.jpg)
Pope Benedict XVI meets Gordon Brown in Vatican City on February 9 2007.
.jpg)
Vatican II Essential says POPE
THE CATHOLIC HERALD - POPE BENEDICT XVI has responded to fears that the church is moving away from the reforms of Vatican II by declaring that the Council is the church’s “magna carta”. Speaking to clergy from the northern Italian dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso, he said: “The Council has given us a great road marker, we can go forward full of hope”. Vatican II was “essential and fundamental” to the future of the faith, he said.
Pope Benedict was answering a question from a priest who, describing himself as a member of the Vatican II generation, said that many of his counterparts were disheartened following the enthusiasm that accompanied the Council. The priest’s concerns echoed those of many other Catholics, who feel that the recent motu proprio relaxing restrictions on the Traditional Mass has undermined the authority of the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council. But the pope encouraged his audience to stress the positive elements that grew out of the Council, including “the renewal of the liturgy”. He said: “It seems to me that we must rediscover the great heritage of the Council, which is not a ’spirit’ reconstructed behind the texts, but the great Conciliar texts themselves, re-read today with the experiences that we have had and that have born fruit in so many movements, in so many new religious communities.”
Commentators who were previously nervous about the direction of the current papacy welcomed the pope’s words. Father Joseph Komonchak, writing for the liberal Catholic journal Commonweal, commented: “I see no reason to fear that he is about to go back on the great conciliar texts on the church’s relationship to the modern world. “Pope Benedict distinguishes two extremes … a progressive mentality that thought everything can and ought to change in the church and an absolute anti-conciliarism, between which, he says, a third and more valid interpretation had difficulty making its way. The idea that Pope Benedict wants to return us to ‘those thrilling days of yesteryear’, that is, before the Council, should be discredited.”
Pope Benedict spoke to the Italian priests of his own experience of the Council. “I too lived through Vatican Council II,” he said, “coming to St. Peter’s Basilica with great enthusiasm and seeing how new doors were opening. It really seemed to be the new Pentecost, in which the church would once again be able to convince humanity.”
The pontiff observed, however, that historically great church councils have always been followed by periods of turbulence. “So it is not now, in retrospect, such a great surprise how difficult it was at first for all of us to digest the Council, this great message,” he said. “To grow is always to suffer as well, because it means leaving one condition and passing to another.”
Benedict XVI went on to discuss the post-conciliar age, which he argued was defined by two great moments in history.
The first was the “explosion” of revolutionary activity in 1968, which the pope said triggered a “cultural crisis” in the West. The “new, healthy modernity” put forward by the Council Fathers found itself facing a violent ideological rupture with the past, he said.
Some Catholics, he added, embraced Vatican II as an invitation to begin a “cultural revolution that wants to change everything”, while others rejected the Council because they understood it in the same terms.
The second turning point came in 1989 with the collapse of Communist regimes across Europe. “The response was … total scepticism, so called post modernity,” the pope said. “There was the affirmation of materialism, of a blind pseudo-rationalistic scepticism.”
Pope Condemns Use of Religion to Spread Hate Vatican City (AHN) - Pope Benedict XVI, along with Canterbury Archbishop Dr. Rowan Williams, has declared that religious leaders must refrain from using God's name as an excuse to justify violence against man.
St. Ambrose and
lectio divina Vatican, Oct. 24, 2007 (CWNews.com) - At his weekly public audience on October 24, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the influence of St. Ambrose, who “brought meditation upon the Scripture into the Latin world.” The Holy Father told the crowd of 30,000 in St. Peter’s Square that St. Ambrose, by “introducing the practice of
lectio divina to the West,” shaped the future of Europe and of the Church.
Although St. Ambrose was known as a great preacher, the power of his speech came largely because of his personal character, the Pope observed. St. Augustine testified that his conversion was due in part to the “beautiful homilies” of Ambrose, but more importantly to “the witness of the bishop and of his Milanese Church, who sang and prayed together like one single body.”
Through prayerful reading of the Scriptures, St. Ambrose sought union with God, and urged his flock to do the same. Pope Benedict strongly recommended that example to his audience. “Whoever educates people in the faith,” he said, “cannot risk playing the role of the clown,” trying to entertain his listeners. Rather, the Pope continued, the teacher “must act like the beloved disciple, who rested his head on the Master’s heart, and thus learned how to think, to speak, and to act.” Even in death, the Pope concluded, St. Ambrose offered an example to follow. He died quietly, his arms spread out to form a cross, in “mystical participation in the death and resurrection of the Lord,” the Pope recalled, adding: “This was his final catechesis. Pope ushers in
Advent: the "time of hope"
The Pope announced last Sunday at a peace summit held in Naples that "religion must never become vehicles for hatred."
