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L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION IN ENGLISH

Unicuique suum Non praevalebunt

Fifty-fourth year, number 4 (2.681) Friday, 22 January 2021Vatican City

Holy Father sends Message to President Joe Biden

Foster peace and reconciliationin the US and the world

The following is the message sent onWednesday, 20 January, by the HolyFather to the 46th President of theUnited States of America, Mr JosephR. Biden, on the occasion of his inau-g u ra t i o n .

The HonorableJOSEPH R. BIDEN

President ofthe United States of America

The White HouseWashington, DC

On the occasion of your inaugu-ration as the forty-sixth Presi-dent of the United States ofAmerica, I extend cordial goodwishes and the assurance of myprayers that Almighty God willgrant you wisdom and strengthin the exercise of your high of-fice. Under your leadership, maythe American people continue todraw strength from the lofty po-litical, ethical and religious val-ues that have inspired the nationsince its founding. At a timewhen the grave crises facing ourhuman family call for farsightedand united responses, I pray thatyour decisions will be guided bya concern for building a societymarked by authentic justice andfreedom, together with unfailingrespect for the rights and dignityof every person, especially thepoor, the vulnerable and thosewho have no voice. I likewiseask God, the source of all wis-dom and truth, to guide your ef-forts to foster understanding,reconciliation and peace withinthe United States and amongthe nations of the world in orderto advance the universal com-mon good. With these senti-ments, I willingly invoke uponyou and your family and thebeloved American people anabundance of blessings.

FRANCISCUS PP

Pope Francis deeply saddened to learn of the bomb attacks in Baghdad

Fraternity wins over violenceGeneral Audience

Fighting for unity

PAGE 2

An g e l u s

Seeking to be one

PAGE 2

Christian Unity Week

Mutual understanding

BISHOP FARRELL ON PA G E 4/5

Christian Unity Week

Vaccine of peace

CARDINAL BO ON PA G E 5

President Biden at the foot of the Abraham Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC

Deeply saddened by the news of the bomb attack in Tayaran Square inBaghdad, on Thursday, 21 Janaury, the Holy Father sent a telegram toH.E. Mr Barham Salih, President of the Republic of Iraq. A “senselessact of brutality”, writes the Pope, as he urges Iraqis to keep working to re-place violence with fraternity and peace. At least 32 people were killed inthe twin bombing attack and more than 110 were wounded, officials said.The following is the English text of the Pope’s telegram.

His Holiness Pope Francis was deeply saddened to learn ofthe bomb attacks on Tayaran Square in Baghdad this morn-ing. In deploring this senseless act of brutality, he prays forthe deceased victims and their families, for the injured andfor the emergency personnel in attendance.

Trusting that all will continue work to overcome violencewith fraternity, solidarity and peace, Pope Francis invokesupon the nation and its people the blessing of the MostHigh.

C a rd i n a l PIETRO PAROLINSecretary of State

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOpage 2 Friday, 22 January 2021, number 4

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOWEEKLY EDITION IN ENGLISH

Unicuique suum Non praevalebunt

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REFLECTIONS OF THE HOLY FATHER

“During this time of serious hard-ship, the prayer that unity may pre-vail over conflict is even more neces-sary”, Pope Francis said at the Gen-eral Audience on Wednesday morn-ing, 20 January. Continuing his se-ries of catecheses on prayer, he reflect-ed on the prayer for Christian unity,as Christians around the world areobserving the Week of Prayer forChristian Unity. The following is atranslation of the Holy Father’swords which he shared in Italianfrom the Library of the Vatican’sApostolic Palace.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Good morning!In this catechesis, we will re-flect on the prayer for Christianu n i t y. In fact, the week of the18th to the 25th of January isdedicated specifically to this —to ask God for the gift of uni-ty to overcome the scandal ofdivision among believers inJesus. After the Last Supper,he prayed for his own, “thatthey may all be one” (Jn17:21). This was his prayer be-fore the Passion; we could callit his spiritual testament. Letus note, however, that theLord did not command that

his disciples be united. No, hep ra y e d to the Father for us, sothat we might be one. Thismeans that we are unable toachieve unity by our ownstrength. Unity is above all agift, it is a grace to be request-ed through prayer.

Each one of us needs it. Infact, we know that we are inca-pable of preserving unity evenwithin ourselves. The ApostlePaul, too, felt a painful con-flict within himself: wantingthe good but being inclinedtoward evil (cf. Rm 7:19). Hehad thus grasped the root ofso many divisions that sur-round us — between people, infamilies, in society, betweennations and even between be-lievers — it is inside us. TheSecond Vatican Council stat-ed, “the imbalances underwhich the world labors arelinked with that more basicimbalance which is rooted inthe heart of man. For in manhimself many elements wrestlewith one another.[…] Hencehe suffers from internal divi-sions, and from these flow somany and such great discordsin society” (Gaudium et Spes,

10). Therefore, the solution tothese divisions is not to op-pose someone, because dis-cord generates more discord.The true remedy begins byasking God for peace, recon-ciliation, unity.

This is true, first of all, forChristians. Unity can beachieved only as a fruit ofprayer. Diplomatic efforts andacademic dialogue are notenough. Jesus knew this andopened the way for us bypraying. Our prayer for unityis thus a humble but trustingparticipation in the prayer of theL o rd , who promised that anyprayer said in his name wouldbe heard by the Father (cf. Jn15:7). At this point, we can askourselves: “Do I pray for uni-ty?”. It is Jesus’ will but, if weinspect the intentions forwhich we pray, we will proba-bly realize that we haveprayed little, perhaps never,for Christian unity. And yet,the world’s faith depends onit; in fact, the Lord asked forunity among us “so that theworld might believe” (Jn17:21). The world will not be-lieve because we will convince

it with good arguments, butrather if we will have bornewitness to the love that unitesus and draws all of us near.

During this time of serioushardship, the prayer that unitymay prevail over conflict iseven more necessary. It is ur-gent that we set aside particu-larism in order to promote thecommon good, and our goodexample is fundamental tothis: it is essential that Chris-tians pursue the path towardfull visible unity. In the lastdecades, thanks be to God,there have been many stepsforward, but we need to perse-vere in love and in prayer,

without lacking trust nor tir-ing. It is a path that the HolySpirit gave rise to in theChurch, in Christians and inus all, from which there is noturning back. Ever onward!

To pray means to fight forunity. Yes, fight, because ourenemy, the devil, is the onewho divides, as the word itselfsays. Jesus asks for unity inthe Holy Spirit, to create uni-ty. The devil always divides.He always divides because it isconvenient for him to divide.He fosters division every-where, and in any way, whilethe Holy Spirit always joins inunity. In general, the devil

does not tempt us with hightheology, but with the weak-nesses of our brothers and sis-ters. He is astute: he magnifiesothers’ mistakes and defects,sows discord, provokes criti-cism and creates factions. Godhas another way: He takes usas we are, he loves us so much,but he loves us as we are andtakes us as we are; he takesthose of us who are different,he takes sinners, and he al-ways spurs us towards unity.

We can evaluate ourselvesand ask ourselves if, in theplaces in which we live, wenurture conflict or fight for anincrease of unity with the toolsthat God has given us: prayerand love. What fuels conflict,instead, is gossip, always talk-ing behind peoples’ backs.Gossip is the most handyweapon the devil has to dividethe Christian community, todivide families, to dividefriends, to always divide. TheHoly Spirit always inspires usto unity.

The theme of this Week ofPrayer specifically regardslove: “Abide in my love andyou shall bear much fruit” (cf.Jn 15:5-9). The root of com-munion is love of Christ whomakes us overcome our preju-dices to see in others a brotheror sister to be loved always.Then we will discover that theChristians of other confes-sions — with their traditions,with their history — are giftsfrom God, they are gifts pre-sent within the territories ofour diocesan and parish com-munities. Let us begin to prayfor them and, when possible,with them. We will thus learnto love and appreciate them.Prayer, the Council remindsus, is the soul of the whole ec-umenical movement (cf. Uni-tatis redintegratio, 8). Therefore,may prayer be the startingpoint to help Jesus achieve hisdream: that they all may beone.

