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(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Monday celebrated a Jubilee for the Roman Curia, the Governorate, and the Institutions attached to the Holy See, as part of the Holy Year of Mercy.

The event took place on the Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter, which has the rank of “Solemnity” in the Vatican Basilica.

The Jubilee began in the Paul VI Hall, where employees of the Vatican and related institutions, with their families, gathered for a meditation led by Father Marko Rupnik, SJ. Following the spiritual reflection, all processed through the Holy Door at St Peter’s Basilica to take part in the Solemn Mass, at which Pope Francis presided.

The special Jubilee celebration offered members of Vatican Radio the opportunity participate in the liturgy in ministerial roles, with Christopher Wells from the English section proclaiming the first Reading. After the Mass, he spoke with Chris Altieri about the experience: 

Listen: 

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(Vatican Radio)  Father Federico Lombardi is to bid farewell to Vatican Radio at the end of the month.

Father Federico Lombardi SJ will leave “the Pope’s Radio” after 26 years of extraordinary service, initially as Director of Programmes, and since 2005, as General Director.

He will continue to serve as Director of the Press Office of the Holy See.

This is not the only change Vatican Radio is facing at this time in history following the implementation of a major overhaul of the Vatican’s media sector, as signaled by Pope Francis last June when he established the Secretariat for Communications. 

Another figure of reference due to leave Vatican Radio on February 29 is Alberto Gasbarri, Director of Administration.

Gasbarri, however, is perhaps best-known to the general public for having been the organizer and coordinator of Papal journeys for the last four decades. 

Meanwhile, announcing that neither Lombardi nor Gasbarri will be replaced, Monsignor Dario Edoardo Viganò, Head of the Vatican Secretariat for Communications has appointed civil lawyer Giacomo Ghisani as Vatican Radio’s “ad interim” Legal Representative and Director of Administration.
 
Ghisani, who serves as Head of Vatican Radio’s International Relations and Legal Affairs, is Vice-Director of the Secretariat of Communications.

Ghisani’s appointment, Mons. Vigano’ says in a communiqué, is to ensure “the Radio’s ordinary administration within the current context of review and restructuring of the Vatican’s media operations”.

The communiqué informs that the process of unification of Vatican media, in line with Pope Francis’ “Motu proprio” that established the Secretariat of Communications on 27 June 2015, continues.

The “Motu proprio” determined that all Vatican media be consolidated in a new Dicastery.

The media operations in question are the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Holy See Press Office, the Vatican Internet Service, Vatican Radio, the Vatican Television Centre, the “Osservatore Romano”, the Vatican Typography, the Photographic Service, and the Vatican Publishing House.       

It points out that the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the Holy See Press Office are already unified from an administrative and managerial point of view.

It also notes that Vatican Radio and the Vatican Television Centre (CTV) are in practice partially unified and already share resources and provide services together.

It is within this context – the communiqué specifies – that having both Father Federico Lombardi and Alberto Gasbarri come to the end of their mandates they will not be replaced by “similar managerial figures”.

The communiqué also states that “the work ahead gives us a wonderful occasion to enhance and give value to areas of excellence as well as to the heritage provided by the multi-linguistic and multi-cultural” realities of the media operations in question.

Regarding Vatican Radio, the communiqué says that the current Director of Programmes, Father Andrzej Majewski SJ, will continue to provide a point of reference for editorial and journalistic work and Sandro Piervenanzi will continue to oversee the technological aspects of the Radio.

    

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(Vatican Radio) The people of the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles in the North-West of Scotland are celebrating after their new bishop was consecrated on Thursday 18th February 2016.

Fifty year old Brian McGee was ordained as the 11th bishop of the diocese, having been appointed by Pope Francis in December of last year. He studied in Ireland and was ordained as a priest in 1989. He was formerly the Vicar General of the Diocese of Paisley, a small diocese near Glasgow, and had served as Moderator on a preparatory committee for the forthcoming diocesan synod there.

