NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT

hugz Papa!!

Pope Benedict XVI Marks Feast of First Christian Martyr, Notes Faithful Still Face Persecution
Pope Benedict XVI gives his traditional blessing to faithful gathering in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Monday, Dec. 26, 2005. In the foreground are the branches of the more than 30 meters (98 feet) tall Christmas tree given to the Pontiff by the town of Eferding in the province of Upper Austria. (AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito)
The Associated Press

VATICAN CITY Dec 26, 2005 — Pope Benedict XVI Monday marked the feast of Christianity's first martyr, noting that Christians still are persecuted for their faith in some parts of the world.

Benedict addressed crowds in St. Peter's Square in his traditional blessing the day after Christmas, which is the feast of St. Stephen, a disciple who was stoned to death for saying he had seen Christ standing at the right hand of God.

"How can we not recognize that even these times, in various parts of the world, professing Christian faith requires the heroism of martyrs?" the pontiff said.

Benedict did not mention by name countries where Christians are still persecuted, but the Vatican has expressed concern about Iraq, where the constitution promises religious freedom but says Islam is "a fundamental source" of legislation.

The Holy See also has been pushing for greater religious freedom in China, whose officially atheistic communist government allows Catholics to worship only in tightly controlled state churches. Those who meet in other churches are frequently harassed, fined and sometimes sent to labor camps.

RAMALLAH, December 26, 2005 (WAFA) - President Mahmoud Abbas sent Monday a Christmas Congratulation letter to Pope Benedict XVI.

He wished Pope Benedict XVI a merry Christmas and lifelong happiness, thanking him for his generosity during his recent visit to the Vatican.

President Abbas appreciated the role of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land as well as the Pope's stance to achieve peace in the region.

He also said "we are all sure that his pontiff will save no efforts to put an end to the suffering and pains of our people which have lasted for decades."

Following is the translation of a report published today by Apcom, an Italian news agency:

VATICAN CITY, December 28- In only eight months of being Pope, Benedict XVI has attracted records crwods of pilgrims to his general audiences, and to liturgical celebrations and the Angelus at St. Peter's Square. So far, 2.8 million faithful have come to take part in Papa Ratzinger’s public appearances, according to data provided by the Pontifical Prefecture.

In the Wednesday general audiences, 810,000 have attended the Pope’s weekly catechesis since April, a number greater than John Paul II who had 200,000 during his first 8 months. However, John Paul’s peak number in 26 years was reached the next year – 1,585,000. Then the numbers decreased, and did not pick up again except in the Jubilee Year of 2000, when there were 1,400,000.

Excluding those two years, Papa Ratzinger seems to be drawing descisively far greater crowds than his beloved predecessor. The breakdown is as follows: April – 20,000 (for the only audience given after the Pope’s election); May 89,000; June 130,000; July 20,000 (only one audience – the Pope was on summer vacation); August 45,000; September 126,000; October 190,000; November 117,000; December 73,000(not counting today).

The Sunday Angelus has drawn about 200,000-250,000 pilgrims a month, peaking at 350000 in December.

Not counted in this reckoning is the unprecedented number of faithful who came to St. Peter’s Square on the day of the Pope’s election.

Actually, the Italian service of the Vatican Press Office released the following statistics today on:
PARTICIPATION OF THE FAITHFUL AT THE GENERAL AUDIENCES AND OTHER MEETINGS
WITH THE HOLY FATHER BENEDICT XVI DURING THE YEAR 2005

Today's general audience (December 28) was the last for the year 2005.

In January-March 2005, Pope John Paul II held 4 general audiences, in which 23,000 persons took part.

Starting from April 27, 2005, Pope Benedict XVI has held 32 General Audiences,
with the participation of 810,000.

From the start of his Papacy, more than 2,850,000 persons have
taken part in the public appearances of Pope Benedict XVI at St. Peter's Square.

Here are the statistics from the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household:
[N.B. I have not been able to figure out how to copy a table onto the reply box,
which does not respect indentations that one places - so
in the following list, the four figures following each month represent the attendance
at 1) General Audiences, 2) Special Audiences, 3) Liturgical celebrations, and 4) Angelus.
A (-) means no such occasion was held during the month.

April: 20,000; 6,000; 220,000; -
May: 89,000; 13,300; 45,000; 200,000
June: 130,000; 38,400; 15,000; 250,000
July: 20,000; 1,700; - ; 100,000
August: 45,000; - ; 500; 29,000
September: 126,000; 1,000; - ; 25,000
October: 190,000; 132,400; 67,000; 200,000
November: 117,000; 23,500; 17,000; 250,000
December: 73,000; 34,700; 30,000; 350,000
------------------------------------------------

Subtotals- 810,000; 251,000; 94,500; 1,400,000

TOTAL: 2,855,500

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/12/2005 21.02]

Wow, these figures are heart warming and amazing. It surely must inspire Benedict, and it confirms the fact that people are, even in this "shallow" and materialistic age of us, hungry for spiritual SUBSTANCE --- not cotton-candy ("spookasem") (I don't know the English word for "spookasem" in Afrikaans!! Directly translated "spookasem" means "ghost breath"!)BRAVO, Papa!!

