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PEOPLE AROUND THE POPE

Ultimo Aggiornamento: 14/11/2013 17:36
27/03/2006 17:03
 
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CARDINAL LEVADA TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS DIACONATE IN ROME
All right, I found someone who has reported on Cardinal Levada -blogger Zadok the Roman
who lives in Rome filed an account and photos of the new Cardinal taking possession
yesterday afternoon, Sunday, of his titular diaconate, on
zadokromanus.blogspot.com/



The church, Santa Maria in Dominica; Cardinal Levada arriving for the ceremony
in fiddleback chasuble; and the Cardinal's Mass of possession
.
Photos courtesy of Zadok the Roman

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/03/2006 3.44]

28/03/2006 02:50
 
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Archbishop Marini in the hospital
Amy Welborn is reporting this evening:


Hospitalized?

Such is the rumor, from across the sea - that Archbishop Marini, Master of Ceremonies for papal liturgies, has been hospitalized with a heart attack.

amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook/2006/03/hospitalized.html



This must be a flash bulletin (it is 7:47 PM Eastern standard time where I am). Has anyone heard anything about this?

Prayers for Piero Marini tonight. [SM=g27813]
28/03/2006 03:09
 
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I would not be alarmed, Imladris. 1) Amy had that line on this morning when I first checked the blogs around 9 a.m. - and I noticed that, very unlike her, she did not cite an attribution nor give a link. 2) I have not seen anything elsewhere throughout the day - and you can bet if something had happened to Marino, Rocco Palma would be all over it like no one else; 3) when I saw your post just now, I checked the Italian news agency tickers again, and there is nothing. So, let's hope it was just a baseless rumor.
28/03/2006 03:30
 
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Whew...
Okay, thanks Teresa.

I almost got a heart attack myself a few minutes ago when I saw Amy’s blog entry. She did say it was a rumor, but I still thought there was something to it reading it from Amy. There's also no time stamp on these blog postings, so someone checking it first time can't tell how old or recent the news is. I went looking now for anything about this in other blogs and I also did a news search in Yahoo and Google and there’s nothing about the Archbishop being hospitalized. That's a big relief! [SM=g27817] How DO these rumors crop up and why?
28/03/2006 04:37
 
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It seems very strange....Marini was to be a Cardinal, but his elevation did not happen....and now this rumour and others that he would be reolaced...
Perhaps he was admited to a hospital and then released....Let us hope untill tomorrow.....
29/03/2006 14:30
 
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Rocco Palmo -- Marini underwent an angioplasty
Rocco Palmo is reporting that Marini had an angioplasty:


"A source in Rome related that the archbishop underwent an angioplasty which, so it's said, took place earlier today. The procedure is often employed where an arterial blockage exists, but is not at the point where bypass surgery is the sole feasible option. He is expected to return to work in a week or so."

Full blog entry here:
whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/2006/03/word-on-marini.html


29/03/2006 17:21
 
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SF PAPER COVERS A LEVADA RECEPTION
So, the San Francisco Sentinel (I do not know where it stands in that city's media hierarchy) had a rather generous coverage, with lots of photos, of a post-consistory reception in honor of Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the CDF by San Francisco Police Commissioner Joe Alioto-Veronese and former San Francisco Supervisor Angela Alioto, who headed the SF delegation to Levada's elevation.

www.sanfranciscosentinel.com/news_in_brief/levada_reception_0603...


And ZENIT reports on the Cardinal's pledge to do charitable work at his new diaconate in Santa Maria Domnica:

Cardinal Levada to Help in Parish's Charitable Work

ROME, MARCH 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal William Levada says he will help with the charitable activity of the Parish of Santa Maria in Domnica, the deaconry assigned to him when he received his red hat.

"I would like to come frequently to be with you, to share your parish community's journey and proclaim to the world that the Church of Christ is love for us and for the world," said the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, during a solemn celebration Sunday afternoon.

"I also want to take part in our parish's charitable mission," the U.S.-born cardinal said. "Charity to others truly demonstrates the authentic nature of God, which is 'charity.'"

Many of the faithful of this Roman parish attended the Mass, along with the cardinal's relatives and friends, especially from Oregon and California, who came to Rome because of the consistory. The new cardinal, 69, was previously archbishop of St. Francisco.

The cardinal was welcomed by the pastor, Father Sergio Ghio. Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, as well as other U.S. archbishops and bishops and 50 priests, joined the celebration.

The Deaconry of Santa Maria in Domnica was built under the pontificate of Paschal I (817-824) and restored in 1513-1514.

The new cardinals are assigned a church of Rome -- a "title" or "deaconry" -- as a sign of their participation in the pastoral care of the Pope for the city.

----------------------------------------------------------------
RE MARINI -
Rocco Palma's aside today that Piero Marini may have been named cardinal in pectore by John Paul II is a bit of a stretch, to say the least. For at least two reasons I can think of - the first being why on earth would it have had to be kept secret?

