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(Vatican Radio) Our faith was born with the Risen Jesus on Easter morning. That was Pope Francis message at his General Audience on Wednesday as he continued his catechesis on the meaning of our Christian hope.

Listen to our report: 

Reflecting on the words of St Paul to the early Christian community in Corinth, the Pope said Jesus himself is our hope and his resurrection is the event that grounds our faith. Without it, he said, Christianity would be a mere human philosophy and Jesus would simply be another great religious figure.

Pope Francis said our belief is based on the testimony of those who encountered the risen Christ, from Saint Peter and the group of the twelve disciples, to Saint Paul, who was converted by his dramatic meeting with the Lord on the road to Damascus.  Following that encounter, Paul, who previously persecuted Christians, becomes instead an apostle of the faith.

Faith is a surprise, a grace

The Pope said that encountering Christ in faith is always a surprise; it is a grace given to those whose hearts are open.  It overturns our comfortable existence and opens us to an unexpected future, sowing life and light in place of death and sorrow.  Even though we are all sinners, he said, we too can go to the tomb, see the stone rolled away and realise that God has an unexpected future for each one of us.

Jesus lives in our midst

This is the reason for our Easter joy, the Pope said: in the risen Jesus, who dwells in our midst, we encounter the power of God’s love, which triumphs over death, bringing new life and undying hope. During this Easter season, he concluded, let us continue to cry from our hearts that Jesus is risen and lives among us here, today.

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Filipino Bishop Ruperto Santos backs Govt plan of last week to create a department for migrant workers. 

Bishop Ruperto Santos of Balanga,  head of the Episcopal Commission on the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said the creation of a department for migrant workers is necessary to address their needs.  It is high time to give more importance and protection to our overseas Filipino workers he said. The prelate said the creation of the department would address the basic interests of overseas workers and safeguard their rights and privileges.

Bishop Santos said the existing offices for overseas employment and migrant workers' welfare can be placed under the department. "Common and united efforts for the welfare and well-being of our overseas workers should be rightly and justly addressed," said the prelate.

Limited employment opportunities in the Philippines encourage Filipinos to pursue a brighter future abroad. Apart from the financial incentives, Filipinos migrate for their desire to live abroad, personal development and many other reasons.

The majority of the Filipino migrants are deployed to the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. Despite the government’s effort to protect their OFWs and seafarers, many Filipino migrants find themselves in a vulnerable position. The implementation of the laws and policies have proved to be problematic, ineffective and reactive. Human and material resources designated for OFWs are insufficient to ensure their safety and welfare.

Duterte announced last week his plan to establish a department that will address the needs of overseas Filipino workers. (UCAN)

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Vatican City, Apr 19, 2017 / 05:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Tuesday the Vatican announced the appointment of Msgr. Thomas Robert Zinkula as the new leader of the Davenport diocese in Iowa, and Fr. John P. Dolan as a new auxiliary bishop for San Diego.

In an April 19 statement published the same day as the Vatican’s official announcement, outgoing Davenport Bishop Martin J. Amos – who is retiring after having reached the age limit of 75 – said he welcomes the appointment of Msgr. Zinkula with “joy and great pleasure.”

“I introduce to you the answer to our prayers, Bishop-elect Thomas Robert Zinkula,” he said, after explaining that the appointment is an answer to the prayer the diocese has been reciting for the past 4 months, requesting “a pastor who will please you by his holiness and will show us your watchful care.”

Born April 19, 1957 in Mount Vernon, Iowa, Msgr. Zinkula has a hefty and diverse academic background.

After graduating from Mount Vernon High School, he eventually received a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, Economic and Business from Cornell College in 1979. He later graduated from the University of Iowa in 1983 with a degree in Law, working for several years as a civil lawyer.

He then entered seminary, studying at the Theological College of the Catholic University of America in Washington before later obtaining a licentiate in Canon Law from St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada in 1998.

Zinkula was ordained a priest in May 26, 1990, for the Archdiocese of Dubuque, serving in various capacities including Parochial Vicar of Saint Columbkille Parish from 1990-1993 and Saint Joseph the Worker Parish from 1993-1996.

The bishop-elect then served as pastor of Saint Joseph parish in Rickardsville and administrator of the parishes of Saint Francis of Assisi in Balltown and Saints Peter and Paul in Sherill from 1998-2002.

He was also a judge for the archdiocesan tribunal from 1998-2000, after which he held the position of Judicial Vicar for the diocese until 2010. At the same time, Zinkula also served as pastor of Holy Ghost Parish and Holy Trinity Parish in Dubuque – positions he held until 2011.

The next post he held was Episcopal Vicar for the Region of Cedar Rapids, which he stayed in until being named Rector of the Saint Pius X seminary in Dubuque in 2014. He received the title of “Monsignor” from Benedict XVI in 2012.

Bishop Amos will continue to serve as apostolic administrator of the diocese until Zinkula officially takes possession of the diocese June 22 at Saint John Vianney Church in Bettendorf.

As for San Diego’s new auxiliary, bishop-elect John Dolan was born June 8, 1962, in the diocese he will serve.

