NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT

Sandro's Magister latest article provides an overview of Vatican diplomacy under Benedict in the context of world geopolitics today:
www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=43322&eng=y

Among his interesting observations is the Vatican's current attitude towards the presence of Western troops in Iraq:

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(Since November 2003, after a terrorist bloodbath in Nasiriyah in which 19 Italians, among others, were killed)...the Holy See has consistently defined, not as an “occupation,” but as a “mission of peace,” the presence of Western troops in Iraq in defense of the nascent democracy.

This same realist line, which had forcefully opposed the war at the Vatican, now defended its results and demanded that the soldiers remain in Iraq as long as necessary, to safeguard the formation of a new order, free and peaceful, which, as precarious as it might be, is seen as much more acceptable than leaving this crucial country to its own devices.

In short, in the Vatican’s vision of geopolitics, peace and war are not necessarily incompatible. In addition to peace, war can also have its just reasons. The final confirmation of this vision came a few months ago. In September of 2005, at the United Nations, nuncio Celestino Migliore presented, in the name of the Holy See, a proposal aimed at linking war and peace. And this is how he explained it:

“The wars of the twentieth century demonstrated how politics for the cessation of war and postwar operational planning are essential for reestablishing justice and peace, and for providing protection. In the past, great attention was rightly paid to the ‘ius ad bellum’, the conditions necessary for recourse to force, and to the ‘ius in bello’, the legal parameters of ethical behavior in war. The moment has come to focus upon and develop a third dimension of the jurisprudence connected to war, the ‘ius post bellum’, or how to arrive rapidly and effectively at a just and lasting peace, which is the only objective admissible for the use of force.”

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[IMG][/IMG]
Pope Benedict with Iraqi President Talabani at the Vatican last month.

P.S. I am surprised the Bush administration does not use the Vatican stand to bolster its rationale for staying in Iraq "until the job is done."

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/12/2006 23.49]

salamat Teresa! you continually provide this forum of articles and info about Papa!!keep it up

CASTING STONES AT PAPA

It seems that Papa's enemies won't even give him a break at Christmas. They are now using his so-called "flair for fashion" to make his message against materialism at Christmas sound hypocritical. Considering that nobody really knows what make of sunglasses, watch, and shoes he wears, it is all guesswork and rumors anyway but, of course, the media aren't interested in the truth. See for yourself.

www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/pope_shoes_051212/20051212?hub=To...

Benefan, the article you cited is yet another pathetic example of the non-stories that some in the media have taken to pass off as "reporting" on the Pope. In this case, the non-story is doubly reprehensible because all it does is recycle a collection unsubstantiated but too-often repeated rumors that have since then been mythified into "fact" i.e., archived "reference" material, by sheer repetition. You know- repeat a lie or a fabrication or a rumor often enough, and people begin to take it for fact!

The following is also a non-story, because it tells us nothing new, but it's a sample of probably harmless speculation about this Pope, who wants and tries to be self-effacing - if that is at all possible for someone with his genuine charisma,(i.e., the grace of the Holy Spirit) and his necessarily high visibility!

Here is my translation of an article by Peer Meinert from today’s issue of the German newspaper Frankfurter Neue Presse . My thanks to Kirsty in the German section of the RFC for the link-
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The Pope is keeping us in suspense. No question is more the subject of guessing at the Vatican these days than when Benedict XVI will finally release his first encyclical.

First, it was said that it would be any day now, but it seems the faithful must be a litte more patient, although the conscientious and industrious German Pope finished writing the encyclical some time ago, and has already signed it.

So why has the publication date been put off? Only one thing is sure: the capacity to keep a secret at the Vatican is funtioning at its best.

The first Encyclical by any Pope is considered by many to be some sort of preview by the head of the Roman Catholic Church of how he plans to govern, and from which one may discern the program of the new Pontificate. Other experts think however that this analogy is false, that the significance of the encyclical is often inexcusably overstated.

But there is unanimity in the view that a theologian as brilliant and an author with such high profile as Joseph Ratzinger will, in the words of a theologian at the Vatican, send clear signals in his first Papal teaching document addressed to all the faithful. As prefect of the CDF, he had authored dozens of documents, the theologian pointed out:
“That is Ratzinger’s domain – no one does it better.”

Hardly any other topic has aroused such wild speculation this year. Roman journalists and Vatican experts are sure that the encyclical’s theme is “divine Love” and the relationship of the individual believer to God. It is reportedly about 50 pages long, written during the Pope’s summer holiday and signed on December 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception – but not much more is known about it.

“Ratzinger does not show his cards,” says a Vatican insider.

He has revealed very little else. He will be completing eight months in office soon. Every Wednesday, he presents himself to the faithful at a general audience. Every Sunday he speaks at the Angelus prayer. He has given several homilies, and has traveled to Cologne for World Youth Day. But his Pontificate has yet to show a distinctive "trademark".

And yet, the criticism of Ratzinger, especially as it had been carried on for decades in Germany more than anywhere else, has all but disappeared. The Pope is beloved – more than a million persons have come to St. Peter’s Square to see him since April 19.

But what does he intend? Where will he steer the ship of the Church? Theologians and laymen alike can only guess.

So far, we only know what Ratzinger won’t do. He will not travel so much as his predecessor did and he will make less public pronouncements. He himself said recently that he does not plan to write as many documents as the Polish Pope.

An insider commented, “Ratzinger will hold himself back as a person.”

And will the Encyclical come out before Christmas? The latest rumor says some translation problems remain. “But one can believe that or not,” says a German theologian in Rome.

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In short, we have learned nothing new.

IN TRUTH, PEACE

1. In this traditional Message for the World Day of Peace at the beginning of the New Year, I offer cordial greetings and good wishes to men and women everywhere, especially those who are suffering as a result of violence and armed conflicts. My greeting is one filled with hope for a more serene world, a world in which more and more individuals and communities are committed to the paths of justice and peace.

