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L’O S S E RVATOR E ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

Unicuique suum

IN ENGLISHNon praevalebunt

Fifty-third year, number 44 (2.670) Vatican City Friday, 30 October 2020

The Pope condemns the criminal act that took place in Nice and is close to the French community

Nice attack: death in a placeof love and consolation

“Having learned of the brutal at-tack that took place this morn-ing in Nice, causing the death ofseveral innocent people, HisHoliness Pope Francis joins withhis prayer, the suffering of thegrieving families and shares theirpain”, Secretary of State Cardi-nal Pietro Parolin wrote in atelegram addressed to BishopAndré Marceau of Nice. Thetelegram was referring to the at-tack carried out on Thursdaymorning, 29 October, in theNotre Dame Basilica, which leftthree dead and one injured. ThePontiff, the telegram continued,“asks the Lord to bring themcomfort and keep the victims inhis mercy. Strongly condemningsimilar violent acts of terror, heensures his closeness to France’sCatholic community and all thepeople of France whom he in-vites to unity”. EntrustingFrance to the protection of “O urLady”, Pope Francis “impartedhis heartfelt Apostolic Blessingto all those affected by thistragedy”.

Matteo Bruni, Director of theHoly See Press Office, statedthat the Pope “is close to theCatholic community in mourn-ing. He prays for the victims andtheir loved ones, that the viol-ence may cease, that they maysee each other again as brothersand sisters and not as enemies”.

Pope’s telegram & short biography

Malaysian Cardinal dies

PAGE 5

Letter to Cardinal Parolin

Future of the Continent

PAGE 6/7

Care for our Common Home

Polyhedric vision of ecology

CA R D. PAROLIN ON PA G E 8

Apostolic Penitentiary

Plenary Indulgence

PAGE 4

Holy Father to holdConsistory in November

PAGE 3

General Audience

Silence the weaponsin Cameroon

Security forces guard the area after an attack at the Notre Dame Basilica in Nice, France (REUTERS)

After praying the Angelus on Sunday,25 October [see page 12] the HolyFather made the followingannouncement.

This coming 28 November, on theeve of the first Sunday of Advent, Iwill hold a Consistory for the ap-pointment of 13 new Cardinals.Here are the names of the new Car-dinals:

Bishop Mario Grech, SecretaryGeneral of the Synod of Bishops;

Bishop Marcello Semeraro, Pre-fect of the Congregation for theCauses of Saints;

Archbishop Antoine Kambandaof Kigali, Rwanda;

Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory ofWashington, USA;

Archbishop Jose F. Advincula ofCapiz, Philippines;

Archbishop Celestino Aós Braco,OFM Cap., of Santiago de Chile;

Bishop Cornelius Sim, titularBishop of Putia di Numidia, VicarApostolic of Brunei;

Archbishop Augusto Paolo Loju-dice of Siena-Colle di Val d’Elsa-Montalcino, Italy;

Fr Mauro Gambetti, OFM Co n v. ,Custos of the Sacred Convent ofAssisi.

With them, I will join to the Mem-bers of the College of Cardinals:

Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquiv-el, Bishop emeritus of San Cristóbalde Las Casas, Mexico;

Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi,titular Archbishop of Asolo, Apo-stolic Nuncio;

Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap., Preacher of the Papal House-hold;

Msgr Enrico Feroci, parish priestof Holy Mary of the Divine Love inCastel di Leva, Italy.

Let us pray for the new Cardinals,so that, in confirming their adher-ence to Christ, they may help me inmy ministry as Bishop of Rome, forthe good of the entire holy faithfulPeople of God.

I wish everyone a happy Sunday.Please, do not forget to pray for me.Enjoy your lunch. Ar r i v e d e rc i !

At the General Audience onWednesday, 28 October, the HolyFather made the following appeal.I participate in the suffering ofthe families of the young studentswho were barbarically killed lastSaturday in Kumba, inCameroon. I feel great bewilder-ment at such a cruel and senselessact, which tore the young inno-cents from life while they were at-tending lessons at school. MayGod enlighten hearts, so thatsimilar gestures may never be re-peated again and so that the tor-mented northwestern and south-western regions of the countrymay finally find peace! I hopethat the weapons will remain si-lent and that the safety of all andthe right of every young personto education and a future can beguaranteed. I express my affec-tion to the families, to the city ofKumba and to the whole ofCameroon, and I invoke the com-fort that only God can give.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION

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page 2 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 30 October 2020, number 44

VAT I C A NBULLETIN

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 22 October

His Holiness Bartholomew I, Ecu-menical Patriarch of Constantinople,with his entourage

Cardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Fer-rer, S J, Prefect of the Congregationfor the Doctrine of the Faith

Archbishop Fabio Dal Cin, Prelateof Loreto; Pontifical delegate for theShrine of Loreto; Pontifical delegatefor the Basilica of Saint Anthony ofPadua, Italy

Dom Riccardo Luca Guariglia, OSB,Ordinary Abbot of the TerritorialAbbey of Montevergine, Italy

Friday, 23 October

Members of the “Zayed Award forHuman Fraternity” Committee

Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle,Prefect of the Congregation for theEvangelization of Peoples

Archbishop Charles John Brown, tit-ular of Aquileia, Apostolic Nuncioin the Philippines

H.E. Mr Lee Baek Man, Ambassa-dor of Korea, on his farewell visit

Saturday, 24 October

H.E. Mr Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Prime Minister of Spain,with his entourage

Cardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefectof the Congregation for Bishops

Teachers and students of the Ponti-fical Theological Faculty “Marian-um” of Rome

Monday, 26 October

Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, Arch-bishop of L’Aquila, Italy, Presidentof the Study Commission on the fe-male diaconate, with Fr DenisDupont-Fauville, Secretary of thesame CommissionMsgr Luigi Mistò, President of thePontifical Commission for activitiesin the healthcare sector of publiclegal persons of the ChurchTuesday, 27 OctoberBishop Marcello Semeraro, Prefectof the Congregation for the Causesof Saints

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation presented by Bishop JuliánLópez Martín from the pastoral careof the Diocese of León, Spain (21O ct.).The Holy Father appointed BishopLuis Ángel de las Heras Berzal, C M F,as Bishop of León. Until now hehas served as Bishop of Mon-doñedo-Ferrol, Spain (21 Oct.).

Bishop de las Heras Berzal, 57,was born in Segovia, Spain. A mem-ber of the Missionary Sons of theImmaculate Heart of Mary, he wasordained a priest on 29 October1988. He was ordained a bishop on7 May 2016, subsequent to his ap-pointment as Bishop of Mon-d o ñ e d o - Fe r ro l .

The Holy Father appointed BishopPaulo Cezar Costa as MetropolitanArchbishop of the Archdiocese ofBrasília, Brazil. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of the diocese ofSão Carlos, Brazil (21 Oct.).

Archbishop Costa, 53, was born inValença, Brazil. He was ordained apriest on 5 December 1992. He wasordained a bishop on 5 February2011, subsequent to his appointmentas titular Bishop of Oescus andAuxiliary of São Sebastião do Riode Janeiro, Brazil. On 22 June 2016he was appointed Bishop of SãoCarlos.

The Holy Father appointed BishopMoacir Silva Arantes as Bishop ofthe Diocese of Barreiras, Brazil. Un-til now he has served as titular Bish-op of Tituli in Numidia and Auxili-ary Bishop of the MetropolitanArchdiocese of Goiânia, Brazil (21O ct.).

Bishop Arantes, 51, was born inItapecerica, Brazil. He was ordaineda priest on 14 June 1999. He was or-dained a bishop on 13 August 2016,subsequent to his appointment astitular Bishop of Tituli in Numidiaand Auxiliary Bishop of Goiânia.

The Holy Father accepted the resig-nation presented by ArchbishopMaurice Gardès from the pastoralcare of the Archdiocese of Auch,Francis (22 Oct.).The Holy Father appointed BishopBertrand Lacombe, as Archbishop ofAuch. Until now he has served astitular Bishop of Saint-Papoul andAuxiliary of Bordeaux, France (22O ct.).

Archbishop Lacombe, 53, wasborn in Montpellier, France. He wasordained a priest on 24 June 2001.He was ordained a bishop on 12June 2016, subsequent to his ap-pointment as titular Bishop of Saint-Papoul and Auxiliary of Bordeaux.

The Holy Father appointed BishopElkin Fernando Álvarez Botero asBishop of Santa Rosa de Osos,Colombia. Until now he has servedas titular Bishop of Gemellae in Nu-midia and Auxiliary Bishop of theMetropolitan Archdiocese of Medel-lín, Colombia (22 Oct.).

Bishop Botero, 51, was born in ElRetiro, Colombia. He was ordaineda priest on 1 July 1993. He was or-dained a bishop on 4 August 2012,subsequent to his appointment astitular Bishop of Gemellae in Nu-midia and Auxiliary of Medellín.

The Holy Father appointed BishopThomas Dowd as Bishop of theDiocese of Sault Sainte Marie,Canada. Until now he has served astitular Bishop of Treba and Auxili-ary Bishop of the MetropolitanArchdiocese of Montréal, Canada(22 Oct.).

Bishop Dowd, 50, was born inLachine, Canada. He was ordained apriest on 7 December 2001. He wasordained a bishop on 10 September2011, subsequent to his appointmentas titular Bishop of Treba and Auxil-iary of Montréal.

The Holy Father appointed BishopOlivier de Germay as MetropolitanArchbishop of Lyon, France. Untilnow he has served as Bishop ofAjaccio, France (22 Oct.).

Archbishop de Germay, 60, wasborn in Tours, France. He was or-dained a priest on 17 May 1998. Hewas ordained a bishop on 14 April2012, subsequent to his appointmentas Bishop of Ajaccio.