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 29/03/2006 17.50]

02/04/2006 16:48
 
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LEVADA'S CONSISTORY WEEK
Finally, a roundup article of sorts today in the San Francisco Chronicle on www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/04/02/INGGTI0...
about Cardinal Levada's recent elevation to the College of Cardinals. What does it say about the newspaper's editorial sense when, quite apart from publishing this story almost two weeks from the event, this story is written not by a staffer but by a freelance writer ? (She is identified as such by the paper: "Tory Hartmann is a freelance writer who attends St. Bart's Church in San Mateo")

----------------------------------------------------------------

At Vatican, power comes to the archbishop
S.F.'s Levada is now church's top deputy

By Tory Hartmann

Sunday, April 2, 2006

Rome is drizzling when the Californians arrive on Wednesday, March 22, to attend the Consistory of Cardinals at the Vatican. About 100 Bay Area church members have come to the Eternal City to witness former San Francisco Archbishop William Levada receive his cardinal's red hat from Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.

The ancient stone of the walled city comes into view and our van moves under its pink-toned arches and climbs the Aventine Hill. We are pilgrims headed to the Hotel Excedra, a curved white columned hotel on one side of the Piazza della Republica, to witness Vatican history. I thought a pilgrimage involved sacrifice, perhaps some sackcloth and ashes, at least a long hike, but our hotel is five-star and our itinerary filled with celebratory lunches and dinners. It's so posh, I begin to feel a twinge of good old Catholic guilt.

Inside the piazza, traffic moves in a mad vortex around an enormous spurting fountain where various Roman gods wrestle with strange animals. Vespas dart in and out of this great traffic snarl, as Smart Cars (two-seaters which resemble a roller skate and are roughly the same size) muscle in beside taxis while vans jockey for position and everyone competes with a myriad of buses to find a lane, move to the left -- no to the right -- no, it was the left -- and take an exit road. It is one of Rome's many mad traffic roundabouts.

This is Cardinal William Levada's new town, the place he will call home, perhaps for the rest of his life.

The pope has appointed Levada to two positions: Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Dean of the College of Cardinals. [NO, MS. HARTMAN, NO!!!! Do your homework - The Dean is the most senior member of the body in terms of when he became Cardinal, and right now, it is Sodano! How did the editor let this go past?] After Pope Benedict, Levada holds the second highest office in Vatican City. It is the same office Benedict himself held (as Cardinal Ratzinger) before he was elected pope.

No other American has risen so high in Vatican circles. Could this man from California become pope some day? In Rome, strange things can happen, and like the traffic in those roundabouts, history can make sudden right and left turns.

Back home, Levada leaves controversy. Mayor Gavin Newsom didn't attend the ceremonies, and some members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors are upset that an official city delegation is presenting Levada with a paperweight etched with the city's official seal, because of the church's policy against same-sex adoptions.

One of Levada's new jobs is controversial, too. The Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has its roots in the Inquisition and its duty is to protect the church against heresy. It is the position many Catholics talk about, worry about and complain about. People wonder out loud if Levada will be as controversial as Ratzinger. Will he, too, reach into Catholic colleges and force resignations and like his predecessor, earn a nickname? Many called Ratzinger the "Panzer Cardinal," referring not only to his German ancestry, but to his zeal.

When I ask Levada what his hopes are for his new office, he regards me wearily and says, "I am just hoping I will not fall on my face."

Born in Concord, raised in Long Beach, this is a true Californian who finds himself in Pope Benedict's court.

On Friday morning (March 24), St. Peter's Square is bustling as hundreds of people pour out of buses and walk up the cobblestone hill toward the dome of St. Peter's. Fifteen cardinals will be elevated today and, like schoolchildren, we hold onto our yellow tickets and keep an eye on our guide's blue umbrella as she parts a way through the crowd.

San Francisco laity along with priests in their full regalia, Protestant ministers -- all pilgrims with panache -- file into seats and have a look around St. Peter's Plaza, at the lines of tall columns rising to incredible heights and the row of statues ringing the roof. I don't want to be here in an earthquake. The Swiss Guard members are wearing their blue and gold striped uniforms, once modern in the Renaissance, the garish colors descend to matching leggings and add to the carnival aspect of this day.

I see Father Michael Pappas, a Greek Orthodox priest from San Francisco standing next to Rabbi Stephen Pearce of Temple Emanuel and the Rev. James DeLange, a Lutheran minister, chair of the Interfaith Council. It is an ecumenical photo op and I snap a couple of pictures.

Iftekhar Hai, a South San Franciscan who is president of the United Muslims of American Interfaith Alliance, comes over to join the photo. Then they spot the Rev. Amos Brown, a Baptist minister in the Western Addition. With St. Peter's and a sea of the Catholic faithful in the background, the ministers joyfully mug for the camera.

The organ booms to life and we take our seats and eagerly watch the stage. The boys chorus begins to sing, their tender voices sending music into the air and back to the last seats in this enormous square. The pope, flanked by his entourage, enters the piazza and greets the crowd. Levada, now dean of the College of Cardinals [The Chronicle editor was definitely asleep on the job, or does not care about fact - Levada spoke in behalf of the others by virtue of being the first named among the 15],walks to a microphone and delivers the greeting in Latin. There is an address in Italian by the pope. Again, as in his first encyclical, he speaks of love.