2. Before all else, I wish to express my heartfelt gratitude to my Predecessors, the great Popes Paul VI and John Paul II, who were astute promoters of peace. Guided by the spirit of the Beatitudes, they discerned in the many historical events which marked their respective Pontificates the providential intervention of God, who never ceases to be concerned for the future of the human race. As tireless heralds of the Gospel, they constantly invited everyone to make God the starting-point of their efforts on behalf of concord and peace throughout the world. This, my first Message for the World Day of Peace, is meant to follow in the path of their noble teaching; with it, I wish to reiterate the steadfast resolve of the Holy See to continue serving the cause of peace. The very name Benedict, which I chose on the day of my election to the Chair of Peter, is a sign of my personal commitment to peace. In taking this name, I wanted to evoke both the Patron Saint of Europe, who inspired a civilization of peace on the whole continent, and Pope Benedict XV, who condemned the First World War as a ''useless slaughter''(1) and worked for a universal acknowledgment of the lofty demands of peace.

3. The theme chosen for this year's reflection—In truth, peace — expresses the conviction that wherever and whenever men and women are enlightened by the splendour of truth, they naturally set out on the path of peace. The Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, promulgated forty years ago at the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, stated that mankind will not succeed in ''building a truly more human world for everyone, everywhere on earth, unless all people are renewed in spirit and converted to the truth of peace''.(2) But what do those words, ''the truth of peace'', really mean? To respond adequately to this question, we must realize that peace cannot be reduced to the simple absence of armed conflict, but needs to be understood as ''the fruit of an order which has been planted in human society by its divine Founder'', an order ''which must be brought about by humanity in its thirst for ever more perfect justice''.(3) As the result of an order planned and willed by the love of God, peace has an intrinsic and invincible truth of its own, and corresponds ''to an irrepressible yearning and hope dwelling within us''.(4)

4. Seen in this way, peace appears as a heavenly gift and a divine grace which demands at every level the exercise of the highest responsibility: that of conforming human history—in truth, justice, freedom and love—to the divine order. Whenever there is a loss of fidelity to the transcendent order, and a loss of respect for that ''grammar'' of dialogue which is the universal moral law written on human hearts,(5) whenever the integral development of the person and the protection of his fundamental rights are hindered or denied, whenever countless people are forced to endure intolerable injustices and inequalities, how can we hope that the good of peace will be realized? The essential elements which make up the truth of that good are missing. Saint Augustine described peace as tranquillitas ordinis,(6) the tranquillity of order. By this, he meant a situation which ultimately enables the truth about man to be fully respected and realized.

5. Who and what, then, can prevent the coming of peace? Sacred Scripture, in its very first book, Genesis, points to the lie told at the very beginning of history by the animal with a forked tongue, whom the Evangelist John calls ''the father of lies'' (Jn 8:44). Lying is also one of the sins spoken of in the final chapter of the last book of the Bible, Revelation, which bars liars from the heavenly Jerusalem: ''outside are... all who love falsehood'' (22:15). Lying is linked to the tragedy of sin and its perverse consequences, which have had, and continue to have, devastating effects on the lives of individuals and nations. We need but think of the events of the past century, when aberrant ideological and political systems wilfully twisted the truth and brought about the exploitation and murder of an appalling number of men and women, wiping out entire families and communities. After experiences like these, how can we fail to be seriously concerned about lies in our own time, lies which are the framework for menacing scenarios of death in many parts of the world. Any authentic search for peace must begin with the realization that the problem of truth and untruth is the concern of every man and woman; it is decisive for the peaceful future of our planet.

6. Peace is an irrepressible yearning present in the heart of each person, regardless of his or her particular cultural identity. Consequently, everyone should feel committed to service of this great good, and should strive to prevent any form of untruth from poisoning relationships. All people are members of one and the same family. An extreme exaltation of differences clashes with this fundamental truth. We need to regain an awareness that we share a common destiny which is ultimately transcendent, so as to maximize our historical and cultural differences, not in opposition to, but in cooperation with, people belonging to other cultures. These simple truths are what make peace possible; they are easily understood whenever we listen to our own hearts with pure intentions. Peace thus comes to be seen in a new light: not as the mere absence of war, but as a harmonious coexistence of individual citizens within a society governed by justice, one in which the good is also achieved, to the extent possible, for each of them. The truth of peace calls upon everyone to cultivate productive and sincere relationships; it encourages them to seek out and to follow the paths of forgiveness and reconciliation, to be transparent in their dealings with others, and to be faithful to their word. In a particular way, the followers of Christ, recognizing the insidious presence of evil and the need for that liberation brought by the divine Master, look to him with confidence, in the knowledge that ''he committed no sin; no guile was found on his lips'' (1 Pet 2:22; cf. Is 53:9). Jesus defined himself as the Truth in person, and, in addressing the seer of the Book of Revelation, he states his complete aversion to ''every one who loves and practices falsehood'' (Rev 22:15). He has disclosed the full truth about humanity and about human history. The power of his grace makes it possible to live ''in'' and ''by'' truth, since he alone is completely true and faithful. Jesus is the truth which gives us peace.

7. The truth of peace must also let its beneficial light shine even amid the tragedy of war. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, pointed out that ''not everything automatically becomes permissible between hostile parties once war has regrettably commenced''.(7) As a means of limiting the devastating consequences of war as much as possible, especially for civilians, the international community has created an international humanitarian law. In a variety of situations and in different settings, the Holy See has expressed its support for this humanitarian law, and has called for it to be respected and promptly implemented, out of the conviction that the truth of peace exists even in the midst of war. International humanitarian law ought to be considered as one of the finest and most effective expressions of the intrinsic demands of the truth of peace. Precisely for this reason, respect for that law must be considered binding on all peoples. Its value must be appreciated and its correct application ensured; it must also be brought up to date by precise norms applicable to the changing scenarios of today's armed conflicts and the use of ever newer and more sophisticated weapons.

