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Spiritual Reflections at, TX US - VATICAN CURRENT EVENTS
| VATICAN CURRENT EVENTS |
STRENGTHEN RELATIONS BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND JEWS After reciting the Angelus, the Pope said that he was praying for the refugees who had been driven from their homes by the fighting in Georgia, especially those who are wounded or grieving for loved ones. He asked for quick delivery of relief supplies, and international leadership in make the cease-fire permanent there. Earlier, in his remarks to the crowd that had gathered in the courtyard of the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father had said that the Church is "called to be a hospitable home for everyone." Reflecting on the day's Gospel story of the Canaanite woman, he said that Jesus called attention to the universality of his mission and the moral imperative of treating all people with dignity and respect. The Church, he said, should lead society to "overcome every possible temptation toward racism, intolerance, and exclusion." The Pope went on to add "a different sort of intention," asking the faithful to pray for traffic safety. He called attention to the "many serious road accidents" that occur particularly during the summer months, and asked for "greater sense of responsibility" among motorists and stricter enforcement of traffic-safety regulations. Before ending his public remarks the Pope expressed his sorrow at news of the sudden death of Bishop Wilhelm Egger of Bolzano, Italy. Bishop Egger-- who succumbed to a heart attack on August 16-- had been the Pontiff's host in July, when Pope Benedict took his summer vacation, staying in Bressanone at the seminary of the Bolzano diocese. SCIENCE MUST NOT BECOME THE CRITERION OF GOOD CLOSE BOND BETWEEN CANON LAW AND CHURCH LIFE VATICAN CITY, 25 JAN 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI received participants in a congress organised by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts to mark the 25th anniversary of the Code of Canon Law. In his talk to them the Pope pointed out that "the 'ius ecclesiae' is not just a collection of norms produced by the ecclesial Legislator for that particular group of people who form the The Pope quoted a phrase used by Blessed Antonio Rosmini to the effect that "the human person is the essence of law". This, he went on, is something "we must also emphasise for Canon Law: the essence of Canon Law is the Christian individual in the Church". "The Church recognises that her laws have the nature and ... the pastoral function of enabling her to pursue her final aim which is that of achieving 'salus animarum'. ... In order for Canon Law to perform this vital service it must, first and foremost, be well structured. This means, on the one hand, that it must be linked to the theological foundations that give it its reasonableness and that are an essential sign of ecclesial legitimacy and, on the other, that it must it must adhere to the changeable circumstances of the history of the People of God. "Moreover", he added, Canon Law "must be clearly and unambiguously formulated in such a way as to remain in harmony with the other laws of the Church. Hence it is necessary to abrogate norms that have become outdated, modify those in need of correction, interpret (in the light of the living Magisterium of the Church) those that are unclear and, finally, fill any 'lacunae legis'". The Pope reminded the members of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts of their duty to ensure "that the activities of those structures within the Church called to dictate norms for the faithful may always reflect ... the union and communion that are characteristic of the Church". "The Law of the Church is, first of all, 'lex libertatis': the law that makes us free to follow Jesus", the Holy Father concluded. "Hence it is important we know how to show the People of God, the new generations and all those called to follow Canon Law, the real bond [that law] has with the life of the Church". This must be done in order "to defend the delicate interests of the things of God and to protect the rights of the weakest, ... but also in order to defend that delicate 'good' which each of the faithful has gratuitously received (the gift of faith, of the grace of God), which in the Church cannot remain without adequate legal protection". THANKING GOD FOR THE FRUITS OF ECUMENICAL DIALOGUE Addressing them in English, the Holy Father pointed out how "the World Council of Churches and the Catholic Church have enjoyed a fruitful ecumenical relationship dating back to the time of Vatican Council II The Joint Working Group, which began in 1965, has worked assiduously to strengthen the 'dialogue of life' which my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, called the 'dialogue of charity'. This co-operation has given vivid expression to the communion already existing between Christians and has advanced the cause of ecumenical dialogue and understanding. "The centenary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity", he added, "offers us an opportunity to thank Almighty God for the fruits of the ecumenical movement, in which we can discern the presence of the Holy Spirit fostering the growth of all Christ's followers in unity of faith, hope and love. To pray for unity is itself 'an effective means of obtaining the grace of unity', since it is a participation in the prayer of Jesus Himself. When Christians pray together, 'the goal of unity seems closer'". "On this day, then, we think back with gratitude to the work of so many individuals who, over the years, have sought to spread the practice of spiritual ecumenism through common prayer, conversion of heart and growth in communion. We also give thanks for the ecumenical dialogues which have borne abundant fruit in the past century". The Holy Father concluded his address by saying that "the reception of those fruits is itself an important step in the process of promoting Christian unity, and the Joint Working Group is particularly suited to studying and encouraging that process". PAPAL SOLIDARITY WITH THE CHRISTIANS OF IRAQ VATICAN CITY, 11 JAN 2008 (VIS) - Benedict XVI has sent a telegram to Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, expressing solidarity in the wake of recent attacks against Christian communities in various of the country's cities. The English-language telegram, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., makes it clear that the Pope was "deeply concerned to learn of the attacks on Christian targets in Baghdad, Mosul and Kirkuk" on 6 and 9 January, and that he "expresses his spiritual closeness to the injured and their families". The Holy Father offers the cardinal, who is also president of the Assembly of Catholic Bishops of Iraq, and the archbishops of the cities concerned, his "fraternal assurances of prayer as you seek to offer hope and strength to your people". The Pope asks Cardinal Delly "to convey his heartfelt solidarity to the superiors of the religious communities affected by these attacks, and to renew his sentiments of sincere solidarity with all members of the Christian communities in Iraq, Catholic and non-Catholic alike. "Mindful that such attacks are also directed against the whole people of Iraq, His Holiness appeals to the perpetrators to renounce the ways of violence, which have caused so much suffering to the civilian population, and he encourages all those in authority to renew efforts towards peaceful negotiation aimed at a just resolution of the country's difficulties, respectful of the rights of all. "Praying for a return to the peaceful coexistence of the diverse groups that make up the population of this beloved country, the Holy Father commends all the people of Iraq to the heavenly protection of our almighty and merciful Father". TGR/ATTACKS CHRISTIANS/IRAQ:DELLY VIS 080111 (290) CHRISTIANS CALLED TO BE WITNESSES OF HOPE VATICAN CITY, DEC 16, 2007 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father visited the Roman parish of "Santa Maria del Rosario ai Maritiri Portuensi" where he celebrated Mass and presided at the consecration of the new church. It was his fifth visit as Pontiff to a Roman parish community. "The liturgy of Advent," said the Pope in his homily, "constantly repeats how we must awake from the slumber of habit and mediocrity, how we must abandon sadness and discouragement ... because the Lord is near." He then went on to recall the fact that the new parish church is located very near the catacombs of Generosa where, according to tradition, three young Christian martyrs were buried: Simplicius, Faustinus and Beatrice. "Are not the young martyrs who died to bear witness to Christ a powerful stimulus for you, the Christians of today, to continue to follow Jesus faithfully? And does not the protection of Our Lady of the Rosary call upon you to be men and women of profound faith, just as she was? Today too, though in different ways, Christ's salvific message is attacked and Christians, no less than yesterday, are called to give reasons for their hope, to offer the world the testimony of the Truth of the One Who saves and redeems." "The living community is more sacred than the actual church we have consecrated," said the Holy Father after the rite of consecration. "May the concern we show for this temple ... be a stimulus to show more intense concern in defending and promoting the temple of the individual person." "It is Jesus," said the Pope, "Who lives in the parish community. Everything then, in the church building and in the Church community, speaks of Jesus. ... The Lord gathers us into the great community of the Church of all times and places, bound in communion with Peter's Successor as a rock of unity." BXVI-PV/PARISH LIFE/ROME VIS 071217 (330) POSTULATORS OF SAINTS: ALWAYS AT THE SERVICE OF TRUTH VATICAN CITY, DEC 17, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received postulators of the causes of beatification and canonization of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The Pope began his address to them by mentioning the forthcoming 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Apostolic Constitution " Divinus Perfectionis Magister" with which, in 1983, John Paul II revised the procedures of the causes of saints in order to respond to the wishes of experts and pastors who were calling "for a more manageable procedure, while still maintaining solidity of research in this field, which is so important for the life of the Church. "Through beatifications and canonizations," the Pope added, the Church "gives thanks to God for the gift of those of His children who have responded generously to divine grace, honoring them and invoking them as intercessors." And the Church "presents these shining examples for the imitation of all the faithful, called through Baptism to sanctity, which its the aim and goal of every state of life." At the same time "ecclesial communities come to realize the need, even in our own time, of witnesses capable of incarnating the perennial truth of the Gospel in the real circumstances of life, making it an instrument of salvation for the entire world." "Saints, if correctly presented in their spiritual dynamism and historical reality, contribute to making the word of the Gospel and the mission of the Church more believable and attractive. Contact with them opens the way to true spiritual resurrection, lasting conversion and the flowering of new saints." "All those who work in the causes of saints," said Benedict XVI, "are called to place themselves at the exclusive service of truth. For this reason, during the diocesan enquiry, witness statements and documentary evidence should be gathered both when favorable and when contrary to the sanctity of the fame of sanctity or of martyrdom of the Servants of God." "Hence, the postulators' role is fundamental, both in the diocesan and apostolic stages of the process; their actions must be above criticism, inspired by rectitude and marked by absolute probity." AC/.../POSTULATORS VIS 071217 (370) CARDINAL MARTINO PRESENTS MESSAGE FOR WORLD DAY OF PEACE VATICAN CITY, DEC 11, 2007 (VIS) - This morning in the Holy See Press Office, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, presented Benedict XVI's Message for the World Day of Peace 2008. "Throughout the Message," said the cardinal, "the Holy Father shows us how the family and peace are constantly linked in a fruitful union." This, he added, "constitutes one of the most stimulating conditions for creating an appropriate cultural, social and political vision of the complex questions associated with achieving peace in our times." Thus the first part of the Message "highlights the meaning and the value of the connection between the family and peace," while in the second part "the human family is examined in relation to a series of problems that directly concern peace." The first part of the Pope's Message is dedicated to "a number of descriptive aspects of the Christian family" because "family life provides an experience of all the fundamental ingredients of peace: justice in relations between brothers and sisters, the importance of law and of the authority of parents, power experienced as service to the weakest, ... help in case of need, willingness to welcome, to make sacrifices and to forgive." The Holy Father, said Cardinal Martino, "highlights how the family has specific rights," which are "an expression of the natural and universal law that exists in the minds and the hearts of all human beings." The Pope also presents some of his concerns "because the main agent of peace, the family, is incapable of fully playing its role. "In fact," the cardinal added, "many legislative initiatives work against peace by weakening the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, by directly or indirectly forcing families not to be open to accepting a morally responsible life, or by not recognizing the family as having primary responsibility in the education of children." The president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace went on to comment on "the particular requirements of the human family" as enumerated in the Holy Father's Message: environment, economy, morals, overcoming conflict. "The question of the environment is closely linked to peace," the cardinal said, "because for peace in the human family it is important that the earth be considered as our joint home." The world must be managed responsibly and for everyone, he said, to which end the "path of dialogue rather than that of unilateral decisions" must be followed. On the subject of the economy he said: "Peace is experienced in families when no one lacks what they need and when the economy (the fruit of the work of some, the savings of others and the active collaboration of everyone) is well organized in solidarity, without waste or excess. ... The image of the family helps us to maintain the balance between the two facets of the economy: correct and honest relations among ... peoples enabling them to collaborate in a context of parity and justice and, at the same time, efficient organization of resources for the production and distribution of wealth." "A family lives under a common standard" which is "a cause of peace because it prevents selfish individualism and bonds the members of a family together, favoring their coexistence. This must be true also of the human family," the cardinal said. "In this perspective," he went on, "the Holy Father censures arbitrary actions, both within States and in relations between States," and denounces the many situations in which "the weak must bow their heads not before the requirements of justice but before the naked power of those who have greater means then they." On the question of "overcoming conflicts and reinforcing the process of disarmament," which is dealt with in the last section of the Pope's Message, the cardinal recalled that military budgets over the last decade have been the highest in history. He also highlighted the need to reflect on the "overlap of the civilian economy with the military economy," and on the phenomenon of "dual use," in other words "the possibility of products, services or knowledge being employed for either civilian or military ends." Another theme for reflection, the cardinal concluded "is the contradiction between anti-terrorism policies and international security policies." Following the attacks against the Twin Towers in 2001, "the international community has adopted severe measures against the risk of terrorism; at the same time States, and particularly nuclear powers, have begun renewing their military structures and armaments." OP/PRESENTATION PEACE MESSAGE/MARTINO VIS 071211 (760) MESSAGE FOR WORLD DAY OF PEACE 2008 VATICAN CITY, DEC 11, 2007 (VIS) - Made public today was Benedict XVI's Message for the 41st World Day of Peace. The Day falls on January 1, 2008, and has as its theme: " The Human Family, a Community of Peace ." The text has been published in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German and Portuguese. Extracts from the Message are given below: " The natural family, as an intimate communion of life and love, based on marriage between a man and a woman, constitutes 'the primary place of humanization for the person and society and a 'cradle of life and love.' The family is therefore rightly defined as the first natural society, 'a divine institution that stands at the foundation of life of the human person as the prototype of every social order'." After highlighting the fact that "the family is the first and indispensable teacher of peace," the Holy Father recalls that it is also "the foundation of society ... because it enables its members in decisive ways to experience peace. It follows that the human community cannot do without the service provided by the family." "The family, since it has the duty of educating its members, is the subject of specific rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which represents a landmark of juridic civilization of truly universal value, states that 'the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State.' ... The denial or even the restriction of the rights of the family, by obscuring the truth about man, threatens the very foundations of peace. "Consequently," the Pope adds, "whoever, even unknowingly, circumvents the institution of the family undermines peace in the entire community, national and international, since he weakens what is in effect the primary agency of peace. ... Everything that serves to weaken the family based on the marriage of a man and a woman, everything that directly or indirectly stands in the way of its openness to the responsible acceptance of a new life, everything that obstructs its right to be primarily responsible for the education of its children, constitutes an objective obstacle on the road to peace." "When society and public policy are not committed to assisting the family," the Holy Father writes, "they deprive themselves of an essential resource in the service of peace." Moreover "social communications media, in particular, because of their educational potential, have a special responsibility for promoting respect for the family, making clear its expectations and rights, and presenting all its beauty." "We do not live alongside one another purely by chance; all of us are progressing along a common path as men and women, and thus as brothers and sisters. ... By going back to this supreme principle we are able to perceive the unconditional worth of each human being, and thus to lay the premises for building a humanity at peace. Without this transcendent foundation society is a mere aggregation of neighbors, not a community of brothers and sisters called to form one great family." The earth is the home of the human family, says the Holy Father, highlighting the need "to care for the environment" which "has been entrusted to men and women to be protected and cultivated with responsible freedom, with the good of all as a constant guiding criterion. Human beings, obviously, are of supreme worth vis-a-vis creation as a whole. Respecting the environment does not mean considering material or animal nature more important than man." "Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently, in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions, and above all with the aim of reaching agreement on a model of sustainable development capable of ensuring the well-being of all while respecting environmental balances. If the protection of the environment involves costs, they should be justly distributed, taking due account of the different levels of development of various countries and the need for solidarity with future generations." In this regard, the Pope dwells on the need "to choose the path of dialogue rather than the path of unilateral decisions. ... One area where there is a particular need to intensify dialogue between nations is that of the stewardship of the earth's energy resources: ... on the one hand, to reassess the high levels of consumption due to the present model of development, and on the other hand to invest sufficient resources in the search for alternative sources of energy and for greater energy efficiency." Poor countries, the Pope adds, "due to their insufficient infrastructures, including their technological infrastructures, are forced to undersell the energy resources they do possess." "Efforts must also be made to ensure a prudent use of resources and an equitable distribution of wealth. In particular, the aid given to poor countries must be guided by sound economic principles, avoiding forms of waste associated principally with the maintenance of expensive bureaucracies. Due account must also be taken of the moral obligation to ensure that the economy is not governed solely by the ruthless laws of instant profit, which can prove inhumane." Benedict XVI writes: "A family lives in peace if all its members submit to a common standard: this is what prevents selfish individualism and brings individuals together, fostering their harmonious coexistence and giving direction to their work. ... For the sake of peace, a common law is needed, one which would foster true freedom rather than blind caprice, and protect the weak from oppression by the strong. ... Power must always be disciplined by law, and this applies also to relations between sovereign States." "The juridic norm, which regulates relationships between individuals, disciplines external conduct and establishes penalties for offenders, has as its criterion the moral norm grounded in nature itself." "Knowledge of the natural moral norm is not inaccessible to those who, in reflecting on themselves and their destiny, strive to understand the inner logic of the deepest inclinations present in their being. Albeit not without hesitation and doubt, they are capable of discovering, at least in its essential lines, this common moral law which, over and above cultural differences, enables human beings to come to a common understanding regarding the most important aspects of good and evil, justice and injustice. ... Mankind is not 'lawless.' All the same, there is an urgent need to persevere in dialogue about these issues and to encourage the legislation of individual States to converge towards a recognition of fundamental human rights. The growth of a global juridic culture depends, for that matter, on a constant commitment to strengthen the profound human content of international norms, lest they be reduced to mere procedures, easily subject to manipulation for selfish or ideological reasons." Benedict XVI's Message proceeds: "Humanity today is unfortunately experiencing great division and sharp conflicts which cast dark shadows on its future." In this context, the Pope underlines how "the danger of an increase in the number of countries possessing nuclear weapons causes well-founded apprehension," while in Africa there are still "many civil wars" and "the Middle East is still a theatre of conflict and violence, which also affects neighboring nations and regions and risks drawing them into the spiral of violence. On a broader scale, one must acknowledge with regret the growing number of States engaged in the arms race." "In difficult times such as these, it is truly necessary for all persons of good will to come together to reach concrete agreements aimed at an effective demilitarization, especially in the area of nuclear arms. At a time when the process of nuclear non-proliferation is at a stand-still, I feel bound to entreat those in authority to resume with greater determination negotiations for a progressive and mutually agreed dismantling of existing nuclear weapons." Pope Benedict concludes by recalling three special anniversaries: "Sixty years ago the United Nations Organization solemnly issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. ... This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Holy See's adoption of the Charter of the Rights of the Family and the 40th anniversary of the celebration of the first World Day of Peace." "In the light of these significant anniversaries, I invite every man and woman to have a more lively sense of belonging to the one human family, and to strive to make human coexistence increasingly reflect this conviction, which is essential for the establishment of true and lasting peace. I likewise invite believers to implore tirelessly from God the great gift of peace" MESS/PEACE DAY 2008/... VIS 071211 (1440) MARY: MODEL AND MOTHER OF LOVE FOR THE YOUNG VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Pope addressed thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus. In his remarks, the Holy Father indicated how today's feast is a celebration of "the mystery of God's grace which, from the first moment of her existence, surrounded the life of the creature destined to become the Mother of the Redeemer, preserving her from the contagion of original sin. Looking at her we recognize the greatness and beauty of God's project for each human being: to become holy and immaculate in love, in the image of our Creator. "What a great gift it is to have Mary Immaculate for a mother," Benedict XVI added. "A mother resplendent in beauty and transparent to the love of God." He then referred to young people of today who are, he said, "growing up in an atmosphere pervaded with messages that propose false models of happiness. These boys and girls risk losing hope because they often seem to be orphaned of that real love which fills life with meaning and joy." After highlighting how John Paul II had often presented Mary to young people as the "Mother of beautiful love," the Pope went on: "Many experiences show us, unfortunately, that adolescents, young people, and even children fall easy victims to the corruption of love, taken in by unscrupulous adults who ... draw them into the blind alleys of consumerism. Even the most sacred things such as the human body (the temple of God, of love and of life) thus become objects of consumption; and this is happening ever earlier, even before adolescence. How sad it is when children lose their sense of wonder, the enchantment of the most beautiful feelings, the value of respect for the body which is the manifestation of the individual and of his or her unfathomable mystery. "Of all this we are reminded by Mary Immaculate whom we contemplate in all her beauty and sanctity," the Pope concluded. "To her we faithfully address our prayer as spiritually we make the pilgrimage to Lourdes where today begins the special jubilee year for the 150th anniversary of her apparition in the grotto of Massabielle." ANG/MARY IMMACULATE/...VIS 071210 WITHOUT GOD IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO BUILD STABLE PEACE VATICAN CITY, DEC 8, 2007 (VIS) - Early this afternoon, the Holy Father travelled by popemobile to Rome's Piazza di Spagna to pay his traditional homage before the statue of Mary Immaculate. Along the route, the Holy Father greeted the thousands of people who were lining the streets to see him. Having reached the monument, a column with a statue of the Virgin standing in front of the recently-restored facade of the Spanish embassy to the Holy See, Benedict laid a basket of roses at the base and read a prayer. Mary Immaculate, said the Pope, "pursued her earthly pilgrimage borne up by an intrepid faith, an unshakeable hope and a humble and limitless love, following the footsteps of her son Jesus. With maternal solicitude she remained at His side from birth to Calvary where she was present at His crucifixion, full of pain but firm in hope. Subsequently she experienced the joy of the resurrection." "Does she, our heavenly mother, not invite us to avoid evil and to accomplish good, meekly following the divine love written in every Christian heart? Does she (who kept her own hope alive at the moment of harshest trial) not ask us not to lost hope when suffering and death knock at the door of our homes? Does she not ask us to look trustingly to our future? Does the Immaculate Virgin not exhort us to be brothers to one another, joined by the commitment to build together a more just, united and peaceful world?" The Pope highlighted how the Virgin "reminds us that we are all brothers and that God is our Creator and our Father. Without Him - or, worse still, against Him - we human beings will never be able to find the road that leads to love, we will never be able to defeat the power of hatred and violence, we will never be able to build a stable peace." In this context, Benedict XVI went on to exhort "people of all nations and cultures" to accept "this message of light and hope," to accept it "as a gift from the hands of Mary, mother of all humanity. "If life is a voyage," he added, "and this voyage is often dark, difficult and wearisome, what star can illuminate it?" Referring to his own recent Encyclical "Spe salvi," he went on: "in our joint voyage over the sea of history we have need of 'lights of hope,' that is of people who draw light from Christ 'and so guide us along our way.' "And who better than Mary," the Holy Father asked in conclusion, "can be a 'Star of Hope' for us? With her 'yes,' with the generous offer of the freedom she received from the Creator, she enabled the hope of millennia to become reality and to enter into this world and its history." Before concluding the ceremony, Benedict XVI addressed some words in French to pilgrims gathered in the Marian shrines of Lourdes and Fourviere in France, for the beginning of the jubilee year marking the 150th anniversary of the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary. BXVI-HOMAGE/MARY IMMACULATE/...VIS 071210 (530) ANGELUS: CHRIST IS THE MEASURE GOD HAS GIVEN HUMANITY VATICAN CITY, DEC 9, 2007 (VIS) - At his Angelus prayer today, the second Sunday of Advent, Benedict XVI recalled how St. John the Baptist, the precursor of Christ, preaching in the desert, "put people on their guard, above all against the hypocrisy of those who felt secure for the simple fact of belonging to the Chosen People: before God, ... no one has the right to boast but must 'bear fruit worthy of repentance.' "As the journey of Advent continues," the Pope added, "as we prepare to celebrate the nativity of Christ, John the Baptist's call to conversion sounds out in our communities. It is a pressing invitation to open our hearts and to welcome the Son of God Who comes among us to make divine judgement manifest. The Father, writes St. John the Evangelist, does not judge anyone, but has entrusted the power of judgement to the Son, because He is the Son of man. "And it is today, in the present," the Pope added, "that we decide our future destiny. It is with our concrete everyday behavior in this life that we determine our eternal fate. At the end of our days on earth, at the moment of death, we will be evaluated on the basis of our likeness or otherwise to the Baby Who is about to be born in the poor grotto of Bethlehem, because He is the measure God has given humanity." He continued: "Through the Gospel John the Baptist continues to speak down the centuries to each generation. His hard clear words bring health to us, the men and women of this day in which even the experience and perception of Christmas often, unfortunately, reflects materialist attitudes. The 'voice' of the great prophet asks us to prepare the way for the coming Lord in the deserts of today, internal and external deserts, thirsting for the water of life which is Christ." After praying the Angelus, the Pope mentioned his forthcoming meeting with Roman university students, due to take place on December 13. "Dear young people," he said, "I hope you will come in large numbers so we may prepare for Christmas by invoking the gift of wisdom from the Holy Spirit for the entire university community." ANG/JOHN THE BAPTIST:CHRISTMAS/... VIS 071210 (390) HOLY FATHER REPLIES TO MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS VATICAN CITY, NOV 29, 2007 (VIS) - On October 13, for the occasion of the end of the Muslim month of Ramadan (Eid al-Fitr), a group of 138 Muslim religious leaders sent an open letter to the Holy Father Benedict XVI and to other Christian leaders. The letter was entitled: "A Common Word between Us and You." The Holy Father has replied with a letter of his own, signed by the Cardinal Secretary of State and addressed to Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, president of the Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought and one of the signatories of the original letter. In expressing his thanks and appreciation for this significant initiative by the eminent group of Muslim figures, the Holy Father reaffirms the importance of dialogue based on effective respect for the dignity of the person, on objective knowledge of the other's religion, on the sharing of religious experience, and on joint commitment to promoting mutual respect and acceptance. The Secretary of State's reply also mentions the Holy Father's willingness to receive Prince Ghazi and a delegation of the signatories of the letter, and also highlights the readiness of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, in collaboration with other specialized pontifical institutes, to organize a working meeting. BXVI-LETTER/.../MUSLIM RELIGIOUS LEADERS VIS 071129 (220) HOLY SEE DELEGATION AT ANNAPOLIS CONFERENCE VATICAN CITY, NOV 27, 2007 (VIS) - The Holy See delegation to the International Middle East Conference which begins today in Annapolis, U.S.A., will be made up of Msgr. Pietro Parolin, under-secretary for Relations with States, and Msgr. Francesco Coppola, nunciature counsellor, according to a statement by Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. Last Sunday, after praying the Angelus, the Pope had encouraged faithful to join the Day of Prayer called by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to ask for peace in the Holy Land and for "the gifts of wisdom and courage for all participants in this important meeting." In Annapolis, the Holy Father said on Sunday, "Israelis and Palestinians, with the help of the international community, aim to relaunch the negotiating process in order to find a just and definitive solution to the conflict which, for the last 60 years, has bloodied the Holy Land and brought so many tears and so much suffering to the two peoples." .../HOLY SEE DELEGATION/PAROLIN:COPPOLA VIS 071127 (180) ENSURE THAT NO ONE WILL EVER BE HUNGRY AGAIN VATICAN CITY, NOV 22, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope received participants in the 34th general conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which has its headquarters in Rome. In his English-language talk to the delegates, the Pope indicated that "all forms of discrimination, and particularly those that thwart agricultural development, must be rejected since they constitute a violation of the basic right of every person to be 'free from hunger.' These convictions are in fact demanded by the very nature of your work on behalf of the common good of humanity." Benedict XVI highlighted the paradox of "the relentless spread of poverty in a world that is also experiencing unprecedented prosperity, not only in the economic sphere but also in the rapidly developing fields of science and technology." Such obstacles as "armed conflicts, outbreaks of disease, adverse atmospheric and environmental conditions and the massive forced displacement of peoples," said the Pope, "should serve as a motivation to redouble our efforts to provide each person with his or her daily bread. "For her part, the Church is convinced that the quest for more effective technical solutions in an ever-changing and expanding world calls for far-sighted programs embodying enduring values grounded in the inalienable dignity and rights of the human person," he added. "The united effort of the international community to eliminate malnutrition and promote genuine development necessarily calls for clear structures of management and supervision, and a realistic assessment of the resources needed to address a wide range of different situations. It requires the contribution of every member of society - individuals, volunteer organizations, businesses, and local and national governments - always with due regard for those ethical and moral principles which are the common patrimony of all people and the foundation of all social life." Benedict XVI continued his talk by saying that "today more than ever, the human family needs to find the tools and strategies capable of overcoming the conflicts caused by social differences, ethnic rivalries, and the gross disparity in levels of economic development." "Religion, as a potent spiritual force for healing the wounds of conflict and division, has its own distinctive contribution to make in this regard, especially through the work of forming minds and hearts in accordance with a vision of the human person." "Technical progress, important as it is, is not everything," the Pope told the FAO delegates. "Progress must be placed within the wider context of the integral good of the human person. It must constantly draw nourishment from the common patrimony of values which can inspire concrete initiatives aimed at a more equitable distribution of spiritual and material goods." "This principle," he explained, "has a special application to the world of agriculture, in which the work of those who are often considered the 'lowliest' members of society should be duly acknowledged and esteemed." In conclusion the Holy Father recalled how "FAO's outstanding activity on behalf of development and food security clearly points to the correlation between the spread of poverty and the denial of basic human rights, beginning with the fundamental right to adequate nutrition. Peace, prosperity, and respect for human rights are inseparably linked. The time has come to ensure, for the sake of peace, that no man, woman and child will ever be hungry again!" AC/HUNGER/FAO VIS 071122 (570) MEETING OF CARDINALS TO DISCUSS ECUMENISM VATICAN CITY, NOV 22, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy See Press Office released the following communique: "The ordinary Public Consistory for the creation of 23 new cardinals will be preceded - tomorrow, November 23 - by a meeting of prayer and reflection of the College of Cardinals, to take place in the Vatican's New Synod Hall. After praying the Middle Hour (Terce), at 9.30 a.m. the Holy Father will greet the cardinals present. Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity will then deliver a report on the theme: 'Information, reflections and evaluation concerning the current moment in ecumenical dialogue.' This will be followed by contributions from the cardinals, lasting until 12.30 p.m. "The meeting will resume at 5 p.m. with the celebration of Vespers. Then, following an introduction by the Holy Father, a free exchange of ideas will take place between the cardinals on the life of the Church in general. The day of prayer and reflection will conclude at 7 p.m. with an address by the Supreme Pontiff." OP/CARDINAL MEETING:ECUMENISM/... VIS 071122 (190) CONDOLENCES TO VICTIMS OF BANGLADESH CYCLONE VATICAN CITY, NOV 18, 2007 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus today, the Pope reiterated "the expression of my deepest condolences to the families" of Bangladesh, for the cyclone that struck the country a number of days ago "causing numerous victims and grave damage." "I appeal to international solidarity," the Pope continued, "which has already been activated to meet immediate necessities. And I encourage people to make every possible effort to help these our brothers and sisters who have been so sorely tried." Benedict XVI then went on to recall how today in Jordan the eighth assembly will begin of States signatories to the "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Antipersonnel Mines and on their Destruction." After recalling how "the Holy See is one of the principal promoters of this convention, which was adopted ten years ago," the Pope expressed his hope "for the success of the conference so that these devices, which continue to reap victims including many children, may be completely banned." The Holy Father also recalled the fact that today marks the Day dedicated by the World Health Organization (WHO) to victims of road accidents, and he gave assurances of his prayers "for everyone killed in traffic accidents and for their families." He also called for "the redoubling of efforts to ensure people drive carefully and protect their own lives and those of others. This is a duty of charity we owe one another," he said. ANG/BANGLADESH:MINES:ROADS/... VIS 071119 (260) CONTINUING VITALITY OF CHURCH'S MISSIONARY IMPULSE VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2007 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican the Holy Father received around 100 superiors general from missionary societies of apostolic life. The religious are in Rome to participate in a meeting organized by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the president of which is Cardinal Ivan Dias. "Your assembly" the Pope told the group "bears eloquent witness to the continuing vitality of the missionary impulse in the Church and the spirit of communion uniting your members ... to the Successor of Peter and his universal apostolic ministry." "Within the hierarchical unity of the Body of Christ, enriched by the variety of gifts and charisms bestowed by the Spirit, communion with the successors of the Apostles remains the criterion and guarantee of the spiritual fruitfulness of all missionary activity. For the Church's communion in faith, hope and love is itself the sign and foretaste of that unity and peace which is God's plan in Christ for the whole human family. "One of the promising indications of a renewal in the Church's missionary consciousness in recent decades," added the Pope in his English-language address, "has been the growing desire of many lay men and women ... to cooperate generously in the 'missio ad gentes.' As Vatican Council II stressed, the work of evangelization is a fundamental duty incumbent upon the whole People of God." "Given the extent and the importance of the contribution made by [lay people], ... the proper forms of their cooperation should naturally be governed by specific statutes and clear directives respectful of each institute's proper canonical identity." Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude to all the missionaries who, "today as in the past, ... continue to leave their families and homes, often at great sacrifice, for the sole purpose of proclaiming the Good News of Christ and serving Him in their brothers and sisters. Many of them, also in our time, have heroically confirmed their preaching by the shedding of their blood, and contributed to establishing the Church in distant lands." Despite the "decrease in the number of young people who are attracted to missionary societies, and a consequent decline in missionary outreach, ... the mission 'ad gentes' is still only beginning," said the Pope. "While conscious of the challenges you face, I encourage you to follow faithfully in the footsteps of your founders, and to stir into flame the charisms and apostolic zeal which you have inherited from them, confident that Christ will continue to work with you and to confirm your preaching with signs of His presence and power." AC/MISSIONARY SOCIETIES/... VIS 071116 (440) COUNCIL PLENARY, WORLD CONGRESS ON HUMAN DEVELOPMENT VATICAN CITY, NOV 16, 2007 (VIS) - "Problems and prospects of human development today, 40 years after 'Populorum progressio'," is the subject due to be examined at the forthcoming plenary session of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to be held on November 20 and 21, and at the second world congress of ecclesial organizations active in that sector, to be held in Rome from November 22 to 24. According to a communique from the pontifical council, its members and consultors "will reflect on the current validity of the historical papal document, with particular emphasis on the moral aspects of development, on new forms of poverty and globalization, on conflicts and disarmament, and on safeguarding and protecting human rights." Among those due to participate in the plenary assembly alongside Cardinal Renato Martino and Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, are Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga S.D.B., archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of the Congo, president of Pax Christi. More than 300 delegates from more than 80 countries on five continents are expected to participate in the second world congress of ecclesial organizations active in the sector of justice and peace. The specific theme of their meeting will be: "The 40th anniversary of 'Populorum progressio:' the development of all of man, the development of all mankind." Participants, the communique reads, "will study the new situations that have come into being in the world since the publication of the historic document, and the current challenges of development in the light of the Church's social doctrine, in particular the questions of human ecology, pluralism and inter-cultural dialogue, and new forms of government in the context of globalization. Particular attention will also be given to the Church's pastoral commitment to integral and solidary development in the world today." CON-IP/HUMAN DEVELOPMENT/ MARTINO VIS 071116 (320) THE REAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH IS TO SPEAK OF GOD CONFRATERNITIES: POPULAR SCHOOLS OF LIVING FAITH VATICAN CITY, NOV 10, 2007 (VIS) - This morning confraternities from dioceses in Italy gathered in St. Peter's Square for an audience with the Pope. Forty thousand members of various confraternities participated in Mass, at the end of which the Holy Father arrived to extend his greetings to them. In his remarks the Pope recalled "the importance and influence confraternities have had in the Christian communities of Italy since the early centuries of last millennium," and how they soon became "groups of lay faithful dedicated to accentuating certain features of popular religiosity associated with the life of Jesus Christ ... and with devotion to the Virgin Mary and the saints," often combining this with "works of mercy and solidarity." "This spirit of fraternal charity is better understood if we consider how [confraternities] began to be formed in the Middle Ages, when structured forms of public assistance ensuring social and sanitary care for the weakest groups of society still did not exist," he said. However, Benedict XVI went on, confraternities "are not mere mutual-assistance societies or philanthropic associations, but groups of brothers who, wishing to live the Gospel in the awareness of being a living part of the Church, aim to put into practice the commandment of love, which encourages people to open their hearts to others, especially to those in difficulty." "In the period of great change we are currently traversing, the Church ... also needs you, dear friends, to ensure that the announcement of the Gospel of charity reaches everyone, along old paths and new. Rooted in the solid foundation of faith in Christ, may your worthy confraternities, with their unique charisms and the ecclesial vitality that distinguishes them, continue to spread the message of salvation to people, working on the many frontiers of new evangelization. "You will be able to carry out this important mission if you always cultivate profound love for the Lord and meek obedience to your pastors," added the Pope in conclusion. "With these conditions, and firmly maintaining the necessary evangelical and ecclesial requisites, your confraternities will continue to be popular schools of faith lived in the forge of sanctity, ... ferment and leaven in society, contributing to the creation of that spiritual rebirth in which we all hope." AC/CONFRATERNITIES/...VIS 071112 (380) ST. MARTIN OF TOURS: A MODEL OF SOLIDARITY VATICAN CITY, NOV 11, 2007 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated his remarks before today's Angelus to the figure of St. Martin, bishop of Tours and "one of Europe's most famous and venerated saints," whose feast falls today. The Pope reminded the thousands of pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square of some of the main episodes in the life of the saint: his Baptism at the age of 20, his military career, his subsequent entry into the priesthood and monastic life and his famous act of charity when, still a soldier, he came across a beggar trembling with cold and, removing his own cape, he cut it in two giving half to the poor man. "St. Martin's charitable gesture," the Pope explained, "is part of the same logic that brought Jesus to multiply the loaves for the hungry crowds, but above all to leave Himself as food for humanity in the Eucharist. ... This is the logic of sharing through which real love towards others is expressed." "Only through joint commitment to sharing is it possible to respond to the great challenge of our time: that of building a world of peace and justice in which all men and women can live with dignity. This can come about if a model of real solidarity prevails in the world, one capable of ensuring that all the inhabitants of the planet have the necessary food, water, and medical care, but also work and energy resources as well as cultural wealth and scientific and technical knowledge." ANG/ST. MARTIN/... VIS 071112 (270) LEBANON: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS CRUCIAL FOR SURVIVAL VATICAN CITY, NOV 11, 2007ANGELUS: END OF TIME, REMEMBRANCE OF ROAD TRAFFIC VICTIMS
VATICAN CITY, 15 NOV 2009 (VIS) - In his remarks before praying the Angelus today, Benedict XVI spoke of the end of the liturgical year, quoting the passage from the Gospel of St. Mark in which Christ speaks of the end of time in these words: "heaven and earth will pass away but my words will not pass away".
"Jesus declares that everything is destined to 'pass away'", said the Pope. "Not only the earth but heaven too, here to be understood in its cosmic sense and not as a synonym for God. Sacred Scripture knows no ambiguity: all creation is finite, including the elements deified by ancient mythologies. There is no confusion between the creation and the Creator - rather, there is a clear difference - and with this net distinction Jesus affirms that His words 'will not pass away'; that is, they are of God and, hence, eternal".
Those who listen to Christ's words "form part of the Kingdom of God; that is, they live under His lordship. They remain in the world but they are no longer of the world. They carry in themselves the seed of eternity, a principle of transformation which even now reveals itself in living a good life, animated by charity, which in the end will lead to the resurrection of the flesh".
The Holy Father continued: "The Virgin Mary is the living sign of this truth. Her heart was the 'good earth' which accepted the Word of God with complete readiness, so that all her life, transformed in accordance with the image of her Son, was introduced body and soul into eternity, anticipating the eternal vocation of all human beings".
After praying the Angelus Benedict XVI greeted participants in the plenary assembly of the European Episcopal Commission for the Media, which is currently being held in the Vatican. He then recalled the fact that today marks the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims.
In this context he said: "I entrust the deceased to God, and encourage those who travel the roads of the world to be prudent and to show a spirit of responsibility for the gift of health and life, their own and that of others". ANG/ETERNITY TRAFFIC/... VIS 091116 (380)
HOLY FATHER ADDRESSES WORLD SUMMIT ON FOOD SECURITY
VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2009 (VIS) - At midday today Benedict XVI visited the Rome headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for the occasion of the World Summit on Food Security, being held there from 16 to 18 November.
Given below are some excerpts from the Holy Father's address to the gathering:
"The international community is currently facing a grave economic and financial crisis. Statistics bear witness to the dramatic growth in the number of people suffering from hunger, made worse by the rise in price of foodstuffs, the reduction in economic resources available to the poorest peoples, and their limited access to markets and to food - notwithstanding the known fact that the world has enough food for all its inhabitants.
"Indeed, while low levels of agricultural production persist in some regions, partly owing to climate change, sufficient food is produced on a global scale to satisfy both current demands and those in the foreseeable future. From these data we may deduce that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between population growth and hunger, and this is further demonstrated by the lamentable destruction of foodstuffs for economic gain.
"In the Encyclical Letter 'Caritas in veritate' I pointed out that ... 'what is missing is a network of economic institutions capable of guaranteeing regular access to sufficient food and water ... and also capable of addressing the primary needs and necessities ensuing from genuine food crises'".
There is a "need to oppose those forms of aid that do grave damage to the agricultural sector, those approaches to food production that are geared solely towards consumption and lack a wider perspective, and especially greed, which causes speculation to rear its head even in the marketing of cereals, as if food were to be treated just like any other commodity.
"The weakness of current mechanisms for food security and the need to re-examine them are confirmed, one might say, by the mere fact that this summit has been convoked".
"The concept of co-operation, though, must be consistent with the principle of subsidiarity. ... This is because integral human development requires responsible choices on the part of everyone and it demands an attitude of solidarity - meaning that aid or disaster relief should not be seen as opportunities to promote the interests of those who make resources available or of elite groups among the beneficiaries".
"Within this overall context of responsibility, every country has the right to define its own economic model, taking steps to secure its freedom to choose its own objectives. In this way, co-operation must become an effective instrument, unbeholden to interests that can absorb a not insignificant part of the resources destined for development. Moreover, it is important to emphasise that an attitude of solidarity regarding the development of poor countries also has the potential to contribute to a solution of the current global crisis".
"In the current situation there is a continuing disparity in the level of development within and among nations that leads to instability in many parts of the world, accentuating the contrast between poverty and wealth".
A risk exists, "namely the tendency to view hunger as structural, an integral part of the socio-political situation of the weakest countries, a matter of resigned regret, if not downright indifference. It is not so, and it must never be so! To fight and conquer hunger it is essential to start redefining the concepts and principles that have hitherto governed international relations, in such a way as to answer the question: what can direct the attention and the consequent conduct of States towards the needs of the poorest? The response must be sought not in the technical aspects of co-operation, but in the principles that lie behind it: only in the name of common membership of the worldwide human family can every people and therefore every country be asked to practice solidarity, that is, to shoulder the burden of concrete responsibilities in meeting the needs of others, so as to favour the genuine sharing of goods, founded on love".
"If the aim is to eliminate hunger, international action is needed not only to promote balanced and sustainable economic growth and political stability, but also to seek out new parameters - primarily ethical but also juridical and economic ones - capable of inspiring the degree of co-operation required to build a relationship of parity between countries at different stages of development.
"This, as well as closing the existing gap, could favour the capacity of each people to consider itself an active player, thereby confirming that the fundamental equality of all peoples is rooted in the common origin of the human family, the source of those principles of 'natural law' that should inspire political, juridical and economic choices and approaches in international life".
"In order to combat hunger and promote integral human development, ... access to international markets must be favoured for those products coming from the poorest areas, which today are often relegated to the margins. In order to achieve these objectives, it is necessary to separate the rules of international trade from the logic of profit viewed as an end in itself, directing them towards the support of economic initiative in countries with greater need of development; once they have greater income at their disposal, these countries will be able to advance towards the self-sufficiency that leads to food security.
"Nor must the fundamental rights of the individual be forgotten, which include, of course, the right to sufficient, healthy and nutritious food, and likewise water; these rights take on an important role in the realisation of others, beginning with the primary one, the right to life".
"Methods of food production likewise demand attentive analysis of the relationship between development and protection of the environment. ... While the entire human race is called to acknowledge its obligations to future generations, it is also true that States and international organisations have a duty to protect the environment as a shared good".
"Norms, legislation, development plans and investments are not enough, however: what is needed is a change in the lifestyles of individuals and communities, in habits of consumption and in perceptions of what is genuinely needed. Most of all, there is a moral duty to distinguish between good and evil in human action, so as to rediscover the bond of communion that unites the human person and creation. ... 'Our duties towards the environment are linked to our duties towards the human person, considered in himself and in relation to others. It would be wrong to uphold one set of duties while trampling on the other. Herein lies a grave contradiction in our mentality and practice today: one which demeans the person, disrupts the environment and damages society'.
"Hunger is the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty. Opulence and waste are no longer acceptable when the tragedy of hunger is assuming ever greater proportions. ... The Catholic Church will always be concerned for efforts to defeat hunger; the Church is committed to support, by word and deed, the action taken in solidarity - planned, responsible and regulated - to which all members of the international community are called to contribute. The Church does not wish to interfere in political decisions: she respects the knowledge gained through scientific study, and decisions arrived at through reason responsibly enlightened by authentically human values, and she supports the effort to eliminate hunger.
"This is the most immediate and concrete sign of solidarity inspired by charity, and it brooks neither delay nor compromise. Such solidarity relies on technology, laws and institutions to meet the aspirations of individuals, communities and entire peoples, yet it must not exclude the religious dimension, with all the spiritual energy that it brings, and its promotion of the human person".
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CHRISTIAN UNITY WILL FACILITATE EVANGELISATION
VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, for the plenary assembly of that dicastery, currently being held on the theme: "St. Paul and the new areopaghi".
The reference to the Areopagus in Athens where St. Paul announced the Gospel "represents a pressing call to make good use of today's 'areopaghi', where the great challenges of evangelisation are to be found", the Pope writes.
He also highlights how "the missionary activity of the Church must be oriented towards these nerve centres of society in the third millennium. Nor should we undervalue the influence of a widespread relativist culture, usually lacking values, which enters into the sanctuary of the family infiltrating the field of education and other areas of society, contaminating them and manipulating consciences, especially among the young. At the same time however, despite these snares, the Church knows that the Holy Spirit is always at work.
"New doors are being opened to the Gospel and a longing for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal is spreading throughout the world", the Pope adds. "As in other periods of change, the pastoral priority is to show the true face of Christ. ... This requires each Christian community and the Church as a whole to offer witness of faithfulness to Christ, patiently building that unity He wanted and called for from all His disciples. In fact, Christian unity will make it easier to evangelise and to face the cultural, social and religious challenges of our time".
The Pope concludes his Message with a call "to imitate the lifestyle and the apostolic spirit" of the Apostle of the Gentiles, "focusing entirely on Christ. Through such complete adherence to the Lord, Christians will easily be able to transmit the heritage of faith to new generations, a heritage capable of transforming even difficulties into opportunities for evangelisation". MESS/ST. PAUL EVANGELISATION/DIAS VIS 091116 (330)
WORLD MISSION DAY: SOLIDARITY WITH YOUNG CHURCHES
VATICAN CITY, 18 OCT 2009 (VIS) - World Mission Day, which falls on the third Sunday of October, provided the theme for the Pope's remarks before praying the Angelus today.
The Holy Father told the thousands of faithful gathered at noon in St. Peter's Square that today represents, "for all ecclesial communities and for each Christian, a powerful call to commit themselves to announcing and bearing witness to the Gospel to everyone, especially to people who do not yet know it".
"It is the light of the Gospel that guides peoples on their journey and leads them towards the realisation of the one great family, in justice and peace, under the paternity of the one good and merciful God", he said. "The Church exists to announce this message of hope to all humankind which in our time 'has experienced marvellous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself'".
On this Sunday "the Universal Church places the spotlight on her own missionary vocation. Guided by the Holy Spirit she knows she is called to continue the work of Jesus Himself, announcing the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, which is 'righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit'. This Kingdom is already present in the world as a force for love, freedom, solidarity, and respect for the dignity of all mankind; and the ecclesial community feels in its heart the urgent need to work so the sovereignty of Christ may be fully achieved".
Benedict XVI then went on to mention "the missionaries - priests, religious and lay volunteers - who consecrate their lives to taking the Gospel into the world, facing discomforts and difficulties, sometimes even full-on persecutions. My thoughts go out to, among others, Fr. Ruggero Ruvoletto, a 'fidei donum' priest killed recently in Brazil, and to Fr. Michael Sinnot, a religious kidnapped a few days ago in the Philippines. And how can we not think of what is emerging from the Synod of Bishops for Africa in terms of extreme sacrifice and love for Christ and for His Church?"
The Pope then thanked the Pontifical Missionary Works for their service "in encouraging and educating missionaries". And he concluded: "I invite all Christians to make a gesture of material and spiritual support to help the young Churches in the poorest countries".
ANG/WORLD MISSION DAY/... VIS 091019 (400)
CHRISTIAN VALUES CONTINUE TO MOULD EUROPEAN CIVILISATION
VATICAN CITY, 19 OCT 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Holy Father received the Letters of Credence of Yves Gazzo, head of the delegation to the Holy See of the Commission of the European Communities.
In his address, the Pope referred to the values of the European Union which, he said, "are the fruit of a long and complex history in which, it cannot be denied, Christianity has played a primordial role. The equal dignity of all human beings, the freedom of expression of faith as the basis of all other civil liberties, peace as a decisive element of the common good, human development (intellectual, social and economic) as a divine vocation and the sense of history deriving therefrom, are all central elements of the Christian revelation that continues to mould European civilisation".
"When the Church mentions the Christian roots of Europe", the Holy Father went on, "she does not seek a privileged status for herself. She wishes to enact historical memory, first and foremost by recalling a truth which is suffering ever greater neglect: the decisively Christian inspiration of the founding fathers of the European Union". Furthermore, "she wishes to make it clear that the legacy of values comes chiefly from Christian heritage, which continues to nourish Europe today".
"These values are not some anarchic or random assembly, rather they form a coherent whole which is historically ordered and regimented on the basis of a precise view of mankind".
The Holy Father then went on to highlight the risk of such values being "manipulated by individuals and pressure groups who seek to make their particular interests prevail to the detriment of an ambitious collective project, which is what Europeans hope to see and which aims at the common good of all inhabitants of the continent, and of the whole world".
"It is important", he went on, "that Europe does not allow her model of civilisation to fray, thread by thread. Her generosity must not be stifled by individualism or utilitarianism. The immense intellectual, cultural, economic riches of the continent will continue to bear fruit so long as they are nourished by a transcendental view of human beings, which is the greatest treasure of European heritage".
"This mainly involves the search for a just and delicate balance between economic efficiency and social needs, the protection of the environment and, above all, the indispensable and necessary support for human life from conception to natural death, and for the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman".
Europe will not truly be itself, said the Holy Father, "if she does not conserve the originality which constitutes her greatness and which tomorrow may make her one of the main players in promoting the integral development of peoples, something the Catholic Church considers as being the only possible way to remedy the imbalances of our world".
Benedict XVI assured the new head of delegation that the Holy See "follows the activities of European institutions with great respect and attention, and hopes that, with their work and creativity, they may honour Europe which, more than a continent, is a 'spiritual home'".
"The Church", he concluded, "wishes to 'accompany' the construction of European unity. For this reason she takes the liberty of recalling the fundamental and constituent values of European society, that they may be promoted for the good of everyone".
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CHRISTIANS MUST SHARE TREASURY OF TRUTH WITH THE WORLD
VATICAN CITY, 27 SEP 2009 (VIS) - This afternoon at the archbishop's palace in Prague the Holy Father met with members of the Ecumenical Council of Churches of the Czech Republic. The Holy Father arrived at 5.15 p.m. to be greeted by Cardinal Miloslav Vlk, archbishop of Prague. Having then been welcomed by the president of the ecumenical council, Benedict XVI pronounced his address.
"It is hard to believe that only two decades have passed since the collapse of former regimes gave way to a difficult but productive transition towards more participatory political structures", said the Pope. "During this period, Christians joined together with others of good will in helping to rebuild a just political order, and they continue to engage in dialogue today in order to pave new ways towards mutual understanding, co-operation for peace and the advancement of the common good.
"Nevertheless", he added, "attempts to marginalize the influence of Christianity upon public life - sometimes under the pretext that its teachings are detrimental to the wellbeing of society - are emerging in new forms. ... The artificial separation of the Gospel from intellectual and public life should prompt us to engage in a mutual 'self-critique of modernity' and 'self-critique of modern Christianity', specifically with regard to the hope each of them can offer mankind ... in a period marked by proliferating world views".
He went on: "Christianity has much to offer on the practical and ethical level". Yet "God offers a deeper reality which is nonetheless inseparable from the 'economy' of charity at work in this world: He offers salvation".
The term salvation "is replete with connotations", the Pope explained, "yet it expresses something fundamental and universal about the human yearning for wellbeing and wholeness. ... It is the central truth of the Gospel and the goal to which every effort of evangelisation and pastoral care is directed. And it is the criterion to which Christians constantly redirect their focus as they endeavour to heal the wounds of past divisions".
