BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

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TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 8 ottobre 2010 16:09



Pope Benedict XVI receives
President Sarkozy of France





10 OCT 2010 (RV) - As speculated last month, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France paid a visit this morning to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

During the course of their visit, the French President presented the Holy Father with a collection of books by the French author, René de Chateaubriand – in particular, a five-volume set of Chateaubriand’s Memoires and the two-volume Genius of Christianity.

Sarkozy received in exchange a ceramic model and print of St. Peter's Basilica.

The Pope and the President met and spoke privately for a half hour.

A Statement from the Press Office of the Holy See issued after the meeting said that at the center of their cordial exchanges, were subjects of international politics, such as the peace process in the Middle East, the situation of Christians in several countries and the enlargement of the representation of the world in multilateral institutions.

The Pope and the President also discussed the importance of the ethical and social dimensions of economic issues. along which they both stressed the perspective proposed by the Encyclical Caritas in veritate.

After recalling the Apostolic Journey of His Holiness to Lourdes and Paris in 2008, and the visit of President Sarkozy they year before, Pope Benedict and President Sarkozy reaffirmed the mutual desire to maintain an ongoing dialogue at different institutional levels and continue to collaborate constructively on issues of common interest.

President Sarkozy went on to meet with the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone, who was accompanied by the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.


Sarkozy's fence-mending visit
after flap over gypsy crackdown

By NICOLE WINFIELD


VATICAN CITY, Oct. 8 (AP) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy met Friday with the Pope and top Vatican officials in a fence-mending visit following France's controversial crackdown on Gypsies, while a top Vatican cardinal urged France to welcome immigrants and those who have been persecuted.

Sarkozy's government has linked gypsies, or Roma, to crime, dismantled hundreds of their shantytowns and expelled more than 1,000 Roma in recent months, sending them home to Romania and Bulgaria.

The crackdown has been criticized by many Roman Catholics, and Pope Benedict XVI himself appeared to weigh in on it with a subtle message about tolerance over the summer.

Speaking in French to pilgrims gathered at his summer residence Aug. 22, Benedict urged people to accept "legitimate human diversity" and asked parents to "educate your children about universal brotherhood," a statement that was widely interpreted as being directed at France.

On Friday, French Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, who heads the Vatican's office for inter-religious dialogue, added his voice to the chorus. He referred to the issue during a private prayer service he celebrated in Sarkozy's honor in a chapel inside St. Peter's Basilica.

As Sarkozy and his delegation listened, Tauran asked for prayers for France and its leaders, for the "absolute respect for life," for peace, justice "and that immigrants and those who are persecuted are welcomed."

Sarkozy has defended the expulsions, saying they are part of an overall crackdown on illegal immigrants and crime. Most of the Roma in France are from Romania and Bulgaria, and as EU citizens, they have a right to travel to France, but must get permission to work or live there in the long term. The government also says most of the Roma are leaving voluntarily, with a small stipend from France.

In an opinion piece in the International Herald Tribune newspaper Friday, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner defended the government's position, saying, "like any other government, it is the duty of the French authorities to enforce the law. It is as simple as that."

The Vatican made no explicit mention of the matter in its communique issued after Sarkozy's meetings, saying only that there was a shared desire to continue to collaborate "on questions of common interest."

Sarkozy arrived for his audience with the Pope about 15 minutes late, looking tense. But by the end of the half-hour visit, he appeared relaxed as he presented the Pope with a collection of books and received in exchange a ceramic model and print of St. Peter's Basilica.

Sarkozy then asked the Pope for an extra rosary - the gift Benedict usually gives delegation members traveling with visiting heads of state. Benedict's personal secretary Monsignor Georg Ganswein fetched one from a drawer and gave it to Sarkozy.

After the audience, Sarkozy was to have lunch with the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

Le Parisien newspaper said Sarkozy's visit to the Vatican was seen as a chance to repair his image with France's Catholics, many of whom have been disturbed above all by his "'bling-bling' image, his relationship to money, and quite simply his way of being."

The Rev. Philippe Verdin, a Dominican priest who published a book of interviews with Sarkozy in 2004, said Sarkozy was engaged in a "great spiritual quest."

"He is very intuitive and understands how important prayer is: He's a man who prays," Le Parisien newspaper quoted Verdin as saying. "He is very concerned about giving grace to God. I am sure he thanked God for allowing him to meet Carla Bruni."

Bruni, Sarkozy's wife, did not attend the papal audience Friday.

Some observers complained that Sarkozy showed a lack of gravitas during his 2007 visit to the Vatican. News reports at the time said he was seen sneaking a peek at a text message on his cell phone while he presented his delegation to the Pope.

Bizarrely, Sarkozy's delegation that year also included standup comic Jean-Marie Bigard, whose humor is often described as crude.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 8 ottobre 2010 17:28



The headline is Anna's own! ... Attagirl! Proclaimed like a true Benaddict....

Pope groupie meets Pope


Oct. 7, 2010


In St Peter's Square just after meeting the Pope; inset, at the Catholic Press Congress earlier.

An emotional and slightly self-indulgent blog post from Rome where I have been taking part in a conference on Catholic media organised by the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

There were a couple of fantastic talks which really stuck out: John Thavis of the Catholic News Service gave a talk on Catholic media covering the abuse crisis in America in the 1990s, while Ludwig Ring-Eifel of Katholische Nachrichten Agentur gave an interesting insight into the Catholic press in Germany, explaining that a Catholic press that was subsidised risked not noticing that no one was reading it any more.

Meanwhile, on a panel about the internet, Sandro Magister, Italian über-blogger spoke about how he developed the digital coverage of the Church while an African Dominican gave a fascinating talk about the digital divide between Africa and the developed world, and made us see everything with a bit more perspective. The physical reality of the internet – fibre optic cables – became incredibly relevant.

But I would be lying if I didn’t say the best part of the whole conference was getting to meet the Holy Father today after he addressed the group of around 200 Catholic journalists about the future of Catholic journalism. Sadly the speech doesn’t exist in English yet. [If only Anna knew about our Forum, she would know thatit was translated promptly here!]

I wasn’t expecting to meet the Pope so I was happy I had packed a black frock but was worried because I thought protocol would require me to wear a mantilla. After a slightly hopeless search I went to see a friend who works with the Order of Malta and miracle of miracles he helped find one I could borrow.

The Holy Father looked tired* but was sweet and gentle. Fighting back the tears of excitement and emotion I told him that his visit to Britain had brought joy and hope to people. He asked, “Really?” And then I said: “Yes really.” And he said: “Thank you. God’s blessing [Gottes Segen]“.

*[Before addressing the journalists, the Pope had received the new ambassador from Chile; Cardinal Cordes; and the officers of the Venezuelan bishops' conferences. hearing from them first hand about Hugo Chavez's latest insanities would be more tiring than a day in Palermo on pastoral visit!]


P.S. Some thumbnails from Catholic Press Photo taken during the recent Catholic Press Congress gives us faces to go with familiar bylines:

From left, John Thavis of CNS; Sandro Magister; Jesus Colina, editor of ZENIT; Karl Ring-Eifel of KNA; Magister with Mons. Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 8 ottobre 2010 19:15


I cannot believe I missed this particular aticle, even if I am aware that I have only skimmed the material out there during and after the Holy Father's triumph in the UK... and will continue to post anything I find interesting or informative even long after the event....

Hyde Park vigil was ‘beyond words’,
says Archbishop Nichols

By Nibin Thomas

1 October 2010


Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster has said the silence of 80,000 people praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament at Hyde Park was “something beyond words”.

The Archbishop said in a video reflection: “I can never forget that sense of 80-90,000 people in total silence in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in Hyde Park. It was something beyond words – the fruit of a lot of prayer and a moment of profound grace. It shows the beauty of holiness.”

He also said that “heart did speak to heart” during the four days of Pope Benedict XVI’s first visit to Britain.

Archbishop Nichols described as a privilege his own journey in the popemobile with the Pope though the streets of London, and feeling engulfed by the “wave of joy and happiness” that greeted the Pope.

The Archbishop, in particular, emphasised a sentence from the Pope’s speech at Westminster Cathedral. “He said to us: ‘Be witnesses to the beauty of holiness, the splendour of the truth and the joy and freedom born of a relationship with Christ’. That’s the sentence I suggest we ponder as a great gift from the Holy Father.”

Archbishop Nichols encouraged Catholics to learn how to talk about their faith through the example of the Holy Father. He asked them to be gentle and respectful in their dealings with others, especially those who do not share similar views, and admiring their achievements instead of pointing out errors.

He said that the Pope had drawn attention to the crucifix at Westminster Cathedral during his visit because that was where real joy and happiness came from.

He said: “Where does joy and happiness come from? Not because we are innocent, not because we are clever, but because we are forgiven.”

The Archbishop invited Catholics to be more confident in their faith. He said: “Let it show. Wish people ‘God Bless’ at the end of a conversation. Offer to pray for them – especially if they’re having a hard time, and don’t be afraid to use the signs of faith like a simple sign of the Cross at home at the beginning and end of the day with those you live with – those in your family.”


A few days later, Archbishop Nichols spoke of the sex abuse scandal in the Church and used a metaphor in the lay world that ought to resonate....


Archbishop Nichols:
'Paedophile scandal is like the banking crisis:
Sins of the few are attributed to entire system'

By Steve Doughty

6th October 2010


England's Roman Catholic leader has compared his Church’s paedophile scandal with the banking collapse that led to the recession.

Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols linked the behaviour of abusive priests with that of the City traders whose unrestrained lending threw the financial world into crisis.

The comparison astonished an audience during a question and answer session at Mansion House in London.

It also focused fresh attention on the Church’s long-running embarrassment over child abuse which many of the archbishop’s colleagues had hoped may have been put to rest by the Pope’s visit to Britain last month.

Pope Benedict XVI expressed his ‘deep sorrow’ for the ‘unspeakable crimes’ of child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church’.

Paedophile clerics worldwide are estimated to have raped around 3,000 children over the past 50 years, but their crimes were habitually covered up by Church authorities.

The archbishop told an audience including bankers and Labour MP Frank Field, an adviser on poverty to the Coalition, that the bad actions of a small minority will often command the attention of the public.

Replying to a suggestion that a few badly-mismanaged banks had tarnished the reputation of the City, he suggested that the good works of the majority are overshadowed by the misbehaviour of the few.

‘That’s what sticks, that’s what you have to deal with,’ the archbishop said.

His remarks raised eyebrows among senior bankers. The Financial Times said in a commentary that ‘you could just about see his point’, but added: ‘Is it really an appropriate comparison to make?’[Why ever not? Sin is sin. Why should sex abuse on a child be considered 'worse' than ethical abuse that leads to the financial ruin of thousands if not millions of people, a ruin that can even lead to suicides? In both cases, the ynderlyign drive is lust - carnal lust, in one case; unbridled lust for wealth and power, in teh other!]

His decision to raise the scandal follows a decade of widely-praised efforts by Catholic leaders in England to set up new administrative systems to ensure there could be no further tolerance of paedophile priests. [To those who can read, Caritas in veritate was a condemnation of all the unethical financial practices that inevitably bring on a crisis like the one we have had since 2007!]

The archbishop’s comparison also amounted to a stronger condemnation of the behaviour of the City than that made by Pope Benedict during his state visit.

The Pope said the financial crisis was a result of moral failure, but kept his condemnation of paedophile priests entirely separate.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 8 ottobre 2010 22:06
MEDIA MONITOR:
Three cases


The Pope's pastoral visit to Venice

I was wondering why no one in the Anglophone media was picking up the story in the Italian media yesterday morning about the Holy Father's pastoral visit to Venice and Aquileia in May next year (my first news post yesterday, posted on the preceding page of this thread). CNA finally woke up today and translated one of the stories but without acknowledging the news source.... CNS has not reported on it, and I don't see it in Catholic Herald, either.
www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-benedict-xvi-to-visit-venice-...

It was a strange oversight by the Anglophone Catholic media, because the announcement was made by Cardinal Scola himself (though it had been speculated on earlier by one Italian newspaper) and he gave specifics - and due to the fact that Venice is the destination, which no Pope had visited in 26 years and which had given the Church three of its Popes in the 20th century!.

The CNA and CNS writers in Rome are generally prompt to pick up what the OR says about, say, reproving Berlusconi for his questionable remarks in public, to cite their most recent pick-up. That particular story was not provided in the online selection of OR (and I can understand why not!), so CNA/CNS must have taken it from the paper edition. If it had been in the online edition, I would probably have cited it in my little summaries of what's in OR but not bothered to translate it on its own because it is merely peripheral.




There was a minor story that got some play in many news outlets earlier this week, judging by the online news summaries, but which I chose to sideline because it was based on a wrong premise, as a vigilant Catholic site points out today... And yet it was purveyed by AFP, which is one of the top three international news agencies serving media outlets around the world.


Iranian leader thanks Pope -
for something the Pope never said


October 07, 2010

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has thanked Pope Benedict XVI for denouncing an American fundamentalist pastor’s plan to burn the Qu’ran — although the Pope never made such a public statement.

In letter to the Pope, made public on his office web site, Ahmadinejad wrote: “I thank you for your stance in condemning the unwise act of a church in Florida, America, in insulting the word of God which hurt the hearts of millions of Muslims." The church in Florida actually backed away from its Qu’ran-burning plan.

The AFP story on the Iranian president’s message states that in September the Pope “denounced pastor Terry Jones's threat to burn the Muslim holy book.”

In fact the Pontiff’s statement — which AFP accurately quotes — was delivered at a public audience on September 15, several days after Jones had announced that his congregation would not burn the Qu’ran. The Pope’s words referred not to the controversy in the Florida church, but to a violent clash in Afghanistan.

It is true, however, that the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Affairs had condemned the Qu’ran-burning plan as “outrageous,” in a statement released before the event was cancelled.


My gut keeps me from rushing to post anything that makes me say, 'Come again???', especially if it's a minor or secondary story that won't really make a difference when one learns about it or never learned about it at all...

But my gut kept me likewise from running with a more significant 'story' about Mary McKillop that made headlines around the world and took on a life of its own in the blogosphere for several days, until someone who should know spoke up this week. But of course, the rebuttal hasn't made the news that the first one did, because the first story was tailored to fit the media narrative that runs thus: the Church has always been a den of child molesters and priest protectors to the point that more than a century ago, it excommunicated soon-to-be-saint Mary McKillop for 'blowing the whistle on a priest offender!


Someone at the Catherine of Siena Institute [a Colorado-based lay apostolate training program run by the Western Dominican province in the United States] has done a good summary of the news mishandling that saves me having to go back to reconstruct the sequence of the mishandling and correction.


Mary MacKillop:
The whistle that never blew

Written by Sherry

Thursday, 07 October 2010 07:15

A week ago, newspapers and the Internet were buzzing with the story that Bl. Mary MacKillop, who is being canonized in Rome this Sunday, was a "whistle-blower", a woman who had been excommunicated because she exposed the sexual abuse of a priest.

The story got considerable play over at dotcommonweal, the America blog, it was featured as a news story on New Advent, Andrew Sullivan's blog, Get Religion, Religion News, etc. Mary was going to be the unofficial patron saint of whistle-blowers [on priests!]

The problem is that the whistle-blower scenario has turned out to be completely false. And that news hasn't made it around the internet yet.

At the time the story came out, I did some research because I happened to own a copy of the definite biography of MacKillop, written by the postulater of her cause, Fr. Paul Gardiner. (We have used Mary for years as an example of the charism of teaching in our Called & Gifted workshops.) As I wrote in the discussion over at Dotcommonweal:

The problem with the whistle-blower scenario is that Mary wasn’t anywhere near Adelaide in April, 1870 when her sisters there heard rumors about Fr. Keating, a local Franciscan. She was in Brisbane, 1,000 miles away, and didn’t return until nearly a year later. (A journey of 1000 miles in 1870 Australia took weeks.)

The sisters in Adelaide heard stories of abuse and told Fr. Woods, their founder. Fr. Woods told the Vicar General of the diocese and the Vicar General sent Keating away.

One of Keating’s confreres, Fr. Horan, set out to take his revenge on Fr. Woods by destroying the Josephite Sisters which he had founded. It was Horan who drafted a long list of accusations against the Sisters, calling them incompetent and disobedient, and it was Mary MacKillop who was trying to keep her footing and protect her sisters in the middle of what was essentially a dispute among priests.

And all of this occurred while the bishop, who was the only one who could have defused the situation, was away in Europe for over a year at the First Vatican Council!...

It would be most odd for Gardiner not to mention Mary’s role in this – if she was involved – since the whole point of the chapter was to understand the complex patterns of events that led to her excommunication and dissolution of the Josephites in the Diocese of Adelaide (Some of the communities outside Adelaide survived.) Of course, an error is always a possibility but his book is not the work of a careless or incompetent man.

. . . The imagined “whistle-blower” scenario of Mary personally walking into the bishop’s office to report an abusive priest never happened. The Josephite community in Adelaide were whistle-blowers but the ultimate whistle-blower was Fr. Woods and he was the one that Horan was attempting to punish for it.

But in the current climate with the first Australian canonization happening in three weeks, it was much easier – and more profitable – to fudge the facts. So the saintly, unjustly treated woman becomes the whistle-blower while the mentally ill male co-founder, who actually did the reporting is ignored.


