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(Vatican Radio) The Vatican Museums has installed 18 automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and trained 300 staff in their use to become the first museum in Italy to be “Heart Friendly,” in order to provide greater protection to the 6 million people who visit the Museums every year.

The programme – explained on Wednesday – was created in collaboration with the Vatican-owned Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital and the Department of Health and Welfare of the Governorate of Vatican City State, with training supervised by the American Heart Association.

“For us, it is an honour and a duty to make available to the Vatican Museums our years of expertise to help protect the lives of the thousands of people who each day admire the masterpieces preserved in this place,” said Mariella Enoc, the President of the Bambino Gesù.

This video from the Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital demonstrates the use of the AED in the Vatican Museums

The AED is a computerized medical device which can check a person’s heart rhythm, and recognize if it is a rhythm that requires an electric shock to stabilize. The AED uses voice prompts, lights and text messages to assist the rescuer in determining what steps to take.

The AEDs in the Vatican Museums will allow staff to intervene quickly if someone has a heart attack, since each additional minute without an intervention decreases the change of survival by 6-10%. This will minimize the risk of a person dying while waiting for the arrival of an ambulance to take them to the hospital.

Although the devices have become more common in public facilities in the United States, they are not frequently seen in Italy.

"It is our obligation to provide the best standards of safety in the Museums,” said Antonio Paolucci, the Director of the Vatican Museums.

“Those who come to see the Museum collections of the Pope should know that it is a monitored and safe place, where even a cardiac crisis is tended to as soon as possible, and with the best technical equipment available,” Paolucci added.

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(Vatican Radio) Children across Syria have signed a petition calling for peace in their homeland that will be delivered to the EU headquarters in Brussels and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. Called “Peace for Syria,” the petition has been signed by young Catholics and Orthodox Christians from 6 Syrian cities and will be delivered to the EU and the UN buildings by three Patriarchs.

Aleppo divided into 2 halves like a new Berlin

Meanwhile, daily life in the fiercely contested Syrian city of Aleppo becomes worse by the day. In an interview with Vatican Radio, the Maronite Archbishop of Aleppo, Joseph Tobji said nowhere is safe in the war-torn Syrian city which he called a “new Berlin”  on account of being divided into two opposing halves. The archbishop described how the residents of Aleppo are living with death on a daily basis as a result of the frequent bombardments and shelling, saying they celebrate at least 10 funerals every day for those killed by the fighting.

Asked about the war and those responsible, Archbishop Tobji said he believed the conflict in Syria serves the economic interests of the West and that the great powers "see the country as a pie” to be sliced up for their benefit. He said the people of Syria wish to be free to resolve their problems, saying “we are not like pawns on a chessboard” to be moved here and there. 

Pope's eyes filled with tears

Turning to his meeting with Pope Francis in recent days, Archbishop Tobji spoke of how he showed the Pope a Syrian flag signed by one thousand young Syrian Catholics who attended a local youth day event in Aleppo along with a photo album of their friends: children who have been killed during the war. The Maronite archbishop described how the Pope turned over the first page of the album, saw the photo, then saw the photos on the second and the third page, at which point, “his eyes filled with tears.”  “I too wept,” confided Archbishop Tobji and “the cardinal who was standing by my side.” 

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(Vatican Radio) The Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby says Anglicans and Catholics “have found renewed impetus and momentum” in how they “work and walk together”.

The leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion spoke to Vatican Radio following a papal audience at the conclusion of a two day visit to Rome marking half a century of Anglican-Catholic dialogue.

Philippa Hitchen reports: 

Archbishop Welby has spent two days in Rome, accompanied by 17 other leaders of Anglican Provinces worldwide and by pairs of Anglican and Catholic bishops who’ve been discussing ways of forging closer partnerships in mission.

At the audience in the Vatican on Thursday the Pope said it was “a beautiful sign of fraternity” to see the Primates of so many Anglican Provinces celebrating the fruits of the first meeting 50 years ago between Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Michael Ramsey.

“Let us never grow tired of asking the Lord together and insistently for the gift of unity”, Pope Francis said, adding that all Church leaders are being challenged to go out and bring God’s “merciful love to a world thirsting for peace”.