Then the highlight: The newly appointed cardinals, one at a time, kneel before the seated pope and he blesses each one and places a bright red hat on each head. He assigns each a church in Rome that the cardinal must protect and support.

Levada's church is Santa Maria en Domnica. With obvious affection, Benedict gently hugs Levada and the Californians cheer, but not, we will soon find out, well. We are immediately out-shown by the Slovenians, who flap yellow scarves and shake their banners when Cardinal Franc Rodé receives his hat. Next in line is a cardinal from Italy and after the Italian demonstration, we realize we have been far too reserved. In this Vatican ceremonial arena, the Europeans know what to do. We Californians are mere neophytes.

At a dinner that night, Levada makes an appearance. This time, we truly go wild, we cheer for Levada, we cheer for our fellow Californian, and perhaps we even cheer for ourselves. "Where were you today?" he quips. People shout apologies.

I am at a table with Pearce, his wife Laurie Pearce, and William Hurlbut, a stem cell researcher who may have found a way to extract stem cells from a tumor called a teratoma.

Using Altered Nuclear Transfer technique, no human embryo is destroyed during this process, yet stem cells are produced. Is this the precursor to the stem cell breakthrough the world has been hoping for, the path to be able to use stem cells without destroying embryos and earning the wrath of religious leaders? The rumor is that Hurlbut is speaking to someone in the Vatican and the Vatican is actually listening. Levada leans his head toward Hurlbut and they speak in earnest. I wonder if I have just witnessed a small slice of history.

On Saturday morning, the pilgrims again trek back to St. Peter's Square. Jet lag is setting in and today being a pilgrim is more difficult. The Mass of the Rings, where Levada will receive the Super Bowl of Roman rings, the ring of a cardinal, begins with a procession through the crowd. Today we have better seats in Piazza San Pietro and the cardinals march right in front of us. Our man Levada walks directly in front of Pope Benedict, who shyly peeks out at the crowd from under his high pope hat.

The pilgrims are not finished. There is a Mass on Sunday in Levada's ninth century titular church, Saint Mary in Domnica, and afterward a farewell dinner.

As the dessert dishes are being cleared in an ancient room in Castle Orsini outside of Rome on top of a hill in Nerola, California Episcopal Bishop Michael Swing stands to speak of his love for Levada as well as the late Metropolitan Anthony of San Francisco's Greek Orthodox Church. He recalls how several years ago the three decided to share their feelings with the respective heads of their churches, so they traveled to England to speak to the Archbishop of Canterbury, to Istanbul to speak to the leader of the Greek Orthodox rite, and to Rome to speak to Pope John Paul II.

Iftekhar Hai, president of the United Muslims of America, reminds us that our DNA goes back to Abraham and Ishmael. "We must work," Hai said, "to be one people living on one piece of real estate." Rabbi Doug Kahn of San Francisco offers a Hebrew prayer for special occasions and Lutheran Rev. James DeLange reminds us that every religion seeks to make people better.

Pappas reminds us that Cardinal Levada's ninth century titular church, where we just witnessed Mass, existed before the schism took place, before the Reformation, Henry VIII, or the split between the Greek and Roman rites. There was a hush in the room as everyone realized he was right. We have all been apart too long.

The pilgrims had one more activity, and mustered on Monday morning for our last trip together to the Vatican for an audience with Pope Benedict. This time, we are not outside in the elements, but inside Paulo VI Hall, a modern building constructed for gatherings such as this. The fifteen new cardinals file in.

In the audience, there are hundreds of people: African chiefs in colorful cloths, Polish pilgrims in costumes, and, of course, those wild Slovenians breaking into song at the drop of a yellow kerchief.

But lowly pilgrims like us do not get to genuflect in front of Benedict. Our audience, it turns out, is more symbolic -- we viewed the proceedings from afar, but we are able to watch our cardinals and bishops and their families meet and greet the pope. And thanks to the television screens, we could get a close look at all the blessings and baby kissing. Dozens of flash bulbs pop as Benedict XVI blesses the crowd for the last time, and then the pilgrims are released and head out into the welcome sunlight to become a part of the traffic snarls of Rome.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 02/04/2006 18.03]

02/04/2006 17:44
 
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We have all been apart too long.
Nan wipes tears away and tries to regain some composure... [SM=g27819]

Oh Teresa, thank you for sharing this article. AMEN... we have been apart FAR too long.

19/04/2006 06:35
 
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HAPPY EASTER TO ALL, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO EL PAPA, and HAPPY FIRST YEAR PAPA ANNIVERSARY!!

Now that I took care of that...

Here's an article from Bild.de online from the link that Jil posted on April 2nd in the "Experience of April 19, 2005" thread:
www.bild.t-online.de/BTO/news/aktuell/2006/04/02/papst-privatsekretaer-alltag/hg-papst-zur-per...

A very rare interview with the "second" secretary, Monsignor Mietek - Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki. (How is that name pronounced??) [SM=g27833] It's extremely interesting, he gives a little inside view of daily life as Papa-B's secretary together with GG, and he talks about JPII. I ran it through the Goggle translator (which did a fairly good job), then I "cleaned" it up for better reading comprehension and grammar. Enjoy!