SPECIAL GREETINGS

I cordially greet the En-glish-speaking faithful. In thisWeek of Prayer for ChristianUnity, let us ask the Father forthe gift of full unity betweenall Christ’s disciples, for thespread of the Gospel and thesalvation of the world. Uponyou and your families I invokethe joy and peace of our LordJesus Christ. God bless you!

Lastly, as usual, mythoughts turn to the elderly, toyoung people, to the sick and tonewlyweds. During this Week ofPrayer for Christian Unity, Iinvite you to take on thisproblem, praying that allChristians may welcome theL o rd ’s invitation to unite infaith in the one Church hefounded.

Fighting for unity andrejecting particularism

Christians joined in prayer seeking to be oneDuring the Angelus on Sunday, 17 January,Pope Francis invited the faithful to join togeth-er in prayer so that Jesus’ desire may be ac-complished: that we may all be one. Earlier hehad commented on the day’s Gospel Readingof John and the disciples’ encounter with Je-sus. The following is a translation of the HolyFa t h e r ’s address, which he delivered in Italianfrom the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,Buongiorno!The Gospel for the Second Sunday inOrdinary Time (cf. Jn 1:35-42) pre-sents the meeting between Jesus andhis first disciples. The scene unfoldsalong the River Jordan the day afterJesus’ baptism. It is John the Baptisthimself who points out the Messiah tothe two of them with these words:“Behold, the Lamb of God!” (v. 36).And those two, trusting the Baptist’stestimony, follow Jesus. He realizesthis and asks: “What do you seek?”,and they ask Him: “Rabbi, where areyou staying?” (v. 38).

Jesus does not respond: “I live inCapernaum, or in Nazareth”, butsays: “Come and see” (v. 39). Not acalling card, but an invitation to anencounter. The two follow him andremain with him that afternoon. It isnot difficult to imagine them seated,asking him questions and above alllistening to him, feeling their hearts

inflamed ever more while the Teacherspeaks. They sense the beauty of thewords that respond to their greatesthope. And all of a sudden they dis-cover that, as evening was drawingaround them, the light that God alonecan give was exploding within theirhearts. One thing catches our atten-tion: 60 years later, or perhaps more,one of them would write in hisGospel: “it was about four in the af-terno on” (cf. Jn 1:39) — he wrote thetime. And this is one thing that makes

us think: every authentic encounterwith Jesus remains alive in memory; itis never forgotten. You forget manyencounters, but a true encounter withJesus remains forever. And many yearslater, those two even remembered thetime. They were unable to forget thisencounter that had changed their livesand was so happy and so complete.Then, when they leave from that en-counter and return to their brothers,that joy, that light overflows fromtheir hearts like a raging river. One of

the two, Andrew, says to his brother,Simon — whom Jesus will call Peterwhen He meets him — “We havefound the Messiah” (v. 41). They leftsure that Jesus was the Messiah, cer-tain.

Let us pause for a moment on thisexperience of the encounter withChrist who calls us to remain withhim. Each one of God’s calls is an ini-tiative of his love. He is the one whoalways takes the initiative. He callsyou. God calls to life, he calls to faith,and he calls to a particular state in life:“I want you here”. God’s first call is tolife, through which he makes us per-sons; it is an individual call becauseGod does not make things in series.Then God calls us to faith and to be-come part of his family as children ofGod. Lastly, God calls us to a particu-lar state in life: to give of ourselves onthe path of matrimony, or that of thepriesthood or consecrated life. Theyare different ways of realizing God’sdesign, the one he has for each of usthat is always a design of love. God al-ways calls. And the greatest joy for ev-ery believer is to respond to this call,offering one’s entire being to the ser-vice of God and our brothers and sis-ters.

Brothers and sisters, before the

GENERAL AUDIENCE • Pope continues catechesis on prayer

ANGELUS • Closeness to the Indonesian people struck by the earthquake

CONTINUED ON PA G E 3

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOnumber 4, Friday, 22 January 2021 page 3

Before Wednesday’s General Audience

Sports brings out the best

Letter remembering Martin Luther King

The timeliness of adream of harmony

and equalityIn a letter addressed to Bernice King on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr. Day,observed in the United States on Monday, 18 January, Pope Francis recalled the lastingtimeliness of her father’s dream of harmony and equality. The following is the Englishtext of the Holy Father’s letter.

To the Reverend Bernice A. King

I send cordial greetings and good wishes to all taking part in theBeloved Community Commemorative Service on 18 January 2021, hon-oring the life and achievements of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr.

In today’s world, which increasingly faces the challenges of social in-justice, division and conflict that hinder the realization of the commongood, Dr King’s dream of harmony and equality for all people, attainedthrough nonviolent and peaceful means, remains ever timely. “Each oneof us is called to be an artisan of peace, by uniting and not dividing, byextinguishing hatred and not holding on to it, by opening paths of di-alogue” (Fratelli Tutti, 284). In this way we will be able to see ourselves,not as “others”, but as neighbors, in the truth of our shared dignity aschildren of Almighty God. Only by striving daily to put this vision intopractice can we work together to create a community built upon justiceand fraternal love.

Upon all present at this Commemorative Service, I gladly invoke thedivine blessings of wisdom and peace.

Rome, from Saint JohnLateran, 3 December 2020

FRANCIS

Pope Francis meets Bernice Albertine King on 12 March 2018

Sunday Angelus

The desire for unityCONTINUED FROM PA G E 2

On Wednesday, 20 January, before theGeneral Audience, the Holy Father metwith the “La Spezia” soccer team andaddressed a greeting to the managersand players. The following is a transla-tion of his words.

Good morning! Good morningto you all.

First of all, congratulations,because yesterday you did well.Congratulations! In Argentinawe dance the tango, and thetango is two-four music [based

on two-quarter time]. Todayyou are 4-2 [referring to the pre-vious night’s victory], and that’sgood. Congratulations, andkeep going!

And thank you for this visit,because I like to see the effortof young men and women insport, because sport is a won-der; sport “brings out” all thebest that we have inside. Con-tinue with this, because it leadsyou to a great nobility. Thankyou for your witness.

L o rd ’s call, which can reach us in athousand ways — through others, hap-py or sad events — our attitude attimes might be rejection. No … “I amafraid”…. Rejection because it seemsto be in contrast to our aspirations;and even fear because we believe it istoo demanding and uncomfortable:“Oh no, I will never be able to do it,better not to, a calmer life is better…God over there, me here”. But God’scall is always love: we have to try todiscover the love behind each call, andit should be responded to only withlove. This is the language: the re-sponse to a call that comes from love isonly love. At the beginning there is anencounter, or rather, there is the en-counter with Jesus who speaks to us ofhis Father, he makes His love knownto us. And then the desire to commu-nicate it to the people that we lovearises spontaneously in us too: “I metLove”, “I met the Messiah”, “I metGo d”, I met Jesus”, “I found themeaning of my life”. In a word: “Ifound God”.

May the Virgin Mary help us makeof our lives a hymn of praise to God inresponse to his call and in the humbleand joyful fulfilment of his will. Butlet us remember this: there was a mo-ment in each of our lives, in whichGod made himself present morestrongly, with a call. Let us rememberthat. Let us go back to that moment sothat the memory of that momentmight always renew that encounterwith Jesus for us.After the Angelus the Holy Father continued:

Dear brothers and sisters, I express mycloseness to the people of the Island ofSulawesi in Indonesia, which wasstruck by a powerful earthquake. Ipray for the deceased, for the injured,and for all those who lost their homesand jobs. May the Lord comfort themand sustain the efforts of all those whoare engaged in bringing aid. Let uspray together for our brothers and sis-ters in Sulawesi, as well as for the vic-tims of the airplane accident that alsooccurred in Indonesia last Saturday.(Hail Mary…).