The Pope added that in order to fight the use of religion to spread acts of violence, the Catholic Church will be engaging in continuous dialogue for the purpose of bringing together people of different cultures, and closing the gap that has been the cause of conflict in the past.
The three-day summit, which was organized by the Sant'Egidio Community, a Catholic organization, was attended by people of many religious backgrounds, such as Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Zoroastrians.
Bearing the title For a World Without Violence: Religions and Cultures in Dialogue, the conference invited scholars and religious leaders, with the agenda being the instigation of a more peaceful means of co-existence between peoples of different religious beliefs.
The Pope addressed the 200-member audience, saying that "In a world wounded by conflicts, where the violence is justified in God's name, it's important to repeat that religion can never become a vehicle of hatred, it can never be used in God's name to justify violence."
He continued to say that religions must function as a source of the essential means to attain "a peaceful humanity", mostly because each one teaches of peace within every individual.
Dr. Williams included his own sentiments, saying that "Bad religion is a very powerful tool for bad people to use against each other, because it carries with it some of that absolutism that is rooted in a rather insecure kind of faith."
The Telegraph further quoted him, saying "It is all the more important that good religion comes to drive it out, you cannot do it just by secularism."
Along with this, Dr. Williams also revealed his hopes of finding a proper Christian response to a recently-issued letter from the Muslim people, bearing the signatures of 138 Muslim leaders, calling for unity and peace between Christianity and Islam.
The Holy Father led the first Vespers service of Advent in St. Peter's basilica, and remarked that it was fitting that his encyclical on hope, Spe Salvi, was released just before the start of the season. He encouraged the faithful to read the encyclical, "meditate upon it, and rediscover the beauty and profundity of Christian hope."
During Advent, the Pontiff said, Christians should gain a new perspective on hope: "a hope that is not vague and illusory but sure and trustworthy because it is anchored' in Christ." At the same time, as they prepare to celebrate the birth of the Savior, he said, the faithful "revitalize their expectation of his glorious return at the end of time." The bright light of Christian hope, the Pope continued, shines through the darkness of unbelief. That light is critically important in our time "because of the paganism of our own day," he said. "The truth is that without God, hope fades."
Christians look beyond death to eternity, not as something alien and frightening, but as "the fullness of life," the Pope said. But this confident attitude is based upon faith in a benevolent personal God, who "loves us and for this reason expected us to return to Him, to open our hearts to his love."
This is the opportunity that the Church offers to the faithful each year during Advent, the Pope said: to open our hearts to God's love, with a hope that is our response to God's love. "Hope is indelibly written in man's heart," Pope Benedict said, "because God our Father is life, and we were made for eternal and blessed life."
Pope,
Patriarch pledge ecumenical progress
Istanbul, Dec. 3, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Cardinal Walter Kasper led a high-level Vatican delegation to Istanbul to join Patriarch Bartholomew I in celebrating the feast of St. Andrew, the patron of the Constantinople see, on November 30.
Following what has become an annual tradition, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity brought the greetings of the Pope to the Constantinople patriarchate. (Patriarch Bartholomew has sent his own delegation to Rome each year, to join the Pope in celebrating the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul on June 29.) This year Cardinal Kasper brought the Orthodox prelate a signed copy of the Pope's newly published encyclical, Spe Salvi.
In his message to Patriarch Bartholomew, the Holy Father recalled his trip to Turkey last year, when he himself joined in the ceremonies for the feast of St. Andrew in Constantinople. The Pontiff also welcomed the progress achieved during an October meeting of the joint Catholic-Orthodox theological commission, in sessions held at Ravenna, Italy.
The ecumenical discussion was "not without some difficulties," Pope Benedict conceded in his message, and he voiced the hope that "these may soon be clarified and resolved."
The Pope added that ecumenical work is "according to the will of Christ our Lord." In light of the problems facing the contemporary world, he said, that work is "all the more urgent because of the many challenges facing all Christians, to which we need to respond with a united voice and with conviction.
In his own homily during the November 30 celebration, Patriarch Bartholomew made a similar point, saying that ecumenical unity is more necessary than ever in the face of advancing secularism and materialism. Christians must join together to lead a recovery of the sacred, he said, relying on the efficacy of the sacraments and the soundness of Christian doctrine.
Pope calls peace 'divine gift' in
New Year's mass 01/01/2008
VATICAN CITY -- Peace is a "divine gift," Pope Benedict XVI said Tuesday in his traditional New Year's Day mass, stressing the role of the family as an agent of peace.
Celebrating the mass before the Vatican diplomatic corps as tradition dictates, the pontiff said in his homily: "We all aspire to live in peace, but true peace... is not simply a human achievement or the fruit of political accords. It is first and foremost a divine gift to pray for constantly."