====================================

For the first time a private secretary gives an idea of the everyday life of the Pope

In the morning, at noon Pizza, pray, in the evening work

. . . over a completely normal day in the life of Benedikt XVI

We secretaries rise at the same time as the Pope, at 5.30 a.m., in order to be ready for the morning fair. We rise at least half hour before the fair, in order to be able to meditate. Afterwards we have breakfast together.

Since we are in Italy, there is a simple breakfast - coffee, roll, milk; that is everything. Then the working day begins.
The first secretary, Monsignore George Gaenswein, and I prepare for the audiences. They begin at 11 o'clock and end at 13 o'clock, George Gaenswein accompanies the Pope into the private library to the audiences. I remain in the room of the secretariat and read the mail, which arrives several times on the day.

We prepare and submit all letters and documents, which the office of the Secretary of State pre-sorted, to the Pope. He examines them, works on them, and I return them to the office of the Secretary of State.

At 13.30 we eat together with the Holy Father at lunch. The meals, as they come in all Italian households on the table: a little meat, from time to time pizza, nearly each day noodles.
After the meal, the Pope takes a moment of rest. At that time, we secretaries also have free to take care of our private affairs or simply hold a siesta.

In the afternoon, the Pope reads more letters, gives further audiences or meets with his closest coworkers of the church government. These meetings take place in the large hall of the papal apartment, the Salone.

An elevator leads into the apartment, which is exclusively the Pope’s, and is also reserved for other members of the papal household and secretaries. We have a key for it. Before the door of the apartments, the Swiss Guards stand. They ensure that the Holy Father is kept safe and has peace and quiet.

At 19.30 o'clock we have our evening supper. At about 20.15 o'clock we all go into the private chapel in order to pray. Afterwards, we work on documents again. The Pope must look at these letters himself and sign documents. The Pope works sometimes until late into the night, Johannes Paul II, when he was yet healthy, always until 22.30 clock.

At 21.15 o'clock, my service ends. Sometimes I go eat an ice with friends. However, mostly I remain in my room and hear music or go on the terrace of the apartment in order to snatch a little fresh air. Sometimes we watch television and together with the Pope we look at messages. Sometimes we can also see a film, but the day is usually too short.

. . . over Castel Gandolfo and vacationing with the Pope

The Holy Father rises also during vacation very early. After the early fair at about 7 o'clock, he takes time to read or write books. Johannes Paul II often invited guests to the early fair after Castel Gandolfo. He wrote entire books in his work room in Castel Gandolfo, up to the end, all by hand, including "Lets Us Go "and "Roman Tryptichon".

Johannes Paul II loved to compose, in his leisure time, poems and that of his texts. He had an especially distinct linguistic feeling. For this very reason he succeeded to reach people with his message of the love and mercy of God directly.
He organized also meetings with philosophers, physicists and writers.

Johannes Paul II was an enthusiastic sportsman. In the summer he often went hiking or went down to the sea. On Castel Gandolfo’s 55 acres, the Popes use the large park.

Tuesdays were always a special day during the holiday. On Tuesday, we undertook spontaneously and completely unnoticed by the media excursions into the countryside. Bread was buttered and everything prepared for a simple picnic. Here the Pope could be in nature and able to be near God, without being disturbed by curious persons. He was able to secure for himself this small part of the private life, despite his office.

Johannes Paul II spent a part of his holidays for many years in a house of the Salesianerordens in the Aostatal. From there he walked into the region. When his health problems developed, a small wood house was built for him, it is very simple.

The Popes do not live in luxury. Pope Benedikt XVI is a simple man who does not require anything for itself. Pope Johannes Paul II was likewise always content with what he had. A good example of how simply he traveled in his papal journeys is Strawberry Island. After his arrival in Canada in the year 2002, the Pope rested after his arduous flight in a wood barracks, in which there was only one camp bed.

. . . over a startling moment with Johannes Paul II.

I remember the meeting between Johannes Paul II with youth in Switzerland, month before the World Youth Day in Cologne. It was a special meeting, for many Christians in Switzerland are Lutheran. Many young people had traveled nevertheless.

I wanted to take a slip of paper off of the Pope’s pulpit that was not necessary. He thought however, that I wanted take the entire speech with me in order to have someone else give the speech. At that time he already had, as you know, problems to articulate itself. He struck my hand. All the youths laughed when they saw how I got my hand slapped by the Pope!

. . . over great love and affection

The most beautiful moments with Johannes Paul II occurred during the World Youth days in Rome and Toronto. They were unforgettable moments, although it rained in Toronto. Johannes Paul II was exceedingly important to these young people.

He knew that they are exposed to many dangers; he wanted to give them the correct life path to follow. He showed them an ideal. He showed them Christ, who can give them joy and peace on earth. Benedikt XVI continues that. The young people see this ideal in him too. They love the Pope. They understand what he teaches them.