Today the Day for deepening and

developing the dialogue betweenCatholics and Jews is being celebratedin Italy. I am delighted about this ini-tiative that has been going on for over30 years, and I hope that it may bearabundant fruits of fraternity and col-lab oration.

Tomorrow is an important day: Th eWeek of Prayer for Christian Unity b egins.This year, the theme refers to Jesus’counsel: “Abide in my love and youshall bear much fruit” (cf. Jn 15:5-9).And on Monday, 25 January, we willconclude it with the celebration ofVespers in the Basilica of Saint PaulOutside the Walls, together with rep-resentatives of the other ChristianCommunities present in Rome. Inthese days, let us pray together so thatJesus’ desire may be accomplished –“that they may all be one” (Jn 17:21):unity, which is always superior to con-flict.

I extend my cordial greetings to allof you who are connected through themeans of social communication. I wishall of you a happy Sunday. And please,do not forget to pray for me. Enjoyyour lunch. Ar r i v e d e rc i !

Pope expresses sorrow for victims

Tragic explosion in Madrid

Smoke rises fromthe ruined

Church buildingin central

Ma d r i d

On Wednesday evening, 20 January,in the aftermath of the violent explo-sion that occurred earlier that after-noon in the heart of Madrid, Spain,Pope Francis expressed his condo-lences in a telegram addressed toCardinal Carlos Osoro Sierra, Arch-

bishop of Madrid. The telegram,signed by Secretary of State Cardi-nal Pietro Parolin, conveyed to theArchbishop, as well as to “the clergyand all the sons and daughters ofthis beloved people”, the Holy Fa-ther’s “closeness and affection in

these difficult moments”, andpromised his “prayers to the Lord”as he entrusted to His mercy “theeternal repose of the victims, as wellas the injured and their families”.Lastly, Francis invoked “the mater-nal intercession of Our Lady of Al-mudena” and imparted his heartfeltand “comforting Apostolic blessingas a sign of Christian hope in theRisen Lord”.The suspected cause of the blast,which killed at least three people, in-jured at least eight and causedwidespread damage, was an appar-ent gas leak in the building on Tole-do street where it occurred. A 35-year-old father and an 85-year-oldwoman were among the dead. Astatement from the Archdiocese in-dicated that the building belongedto the Church of the Virgin de laPaloma and San Pedro el Real,which is next door, and had been“completely destroyed”. Early re-ports indicated that two priests werein good condition following the ex-plosion and a third had been trans-ferred to a hospital.

Appeal by the Holy Father at the General Audience

A world free fromnuclear weapons

At the General Audience on Wednes-day morning, 20 January, PopeFrancis launched an appeal for allnations to work toward a worldwithout nuclear weapons. His ap-peal came two days ahead of the en-try into force of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons, al-so known as the Nuclear WeaponsBan Treaty. The following is a trans-lation of the words he offered in Ital-ian.

The day after tomorrow, Fri-day, 22 January, the Treaty onthe Prohibition of NuclearWeapons enters into force.This is the first legally binding

international instrument ex-plicitly prohibiting theseweapons, whose use has an in-discriminate impact, strikes alarge amount of people in ashort time and causes long-lasting damage to the environ-ment.

I strongly encourage allStates and all people to workdecisively toward promotingconditions necessary for aworld without nuclearweapons, contributing to theadvancement of peace and tomultilateral cooperationwhich humanity greatly needsto day.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOpage 4, number 4, Friday, 22 January 2021 number 4, Friday, 22 January 2021, page 5

Mutual understanding and reciprocal trust

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNIT Y 2021

Bishop BRIAN FARRELL *

The year 2020 will long be rememberedfor the transformation of life, communaland personal, caused by the pandemic.The Ecumenical world, too, has sufferedfrom the restriction imposed due to thehealth crisis. In relationships amongChristians, divided but eager to over-come separations, personal contacts areessential. The mutual understanding andreciprocal trust necessary to deepen com-munion are born and grow only throughencounter. Many meetings, many churchgatherings and ecumenical dialogueshave had to be cancelled or postponed toa future date. Certain meetings havebeen replaced by video conferences, butthere is no doubt that a conversation me-diated by technology does not producethe same effect as an exchange of ideas,beliefs, and motivations that takes placein person. Yet, even in this fateful year,the search for Christian unity has contin-ued, and has made progress. Sixty yearsafter its founding (June 1960), the Pon-tifical Council for Promoting ChristianUnity (PCPUC) carries onward with con-viction its mandate: to promote ecu-menism in the Catholic Church and therelationships of the Catholic Churchwith other Christians, in their Churchesand communities. These two tasks havebeen clearly outlined and described inthe Ecumenical Vademecum for Bishops,which the Dicastery recently publishedwith Pope Francis’ b l e s s i n g.

The document was drafted by Councilofficials with the advice of experts andthe approval of the relevant Dicasteriesof the Roman Curia. To illustrate the re-cent activity of the PCPUC we can usethe framework of the Vademecum, whichreflects the fundamental areas of ecu-menical work, not only of the bishopsbut of the whole Church.

The first essential task is within theCatholic Church herself: to keep ecu-menical responsibility alive. Information,formation, motivation. This includes par-ticipation in numerous meetings, publi-cations, regular correspondence with par-ticular Churches, ad limina visits, and soon. Moreover, in order to promote the

ecumenical spirit in the Catholic Church,the Pontifical Council has recentlyequipped itself with new instruments.First of all, a website (www.christianuni-ty.va) which, in addition to offering up-dates on the ecumenical activity of theHoly See, presents all the ecumenicaldocuments published since the time ofthe Second Vatican Council in order toencourage the study and reception ofthese texts. It is a true ecumenical library

in several languages, accessible to all.Adding to this is a new journal, “ActaŒcumenica”, a new format of the “In-formation Service/Service d’information”bulletin which, published by the Dicast-ery for over 50 years, constitutes an au-thentic archive of the Ecumenical com-mitment of the Catholic Church. We areconfident that this journal, which can al-so be consulted online, will be a sourceof information and inspiration for allthose who work in the field of unity.There is also a new series entitled “Utunum sint”, created in collaboration withthe Libreria Editrice Vaticana to disseminateecumenical essays and documents in or-der to foster theological reflection andrapprochement among Christians. Thefirst volume is dedicated to the Dicast-ery’s sixtieth anniversary; the second willpublish the proceedings of a recent con-ference on the ecumenical mission of theEastern Catholic Churches. In the fieldof formation, it is worth noting the “Cor-so Ut unum sint”, a programme for con-tinuing education in ecumenismlaunched in 2019 in cooperation with theAngelicum’s institute for ecumenicalstudies, under the patronage of theCouncil, directly involving several offi-cials. With regard to the second task, orthe relations of the Catholic Church withother Churches and communities, heretoo we can follow the framework of theVademecum: spiritual ecumenism, thedialogue of charity, dialogue of truth anddialogue of life.

In the realm of spiritual ecumenism,one of the main activities of the Pontifi-cal Council is the preparation each year,in cooperation with the World Councilof Churches, of the Week of Prayer forChristian Unity. There are also other ac-tivities related to spiritual ecumenism,such as the temporary transfer or ex-change of relics. In this regard, amongthe events of recent years, we recall thetemporary transfer of the relics of SaintNicholas of Bari, an event that attractedover two million pilgrims in 2017. Therehave been similar transfers of relics inGreece and Bulgaria, again with a largeparticipation of faithful. There is noshortage of requests: devotion to therelics of saints and martyrs is very muchalive in orthodoxy. Another importantevent of the “ecumenism of saints” w e rethe celebrations with the ArmenianChurch for the recognition of Saint Gre-gory of Narek as a Doctor of theC h u rc h .