History is sometimes stranger than fiction! The primary whistle-blower turned out to be a wildly eccentric, mentally ill male cleric, Fr. Woods, not our new woman saint. Since Fr. Woods was regarded as "the founder" of the Josephite sisters, Fr. Horan sought to take vengeance by destroying the women's community that he had founded.

It turns out that the carelessness and incompetence lay elsewhere. Now both Fr. Gardiner and the executive producer of the Australian Broadcasting Company's Compass show (the source of the original story) have vehemently denied ever asserting that Mary was a whistle-blower.

As Fr. Gardiner put it: "Early in 1870, the scandal occurred, and the Sisters of Saint Joseph reported it to Father Tenison Woods, but Mary was in Queensland and no one was worried about her," Father Gardiner told The Australian.
www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/priest-denies-making-claims-about-mackillops-excommunication/story-e6frg6nf-12259...

Father Gardiner, considered the nation's foremost authority on the MacKillop story, said his words had been twisted to suit the "ill will" of media outlets.

"There was a long chain of causation. Somehow or other, somebody typed it up as if to say I said Mary MacKillop was the one to report the sex abuse," Father Gardiner said.

"I never said it - it's just false - it's the ill will of people who are anxious to see something negative about the Catholic Church. There's already enough mud to throw, though."

So as we come to this weekend of celebration and joy, can all bloggers of good will make a concerted effort to get out the true story? Let's see if we can make the true story fly about the internet as quickly as the false one did.

By the way, the docu-drama that started all the fuss, which will be broadcast this Sunday, is Blessed Mary: A Saint for All Australians, on the History Channel and getting strong reviews.

I know the above story has nothing to do with Benedict XVI directly, but he was obviously the target of the original canard. Mocking him, in a way, for presiding at the canonization of a nun who, in the eyes of the detractors, stood up to the problem of sexual abuse by priests more than a century ago and who was, they claim, consequently punished for that act by excommunication! It doesn't matter that they have their facts completely wrong - it's the narrative they have decided to push in order to further 'shame' the Pope and the Church. Of course, it's exploitation, plain and simple. Blessed Mary McKillop will know how to pray for them.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 01:27


OK, Chico, you've got a rival now... Cats have never made as many headlines as they have, with Benedict XVI! Were there ever any 'pet' stories about JP2?...


Cat becomes a star
after meeting the Pope

By Tim Ross, Religious Affairs Editor

08 Oct 2010



The Pontiff greets Pushkin, held by Father Anton Guziel.

Pushkin, the Birmingham Oratory cat, has become an unlikely religious hero after the Pope paused during his state visit to 'bless’ the feline and tickle his ears.

The 10-year-old black half-Persian secured his audience with Benedict XVI after howling at the Holy Father during his visit to the Oratory last month. A famous cat-lover who is said to have fed strays in Rome, the Pontiff stopped to stroke Pushkin.

His owner, Father Anton Guziel, said: “As soon as the Pope arrived the most terrible howling could be heard. There was an awesome presence there and Pushkin wanted to acquaint himself with it."

"Once the Pope had prayed, he saw the cat and smiled delightedly and came over and he started to talk to him. He said, 'Aren’t you pretty, aren’t you pretty? What’s his name? How old is he?’

"Then he stroked him, tickled him under the ears and shook Pushkin’s paw. At that point the cardinals all rushed in and started taking photographs.”

Fr Anton said Pushkin had received a stream of fan mail since the encounter. “He had a letter from Canada from a priest who also had a cat called Pushkin who sadly died. Then he had a nice card with an embroidered cat on it from a lady, and mail from some cats who live in a Carmelite convent in Wolverhampton.”

Pushkin is also “a good friend” of Princess Michael of Kent, Fr Anton said. “They correspond and send Christmas cards to each other. He has added the Pope to his Christmas card list.”




An earlier version of the above story, with a few more details about the Pope's visit to the Oratory, was on a UK-based Catholic news site:


Pushkin has put on
'hairs and graces'!

by Amanda Dickie

Oct. 1, 2010

Pope Benedict is well known as a cat lover. As Cardinal Ratzinger he used to feed the strays of Rome and as Pope he has kept two cats in the Vatican. During his recent visit to the UK he had an unexpected encounter with Pushkin, the Birmingham Oratory cat.

Fr Richard Duffield, Provost of Birmingham Oratory and Actor for the cause of Blessed John Henry Newman, was responsible for the logistics of the beatification ceremony.

He said that the event and the entire Papal visit was a great success, as he expected it would be, despite “the sound and fury” beforehand. He was particularly moved by seeing his parishioners from the Oratory receive communion from the Pontiff.

Cardinal Newman was founder of the Birmingham Oratory and seeing the Pope in prayer in Newman’s room made a lasting impression, he enthused.

The Pontiff toured the church, praying at Blessed John Henry Newman's shrine and in his private room, and met the staff and community. Fr Richard presented him with a rosary that had belonged to Cardinal Newman in a box made especially by carpenter John Leather, a parishioner of the Oxford Oratory.

Fr Duffield was also responsible for ensuring that the Pope met a very important member of the Birmingham community. After private prayer in Cardinal Newman's room the Pope descended in a lift.

As the door opened, right on cue, he heard a cat mewing, and looked pleasantly surprised. The Provost ran after the Vatican TV crew and photographer who were exiting down the road and they rushed back to record the historic encounter.

Fr Anton Guziel, one of the community, went and fetched the half Persian black cat into the papal presence. The Pope was delighted to meet the cat sporting the Papal colours, with a yellow and white ribbon about his neck.

He inquired as to Pushkins' age - he is ten years old – and told the delighted feline in German, that he was very pretty. Pushkin extended a paw to the Pope who took it smilingly. He stroked him under the chin and tickled his ears whilst Fr.Anton held him.

According to Fr Anton, Pushkin maintained “a dignified and prayerful silence”, throughout the encounter. The priest bought the cat with him two years ago when he joined the community and Pushkin has settled in as the Oratory cat, greeting visitors and maintaining a correspondence with Princess Michael of Kent, another noted cat lover.

Since the Pope's visit, Fr Anton says Pushkin has gained “hairs and graces!” Pushkin now expects to be placed on the Papal Christmas card list!

[The item gives a link to a videoclip of the Pope and Pushkin,
www.itv.com/central-west/catholic-cat02207/
but when I click on it, it says it is not viewable outside the UK.
]



I love the pictures of Pushkin and the Pope! You can almost hear Benedict murmuring his delight....

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 01:54


More happy fallout from the papal trip.... We all read about this commission back in 2006 but never got to see the portrait...


Portrait of the Pope

Oct. 7, 2010

Michael Noakes, the portrait painter, was commissioned by the Vatican to paint Pope Benedict XVI shortly after he was elected, although it took about a year before he started work. The Holy Father sat for Mr Noakes in the library attached to his private apartments in the Vatican.

The finished work hangs in the Vatican, but Mr Noakes also worked on a related study which he has kept in his studio. For the occasion of the recent papal visit to Britain, the portrait is reproduced below:



“I was the only painter to whom [Pope Benedict] had given time for a portrait,” Mr Noakes said. “I think it is still true that I am the only artist to have been given that opportunity.”

[That's not quite right, of course. He sat for at least two other painters - See story and photos on Page 128 this thread some time last summer.]

Mr Noakes gave the Pope a book on the daily life of the Queen, written by his wife Vivien and illustrated by him.

The artist, who was educated at Downside and the Royal Academy schools, said: “I found the Pope diffident and even perhaps a little shy. He is not a large man. We talked in English and, rather charmingly, he seemed to use every opportunity to shake hands.”

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 03:48




Benedict XVI to celebrate
first feast day Mass of Newman?

Translated from


This newspaper has learned that Benedict XVI will be celebrating the Mass of Blessed John Henry Newman tomorrow [in his private daily Mass], the first celebration ever of teheliturgical feast day of the English cardinal whom he beatified last Sept. 19.

The text for the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours for Newman's feast day was approved months ago by the Congregation for Divine Worship and can be found in Latin and English here:
www.liturgyoffice.org.uk/Calendar/National/Newman.pdf



The feast day of beatified persons is generally celebrated only in their country of origin because veneration of Blessed ones has a local character, in contrast to the universal veneration of saints.

The Congregation for Divine Worship has not received any request from British dioceses for final authorization to celebrate Newman's Mass, and that for now, it can be celebrated only in the churches of the Oratorian priests (Newman's order) anywhere in the world.

And by the Pope, of course.


However, there is this news from the United Kingdom:


England prepares to celebrate
Blessed Newman's first feast day


October 7, 2010

This Saturday, October 9, parishes in England will have the opportunity to celebrate for the first time the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman.

This is being seen as one of the tangible first fruits of the Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the UK; one which will have a lasting impact on the Church in this country.

His Grace, Archbishop Vincent Nichols will be celebrating a Mass of Thanksgiving for the Papal Visit which will coincide with the first Feast Day:

At the Mass of Beatification in Birmingham on 19 September 2010 Pope Benedict XVI said:

The definite service to which Blessed John Henry was called involved applying his keen intellect and his prolific pen to many of the most pressing 'subjects of the day'.

His insights into the relationship between faith and reason, into the vital place of revealed religion in civilized society, and into the need for a broadly-based and wide-ranging approach to education were not only of profound importance for Victorian England, but continue today to inspire and enlighten many all over the world.


A note on the date: It is customary for a Saint or a Blessed to be celebrated on the day of their death unless it is impeded by another celebration. Blessed John Henry Newman died on 11 August 1890. The Church across the world celebrates St Clare on August 11 and so another date was sought.

October 9, which was the day when Newman converted to Catholicism, was also appropriate because it falls at the beginning of the University year - the university was an area in which Newman had a particular interest.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 05:10



A FIRST THINGS piece on the UK visit had cited something from this essay but as no link was provided, I never got around to looking it up till tonight... BQO is a Philadelphia-based online journal on 'science, religion, markets and morals'...


Missionary to the multiculturalists:
The Pope's visit to post-Christian Britain

By Roger Scruton

Thursday, September 23, 2010


Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Britain brought home the strange spiritual condition in which the British people in general, and the English in particular, now find themselves.

The English have an official church — the Church of England — whose dominant position is guaranteed by the unwritten constitution, and whose head is the Head of State. Bishops have seats in the House of Lords, and act as legislators. And each English village has its Anglican church — usually an ancient building of stone, whose Gothic spire is like a badge of ownership, a guarantee from God that the place around will always be England and that England will always be Christian.

Yet these churches are hardly visited: more people attend Friday prayers in the mosque than attend Sunday worship in the Anglican Church. And still more people attend Mass at whatever crowded Catholic Church they can find, in a country where Catholic churches have been legal for less than two centuries.

Most English people say that they believe in God, though only a minority claim to be Christian, and of that minority fewer still are observant.

The official culture, represented by the BBC, the TV chat shows and the opinion pages of the quality press, is neither Christian nor English, but “multicultural” — and even Pope Benedict ended his visit with praise for the multicultural identity that has emerged in our country.

Nobody really knows what multiculturalism is, or how you belong to it or affirm it in your daily life. But it is the official religion of the British Isles.

The main sign of this is that less and less people in public life bear witness to the Christian faith or express any opinion in matters of religion other than a vague hope that the many faiths will learn to live together peacefully.

You can be outspoken about religion, but only if you are an atheist, and only if your target is Christianity — the once official faith, whose loosened grip exposes it to assault from all who might once have been obliged to endorse its Credo.

The Pope’s beatification of John Henry Newman had a special poignancy, therefore. Newman was an Anglican priest who joined the Oxford movement in protest against the Wesleyan assault on ritual and mystery.

The Anglican Church, he believed, had made too many concessions to the drearier forms of Protestantism, and was losing the core of enchantment that draws ordinary people into its fold.

Once he had thought through what this criticism really meant, Newman left the Anglican Church and became a Roman Catholic, founding the Oratory at Brompton and taking an active part in the establishment of churches, religious institutions and places of education dedicated to the Roman Catholic faith.

As Rector of the new Catholic University in Dublin, he delivered the lectures that were later published as The Idea of a University. These describe the ideal university, like the ideal church, as a place of enchantment.

The Church delivers God’s grace; the university delivers grace of another kind — the kind that prepares us for society. Both depend upon a mysterious encounter with authority, revealed in ritual and submission.

The beatification of Cardinal Newman can be read as endorsing the path that Newman took, from Anglicanism to Roman Catholicism. It can also be read as endorsing the Anglican Church, as a valid purveyor of sacramental gifts — the gifts that Newman sought to protect from disenchantment in the face of Protestant austerity.

But for most English people, I suspect, the beatification has been a piece of mumbo-jumbo that does not concern them. Who was this J.H. Newman anyway?

That he was author of The Dream of Gerontius would be known to lovers of Elgar; that he wrote the great hymn ‘Lead Kindly Light’ would be known to Anglican church-goers — some of them at least. That he is the author of one of the great autobiographies, as well as the best defense of the university as an institution that we now possess will be known to scholars.

Some might even be familiar with The Grammar of Assent, that strange reflection on the truth-discerning aspect of the human mind that has baffled logicians and philosophers for a century and a half.

But what do ordinary multicultural Englishmen know about those things? BBC News will not have informed them, any more than it would have explained to them the doctrinal differences between the Anglican and the Roman churches.

So far as the BBC was concerned the main interest of the Pope’s visit lay in the protests that surrounded it — protests from marginal groups pressing for the ordination of women, for gay rights, or for an apology to the victims of sexual abuse by members of the priesthood. The Pope gave the apology, and skirted the other issues.

The BBC, as the voice of the official multiculture, could find little of significance in his remarks other than their divergence from current secular morality, and the fact that from time to time the Pope rebuked the atheists who have such standing with the BBC.

The most positive effect of the Pope’s visit, however, was one that even the BBC could not prevent — and that was the public display of Roman Catholic ritual at its most gorgeous and replete.

For many television viewers the Mass at Westminster Cathedral was their first experience of sacramental religion. The mystical identity between the ordinary worshipper and the crucified Christ is something that can be enacted, but never explained. It is enacted in the Mass, and as Cardinal Newman recognized, it is the felt reality of Christ’s presence that is the true gift of Christianity to its followers.

For those who experience it the quibbles of the atheists and the protestors seem as trivial as BBC News. For many Englishmen, I suspect, the Pope’s Westminster Mass was the first inkling of what Christianity really means.

Roger Scruton is a writer and philosopher living in England. His many books include Beauty and The Uses of Pessimism and the Danger of False Hope.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 15:34



Saturday, Oct. 9, 27th Week in Ordinary Time
Most depictions of St. Denis show him carrying his head. Third from left, Last Communion (left panel) and Execution of St. Denis (right panel); and next to it, St. Denis with Rusticus and Eleutherius.
ST. DENIS & COMPANIONS (d Paris ca 250), Martyrs
St. Denis was a bishop sent from Rome to Gaul (Roman France) to re-Christianize Lutetia (ancient Paris) which had fallen back to paganism after the persecutions of Decian. he is generally considered the first Bishop of Paris. According to legend, Denis so alarmed the pagan kings by his conversions that he and his inseparable companions, Rusticus, a priest, and Eleutherius, a deacon, were beheaded on the hill now called Montmartre ('mount of martyrs'). After being beheaded, Denis is said to have picked up his head and walked with it, preaching, until he finally died at the spot where centuries later St. Genevieve would build the basilica in his name - the Church where the Kings of France have been buried since Carolingian times. St. Denis is the patron saint of Paris. He is also one of the fourteen Holy Helpers, a group of saints popular in the Middle Ages as intercessors for various causes. Denis is invoked particularly against diabolical possession and headaches. His feast has been celebrated since the 9th century.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/100910.shtml
Today is also the first celebration of the feast day of Blessed John Henry Newman.
[See earlier post above.]


Unusually, the Vatican has not yet posted the OR for today.


THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father met today with

- H.E. Ivo Josipović, President of the Republic of Croatia, with his wife and delegation

- Officers of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops led by Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago
and USCCB President

- Participants of the Study Conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts on the
20th anniversary of the Code of Canon Law for the Oriental Churches. Address in Italian.

And in the afternoon with
- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (weekly meeting).


The Press Office announced a briefing on Tuesday, Oct. 12, by Mons. Rino Fisichella to present the Holy Father's
Apostolic Letter Motu Proprio Ubicumque et sempre (Everywhere and always) creating the Pontifical Council
for New Evangelization, of which he will be the first president.

DavidInc
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 16:02
New Motu Proprio out on Tuesday
Vatican Radio: 9th October

Vatican Radio reports that on Tuesday, October 12, there will be a press conference to present the Motu Proprio Ubicumque et Semper regarding the newly established Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The document will be presented by Archbishop Salvatore "Rino" Fisichella, who was recently appointed as the first President of the new Council.

www.oecumene.radiovaticana.org/it1/Articolo.asp?c=428537

rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-motu-proprio-out-on-tues...
TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 16:43







See preceding page for earlier posts today, 10/9/10.



We can never get enough of stories like this...

Papal blessing celebrates
the Church volunteerism
of a Texas hot dog vendor

By Matthew Waller

October 8, 2010 at 1:36 p.m.




SAN ANGELO, Texas — The Pope has blessed a humble San Angelo hot dog vendor. And the applied-for blessing came in the mail.

Jim Riley, who received the blessing, said the tube sent to him from the Vatican contained more than a certificate rolled up inside. It contained a history of his life with the Church.

