Vatican City, Dec 16, 2015 / 10:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Church is the “living sign” of God's love and mercy in the world, Pope Francis said during his Wednesday general audience. He reflected on the universality of communion as demonstrated by the global scale of the Jubilee of Mercy. “May this ecclesial communion become more and more intense, because the Church is in the world the living sign of the love and mercy of the Father,” the Pope said in his Dec. 16 catechesis. This “mystery of communion,” which is a sign of the “Father's love” for the Church, “grows and matures in our heart when love, which we recognize in Christ's Cross and in which we immerse ourselves, causes us to love as we ourselves are loved by Him.” “It is an endless Love, which has the face of forgiveness and mercy.” The Jubilee of Mercy is an Extraordinary Holy Year that officially commenced Dec. 8 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception – with the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter's Basilica. It will close Nov. 20, 2016 with the Solemnity of Christ the King. Although the Jubilee of Mercy officially began last week, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran this past Sunday. During his Wednesday catechesis, the Pope noted how every Holy Door – or “door of Mercy” has been opened in the cathedrals of every dioceses worldwide, as well as in individual churches and shrines by the respective bishops. He reiterated his desire for the Holy Door to be available at the local level, “in order that the Jubilee of Mercy may become a shared experience for every person. By extending the celebration of the Jubilee of Mercy to all dioceses – here the Pope cited especially his opening of the Holy Door in Bangui, Central African Republic during his visit November – the Holy Year becomes a “visible sign of universal communion.” The start of the Jubilee coincided with the 50th anniversary of the close of the Vatican II council, which – Pope Francis observed -- had drawn attention to the theme of communion within the Church. “In effect, the Council contemplated and presented the Church in the light of the mystery of communion,” the Pope said. The pontiff said forgiveness and mercy are more than just nice words; they must be lived out in daily life. “Loving and forgiving are concrete and visible signs that the faith has transformed our hearts,” allowing us “to love and forgive as God loves and forgives.” During the Jubilee of Mercy, Pope Francis said, the Holy Door is a sign of faith in Jesus, who came who came to save, not to judge. The pontiff warned against those who suggest that one must pay for salvation. “You do not buy salvation! The door is Jesus, and he is free! Salvation is free! It is a sign of true conversion in our hearts.” Those who walk through the open Holy Door should ask the Lord for help in keeping their hearts open, whereby they share the Lord's love with others, the Pope continued. “Just as the Holy Door remains open, in order for it to be the sign of welcome which God Himself reserves for us, so too may our door always be wide open in order to exclude no one,” including those we find annoying. Pope Francis stressed the importance of the Sacrament of Confession as an important sign of the Jubilee of Mercy. To receive the sacrament by which we are reconciled with God is to have direct experience of his mercy,” the Pope said. “When we recognize our sins there is a celebration in Heaven!” The pontiff reiterated that we cannot receive God's forgiveness if we ourselves are unable to forgive. “Certainly, forgiveness is not easy,” and cannot be accomplished on our strength alone. “If, however, we are open to welcoming God's mercy for us, we too will become capable of forgiveness.” “Therefore, have courage!” he said.  “We live the Jubilee starting with these signs that involve the great strength of love.” Read more

Vatican City, Dec 16, 2015 / 12:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Council of Europe's second progress report on the reform of Vatican finances, released Tuesday, found that the Holy See has addressed many of the deficiencies in its financial system, while continuing to urge that it ramp up money laundering prosecutions. The Dec. 15 report was released by Moneyval, the Council of Europe’s anti-money laundering committee. According to a Moneyval statement, the Holy See “has addressed most of the technical deficiencies in its legislation and regulations. However there is a need now for an anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing system to deliver effective results in terms of prosecutions, convictions, and confiscation.” Moneyval's lengthy report notes that since the anti-money laundering system was set up, “29 money laundering investigations have been undertaken in the Holy See / Vatican City State by prosecutorial law enforcement bodies” but “no prosecutions have, as yet, been initiated.” The report also highlights that more than 11 million euros ($12 million) are frozen in Vatican accounts. The report reads that “there still remains, however, a continued lack of indictments for money laundering or for related serious proceeds-generating offenses in the three years since (the 2012 report). This situation needs to be improved." Despite these criticisms the report can be considered a step forward as the Vatican establishes a financial system in line with its uniqueness – a state where there are neither banks nor a market – and which is at the same time compliant with current standards countering money laundering and the financing of terrorism. The report praises the remediation process of the accounts in the Institute for Works of Religion, or Vatican bank. In 2013 the Vatican bank updated its guidelines for categories of customers, restricting those with access to the institution. The Moneyval report notes that these guidelines are being followed strictly, and that the remediation process has led to the closing of some 4,600 accounts. The report praised the Vatican's Financial Intelligence Authority for its oversight of the Vatican bank, and the continuity of the FIA's governance. It mentioned that the FIA's board “comprises more persons with professional and international AML/CFT experience and expertise, including the first lay president.” In a Dec. 9 statement, Msgr. Antoine Camilleri, Vatican under-secretary for relations with states and head of the Holy See’s delegation at Moneyval, maintained that “the latest progress report confirms that the Holy See has established a functional, sustainable and effective system, aiming at preventing and fighting financial crimes”. Moneyval issues peer-to-peer evaluations of members states as part of an on-going process which is continually updated to maintain high standards for countering money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.   Read more