In the field of the dialogue of charity,we can mention the many meetings orga-nized by the Dicastery with variousChristian leaders. In normal times, not aweek passes that a delegation or repre-sentative of another Church does notcome to the Vatican to meet the Holy Fa-ther or to have conversations with thePontifical Council. Rare, then, are thePop e’s Apostolic Journeys that do nothave an ecumenical dimension. Suffice itto think of Pope Francis’ recent visits tothe Holy Land, Albania, Georgia, Arme-nia, Switzerland, Bulgaria, North Mace-donia, Romania, the Baltic States, as wellas his pilgrimage to the World Councilof Churches in Geneva in 2018. This visithad an enormous and fruitful echo in theecumenical world, especially Protestant.To be remembered among the particular-ly significant encounters in these recentyears is Pope Francis’ meeting with Patri-arch Kirill in 2016, an event held for thefirst time in history between the Bishopof Rome and the Head of the Russian

Orthodox Church. There are then thenumerous declarations and positions tak-en by the Holy See or by the Pontiffhimself in support of Christians (as wellas other populations) who find them-selves in difficult circumstances.

In the sphere of the dialogue of truth,or the theological dialogue among theChurches, there are currently underway15 bilateral dialogues and diverse discus-sions of a multilateral nature. Naturallynot all dialogues have the same doctrinalconsistency, nor do all promise equal re-sults. Each one of them requires the ap-pointment of several experts in a partic-ular theological/ecclesial field. The num-ber per party varies: from 28 (in theCatholic-Orthodox dialogue) to six orseven in other dialogues. Generally thesecommissions meet once a year, for aweek, in different countries, hosted in al-ternating years by the Catholic and theother party. A dialogue commissionworks for five or six years, or until thecompletion of a document of conver-gence or consensus. In recent years, par-ticularly significant documents havebeen produced: in 2015 with Pentecostals(Do Not Quench the Spirit); in 2016 with theOrthodox Church (Synodality and Primacyduring the First Millenium); with Evangeli-cals (‘Scripture and Tradition’ and ‘The Churchin Salvation’); with Methodists (The Call toHoliness: From Glory to Glory); in 2017 withthe Assyrian Church of the East (CommonStatement on ‘Sacramental Life’); in 2018 withthe new Charismatic Churches (The Char-acteristics of the New Charismatic Churches),not a bilateral document, but drafted byour partners in dialogue with us; andwith the Anglican Communion (Wa l k i n gTogether on the Way); in 2020 regarding thetrilateral Lutheran-Mennonite-Catholicdialogue (Baptism and Incorporation into theBody of Christ, the Church), with publica-

tions also relative to the Catholic re-sponse to the document of the Faith andOrder Commission, The Church: Towards aCommon Vision, drafted after having con-sulted with episcopal conferences, theo-logical faculties and individual theolo-gians, without reservations on the part ofthe Congregation for the Doctrine of theFaith. Published also in 2020 was thecommuniqué for the 20th anniversary ofthe Joint Declaration on the doctrine ofJustification and the document of the di-alogue with the Disciples of Christ, DoThis in Memory of Me: Christians Formed andTransformed by the Eucharist. The JointWorking Group between the CatholicChurch and the World Council ofChurches has completed two texts of apastoral nature, regarding the promotionof peace in conflict situations and withregard to the ecumenical challenges andopportunities in aiding migrants andre f u g e e s .

Obviously the challenges vary accord-ing to the dialogues. I will mention onlya few. The dialogue with the OrthodoxChurches, which focus mainly on the ec-clesiological question of the relationshipbetween primacy and synodality, requiresin-depth studies and is also marked by acomplicated historical legacy, as well asby intra-orthodox tensions. With the his-torical Churches of the East the funda-mental issue is the different interpreta-tion of the concept of Church, and there-fore of sacramentality and ordained min-istry; another nine challenges haveemerged related to ethical and moral is-sues, and difficulty in the very process ofdialogue due to a weakening of theolog-ical traditions. With the free Churches(Baptist, Methodist, Mennonite, for ex-ample) we sense the sincere desire for di-alogue with the Catholic Church, buthere, beyond the differences commonly

Recent stages in the ecumenical commitment of the Holy See

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOpage 4, number 4, Friday, 22 January 2021 number 4, Friday, 22 January 2021, page 5

Mutual understanding and reciprocal trust

WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNIT Y 2021

We urgently need the vaccine of peaceMessage for war-torn people

experienced with historical Protes-tantism, there is the question of the mis-sionary nature, or of proselytism whichin some parts of the world also aims atthe conversion of other Christians, in-cluding Catholics. This issue is particu-larly felt in relations with Pentecostalsand Evangelicals, and with all thosemovements that are considered “re s t o r a -

tionist”, or that believe, under God’sguidance, that they must take the placeof the historical Churches, which sup-posedly have drifted away from the pureGospel. However, a new, more relaxedand cordial climate of dialogue is devel-oping with some representatives of thesecommunities. Significantly contributingto this is the Global Christian Forum, in-

stituted some 20 years ago by what arecalled “the four pillars”: the CatholicChurch, the World Council of Churches,the World Evangelical Alliance, and thePentecostal World Fellowship. It is a“space of encounter” in which the histor-ical Churches and all the new forms ofcommunity can participate simply on thebasis of faith in Jesus Christ, avoidingdoctrinal controversies, to become betteracquainted with the respective identitiesin a spirit of mutual trust. The goodfruits and progress achieved have not al-ways been highly visible; some were notnoticed at all. Let us think, for exampleof the rapprochement between Catholicand Pentecostal leaders that is slowlygrowing in Brazil and South America, onthe basis of a letter of intent signed in2019, in which the partners committedthemselves to work together, avoiding allforms of proselytism; and let us recall theinterest reawakened in the charismaticChurches from the new office, Charis, in-stituted by Pope Francis as a service forcharismatic renewal. Also in the frame-work of the dialogue of truth the Dicas-tery has two internal projects: a workingdocument on the Petrine ministry whichoffers a summary of national and inter-national dialogues — official and unoffi-cial — on this theme, and the preparationof the 1700th anniversary of Nicea, thefirst ecumenical council, which will takeplace in 2025 and can be a fruitful occa-sion for a decisive reaffirmation of theChristian faith shared by all the Church-es.

With regard to the dialogue of life, thePontifical Council is active in the field ofcultural ecumenism through its CatholicCommittee for cultural cooperationwhich provides scholarships to studentsof Orthodox and Eastern OrthodoxChurches. This year the Committee issupporting some 40 students, who aretaking courses in the Pontifical Universi-ties and are living in Catholic Colleges.The opportunity to get to know theCatholic Church from up close and in

depth contributes to the spread of amore positive idea about her in Ortho-dox environments. Also of note in thiscontext is the annual student exchangeinvolving young priests, which beganseveral years ago with the Church ofGreece, then launched in 2016 with theRussian Church and organized this yearalso with the Eastern Orthodox Church-es. Thus there is a vast and dynamic net-work of ecumenical relationships amongChristians and among the Churches,which should become better known andappreciated. At times public opinion on-ly becomes aware of big events, includ-ing, for example, Pope Francis’ visit toLesbos in 2016 with Ecumenical Patri-arch Bartholomew and with ArchbishopIeronymos of Athens, and the meetingwith Church leaders in Bari in 2018 forthe day of prayer and reflection on theMiddle East. If on the one hand the cur-rent pandemic has naturally put ecu-menical work to an arduous test, as al-ready mentioned, it favours in-personmeetings, meetings which we hope willresume as soon as possible, on the otherhand it has inspired among Christians aspirit of greater solidarity and sharing, asevidenced by the significant acceptanceof the invitation launched by Pope Fran-cis last May to simultaneously pray theOur Father for the end of the sufferingthat affects everyone. Another reason forencouragement is the awareness of thegrowing involvement of the Roman Cu-ria in the cause of unity, as demonstratedby the numerous projects advanced inthese recent years by various Dicasteries.Lastly, the warm and creative supportgiven by Pope Francis, not only infavour of ecumenical events but, muchmore deeply, for a reform of the Curiaand of the Church and without a doubtan effective stimulus that inspires and en-livens the daily work of the PontificalCouncil for Promoting Christian Unity.In spite of everything, 2020 did not haltthe journey toward the restoration of uni-ty for which the Lord Jesus prayed at theLast Supper.