“It’s something that you’ve spent your whole life in the Church, and a blessing like this is really remarkable,” Riley said.

Riley said that people often get the blessing to commemorate a special event, but his decision to apply came as a result of wanting to celebrate time volunteered in his community.

He said he has worked with the Boys and Girls Club, the Lions Club and has volunteered for the Red Cross. He said he has helped get companies to donate food and drinks for Christmas celebrations as well.

“To the Catholic it means a lot,” Riley said. “I don’t want to sound proud or boastful, but it’s an acknowledgement from the Church, it’s something special. They’re not given out all the time.”

Riley said he requested the blessing through his church, Holy Angels.

He said the process took about three months and that he finally received the blessing a few weeks ago.

“He is being recognized as a Catholic layperson,” Holy Angels priest, the Rev. Charles Greenwell, said. “It doesn’t come up all that often. He wanted one, so I had no problem requesting one.”

Riley said the requirement for the blessing is to be a practicing Catholic. He said that otherwise he had to fill out paperwork, and Greenwell said there is a clerical fee for all the processing.

“It’s legitimate,” Greenwell said. “I have requested papal blessings for individuals before. Every Catholic should want to be worthy of having a papal blessing.”

Riley said he is the first in his family to have ever gotten the papal blessing.

He said he comes from a long line of Roman Catholic family.

Riley said the blessing is particularly important amid a culture that seems to be less and less religious.

“Nowadays, there are people who discount religion,” Riley said. “I don’t discount religion. It plays a very unique role in society.”

Bishop Michael Pfeifer, head of the Catholic Diocese of San Angelo, said that even when people mediate blessings, the Pope being the highest mediator in the Catholic Church, all blessings ultimately come from God.

Pfeifer said he gets about one request per week in his 39-county diocese.

“When they have special events or anniversaries, we’re happy to apply for that, asking God’s blessing upon them,” Pfeifer said.

Pfeifer said a blessing is a request for God’s favor in a special way on a person, event or thing, invoked through prayer.

The certificate itself is hand-painted calligraphy on sheepskin with the papal seal and a signature.

“It’s very pretty,” Greenwell said.

The papal blessing will join a host of other plaques for honors that Riley has received, such as a certificate of recognition from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates for work in the military, and a plaque from the Muscular Dystrophy Association for sponsoring a YMCA fundraising event.

Riley said he has lived in San Angelo for about a decade.

“We all need a blessing. We all need a prayer,” Riley said. “Getting this is something that gives you a little bit of a spiritual boost.”


I was privileged to receive a similar papal blessing from John Paul II - one that was requested for me by our ambassador to the Vatican when I was part of a delegation that had an audience with the Pope back in 1979. However, it is a generic blessing, not for anything I've done, but simply as a Catholic requesting the Pope's blessing. The document is on heavy paper and very classy. with gold-embossed highlights (mine has a 'landscape' format different from Riley's, and the Holy Father's photograph is smaller)- one's name is inscribed on it in appropriate calligraphy, and best of all, the Pope's signature is real, not a facsimile. I'd reproduce it here, but it's on the wall next to the bedroom altar in my house in the Philippines. So I do own a couple of John Paul II relics (classified as 'third class' because he only touched the objects) - the signed blessing, and a book (in a Spanish edition, curiously) of his Lenten spiritual exercises for the Curia when he was a cardinal, which he handed to me with a rosary as mementoes of that first visit. I lost the rosary 20 years later, when my purse was picked in, of all places, St. Peter's Square. BTW, come to think of it, applying for a written papal blessing would be the best way to have the Pope's autograph!

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 17:37




Pope's visit to northeast Italy:
A lesson against materialism

Interview with the OR editor
by Giovanni Viafora
Translated from

Oct. 8, 2010


VENICE - Twenty-six years after John Paul II and 40 years after Paul VI, a Pope returns to Venice. The Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Angelo Scola, announced this Thursday at St. Mark's Cathedral.

Benedict XVI will be making a pastoral visit on May 7-8 first to ancient Aquileia, north of Venice, and then to Venice itself.

"It will be a very significant visit, rich with meanings and reference points", said Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano since 2007.

What is the relevance of this pastoral visit?
It is a sign of the Pontiff's great attention for the entire northeast region. But one must also remember that Venice has always been a window towards the Orient, and so other themes will emerge from this.

Such as that of inter-religious dialog?
Precisely. Historically, Venice has always been open to contacts with the Christian Churches of the east, and has had intense cultural and commercial relationships with the oriental world, especially the Muslims. [Cardinal Scola's foundation Oasis was specifically set up a few years back to promote relations between Catholicism and Islam, and has been very active in its mission.]

But Venice is also a 'gateway from the East' in terms of immigration. I think the Pope will find a region - the Veneto - that is increasingly intolerant of immigrant aliens. How will the Pope address this?
Benedict XVI has always been clear on this. Concerning migrants, one must always think of reciprocal integration that is respectful of each other's cultures - Venetians towards the immigrants, and the newcomers to Italy towards Italians.

Obviously, the problem is not an easy one. In the West, population growth is near zero in terms of the birth rate, with increasing gaps in the labor market, whereas in other parts of the world, poverty and injustice that have become intolerable has prompted mass migrations to the West.

The Veneto region has changed a lot in the past 26 years. It remains prosperous but there has been progressive secularization.
The Veneto is very much alive and has produced much in terms of wellbeing for its people. But it is important that they should not be alienated or distanced from their most authentic cultural and religious roots, because they are at risk of that practical materialism that John Paul II had identified clearly when he visited.

Cardinal Scola will be welcoming the Pope. Is it possible that we may see a repetition of that scene in 1972 when Paul VI, in St. Mark's Square, placed the papal stole on the shoulders of the then Patriarch of Venice, Cardinal Luciani [who became John Paul I]?
That was certainly a celebrated gesture that Papa Luciani himself recalled when he was elected Pope. Papa Montini loved these symbolic gestures.

As for Benedict XVI, he has known Cardinal Scola for some time [since Scola was a young priest and Joseph Ratzinger was a professor in Regensburg - they first met during planning for the Italian edition of the theological journal Communio).

The Pope is very attentive to the signs of Christian tradition and explains them very well in a way that makes us all look to the future with confidence.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 17:57


Synodal assembly on the Middle East
opens tomorrow with Papal Mass



9 OCTOBER 2010 (RV) - “The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and Witness” is the theme of the two-week special assembly of the Bishops' Synod which gets underway here in the Vatican on Sunday.

Over 300 church leaders, religious and lay experts have begun gathering for the opening Mass which takes place in St Peter’s Basilica on Sunday celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

Thirteen delegates from non-Catholic Christian churches will address the synod, as well as a well-known Jewish leader, Rabbi David Rosen, and, for the first time, representatives of the Sunni and Shia branches of Islam.

While focusing primarily on the pastoral needs of the churches across the region, the meeting will also throw the spotlight on the complex political problems in these countries where Christians live as minority communities, which many are fleeing constant conditions of conflict, discrimination or economic hardship.

Among the areas which have suffered most from the exodus of Christians over recent years is the Holy Land itself, birthplace of the faith 2000 years ago, but also source of many of the conflicts plaguing the region today.

“What we need to do is convince our people that remaining here is a vocation and not fatalism”.

So says Bishop William Shomali, auxiliary to the Latin Patriarch in Jerusalem and former rector of the seminary there. Speaking to Vatican Radio, he said that there are three contributing factors to the haemorrhaging of Christians from the Holy Land: security, economy and religion.

“This is a land that has suffered 8 wars in 80 years. It’s too much for any country... (and) when the security is not good the economy is not good”.

The third reason is religious, says Bishop Shomali: “Christians are a minority – its not easy to live as a minority. This does not mean that there is persecution here, I refuse to say that”.

However, he says many Christians simply decide that it would be "better to live in the west”, particularly to ensure their children’s education. “We need to help them to make the choice to stay, and help them to choose to stay with conviction”.




Vatican synod to consider
Middle East Christian exodus

By Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor



PARIS, Oct. 9 (Reuters) – With Christianity dwindling in its Middle Eastern birthplace, Pope Benedict has convened Catholic bishops from the region to debate how to save its minority communities and promote harmony with their Muslim neighbors.

For two weeks starting on Sunday, the bishops will discuss problems for the faithful ranging from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and strife in Iraq to radical Islamism, economic crisis and the divisions among the region's many Christian churches.

They come from local churches affiliated with the Vatican, but the relentless exodus of all Christians -- Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants -- has prompted them to take a broad look at the challenges facing all followers of Jesus there.

While conditions for Christians vary from country to country, the overall picture is dramatic. Christians made up around 20 percent of the region's population a century ago, but now account for about five percent and falling.

"If this phenomenon continues, Christianity in the Middle East will disappear," said Rev. Samir Khalil Samir, a Beirut-based Egyptian Jesuit who helped draw up the working documents for the October 10-24 synod at the Vatican.

"This is not an unreal hypothesis -- Turkey went from 20 percent Christian in the early 20th century to 0.2 percent now," he told journalists in Paris. The Christian exodus since the U.S.-led 2003 invasion "could bleed the Church in Iraq dry."

Instead of simply appealing for more aid to Catholics in the region, the experts who prepared the synod call for sweeping social changes to bring forth democratic secular states, interfaith cooperation and a rollback of advancing Islamism.

"At issue is the renewal of Arab society," said Samir, who stressed most Christians and Muslims there are fellow Arabs.

Challenged by western-style modernity, many Middle Eastern societies have fused their Arab and Muslim identities, he said, narrowing religious freedom for non-Muslim minorities.

The working document stated: "Catholics, along with other Christian citizens and Muslim thinkers and reformers, ought to be able to support initiatives at examining thoroughly the concept of the 'positive laicity' of the state.

"This could help eliminate the theocratic character of government and allow for greater equality among citizens of different religions, thereby fostering the promotion of a sound democracy, positively secular in nature."

The document pins most of the blame for the Christian exodus on political tensions in the region: "Today, emigration is particularly prevalent because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the resulting instability throughout the region."

It cited the "menacing social situation in Iraq," where about half the estimated 850,000 Christians there in 2003 have since fled sectarian violence and persecution, and "political instability of Lebanon" as further factors driving them out.

The rise of political Islam since the 1970s, especially its violent variations, menaces the whole region, it added, saying: "These extremist currents, clearly a threat to everyone, Christians and Muslims alike, require joint action."

The region's Christians have also been weakened by age-old splits. The Catholics are divided into Latin Catholic, Coptic, Maronite, Chaldean, Armenian, Syrian and Greek Melkite churches -- and they are outnumbered by various Orthodox churches.

Protestants are also present, in older communities founded by colonial missionaries or in newer evangelical groups whose aggressive proselytizing -- often backed by conservative U.S. churches -- has provoked a backlash from Muslim authorities.

The synod document urges the sometimes competing Catholic churches to work with each other and with other Christians to make their voice heard in Middle Eastern society.

Its advice to open up to other churches and faiths, simplify their ancient liturgies and introduce more Arabic into their services echoes the Second Vatican Council reforms that worldwide Roman Catholicism launched back in the 1960s.

Highlighting this openness, the synod has invited an Iranian ayatollah, a Lebanese Muslim and a rabbi from Jerusalem to attend the proceedings and address the 250 participants.

"I don't think people in the West appreciate to what extent the thematics of the synod are totally new to so much of the Church in the Middle East," said Rev. David Jaeger, a Franciscan and leading Roman Catholic expert on the Middle East.

"The whole discussion of the civic duty of the Christian ... is totally new for the region as a whole. For 13 centuries, Christians in the Middle East have been made to live in a kind of socio-economic ghetto," he told Reuters Television in Rome.

As Samir summed it up: "If we can do something with other Christians, it is better than doing it alone. If we Christians can do something with the Muslims, that is even better."


VATICAN RADIO SPECIAL

As it did with the Synodal Assembly on Africa last year, Vatican Radio has a special online section on the Mid-East synod, this time in 5 languages - English, Italian, French, Hebrew and Arabic.
www.radiovaticana.org/en1/sinodo_mo_10/sinodo.asp



It is a continuing record of all the documents and reports on the Synod starting with the preparatory documents and earlier news reports.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 18:43



Pope meets with Croatian president
for talks on EU integration
and Croatia's Christian identity



ROME, Oct. 9 (AP) - The Vatican says Pope Benedict XVI has discussed Croatia's Christian roots and its negotiations to enter the European Union during a meeting with the Balkan country's president.



Benedict met with Croatian President Ivo Josipovic on Saturday and had what the Vatican described a "fruitful exchange of opinions" on regional issues.

Croatia is predominantly Roman Catholic and a Vatican statement said the two leaders talked about "the importance of it maintaining its specific Christian identity."

The statement said they also discussed the status of Catholic Croats in Bosnia-Herzegovina, where the largest part of the population is Muslim.

Croatia is currently negotiating to enter the European Union, possibly in 2012.


APCOM adds a speculative point to its report on the above...

And will the Pope
visit Croatia next year?

Translated from



...There was no mention in the Holy See note, of a possible trip next year by Benedict XVI to Croatia.

But the question was raised to the Pope by a newsman who was present during the photo opportunity this morning, and the Pope replied: "Probably!"...

P.S. AFP has picked up the APCOM story but without crediting Apcom.












DavidInc
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 20:21
Jesus of Nazareth: Part Two, Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection
Here's the book on Amazon. I like the cover. Of course, the date is wrong and I'd be very surprised if the book is less than 350 pages in English.

www.amazon.com/Jesus-Nazareth-Entrance-Jerusalem-Resurrection/dp/1586175009/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286648283&am...



TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 9 ottobre 2010 23:13



Pope's 3rd pastoral visit in 2011
will be to southern Italy



VATICAN CITY, Oct. 9 (Translated from Apcom) - Exactly one year from today, Benedict XVI will visit the diocese of Lamezia Terme and the Carthusian convent of San Bruno.

The Pope will say Mass and Angelus in Lamezia in the morning, and in the afternoon visit the 11th century convent of San Bruno, [established by the German-born founder of the Carthusian order and where he spent his final years]. The Pope will celebrate Vespers with the Carthusian community.

Thew news was announced to the faithful this morning by Mons. Luigi Cantafora, bishop of Lamezia Terme, and Fr. Jacques Dupont, prior of the convent, after confirmation by the Pontifical Household.

[Lamezia Terme is a city in the region of Calabria on the southwestern side of the Italian peninsula.

Two other pastoral visits in Italy in 2011 were announced earlier for the Pope: to Venice and Aquileia (northeast Italy) on May 7-8; to San Marino-Montefeltre (east central Italy) on June 19.

So far, the only foreign visit confirmed is the Pope's attendance at World Youth Day in Madrid in August next year. Today, a probable trip to Croatia came up. (See earlier post.)]



TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 03:32



The webpage for the visit to Compostela lagged behind that for Barcelona but it is finally online, in Spanish only. Below are the poster, the catechesis booklet, and a prayer for the Pope.


The tagline for the Compostela visit is:
BENEDICT XVI: Pilgrim of faith, Witness to the risen Lord









From the webpage for the Barcelona visit (in Catalan and Spanish only):


STATISTICS ON THE HOLY FATHER'S VISIT

- Number of concelebrants:
1,100 including cardinals, bishops, abbots and priests.

- Number of faithful to be accommodated within the Church:
6,900 distributed as follows-
o 2,100 parish representatives
o 180 from the bishoprics of Catalunya
o 1,100 concelebrants
o 450 male and female religious
o 800 choir members

Making up the rest of the 6,900 places are authorities,
representatives of youth associations and families,
workers of Sagrada Familia, representatives of sick
and handicapped persons, representatives of religious
associations, and accredited journalists.

- Number of persons who can be accommodated outside the church
to follow the rites: 40,000

- Number of volunteers to assist the faithful: 800
(from parishes, schools, church movements and journalism/PR faculties)

- Number of accredited journalists:
More than 2000 applications received to date to cover the events
in Compostela and Barcelona

Estimated worldwide TV audience based on satellite links
ordered so far for the televised events: 150 million



TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 04:17



Mr. Quinn makes fundamental points here about the Irish government reports that most of the media, including Catholic media, have ignored - simply assuming that the picture painted was unrelievedly dire. Most importantly -
1. Most of the cases date to the 1960s and 1970s. No new cases were reported from the past nine years (2000-2009).
2. The cover-up done by some bishops was not at all traceable to defects in canon law, but because they chose not to apply canon law.
Quinn mentions nothing about the number of accusations made and the number of priests involved, but he should have, because those, too, have been grossly over-estimated in the public mind.



Tips for the papal 'inspectors':
How their visitation could be
a shot in the arm for the Irish Church

by DAVID QUINN

October 08 2010

The first thing everyone needs to do is take a deep breath. The Apostolic Visitation of senior bishops and religious to the church in Ireland is not going to revolutionise everything overnight, or maybe ever.

Ultimately it's going to be up to Ireland's Catholics to fix the Catholic Church in Ireland and the most the Apostolic Visitors (the 'A Team'?) can do is push things in the right direction.

Their first and most essential task will obviously be to ensure that the Church's child protection policy is sufficiently robust and is being properly implemented diocese by diocese and religious congregation by religious congregation.

In this regard, their first port of call will have to be Ian Elliott who runs the Church's child protection office.

As I never tire of pointing out, Mr Elliott is a Presbyterian from Northern Ireland. It's important to point this out because given his background no one can plausibly accuse Elliott of being an 'insider', or of being the hierarchy's lackey.