"The Church's proclamation of salvation in Christ Jesus is ever ancient and ever new. ... As Europe listens to the story of Christianity, she hears her own. Her notions of justice, freedom and social responsibility, together with the cultural and legal institutions established to preserve these ideas and hand them on to future generations, are shaped by her Christian inheritance. Indeed, her memory of the past animates her aspirations for the future".
Pope Benedict went on to mention Sts. Adalbert and Agnes who spread the Gospel in "the conviction that Christians should not cower in fear of the world but rather confidently share the treasury of truths entrusted to them. Likewise Christians today, opening themselves to present realities and affirming all that is good in society, must have the courage to invite men and women to the radical conversion that ensues upon an encounter with Christ and ushers in a new life of grace.
"From this perspective", he added, "we understand more clearly why Christians are obliged to join others in reminding Europe of her roots. It is not because these roots have long since withered. On the contrary! It is because they continue - in subtle but nonetheless fruitful ways - to supply the continent with the spiritual and moral sustenance that allows her to enter into meaningful dialogue with people from other cultures and religions. Precisely because the Gospel is not an ideology, it does not presume to lock evolving socio-political realities into rigid schemas. Rather, it transcends the vicissitudes of this world and casts new light on the dignity of the human person in every age".
"Let us ask the Lord", the Pope concluded, "to implant within us a spirit of courage to share the timeless saving truths which have shaped, and will continue to shape, the social and cultural progress of this continent".
At the end of the meeting, the Holy Father travelled to Prague Castle to meet with members of the academic community.
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YEARNING FOR FREEDOM AND TRUTH CAN NEVER BE ELIMINATED
VATICAN CITY, 27 SEP 2009 (VIS) - In Prague Castle at 6 p.m. today, the Pope met with rectors of Czech universities, staff and student representatives, and members of State and Church cultural institutions.
"While some argue that the questions raised by religion, faith and ethics have no place within the purview of collective reason", said the Pope in his address, "that view is by no means axiomatic. The freedom that underlies the exercise of reason - be it in a university or in the Church - has a purpose: it is directed to the pursuit of truth, and as such gives expression to a tenet of Christianity which in fact gave rise to the university".
"The great formative tradition, open to the transcendent, which stands at the base of universities across Europe, was in this land, and others, systematically subverted by the reductive ideology of materialism, the repression of religion and the suppression of the human spirit. In 1989, however, the world witnessed in dramatic ways the overthrow of a failed totalitarian ideology and the triumph of the human spirit", said Benedict XVI.
He highlighted how "the yearning for freedom and truth is inalienably part of our common humanity. It can never be eliminated; and, as history has shown, it is denied at humanity's own peril. It is to this yearning that religious faith, the various arts, philosophy, theology and other scientific disciplines, each with its own method, seek to respond, both on the level of disciplined reflection and on the level of a sound praxis".
Universities are responsible "for enlightening the minds and hearts of the young men and women of today" said the Pope, indicating that this task is "not merely the accumulation of knowledge or skills, but 'paideia', human formation in the treasures of an intellectual tradition directed to a virtuous life".
"The idea of an integrated education, based on the unity of knowledge grounded in truth, must be regained", he insisted. "With the massive growth in information and technology there comes the temptation to detach reason from the pursuit of truth. ... The relativism that ensues provides a dense camouflage behind which new threats to the autonomy of academic institutions can lurk.
"While the period of interference from political totalitarianism has passed", he added, "is it not the case that frequently, across the globe, the exercise of reason and academic research are - subtly and not so subtly - constrained to bow to the pressures of ideological interest groups and the lure of short-term utilitarian or pragmatic goals?"
"The skills of analysis and those required to generate a hypothesis, combined with the prudent art of discernment, offer an effective antidote to the attitudes of self-absorption, disengagement and even alienation which are sometimes found in our prosperous societies, and which can particularly affect the young".
"Not only do the proponents of this positivistic exclusion of the divine from the universality of reason negate what is one of the most profound convictions of religious believers, they also thwart the very dialogue of cultures which they themselves propose. An understanding of reason that is deaf to the divine and which relegates religions into the realm of subcultures, is incapable of entering into the dialogue of cultures that our world so urgently needs".
"This confidence in the human ability to seek truth, to find truth and to live by the truth led to the foundation of the great European universities. Surely we must reaffirm this today in order to bring courage to the intellectual forces necessary for the development of a future of authentic human flourishing, a future truly worthy of man", the Holy Father concluded.
At the end of his meeting with scholars, the Pope travelled to the apostolic nunciature where he spent the night.
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ST. WENCESLAS PREFERRED SANCTITY TO WORLDLY POWER
VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2009 (VIS) - At 8.15 a.m. today the Pope left the apostolic nunciature in Prague and travelled 35 kilometres by car to the church of St. Wenceslas at Stara Boleslav. The church, which stands on the site of the saint's martyrdom, is considered to be the symbolic site of the birth of the Czech nation and is the focus of a national pilgrimage which takes place every year on 28 September.
Wenceslas was born around the year 907 and ascended the throne in 925. According to tradition he was a highly cultured and religious king, a man of justice and a benefactor to the poor. He was killed for political reasons by his brother Boleslav in 935 and in 938 his remains were translated to Prague cathedral. Ever since the tenth century he has been venerated as a saint.
Arriving at the church the Holy Father was greeted by the religious and civil authorities. Having paused in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, he descended to the crypt of the Mausoleum of the Czech Nation where the relics of the saint are exposed. Before leaving the building the Pope greeted a group of twenty elderly priests who reside in a house belonging to the episcopal conference. He then travelled by popemobile to the nearby esplanade of Melnik where he celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of St. Wenceslas, feast day of the Czech Republic.
In his homily Benedict XVI pointed out that St. Wenceslas "is a model of holiness for all people, especially the leaders of communities and peoples. Yet we ask ourselves: in our day, is holiness still relevant? ... Do we not place more value today on worldly success and glory? Yet how long does earthly success last, and what value does it have?
"The last century - as this land of yours can bear witness - saw the fall of a number of powerful figures who had apparently risen to almost unattainable heights", he added. "Suddenly they found themselves stripped of their power. Those who denied and continue to deny God, and in consequence have no respect for man, appear to have a comfortable life and to be materially successful. Yet one need only scratch the surface to realize how sad and unfulfilled these people are.
"Only those who maintain in their hearts a holy 'fear of God' can also put their trust in man and spend their lives building a more just and fraternal world. Today there is a need for believers with credibility, who are ready to spread in every area of society the Christian principles and ideals by which their action is inspired. This is holiness, the universal vocation of all the baptised, which motivates people to carry out their duty with fidelity and courage, looking not to their own selfish interests but to the common good, seeking God's will at every moment".
Quoting then from today's Gospel in which Christ pronounces the words: "What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" the Pope reiterated the fact that "the true value of human life is measured not merely in terms of material goods and transient interests, because it is not material goods that quench the profound thirst for meaning and happiness in the heart of every person. This is why Jesus does not hesitate to propose to His disciples the 'narrow' path of holiness".
"The testimony of the saints assures us that it is possible" to follow this path, the Holy Father went on. "Their example encourages those who call themselves Christian to be credible, that is, consistent with the principles and the faith that they profess. It is not enough to appear good and honest: one must truly be so".
"This is the lesson we can learn from St. Wenceslas, who had the courage to prefer the kingdom of heaven to the enticement of worldly power", the Holy Father concluded.
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POPE TELLS YOUNG PEOPLE: YOU ARE THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 28 SEP 2009 (VIS) - At the end of today's Eucharistic celebration the Holy Father addressed a Message to the 10,000 young pilgrims gathered on the esplanade of Melnik near the site of St. Wenceslas' martyrdom. Many of them had spent the night in tents to attend the Mass presided by Benedict XVI.
"Being with you makes the Pope feel young!" the Holy Father told the pilgrims, thanking them for their "enthusiasm" and "generosity". He went on: "In every young person there is an aspiration towards happiness, sometimes tinged with anxiety: an aspiration that is often exploited, however, by present-day consumerist society in false and alienating ways. Instead, that longing for happiness must be taken seriously, it demands a true and comprehensive response. At your age, the first major choices are made, choices that can set your lives on a particular course, for better or worse".
Benedict XVI reminded his audience of "the experience of St. Augustine, who said that the heart of every person is restless until it finds what it truly seeks. He discovered that Jesus Christ alone is the answer that can satisfy his and every person's desire for a life of happiness, filled with meaning and value.
"As he did with Augustine", the Pope added, "so the Lord comes to meet each one of you. He knocks at the door of your freedom and asks to be welcomed as a friend. He wants to make you happy, to fill you with humanity and dignity. The Christian faith is this: encounter with Christ, the living Person Who gives life a new horizon and thereby a definitive direction".
"The Lord calls each of us by name, and entrusts to us a specific mission in the Church and in society". He "constantly renews His invitation to you to be His disciples and His witnesses. Many of you He calls to marriage, and the preparation for this Sacrament constitutes a real vocational journey. Consider seriously the divine call to raise a Christian family, and let your youth be the time in which to build your future with a sense of responsibility. Society needs Christian families, saintly families!"
Pope Benedict continued his Message: "And if the Lord is calling you to follow Him in the ministerial priesthood or in the consecrated life, do not hesitate to respond to His invitation. In particular, in this Year for Priests, I appeal to you, young men. ... The Church in every country, including this one, needs many holy priests and also persons fully consecrated to the service of Christ, Hope of the world.
"Hope! This word, to which I often return, sits well with youth. You, my dear young people, are the hope of the Church! She expects you to become messengers of hope".
The Holy Father then called on his youthful listeners to participate in the next World Youth Day, due to take place in the Spanish capital city of Madrid in August 2011, and he asked them "to live your faith with joy and enthusiasm; to grow in unity among yourselves and with Christ; to pray and to be diligent in frequenting the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession".
Having then greeted the young people in various languages, Benedict XVI returned to Prague by car, where he dined at the archbishop's palace with bishops of the Czech Republic. PV-REP./MESSAGE YOUTH/MELNIK VIS 090928 (570)
CARDINAL BERTONE DELIVERS A TALK ON "CARITAS IN VERITATE"
VATICAN CITY, 28 JUL 2009 (VIS) - At midday today Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. pronounced an address on Benedict XVI's recent Encyclical "Caritas in veritate" before the Italian Senate, at the invitation of Renato Schifani, president of that institution.
Cardinal Bertone highlighted certain anthropological and theological aspects of the text, recalling how in 2004 the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had given a "lectio magistralis" in the Senate library on the theme: "Europe. Its spiritual roots, yesterday, today and tomorrow". On that occasion, he recalled, the future Pontiff had focused on certain themes that are now contained in his third Encyclical, such as "the affirmation of the profound reasons behind the dignity of individuals and their rights", and marriage and the family as elements that have forged European identity.
The Secretary of State expressed the view that "over and above differences in formation and in personal convictions", the representatives of the Italian people will "find in the Pope's words an exalted and profound source of inspiration when carrying out their mission, and so be able to respond adequately to the ethical, cultural and social challenges of today". SS/CARITAS IN VERITATE/BERTONE VIS 090728 (200)
ENCYCLICAL "CARITAS IN VERITATE" TO BE PRESENTED ON 7 JULY
VATICAN CITY, 1 JUL 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Tuesday 7 July a press conference will be held to present Benedict XVI's new Encyclical "Caritas in veritate".
Participating in the conference will be: Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino and Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, respectively president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum", and Stefano Zamagni, professor of political economy at the University of Bologna, Italy and consultor of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
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FIND CONVINCING SOLUTIONS TO THE EMPLOYMENT CRISIS
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 10.15 a.m. today, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in Piazza Miranda in the Italian town of Cassino, where he arrived by helicopter from the Vatican.
Focusing his homily on the Ascension of the Lord, which in Italy and many other countries of the world is celebrated today, the Pope told the 20,000 people present that "heaven does not mean a place above the stars, but something much more daring and sublime. It means Christ Himself, the divine Person Who fully and forever welcomes humankind, the One in whom God and man are always inseparably united. And we approach heaven, or rather we enter heaven, in the extent to which we approach Jesus and enter into communion with Him. Hence, today's Solemnity of the Ascension invites us to profound communion with Christ, Who died and rose again, and is invisibly present in the lives of each one of us".
The Holy Father also mentioned the Rule of St. Benedict which indicates that nothing should be placed before Christ. "This", he said, "does not distract us, on the contrary it encourages us to commit ourselves to building a society in which solidarity is expressed through tangible signs". In this context he recalled how Benedictine spirituality "suggests an evangelical programme summarised in the motto: 'ora et labora et lege' (prayer, work and culture)".
He explained: "In the first place, prayer, which is the greatest heritage St. Benedict left to his monks, ... is the silent path that leads directly to Gods' heart; it is the breath of the soul that restores peace to us amid the storms of life". The Pope likewise expressed to his listeners the hope that "attentive listening to the divine Word may nourish your prayers and make you prophets of truth and love in a shared commitment to evangelisation and human promotion".
On the subject of work, Benedict XVI indicated that "humanising the world of work is typical of the soul of monasticism". In this context he spoke of his solidarity "with people living in situations of worrying insecurity, workers made redundant or who have even lost their jobs. May the blight of unemployment which affects this land induce leaders of public life, employers and others in a position to do so, to seek, with everyone's help, convincing solutions to the employment crisis, creating new jobs and safeguarding families".
"How can we fail to recall that the family today has an urgent need for better protection, because it is threatened at its very roots?" the Pope asked. "I am thinking too of young people who struggle to find dignified employment that enables them to build a family of their own. I would like to say to them today: do not lose heart, dear friends, the Church will not abandon you!"
The Holy Father also mentioned the care Benedictines dedicate to culture and education. "I know", he said, "that in preparation for my visit you recently held a conference on the theme of education so as to arouse in everyone a strong determination to transmit to young people the irreplaceable values of our human and Christian heritage. In the cultural efforts being made today with the aim of creating a new humanism you, faithful to the Benedictine tradition, rightly intend to emphasise attention to weak and fragile man, to the disabled and to immigrants".
The Pope concluded: "It is not difficult to see that your community, this portion of the Church that lives around Montecassino, is heir to and repository of the mission - impregnated with the spirit of St. Benedict - to proclaim that no-one and nothing in our lives must dislodge Jesus from first place; the mission to build, in Christ's name, a new humanity that welcomes and helps the weakest".
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PEACE IS CONSTRUCTED BY OVERCOMING INNER EVIL
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - Following this morning's Mass and before praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope pronounced some remarks to the thousands of people gathered in Cassino's Piazza Miranda, which from today will be known as Piazza Benedetto XVI.
Referring to what he described as "the need of all humankind fully to savour the richness and power of Christ's peace", the Holy Father recalled how the word "Pax" is written over the entrance to the abbey of Montecassino and to all Benedictine abbeys.
"As you know", he continued, "on my recent visit to the Holy Land I myself became a pilgrim of peace, and today - in this land marked by the Benedictine charism - I have the opportunity to emphasise once again that peace is primarily a gift of God, and therefore its power lies in prayer".
The gift of peace however, Benedict XVI explained, "is entrusted to human endeavour. ... It is therefore vital to cultivate an authentic life of prayer in order to ensure that social progress comes about peacefully. ... Only by learning, with the grace of Christ, to struggle against and defeat the evil in ourselves and in our relations with others can we become authentic builders of peace and of civil progress.
"May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace", he added, "help all Christians, in their various vocations and life situations, to be witnesses to the peace that Christ gave us", the peace He "left us as a mission to be carried out always and everywhere".
The Pope then recalled how today, 24 May, "liturgical memory of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians - who is venerated with great devotion in the Shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai, China - marks the Day of Prayer for the Church in China. My thoughts go to all the Chinese people", he said. "In particular, I send a most affectionate greeting to Catholics in China and I exhort them, on this day, to renew their communion of faith in Christ and of faithfulness to Peter's Successor. May our joint prayer obtain an effusion of gifts from the Holy Spirit so that unity among Christians, and the catholicity and universality of the Church, may always become more profound and visible".
Benedict XVI then greeted those present in various languages, expressing the hope that the spiritual witness of St. Benedict "may help the people who live on the European continent to be faithful to their Christian roots and to build a united and cohesive Europe, founded on the search for justice and peace".
Having completed the Marian prayer, the Holy Father travelled by car to the abbey of Montecassino where he had lunch with the Benedictine monks. On his way there he made a brief stop at the "Casa della Carita" (House of Charity), a structure that helps people in need such as the poor and immigrants. There he unveiled a plaque in honour of his visit and blessed and inaugurated the building.
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CHRISTIAN HERITAGE: EUROPE'S CULTURAL, SPIRITUAL RESOURCE
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 4.30 p.m. today, having had lunch at the Italian abbey of Montecassino, the Holy Father met with the monastic community there and greeted those responsible for organising his visit. He and the monks then walked in procession singing the "Laudes regiae" to the basilica of the abbey for the celebration of Vespers.
The ceremony began at 5 p.m. and was attended by Benedictine abbots, monks and nuns from various communities. Having been greeted by Dom Pietro Vittorelli, ordinary abbot of Montecassino, the Holy Father pronounced his homily.
He began by recalling how over its history the abbey has been "destroyed and rebuilt four times, the last following the bombardments of World War II sixty-five years ago. ... Montecassino, like the ancient oak planted by St. Benedict, has been 'pruned' by the violence of war, but has grown back stronger than before".
St. Benedict abandoned everything to follow Jesus and, "incarnating the Gospel in his own life, became the initiator of a vast movement of spiritual and cultural renewal in the West", said the Pope. Referring then to the account of St. Gregory the Great, who explains how St. Benedict "was 'raised aloft' by an indescribable mystical experience", the Holy Father highlighted the fact that the saint "received this divine gift not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity but so that the charism God had granted him could reproduce in the monastery the life of heaven itself, recreating the harmony of the creation through contemplation and work.
"Rightly so, then", the Pope added, "the Church venerates him as an 'eminent master of monastic life and as a 'doctor of spiritual wisdom in his love for prayer and work'. ... St. Benedict was a shining example of sanctity and indicated Christ to his monks as the one great ideal to follow. He was a master of civilisation who, while presenting a harmonious and balanced view of divine needs and of man's ultimate goal, remained well aware of the requirements and reasons of the heart, teaching and fomenting true and constant fraternity so that, in the interplay of social relationships, a unity of spirit capable of building and nourishing peace should not be lost".
The Holy Father went on: "It is no coincidence that the word 'Pax' welcomes and visitors at the door of this abbey", which "stands as a silent admonition to reject all forms of violence and build peace: in families, in communities, among peoples and in all humankind".
Following St. Benedict's example, "monasteries have, over the course of the centuries, become lively centres of dialogue, of meeting and of beneficial fusion among different peoples, brought together by the evangelical culture of peace. Through work and example, the monks were able to teach the art of peace, giving tangible form to the three elements identified by Benedict as being necessary to conserve the unity of the Spirit among mankind: the cross, which is the very law of Christ; the book, in other words culture; and the plough, which stands for work, mastery over matter and time".
He continued: "Thanks to the work of monasteries, divided into the threefold daily commitment to prayer, study and work, entire peoples on the European continent have known real liberation and beneficial moral, spiritual and cultural development, being educated in a sense of continuity with the past, real activity for the common good, and openness to God and the transcendental. Let us pray that Europe may always appreciate this heritage of Christian principles and ideals which represent such an immense cultural and spiritual resource.
"This is possible", the Pope added in conclusion, "but only if we accept the constant teaching of St. Benedict: ... that seeking God is man's fundamental task. Human beings do not realise themselves fully, they cannot be truly happy, without God. ... From this place where his mortal remains lie, the patron saint of Europe still invites everyone to continue his work of evangelisation and human promotion".
Following Vespers the Holy Father venerated the relics of St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, buried behind the major altar of the basilica.
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POPE PRAYS FOR THE FALLEN OF ALL WARS AND ALL NATIONS
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2009 (VIS) - At 6 p.m. today, after celebrating Vespers, the Pope travelled by car to the Polish military cemetery at Montecassino which contains the bodies of 1,052 soldiers who died in the battle of May 1944 against German forces occupying the hill on which the abbey stands.
The Holy Father lit a votive candle and recited the following prayer for the fallen of all countries in all wars:
"O God, our Father,
endless source of life and peace,
welcome into Your merciful embrace
the fallen of the war that raged here,
the fallen on all wars that have bloodied the earth.
Grant that they may enjoy the light that does not fail,
which in the reflection of Your splendour
illumines the consciences of all men and women of good will.
You, Who in Your Son Jesus Christ gave suffering humanity
a glorious witness of Your love for us,
You, Who in our Lord Christ
gave us the sign of a suffering that is never in vain,
but fruitful in Your redeeming power,
grant those who yet suffer
for the blind violence of fratricidal wars
the strength of the hope that does not fade,
the dream of a definitive civilisation of live,
the courage of a real and daily activity of peace.
Give us your Paraclete Spirit
so that the men of our time
may understand that the gift of peace
is much more precious than any corruptible treasure,
and that while awaiting the day that does not end
we are all called to be builders of peace for the future of Your children.
Make all Christians more convinced witnesses of life,
the inestimable gift of Your love,
You Who live and reign for ever and ever
Amen".
Having completed his visit to the cemetery, the Holy Father travelled back to the abbey. There he greeted the civic authorities who had welcomed him on his arrival in the morning, then boarded his helicopter, arriving back in the Vatican at 7.30 p.m.
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PRIESTS: INNER STRENGTH, DEDICATION TO SOULS
VATICAN CITY, 23 MAY 2009 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received students of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, led by Archbishop Beniamino Stella, president of that institution.
The Pope told the priests that service in apostolic nunciatures, for which they are training, "may to some extent be considered as a specific priestly vocation, a pastoral ministry that involves a particular approach to the world and to its often highly complex social and political problems".
"The dialogue with the modern world that is asked of you, as well as your contact with people and the institutions they represent, require an inner strength and a spiritual firmness capable of safeguarding - indeed of giving ever more prominence to - your Christian and priestly identity". This, he explained, is necessary in order to avoid "the negative effects of the worldly mentality and not allow yourselves to be attracted or contaminated by an overly earthly logic".
"In moments of darkness and inner difficulty", Benedict XVI told the priests, "turn your gaze to Christ. ... Always remember that it is vital and fundamental for the priestly ministry, however practised, to maintain a personal bond with Christ, He wants us as His 'friends', friends who seek intimacy with Him, who follow His teaching and who undertake to make Him known and loved by everyone.
"The Lord", the Pope added, "wants us to be saints, in other words entirely 'His', not concerned with building a career that is interesting and comfortable in human terms, not seeking success and the praise of others, but entirely dedicated to the good of souls, ready to do our duty unto the end, aware of being 'useful servants' and happy to offer our poor contribution to the spreading of the Gospel".
The Holy Father called upon his audience to be "men of intense prayer who cultivate a communion of love and life with the Lord. Without this solid spiritual base, how would it be possible to continue our ministry? Those who work in the Lord's vineyard in this way know that what is achieved with dedication, with sacrifice and for love, is never lost".
The Year of Priests, which is due to begin on 19 June, "represents a valuable occasion to renew and strengthen your generous response to the Lord's call, in order to intensify your relationship with Him", the Pope concluded. "Use this opportunity to the utmost so as to be priests in accordance with the dictates of Christ's heart, like St. Jean Marie Vianney, 'Cure of Ars', the 150th anniversary of whose death we are preparing to celebrate".
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CHRISTIAN FAMILIES: SCHOOLS OF OBEDIENCE AND FREEDOM
VATICAN CITY, 23 APR 2009 (VIS) - At 7.30 a.m. today, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in the Vatican's "Redemptoris Mater" Chapel with members of the organising committee of the Sixth World Meeting of Families, which was held in Mexico City, Mexico, last January. Among those present at the Eucharistic celebration were Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, archbishop primate of Mexico.
Commenting on the reading from the Acts of the Apostles in which St. Peter affirms that "we must obey God rather than any human authority", the Pope noted in his homily: "The Word of God speaks to us of an obedience that is not mere subjection, nor simply an obeying of orders, rather it arises from an intimate communion with God and consists in an interior vision capable of discerning that which 'comes from on high' and 'is above everything'. It is the fruit of the Holy Spirit which God grants without measure".
"Our contemporaries", he went on, "need to discover this obedience, which is not theoretical but essential. It means opting for specific forms of behaviour which are based on obedience to God's will and which make us fully free. Christian families, with their domestic, simple and joyful lives, in which day by day they share their joys, hopes and concerns, and live in the light of faith, are schools of obedience and environments of true freedom. They know this well who over many years have enjoyed marriage in accordance with God's plan, ... experiencing the goodness of the Lord Who helps and encourages us".
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BIBLE: DIVINE INSPIRATION AND CHURCH TRADITION
VATICAN CITY, 23 APR 2009 (VIS) - This morning the Pope received thirty representatives of the Pontifical Biblical Commission who have just held their plenary assembly, dedicated to the theme: "Inspiration and truth in the Bible". The president of the commission is Cardinal William Joseph Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Benedict XVI began by underlining the importance of the chosen theme, which "concerns not only believers, but the Church herself, because the Church's life and mission necessarily rest upon the Word of God, which is the soul of theology and, at the same time, the inspiration of all of Christian life". Moreover, "the interpretation of Sacred Scripture is of vital importance for Christian faith and for the life of the Church".
"From a correct approach to the concept of divine inspiration and truth in Sacred Scripture derive certain norms that directly concern its interpretation", said the Pope. "The Constitution 'Dei Verbum', having affirmed that God is the author of the Bible, reminds us that in Sacred Scripture God speaks to mankind in a human manner. For a correct interpretation of Scripture we must, then, carefully examine what the hagiographers really sought to say and what God was pleased to reveal with their words".
The Pope then recalled how Vatican Council II had identified "three perennially-valid criteria for interpreting Sacred Scripture in accordance with the Spirit that inspired it. In the first place, great attention must be given to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture. Indeed, however different the books it contains may be, Sacred Scripture is one by virtue of the unity of God's plan, of which Jesus Christ is the centre and the heart.
"In the second place", he added, "Scripture must be read in the context of the living Tradition of the entire Church. ... In her Tradition the Church carries the living memory of the Word of God, and it is the Holy Spirit Who provides her with the interpretation thereof in accordance with its spiritual meaning. The third criterion concerns the need to pay attention to the analogy of the faith; that is, to the cohesion of the individual truths of faith, both with one another and with the overall plan of Revelation and the fullness of the divine economy enclosed in that plan".