*Secretary of the Pontifical Council forPromoting Christian Unity

Cardinal CHARLES BO *

“Abide in me and I in you,bear much fruit” ( Jn 15:4-11).

D ear Brothers and Sisters in Christ.In the all powerful name of Jesus Iwish you all blessings in the newyear. May the Good Shepherd

guide us, protect us all in these challengingtimes.

It gives me great pleasure to greet all ourChristian brothers and sisters. Undoubtedly arobust Christian witness in Myitkyina is a joyto see much to be grateful for. I realize thatthe role of Christians in the destiny of Kachinis a blessed one. All praise to God.

More than ever all our destiny is interwo-ven with one another. The pandemic is an ag-onizing reminder that only by uniting to facethe challenges we will overcome in the nameof the Lord. I commend the generous supportrendered to the poor during these days. Unityis our strength and calling.

We have faced other types of unarticulated

Pandemics in our land. Seven decade war is apandemic. Thousands living in miserable IDPcamps is a pandemic. Drug and looting of ourresources is a pandemic. Generations livedthrough the unending wars.

What is God telling us through signs of times?We urgently need the vaccine of peace. All

Christians need to join together and heraldthe words of our Lord “Peace I leave you;peace I give to you” Jn. 14:27. Jesus who cameto this earth with the great words “Peace to allmen of Good will” today calls the Christianchurches to be the prophets of Peace.

God blessed our land with so many re-sources above and below the ground. Morethan that He blessed us abundantly with sonsand daughters. We need to make them live ina land of peace. Wars have not solved anyproblem for seven decades. Peace is possible;peace is the only way. As Christians let usstruggle towards peace based on Justice.

I am of the firm belief that the arc of histo-ry bends towards Justice. For that we need tounite as the people of peace. The peace of

Christ is not divided as long as we abide inHim. He melts all our differences and makesus his messengers of peace. As Jesus pro-claimed his message in the streets, let us cometogether around the altar of our sacred landand break the bread of peace. United, Godwill give us the wisdom to transcend our dif-ferences and bless us with an unyielding questfor peace.

We shall overcome. We shall overcome sev-en decades of darkness of war. We shall over-come our despair because we believe in a liv-ing, loving and liberating God. Let peace flowlike a river in the Kachin land. Let our chil-dren proclaim with joy the realization of thedream of the Revelation: We see a new heavenand a new earth. There will be no moretears.

Yes brothers! Rejoice this is the moment tobelieve and move all mountains. Let us reachour promised land of peace and prosperityUnited in the great name of Jesus.

* President of Bishops’ Conference of Myanmar &President of FABC

Recent stages in the ecumenical commitment of the Holy See

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOpage 6 Friday, 22 January 2021, number 4

VAT I C A N BULLETIN Condolences from the Holy Father

Rememb eringCardinal Scheid

Cardinal Eusébio Oscar Scheid passed away on 13 January. Upon learn-ing of his death, the Pope sent his condolences by telegram to CistercianCardinal Orani João Tempesta, who succeeded the late Cardinal as Arch-bishop of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. The following is a brief biog-raphy of Cardinal Scheid along with a translation of the Holy Father’stelegram, which was written in Portuguese.

I have learned with great sorrow the news of the death ofCardinal Eusébio Oscar Scheid and wish to assure myprayerful solidarity in this moment of mourning with youand with all the faithful who found in him a zealous Pastor.His episcopal motto “God is good” reminds us of God’sgoodness to his Church, this remembrance being truly con-soling when we remember our beloved Dom Eusébio whoserved the People of God with so much courage, as he wasthe first Bishop of São José dos Campos and with equal careled the Archdiocese of Florianópolis and the metropolitanSee of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro. While I thank theMost High for having given so generous a Pastor to theChurch in Brazil, I raise fervent prayers that He welcomehim into His eternal bliss, and comfort with hope in resurrec-tion all those who mourn the loss of their beloved Pastor. Iconvey to them the Apostolic Blessing, as a pledge of com-forting heavenly favours.

FRANCIS PP

Cardinal Eusébio OscarScheid, S C J, Archbishopemeritus of Saõ Sebastião doRio de Janeiro, Ordinaryemeritus for Eastern-Ritefaithful resident in Brazil,

was born on 8 December1932 in Bom Retiro, Joaçaba,Brazil. He studied at the De-honian Fathers’ Seminaryand was ordained a priest on3 July 1960 in Rome. Heheld a specialization and adoctorate in Christology.

Upon return to his home-land, he taught dogmatic

theology and liturgy until hisappointment as Bishop ofSão José dos Campos on 11February 1981, followed byhis episcopal ordination onthe following 1 May.

He was appointedArchbishop of Floria-nópolis on 23 January1991, and on 25 July2001 he became Arch-bishop of São Sebastiãodo Rio de Janeiro. Thatsame year he was namedOrdinary for Eastern-Rite faithful resident inBrazil. He also served asPresident of South Re-gion IV of the BrazilianBishops’ C o n f e re n c e .

He was created andproclaimed Cardinal bySaint John Paul II in theconsistory of 21 October2003, receiving the Titleof Ss. Bonifacio eAlessio.

Cardinal Scheid re-tired from his position

as Archbishop of Saõ Sebas-tião do Rio de Janeiro on 27February 2009, and retired asOrdinary on 28 July 2010.He participated in the con-clave of April 2005 whichelected Pope Benedict XVI.

Cardinal Scheid passedaway on Wednesday after-noon, 13 January.

Pope prays for Indonesians in the wake of natural disaster

Many victims and widespread damage caused by the earthquake in West Sulawesi

Rescuers search forsurvivors at acollapsed buildingin Mamuju city(AFP)

First group of homeless people receiveCovid-19 vaccination at the Vatican

On Wednesday, 20 Jan-uary, in the atrium of thePaul VI Hall, as the Vat-ican City State vaccina-tion program proceeds, afirst group of some 25homeless people perma-nently housed in the careand residence facilities ofthe Office of Papal Char-ities received their firstdose of the vaccineagainst Covid-19. Furthergroups are to follow inthe coming days.

AUDIENCES

Thursday, 14 JanuaryCardinal Luis Francisco Ladaria Fer-

rer, S J, Prefect of the Congregation forthe Doctrine of the Faith

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishopof Bologna, Italy

Bishop Vittorio Francesco Viola ofTortona, Italy

Friday, 15 JanuaryCardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, Pre-

fect of the Congregation for the Evange-lisation of Peoples

H.E. Mrs Sally Jane Axworthy, Am-bassador of Great Britain to the HolySee

H.E. Mrs Callista L. Gingrich, Am-bassador of the United States of Ameri-ca to the Holy See, on her farewell visit

Saturday, 16 JanuaryCardinal Marc Ouellet, PSS, Prefect of

the Congregation for BishopsMr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Di-

castery for Communication

Monday, 18 JanuaryArchbishop Gianpiero Palmieri, titu-

lar of Idassa, Vice-Regent for the Dio-cese of Rome

Fr Roberto Del Riccio, S J, Provincialfor Italy of the Society of Jesus

Wednesday, 20 JanuaryMembers of the La Spezia soccer

team

CHANGES IN EP I S C O PAT E

The Holy Father appointed BishopPaulo Romeu Dantas Bastos as Bishopof Jequié, Brazil. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Alagoinhas, Brazil(13 Jan.).