Here is my translation of an article in "La Gazzette del Mezzogiorno", a newspaper published in Lecce, southern Italy.
------------------------------------------------------------
Ratzinger: The Church of strong values against uncertainty
Noted Vaticanist Luigi Accatoli speaks
By Tonio Tondo

Luigi Accatoli, journalist and author, Vatican expert of Corriere della Sera, is one of the most knowledgeable about events happening across the Tiber. He followed the entire pontificate of John Paul II, whom he covered in 85 of the 104 apostolic trips in Italy and throughout the world.

“Only three of my colleagues covered more,” Accatoli said in an interview with “Gazzetta”. “One from RAI (official Italian TV agency), one from Famiglia Cristiana (an Italian weekly magazine), and a Mexican journalist.”

Invited to this southeastern city of Italy by Fr. Mario Mariafoti, a Jesuit founder of the Emmnauel community, Accatoli spoke about his Vatican experience and the days of the Conclave that led to the election of Benedict XVI.

How were Wojtyla’s relations with the press? How was the legend of the “great communicator” born?
“Let me recount an episode. Everyone knows that when we travelled ny air, John Paul made an effort to come and greet the journalists (travelling with him). Once I asked him if he read my articles. He answered that he could not remember if he did. I understood that his attention was directed mainly at television. His attentiveness to TV cameras was proverbial. His actions would be followed by millions of persons and TV was the only medium that allowed that. Sometimes he would repeat a blessing to make sure it would be covered. In January 1981, when Lech Walesa and a delegation from Solidarity came to the Vatican, the Pope asked him to repeat his act of genuflecting and kissing the Papal ring so that the image could be shown around the world. Wojtyla was always ready to use television as an instrument of evangelization. He even allowed repeat shots of dramatic moments at the time he was suffering greatly. It meant he completely trusted the visibility that was possible only through the small screen.”

What differences are there between Benedict XVI and his predecessor? Joseph Ratzinger played an important role in the Church for more than 20 years. What has changed in the Church with his election?
“Ratzinger was John Paul’s most direct collaborator. Among all the cardinals, he ws the most authorized and most prominent heir. I think he was elected because of that. So a capital situation has been created because a very different personality has been called on to continue Wojtyla’s work. If it had been someone like Wojtyla, we would have had a poor photocopy. Instead we have a fertile and creative situation today. When Benedict XVI appears and gives a blessing to the crowds or visits a parish, he does so as part of the legacy of his predecessor and he acts with conviction. He will be going to Poland and then back to Germany: he will always act with his head and with his heart, because he knows he was elected to complete the work of John Paul II.”

There are those who maintain that Wojtyla himself, before he died, was able to pave the way for Ratzinger.
“I don’t think it happened that way. There are no indications that could justify such speculation. On the contrary, I am convinced that the cardinal-electors took into account the very close relationship between John Paul II and Ratzinger. Wojtyla, before any of his big initiatives and grand gestures, always consulted his theologian friend, he always asked him to suggest the right words. I am thinking here of John Paul’s visit to the synagogue in Rome, to his addressing the Jews as older brothers, or his plea for forgiveness of the Catholic Church for errors it committed in the past, or the opening to Islam. Ratzinger has been used to confronting problems of the Church on behalf of the Pope. Now he has to face them directly himself, but he must sense behind him the apostolic solicitude of his predecessor.”

The polemic over relativism seems to emphasize the clash and widen the gap between the clergy and the laity. Are we going to have a reinforcement of the conservative line with Ratzinger?
”The clash has already taken place, as a result of a process started by the conference in Loreto in 1985. Then in 1991, Cardinal Ruini was elected president of the Italian bishops’ conference, with the task of supporting Wojtyla in bringing back the Italian church to the public arena. Let us not forget that the Christian Democrats, the party that traditionally mediated between the Church and the Italian state, was in crisis at the time and on the point of imploding. The era of delegating tasks to a Christian party was over. So I would rather speak about a process: of a Church that is politically neutral but every ready to maintain its stand on moral questions and on the religious presence (in public life) . Ratzinger has used more direct words. He spoke of a dictatorship of relativism as a professor and theologian who is very sensitive to ideas. There is also an epochal reason: Post-modernism is the triumph of uncertainty, of the opinable, of the provisional. Whoever has absolute values cannot but react to such a mentality and cannot accept that ethics be taken over by the “use and discard” mentality which dominates consumer mentality."
---------------------------------------------------------------

Among many comments that I could make, I will limit myself for now to questioning the following statement:

---

When Benedict XVI appears and gives a blessing to the crowds or visits a parish, he does so as part of the legacy of his predecessor and he acts with conviction.

---

Why "as part of the legacy of his predecessor"? Those are the most basic acts expected of every Pope and successor of Peter!
He would do them, whoever his predecessor may have been.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/12/2005 23.35]

On the other hand, an article in the Italian magazine Panorama this week rehashes the "charges"
first made against Benedict in a non-story by Vaticanista Marco Politi to mark 6 months of
Benedict's Papacy. So I won"t translate the article in full.