EASTERN CHURCHES

The Holy Father terminated the of-fice of Apostolic Administrator sedevacante of the Exarchate for Ukraini-an Catholic faithful of Byzantine riteresident in Italy, in the person ofCardinal Angelo De Donatis, VicarGeneral of His Holiness for theDiocese of Rome (24 Oct.).The Holy Father appointed BishopPaulo Dionisio Lachovicz, OSBM, asApostolic Exarch for UkrainianCatholic faithful of Byzantine-Riteresident in Italy. Until now he hasserved as titular Bishop of Egnatia(24 Oct.).

Bishop Lachovicz, 74, was born inPombas, Brazil. A member of theBasilican Order, he was ordained apriest on 8 December 1972. He wasordained a bishop on 26 February2006, subsequent to his appointmentas titular Bishop of Egnatia.

The Holy Father appointed Arch-bishop Pierbattista Pizzaballa, OFM,as Patriarch of Jerusalem for Latins.Until now he has served as apostolicadministrator sede vacante of thesame circumscription, transferringhim from the titular see of Verbe (24O ct.).

H.B. Patriarch Pizzaballa, 55, wasborn in Cologno al Serio, Italy. Amember of the Franciscan Order, hewas ordained a priest on 15 Septem-ber 1990. He was ordained a bishopon 10 September 2016, subsequentto his appointment as titular Arch-bishop of Verbe and ApostolicAdministrator sede vacante of thePatriarchal Diocese of Jerusalem forLatins.

NECROLO GY

Archbishop Mario Luis BautistaMaulión, Archbishop emeritus ofParaná, Argentina, at age 85 (27Sept.)

Cardinal Pietro Parolin celebrates Massin memory of Cardinal Tauran

On Saturday, 24 October,Secretary of State Cardinal

Pietro Parolin presided at aMass for the dear departed

Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran inRome’s Basilica of Sant’

Apollinare, the Title of the lateCardinal. During the ceremony,the mortal remains of CardinalTauran, who passed away on 5

July 2018, were moved and laidto rest in his titular Church. CONTINUED ON PA G E 9

number 44, Friday, 30 October 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 3

In his catechesis on prayer the Pontiff speaks of the humanity of the Son of God

Jesus does not reject even the worst sinners

During the General Audience on Wednesday morning, 28 October,Pope Francis continued his series of catechesis on prayer, focusing onthe humility of Jesus’ way of praying. Indeed, as he reflected on theBaptism of the Son of God, he noted that Jesus’ first public act wasa “participation in a choral prayer of the people”. The following is atranslation of the Holy Father’s words which he shared in Italianwith the faithful gathered in the Paul VI Hall.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!Today, in this audience, as wehave done in the previous audi-ences, I will stay here. I wouldvery much like to come down andgreet each one of you, but wemust keep our distance, becauseif I come down, then a crowd im-mediately forms to greet me, andthis is contrary to the measuresand the precautions we must takein order to face this “lady” that iscalled Covid and harms us somuch. Therefore, please excuseme if I do not come down togreet you: I will greet you fromhere but I hold all of you in myheart. And you, please hold me inyour heart, and pray for me.From a distance, we can pray foreach other; thank you for youru n d e r s t a n d i n g.

In our itinerary of catechesison prayer, after travelling throughthe Old Testament, we now arriveat Jesus. And Jesus prayed. Thebeginning of his public ministrytakes place with his baptism inthe River Jordan. The Evangelistsare in agreement in attributingfundamental importance to thisepisode. They narrate how all thepeople came together in prayer,and specify that this gatheringhad a clearly penitential nature (cf.Mk 1:5; Mt 3:8). The people wentto John to be baptized, for theforgiveness of sins: it is of a pen-itential character, of conversion.

Jesus’ first public act is there-fore participation in a choralprayer of the people, a prayer ofthe people who went to be bap-tized, a penitential prayer, inwhich everyone recognizes him orherself as a sinner. This is whythe Baptist wishes to oppose it,and says: “I need to be baptizedby you, and do you come to me?”(Mt 3:14). The Baptist under-stands who Jesus is. But Jesus in-sists: His is an act of obedienceto the will of the Father (v. 15), anact of solidarity with our humancondition. He prays with the sin-ners of the People of God. Let uskeep this clearly in mind: Jesus isthe Righteous One; he is not a

sinner. But he wished to comedown to us, sinners, and he prayswith us, and when we pray he iswith us, praying; he is with us be-cause he is in heaven, praying forus. Jesus always prays with hispeople, he always prays with us:always. We never pray alone; wealways pray with Jesus. He doesnot stay on the opposite side ofthe river — “I am righteous, youare sinners” — to mark his differ-ence and distance from the dis-obedient people, but rather heimmerses his feet in the samepurifying waters. He acts as if hewere a sinner. And this is thegreatness of God, who sent hisSon and annihilated himself, andappeared as a sinner.

Jesus is not a distant God, andhe cannot be so. Incarnation re-vealed him in a complete and hu-manly unthinkable way. Thus, in-augurating his mission, Jesusplaces himself at the forefront ofa people of penitents, as if char-ging himself with opening abreach through which all of us,after him, must have the courageto pass. However, the road, thejourney, is difficult; but he goesahead, opening the way. The Cat-echism of the Catholic Church ex-plains that this is the newness ofthe fullness of time. It says: “hisfilial prayer, which the Fatherawaits from his children, is finallygoing to be lived out by the onlySon in his humanity, with and formen” (no. 2599). Jesus prays withus. Let us keep this clear in ourmind and in our heart: Jesusprays with us.

On that day, on the bank ofthe River Jordan, there is there-fore all of humanity, with its un-expressed yearning for prayer.There is, above all, the popula-tion of sinners: those whothought they could not be lovedby God, those who did not darecross the threshold of the temple,those who did not pray becausethey did not consider themselvesworthy. Jesus came for everyone,even for them, and he begins pre-cisely by joining them. At thef o re f ro n t .

The Gospel of Luke, in partic-ular, highlights the climate ofprayer in which the baptism ofJesus took place: “Now when allthe people were baptized, andwhen Jesus also had been bap-tized and was praying, the heavenwas opened” (3:21). By praying,Jesus opens the door to the heav-ens, and the Holy Spirit descendsfrom that breach. And from onhigh a voice proclaims the won-derful truth: “Thou art my be-loved Son; with thee I am wellpleased” (v. 22). This simplephrase encloses an immense trea-sure; it enables us to intuitsomething of Jesus’ ministry andof his heart, always turned to theFather. In the whirlwind of lifeand the world that will come tocondemn him, even in the hardestand most sorrowful experienceshe will have to endure, evenwhen he experiences that he hasno place to lay his head (cf. Mt8:20), even when hatred and per-secution are unleashed aroundhim, Jesus is never without therefuge of a dwelling place: hedwells eternally in the Father.

This is the unique greatness ofJesus’ prayer: the Holy Spirittakes possession of his personand the voice of the Father atteststhat he is the beloved, the Son inwhom he fully reflects himself.

This prayer of Jesus, which onthe banks of the River Jordan istotally personal — and will bethus for all his earthly life — inPentecost becomes the grace ofprayer for all those baptized inChrist. He himself obtained thisgift for us, and he invites us topray as he prayed.

Therefore, if during an eveningof prayer we feel sluggish andempty, if it seems to us that lifehas been completely useless, wemust at that moment beg thatJesus’ prayer also become ourown. “I cannot pray today, Idon’t know what to do: I don’tfeel like it, I am unworthy”. Inthat moment, it is necessary toentrust ourselves to him so thathe may pray for us, In this mo-ment he is before the Father,

praying for us; he is the inter-cessor; he shows the wounds tothe Father, for us. Let us trust inthis! If we are trustful, we willthen hear a voice from heaven,louder than the voice rising fromthe depths of ourselves, and wewill hear this voice whisperingwords of tenderness: “You areGo d’s beloved, you are a son,you are the joy of the Father inheaven”. Precisely for us, for eachone of us, echoes the word of theFather: even if we were rejectedby all, sinners of the worst kind.Jesus did not descend into thewaters of the Jordan for himself,but for all of us. It was the entirePeople of God who went to theJordan to pray, to ask for forgive-ness, to receive that baptism ofpenance. And as that theologiansaid, they approached the Jordanwith a “bare soul and bare feet”.This is humility. It takes humilityto pray. He opened the heavens,as Moses had opened the watersof the Red Sea, so that we couldall pass behind Him. Jesus gaveus his own prayer, which is hisloving dialogue with the Father.He gave it to us like a seed of theTrinity, which he wants to takeroot in our hearts. Let us wel-come him! Let us welcome thisgift, the gift of prayer. Alwayswith him. And we will not err.Thank you.

SPECIAL GREETINGSI welcome all the English-

speaking pilgrims and visitorswho join us for today’s Audience.Upon you and your families I in-voke the joy and peace of ourLord Jesus Christ. God blessyou!

Lastly, as usual my thoughtsturn to the elderly, to young people,to the sick and to newlyweds. Iwish that each of you may growevery day in the contemplation ofthe beauty and tenderness thatradiates from Christ. Thank you.

