Bulletins, Newsletters, and Flocknotes

Resignation and appointment of bishop of Irecê, Brazil

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Irecê, Brazil, presented by Bishop Tommaso Cascianelli, C.P.

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Antônio Ederaldo de Santana, of the clergy of Alagoinhas, until now vicar general and parish priest of Nossa Senhora do Livramento in Rio Real-BA.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Antônio Ederaldo de Santana wasa born on 16 April 1975 in Olindina, diocese of Alagoinhas, in the State of Bahia. He carried out his studies in philosophy and theology at the Universidade Católica do Salvador in Salvador-BA, and then specialized in youth pastoral care.

On 22 December 2002 he received priestly ordination and was incardinated in the diocese of Alagoinhas.

He has held the following offices: parish vicar in Nova Soure-BA (2003-2005); spiritual director of Renewal in the Spirit and diocesan coordinator of youth pastoral care (2003-2005); parish vicar of the Cathedral (2005); vicar general (2007-2021); and diocesan administrator (2021-2022). Since 2022 he has served as vicar general, and since 2006, parish priest of Nossa Senhora do Livramento in Rio Real-BA.

The following is the statement given in New York by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State, at the High-Level Meeting on Tuberculosis:

 

Statement by Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher

Statement by H.E. Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See, at the High-level Meeting on Tuberculosis 22 September 2023

Mr. President,

The Holy See welcomes the holding of this high-level meeting on tuberculosis, which remains an issue that “require[s] urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or political interests.” [1] Tuberculosis is indeed a leading cause of death worldwide and the highest cause from a single infectious agent. [2] People in every corner of the world suffer from this illness, but mostly in developing countries.

Thankfully, important progress has been made since the first high-level meeting in 2018. To begin with, a number of countries have significantly lowered their tuberculosis incidence. In addition, the target of providing six million people living with HIV with preventive tuberculosis treatment between 2018 and 2022 was exceeded, with an estimated 10.3 million people reached, while shorter duration, all-oral treatment regimens are both available and recommended.

Nevertheless, significant gaps remain, many of which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, the sole, century-old vaccine that exists is only administrable to very young children, but remains ineffective on tuberculosis of the lungs, hobbling prevention efforts. This means that millions lack treatment, especially children, and persons with multi-drug resistant tuberculosis are at particular risk, despite heavier regimens.

Mr. President,

The effects of poverty, particularly malnourishment, are associated with a significant proportion of new cases. Meanwhile, the costs related to treatment cause financial hardship for half of tuberculosis patients and their households. Addressing these aspects requires renewed dedication and commitment.

In addition to the work and assistance provided on the ground by many Catholic faith-based organizations, the Holy See has been working hard to address tuberculosis, particularly in children. To give a new impetus at international level, the Holy See held the Rome Dialogues on Pediatric HIV and Tuberculosis. First convened by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development in 2016, the dialogues have brought together States, United Nations agencies, faith-based and civil society organizations, academia, and pharmaceutical companies to address gaps in diagnosing and treating children with HIV and tuberculosis. The resulting pledges have included: developing child-friendly treatments and increasing their availability, including for shorter duration regimens; bettering diagnostics; and improving affordability for testing and treatment. At the 6 th Dialogue, held last December, several commitments were dedicated to improving testing materials and the availability and treatment for children and pregnant, post-partum, and nursing women, including through more inclusive study protocols. These actions are key to ensuring a more integrated, family-based approach to tuberculosis care, especially for children.

Mr. President,

There is still much work to be done in preventing, diagnosing, and treating tuberculosis. As Pope Francis often points out, “the plight of the sick is a call that cuts through indifference.” [3] Therefore, the Holy See is confident that together we can end the tuberculosis epidemic, and pledges to continue doing all that it can to eradicate this illness.

Thank you, Mr. President.

[B0661-XX.01]

[1] Pope Francis,  Address upon a Visit to the United Nations Office Nairobi , 26 November 2015.

[2]  See   Report of the Secretary-General:   Comprehensive review of progress towards the achievement of global tuberculosis targets and implementation of the political declaration of the United Nations high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the fight against tuberculosis  (Advanced unedited version), 18 March 2023, at No. 13.

[3] Pope Francis,  Message on the XXXI World Day of the Sick , 11 February 2023.

The following is the Message sent by Pope Francis to the participants in the Ecumenical Symposium in Pannonhalma Abbey, Hungary:

 

Message of the Holy Father

Your Holiness, dear Brother Bartholomew,

Most Reverend Archabbot Cirill,

esteemed monastic community of Pannonhalma,

dear participants of the Symposium!