It begins by decrying the Pope’s alleged inaccessibility, quotes at length one of the popstar performers
who have been badmouthing Benedict (and comparing him unflatteringly with the late JPII)
for not appearing at their Concert last December 3, repeats the carping that no one is being invited
to meals with Benedict nor to early morning mass in his private chapel, and claims that many bishops
and nuncios are complaining that they haven't been invited to a private audience with the pope.
(I thought one requested a private audience with the Pope; why should anyone feel entitled
to expect an invitation to an audience if there is no specific reason for the audience?)

Fortunately, the latter part of the article offers a sort of counterbalance:
--------------------------------------------------------------

"Seriousness" is the key word to describe Benedict XVI's Papacy,
according to Vittorio Messori, who interviewed then Cardinal Ratzinger
at length to write the book "The Ratzinger Report".

One only has to see how the Wednesday general audiences at St. Peter's Square have changed,
Messori observes. "Ratzinger has almost abolished the final greetings. After the blessing,
only a few selected ecclesiastics are allowed the 'baciamano' (kissing the ring).
Everybody else, including civil authorities, remain seated in place. Before he leaves the Piazza,
the Pope greets the sick pilgrims and groups of pilgrims in the front rows. No one else.
John Paul II used to allow hundreds of people to stand in line to kiss his ring and
be photographed with him after the audience."

Nevertheless, Ratzinger's style has "seduced" even progressive Catholics like the journalist
Giancarlo Zizola, author of a recent book on Benedict XVI (and often critical of Ratzinger
when he was CDF prefect). Obviously pleased, he comments: "An almost monastic shyness
has taken the place of Wojtyla's Paulinistic triumphalism [trionfalismo paolatrico]."

"In the life of the Church," Messori resumes, "it is necessary to trim rather than to add,
in order to bring out the essential. That is Ratzinger's philosophy."

But it won't be easy to do.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Emma in the main forum reacted to one of the statements made above by Luigi Accatoli,
the Vatican correspondent of Corriere della Sera:

---

Sometimes he would repeat a blessing to make sure it would be covered. In January 1981,
when Lech Walesa and a delegation from Solidarity came to the Vatican, the Pope asked him
to repeat his act of genuflecting and kissing the Papal ring so that the image could be shown around the world.

---

I am perplexed…and if the above statement I right, a bit disappointed.
Personally, without making the comparisons that we have often denounced here as odious,
I prefer the timid spontaneity of the “serious" B16, who prefers giving lessons,
who is not a media person but does not make poses, who could care less if the camauro
is old-fashioned and doesn’t look good on him (but uses it because it protects him from the cold)!

If he were really insensitive to the demands of the crowd, he would have the winter audiences
held inside the Aula Paul VI where it is warm, then whoever can get in is lucky,
and those who can’t can just watch the giant screens. This is someone who gives as much as he can
and in the way he knows to, who has often written about his shyness as a disadvantage,
as in “Salt of the Earth”, when he spoke about the doubts he had before his final ordination:
“Since I was rather diffident and downright unpractical, since I had no talent for sports
or administration or organization, I had to ask myself whether I would be able to relate to people –
whether, for example, as a chaplain, I would be able to lead and inspire Catholic youth,
whether I would be capable of giving religious instruction to the little ones, whether
I could get along with the old and sick, and so forth. I had to ask myself whether I would be ready
to do that my whole life long and whether it was really my vocation…”

But yes, dear Benedict, you are capable….And if only people read more and watched less television…
----------------------------------------------------------------

MORE MOMENTS BETWEEN PAPA AND KIDS

On Dec. 30, Papa will visit a children's clinic and then hear a concert by children's choirs from various countries.


Pope to visit Vatican pediatric clinic

Vatican, Dec. 28 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will visit a Vatican pediatric clinic on December 30.

The Holy Father will make a midday visit to the St. Martha clinic for needy children, set up inside the grounds of Vatican city in 1922 and administered by the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul.

In 1884, Pope Leo XIII asked the Daughters of Charity to come to Rome to care for the victims of a cholera epidemic then sweeping Italy. But the epidemic, which had produced disastrous results in southern Italy, spared the city of Rome. Instead the religious order set up a clinic on the south of the Vatican grounds, to provide free service for children of poor families in the area.

Today the St. Martha clinic serves a constituency composed primarily of non-European immigrants living in Rome. A staff of 20 doctors and 40 volunteers, led by Sister Chiara Pfister, has provided care in 2005 for 700 young children, ranging in age from newborns to 2-year-olds.

After his visit to the clinic, Pope Benedict will proceed to the nearby Paul VI auditorium, for a concert by the pueri cantores.

PAPA'S ACTIVITIES SINCE AUGUST

Perhaps to respond to some critical news articles lately complaining that Papa isn't doing anything, the Vatican released today a list of Papa's major activities since August. He seems pretty busy to me.