GENERAL AU D I E N C E

page 4 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 30 October 2020, number 44

Extended throughout the entire month of November

Plenary Indulgences for the deceased faithfulin the current pandemic

A gesture of closeness in a time of pandemic

CONTINUED ON PA G E 5

DECREE OF THE APOSTOLIC PENITENTIARY

DECREEThis year, in the current

circumstances due to the “Covid-19” pandemic, the Plenary

Indulgences for deceased faithfulwill be extended throughout theentire month of November, with

adaptation of works andconditions to guarantee the safety

of the faithful.This Apostolic Penitentiary has re-ceived many petitions from holyPastors who have asked that thisyear, due to the “Covid-19” epidem-ic, pious works to obtain the PlenaryIndulgences applicable to souls inPurgatory, be commuted in accord-ance with the Manual of Indulgences(conc. 29, § 1). For this reason, theApostolic Penitentiary, on specialmandate of His Holiness Pope Fran-cis, willingly establishes and decidesthat this year, in order to avoidgatherings where they may be for-bidden:

a. — the Plenary Indulgence forthose who visit a cemetery and prayfor the deceased, even if only men-tally, normally established only forthe individual days from 1 to 8November, may be transferred toother days of the same month, untilits end. These days, freely chosen bythe individual faithful, may also beseparate from each other;

b. — the Plenary Indulgence of 2November, established on the occa-sion of the Commemoration of allthe deceased faithful for those whopiously visit a church or oratory andrecite the “Our Father” and the“C re e d ” there, may be transferrednot only to the preceding or follow-ing Sunday or to the day of theSolemnity of All Saints, but also toanother day of the month ofNovember, freely chosen by the in-dividual faithful.

The elderly, the sick and all thosewho for serious reasons cannot leavetheir homes, for example because ofrestrictions imposed by the comp e-tent authority in this time of thepandemic, in order to prevent nu-merous faithful from crowding intoholy places, will be able to obtainthe Plenary Indulgence as long asthey join spiritually with all the oth-er faithful, completely detachedfrom sin and with the intention ofcomplying as soon as possible withthe three usual conditions (sacra-mental confession, Eucharistic com-munion and prayer according to theHoly Father’s intentions), before animage of Jesus or the Blessed VirginMary, recite pious prayers for thedeceased, for example, Lauds andVespers of the Office of the Dead,the Marian Rosary, the Chaplet ofDivine Mercy, other prayers for thedeceased dearest to the faithful, oroccupy themselves in contemplative

reading of one of the Gospel pas-sages proposed by the liturgy of thedeceased, or perform a work ofmercy by offering to God the sor-rows and hardships of their ownlives.

For an easier attainment of divinegrace through pastoral charity, thisPenitentiary earnestly prays that allpriests with the appropriate fac-ulties may offer themselves withparticular generosity to the celebra-tion of the Sacrament of Penanceand administer Holy Communionto the sick.

However, regarding the spiritualconditions for fully attaining the In-dulgence, it is important to recallthe indications previously issued inthe “Note on the Sacrament of Re-conciliation in the current pandem-ic” issued by the Apostolic Peniten-tiary on 19 March 2020.

Lastly, since the souls in Purgat-ory are assisted by the prayers of thefaithful and especially by the sacri-fice of the Altar, acceptable to God(cf. Conc. Tr. Sess. X X V, decr. DePurgatorio), all priests are ferventlyinvited to celebrate Holy Mass threetimes on the day of the Commemor-

ation of all the deceased faithful, inaccordance with the Apostolic Con-stitution “Incruentum Altaris” issuedby Pope Benedict X V, of venerablememory, on 10 August 1915.

This Decree is valid throughoutthe entire month of November, not-withstanding any provision to thec o n t r a r y.

Given in Rome, from the office ofthe Apostolic Penitentiary, on 22October 2020, memorial of SaintJohn Paul II.

MAU R U S CA R D. PIACENZAPaenitentiarius Maior

CHRISTOPHORUS NYKIELRegens

NICOLA GORI

This year, due to the Covid-19 pan-demic, the faithful have the oppor-tunity to acquire plenary indul-gences for the deceased throughoutthe month of November, not juston the days between the first andeighth, according to tradition. MsgrKrzysztof Nykiel, Regent of theApostolic Penitentiary, explainedthe circumstances in an interviewwith L’Osservatore Romano.

What is established by the new decree?Substantially, the decree of the

Apostolic Penitentiary modifies theprescribed modalities for the attain-ment of the plenary indulgence forthe souls in Purgatory, for thiscoming November, the month tra-ditionally dedicated to the worshipof saints and prayer for our de-ceased brothers and sisters. In fact,ordinarily, the plenary indulgencefor the departed is granted to thefaithful who, during the octave ofNovember first to eighth, visit thecemetery and pray for the deceased,or to those who, on the day of theCommemoration of the faithful de-parted, visit a church or recite anOur Father and a Creed. However,we are well aware of the spread ofCovid-19 in many areas of theworld and of the need to take ap-

propriate measures to prevent theexpansion of the contagion, avoid-ing the gathering of people firstand foremost. Precisely to guaran-tee the safety of the faithful who inthe coming days intend to visitcemeteries to pray over the gravesites of their loved ones, this yearthe Penitentiary wished to extendthe tenor of the above-mentionedconcessions through the entiremonth of November, so that thefaithful will be able to complete thepious works prescribed, no longeronly on the days of 1-8 Novemberor November second, but on a dayof their choice during that month.The concession comes at the man-date of Pope Francis and in accept-ance of requests received from vari-ous Episcopal Conferences.

Can you remind us what an indul-gence is and how one obtains it?

An indulgence is the remissionbefore God of temporal punish-ment due to sins whose guilt hasalready been forgiven. It can bepartial or plenary, according towhether it frees in whole or in partfrom temporal punishment. Everyone of the faithful can seek indul-gences for themselves or applythem to the deceased through suf-frage. To obtain the plenary indul-gence the faithful, with their soul

detached from all sin, must performworks of indulgence and fulfil thethree conditions of sacramentalconfession, Eucharistic communion,and praying for the Pontiff's inten-tions. The indulgence is the con-crete testimony to how God’s loveis truly greater than all sin and thatwherever divine mercy arrives, allthings are reborn, every one is re-newed, every thing is healed.

The new decree is not the only provi-sion implemented by the Penitentiaryduring this time of pandemic. Whatother initiatives has it already taken?

The Apostolic Penitentiary is thetribunal of the Roman Curia, calledthe “Tribunal of Mercy”, to whichquestions relative to the internalforum and the concession of indul-gences are entrusted. On 19 Marchlast, it issued two broadly resonat-ing documents to clarify some as-pects related to matters of its com-petence, in conjunction with thespread of the coronavirus on aglobal scale. Through the Note onthe Sacrament of Reconciliation in thecurrent pandemic, it identified in thespread of the contagion, one of thecases of grave necessity contem-plated by the Code of Canon Lawin order to authorize the concession

number 44, Friday, 30 October 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 5

Pope calls for concrete measures to fight against poverty and defend the envi ro n m e n t

A new and more inclusivesocio-economic paradigm is needed

A gesture of closenessin a time of pandemic

of collective absolution to the faith-ful (cf. Can. 961 §1), referring to thediscernment of individual ordinariesthe identification of concrete modal-ities for the celebration of the sacra-ment, and reiterating with emphasis,also and above all in this time ofserious suffering, the need to ap-proach the Sacrament of Reconcili-ation. Moreover, with a special de-cree it granted the gift of the indul-gence to all the faithful affected bythe illness as well as to health careworkers, family members and allthose who, in whatever capacity —even with prayer — take care ofthem. Therefore, the Church is wellaware of the suffering inflicted byCovid-19 and, in taking upon herselfthe very cross of her Lord and Mas-ter, becomes neighbour to those whoare afflicted whether on the spiritualor physical level.

CONTINUED FROM PA G E 4

First Malaysian Cardinal and former hospital assistant

Remembering Anthony Soter Fernandez

Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez,Archbishop emeritus of KualaLumpur and first Malaysian-bornCardinal, passed away shortly afternoon on Wednesday, 28 October,in the St Francis Xavier Home forthe Elderly in Cheras, following ayear-long battle with cancer. Hewas 88.

Anthony Soter Fernandez wasborn to a family of Indian descentin 1932 in Sungai Petani, near thecapital of Kuala Lumpur. Beforeentering the seminary in 1958, heworked for 10 years as a hospital as-sistant. He was ordained a priest on10 December 1966 and spent threeyears as assistant vicar in Taipingand Penang, and from 1969-1971 asvicar in the church of Saint Louisin Taiping.

In 1971 he moved to Manila,Philippines, to begin in-depth stud-ies at the International Training In-stitute for World Churchmen andthe East Asian Pastoral Institute.He then moved to Bangalore, In-dia, where he attended the NationalBiblical, Catechetical and LiturgicalCentre, before returning to Penangin 1973 to serve as formator andthen rector at the College Generalmajor seminary until 1977. He was

among the protagonists of the his-toric “Ag g i o r n a m e n t o ” of 1976, whichgathered together all the bishopsand priests of Malaysia for the firsttime, to develop the pastoral planfor Malaysia in light of Vatican II.Since then the Peninsular MalaysiaPastoral Convention convenes every10 years.

Fernandez was appointed asBishop of Penang in 1977, receivinghis episcopal ordination on 17 Feb-ruary 1978. He became the secondArchbishop of Kuala Lumpur in1983, entering the Archdiocese on10 November. He led the Arch-diocese until 24 May 2003. Duringthis period, in addition to his mem-bership in the Congregation for the

Evangelization of Peoples and inthe Pontifical Councils for Promot-ing Christian Unity and for Interre-ligious Dialogue, he also served invarious roles, including President ofthe Catholic Bishops’ C o n f e re n c eof Malaysia, Singapore and Bruneifrom 1987 to 1990 and from 2000 to2003, and as President of the Chris-tian Federation of Malaysia and ofthe Malaysian Consultative Councilof Buddhism, Christianity,Hinduism, Sikhism and Taoism.