8. Here I wish to express gratitude to the international organizations and to all those who are daily engaged in the application of international humanitarian law. Nor can I fail to mention the many soldiers engaged in the delicate work of resolving conflicts and restoring the necessary conditions for peace. I wish to remind them of the words of the Second Vatican Council: ''All those who enter the military in service to their country should look upon themselves as guardians of the security and freedom of their fellow-countrymen, and, in carrying out this duty properly, they too contribute to the establishment of peace''.(8) On this demanding front the Catholic Church's military ordinariates carry out their pastoral activity: I encourage both the military Ordinaries and military chaplains to be, in every situation and context, faithful heralds of the truth of peace.

9. Nowadays, the truth of peace continues to be dramatically compromised and rejected by terrorism, whose criminal threats and attacks leave the world in a state of fear and insecurity. My predecessors Paul VI and John Paul II frequently pointed out the awful responsibility borne by terrorists, while at the same time condemning their senseless and deadly strategies. These are often the fruit of a tragic and disturbing nihilism which Pope John Paul II described in these words: ''Those who kill by acts of terrorism actually despair of humanity, of life, of the future. In their view, everything is to be hated and destroyed''.(9) Not only nihilism, but also religious fanaticism, today often labeled fundamentalism, can inspire and encourage terrorist thinking and activity. From the beginning, John Paul II was aware of the explosive danger represented by fanatical fundamentalism, and he condemned it unsparingly, while warning against attempts to impose, rather than to propose for others freely to accept, one's own convictions about the truth. As he wrote: ''To try to impose on others by violent means what we consider to be the truth is an offence against the dignity of the human being, and ultimately an offence against God in whose image he is made''.(10)

10. Looked at closely, nihilism and the fundamentalism of which we are speaking share an erroneous relationship to truth: the nihilist denies the very existence of truth, while the fundamentalist claims to be able to impose it by force. Despite their different origins and cultural backgrounds, both show a dangerous contempt for human beings and human life, and ultimately for God himself. Indeed, this shared tragic outcome results from a distortion of the full truth about God: nihilism denies God's existence and his provident presence in history, while fanatical fundamentalism disfigures his loving and merciful countenance, replacing him with idols made in its own image. In analyzing the causes of the contemporary phenomenon of terrorism, consideration should be given, not only to its political and social causes, but also to its deeper cultural, religious and ideological motivations.

11. In view of the risks which humanity is facing in our time, all Catholics in every part of the world have a duty to proclaim and embody ever more fully the ''Gospel of Peace'', and to show that acknowledgment of the full truth of God is the first, indispensable condition for consolidating the truth of peace. God is Love which saves, a loving Father who wants to see his children look upon one another as brothers and sisters, working responsibly to place their various talents at the service of the common good of the human family. God is the unfailing source of the hope which gives meaning to personal and community life. God, and God alone, brings to fulfilment every work of good and of peace. History has amply demonstrated that declaring war on God in order to eradicate him from human hearts only leads a fearful and impoverished humanity toward decisions which are ultimately futile. This realization must impel believers in Christ to become convincing witnesses of the God who is inseparably truth and love, placing themselves at the service of peace in broad cooperation with other Christians, the followers of other religions and with all men and women of good will.

12. Looking at the present world situation, we can note with satisfaction certain signs of hope in the work of building peace. I think, for example, of the decrease in the number of armed conflicts. Here we are speaking of a few, very tentative steps forward along the path of peace, yet ones which even now are able to hold out a future of greater serenity, particularly for the suffering people of Palestine, the land of Jesus, and for those living in some areas of Africa and Asia, who have waited for years for the positive conclusion of the ongoing processes of pacification and reconciliation. These are reassuring signs which need to be confirmed and consolidated by tireless cooperation and activity, above all on the part of the international community and its agencies charged with preventing conflicts and providing a peaceful solution to those in course.

13. All this must not, however, lead to a naive optimism. It must not be forgotten that, tragically, violent fratricidal conflicts and devastating wars still continue to sow tears and death in vast parts of the world. Situations exist where conflict, hidden like flame beneath ashes, can flare up anew and cause immense destruction. Those authorities who, rather than making every effort to promote peace, incite their citizens to hostility towards other nations, bear a heavy burden of responsibility: in regions particularly at risk, they jeopardize the delicate balance achieved at the cost of patient negotiations and thus help make the future of humanity more uncertain and ominous. What can be said, too, about those governments which count on nuclear arms as a means of ensuring the security of their countries? Along with countless persons of good will, one can state that this point of view is not only baneful but also completely fallacious. In a nuclear war there would be no victors, only victims. The truth of peace requires that all —whether those governments which openly or secretly possess nuclear arms, or those planning to acquire them— agree to change their course by clear and firm decisions, and strive for a progressive and concerted nuclear disarmament. The resources which would be saved could then be employed in projects of development capable of benefiting all their people, especially the poor.

14. In this regard, one can only note with dismay the evidence of a continuing growth in military expenditure and the flourishing arms trade, while the political and juridic process established by the international community for promoting disarmament is bogged down in general indifference. How can there ever be a future of peace when investments are still made in the production of arms and in research aimed at developing new ones? It can only be hoped that the international community will find the wisdom and courage to take up once more, jointly and with renewed conviction, the process of disarmament, and thus concretely ensure the right to peace enjoyed by every individual and every people. By their commitment to safeguarding the good of peace, the various agencies of the international community will regain the authority needed to make their initiatives credible and effective.

15. The first to benefit from a decisive choice for disarmament will be the poor countries, which rightly demand, after having heard so many promises, the concrete implementation of their right to development. That right was solemnly reaffirmed in the recent General Assembly of the United Nations Organization, which this year celebrated the sixtieth anniversary of its foundation. The Catholic Church, while confirming her confidence in this international body, calls for the institutional and operative renewal which would enable it to respond to the changed needs of the present time, characterized by the vast phenomenon of globalization. The United Nations Organization must become a more efficient instrument for promoting the values of justice, solidarity and peace in the world. For her part, the Church, in fidelity to the mission she has received from her Founder, is committed to proclaiming everywhere ''the Gospel of peace''. In the firm conviction that she offers an indispensable service to all those who strive to promote peace, she reminds everyone that, if peace is to be authentic and lasting, it must be built on the bedrock of the truth about God and the truth about man. This truth alone can create a sensitivity to justice and openness to love and solidarity, while encouraging everyone to work for a truly free and harmonious human family. The foundations of authentic peace rest on the truth about God and man.

