OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father:

  - appointed Msgr. Robert Dwayne Gruss as bishop of Rapid City (area 11,327, population 239,000, Catholics 30,700,  priests 51, permanent deacons 27, religious 60), USA. The bishop-elect was born in Texarkana, Texas, USA in 1955 and was ordained a priest in 1994. He is currently the rector of Sacred Heart Cathedral in Davenport.

  - appointed Fr. Donald J. Hying as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee (area 12,323, population 2,315,958, Catholics 657,519, priests 651, permanent deacons 165, religious 1,660), USA. The bishop-elect was born in 1963 in West Allis, Wisconsin, USA, and was ordained a priest in 1989. He is currently rector of Saint Francis de Sales Seminary in Milwaukee.

  - granted the confirmation requested of him in accordance with canon 153 of the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches by Bishop George Alencherry, of Thuckalay of the Syro-Malabars, canonically elected as major archbishop of the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly of the Syro-Malabars, India by the Synod of Bishops of the Syro-Malabar Church meeting in Mount Saint Thomas, Kakkanad-Kochi, in Kerala, India on 24 May. Bishop Alencherry was born in Thuruthy, India in 1945, was ordained a priest in 1972, and consecrated a bishop in 1997.

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JACOB - PRAYER: BATTLE OF FAITH, CALL FOR PERSEVERANCE

VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Continuing with his catecheses on prayer, Benedict XVI spoke in today's general audience about the Patriarch Jacob and his fight with the unknown man at the ford of the Jabbok. The audience was held in St. Peter's Square with 15,000 people in attendance.

  The Bible, explained the Pope, describes Jacob as an astute man who obtains things through deception. At a certain point, he sets out to return to his homeland and face his brother, whose firstborn birthrights he had taken. Jacob waits overnight in order to cross the ford safely but something unforeseen occurs: he is suddenly attacked by an unknown man with whom he struggles the entire night. The story details their struggle, which has no clear winner, leaving the rival a mystery. "Only at the end, when the struggle is finished and that 'someone' has disappeared, only then will Jacob name him and be able to say that he had struggled with God".

  Once the fight is over Jacob says to his opponent that he will only let him go if he blesses him. Jacob "who had defrauded his brother out of the first-born's blessing through deceit, now demands [a blessing] from the unknown man, in whom he perhaps begins to see divine traits, but still without being able to truly recognize him. His rival, who seems restrained and therefore defeated by Jacob, instead of bowing to the Patriarch's request, asks his name. ... In the Biblical mentality, knowing someone's name entails a type of power because it contains the person's deepest reality, revealing their secret and their destiny. ... This is why, when Jacob reveals his name, he is putting himself in his opponent's hands. It is a form of surrender, a complete giving over of himself to the other".

  Paradoxically, however, "in this gesture of surrender, Jacob also becomes the victor because he receives a new name, together with the recognition of his victory on the part of his adversary". The name "Jacob", Benedict XVI continued, "recalls the verb 'to deceive' or 'to supplant'. After the struggle, in a gesture of deliverance and surrender, the Patriarch reveals his reality as a deceiver, a usurper, to his opponent. The other, who is God, however, transforms this negative reality into a positive one. Jacob the deceiver becomes Israel. He is given a new name as a sign of his new identity ... the mostly likely meaning of which is 'God is strong, God wins'. When, in turn, Jacob asks his rival's name, he refuses to say it but reveals himself in an unmistakable gesture, giving his blessing. ... This is not a blessing obtained through deceit but one given freely by God, which Jacob can now receive because, without cunning or deception, he gives himself over unarmed, accepts surrender and admits the truth about himself".

  In the episode of the fight at the ford of Jabbok, the Pope observed, "the people of Israel speak of their origin and outline the features of a unique relationship between God and humanity. This is why, as also affirmed in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, 'from this account, the spiritual tradition of the Church has retained the symbol of prayer as a battle of faith and as the triumph of perseverance'".

  "Our entire lives", concluded the Holy Father, "are like this long night of struggle and prayer, passed in the desire of and request for God's blessing, which cannot be ripped away or won over through our strength, but must be received with humility from Him as a gratuitous gift that allows us, finally, to recognize the face of the Lord. And when this happens, our entire reality changes: we receive a new name and God's blessing".
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INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE OFFICIALS IN SOUTH KOREA

VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, have been in South Korea since 23 May, invited by the Episcopal Commission for Ecumenism and Interreligious Dialogue.