Bishop Dantas Bastos, 65, was born in

Nuova-Soure, Brazil. He was ordained apriest on 18 May 1985. He was ordaineda bishop on 27 July 2002, subsequent tohis appointment as Bishop of Alagoin-has.The Holy Father appointed BishopJoaquim Wladimir Lopes Dias as Bish-op of Lorena, Brazil. Until now he hasserved as Bishop of Colatina, Brazil (13Jan.).

Bishop Lopes Dias, 63, was born inCafelândia, Brazil. He was ordained apriest on 12 December 1997. He was or-dained a bishop on 4 March 2012, subse-quent to his appointment as titular Bish-op of Sita and Auxiliary Bishop of Vitó-ria, Espirito Santo, Brazil. On 4 March2015 he was appointed Bishop of Colati-na.The Holy Father accepted the resigna-tion presented by Bishop Giovanni San-tucci from the pastoral care of the Dio-cese of Massa Carrara-Pontremoli, Italy(15 Jan.).The Holy Father accepted the resigna-tion presented by Bishop Joseph ĐìnhĐúc Đao from the pastoral care of theDiocese of Xuân Lôc, Viêt Nam. He issucceeded by Bishop John Đo VănNgân. Until now he has served as titularBishop of Buleliana and Auxiliary of thesaid diocese (16 Jan.).

Bishop Đo Văn Ngân, 67, was born inNinh Dinh, Viêt Nam. He was ordaineda priest on 14 January 1992. He was or-dained a bishop on 1 June 2017, subse-quent to his appointment as titular Bish-op of Buleliana and Auxiliary of XuânLôc.

APOSTOLIC NUNCIO

The Holy Father appointed Archbish-op Giovanni d’Aniello, titular Archbish-op of Paestum and Apostolic Nuncio tothe Russian Federation, as ApostolicNuncio to Uzbekistan (14 Jan.).

CO N G R E G AT I O N FOR THECAU S E S OF SAINTS

The Holy Father appointed BishopFabio Fabene, titular Bishop of Montefi-ascone, as Secretary of the Congregationfor the Causes of Saints. Until now hehas served as Undersecretary for theSynod of Bishops (18 Jan.).

PONTIFICAL ACADEMY OFSO CIAL SCIENCES

The Holy Father appointed as a memberof the Pontifical Academy of Social Sci-ences Prof. Jutta Allmendinger, Presi-dent of the WZB Berlin Social ScienceCenter (20 Jan.).

CARDINAL TA K E S POSSESSION

On Saturday, 23 January, Cardinal Sil-vano Maria Tomasi, CS, Special Delegateto the Sovereign Military Order of Mal-ta, will take possession of the Deaconryof San Nicola in Carcere in Rome.

NECROLO GY

Bishop Adam Dyczkowski, Bishopemeritus of Zielona Góra-Gorzów,Poland, at age 88 (10 Jan.)

Bishop Luis Adriano Piedrahíta San-doval of Santa Marta, Colombia, at age74 (11 Jan.)

Archbishop Oscar Rizzato, Almoneremeritus of the Office of Papal Chari-ties, titular Archbishop of Virunum, atage 91 (11 Jan.)

Bishop Florentin Crihălmeanu ofCluj-Gherla, Romania, at age 61 (12Jan.)

Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glas-gow, at age 70 (13 Jan.)

Bishop Moses Hamungole of Monze,Zambia, at age 53 (13 Jan.)

Archbishop Abel Gabuza, coadjutorArchbishop of Durban, South Africa, atage 65 (17 Jan.)

Bishop Vincent Michael Rizzotto,Auxiliary Bishop emeritus of the Arch-diocese of Galveston-Houston, USA, atage 89 (17 Jan.)

Bishop Vincent Logan, Bishop emeri-tus of Dunkeld, Scotland, at age 79 (14Jan.)

Bishop Mario Cecchini, Bishop emer-itus of Fano-Fossombrone-Cagli-Pergo-la, Italy, at age 87 (13 Jan.).

Archbishop Philip Edward Wilson,Archbishop emeritus of Adelaide, Aus-tralia, at age 70 (17 Jan.)

Bishop Francisco Daniel RiveraSánchez, M.Sp.S. Auxiliary Bishop ofMéxico, Federal District, titular Bishopof Aradi, at age 65 (18 Jan.)

On Friday, 15 January, Pope Fran-cis offered his condolences andsolidarity following the terribleearthquake that struck the islandof Sulawesi, Indonesia. Signed bySecretary of State Cardinal PietroParolin, the telegram expressed theHoly Father’s sadness over “thetragic loss of life and the destruc-tion of property caused by the vi-olent earthquake in Indonesia” and“his heartfelt solidarity with allthose affected by this natural disas-ter”. The Pope is praying “for therepose of the deceased, the healingof the injured and the consolationof all who grieve”, and in particu-lar, he “offers encouragement tothe civil authorities and those in-volved in the continuing searchand rescue efforts”.

According to the latest reports,the earthquake left 86 dead, over300 injured and more than 30,000displaced. Details continue tochange as hundreds of people arestill missing and rescuers continueto search for survivors among therubble. Rescue efforts have beenaggravated by several landslides, alack of electricity and the pandem-ic, which in Indonesia has alreadycaused more than 25,000 deaths,making it the country most gravelyaffected by Covid-19 in South EastAsia.

In addition to expressing itscloseness to the people of WestSulawesi, the Italian Bishops Con-ference has announced that it willsend 500,000 euros in aid to thoseaffected by the earthquake. Mean-

while Caritas Indonesia (KA R I N A )has already been working in thearea, thanks also to the contribu-tion of Italian Caritas, whichcalled for donations to help reliefefforts through its websitewww.caritas.it. Caritas Indonesia’slocal director Fr Fredy RanteTaruk reported that the localparishes of Mamuju, the townmost critically affected, and Poli-wali had opened an emergency re-ception centre for displaced peo-ple, and a team had been sent tothe area to join the local teamsand the many volunteers involvedin efforts to assess what is mostlyneeded, including logistical needssuch as food, clean water, blanketsand tents as well as medical sup-plies.

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOnumber 4, Friday, 22 January 2021 page 7

Pope encourages bishops and priests of Venezuela

Close to those suffering frompoverty and the pandemic

President of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ C o n f e re n c e

The Church andState’s apology to victims

Catholic Churchin England and Wales celebrates

Peace Sunday

100 days since his arrest on accusations of terrorism

Renewed calls for the release of Father Swamy

The Catholic Church in Englandand Wales celebrated Peace Sun-day on 17 January. The celebrationoccurs yearly on the third Sundayof January to reflect on the HolyFa t h e r ’s message for World Day

of Peace. Resources for parishes,young people and schools are pro-vided by Pax Christi, part of theinternational Catholic peace move-ment which, on this occasion alsocollects offerings and donationsfrom parishes to support its year-round work for peace and againstmilitary spending and nuclearweap ons.

This year Peace Sunday focusedon Pope Francis’ Message for the54th World Peace Day, celebratedon January 1st with the theme “Aculture of care as a path to peace”,in which the Pope called on lead-ers of governments, internationalorganizations and businesses, sci-entists, communicators and educa-tors, to take up the principles ofCatholic Social Teaching as a“compass” to achieve “a more hu-mane future”, particularly in lightof the Covid-19 pandemic. High-lighting the connection betweensocial injustice and violent con-flict, the message urges everyoneto become “a prophetic witness ofthe culture of care” in order toovercome social inequalities,which can only be achieved“through a widespread and mean-ingful involvement on the part ofwomen, in the family and in everysocial, political and institutionals p h e re ”.