16. At the conclusion of this Message, I would like to address a particular word to all believers in Christ, inviting them once again to be attentive and generous disciples of the Lord. When we hear the Gospel, dear brothers and sisters, we learn to build peace on the truth of a daily life inspired by the commandment of love. Every community should undertake an extensive process of education and witness aimed at making everyone more aware of the need for a fuller appreciation of the truth of peace. At the same time I ask for an increase of prayers, since peace is above all a gift of God, a gift to be implored incessantly. By God's help, our proclamation and witness to the truth of peace will be all the more convincing and illuminating. With confidence and filial abandonment let us lift up our eyes to Mary, Mother of the Prince of Peace. At the beginning of this New Year, let us ask her to help all God's People, wherever they may be, to work for peace and to be guided by the light of the truth that sets man free (cf. Jn 8:32). Through Mary's intercession, may all mankind grow in esteem for this fundamental good and strive to make it ever more present in our world, and, in this way, to offer a safer and more serene future to generations yet to come.

From the Vatican, 8 December 2005.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

thanks Ratzigirl!! beautiful words from Papa

This item may have easily been overlooked this weekend, but it highlights a little-known but truly horrific fact about Nazi mass murder of the Jews in Ukraine, and the Pope's strong reaction upon learning of it. It is from Zenit, but it's short enough and important enough to warrant reprinting in full.
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Scale of Wartime Killing of Jews in Ukraine Shocks Pope

Nazis Buried 1 Million in Mass Graves
PARIS, DEC. 13, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed shock when he looked at the documents that showed the scale of the Nazi-led massacre of Jews in the Ukraine during World War II.

The Pope wrote a letter on this topic to Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, retired archbishop of Paris, on the occasion of the 3rd European Encounter Between Jews and Catholics, promoted by the European Jewish Congress.

The event, held Dec. 4 in Paris, gathered some 700 representatives of Judaism and the Catholic Church, including a Vatican representative, Cardinal Georges Cottier.

During the encounter Patrick Desbois presented the results of his investigation in the Ukraine of the mass graves where more than 1 million Jews were buried by the Nazis in the wake of the invasion of 1941.

Cardinal Lustiger reported to Benedict XVI these discoveries, and in response, the Pope wrote a letter to the prelate, dated Dec. 1, to express his support.

"Upon reading your letter, and the documents sent previously, I was shocked to realize to what point the power of evil took possession of our people, making it possible for something so monstrous to take place, as what is revealed in these documents," wrote the German-born Pontiff.

Demonic powers

"Until now I had never heard of these systematic assassination campaigns in the Ukraine that had preceded the horror of the extermination camps of Jews," the Holy Father stated.

The Pope continued: "Only now have I been able to conceive what the demonic powers of evil, which had reigned for 12 years over our people, had been able to carry out, by the complete overthrow of moral obligations and the destruction of consciences, to a level that would be impossible to believe, if it had not been established with alarming precision."

He invited the cardinal "to pray without ceasing to the Lord so that he protects us from these powers in the future."

At the same time the Holy Father confirmed the "consoling" fact that "the Ukrainian metropolitan of the time had taken a clear position against these practices, and that today there are Catholic priests that endeavor to clarify the truth."

The European Encounter Between Jews and Catholics offered the opportunity to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's declaration "Nostra Aetate," which marked a historic turn in Jewish-Catholic relations.

The event also recognized the work done by Pope John Paul II to foster mutual relations.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 14/12/2005 20.29]

Thanks to Ratzigirl, here is an article from Panorama, a weekly Italian magazine, evaluating the first 8 months of the Benedictine papacy. In translation -
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Benedict Joseph,* so near and so far from Papa Karol
He is less seen in public, he selects his magisterial interventions, and gives the impression of leaving much space for bishops. Where is the Church going with Ratzinger? Here are some answers-
*In the original, this is "Benedetto Joseph", which may also rendered as "Blessed Joseph"


For theologians, Benedict XVI is above all the 265th successor to Peter. For the crowds of faithful who come in massive droves to Rome to see him, the present Pope is above all the successor to the much-beloved John Paul II. And for observers who are not given to emotional tendencies, it is the vox populi once again that seems more credible.

And not just because of chronology. Karol Wojtyla was very aware that he was the last Pope to have taken part as a bishop in Vatican II. And Joseph Ratzinger has not forgotten that he is among the last remaining theologians who took part in that Council as an expert. If the full realization of the Council remains a goal, how will Benedict’s steps differ from those of the man who preceded him at the helm of the Church?

“If we are going to talk of continuity or discontinuity,” notes Luigi Alici, professor of moral philosophy, and since July, president of Catholic Action, “we must understand first of all why the Church chose for its new Pope a master of thought, a theologian capable – like his beloved Augustine – of showing the good that is already in our society, the good which is still invisible in a world which is changing.”

To take on the task of “explorer of modernity”, Papa Ratzinger has the “lettres de noblesse” conferred on him by decades of moral and rational choices. It is an intellectual patrimony which Severino Danich, the most interesting Italian ecclesiologist, sums up in the Ratzingerian “sense of historicity, that is, the capacity to integrate history, its variants, its possible differentiations, into dogma. And from this vision comes a solid base for a theology capable of passing from pure contradiction to dialog, including inter-religious dialog.”

A dialog which, according to Paolo del Debbio, professor of ethics at the IULM university in Milan, “also includes confronting questions on sexual morality which have become somewhat inhibiting to adhering to the faith. And this is a task that will be easier for an orthodox Pope like Benedict than one who is simply a moralist. “

The months have gone by fast for this Pope. After the conclave in April, those who want “something new” have not stopped hoping, but now they are starting to hold their breath in the presence of signs that to many already seem contrasting.