  According to a communique issued today, meetings with the president of the Republic, the minister of culture, and the director for Religious Affairs are planned for these days.

  They will visit the Jogye Order, the Korean Buddhist Center, and the Korean Confucianism Center.  It is also planned that they will meet with representatives of Buddhism, Confucianism, Won Buddhism, Cheondism, the Association of Native Korean Religions, and Protestant Churches.

  Cardinal Tauran will give a conference at Seoul's major seminary on: "Interreligious Dialogue in the Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI", and will meet with members of the press.

  The visit will conclude on 27 May with the celebration of Holy Mass at the Jeoldu-san Korean Martyrs' Shrine.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2011 (VIS) - Today the Holy Father appointed:

  - Appointed Bishop Jose Corazon T. Tala-oc, of Tomblon, as Bishop of Kalibo (area 1,817, population 565,000, Catholics 525,000, priests 66, religious 53), the Philippines.

  - Appointed Fr. Joao Carlos Hatoa Nunes, pro-vicar general, chancellor of curia, and pastor of St. Francis of Assisi parish, as Auxiliary Bishop of Maputo (area 25,238, population 4,346,000, Catholics 1,030,000, priests 156, religious 418), Mozambique. The bishop-elect was born in Beira, Mozambique in 1968 and was ordained a priest in 1995.
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PRESENTATION OF DOCUMENT "FAMILY: WORK AND CELEBRATION"

VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2011 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, the document "Family: Work and Celebration", the preparatory catecheses for the VII World Meeting of Families, was presented. The gathering will take place in Milan, Italy from 30 May to 3 June in 2012.

  Taking part in the presentation were Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family; Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, archbishop of Milan; Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla, auxiliary of that same archdiocese, coordinator of the workgroup responsible for editing the preparatory catecheses and co-president of the academic preparatory committee for the theological-pastoral convention; Fr. Gianfranco Grieco, O.F.M., bureau chief in the Pontifical Council for the Family; and Fr. Davide Milani, head of social communications for the archdiocese of Milan.

  Cardinal Antonelli mentioned that the dicastery over which he presides is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its foundation, just like the John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. He further explained that the gathering in Milan in 2012 will be organized in two parts: a theological-pastoral convention on the first three days followed by two days of celebration with the Holy Father in attendance. "The book of catecheses on the theme "Family: Work and Celebration", which was prepared by the Pontifical Council for the Family and the Archdiocese of Milan, has been inestimably helpful in preparing for this gathering. ... It consists of 10 Biblical catecheses accompanied by texts of the Magisterium. The Vatican Publishing House (Libreria Editrice Vaticana) has published it in Italian, English, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, and Polish, and it can be used directly by ecclesial communities and by families".

  For his part, Cardinal Tettamanzi hoped that the catecheses could "serve as guide for dioceses around the world, transforming into a point of reference that is useful even beyond initiatives of pastoral care for family and work. It is necessary to disseminate the information widely so that, thanks also to translations, these characteristic materials and intuitions do not remain exclusive to just a few and do not simply constitute an intra-ecclesial patrimony".

  Bishop Franco Giulio Brambilla noted that the catecheses "form a trio that begins from the family to open it to the world. Work and celebration are the forms within which the family inhabits social space and lives human time.  ... The first group of catecheses confronts the way of living relationships at home". A home that "necessarily becomes a space of acceptance and a place where a profound intimacy between the couple and between parents and children is safeguarded. ... The second group introduces the theme of work in daily life, ... which cannot be just a means of economic support but the place of personal identity and social relationship. ... The third group concentrates on the manner in which the family celebrates. It is difficult in today's situations to live Sunday as a time of celebration ... modern humanity has invented free time but seems to have forgotten the celebration ... This is why the family needs to engrave on its lifestyle the sense of celebration ... as a community of encounter".

  On 28 March, the Pontifical Council for the Family initiated the site www.familia.va to provide information on the dicastery's activities and main projects. Among other sections is included one dedicated to the World Meeting of Families in Milan.

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