As Archbishop emeritus of KualaLumpur, Cardinal Fernandez servedas spiritual director at the majorseminary in Penang. He thenmoved to the home for the elderlywhere he lived out the remainder ofhis life. He was convinced of theC h u rc h ’s role in the growth and de-velopment of the country, and al-ways worked for the people’s integ-ral development, fighting againstsocial injustice and promoting dia-logue in a multiethnic and multi-cultural environment. Pope Franciscreated him a Cardinal on 19November 2016.

Cardinal Fernandez’ funeral ser-vices will take place on Saturdaymorning, 31 October, in theCathedral of Kuala Lumpur.

In a message sent to participants in aninternational meeting organized by theFocolare Movement to mark the fifthanniversary of Laudato Si’, PopeFrancis stressed “the urgent need for anew and more inclusive socio-economicp a ra d i g m ” in order to achieve anauthentic integral ecology, The followingis the English text of his message,which was read aloud to theparticipants on Friday, 23 October.

Dear brothers and sisters!I offer cordial greetings to all takingpart in this international Meetingbeing held as part of the year-longobservance of the fifth anniversaryof the Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’.I express my gratitude to EcoOne,the ecological initiative of the Foco-lare Movement, and to the repre sen-tatives of the Dicastery for Promot-ing Integral Human Developmentand the Global Catholic Climate

Movement who have cooperated inmaking this event possible.

Your Meeting, with its theme,“New Ways towards Integral Eco-logy: Five Years after Laudato Si’”,addresses a relational vision of hu-manity and care for our world froma variety of perspectives: ethical, sci-entific, social and theological. In re-calling the conviction of Chiara Lu-bich that the created world bearswithin itself a charism of unity, Itrust that her perspective can guideyour work in the recognition that“everything is connected” and that“concern for the environment needsto be joined to sincere love for ourfellow human beings and an un-wavering commitment to resolvingthe problems of society” (LaudatoSi’, 91).

Among such problems is the ur-gent need for a new and more in-clusive socio-economic paradigmthat reflects the truth that we are “a

in their human, family and work re-lationships, while at the same timecombating the structural causes ofpoverty and working to protect thenatural environment.

Achieving an integral ecologycalls for a profound interior conver-sion on both the personal and com-munal level. As you examine thegreat challenges facing us at thistime, including climate change, the

need for sustainable developmentand the contribution religion canmake to the environmental crisis, itis essential to break with the logic ofexploitation and selfishness and topromote the practice of a sober,simple and humble lifestyle (cf.Laudato Si’, 222-224). It is my hopethat your work will serve to cultivatein the hearts of our brothers and sis-ters a shared responsibility for oneanother as children of God and a re-newed commitment to be goodstewards of his gift of creation (cf.Gen 2:15).

Dear friends, once again I thankyou for your research and your co-operative efforts to seek new waysthat lead to an integral ecology forthe common good of the humanfamily and the created world. In of-fering my prayerful best wishes foryour deliberations during this meet-ing, I cordially invoke upon you,your families and your associatesGo d’s blessings of wisdom, strengthand peace. And I ask you, please, toremember me in your prayers.

Rome, from Saint John Lateran,23 October 2020

FRANCIS

Cardinal Anthony Soter Fernandez, Archbishop emeritus ofKuala Lumpur and first Malaysian-born Cardinal, passedaway on Wednesday, 28 October, at the age of 88. Uponlearning of the death of the Cardinal, Pope Francisexpressed his condolences in a telegram addressed to MsgrJulian Leow Beng Kim, Archbishop of Kuala Lumpur. Thefollowing is the English text of the Pope’s telegram,accompanied by a short biography of the late Cardinal.

Having learned with sadness of the death of CardinalAnthony Soter Fernandez, I extend my heartfelt con-dolences to you and to the clergy, religious and laity of

the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur. With gratitude forCardinal Fernandez’s faithful witness to the Gospel,his generous service to the Church in Malaysia and hislongstanding commitment to the promotion of ecu-menism and interreligious dialogue, I willingly joinyou in praying for his eternal rest. To all who mournthe late Cardinal’s passing in the sure hope of the Re-surrection I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing asa pledge of consolation and peace in Jesus Christ ourS a v i o u r.

FRANCIS P P.

single human family, fel-low travelers sharing thesame flesh, children ofthe same earth which isour common home”(Fratelli Tutti, 8). Thissolidarity with one an-other and with the worldaround us demands afirm willingness to devel-op and implement prac-tical measures that fosterthe dignity of all persons

number 44, Friday, 30 October 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 6/7

A reflection on the future of the Continent

A new appeal: Do not be afraid of your millenary history which is a window open to the future

May Europe rediscover its idealsWithout ideals we find ourselves weak and divided

Pope Francis sent a Letter to Secretary of State,Cardinal Pietro Parolin, to mark the 40thanniversary of the Commission of the Bishops’Conferences of the European Union, COMECE, the50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between theHoly See and the European Union, and the 50thanniversary of the Holy See’s presence as aPermanent Observer to the Council of Europe. Dueto a worsening of the health crisis, Cardinal Parolin’svisit to Brussels to meet with European Unionofficials and members of COMECE, scheduled for 28-30 October, was cancelled, and the meetings tookplace via video link. The following is the English textof the Holy Father’s letter.

To my Venerable BrotherCardinal PIETRO PAROLIN

Secretary of StateThis year the Holy See and the Church inEurope celebrate several significant anniversaries.Fifty years ago, cooperation between the HolySee and the European institutions that arose inthe period following the Second World War tookconcrete form by the establishment of diplomaticrelations between the then European Communityand by the Holy See’s presence as an Observer atthe Council of Europe. In 1980, the Commissionof the Bishops’ Conferences of the EuropeanCommunities (COMECE) was founded, composedof delegates from the Bishops’ Conferences of allthe member states of the European Union, forthe sake of promoting “closer cooperationbetween those episcopates with regard to pastoralquestions related to the development of the areasof competence and activities of the Union”.1 Thisyear also marked the seventieth anniversary of theSchuman Declaration, an event of capital import-ance that inspired the gradual process of the con-tinent’s integration, making it possible to over-come the animosity resulting from the two worldwars.

In the light of these events, you are planning inthe near future to make significant visits to theauthorities of the European Union, the PlenaryAssembly of COMECE and the authorities of theCouncil of Europe. In this regard, I consider itimportant to share with you some reflections onthe future of this continent so dear to me, notonly because of my family’s origins but also be-cause of the central role that it has had, and, Ibelieve, must continue to have, albeit with differ-ent accents, in the history of humanity.

That role is all the more pertinent in the con-text of the pandemic we are now experiencing.The European project arose from a determinationto end past divisions. It was born of the realiza-tion that unity and cooperation make forstrength, that “unity is greater than conflict”2 andthat solidarity can be “a way of making history ina life setting where conflicts, tensions and opposi-tions can achieve a diversified and life-givingunity”.3 In our own days, which “show signs of acertain regression”,4 a growing tendency for all togo their own separate ways, the pandemic hasemerged as a kind of a watershed, forcing us totake a stand. We can either continue to pursuethe path we have taken in the past decade, yield-ing to the temptation to autonomy and thus toever greater misunderstanding, disagreement and

conflict, or we can rediscover the path of fraternitythat inspired and guided the founders of modernEurope, beginning precisely with Robert Schu-man.

As the experience of Europe in recent monthshas shown, the pandemic has made this increas-ingly evident. On the one hand, we have wit-nessed the temptation to go it alone, seeking uni-lateral solutions to a problem that transcendsstate borders. Yet thanks to the great spirit of me-diation that distinguishes the European institu-tions, we have also seen a determination to setout on the path of fraternity, which is also thepath of solidarity, unleashing creativity and newinitiatives.

The steps taken thus far need, however, to beconsolidated, lest centrifugal forces regain theirstrength. Today, the words of Saint John Paul IIin the European Act of Santiago de Compostelaremain as timely as ever: Europe, “find yourself,be yourself”.5 An age of rapid change can bringwith it a loss of identity, especially when there is alack of shared values on which to base society.

To Europe, then, I would like to say: you, whofor centuries have been a seedbed of high idealsand now seem to be losing your élan, do not becontent to regard your past as an album ofmemories. In time, even the most beautifulmemories fade and are gradually forgotten. Soon-er or later, we realize that we ourselves havechanged; we find ourselves weary and listless inthe present and possessed of little hope as welook to the future. Without ideals, we findourselves weak and divided, more prone to com-plain and to be attracted by those who make

complaint and division a style of personal, socialand political life.

Europe, find yourself! Rediscover your mostdeeply-rooted ideals. Be yourself! Do not beafraid of your millenary history, which is a win-dow open to the future more than the past. Donot be afraid of that thirst of yours for truth,which, from the days of ancient Greece, hasspread throughout the world and brought to lightthe deepest questions of every human being. Donot be afraid of the thirst for justice that de-veloped from Roman law and in time became re-spect for all human beings and their rights. Donot be afraid of your thirst for eternity, enrichedby the encounter with the Judeo-Christian tradi-tion reflected in your patrimony of faith, art andc u l t u re .

Today, as many in Europe look to its futurewith uncertainty, others look to Europe withhope, convinced that it still has something to of-fer to the world and to humanity. The same con-viction inspired Robert Schuman, who realizedthat “the contribution which an organized andliving Europe can bring to civilization is indis-pensable to the maintenance of peaceful rela-tions”.6 It is a conviction that we ourselves canshare, setting out from shared values and rootedin the history and culture of this land.

What kind of Europe do we envision for thefuture? What is to be its distinctive contribution?In today’s world, it is not about recovering polit-ical hegemony or geographical centrality, or aboutdeveloping innovative solutions to economic andsocial problems. The uniqueness of Europe restsabove all on its conception of the human being

and of reality, on its capacity for initiative and onits spirit of practical solidarity.