Archbishop Welby thanked the Pope for his leadership and for the effect that this has had on the Anglican Communion:

“You have recalled us afresh to the needs of ministering with the poor. You have set a Christ-like example by your travel to places of suffering and difficulty. You have stood alongside migrant peoples. You have initiated work on modern slavery and human trafficking, and much more. You gave essential force to the meeting of nations in Paris on climate change. Your letters and encyclicals have spoken far beyond Rome and her church, in a manner which is universal.”

The two leaders also spent close to an hour in private conversation, sharing jokes and discussing everything from prayer to peacemaking, from sexual ethics to the personal revelations that Welby made earlier this year regarding his own father’s identity.

Following that encounter I caught up with the archbishop to see if he could share any of that conversation with us:

Prayer and Peacemaking

Archbishop Welby said a lot of their conversation was about prayer, “in a very practical sense” and he was particularly struck by the expression the Pope used, saying ‘when we pray we make room for grace”. 

He said they also talked about “the need to walk together, about the role of the church as peacemaker, as a source of mercy in a fairly merciless world”. He admitted they also shared some jokes together, saying “there was a good deal of humour [but] jokes don't always translate very well”.

Challenges of sexuality

The Anglican leader said he also discussed the challenges facing both Church around questions of human sexuality, explaining “they came up in the context of talking about the need for grace, for not casting stones”. Archbishop Welby said he and the Pope discussed “at some length” chapters 8 and 9 of the document ‘Amoris Laetitia’ which balance “ so beautifully” pastoral care with Catholic principles and ideals.  “But the emphasis”, he stressed, was “on not being a body that condemns, that hates, but a body that speaks of mercy and the love of Christ” which all of us need.

Generous affection and friendship

Asked about the good relations between him and the Pope, compared with the difficulties within parts of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop Welby said he was grateful for Francis’ generous “affection and friendship”. In the Anglican Communion, he conceded, there are “significant differences but we do continue to walk together, to love each other”. He noted that earlier this year, when DNA tests revealed the identity of his real father – an issue which he and the Pope also discussed – he received letters from people in the Anglican Communion “who disagree with me profoundly, but really pastoral, loving and supportive letters”.

Universal influence

Asked about his comments on the Pope’s ability to speak in a “universal” manner, Archbishop Welby said he was not being “deliberately controversial” but he added “it's a statement of fact, the blessing of the Holy Father’s ministry and of the ministry of the See of Rome has been experienced beyond the borders of the Catholic Church”.  He pointed to the impact of the year of mercy and of the documents 'Amoris Laetitia' and especially 'Laudato Si’ which, he said, gave a moral authority to the Cop 21 climate change conference. He noted that papal encyclical “linked in” with work being done by the Anglican Archbishop of Southern Africa and the petition of 2 million signatures from the global south which had a huge impact on the conference delegates.

After difficulties over recent years around the ordination of women, the Archbishop said, “we seem to have found renewed impetus and momentum in how we work and walk together”. While there are still problems to be solved, he concluded, especially the “great pain” of not being able to share the Eucharist , “we are finding we can walk together and that is beautiful”. 

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Vatican City, Oct 6, 2016 / 09:00 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The theme for the 2018 Synod of Bishops has been released, and will focus on how to best teach the faith to young people and help them to discern God's will for their lives.

Set to take place in October 2018, the 50th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will discuss “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation,” an Oct. 6 Vatican communique said.

The theme, it explained, is in continuity with topics that emerged from the 2014-2015 Synod on the Family, as well as with the contents of Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris Laetitia,” which was written largely on the basis of the synod’s concluding document.

According to the communique, the theme “aims to accompany young people on their way of life towards maturity so that, through a process of discernment, they can discover their life's plan and realize it with joy.”

By doing so, youth will not only be able to open themselves to an encounter with God and with others, but they will be able to actively participate “in the building up of the Church and society.”

The last Synod of Bishops was dedicated to the family and took place in two parts, the first being an Extraordinary Synod in 2014, which was followed by the Ordinary Synod in 2015 that drew 279 cardinals, bishops and representatives from all over the world to discuss the challenges and blessings of family life.