Here's a nice little pic of him that came with the article—


[SM=g27828]
01/05/2006 20:43
 
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[This story quotes Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman for two popes, and touches on his interaction with Benedict regarding the media.]


Vatican spokesman recounts coverage of Pope John Paul's final days

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

ROME (CNS) -- When Pope John Paul II fell gravely ill last year, the Vatican's media machine had to walk a fine line between openness and alarmism, said Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls.

On the one hand, any public move to expand media services would have been taken as a signal of impending papal death, Navarro-Valls said April 29.

But it did not make sense to try to cover up the seriousness of the pope's crisis when he had lived his entire ministry in the public eye, the spokesman said.

Navarro-Valls spoke about the "untold story" behind the papal transition at a seminar for church media professionals sponsored by the Opus Dei-run University of the Holy Cross in Rome.

The papal spokesman said that as early as the year 2000 the Vatican had made plans to deal with the thousands of journalists expected to converge on Rome for a papal death and conclave.

The plan included an expanded accreditation office, round-the-clock press office services, a second press center and video feeds of all briefings.

"The question was: When to activate all this? As soon as we would have announced that the press office was staying open 24 hours a day, Rome would have filled up with every journalist in the world. We didn't want to uselessly create an alarm," Navarro-Valls said.

In the end, the press office enacted the emergency plan two days before the pope died, immediately after he went into septic shock and doctors said death was imminent.

Navarro-Valls said his briefings during that period were basically medical information conveyed by the pope's doctors.

In the intervening 48 hours before the pope died, he said, the media in a sense provoked the massive gathering of the faithful in St. Peter's Square. It was a fitting example of the dying pope's special relationship of complicity with the mass media, he said.

In the end, more than 4 million people and several thousand journalists descended on Rome in what became a global event. Despite years of planning, that was unexpected, Navarro-Valls said.

"We tried to imagine, but we never imagined anything like this," he said.

Navarro-Valls said Pope Benedict XVI has a similar appreciation for the media, but also a clear idea of the media's limits. He said he had met the previous day with the pope for nearly an hour, discussing the importance of the media.

Navarro-Valls hinted that he had also discussed with the pope his own plans after 22 years as papal spokesman, but said it was not yet time for an announcement. Many observers expected the spokesman to retire after the papal transition period.

"The Holy Father knows well what my desires are, and I know well what are the desires of the Holy Father," Navarro-Valls said with a laugh.

02/05/2006 16:51
 
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From Business Week Online, a nun after my own heart. We should make her an honorary member of our forum.


O Click All Ye Faithful

The nun who launched the Vatican's Web site is at work on a MySpace for Catholics
MAY 8, 2006

Deep inside the Vatican, a white-haired nun dressed in a brown habit opens the door to a room full of computers. The whirring machines hold some of the mysteries of the Holy See, including photographs of the Vatican Secret Archives and of ancient illustrated manuscripts. No, this isn't a movie trailer for The Da Vinci Code. Our guide is Sister Judith Zoebelein, the editorial director of the Internet Office of the Holy See. She's showing off a small but potent Vatican data center, which bristles with servers and other high-tech gear.

It's no secret that the Vatican has a fantastic Web site. It brims with fine art and practical information about the Catholic Church. The site, www.vatican.va, which comes in six languages, was even nominated for a prestigious Webby Award a few years back. But little is known about the woman who is behind it. Sister Judith, a 57-year-old American, grew up in a middle-class household in the Hamptons on the eastern tip of Long Island. She and a handful of colleagues were Internet pioneers when, in 1995, they launched the Vatican Web site. Since then, she has greatly expanded the site, including images of art from the Vatican Museums, a powerful search engine, and videos of restoration projects.

Now Sister Judith is creating a second Vatican Web site, set for launch in the fall, that is aimed at bringing together the faithful so they can interact. Think of it as MySpace.com (NWS ) for Catholics. There will be personal news updates, e-learning programs, and areas set aside for families, young people, and parishes. Collaboration is key, and that should differentiate the site from others in its genre. "People will be able to find each other and work together online, and then go back and use what they have learned or done in their own communities," says Sister Judith.

WINDING PATH
The new site will likely boost visitor traffic, as well. The current Vatican site typically gets about 1 million unique visitors per month, though when Pope John Paul II died last April, it spiked up to 1.8 million U.S. visitors, according to traffic tracker Nielsen//NetRatings. That temporarily put it in the same league with the most popular religious destinations including Beliefnet, a multi-faith site, and the Mormon church's site.

How did an English major from a tony American beach town end up becoming the Internet nun? It was a winding path, but a search for meaning in life runs through it. After graduating from Hofstra University on Long Island, where she studied Irish drama, Sister Judith joined the Peace Corps and spent two years teaching English in rural Thailand. Later, back in the U.S., she studied to teach English as a second language. But meeting a group of nuns, the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, rekindled her childhood Catholicism, and she joined the abbey in Meriden, Conn. "I was looking for something meaningful and eternal," she says.