I dream, then, of a Europe that is a friend toeach and all. A land respectful of everyone’s dig-nity, in which each person is appreciated for hisor her intrinsic worth and not viewed purely froman economic standpoint or as a mere consumer. Aland that protects life at every stage, from thetime it arises unseen in the womb until its naturalend, since no human being is the master of life,either his or her own life or the lives of others. Aland that promotes work as a privileged means ofpersonal growth and the pursuit of the commongood, creating employment opportunities particu-larly for the young. Being a friend to others en-tails providing for their education and culturaldevelopment. It entails protecting the weakestand most vulnerable, especially the elderly, thesick in need of costly care, and those with disabil-ities. Being a friend to others entails defendingtheir rights, but also reminding them of their du-ties. It means acknowledging that everyone iscalled to offer his or her own contribution to so-ciety, for none of us is a world apart, and we can-not demand respect for ourselves without show-ing respect for others. We cannot receive unlesswe are also willing to give.

I dream of a Europe that is a family and acommunity. A place respectful of the distinctive-ness of each individual and every people, evermindful that they are bound together by sharedresponsibilities. Being a family entails living inunity, treasuring differences, beginning with thefundamental difference between man and woman.In this sense, Europe is a genuine family ofpeoples, all different yet linked by a common his-

tory and destiny. The experience of recent yearsand that of the pandemic in particular haveshown that no one is completely self-sufficient,and that a certain individualistic understanding oflife and society leads only to discouragement andisolation. Every man and woman aspires to bepart of a community, that is, of a greater realitythat transcends and gives meaning to his or herindividuality. A divided Europe, made up of insu-lar and independent realities, will soon prove in-capable of facing the challenges of the future. Onthe other hand, a Europe that is a united andfraternal community will be able to value diversityand acknowledge the part that each has to play inconfronting the problems that lie ahead, begin-ning with the pandemic and including the ecolo-gical challenge of preserving our natural resourcesand the quality of the environment in which welive. We are faced with the choice between amodel of life that discards people and things, andan inclusive model that values creation andc re a t u re s .

I dream of a Europe that is inclusive and gen-erous. A welcoming and hospitable place inwhich charity, the highest Christian virtue, over-comes every form of indifference and selfishness.Solidarity, as an essential element of every au-thentic community, demands that we care for oneanother. To be sure, we are speaking of an “intel-ligent solidarity” that does more than merely at-tend to basic needs as they emerge.

Solidarity entails guiding those most vulnerabletowards personal and social growth, enablingthem one day to help others in turn. Like anygood physician, who not only administers medic-ation, but also accompanies the patient to com-plete recovery.

Solidarity involves being a neighbour to others.In the case of Europe, this means becoming espe-cially ready and willing, through international co-operation, to offer generous assistance to othercontinents. I think particularly of Africa, wherethere is a need to resolve ongoing conflicts and topursue a sustainable human development.

Solidarity is also nurtured by generosity andgives rise to gratitude, which leads us to regardothers with love. When we forget to be thankfulfor the benefits we have received, we tend increas-ingly to close in upon ourselves and to live in fearof everything around us and different from us.

We can see this in the many fears felt in ourcontemporary societies, among which I wouldmention uneasiness and concern about migrants.Only a Europe that is a supportive community canmeet the present challenge in a productive way,since piecemeal solutions have proved to be inad-equate. It is clear that a proper acceptance of mi-grants must not only assist those newly arrived,who are often fleeing conflict, hunger or naturaldisasters, but must also work for their integration,enabling them “to learn, respect and assimilatethe culture and traditions of the nations that wel-come them”.7

I dream of a Europe marked by a healthy secu-larism, where God and Caesar remain distinct butnot opposed. A land open to transcendence,where believers are free to profess their faith inpublic and to put forward their own point of viewin society. The era of confessional conflicts is

over, but so too — let us hope — is the age of acertain laicism closed to others and especially toGo d8, for it is evident that a culture or politicalsystem that lacks openness to transcendenceproves insufficiently respectful of the human per-son.

Christians today have a great responsibility:they are called to serve as a leaven in revivingEurop e’s conscience and help to generate pro-cesses capable of awakening new energies in soci-e t y. 9 I urge them, therefore, to contribute withcommitment, courage and determination to everysector in which they live and work.

Your Eminence,These few words arise from my pastoral con-

cern and my certainty that Europe still has muchto offer to the world. My words are meant solelyto be a personal contribution to the growing callfor reflection on the continent’s future. I wouldbe grateful if you could share these thoughts inthe conversations you are to hold in coming dayswith the European authorities and with the mem-bers of COMECE, whom I ask to cooperate in aspirit of fraternal communion with all the Bishopsof the continent gathered in the Council of theBishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE). I ask youto bring my personal greeting and a sign of mycloseness to each of them and to the peoples theyrepresent. Your meetings will certainly be a fittingoccasion for consolidating relations between theHoly See and the European Union and theCouncil of Europe, and to confirm the Church inher evangelizing mission and her service to thecommon good.

May our beloved Europe continue to enjoy theprotection of her holy patrons: Saint Benedict,Saints Cyril and Methodius, Saint Bridget, SaintCatherine and Saint Teresa Benedicta of theCross (Edith Stein), men and women who forlove of the Lord tirelessly served the poor andworked for the human, social and cultural devel-opment of all the peoples of the continent.

I commend myself to your prayers and to theprayers of those whom you will encounter in thecourse of your travels. To all of them I ask you tobring my Blessing.

From the Vatican, 22 October 2020,Memorial of Saint John Paul II

1 COMECE Statutes, Art. 1.2 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24November 2013), 228.3 Ibid.4 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020),11.5 9 November 1982, 4.6 Schuman Declaration, Paris, 9 May 1950.7 Address to Participants in the Conference“(Re)thinking Europe” (28 October 2017).8 Cf. interview for the Belgian Catholic Weekly“Te r t i o ” (7 December 2016).9 Address to Participants in the Conference“(Re)thinking Europe”, op. cit.

page 8 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 30 October 2020, number 44

Video message of the Secretary of State to international conference

For a polyhedric vision of ecologyIn a video message delivered duringan International Conference pro-moted by the ’Centesimus Annus —Pro Pontifice Foundation on thetheme “The Milestones of an Integ-ral Ecology for a Human Economy”on Friday afternoon, 23 October, theCardinal Secretary of State madean appeal to promote “a polyhedricvision” of ecology. The following isthe original English text of the Sec-retary of State’s message.

PIETRO PAROLIN

Madam President, dear friends, itis a pleasure to gather once againafter our last meeting on 8 June2019. At that time, your interna-tional Conference was devoted tothe theme of “Laudato Si’: Tu r n -ing an Ideal into Reality. TheDifficult Path towards an IntegralEcology”. I regret that I cannotbe present with you in person,and am limited to sending youthis video message.

Much has changed in this yearand a half. The world has beenshaken by the crisis caused by theCovid-19 pandemic, which has“exposed our false securities”1 andforced us to face our f ra g i l i t y as fi-nite creatures. The pandemic hasreaped hundreds of thousands ofvictims and is changing our life-styles. It is also raising manydoubts and misgivings about theeconomic systems of our societies.

In this regard, I think it ishelpful to reflect on the signific-ant message of Pope Francis atthe extraordinary moment ofprayer in time of epidemic celeb-rated in Saint Peter’s Square on27 March 2020. The Holy Fatherinvited us “to seize this time oftrial as a moment of decision”. Hecontinued: “It is not the time ofyour judgement [Lord], but ofour judgement: a time to choosewhat matters and what passesaway, a time to separate what isnecessary from what is not. It is atime to get our lives back ontrack with regard to you, Lord,and to others. We can look to somany exemplary companions forthe journey, who, even thoughfearful, have reacted by givingtheir lives… We have come torealize that we are on the sameboat, all of us fragile and disori-ented, but at the same time im-portant and needed, all of uscalled to row together, each of usin need of comforting the other…We too have realized that we can-not go on thinking of ourselves,but only together can we dothis… The storm exposes our vul-nerability and uncovers thosefalse and superfluous certaintiesaround which we have construc-ted our daily schedules, our pro-jects, our habits and priorities…

In this storm, the façade of thosestereotypes with which we camou-flaged our egos, always worryingabout our image, has fallen away,uncovering once more thatblessed common belonging, ofwhich we cannot be deprived: ourbelonging as brothers and sis-ters”.2

This is the challenge that liesbefore us: to seize this time of tri-al as a moment of decision, to re-set the course of our boat towardsthe Lord and towards others, bycooperating and building, recom-mitting ourselves and rediscover-ing our common belonging asbrothers and sisters.3

The theme you have chosen forthis Meeting, “The Milestones ofan Integral Ecology for a HumanEconomy”, intends to be a contri-bution in this direction.

At the beginning of your jour-ney, aimed at exploring these“milestones”, I would like to fo-cus on these two important con-cepts: those of “integral ecology”and “human economy”. I wouldlike to do so by highlightingthree aspects of each of theseconcepts, aspects that, as will beseen, are closely related to onea n o t h e r.

Let us start with the concept of“integral ecology”, which is cent-ral to Pope Francis’s EncyclicalLetter Laudato Si’.