No one in the country knows better than Mr Elliott how well or how badly the Church is implementing its child protection guidelines. In the latest annual report from his office, Mr Elliott pointed out that things have greatly improved in the last couple of years. But he will know better than anyone, which dioceses and which congregations need a particularly close look, if any.

The visitation is also going to need to show that it has teeth. People need to know that if it finds serious failings in any given diocese or religious order, it will recommend to Rome that the heads responsible will roll. If not, then the visitation will be dismissed as an exercise in window dressing.

The team also needs to beware of bishops or congregations or seminaries building facades, or Potemkin villages, to fool the visitors into thinking everything is just fine.

In a way, each of the members of this inspection team being sent by the Pope is like an explorer being parachuted into a jungle with no map and where they know no one.

They will be met by the local chief -- that is the bishop or head of a congregation -- but they're also going to have to find local guides they can trust.

That won't be easy, but nonetheless they will need to find independent-minded priests and lay-people who can show them around.

They're also going to have to watch out for people who might have personal grudges against the local bishop or congregational head.

In addition, they're going to have to watch out for people who will complain that the Church still hasn't implemented the supposed reforms of the Second Vatican Council. These are the same people who, in the name of the council, managed to persuade bishops throughout the world to abandon canon law because it was too 'legalistic'.

This happened in the late 1960s and, as the team will discover if they read the Murphy report into abuse in the Dublin archdiocese, one of the big problems in the archdiocese in terms of how it responded to abuse allegations isn't that canon law was used, but that it wasn't used!

If they read that report closely, they will also find that a grossly disproportionate number of the abuse cases happened in the 1970s and 1980s.

Indeed, what they'll find is that the child protection systems now in place are probably a lot better than they think. The Church here has been exceptionally bad at broadcasting this fact.

In addition, while allegations are still being made against priests, the incidents themselves mostly happened in an increasingly distant past. The general public almost certainly believes things are still out of control.

In fact, of the allegations received in the year or so up to the last report by the national child protection office, none related to an incident that took place in the last nine years. Almost no one knows this, not even most priests and bishops, let alone the public.

Briefly, what else can the inspection do? It can try to breathe some new life into St Patrick's College, Maynooth. The man charged with the task of inspecting Maynooth is Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, and there is no better person for the job.

The two Canadians on the team, Archbishops Thomas Collins and Terence Prendergast, could do a lot worse than to tell Cardinal Marc Ouellet, their fellow Canadian newly in charge of the Congregation for Bishops in Rome, that Ireland needs a few more bishops who will offer strong, confident leadership. In fact, child safety aside, nothing is more important.

I said don't expect miracles from this visit. But, if done properly, it can be a real shot in the arm for the Irish church. If it can ensure our child protection system is in order, restore a bit of zeal to Maynooth, and prompt Rome into giving us a few more genuine leaders, it will have achieved as much as anyone can reasonably expect.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 11:09



Pope addresses participants in
a symposium on eastern canon law
preceding synodal assembly on the Mideast

Translated from

Oct. 9, 2010




On the eve of the special synodal assembly for the Middle East of the Bishops' Synod, Pope Benedict XVI today expressed the hope that the Catholic churches of the Orient may thrive, in an address to participants of a study conference organized by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, on the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (Code of Canon Law for the Oriental Churches).

The Pope received them in a midday audience at the Sala Clementina.

Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words:


Eminences, Venerated Patriarchs, Major Archbishops,
Dear brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Distinguished representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities,
Workers in the field of Oriental canon law:

I welcome you with great joy at the conclusion of your study conference, which marks the 20th anniversary of the promulgation of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium.

I cordially greet everyone, starting with Mons. Francesco Coccopalmiero, whom I thank for the words he spoke in your name.

And my appreciative thoughts go to the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, to the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the Pontifical Oriental Institute, who have worked with the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts to organize the conference.

I wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to the lecturers for their competent scientific contributions and their ecclesial initiative.

Twenty years since the Code of Canon Law for the Oriental Churches was promulgated, we must pay homage to the intuition of the Venerable John Paul II, who out of concern that the Catholic Churches of the Orient "may flourish and carry out their mission with renewed apostolic zeal" (cf. Conc. Ecum. Vat. ii, Decr. Orientalium Ecclesiarum, 1), wished to grant these venerable Churches a complete Codex to share in common and adapted to the times.

This fulfilled "the constant desire of the Roman Pontiffs to promulgate two Codes, one for the Latin Church and the other, for the Eastern Churches" (Apost. Const. Sacri canones).

At the same time, it reaffirmed most clearly "the constant and firm intention of the Supreme Legislator of the Church regarding the faithful custody and diligent observance of all rites" (ibid.)

The Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium was followed by two other important documents of John Paul II's Magisterium: the encyclical Ut unum sint (1995) and the Apostolic Letter Orientale lumen (1995).

We should not forget the Directives for the application of the principles and norms of ecumenism, which was published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (1883) and the Instruction from the Congregation for Oriental Churches on the application of the liturgical prescriptions in the Code (1996).

In these authoritative documents of the Magisterium, various canons of the Codex Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium are cited almost textually. annotated and applied to the life of the Church.

This 20th anniversary gathering is not only a celebration to remember the event, but a providential occasion for its verification, to which the Oriental Churches are called on above all, and their institutions, most especially their hierarchies.

In this respect, the Apostolic Constitution Sacri canones anticipated the fields for verification. It involves seeing to what degree the Code has had the effective force of law in all the Oriental Cahtolic Cchurches sui juris, and how it has been translated into the activities of the daily life of the Churches.

And then, to what degree the legislative potential for each Church sui juris has provided for the promulgation of its own specific law, taking into account the traditions of its own rite, as well as the dispositions of the Second Vatican Council.

The subjects of your conference, articulated into three units - history, specific legislations, and ecumenical prospects - indicate the course that is important to follow in this process of verification.

It must start from the awareness that the new Codex has created for the Eastern Catholic faithful a disciplinary situation that is partly new, becoming a valid instrument to protect and promote their own respective rites, each rite understood as "the liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary patrimony, distinct according to the culture and historical circumstances of its people, who express their faith in a way of living that is specific for every Church sui iuris" (can, 28, 1).

In this regard, the 'sacred canons' of the ancient Church, which inspire the existing Oriental codification, stimulate all the oriental Churches to conserve their own identity which is at the same time oriental and Catholic. In maintaining Catholic communion, the oriental Catholic churches do not in any way renounce fidelity to their tradition.

As it has been reiterated often, the already realized full communion of the eastern Catholic Churches with the Church of Rome should not mean any diminution of their awareness about their own authenticity and originality.

Therefore, it is is the task of all the eastern Catholic Churches to conserve their common disciplinary patrimony and nourish their own traditions, which is a wealth for the whole Church.

The very same sacred canons of the first centuries of the Church constitute in large measure the fundamental patrimony of canonical discipline which also regulates the Orthodox Churches. Thus, the eastern Catholic Churches can offer a particularly relevant contribution to the ecumenical journey.

I am glad that in the course of your symposium, you took account of this particular aspect, and I encourage you to give it further study. thus cooperating on your part to the common commitment to adhere to the prayer of the Lord, "That they may be one... so that the world may believe..." (Jn 17.21).

Dear friends, in the Church's present commitment to a new evangelization, canon law, as a specific and indispensable order, cannot fail to contribute effectively to the life and mission of the Church in the world, if all the components of the People of God can interpret it wisely and apply it faithfully.

Therefore, as the Venerable John Paul II did, I exhort all our beloved Oriental brothers "to observe the indicated precepts with sincere spirit and humble will, not doubting in any way that the eastern Churches will provide in the best way possible for the good of the souls of faithful Christians with renewed discipline, and that they may always flourish and carry out the task entrusted to them under the protection of the glorious and ever blessed Virgin Mary, who is called Theotokos in full truth, and who shines forth as the sublime Mother of the universal Church" (Apost Const Sacri canones).

I accompany this wish with the Apostolic Blessing that I impart to you and to all those who make their contribution to the various fields that have to do with eastern canon law.



TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 12:28


October 10, 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Second and third from left: St. Francis contemplating worldly glory, by Alonso Cano, 1624; St. Francis performing an exorcism, Goya, 1788.
ST. FRANCISCO DE BORJA (Francis Borgia) (b Spain 1510, d Rome 1572), Husband/Father/Widower, Jesuit Priest, Third Jesuit Superior-General
Great grandson of Pope Alexander VI, grandson of King Ferdinand of Aragon, and son of the Duke of Gandia, Francisco was raised in the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, whom he accompanied on two military expeditions. At age 19, he married a noblewoman and they had eight children. Meanwhile, he rose in court to become viceroy of Catalonia. A friend and adviser to his contemporary, Ignacio de Loyola, he joined the Jesuit order in 1548 after his wife died. He was ordained in 1551. He became a notable preacher and was given charge of the Jesuit missions in the Orient and in the West Indies. He became the Jesuit Superior-General in 1565. Under him, the society established missions in Florida, New Spain and Peru, and greatly developed its internal structures. He re-introduced daily meditation to the Jesuit rule when he felt they were being too involved in their work at the expense of their spiritual growth. Because of the changes he made, he has sometimes been called the 'second founder' of the Jesuit order. He worked with St. Pope Pius V and St. Charles Borromeo in the Counter-Reformation. He died in Rome but his remains were brought to Madrid in 1901. He was beatified in 1624 and canonized in 1670.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/101010.shtml



OR today.

On the eve of the Mid-east synodal assembly, the Pope addresses the heads of the eastern Churches:
'May the eastern Catholic Churches flourish'
Specific canon law for the eastern Churches is indispensable to safeguard their tradition
The other papal story in this issue is his meeting with the President of Croatia. Other Page 1 news: Four Italians killed by terrorist bomb in Afghanistan, and (believe it or not), a story (with photo yet) on a well-attended U2 concert in Rome's Olympic Stadium. In the inside pages, Cardinal Bertone consecrates four new archbishops who were recently given important appointments: Giorgio Lingua, Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan; Joseph Tobin, American Redemptorist, secretary of the Congregation in charge of religious orders; Ignacio Carrasco, Spanish Opus Dei prelate, president of the Pontifical Academy for Life; and Enrico Del Cavolo, Salesian, rector of the Pontifical Lateran University.


THE POPE'S DAY

Mass at St. Peter's Basilica - to open the Special Assembly on the Middle East of the Bishops' Synod

Noontime Angelus

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 13:01




MASS TO OPEN SPECIAL SYNOD
ASSEMBLY ON THE MIDDLE EAST






Synodal focus is pastoral
not political, Pope says



10 OCT 2010 (RV) - Pope Benedict XVI says the reason for the special assembly of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, which opened Sunday, is pastoral and not political.

Speaking during Mass Sunday morning to the 270 participants at the assembly, which runs October 10th to 24th, the Pope underlined that “while not being able to ignore the delicate and at times dramatic social and political situation of some countries, the Pastors of the Middle Eastern Churches” during the three week meeting at the Vatican, “wish to concentrate on the aspects of their own mission”, in short “re-enliven communion of the Catholic Church in the Middle East”.

Sunday morning, to interchanging Arabic and Greek chants, those pastors processed down the nave of St Peter’s basilica, resplendent in their traditional liturgical vestments - a visible sign of what Pope Benedict XVI described as the “variety of liturgical, spiritual, cultural and disciplinary traditions” of the Eastern Churches in communion with Rome. Traditions, he said, that enrich the universal Church.

Joined by chief concelebrants Lebanese Card. Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, and Iraqi Card. Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, the Pope told the assembly that this “singular event demonstrates the interest of the whole Church for that precious and beloved part of God’s people who live in the Holy Land and the whole of the Middle East”.

Reflecting on the theme of the Synod, “Communion and Witness”, Pope Benedict said “without communion there can be no witness”, reminding those present that communion is “a gift, not something which we ourselves must build through our own efforts”, a gift that requires conversion.

Referring to one of the principle concerns of many church leaders in the Middle East, the exodus of Christians from the cradle of the faith, Pope Benedict reminded all those present that “in Jerusalem the first Christians were few. Nobody could have imagined what was going to take place. And the Church continues to live on that same strength which enabled it to begin and to grow”, the strength of Pentecost.

“Therefore, the reason for this synodal assembly is mainly a pastoral one”, that, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the communion of the Catholic Church in the Middle East can be re-enlivened.

This he continued “requires the reinforcing of their Christian identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments” so that “the faithful feel the joy in living in the Holy Land”.

However, he added “living in a dignified manner in one’s own country is above all a fundamental human right: therefore, the conditions of peace and justice, which are necessary for the harmonious development of all those living in the region, should be promoted. Therefore all are called to give their personal contribution: the international community, by supporting a stable path, loyal and constructive, towards peace; those most prevalent religions in the region, in promoting the spiritual and cultural values that unite men and exclude any expression of violence”.

Concluding his homily the Holy Father extended his blessing on all the populations of the Middle East: ““Peace to you, peace to your family, peace to all that is yours!”.







The Latin patriarchate of Jerusalem, on its site, provides details about the Mass:

Inauguration of the Special
Synodal Assembly for the Middle East



At 9.30 this morning, 10 October 2010, XXVIII Sunday in ordinary time, in St. Peter’s Basilica, at the tomb of the Apostle Peter, the Holy Father Benedict XVI presided at the Solemn Concelebration of the Eucharist with the Synodal Fathers, for the Inauguration of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in the Synod Hall of the Vatican until 24 October 2010, on the theme: The Catholic Church in the Middle East:Communion and Witness. "Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul" (Acts 4:32).

The entrance into the Basilica began at 9.15 with the singing of the Laudes regiae. The Concelebrants, led by the Masters of Ceremony took their places around the Altar of Confession. Then Their Eminences and the Components of the Presidency of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops joined the Holy Father in the entrance procession.

Concelebrating with the Pope were 177 Synod Fathers (19 Cardinals, 9 Patriarchs, 72 Archbishops, 67 Bishops and 10 Priests) and 69 Collaborators.

At the start of the Concelebration, during the Rite of the Aspergillum presided over by the Holy Father, the choir and assembly sang “Asperges me”.

The Presidents-Delegate H. B. Card. Nasrallah Pierre SFEIR, Patriarch of Antioch of the Maronites, Bishop of Joubbé, Sarba and Jounieh of the Maronites (LEBANON), ad honorem, H. B. Card. Emmanuel III DELLY, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans (IRAQ) , ad honorem, H. Em. Card. Leonardo SANDRI, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches (VATICAN CITY), H. B. Ignace Youssif III YOUNAN, Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians (LEBANON); General Relator H. B. Antonios NAGUIB, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Copts (ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT);General Secretary H. Exc. Mons. Nikola ETEROVIĆ, Titular Archbishop of Cibalae (VATICAN CITY); Special Secretary H. Exc. Mons. Joseph SOUEIF, Archbishop of Cyprus of the Maronites (CYPRUS) all joined the Pope at the Altar for the Eucharistic Prayer.

The first reading was in English, the responsorial Psalm in Italian and the second reading in French. The Gospel was proclaimed in Latin and in Greek. The Prayer of the Faithful was in English, Arabic, Turkish, Hebrew, Farsi. The songs “Ubi Caritas”, in Latin, and “Bread of Life”, in Arabic, accompanied the Offertory; “Beati Pacifici”, in Latin, and “My Soul Thirsts for You”, in Arabic, accompanied Communion. At the end of the celebration, the Marian antiphon “Ave Regina Caelorum” was sung.






Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's homily:


Venerated Brothers,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,
dear brothers and sisters:

The Eucharistic Celebration, which is the act of thanksgiving to God par excellence, is distinguished for us today, gathered at the Tomb of St. Peter, by an extraordinary reason: the grace of seeing the Bishops of the Middle East united for the first time in a Synodal Assembly around the Bishop of Rome and Universal Pastor.

This singular event demonstrates the interest of the entire Church for that precious and beloved portion of the People of God who live in the Holy Land and in all of the Middle East.

Above all, we raise our thanks to the Lord of history, because he has allowed that, notwithstanding events that have often been difficult and agonizing, the Middle East has always seen, from the time of Jesus to our day, the continuity of the Christian presence.

In those lands, the one Church of Christ expresses itself in the variety of liturgical, spiritual, cultural and disciplinary traditions of the six venerable Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris [in law, 'capable of managing one own affairs'], as well as in the Latin tradition.

The fraternal greeting which I address with great affection to the Patriarchs of each Church also extends to all the faithful entrusted to their pastoral care in their respective countries as well as in the diaspora.

On this 28th Sunday in ordinary time, the Word of God offers a theme for meditation which fits appropriately alongside the synodal event that we inaugurate today.

The reading from the Gospel of Luke brings us to the episode of the healing of ten lepers, of whom only one, a Samaritan, went back to thank Jesus.

In connection with this text, the first Reading, taken from the second Book of Kings, recounts the healing of Naaman, head of the Aramaic army, who was also leprous, and who was healed after immersing himself seven times into the waters of the river Jordan, following the order of the prophet Elijah. Naaman too went back to the prophet, and recognizing him as God's mediator, professed his faith in the one Lord.

Therefore, two leprous men, both non-Jews, are healed because they believed in the word of God's messenger. They are healed in the body, but they were also opened up to faith, and this heals them in the spirit - that means, it saves them.