Recalling that the UN General Assembly published the Universal Declaration of Human Rights six decades ago, Benedict noted that 2008 is also the 25th anniversary of the Holy See's Charter of the Rights of the Family.
"In the light of these important measures... I ask every man and every woman to become more aware of the shared belonging to the sole human family and to commit themselves to it" on a path towards "true and lasting peace," the 80-year-old pontiff said.
"The natural family, founded on marriage between a man and a woman, is the cradle of life and love and the primary and indispensable conduit of peace," said the leader of the world's 1.1 billion Catholics.
"Negation or restriction of the rights of the family ... threatens the very foundations of peace," he said on the day Catholics have observed as a World Day of Peace for four decades.
Later Tuesday in his first Angelus blessing of the year, the German pope spoke again on the same theme, addressing pilgrims in a sun-drenched St Peter's Square from a window in the apostolic palace.
"Whoever attacks the institution of the family, even unconsciously, weakens peace," he said.
An annual peace march organized by the Catholic charity Sant'Egidio brought some 20,000 people to the famous square to hear the New Year's Day Angelus.
The charity sponsored similar events were held in at least 65 countries.
Benedict singled out Sant'Egidio for praise for the Rome-based group's "Peace in All Lands" campaigns.
A rally in Madrid by hundreds of thousands of Spanish Catholics in defense of the "Christian family" on Sunday heard a message from Benedict underscoring the "sacred value of the family."
Also Sunday, in the pope's last Angelus of 2007, he said Jesus Christ, by "entering this world the same way as all men... sanctified the reality of the family."
Recalling frequent remarks by his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict said the "well-being of the individual and society is closely tied to the good health of the family."
Pope's message for
World Day of the Sick
VATICAN CITY - 23 January 2008
The Message of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI for the World Day of the Sick 2008, has been made public. Its theme is:
"The Eucharist, Lourdes and pastoral Care of the Sick". The World Day of the Sick is due to be celebrated on February 11, Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
In the Message, which has been published in Italian and English, the Pope explains how this year's World Day of the Sick is associated with "two important events in the life of the Church: ... The 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Mary Immaculate at Lourdes, and the celebration of the International Eucharistic Congress at Quebec, Canada, in June". This, he writes, "is a remarkable opportunity to consider the close connection that exists between the Mystery of the Eucharist, the role of Mary in the project of salvation, and the reality of human pain and suffering".
"There is an indissoluble bond", the Pope states, "between the mother and the Son generated in her womb by work of the Holy Spirit, and this bond we perceive, in a mysterious way, in the Sacrament of the Eucharist".
Pope Benedict XVI highlights how "Mary 'Mater Dolorosa' is associated with the sacrifice of Christ, suffering with her divine Son at the foot of the cross The Christian community feels her to be especially close as it gathers around its suffering members who bear the signs of the Lord's passion. Mary suffers with those who are afflicted, with them she hopes, and she is their comfort, supporting them with her maternal help".
The Pope mentions the theme of the Eucharistic Congress of Quebec, "The Eucharist, Gift of God for the Life of the World", then proceeds: "It is He who gathers us around the Eucharistic table, arousing in His disciples loving care for the suffering and the sick, in whom the Christian community recognises the face of its Lord".
"It thus appears clear that it is specifically from the Eucharist that health pastoral care must draw the necessary spiritual strength to come effectively to man's aid and to help him understand the salvific value of his own suffering. ... Mysteriously united to Christ, the man who suffers with love and meek self-abandonment to the will of God becomes a living offering for the salvation of the world".
The Pope invites diocesan and parish communities to celebrate the World Day of the Sick "with full appreciation for the happy concurrence of the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady at Lourdes with the International Eucharistic Congress. May it be an occasion to emphasise the importance of Mass, and of the adoration and celebration of the Eucharist, so that chapels in our healthcare centres become beating hearts in which Jesus offers Himself unceasingly to the Father for the life of humanity! The distribution of the Eucharist to the sick, if performed decorously and in a spirit of prayer, is a true comfort to those who suffer".
Benedict XVI concludes his Message by inviting people to consider the World Day of the Sick as "a propitious circumstance to invoke in a special way the maternal protection of Mary over those who are weighed down by illness, over healthcare providers, and workers in health pastoral care. I think in particular of priests involved in this field, religious, volunteers, and all those who with active dedication are concerned to serve, in body and soul, the sick and those in need".
Vatican, Feb. 19, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI has reported signs of a "providential reawakening" in religious life, in an address to leaders of the International Union of Superiors General.
