REGINA CAELI TODAY
The Holy Father led the noontime Regina Caeli prayers today from the inner courtyard of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo.
The event was transmitted by satellite to the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's messages today:
THE POPE'S WORDS TODAY
Dear brothers and sisters!
To you who are present and all those who are with us through radio and television, I renew my fervent Easter wishes on this Sunday which closes the Octave of Easter.
In the climate of joy which comes from our faith in the risen Christ, I wish to express my most heartfelt 'Thank you' to all those - and there are really so many - who have sent me a sign of affection and spiritual closeness these days, for the Easter festivities, for my birthday on April 16, and for the fourth anniversary today of my election to the Chair of Peter.
I thank the Lord for the chorality of such affection. As I had the occasion to say recently, I never feel alone. Especially in this singular week, which in the liturgy constitutes one single day, I have experienced the communion that surrounds and sustains me as a spiritual solidarity, nourished essentially by prayer, which is manifested in a thousand ways.
Starting with my co-workers in the Roman Curia, to the most geographically remote parishes, we Catholics form and should feel ourselves to be one family, animated by the same sentiments as the first Christian community, of which the text from the Acts of the Apostles read this Sunday says: "The community of believers was of one heart and mind" (Acts 4,32).
The communion of the first Christians had its true center and foundation in the risen Christ. In fact, the Gospel narrates that, at that moment of the Passion, when the divine Master was arrested and condemned to death, the disciples dispersed. Only Mary and the women, with the apostle John, remained together and followed him up to Calvary.
Resurrected, Jesus gave his people a new unity, stronger than before, invincible because it was founded not on human resources but on divine mercy, which made them all feel loved and forgiven by him.
It is God's merciful love that firmly unites the Church, today as yesterday, and that makes mankind one family only - divine love, which, through Jesus crucified and risen, pardons our sins and renews us interiorly.
Inspired by this intimate conviction, my beloved predecessor John Paul II wished to dedicate this Sunday, the second in Eastertide, to the Divine Mercy, indicating to everyone the risen Christ as the source of trust and hope, in accepting the spiritual message transmitted by the Lord to St. Faustina Kowalska, as summarized in the invocation: "Jesus, I trust in you!"
As it was for the first community, is is Mary who accompanies us in life every day. We invoke the Queen of Heaven, knowing that her regality is like that of her Son: all love, merciful love.
I ask you to entrust to her once more my service to the Church, as we say trustingly, Mater misericordiae, ora pro nobis.
After the Regina caeli prayers, he said this:
I address first of all a heartfelt greeting and fervent wishes to our brothers ans sisters in the Oriental Churches who, following the Julian calendar, observe Holy Easter today. May the risen Christ renew in everyone the light of the faith and grant an abundance of joy and peace.
Tomorrow in Geneva, under the auspices of the United Nations, a conference begins to examine the Durban Declaration of 2001 against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and relative intolerance.
It is an important initiative because even today, despite the teachings of history, such deplorable phenomena continue.
The Durban Declaration recognizes that "all peoples and persons form a human family, rich in diversity. This has contributed to the progress of civilization and of the cultures that form the common patrimony of mankind... The promotion of tolerance, of pluralism and of respect can lead to a more inclusive society".
On the basis of these statements, firm and concrete action is called for, at the national and international levels, to prevent and eliminate every form of discrimination adn intolerance.
What is needed above all is a vast work of education which exalts the dignity of the human being and protects his fundamental rights. The Church, for its part, reaffirms that only the recognition of the dignity of man, created in the image and likeness of God, can constitute a sure reference for such a commitment.
This common origin, in fact, produces a common destiny for mankind, which must inspire in each and everyone a strong sense of solidarity and responsibility.
I express my sincere wishes that the delegates to the Geneva conference may work together in a spirit of dialog and reciprocal acceptance, in order to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance, this marking a fundamental step towards affirming the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights, in a horizon of respect and justice foe every person and people.
In English, he said:
I am happy to greet all the English-speaking visitors present for today’s Regina Coeli prayer, including the group from Dulwich Preparatory School, Cranbrook in Kent.
As we rejoice in the new life that the Risen Christ has won for us, let us renew our resolve to be faithful to our baptismal promises by rejecting Satan and living according to the example of the Lord.
In our prayer we commend our perseverance to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Heaven. Upon all of you I invoke God’s abundant blessings of peace and joy!
He mentioned the anniversary of his election in his French, German and Polish greetings. To the Germans, he said:
On the day of my election as the Successor of Peter four years ago, I asked the faithful to pray for me in my work in the vineyard of the Lord. Today I wish to thank everyone in the German-speaking countries who have supported my pastoral service by their spiritual nearness, and who have expressed this generously in recent days and weeks.