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2015 / 04:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis yesterday authorized the Heroic Virtue of Brother William Gagnon, giving him the title of Venerable and launching him on the first step on the potential path to sainthood.   Ca... Read more

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2015 / 03:19 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Friday Pope Francis clarified a few points in his streamlined marriage annulment process and restored power to the Vatican’s main marriage court in order to prevent unnecessary procedural delays. One of the key clarifications the Pope made was to reiterate that the new rules trump everything that came before them, including changes made during the pontificates of Pope Pius XI and John Paul II. First announced in September, the new process went into effect Dec. 8, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and the launch of Francis’ Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy. With the streamlined process, more of a role is placed on the local bishop, who now acts as the judge in the process, automatic appeals have been dropped, and the process has been declared free of charge. The changes were initially published in two motu proprio – or letters – issued by the Pope “on his own initiative.” The documents were entitled “Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus” (The Lord Jesus, a meek judge), which deals with modifications in the Latin Rite's Code of Canon Law, and “Mitis et misericors Iesus” (Jesus, meek and merciful), which outlines changes for Eastern Churches who, although in full communion with Rome, have historically had a different process. On Dec. 7, the day before the new process went into effect, Pope Francis signed a “rescript,” that is, a written answer to a question in which the primary subject of the question is clarified. The move is a step in bringing the procedures of the Vatican’s main court, called the Roman Rota, in line with the new marriage annulment process. According to the rescript text, the entry into force of the new process, which aims “to bring justice and mercy on the truth of the bond to those who have experienced the failure of their marriage,” requires, among other things, “the need to harmonize the renewed procedures for marriage annulment with the regulations of the Roman Rota, awaiting their reform.” The new laws, it said, are “intended precisely to show the Church's closeness to wounded families, desiring that the many who experience matrimonial failure are reached by Christ's healing work through ecclesiastical structures.” Francis affirmed the Rota’s jurisdiction as the ordinary court of appeal of the Apostolic See, and assured that it remains the point of reference in “safeguarding the unity of the jurisprudence,” as was laid out by St. John Paul II in his 1988 apostolic constitution Pastor Bonus. With these two points in mind, as well as the desire to contribute “to the continuing formation of pastoral workers in the Tribunals of the local Churches,” Francis decreed that the new laws on annulment cases “repeal or waive any contrary law or regulation currently in force.” The rescript also states that Pope Pius XI’s Motu Proprio “Qua cura” on regional tribunals in Italy is canceled. In the text, the Pope clarifies that cases which reach the Roman Rota will now be judged according an old Latin formula: “An constet de matrimonii nullitate, in casu,” roughly translating as “Is there proof of the nullity of marriage in the case of…” Basically, the formula allows the Rota to grant an annulment even if the grounds for doing so weren’t the ones originally specified. For example, a person might seek an annulment on the basis that one of the parties didn’t believe in marriage indissolubility, that is, the fact that marriage is a lifelong commitment. The court could rule that while that point couldn’t be proven, the marriage was obviously null for another reason, such as coercion, and declare it so. This formula was previously used by the Rota, allowing them to grant an annulment on those grounds, however during his pontificate John Paul II required the court to judge the case only on the grounds originally specified, meaning that the person or couple seeking an annulment had to start the process over if their original claim was unable to be proven. Francis’ move, then, can be seen as a continued effort to reach out to the Church’s “most fragile sons and daughters, marked by wounded and lost love,” as he said in the rescript text in reference to the most recent Synod of Bishops on the Family, which placed special emphasis on reaching out to divorced and remarried Catholics. Of particular importance in the process is the principle of “generic doubt,” under which an a marriage can be declared null when the case off nullity is obvious, even without any specific grounds declared. In the rescript, Pope Francis also clarified that “there shall be no appeal” against the decisions made by the Rota in matters of the nullity of sentences or decrees. Under the new procedures, a first judgment is always made by the diocesan tribunal. However, if one or both of the spouses seeking an annulment disagree with the ruling, they may appeal to the Rota for a second judgment. In the rescript, Francis established that if a cause of nullity arrives to the third degree of judgment, it cannot be proposed again “after one of the parties has contracted a new canonical marriage, unless the decision can be demonstrated to be manifestly unjust.” It was also declared that the Dean of the Rota, then, “has the authority to dispense with the Norms of the Tribunal of the Roman Rota in procedural matters for a serious cause.” Another aspect of the rescript, expressing the explicit wish of Eastern Church leaders, is that their local tribunals will now have jurisdiction over the “iurium,” or “human rights” aspects of marriage annulment cases that come before the Rota for an appeal. This is particularly relevant for churches in the Middle East, where numerous countries have no civil law on marriage cases, and often depend on religious courts. This means that when cases arrive to the Rota from these areas, the court will also judge on questions such as alimony and child custody.   In his final point in the rescript Francis says that the Rota must offer to all “the principal of evangelic gratuity,” meaning that those seeking the annulment won’t have to pay the lawyer for the cause, but that the costs will presumably be absorbed by the Rota itself. However, the Pope did say that wealthier parties have a “moral obligation” to make “a just contribution towards the causes of the poor.” Read more

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2015 / 04:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis’ message for 2016’s World Day of Peace is packed with bold pastoral and practical advice for both the Church as well as international leaders. In it, he focused on the n... Read more