The Council for the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops is charged with preparing for the Ordinary Synod, which takes place every three years to discuss a specific theme of importance in the Church.

Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Thursday that the topic of the upcoming synod is not about celibacy or the priesthood in particular, but is “wider than vocations.”

Vocations “certainly will be part of that but it's wider, much wider.” In addition to vocational discernment, it's about “the formation and transmission of faith,” he said.

Asked to explain “discernment,” Burke described it as “spiritual decision making,” not only about whether or not to become a priest, but about “what you do in life.”

Ahead of each Synod a theme is selected by the Pope, and the council prepares for the synod according to the topic chosen. The Pope can also call an Extraordinary Synod if he feels that the theme needs further discussion, as was the case with the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the family.

Following the conclusion of the 2015 encounter, Pope Francis named 15 cardinals and bishops to prepare for the 2018 gathering, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia being among them.

Serving as an advisory body to the Pope, the Synod of Bishops was established by Pope Paul VI in 1965 by the motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo to “strengthen (the Pope's) union” with other bishops and to “establish even closer ties” with them.

It consists of a group of bishops from around the world who meet every three years “to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel...and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world,” according to canon law.

The Synod Council is composed of a permanent Secretary General (Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri) and Undersecretary (Bishop Fabio Fabene), as well as 15 members – 3 from each continent, with Asia and Oceana (Australia) counted as one – and three appointed by the Pope.

Of the 15 members 12 are nominated by the cardinals and bishops at the end of the Ordinary synod meeting, and serve a three year term. Once their term finishes with the close of the Ordinary Synod, a new council is elected to prepare for the next one.

In addition to Archbishop Chaput, other members elected to prepare for the 2018 synod are: Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops; Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa; Cardinal Christoph Shoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila; Cardinal George Pell, Prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy; Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; Archbishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan of Mouila, Gabon, and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto.

The three members appointed by Pope Francis himself are: Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon; Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid and Archbishop Sergio Da Rocha Archbishop of Brazil and president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference.

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IMAGE: CNS photo/Nancy Wiechec

By Nancy Wiechec

PHOENIX (CNS) -- A popular Alaskan retreat has been designated a national shrine by the U.S. bishops.

Bishop Edward J. Burns of Juneau, Alaska, announced the news on the Oct. 1 feast of St. Therese Lisieux, the patroness of Alaska after whom the Catholic shrine is named.

The National Shrine of St. Therese, located about 23 miles north of Juneau along Glacier Highway, has served as a place of spiritual refuge since its dedication in 1941.

"The shrine is a place of tremendous spiritual and natural beauty for all who visit," Bishop Burns said in a statement. "We are happy the bishops have confirmed what so many shrine visitors have felt in their hearts -- that the National Shrine of St. Terese, Juneau, is a gift from God and a treasure to all who pilgrim to her shore."

The 46-acre site in a forest of Sitka spruce and western hemlock overlooks the waters of the Inside Passage. Along the shrine's many paths, visitors can enjoy wide vistas of water and ice-frosted mountains.

Overseen by the Diocese of Juneau, the shrine ranks among the top Juneau attractions by online travel guide TripAdvisor.

Highlights include the shrine's beach-stone chapel on an islet accessed by a raised stone path. The shrine's Good Shepherd Rosary and Grotto Trail and its Merciful Love Labyrinth are additional places for prayer and reflection.

The shrine is open to all and accommodates overnight guests. Its main lodge and four cabins are available for rent by individuals, groups or families.

The U.S. bishops' committee on divine worship oversees the designation of national shrines. In criteria for naming such places, the bishops cite the Catholic tradition of pilgrimage as an important part of pastoral life.

"Pilgrimages remind us that the journey we take to a place of special devotion designated as a shrine mirrors the journey on which we are embarked as the pilgrim people of God," reads part of the norms.

The Juneau shrine of St. Therese is now among a list of some 70 Catholic national shrines.

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Editor's Note: For more information on the shrine or to make reservations, visit www.shrineofsainttherese.org.

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