212.77.1.245/news_services/press/vis/dinamiche/c0_en.htm

Will there be new Cardinal soon? A report by the Italian news agency ADN Kronos says the Pope plans to call his first Consistory on February 22, feast of Peter's Chair.

The agency specualtes that the Pope may announce the names of the new Cardinals as early as January 6, feast of the Epiphany.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 30/12/2005 13.32]

APCOM, an Italian news agency, reports today that 9000 tickets made available for the Mass
to be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at 10 a.m. on January 1, 2006, at St. Peter's Basilica,
have all been given away in the past few days.

The tickets are given free by the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

Those who wish to attend the Mass nevertheless may come to St. Peter's Square and
follow it on the giant TV screens.

NB: I recall the EWTN Vatican correspondent saying on TV several times that 11,000 people
were inside St. Peter's for the Christmas Midnight Mass, and that at least 3000 requests
for tickets had been turned down because the quota was reached. Do they have a lesser quota
for New Year's Day Mass, or was the TV comment erroneous?

Photo: From Osservatore Romano via Yahoo

Pope Benedict XVI visited the Santa Marta Dispensary in the Vatican this morning.

It was established in 1922 as part of a project presented to Pope Benedict XV by an
American woman volunteer who had been distributing a high-protein milk concentrate called Dryco.

Pope Benedict XV entrusted the project to the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul,
at whose initiative the dispensary was built as a charity center for the poor
in the zone of St. Peter's Borgo Pio, as well as a welcome center for pilgrims.

Today the "Pediatric Dispensary of Santa Marta" assists needy families of whatever nationality,
race or religion, to provide medical care for their children.
In 2005, there were 700 beneficiary families.

The dispensary has a team of 10 doctors with different specialities, a psychologist,
and 40 volunteer workers coordinated by Sister Chiara Pfister, a Swiss nun.

In his brief remarks, the Pope took note of the fact that today is the feast of the Holy Family
of Nazareth. He underscored once more "the fundamental vocation of the family as
the first and principal site where life is welcomed."

"There is a great need," he said, "culturally as well as politically and legislatively,
to sustain the family (as an institution), and initiatives like yours are very useful
in this respect. Even little realities are important, and thanks to God,
the Church is rich in these and does not cease to place them at the service of all."

Again, he spoke of the Christmas season, during which "Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts,
asking us to give him room in our lives."

"That is God's way," he continued, "He does not impose, he never enters by force,
but like a child, asks to be welcomed in. In a certain sense. even God needs attention:
He waits for us to open our hearts and take care of Him. And every time we look with love on
'even just one of my littlest brothers', as the Lord said, we are rendering service to Him."

[I put together the above report from a news item by APCOM, an Italian news agency,
about Santa Marta Dispensary, and from the Vatican text of the Pope's message.]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 30/12/2005 15.47]

This is not exactly what I would have wanted to start off the inevitable year-enders about the Pope, but...
And I cannot hold off comments on some of the statements made. This is from the British Catholic newspaper Tablet:
www.thetablet.co.uk/cgi-bin/register.cgi/tablet-01123
---------------------------------------------------------------

31/12/2005
A year to make his mark
Robert Mickens


The new papacy began quietly in 2005. With an encyclical, travel and new red hats, 2006 could be when Benedict XVI stamps his authority on his office.

When Advent arrived in Rome on a grey and rainy morning on the last day of November, there was heightened anticipation among seasoned Vatican-watchers that the start of the new liturgical year would also mark a decisive turning point in Pope Benedict XVI’s so far leisurely paced pontificate.

The 78-year-old Pope, at that point, had been at the helm of the worldwide Catholic Church for more than seven months, and yet he had so far done little to signify any great change from the pontificate of his long-reigning predecessor. The new pope had made astonishingly few major episcopal appointments and had effected only a couple of personnel changes in a Roman Curia that he himself had hinted was in need of reform.

And even though he is renowned as one of the most deft and prolific theological writers of our era, Pope Benedict still had not issued his long-awaited first encyclical – or any other noteworthy document for that matter. [The speeches in Cologne, the major homilies, the Christmas address to the Curia, the Message for World Peace Day, the Midnight Mass homily and the Urbi et Robi message were not major documents?] Instead, Papa Ratzinger seemed more comfortable basking in the shadow of his “much beloved Papa Giovanni Paolo”. [When is it ever comfortable, much less basking, to be constantly compared unflatteringly to someone you never even thought to compete with?]

Perhaps the most considerable way the “Bavarian aesthete” emerged in contrast to the “Polish athlete” was by his almost delicate joyfulness [I wish Mr. Mickens had explained this - which I am glad he at least notcies - he subsequently explains the observation about the Pope's "haberdashery"!]– and his haberdashery. Photo-reporters discovered a new focus by capturing Benedict XVI’s curious penchant for combining stylish shoes and fashionable sunglasses with long-discarded Renaissance-style capes and hats rescued from the papal attic.