On the occasion of Peace Sun-

day, Pax Christi’s National Presi-dent, Archbishop MalcolmMcMahon of Liverpool, who is al-so Vice President of the Bishops’Conference of England and Wales(CBCEW), wrote to parishes to en-

courage them to sup-port the work of PaxChristi and to raise upthe Gospel message ofpeace: “The Christianmessage of peace,through reconciliation,justice and nonviolence,can offer hope and di-rection in these times”.Many dioceses acrossEngland and Wales ac-tively promoted PeaceSunday on their web-sites and in their parish-es. Resources, includingPope Francis’ Wo r l dPeace Day Message, aliturgy booklet, a flyer

with ideas for parishes, schools,individuals, families, groups and ascript for a short talk about thePeace Sunday theme, can befound on Pax Christi’s website:www.paxchristi.org.uk/p eace-sun-day-2021.

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Kicking off a virtual meeting organized bythe Venezuelan Episcopal Conference,held on 19-20 January, Pope Francis shareda video message in which he encouragedcloseness to those suffering due to povertyand the pandemic. The theme of the meet-ing was “Our priests in the pandemic: theirexperience and ministerial exercise in thisp erio d”.

In his message the Pope emphasized toattendees that the occasion was “an eventto share, in a spirit of ministerial fraternity,your priestly experiences, your efforts,your uncertainties, as well as your hopeand your conviction to advance the workof the Church, which is the work of theL o rd ”. He shared that these difficult timescall to mind a passage from the Gospel ofMark (cf. 6:30-31), in which the disciples,upon returning from their mission, tell theLord “all that they had done and all thatthey had taught”, and then the Lord in-vites them to go with him and rest. “O urbeing Pastors of the Church, even in the

current context”, Pope Francis said, “de-mands that we act in this way. We cannotact alone, isolated, self-sufficient, with hid-den agendas”. It is important, he contin-ued, that “we always turn to Jesus, that wemeet in sacramental fraternity, to tell himand tell each other ‘all that we have doneand taught’, with the conviction that it isnot our work but God’s”. Because “it is hewho saves us; we are only tools in hishands”.

The aim of the virtual assembly, he not-ed, was to enable the meeting “of thosewho have received the mission to witnessand extend the Lord’s paternity to the holyfaithful People of God”. Thus the Pope of-fered “two principles” that “guarantee thegrowth of the Church, if we are faithful:love of neighbour and service to others.These two principles”, he said, are thefoundation of Jesus’ message: “the Eu-charist, to teach love, and the washing offeet, to teach service. Love and peace to-gether”, he recalled, “otherwise it doesn’t

work”. This is what the Lord wants us tobe, the Pope observed: “experts in the taskof loving others and the capacity to showthem, in the simplicity of small, everydaygestures of affection and attention, the ca-ress of divine tenderness”.

We must also be “humble servants”, saidthe Holy Father, “because it is Jesus whocalls us and reminds us that a servant is notgreater than his Lord, nor is the one sentgreater than the one who sent him”. Thus,

we need to rekindle “the desire to imitatethe Good Shepherd, and learn to be ‘ser-vants’ of everyone, in particular of our lessfortunate and often rejected brothers andsisters”, and to ensure that “in this time ofcrisis they feel accompanied, supported,loved”. Thus he encouraged his “dearbrother Bishops and Priests” to “go forth,working with joy and decision in your pas-toral work. To renew the gift of yourselvesto the Lord and to his holy people”.

In a statement released on 12 January onthe occasion of the publication of Ireland’smother and baby homes report, ArchbishopEamon Martin of Armagh, President of theIrish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, calledon “all those who are in positions of leader-ship in the Church to study this lengthy re-port carefully and especially to spend time

reflecting on the courageous testimonies ofthe witnesses to the Commission”. Arch-bishop Martin unreservedly apologised tothe survivors and to all those who were af-fected. He invited everyone to reflect on theReport which highlights a hidden part ofI re l a n d ’s history, depicting the isolation, se-

crecy and social ostracism that “unmarriedmothers” and their children were forced toendure. “To g e t h e r ”, he continued, “wemust ask ‘How could this happen?’, and“identify, accept and respond to the broad-er issues which the Report raises”.

“We must continue to find ways of reach-ing out to those whose personal testimonies

are central to this Report”, Martincontinued, as well as be committed“to doing what we can to help andsupport them”. Many of the sur-vivors are still trying to rebuildtheir personal history and searchfor members of their family. Theirright “to access personal informa-tion about themselves” should befully respected, the Archbishopsaid. He urged “the State to ensurethat any remaining obstacles to in-formation and tracing should beo v e rc o m e ”. Indeed, he added, as“Church, State and wider societywe must ensure together that, inthe Ireland of today, all children

and their mothers feel wanted, welcomedand loved”.

An estimated 9,000 children or babiesare believed to have died in these kinds ofinstitutes between 1922 and 1998. Ireland’sPrime Minister Micheál Martin also offeredhis apologies on behalf of the State.

Fr Stan Swamy, the elderly Je-suit Indian activist involved indefending the human rights ofindigenous people in Jhark-hand State who was arrestedlast 8 October on charges ofterrorism and sedition, remainsimprisoned. One hundreddays since his arrest by theNational Investigation Agency,India’s anti-terrorist agency,the priest continues to be de-tained at Taloja prison inMumbai, despite the inconsis-tent evidence against him, hisprecarious health conditions,especially in a time of pan-demic, and repeated appealsfor his release.

On Friday, 15 January,Christian faithful, members of

other religions and activists inJharkhand State participatedin a candle-lit procession inDumka, a peaceful protestagainst the unjust detention ofthe religious. Speaking to theonline Catholic daily, “Mattersof India”, one protester saidthat Fr Stan had defended thecause of “our poor tribals” and“is an ideal example for allChristians”.

Meanwhile, the Jesuit Con-ference of South Asia renewedits efforts for the release oftheir confrère. Among themost active voices is that of FrCedrik Prakash, also a humanrights activist, who recentlylaunched the hashtags #Stand-withStan and #FreeStan-

Swamy, on twitter. The casehas also come to the attentionof the United Nations Officeof the High Commissioner forHuman Rights. Speaking atan online meeting to mark 100days of Fr Stan’s detention,the UN Special Rapporteuron the Situation of HumanRights Defenders, MaryLawlor, spoke about the illegalnature of his arrest.

The Catholic Bishops Con-ference of India, which de-scribed Fr Stan’s arrest as “in-c o m p re h e n s i b l e ”, highlightedthe Jesuit’s commitment to de-fending the rights of the Adi-vasi people. Catholics in In-dia, the bishops said, have al-ways been respected as a com-

munity of loyal law-abidingcitizens at the service of Moth-er India, contributing tobuilding the nation and con-tinuing to cooperate with thegovernment for the commongood of all Indians and forprogress in India. Further ap-peals for Fr Stan’s release havecome from the Conference ofReligious India, the Federa-tion of Asian Bishops’ Confer-ences and several Indianp oliticians.

Fr Stan suffers from Parkin-son’s Disease. He is accused ofhaving ties to Maoist rebelsand of being involved in vio-lent unrest that took place inBhima-Koregaon, Maharash-tra.

People awaitdonations in Caracas,Ve n e z u e l a .

L’OSSERVATORE ROMANOpage 8 Friday, 22 January 2021, number 4

Fratelli Tutti

Australian society and policies challenged by indications of the Pontiff

In name of acommon humanity

ST E FA N O GIROLA

“But let man unto man like brethren act,My doctrine that suits to a T,The heart that can feel for the woes of another, Oh, that’s the religion for me”.These were the verses of a traditional song ofthe Australian bush, published by the “Bul-letin” in 1905. Historian Russel Ward quotedthis song in a now classic book, The AustralianLegend (1958), as a clear example of a core valueof Australian culture, expressed by the term‘mateship’.