The responsorial psalm sings of this reality: "The LORD has made his victory known;/ has revealed his triumph for the nations to see,/Has remembered faithful love toward the house of Israel" (Ps 98,2-3).

Thus, the theme: Salvation is universal. But it goes through a determined historical mediation : through the people of Israel, which becomes the people of Jesus Christ and of the Church.

The gate of life is open to all, but it is precisely that, a gate - which means, a passageway that is defined and necessary. This is stated synthetically by the Pauline formula that we heard in the Second Letter to Timothy: "the salvation which is in Jesus Christ' (2 Tm 2,10).

This is the mystery of the universality of salvation and at the same time, of its necessary link to the historical mediation of Jesus Christ, preceded by that of the people of Israel and prolonged by that of the Church.

God is love, and wishes that all men should take part in his life. In order to realize this plan, He who is One and Triune, created in the world a mystery of human and divine communion, historical and transcendent.

He creates it by the 'method', so to speak, of an alliance, linking himeelf with faithful and inexhaustible love to men, making them into a holy people who become a blessing for all the families on earth (cfr Gen 12,3).

Thus he reveals himself as the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob (cfr Ex 3,6), who leads his people to the 'land' of freedom and peace.

This 'land' is not of this earth. All of divine design transcends history, but the Lord wished to construct history with men, for men and in men, within the coordinates of space and time in which they live, and which he himself has given.

Part of these coordinates, with its specificity, is that which we call the Middle East. God sees this part of the world from a different perspective - one might say, from 'on high'. It is the land of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob; the land of the exodus and of the return from exile; the land of the Temple and the prophets; the land in which his only-begotten Son was born to Mary; where he lived, died and resurrected; the cradle of the Church, which was constituted to carry the Gospel of Christ to the very ends of the earth.

We too, as believers, look to the Middle East with this perspective, in the context of the history of salvation.

It is the interior perspective which guided me during my apostolic trips to Turkey, in the Holy Land - Jordan, Israel, Palestine - and to Cyprus, places where I was able to experience up close the joys and the concerns of their Christian communities.

Because of this, I gladly welcomed the proposal of the Patriarchs and Bishops of the region to call a synodal assembly in order for us to reflect together, in the light of Sacred Scripture and the Tradition of the Church, on the present and the future of the faithful and the peoples of the Middle East.

To look at that part of the world from the perspective of God means seeing in her the 'cradle' of his universal design for salvation in love, a mystery of communion which becomes real in freedom, and therefore deamnds a response from men.

Abraham, the prophets, the Virgin Mary are the protagonists of this response, which nonetheless is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, son of that land, but one descended from heaven.

From him, from his heart and his Spirit, the Church was born, a pilgrim on this earth to which she belongs. The Church was constituted in order to be, among men, the sign and instrument of the one universal salvific project of God.

She carries out this mission by being herself, namely 'communion and witness', as the theme for this Synodal assembly says, which refers to the famous definition by Luke of the first Christian community: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind" (Acts 4,32).

Without communion, there can be no witness: the best testimony is precisely a life of communion. Jesus says so, clearly: "This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (Jn 13,35).

This communion is the life of God himself which is communicated in the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ. Thus it is a gift, not something that we can construct with our own powers. It is because of this that it concerns our freedom and awaits our response: communion always asks for conversion first, as a gift that must increasingly be better accepted and realized.

The first Christians in Jerusalem were few. No one could have imagined what would happen afterwards. The Church always lives from that same strength with which it was launched and through which it grew.

Pentecost was the original event for the Church but it is also a permanent dynamism. The Bishops' Synod is a privileged moment when we can renew the grace of Pentecost in the journey of the Church, so that the Good News can be announced with frankness and can be listened to by all the peoples.

That is why the purpose of this synodal meeting is predominantly pastoral. Although we cannot ignore the delicate and often tragic social and political situation of some countries, the pastors of the Churches in the Middle East wich to concentrate on the aspects that are their own mission.

In this respect, the Instrumentum laboris, elaborated by a pre-Synodal Council, whose members I sincerely thank for the work they did, underscored this ecclesial objective of the assembly, underscoring that it intends, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to revive the communion of the Catholic Church in the Middle East.

First of all, within each Church, among all its members: Patriarch, bishops, priests, religious, consecrated persons, and lay faithful. And then, in ther relationships with other Churches.

Church life, thus corroborated, will develop into fruits that are positive for the ecumenical journey with other Churches and ecclesial communities present in the Middle East.

This occasion is also propitious for constructive continuation of our dialog with the Jews, to whom we are indissolubly linked by the long story of the Covenant with God; as well as dialog with the Muslims.

The work of the Synodal assembly will also be oriented to the testimony of Christians on the personal, familial and community levels. This requires them to reinforce their Christian identity through the Word of God and the Sacraments.

We all wish that the faithful may feel the joy of living in the Holy Land, land that was blessed by the presence of Jesus Christ and his glorious Paschal mystery.

Over the centuries, those places have attracted multitudes of pilgrims, as well as communities of male and female religious orders who have considered it a great privilege to be able to live and bear witness in the land of Jesus.

Despite the difficulties, the Christians in the Holy Land are called on to revive their awareness of being the living stones of the Church in the Middle East, living in the places sacred to our salvation.

But to live with dignity in one's own land is above all a fundamental human right. Therefore, it is necessary to promote conditions of peace and justice, which are indispensable for the harmonious development of all the inhabitants of the region.

Everyone is called upon to make his own contribution: The international community, by sustaining a reliable, loyal and constructive path to peace; the religions who have a major presence in the region, by promoting spiritual and cultural values that unite men and exclude every expression of violence.

Christians will continue to give their contribution, not only through works of social promotion, such as educational and health care institutions, but above, all with the spirit of the evangelical beatitudes, which inspire the practice of forgiveness and reconciliation.

In this commitment, they will always have the support of the entire Church, as solemnly attested by the presence here of delegates from the episcopates of other continents.

Dear friends, let us entrust the work of the Synodal assembly for the Middle East to the numerous saints of that blessed land. Let us invoker the constant protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that the ensuing days of prayer, reflection and fraternal communion may bear good fruits for the present and the future of the beloved peoples of the Middle East.

To these peoples, we address with all our heart the Biblical greeting: "Peace be with you, my brother, and with your family, and with all who belong to you" (1Sam 25,6).









Pope calls for Mideast peace



VATICAN CITY, Oct. 10 (AFP) – Christianity, Islam and Judaism should work for Middle East peace, Pope Benedict XVI said on Sunday, opening a Vatican conference set to include senior Muslim and Jewish leaders for the first time.

The three main religions in the Middle East should "promote spiritual and cultural values that unite people and exclude any form of violence," Benedict said at a mass to mark the start of the special synod of Catholic bishops.

The international community should support "a trustworthy, loyal and constructive path towards peace" in the region, he said in his sermon.

"This is also a good occasion to continue our constructive dialogue with the Jews... as well as with the Muslims," the pope added.

The special synodal assembly has been called mainly to discuss pastoral issues linked to the dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East, but also aims to foster peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to counter Islamic extremism.

"The vital dialogue with Judaism is one of the main objectives of the synod, along with the difficult but necessary dialogue with Islam," Nikola Eterovic, the archbishop in charge of organising synods, said earlier.

He added that Arab Christian communities were "a natural bridge with Islam."

Referring to the Middle East conflict, he said: "We hope we will be able to achieve peace and that the synod marks a step forward in this direction."

Arabic will be one of the official languages at the synod, which will bring together Catholic clergymen, an Iranian ayatollah and a senior rabbi.

The Muslim and Jewish leaders will however address the synod separately and will not meet, organisers said.

The synod talks are set to get under way on Monday and the conference runs for two weeks until October 24.

"We want maximum visibility for the Catholic church in this region, which is so vital to Christian history and which has been hit by tensions, conflicts, religious and political upheaval in the past 2,000 years," Eterovic said.

He said that the "difficult conditions" faced by Christians in the region because of discrimination and violence had forced many to emigrate.

There are around 20 million Christians in the Middle East including five million Catholics in a population of around 356 million people.

A preparatory document for the synod singled out problems of violence and discrimination faced by Christians in Iraq, Egypt and Turkey.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 14:22



Preview of Motu Proprio
on 'New Evangelization'

by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

Oct. 10, 2010


«Ubicumque et semper» - everywhere and always - is the title of Benedict XVI's apostolic letter motu proprio that will institute the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization, which will be headed by Mons. Rino Fisichella.

The document will be published Tuesday and presented by Mons. Fisichella at a news briefing in the Vatican Press Office.

'Everywhere and always' the Church has made evangelization its 'primary task', the Motu Proprio reads. However, it also contains a significant novelty compared to what what was expected.

When it was first announced, the intention was for the new Council to carry out its task in the Christian nations which have become secularized.

In the motu proprio, although Benedict XVI underscores that the work of the new Council would be focused primarily on such nations (mostly in the West), the Council will have universal jurisdiction in the Church.

Il Giornale has learned that this decision was motivated by the Pope's desire that one of the tasks of the new Council would be to disseminate knowledge and assimilation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Obviously, this cannot be limited only to the Western world.

In the time since the Pope announced the plan for a new Council last June, the work at the Vatican to prepare for it has been long and not always easy.

To constitute a new dicastery and define its role is difficult since its work inevitably touches on areas that are already under older dicasteries - in this case, the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (concerned with traditional mission lands, where Christianity is fairly recent or yet to be introduced), the Congregation for Catholic Education, and the Pontifical Council for Culture.

The motu proprio, which is fairly brief, has been reviewed thoroughly and refined by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts and does not contain an organizational chart. Its offices will be at a Vatican building on the Via della Conciliazione.

Last Sept. 19, addressing the bishops of the United Kingdom in Birmingham, Benedict XVI said:

"As you announce the coming of the Kingdom of God, do everything to present the vivifying Message of the Gospel in its entirety, including those elements that challenge the widespread beliefs of contemporary culture.

"As you know, we recently decided on creating a Pontifical Council for New Evangelization in the countries that have a long Christian tradition, and i wish to encourage you to avail of its services to deal with the tasks that you face".

The new dicastery is one of the most significant innovations in the Ratzinger Pontificate.




"New evangelization' was a phrase coined and made popular by John Paul II, but it was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who thought it out amply in an address to catechists back in the Grand Jubilee Year of 2000. Reading it today, it obviously laid down much of the theological and practical bases for the new dicastery.

In the face of a growing indifference to God, the new evangelization must not be about a social or political structure, but the person of Jesus Christ, Cardinal Ratzinger told a world gathering of catechists and religion teachers in Rome on December 10, 2000. It is a wonderful address, which also touches on two other themes dear to Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI - the true significance of liturgy, and the reality of the Gospel Jesus compared to the 'historical' Jesus.



The New Evangelization

by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger


Human life cannot be realized by itself. Our life is an open question, an incomplete project, still to be brought to fruition and realized. Each man’s fundamental question is: how will this be realized – becoming man? How does one learn the art of living? Which is the path towards happiness?

To evangelize means: to show this path – to teach the art of living.

At the beginning of His public life Jesus says: I have come to evangelize the poor (Lk 4:18); this means: I have the response to your fundamental question; I will show you the path of life, the path towards happiness – rather: I am that path.

The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries.

The inability of joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice – all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.

This is why we are in need of a new evangelization – if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works. But his art is not the object of a science – this art can only be communicated by who has life – He who is the Gospel personified.

I. Structure and method in new evangelization

1. The structure
Before speaking about the fundamental contents of new evangelization, I would like to say a few words about its structure and on the correct method.

The Church always evangelizes and has never interrupted the path of evangelization. She celebrates the Eucharistic mystery every day, administers the sacraments, proclaims the word of life – the Word of God, and commits herself to the causes of justice and charity.

And this evangelization bears fruit: it gives light and joy, it gives the path of life to many people; many others live, often unknowingly, of the light and the warmth that radiate from this permanent evangelization.

However, we can see a progressive process of de-Christianization and a loss of the essential human values, which is worrisome. A large part of today’s humanity does not find the Gospel in the permanent evangelization of the Church: that is to say the convincing response to the question: How to live?

This is why we are searching for, along with permanent and uninterrupted and never to be interrupted evangelization, a new evangelization, capable of being heard by that world that does not find access to "classic" evangelization.

Everyone needs the Gospel; the Gospel is destined to all and not only to a specific circle and this is why we are obliged to look for new ways of bringing the Gospel to all.

Yet another temptation lies hidden beneath this – the temptation of impatience, the temptation of immediately finding the great success, in finding large numbers. But this is not God’s way.

For the Kingdom of God as well as for evangelization, the instrument and vehicle of the Kingdom of God, the parable of the grain of mustard seed is always valid (cf. Mk 4:31-32).

The Kingdom of God always starts anew under this sign. New evangelization cannot mean: immediately attracting the large masses that have distanced themselves from the Church by using new and more refined methods.

No – this is not what new evangelization promises. New evangelization means: never being satisfied with the fact that from the grain of mustard seed, the great tree of the Universal Church grew; never thinking that the fact that different birds may find place among its branches can suffice – rather it means to dare, once again and with the humility of the small grain, to leave up to God the when and how it will grow (Mk 4: 26-29).

Large things always begin from the small seed and the mass movements are always ephemeral. In his vision of the evolutionary process, Teilhard de Chardin mentions the "white of the origins" (le blanc des origines): the beginning of a new species is invisible and cannot be found by scientific research. The sources are hidden – they are too small.

In other words: the large realities begin in humility. Let us put to one side whether Teilhard is right in his evolutionary theories; the law on invisible origins does say a truth – a truth present in the very actions of God in history: "The Lord did not set His affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you..."

God says to the People of Israel in the Old Testament and thus expresses the fundamental paradox of the history of salvation: certainly, God does not count in large numbers; exterior power is not the sign of His presence.

Most of Jesus’s parables indicate this structure of divine intervention and thus answer the disciples’ worries, who were expecting other kinds of success and signs from the Messiah – successes of the kind offered by Satan to the Lord: All these – the kingdoms of the world – I will give to you... (Mt 4:9).

Of course, at the end of his life Paul believed that he had proclaimed the Gospel to the very ends of the earth, but the Christians were small communities dispersed throughout the world, insignificant according to the secular criteria.

In reality, they were the leaven that penetrates the meal from within and they carried within themselves the future of the world (cf. Mt 13:33). An old proverb says: "Success is not one of the names of God".

New evangelization must surrender to the mystery of the grain of mustard seed and not be so pretentious as to believe to immediately produce a large tree. We either live too much in the security of the already existing large tree or in the impatience of having a greater, more vital tree – instead we must accept the mystery that the Church is at the same time a large tree and a very small grain.

In the history of salvation it is always Good Friday and Easter Sunday at the same time...

2. The method
The correct method derives from this structure of new evangelization. Of course we must use the modern methods of making ourselves be heard in a reasonable way – or better yet: of making the voice of the Lord accessible and comprehensible...

We are not looking for listening for ourselves – we do not want to increase the power and the spreading of our institutions, but we wish to serve for the good of the people and humanity giving room to He who is Life.

This expropriation of one’s person, offering it to Christ for the salvation of men, is the fundamental condition of the true commitment for the Gospel. "I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive" says the Lord (Jn 5:43).

The mark of the Antichrist is the fact that he speaks in his own name. The sign of the Son is His communion with the Father. The Son introduces us into the Trinitarian communion, into the circle of eternal love, whose persons are "pure relations", the pure act of giving oneself and of welcome.

The Trinitarian plan – visible in the Son, who does not speak in His name – shows the form of life of the true evangelizer. Evangelizing is not merely a way of speaking, but a form of living: living in the listening and giving voice to the Father. "He will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak," says the Lord about the Holy Spirit (Jn 16:13).

This Christological and pneumatological form of evangelization is also, at the same time, an ecclesiological form: the Lord and the Spirit build the Church, communicate through the Church. The proclamation of Christ, the proclamation of the Kingdom of God presupposes listening to His voice in the voice of the Church. "Not speak on his own authority" means: to speak in the mission of the Church…

Many practical consequences come from this law of expropriation. All reasonable and morally acceptable methods should be studied – to use these possibilities of communication is a duty. But words and the whole art of communication cannot reach the human person to such depths as the Gospel must reach.

A few years ago, I was reading the biography of a very good priest of our century, Don Didimo, the parish priest of Bassano del Grappa. In his notes, golden words can be found, the fruit of a life of prayer and of meditation.

About us, Don Didimo says, for example: "Jesus preached by day, by night He prayed". With these few words, he wished to say: Jesus had to acquire the disciples from God.

The same is always true. We ourselves cannot gather men. We must acquire them by God for God. All methods are empty without the foundation of prayer. The word of the announcement must always be drenched in an intense life of prayer.

We must add another step. Jesus preached by day, by night He prayed – this is not all. His entire life was – as demonstrated in a beautiful way by the Gospel according to Saint Luke – a path towards the cross, ascension towards Jerusalem.

Jesus did not redeem the world with beautiful words but with His suffering and His death. His passion is the inexhaustible source of life for the world; the passion gives power to His words.

The Lord Himself – extending and amplifying the parable of the grain of mustard seed – formulated this law of fruitfulness in the word of the grain of seed that dies, fallen to earth (Jn 12:24). This law too is valid until the end of the world and is – along with the mystery of the grain of seed – fundamental for new evangelization. All of history demonstrates this.

It is very easy to demonstrate this in the history of Christianity. Here, I would like to recall only the beginning of evangelization in the life of Saint Paul.

