically for the Jubilee by P. Rupnik and
published by San Paolo editions. It is a work of art on whose cover is a mosaic
reproduction of the Jubilee logo. This Book of the Gospels will be set on the
same podium which stood by the altar of Saint Peter's Basilica during all the
sessions of the Council to make evident to everyone the primacy of the Word of
God".
 The ceremony for the opening of the Holy Door, "which is very simple, will be
broadcast on television worldwide. The Holy Father will request the opening of
the Door, and he will then pass through it. After him, the Cardinals, Bishops,
and representatives of priests, religious men and women, and laity will cross
its threshold, and will continue in procession to the tomb of the Apostle
Peter,
where the concluding rite of the Holy Mass will take place. The Pope will then
lead the Angelus as usual from the window of the Apostolic Palace".
 "The evening of December 8th will conclude in St. Peter's Square with a
meaningful and unique presentation entitled "Fiat lux: Illuminating Our Common
Home". It will be a projection of photographs onto the faτade and cupola of St.
Peter's Basilica, taken from a repertoire of some of the world's great
photographers. These illuminations will present images inspired of Mercy, of
humanity, of the natural world, and of climate changes. The show is sponsored
by
the World Bank Group (Connect4Climate), by Paul G. Allen's Vulcan Productions,
by the Li Ka-shing Foundation and by Okeanos".
 "On Sunday, December 13, for the first time in the history of the Jubilee
Years, Holy Doors will be opened cathedrals all over the world. ... Pope
Francis
will open the Holy Door of his Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran, with the
liturgy beginning at 9:30 a.m".
 "The following Friday, December 18, the Holy Father will perform a symbolic
gesture as he opens the Door of Mercy at the Hostel 'Don Luigi Di Liegro',
managed by Caritas of Rome, located on Via Marsala. For 25 years, persons in
grave need, who require our help, have been received at this hostel. With this
first gesture the Holy Father will begin a series of symbolic actions that will
take place on one Friday of the month, and which he intends as concrete
expressions of the works of mercy.
 "Beginning on the day of the opening of the Holy Door and throughout the
entire
Jubilee, the Rosary will be recited daily in St. Peter's Square in front of the
statue of St. Peter. Various parishes in Rome dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and
Religious Institutes present in Rome with a particular consecration to the
Mother of God, along with various Institutes of formation, will take turns
leading this Rosary".
 Archbishop Fisichella also mentioned the healthcare services available for
pilgrims. In each of the four Papal Basilicas there will be a First Aid
Station.
"In addition, in St. Peter's Basilica and in other Churches, confessionals have
been set up without structural barriers, and with other considerations to
facilitate confessions for the deaf and hard of hearing. Furthermore, there is
also a touch book planned in A3 format that will permit the blind and
partially-sighted to be guided through the Pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St.
Peter's Basilica. Finally, the internet site has also been equipped with
facilitated navigation".
 This official website of the Jubilee (http://www.im.va), translated into seven
languages, "will permit those who cannot be physically present to follow the
Major Jubilee events that will take place in Rome. To register for the passage
through the Holy Door, and likewise to become a volunteer, it is necessary to
enrol on the indicated sections of the site. In addition, I believe it
opportune
here to say a few words about the Portal "vatimecum", endorsed by the
Pontifical
Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelisation, by means of which pilgrims
may obtain services relating to room and board in Rome at controlled prices,
along with a great deal of other information about living the Jubilee".
 "The initiative of the 'Missionaries of Mercy' merits a final consideration",
added the prelate. "The Missionaries are priests who come from various parts of
the world, and who were proposed by their own bishops to carry out this special
service. Beginning on Ash Wednesday, they will receive the mandate from the
Holy
Father to be preachers of mercy and confessors full of mercy. They will receive
from the Holy Father the faculty to forgive sins reserved to the Holy See, and
will be the sign of the closeness and pardon of God for all. It is important
for
me to underscore that the Missionaries of Mercy are appointed exclusively by
the
Holy Father, and that the faculty of forgiving reserved sins will be given to
each one of them personally. No bishop in his own diocese may appoint these
Missionaries, nor may he confer faculties that he does not possess".
 "The Jubilee is already at hand", concluded Archbishop Fisichella. "We are
certain that it will be lived intensely by pilgrims who, whether it be in their
own Particular Churches or in Rome, will cross through the Holy Door. For this
occasion the Holy Father has granted all the Bishops of the world the power to
give the Papal Blessing at the Holy Mass for the opening of the Holy Door, and
for the closure of the door at the end of the Holy Year. This Jubilee will be
an
experience of mercy for each person to feel more intimately the love of God,
who
like a Father welcomes everyone and excludes no one".

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 Audiences
 Vatican City, 4 December 2015 (VIS) - Today, the Holy Father received in
audience:
 - Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy;
 - Archbishop Edgar Pena Parra, apostolic nuncio in Mozambique;
 Yesterday, Thursday 3 December, the Holy Father received in audience Cardinal
Joao Braz de Aviz, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of
Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, accompanied by Archbishop Jose Rodriguez
Carballo, secretary of the same dicastery.

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