As a member of the abbey, Sister Judith got assignments with social service agencies that landed her in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Over the years, she took an interest in computers and set up computer networks and telecommunications systems in relief agency offices around the world. She was called to the Vatican in 1991 to help out with its computing chores. "She had the skills, and she was also very much an international personality -- thanks to all of her travel," recalls Mother General Shaun Vergauwen of the Franciscan Sisters.

Sister Judith identified the Web's potential shortly after it exploded on the scene in the mid-1990s. She and a small group of Vatican techies took the idea of launching a Web site to John Paul, who quickly gave them the go-ahead. It was a humble beginning: Sister Judith posted one Web page containing a single document, the Pope's 1995 Christmas Message. But the site expanded rapidly and now contains a huge storehouse of information -- not just for the faithful but for art lovers, historians, and tourists.

Two features stand out. For Catholics, the search engine is a powerful tool to help them explore their faith. Type in a keyword such as "forgiveness," and you'll get results organized around various sources, including the Pope, the Catechism, and the saints. For aficionados of Renaissance art, the site is a revelation because of its use of 360-degree photography of the Vatican's galleries and close-ups of artworks. Many of the Vatican's finest paintings are ceiling frescoes. The only practical way to see them close up is on the Web site. "This is an example of the Web providing an experience that can't be had in the real world," says Tiffany Shlain, founder of the Webby Awards.

Now, with the coming of the new faith-based community site, Sister Judith is satisfying an evangelical drive that she has felt since her Peace Corps days. For her, the Net is the ultimate way to reach millions of people and to connect them with their deity. "It's about something much bigger than myself, and it's also very Franciscan: You can touch it, you can change it, and you can touch people with it," she says.

While Sister Judith is quick to embrace the latest technological innovations, don't expect to see Vatican bloggers anytime soon. A blog is "so personal, such a mind dump," she says. On the Internet, the Vatican draws the line at self-indulgence. Pride, remember, is one of the seven deadly sins.


By Steve Hamm



08/05/2006 09:57
 
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Interview with Papa's former close collaborator Part I
Most of it isn't probably new for you, but it contains some sweet details. This is my rather poor translation of an interview with Bp. Zygmunt Zimowski of Diocese of Radom, Poland, published in Gosc Niedzielny 2006-05-04:

Bp Zygmunt Zimowski – Bishop of Radom, who worked for 19 years with card. Joseph Ratzinger in the CDF.


Fr. Marek Gancarczyk, Marcin Jakimowicz: Your Excellence is probably the only Pole, who knows Benedict XVI so well. For how long have you worked together in the CDF?
Bp Zygmunt Zimowski: - Nineteen years, three months and fifteen days. So Vatican calculated for my retirement pension, which I will receive after my 75. birthday. I hope I will live long enough (laughs)


When did you meet for the first time?
Autumn 1975. The bishop of Innsbruck celebrated 30 anniversary of his episcopal ordination and invited card. Ratzinger, then archbishop of Munich, to deliver the homily. I remembered his gestures, I recall how his homily flowed. People have been listening to him with their mouth open. I noticed then that Joseph Ratzinger is not only a theologian, but a pastor as well. I saw is humility. And this first impression will stay with me forever.

After the Mass I approached him and said: “I am from Poland, I am studying here” And he smiled: “Good, it’s a good thing to study!” I have never imagined that I will become one of his closest collaborators. Since 1983 I have worked in the CDF. There is a proverb which says: “The lot fell upon Matthias”. At first I declined, saying that I didn’t studied in Rome, That the Roman Curia is unknown to me, but archbishop Ablewicz smiled: “That even better that there is no load (of past)” After that there was the ordinary, daily work by the side of the great man. Members of the Congregation always thought of Ratzinger as of a great man of the Church. We were fascinated by his simplicity, kindness, openness.

This contradicts the media image: the panzer, reserved cardinal Ratzinger would miraculously be transformed into smiling Benedict XVI?
Yes, I read those opinions. This is a big misunderstanding. The cardinal has always been a smiling, joyful, gentle man. He was shy, but when he finally got closer to somebody, overcome this first barrier, then he committed himself- as one of our blessed used to say: “to the ruins” (laugh). Was he a panzer cardinal? Yes, when it came to faith. St. Paul writes that we should wear an armour of faith. He was also firm, decisive, because during those 23 years as Prefect he had to decide in matters of faith and morality. But he always was by the side of John Paul II. I noticed that media being afraid to attack directly the Pope, very often attacked cardinal Ratzinger.

Was he bothered by all this?
The more critics he got, the more calm he was. Paradoxically. He is a man of prayer. All the time he underlined, that this is truth, fullness of faith which matters.