The task of scholars, the Holy Father went on, "is to contribute, following the above-mentioned principles, to a more profound interpretation and exposition of the meaning of Sacred Scripture. The academic study of the sacred texts is not by itself sufficient. In order to respect the coherence of the Church's faith, Catholic exegetes must be careful to perceive the Word of God in these texts, within the faith of the Church".
"The interpretation of Sacred Scriptures cannot be a merely an individual academic undertaking, but must always be compared with, inserted into, and authenticated by the living Tradition of the Church. This norm is essential in order to ensure a correct and reciprocal exchange between exegesis and Church Magisterium. Catholic exegetes do not nourish the individualistic illusion that biblical texts can be better understood outside the community of believers. The opposite is true, because these texts were not given to individual scholars 'to satisfy their curiosity or to provide them with material for study and research'. The texts inspired by God were entrusted to the community of believers, to the Church of Christ, to nourish the faith and to guide the life of charity".
"Sacred Scripture is the Word of God in that its is written down under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Tradition, on the other hand, integrally transmits the Word of God as entrusted by Christ the Lord and by the Holy Spirit to the Apostles and their successors so that they, illuminated by the Spirit of truth, could faithfully conserve, explain and spread it through their preaching".
"Only within the ecclesial context can Sacred Scripture be understood as the authentic Word of God which is guide, norm and rule for the life of the Church and the spiritual development of believers. This means rejecting all interpretations that are subjective or limited to mere analysis [and hence] incapable of accepting the global meaning which, over the course of the centuries, has guided the Tradition of the entire people of God".
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FRANCISCANS: CONTINUE TO BEAUTIFY THE FACE OF THE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 18 APR 2009 (VIS) - Today in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castelgandolfo, Benedict XVI received 3,000 members of the Franciscan Family who recently participated in the "Chapter of the Mats" in Assisi, Italy, commemorating the birth of the Franciscan order on the eighth centenary of the approval of St. Francis' "Protoregula" by Pope Innocent III.
The dozen friars who first followed St. Francis of Assisi, said the Pope, have over the centuries become "a multitude scattered throughout the world. ... And I, as Pastor of the universal Church, wish to thank [God] for the precious gift you yourselves represent for all Christian people. From the brook that sprang up at the base of Monte Subasio, a great river was born which has made a notable contribution to the universal spread of the Gospel".
Francis, the Holy Father continued, "experienced the power of divine grace, as if he had died and been raised again. All his earlier wealth, all his reasons for feeling proud and secure, everything became a 'loss' from the moment he encountered the crucified and risen Christ. At that point abandoning everything became almost a necessity, in order to express the superabundance of the gift he had received".
Pope Benedict then went on to describe the focus of his meeting with the Franciscans as "the Gospel as a rule for life", and he highlighted how St. Francis "viewed himself entirely in the light of the Gospel. This is his appeal. This is his perennial relevance", he said. "Thus the 'Poverello' became a living Gospel, capable of attracting men and women of all times to Christ, especially the young who prefer radical commitment to half measures. Bishop Guido of Assisi, and later Pope Innocent III, recognised evangelical authenticity in the projects of Francis and his companions, and encouraged their efforts, also with a view to the good of the Church".
However, the Pope noted, "Francis could also simply not have come to the Pope. Many religious groups and movements were formed in that period and some of them stood against the Church as an institution, or at least they did not seek her approbation. A polemical attitude towards the hierarchy would certainly have brought Francis many followers. Yet his first thought was to place his own and his companions' development in the hands of the Bishop of Rome, Peter's Successor. This fact demonstrates his true ecclesial spirit. From the beginning he saw the little 'us' he had begun with his first friars as being part of the great 'us' of the one universal Church.
"The Pope recognised and appreciated this", added Benedict XVI. "In fact, he too could have failed to approve Francis' plans. And indeed, we may well imagine that among Innocent III's collaborators some advised him to do just that, perhaps fearing that the little group of friars resembled other heretical and pauperist groups of the period. However, the Roman Pontiff, well-informed by the bishop of Assisi and by Cardinal Giovanni di San Paolo, was able to discern the initiative of the Holy Spirit and welcomed, blessed and encouraged the nascent community of 'Friars Minor'".
"Eight centuries have passed and today you wish to renew your Founder's gesture", the Pope told his audience. "You are all children and heirs of those origins. ... Like Francis and Clare of Assisi, ... always begin again from Christ ... in order to see His face in our brothers and sisters who suffer, and to bring everyone His peace. Be witnesses of the beauty of God, whose praises Francis sang while contemplating the wonders of creation".
"Go forth and continue 'to repair the house' of the Lord Jesus Christ: His Church", cried the Holy Father. "Yet there is another ruin, an even more serious ruin: that of people and of communities", he said.
"Like St. Francis, always begin with yourselves", he concluded. "If you prove capable of renewing yourselves in the spirit of the Gospel, you will continue to help the pastors of the Church to make her face, as the bride of Christ, ever more beautiful. Now as at your beginnings, this is what the Pope expects from you".
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PAPAL VISIT TO EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS IN ABRUZZO
VATICAN CITY, 18 APR 2009 (VIS) - On 28 April the Holy Father will travel to the Italian region of Abruzzo to meet people affected by the recent earthquake there.
In a communique made public today, Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. announces that the Pope will arrive at the camp set up near the village of Onna at 9.30 a.m. before going on to the city of L'Aquila where he will visit the student hall of residence and the basilica of Collemaggio. He will then move on to the barracks of the "Guardia di Finanza" where he will meet with representatives of the local people and of the rescue services. His return to the Vatican is scheduled for 12.30 p.m.
During his journey by helicopter, the Pope will fly over some of the areas struck by the earthquake.
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POPE GIVES THANKS FOR SPIRITUAL SOLIDARITY SURROUNDING HIM
VATICAN CITY, 19 APR 2009 (VIS) - At midday today, the second Sunday of Easter and Divine Mercy Sunday, Benedict XVI prayed the Regina Coeli with faithful gathered in the courtyard of the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo.
The Pope expressed his thanks for greetings he had received over the last few days, both for his birthday, 16 April, and for the fourth anniversary of his election as Pontiff, which falls today 19 April.
"As I had the opportunity to reiterate recently", he remarked, "I never feel alone. And in this special week, which for the liturgy constitutes a single day, I have enjoyed an even greater experience of the communion that surrounds and supports me: a spiritual solidarity, nourished primarily by prayer, that express itself in a thousand different ways. From my collaborators in the Roman Curia to the most far-flung parishes, we Catholics form a family and must feel ourselves to be such, animated by the same sentiments as the first Christian community".
The Holy Father went on to recall how the communion of early Christians "had the risen Christ as its centre and foundation. In fact, the Gospel recounts how at the monument of the Passion, when the divine Master was arrested and condemned to death, the disciples scattered. ... Having risen, Jesus gave His followers a new unity, stronger than before, invincible, because founded not upon human resources but upon divine mercy which made them all feel loved and forgiven by Him. It is, then, the merciful love of God that unites the Church, yesterday as today, and makes humankind a single family".
"Animated by this profound conviction, my beloved predecessor John Paul II wished to dedicate this Sunday, the second of Easter, to Divine Mercy, and to show everyone the risen Christ as their source of faith and hope, accepting the spiritual message transmitted by the Lord to St. Faustina Kowalska, a message encapsulated in the invocation: 'Jesus, in You I trust'".
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PUTTING AN END TO RACISM, DISCRIMINATION AND INTOLERANCE
VATICAN CITY, 19 APR 2009 (VIS) - Today at Castelgandolfo, after praying the Regina Coeli, the Pope expressed his best wishes to "our brothers and sisters of the Eastern Churches who, following the Julian Calendar, celebrate Easter today. For all of them, may the risen Lord renew the light of faith and bring abundance of joy and peace", he said.
The Holy Father then went on to mention the forthcoming review of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa, in 2001. The review conference is due to begin tomorrow in Geneva, Switzerland.
"It is an important initiative", he said, "because even today, despite the lessons of history, such deplorable phenomena still exist. The Durban Declaration recognises that 'all peoples and individuals form a human family rich in its diversity. They have contributed to the progress of civilisation and of the cultures which constitute the shared heritage of humankind. ... The promotion of tolerance, of pluralism and of respect can lead to a more inclusive society'. On the basis of these affirmations, what is required is firm and substantial action, at both the national and international level, to prevent and eliminate all forms of discrimination and intolerance. What is needed above all is a vast programme of education to exalt the dignity of individuals and protect their fundamental rights. For her part, the Church reiterates that only recognition for the dignity of man, created in the image and likeness of God, can constitute a sure foundation for such an undertaking. Indeed, it is this shared origin that gives humankind its shared destiny, which should arouse in everyone a strong sense of solidarity and responsibility. I express my sincere hopes that the delegates present at the Geneva conference may work together in a spirit of dialogue and acceptance to put an end to all forms of racism, discrimination and intolerance, thus taking a fundamental step towards affirming the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights, in a context of respect and justice for all individuals and peoples".
This evening Benedict XVI returned to the Vatican at the end of his post-Easter rest period at Castelgandolfo.
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REMISSION OF EXCOMMUNICATION AGAINST LEFEBVRE BISHOPS
VATICAN CITY, 24 JAN 2009 (VIS) - The Congregation for Bishops has published a decree signed by its prefect, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, and dated 21 January, concerning the Pope's remission of the excommunication pronounced on four bishops consecrated by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1988.
The complete text of the decree is given below:
"In a letter of 15 December 2008 addressed to Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission 'Ecclesia Dei', Bishop Bernard Fellay once again requested - also in the name of the other three bishops consecrated on 30 June 1988 - the removal of the excommunication 'latae sententiae' formally pronounced by a decree of the prefect of this Congregation for Bishops on 1 July 1988. In that letter Bishop Fellay affirmed, among other things, that 'we continue firmly resolute in our desire to remain Catholics and to put all our strength at the service of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the Roman Catholic Church. We accept her teachings in a filial spirit. We firmly believe in the Primacy of Peter and in its prerogatives, and for this reason the current situation causes us much suffering'.
"His Holiness Benedict XVI - in his paternal compassion for the spiritual discomfort expressed by the parties concerned, because of the excommunication, and trusting in the commitment they expressed in the aforesaid letter to spare no efforts in examining outstanding questions through the requisite discussions with the authorities of the Holy See in order to reach a prompt, full and satisfactory solution to the original problem - has decided to reconsider the canonical position of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta, which arose following their episcopal consecration.
"With this act it is hoped to consolidate reciprocal relations of trust, and to intensify and stabilise the relations of the Fraternity of St. Pius X with this Holy See. This gift of peace, coming at the end of the Christmas celebrations, also wishes to be a sign to promote the Universal Church's unity in charity, and to remove the scandal of division.
"It is hoped that this step will be followed by the prompt attainment of full communion with the Church by the entire Fraternity of St. Pius X, thus demonstrating true faithfulness and true recognition of the Magisterium and authority of Pope with the sign of visible unity.
"On the basis of the powers expressly granted to me by the Holy Father Benedict XVI, and by virtue of this decree, I remit the sentence of excommunication 'latae sententiae' declared by this congregation on 1 July 1988 against Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson and Alfonso de Galarreta. At the same time I declare that, as of today's date, the decree then issued is devoid of juridical effect".
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS
VATICAN CITY, 24 JAN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father:
- Appointed Cardinal Paul Poupard, president emeritus of the Pontifical Council for Culture, as his special envoy to celebrations marking seven hundred years since the beginning of the Roman Pontiffs' exile in the French city of Avignon (1309-1377). The event will be held in Avignon on 9 and 10 March.
- Appointed Msgr. Robert E. Guglielmone of the clergy of the diocese of Rockville Centre, U.S.A., rector of Saint Agnes Cathedral, as bishop of Charleston (area 80,401, population 4,254,000, Catholics 176,372, priests 141, permanent deacons 91, religious 192), U.S.A. The bishop-elect was born in New York in 1945 and ordained a priest in 1978.
- Erected the new diocese of Hpa-an (area 30,164, population 1,164,000, Catholics 10,781, priests 18, religious 31) Myanmar, with territory taken from the archdiocese of Yangon, making it a suffragan of the same metropolitan church. He appointed Bishop Justin Saw Min Thide, auxiliary of Yangon, as first bishop of the new diocese.
- Appointed Msgr. Luis Alberto Fernandez, vicar general of Lomas de Zamora, Argentina, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Buenos Aires (area 203, population 2,815,000, Catholics 2,578,000, priests 878, permanent deacons 6, religious 2,352), Argentina. The bishop-elect was born in Lomas de Zamora in 1946 and ordained a priest in 1975.
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CONVERSION: OPENNESS TO THE ILLUMINATION OF DIVINE GRACE
VATICAN CITY, 25 JAN 2009 (VIS) - The Holy Father dedicated his remarks before praying the Angelus to today's Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, and to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which also comes to a close today.
Commenting on the reading from St. Mark in which Christ invites people to convert and believe in the Gospel, the Pope explained to the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square that in the case of St. Paul "some people prefer not to use the term conversion because, they say, he was already a believer, indeed a zealous Jew, and hence he did not move from non-faith to faith, from idols to God; nor did he have to abandon the Jewish faith in order to adhere to Christ. In fact, the experience of the Apostle can be a model for all true Christian conversion".
"Saul converted because, thanks to the divine light, 'he believed in the Gospel'. His conversion, and ours, consists in this: in believing in Jesus, dead and risen, and in opening oneself to the illumination of His divine grace. At that moment, Saul understood that his salvation depended not upon good works undertaken in accordance with the Law, but on the fact that Jesus died also for him - the persecutor - and was, and is, risen. This truth which, thanks to Baptism, illuminates the life of each Christian, completely changes the way we live". Trusting in Christ's power of forgiveness means "escaping from the quicksand of pride and sin, of lies and sadness, of selfishness and false security, to know and experience the richness of His love".
"The call to conversion - strengthened by St. Paul's own witness - rings out today at the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which is particularly important in the field of ecumenism. The Apostle shows us the right spiritual attitude in order to progress along the path of communion. 'Not that I have obtained this or have already reached the goal, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me His own'. Of course, we Christians have not yet attained the goal of full unity, but if we allow ourselves to be continually converted by the Lord Jesus we will surely reach it".
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POPE RECALLS LEPROSY SUFFERERS AND LUNAR NEW YEAR
VATICAN CITY, 25 JAN 2009 (VIS) - In remarks following the Angelus, Benedict XVI turned his attention to three subjects: the World Day of Leprosy which falls today, the beginning of the new lunar year celebrated in this period in many Asian countries, and his own recent Message for the World Day of Social Communications.
"The Church", he said, "following Jesus' example, has always shown particular concern for" leprosy sufferers. "I am pleased that the United Nations, in a recent declaration from the High Commission for Human Rights, has encouraged States to help leprosy sufferers and their families. For my own part, I assure them of my prayers and give renewed encouragement to those working for their cure and social rehabilitation".
He then expressed the hope that people of various East Asian nations may experience a joyful beginning to the new lunar year. "Joy is an expression of being in harmony with ourselves", he said, "and this can come only from being in harmony with God and with His creation. May joy always abide in the hearts of the citizens of those countries, which are so dear to me, and irradiate to the whole world".
Finally, Pope Benedict mentioned the recent publication of his Message for the World Day of Social Communications, released on the eve of the Feast of St Francis de Sales, patron of journalists, and dedicated this year to "the new technologies which have made the internet a resource of utmost importance. ... Undoubtedly, wise use of communications technology enables communities to be formed in ways that promote the search for the true, the good and the beautiful, transcending geographical boundaries and ethnic divisions, To this end, the Vatican has already launched a new initiative which will make information and news from the Holy See more readily accessible on the world wide web".
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A MESSAGE OF HOPE RESOUNDS IN THE LITURGY OF ADVENT
VATICAN CITY, 7 DEC 2008 (VIS) - At midday today the Pope appeared at the window of his private study to pray the Angelus with the thousands of people crowding St. Peter's Square below.
"A message full of hope resounds in the liturgy of Advent, which invites us to raise our eyes to the furthest horizon yet at the same time to recognise the signs of God-with-us here in the present", said the Holy Father.
In Advent the Lord wishes "to speak to the heart of His people and, through them, to all humanity, in order to announce salvation. Today too the Church raises her voice: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord'. For people exhausted by poverty and hunger, for the streams of refugees, for those who suffer serious and systematic violations of their rights, the Church is as a sentinel on the high mountain of faith, and announces: 'See, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him'.
"This prophetic announcement was realised in Jesus Christ", he added. "With His preaching, and subsequently with His death and resurrection, He fulfilled the ancient promises, showing us a more profound and universal perspective. He inaugurated an exodus, not just an earthly exodus, historical and hence provisional, but radical and definitive: the passage from the kingdom of evil to the Kingdom of God, from the domination of sin and death to that of love and life. Thus Christian hope goes beyond the legitimate expectation of social and political freedom, because what Jesus inaugurated was a new humanity, that comes 'from God' but at the same time grows in our own land in the degree to which it allows itself to be imbued by the Spirit of the Lord".
Benedict XVI highlighted the importance of "entering fully into the logic of faith by believing in God and His plan of salvation, at the same time committing ourselves to building His Kingdom. Justice and peace are indeed a gift of God, but they require men and women who are 'good earth', ready to accept the good seed of His Word".
After the Angelus prayer, the Pope recalled the death on Friday of His Holiness Alexis II, patriarch of Moscow and All the Russias. "We join our Orthodox brethren in prayer", he said, "to commend his soul to the goodness of the Lord, that He may welcome him in His Kingdom of light and peace".
The Holy See delegation due to participate in the patriarch's funeral on 9 December will be made up of Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity; Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, president emeritus of the Pontifical Councils for Justice and Peace and "Cor Unum; Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Holy See representative to the Russian Federation; Fr. Milan Zust S.J., official of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and Msgr. Ante Jozic, secretary of the nunciature in Moscow.
The Holy Father concluded by recalling that on the afternoon of Thursday 11 December, he is due to meet students of Roman universities at the end of a Mass celebrated in the Vatican Basilica by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome. "For the occasion of the Pauline Year", said the Pope, "I will give the students the Apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans". ANG/ADVENT/... VIS 081209 (570)
MARY HELPS CHRISTIANS BECOME THE SOUL OF THE WORLD
VATICAN CITY, 8 DEC 2008 (VIS) - Early this afternoon, the Holy Father travelled to Rome's Piazza di Spagna to pay his traditional homage at the statue of Mary Immaculate.
Before arriving in the square, the Holy Father stopped briefly at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity to greet the Dominican Friars and the members of the Via Condotti Storeowners Association. Once in the square, in the presence of thousands of faithful, he blessed a basket of roses which was placed at the foot of the column bearing Mary's statue.
Benedict XVI spoke of his visit three months ago to the French shrine of Lourdes for the 150th anniversary of the apparition of the Virgin to Bernadette Soubirous, the celebrations of which have lasted throughout 2008 and come to an end today. "Belief in Mary's Immaculate Conception existed many centuries before the Lourdes apparitions", he said, "but those apparitions came by way of a divine seal after my venerated predecessor Blessed Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception on 8 December 1854".
In Mary, he went on, we recognise "the 'smile of God', the immaculate reflection of the divine light, in her we find new hope amidst the problems and dramas of the world". Commenting then on the offer of roses to the Virgin, he said "all roses have their thorns ... which for us represent the difficulties, sufferings and evils that have marked and continue to mark the lives of individuals and of our communities. To a mother we present our joys but we also entrust our concerns, certain of finding in her the comfort not to lose heart and the support to continue our journey".
The Pope then entrusted to Mary "the 'smallest' of our city: first and foremost children, especially those who are seriously ill, the disadvantaged and those suffering the consequences of difficult family situations", also "the elderly who are alone, ... immigrants struggling to adjust, families striving to make ends meet, and those who cannot find or have lost employment".
He continued: "Mary, teach us to show solidarity towards those in difficulty, to bridge the ever-increasing social disparities; help us to cultivate a more lively sense of the common good, of respect for the common weal, ... and to make our contribution for a more just and united society".
"Your beauty", Pope Benedict went on, "ensures us that the victory of love is possible, indeed that it is certain. It assures us that grace is stronger than sin and that hence redemption from any form of slavery is possible. Mary, you help us to believe in goodness more trustingly; you encourage us to remain vigilant and not to give in to the temptation of facile forms of evasion, to face reality ... with courage and responsibility".
"Be a loving mother to our young people, that they may have the courage to be 'sentinels of the morrow'", the Pope concluded, "and give this virtue to all Christians that they may become the soul of the world at this difficult moment of history".
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PROTECTING EUROPE'S CULTURAL AND SPIRITUAL HERITAGE
VATICAN CITY, 9 DEC 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Pope to Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran and Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi, presidents respectively of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, and the Pontifical Council for Culture, for the occasion of a day of study promoted by their two dicasteries on the theme: "Dialogue between Cultures and Religions".
"Modern Europe as it enters the third millennium is the fruit of two millennia of civilisation", the Pope writes. "Its roots lie both in the vast and ancient heritage of Athens and Rome and, above all, in the fruitful soil of Christianity, which has proved capable of creating new cultural heritages while absorbing the original contributions of each civilisation".
After highlighting the importance of "reflecting upon the ancient roots in which abundant lymph has flowed over the course of the centuries", Benedict XVI indicates that although "many Europeans seem to ignore Europe's Christian roots, these roots remain alive and should show the way and nourish the hope of millions of citizens who share the same values".
The Holy Father invites believers "to promote initiatives of inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, in order to stimulate collaboration on subjects of mutual interest, such as the dignity of human beings, the search for the common good, the creation of peace, and development". In this context he emphasises how "such dialogue, in order to be authentic, must avoid giving in to relativism and to syncretism and be animated by sincere respect for others and by a generous spirit of reconciliation and fraternity.
"I encourage", he adds in conclusion, "all those who dedicate their efforts to building a welcoming, united Europe, one ever more faithful to its roots. In particular I exhort believers to contribute not only to safeguarding the cultural and spiritual heritage that distinguishes them and that is an integral part of their history, but to show increasing commitment to seeking new ways to face the great challenges of the post-modern age. Among these I limit myself to mentioning the defence of human life at every stage, the protection of the rights of the individual and the family, the creating of a more just and united word, respect for creation, and inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue".
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CHILE: ILLUMINATE ALL AREAS OF LIFE WITH THE LIGHT OF FAITH
VATICAN CITY, 4 DEC 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received prelates from the Episcopal Conference of Chile, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.
The Pope spoke of his happiness at the meeting which, he said, "gives me the chance to share the apostolic labours in the beloved land of Chile". He invited the bishops "to cultivate intense interior life and profound faith so that, through the intimate relationship with the Master in prayer, may arise the pastoral initiatives that best respond to the spiritual needs of the faithful".
Referring then to the pastoral guidelines developed by Chilean bishops since the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, the Holy Father pointed out that "this great evangelising mission ... requires particular efforts of purification and charity from everyone. You are well aware that mankind today feels the urgent need for examples of truly evangelical and coherent life. For this reason the saintliness of all members of the Church, and especially of her pastors, is one of the most precious gifts you can offer your brothers and sisters".
On the subject of priests and seminarians, the Holy Father told the bishops "to remain close to them in their difficulties and help them so that, among the many activities that fill their day, they can give primacy to prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist, which conforms them to Christ the Supreme and Eternal Priest".
"I am also aware", he went on, "of the great efforts you have made to ensure that lay people shoulder the requirements of their Baptism with responsibility and maturity, participating, in keeping with their lay vocation, in the mission of the whole Church. ... They have received the specific vocation of sanctifying the world, transforming it from within in accordance with God's plan".
"All sectors of life can be illuminated with the light of the faith. I am thinking, among other areas, of the world of culture, science and politics; of the promotion of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman; of the creation of more just working conditions and the assistance of the disadvantaged; of concern for the environment; of defence of human life at every stage of existence, and of the right and obligation of parents to the spiritual and moral education of their children".
Benedict XVI encouraged the prelates to undertake "charitable activity in favour of the poor", and he highlighted how, "following the example of the first community of disciples, we must attempt to make the Church, like the family of God, a place of mutual assistance".
Finally the Pope told them "to continue to cultivate the spirit of communion with the Roman Pontiff and with brother bishops, especially with the episcopal conference and ecclesiastical provinces. ... For everyone, be true models and instruments of communion".
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HOLY SEE SIGNS CONVENTION CONCERNING CLUSTER MUNITIONS
VATICAN CITY, 4 DEC 2008 (VIS) - Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States yesterday participated in a ceremony, held in Oslo, Norway, to sign a Convention prohibiting the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions, the text of which was approved on 30 May in Dublin, Ireland.
In his address, Archbishop Mamberti stated that "in order to send out a powerful political signal, the Holy See is ratifying this Convention on the same day as the signing. In the first place we wish to express to victims the human proximity of the Holy See and its institutions. We also wish to launch an appeal to States - especially to the producers, exporters and potential consumers of cluster munitions - to join the current signatories, so as to assure victims, and all countries gravely affected by these arms, that their message has been understood.
"Credible security is not only possible, but actually more effective, when it is based on co-operation, on trust and on a just international order", while "order founded on the balance of power is fragile, unstable and a source of conflict", the archbishop added.
The head of the Holy See delegation to the Oslo ceremony then indicated that "through contributions on everyone's part, the house of peace is now stronger, yet perseverance and patience are indispensable for its consolidation".
An English-language declaration accompanying Archbishop Mamberti's speech states that "in ratifying the Convention ... the Holy See desires to encourage the entire international community to be resolute in promoting effective disarmament and arms control negotiations and in strengthening international humanitarian law by reaffirming the pre-eminent and inherent value of human dignity, the centrality of the human person, and the 'elementary considerations of humanity', all of which are elements that constitute the basis of international humanitarian law.
"The Holy See considers the Convention on cluster munitions an important step in the protection of civilians during and after conflicts, from the indiscriminate effects of this inhumane type of weapon", the text adds.
"The Holy See", the document concludes, "considers the implementation of the Convention as a legal and humanitarian challenge for the near future. An effective implementation should be based on constructive co-operation of all governmental and non governmental actors and should reinforce the link between disarmament and development. This can be done by directing human and material resources towards development, justice and peace, which are the most effective means to promote international security and a peaceful international order".
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SCHOOLS, PLACES OF INTEGRAL FORMATION OF THE PERSON
VATICAN CITY, 3 DEC 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was a speech by Archbishop Silvano Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the United Nations Offices and Specialised Institutions in Geneva, for the 48th international conference on education, organised by UNESCO and held from 25 to 28 November.