Enzo Bianchi, prior of the monastic community of Bosem explains: “This Pope has definitely shown his great wish to make clear a continuity in teaching with that of his predecessor. But there are differences: He appears less in public, and he limits, or at least concentrates, his magisterial interventions to his homilies and lessons on the word of God. He also declared, shortly after his election, that ecumenism requires not just words but also action – and we await that. And if it's true that his first encyclical will be
about charity, it will be like listening again to St. John who admonished the first Christian community,‘Let us love eaach other.’”

For a Pope, to try to minimize his “on stage” presence in this media world, given the times, is already a formidable goal. Alberto Melloni, a historian of Vatican-II, observes: “Benedict XVI has revived the custom that requires the Bishop of Rome to celebrate (Mass ?) by himself, even on Sundays, and this is a positive discontinuity because it has to do with the ecclesiastic consistency of the Pope’s presence.”
[I must admit I do not understand this statement.]

Luigi Alici sees in the first 8 months of Benedict’s Papacy not just “a strong continuity in the ecumenical dialog, but also a revival of collegiality, that is, a widening of the space for free discussion among bishops, who are once again being received personally and singly by the Pope during their ad limina visits to Rome.”

But Severino Dianich thinks what he has seen so far is ambivalent: “The only institutional reform that is in the hands of the Pope is that of the Curia. Any changes in the universal Church requires a series of applications of the principle of collegiality. This reform has already been decreed by the Council, but it still awaits implementation. It is true that in the past months, the Pope has shown a propensity to making this reform take effect, but he has also reiterated a theology that tends to be oriented towards centralistic outcomes.”

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 15/12/2005 16.20]

PAPA IN PRINT

The various numerous publishers from countries around the world who have printed Papa's books are meeting at the Vatican to thrash out all the issues involved in translating and printing his past works and new collections of his writings. Fr. Joseph Fessio, one of his former students and head of Ignatius Press, Papa's main publisher in the US, is helping to guide this meeting. For details, www.catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/0507126.htm

With all that Papa has written, I'll bet this meeting could get into quite a turf battle.

thanks benefan and Teresa!

Pope Benedict XVI sympathises with Nigeria over air crash


Dakar, Senegal, 12/15 - Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his profound sympathy over the Nigerian private jetliner crash that killed 107 people, including more than 70 students of a Catholic school in Abuja.

In a message sent on his behalf by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Angelo Sodano to Bishop Alexius Obabu Makozi of Port Harcourt, the Nigerian southern oil-city where the crash occurred Saturday, the Pope expressed "his closeness to the victims' relatives."

"Saddened by news of the great loss of life in the air tragedy near Port Harcourt, the Holy Father asks you kindly to convey his heartfelt condolences to the families of the victims," the message read in part.

"He commends the dead to the eternal mercies of Almighty God and invokes the divine blessings of strength and peace upon all who mourn and upon all engaged in the work of relief," it added.

More than 70 of the victims of the ill-fated Sosoliso DC-9 on a domestic Abuja-Port Harcourt flight were students of the Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja, who were on their way home for the Christmas holidays.

The plane burst into flames just before landing at the airport where relatives had been waiting for the passengers' arrival.

The only three survivors of the crash are in critical condition in hospital

Antonio Socci, who writes for the Italian newspaper Il Giornale, wrote an interesting column today, 12/16/95, that may well be a footnote to the history of two Popes. Read on, in translation -
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Antonio Socci

Finally I can reveal something about Joseph Ratzinger and Karol Wojtyla.

In the autumn of 2004, at the Frankfurt Book Fair [world’s largest annual book fair], a new book by Wojtyla, “Memoria e Identita” to be published by Rizzoli, was the object of much anticipation because its editor, in the presence of the head of the Vatican Press Office, called attention to the upcoming publication by saying something that came as a shock.

Carelessly, he suggested the notion that the Pope would “rehabilitate” Communism (in the new book). In fact, the next day, all the newspapers had front-page stories about the Pope who, they claimed, now judged Communism to have been a ”necessary evil” and “useful,” somewhat like medicine that tasted unpleasant but was good for mankind - an idea that was both false and misleading.

Incredibly, the man who had given voice to the “church of silence,” the man who for years the Italian press had branded as a visseral anti-communist, the man who was considered public enemy number one by the regimes of eastern Europe and whom they wanted to physically eliminate, the man who brought the winds of liberty to eastern Europe, was now, toward the end of his days, being misrepresented as someone whose true colors were only now coming out!

It was a great insult to a man who was a great witness for Christ, especially in view of his suffering and very likely terminal condition, and it was a serious imprudence on the part of the Vatican functionaries who seemed to back up that strange announcement. Even Avvenire [the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops conference] – despite a thousand prudent safeguards – showed a certain embarassment.

But I came to understand that something was malfunctioning in the Vatican machinery because of a fortunate circumstance. Just at that time, in fact, I was in close contact over a period of two days with Cardinal Ratzinger. As I had the chance to talk to him at length, I asked him about the questionable “preview”.

He told me that the book did not exist (as yet) so he found the pre-publicity strange, especially since it raised such an outcry. He explained that the Pope had notes about several private conversations that he wished to review and rewrite, and I understood that he himself had received assurances from the Papal apartments that the book would be different.

It was obvious that the Pope himself could no longer work on the draft of the book, considering the state of his health. In addition, although the cover (when the book eventually came out) curiously named John-Paul II as the author, the book should not be conidered a magisterial text written by a Pope - it is a book of Karol Wojtyla’s personal reminiscences, which therefore do not involve his office. That is a very important distinction in the Catholic Church.

The book finally came out in February 2005, almost coinciding with the Pope’s death. It is a truly beautiful book, a suggestive and profound interpretation of the 20th century. It has no equivocations: Wojtyla ranks communism and nazism among the evil ideologies of satanic origin. Without leaving out others, such as all the current nihilistic ideologies which do not value human life.

But the book itself, although it has sold very well, did not make news. No first-page stories, no callng attention to its harsh words on abortion, nothing resembling the confused and clamorous pre-announcement the preceding autumn!