The Mass of Consecration, which was attended by around 700 people, took place in Saint Columba’s Cathedral in Oban. The main celebrant and homilist was Archbishop Leo Cushley. The other consecrating bishops were Bishop John Keenan of the Diocese of Paisley, and Bishop Joseph Toal, who was the Bishop of Argyll and Isles until Pope Francis appointed him to head the Diocese of Motherwell. They were joined by other Bishops and Emeritus Bishops from Scotland, as well as Archbishop Antonio Mennini, the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain.

In his homily, Archbishop Cushley spoke about Saint Columba, the Irish abbot and missionary credited with spreading Christianity in Scotland in the sixth century. Columba travelled across the Irish Sea to Iona, within the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles, 1400 years ago. Archbishop Cushley noted that Columba and his successors were accepted as the religious and moral leaders of the people, and that the monks of Iona were famous and respected throughout Europe for hundreds of years. Archbishop Cushley also emphasized that the people of Scotland owe him a debt of gratitude for the gentle influence that the faith has had on their society.

Saint Columba’s biographer, Adomnàn, called the abbot an ‘island soldier’ who had great apostolic zeal and an impressive devotion to prayer. The Archbishop prayed that Bishop McGee will take Columba as a spiritual guide as he enters into his ministry.

Immediately after his consecration, Bishop McGee told the BBC he intends to learn to speak Gaelic, an ancient Celtic language used by a number of Scots, particularly on the larger islands. “It is the language of many people in this diocese, and it is only right that their bishop should be able to lead them in prayer in their native tongue. It will be difficult for me. I am not great at learning other languages, but I do think it is the right thing to do.”

The consecration has an impact on the Catholic Church in Scotland in general. Argyll and the Isles was the last vacant See, and now the Conference of Bishops has all eight of its members for the first time in years. The President of the Conference, Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow recalled Bishop McGee when he was a young priest in the Diocese of Paisley. He described him as a dedicated pastor and a thoughtful priest, who will make his own “distinctive and valuable contribution” to the deliberations of the Bishops’ Conference.

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More than 1,000 Catholics from Jakarta Archdiocese took the streets of the Indonesian capital on Sunday to support the government's new push against plastic waste.  The government on Sunday directed modern retailers to charge customers 200 rupiah (less than US$1) for each plastic bag, in a trial policy that aims to improving peoples’ awareness regarding protecting the environment by reducing the use of plastic bags.  "In Jakarta, one problem related to environmental destruction is waste. We have a responsibility in this case," Father Alexius Andang Listya Binawan, told UCANEWS.  The priest who coordinated the Catholic response to the country's National Waste Awareness Day,  hoped they would be able to transmit their concerns to others.   During the four-hour programmme, Catholics wearing headbands that read, "Brave to Care," walked the streets around the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle to collect waste.

"We want to make Catholics aware of the waste issue. We want them to understand that having such a concern is an important part of their Catholic faith," he said.  He said the new policy was a good move. "We cannot stop the use of plastic bags indeed, but we can reduce it."

Charity Sister Gabriela said the program was a reflection of the Lenten season.  “One thing we can do is to fast from the use of plastic bags and Styrofoam. We can protect the environment by reducing waste," she told UCANEWS.  Sandra Dewi, a Catholic artist, said she was pleased to get involved in the program. "If we don't do it, then who will?" she asked.

Besides Catholics, at least 800 communities also took part in the national celebration attended by several ministers, government officials and activists.  In her speech, Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar encouraged local governments to support the new policy.  "To all local governments — districts, municipalities and provinces, let's reduce [the use of plastic bags] and manage waste. This is an important message," she said.  Data from the ministry said that the country's waste has reached 175,000 tons per day or 64 million tons per year.    (Source: UCAN)

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Church leaders in India have termed as a "gross injustice" the Indian government's decision to grant quotas to an influential agricultural caste group in northern Haryana state.  The government's nod Sunday to granting the Jat community quota in educational institutions and government jobs under the category of backward class came after the members of the community went on a violent statewide protest, with loss of life, injury and damage to property and services.  Backward class is a term used by the government to classify castes that are educationally and socially disadvantaged.  However, they are politically influential in Haryana as they are the predominant caste group.