Speaking English, Archbishop Tomasi indicated that the goal of "education for all" must take into account "the needs of every person and in particular the needs of the poor and most vulnerable, of people with disabilities, of rural and of city slums youth, of young people and adults without any discrimination".
"Educators should remain aware that they carry out their service in co-operation with parents, who are the first 'educational agency' and have the priority right and duty to educate their children. This convergence of efforts is an evident application of the basic principle of subsidiarity", he said.
The Holy See permanent observer then went on to point out that "this educational community is called to promote a school that is a place of integral formation through interpersonal relations based on mutual respect and acceptance. In this perspective, inclusion is not an ideology that wears down all differences and loses sight of the situation of the concrete person, of her history and experiences, and that should remain at the centre of every educational programme".
"An inclusive education embraces all children and youth in their existential context and all persons dedicated to their formation, a comprehensive process that combines transmission of knowledge and development of personality. In fact", he concluded, "the fundamental questions any person asks deal with the search for meaning, of life and history, of change and dissolution, of love and transcendence".
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VISIT OF CATHOLICOS ARAM I, A FURTHER STEP TOWARDS UNITY
VATICAN CITY, 26 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Before delivering the catechesis at his general audience this morning, Benedict XVI addressed some words to His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, who was attending the audience at the head of a delegation of Armenian bishops and lay faithful.
"This fraternal visit", said the Pope speaking English, "is a significant occasion for strengthening the bonds of unity already existing between us, as we journey towards that full communion which is both the goal set before all Christ's followers and a gift to be implored daily from the Lord.
"For this reason", he added, "I invoke the grace of the Holy Spirit on your pilgrimage to the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and I invite all present to pray fervently to the Lord that your visit, and our meetings, will mark a further step along the path towards full unity".
The Holy Father told the patriarch of his "particular gratitude for your constant personal involvement in the field of ecumenism, especially in the International Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches, and in the World Council of Churches".
The Pope continued: "On the exterior facade of the Vatican Basilica is a statue of St. Gregory the Illuminator, founder of the Armenian Church, whom one of your historians has called 'our progenitor and father in the Gospel'. The presence of this statue evokes the sufferings he endured in bringing the Armenian people to Christianity, but it also recalls the many martyrs and confessors of the faith whose witness bore rich fruit in the history of your people. Armenian culture and spirituality are pervaded by pride in this witness of their forefathers, who suffered with fidelity and courage in communion with the Lamb slain for the salvation of the world"
"Together let us invoke the intercession of St. Gregory the Illuminator and above all of the Virgin Mother of God, so that they will enlighten our way and guide it towards the fullness of that unity which we all desire", he concluded.
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CELEBRATIONS TO BE PRESIDED BY THE POPE NOVEMBER - JANUARY
VATICAN CITY, 21 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today published the calendar of celebrations to be presided over by the Holy Father between the end of November 2008 and January 2009:
NOVEMBER
- Saturday 29: At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers for the first Sunday of Advent.
- Sunday 30: First Sunday of Advent. Pastoral visit to the Roman basilica of San Lorenzo for the 1,750th anniversary of the martyrdom of the deacon saint. Mass at 9.45 a.m.
DECEMBER
- Monday 8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. At 4 p.m. in Rome's Piazza di Spagna, homage to Mary Immaculate.
- Wednesday 24: Vigil of the Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. Midnight Mass in the Vatican Basilica.
- Thursday 25: Solemnity of the Birth of Our Lord. At midday from the central loggia of the Vatican Basilica, "Urbi et Orbi" blessing.
- Wednesday 31: At 6 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, First Vespers of thanksgiving for the past year.
JANUARY 2009
- Thursday 1: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God and 42nd World Day of Peace. Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m.
- Tuesday 6: Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Mass in the Vatican Basilica at 10 a.m.
- Sunday, 11: Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord. Mass in the Sistine Chapel at 10 a.m., conferment of the Sacrament of Baptism upon a number of children.
- Sunday 25: Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. At 5.30 p.m. in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, celebration of Vespers.
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VISIT TO ROME OF CATHOLICOS OF CILICIA OF THE ARMENIANS
VATICAN CITY, 21 NOV 2008 (VIS) - His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians, whose See is located in the Lebanese town of Antelias, is scheduled to make an official visit to the Pope and the Church of Rome from 23 to 27 November.
The Catholicosate was founded in Sis, capital of Cilicia, in the year 1441 following the move of the Catholicosate of All Armenians back to its original See of Etchmiadzin in Armenia. The Catholicosate of Cilicia enjoyed local jurisdiction, though spiritually subject to the authority of Etchmiadzin. In 1921 the See was transferred to Aleppo in Syria, and in 1930 to Antelias. Its jurisdiction currently extends to Syria, Cyprus, Iran and Greece.
A communique made public yesterday afternoon announces that the Catholicos will visit St. Peter's Basilica on the morning of Monday 24 November. There he will pray at the tomb of John Paul II before moving on to the Patio of St. Gregory the Illuminator to pay homage to the saint considered to be the apostle of the Armenian Apostolic Church. He will subsequently be received in audience by Benedict XVI.
On Wednesday 26 November, the Catholicos, his entourage, and a group of around 50 Armenian lay people who have come to Rome for the visit will attend the weekly general audience.
The programme of the Catholicos' visit includes two other celebrations. On 24 November, in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, he will attend a liturgy with Cardinal Andrea Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the basilica, and some members of the cathedral chapter.
On Tuesday 25 November, he will attend Vespers in the basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Isola Tiberina in Rome, where he will offer a relic of Armenian martyrs. Later the same day he will participate in a prayer meeting at the basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere.
The Catholicos of Cilicia of the Armenians will also participate in an academic ceremony to be held in his honour at the Pontifical Urban University, and meet with Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, and other officials of that dicastery.
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PHOTOELECTRIC PANELS FOR THE PAUL VI HALL
VATICAN CITY, 21 NOV 2008 (VIS) - At 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday 26 November, in the Casina Pio IV, which is located in the Vatican Gardens and is the headquarters of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, an inauguration ceremony will be held for the new installation of photoelectric panels on the roof of the Paul VI Hall.
Participating in the event will be Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Pier Carlo Cuscianna, director of technical services of the Governorate of Vatican City State; Livio De Santoli of Rome's "La Sapienza" University; Frank Asbeck, president of Solar World AG, and Carlo Rubbia, winner of the Nobel Prize for Physics.
The photovoltaic array on the Paul VI Hall is one of the "concrete and tangible initiatives" with which Vatican City State is promoting the protection of the environment, reads a communique released by the Holy See Press Office.
The 2,400 modules of the installation replace the concrete roof panels, reproducing the dimensions of the original tiles in the project of the building's architect, Pier Luigi Nervi. They have a dual function: "passively" protecting the building from the elements and "actively" converting solar energy into electricity.
This initiative is part of the "green culture characterised by ethical values", promoted by Benedict XVI.
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SEPARATING PUBLIC LIFE FROM TRADITION IS A BLIND ALLEY
VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received the Letters of Credence of Sante Canducci, the new ambassador of the Republic of San Marino to the Holy See.
In his address to the diplomat, the Holy Father pointed out that "the Christian faith has impregnated the life and history of the people and institutions of San Marino", and he expressed the hope that "today's civil and religious community in San Marino proves able to come together to write a chapter of progress and civilisation, recognising the indispensable role each family (as a place of education in peace) is called to play in forming the new generations".
Benedict XVI affirmed that, despite "the changed environmental and social conditions in which we live today, the final aim of all our daily efforts, both as individuals and as a community, remains unaltered: the search for the true wellbeing of the person and the creation of an open and welcoming society attentive to the real needs of everyone.
"The values and laws, the shared spiritual 'alphabet', that has made it possible for our peoples to write noble chapters of civil and religious history over the centuries, is a precious heritage that must not be squandered", the Pope added. "A heritage to be augmented with the contribution of modern discoveries in the fields of science technology and communication, which must be placed at the service of the real good of mankind".
The Holy Father highlighted the fact that "a total separation of public life from any form of value or tradition would, in fact, mean starting down blind alley. This is why it is necessary to redefine the meaning of secularism, a secularism that highlights the real difference and autonomy between the various elements of society but that also protects their specific competencies, in a context of shared responsibility.
"Certainly this 'healthy' secularism of the State means that all temporal situations must be governed by their own norms; these, nonetheless, must never ignore fundamental ethical requirements the basis of which lies in man's very nature and which, precisely for this reason, lead back in the final analysis to the Creator".
The Holy Father concluded by recalling that "when the Church, through her legitimate pastors, appeals to the value that certain ethical principles rooted in the Christian heritage of Europe, have for private life, and even more so for public life, she is moved exclusively by the desire to guarantee and promote the inviolable dignity of the person and the authentic good of society".
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POPE RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF BRAZIL
VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office today released the following declaration:
"This morning Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, president of the Federative Republic of Brazil, was received in audience by His Holiness Benedict XVI. The president subsequently went on the meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., who was accompanied by Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"The cordial meeting provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of opinions on matters concerning the current situation in the region and in the world.
"Attention then turned to certain aspects of the situation in Brazil, and in particular to social policies that seek to improve the living conditions of the many people who live in circumstances of distress and marginalisation, and to favour the fundamental role of the family in the struggle against violence and social decay. The discussions also emphasised collaboration between Church and State with a view to promoting moral values and the common good, not only in the country but particularly in favour of Africa. In this context, having recalled the Holy Father's visit to Brazil in May 2007 for the Fifth General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean in Aparecida, satisfaction was expressed at the conclusion of an agreement between the Holy See and Brazil. The agreement was later signed in the course of same visit".
A second communique explains that the new agreement, "which further consolidates the traditional bonds of friendship and collaboration between the two parties, consists of a preamble followed by 20 articles regulating various areas including the juridical status of the Catholic Church in Brazil, the recognition of qualifications, religious teaching in State schools, canonical marriage and the fiscal system".
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RELIGIONS CARRY A MESSAGE OF PEACE AND RECONCILIATION
VATICAN CITY, 13 NOV 2008 (VIS) - Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue, yesterday participated in the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, with an address dedicated to the theme of the "Culture of Peace".
"By its nature and mission the United Nations should be a school of peace", he began. Here we must "learn to think and act while always bearing in mind the legitimate interests of all sides". Member States, "in striving to overcome the simplistic logic of the power of force and replace it with the power of law and the wisdom of peoples, become 'builders of peace'", he said.
The cardinal highlighted how "in this demanding task, individual believers and communities of believers have their place and their role to play. Religions, despite the weaknesses and contradictions of their members, carry a message of reconciliation and peace".
Cardinal Tauran stressed that believers must be "coherent and credible", pointing out that "they cannot use religion to attack freedom of conscience, justify violence, spread hatred and fanaticism or undermine political and religious authority".
He went on: "Believers, in contributing to public debate and participating in the societies to which they belong, feel themselves called to co-operate in promoting the common good, which rests on a platform of values shared by everyone, believers and non-believers alike: the sacredness of life and the dignity of human beings, respect for liberty of conscience and of religion, practice of responsible freedom, acceptance of different opinions, correct use of reason, appreciation for democratic life and care for natural resources, to mention but a few".
"May all of us together - without renouncing our cultural and religious identity - find the path to a safer and more united world", he concluded. "Let us not rest content with mere tolerance and vague commitments, let us make fraternity more than an ideal, a reality!"
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VATICAN CITY, 12 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 5 p.m. today in the apostolic nunciature in Paris, the Pope received representatives of the French Jewish community to whom he indicated that Christians and Jews "share a relationship that should be strengthened and lived", and that "these fraternal bonds constitute a continual invitation to know and to respect one another better".
"The Catholic Church", he went on, "compellingly repeats, through my voice, the words of the great Pope Pius XI: ... Spiritually, we are Semites. The Church therefore is opposed to every form of anti-Semitism, which can never be theologically justified. The theologian Henri de Lubac - in a 'time of darkness', as Pius XII described it - added that to be anti-Semitic also signifies being anti-Christian. Once again I feel the duty to pay heartfelt recognition to those who have died unjustly and to those that have dedicated themselves to assure that the names of these victims may always be remembered. God does not forget!"
After the meeting, Benedict XVI travelled by car to the College des Bernardins to address a gathering attended by 700 representatives of the French cultural world, UNESCO, the European Union, and various members of the Muslim community of France.
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SEEKING GOD IN THE ROOTS OF EUROPEAN CULTURE
VATICAN CITY, 12 SEP 2008 (VIS) - In the College des Bernardins in Paris at 5.30 p.m. today, Benedict XVI was welcomed by representatives from the world of French culture.
The College des Bernardins was founded in 1247 by Etienne de Lexington, the Cistercian abbot of Claraval, as a centre of theological formation for Cistercian monks. Confiscated during the French Revolution, the building was sold and over the following centuries used for various purposes, until being acquired by the archdiocese of Paris. Following five years of restoration, this fine example of mediaeval architecture opened to the public on 4 September. It is used to host artistic events, conferences and meetings.
The Pope's address focused on the origins of western theology and the roots of European culture. "Amid the great cultural upheaval resulting from migrations of peoples and the emerging new political configurations, the monasteries were the places where the treasures of ancient culture survived, and where at the same time a new culture slowly took shape out of the old", he explained.
Yet the monks' intention was not "to create a culture, or even to preserve a culture from the past. Their motivation was much more basic: ... 'Quaerere Deum' (seeking God). Amid the confusion of the times, in which nothing seemed permanent, they wanted to do the essential, ... they were seeking the definitive behind the provisional".
To this end they followed the "signposts" with which God marked the path. "This path was His word, which had been disclosed to men in the books of the Sacred Scriptures. Thus, by inner necessity, the search for God demands a culture of the word, ... eschatology and grammar are intimately connected with one another in Western monasticism. ... Thus it is through the search for God that the secular sciences take on their importance, sciences which show us the path towards language".
The libraries and schools of the monasteries "pointed out pathways to the word", said the Holy Father, noting how "the word - which opens the path of that search, and is to be identified with this path - is a shared word. ... The word does not lead to a purely individual path of mystical immersion, but to the pilgrim fellowship of faith".
"As in the rabbinic schools, so too with the monks, reading by the individual is at the same time a corporate activity. ... We ourselves are brought into conversation with God by the word of God. ... Particularly in the Book of Psalms, He gives us the words with which we can address Him, with which we can bring our life, with all its highpoints and lowpoints, into conversation with Him, so that life itself thereby becomes a movement towards Him".
Going on to consider the importance of song in monastic life, Benedict XVI noted how St. Bernard of Clairvaux, "describes the confusion resulting from a poorly executed chant as a falling into the 'zone of dissimilarity'". This term was used by St. Augustine "to designate his condition prior to conversion: man, who is created in God's likeness, falls in his godforsakenness into the 'zone of dissimilarity', into a remoteness from God, in which he no longer reflects Him, and so has become dissimilar not only to God, but to himself, to what being human truly is".
For St. Bernard "the culture of singing is also the culture of being, and the monks have to pray and sing in a manner commensurate with the grandeur of the word handed down to them, with its claim on true beauty".
"In order to understand to some degree the culture of the word, which developed deep within Western monasticism from the search for God, we need to touch at least briefly on ... 'the Scriptures', which, when taken together, are naturally regarded as the one word of God to us. But the use of this plural makes it quite clear that God's word only comes to us here through ... human words, that God only speaks to us through the mediation of human agents, their words and their history".
"Scripture", the Pope explained, "requires exegesis, and it requires the context of the community in which it came to birth and in which it is lived. This is where its unity is to be found, and here too its unifying meaning is opened up. ... It perceives in the words the Word, the 'Logos' itself, which spreads its mystery through this multiplicity. This particular structure of the Bible issues a constantly new challenge to every generation. It excludes by its nature everything that today is known as fundamentalism.
"In effect", he added, "the word of God can never simply be equated with the letter of the text. To attain to it involves a transcending and a process of understanding, led by the inner movement of the whole and hence it also has to become a process of living. Only within the dynamic unity of the whole are the many books one book. God's word and action in the world are only revealed in the word and history of human beings".
"The transcending of the letter and understanding it solely from the perspective of the whole" is, said the Pope, forcefully expressed by St. Paul with the phrase: "the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life". But "the liberating Spirit is not simply... the exegete's own vision. The Spirit is Christ ... Who shows us the way. With the word of Spirit and of freedom, a further horizon opens up, but at the same time a clear limit is placed upon arbitrariness and subjectivity, which unequivocally binds both the individual and the community and brings about a new, higher obligation than that of the letter: namely, the obligation of insight and love".
The Holy Father continued: "This tension between obligation and freedom, which extends far beyond the literary problem of scriptural exegesis, has ... deeply marked Western culture. It presents itself anew as a task for our generation too, vis-a-vis the poles of subjective arbitrariness and fundamentalist fanaticism. It would be a disaster if today's European culture could only conceive freedom as absence of obligation, which would inevitably play into the hands of fanaticism and arbitrariness".
Pope Benedict then went on to highlight how the "ora" of monastic life is accompanied by "labora", and how "the Christian God ... is also the Creator. God is working; He continues working in and on human history. In Christ, He enters personally into the laborious work of history. ... God is working" and "man can and may share in God's activity as creator of the world. Monasticism involves not only a culture of the word, but also a culture of work, without which the emergence of Europe, its ethos and its influence on the world would be unthinkable".
Returning to the idea he had expressed at the beginning of his talk, Benedict XVI reiterated that "by becoming a monk, a man set out on a broad and noble path, but he had already found the direction he needed: the word of the Bible, in which he heard God Himself speaking". Yet "if a way is to be opened up into the heart of the biblical word as God's word, this word must first of all be proclaimed outwardly".
"Christians of the nascent Church did not regard their missionary proclamation as propaganda, designed to enlarge their particular group, but as an inner necessity, consequent upon the nature of their faith. ... The universality of God, and of reason open towards Him, is what gave them the motivation - indeed, the obligation - to proclaim the message. They saw their faith as belonging, not to cultural custom that differs from one people to another, but to the domain of truth, which concerns all people equally.
"The fundamental structure of Christian proclamation 'outwards' - towards searching and questioning mankind - is seen in St. Paul's address at the Areopagus" when he proclaims "Him Whom men do not know and yet do know - the unknown-known; the One they are seeking, Whom ultimately they know already, and Who yet remains the unknown and unrecognisable. The deepest layer of human thinking and feeling somehow knows that He must exist, that at the beginning of all things, there must be not irrationality, but creative Reason, not blind chance, but freedom".
The Pope went on: "Yet even though all men somehow know this, ... this knowledge remains unreal: a God Who is merely imagined and invented is not God at all. If He does not reveal himself, we cannot gain access to Him. ... The novelty of Christian proclamation consists in one fact: He has revealed Himself. Yet this is no blind fact, but one that is itself 'Logos' - the presence in our flesh of eternal reason".
Today too "God has truly become for many the great unknown. But just as in the past, when behind the many images of God the question concerning the unknown God was hidden and present, so too the present absence of God is silently besieged by the question concerning Him".
"To seek God and to let oneself be found by Him, that is today no less necessary than in former times. A purely positivistic culture which tried to drive the question concerning God into the subjective realm, as being unscientific, would be the capitulation of reason, the renunciation of its highest possibilities, and hence a disaster for humanity, with very grave consequences. What gave Europe's culture its foundation", the Holy Father concluded, "remains today the basis of any genuine culture".
Following his address, the Pope travelled by car to the cathedral of Notre-Dame where he presided at Vespers with French priests, religious, seminarians and deacons.
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VESPERS WITH PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS, SEMINARIANS AND DEACONS
VATICAN CITY, 12 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 7.15 p.m. today, in the Parisian cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Pope presided at the celebration of Vespers with priests, religious, seminarians and deacons. Also present at the celebration were a number of representatives from other Churches and Christian communities.
Commenting in his homily on Psalm 126, 1 - "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain" - the Pope asked: "Who is this Lord, if not our Lord Jesus Christ? It is He Who founded His Church and built it on rock, on the faith of the Apostle Peter". St. Augustine asks "how we can know who these builders are, and his answer is this: 'All those who preach God's word in the Church, all who are ministers of God's divine Sacraments. All of us run, all of us work, all of us build', yet it is God alone Who, within us, 'builds, exhorts, and inspires awe; Who opens our understanding and guides our minds to faith'".
"What marvels", the Pope added, "surround our work in the service of God's word! We are instruments of the Holy Spirit; God is so humble that He uses us to spread His word. We become His voice, once we have listened carefully to the word coming from His mouth. We place His word on our lips in order to bring it to the world. He accepts the offering of our prayer and through it He communicates Himself to everyone we meet".
Benedict XVI highlighted how "our earthly liturgies, entirely ordered to the celebration of this unique act within history, will never fully express its infinite meaning. Certainly, the beauty of our celebrations can never be sufficiently cultivated, fostered and refined, for nothing can be too beautiful for God, Who is Himself infinite Beauty. Yet our earthly liturgies will never be more than a pale reflection of the liturgy celebrated in the Jerusalem on high, the goal of our pilgrimage on earth. May our own celebrations nonetheless resemble that liturgy as closely as possible and grant us a foretaste of it!
"Even now the word of God is given to us as the soul of our apostolate, the soul of our priestly life. ... Throughout the day, the word of God becomes the substance of the prayer of the whole Church, as she bears witness in this way to her fidelity to Christ".
The Holy Father encouraged the priests not to be afraid "to spend much time reading and meditating on the Scriptures and praying the Divine Office! Almost without your knowing it, God's word, read and pondered in the Church, acts upon you and transforms you".
Turning to address seminarians, he said: "You are called to become stewards of this word which accomplishes what it communicates. Always cultivate a thirst for the word of God! Thus you will learn to love everyone you meet along life's journey. In the Church everyone has a place, everyone! Every person can and must find a place in her".
To deacons he said: "Without seeking to take the place of priests, but assisting them with your friendship and your activity, may you be living witnesses to the infinite power of God's word!"
Benedict XVI reminded men and women religious, and all consecrated people, that their "only treasure - which, to tell the truth, will alone survive the passage of time and the curtain of death - is the word of the Lord. ... Your obedience is, etymologically, a 'hearing', for the word 'obey' comes from the Latin 'obaudire', meaning to turn one's ear to someone or something. In obeying, you turn your soul towards the One Who is the Way, and the Truth and the Life. ... The purity of God's word is the model for your own chastity, ensuring its spiritual fruitfulness".
Finally, Benedict XVI greeted the representatives from other Churches and Christian communities who "have come to pray Vespers together with us in this cathedral".
"I implore the Lord to increase within us the sense of this unity of the word of God, which is the sign, pledge and guarantee of the unity of the Church: there is no love in the Church without love of the word, no Church without unity around Christ the Redeemer, no fruits of redemption without love of God and neighbour, according to the two commandments which sum up all of Sacred Scripture!"
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THE CHURCH HAS CONFIDENCE IN THE YOUNG
VATICAN CITY, 12 SEP 2008 (VIS) - Following the celebration of Vespers this evening in the cathedral of Notre-Dame, the Pope greeted young people participating in a prayer vigil in preparation for tomorrow's Mass, which is due to be celebrated on the esplanade of Les Invalides in Paris.
In his remarks to them Benedict XVI recalled how at the recent 23rd World Youth Day "many young people rediscovered the importance of the Holy Spirit for the life of every Christian. The Spirit gives us a deep relationship with God, Who is the source of all authentic human good.
"All of you desire to love and to be loved! It is to God that you must turn, if you want to learn how to love, and to find the strength to love", he added.
The Pope then went on to invite the young "to meditate on the importance of the Sacrament of Confirmation ... which leads you into a mature faith life. It is vital for you to understand this Sacrament more and more in order to evaluate the quality and depth of your faith and to reinforce it. The Holy Spirit enables you to approach the mystery of God; He makes you understand Who God is. He invites you to see in your neighbours the brothers and sisters whom God has given you, in order to live with them in human and spiritual fellowship - in other words, to live within the Church. By revealing Who the crucified and risen Lord is for us, He impels you to bear witness to Christ".
"You need to speak about Christ to all around you, to your families and friends, wherever you study, work and relax. Do not be afraid! Have 'the courage to live the Gospel and the boldness to proclaim it'. ... Bring the Good News to the young people of your age, and to others as well. They know what it means to experience difficulty in relationships, worry and uncertainty in the face of work and study. They have experienced suffering, but they have also known unique moments of joy. Be witnesses of God, for, as young people, you are fully a part of the Catholic community. ... The Church has confidence in you, and I want to tell you so!"
The Holy Father then drew the young people's attention to another subject: "the mystery of the Cross".
"Many of you", he said, "wear a cross on a chain around your neck. I too wear one. ... It is not a mere decoration or a piece of jewellery. It is the precious symbol of our faith, the visible and material sign that we belong to Christ".
"For Christians, the Cross signifies God's wisdom and His infinite love revealed in the saving gift of Christ, crucified and risen for the life of the world, and in particular for the life of each and every one of you".
The cross "is not only the symbol of your life in God and your salvation, but also ... the silent witness of human suffering and the unique and priceless expression of all our hopes".
"The Cross in some way seems to threaten our human security, yet above all else, it also proclaims God's grace and confirms our salvation. This evening, I entrust you with the Cross of Christ. ... Paul understood the seemingly paradoxical words of Jesus, Who taught that it is only by giving ('losing') one's life that one finds it, and Paul concluded from this that the Cross expresses the fundamental law of love, the perfect formula for real life".
Having concluded his meeting with the young people, the Pope travelled to the apostolic nunciature where, having had dinner, he appeared at the balcony to greet the faithful gathered below.
"Your warm welcome is most moving for the Pope!" he told them. "Thank you for waiting for me here with such enthusiasm, despite the lateness of the hour!"
"I am glad to be joining the great throng of Lourdes pilgrims tomorrow to celebrate the Jubilee of the apparitions of the Virgin. Catholics in France have greater need than ever to renew their trust in Mary, recognising in her the model of their commitment to the service of the Gospel. ... I am counting on you and on your prayers for this visit to bear fruit. May the Virgin Mary keep you safe!"
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BENEDICT XVI VISITS THE INSTITUT DE FRANCE
VATICAN CITY, 13 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 9 a.m. this morning the Pope arrived at the Institut de France, an institution founded in 1795 which includes five separate academies: the Academie francaise, the Academie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, the Academie des sciences, the Academie des beaux-arts, and the Academie des sciences morales et politiques.