In which not only the presumed “rehabilitation” of communism (non-existent, as we saw) was shocking, but its presumed theological framework even more so. In fact, after the abovementioned citation of communism as “an evil that was in some way necessary to mankind and to the world,” a further citation was that “in certain concrete situations of human existence, evil shows itself useful to some degree in that it creates occasions for doing good.”

A passage from Goethe was then cited in which he “qlaifies the devil” as “a part of that force that always wishes evil but always works for good.” It is startling to hear that Satan works for good! However, the passage expresses quite well Goethe’s gnosticism: to him, God and the devil were two sides of a coin, two faces of the same entity – completely contrary to Christian doctrine, and in fact, absolutely blasphemous.

In fact, shortly after citing Goethe, John Paul (in the book) cites Saint Paul (“Defeat evil with good”), and evidently, it is the apostle’s words that express his convictions, not Goethe’s. However, because of simplification from the autumn announcement, the passage added a theological equivocation to the political.

Last week, Benedict XVI delivered a homily on the feast of the Immculate Conception, and L’Espresso’s Vatican expert Sandro Magister did not miss the fact that Ratzinger cited the same passage from Faust. But hr noted that Benedict “turned around” the interpretation that had been attributed to John Paul.

Here is what Benedict said: “We think that evil at bottom is good, that we need a littlle of it in order to experience the fullness of being. We think that Mephistopheles, the tempter, was right when he said he was the force 'that always wishes evil but always does good'(Goethe, Faust I, 3). We think that compromising a bit with evil, keeping for ourselves a bit of freedom from God, is basically good, perhaps even necessary. But if we look at the world around us, we can see that it is not so. That evil always poison - it does not uplift man, it debases and humiliates him; it does not make him greater, purer, richer, but damages him, dinimishes him.”

Should we conclude from this that Benedict is correcting John Paul as Magister seems to suggest? I think not.

It is clear that Wojtyla’s thinking on such a decisive question of doctrine coincides with that expressed by Ratzinger. But I think that the “preview” of “Memory and Identity” had created a colossal equivocation, and I sincerely think that although the context of the book itself makes everything clear, the citation of Goethe was unfortunate, especially since Wojtyla was not a reader of Goethe, so it would be interesting to know who was responsible for putting it in. It would have been better not to have brought it up at the preview than to have done so and therefore be constrained afterwards to put it in the book.

On the other hand, Ratzinger had previously cited that passage from Goethe in one of his own books ("Fede, Verita, Tolleranza") published even before that preview of “Memory and Identity.” I reported that in this column when the polemics erupted over “necessary evil”.

The cardinal had written: “Evil is not in fact – as Hegel said and as Goethe wanted to show us in Faust – any part of what we need, but it is rather the destruction of being. It cannot be reperesented, as Mephistopherles in Faust does, with the words –‘I am a part of that force which perennially wishes evil and perennially does good.' If good had need of evil, then evil would not really be evil, it would be a necessary part of the world dialectic.”

That philosophy, Ratzinger added, had been used to justify the massacres under communism, which was built on the dialectics of Hegel turned into political praxis by Marx. “No, evil does not belong to the dialectic of being – it attacks it at the root.” God is “pure light and pure goodness.”

When that column appeared, a certain Gravagnuolo called me “anti-Pope” and other endearments in the pages of Unita (the Communist newspaper). Some communists don’t study and therefore do not understand the things they speak of. It is useless to recommend that they read Ratzinger and Wojtyla. They think only of propaganda. And to justify a horrendous story.

Theresa,
thank you very much for this article...very inspirational.
It makes me read Papas' homilies more carefully.
Our Papa is genius.

Santa Maria Consolatrice Parish Church, Rome
From AGI, an Italian news agency, we have this early report on Pope Benedict’s first parochial visit today as Bishop of Rome to the parish of Santa Maria Consolatrice in Casalbertone, a working district of Rome, of which he, as Cardinal Ratzinger, had been titular bishop from 1977-1993.

The Pope arrived at 9 a.m. on the dot in a black Lancia Thesis with an open sunroof. He stopped to greet the small crowd waiting just outside the church door – many of them he had confirmed years ago.




Despite the cold, thousands awaited the Pope since the early hours on the Piazza of Santa Maria Consolatrice. Besides the parish clergy, on hand to welcome the Pope were his Vicar in Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, as well as two ex- parish priests of the Church who have gone onto higher office: Mgr. Giovanni Canestro, who became Archbishop of Genoa, and Mgr. Ennio Appignanese, who became Archbishop of Potenza.



Another ex-parish priest of Casalbertone, Mgr. Franco Camaldo, accompanied the Pope. He is now #2 in the Office of Pontifical Celebrations.

The Pope celebrated the Mass with Cardinals Ruini, Canestro and Appignanesi.

“The Pope has returned to bring you good news,” the Pope said in his extemporaneous homily. “The Redemption is the good news for the world today, in which God is mostly absent. It is a world dominated by fear and uncertainty. A world of darkness, in which many need to be anesthetized in order to continue living.”




“To all, therefore,” he continued, “I wish to repeat the liberating words said by the Archangel to Mary at the Annunciation: Be happy and rejoice. Mary is the great conoler who invites us to share joy – not as luxurious gifts which cost time and money – but genuine joy, that which we can communicate with a smile or a gesture of pardon.”

He told them, “It is for me a great joy to be with you this morning and to celebrate the Holy Mass for you and with you. It is for me a true homecoming. This is the Roman parish to which I first came on October 15, 1977 – Don Ennio Appignanesi was then the parish priests, and his vicars were Don Enrico Pomili, now your parish priest, and don Franco Camaldo, the ceremonial authority assigned to me by Monsignor Marini. Our ties were not any less when I became titural bishop of Velletri Segni, and it has become even more concrete today as I am now Bishop of Rome, and therefore your bishop.”

“Dear friends, thank you for your presence. I bring you all my wishes for a merry Christmas,” he said at the end.

Another agency, Apcom, reported that although there was only “a small crowd” in front of the church when the Pope arrived, there was a crowd of more than 10,000 in the church square by the time he left at 11:20.

