Spiritual Reflections at, TX US - OUR MULTICULTURAL CHURCH...

RENEW THE LANGUAGES OF ART AND OF CULTURE VATICAN CITY, MAR 21, 2005 (VIS) "Projecting Culture: the language of music." "Music, like all artistic languages," writes the Holy Father in his message, "brings man closer to God. ... Yet at the same time, art can on occasion transmit a conception of man, of love and of happiness that does not correspond to the truth of God's design. For this reason it is necessary to discern clearly." The Pope also affirms that young people must "renew the languages of art and of culture," and have the courage "not to accept forms of behavior and entertainment marked by noise and excess." After recalling that "the vocation of the lay faithful is holiness, animating temporal reality in a Christian way," John Paul II writes: "work and study must be 'a constant prayer for you. It has the same loveable words, but a different tune each day. It is very much our mission to transform the prose of this life into poetry, into heroic verse'." "May Mary Most Holy help you to encounter her Son Jesus Christ in the liturgy of this Holy Week and in the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist." MESS/UNIV 2005/SANDRI VIS 050321 (330) MAY WE WORK TOGETHER TO ERADICATE ALL FORMS OF RACISM VATICAN CITY, DEC 17, 2004 (VIS) - John Paul II this morning welcomed 18 members of the Anti-Defamation League who are on a visit to the Vatican. "The Church and the Jewish people," he said, "continue to enjoy close bonds of friendship. It is my fervent prayer that men and women will work together to eradicate all forms of racism in order to build a society that promotes truth, justice, love and peace. Upon all of you I invoke the divine gifts of strength and joy. Shalom!" AC/ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE/...VIS 041217 (100) CHRISTMAS CONCERT HELPS FINANCE NEW CHURCHES IN ROME. VATICAN CITY, DEC 17, 2004 (VIS) - Ninety performers of the Christmas in the Vatican Concert were received by the Holy Father this morning, who told them how significant this annual event is for Rome and for Romans because "it helps support the building of new churches, especially on the periphery of our diocese." He said he hoped that tomorrow's concert would "once again attain its noble goal." "Various song and concert initiatives, such as yours," added John Paul II, "are promoted during the Christmas season in parishes, schools and other milieux. I hope that they, together with other traditional and evocative signs, such as the nativity scenes and the Christmas tree, will contribute to facilitating people's encounter with the Savior Who, born in Bethlehem, offered men of all times His message of truth and love." He closed with "fervent Christmas wishes for the promoters, organizers and artists of the concert and all who watch it on television." AC/ARTISTS:CHRISTMAS CONCERT/... VIS 041217 (170) LEARNING TO RESPECT CULTURAL DIVERSITY VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 2004 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao, president of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, presented the Holy Father's Message for the World Day of the Migrant and Refugee in 2005. Its theme this year is "Intercultural Integration." Cardinal Hamao indicated that "when we speak about intercultural issues we tend to concentrate on the topic of different cultures and we forget about the condition of migrants who suffer social inequality." He underscored the need "to eliminate obstacles to social equality for migrants, while valuing the differences of people coming from different cultural contexts." "Cultural diversity," he continued, "is above all an exchange among people of different cultural backgrounds and with legitimate, different points of view on society. ... It is a movement of reciprocity, a path taken with others towards others." Referring to intercultural dialogue, the president of the dicastery said that its purpose "is not only to educate people about culture and getting to know other people, but especially to educate people about how others have learned how to do things, methods that they have adopted to understand the world, God, life, love and suffering." Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, secretary of the pontifical council, commented on the instruction "Erga migrantes caritas Christi" (The love of Christ toward migrants), published on May 14 of this year which referred to multiculturalism. The document, he recalled, emphasizes that we find ourselves before "cultural and religious pluralism which has never been experienced before in such a conscious way." In addition, he said "we Christians are called to bear witness to the Gospel of charity and peace with respect and attention for the traditions and cultures of immigrants," as the text says. Speaking about migration, ethnic and cultural pluralism and the unity of the Church, Archbishop Marchetto, citing the instruction, indicated that "migration brings to each local Church the opportunity to verify its catholicity which consists not only in accepting different ethnicities but also in making a community of these ethnicities. Ethnic and cultural pluralism in the Church is not a situation that should be tolerated as a temporary one but rather