The conference promoted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints was held in Rome, on the theme "Holiness today".
The members of the dicastery, professors and scholars from the academic world and exponents of culture and the media discussed the theme of holiness, on how to make the definition of fame of holiness, Christian heroism and on the relationship between the reputation of holiness and the specific characteristics of our age often defined as "digital infosphere".
The Conference concluded with the hearing of Pope Francesco , which pointed out that "Holiness springs from the concrete life of Christian communities. The saints do not come from a "parallel world"; they are believers who belong to God's faithful people and are part of everyday life made up of family, study, work, social, economic and political life. In all these contexts, the Saint walks and works without fear or preclusion, fulfilling God's will in every circumstance. It is important that every particular Church is attentive to grasping and valuing the examples of Christian life that have matured within the people of God, who has always had a particular "nose" for recognizing these models of holiness, extraordinary witnesses of the Gospel."
Among the participants were the two Vice Presidents of the Pius XI Catholic Action Foundation. Giuseppe Notarstefano, National President of ACI e Silvia Correale, postulator.
Here are their two comments on the Conference:
Giuseppe Notarstefano
The conference was interesting. In the Line of Gaudete et exsultate he reflected on holiness as a possibility for all of a fullness of Christian life, of the beauty of the beatitudes which is expressed in all, which excludes no one, which concerns the most fragile, the poor, the little ones. A horizon, a perspective that has emerged from the various interventions and that challenges us.
As Catholic Action, a school of holiness, an experience of Christian fraternal life that accompanies each person to seek in their own lives that dimension of fullness through a profound relationship with the Lord, lived together with others, within the ecclesial journey, the journey of the Church, the path of fraternity: a stimulus for the association to continue to propose its formative project as a proposal for a contemporary holiness, capable of presenting the beauty of a full humanity revealed by the Lord who has much to say to man, woman, all humanity of today The Gospel still today has a great instituting power of life. A message to think about.
Silvia Correale
I attended the conference as a postulator who dedicates herself to this ecclesial service every day and as Vice President of the foundation. I can say that the conference marked an opening towards other scholars and experts in art, communication, sociology and theology who do not usually participate together in the process of beatification and canonization of the causes of saints.
An experience of communion that has enriched us.
Specifically, I want to underline themes: the definition of a reputation for holiness and the causes of saints in the digital age.
Many interventions addressed the theme of the reputation for holiness which was then defined in the speech of the Holy Father who updated Benedict XIV on the Fama sanctitatis: "It is important that every particular Church is attentive to grasping and enhancing the examples of Christian life that have within the people of God, which has always had a particular "nose" for recognizing these models of holiness, extraordinary witnesses of the Gospel. (…) Fame sanctitatis does not come primarily from the hierarchy but from the faithful. The people of God, in its various components, are the protagonists of the fama sanctitatis, that is, of the common and widespread opinion among the faithful regarding the integrity of a person's life, perceived as a witness of Christ and of the evangelical beatitudes. However, it is necessary to verify that this reputation for holiness is spontaneous, stable, lasting and widespread in a significant part of the Christian community. “
The conference addressed the theme of the reputation for holiness in the digital age which the Pope addressed by inviting correct access to digital media and social networks which are an ordinary means of communication, especially among young people, inviting "wise and perceptive". The Pope's words are a light, we welcome them as children in the Church, they indicate guidelines that we will keep in mind for future activities as the Pius XI Foundation.