Taking stock of the situation, the federal government late Feb. 21 conceded to the demands of the community and agreed to introduce a Jat quota bill in the assembly session next month.  "This proves that with muscle power, you can do anything. Giving reservation to such an influential class is a gross injustice to people who really deserve these special rights," Father Savari Muthu, spokesman of Delhi Archdiocese, told UCANEWS.  He said that the way the Jat community received their quota, "it has [now] become easy for every community to demand it and have it by indulging in violence."  Father Gyanprakash Topno, spokesman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India, condemned the large-scale violence unleashed by the Jat community.  "It is very unfortunate. The loss of lives and property looks like that there is no rule of law in the country," Father Topno told UCANEWS.  The priest said that "there is a way of protesting and putting forward your demands to the government. The way these demonstrators went on vandalizing property is very condemnable."  (Source: UCAN)

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Mother languages are essential to providing quality education, which in turn supports the achievement of the new global development agenda, the head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said on the International Mother Language Day, marked on Sunday.  The annual Feb. 21 observance was established by UNESCO in November 1999, to promote the preservation and protection of all languages used by peoples of the world. 

Marking this year’s International Mother Language Day on the theme, “Quality education, language of instruction and learning,” UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova emphasized that “mother languages in a multilingual approach are essential components of quality education, which is itself the foundation for empowering women and men and their societies.”  She underscored the need to recognize and nurture this power, in order to “leave no one behind” and “craft a more just and sustainable future for all.” 

Bokova noted that Goal 4 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focuses on quality education and lifelong learning for all, to enable every woman and man to acquire skills, knowledge, and values to become everything they wish and participate fully in their societies.  This, she said, is especially important for girls and women, as well as minorities, indigenous peoples, and rural populations.  UNESCO's Education 2030 Framework for Action, a road-map to implement the 2030 Agenda, or the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) encourages full respect for the use of mother language in teaching and learning, and the promotion and preservation of linguistic diversity, noted  Bokova.  “Multilingualism is essential to drive these objectives forward – it is vital for success across the 2030 Agenda, regarding growth, employment and health, as well as sustainable consumption and production, and climate change,” she said.

UNESCO brings the same focus to advancing linguistic diversity on the Internet, through support to relevant local content as well as media and information literacy, explained Bokova. Through the Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) programme, UNESCO is highlighting the importance of mother and local languages as channels for safeguarding and sharing indigenous cultures and knowledge, which are vast reservoirs of wisdom.

The Feb. 12 date of the International Mother Language Day recalls the day in 1952 when students demonstrating for recognition of their language, Bangla, as one of the two national languages of the then Pakistan, were shot and killed by police in Dhaka, the capital of what is now Bangladesh.  (Source: UN)

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By Junno Arocho Esteves

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Francis called for a moratorium on executions during the Year of Mercy and said the fifth commandment, "Thou shalt not kill," applies not only to the innocent but to the guilty as well.

"Even a criminal has the inviolable right to life, a gift of God," he said Feb. 21 after reciting the Angelus with visitors gathered in St. Peter's Square.

Marking the beginning of an international conference "For a world without the death penalty," sponsored by the Community of Sant'Egidio, the pope expressed hope that it will strengthen efforts to abolish the death penalty.

Increasing opposition worldwide to the death penalty as "an instrument of legitimate social defense" is "a sign of hope," he said.

"This issue has to be considered within the perspective of a penal justice, which is more and more in compliance with human dignity and God's plan for humanity and society," the pope said.

The pope appealed to world leaders to reach an international consensus on the abolition of the death penalty. He also proposed Catholic government leaders "make a courageous and exemplary gesture by seeking a moratorium on executions during this Holy Year of Mercy."

"All Christians and people of goodwill are called today to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, but also to improve the conditions of life in prison, in the respect of human dignity of people deprived of freedom," he said.