The success of his mission was not the fruit of great rhetorical art or pastoral prudence; the fruitfulness was tied to the suffering, to the communion in the passion with Christ (cf. 1 Cor 2:1-5; 2 Cor 5:7; 11, 10 et segue; 11:30; Gal 4:12-14). "But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah" said the Lord. The sign of Jonah is the crucified Christ – they are the witnesses that complete "what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions" (Col 1:24).

Throughout all the periods of history, the words of Tertullian have always been verified: the blood of martyrs is a seed.

Saint Augustine says the same thing in a much more beautiful way, interpreting Jn 21, where the prophesy of Peter’s martyrdom and the mandate to tend, that is to say the institution of His primacy, are intimately connected.

Saint Augustine comments the text Jn 21:16 in the following way: "Tend my sheep", this means suffer for my sheep (Sermo Guelf. 32 PLS 2, 640). A mother cannot give life to a child without suffering. Each birth requires suffering, is suffering, and becoming a Christian is a birth.

Let us say this once again in the words of the Lord: the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence (Mt 11:12; Lk 16:16), but the violence of God is suffering, it is the Cross.

We cannot give life to others without giving up our own lives. The process of expropriation indicated above is the concrete form (expressed in many different ways) of giving one’s life. And let us think about the words of the Savior: "... whoever loses his life for my sake and the Gospel’s will save it..." (Mk 8:35).


II. The contents essential for new evangelization

1. Conversion
As for the contents of new evangelization, first of all we must keep in mind the inseparability of the Old and the New Testaments. The fundamental content of the Old Testament is summarized in the message by John the Baptist: Convert!

There is no access to Jesus without the Baptist; there is no possibility of reaching Jesus without answering the call of the precursor, rather: Jesus took up the message of John in the synthesis of His own preaching: "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1,15).

The Greek word for converting means: to rethink – to question one’s own and common way of living; to allow God to enter into the criteria of one’s life; to not merely judge according to the current opinions.

Thereby, to convert means: not to live as all the others live, not do what all do, not feel justified in dubious, ambiguous, evil actions just because others do the same; to begin to see one’s life through the eyes of God; thereby looking for the good, even if uncomfortable; not aiming at the judgment of the majority, of men, but on the justice of God – in other words: to look for a new style of life, a new life.

All of this does not imply moralism; reducing Christianity to morality loses sight of the essence of Christ’s message: the gift of a new friendship, the gift of communion with Jesus and thereby with God.

Whoever converts to Christ does not mean to create his own moral autarchy for himself, does not intend to build his own goodness through his own strengths.

"Conversion" (metanoia) means exactly the opposite: to come out of self-sufficiency to discover and accept our indigence – the indigence of others and of the Other, His forgiveness, His friendship.

Unconverted life is self-justification ('I am not worse than the others'); conversion is humility in entrusting oneself to the love of the Other, a love that becomes the measure and the criteria of my own life.

Here we must also bear in mind the social aspect of conversion. Certainly conversion is above all a very personal act, it is personalization. I separate myself from the formula "to live as all others" (I do not feel justified anymore by the fact that everyone does what I do) and I find my own person in front of God, my own personal responsibility.

But true personalization is always also a new and more profound socialization. The "I" opens itself once again to the "you", in all its depths, and thus a new "We" is born. If the lifestyle spread throughout the world implies the danger of de-personalization, of not living one’s own life but the life of all the others, in conversion a new "We", of the common path of God, must be achieved.

In proclaiming conversion we must also offer a community of life, a common space for the new style of life. We cannot evangelize with words alone; the Gospel creates life, creates communities of progress; a merely individual conversion has no consistency…

2. The Kingdom of God
In the appeal to conversion the proclamation of the Living God is implicit – as its fundamental condition. Theocentrism is fundamental in the message of Jesus and must also be at the heart of new evangelization.

The keyword of the proclamation of Jesus is: the Kingdom of God. But the Kingdom of God is not a thing, a social or political structure, a utopia. The Kingdom of God is God.

Kingdom of God means: God exists. God is alive. God is present and acts in the world, in our – in my life.


God is not a faraway "ultimate cause", God is not the "great architect" of deism, who created the machine of the world and is no longer part of it – on the contrary: God is the most present and decisive reality in each and every act of my life, in each and every moment of history.

In his conference when leaving the University of Münster, the theologian J.B. Metz said some unexpected things for him. In the past, Metz taught us anthropocentrism – the true occurrence of Christianity was the anthropological turning point, the secularization, the discovery of the secularity of the world.

Then he taught us political theology – the political characteristic of faith; then the "dangerous memory"; and finally narrative theology.

After this long and difficult path, today he tells us: the true problem of our times is the "Crisis of God", the absence of God, disguised by an empty religiosity. Theology must go back to being truly theo-logy, speaking about and with God.

Metz is right: the "unum necessarium" to man is God. Everything changes, whether God exists or not. Unfortunately – we Christians also often live as if God did not exist ("si Deus non daretur"). We live according to the slogan: God does not exist, and if He exists, He does not belong.

Therefore, evangelization must, first of all, speak about God, proclaim the only true God: the Creator – the Sanctifier – the Judge (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church).

Here too we must keep the practical aspect in mind. God cannot be made known with words alone. One does not really know a person if one knows about this person second-handedly.

To proclaim God is to introduce to the relation with God: to teach how to pray. Prayer is faith in action. And only by experiencing life with God does the evidence of His existence appear. This is why schools of prayer, communities of prayer, are so important.

There is a complementarity between personal prayer ("in one’s room", alone in front of God’s eyes), "para-liturgical" prayer in common ("popular religiosity") and liturgical prayer.

Yes, the liturgy is, first of all, prayer; its specificity consists in the fact that its primary project is not ourselves (as in private prayer and in popular religiosity), but God Himself – the liturgy is actio divina, God acts and we respond to this divine action.

Speaking about God and speaking with God must always go together. The proclamation of God is the guide to communion with God in fraternal communion, founded and vivified by Christ.

This is why the liturgy (the sacraments) are not a secondary theme next to the preaching of the living God, but the realization of our relationship with God.


While on this subject, may I be allowed to make a general observation on the liturgical question. Our way of celebrating the liturgy is very often too rationalistic. The liturgy becomes teaching, whose criteria is: making ourselves understood.

Often the consequence of this is making the mystery a banality, the prevalence of our words, the repetition of phrases that might seem more accessible and more pleasant for the people. But this is not only a theological error but also a psychological and pastoral one.

The wave of esoterism, the spreading of Asian techniques of relaxation and self-emptying demonstrate that something is lacking in our liturgies. It is in our world of today that we are in need of silence, of the super-individual mystery, of beauty.

The liturgy is not an invention of the celebrating priest or of a group of specialists; the liturgy (the "rite") came about via an organic process throughout the centuries, it bears with it the fruit of the experience of faith of all the generations.

Even if the participants do not perhaps understand each single word, they perceive the profound meaning, the presence of the mystery, which transcends all words.

The celebrant is not the center of liturgical action; the celebrant is not in front of the people in his own name – he does not speak by himself or for himself, but "in persona Cristi".

The personal abilities of the celebrant do not count, only his faith counts, by which Christ becomes transparent. "He must increase, but I must decrease"
(Jn 3:30).

3. Jesus Christ
With this reflection, the theme of God has already expanded and been achieved in the theme of Jesus Christ: only in Christ and through Christ does the theme God become truly concrete: Christ is Emanuel, the God-with-us – the concretization of the "I am", the response to Deism.

Today, the temptation is great to diminish Jesus Christ, the Son of God, into a merely historical Jesus, into a pure man. One does not necessarily deny the divinity of Jesus, but by using certain methods one distills from the Bible a Jesus to our size, a Jesus possible and comprehensible within the parameters of our historiography.

But this "historical Jesus" is an artifact, the image of his authors rather than the image of the living God (cf. 2 Cor 4:4 et segue; Col 1:15).

The Christ of faith is not a myth; the so-called historical Jesus is a mythological figure, self-invented by various interpreters. The two hundred years of history of the "historical Jesus" faithfully reflect the history of philosophies and ideologies of this period.

Within the limits of this conference, I cannot go into the contents of the proclamation of the Savior. I would only like to briefly mention two important aspects.

The first one is the Sequela of Christ – Christ offers Himself as the path of my life. Sequela of Christ does not mean: imitating the man Jesus. This type of attempt would necessarily fail – it would be an anachronism.

The Sequela of Christ has a much higher goal: to be assimilated into Christ, that is to attain union with God. Such a word might sound strange to the ears of modern man. But, in truth, we all thirst for the infinite: for an infinite freedom, for happiness without limits.

The entire history of revolutions during the last two centuries can only be explained this way. Drugs can only be explained this way. Man is not satisfied with solutions beneath the level of divinization. But all the roads offered by the "serpent" (Gen 3:5), that is to say by mundane knowledge, fail.

The only path is communion with Christ, achieved in sacramental life. The Sequela of Christ is not a question of morality, but a "mysteric" theme – an ensemble of divine action and our response.

Thus, in the theme on the sequela we find the presence of the other center of Christology, which I wished to mention: the Paschal Mystery – the Cross and the Resurrection.

In the reconstruction of the "historical Jesus", usually the theme of the cross is without meaning. In a bourgeois interpretation it becomes an incident per se evitable, without theological value; in a revolutionary interpretation it becomes the heroic death of a rebel.

The truth is quite different. The cross belongs to the divine mystery – it is the expression of His love to the end (Jn 13:1). The Sequela of Christ is participation in the cross, uniting oneself to His love, to the transformation of our life, which becomes the birth of the new man, created according to God (cf. Eph 4:24). Whoever omits the cross, omits the essence of Christianity (cf. 1 Cor 2:2).

4. Eternal life
A last central element of every true evangelization is eternal life. Today we must proclaim our faith with new vigor in daily life. Here, I would only like to mention one aspect of the preaching Jesus, which is often omitted today: the proclamation of the Kingdom of God is the proclamation of the God present, the God that knows us, listen to us; the God that enters into history to do justice.

Therefore, this preaching is also the proclamation of justice, the proclamation of our responsibility. Man cannot do or avoid doing what he wants to. He will be judged. He must account for things. This certitude is of value both for the powerful as well as the simple ones. Where this is honored, the limitations of every power in this world are traced.

God renders justice, and only He may ultimately do this. We will be able to do this better the more we are able to live under the eyes of God and to communicate the truth of justice to the world.

Thus the article of faith in justice, its force in the formation of consciences, is a central theme of the Gospel and is truly good news. It is for all those suffering the injustices of the world and who are looking for justice.

This is also how we can understand the connection between the Kingdom of God and the "poor", the suffering and all those spoken about in the Beatitudes in the Speech on the Mountain. They are protected by the certainty of judgment, by the certitude, that there is a justice.

This is the true content of the article on justice, about God as judge: Justice exists. The injustices of the world are not the final word of history. Justice exists. Only whoever does not want there to be justice can oppose this truth.

If we seriously consider the judgment and the seriousness of the responsibility for us that emerges from this, we will be able to understand full well the other aspect of this proclamation, that is redemption, the fact that Jesus, in the cross, takes on our sins; God Himself, in the passion of the Son, becomes the advocate for us sinners, and thus making penance possible, the hope for the repentant sinner, hope expressed in a marvelous way by the words of Saint John: Before God, we will reassure our heart, whatever He reproves us for. "For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything" (1 Jn 3:19 et segue).

God’s goodness is infinite, but we should not diminish this to goodness, to mawkish affectation without truth. Only by believing in the just judgment of God, only by hungering and thirsting for justice (cf. Mt 5:6) will we open up our hearts, our life to divine mercy.

This can be seen: it isn’t true that faith in eternal life makes earthly life insignificant. To the contrary: only if the measure of our life is eternity, then also this life of ours on earth is great and its value immense.

God is not the competitor in our life, but the guarantor of our greatness. This way we return to the starting point: God.

If we take the Christian message into well thought-out consideration, we are not speaking about a whole lot of things. In reality, the Christian message is very simple: we speak about God and man, and this way we say everything.



TERESA BENEDETTA
00domenica 10 ottobre 2010 16:30



ANGELUS TODAY



At the noontime Angelus today, before an overflow crowd at St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI spoke of the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Bishops' Synod, which begins two weeks of working sessions tomorrow.

He expressed the wish that the Church in the Middle East may be 'the sign and instrument for unity and reconciliation' and entrusted the sessions to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, particularly in this month dedicated to the Holy Rosary.

In English, he said:

I offer warm greetings to th English-speaking visitors gathered for this Angelus prayer.

I invite all of you to join me in praying for the ‘Special Assembly for the Middle East’ of the Synod of Bishops, which opened this morning in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

May this momentous ecclesial event strengthen the communion of the faithful in the Middle East, especially as they give witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the gift of peace he offers.

As we entrust these prayers to the powerful intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, her Spouse, who themselves came from that region, I invoke upon you and your families God’s abundant blessings.



Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's words at the Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters:

I have just come from St. Peter's Basilica where I presided at the Mass to open the Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Bishops' Synod.

For these extraordinary synodal sessions which will last two weeks, the Pastors of the local Churches in the Middle East have gathered at the Vatican. The Church in the Middle East is a diverse reality - in that land, the one Church of Christ is expressed in all the wealth of its ancient traditions.

The theme which we will reflect upon at the sessions is "The Catholic Church in the Middle East; Communion and witness".

Indeed, in these countries, unfortunately marked by profound divisions and torn apart by decades of conflict, the Church is called on to be the sign and instrument of unity and reconciliation, modelled after the first (Christian) community of Jerusalem in which "The community of believers was of one heart and mind" (Acts 4,32), as St. Luke said.

This task is arduous, since Christians in the Middle East often find themselves having to endure difficult living conditions, both on the personal as well as the familial and community levels.

But this should not be cause for discouragement: It is precisely in this context that the perennial message of Christ resounds even more necessary and urgent: "Repent, and believe in the Gospel" (Mk 1,15).

In my recent visit to Cyprus, I handed over the Working Instrument for the Special Assembly (to the Patriarchs of the Middle East). Now that it has begun, I invite everyone to pray and invoke God to grant it an abundant effusion of the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

The month of October is also the month of the Holy Rosary. It is, in effect, a 'spiritual intonation' of the liturgical feast of the Virgin of the Rosary, which we observed on Oct. 7.

Thus we are invited to let ourselves be guided by Mary in this prayer that is ancient and always new, especially dear to her because it leads us directly to Jesus, contemplated in the mysteries of salvation: joyous, luminous, sorrowful and glorious.

Following the Venerable John Paul II (cfr Apost. Letter Rosarium Virginis Mariae), I wish to recall that the Rosary is a Biblical prayer that is completely woven from Sacred Scripture.

It is a prayer of the heart, in which the repetition of the 'Ave Maria' orients our thought and affection to Christ, and is also a trusting supplication to his Mother and ours.

It is a prayer that helps us to meditate on the Word of God and to assimilate Eucharistic Communion, following the model of Mary who kept in her heart all that Jesus said and did, and his very presence.

Dear friends, we know how much the Virgin Mary is loved and venerated bu our brothers and sisters in the Middle East. Everyone looks to her as a most attentive mother, close to us in every suffering, and as the Star of hope.

To her intercession, let us entrust the Synodal Assembly which opened today so that the Christians of that region may be reinforced in communion and bear witness to the Gospel of love and peace.




10/11/10
The pictures are belated. There were none from the newsphoto agencie son Sunday. The one on the left in the panel above is from the OR; all the rest are videocaps.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00lunedì 11 ottobre 2010 12:24



George Weigel has contributed an essay to the IDEAS section in the Sunday Avvenire - I have searched online for an English original, but to no avail. So this is a re-translation to English from an Italian translation...


Is there a Christian revival in Europe?
by George Weigel
Translated from

October 10, 2010


In mid-May, Pope Benedict XVI made an apostolic pilgrimage to Portugal: half a million faithful took part in the Pope's open-air Mass in Fatima.

When the Pope returned to Rome, 200,000 pilgrims came to St. Peter's Square to take part in the Sunday 'Regina caeli' led by the Pope, and to demonstrate their support for a Pope who had been beseieged for months by crrticisms over priests who abused minors as well as their irresponsible bishops.

A week later saw the end of a 44-day exposition of the Holy Shroud of Turin in its chapel adjoining the Cathedral of this northern Italian capital. In six weeks, at least two milion faithful waited hours in long lines to be able to spend a few moments in front of what many believe to have been the funerary shroud of Jesus.

Then there was the Pope's recent trip to the United Kingdom...

A message to the various detractors of the Church and the Pope: As Mark Twain might have said, are the verdicts on the death of Christianity in Europe too exaggerated?

It is a simple question, and since I have been one of those who have rung an alarm bell over the European crisis as a moral civilization in my book The Cube and the Cathedral [the 'cube' refers to the Qaaba, the holy object of every Muslim's pilgrimage to Mecca, and the book is partly about the ascendancy of Islam in Europe], I feel obliged to seek an answer. Which is this: it's too early to tell.

The great affluence of pilgrims to Fatima for the Pope's visit or the extraordinary number of those who came to see the Shroud - these are indeed encouraging signs. Just as the intense popular piety that continues to be evident in Poland, particularly in recent months, after the tragic death of their President and other leaders in an airplane crash in Russia last April.