 

“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come” ( Rev 1:4).

You have gathered, dear brothers and sisters, at this Ecumenical Symposium to consider and deepen, in the prayerful atmosphere of the historic Pannonhalma Abbey, the theme of peace in its multiple aspects.

You are doing so while, unfortunately, globalized humanity is hurt and threated by a piecemeal world war that, fought directly in some regions of the globe, however has consequences that damage the life of everyone, especially the poorest.

You have come together in a place that eminently recalls the “ pax benedictina ”. When the Saint Pope Paul VI declared Saint Benedict patron saint of Europe, he described him as “a messenger of peace, a bringer of union, a teacher of civilization” (Apostolic Letter Pacis nuntius , 24 October 1964).

“Seek peace, and pursue it” ( Ps 34:14; Rule of St Benedict [RB], Prol., 17): Saint Benedict warmly recommends these words of the psalm to his monks from the prologue of his Rule. Those who are constantly seeking peace should themselves become messengers of peace through their words and actions.

The Rule of Benedict does not contain a treatise on the theme of peace, but rather can be adopted as an excellent guide for a conscious and practical commitment to promoting peace. The Holy Abbot wrote it with monks in mind, but his message goes far beyond the walls of monasteries. It shows how human co-existence, with the grace of God, can overcome the dangers of disputes and discord.

Benedict's view is very clear about the differences and inequalities that exist between members of the community. He is aware of the complexity of linguistic, ethnic and cultural imprints, which is both a richness and a potential for conflict. Yet, he has a serene and peaceful outlook, because he is fully convinced of the equal dignity and value of all human beings.

Even hospites , outsiders, must be welcomed according to this principle (cf. RB , 53, 1). “Proper honour must be shown to all” ( ibid ., 4, 8) is the foundation of peace in the monastic community, as well as in interpersonal, social and international relations. “They should each try to be the first to show respect to the other” ( ibid ., 72.4); and this also means knowing how to take the first step in certain difficult situations.

Saint Benedict’s vision of peace is not utopian, but is oriented towards a pathway that God’s friendship mankind has already marked out and that, nevertheless, must be travelled by each person and the community step by step.

Discord must not turn into a permanent state. “If you have a dispute with someone, make peace with them before the sun goes down” ( ibid ., 4.73). “Before the sun goes down”: this is the measure of the readiness of the desire for peace. Benedict certainly warns against giving “a hollow greeting of peace” ( ibid . 4:25), hasty and insincere, but the search for peace in justice bears no delay, it must be pursued without hesitation.

I therefore repeat what I stated at the beginning of this year when I addressed the members of the diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See: “Building peace requires pursuing justice. … It is not a matter of creating coalitions, but of providing opportunities for everyone to be partners in dialogue” (9 January 2023).

Dear brothers and sisters, let us keep ourselves on the path of peace; let us become messengers and servants of peace where we live and work! But above all, let us pray for peace! At this time, the war in Ukraine has dramatically called us to open our eyes and hearts to the many peoples who suffer because of war, mindful of the words of the Second Vatican Council: “Any act of war aimed indiscriminately at the destruction of entire cities of extensive areas along with their population is a crime against God and man himself. It merits unequivocal and unhesitating condemnation” (Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes , 80).

Through the intercession of Saint Benedict let us ask the One and Triune God that the world may be freed from the scourge of war and that there may grow “an understanding among peoples which ensures in all the continents, justice and bread, freedom and peace” (C.M. Martini, Prayer for Europe).

Wishing the best fruits for your Symposium, I renew my greetings to all of you, dear brothers and sisters, and thanking you for your prayers, I cordially bless you.

From the Vatican, 24 August 2023

FRANCIS

On 19 September 2023, the Holy Father appointed His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, S.J., archbishop of Luxembourg, as his special envoy to the celebrations of the 1200 th anniversary of the dedication of the Collégiale Saint Ursmer in Lobbes (the oldest church in Belgium), diocese of Tournai, to take place on 24 September 2023.

The special envoy will be accompanied by a pontifical mission composed of the following ecclesiastics of the diocese of Tournai:

1. The Reverend Giorgio Tesolin, episcopal vicar;

2. The Reverend Jacques Piton, episcopal vicar emeritus.

The following is the Holy Father’s Letter to the special envoy:

 

Letter of the Holy Father

Venerabili Fratri Nostro

IOANNI CLAUDIO S.R.E. Cardinali HOLLERICH, S.I.