By proposing an integral eco-logy, the Pope wants to point toa new vision of the world g ro u n d e din the original meaning of theword “ecology”. Derived from theGreek words “oikos” and “logos”, itmeans a study, a reflection on thehome, on our common home,taken as a whole. Indeed, such areflection transcends the environ-mental dimension alone. It callsfor an “integral vision of life thatcan inspire better policies, indic-ators, research and developmentprocesses and criteria for evalu-ation, while avoiding distortedconcepts of development andg ro w t h ”.4 In this way of seeingthings, integral ecology emergesas a complex and multidimen-sional concept that unfolds overtime. Here, it is helpful to returnto an image often employed byPope Francis; that of a “many-faceted polyhedron whose differ-ent sides form a variegated unity,in which ‘the whole is greaterthan the part’”.5

This is the first aspect that Iwould like to highlight: an integ-ral ecology should be seen as apolyhedron that can lead us to ad-opt a new vision of the world andto analyze the issues and chal-lenges confronting humanityto day.

The second aspect that Iwould highlight is that this new

polyhedral vision of an integralecology develops specificallyaround a pivotal point: the cent-rality of the human person and con-sequently the need to promote aculture of care,6 as opposed to athrowaway culture, in which “whatis thrown away is not only foodand dispensable objects, but oftenhuman beings themselves”.7 D is-carding others “can take a varietyof forms, such as an obsessionwith reducing labour costs”,8whereby we lose the meaning ofthe “value” of the right and dutyto work. That right is essentialfor the personal development ofeach individual and the growth ofa sense of solidarity within societyat large and with generations yetto come.

To be sure, the careful imple-mentation of an integral ecologydemands a number of technical,economic and social instrumentsthat can really help to bringabout a change of course in oursociety. Yet to limit ourselves totechnical and economic aspectsalone would be reductive, to saythe least, and surely insufficient;this change of course must em-phasize the ethical and social as-pect inherent in the concept ofintegral ecology. To quote PopeFrancis once again, “this much-needed change of course cannottake place without a substantialcommitment to education andtraining. Nothing will happen un-less political and technical solu-tions are accompanied by a pro-cess of education that can pro-pose new ways of living. A newculture. This calls for an educa-

tional process which fosters inboys and girls, women and men,young people and adults, the ad-option of a culture of care — c a refor oneself, care for others, carefor the environment — in place ofa culture of waste, a ‘t h ro w - a w a yc u l t u re ’ where people use anddiscard themselves, others andthe environment”.9

Consequently, the third aspectthat I would mention is the needfor education in an integral ecology.This represents a great cultural,spiritual and educational chal-lenge, since it must necessarily in-volve an authentic c o n v e rs i o n lead-ing to a change of mentality andoutlo ok.

Combining these three aspects,we can say that the polyhedralvision of an integral ecology —which must have as its pivotalpoint the centrality of the humanperson and the promotion of aculture of care — must be fosteredthrough a pedagogy aimed at themind, heart and hands of eachperson. Such an education andpedagogy can help direct bothpolitics and the economy to agenuinely integral and sustainablehuman development, one that be-nefits all the people of our world,above all the poorest.

To speak of the need for polit-ics and the economy to be direc-ted to an integral ecology bringsus to the second part of thetheme of your Meeting: a “hu-man economy”.

Here too, I would like to focuson three aspects of this concept.Let us begin with the etymologyof the word “economy”, which is

CARE FOR OUR COMMON HOME

number 44, Friday, 30 October 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 9

For a polyhedric vision of ecology

VAT I C A N BULLETINCONTINUED FROM PA G E 2

1 Encyclical Letter ‘Fratelli Tutti’ onFraternity and Social Friendship, 3October 2020, 7.2 Extraordinary Moment of Prayer inTime of Epidemic, 27 March 2020.3 Cf. Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti,203-205.4 INTERDICASTERIAL WORKINGGROUP OF THE HO LY SEE ON INTE-GRAL ECOLO GY, Journeying towardsCare for Our Common Home. FiveYears after Laudato Si’, LEV, 31 May2020, p. 9.5 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 215.6 Cf. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’,231; Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti,17, 79, 96, 117, 143, 188.7 Address to the Members of the Diplo-matic Corps Accredited to the Holy See,13 January 2014.8 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 20.9 Address to the United Nations Officeat Nairobi, 26 November 2015.10 BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter‘Caritas in Veritate’ on Integral Hu-man Development in Charity and Tru-th, 29 June 2009, 32.11 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, 141.12 Cf. Gen 2:15.13 Cf. Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’,129.14 Cf. op. cit., 22.15 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 123.16 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 162.17 Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, 129.18 BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical LetterCaritas in Veritate, 19.19 FRANCIS, Address to the Seventy-Fifth Meeting of the General Assemblyof the United Nations, 25 September2020.20 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 138.21 Encyclical Letter Fratelli Tutti, 153.

On Tuesday, 27 October, in the Santa MartaChapel in the Vatican, the Holy Fatherimposed the Pallium on His Beatitude

Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Patriarch of Jerusalemfor Latins.

quite close to that of “ecology”. Eco-nomy, in fact, comes from the Greekwords “oikos” and “nomos”, that is,laws or rules for the home. Theserules, too, must be grounded in avision. To describe an “economy”with the adjective “human” indicatesthat such a vision must likewise beguided by the polyhedral approachof integral ecology, which, as I havesaid, is distinguished by the centralityof the human person and the p ro m o -tion of a culture of care.

Clearly, this calls for a moral dis-cernment, in order to promote “fur-ther and deeper reflection on the mean-ing of the economy and its goals, aswell as a profound and far-sightedrevision of the current model of de-velopment, so as to correct its dys-functions and deviations. This is de-manded, in any case, by the earth’sstate of ecological health; above allit is required by the cultural andmoral crisis of humanity, the symp-toms of which have been evident forsome time all over the world”.10 Weneed, in fact, “an ‘economic ecology’capable of appealing to a broadervision of reality”.11

This is the first aspect I wouldemphasize about a human economy:integral ecology requires a more“humane” approach to the economy,based on the command to “till andkeep”.12 In other words, an economicsystem must be able to improve —not destroy — our world.13 I thinkfor example of those circular modelsof production and consumption14 cap-able of opposing and inverting theperverse dynamics set in motion bythe throwaway culture.

A human economy thus remindsus once more that business activity“is a noble vocation, directed to pro-ducing wealth and improving ourworld. God encourages us to devel-op the talents he gave us, and hehas made our universe one of im-mense potential. In God’s plan,each individual is called to promotehis or her own development, andthis includes discovering the besteconomic and technological meansof multiplying goods and increasingwealth. Business abilities, which area gift from God, should always beclearly directed to the development

of others and to eliminating poverty,especially through the creation of di-versified work opportunities”.15

The second aspect that I wouldmention is precisely the recognitionthat a human economy gives to thefundamental importance of work,which is, as I have said, an elementessential to a dignified human exis-tence. It is necessary to “p ro v i d eeveryone with the opportunity tonurture the seeds that God hasplanted in each of us: our talents,our initiative and our innate re-s o u rc e s … Political systems mustkeep working to structure society insuch a way that everyone has achance to contribute his or her owntalents and efforts… In a genuinelydeveloped society, work is an essen-tial dimension of social life, for it isnot only a means of earning one’sdaily bread, but also of personalgrowth, the building of healthy rela-tionships, self-expression and the ex-change of gifts. Work gives us asense of shared responsibility for thedevelopment of the world, and ulti-mately, for our life as a people”.16

A human economy will be dire c t -ed to promoting a development thatsupports business creativity and in-

creases rather than reduces the num-ber of jobs. This becomes all themore important in light of rapid de-velopments in robotics and variousforms of automation. These willsurely bring important advances andbenefits for humanity, but they canalso lead to the disturbing phe-nomenon of technology-driven un-employment, to which we must re-spond with creativity and ingenuity.It bears repeating: “Business, as anoble vocation, directed to produ-cing wealth and improving ourworld, can be a fruitful source ofprosperity for the areas in which itoperates, especially if it sees the cre-ation of jobs as an essential part ofits service to the common good”.17

A human economy marked by thepolyhedral vision of an integral ecol-ogy must therefore be directed to ful-filling the command “to till and keep”and thus to a greater appreciation ofthe importance and value of human la-b o u r.

A final aspect of a human econo-my that I would highlight is that, byvirtue of its concern for responsibil-ity, gratuity and justice, it appeals tointra- and intergenerational solidar-ity. The range of global challengesneeding to be faced in the twenty-first century — the Covid-19 pan-demic being just the latest clear ex-ample of these — calls for a new eth-ics and a new dynamic in interna-tional relations that acknowledgesthe fact “as society becomes evermore globalized, it makes us neigh-bours but does not make us brothersand sisters”.18 “At this critical junc-ture, it is our duty to rethink the fu-ture of our common home and ourcommon project. A complex task liesbefore us, one that requires a frankand coherent dialogue aimed atstrengthening multilateralism andcooperation between states”.19

In this regard, “we need to attaina global juridical, political and eco-nomic order “which can increase andgive direction to international co-operation for the development of allpeoples in solidarity”20, in the aware-ness that only by a joint commit-ment will we be able to give effect-ive responses to issues that tran-scend national boundaries. “To day,no state can ensure the common

good of its population if it remainsisolated”.21 Building together p re s u p -poses commitment to a constructivedialogue sincerely directed to the uni-versal common good.

In a word, a truly “human” eco-nomy is one that can adopt the poly-hedral vision of an integral ecology.It will respect the centrality of thehuman person and the promotion ofa culture of care. It will bestrengthened by efforts to educate tointegral ecology and be guided bythe command to “till and keep”. Itwill be committed to the enhance-ment of the universal common goodand to intra- and intergenerationals o l i d a r i t y.

An integral economy can thusmake an important contribution tothe change of course that our hu-man family so badly needs, one thathas been made all the more evidentby worldwide phenomena such asthe Covid-19 pandemic and globalwarming. These phenomena con-stantly remind us that we are allmembers of the one human family,brothers and sisters, each with his orher own unique and essential rolewithin this family.