In his remarks before reciting the Angelus prayer, the pope recalled his Feb. 12-17 visit to Mexico, calling it an "experience of transfiguration."

"The Lord has shown us the light of his glory through the body of the church, of his holy people that lives in this land -- a body so often wounded, a people so often oppressed, despised, violated in its dignity. The various encounters we experienced in Mexico were truly full of light: the light of a faith that transfigures faces and enlightens our path," he said.

The main goal of his trip, he added, was his visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe to pray before the miraculous image of Mary.

"I contemplated and I allowed myself to be gazed upon by she who carries imprinted in her eyes the gaze of all of her children, gathering up the sorrows caused by violence, kidnapping, assassinations, the violence against so many poor people, against so many women," he said.

Pope Francis also gave thanks to God for his meeting with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, calling it "a prophetic light of the Resurrection which the world today needs more than ever."

"May the holy mother of God continue to guide us on the path of unity," the pope said.

Before concluding his address, the pope prescribed some "spiritual medicine" to the faithful for the Lenten season: the rosary.

Volunteers, including some poor, homeless and refugees along with religious, distributed small white boxes with an anatomical drawing of the human heart that contained a rosary along with the Divine Mercy image of Jesus.

"Receive this gift as a spiritual help to spread love, forgiveness and brotherhood, especially during this Year of Mercy," the pope said.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Let no one feel ignored or mistreated when they encounter a member of the Roman Curia or staff working at the Vatican, Pope Francis said.

May everyone experience "the considerate care of the Good Shepherd" himself, who is the foundation and inspiration for all people who serve the church, the pope said during a Mass marking the Jubilee of the Roman Curia and Vatican offices and institutions.

The jubilee was celebrated Feb. 22, the feast of the Chair of Peter, which commemorates the authority Jesus gave to St. Peter and his successors -- the popes.

In his homily, the pope asked the cardinals, bishops, religious and laypeople gathered in St. Peter's Basilica to keep their minds and hearts "fixed on Jesus Christ, the beginning and the end of every action of the church. He is the foundation and no one can establish something different. He is the rock upon which we must build."

By passing through the Holy Door of mercy and praying before the tomb of St. Peter, those assembled were asked to repeat the profession of faith and reflect on their call to conform their lives to God.

For those who are priests, the pope said, they more than anyone else must model themselves after the Good Shepherd: taking care of his flock, seeking out the lost sheep and bringing healing to the sick and wounded.

"It's a faithful, constant and unconditional commitment" to be a sign of God's boundless love, he said, "so that all of the weakest may meet his mercy."

Asking that they pray God enlighten, purify and transform them in their mission, the pope said they must also cultivate and practice this same pastoral ministry in their work at the Vatican.

With all of the people they encounter each day, he said, "may no one feel neglected or mistreated," and instead feel God's attentive concern.

"We are called to be God's collaborators," he said, as they carry out their unique and valuable mission.

"Let's let the Lord free us from every temptation that distances us from what is essential in our mission and rediscover the beauty of professing the faith in the Lord Jesus."

Being faithful and being merciful are two sides of the same coin, he said, because being faithful is acting and living according to Christ's heart, which is filled with mercy for others.

Mass for the Roman Curia and Vatican staff was the culmination of a number of morning events marking the special jubilee. Thousands of employees, including family members, walked through the Holy Door of the basilica in a solemn procession from the Paul VI audience hall.

Cardinals in Rome led the procession, followed by archbishops and bishops who head curial offices. Pope Francis joined the long procession with a large group of laypeople and religious, walking prayerfully with the large crowd. Priests and monsignors were the last through the door and into the basilica.

The day's events began with a spiritual meditation in the Paul VI hall led by Jesuit Father Marko Rupnik.

With the pope, top curial officials and many Vatican employees present, Father Rupnik said every central church office, not just the Curia in Rome, risks the temptation of its administrators becoming too self-centered.