The Institut is made up of eminent figures from all areas of human knowledge. In 1992 the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, became an associate member of the Academie des sciences morales et politiques, succeeding the Nobel Prize winning scientist Andrei Sakharov who died in 1989.
On his arrival, Benedict XVI was greeted by Gabriel de Broglie, chancellor of the Institut de France, and by Helene Carrere d'Encausse, permanent secretary of the Academie francaise, who accompanied him to the hall of the cupola where members of the five academies were gathered. After uncovering a plaque commemorating his visit, Pope Benedict pronounced a brief address.
"For me it is a very great honour to be received this morning under the cupola. ... I could not come to Paris without greeting you personally. I am pleased to have this happy opportunity to emphasise my profound links with French culture, for which I have the greatest admiration".
"As Rabelais rightly asserted in his day: 'science without conscience brings only ruin to the soul!'. It was doubtless in order to contribute to avoiding the risk of such a dichotomy that, at the end of January of last year, and for the first time in three and a half centuries, two academies of the Institut, two pontifical academies and the Institut Catholique in Paris organised a joint 'Colloquium' on the changing identity of the individual. ... This initiative could be taken further, in order to explore together the countless research possibilities in the human and experimental sciences".
Following the meeting, Benedict XVI travelled by popemobile to the esplanade of Les Invalides to celebrate Mass.
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SHUN THE WORSHIP OF IDOLS
VATICAN CITY, 13 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 10 a.m. today, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on the esplanade of Les Invalides in Paris, a complex of buildings that includes a hospital for war veterans, a military museum and the church of Saint-Louis des Invalides with a great dome under which is the grave of Napoleon Bonaparte.
"In the First Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians", said the Pope in his homily to the more than 200,000 people present, "we discover ... how much the counsels given by the Apostle remain important today. 'Shun the worship of idols', he writes to a community deeply marked by paganism and divided between adherence to the newness of the Gospel and the observance of former practices inherited from its ancestors".
"Apart from the people of Israel, who had received the revelation of the one God, the ancient world was in thrall to the worship of idols. Strongly present in Corinth, the errors of paganism had to be denounced, for they constituted a powerful source of alienation and they diverted man from his true destiny. They prevented him from recognising that Christ is the sole Saviour, the only One Who points out to man the path to God.
"This appeal to shun idols", he added, "is also pertinent today. ... The word 'idol' comes from the Greek and means 'image', 'figure', 'representation', but also 'ghost', 'phantom', 'vain appearance'. An idol is a delusion, for it turns its worshipper away from reality and places him in the kingdom of mere appearances".
"Now", the Pope asked, "is this not a temptation in our own day - the only one we can act upon effectively? The temptation to idolise a past that no longer exists, forgetting its shortcomings; the temptation to idolise a future which does not yet exist, in the belief that, by his efforts alone, man can bring about the kingdom of eternal joy on earth!" In the same way, "have not money, the thirst for possessions, for power and even for knowledge, diverted man from his true destiny?"
Yet "radical condemnation of idolatry", said the Pope quoting St. John Chrysostom whose feast day falls today, "is never a personal condemnation of the idolater. In our judgements, must we never confuse the sin, which is unacceptable, with the sinner, the state of whose conscience we cannot judge and who, in any case, is always capable of conversion and forgiveness".
"Never does God ... ask man to sacrifice his reason! Reason never enters into real contradiction with faith! The one God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - created our reason and gives us faith, proposing to our freedom that it be received as a precious gift. It is the worship of idols which diverts man from this perspective.
"Let us therefore ask God, who sees us and hears us, to help us purify ourselves from all idols, in order to arrive at the truth of our being, in order to arrive at the truth of His infinite being!"
"St. Paul asks us to make use not only of our reason, but above all our faith in order to discover Him. Now, what does faith say to us? The bread that we break is a communion with the Body of Christ. The cup of blessing which we bless is a communion with the Blood of Christ".
"Over the last twenty centuries", the Holy Father recalled, "the risen Lord has given Himself to His people. ... Let us give the greatest veneration to the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of the Lord, the Blessed Sacrament of the real presence of the Lord to his Church and to all humanity".
"The Mass is the sacrifice of thanksgiving par excellence, the one which allows us to unite our own thanksgiving to that of the Saviour. ... The Mass invites us to discern what, in ourselves, is obedient to the Spirit of God and what, in ourselves, is attuned to the spirit of evil".
Hence, "to raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord, is that not the very best way of 'shunning idols'? ... Every time the Mass is celebrated, every time Christ makes Himself sacramentally present in His Church, the work of our salvation is accomplished. ... He alone teaches us to shun idols, the illusions of our minds".
Yet "who can raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord in the name of the entire people of God, except the priest?", the Pope asked and he made an appeal, "confident in their faith and generosity", to young people "who are considering a religious or priestly vocation: do not be afraid! Do not be afraid to give your life to Christ! Nothing will ever replace the ministry of priests at the heart of the Church!"
"Hope will always remain stronger than all else! The Church, built upon the rock of Christ, possesses the promises of eternal life, not because her members are holier than others, but because Christ made this promise to Peter: 'You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it'".
Benedict XVI concluded: "In this unfailing hope of God's eternal presence in the souls of each of us, in this joy of knowing that Christ is with us until the end of time, in this power that the Holy Spirit gives to all those who let themselves be filled with Him, I entrust you, dear Christians of Paris and France, to the powerful and merciful action of the God of love Who died for us upon the Cross and rose victorious on Easter morning. To all people of good will ... I say once more, with St. Paul: Shun the worship of idols, do not tire of doing good!"
Following Mass, Benedict XVI travelled back to the apostolic nunciature where he had lunch with bishops from the Paris region.
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VATICAN CITY, 7 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 8.30 a.m. today, Benedict XVI departed from Rome's Ciampino airport, landing at the airport of Cagliari-Elmas on the Italian island of Sardinia at 9.30 a.m. Having greeted the political, civil and ecclesiastical authorities, he travelled to the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria, which he visited briefly.
At 10.30 a.m., the Pope celebrated Mass in the presence of 100,000 people on the esplanade in front of the Marian shrine. The wooden statue of Our Lady of Bonaria - the centenary of whose proclamation as patroness of Sardinia falls this year - stood next to the altar during the ceremony.
In his homily, the Holy Father highlighted how "Christianity arrived in Sardinia not with the sword of the conquerors or through external imposition, but by growing from the blood of the martyrs who here gave their lives in an act of love towards God and mankind".
"Sardinia", he went on, "has never been a land of heresies; her people have always demonstrated filial faithfulness to Christ and to the See of Peter. ... Through the sequence of invasions and domination, faith in Christ has remained in the soul of your people as a constitutive element of your Sardinian identity. ... This simple and courageous faith continues to live in your communities and in your families, where one may inhale the evangelical fragrance of the virtues that distinguish your land: loyalty, dignity, reserve, sobriety and a sense of duty".
Going on to refer to the hundredth anniversary of the proclamation of the Virgin as patroness of the island, the Pope called on the faithful "to give thanks to Mary for her protection and to reiterate our faith in her, recognising her as the 'Star of the new evangelisation'".
The Holy Father asked the Virgin to help the people of Sardinia "to bring Christ to families, small domestic Churches and cells of society, which today more than ever need trust and support at both a spiritual and social level".
May Mary, he said, "help you to discover appropriate pastoral strategies to ensure that young people encounter Christ", young people who "by their nature are bearers of fresh energy but are often victims of a widespread nihilism, thirsty for truth and for ideals precisely when they seem to deny them. May she help you evangelise the world of work, of the economy and of politics, which needs a new generation of committed lay Christians, capable of seeking solutions of sustainable development with competency and moral rigour".
At the end of the Eucharistic celebration, Benedict XVI performed an act of consecration to Mary which concluded with the consignment of a golden rose to Our Lady of Bonaria.
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POPE APPEALS FOR MARY'S PROTECTION AND RECALLS HAITI
VATICAN CITY, 7 SEP 2008 (VIS) - Following this morning's Mass and before praying the Angelus, the Holy Father recalled other Pontiffs who have paid homage to Our Lady of Bonaria.
He mentioned Blessed Pius IX who ordered her coronation, St. Pius X who proclaimed her Patroness of Sardinia, Servant of God Paul VI who on 24 April 1970 became the first Pope to touch Sardinian soil in more than 1650 years, and "the beloved John Paul II" who prayed before the image on 20 October 1985.
"May the Holy Virgin continue to watch over each and everyone", said Pope Benedict, "so that the heritage of evangelical values may be transmitted intact to the new generations, and that Christ may reign in families, in communities and in all areas of society. In particular, may the Virgin protect those who at this moment most need her maternal intervention: children and young people, the elderly and families, the sick and all those who suffer".
Then, recalling the Feast of the Nativity of Mary, he called on "Mary Mother of the Word incarnate and our Mother, to protect all earthly mothers: those who, together with their husbands, educate children in a harmonious family atmosphere, and those who, for so many reasons, find themselves facing such an arduous task alone. May all of them devotedly and faithfully undertake their daily service in the family, in the Church and in society. May the Virgin Mary be a support, comfort and hope to them all.
"Under Mary's gaze", the Holy Father added in conclusion, "I wish to recall the dear people of Haiti, who have been so sorely tried over recent days with the passage of three separate hurricanes. I pray for the victims, who are unfortunately numerous, and for the homeless. I remain close to the entire nation and hope it will soon receive the aid it needs".
Having prayed the Angelus, the Pope travelled by car to the regional seminary where, having visited the chapel, he had lunch with Sardinian bishops. Later Benedict XVI went to the diocesan seminary where he greeted seminarians and members of the organising committee of his visit".
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YOUNG PEOPLE: REDISCOVER THE RELIGIOUS SENSE OF LIFE
VATICAN CITY, 7 SEP 2008 (VIS) - At 6.15 p.m. today, Benedict XVI arrived at Piazza Yenne in the Italian city of Cagliari where he met with young people from the island of Sardinia, to whom he pronounced an address.
"Dear young people", said the Pope, "you are the hope-filled future of this region, despite the difficulties of which we are all aware. I know your enthusiasm, the desires you nourish and the commitment you show in order to realise them. And I am not unaware of the difficulties and problems you face" such as "the blight of unemployment and precariousness, which puts your projects at risk, ... emigration, the exodus of the most original and enterprising forces, ... and the consequent displacement from one's environment which sometimes leads to psychological and moral damage, even more than social problems.
"And what can we say", he added, "of the fact that in modern consumer society earnings and success have become the new idols before which so many prostrate themselves? The consequence of this is that people are led to give value only to those who ... 'have found fortune' or who are 'notorious', and not to those who must struggle with life every day".
"There is a risk of becoming superficial, of taking dangerous shortcuts in search of success, thus giving life up to experiences that bring immediate satisfaction but that are in themselves precarious and deceptive. There is a growing tendency to individualism, and when we concentrate only on ourselves we inevitably become fragile; we lose the patience to listen which is an indispensable part of understanding others and working together".
Benedict XVI reaffirmed the three values presented by John Paul II during his visit to Sardinia 23 years ago, values that "are still important today". The first is "the value of the family, which must be safeguarded as an ancient and sacred heritage. ... In the past traditional society was more helpful in forming and protecting a family" while today "other forms of cohabitation are admitted, and sometimes the term 'family' is used for unions that are not, in fact, families at all".
"Dear young people", cried the Holy Father, "re-appropriate the value of the family, love it nor just for the sake of tradition but as a mature and conscious choice". He also recalled how Vatican Council II had described the family as a "small Church" because "marriage is a Sacrament, in other words a holy and effective sign of the love God gives us in Christ through the Church".
The second value is "serious intellectual and moral formation", said Pope Benedict. "The crisis of a society begins", he said, "when it no longer knows how to transmit its cultural heritage and its fundamental values to the new generations. I am not only referring to the system of education. The question is a broader one. ... Jesus said : 'The truth will make you free', yet modern nihilism preaches the opposite: that freedom will make you true. There are, indeed, those who maintain that there is no truth, thus opening the way to rendering the concepts of good and evil meaningless, even making them interchangeable".
The third value identified by the Pope was "sincere and profound faith". He said: "When a sense of the presence and reality of God is lost, everything becomes 'flat' and is reduced to a single dimension. Everything is 'squashed' into the material plane. ... The mystery of existence also disappears: things and people interest me not for themselves but in the degree to which they satisfy my needs. Faith, in this sense, before being a religious belief, is a way of experiencing reality, a way of thinking, an interior sensibility which enriches human beings. ... Being with Jesus, frequenting Him as a friend in the Gospel and in the Sacraments, you may learn ... that which society is often no longer capable of giving you: a religious sense".
"May each of you rediscover God as meaning and foundation for all creatures, light of truth, flame of charity, bond of unity", he concluded. "You will no longer be afraid to lose your liberty, because you will experience it fully by giving it for love. You will no longer be attached to material goods, because in yourselves you will feel the joy of sharing them. You will no longer be sad at the sadness of the world, but will experience pain for evil and joy for good, especially for mercy and forgiveness. ... If you really discover God in the face of Christ, you will no longer think of the Church as an institution external to yourselves, but as your spiritual family".
The meeting with young people over, Benedict XVI travelled to the airport of Cagliari where he bid farewell to the authorities before boarding his flight for Rome. He landed at Ciampino airport at 8.30 p.m. whence he travelled to his residence in Castelgandolfo.
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BISHOPS OF NICARAGUA: SOLID RELIGIOUS FORMATION OF LAITY
VATICAN CITY, 6 SEP 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received prelates of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.
The Holy Father praised the bishops' efforts "to bring the message of the Gospel to all areas of Nicaragua, with the selfless collaboration of your priests and of the religious institutes present in Nicaragua". He also highlighted the "valuable help" offered in this field by catechists and delegates of the Word.
"It is vital that these generous servants and helpers of the evangelising mission of the Church receive the encouragement of their pastors, obtain profound and continuous religious formation, and maintain perfect faithfulness to the doctrine of the Church", the Pope said.
Benedict XVI noted how "the need for a clergy well-prepared in spiritual, intellectual and human terms" had recently brought the Nicaraguan prelates "to revise the structure of the country's seminaries, in the hope of giving the seminarians of your dioceses a better formation, something that is always necessary and that requires great closeness and attention on the part of each bishop, yielding no ground in the careful discernment of candidates, or in the rigorous conditions necessary to become exemplary priests full of love for Christ and for the Church. ... It is also to be hoped that due religious assistance may improve in hospitals, prisons and other institutions".
Going on then to refer to the question of popular religiosity, "a great treasure ... so deeply-rooted among your people", the Pope called for it to become "something more than a passively-received tradition", and for it to be continually revitalised "through pastoral activity that highlights the profundity of gestures and signs and indicates the unfathomable mystery of salvation and hope that they express".
"One of the great challenges you are facing" he told the prelates, "is that of the solid religious formation of your faithful, ensuring the Gospel remains deeply inscribed in their minds, their lives and their work. ... This is particularly important in a situation in which poverty and emigration are accompanied by deep social inequalities and political radicalisation, especially in recent years".
The Holy Father expressed his satisfaction at the bishops' efforts "to create a climate of dialogue and openness", yet without abandoning their "defence of the fundamental rights of man, denouncing situations of injustice and fomenting a concept of politics as being (rather than ambition for power and control) generous and humble service for the common good". In this context he exhorted them "to promote and accompany numerous initiatives of charity and solidarity with the most needy who are present your Churches, so as to ensure there is no lack of aid for families in difficulty, or of that generous spirit shown by so many lay people who, sometimes anonymously, strive to obtain daily bread for their poorer brethren".
Speaking of educational institutions, and in particular of Catholic schools, Benedict XVI recalled how they perform "an essential mission of the Church and a priceless service to society". And he concluded by calling on bishops to encourage educators in their task and to make every effort "to preserve parents' rights to educate their children according to their own convictions and beliefs".
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SPECIAL ENVOYS TO CELEBRATIONS IN FRANCE AND IN LITHUANIA
VATICAN CITY, 6 SEP 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was Letter from the Pope, written in Latin and dated 3 July, in which he appoints Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, as his special envoy to celebrations due to take place in Valenciennes, France, on 14 September, marking the millennium of the pilgrimage in honour of "Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon".
The cardinal will be accompanied on his mission by Fr. Bruno Feillet, rector of the basilica of "Notre-Dame du Saint-Cordon" and pastor "in solidum" of the parish of "Saint-Jean Baptiste de l'Escaut", and by Fr. Dominique Foyer, director of diocesan pilgrimage services, professor of theology in the Faculty of Lille and defender of the bond.
Also made public today was a Letter from the Pope, likewise written in Latin and dated 3 July, in which he appoints Cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, Germany, as his special papal envoy to celebrations making the fourth centenary of the apparition of Blessed Virgin Mary at Siluva, Lithuania, due to take place on 13 and 14 September.
The mission accompanying Cardinal Meisner will be made up of Fr. Robertas Grigas, national director of Lithuanian Caritas, and by Fr. Lionginas Virbalas S.J., under-secretary of the Lithuanian Episcopal Conference.
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HOLY FATHER RECEIVES PRESIDENT OF ROMANIA
VATICAN CITY, 6 SEP 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique at midday today:
"This morning at the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Traian Basescu, president of Romania, who subsequently went on the meet Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"The cordial discussions provided an opportunity to examine the situation in the country, with particular reference to its entry into the European Union; in this context allusion was made to the historical, cultural and spiritual identity of Europe, also highlighting the affinity of views between the Holy See and Romania on various international issues.
"Various questions concerning relations between the Catholic Church and the Romanian State were also considered, as were relations with the Orthodox Church, and the hope was expressed that an increase in mutual understanding and collaboration may contribute to the good of all the inhabitants of the country, and to their spiritual and material development.
"Finally, attention turned to the subject of Romanian communities abroad, for the integration of which Catholic Church institutions offer generous and effective assistance, something which President Basescu expressly recognised and for which he voiced his appreciation".
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WHO FEARS GOD IS NEVER AFRAID
VATICAN CITY, 22 JUN 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square.
"In today's Gospel", he said, "we find two invitations from Jesus: on the one hand, 'to have no fear' of men, and on the other 'to fear' God. Thus we are stimulated to reflect on the difference that exists between human fears and fear of God. Fear is a natural aspect of life. From childhood we experience forms of fear that then reveal themselves as imaginary and disappear; later other fears emerge which have specific roots in reality, these must be faced and overcome with human commitment and trust in God.
"But", the Pope added, "there exists - and above all today - a deeper form of fear, an existential fear, which sometimes spills over into anguish. It is born of a sense of emptiness, associated with a certain culture that is permeated with widespread theoretical and practical nihilism. Faced with the broad ... panorama of human fears, the Word of God is clear: those who 'fear' God 'are not afraid'. Fear of God, which Scripture defines as 'the beginning of true hope', means to have faith in Him, and sacred respect for His authority over life and over the world".
"Those who fear God are serene even amidst the storms because God, as Jesus revealed to us, is a Father full of mercy and goodness. Those who love Him are not afraid. ... Believers, then, are afraid of nothing, because they know they are in the hands of God, they know that evil and the irrational will not have the last word, but that the one Lord of the world and of life is Christ, the Word of God incarnate".
Finally, the Pope turned his attention to St. Paul who, "strong in the presence of Christ and comforted by His love, did not even fear martyrdom". Then, recalling that on 28 June he will inaugurate a Jubilee Year commemorating the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of the Apostle of the Gentiles, the Holy Father concluded: "May this great spiritual and pastoral event also arouse in us a renewed faith in Jesus Christ Who calls us to announce and bear witness to His Gospel, without fear".
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POPE PRAYS FOR SHIPWRECK VICTIMS AND PEACE IN LEBANON
VATICAN CITY, 22 JUN 2008 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus today, the Pope recalled victims of the typhoon Fengshen in the Philippines, and mentioned the beatification of the Lebanese friar Fr. Yaaqub (ne Khalil Haddad).
"It was with great anguish that this morning I learnt of the wreck of a ferry in the Philippines, struck by the typhoon Fengshen which has swept across that area", he said. "As I give assurances of my spiritual closeness to the people of the islands struck by the typhoon, I raise a special prayer to the Lord for the victims of this latest maritime tragedy, in which so many children were also involved".
The Holy Father then went on to recall that "today in Beirut, the capital of Lebanon, Yaaqub (ne Khalil Haddad), priest of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchins and founder of the Congregation of Franciscan Sisters of the Cross in Lebanon, was proclaimed a blessed. In expressing my congratulations to his spiritual daughters, I trust with all my heart that the intercession of Blessed Abuna Yaaqub, together with that of the other Lebanese saints, may enable that beloved and martyred country, which has undergone too much suffering, to finally progress towards a stable peace".
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SOLEMN VESPERS TO INAUGURATE PAULINE YEAR
VATICAN CITY, 23 JUN 2008 (VIS) - A communique released today by the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff announces that in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls at 6 p.m. on Saturday 28 June, eve of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, Benedict XVI will preside at first Vespers for the inauguration of the Pauline Year. The ceremony will be attended by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I and by representatives of other Churches and Christian communities.
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CHRISTIANITY AND ASIAN SPIRITUAL INSIGHT
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2008 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, the Holy Father received prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.
In his English-language remarks to the prelates, the Pope pointed out that their visit to Rome coincides with preparations for the Pauline Year, and he invited them to follow the example of that Apostle, "outstanding teacher and courageous witness to the truth of the Gospel".
"The Church's faith in Jesus is a gift received and a gift to be shared; it is the greatest gift which the Church can offer to Asia", said the Pope quoting the Apostolic Exhortation "Ecclesia in Asia". And he went on: "Happily, the peoples of Asia display an intense yearning for God. In handing on to them the message that you also received, you are sowing the seeds of evangelisation in fertile ground.
"If the faith is to flourish, however", he added, "it needs to strike deep roots in Asian soil, lest it be perceived as a foreign import, alien to the culture and traditions of your people. Mindful of the manner in which St. Paul preached the Good News to the Athenians, you are called to present the Christian faith in ways that resonate with the 'innate spiritual insight and moral wisdom in the Asian soul', so that people will welcome it and make it their own".
The Holy Father proceeded with his discourse to the bishops: "In particular, you need to ensure that the Christian Gospel is in no way confused in their minds with secular principles associated with the Enlightenment. On the contrary, by 'speaking the truth in love' you can help your fellow citizens to distinguish the wheat of the Gospel from the chaff of materialism and relativism. You can help them to respond to the urgent challenges posed by the Enlightenment, familiar to Western Christianity for over two centuries, but only now beginning to have a significant impact upon other parts of the world. While resisting the 'dictatorship of positivist reason' that tries to exclude God from public discourse, we should welcome the 'true conquests of the Enlightenment' - especially the stress on human rights and the freedom of religion and its practice".
"This Pauline apostolate", said Pope Benedict, "requires a commitment to inter-religious dialogue, and I encourage you to carry forward this important work, exploring every avenue open to you. I realise that not all the territories you represent offer the same degree of religious liberty, and many of you, for example, encounter serious difficulties in promoting Christian religious instruction in schools".
"In the context of open and honest dialogue with Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and the followers of other religions present in your respective countries, you assist your fellow citizens to recognise and observe the law 'written on their hearts' by clearly articulating the truth of the Gospel.
"In this way, your teaching can reach a wide audience and help to promote a unified vision of the common good. This in turn", the Pope concluded, "should help to foster growth in religious freedom and greater social cohesion between members of different ethnic groups, which can only be conducive to the peace and well-being of the entire community".
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COMMUNIQUE ON PAPAL AUDIENCE WITH SILVIO BERLUSCONI
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2008 (VIS) - The Holy See Press Office released the following communique late this morning:
"This morning the Holy Father Benedict XVI received in audience Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of the Republic of Italy, accompanied by Gianni Letta and Paolo Bonaiuti, under-secretaries of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and by other members of his entourage. Subsequently, Silvio Berlusconi met with Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti, secretary for Relations with States.
"In the course of the cordial discussions various questions concerning the situation in Italy and the Catholic Church's contribution to the life of the country were examined, questions upon which the Holy Father had dwelt during his recent discourse to the plenary assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference. Attention also turned to certain matters associated with the implementation of the current Agreements between the Holy See and Italy. Finally some aspects of the international situation were considered, such as the situation in the Middle East and the prospects for the spiritual, ethical and social development of the European continent.
"The two sides reiterated their desire to continue their constructive collaboration at the bilateral level and in the context of the international community".
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HOLY SEE SATISFACTION FOR CONVENTION ON CLUSTER MUNITIONS
VATICAN CITY, 6 JUN 2008 (VIS) - On 30 May, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialised Institutions in Geneva, delivered an address at the close of a diplomatic conference on cluster munitions being held in Dublin, Ireland.
Speaking English, the head of the Holy See delegation to the conference, which took place from 19 to 30 May, indicated that "the protection and care of the victims of cluster munitions, the prevention of their suffering, and the addition of a related new chapter in international humanitarian law, have been clear and compelling objectives of the Holy See from the very beginning of the process that has led to this diplomatic conference. These goals have been achieved", he said.
Archbishop Tomasi highlighted three of the results achieved with the new Convention on Cluster Munitions: "First", he said, "the new convention opens up a wider care for victims of cluster munitions by including their families and communities".
"Second, the new convention recognises 'the specific role and contribution of relevant actors'", including State parties, United Nations bodies, international organisations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and civil society, who provide "care to the victims as well as human, financial and technical co-operation".
Finally, said the permanent observer, "the new convention is an achievement in itself but also a positive message to pursue efforts by the international community in the overall disarmament and arms control negotiations".
On 4 June, Archbishop Tomasi delivered another English-language address, also made public today, during the 8th session of the Human Rights Council held in Geneva.
"The universal value of human dignity", he said on that occasion, "requires the promotion and protection of all human rights without distinction of any kind". Referring then to the new Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), he noted how it "represents a positive step towards a fair social and international order".
"The new optional protocol, through an inquiry and communication system, gives the possibility to individuals and groups to seek justice from violations, and it reinforces existing mechanisms for an effective monitoring of the activity of States", he explained.
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GUATEMALA: STRENGTHEN SOLIDARITY AND HUMAN DIGNITY
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received the Letters of Credence of Acisclo Valladares Molina, the new ambassador of Guatemala to the Holy See.
In his remarks to the diplomat, the Holy Father recalled the fact that this year marks the 25th anniversary of John Paul II's first pastoral visit to that land "of eternal spring", and he praised the faithfulness to the Bishop of Rome with which the Guatemalans have always responded to the Holy See's concern for their country.