With Mary and the whole Church, let us build a joyful communion with the Risen Christ and entrust our concerns to the mercy of God.
May the Lord bless you and your families.
In Polish, he said:
Today, on Divine Mercy Sunday, I greet in a special way the countrymen of the Servant of God John Paul II. It was he who reminded us all of the message of Christ the Merciful, revealed to St. Faustina.
He exhorted us to bring this message to the entire world. In the face of evil which sows such desolation in the human heart, it is a task that is more relevant than ever.
Let us seek to be witnesses to the merciful love of God. And continuing in Easter joy, on the anniversary day of my election to the Chair of Peter, I thank you all for your prayers in my behalf.
How well he looks! I listened to the broadcast this morning. He sounded very well too - not a single cough, even.
Pope supports UN conference to review
Durban statement on racism
Castel Gandolfo, April 19 (AsiaNews) - The Holy See is distancing itself from the criticisms of some Western countries, and is giving its support to the UN conference beginning tomorrow in Geneva, reviewing the "Durban Declaration" (2001) "against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance."
Immediately after the Regina Caeli, recited with the pilgrims at Castel Gandolfo, Benedict XVI called the initiative "important," because "still today, despite the teachings of history, these deplorable phenomena can still be seen."
In recent weeks, the United States, Canada, Italy, and Israel have criticized the declaration because it presented harsh criticisms of the state of Israel, accused of racism toward the Palestinians, and because it defined Zionism as a racist ideology.
After this, the UN commission amended the proposed final text, removing the references to Israel, to Zionism, to the Middle Eastern conflict and other divisive topics, but the United States decided "with regret" to boycott the conference, together with Israel and Canada.
The European Union (EU) would like to find a consensus position. Italy wants to boycott, but Great Britain has already announced that it will send representatives to Geneva.
An appeal to the EU not to boycott the meeting, but to adopt a "constructive" attitude in the name of the fight against racism, xenophobia, and intolerance was issued a few days ago by the Council of Europe's commissioner for human rights, Thomas Hammarberg.
The Pope's position, expressed today, seems to point in the same direction of constructive participation and criticism. ...
[
The rest of the story consists of substantial quotations from the Pope's message].
Pope underscores importance
of UN conference on racism
by Frances D'Emilio
VATICAN CITY, April 19 (AP) – Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday hailed this week's U.N. anti-racism conference and urged countries to join forces to eliminate intolerance, but he made no reference to the U.S. boycott of the meeting.
The conference beginning Monday in Geneva is an important initiative, the Pope said, because "even today, despite the lessons of history, such deplorable phenomena take place."
Some countries are boycotting the meeting to protest language in the meeting's final document that they say could single out Israel for criticism and restrict free speech.
Among those countries is the United States. The State Department said Saturday that the Obama administration would not join the conference "with regret."
But department spokesman Robert Wood said the U.S. was "profoundly committed to ending racism" and would work with all people and nations "to build greater resolve and enduring political will to halt racism and discrimination wherever it occurs."
Italy has also said it would skip the weeklong conference if changes are not made at the last minute. The Netherlands announced on Sunday that it would not go to the conference because some nations are using it as a platform to attack the West.
Benedict said he sincerely hoped that delegates who attend the conference work together, "with a spirit of dialogue and reciprocal acceptance, to put an end to every form of racism, discrimination and intolerance."
Such an effort, Benedict said, would be "a fundamental step toward the affirmation of the universal value of the dignity of man and his rights."
Benedict told pilgrims at the papal vacation retreat in Castel Gandolfo that the declaration, born out of the first world conference on racism in Durban, South Africa, in 2001, recognized that "all peoples and persons form one human family, rich in diversity."
But beyond such declarations, firm and concrete action is needed at national and international levels, he said.
I hope the Vatican decision to take part in the Geneva conference will not trigger another round of accusations from Jewish circles casting doubt on the Pope's position about anti-Semitism!
The Vatican obviously understands that, in the one-nation-one-vote rule of the UN and its organisms, political, religious, ideological or even ethnic (e.g., Arab) blocs can swing any vote if they have the numbers - and in that sense, UN votes are no longer necessarily 'fair'. (Particularly where Israel is concerned, because it is the only Jewish nation in the world, as against the huge Arab bloc and the even larger Muslim bloc. Even the United Satets has only one vote at the UN, although it has veto power in the Security Council.)
Nonetheless, the Vatican has anchored its international foreign policy on working within the UN framework - there being no other comparable international organization - and although it is not a voting member, it can always express its position for or against a decision the UN takes by vote (like the declaration on homophobia}.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/04/2009 15:24]