"It is a terrible temptation," he said, because it sets functional efficiency, the institution, the organizational structure and the individual above all else.

The focus on the individual not only can let in "all the pathologies of the world," it causes scandal when the world sees "us living Christianity as an individual reality" and not joined together as part of the body of the church and Christ, he said.

"The demon of individual perfection is the ruin" of the body of the church and communion, he said.

"The perfection of the church is in organization," the Jesuit priest said, which is not just setting up a bunch of commissions. It means the church shows the world how to organize, lead and manage life in a way that transforms and transcends the individual.

This kind of "organization" in the church shows a fractured world what including and serving others means and "it manifests a deeper reality."

When people encounter someone who works for the church, it is beautiful when they say, "you know, I saw people who were free, free from themselves," generous, willing and available.

"This is what must emerge" and that is what will have an impact on the rest of the world, he said.

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By Carol Glatz

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi will retire as head of Vatican Radio Feb. 29, as the Secretariat for Communications takes on the general administration of the radio.

Giacomo Ghisani, an Italian layman and vice general director of the secretariat, will be the "ad interim" administrative director and legal representative of Vatican Radio starting March 1. Ghisani had been director of international relations and legal affairs at Vatican Radio for many years.

Father Lombardi, 73, will still head the Vatican press office for the time being and continue serving as Vatican spokesman.

The personnel changes were announced by the Vatican Feb. 22.

Born in northern Italy near Turin in 1942, Father Lombardi was named program director of Vatican Radio in 1990 and general director of the Vatican television center, CTV, in 2001.

During the reorganization of Vatican offices under Pope Benedict XVI, Father Lombardi was appointed general director of the radio in 2005 and head of the Vatican press office in 2006, while continuing to lead CTV. Before his retirement in 2013, Pope Benedict named Msgr. Dario Vigano the new director of CTV.

In an effort to render the Vatican's communications efforts more effective, Pope Francis established in 2015 a new Secretariat for Communications with the aim of coordinating and streamlining the Holy See's multiple communications outlets. Msgr. Vigano leads the secretariat as prefect and still directs CTV.

The Vatican press office said in a communique Feb. 22 that the management and administration of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and the press office had already been merged as of Jan. 1.

The timeline for Vatican media reforms foresees Vatican Radio and CTV -- which already have been collaborating for years -- to completely merge within 2016, it said.

Also retiring at the end of the month is Alberto Gasbarri, the radio's administrative director and the chief planner of papal trips. In view of the media reform, no executive managers will be appointed to take Father Lombardi's and Gasbarri's places at the radio, the communique said.

Instead, the responsibilities for both positions -- administrative and general director of the radio -- will be taken care of by the vice general director of the communications' secretariat, Ghisani.

Gasbarri's responsibilities for organizing papal trips abroad will be assumed by Msgr. Mauricio Rueda Beltz, a 46-year-old Colombian priest, who works in the Vatican Secretariat of State.

Nine Vatican media operations will be gradually integrated over the next few years while protecting people's jobs, the Vatican has said.

The nine offices to be "incorporated" are the Pontifical Council for Social Communications; the Vatican press office; the Vatican Internet office; Vatican Radio; the Vatican television production studio, CTV; the Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano; the Vatican printing press; the Vatican photograph service, and the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana.

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By Mark Zimmermann

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Just as many pilgrims are passing through the Holy Door at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in this Year of Mercy, the casket bearing the body of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia entered through the door Feb. 20.

Father Paul Scalia, the justice's son and the main celebrant and homilist at his father's funeral Mass, said the fact that Scalia's casket was carried through that door of mercy was a great blessing. In his homily, he emphasized that his father was a man of faith, dedicated to his family and service to his country, a man who relied on God's mercy and was sustained through the sacraments.

"We give thanks that Jesus brought him to new life in baptism, nourished him with the Eucharist and healed him in the confessional," Father Scalia said in his homily. "God blessed Dad with a deep Catholic faith, the conviction that Christ's presence and power continue in the world today through his body, the church."