Acknowledging a "difficult crisis" in many religious orders, the Holy Father said that the major features of that crisis include a drop in vocations and "a spiritual and charismatic weariness." The best response to this crisis, he said, has been shown by those orders that have "chosen o return to the origins and live in a way more in keeping with the spirit of the founder."
A fresh commitment to their original charisms has given many religious communities "a promising new ascetic, apostolic, and missionary impulse," the Pope said. He urged the same approach for all religious orders. "We are all aware how, in modern globalized society, it is becoming ever more difficult to announce and bear witness to the Gospel," the Pontiff told the religious leaders. "The process of secularization which is advancing in contemporary culture does not, unfortunately, spare even religious communities."
However, he said, "the Holy Spirit blows powerfully throughout the Church, creating a new commitment to faithfulness, both in the historical institutes and, at the same time, in new forms of religious consecration that reflect the needs of the times." Today, he said, the main mark of energetic religious orders, old and new, are "a radical form of evangelical poverty, faithful love of the Church, and generous dedication to the needy-- with particular attention to that spiritual poverty which so markedly characterizes the modern age."
Pope says living exemplary life is key to
re-evangelization
By Carol Glatz -
Catholic News Service - 11th June 2008
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Living an "exemplary life" is key to re-evangelizing lands that have forgotten their Christian roots, Pope Benedict XVI said. St. Columbanus, a sixth-century Irish monk, was "one of the fathers of Europe" who helped re-evangelize a region that had succumbed to a resurgence of paganism, the pope said during his June 11 general audience in St. Peter's Square. The saint and his companions started their missionary work in the French region of Brittany and established their first monastery on an old abandoned Roman fortress.
Their re-evangelization "began to unfold above all through their witness in life," in their ability to cultivate and live off the land, and lead a simple, somewhat austere life enriched with prayer, the pope said. Numerous people were drawn to the foreign missionaries -- especially young people "who asked to be welcomed into the monastic community to live like them -- this exemplary life that rebuilt the earth and souls," he said. As their fame spread and the number of their followers increased, the monks had to build other monasteries in the region. St. Columbanus introduced the Irish penitential tradition, which included private confession, to Europe. Through his life and writings, the Irish saint helped shape the monastic culture of the Middle Ages "and thus nourished the Christian roots of Europe," said Pope Benedict. "He expended all his energy to nourish the budding Christian roots of Europe and with his spiritual energy, his faith, his love of God and his neighbor ... he was one of the fathers of Europe and even shows us today where those roots are and from where our Europe can be reborn," he said.
Pope Benedict said the saint's message to people today also includes "a firm call for conversion and letting go of earthly goods." His ascetic lifestyle was not an end in itself "but a means for freely opening oneself up to God's love," the pope said.
"Let us remember that we have to return all those gifts that (God) has given us" after death and that earthly possessions are nothing in comparison to the heavenly rewards that await in eternity, he said.
Pope to Catholics: 'The most important service is the
proclamation of Jesus Christ.'
Pope Benedict XVI sent a message to the Third American Missionary Congress (CAM3) being held in Quito this week, reminding Catholics that “the most important service we can give our brothers and sisters is the clear and humble proclamation of Jesus Christ, who came to this world that we might have life and have it in abundance.”
“Amidst the difficulties of a sometimes hostile environment from the lack of immediate and spectacular results, or faced with the insufficiency of human means, I invite you not to be overcome by fear, weighed down by discouragement or dragged along by inertia,” the Pope said.
“The present time is a providential occasion for listening again with simplicity, purity of heart and fidelity to how Christ reminds us that we are not servants but friends,” the Pope continued.
“He instructs us in order that we might remain in his love without molding ourselves to the messages of this world. Let us not be deaf to his Word. Let us learn from Him. Let us imitate his way of life. Let us be sowers of the Word. In this way, with all of our lives, with the joy of knowing we are loved by Jesus, who we can call brother, we will be valid instruments for Him to continue drawing everyone to Himself with the mercy that flows from his Cross,” the Pope added.
He went on to encourage Catholics “to share this treasure with others, as there is no greater treasure than to enjoy the friendship of Christ and walk by his side. Consecrating our greatest energies to this beautiful labor is worth it, knowing that divine grace precedes, sustains and accompanies us in carrying it out,” the Pontiff stated.
“May you find, therefore, in persevering prayer, in the fervent meditation of the Word of God, in the obedience to the Magisterium of the Church, in the dignified celebration of the Sacraments and in the testimony of fraternal charity, the strength necessary to identify with the sentiments of Christ. You will be his disciples with coherence and generosity, proclaiming with your own examples, that Christ is the Son of God, the Redeemer of man and the firm rock upon which we cement our existence,” the Pope continued.