Equally encouraging, in a paradoxical way, are the virulent attacks on the Church and the Pope in the past months. No one would otherwise spend so much time and effort to denigrate an instutition that they really think to be moribund, nor an 83-year-old man if they really thought he was irrelevant.

These very attacks are evidence that the Christian faith - and the Catholic church - continue to be relevant factors in European culture and public life.


Moreover, if the next World Youth Day, which takes place in Madrid in August next year, ends up hosting at least a millionn young pilgrims as expected, that would be a direct challenge to the hyper-secular Spanish government of Jose Luis Zapatero and to the European sons of the 1968 counterculture - for them to accept, though they find it decidedly bizarre, that Christianity is still a personal choice of 'lifestyle' for many, despite the insistence of these anti-Christian detractors that European society in the 21st century must be liberated from any and every moral argument that is religiously inspired.

But the decisive element in all this is whether these public demonstrations of Christian belief and piety can become a transformative element of the culture, in a way that can exert some influence in the public sphere. It's not easy to see how this can happen in Europe.

European Catholicism does not have the kund of infrastructure set up in the past few decades in the United States for such a culture war.

Let me make an example: In Europe, there is nothing similar to the Catholic journal First Things and its stable of writers whose essays and articles are read by public officials, university professors, the mass media and other opinion makers.

To be able to exert such a cultural influence requires hard work and resources. But above all, it requires a critical mass of disciples who are radically Christian, who have gone through moments such as those experienced by Fr. Robert Barron, a Chicago priest who lives in Turin.

He wrote recently:
"I must admit that this [the Shroud exposition] was one of the most extraordinary religious experiences in my life. The clearly visible marks on the Shroud means that the the brutal reality of the Passion of Christ is clearly visible.

"Looking at the Shroud truly brought me back to that squalid little hill just outside the walls of Jerusalem in the third decade of the Christian era when a young man was tortured to death. The face of that figure comes to me: peaceful, noble, strange, magnetizing, which reveals at the same time the profundity of human misery and the fullness of divine mercy.

"The face of the crucified God reveals the entire drama and all the poetry of the Christian faith, the Answer that is anything but easy, the Word that surpasses the word of any philosopher..."

[I have yet to search online for Barron's original words, but the above is also obviously a retranslation to English from Italian.]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00lunedì 11 ottobre 2010 15:09


Monday, Oct. 11, 28th Week in Ordinary Time

BLESSED MARYA ANGELA TRUSZKOWSKA (Poland, 1825-1899), Franciscan Tertiary, Founder of the Felician Sisters
Born Sophia Camille Truszkowska to noble parents near Cracow, she was always sickly, but this inclined her to reflection
and prayer. At age 23, she experienced a conversion moment that led her to the religious life. With a Capuchin father as
her spiritual director, she joined the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Warsaw to help the poor, aged and homeless, taking
homeless children into her own home. She and her cousin expanded this into an institute with a school for the children and
religious instruction. Other women joined Sophia and her cousin, who became Franciscan tertiaries in 1855, at which Sophia
took the name Angela. Within two years they formed a new congregation, which came to be known as the Felician Sisters,
since they prayed at the nearby shrine of St. Felix of Cantalice. Though poor health forced her to resign as Mother Superior
at age 44, Mary Angela saw her order grow to the point where it sent missionaries to the United States to work with Polish
immigrant communities. John Paul II beatified her in Cracow in 1993. Her remains are venerated in a church in that city.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/101110.shtml




No OR today.


THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father attended the first working session this morning of the Special Synodal Assembly on the Middle East
where he delivered extemporaneous opening remarks.

At noon, he met with four of his recent appointees to important positions, who were consecrated archbishops
in St. Peter's Basilica on Saturday by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone:

- Mons. Joseph William Tobin, Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life

- Mons. Giorgio Lingua, Apostolic Nuncio to Iraq and Jordan

- Mons. Ignacio Carrasco de Paula, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life

- Mons. Enrico Dal Covolo, S.D.B., Rector Magnificus of teh Pontifical Lateran University.

As is customary when the Pope meets newly-consecrated bishops, they were accompanied by their families.




The Holy Father has named Mons. Cesare Nosiglia as Archbishop of Turin to succeed Cardinal Severino Poletto,
who has retired upon reaching 75. Mons. Nosiglia was the Archbishop of Vicenza.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00lunedì 11 ottobre 2010 15:51



Pope condemns violence
done 'in God's name'





VATICAN CITY, Oct. 11 (AFP) — Pope Benedict XVI condemned violence carried out "in God's name" on Monday at a Vatican conference of Catholic bishops and other religious leaders from across the Middle East.

"It is supposedly in God's name that this violence is committed but this is not God, these are false divinities that have to be unmasked," Benedict said.

He also warned of the spread of "terrorist ideology" in modern societies.

The synod conference has been called to discuss pastoral issues linked to the dwindling Christian communities in the Middle East, but also aims to foster peace between Israel and the Palestinians and to counter Islamic extremism.

The synod talks began on Monday and are due to end on October 24.

Arabic will be one of the official languages at the synod, which will bring together Catholic clergymen, an Iranian ayatollah and a British-born rabbi.

At a Mass marking the opening of the synod on Sunday, Benedict called on Christianity, Islam and Judaism to "promote spiritual and cultural values that unite people and exclude any form of violence" in the Middle East.


Below, the Holy Father arrives for the morning session, then presides at the Third-Hour Liturgy before addressing the assembly extemporaneously:




The text of the Pope's remarks have not yet been posted, but there are Italian accounts more comprehensive than AFP"s narrowly-focused story above... As usual, the Catholic news agencies CNA, CNS and Zenit are still trying to catch up on the weekend events. Thank God for Vaitcan Radio which carries on 24/7, so here's an RV-English account of other highlights this morning. (RV has now posted portions of the Pope's remarks in its Italian service, so I hope to translate those first.

Synod's opening session
focuses on 'peace and communion'





11 OCT 2010 (RV) - Peace and Communion: This was the recurring theme of Monday morning’s interventions at the Synod, beginning with that of Cardinal Sandri, Prefect of the Congregation for Eastern Churches.

He said "The East wants to give and receive hope", recalling the importance of working together for the unity of all Christians and the denunciation of all forms of violence: “In certain contexts Catholics along with other Christians, still suffer from hostility, harassment and failure to respect their fundamental right to religious freedom. Terrorism and other forms of violence do not even spare our Jewish and Muslims brothers”.

Synod secretary general, Archbishop Eterovic then took the floor, noting first of all that "the Holy Land is dear to all Christians" and that it is also "the home of our Jewish and Muslim brothers and sisters".

Then, he movingly recalled Mgr. Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar of Anatolia and president of the Turkish Bishops' Conference, who was murdered on the eve of the Holy Father’s visit to Cyprus, where he presented the Synod’s working guidelines to the bishops of the Middle East:

“We prayerfully call upon the Lord to receive his faithful servant into his kingdom of life, happiness and peace, so that from heaven he might intercede for the success of this synodal assembly. May his sacrifice open new paths of mutual understanding and collaboration in respect for religious freedom in all countries of the Middle East and the world. At the same time, we pray that those who were involved in his tragic death will have a change of heart”.

The Relator General, Patriarch Naguib of Alexandria of the Copts in Egypt, then presented his "Report before the debate”, presenting many delicate issues for afternoon discussions.

First, the importance of the Holy Scriptures: “the Word of God”, he said, "is the source of our theology, spirituality and apostolic and missionary vitality”.

The Patriarch spoke of the specific situation of Christians in the Middle East, stressing unity in diversity, the need to cooperate and encourage vocations, young people, families and institutes of consecrated life.

Focus was given to promoting a positive secularism of states, which will enable the Church to give an effective and fruitful contribution to the status of citizens on the basis of equality and democracy. “Although Christians are a small minority”, said Patriarch Naguib, “their dynamism is enlightening and should be supported and encouraged”.

Patriarch Naguib also addressed the challenges that Christians face in the Middle East. Above all others the political conflicts in the region: “In the Palestinian territories”, he said, “life is very difficult and often impossible”.

While condemning the violence from wherever it comes from, he called for a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and expressed solidarity with the Palestinian people, whose current situation, he noted, “encourages fundamentalism”.

The question of freedom of religion and of conscience was addressed. The Patriarch unequivocally condemned all forms of proselytism and called for renewed efforts in dialogue, fostered by the Christian institutes of education.

The issue of migration; immigration and emigration due to conflicts, the advance of Islamic fundamentalism, the restriction of freedoms, the economic situation. No to defeatism, reaffirmed the Patriarch Naguib, yes to the strengthening of ties with Christian migrants, to encourage them not to relinquish the properties in their lands of origin, and greater efforts to welcome immigrants, mostly Africans and Asians, often the victims of injustice and abuse.

The Relator General then addressed the issue of communion in the Catholic Church and among the different Churches, as well as between bishops, clergy and faithful.

"The division among Christians is a scandal," said Naguib, adding that prejudices must be overcome, memories purified, unity sought”. for example, in joint celebrations for Christmas and Easter. He also called for a greater commitment of Christians in public life, by overcoming the parochialism and sectarianism, and the renewal of the liturgy, to encourage young people and children.

Regarding relations with the Jews, the Relator General condemned anti-Semitism and tendentious interpretations of the Bible, used to justify violence. He also encouraged the solution of "two peoples, two states” for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In relations with Muslims, the Patriarch Naguib underlined the importance of common roots. However he also pointed out that Muslims in general do not distinguish between religion and politics, a situation resulting in Christians becoming non-citizens.

"With the advance of fundamentalism - he said – there are increasing attacks on Christians." For this, the question must be addressed from the perspective of the common good, to move from tolerance to justice and equality.

Central to this is education to peace, the elimination of all forms of prejudice from school books, the right attention to modernity, often ambiguous, because it brings new values, but others lose.

Finally, the Relator General underlined the specific and irreplaceable contribution of Christians in society, bearers of justice and peace, with the hope that "a mature faith" will transform believers into active citizens.



TERESA BENEDETTA
00lunedì 11 ottobre 2010 23:06




Benedict XVI goes from peak to peak, when he talks to us, even when he improvises, as he did today in his 'reflection' - another model homily - on the liturgical reading that he led as the Special Synodal Assembly for the Middle East started its working sessions this morning. It is hard to imagine any other living person who can improvise a reflection like the following. Like Benedict's entire thought process, it goes from peak to peak of wisdom and insight. It is difficult to describe the intellectual thrill, the spiritual upliftment, the awe of simple faith - and the great privilege - that I experience when I translate a text like this....


BENEDICT XVI:
A reflection on the readings
for the Third Hour of the
Liturgical Office today

Translated from

Oct. 10, 2010



Dear brothers and sisters,

On October 11, 1962, 38 years ago, Pope John XXIII inaugurated the Second Vatican Council. At the time, the Feast of the Divine Motherhood of Mary was celebrated on that day. With this gesture, with this date, Pope John entrusted the entire Council into the maternal hands and the maternal heart of Our Lady.

We too are starting on Oct. 11, we too would like to entrust the Synod, with all its problems, with all its challenges, with all its hopes, to the maternal heart of Our Lady, of the Mother of God.

Pius XI, in 1930, had introduced this feast, 1600 years after the Council of Ephesus, which had legitimized the title of Theotokos, Dei Genitrix - Mother of God - for Mary. In these words 'Mother of God', the Council of Ephesus synthesized the entire doctrine on Christ and on Mary, the entire doctrine of redemption.

Thus it is worthwhile reflecting a bit, at this time, on what concerned the Council of Ephesus, on what this day tells us.

In fact, Theotokos is a daring title. A woman as the Mother of God. One might well ask, How is it possible? God is eternal, he is the Creator. We are creatures, we are within time. How can a human being be Mother of God, of the Eternal, when we are all within time, we are all creatures?

We can well understand why there was fierce opposition from some to the term. The Nestorians said, one can speak of Christothokos, but not of Theotokos. Theos, God, is beyond and above the events of history.

But the Council of Ephesus decided to approve it, and in that way, it brought to light God's adventure, the greatness of what he did for us. God did not keep to himself: he emerged to radically unite himself to a man, Jesus, the man Jesus who is God, and whenever we speak of him, we speak of God.

The man who was born of Mary was not just a man who had something to do with God. In him, God was born on earth. God had emrged from himself, so to speak. But we can also say the opposite: that God has drawn us to himself so that we are no longer outside God, but we are within the intimacy of God himself.

Aristotelian philosophy, as we know, tells us that between God and man, there can only be a non-reciprocal relationship. Man refers himself to God, but God, the Eternal, is self-sufficient, he does not change - he cannot have one relationship today and another one tomorrow. He is in himself, without any relationships ad extra.

This is all very logical, but it can make us despair: So God has no relationship with me? But with the Incarnation, with the Theotokos, this changed radically, because God has now drawn us to himself, God in himself is a relationship, and he makes us participate in his interior relationship.

We are in him as he is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We are within his 'being as a relationship'. We are in a relationship with him ourselves, and he has truly created a relationship with us.

God wished to be born of a woman to be himself always: this was the great event. Thus we can understand the profundity of Papa Giovanni's action, when he entrusted the Conciliar, synodal sessions to the central mystery, the Mother of God who was drawn by God into himself, and thus, all of us with her.

The Council started with the image of the Theotokos. At its conclusion, Paul VI conferred on our lady the title of Mater Ecclesiae, Mother of the Church. These two icons, which began and ended the Council, are intrinsically linked and are ultimately just one.

Because Christ was not born as an individual like all the rest. He was born to make himself into a body - as John says in Chapter 12 of his Gospel, to draw everyone to him and in him. He was born, as Paul says in the Letters to the Colossians and to the Ephesians, to recapitulate the whole world, as the firstborn of many brothers. He was born to unite the cosmos in himself, so that he would be the Head of a great Body.

The act of recapitulation began when Christ was born, it was the moment of calling, of the construction of his Body, the Holy Church. The Mother of the Theos, Mother of God, is the Mother of the Church, because she is the Mother of him who came to reunite us all in his resurrected Body.

St. Luke makes us understand this in the parallelism between the first chapter of his Gospel and thr first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, which repeat the same mystery on two levels.

In the first chapter of Luke's Gospel, the Holy Spirit comes to Mary so that she would give birth and give us the Son of God. In the first chapter of the Acts, Mary is at the center of the disciples of Jesus praying together, invoking the cloud of the Holy Spirit. Thus from the believing Church, with Mary at the center, is born the Church as the Body of Christ.

This double birth is the unique birth of Christus totus, Christ who embraces the world and all of us.

Birth in Bethlehem, birth at the Cenacle. Birth of the Baby Jesus, birth of the Body of Christ, of the Church. They are two events, or just one.

But in between came the Cross and the Resurrection. and the way to the totality of Christ, to his risen Body, to the universalization of his being in the oneness of the Church, is only through the Cross.

Thus, keeping in mind that the harvest can only come from a grain fallen to earth, only from the Lord pierced on the Cross can come the universality of his disciples united in his Body that died and was resurrected.

With this link between the Theotokos and Mater Ecclesiae, we turn to the last book of Sacred Scripture, the Apocalypse, where in Chapter 12, this very synthesis appears.

The woman clothed with the sun, with twelve stars around her head and the moon beneath her feet, gives birth. She does so with a cry of pain, she gives birth in great pain. Here, the Marian mystery is the mystery of Bethlehem extended to the cosmic mystery.

Christ is always born anew in every generation, and thus assumes and takes all of mankind into himself. This cosmic birth was realized in his cry from the Cross, in the pain of his Passion. The blood of martyrs belongs to this cry from the Cross.

So, we can look back at the second Psalm for this Ora Media, Psalm 81, where we see a part of this process. God is one of many gods, or those who were still considered gods by Israel. In this psalm, in a great concentration, in a prophetic vision, we see the depotentiation (disempowering) of gods. Those who appeared as gods are not gods - they lose divine character and they fall to earth. 'Dii estis et moriemini sicut nomine' (Gods though you be... like any mortal you shall die)(cfr Ps 81(82),6-7): This is their disempowering, the fall of the gods.

This process which takes place during Israel's long journey of faith, and which is summarized here in one vision, is a true process in the story of religion: the fall of the gods.

Thus the transformation of the world, knowledge of the true God, the depotentiation of the powers that dominate the earth, is a painful process.

In the history of the people of Israel, we see how this self-liberation from polytheism, this acknowledgment that "Only he is God', takes place amid so much suffering, starting with Abraham's journey, exile, the Maccabees, until Christ.

This process of depotentiation that the Apocalypse describes in Chapter 12 continues in history. It speaks of the fall of angels, who are not angels, they are not divinities on earth.

And this truly takes place, precisely at the time of the nascent Church, where we see how the blood of martyrs disempowered all divinities, starting with the divine emperor. It is the blood of martyrs, the cry of Mother Church, which brings them down and thus transforms the world.

This fall is not only from knowing that they are not God - it is the process of the world's transformation, at the price of blood, at the price of the sufferings of those who bear witness to Christ.

If we look closely, we can see that this process is never completed. I takes place in the various periods of history in ways that are always new - even today, at this moment, when Christ, the only Son of God, should be born into the world again with the fall of other gods, in the suffering, in the martyrdom of his witnesses.

Let us think of the great powers in our world today - the anonymous capitalists (financiers) who enslave man, who are no longer human but an anonymous power that men must serve, by whom men are tortured and even massacred. They constitute a destructive power that threatens the world.