it should be seen as a structural dimension." "One of the most difficult challenges in the third millennium," he concluded, "is to learn how to live united in diversity and multiplicity of cultures, ethnicities and religions. Respect and recognition of the different cultural identities must not be an obstacle but a basic condition to build up humanity, united in diversity." Father Michael Blume, S.V.D., council under-secretary, spoke on the general vision of integration, and started by citing statistics on the 175 million people in the world who, as migrants, find themselves outside their native land. He noted that an estimated 56 million are in Europe, 50 million in Asia, 41 million in North America, 16 million in Africa and 6 million in both Latin American countries and the Caribbean and in Oceania. He pointed out that the United States, as a country, has the highest number of migrants with 35 million people coming from an estimated 40 countries. Migrants in Germany come from 18 nations and Japan hosts people from at least 10 countries. Father Blume said that "these statistics tell us that today societies are comprised of people from various nations, therefore, from diverse cultures, traditions, languages, customs, religions, values, etc. ... Host countries cannot ignore the fact that they no longer have homogenous populations." The under-secretary explained that "integration" is a complex phenomenon that involves both the host country and the arriving guests. Migrants must integrate themselves into the host culture by learning the language and customs and by adapting to social life, yet they must not lose sight of their own specific and valuable cultural legacy. If migrants "do not succeed in slowly opening themselves to the vaster reality of the society they now live in, they run the danger of forming a ghetto with subsequent marginalization." He closed his remarks by noting how Christian communities can help in welcoming migrants and assisting in the true process of integration which "implies mutual esteem and sympathy, reciprocal appreciation .... in a climate of 'authentic understanding and good will'." OP/PAPAL MESSAGE:MIGRANTS/HAMAO VIS 041209 (710) MESSAGE FOR MIGRANTS, REFUGEES ON INTERCULTURAL INTEGRATION VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 2004 (VIS) - The Message of the Holy Father John Paul II for the 91st World Day of Migrants and Refugees 2005 was made public today in English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and German. Dated November 24, 2004, it focuses on the theme "Intercultural Integration." The Pope begins by quoting the Instruction "Erga migrantes caritas Christi" (The love of Christ towards migrants) which notes that "integration ... is a lengthy process that aims to shape societies and cultures, making them more and more a reflection of the multi-faceted gifts of God to human beings. In this process the migrant is intent on taking the necessary steps towards social inclusion, such as learning the national language and complying with the laws and requirements at work, so as to avoid the occurrence of exasperated differentiation." In the Message, which focuses on implications of the intercultural dimension of integration, the Pope writes: "By introducing themselves into a new environment, immigrants often become more aware of who they are, especially when they miss the persons and values that are important to them. In our society, characterized by the global phenomenon of migration, individuals must seek the proper balance between respect for their own identity and recognition of that of others. Indeed, it is necessary to recognize the legitimate plurality of cultures present in a country, in harmony with the preservation of law and order, on which depend social peace and the freedom of citizens." He emphasizes that "it is essential to exclude on the one hand assimilationist models that tend to transform those who are different into their own copy, and on the other, models of marginalization of immigrants, with attitudes that can even arrive at the choice of apartheid." There is need for "dialogue between people of different cultures in a context of pluralism that goes beyond mere tolerance and reaches sympathy. ... We should encourage instead a mutual fecundation of cultures." Turning to the duties of Christians in this context, the Holy Father writes that they "can also recognize in the various cultures the presence of 'precious elements of religion and humanity'. ... It will, of course, be necessary to combine the principle of respect for cultural differences with the protection of values that are in common and inalienable, because they are founded on universal human rights." Christians must continue to proclaim the Gospel of Christ, "in respect for the conscience of others," he states. "They must above all listen to the cry for help that comes from a multitude of migrants and refugees, but they must then foster, with active commitment, prospects of hope that will herald the dawn of a more open and supportive society. It is up to them in the first place to make out God's presence in history, even when everything still seems to be enveloped in darkness." MESS/MIGRANTS:REFUGEES/... VIS 041209 (490)

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