But now as the world gets set to ring in 2006, many people are wondering if the new calendar year will be the point at which Benedict XVI resolves to stop being the caretaker of the John Paul II legacy [He won't - he said so himself!] and sets about putting his own mark on the papacy [but that does not mean that in trying to make sure that the legacy of JPII and Vat-II are properly carried out in the Church, he won't be able to make his own mark!] One thing is for certain: he will have the opportunity to do so in the coming months when he issues his first encyclical, creates a dozen or more new cardinals, and makes two or three journeys around Europe.

And there is still the expectation that the Pope will eventually begin making changes to the Vatican bureaucracy. As far as an overall programme for his pontificate, Pope Benedict has only said that it is “not to do [his] own will” and “not to emanate many documents”. But in what may be his most important speech so far (on 22 December to Roman Curia officials) he outlined what most closely approaches his agenda: to motivate the Church to develop the “dialogue between reason and faith … with great open-mindedness”, based on the Second Vatican Council.

Pope Benedict XVI will have been Bishop of Rome for nearly nine months when his first encyclical letter is finally issued some time in January. Though many people have become mercilessly impatient with the wait, they should remember that even though the first three popes of the past century (Leo XIII, St Pius X and Benedict XV) issued their introductory encyclicals within two months of assuming the papacy, Pope Paul VI only published his 14 months after his election. The five months it took Pope John Paul II to produce his first encyclical in 1979 is, only relatively, fresher in memory. While these popes used their first encyclicals to outline the programme of their pontificates, Vatican officials who have seen Pope Benedict’s letter say he does not do so.

The initial draft of the document – Deus Caritas Est (God is Love) – was supposedly signed on 8 December (see Church in the World, The Tablet, 29 October), though recent news reports said that the Pope revised the text and re-signed it on Christmas Day. The encyclical is due for release some time after 6 January, and is reportedly a meditation on the different meanings of the word “love” found in the First Letter of St John. Archbishop Paul Cordes, the president of the Pontifical Council “Cor Unum” (which oversees the Pope’s charitable donations), is reportedly the new encyclical’s ghost writer. [Since when has our writer-Pope required a ghost writer, least of all for his first encyclical???? I am surprised a Vatican correspondent can make such an outrageous statement so casually!]

This will be the Pope’s first major document. But if inside reports are reliable, the encyclical is likely to be as anti-climactic as his message for tomorrow’s World Day of Peace, which he entitled, “In truth, peace” (see page 32). Although the papal message condemns terrorism and makes a bold call for total nuclear disarmament, the media largely ignored it when it was released two weeks ago. [Too bad the media does not know how to read, else they would not have ignored it - it is a message so dense with significance and multiple references to the world situation that I have been surprised no one - at least, diplomatic correspondents, I would have thought - has yet made any analysis of it! !]

The manuscript that has generated the most discussion thus far has been the Congregation for Catholic Education’s Instruction on the admission of homosexuals to seminaries, and that is not even a papal document. [Just goes to show where the medi's obessessions lie!]

One of the ways a pope can make a lasting mark on the Church is by appointing cardinals, who in turn will influence who might be his successor. Pope Paul VI created 143 cardinals in the course of six consistories, while John Paul II made 231 cardinals in the nine consistories he called. Pope Benedict’s advanced age suggests that he will probably not have the opportunity to exert such an impact on the College of Cardinals, though he could still influence who succeeds him as Bishop of Rome.

Many people anticipate the Bavarian Pope’s first consistory could be as early as the 22 February feast of the Chair of St Peter or as late as the 29 June celebration of Saints Peter and Paul. Who is elevated to the College, and who is not, may depend on which personnel changes the Pope decides to make. Certain archdioceses around the world and specific Vatican offices are usually headed by a cardinal, but so far it is unclear whether Pope Benedict intends to distribute the red hats in this customary manner.

For example, even if he should decide to alter the top spots in the Roman Curia before the consistory, it is possible that he will not make the new heads of the dicasteries cardinals until those they have replaced have reached the age of 80 and are no longer eligible to vote in a conclave. The only exception at this point is Archbishop William Levada, who succeeded Cardinal Ratzinger as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada’s will undoubtedly be the first name on the list of new cardinals, whenever that should be announced. As for an overall “Curia shake-up” – most people thought it would have transpired by now.

Alberto Gasbarri, the Italian layman who was recently named as organiser of papal journeys, has indicated that Benedict XVI will travel much less than his globetrotting predecessor. Yet there are already plans for a three-day visit to Poland in May and a five-day visit to Bavaria in Germany in mid-September (10-15). Officials in Spain have intimated that the Pope will visit their country for two days in July (8-9) to bring to a conclusion the fifth World Meeting of Families.

The Vatican has not yet formally confirmed the dates for any of these journeys, but bishops in the host countries have said the visits will take place. There is also strong speculation that Benedict XVI will go to Istanbul for the 30 November celebration of St Andrew, the patronal feast of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Other governments – including Israel, the Palestinian Authority, the Czech Republic and Brazil – have asked the Pope to visit, but there has been no indication whether he might accept those invitations.

When Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected Bishop of Rome on 19 April there was considerable concern among many who saw him as rigidly doctrinaire. The other cardinals who elected him – even more moderate-to-progressive ones such as Carlo Maria Martini SJ and Godfried Danneels – insisted that Pope Benedict XVI would not be a conservative reactionary, but would “surprise us” with his desire to promote collegiality among the bishops and be “a Pope for everyone and everything”. Nearly nine months on, the new Pope has shown himself as moderate and inclusive. On the other hand, he has moved slowly and has undertaken no major initiatives. No one has offered a convincing explanation why. [Explain to whom, and why must he explain anything? Popes should not and would not "do things" simply to live up to the expectations of the media!] And no one knows exactly what Benedict XVI has resolved to do in the New Year.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 31/12/2005 9.34]

A VERY ANNOYING YEAR-END REPORT

I read this article earlier this morning and was very annoyed with the comment that Paul Cordes was the ghostwriter for Papa's encyclical. Where in the world did Mickens come up with that notion? Papa can write circles around anyone alive today without even trying. Why would he want someone else to write his very first encyclical? Didn't numerous reports last summer mention how many suitcases full of books he took on his vacation to the mountains with him because he was writing his encyclical there and afterwards at Castel Gandolfo?

I too have been wondering why there has been so little said in the media about Papa's lengthy and thought-provoking message for the World Day of Peace. I have finally concluded that it is precisely because it is lengthy and requires thought and the media is shallow and nearly illiterate. How can they comment intelligently on a document like that when they don't want to take the time to read it and if they do manage to finish it, can't understand it?

It is true that the document on homosexuality and the priesthood has garnered extreme attention, in fact, for months before it was even released. What can one say? Sex sells. Also, a number of media personalities who are gay are taking it as a personal attack against themselves and are retaliating in their published comments.

I personally think Papa is very deliberately moving slowly in public on certain fronts but is definitely moving behind the scenes. I think he is a very well organized, careful person who probably has a plan outlined for months in advance on what he will change and when. He has already made some significant moves--on the homosexuality issue, control of Assissi, and the Neocat. movement. I think we will see many more in the next few months but they will be well thought out and charitable actions designed to bring the church back to herself.

A NEW ASSESSMENT OF PAPA BY GEORGE WEIGEL

George Weigel writes another interesting piece about Papa's progress, a much more positive account than Mickens' article above.


www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-weigel30dec30,0,6906924.story?coll=la-news-comment-...

[Modificato da benefan 30/12/2005 19.47]

Benefan - I hope you don't mind, but you know my paranoia about links that disappear over time, particularly for articles from daily newspapers, so with your indulgence, I'd like to post George Weigel's article here, for "posterity."
----------------------------------------------------------------
A new pope must face old problems
By George Weigel
Weigel, a senior fellow of the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, is the author of the recently released "God's Choice: Pope Benedict XVI and the Future of the Catholic Church".

POPE BENEDICT XVI has celebrated his first Christmas as bishop of Rome, giving his blessing "to the city and the world." His retired brother, a priest and distinguished choir director, came to stay with him; perhaps the Ratzinger brothers played Mozart duets on the Steinway that the piano company recently donated to the papal apartment. And now, the pontiff may be engaged in a little post-Christmas relaxation. Yet for some who were most enthusiastic eight months ago about the choice of Joseph Ratzinger as pope, this Christmas season has continued a period of waiting — some becoming a bit impatient — for Benedict XVI to fulfill more of the promise of his election.

It's not that the pope has been inactive since April. He has been a luminously clear teacher, the kind who gently compels others to think, even to reconsider.

His sermons are miniature masterpieces of Christian doctrine, the refined reflections of a man who has thoroughly mastered the Bible and 2,000 years of Christian tradition.

Then there was the lengthy free-for-all he had with Italian priests of the Alpine Diocese of Aosta in July; there, he spoke in an intriguing way of Europe as a world weary of its own culture, and he counseled European Christians to be patient as they traveled through what he described as "this tunnel, this underpass of arid secularism."

The pope's recently released statement for the World Day of Peace on Jan. 1 was a careful, penetrating analysis of the lethal combination of nihilism and fundamentalism that lies behind so much of modern terrorism. His widely anticipated first encyclical, reported to be ready for publication in mid-January, will likely be a challenging reflection on the false loves that mar 21st century life, viewed through the prism of the Christian gospel of love.

THE NEW POPE has also displayed a compelling public personality. He held the attention of more than a million young people at World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany, in August. In September and October, he consistently drew larger crowds to the weekly papal general audience than his great predecessor, John Paul II, had drawn at the height of the Jubilee Year of 2000. Those who worried in April that the shy, scholarly Benedict would not be able to summon the enthusiasm and affection that was showered on John Paul can relax: In his distinctive way, Benedict XVI is also a leader who commands attention.

Yet this is what those who actually knew Joseph Ratzinger — as distinct from the caricature of Joseph Ratzinger — expected last April. No one who knew the man doubted that this would be a pontificate of doctrinal clarity and insightful analysis of contemporary culture.