Speaking of his father's devotion to his Catholic faith, Father Scalia said, "He loved the clarity and coherence of the church's teachings. He treasured the church's ceremonies, especially the beauty of her ancient worship. He trusted the power of her sacraments as the means of salvation, as Christ working within him for his salvation."

Father Scalia, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, is episcopal vicar for clergy for the diocese, where the late justice lived with his family.

The elder Scalia died Feb. 13 of natural causes while in Texas for a hunting trip. He was 79. He is survived by his wife, Maureen, and by the couple's nine children and 36 grandchildren.

As bells tolled, family members accompanied his flag-draped casket up the steps into the national shrine and down its main aisle as the congregation sang the hymn "O God Our Help in Ages Past." The family then sat in a front section as the casket was placed at the base of the steps leading to the main altar.

At the Mass were the eight remaining members of the U.S. Supreme Court: Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. and Associate Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel Alito, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan. Retired Justices John Paul Stevens and David H. Souter also were present.

Other dignitaries in attendance included: Vice President Joe Biden; U.S. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch; former Vice President Dick Cheney; former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; and Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Cruz, currently a candidate for president, once served as a Supreme Court clerk.

Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl, welcomed Justice Scalia's family members and friends and the dignitaries to the Mass and acknowledged the presence of Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, apostolic nuncio to the United States, and Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde.

Other Catholic leaders at the Mass included Auxiliary Bishop Richard B. Higgins of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; Msgr. Walter R. Rossi, rector of the national shrine; and John Garvey, president of The Catholic University of America. Nearly 100 priests concelebrated the Mass and were joined by about 36 deacons. The congregation of 3,300 people included Catholic laypeople and women and men religious, as well as guests of many different faiths.

The cardinal expressed "our heartfelt sympathy at the loss of your husband, your father, your grandfather and friend, and we once again pledge our prayers that God will grant him eternal rest and grant you comfort and consolation."

Leonard Leo, a friend of Justice Scalia who is executive vice president of the Federalist Society, read the first reading from the Book of Wisdom, which opened with, "The souls of the just are in the hands of God." Justice Thomas read the second reading from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, and Father Colin Davis, a priest of the Diocese of Arlington, read the Gospel reading from St. Matthew.

The Mass included some hymns in Latin, including Mozart's soaring "Ave Verum Corpus" ("Hail True Body") sung by the shrine's choir during Communion. The liturgy also reflected Scalia's sense of humor, with both Cardinal Wuerl and Father Scalia joking about the family's desire "for a simple parish family Mass" for the justice's funeral, which ended up being held in the largest Catholic church in North America to accommodate the number of mourners.

Since his death, Father Scalia said in his homily, the justice had been praised by many for his intellect, his writings and speeches. "But more important to us -- and to him -- was that he was Dad. He was the father God gave us for the great adventure of family life," Father Scalia said. "Sure, he forgot our names at times or mixed them up, but there were nine of us!"

Then on a serious note, he added, "He loved us, and sought to show that love, and sought to share the blessing of the faith he treasured."

The priest also expressed thanks for his parents' marriage, noting that "Jesus bestowed upon him 55 years of marriage to the woman he loved, a woman who could match him at every step and even hold him accountable."

"God blessed Dad, as is well known, with a love for his country," Father Scalia said. "He knew well what a close-run thing the founding of our nation was. And he saw in that founding, as did the founders themselves, a blessing. A blessing quickly lost when faith is banned from the public square, or when we refuse to bring it there."

The priest said Scalia "understood that there is no conflict between loving God and loving one's country, between one's faith and one's public service. Dad understood that the deeper he went in his Catholic faith, the better a citizen and a public servant he became."

Later during the prayer of commendation, Father Scalia, prayed that God would grant the justice a merciful judgment.

As the congregation sang, "O God Beyond All Praising," Scalia's casket was carried down the shrine's center aisle, accompanied as he had been in life by his family, and then they left for his private burial ceremony.

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Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.

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