"The Church", said the Pope, "shares the concern of the Guatemalan authorities over factors that afflict a large part of the population, such as poverty and emigration. Her rich ecclesial experience, accumulated over the course of history, may be of help in finding the means to face these problems from a humanitarian perspective, and to strengthen solidarity which is indispensable in order to find effective and lasting solutions".
"In this way", he continued, "crucial technical and economic programmes must be supplemented by other factors that foment the dignity of the person, the stability of the family and an education that takes the most important human and Christian values into account". Nor must "those people who have had to abandon their land, though not forgetting it in their hearts" be overlooked. "This is a duty of gratitude and justice towards those who are, in effect, also an important source of income for the country in which they were born".
Another challenge facing Guatemala is that of "remedying the malnutrition of many children", said Benedict XVI, observing how "eradicating hunger and, at the same time, ensuring healthy and sufficient nourishment, requires specific methods and actions that enable resources to be exploited while respecting the heritage of creation", making use not only "of the results of science, research and technology", but also taking into account "the cycles and rhythms of nature, as understood by people in rural areas" and protecting "the traditional uses of indigenous communities, laying aside selfish and exclusively economic concerns".
This primary right to food, said the Pope, "is intrinsically linked to the protection and defence of human life, the firm and unbreakable rock upon which the entire edifice of human rights rests. We can never, then, show enough ... concern for mothers, especially those suffering serious difficulties, so that they can bring their children into the world with dignity and thus avoid the unjustifiable recourse to abortion. In this sense, safeguarding human life, especially that of the unborn, ... is an ever present task which, by its nature, is linked to facilitating the adoption of the children" with all the guarantees of the law.
In closing his remarks, the Holy Father mentioned "the blight of social violence" which is often exacerbated by "a lack of dialogue and of cohesion in families, by profound economic inequalities, by grave negligence and shortcomings in the field of healthcare, by drug consumption and trafficking, and by the plague of corruption". In this context, he expressed his satisfaction at the progress Guatemala has made in combating these difficulties, progress "which must continue, promoting co-operation among everyone to put an end to such problems by cultivating moral values and combating illegality, impunity and corruption".
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GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRAL PROMOTION OF MANKIND
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received members of the "Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice", who have just concluded their annual meeting, which this year has focused on the theme: "Social Capital and Human Development".
In his remarks to the group, the Pope noted how they have been reflecting on the need "to promote a form of global development that remains attentive to the integral promotion of mankind, while highlighting the contribution that can be made by volunteer associations, non-profit organisations and other community groups that have come into being with the aim of making the social fabric ever more cohesive.
"Harmonious development is possible", he added, "if political and economic choices ... take into account the fundamental principles which make [such development] accessible to everyone: ... subsidiarity and solidarity". The Pope also highlighted the importance of keeping humankind "as the focus of all economic planning", and pointed out that, "only a shared culture of responsible and active participation will enable human beings to consider themselves nor just as users or passive witnesses, but active participants in world development".
"It is necessary to prevent profit becoming purely individual, and to guard against forms of collectivism that oppress personal freedom. Economic and commercial interests must never become exclusive, because this would be an effective affront to human dignity".
He went on: "The great challenge of today is to 'globalise', not just economic and commercial interests, but also the call for solidarity, while respecting and taking advantage of the contribution of all components of society".
The Pope thanked the members of the foundation for "the generous support you tirelessly give to the Church's charitable activities and works of human promotion", and he invited them also to reflect "on the creation of a just world economic order".
"On the last day, on the Day of Judgement, we will be asked whether we used what God placed at out disposal to meet legitimate requirements, to help our fellow man, especially the smallest and those most in need", he concluded. AC/.../CENTESIMUS ANNUS VIS 080602 (350)
THRONE OF GOD: THE ONLY ROCK THAT DOES NOT CHANGE
VATICAN CITY, 31 MAY 2008 (VIS) - At 8 p.m. today in St. Peter's Square, a celebration was held to mark the end of the month of May. Cardinal Angelo Comatri, archpriest of the Vatican Basilica, presided at the recitation of the Rosary during which the statue of the Virgin was carried around the square in procession. Following the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI pronounced an address.
The Pope began by recalling how today marks the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin and that of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and he noted how "during the month of May many Christian communities have the beautiful custom of solemnly reciting the Rosary in families and in parishes".
"May this habit not cease, rather may it be continued with greater commitment so that, at the school of May, the lamp of faith may shine ever more brightly in the hearts of Christians and in their homes".
Following the Annunciation of the Archangel, "Mary found herself with a great mystery closed in her womb; she knew that something unique had happened; she was aware that the last chapter in the history of the salvation of the world had begun".
The Virgin went to the house of Elizabeth who, "illuminated from on high, exclaimed: 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leapt for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her by the Lord!"
The Holy Father explained how Elizabeth's words "awoke in Mary's soul a hymn of praise which is a real and profound 'theological' reading of history: a reading that we must learn continually from the Woman whose faith was unshadowed and unbroken. 'My soul magnifies the Lord'. Mary recognised God's greatness. This is the first and indispensable sentiment of the faith, the sentient that gives human beings security and frees them from fear, despite the storms of history".
"Her faith enabled her to see that the thrones of the powerful of this world are all transitory, while the throne of God is the only rock that does not change and does not fall. After centuries and millennia, her Magnificat remains the truest and most profound interpretation of history, while the theories of so many wise men of this world have been disproved by the facts over the course of the centuries".
"Let us return home with the Magnificat in our hearts", Benedict XVI concluded. "Let us carry Mary's same feelings of praise and gratitude towards the Lord, her faith and her hope, her meek abandonment in the hands of Divine Providence. Let us imitate her example of readiness and generosity in serving our fellow man. Indeed, only by welcoming God's love and making our existence a form of disinterested and generous service to others, will we be able to raise a joyful hymn of praise to the Lord. May we receive this grace through the Blessed Virgin, who this evening invites us to find refuge in her Immaculate Heart". AC/VIRGIN AY/... VIS 080602 (550)
EXPOSITION OF THE SHROUD OF TURIN IN 2010
VATICAN CITY, 2 JUN 2008 (VIS) - At midday today in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, the Pope received 7,000 faithful from the archdiocese of Turin, Italy. Prior to the audience, Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop of that city, had celebrated Mass for the pilgrims in St. Peter's Basilica.
The Holy Father opened his address to the group by assuring them of his "special prayers to the Lord" for the victims of recent flooding in Pinerolo and Cuneo near Turin, and he asked the Lord "so support those who are struggling to face the grave natural calamity".
Over the last ten years, he said, the archdiocesan community has undertaken "wide-ranging apostolic and missionary activities, based on intense spiritual movement which focuses above all on the Sunday Eucharist, on weekly Eucharistic adoration and on the rediscovery of the importance of the Sacrament of Penance".
Furthermore, the Pope told his audience, "you have sought to draw close to those who are 'furthest away'. ... This missionary commitment has become even more deeply shared in the current pastoral year, the year of 'Redditio fidei', and has its culmination in the solemn profession of faith you proclaimed together this morning at the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles".
The Holy Father noted how the next pastoral year will be dedicated to the Word of God, while the one after that "will see you oriented towards a more attentive contemplation of the Passion of Christ". In this context, he announced that he had accepted the wishes of the archbishop of Turin and that "in the spring of 2010 there will be another 'Solemn Exposition of the Shroud'". In an off-the-cuff addition to his prepared text he then added: "If the Lord gives me life and health, I too hope to come". The exposition, he went on, "will provide an appropriate moment to contemplate that mysterious Face which silently speaks to the hearts of men, inviting them to recognise therein the face of God".
"May no difficulty or obstacle hinder your love for the Gospel of Christ!" cried the Pope. "If Jesus is the centre of your families, of your parishes and of all communities, you will feel His living presence, and unity and communion will grow among the various elements of the diocese.
"Constantly nourish, then", he added, "your union with the Lord, in prayer and with the frequent practice of the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Confession. ... Ensure continuous Christian formation for young people and for adults", and distinguish yourselves "for works of charity and for your joint efforts to face the great 'educational challenge' of the new generations".
Benedict XVI concluded by asking the Virgin "to protect priests and pastoral care workers, to ensure your communities have numerous holy vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life, to arouse in young people the desire to follow the exalted ideal of sanctity, and to be a comfort and support especially for the elderly, the sick, the suffering and for people alone and abandoned".
AC/.../TURIN PILGRIMS VIS 080602 (510)
BISHOPS OF MYANMAR: HOPE DESPITE DIFFICULTIES
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received prelates from the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Myanmar, who have just completed their "ad limina" visit.
Speaking English, the Pope began his remarks by highlighting how "the Church in Myanmar is known and admired for its solidarity with the poor and needy. This has been especially evident", he told the prelates, "in the concern you have shown in the aftermath of the cyclone Nargis".
"During these difficult days, I know how grateful the Burmese people are for the Church's efforts to provide shelter, food, water, and medicine to those still in distress", he said, assuring the bishops that the Universal Church "is joined spiritually with those who mourn the loss of loved ones. ... May God open the hearts of all so that a concerted effort may be made to facilitate and co-ordinate the ongoing endeavour to bring relief to the suffering and rebuild the country's infrastructure.
"The Church's mission of charity", he added, "shines forth in a particular way through the religious life. ... I am pleased to note that an increasing number of women are responding to the call to consecrated life in your region", he said.
"Similar signs of hope are seen in the rising number of vocations to the priesthood. These men are both 'called together' and 'sent out to preach' to be examples of faithfulness and holiness for the People of God".
The Holy Father encouraged the prelates of Myanmar "to continue making the necessary sacrifices to ensure that seminarians receive the integral formation that will enable them to become authentic heralds of the new evangelisation".
"The Church's mission to spread the Good News depends on a generous and prompt response from the lay faithful to become labourers in the vineyard. They too are in need of a robust and dynamic Christian formation which will inspire them to carry the Gospel message to their workplaces, families, and to society at large".
The Pope then went on to refer to the reports the bishops had presented to him, in which they had mentioned "the enthusiasm with which the laity are organising many new catechetical and spiritual initiatives, often involving great numbers of young people". And he encouraged the bishops "to remind those under your care to turn continually to the nourishment of the Eucharist through participation in the liturgy and silent contemplation".
"Your active participation in the First Asian Mission Congress has led to new initiatives for promoting goodwill with Buddhists in your country", he told them. "In this regard, I encourage you as you develop ever better relations with Buddhists for the good of your individual communities and of the entire nation".
Before concluding his remarks, Benedict XVI expressed his "sincere gratitude" to the prelates for "your faithful ministry in the midst of difficult circumstances and setbacks often beyond your control".
Recalling that that next month the Church "inaugurates a special Jubilee Year in honour of St. Paul", the Pope concluded: "Paul exhorts us to keep our gaze fixed on the glory that awaits us so as never to despair in the pain and sufferings of today".
AL/.../MYANMAR VIS 080530 (530)
POPE TO ALEXIS II: GROWING CLOSENESS BETWEEN US
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Holy Father has written a Message to His Holiness Alexis II, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, delivered by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, during a meeting with the Patriarch.
In the text of his English-language Message, the Pope writes that the cardinal's visit to Russia "offers me a welcome opportunity to extend my cordial greetings, to express my esteem for your ministry in the Russian Orthodox Church and to restate my appreciation for your commitment to fostering relations between Catholics and Orthodox".
"It is with joy", the Holy Father adds, "that I reflect on the experience of growing closeness between us, accompanied by the shared desire to promote authentic Christian values and to witness to our Lord in ever deeper communion. I think with gratitude of the recent visit of Your Holiness to Strasbourg and Paris, and the warm welcome given to the Catholic archbishop of the archdiocese of the Mother of God in Moscow during the Christmas celebrations last year.
"Another sign of fraternity and friendship towards the Catholic Church is to be seen in the invitation extended to Cardinal Kasper by His Eminence Kirill, metropolitan of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, president of the Department for External Church Affairs of the Patriarchate of Moscow, to visit that eparchy on the occasion of his name-day. This is not only a sign of personal goodwill, but also a gesture towards the Catholic Church which Cardinal Kasper represents".
"During his time in Russia", writes the Pope, "Cardinal Kasper will visit Kazan to venerate the icon of the Mother of God which my beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II, conveyed to Your Holiness through the good offices of Cardinal Kasper. ... This icon bears a likeness to all the other venerable icons of the Mother of God. ... It also offers an opportunity for encounter with Muslims, who show great respect for Mary, the Mother of God".
The Pope notes haw the Russian Patriarch "has been increasingly committed to dialogue with other Christians and the members of other religions" and reaffirms his own "deep gratitude" for, and "prayerful interest" in, "the signs of friendship and trust which your Church and its representatives have demonstrated in various ways".
Reiterating his gratitude to Alexis II for his dialogue "with different ecclesial, religious and social bodies", Benedict XVI concludes: "May the Risen Saviour grant you health, peace and inner joy, and may he bring us closer to each other, that we may undertake together our journey towards full communion in Him".
BXVI-MESSAGE/.../ALEXIS II VIS 080530 (440)
PROGRAMME OF POPE'S APOSTOLIC TRIP TO SYDNEY
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The programme of Benedict XVI's forthcoming apostolic trip to Sydney, Australia, for the 23rd World Youth Day was made public today. The trip is due to take place from 12 to 21 July.
The Pope will depart from Rome's Fiumicino airport at 10 a.m. on Saturday 12 July, landing at 9.15 a.m. (Australian time) at the airport of Darwin/RAAF Military Base. After a brief stopover, his flight will proceed to Sydney's Richmond airport. Having landed there, the Pope will travel to a private residence where he will remain until the morning of Thursday 17 July.
On 17 July, having celebrated Mass in private, the Pope will participate in the welcome ceremony at Sydney's Government House, after which he will pay a courtesy visit to the governor general and meet with the prime minister. Following a brief display of traditional Aboriginal dances and songs, he will then board the ship "Sydney 2000" and be taken to the city's East Darling Harbour where he will be welcomed by young people.
On Friday 18 July he will again celebrate a private Mass after which, at 10.30 a.m., he is due to participate in an ecumenical meeting in the crypt of St. Mary's Cathedral in Sydney before going on to meet with representatives of other religions in the cathedral chapter. Having lunched with a number of young people, he will pronounce a prayer for the beginning of the Way of the Cross in the square in front of St. Mary's Cathedral. At 6.45 p.m. he will meet a group of disadvantaged young people at the Sacred Heart church of Notre Dame University.
At 9.30 a.m. on Saturday 19 July, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in St. Mary's Cathedral with Australian bishops, seminarians and novices, and consecrate the building's new altar. Having had lunch with the bishops, that evening he will travel to the Randwick Racecourse to preside at a prayer vigil with young people.
At 10 a.m. on Sunday 20 July, he will preside at Mass for 23rd World Youth Day and pray the Angelus at Randwick Racecourse. At 6 p.m. on the same day, he will deliver an address during a meeting of benefactors and organisers of the 23rd World Youth Day in the chapter house of St. Mary's Cathedral.
On Monday 21 July, having celebrated Mass in private, the Pope will travel to The Domain in Sydney where he will bid farewell to the 23rd World Youth Day volunteers, and pronounce an address. He will then go directly to Sydney's international airport, where he will be greeted by the authorities before departing by plane for Darwin. Following a brief stopover, his flight will proceed to Rome where the Holy Father is due to arrive at around 11 p.m.
OP/PROGRAMME SYDNEY TRIP/... VIS 080530 (480)
DECREE ON CELEBRATION OF THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments today published a decree authorising the celebration, on 25 January 2009, of Mass for the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, which falls on that Sunday, the third in Ordinary Time.
The decree, signed by Cardinal Francis Arinze and Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, respectively prefect and secretary of the congregation, explains that the authorisation has been given because of the Pauline Year, due to be inaugurated by the Holy Father on 28 June 2008 to commemorate the 2000th anniversary of the birth of the Apostle of the Gentiles.
CCD/CONVERSION ST. PAUL/ARINZE:RANJITH VIS 080530 (120)
SPIRITUAL EXERCISES FOR LEADERS OF CHARITY IN AMERICAS
VATICAN CITY, 30 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" today announced that from 2 to 6 June a series of spiritual exercises will be held in Guadalajara, Mexico, under the direction of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa O.F.M. Cap., preacher of the Pontifical Household.
Some 500 men and women from North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, leaders of the Catholic Church's mission of charity, will participate in the initiative. The Holy Father has sent them a Message in which he "invites all to intensify their friendship with the Lord Jesus. This divine dimension of love characterises the Church's charitable organisations and makes their activity irreplaceable".
The "Cor Unum" English-language communique continues: "The generosity of people today and their willingness to help whenever catastrophe strikes, such as the tsunami or the cyclone in Myanmar, is truly impressive. At the same time, Christians are convinced that, beside material assistance, human affliction needs a message of hope that only Christ can give though faith-filled witness. The Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum', the dicastery of the Holy See charged with orienting and co-ordinating the Church's charitable activities, has proposed this gathering as a school for deepening faith".
CON-CU/SPIRITUAL EXERCISES/GUADALAJARA VIS 080530 (210)IMPORTANCE OF REDISCOVERING CHRISTIAN ROOTS
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2008 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican Benedict XVI received in separate audiences Nikola Gruevski, prime minister of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, then Ivajlo Kalfin, deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the Republic of Bulgaria. Both men, leading delegations from their respective countries, have come to Rome for the commemoration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius.
In his address to the Macedonian delegation, the Pope indicated that the "shining spiritual witness" of Sts. Cyril and Methodius "points to a perennial truth which must be rediscovered to an ever greater degree: only when hope comes from God, is it trustworthy and secure".
"This hope becomes tangible reality when people of good will in all parts of the world, like the brothers Cyril and Methodius, imitating Jesus' example and faithful to His teaching, tirelessly dedicate themselves to laying the foundations of friendly coexistence among peoples, respecting the rights of each and seeking the good of everyone".
In his audience with the delegation from the Republic of Bulgaria, the Holy Father told them that the memory of the two saints "stimulates believers, both Orthodox and Catholics, in their desire to spur the country to probe more deeply into its rich Christian heritage, the origins of which go back to the tireless initiative of these two great evangelisers from Salonika".
"The work of evangelisation, undertaken with apostolic zeal by Sts. Cyril and Methodius in the lands inhabited by the Slav peoples" is still important today, said Pope Benedict, because "it represents a model for the inculturation of faith" valid "even for the post-modern age. The Gospel does not undermine the authentic elements it finds in the various cultural traditions, but helps mankind of all times to recognise and achieve the real good, illuminated by the splendour of truth".
Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by highlighting how "the rediscovery of Christian roots is important for building a society in which the spiritual and cultural values arising from the Gospel remain present", values that "draw nourishment from constant union with God, as is evident from the lives of Sts. Cyril and Methodius who strove relentlessly to weave relationships of mutual understanding and cordiality between different peoples, and between diverse cultures and ecclesial traditions".
AC/ CYRIL METHODIUS/BULGARIA:MACEDONIA VIS 080526 (390)
SPECIAL ENVOY TO ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIRGIN OF THE POOR
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2008 (VIS) - Made public today was a Letter from the Pope, written in Latin and dated 27 March, to Cardinal Godfried Danneels, archbishop of Mechelen-Brussels, Belgium, appointing him as special papal envoy to celebrations marking the 75th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin of the Poor, due to be held at the shrine of Banneux, Belgium on 31 May.
Cardinal Danneels will be accompanied on his mission by Fr. Karl Gatzweiler and Fr. Joseph Bodeson, members of the cathedral chapter of Liege, Belgium.
BXVI-LETTER/SPECIAL ENVOY/DANNEELS VIS 080526 (100)
COMMUNIQUE CONCERNING DIRECTOR OF BAMBINO GESU HOSPITAL
VATICAN CITY, 24 MAY 2008 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a communique released by the Holy See Press Office on the afternoon of Friday 23 May, concerning the position of Giuseppe Profiti, director of the "Bambino Gesu" paediatric hospital in Rome.
"While making clear its total faith in, and desire to collaborate with, the Italian investigating authorities, the Property of the 'Bambino Gesu' paediatric hospital expresses its complete solidarity with the incumbent president, Professor Giuseppe Profiti, who is currently the subject of an enquiry concerning the Italian province of Liguria and the public offices he held in the past.
"Professor Giuseppe Profiti, who last January assumed responsibility for directing the 'Bambino Gesu' hospital, internationally recognised in the field of paediatric research and treatment, has given daily proof of dedication and great professionalism, also garnering the support of his staff, all of them dedicated in a joint effort to respond with excellence to the request for health from their young patients who, from Italy and abroad, come trustingly to the paediatric hospital, property of the Holy See.
"The solidarity of individuals and of institutions translates on the ground into continuing daily efforts ... in support of those who suffer, following Professor Profiti's organisational and methodological guidelines, in the hope that the activity of the magistrates will soon clarify the professor's position and enable him to resume his work".
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THE EUCHARIST IS A SCHOOL OF CHARITY AND SOLIDARITY
VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Feast of the Eucharist, as celebrated at Corpus Christi, was the theme of remarks that Benedict XVI addressed to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, before praying the Angelus today.
"The Lord and Creator of all things became a 'grain of wheat' to be sown in our land, in the furrows of our history", said the Pope. "He became bread in order to be .... shared; ... He became our food in order to give us life, His own divine life".
"The Eucharist is a school of charity and solidarity", he went on. "Those who nourish themselves on the bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent before people who, even in our own time, are without daily bread. Many parents have great difficulty in feeding themselves and their children. It is an ever more serious problem which the international community struggles to resolve. The Church not only prays to 'give us this day our daily bread' but, following the example of her Lord, seeks in all ways 'to multiply the five loaves and the two fish', through countless initiatives of human promotion and participation so that no-one may lack what they need to live".
"May the Feast of Corpus Christi be an occasion to increase this authentic concern for our brothers and sisters, especially the poor", said Benedict XVI and he concluded by calling upon the Virgin Mary "from whom the Son of God drew flesh and blood", to intercede to this end.
ANG/EUCHARIST/... VIS 080526 (260)
MAY THE VIRGIN MARY SUPPORT CHRISTIANS IN CHINA
VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2008 (VIS) - After praying the Angelus today, the Pope addressed a special greeting to Chinese pilgrims present in St. Peter's Square, who have come to Rome from all over Italy for the World Day of Prayer for the Church in China, which was celebrated yesterday 24 May.
"I entrust to the merciful love of God those of your fellow citizens who died as a consequence of the earthquake that struck a vast area of your county", the Holy Father told them.
He then went on to renew his "personal closeness to those who are living through a period of anguish and tribulation. With the fraternal concern of everyone, may the people of those areas soon return to the normality of daily life.
"Together with you, I ask Mary Help of Christians, Our Lady of Sheshan, to support the 'commitment of those within China who, amid their daily labours, continue to believe, to hope and to love, that they may not be afraid to speak of Jesus to the world, and of the world to Jesus', always being 'credible witnesses' of His love and remaining 'united to the rock of Peter upon which the Church is built'".ANG/PRAYER CHINA/... VIS 080526 (210)
CO-OPERATION TO TACKLE PROBLEM OF CLUSTER MUNITIONS
VATICAN CITY, 26 MAY 2008 (VIS) - On 19 May, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi C.S., Holy See permanent observer to the Office of the United Nations and Specialised Institutions in Geneva, delivered an address during a diplomatic conference on cluster munitions being held in Dublin, Ireland.
Speaking English Archbishop Tomasi, head of the Holy See delegation to the conference which is being held from 19 to 30 May, underlined the Holy See's insistence on "the priority of human dignity, of the interests of the victims, the priority of prevention and stability, and on the concept of security based on the lowest level of armament. Peace transcends by far the framework of military considerations. Peace is not just the absence of war".
"In a globalised and more inter-dependent world, the problems of some are the problems of all" said the archbishop, warning that "what is not done today, will have to be done tomorrow with a supplement of suffering, of economic costs, and of deeper wounds to heal".
He referred to moves underway to resolve the problem of cluster munitions, indicating that that "such efforts should be considered by the political and military leadership, and by the people of their countries, as a necessary but quite rewarding participation in the construction of a more peaceful and more secure world, where everyone enjoys greater security".
"In this as in other contexts", he added, "co-operation and partnership are essential for success. A partnership between States, United Nations, international organisations, the Committee of the Red Cross and NGOs, is the secret to a common success and an indispensable element to reach the object of the future instrument. Victims should have a privileged place in this plan, their role should be an active one from start to finish".
Archbishop Tomasi concede that "States have a right to defend peace, security and the stability of peoples under their responsibility" but, he said, "this can be better achieved without recourse to the arms race and to war".
After recalling Paul VI's 1965 address to the U.N. General Assembly when the then Pope had said "one cannot love with offensive arms in hand", the head of the Holy See delegation reminded his listeners that "the eyes of peoples, of victims, of affected countries, are focused on this diplomatic conference, and all wait from us a courageous decision, as Pope Benedict XVI reminded the world" during the Angelus prayer of 18 May.
"The world awaits an act of faith in the human person and his highest aspirations to live in peace and security, a commitment to make solidarity the most splendid expression of the unity of the human family and of its common destiny". DELSS/CLUSTER BOMBS/TOMASI VIS 080526 (460)
PRELATES OF CAUCASUS: SUPPORT FAITHFUL IN DIFFICULTIES
VATICAN CITY, 24 APR 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received prelates from the southern Caucasus region on their "ad limina" visit.
"Since the fall of the Soviet Union", said the Pope in his address to them, "your peoples have seen significant social changes along the road to progress. Yet difficult situations persist: many are the poor, the unemployed, and the refugees whom war has forced from their homes". Nonetheless, he noted, "the flame of the Gospel" has not been extinguished in the Caucasus, "despite there having been no lack of violent confrontations, both internal and from outside, which have caused many victims, among whom the Church includes many martyrs of the faith".
The Holy Father described the Catholic community in the region as "a small flock" in which "Catholics of Armenian, Latin and Chaldean rite coexist with Orthodox, Armenian-Apostolic, Jews and Muslims. In such a multi-religious context", he said, "it is important for Catholics to continue and to intensify their collaboration with other Churches and with the followers of other religions, as already happens in many places".
Pope Benedict associated himself with the Catholic communities' aspiration to see their juridical status recognised, and expressed the hope that Catholic-Orthodox dialogue may lead to a "growth in the fraternity which must characterise relations between Churches, respectful of one another despite differences that still exist".
The Pope then encouraged the prelates to support their faithful so as to ensure that "in the face of difficulties, the joy of professing the faith and of belonging to the Catholic Church never diminishes".