Archiepiscopo Luxemburgensi

Sacras inter aedes, quibus Belgii civitas decoratur, potiorem absque dubio honorabili vetustate obtinet locum collegialis ecclesia, quae Lobiis in urbe, apud Vallonicam regionem, intra hodiernos Tornacensis dioecesis fines, Deo in honorem sancti Ursmari anno DCCCXXIII est dedicata. Hic Dei vir, sane, circiter annum DCLXX presbyteratu sancto Amando deferente auctus, dein ducis palatii Pippini, regis Caroli Magni proavi, sponte ad Romam missus, a sancto papa Sergio I episcopus consecratus est ad gentes Francogalliae septentrionalis evangelizandas, sacram secum beati Petri apostoli ferens reliquiam, ab eodem Pontifice traditam. In patriam reditus, primus Lobiensis abbas renuntiatus est, ubi, saeculo VII exeunte, durii sacelli in locum, novum erexit oratorium, Beatae Mariae Virgini dicatum, maxime ad sanctorum reliquias servandas. Apostolica consumptus navitate tituloque abbatis destitutus ac misericordia Dei omnino confisus, anno DCCXIII in Domino pie obdormivit. Cuius corpus, sanctitatis honore veneratum, illo anno DCCCXXIII elevatum est, quo Fulradus abbas pulchrum egregiumque sancto decessori dicare valuit templum, validiorem potentioremque ei lapidem iacens in fundamentis (cfr Origenes,  homilia  IX, 1), qui sancti Ursmari vivens repraesentat fidei testimonium.

Haec diligentissime considerantes, valde laetamur de millesimo et ducentesimo gemino celebrando anniversario et a dedicatione ecclesiae collegialis Lobiensis Deo in honorem sancti Ursmari ante memorato anno dicatae et ab elevatione eiusdem corporis, ob quas merito multa suscipiuntur incepta, ut fidelibus nostrae aetatis huius anni iubilaris gratia valde prosit. Hic enim illustris Belgii filius, a sancto Decessori Nostro episcopus consecratus, necnon veterrima omnium Belgicarum ecclesiarum collegialis illa Eidem dicata, adhuc hodie indefessi pastoris, nominis Iesu praeconis, atque peculiaris vinculi, nimis cum Romano Pontifice et Apostolica Sede, efficacem praebent testificationem.

Ideo, tantam recolentes memoriam, ut inter sollemnia christifideles praesentia ac verbo alicuius Eminentissimi Viri perfrui possent, qui Nostras vices ibi gerat Nostramque erga istam communitatem dilectionem manifestet, Venerabilis Fratris Vidonis Harpigny, Episcopi Tornacensis, humanissimae concedentes petitioni, ad Te, Venerabilis Frater Noster, mentem Nostram vertimus, qui adiuncta Ecclesiae in illis regionibus Europae historiae atque humani divinique cultus et pastoralis operis inde propagati admodum comperis, ut hodie peraptus videaris ad Ecclesiae sollicitudinem per hoc ministerium tuum significandam. Idcirco, hisce Litteris Te  Missum Extraordinarium Nostrum  nominamus ad sollemnia, quae die XXIV huius mensis Septembris in eadem ecclesia collegiali agentur ad honorandos MCC annos ab eiusdem dedicatione.

Libenter tibi potestatem facimus, dum celebrationi Eucharistiae praesidebis, clerum et populum, necnon publicas auctoritates atque universos christifideles Nostro nomine salutandi ac benedicendi, quos cohorteris, ut in hac orationis domo humano instructa labore, summo angulari lapide ipso Christo Iesu, caelestis Ierusalem fiant imago, Spiritu vivificata, caritate coagmentata. Simul, insuper, gravissimum Nostrum ministerium Petrinum precibus committimus universae Tornacensis communitatis ibi congregatae.

Dum tibi, Venerabilis Frater Noster, Benedictionem Nostram Apostolicam impertimus omnibus, qui celebrationi intererunt, trasmittendam, legationem tuam ardentibus precibus comitamur, a Deo misericordiae suppliciter exposcentes, ut haec communitas fidelium, sancti Ursmari intercessione, Verbo vitae ac divina gratia instructa, amori Christi nihil praeponat.

Laterani, die XIV mensis Septembris, anno Domini MMXXIII, Pontificatus Nostri undecimo.

FRANCISCUS

This morning, the Holy Father Francis received in audience:

- Bishop Riccardo Lamba, titular of Medeli, auxiliary of Rome;

- His Excellency Andrii Yurash, ambassador of Ukraine to the Holy See;

- Bishops of Cote d’Ivoire on their “ad Limina Apostolorum” visit.