Pope pondering change to Mass liturgy
VATICAN CITY (AP) — A high-ranking Vatican official says Pope Benedict XVI is considering introducing a change to the Mass liturgy.
Cardinal Francis Arinze, who heads the Vatican office for sacraments, says pope may move the placement of the sign of peace, where congregation members shake hands or hug.
Arinze told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano in an interview published Friday that the pope has asked bishops to express their opinions and will then decide.
Under the change, the sign of peace, which now takes place moments before the reception of communion, would come earlier. Arinze said the change might help create a more solemn atmosphere as the faithful are preparing to receive communion.
St. Andrew the First-Called Disciple
Istanbul, Turkey
2nd December 2008
His All Holiness, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew received warm,
fraternal greetings from Pope Benedict XVI on November 30th, the
Feastday of the Ecumenical Throne, of St. Andrew the First-Called
Disciple.
In his message, the Pope observed that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
has visited the Vatican three times during this calendar year, most
recently to deliver his "most thoughtful address" to the XIIth Ordinary
General Assembly of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church this October,
held in the Sistine Chapel. This historic occasion was the first time
ever that an Ecumenical Patriarch has addressed this Synod of over 400
Cardinals, Archbishops and Bishops. The Pope also expressed his trust
that the relationship between Catholics and Orthodox is becoming more
substantive and that the day will come when both Churches will share the
celebration of the Eucharist.
The Pope's message was delivered to the Ecumenical Patriarch by Cardinal
Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting
Christian Unity, during the Divine Liturgy in the Patriarchal Cathedral
of St. George. The Vatican delegation also included Bishop Brian
Farrell, secretary of Council, and Father Vladimiro Caroli, a member of
the council, and Archbishop Antonio Lucibello, the apostolic nuncio in
Ankara.
After the midday Angelus with crowds in St. Peter's Square, Pope
Benedict spoke of the bonds of friendship with the Ecumenical
Patriarchate. Speaking of the relationship of Sts. Peter and Andrew the
Pope said:
"St. Andrew is the patron of the Patriarchate of Constantinople and so
the Church of Rome feels linked to the Church of Constantinople by a
special fraternal bond.... With all my heart, I offer my greeting and my
best wishes to him [His All Holiness] and to the faithful of the
Patriarchate, invoking the abundance of heavenly blessings upon all."
The Pope's message to His All Holiness can be read below:
"Grace to you and peace from God the Father" (Gal 1: 3)
It is with deep joy that I address these words of Saint Paul to Your
Holiness, the Holy Synod and all the Orthodox clergy and lay people
assembled for the feast of Saint Andrew, the brother of Saint Peter and,
like him, a great apostle and martyr for Christ. I am pleased to be
represented on This festal occasion by a delegation led by my venerable
brother Cardinal Walter Kasper, President of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, to whom I am entrusting this message of
greetings. My own prayers join with yours as we plead with the Lord for
the well-being and unity of the followers of Christ throughout the
world.
I give thanks to God that he has enabled us to deepen the bonds of
mutual love between us, supported by prayer and ever more regular
fraternal contact. In the course of the year that is now drawing to a
close, we have been blessed three times by the presence of Your Holiness
in Rome: on the occasion of your magisterial address at the Pontifical
Oriental Institute, which is honoured to number you among its alumni; at
the opening of the Pauline Year on the feast of Rome's patron saints,
Peter and Paul; and at the Twelfth Ordinary General Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops of the Catholic Church, held in October on the Word of
God in the Life and Mission of the Church, when you delivered a most
thoughtful address.
As a sign of our growing communion and spiritual closeness, the Catholic
Church for her part was represented at the celebrations of the Pauline
Year overseen by Your Holiness, including a symposium and a pilgrimage
to the Pauline sites in Asia Minor. These experiences of encounter and
shared prayer contribute to an increase in our commitment to attain the
goal of our ecumenical journey.
In this same spirit, Your Holiness has informed me of the positive
outcome of the Synaxis of the Primates and Representatives of the
Orthodox Churches, which took place recently at the Phanar. The hopeful
signs which emerged for inter-Orthodox relations and ecumenical
engagement have been welcomed with joy. I believe and pray that these
developments will have a constructive impact on the official theological
dialogue between the Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church, and will
lead to a resolution of the difficulties experienced in the last two
sessions. As Your Holiness remarked during your address to the Synod of
Bishops of the Catholic Church, the Joint International Commission for
Theological Dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is now addressing a
crucial issue which, once resolved, would draw us closer to full
communion.
On this feast of Saint Andrew, we reflect with joy and thanksgiving that
the relations between us are entering progressively deeper levels as we
renew our commitment to the path of prayer and dialogue. We trust that
our common journey will hasten the arrival of that blessed day when we
will praise God together in a shared celebration of the Eucharist. The
inner life of our Churches and the challenges of our modem world
urgently demand this witness of unity among Christ's disciples.