Which documents made the critics furious?
For instance the two univocal documents about the liberation theology and “Dominus Iesus” from year 2000. I recall, that I ate dinner with John Paul II. I was alone. Bishop Dziwisz had travelled somewhere. The Holy Father has been telling me about those documents. He said that the liberation theology has only the horizontal dimension, it lacks reference to God. He added: “I know, why the communists hate me so much” He unbuttoned three buttons of his white cassock and smiled: “Because I know them from the lining”

And “Dominus Iesus”? The media has often written, that it was a document written in opposition to John Paul II…
Nothing of the kind! The Pope really waited for this document. He dedicated it a couple of his Angelus meditations. Some people stubbornly wanted to prove that cardinal Ratzinger tried to push this document. Yet every document of the CDF has something like credo, it is ratified by pope. The media wanted to conflict cardinal Ratzinger with the Pope. But I still see them together. I was always a common path. Besides in the interview that Benedict XVI granted the Polish Television (thing without any precedent!), he said: “I still feel presence of the Pope, man who went to the Lord, but he isn’t distant…” They were always close to each other. By the occasion of “Dominus Iesus”, some wanted to conflict also two German cardinals: Joseph Ratzinger and Walter Kasper, responsible for christians’ unity. But they didn’t succeed.
08/05/2006 10:02
 
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Re: Interview with Papa's former close collaborator Part II
Your Excellence, you emphasised simplicity of your superior. Your conversation about your episcopal ordination has almost become an anecdote. …
When I accepted in writing my appointed to be the bishop of Radom, I went to cardinal Ratzinger. During the conversation I suddenly rose on my feet, he looked puzzled at me, and I said: “During all these days I never asked for anything, but now I ask you, Your Eminence, to ordain me to a bishop”. He was surprised. He looked at me and replied: “I am not worthy”. And I said: “No, it’s me who is not worthy”. “If both of us are not worthy, then let’s do it” he smiled. A then he asked: “But in what language? I don’t know Polish”. I proposed Latin. And he replied: ”What will say people in Radom? They have to understand us”. “We’ll prepare booklets with translation” I replied.

Here is the same story with more details from another interview with Bp Zimowski (conducted by KAI):
After receiving my nomination for the bishop of Radom in 2002, I went to my then superior in the CDF, card. Ratzinger, with request to be my consecrator. The Cardinal asked: “Did you accepted?”. I replied that I did. He added: “On one hand I regret because we get parted after all those years, on the other hand I am happy that you will be able to serve the Country and the Church”

Then I said that so far- as a collaborator of the CDF- I didn’t ask for anything for myself, but now I ask him to consecrate me. I saw a moment of hesitation, even some kind of helplessness. At last card. Ratzinger said shortly: “I am not worthy. I ordained only one bishop who passed away already” . I answered that I am not worthy either. Ratzinger replied: “ If we both are not worthy, so we try to do this”. And so it came to my episcopal ordination 22 May 2002 in Radom’s cathedral.
I am telling this story with details, because I think that I gives a great picture of card. Ratzinger as person- a delicate, sensitive man, very strongly experiencing every situation. At the same time, whenever it is possible, trying to help other and opened to his needs.


This was a proof of his great priestly intuition.
Yes! I know about many others examples of cardinal’s humility. Twenty CDF collaborators took the same plane to Radom for my ordination. When I proposed the Cardinal place in business class, he declined: “I will sit with the others” he replied. Then in plane he was offered a place in business class, but again he declined. The plane was one hour delayed and was humbly standing and waiting. It was very elevating for us.

Another story. The American Episcopate invited cardinal Ratzinger to the United States. Father Thomas, the American who organised this trip, it didn’t occurred to settle a visa for the Cardinal. They landed in New York. Father Thomas went through the exit for American citizens, and the Cardinal patiently was standing in a queue to the Immigration Office. Father Thomas was looking for the luggage, and the Cardinal waited. A quarter, half an hour, even longer. A last he approached the Immigration desk. He handed over his vatican passport to the immigration officer.
She looked and asked what was the reason of his visit: was it a business trip or a pleasure (tourist) trip? Startled, he smiled: “I don’t know...”. The immigration officer said: “I cannot let you in, Father. You have no visa”. He took out his German passport but she replied: “Still you need a visa”. The Cardinal humbly waited by the desk. Father Thomas saw from distance that there is some kind of trouble and shouted: “Do you know that this man is cardinal Ratzinger?” And she again: “But he has no visa!”. Father Thomas activated the airport offices and the Cardinal was granted a 30-days visa. He visited different dioceses, preaching. During his last meeting in Philadelphia he related this story. At the end he added: “Now I know what was the reason of my visit: it was a business and pleasure trip”. All began to laugh.

Did you spend vacation together?
Yes. Once we spent a week in southern Tyrol. We were hiking the mountains. Those trips were not very strenuous, but we walked a lot. Cardinal’s grandmother was from southern Tyrol, so he drank in that land and admired it. Another time we went for a trip to Abruzzi. I recall, that he met a shepherd there. An ordinary, unshaved man with a shepherd’s staff. He approached him at once. They began to talk. And then I was enlightened: I have to take a picture, because this is a meeting of a two shepherds!

And what the Cardinal ate on his holidays?
He didn’t eat much. He isn’t any great gourmand. He liked sweet things. Pancakes with cottage cheese, with jam. He drank almost no alcohol.

And how did cardinal Ratzinger pray?
He is a man of profound prayer. I noticed that he most enjoyed prayer with the Psalms. He stopped often, absorbed in breviary prayer. He said Mass on mornings. The only person who participated was is sister: a simple, modest woman. I recall how he cared for her, guided her through Rome. Her sudden death was a huge shock for him. She travelled on the family graves and suddenly died. He bore it with great faith- he wrote himself a book on eschatology- but you could see how much he suffered.