It appears most of the parishioners had followed their parish priest’s advice: “Those who are unable to get into the Church because there is not enough space should stay home and watch the Mass on Telepace and Sat 2000, then you can come to greet the Pope when he leaves.”

The crowd’s enthusiasm recalled to many the reception here for Pope John Paul II when he visited the parish on April 2, 1995 – 10 years before he died.


At that time, Cardinal Ratzinger was there to welcome John Paul II. Who would have thought then that 10 years later, he would succeed John Paul as Pope?

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This is probably one of the most positive accounts yet to appear about Pope Benedict XVI in the English mainstream media.
As it is also an appreciation of his 8-month-old Papacy, READ AND REJOICE!


December 26, 2005–January 2, 2006 Vol. 166, No. 25

A Man On A Mission


After eight months on the job, Pope Benedict XVI has created a charisma all his own
BY JEFF ISRAELY


The man who would become Pope Benedict XVI began the year behind a desk. Granted, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger was no ordinary shuffler of Vatican papers; indeed, he had long been celebrated by Church conservatives as the architect of Pope John Paul II's doctrinal policy and vilified by progressives as the panzerkardinal who defended Catholic orthodoxy with the impenetrability of a tank. Yet Ratzinger's quotidian reality was essentially that of an exalted Catholic Church bureaucrat. Working the day shift at Church headquarters for 23 years meant studying and safeguarding the Gospels, not preaching it.

On March 31, Ratzinger was in his Vatican office when the phone rang with bad news. John Paul's long and brave battle with failing health looked to be nearing its end, and as the dean of the College of Cardinals it would be Ratzinger's duty to formally notify his brother Cardinals once the Pope had died. Ratzinger hurried into a black Mercedes and was driven from the office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, around the one-lane road behind St. Peter's Basilica, to the elevator that would bring him up to the Pope's private quarters. It was around noon when the Cardinal approached the Holy Father's bedside. John Paul's condition had deteriorated that morning. The same throat infection that had twice sent him to Gemelli hospital had begun to spread through his body. Apart from his curial position, Ratzinger was there as one of the Pope's dearest friends, and Vatican insiders have quietly speculated about this final encounter between the two men. Some, according to Vatican sources, actually believe the Pope prophesied to Ratzinger that the German would be his successor. Whatever form the conversation took, the Church administrator was indeed chosen three weeks later by his brother Cardinals to succeed John Paul II.

The new Pope has stepped onto the world stage with grace, warmth and an understated clout, qualities that make him our choice for European Newsmaker of the Year. A man often described as methodical and contemplative — even downright shy — has created a charisma all his own, one that seems to defy our turn-up-the-volume, look-at-me times. At 78, Benedict is the archetype of the quiet, lifelong believer who suddenly sees it is his turn to speak up, a rejuvenated old soul surprisingly well-equipped for his final mission. Father Joseph Fessio, who has known the Pope since the 1970s, said his former professor "actually seems healthier, younger, more radiant, more at peace" since assuming the papal throne.

Yet Ratzinger's peaceful countenance belies an energetic soul. The new Pope is a man on a mission, determined to reassert Catholic orthodoxy in the face of the challenge of modern times, and to make the Church once again a central part of the life of Europe, a geographical entity once coterminous with Christendom but now the most secular place on earth. Ratzinger's public image may be more cuddly than many expected it would be, but his beliefs have not budged. He has made it clear that traditional Church teachings on abortion, female clergy and homosexuality will not be challenged so long as he's in charge. After the release of a new Vatican document that would prohibit any person who was openly gay — even if celibate — from becoming a priest, the writer Andrew Sullivan, a gay Catholic, said Benedict "has identified a group of people and said, regardless of how they behave or what they do, they are beneath serving God. It isn't what they do that he is concerned with. It's who they are."

Yet away from the most controversial issues, the Pope has shown an ability to preach eloquently about the core issues of modern existence — good and evil, charity and consumerism, and the slippery slope of instantaneous self-fulfillment. Ratzinger, says a top aide to a progressive European Cardinal, "has a brilliant way of summing up a concept in a single sentence. He can clean off the window of modern history, and give you a clear vision of what's wrong with our society."

The new Pope's mission is the same one that has driven him since he was ordained in his native Bavaria. But Ratzinger's essential beliefs were rarely seen more clearly than during — and after — his predecessor's final hours. On the evening of April 1, a veteran aide to Ratzinger recounted how, that morning, his boss had gathered together employees in the doctrinal office for a reciting of the rosary, and then informed them of his visit to see John Paul. "I've never seen him that emotional," the Vatican official said. Ten days later, it fell to Ratzinger to lead the service for John Paul's funeral. It may have been the most-watched such ceremony in human history, with over 1 million faithful and dozens of world leaders jammed in and around St. Peter's Square, and tens of millions more watching on television. Ratzinger was a study in serenity, guiding the elaborate liturgy with poise, and delivering a moving, plainspoken homily. It was the first public proof to the faithful — and to voting Cardinals — that he was a man who could shepherd a worldwide flock. In the days that followed, Ratzinger was called upon to lead a series of closed-door, preconclave meetings with his fellow Cardinals, who would later speak of his attentiveness and multilingual skills, and even a sense of humor. For the good of the Church, there could be no angling for the papacy while he was called upon to be the sole pilot for an institution that momentarily had no one in charge. Rather, there was an assumption of responsibility. "After John Paul died," a Rome-based Cardinal recalled recently, "Ratzinger seemed to be carrying the entire Church on his shoulders." Hours before the voting was to begin, he gave his last speech as Cardinal, an impassioned defense of orthodoxy in which he denounced "the dictatorship of relativism." The next day, he was Pope. Beaming from the loggia above a drizzly St. Peter's Square, Papa Benedetto XVI told the world that the Cardinals had elected "a humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord."

He quickly got down to business. Benedict fast-tracked John Paul's road toward sainthood, named his own successor in the doctrinal office and prepared his first encyclical (due out around Christmas). In August, he visited his native Germany for World Youth Day, where he made a historic visit to the Cologne synagogue, spoke out forcefully against terrorism in a meeting with German Muslim leaders, and won over some 1 million young people — many of whom had originally signed up to see their beloved John Paul. It was then, perhaps, that the world appreciated that the new head of the Catholic Church would not be a mere caretaker.