But something more was anticipated — that the new pope would take in hand, and soon, a reform of the personnel and practice of the Roman Curia, the Catholic Church's central bureaucracy. More than a few of the cardinals who rallied to support him in one of the shortest conclaves in modern history did so because they believed Ratzinger, having spent more than two decades in the Curia, would know what was broken and would fix it.

That may yet come. The pope is a careful, prudent man, not given to impulsive action or premature decisions. At the same time, it was precisely because he was not a product of the current Curial system, but rather a scholar who had to struggle to get things accomplished within it, that his supporters expected him to bring to the papacy a well-developed sense of where changes, even dramatic ones, need to be made in both structure and personnel. Those supporters are waiting, now a little anxiously, for serious change to be implemented.

Then there is the question of the appointment of bishops — and the volatile but unavoidable question of whether the church ought not devise criteria and processes for removing bishops who are manifestly incapable of leadership. Whether Benedict XVI undertakes a far-reaching reform of the Catholic Church's Roman bureaucracy or not — and my bet remains that he will, although perhaps slowly — his papacy will be judged in no small part on his shrewdness in choosing bishops and his courage in facing questions of episcopal failure. With half a dozen major appointments coming in the next three years in the United States alone, the stakes are very high.

Pope Benedict XVI has delivered, beautifully, as a papal teacher. Now comes the hard part for this man who wanted nothing more in April than to be spending this Christmas season back home in Bavaria.

TO EVERYONE WHO HAS NOT YET DONE SO! -
PLEASE DO NOT FORGET TO GO TO "SONDAGGI" IN THE MAIN FORUM
AND THE SUB-THREAD "GRANDE CONCORSO: FOTO DELL'ANNO" - AND CAST YOUR VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE PAPA-PHOTO OF THE 13 PHOTOS TO CHOOSE FROM! DEADLINE IS TOMORROW, DECEMBER 31!

The Vatican correspondent of La Croix, an online French Catholic newspaper,
contributes this evaluation. Isabelle de Gaulmyn was assigned to the Vatican shortly after
Benedict became Pope, and has generally been positive in her reporting about him.
But as Beatrice in the French section points out, she seems to parrot the usual suspects
in asserting that Benedict has not done much in the past 8 tmonths! Here is a translation -
---------------------------------------------------------------

A Pope of silence
In eight months, the new Pope has imposed his style, which is also a certain concept
of the role of the Bishop of Rome. His prudense so far disappoints those who expected
a rapid change in the manner of government at the Vatican.
By Isabelle de Gaulmyn

“Let us learn from the silence of Joseph.”
This invitation made by the Pope at the Angelus of the last Sunday in Advent on December 18
could well apply to the Pope himself. In the past eight months, Joseph Ratzinger, who is now
Benedict XVI, has succeeded in imposing on the Vatican a veritable regime of silence.
At the risk of disappointing those who, in vain at the moment, are waiting for
a significant sign of the new Pontificate’s orientation.

Of course, it was necessary that after those days in April - when the majority of the
cardinals themselves acknowledged having been overcome by the emotions aroused throughout
the world by the death of John-Paul II – for calm to come back within the Bernini colonnades.

Likewise, one can see in this silence – as journalist and Vatican historian Giancarlo Zizola suggests –
a way for Benedict to assert a “gentle discontinuity” at the highest level of church leadership
to distinguishes him from his predecessor.

Initially ill at ease with crowds – “In Cologne, he had to be reminded all the time
to greet the youth,” says one Vatican source [This is absurd! – he knew he was there
for WYD – who else was he going to greet during all those public open-air events?] –
the Pope is now visibly more relaxed. And it is no longer rare to see him interject
a funny or informal remark during his Angelus messages. However,
he does not seem to seek out these public “performances.”

So, the Pope no longer presides himself at beatification ceremonies. Benedict has
curtailed the lengthy post-audience greetings, and he avoids, whenever possible,
having to receive VIP groups. For his first Christmas, he limited himself
to the midnight Mass and to the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

“The pope is no longer the only celebrant in the Church,” rejoices a member of the Curia.

As for his written output, he announced during his interview with Polish television
in October, that it would be significantly less than his predecessor’s.

The papal travels are another measure. Even if the planned visit to Turkey
had not been postponed, his only foreign trip in 2005 was to Cologne.

In Italy, he has not left Rome except to go to Bari. [Was he not in Les Combes
and Castel Gandolfo? Did he not visit the shrine at Mentorella?] He has said he will travel less.
His age is certainly a factor.

But this more modest concept of the papal function also indicates an ecclesial vision:
the wish to find a dimension more appropriate to the role of the Bishop of Rome
in the universal Church.

Finally, silence too as far as those who are around him. No one really knows the Pope’s intentions.
There’s an anecdote claiming that to a cardinal who had come to present his resignation
because of age, the Pope simply said, “Thank you,” and walked him out, without further explanation.

Benedict XVI is a man who, although he listens a lot, also decides by himself.
And for the moment,has done little. In eight months, only four personnel changes.