Then there is the power of terroristic ideologies. Purportedly in the name of God, violence is committed. But they are not of God - they are false divinities who must be unmasked.

Then drugs, this power that, like a voracious beast, has its hands on all parts of the world, and destroys. It is a divinity but a false one that must be brought down.

Even the lifestyle that is propagated by public opinion, i.e., - today, this is how it is: marriage no longer matters, chastity is no longer a virtue, and the like.

These ideologies that dominate, which impose themselves by force, are divinities. In the suffering of saints, in the suffering of believers, of the Mother Church of whom we are part, these divinities must fall.

We must realize what the Letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians says: let the dominations and the powers fall and become subject to the one Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter 12 of the Apocalypse speaks of the battle we are waging - in this depotentiating of divinities, in the fall of false gods, who fall because they are not divinities but powers that destroy the world - with a mysterious image for which, I think, there are many different and beautiful interpretations.

It says that the dragon sets a large river in the way of the woman who is fleeing, in order to sweep her away. It seems inevitable that the woman would drown in this river. But the good earth soaks up the water which can no longer harm.

I think that the waters can be easliy interpreted - they are the currents that dominate everyone and wish to sweep out the faith of the Church, which apparently is to have no place in the face of these currents which impose themselves as the only rationality, as the only way of life.

And the earth that absorbs these waters is the faith of the simple folk, who do not let themselves be carried away by these rivers, and keep the Mother as well as the Son.

That is why the first Psalm of the Ora Media [Tierce, Third Hour of the Office of the Day] says that the faith of the simple folk is the true wisdom (cfr Ps 118[119],130) ["The revelation of your words sheds light, gives understanding to the simple"].

This true wisdom of simple faith, which does not allow itself to be devoured by the waters, is the strength of the Church. Which brings us back to the Marian mystery.

There is another statement from Psalm 81, "movebuntur omnia fundamenta terrae" [All the world's foundations shake](81,5). We see that today, with climate change, how the foundations of the earth are threatened, and threatened by our own behavior. The exterior foundations are shaky because the interior foundations are - the moral and religious foundations, the faith of those who follow the right way of living.

We know that faith is the foundation, and that without a doubt, the foundations of the earth cannot shake if faith, true wisdom, remains firm.

Then the psalm says, "Arise, o God, judge the earth" (v 8). So we, too, say to the Lord: "Arise now, take the world into your hands, protect your Church, protect mankind, protect the earth".

Let us trust anew in the Mother of God, in Mary to whom we pray: "You, the great believer, who opened the earth to heaven, help us, open the doors today so that truth may triumph - the will of God which is the true good and the true salvation of the world". Amen.





10/12/10
P.S. And look at the reduction to which a secular outlet like the New York Times reported the above reflection (the reporter calling it 'remarks', to begin with)... And then they even give her a byline, for a four-sentence report!....

At Synod with Mideast bishops,
Pope condemns terror ideologies

By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO in Rome

October 11, 2010


Pope Benedict XVI opened a two-week synod of Catholic bishops from the Middle East on Monday by condemning terrorist ideologies carried out in “God’s name.” In off-the-cuff remarks to the bishops and other religious leaders who convened for the synod, the Pope said that these acts of violence have “nothing to do with God and instead everything to do with false gods that must be exposed.” The aim of the synod, which ends Oct. 24, is to discuss problems faced by Christians living in the Middle East, where the Catholic Church’s members have been dwindling because of war, and economic and social conflict. It also hopes to foster better communication between the Catholic churches there and Rome, as well as improve interreligious dialogue with Muslims and Jews.




A further homage to Blessed John XXIII, whose liturgical feast is the opening date of Vatican-II.


A Mass to honor John XXIII
Translated from the 10/12/10 issue of




Left panel, the Mass on Monday morning and Blessed John's remains; on the right, a stunning picture of St. Peter's interior during Vatican-II.

On the liturgical feast of Blessed John XXIII, which is on the anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council, Mass was said at the altar of St. Jerome, beneath which his remains are on display in St. Peter's Basilica.

Presiding at the concelebrated Mass was Cardinal Walter Kasper, with representatives from the Synodal fathers now meeting on the Middle East situation: Syrian Patriarch Younan, one of the presidents-delegate of the assembly; Syro-Malankar Major Archbishop Thottunkal of India; Archbishop Vasil, secretary of the Congregation for Oriental Churches; Archbishop Farhat, a former Nuncio to Turkey, a post held by the future John XXIII during the years just before and during World War II; Bishop Salachas, apostolic exarch for the Byzantine-rite Catholics living in Greece; Bishop Bercea of the Byzantine-rite Catholics of Romania; Bishop Puthur of the Syro-Malabar Catholics of India; and the Franciscan Custodian of the Holy Land, Fr. Pizzaballa.

Also present were many priests from Bergamo, the late Pope's hometown, and from Rome.

It was a homage from tthe Eastern Churches to Papa Roncalli,whose intercession they invoked "for Benedict XVI and all the Synodal participants, so that in obedience to teh Holy spirit, they may show the oriental Churches new paths to peace and unity that will keep them firmly on the way that is Christ".

I have been unable to find a photo online of John XXIII opening Vatican-II.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00martedì 12 ottobre 2010 02:28



The Middle East
in the eyes of Benedict XVI
- Part 1

by Samir Khalil Samir, SJ
Oct. 11, 2010


Vatican City, Oct. 11 (AsiaNews) - At the beginning of the Synodal assembly involving the Churches of the Middle East, it is very important to analyze the address Benedict XVI gave yesterday during the solemn liturgy in St. Peter’s basilica.

Some of his emphases are essential in order to understand the social and ecclesial situation in the region.

The Pope first mentioned the fact that the Middle East has seen "ever since the days of Jesus until today, the continued presence of Christians."


The apostolic Churches

The Pope wants to emphasize the apostolic nature of the churches in the Middle East and the fact that churches are alive.
- The Church of Antioch, where Christians for the first time received this name (Acts 11:26).
- The Church of Jerusalem, which experienced the historical fact of Jesus and knew the Apostles.
- The Church of Alexandria, where St. Mark the Evangelist was martyred.

These churches did not receive the faith by missionaries sent from Rome, but from the Apostles themselves, and thus are witnesses to the original message. For these Churches, that is an important spiritual force. If these Churches should disappear, it would be a loss for Christians everywhere.


Cultural and religious pluralism

The Pope continues: "In those lands, the one Church of Christ is expressed in a variety of liturgical, spiritual, cultural and disciplinary traditions."

Then he talks about the variety of traditions. This variety must be emphasized: we have no less than seven Patriarchs in the East and seven liturgical, cultural, spiritual, disciplinary, and I would add theological traditions.

Dogmatically there is unity, theologically there is a great variety which are its greatest treasure. In exegesis for example, with the two great schools of interpretation: that of Alexandria, more allegorical and mystical, and Origen at the end of the second century; and that of Antioch, more grammatical and literal.

Even the theological positions are multiple from the outset. The variety of the liturgy is well known; however the spiritual is seldom deepened[????], even as the cultural variety means a wealth of languages and traditions.

The East’s great cultural diversity is also a source of political and theological conflict.

In the West there was only Rome, as a capital of great culture. All other Western capitals had no weight, neither political nor cultural, compared to Rome. But the East, even well before Christianity, already had important cultural centers: Alexandria, Edessa, Jerusalem, Antioch.

This variety comes from the historical structure of the East. And the consequences are felt to this day. Unification in the West (and perhaps its homogeneity) came about over the course of time, but in the East, each Church remained distinct - each one proud of its past, even pre-Christian, all very conscious that they are the heirs of prestigious civilizations!

So the variety also leads to particularism or nationalism in the Churches, as well as internal divisions that weaken.


The Papacy and Church unity

The problem of the papacy will also be raised, I know, by some bishops. Some feel that Rome is overly involved in their affairs, without needing to be, simply out of a habit of centralism, or sometimes out of the conviction that the Roman practice is of a higher level than that of the East. [How exactly can Rome be 'overly involved in their affairs'? Each of the Churches in the Middle East is sui juris, operating as they have for centuries except for using a common Code of Canon Law for the past 20 years, and the Vatican's Congregation for Oriental Churches acts has a coordinating rather than supervisory role. The only Eastern Church jurisdictions in which Rome has a direct hand are those in Eastern Europe under apostolic administration or that have the status of apostolic exarchates.]

Others point out that it takes a single leader, especially in cases of conflict, to solve problems. But everyone agrees on one point:that Rome must respect their differences and their cultures. In the Catholic East, for example, there are married priests and celibate priests. [Hasn't Rome always recognized that? Is there a specific instance when the Vatican has failed to respect the Eastern Churches and the specific characteristics arising from their particular history and culture?]

And this is one of the things that the Pope wants to address. If there is no communion, there is no witness. Our witness is our communion. As the Gospel says: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another (John 13, 35).

If each rite stresses its own specificity, it could led to division or neglect of others to save their own culture. The East insists on its particularity rather than unity: a balance is needed.

Even the West is returning to the particular: Germany, France, Spain, are claiming specific beliefs and ways of governing the Church, not to mention the African and Asian traditions.

In the U.S. there are particularistic tendencies with regard to male-female relationships, which put many things in question. Anglicanism has split in recent decades because the African churches have refused to accept American or British decisions on this point. How can you maintain the unity of the Church, while respecting the culture of each?

This is a fundamental problem: it concerns schism or unity, and this is where the Eastern Churches can make a contribution. Because we are Eastern, with are many traditions, but we are Catholics, recognizing the principle of unity that is represented by the Bishop of Rome.

This model of the Eastern Churches could be a suggestion for the world of Orthodoxy. If the Orthodox see that the Catholic reality is lived in a rich and positive way, then they could move closer to unity.

{But if I have learned anything from the historical overview of the Eastern Churches recently provided by the Vatican - see post in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread - it is precisely that the sui iuris (''under their own management'] Catholic churches of Eastern Europe that resulted from local Orthodox churches deciding for full communion with Rome, were, in effect, the models for the ordinariate plan proposed to Anglicans in Anglicanorum coetibus. And that these in turn were modelled in part after the Church's bimillennial experience with the Churches of the Middle East. In Eastern Europe, entire Orthodox communities moved over to full communion with Rome while maintaining the Byzantine rite and other Orthodox Church practices like married priests. The autocephalous Orthodox churches have at least a dozen such examples to consider, dating from the 16th to the 20th centuries! Since the membership of each of this Eastern-rite Catholic Church ranges from a few thousand to as many as 4-5 million, it would seem the model works - with little interference from Rome.]

And vice versa: A bishop confided to me yesterday that the Orthodox see unity at a bureaucratic level, not as a relationship between the patriarchs and the Pope, and that this distances them from eventual unity with Rome.

[Obviously, it is a serious philosophical and psychological obstacle for the Orthodox Churches to think of their eventual relationship with the Pope in a reunified Church as 'bureaucratic', i.e., in terms of the Pope as necessarily exercising authority over them. But the Roman Church prefers to define the relationship between the Pope and local churches as communion - spiritual accord, rather than bureaucratic enforcement, an accord exercised in collegiality among all the bishops including the Bishop of Rome.]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00martedì 12 ottobre 2010 12:54





I had to be away the rest of Sunday after I had posted the translation of the Holy Father's homily and Angelus message, rather annoyed that the newsphoto agencies had not posted any pictures of the Angelus at all. Then when the OR for today was posted online yesterday, there does happen to be one picture of the Angelus in it - with a strange new coat of arms on the window hanging!... Had this change been announced at all???? Anyway, it turns out that the site Rinascimento Sacro did have an alert on Sunday after the telecast of the Angelus, with a press release, no less, from the people who designed the coat of arms. Why would a press release come from them but not from the Press Office?


A comparison of the 'new' and the 'old'....


A new emblem for the Pope
by Andrea Carradori
Translated from

Oct. 10, 2010

We all saw from the TV coverage of the Angelus today, October 10, how the velvet standard hanging from the papal window of the Apostolic Palace now carries a new coat of arms, said to have been donated by a faithful on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of Benedict XVI's election. Following is the press release from the Ars Regia firm which executed the design:


FERRARA, Oct. 10 - During the Angelus at noon today, one could admire for the first time the new coat of arms of Pope Benedict XVI, which is adorned with the papal tiara [the three-tiered pontifical crown that has not been used after John XXIII],according to traditional practice.

This coat of arms, entirely embroidered by hand, and executed by Ars Regia, the Ferrara firm that makes sacred vestments, is a redesign of the papal seal with his personal emblems and the papal pallium with red crosses.

The new frame for the seal was inspired by that of Papa Barberini [Urban VIII] that is seen on the pillars of Bernini's baldachin in St. Peter's Basilica.

The difference from the earlier design - which has been attributed to Cardinal Andrea Lanza di Montezemolo [an architect who has an interest in heraldry] - is that the new design uses the papal tiara once more, surmounting the Pontiff's personal emblems, instead of the miter, thus restoring its traditional use.

Not even John Paul II had renounced the use of the tiara on the papal coat of arms, and the innovation of the miter in its place had perplexed hereldry experts.

Pietro Siffi, who owns Ars Regia, commented: "Other coats of arms with the tiara have been used by us on some liturgical vestments worn by Benedict XVI since the Advent of 2007. For instance, the entire set of vestments worn by the Pope and his deacons to inaugurate the Pauline Year all carried the coat of arms with the tiara in place of the miter".

To those who would attribute an ideological significance to the new design, Siffi replies: "The coats of arms of abbots, protonotaries, bishops, archbishops and cardinals that one sees on the cathedral doors around the world contain one element in common, the galero, an ancient headgear with tassels which is no longer used, but it has never been taken out of prelates' seals, just as no one has ever taken out the helmet from nobles' seals or the crown from that of monarchs. Even if the Pope no longer uses the tiara, it should stay in his coat of arms."


One assumes, of course, that the Holy Father has approved the design change (which, by the way, is not yet reflected on the Vatican webpages). It seems so unceremonious - and if it is true that the design we are now so familiar with was by Cardinal Lanza di Montezemolo - and callous to discard it in favor of a design promoted by a firm which deals in papal vestments.

If the coat of arms has really changed, it will mean changing everything in the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo that carries the old one (starting with the item we most often see carrying the coat of arms: the tassels of the Pope's sash)- they'll have to rip out mosaic pavements, wallpaper, seals carved into furniture, etc. It all sounds very frivolous.

Perhaps I may grow to like the new one, if it is indeed going to be the emblem from now on, but my first reaction is that I much prefer the simplicity and colors of the Montezemolo design, which I think go much better with the personality of Joseph Ratzinger. All that gold in the new design seems pompous and pretentious.

Also, I had really welcomed the very original idea of replacing the tiara with the miter. It reflects Joseph Ratzinger's humility and recalls 'the humble servant in the vineyard of the Lord' from his first words urbi et orbi as Pope.

Not to mention that for purposes of ecumenism, the miter - which all bishops share, including the Bishop of Rome - rather than the tiara on the Pope's personal emblem is so much more 'reassuring' to the Orthodox, who resent the implied 'authority' of the Pope in a reunified Church!

The old design is more balanced, in terms of space and layout, between the emblems of Peter and the personal emblems of Benedict XVI. In the new design, the tiara and the keys (and its tassels) overwhelm the Moor, the bear, and the scallop.

I don't buy Siffi's arguments about the galero at all, and whatever the rules of heraldry may be, who says that no one may ever introduce an innovation into anything?

And a change like this should have been announced and explained by the Vatican press office, not by a self-serving commercial firm.

I hope this is all a bad dream and that someone simply jumped the gun by mistake...
.


TERESA BENEDETTA
00martedì 12 ottobre 2010 14:30




Tuesday, Oct. 12, 29th Week in Ordinary Time

ST. SERAFINO DA MONTEGRANARO (Italy, 1540-1604), Capuchin friar
He was born to a poor pious family in east central Italy. As a shepherd he had much time for prayer and other pious exercises. He joined the Franciscan Capuchins at age 16 and was always distinguished by his obedience and humility, and by his charity to the poor, He was particularly devoted to the Blessed Sacrament, spending three hours a day in Adoration. Although unlettered, his advice came to be sought by secular and church dignitaries. He was said to have the gift of reading hearts as well as prophecy. Miracles were attributed to him in his lifetime. He was canonized in 1767.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/101210.shtml



OR for 10/11-10/12/10:

The Pope opens the working sessions of the Synodal assembly for the Middle East
with a meditation on Mary and the Incarnation:
'The fall of the gods and the faith of the simple'
Anonymous financial powers, terrorist ideologies and dominant mentalities
enslave men to the point of destruction
This double issue also contains coverage of the opening Mass for the Synodal assembly and the Angelus on Sunday; as well as
the opening statements of Synod secretary and the general moderator of the assembly. Other Page 1 news: 66 Arab and African
nations hold a summit in Syria to frame a common strategy; in Rome, a weeklong conference on international food security opens
at the UN Food and Agricultural Organization.



THE POPE'S DAY

It is assumed he will attend the morning session of the Synodal assembly on the Middle East.




The Vatican today released the Pope's motu proprio Ubicumque et semper (Everywhere and always) instituting
the new Congregation for the Promotion of New Evangelization. The prefect of the new dicastery, Archbishop Rino
Fisichella, held a news briefing.



On Sunday, October 17, the Holy Father will preside at a Mass in St. Peter's Square for the canonization of six new saints.

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