It is with these brotherly sentiments that I extend to Your Holiness my
cordial greetings in the Lord, who assures us of his grace and peace.
From the Vatican, 26 November 2008
Pope Benedict Embarking on Busy, Historic Year
Sunday, January 11, 2009 6:02 PMBy: Edward Pentin
This year holds much in store for Pope Benedict XVI. The spiritual leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics is expected to embark on two historic papal trips, make significant leadership changes within the Vatican, and meet Barack Obama in what could be an awkward encounter.
The Pontiff, who will be 82 on April 16, will make his first trip as Pope to Africa in March, flying to Cameroon to take part in preparations for a meeting of African bishops. He then will travel to Angola to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the country’s evangelization.
The Pope can expect a joyful welcome on a continent where Catholicism is booming and large numbers are joining the Catholic priesthood. But Africa, which continues to be stricken by poverty and conflicts, is of great concern to the church, leading the Vatican to unofficially designate 2009 as a Year for Africa. As he did over Christmas, the Pope is likely to draw particular attention to conflict and hardships in Zimbabwe, Congo, and Somalia.
His visit also may reignite controversy over the church’s prohibition of condom use as a means to prevent HIV/AIDS. The Pope won’t change the church’s teaching on this issue, but instead is likely to point out why the church stands by its teaching, and that Catholic organizations provide around a quarter of the care AIDS victims receive worldwide
Attention will then turn to Benedict’s next historic trip: to the Holy Land. The Vatican hasn’t officially confirmed the visit, and if the fighting in Gaza continues, it is likely to be postponed. However, the Vatican says planning for the trip is continuing, and sources say it is being scheduled for May 8-15. It will include stops in Amman, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem. Papal biographer George Weigel says it probably will be the highlight of the Pope’s year.
Without doubt, the visit will be one of Benedict’s most delicate to date. Sources say the German pontiff is scheduled to meet members of the Palestinian Authority (though not Hamas) in Bethlehem, and visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. He will make many calls for peace in the region, and for solidarity with Christians in the Holy Land facing many hardships and emigrating in large numbers. The Vatican will be hoping the papal trip will also ease recent tensions with Israeli and Jewish leaders. Pope Pius XII’s record in saving Jews during World War Two remains a hotly contested issue among some Jewish leaders.
Away from the Pope’s trips, new papal literature is expected this year. Benedict’s long-awaited first social encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate” (“Love in Truth”), probably will be released in the first half of the year (pre-orders are being taken online at sites such as Amazon.com). The document, which is addressed to every Catholic, will offer a moral critique of the current financial crisis. It is expected to be fairly “green,” with an emphasis on responsible stewardship of creation, but always with an anthropocentric vision that puts human dignity and well-being, not nature, at the center of the issue.
The Pope, a voracious reader and accomplished author, may also publish the second volume of his book “Jesus of Nazareth.” The book, whose first volume was published in 2007, will offer his own analysis and theological insight into Jesus’ Passion and Resurrection.
This year will also see significant changes in several senior positions in the Vatican. At least three cardinals are expected to step down, having reached, or exceeded, the retiring age of 75. As these appointments are made, and other cardinals around the world retire, the need for a consistory (when the Pope formally appoints new cardinals) will become pressing. Observers believe it is most likely to take place in the fall.
The Pope also will be keen to ensure that hitherto significant progress continues in the Catholic Church’s relations with the Orthodox Church. A new Russian Orthodox Patriarch will be elected by June following the untimely death of Patriarch Alexei II late last year. Whoever wins could raise hopes of the first momentous meeting between a Pope and a Patriarch since the two churches split nearly a thousand years ago.
As for interesting papal visitors, Barack Obama’s in July will be the one to watch. The president-elect will be attending the G8 meeting on the Italian island of Maddalena and is expected to tie in a Vatican visit en route. In view of his previous record on abortion and other pro-life issues, his meeting with the Pontiff could be an awkward one.
But even if the two don’t meet, commentators say the new administration and the church are likely to come to blows. “If the Obama administration tries to remove conscience-clause protections for Catholic healthcare professionals and institutions in the United States, we could very well see a papal challenge to the new administration,” Weigel says. He believes such a challenge is likely “in any event” because of what the Obama administration will attempt in the field of “so-called ‘reproductive rights’” at the United Nations and elsewhere.
Still, that won’t stop Benedict XVI meeting Obama if the opportunity arises. One of this Pope’s strengths is his willingness to listen to all views, even those with which he disagrees. For Pope Benedict, an honest intellectual discussion trumps any fear of controversy. Don’t be surprised, therefore, if, as in previous years, this Pontiff captures headlines by provoking a hard-headed debate or two.
