Extraordinary Consistory concludes
Vatican City, 22 February 2014: The Extraordinary Consistory which began on Thursday
concluded on Friday evening, during which the College of Cardinals treated a wide
range of topics about the family. The meeting took place and ended in an atmosphere
of serenity and with the satisfaction of all present for the breadth and depth of
interventions, a Vatican communique revealed.Pope Francis made a brief closing remarks by thanking all the participants and expressing the belief that the Lord has led the Church to address the issue of the Gospel and of the family in the Consistory and the Synod ahead. He invited all to pray for this intention.
On Friday morning, 150 cardinals participated in the extraordinary consistory on the family, said Fr. Lombardi S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, during a news briefing. They also celebrated 90th birthday of Cardinal Silvano Piovanelli. In the morning they concelebrated Holy Mass with the Pope in the chapel of the Domus Sanctae Marthae.
The participants in the Consistory entrusted to Fr. Lombardi to read a declaration, approved by the Holy Father, which summarises the thoughts of the Pope and the College of Cardinals. The declaration expresses their concern for global conflicts including acts of intolerance and persecution. Conflicts in Syria, CAR, Nigeria, South Sudan find special mention of concern in the declaration.
“The Catholic Church, on her part, in condemning every form of violence perpetrated in the name of religious belief, will not cease in her commitment to peace and reconciliation, through interreligious dialogue and the many charitable works which provide daily assistance and comfort to the suffering throughout the world”, concluded the declaration.
After reading the declaration, Fr. Lombardi described the progress made on Friday, during which the Pope announced the name of the three presidents of the Synod on the Family: Cardinals Andre Vingt-Trois, archbishop of Paris, France; Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines; and Raymundo Damasceno Assis, archbishop of Aparecida, Brazil.
Besides their presentations, the cardinals discussed various specific areas of family pastoral ministry, such as migration or religious ignorance.
Source: VR Sedoc
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