Benedict's public appeal comes from a manner that is always composed. His voice has a singsong cadence and his smile lights up his aging face. He doesn't mince words. "True revolution can only come from God," he told the youth gathering in Cologne. The new Pope has managed to fill John Paul's shoes without trying to match his oversized magnetism, and in so doing has revealed a side of his character that perhaps he didn't even know he had. Angelo Cardinal Scola of Venice, who has known Ratzinger since 1971, says the papacy has brought out the best in his mentor. Ratzinger, Scola told Time, "has the gift to be able to speak, at the same time, to the most simple and the most cultured of people. In 35 years, every single time I have seen or heard him, I have learned something new."

The new Pope himself seems ready to learn. Over the summer, he met in a one-month span with the leaders of the ultratraditionalist Lefebvrites and then with Hans Küng, a Swiss-born progressive theologian who has loudly disagreed with much of Cardinal Ratzinger's doctrine. He showed no sign of giving ground on either flank, but he listened. At October's Synod of Bishops, he introduced the first-ever open discussion period, and took part in it. "That the Pope himself spoke up was evidence that he wants a direct and immediate dialogue with his brother Bishops — a precious sign of a healthy collegiality," says Scola, whom Benedict picked to preside over the three-week-long meeting. And he reaches out, above all, to his flock. Benedict has already produced a series of penetrating homilies, using language that often doesn't quite sound like it should come from a Pope. In a passage on sin, he wrote of the temptation to "think that bargaining a little with evil, reserving some freedom against God, is good, perhaps even necessary. But if we look at the world, it is not so. Evil always poisons." His predecessor's poetic touch made the world take notice. Benedict will connect by the power of his prose.

But for all his learning and his sense of mission, the great surprise of Benedict's papacy so far — at least to those who didn't personally know him — has been a quiet humanity. At the end of a general audience in August, the Pope had set aside time for a long line of the ill and elderly to personally greet him. A girl, perhaps 9 or 10 years old, approached, holding her mother's hand and gripping a teddy bear. Her hair was cut short and her face was puffy from medication. The Pope looked straight in the little girl's eager eyes, and brushed his hand with a blessing across her forehead. And then, without missing a beat, he reached over and blessed the teddy bear in the same way. Among those for whom doctrine is key, Benedict's unshakable convictions will earn him both fans and foes. For those of us less sure of our faith — and even those with none at all — the new Pope reminds us, simply, that a missionary's work is never done.

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Nominated for "Person of the Year," in a field that listed "Mother Nature" as a "person" and pitted the Pope against the author of the Harry Potter series, for instance, the Pope, Mother Nature and J.K. Rowling all lost out to the Good Samaritans - Bono and Bill and Melinda Gates. But here is how the Pope was cited on the list of "People Who Mattered in 2005".

PATRICK HERTZOG / AFP / GETTY

For years Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger seemed too polarizing a conservative to succeed John Paul II. But his closeness to the late Pontiff, his intellectual substance and his high profile entering the conclave turned him into the obvious choice.

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Viva Papa Benedetto!!

well said gracelp.... Awesome Time Europe article on Papa B.

POPE: THANKS AUSTRIA AND "CHILD OF LIGHTS" FOR TREE
(AGI) - Vatican City, Dec. 17 -

Pope Ratzinger exchanged a moving embrace with Juergen Lengauer, the 11 year old Austrian boy who lit the numerous lights on the large Christmas Tree in St. Peter's Square.

Juergen, who saved his two year old brother last summer after he had accidentally fallen inside a swimming pool, was named "the child of lights" this year, and last Monday, he lit the candle of light in the Bethlehem Grotto, which reached Lienz after many stops and which was today given to Benedict XVI.



"I am happy to receive you with great friendship on the occasion of the presentation of the fir tree in St. Peter's Square which comes from Eferding Forest," said the Pope receiving the delegation led by the region's prime minister, Josef Puhringer, and by Mons. Ludwig Schwarz, Bishop of Lienz.

"This majestic fir tree will remain by the nativity scene until the end of Christmas festivities and will be admired by the many pilgrims who come to the Vatican from all parts of the world," the Pope added.

The Pope wanted to thank the "dear friends" who came from Austria not only for "the great tree", but also "for the other smaller ones which will ornate the Apostolic Palace and various parts of the Vatican."

"With your much appreciated gifts you wanted to demonstrate the spiritual closeness and the friendship which for a long time have tied Austria to the Holy Sea, in the noble Christian tradition which has enriched with its spiritual values the culture and literature and art of your Nation and of Europe as a whole," the German Pope said.

"I would like to assure you that the Pope is close to you and that his prayers accompany the path of Christian communities and the entire Austrian nation," he concluded.



Together with the great fir tree offered by the Austria, which has a height of about 30 meters off, the Municipality of Eferding also donated 32 smaller trees to the Vatican (some of which were decorated by children and disabled people), which these days will decorate the Pontifical apartments, the Aula Paolo VI, the Clementine Hall, barracks of the Swiss Guards and the Police and the apartments of Cardinals.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on the nativity scene which will stand by the Christmas tree. Located by the obelisk, it will occupy an overall area of about 400 sq meters and will be inaugurated on the evening of December 24.
The front of the scene extends over 25 meters and stands about 9 meters tall. "The planimetric development is set in such a way as to facilitate its vision from any part of the square," explained a statement by the engineer Massimo Stroppa, Director of Technical Services for the Vatican.
"The overall figure and the architecture of the scene evokes the typical landscapes of Palestine and the holy areas of that land," it added.



And this picture I found in the photo section send by @Nessuna@



If you want to see how looks like choy in front of Nativity scene...look on Papa.

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I think I have read an article on the CRF about a Pope's friends, who every Xmas brought from Bavaria him these red flower.....I don't remember quite well.
I just love this picture, the whole scene is so....heanvelly.

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