"Pray, and bring others to pray, that workers may never be lacking in the vineyard of the Lord. Continue to promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life. It is necessary to ensure that future generations in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia have saintly priests who live their vocation with joy and generously dedicate themselves to caring for all the faithful".
The Holy Father also invited the prelates to support families who, he said, "are facing no small number of difficulties and are affected by those wounds and those attacks on human life which, unfortunately, take place in so many other parts of the world. ... Educate Christian spouses to 'bear witness to the inestimable value of the indissolubility and fidelity of marriage'".
"I know", said Benedict XVI, "how many efforts you make to spread the Gospel of hope. I am particularly struck by the attention ... you reserve for the needs of the poor and of people in difficulties, thanks also to the precious contribution of religious and laity".
Finally, the Pope encouraged the prelates of the Caucasus to find time for periodic meetings "to verify the pastoral plans you have drawn up, especially as concerns preparation for the Sacraments. Such plans aim above all at the formation of the consciences of the faithful according to evangelical ethics, with a particular attention for the young".
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RITES OF BEATIFICATION APPROVED BY THE HOLY FATHER
VATICAN CITY, 24 APR 2008 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff today announced three beatification ceremonies due to take place over coming days:
Candelaria de San Jose (nee Susana Paz Castillo Ramirez), virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of the Third Regular Order of Venezuela. Her beatification is scheduled for Sunday 27 April in the stadium of the Central University of Caracas, Venezuela.
Maria Maddalena of the Incarnation (nee Caterina Sordini), virgin and foundress of the Order of Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Her beatification is scheduled for 4 p.m. on Saturday 3 May in the Roman Basilica of St. John Lateran.
Maria Rosa Flesch (nee Margherita), virgin and foundress of the Congregation of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Mary of the Angels. Her beatification is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday 4 May in the cathedral of Trier, Germany.
OCL/BEATIFICATIONS/... VIS 080424 (170)
TRANSFERRING TECHNOLOGY TO THE HUMAN DIMENSION
VATICAN CITY, 24 APR 2008 (VIS) - On 17 April, Msgr. Renato Volante, Holy See permanent observer to the Rome-based United Nations Organisation for Food and Agriculture (FAO), participated in the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, which was held in Brasilia, Brazil, on 17 and 18 April.
In his talk, the prelate praised the work FAO accomplishes in collaboration with various governments to eliminate hunger and malnutrition. He also reaffirmed the support of the Holy See, "with her essentially ethical perspective, for those political and social options capable of providing a concrete and coherent response to current needs. It is clear that the lack of adequate nutrition not only impedes the full development of the personality of men and women, but also constitutes an evident negation of their rights, beginning with the fundamental right to life, of which nutrition is an indispensable component".
This conference, said Msgr. Volante, shows how the main requirement is "to transfer to the human dimension those forces ... which technology and new scientific research make it possible apply to agriculture and, hence, to food production".
Going on to refer to one of the central questions being examined at the Brasilia meeting, that of food security, the permanent observer indicated that this involves "considering not only the difficulties in agricultural production provoked by environmental and territorial factors" but also "those deriving from unfavourable trade policies, ... caused by the absence of progress in multilateral negotiations on trade in agricultural products". In this context, he also recalled how the economy of many countries "depends almost exclusively on the export of a limited number of typical products, while their food security depends on the importation of many food products".
Agricultural reform continues to be an "open and problematic question", he said, "and its slow evolution in countries of the region confirms the need to adopt land ownership strategies and laws that can be effectively implemented. ... All agricultural reform must take account of the situation of smallholders and of indigenous communities, whose traditions are often far distant from the institutions and from the advantages offered by new production criteria. ... This is a priority objective to which the Catholic Church gives great attention, and in which she remains ready to collaborate using her structures, and through forms of association and co-operation".
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OVERCOME ALL FORMS OF SEPARATION BETWEEN FAITH AND LIFE
VATICAN CITY, 20 APR 2008 (VIS) - At 2.30 p.m. local time today, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass in New York's Yankees Stadium, which since 1923 has been the home ground of the New York Yankees baseball team.
Before the Eucharistic celebration, the Pope made a tour of the stadium by popemobile, receiving a rapturous welcome from the 60,000 people gathered there. The Mass commemorated the bicentennial of the dioceses of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, created 200 years ago with territory taken from the mother see of Baltimore.
In his homily, Benedict XVI recalled that today's celebration "is also a sign of the impressive growth which God has given to the Church in your country in the past 200 years. ... In this land of freedom and opportunity, the Church has united a widely diverse flock in the profession of the faith and, through her many educational, charitable and social works, has also contributed significantly to the growth of American society as a whole".
Commenting on the readings, the Holy Father highlighted how they show "the power of the word of God, authoritatively proclaimed by the Apostles and received in faith, to create a unity which transcends the divisions arising from human limitations and weakness.
"Here", he added, "we are reminded of a fundamental truth: that the Church's unity has no other basis than the Word of God, made flesh in Christ Jesus our Lord. All external signs of identity, all structures, associations and programmes, valuable or even essential as they may be, ultimately exist only to support and foster the deeper unity which, in Christ, is God's indefectible gift to His Church. .... The Church's unity is 'apostolic'. It is a visible unity, grounded in the Apostles, ... and it is born of what the Scriptures call 'the obedience of faith'".
The Pope then went on to explain how the words "authority" and "obedience" represent "a 'stumbling stone' for many of our contemporaries, especially in a society which rightly places a high value on personal freedom. Yet, in the light of our faith in Jesus Christ, ... we come to see the fullest meaning, value, and indeed beauty, of those words. The Gospel teaches us that true freedom ... is found only in the self-surrender which is part of the mystery of love".
"And this freedom in truth brings in its wake a new and liberating way of seeing reality. When we put on 'the mind of Christ', new horizons open before us! In the light of faith, within the communion of the Church, we also find the inspiration and strength to become a leaven of the Gospel in the world".
"In these 200 years, the face of the Catholic community in your country has changed greatly", Benedict XVI observed. "We think of the successive waves of immigrants whose traditions have so enriched the Church in America. We think of the strong faith which built up the network of churches, educational, healthcare and social institutions which have long been the hallmark of the Church in this land"
"In this land of religious liberty, Catholics found freedom not only to practice their faith, but also to participate fully in civic life, bringing their deepest moral convictions to the public square and co-operating with their neighbours in shaping a vibrant, democratic society. Today's celebration is more than an occasion of gratitude for graces received. It is also a summons to move forward with firm resolve to use wisely the blessings of freedom, in order to build a future of hope for coming generations".
The Holy Father invited all those present to pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God. This, he said, "also means being constantly alert for the signs of its presence, and working for its growth in every sector of society. It means facing the challenges of present and future with confidence in Christ's victory and a commitment to extending His reign. It means not losing heart in the face of resistance, adversity and scandal. It means overcoming every separation between faith and life, and countering false gospels of freedom and happiness. It also means rejecting a false dichotomy between faith and political life, since, as Vatican Council II put it, 'there is no human activity - even in secular affairs - which can be withdrawn from God's dominion'".
"As 'a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation', follow faithfully in the footsteps of those who have gone before you!", exclaimed Pope Benedict at the end of his homily. "Find the courage to proclaim Christ, ... and the unchanging truths which have their foundation in Him. These are the truths that set us free! They are the truths which alone can guarantee respect for the inalienable dignity and rights of each man, woman and child in our world - including the most defenceless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother's womb. In a world where, as Pope John Paul II, speaking in this very place, reminded us, Lazarus continues to stand at our door, let your faith and love bear rich fruit in outreach to the poor, the needy and those without a voice".
PV-U.S.A./HOMILY YANKEES STADIUM/NEW YORK VIS 080421 (880)
PROMOTE PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE BETWEEN NATIONS
VATICAN CITY, 20 APR 2008 (VIS) - At 8 p.m. local time today, the Pope arrived at New York's John Fitzgerald Kennedy international airport at the end of his visit to the United States. The farewell ceremony was held in the presence of political and civil authorities; U.S. cardinals; the president, vice-president and secretary general of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and 5,000 faithful from the diocese of Brooklyn where the airport is located, led by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio.
Following a greeting pronounced by U. S. Vice-President Richard B. Cheney, the Pope delivered the final address of his trip.
The Holy Father spoke of his "deep appreciation" for the welcome he had received, thanking U.S. President Bush "for kindly coming to greet me at the start of my visit, and ... Vice-President Cheney for his presence here as I depart".
"Once again I offer prayerful good wishes to the representatives of the see of Baltimore, the first archdiocese, and those of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, in this jubilee year".
To his brother bishops and to "the officers and staff of the episcopal conference who have contributed in so many ways to the preparation of this visit", the Pope extended his "renewed gratitude for their hard work and dedication. With great affection I greet once more the priests and religious, the deacons, the seminarians and young people, and all the faithful in the United States, and I encourage you to continue bearing joyful witness to Christ our Hope, our Risen Lord and Saviour, Who makes all things new and gives us life in abundance".
The Holy Father identified "one of the high-points" of his visit as "the opportunity to address the General Assembly of the United Nations". In this context, he also thanked Ban Ki-moon, U.N. secretary general, "for his kind invitation and welcome".
Benedict XVI went on: "Looking back over the 60 years that have passed since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I give thanks for all that the Organisation has been able to achieve in defending and promoting the fundamental rights of every man, woman and child throughout the world, and I encourage people of good will everywhere to continue working tirelessly to promote justice and peaceful co-existence between peoples and nations.
The visit to Ground Zero, said the Pope, "will remain firmly etched in my memory, as I continue to pray for those who died and for all who suffer in consequence of the tragedy that occurred there in 2001. For all the people of America, and indeed throughout the world, I pray that the future will bring increased fraternity and solidarity, a growth in mutual respect, and a renewed trust and confidence in God, our heavenly Father.
"With these words, I take my leave, I ask you to remember me in your prayers, and I assure you of my affection and friendship in the Lord. May God bless America!"
The papal aircraft took off at 8.30 p.m. local time (2.30 a.m. in Rome). Following a flight of slightly more than eight hours, his plane is due to land at Rome's Ciampino airport at 10.45 a.m., whence the Pope will travel by car to the Vatican.
PV-U.S.A./FAREWELL/NEW YORK VIS 080421 (540)
CATHOLICS MUST OFFER A CONVINCING ACCOUNT OF THEIR HOPE
VATICAN CITY, 17 APR 2008 (VIS) - At 9.30 a.m. local time today, the Pope arrived by car at the Nationals Park Stadium of Washington D.C., which has capacity for 45,000 spectators and is the most modern baseball stadium in the United States. The Holy Father was welcomed by Archbishop Donald William Wuerl of Washington, by Adrian M. Fenty, mayor of Washington D.C., and by Theodore Lerner, owner of the stadium and its team.
Benedict XVI made a tour of the stadium by popemobile before moving to the sacristy. Mass, dedicated to the faithful of the archdiocese of Washington, began at 10 a.m.
In his homily, the Holy Father recalled how Pope Pius VII had divided the diocese of Baltimore and established the dioceses of Boston, Bardstown (now Louisville), New York and Philadelphia. "Two hundred years later, the Church in America can rightfully praise the accomplishment of past generations in bringing together widely differing immigrant groups within the unity of the Catholic faith and in a common commitment to the spread of the Gospel", he said.
Benedict XVI then went on to express the hope that "this significant anniversary" and his own visit "will be an occasion for all Catholics to reaffirm their unity in the apostolic faith, to offer their contemporaries a convincing account of the hope which inspires them, and to be renewed in missionary zeal for the extension of God's Kingdom.
"The world needs this witness", he added. "Who can deny that the present moment ... is a time of great promise, as we see the human family in many ways drawing closer together and becoming ever more interdependent. Yet at the same time we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations of society: ... increased violence; a weakening of the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God".
"The fidelity and courage with which the Church in this country will respond to the challenges raised by an increasingly secular and materialistic culture will depend in large part upon your own fidelity in handing on the treasure of our Catholic faith. ... The challenges confronting us require a comprehensive and sound instruction in the truths of the faith. But they also call for cultivating a mindset, an intellectual 'culture', which is genuinely Catholic, confident in the profound harmony of faith and reason, and prepared to bring the richness of faith's vision to bear on the urgent issues which affect the future of American society".
Recalling how his U.S. visit "is meant to be a witness to 'Christ our Hope'", the Pope expressed the view that "Americans have always been a people of hope" whose ancestors came to the country "with the expectation of finding new freedom and opportunity", and of building "a new nation on new foundations.
"To be sure", he added, "this promise was not experienced by all the inhabitants of this land; one thinks of the injustices endured by the native American peoples and by those brought here forcibly from Africa as slaves. Yet hope, hope for the future, is very much a part of the American character. And the Christian virtue of hope ... has also marked, and continues to mark, the life of the Catholic community in this country".
He continued: "It is in the context of this hope born of God's love and fidelity that I acknowledge the pain which the Church in America has experienced as a result of the sexual abuse of minors. No words of mine could describe the pain and harm inflicted by such abuse. It is important that those who have suffered be given loving pastoral attention. Nor can I adequately describe the damage that has occurred within the community of the Church. Great efforts have already been made to deal honestly and fairly with this tragic situation, and to ensure that children - whom our Lord loves so deeply, and who are our greatest treasure - can grow up in a safe environment. These efforts to protect children must continue".
Pope Benedict called on the faithful to do everything possible "to foster healing and reconciliation, and to assist those who have been hurt", as well as "to love your priests, and to affirm them in the excellent work that they do".
"Through the surpassing power of Christ's grace, entrusted to frail human ministers, the Church is constantly reborn and each of us is given the hope of a new beginning" said the Holy Father. "Let us trust in the Spirit's power to inspire conversion, to heal every wound, to overcome every division, and to inspire new life and freedom. How much we need these gifts! And how close at hand they are, particularly in the Sacrament of Penance!
"The liberating power of this Sacrament ... needs to be rediscovered and re-appropriated by every Catholic. To a great extent, the renewal of the Church in America depends on the renewal of the practice of Penance and the growth in holiness which that Sacrament both inspires and accomplishes".
"'In hope we were saved'", exclaimed the Pope, exhorting the faithful "to continue to be a leaven of evangelical hope in American society" and, by the witness of faith, to "point the way towards that vast horizon of hope which God is even now opening up to His Church, and indeed to all humanity: the vision of a world reconciled and renewed in Christ Jesus, our Saviour"
At the end of his homily, the Holy Father addressed some worlds to the Hispanic community. "The Church in the United States", he said, "welcoming so many of her immigrant children to her bosom, has grown thanks also to the witness of faith of the Spanish-speaking faithful. ... Do not let yourselves be defeated by pessimism, inertia or problems. ... The Lord calls you to continue contributing to the future of the Church in this country and to spreading the Gospel".
Mass over, the Pope blessed the first stone of the altar of the John Paul the Great Catholic school of the diocese of Arlington, and the first stone of the new chapel of the St. Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California. PV-U.S.A./HOPE/WASHINGTON VIS 080418 (1040)
EDUCATION IS INTEGRAL TO THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
VATICAN CITY, 17 APR 2008 (VIS) - At 5 p.m. local time (11 p.m. in Rome), the Pope went to the Catholic University of Washington where he met with representatives from the Catholic academic world. The event was attended by a total of around 600 people, including 235 rectors of Catholic universities and colleges, 195 diocesan heads of education, as well as professors and students.
"Education", said the Pope in his address, "is integral to the mission of the Church to proclaim the Good News".
"Set against personal struggles, moral confusion and fragmentation of knowledge, the noble goals of scholarship and education, founded on the unity of truth and in service of the person and the community, become an especially powerful instrument of hope".
The Pope highlighted the need "to reflect on what is particular to our Catholic institutions" and to ask: "how do they contribute to the good of society through the Church's primary mission of evangelisation?"
He went on: "A university or school's Catholic identity is not simply a question of the number of Catholic students. It is a question of conviction - do we really believe that only in the mystery of the Word made flesh does the mystery of man truly become clear? ... Do we accept the truth Christ reveals? Is the faith tangible in our universities and schools?"
"The contemporary 'crisis of truth' is rooted in a 'crisis of faith'", he said. " Only through faith can we freely give our assent to God's testimony and acknowledge Him as the transcendent guarantor of the truth He reveals. ... Freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in - a participation in Being itself. Hence authentic freedom can never be attained by turning away from God".
The Holy Father explained how the Church's mission to evangelise "involves her in humanity's struggle to arrive at truth. In articulating revealed truth she serves all members of society by purifying reason, ensuring that it remains open to the consideration of ultimate truths".
"With confidence, Christian educators can liberate the young from the limits of positivism and awaken receptivity to the truth, to God and His goodness. In this way you will also help to form their conscience which, enriched by faith, opens a sure path to inner peace and to respect for others".
"When nothing beyond the individual is recognised as definitive", the Pope warned, "the ultimate criterion of judgement becomes the self and the satisfaction of the individual's immediate wishes".
Then, after thanking the academic authorities for their "dedication and generosity" and "selfless contributions" which "serve both your country and the Church", Benedict XVI recalled that "any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's 'munus docendi' and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.
"Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice", he added. "This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church's Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution's life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual".
The Pope had special words of encouragement for teachers of catechesis, both lay and religious. "Religious education", he said, "is a challenging apostolate, yet there are many signs of a desire among young people to learn about the faith and practice it with vigour". In conclusion, he encouraged religious and priests not to "abandon the school apostolate; indeed, renew your commitment to schools especially those in poorer areas".
PV-U.S.A./ACADEMIC WORLD/WASHINGTON VIS 080418 (660)
DISCOVERING TRUTH: PURPOSE OF INTER-RELIGIOUS DIALOGUE
VATICAN CITY, 17 APR 2008 (VIS) - In the Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre in Washington D.C. at 6.30 p.m. local time today, Benedict XVI met with some 200 representatives of five religious communities: Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and Jains. The Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre was founded in 1998 at the initiative of the then archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Joseph Adam Maida, and was inaugurated in 2001 in the presence of President George W. Bush. It is a place of meeting, dialogue and academic research on the relationship between faith and culture.
"This country has a long history of co-operation between different religions in many spheres of public life", said the Pope in his address. "Inter-religious prayer services during the national feast of Thanksgiving, joint initiatives in charitable activities, a shared voice on important public issues: these are some ways in which members of different religions come together to enhance mutual understanding and promote the common good".
The Holy Father recalled how "Americans have always valued the ability to worship freely and in accordance with their conscience". Today, "children of all religions sit side-by-side, learning with one another and from one another. This diversity gives rise to new challenges that spark a deeper reflection on the core principles of a democratic society.
"May others", he added, "take heart from your experience, realising that a united society can indeed arise from a plurality of peoples, ... provided that all recognise religious liberty as a basic civil right.
"The task of upholding religious freedom is never completed", the Holy Father observed. "Protecting religious freedom within the rule of law does not guarantee that peoples - particularly minorities - will be spared from unjust forms of discrimination and prejudice. This requires constant effort on the part of all members of society to ensure that citizens are afforded the opportunity to worship peaceably and to pass on their religious heritage to their children".
Going on to examine the question of dialogue between religions, the Pope expressed the view that "as we grow in understanding of one another, we see that we share an esteem for ethical values, discernible to human reason, which are revered by all peoples of goodwill. The world begs for a common witness to these values. I therefore invite all religious people to view dialogue not only as a means of enhancing mutual understanding, but also as a way of serving society at large".
The Holy Father noted the "growing interest among governments to sponsor programmes intended to promote inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue", and he described such initiatives as "praiseworthy". However, "at the same time, religious freedom, inter-religious dialogue and faith-based education aim at something more than a consensus regarding ways to implement practical strategies for advancing peace. The broader purpose of dialogue is to discover the truth".
"Spiritual leaders have a special duty ... to place the deeper questions at the forefront of human consciousness, to reawaken mankind to the mystery of human existence, and to make space in a frenetic world for reflection and prayer".
He went on: "Confronted with these deeper questions concerning the origin and destiny of mankind, Christianity proposes Jesus of Nazareth. ... The ardent desire to follow in His footsteps spurs Christians to open their minds and hearts in dialogue".
"In our attempt to discover points of commonality, perhaps we have shied away from the responsibility to discuss our differences with calmness and clarity", suggested Pope Benedict. "While always uniting our hearts and minds in the call for peace, we must also listen attentively to the voice of truth.
"In this way, our dialogue will not stop at identifying a common set of values, but go on to probe their ultimate foundation. We have no reason to fear", he concluded, "for the truth unveils for us the essential relationship between the world and God. We are able to perceive that peace is a 'heavenly gift' that calls us to conform human history to the divine order".
Having completed his discourse, the Pope moved on to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Centre's Polish National Room. There he met representatives of the Jewish community to whom he consigned a Message for the Feast of the Passover, which this year begins on Saturday 19 April.
In his Passover Message, the Pope writes: "At this time of your most solemn celebration, I feel particularly close, precisely because of what 'Nostra Aetate' calls Christians to remember always: that the Church 'received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the ancient Covenant. ... In addressing myself to you I wish to re-affirm the Second Vatican Council's teaching on Catholic-Jewish relations and reiterate the Church's commitment to the dialogue that in the past forty years has fundamentally changed our relationship for the better.
"Because of that growth in trust and friendship", the Holy Father adds in his Message, "Christians and Jews can rejoice together in the deep spiritual ethos of the Passover, a memorial of freedom and redemption. Each year, when we listen to the Passover story we return to that blessed night of liberation. This holy time of the year should be a call to both our communities to pursue justice, mercy, solidarity with the stranger in the land, with the widow and orphan, as Moses commanded".
"This bond permits us Christians to celebrate alongside you, though in our own way, the Passover of Christ's death and resurrection, which we see as inseparable from your own, for Jesus Himself said: 'salvation is from the Jews'. Our Easter and your Pesah, while distinct and different, unite us in our common hope centred on God and His mercy".
"With respect and friendship, I therefore ask the Jewish community to accept my Pesah greeting in a spirit of openness to the real possibilities of co-operation which we see before us as we contemplate the urgent needs of our world, and as we look with compassion upon the sufferings of millions of our brothers and sisters everywhere. Naturally, our shared hope for peace in the world embraces the Middle East and the Holy Land in particular. May the memory of God's mercies, which Jews and Christians celebrate at this festive time, inspire all those responsible for the future of that region - where the events surrounding God's revelation actually took place - to new efforts, and especially to new attitudes and a new purification of hearts!"
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MEETING WITH U.S. PRESIDENT, VESPERS WITH BISHOPS
VATICAN CITY, 16 APR 2008 (VIS) - This morning the Pope, who celebrates his 81st birthday today, celebrated a private Mass in the chapel of the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C.
At 10.10 a.m. local time (4.10 p.m. in Rome) Benedict XVI will travel by car to the White House for the welcome ceremony, during which he is scheduled to deliver an address and, subsequently, to hold a private meeting with U.S. President George Bush.
The Holy Father will lunch with American cardinals and with the president, vice-president and secretary general of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), respectively Cardinal Francis E. George O.M.I., Bishop Gerald Kicanas and Msgr. David Malloy. At 4.45 p.m. local time (10.45 p.m. in Rome) he will meet with leaders of five charitable organisations: the Knights of Columbus, the Patrons of the Arts, Centesimus Annus Pro Pontefice, the Papal Foundation and the Franciscan Foundation for the Holy Land.
At 5.30 p.m. local time (11.30 p.m. in Rome) the Holy Father will go to Washington's National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where he will preside at the celebration of Vespers with United States bishops.
Following the ceremony, the Pope will return to the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C., where he will dine in private and spend the night.
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POPE APPEALS FOR PEACE IN SOMALIA VATICAN CITY, NOV 21, 2007 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Pope launched and appeal for peace in Somalia. "Distressing news is reaching us," he said, "concerning the precarious humanitarian situation in Somalia, and especially in Mogadishu, ever more profoundly afflicted by social insecurity and poverty. I am following the development of events with concern and appeal to all those with political responsibility, at both local and international level, to find peaceful solutions and bring relief to that dear people. I also encourage the efforts of those who, though facing insecurity and discomfort, remain in the region to bring aid and comfort to the inhabitants." AG/PEACE SOMALIA/... VIS 071121 (120)
VATICAN CITY, NOV 10, 2007 (VIS) - This morning, the Holy Father received prelates from the Portuguese Episcopal Conference who have just completed their "ad limina" visit. In his talk to them the Pope invited the bishops to give thanks to God "for the great mercy He showed towards the pilgrim Church in Portugal during the Holy Year, and over subsequent years which were impregnated with that same jubilee spirit." Benedict XVI recalled the numerous initiatives undertaken by Portuguese prelates during recent times: "the general register of Sunday Mass, ... the organization, in more than one diocese, of a eucharistic 'statio,' ... the celebration of a national meeting for movements and new ecclesial communities and of a congress on the family, ... the signing in 2004 of a new Concordat, and the acclamation of exemplary sanctity in the person of a number of new Blesseds." Referring to the need to find "new ways to integrate the faithful into community life," the Pope said: "It is necessary to change the manner of organization of the Portuguese ecclesial community and the mentality of its members," so as to ensure "that the Church marches to the rhythm of Vatican Council II and that the functions of clergy and laity remain clearly established," at the same time bearing in mind the fact that "we are all one since we were baptized and integrated into the family of the children of God, and we are all responsible for the growth of the Church." "Ecclesiology of communion in accordance with the Council," the Pope continued, "is the right path that must be followed," though "without losing sight of possible obstacles such as horizontalism, ... democratization in the attribution of sacramental ministries, parity between conferred orders and new services, and discussion over which of the members of the community is first (a useless discussion because the Lord Jesus has already decided who is last)." The Holy Father pointed out that, despite the fact that it is sometimes necessary to discuss the attribution of responsibility, "such questions must not distract us from the true mission of the Church" which must "speak principally not of herself but of God." "The evangelization of individuals and of communities depends on ... the encounter with Jesus Christ," said Benedict XVI, recalling how "Christian initiation normally takes place via the Church." "Faced with the large number of non-practicing Christians in your dioceses," said the Pope, "it might be worthwhile to verify 'the effectiveness of current approaches to Christian initiation, so that the faithful can be helped both to mature through the formation received in our communities and to give their lives an authentically Eucharistic direction, so that they can offer a reason for the hope within them in a way suited to our times'." The Pope concluded by recalling the recent celebrations for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady. "I like to think of Fatima," he said, "as a school of faith in which the Virgin Mary is the teacher. There she placed her cathedra to teach the young wayfarers, and later the masses, the eternal truths and the arts of prayer, belief and love." AL/.../PORTUGAL VIS 071112 (540)