Manila, Philippines, Jan 21, 2015 / 05:18 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- According to the Vatican's Observer to the United Nations, Pope Francis is likely to address the issue of poverty before the international body, a speech that is anticipated in the proposed schedule for his upcoming US trip. Archbishop Bernardito Auza, a native of the Philippines, is the Holy See Permanent Observer to the United Nations in New York, and also part of Pope Francis's U.S. trip organizing committee. He shared with CNA Jan. 18 in the Philippines that “he had met with the Pope three times” since he was appointed as Permanent Observer in July, 2014, and that Pope Francis “had mostly spoken about the poor.” “I had a one hour conversation with the Holy Father last December, and it was all about aid. He had so much interest in aid, as well as in identifying all the aspects of poverty – from history to attitudes of people with respect to actual situations,” Archbishop Auza recounted. The archbishop explained that the Pope has always showed him his interest in the cause of the poor, both during the meetings they had in the Vatican and “now here in Manila, and we are speaking again of poverty and school systems, and again it will be so at the UN.” Archbishop Auza had also revealed to CNA that Pope Francis' speech to the United Nations headquarters in New York may take place Sept. 25. While speaking to CNA he referred to a Jan. 12 meeting held by the U.S. trip organizing committee, during which details of the visit were discussed. September 25, Archbishop Auza noted, is also the opening of the three-day Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit, and so many world leaders will be at the United Nations. According to Archbishop Auza, the core of Pope Francis' teaching is attention to the poor, and the attempt to answer the question: why are so many people abandoned? “This is the primary message of the Pope, which is also contained in the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium … and this is also our message to the United Nations,” Archbishop Auza maintained. The Holy See Permanent Observer underscored that “we have this economic model that undoubtedly generates wealth, but it generates it in a way that most of the people are left behind.” So we should not “leave the blind forces of the market alone without our intervention,” he maintained. Archbishop Auza identified the Pope’s message to the Philippines with a few core issues: “corruption, poverty, people left behind, market forces.” However, he stressed that “poverty is certainly a very complex question” and he supposed “the Pope will talk about that in the United Nations,” also given that the speech will come at the beginning of the Sustainable Devolpment Summit and that “poverty is one of the main preoccupations” of the countries involved. Read more

Manila, Philippines, Jan 21, 2015 / 04:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A three-day conference on evangelization took place in Manila during Pope Francis' Philippines visit, exploring the relationship between the beatitudes and evangelization in the southeast Asian nation. In the light of the “Year of the Poor” and connecting to the papal visit theme “Mercy and Compassion,” the second Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE II) explored the eight beatitudes given in the Gospel of Matthew. More than 5,000 participants from more than 70 dioceses across the Philippines gathered Jan. 15- 17 at the Royal and Pontifical University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Speaking to CNA Jan. 17, Bishop Roberto Mallari of San Jose said, “PCNE II is a spiritual experience that helps the participants understand that we are called to be blessed, in its true meaning, as modelled by Jesus.” “The Beatitudes given by Jesus are the ways and pathways to happiness,” Bishop Mallari continued, saying that “what is important is that we have the humility to recognize our worthiness of God’s grace, to really allow the grace of God to flow down us.” Bishop Mallari also said the coming of the Holy Father to the Philippines to meet his flock “is a big grace” for the country. The 2012 Synod on the New Evangelization inspired the Filipino bishops to hold PCNE I the following year, focusing on rekindling the ardor of evangelization and renewal of faith experience in the region, while taking its cue from “Behold, God makes all things new.” PCNE II follows the same track, aiming to respond to the challenges of the first conference and tailoring responses to the Filipino context. The Filipino bishops were also inspired by the beautitudes theme adopted by Pope Francis for World Youth Day in Krakow in 2016. “PCNE II is also an opportunity to profoundly enter into a spiritual exercise in concert with Pope Francis' visit to our country, inviting us to concretely understand the terms mercy and compassion,” Fr. Leo Distoro, parish priest of Our Lady of Remedios, told CNA Jan 17. The conference was organized over three days, with the first day exploring the theme of “portrait of blessedness- encounter with Jesus,”  the second day dedicated to “pathways to blessedness- experience of the Church” and the final day focused on “program of blessedness- witnessing and mission.” Cardinal Luis Tagle of Manila in his invitation message said  the year had witnessed several natural disasters but was also a “year of many graces.” Among those graces, Cardinal Tagle referred in particular to PCNE I, saying, “it provided hope against the rubble of natural calamities, escalating poverty, scandalizing corruption and worrisome violence.” At the closing of the symposium the participants pledged to use their phones for promoting evangelization, sending text messages of beatitudes to their contacts. Read more

Melbourne, Australia, Jan 21, 2015 / 02:02 am (CNA/EWTN News).- An upcoming symposium at Australian Catholic University aims to study the relationship of liturgy and architecture, and takes the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland as a model for church architecture. “The symposium is about making architecture and art for Catholic worship,”  a Jan. 16 release of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference press office stated. With the theme “God is in the Detail,” The National Liturgical Architecture and Art Board (NLAAB) and Australian Catholic University, Melbourne will host the symposium on the “process of church design” at the ACU Melbourne campus Feb. 11–13, 2015. The keynote addresses at the symposium will be delivered by the architect and liturgist who were instrumental in the design and inauguration of the Cathedral of Christ the Light in Oakland, California: Craig Hartman, of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in San Francisco, and Fr. Paul Minnihan of the Diocese of Oakland. The Australian bishop’s press office described that the symposium is intended for architects, artists, liturgists, clergy, teachers, church design consultants, theologians, academics, researchers, diocesan property officers, architecture and theology students, parishioners, and members of other Catholic communities, and all who are interested in church design today. Organizers hope the symposium will facilitate a conversation about the essential importance and relationship between liturgy and architecture in both designing new churches and redesigning existing churches. Fr Stephen Hackett, chair of the NLAAB, said the “Cathedral of Christ the Light is one of the great contemporary works of sacred architecture, bringing together tradition and innovation.” Fr. Hackett added that “designed for the liturgy, the Cathedral of Christ the Light will be a key focus and point of reference during the symposium.” Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide endorsed the importance of the symposium, saying, “I believe this is a very important moment for the whole Church in Australia to increase its understanding and competency in liturgical architecture and art.” The event will also include the launch of “And When Churches are to be built: Preparation, Planning and Construction of Places of Worship,” a document of the Australian bishops conference on sacred architecture. The document is being prepared for publication by Liturgy Brisbane and is inspired by Sacrosanctum concilium, Vatican II's constitution on the sacred liturgy. Fr. Tom Elich, who was on the drafting committee of the document, stated, “it will be invaluable for the Australian Church to have an accessible reference document, which can be used by clergy, parish planning teams and architects.” “It collects together many ideas and principles necessary not only for building new churches, but also for evaluating and renovating existing liturgical spaces,” he said. Read more