I am grateful for the opportunityto share these reflections with you,and I offer my best wishes for thefruitfulness of the Foundation’s ef-forts to find ways of rethinking, di-re c t ing and implementing this necessarychange of direction.

* Cardinal Secretary of State

Bishop Giovanni D'Alise of Case-rta, Italy, at age 72 (4 Oct.)

Archbishop Claude Feidt, Arch-bishop emeritus of Aix, France, atage 84 (13 Oct.)

Bishop Antonio Ángel AlgoraHernando, Bishop emeritus ofCiudad Real, Spain, at age 80 (15O ct.)

Bishop Odore Joseph Gendron,Bishop emeritus of Manchester,USA, at age 99 (16 Oct.)

Bishop Bogdan Józef Wojtuś, Aux-iliary Bishop emeritus of Gniezno,Poland, at age 83 (20 Oct.)

A fisherman stands on dry land, the former site of the Jucutuma Lagoon, Honduras, which was oncea swimming site for the youngsters in the photograph (AFP)

Msgr Pizzaballareceives the Pallium

page 10 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 30 October 2020, number 44

Holy Father receives in audiencethe Prime Minister of Spain

Dominican Nuns launch first official websitefor those considering monastic life

New Ambassador of Greece

Causes of Saints

P ro m u l g a t i o nof Decrees

On Tuesday morning, 27 Octo-ber, the Holy Father received inaudience Bishop Marcello Sem-eraro, Prefect of the Congrega-tion for the Causes of Saints.During the audience, the Su-preme Pontiff authorized thesame Congregation to promul-gate the following Decrees re-g a rd i n g :

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of BlessedGiustino Maria Russolillo,priest and Founder of theSociety of Divine Vocationsand the Congregation of theSisters of Divine Vocations,born on 18 January 1891 inPianura, Naples, Italy, anddied there on 2 August 1955;

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of the Vener-able Servant of God MariaLlorença Llong, Foundress ofthe Hospital of the Incur-ables in Naples and of theCapuchin Sisters, born circa1463 in Lleida, Spain, anddied on 21 December 1539 inNaples, Italy;

— the miracle attributed tothe intercession of the Vener-able Servant of God ElżbietaCzacka (in the world Róża),Foundress of the Congrega-tion of the Franciscan SistersServants of the Cross, bornon 22 October 1876 in BilaTserkva, Ukraine, and diedon 15 May 1961 in Laski, Po-land;

— the martyrdom of theServants of God LéonardMelki and Thomas Saleh,professed priests of the Or-der of Capuchin FriarsMinor, killed in hatred of thefaith in 1915 and 1917 in Tur-key;

— the martyrdom of theServant of God Luigi Len-zini, diocesan priest, killed inhatred of the faith on thenight between 20 and 21 July1945 in Crocette di Pavullo,Italy;

— the martyrdom of theServant of God IsabelCristina Mrad Campos, laywoman, killed in hatred ofthe faith on 1 September1982 in Juiz de Fora, Brazil;

— the heroic virtues of theServant of God RobertoGiovanni, professed brotherof the Congregation of theSacred Stigmata of Our LordJesus Christ, born on 18March 1903 in Rio Claro,Brazil, and died on 11 Janu-ary 1994 in Campinas, Brazil;

— the heroic virtues of theServant of God Maria Teresaof the Heart of Jesus (in theworld Celia Méndez y Del-gado), Co-foundress of theCongregation of the Hand-maids of the Divine Heart ofJesus, born on 11 February1844 in Fuentes de Andalu-cía, Spain, and died on 2June 1908 in Seville, Spain.

On Saturday morning, 24 October, the Holy Fatherreceived in audience in the Vatican Apostolic PalaceH.E. Mr Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, Prime Min-ister of Spain, who subsequently met with Archbish-op Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relationswith States.

The discussions in the Secretariat of State focusedon bilateral relations and on matters of common in-terest regarding the Holy See and Spain. The imp or-tance of constant dialogue between the local Churchand the governing authorities was highlighted.

Lastly, the Parties turned their attention to some is-sues of an international nature, such as the currenthealth crisis, the process of European integration andmigration.

The Nuns of the Order of Preach-ers, known as the Dominican Nuns,have launched their first official in-ternational website, MonialesOP.

The site is the first of its kind tobe completely dedicated to the

Available in three languages(English, French, and Spanish),MonialesOP informs visitors aboutthe different elements that make upthe contemplative life of a Domin-ican Nun, as well as the ways in

bor through this following ofChrist, we are incorporated into ourOrder by profession and consec-rated totally to God, and in partic-ular we are dedicated in a new wayto the universal Church, “being ap-pointed entirely for the completeevangelization of the Word ofGo d.”

The new site also includes an in-teractive map that shows the loca-tions of every one of their monas-teries around the world, as well as amore in-depth breakdown of theirmany monastic locations by region.Each region is afforded its ownpage where interested parties canfind contact information for themonastery closest to them.

In a press release, they note thatalthough each Dominican monas-tery is autonomous, DominicanNuns are bound together by a com-mon Rule and Constitutions. Theyalso profess obedience to the Mas-ter of the Order of Preachers,which is unique among contemplat-ive orders of nuns. It is due to thisshared obedience that the websitecan cater to the needs of each mon-astery, as a fruit of sisterly commu-nion on an international level.

On Saturday, morning, 17 October, theHoly Father received in audience H.E.Mr Panos Kalogeropoulos, Ambassad-or of Greece, for the presentation of theLetters by which he is accredited to theHoly See.

H.E. Mr Panos Kalogeropoulos wasborn in Athens in 1956. He is amember of the Orthodox Churchand is not married. He holds de-grees in Law and Political Sciencefrom the National and KapodistrianUniversity of Athens, and practicedlaw in Athens (1979-1981) before en-tering the diplomatic service in 1982,where he worked at the Ministry ofForeign Affairs in the Division forSoutheastern European Countries,

and was head of the Divisions forRussia, Ukraine and the Republicsof Central Asia, and for foreign rela-tions and the expansion of theEuropean Union. He has served asa Diplomat at the Embassies in Ger-many (1985), Russia (1990), the Per-manent Mission at the Organizationfor Security and Cooperation inEurope (1995), and in the followingroles: Consul General in Istanbul,Turkey (2000-2003); Ambassador toLebanon (2007); Head of Protocol(2012-2013); Ambassador to Ger-many (2015); Ambassador to India(2019); and Director General of theInternational Organizations and In-ternational Security Cooperation(2020).

Dominican Nuns, who representapproximately 2,500 sisters in 190monasteries, across five continents.

While they always had a spot onthe Ordo Praedicatorum website, theorder felt that information on theNuns was too hard to find, whichled them to create the new website.

The sisters note that there arefive keys to the life of a DominicanNun: Prayer, Community, Work,Study, and Preaching. These keysare essential to their mission, ofwhich they write:

“In order that we may be perfec-ted in the love of God and neigh-

which they particip-ate in the preachingmission of the order.

This new digitalhome offers import-ant information forwomen who are dis-cerning a call to themonastic life. On thesite, candid photo-graphs of the sistersgoing about their du-ties are placed along-side explanations ofthe order’s practicesand good works, inorder to provide aglimpse of their dailylife.

number 44, Friday, 30 October 2020 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO page 11

Sources of Fratelli Tutti

Fifty five years after ‘Nostra Aetate’

Joint Press Release Commission forReligious Relations with the Jews and the International

Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations

CE L E B R AT I N G THE CONCILIAR DE C L A R AT I O N

ABRAHAM SKO R KA *

At the beginning of October, Pope Francispresented his Encyclical Fratelli Tutti to theworld. His message, which is a call to a humanbrotherhood and sisterhood that excludes noone, is rooted in the vision of the Hebrewprophets. Beginning with the generation of

Amos, Isaiah, Hosea and Micah, the prophetsenvisioned a time when people would nolonger raise swords against one another. In-stead, every people would in their own way ac-knowledge the Creator who expects justice andlove from all humanity. This vision also in-formed the later development of both Chris-tianity and Rabbinic Judaism and surely in-spired the Pope at this critical moment inworld history.

One of the central themes of the Encyclicalis a phrase that Francis highly values: “dia-logue with the other”. The Pope calls on afragmented humanity to see itself as a unity, asa family. He offers a powerful reflection on theparable of the Good Samaritan to convey thecrucial lesson that COVID-19 is also teaching us:the urgent need to overcome divisions throughencounters and dialogues that lead to knowl-edge and affection among peoples.

The post-New Testament rabbinic traditiondeveloped similar ideas. The midrash B e re i s h i tRabbah, 24 tells about a difference of opinionbetween the sage Shimon Ben Azzai and thefamous Rabbi Akiva. Akiva said that the bib-lical verse Leviticus 19:18, “You shall love yourneighbour as yourself”, is the fundamental

principle of the Torah, that is, it sums up itsessence. Ben Azzai held instead that the verseGenesis 5:1, “This is the account of Adam’sfamily line — on the day that God created hu-mankind, God made it in God’s likeness”, bet-ter summarizes the Torah. Some 250 yearslater, Rabbi Tanchuma expounded upon BenAzzai’s position. If one relied only on Levitic-us 19:18, he explained, they might wrongly say“Since I am scorned, I should scorn my fellowas well; since I have been cursed, I will cursemy fellow as well”. But, said Tanchumah, “ifyou act thus, realize who it is that you are will-ing to have humiliated — ‘the one who wasmade in the likeness of God’”. In other words,we must see the radiance of God in the face ofour neighbour.