He completed his studies in philosophy at the Saint Francis seminary and the University of San Diego in 1985. His theological studies, however, were done at the Saint Patrick seminary in Menlo Park, and completed in 1989.

Dolan was ordained a priest for the San Diego diocese July 1, 1989, and afterward served as Parochial Vicar for the parishes of Saint Michael in San Diego and Santa Sophia in Spring Valley.

In 1992, he was named Director of Priestly Vocations, a position he held for two years. In 1996, he was named pastor of Saint Mary Star of the Sea parish in Oceanside.

He then served as pastor for several other parishes around the diocese until his 2016 appointment as Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and pastor of Saint John Parish in San Diego. In addition to English, the new bishop-elect also speaks Spanish.

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Vatican City, Apr 19, 2017 / 06:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Existing in some form since several hundred years before Christ, the Latin language seems like an unlikely subject to still be generating brand new research, especially among young scholars.

Nevertheless, the theme this year of the Vatican’s humanities-themed contest, the Prize of the Pontifical Academies, is all about Latin. And the final winner – awarded 20,000 euros (more than $21,400) – will be chosen by Pope Francis.

So why does the Catholic Church care so much about promoting the Latin language? For quite a few reasons it turns out.

“In the Vatican some of the more important documents issued by the Pope and the Holy See are officially written in Latin,” Fr. Roberto Spataro, secretary of the Pontifical Academy for Latin, told CNA. The Church’s standard version of the Bible, called the Vulgate, is also in Latin.

Apart from this very practical reason, he said, through Latin we are also able to be in touch with the vast heritage of the Church throughout the ages and “discover that this very language has long been the medium of dialogue between faith and reason.”

The 2017 Prize of the Pontifical Academies is sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Culture and the Pontifical Academy for Latin, or Pontificia Acadamia Latinitatis, which was founded by Benedict XVI in 2012 through the motu proprio Latina Lingua.

“Pope Benedict … wanted to inspire the universal Church lest it forget Latin is the key of an immense treasure of wisdom and knowledge,” Fr. Spataro said.

This is the Church’s most recent document affirming the importance of the study and preservation of Latin, but by no means is it the only one.

In 1962, St. John XXIII issued the apostolic constitution Veterum Sapientia, in which he “solemnly stated” that Latin has three distinctive characteristics making this ancient language the “rightful language for the Roman Catholic Church,” Fr. Spataro said.

Just as the Church is by nature ‘catholic’, or ‘universal,’ the Latin language is also international, not belonging to one country or place; and because it is no longer a living language, it is also immutable.

This “makes it perfect for dogmatic and liturgical assessments as such intellectual activity requires a lucid language that leaves no ambiguity in expression,” he explained.

And finally, “it is beautiful and elegant, and the Church is always a lover of arts and culture.”

Organized every year by the Pontifical Council for Culture, the 2017 Prize of the Pontifical Academies is on two themes: Methodological proposals for teaching Latin today, and the reception of ancient Christian Latin between the medieval and modern eras.

The first topic “is reserved to institutions (academies, schools, associations, foundations, research groups etc.) that are engaged in formative activity among the youth,” the Prize’s press release states.

The second is for scholars between the ages of 25 and 40 who have produced doctoral theses or publications on the theme in the last five years. The deadline for candidates and institutions to submit applications is May 12.

“After a thorough and detailed discussion among the members of the Academy, these two areas are chosen because they are seemingly inspiring,” Fr. Spataro said. “Many researchers are studying the influence of Classical and Christian Latin throughout the centuries.”

“Moreover, new and successful methodologies to teach Latin have been adopted in the last years over all the world,” he continued, “especially the so-called ‘natural method’ according to which Latin should be taught as a spoken language.”

Latin’s role in the Church’s liturgy is another important aspect of the language.

Fr. Spataro highlighted one point in particular: that the original editions of the liturgical books of the Roman rite are all written in Latin.

This is to ensure the “necessary unity in the Church’s official prayer. As a matter of fact, modern translations of these liturgical texts are based on the original Latin one,” he pointed out, so it is important that the Church has scholars to read and interpret them.

Fr. Spataro also pointed out that the number of groups who celebrate the extraordinary form of the Roman rite, or the Traditional Latin Mass, has seen continuous growth since Benedict XVI made it clear in 2007 that it had never been abrogated.

In this form of the Mass, Latin is used almost exclusively.

“This language, with its rhythm and melodic expression, contributes to create a fascinating atmosphere of sacredness and mystery and helps the celebrants and the participants to grasp the ungraspable, which is God himself,” Fr. Spataro reflected.

In addition to his work for the Pontifical Academy for Latin, Fr. Spataro is also part of the Pontificium Institutem Altioris Latinitatis at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome.

The institute, established by Blessed Paul VI in 1964, “is for the profound studies on Latin which in some way or another shapes the face of our Church today,” he said.

“It is our greatest hope to introduce such wonderful language and tradition to the world,” he continued. He hopes there will be “more and more students, both lay and clergy from all around the world, of different countries and cultural backgrounds, to come to study with us!”

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