I said Mass every day. Every Thursday the Cardinal would come to the end of the Mass. He always was on time for the benediction. He put away his breviary and made a sign of the cross. At the beginning I was intimidated by this: I, a simple priest, bless the very Prefect of the Congregation. But now I am proud of the fact that for a dozen or so years, once a week, I blessed the future pope.

Your Excellence, you did well...
Yes, the blessing „caught on” (laughs)

Your Excellence, you said that the pilgrimage to Cologne would wake up Germany. Did it wake it up?
I think that it did. On the St Peter’s Place there are bigger and bigger crowds from Bavaria, from Germany. For instance among 60 thousand pilgrims, so many as 10 thousand is from Germany.

And how Benedict XVI- a shy, intellectual book-worm managed with crowds?
I saw him in action in Cologne. I was moved. I thought: “Oh, Your Eminency, to what end it brought you?” I felt for him when I saw him, a man of great delicacy, preaching millions (of pilgrims). This was a new situation: the Cardinal, when still was the Prefect, could not caress children on St Peter’s Place, because they would say that he is making a competition for the Pope. He just faithfully did what he was supposed to do. But in Cologne I saw the power of the Holy Spirit. As 2000 years age He shook the Apostles at Pentecost, so now He shook this modest theologian. What is interesting, Benedict XVI spoke to each nation about it’s problems: to Frenchmen he spoke about Sunday Mass, to Italians about the Catechism of the Church, Poles he thanked for their attachment to the faith. In Cologne I didn’t see a modest intellectual. I saw a prophet.

[Modificato da .Sue. 08/05/2006 10.03]

[Modificato da .Sue. 08/05/2006 10.04]

08/05/2006 11:37
 
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Dinabella
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Welcome Sue [SM=x40799] [SM=x40799] [SM=x40799]
Thanks for this touching Interview.

At the end he added: “Now I know what was the reason of my visit: it was a business and pleasure trip”. All began to laugh.


O dear Papa. The immigration officer didn't recognized him. This could never ever happen to us could it ? [SM=g27824] [SM=g27824] [SM=g27835]
And again we see how much Papa loves sweets. That's so lovely.

For instance the two univocal documents about the liberation theology and “Dominus Iesus” from year 2000.


Just yesterday I've read in it and all I can say is I agree with the document completely.
I cannot understand the excitement therefore because Papa just wrote the truth about it.
08/05/2006 12:31
 
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DEAR SUE....WELCOME TO THE FORUM. HOW VERY NICE TO HAVE ANOTHER POLE IN OUR COMMUNITY!

ABOVE ALL, THANK YOU FOR THIS INTERVIEW, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST REVELATORY INTERVIEWS I HAVE READ ABOUT CARDINAL RATZINGER, AND BY SOMEONE WHO REALLY WORKED WITH HIM FOR SO LONG...SO THAT IS WHY RATZI WAS IN RADOM: FOR THE BISHOP'S ORDINATION - WE HAVE BEAUTIFUL PICTURES ON THIS FORUM OF THAT EVENT; I THINK YVONNE, ALSO FROM POLAND, CONTRIBUTED SOME OF THEM.

BEAUTIFUL INTERVIEW ABOUT A GENUINELY BEAUTIFUL PERSON!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/05/2006 15.10]

08/05/2006 19:36
 
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Thanks, Sue. That is a great interview. It tells so much about Papa's personality. I love reading these insightful reflections about him.

11/05/2006 15:02
 
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I posted...
...an article talking about Georg Gaenswein's secret side in the thread 'Quel segretario & Co.' (Italian forum) and an article that talks about Pope's new style!!! They're very interesting and wonderful [SM=g27811] [SM=g27811] [SM=g27836] [SM=g27836] [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800]


Antony la Salernitana (josie '86)
[SM=x40800] [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800]
11/05/2006 15:19
 
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GRAZIE JOSIE...L'ARTICOLO E AFFASCINANTE, MA DOVE SONO LE FOTO??? CAN YOU SCAN THE PHOTOS, PLEASE, TO SATISFY EVERYONE'S CURIOSITY???

I HAVE TO GO TO WORK NOW - I WILL POST A TRANSLATION WHEN I CAN SNEAK IN THE TIME DURING THE DAY....
11/05/2006 20:09
 
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Re: I posted...

Scritto da: josie '86 11/05/2006 15.02
...an article talking about Georg Gaenswein's secret side in the thread 'Quel segretario & Co.' (Italian forum) and an article that talks about Pope's new style!!! They're very interesting and wonderful [SM=g27811] [SM=g27811] [SM=g27836] [SM=g27836] [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800]


Antony la Salernitana (josie '86)
[SM=x40800] [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800]



The article that talks about Pope's new style is posted in the thread 'La Stampa-Cosa dicono i giornali...'!!! [SM=g27819] [SM=g27819] [SM=g27819]


Antony la Salernitana (josie '86) [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800] [SM=x40800]
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