© 2009 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
Pope Sends Telegram to 44th US President
(20 Jan 09 - RV) Pope Benedict XVI has sent the following telegram to Barak Obama who is due to be sworn in 44th President of the United States of America Tuesday.
Addressed to the White House it reads:
On the occasion of your
inauguration as the forty-fourth
President of the United States of
America I offer cordial good wishes,
together with the assurance of my
prayers that almighty God will grant you
unfailing wisdom and strength in the
exercise of your high responsibilities.
Under your leadership may the American
people continue to find in their
religious and political heritage the
spiritual values and ethical principles
needed to cooperate in the building of a
truly just and free society, marked by
respect for the dignity, equality and
rights of each of its members,
especially the poor, the outcast and
those who have no voice. At a time when
so many of our brothers and sisters
throughout the world yearn for
liberation from the scourge of poverty,
hunger and violence I pray that you will
be confirmed in your resolve to promote
understanding , cooperation and peace
among the nations, so that all may share
in the banquet of life which God wills
to set for the whole human family (cf.
Isaiah 25:6-7). Upon you and your
family, and upon all the American
people, I willingly invoke the Lord’s
blessings of joy and peace.
BENEDICTUS PP. XVI
Adoration is key attitude toward Eucharist, even at Mass, Pope says
MONDAY, 16 MARCH 2009
Because Christ is truly present in the Eucharist, adoration must be a Catholic's primary attitude toward the Blessed Sacrament at Mass as well as when praying before the tabernacle, Pope Benedict XVI said.
"Our task is to perceive the very precious treasure of this ineffable mystery of faith both in the celebration of the Mass as well as during worship of the sacred species," the pope told members of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
Members of the congregation met the pope March 13 at the end of their plenary meeting, which was devoted to discussing ways to promote eucharistic adoration.
Pope Benedict said he hoped the meeting would result in the identification of "liturgical and pastoral means through which the church in our time could promote faith in the real presence of the Lord in the holy Eucharist and secure for the celebration of the holy Mass the entire dimension of adoration."
The Greek word for adoration includes the concept of submission, the pope said, while the Latin word "denotes physical contact, the kiss, the embrace that is implicit in the idea of love."
Together, he said, they highlight the fact that in adoring the Eucharist Catholics submit to and seek union with God who is love.
Pope Benedict told congregation members that especially during Lent with its emphasis on prayer, almsgiving and fasting, Catholics should be encouraged "to rediscover fasting and live it with renewed fervor, not only as an ascetic practice, but also as a preparation for the Eucharist."
Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera, the new prefect of the congregation, told Vatican Radio, "The liturgy is, first of all, adoration."
In the life of the church, "the Eucharist is the center of adoration; it is the recognition of God, the recognition that everything comes from him," the cardinal said in an interview March 10.
"In this moment of strong secularization -- when people tend to forget God, to maintain that he is not important in human life -- it is necessary to reaffirm that adoration comes first, in other words, that God comes first," he said.
"The liturgy does not recount things that happened in the past, but is the manifestation today of God's salvation through Jesus Christ," Cardinal Canizares said.
Christ's real presence brings people closer to God, says pope
POPE-AUDIENCE Dec-9-2009
 Pope Benedict XVI looks on as groups from France are announced during the pontiff's general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican Dec. 9. (CNS/Paul Haring) |
By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Eucharist is not a symbolic representation of the Lord because Christ is wholly and entirely present under the species of bread and wine, said Pope Benedict XVI.
"Even today, there is the danger of reducing the reality of the Eucharist -- considering it almost as just a rite of communion or socialization, and we too often easily forget that the resurrected Christ is really present," he said during his general audience in the Vatican's Paul VI hall Dec. 9.
The pope continued a series of talks on the Christian culture of the Middle Ages by highlighting the work of Rupert of Deutz, a 12th-century Benedictine theologian and abbot.
"He forcefully defended the reality of Christ's real presence in the Eucharist" and underlined "the continuity between the body of the incarnated word of Christ and (the body) present under the eucharistic species of bread and wine," said the pope.
The real presence of Christ in the Eucharist draws people out of their own narrow concerns and interests, "incorporating us in his immortal body, and in that way guides us toward a new life," he said.
"That the Lord is wholly and entirely present is a mystery to be adored and always loved anew," Pope Benedict said.
The pope said Rupert also made a critical contribution to the debate going on at the time regarding the problem of how to explain the existence of evil in the world when God is fundamentally good and omnipotent.
Some theologians at the time insisted that God allowing evil to occur and God approving of evil were not the same thing, "concluding that God allows evil without approving of it and therefore without wanting it," the pope explained.