A term that encompasses the importance ofloyalty, equality and, above all, friendship. Stilltoday, when a stranger greets us by calling us‘mate’, all the social, cultural and ethnic barri-ers that divide us seem to melt in a briefepiphany of our common humanity, in the des-perate search for friendship and fraternity. Forthis reason too, Pope Francis’ latest Encyclical,centred on the theme of universal fraternity,can speak directly to the heart and mind of allAustralians.

Of course, like all values, mateship is alsomanifested above all on the level of ideals,more than on the practice of interpersonal rela-tionships or political actions. The federationestablished in 1901 was not based on the valuesof mateship, but on the White Australia policythat left at the margins of the modern nationboth the original inhabitants of the continentand immigrants of colour. Better still, mateshipofficially remained a primary and shared value,but which in reality excluded entire humangroups, among which many women who didnot identify themselves with its militaristic orchauvinistic connotations.

Still today, more than a century after thebirth of the federation, millions of Australianchildren sing in school the verses of a nationalanthem that promises “those who’ve comeacross the seas”, “boundless plains to share”.They sing with naive confidence in the valuesof equality and justice for all, which they feel astypically ‘Aussie’, but their joyful song doesnot reach their Afghan, Indonesian or Pak-istani peers confined with their families in de-tention centres on remote islands of the Pacific,guilty of having dreamed of reaching thoselush and boundless plains.

This discrepancy among ideals professed ascentral to one’s own culture or religion andtheir application to the personal or politicallevel naturally do not pertain to Australiaalone: how many human individuals or groupslive in absolute consistency with their openlyexpressed ideals?

But the references of the Papal Encyclical tothe importance of reconciliation, which mustbe based on a forgiveness never separated fromthe historical memory of the wrongs sufferedby the victims; the reference to solidarity withthe most vulnerable, including those who seekmore dignified living conditions in anotherland: all this should offer reasons for deepthinking to Australians as well.

Despite much progress achieved, today In-digenous Australians are still over-representedin statistics on social disadvantage, while thephysical and psychological suffering of asylumseekers in Nauru or in Papua New Guinea donot even scratch the surface of the apathy andindifference of a large part of the population.

It would be unjust, however, to characterizeAustralian attitudes toward people in need ofrefuge and solidarity only through the prism ofbipartisan policies that prevent boat peoplefrom landing on the continent. Indeed, Aus-tralia maintains a generous immigration pro-gramme that has allowed thousands of peopleto find safety, freedoms and opportunities un-thinkable in their countries of origin.

The recent opening toward parts of theworld less represented in previous immigrationprogrammes, such as the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, and the solidarity expressed to-ward Islamic terrorism by some new immi-grants in Australia, are linked with the re-igni-

tion of a xenophobia still lingering in severalsectors of the population, along with the in-crease of Islamophobic tendencies. It was infact an Australian, the 28-year-old BrentonHarrison Tarrant, who on 15 March 2019 killed51 faithful at the Mosque in Christchurch, NewZealand, promoting his heinous gesture live viasocial media.

The extremism of identity ideologies and ofwhite supremacy that armed Tarrant’s hands re-mains a small minority in Australian society andpolitics. However, it is undeniable that PopeB e rg o g l i o ’s reminder of the risks of a “xenopho -bic mentality, as people close in on themselves”is not without relevance for society.

Many Australian leaders could reflect on thePop e’s condemnation of political strategieswith limited horizons, obsessed with electoralconsensus and guided by opinion polls. Onthe one hand, the proverbial Aussie pragma-tism and innate suspicion of grand ideologieshave preserved the recent history of this nationfrom civil wars, from totalitarianism and fromthe bitter ideological contrasts that havecaused much bloodshed in the “old world”.On the other hand, there are undeniable limi-tations to a certain way of policy-making thatpursues only short-term results, far removedfrom those ideals of openness to universal fra-ternity and to the needs of the weakest, hopedfor by the Pontiff in the Encyclical.

Moreover, even a nation of average wealthand privilege like Australia, in which some ofthe old problems of underdevelopment de-scribed by the Encyclical have been overcomefor some time, is not immune from some of theevils stigmatized by the Pope.

The brilliant image of material well-being,of great technological development, of cleanli-ness, order and civic sense, hide — only to dis-tracted or evasive eyes — other less pleasant butreal aspects that paint a much more complexpicture than that expressed by the popular ep-ithets of “Australia Felix”, or “Lucky Coun-try”.

Surely, the way in which Australia and itsneighbour New Zealand have managed to facethe Covid-19 pandemic has confirmed that, allthings considered, people live much better herethan in many other parts of the world. But noteven this land has been saved from thosecrushing social phenomena that the pandemichas exacerbated and on which Fratelli Tutti is fo-cused.

In Australia too, the grave consequences arenow evident of a growing individualism and ofan economic model that has advantaged the ul-tra-rich while increasing the precariousness andfragility of the weakest classes.

A nation in which 88% of people regularlyuse the Internet has certainly benefited fromtechnologies that have reduced or erased that“tyranny of distance” that has marked, oftennegatively, Australian life. But at the sametime, the only explicit citation to Australianbishops in the Encyclical refers precisely to themost deleterious effects of the use of the newdigital technologies, in strong growth DownUnder too: the narcissistic obsession fuelled bysocial media that create the illusion of a fragile“connection”, a poor substitute for the deepbonds of friendship and fraternity; the threatsto privacy; the fruition of pornographic and vi-olent images even by the very young; hatred,insults and aggression in place of dialogue andthe civil exchange of dissenting opinions; last-ly, the deleterious influence that the spread offake news can have on the democratic pro-cess.

For this too, the wisdom with which thePope addresses the topic of the impact of newtechnologies has much to offer to those Aus-tralian politicians, educators and parents whoask themselves how to ensure that technologi-cal progress is at the service of the most pro-found needs of the human person and not ofthe interests of oligarchs and economic poten-tates, creators of new types of mental slaveryand alienation.

Holy Father's prayer intention for the month of January

At the service of human fraternity“At the service of human fraterni-ty” is the prayer intention for themonth of January, which PopeFrancis is entrusting to allCatholics through the WorldwidePrayer Network.

“When we pray to God follow-ing Jesus, we come together asbrothers and sisters with thosewho pray according to other cul-tures, other traditions and otherb eliefs”, the Pope says, as imagesof members of the great monothe-istic traditions are seen at prayer,each according to their custom. AMuslim woman is depicted kneel-ing down in prayer as she faces to-wards Mecca, a Christian womanprays with a rosary in her hands asshe gazes at a picture of Our Ladyand a Jewish man stands holding asacred text, wearing the tallit and

kippah. Indeed, the Pope contin-ues, “fraternity leads us to openourselves to the Father of all andto see in the other a brother or sis-ter, to share our lives or to support,to love, and to know each other”.

“The Church values God’s ac-tion in other religions”. In the pur-suit of this spirit of fraternity, thePope also reminds us not to forgetthat, “for us Christians, the well-spring of human dignity and fra-ternity, is in the Gospel of JesusChrist”. Thus, as believers, we“must return to our sources andconcentrate on what is essential”.

After finishing their moment ofprayer, the video shows the threeprotagonists communicating withone another via telephone textmessages. “What is essential to ourfaith”, the Pope adds, “is the ado-

ration of God and love of neigh-b our”.

The three are then shown gath-ered together as they set up anddistribute food to the poor in aspirit of fraternity. The video con-cludes with the Holy Father’s invi-tation to pray to the Lord that he“may give us the grace to live infull fellowship with our brothersand sisters of other religions andnot fight each other, and prayingfor one another, open ourselves toall”.

The video which can be viewedat www.thepopevideo.org, hasbeen translated into nine lan-guages and was created and pro-duced by the Pope’s WorldwidePrayer Network in cooperationwith La Machi Agency and the Di-castery for Communication.

A group of students wrappedin the Aboriginal flag,participate in the KokodaTrack Reconciliation Trekorganized by ReconciliationSA, courtesy ofi n d i g e n o u s . g o v. a u