It is interesting to see the parallel betweenthis rabbinical discussion and Matthew 22:36-40. There Jesus combines Leviticus 19:18 withDeuteronomy 6:4, “You shall love the Lordyour God with all your heart, and with allyour soul, and with all your mind”. Thus, wesee that Christianity and Rabbinic Judaismboth derive a similar insight from biblical Is-rael: the love of God is indivisibly linked tolove of neighbour. Or as the encyclical puts it,because we are all made in God’s likeness, weneed to be “neighbours without borders”.

A chapter of Fratelli Tutti is devoted to allreligions being at the service of human broth-erhood and sisterhood. It is therefore fittingthat this same month in which the new encyc-lical was released also marks 55 years since theissuance of the conciliar declaration, N o s t raAe t a t e . It is explicitly mentioned in paragraph277 of Fratelli Tutti, but its spirit of dialoguecan be found throughout the Encyclical.

The first fruit of the encounter between Jewsand Catholics that began after the Shoah andcenturies of misunderstanding and contempt,Nostra Aetate marked a milestone in the historyof Jewish-Catholic relations. Its great achieve-ment was that it led to concrete measures topromote friendship between Jews and Cathol-ics. There had to be a reckoning of past fail-ings, a sincere dedication to listening to eachother’s viewpoints, a genuine valuing of theother’s spiritual richness, and the active com-mitment to work together on behalf of human-ity. Building such a new relationship takes timeand still continues, but the achievement of sig-nificant rapprochement between Catholics andJews serves as the paradigm for efforts towardamity and common purpose among all the reli-gions.

The impact of Nostra Aetate can also be seenin the document on “Human Fraternity forWorld Peace and Living Together” that PopeFrancis and Grand Imam Ahmad Al-Tayyebsigned in 2019 and to which Fratelli Tutti re f e r s .This key Catholic-Muslim text is a fruit ofNostra Aetate’s desire “to work sincerely for mu-tual understanding” between the two great reli-gions. Indeed, the Encyclical draws to a closeby quoting their joint appeal for peace, justiceand fraternity, “In the name of God, who hascreated all human beings equal in rights, du-ties and dignity, and who has called them tolive together as brothers and sisters, to fill theearth and make known the values of goodness,love and peace”.

To this, surely all human beings can re-spond, “Amen!”

* Institute for Jewish Catholic Relations, SaintJoseph’s University, Philadelphia

October 28, 2020 — Rome andNew York — In a dramaticdemonstration of Catholic-Jew-ish amity, the Vatican’s Com-mission for Religious Relationswith the Jews (CRRJ) and theInternational Jewish Committeefor Interreligious Consultations(IJCIC) exchanged public mes-sages in commemoration of thefifty-fifth anniversary of N o s t raAe t a t e , the milestone documentof the Catholic Church articu-lating a new and better era inChristian-Jewish relations.

Cardinal Kurt Koch, Presid-ent of CRRJ since 2010, andRabbi Noam Marans, Chair ofIJCIC (2019-2021), issued state-ments affirming the reconciliat-ory themes of Nostra Aetate andpraising the progress achievedduring the past fifty-five years.

Cardinal Koch’s messagestates, “It is without doubt thatNostra Aetate (no. 4) laid thefoundation for relations betweenCatholics and Jews and cantherefore rightly be consideredthe ‘Magna Carta’ of Catholic-Jewish relations.”

Rabbi Marans’s messagenotes that Nostra Aetate (no. 4)“has been dramatically ampli-fied by papal visits to syn-agogues, to the horrific yet sac-red sites of the crimes of theHolocaust, and to the State of

Israel following the establish-ment of Vatican-Israel diplomat-ic relations in 1993.” IJCICpraised Pope Francis’s leader-ship in condemning rising anti-semitism and expressed solidar-ity with Christians facing perse-cution.

CRRJ was founded in 1974 asthe successor to the Office forCatholic-Jewish Relations in ac-tualizing the mandate of N o s t raAe t a t e (no. 4). Over the dec-ades, the Commission has ex-panded its teachings and initiat-ives and co-convenes with IJCICthe biennial International Cath-olic-Jewish Liaison Committeeto address ongoing issues ofmutual concern.

For half a century IJCIC hasserved as the official partner ofthe Catholic Church, represent-ing world Jewry in its vibrantdialogue with the Vatican. Theeleven constituent organizationsof IJCIC — American JewishCommittee, Anti-DefamationLeague, B’nai B’rith Interna-tional, Central Conference ofAmerican Rabbis, Israeli JewishCouncil for Interreligious Rela-tions, Rabbinical Assembly,Rabbinical Council of America,Union for Reform Judaism,Union of Orthodox Congrega-tions of America, United Syn-

agogue of Conservative Juda-ism, World Jewish Congress —join together in their ideologicaland international diversity toadvance Catholic-Jewish rela-tions.

IJCIC’s officers are RabbiNoam Marans, Chair, who rep-resents American Jewish Com-mittee; Rabbi David Sandmel,Vice-Chair, who represents Anti-Defamation League; and RabbiMark Dratch, Treasurer, whorepresents Rabbinical Councilof America.

Ca rd i n a l KURT KO CHPresident of the Commission for

Religious Relations with the JewsRabbi NOAM MARANS

Chair of the International JewishCommittee for Interreligious

Consultations

page 12 L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO Friday, 30 October 2020, number 44

ANGELUS

Concerned about the recent news of unrest in Nigeria, theHoly Father invited the faithful gathered in Saint Peter’sSquare for the Angelus on Sunday, 25 October, to pray for theAfrican nation, and called on political leaders to promotejustice and the common good. Earlier Pope Francis hadreflected on the day’s Gospel Reading of Mathew (22:34-40)on love of God and neighbour. The following is a translationof his words which he shared in Italian.

After the Marian Prayer the Holy Father calls for an end to violence

Promoting justice andthe common good in Nigeria

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!In today’s Gospel passage (cf. Mt22:34-40), a doctor of the Lawasks Jesus “which is the greatcommandment” (v. 36), that is,the principal commandment of alldivine Law. Jesus simply answers:“You shall love the Lord yourGod with all your heart, and withall your soul, and with all yourmind” (v. 37). And he immedi-ately adds: “And a second is likeit, You shall love your neighbouras yourself” (v. 39).

Jesus’ response once againtakes up and joins two funda-mental precepts, which God gavehis people through Moses (cf. Dt6:5; Lv 19:18). And thus he over-comes the snare that is laid forhim in order “to test him” (Mt22:35). His questioner, in fact,tries to draw him into the disputeamong the experts of the Law re-garding the hierarchy of the pre-scriptions. But Jesus establishestwo essential principles for believ-

derstand that what is not ex-pressed in love of neighbour isnot true love of God; and, like-wise, what is not drawn fromone’s relationship with God is nottrue love of neighbour.

Jesus concludes his responsewith these words: “On these twocommandments depend all thelaw and the prophets” (v. 40).This means that all the preceptsthe Lord has given to his peoplemust be related to love of Godand neighbour. In fact, all thecommandments serve to imple-ment, to express that twofold in-divisible love. Love for God isexpressed above all in prayer,particularly in adoration. We neg-lect the adoration of God a greatdeal. We recite the prayer ofthanksgiving, the supplication toask for something..., but we neg-lect adoration. Adoring God isprecisely the heart of prayer. Andlove for neighbour, which is alsocalled fraternal charity, consists incloseness, listening, sharing,caring for others. And so often

we neglect to listen to others be-cause it is boring or because ittakes up our time, or [we neglect]to accompany them, to supportthem in their suffering, in theirtrials.... But we always find thetime to gossip, always! We do nothave time to console the afflicted,but so much time to gossip. Bec a re f u l !

The Apostle John writes: “hewho does not love his brotherwhom he has seen, cannot loveGod whom he has not seen ” (1Jn 4:20). Thus, we see the unityof these two commandments.

In today’s Gospel passage,once again, Jesus helps us go tothe living and gushing wellspringof Love. And this wellspring isGod himself, to be loved com-pletely in a communion thatnothing and no one can break. Acommunion that is a gift to be re-quested each day, but also a per-sonal commitment not to let ourlives become enslaved by theidols of the world. And the proofof our journey of conversion and

holiness always consists in love ofneighbour. This is the test: if Isay “I love God” and do not lovemy neighbour, it does not work.The verification that I love Godis that I love my neighbour. Aslong as there is a brother or sisterto whom we close our hearts, wewill still be far from being dis-ciples as Jesus asks us. But his di-vine mercy does not allow us tobe discouraged, but rather callsus to begin anew each day to livethe Gospel consistently.

May the intercession of MaryMost Holy open our hearts towelcome the “great command-ment”, the twofold command-ment of love, which contains allof God’s Law and on which oursalvation depends.

After the Angelus, the Holy Fathercontinued:

Dear brothers and sisters, I amfollowing with particular concernthe news coming from Nigeria,regarding the violent clashes thathave recently occurred betweenlaw enforcement and severalyoung protesters. Let us pray tothe Lord that any form of viol-ence may always be avoided, inthe constant search for social har-mony through the promotion ofjustice and the common good.

I greet all of you, people ofRome and pilgrims who havecome from various countries; fam-ilies, parish groups, associationsand individual faithful. In partic-ular, I greet the “Cell of evangel-ization” group from the Parish ofSaint Michael the Archangel inRome; and also the young peopleof the Immacolata, who are hereto day!

ers of all times; two es-sential principles of ourlife. The first is that mor-al and religious life can-not be reduced to ananxious and forced obed-ience. There are peoplewho seek to fulfil thecommandments in ananxious or forced man-ner, and Jesus helps usunderstand that moraland religious life cannotbe reduced to anxious orforced obedience, butmust have love as its pre-cept. The second prin-ciple is that love musttend together and insep-arably toward God andtoward neighbour. Thisis one of the primary in-novations of Jesus’ teach-ings, and it helps us un-