Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Jerusalem (Agenzia Fides) - This past weekend, in the Domus Galilaeae on the Mount of Beatitudes, the monastery situated there inaugurated a perpetual adoration chapel. Domus Galilaeae is a center for formation and retreats whose architecture is an attempt to rediscover the role of beauty in the Church. It serves as an authentic bridge between Catholics and Jews.
The monastery has 23 cells. Two sculptors have participated in its construction: Jesus Arevalo of Madrid (Spain) and Luca Santanicchia of Perugia (Italy). Among other collaborators in the effort are 4 seminarians from Redemptoris Mater in Copenhagen and logistics coordinator Raffaele Turri, a husband and father who lives in foreign mission lands.
The event was attended by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Michel Sabbah; the Caretaker of the Holy Land, Pierbattista Pizzaballa; the Nuncio in Israel, Monsignor Antonio Franco and Bishops from the various rites. Also present were 170 bishops who met last week (March 24-30) on the Mount of Beatitudes in order to reflect on the New Evangelization in light of the spread of secularization in the modern world.
The encounter, organized by the Neocatechumenal Way, took place in the retreat house for seminarians which was opened in 2000 by John Paul II. The event is an effort to respond to the words spoken by Pope Benedict XVI in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Culture: “secularization is present among the cultures as a perspective of the world and humanity that makes no reference to the Transcendental” and “not only is it an external threat to believers, but it has for some time shown itself to be present even within the Church’s bosom.” Among the prelates who have participated in the event are: Prefect for the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Stanislaw Rylko; Archbishop of Madrid and President of the Spanish Conference of Bishops, Cardinal Antonio María Rouco Varela; Archbishop of Cologne, Cardinal Johachim Meisner; Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz of Krakow. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 1/4/2008; righe 26, parole 320)