Rupert, however, said such a conclusion was inadequate and he insisted "that the origin of evil is to be found in humanity's mistaken use of freedom, not in the positive will of God," the pope said. The Benedictine theologian also highlighted the reality of God's infinite mercy, his patience and benevolence toward those who sin.
The pope said this figure from the Middle Ages should inspire people to become closer to Christ, who is present in his word and in the Eucharist and "unceasingly accompanies us along our journey." He asked the faithful to "rejoice in the knowledge that (Christ) remains with us at every moment of our lives and throughout history."
Government and Vatican Hail Success of State Visit
LONDON, SEPT. 20, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's four-day state visit to Britain defied doomsayers and the negative publicity that preceded it, bringing out an estimated 500,000 people in Scotland and England as well as countless others who heard his messages in the media and on the Internet.
Both the government and the Vatican were delighted with how well it went. Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said it was a “wonderful visit” and, above all, a “spiritual success.”The numbers of cheering supporters were far greater than any protest groups (200,000 on the streets of London on Saturday compared to around 5,000 protesters who took part in a march that day), but the Vatican doesn't judge success by numbers. Father Lombardi said the Pope felt it was a success because “many, many people listened with profound interest to what he had to say.”
The British press, some of which has been extremely hostile to the visit, gave a virtually unanimous verdict that it could not have gone better for the Church. The Daily Mail described the visit as "triumphant," adding that “by last night, the protesters appeared defeated, with celebrity objectors virtually silent and demonstrations against the visit few and muted.”
Benedict XVI began his trip by telling Queen Elizabeth II of his concerns over “aggressive forms of secularism,” but he ended it on a message of hope: Britons, he said, have a “deep thirst” for the message of Christianity, even if the country has become a “highly secularized environment.” He constantly warned of the excesses of secularism and the perils of “atheist extremism,” yet reminded the country of its deep Christian roots from which so much good has been achieved by its people in the course of history.
Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron noted in his farewell address that the messages Benedict had delivered to the country had made it "sit up and think." He gave strong assurances that faith "has been and always will be" part of the fabric of British society.
Won over
An important factor in the visit's success was the chance for British people to see what the Pope is really like, as opposed to his media-concocted image. They were won over by his shyness, deep humility, and child-like innocence -- just as many in the Vatican predicted they would be. But they were also impressed by his courage and his willingness to speak his mind.
“This was a much more successful visit than the Roman Catholic hierarchy could have dared to hope,” wrote English commentator Stepehen Glover. “The Pope spoke to the soul of our country, affirming the eternal moral verities which our own political and religious leaders normally prefer to avoid. In essence, he has been asking us to examine what kind of country we want this to be.”
And perhaps more than on any other papal visit, he comprehensively addressed the sexual abuse scandal, first referring to his “shock” and “sadness” that priests had abused children, then voicing his “deep sorrow” over the “unspeakable crime” of pedophilia by clergy, and finally meeting five Britons who had suffered such abuse. He also called for better safety measures for children in schools and urged the Church in Britain, which over the past decade has handled the scandal well, to share its expertise.
This was a truly historic visit designed to help bring reconciliation between Church and state and between Catholics and Anglicans. Half of all the nation's Parliamentarians turned out for the Pope's speech in Westminster Hall, where St. Thomas More, the patron saint of politicians, was tried and condemned in 1535. The Holy Father expressed his concern at the “marginalization” of religion in society, reminding them that religion is not a problem for legislators to solve, but a “vital contributor” to the national conversation.
New chapter
With the Church of England, the exchanges were remarkably friendly, despite relations having reached their lowest ebb in recent times. The Pope also reached out to interreligious leaders, and engaged teachers and young people, urging the latter not to follow a celebrity culture but to enter into relationship with God and pursue holiness.
He also spoke from the heart to elderly people, stressing the importance of life from conception until natural death and telling them that ever longer lives offer an opportunity to remember in prayer those “whom we have cherished in this life."
The Pope called Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, the 19th-century theologian whom the Pope came to England to beatify, a "great son of England," recalling how he showed his priestly compassion to the poor, sick and imprisoned.
The visit was also a historic first, which above all signified a new chapter for the Church in this historically Protestant country, one in which a line had finally been drawn under the sectarian and bloody disputes of the past.
How much this visit will affect the country in the long term remains the subject of debate. Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, the archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, has spoken of a “Benedict bounce” and a hoped-for growth in vocations.
But for the Catholic lay faithful and Britons who value the Church's teaching and Christian principles -- evidently many more than the media tends to convey -- the Holy Father's visit was a much needed and very welcome "shot in the arm" after years of encroaching secularist intolerance.