After he had named Mgr. William Levada the new Prefect of the Congregation for the
Doctrine of the Faith in May, the next important appointment was not made till December 1,
with a new papal theologian, the Polish Dominican Wojciech Giertych.

In November, he replaced the secretary of the Congregation for the Divine Cult and
Sacramental Discipline, Mgr. Domenico Sorrentino (appointed Bishop of Assisi), with
the Sri Lankan Albert Malcolm Ranjith; and in October, he entrusted a layman –
Alberto Gasbarri, who had been technical director of Radio Vatican - to replace
Mgr. Renato Boccardo as coordinator of papal trips.

But the Vatican’s politics and diplomacy remain in the hands of two men chosen by John Paul II –
Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, and the secretary for relations with other states,
Mgr. Giovanni Lajolo.

Benedict XVI’s silence fills St. Peter’s Square.

The rhythm of the Church is not that of (lay) politics. Nevertheless, in the first 8 months
(of their respective Papacies), John XXIII had called a council and John-Paul II
had promulgated his first encyclical. Thus, some disappointment.

A ranking member of the Curia complains that the Curia continues within
the same incoherence that marked the last years of the preceding Papacy –
overlapping services, a lack of coordination. No one has a precise idea of
what he ought to be doing…”

But if he speaks rarely, this Pope speaks strongly. Less about diplomatic questions,
about which he has held back, but on social questions (ethical and political).
On a wider scale, he has been weaving, in the course of his Angelus messages,
through messages for certain events or occasions, and in some
addresses and homilies –
a vision of man and his relationship to truth.

The texts for Cologne, the message for the World Day of Peace, or for the opening of
the academic year at Catholic University, are dense and demanding. In a world
which he considers to be rudderless,and against the temptations of relativism, Benedict XVI
advocates truth based on Christ, whose centrality in the Church he does not cease to remind us.

The strongest gesture Benedict XVI has made since he became Pope is (to re-introduce)
the Eucharistic Adoration, which he “imposed” on the Bishops in the middle of their Synod –
an hour of
silent prayer in fromt of the Holy Sacrament, surrounded by cardinals and bishops
from around the world – the image was uncommon.

“The Pope prefers to convince rather than seduce,” a cardinal remarked.

This demand is not off-putting. On the contrary. It is not the least paradoxical that
this regime of silence is attracting the faithful more and more. (At least) 20000
pilgrims come to the Wednesday audiences – an influx never seen during his predecessor’s years.

Benedict XVI’s silence fills up St. Peter’s Square.

The Pope's projects for 2006
-The first encyclical
The Pope is said to have signed it December 8 or December 25 [Vatican spokesman
Joaquin Navarro-Valls said Dec. 25]. Entitled “God is love”, the encyclical centers
on the gift that God made to man through Christ. Thus, not a “program of government”
but yet another reminder from the Pope of the centrailty of Christ, of the Son of God
come to earth. “For him, the mystery of Salvation is essential to Christianity, and
it should be kept in presentations about God,” one cardinal remarks.

- The reorganization of the Curia
Some refer to a large overall plan which will also allow the abolition of services
that have become useless. Even without getting there, some changes are required
in the Curia, if only because of age. But for the moment, the Pope has chosen to keep on
Cardinal Agnelo Sodano, 78, as Secretary of State.

One also awaits with interest this Pope’s first consistory, in which he has a chance
to place his personal touch on the College of cardinals through the bishops
he chooses to elevate to cardinal.

- Ecumenism
This is one of his priorities. There is progress with the orthodox churches,
and since Benedict’s election, relations with Moscow have become more relaxed.
The International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches
will convene in Serbia in 2006, after 6 years of interruption. The work will focus on
synodality and primacy within the Church. And if the dialogue with pProtestants is less advanced,
the Pope has been meeting Methodist, Anglican and Lutheran leaders.

- The Judeo-Christian dialog
”It is perhaps the first time that a Pope shows himself as sensitive to relations
with the Jews,” an observer has noted. Benedict has not missed occasions for meetings:
the synagogue in Cologne,receiving the Grand Rabbis, the international Jewish committee,
the president of Israel. It appears the Pope wishes to proceed to a theological dialog,
even if today, relations are darkened by continuing disagreement over the status
of the Catholic Church in the Holy land.

- Asia
Even if there is slow progress, an accord with China no longer seems impossible.
Peking welcomed the election of Benedict XVIU but prohibited 4 Chinese bishops from going
to the Synod. And just as Rome has given assurances that it has no problem abolishing
the nunciature in Taiwan, the bishops named by the “official” church in Peking also now
have quasi-official recognition by the Holy See. Less spectacularly, Vietnam too
is on the way to normalizing relations with the Vatican. At the end of November, 57 priests
were ordained in Hanoi by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe as the Pope’s special envoy.

- The trips
Although not one trip has so far been officially announced by the Vatican, the Pope
will at least be going to Poland in the spring and to Bavaria in September.
He may also go to Spain in July for the World Meeting of Families in Valencia.
And Istanbul remains a fond wish for the Pope.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 31/12/2005 9.11]