ADDRESSES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES

I just realized that an English translation of the Pope's homily at the Vespers and Te Deum on December 31, 2005, was never published. Here is a translation -
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Dear brothers and sisters!

At the end of a year, which for the Church and for the world, was more than ever rich in events - reminders of the Apostle’s command: “Walk in Him … established in the faith … abounding in thanksgiving” (Col 2,6-7) - we are together tonight to raise a hymn of thanks to God, Lord of time and history.

My thought goes with deep and spiritual sentiments to 12 months back when, as on this evening, our beloved Pope John Paul II, for the last time, spoke in the name of the people of God to give thanks to the Lord for the numerous blessings given to the Church and to humanity. In the same suggestive setting of the Vatican Basilica, it now falls on me to gather symbolically, from every corner of the earth, the song of praise and thanksgiving that is raised to God as 2005 ends and on the eve of 2006. Yes, it is our duty, besides being our heart’s need, to praise and thank Him, the Eternal One, who accompanies us in time, without ever abandoning us, and watches over humanity with the fidelity of his merciful love.

We can well say that the Church exists to prtaise and thank God. It is itself an act of thanksgiving through the centuries, faithful witness of undying love, of a love that embraces men of every race and culture, abundantly disseminating the principles of true life.

As the Second Vatican Council reminds us, “The Church prays and works at the same time, so that the whole world may be transformed into the People of God, Body of the Lord ,and temple of the Holy Spirit, and inChrist who is the Head, all honor and glory to the Creator and Father of the universe.” (Lumen gentium, 17)

Sustained by the Holy Spirit, she “continues her pilgrimage through the persecutions of the world with the consolations of God” (St Augustine, De Civitates Dei, XVIII,51,2), drawing strength from the Lord’s aid. In this manner, with patience and with love, it overcomes “the afflictions and the difficulties, internal and external,” and discloses “faithfully to the world, even under the shadow of omens, the mystery of the Lord, until the day when it shine forths in the fullness of light” (Lumen gentium, 8).

The Church lives by Christ and with Christ. He offers her his protective help, guiding her across the centuries; and she, with an abundance of gifts, accompanies the path of man, so that those who welcome Christ may have life and have it in abundance.

Tonight, I speak above all for the Church of Rome, in raising towards Heaven our common canticle of praise and thanksgiving. She, our Church of Rome, in the past 12 months, has been visited by many other churches and ecclesiastical communities, in order to deepen the dialog of “truth in love” (verita nella carita) which unites all who are baptized, and to better experience together our desire for full communion.

But even many believers from other religions have wanted to show their own cordial and fraternal esteem to this Church and its Bishop, aware that a serene and respectful encounter signifies a spirit of concord that is favorable to all of humanity.

And what to say about so many persons of good will who have turned to this See to weave together a profitable dialog on the great values concerning the truth of man and of life that must be defended and promoted? The Church wants to be welcoming always, in truth and in charity.

With regard to the path followed by the Diocese of Rome, I am happy to note briefly the pastoral program of the diocese, which this year focused on the family, choosing the theme “The Christian family and community: formation of the person and transmission of the faith.”

The family has always been at the center of attention of my venerable predecessors, particulary John Paul II, who dedicated multiple interventions to it. He was persuaded – and I have referred back to it many times – that the crisis of the family constitutes a grave prejudice for our civilization itself. Precisely to underline the importance - in the life of the Church and of society - of families founded on matrimony, even I wished to offer my contribution, with my intervention last June 6, in the diocesan conference at St. John Lateran.

I am happy that the diocesan program is progressing positively with apostolate work done at the level of the parishes, the prefectures and various ecclesial aggregations. May the Lord grant that the common effort leads to an authentic renewal of Christian families.

I take this occasion to greet the representatives of the religious and civil communites of Rome present at this year-end celebration. .. My thoughts go to the entire Roman community, for which the Lord has called me to become their Pastor, and I renew to everyone the expressions of my spiritual nearness.

Enlightened by the Word of God, we have sung the “Te Deum” together with faith. There are so many reasons that intensify our act of thanksgiving, that make of it a choral prayer.

While we consider the multple events that have marked the months of this year as it draw to its close, I wish to remember specially those who are in difficulty: the poorest and most abandoned persons, those who have lost faith in a solid sense of their own existence, or who are involuntary victims of egoistic interests who were never asked for their consent or opinion. Making their sufferings ours as well, we entrust them all to God, who knows how to turn everything to good.

To Him we entrust our desire that every person be accorded the dignity worthy of a son of God. From the Lord of life, we ask that he soothe with his grace the sufferings brought on by evil, and to continue to grant vigor to our earthly existence, giving us the Bread and Wine of salvation to sustain us along our way to our Fatherland in Heaven.

As we say goodbye to the year which ends and face the new one, the liturgy of this first Vespers introduces us to the feast of Mary, Mother of God, Theotokos. Eight days after the birth of Jesus, we celebrate her who “in the fullness of time,” (Gal 4,4), had been pre-chosen by God to be the mother of the Savior.

Mother is she who gives life, but also helps and teaches us to live. Mary is Mother, Mother of Jesus to whom she gave her blood, her flesh. And it is she who presented us with the eternal Word of the Father who came to live in our midst. Let us ask Mary to intercede for us. May her matenal protection accompany us now and always, so that Christ may welcome us one day to his glory in the assembly of Saints. Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari. Amen!

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At 12 noon today (1/23/06), the Holy Father received in audience the participants of the meeting promoted by the Pontifical Council ‘Cor Unum’ at the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace, and delivered the following address, presented here in translation from the original Italian:

Eminences, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!

The cosmic excursion, in which Dante in his ‘Divina Commedia’ wanted to involve the reader, ends in front of the perennial Light who is God himself, before that Light which is at the same time ‘the love that moves the sun and other stars’ (Par. XXXIII, v. 145). Love and light are one and the same thing. They are the primordial creative powers that move the universe.

These words from Dante’s ‘Paradiso’ may owe something to the thought of Aristotle, who saw in eros the power that moves the world, but Dante also saw something completely new and unimaginable to the Greek philosopher. Not only does the eternal Light present itself to him in three circles to which he addresses these dense lines: "O luce etterna che sola in te sidi, / sola t'intendi, e da te intelletta / e intendente te ami a arridi!" (Paradiso, XXXIII, vv. 124-126) [‘Eternal Light, You only dwell within/Yourself, and only You know You; Self-knowing,/Self-known, You love and smile upon Yourself’, from the translation by Allen Mandelbaum.]
[We can appreciate better the Pope’s description of this verse as “dense”, if we consider that Italian critic Ettore Mazzali, in an annotated ‘Divina Commedia' [Milan, 1997], explains the verse this way: 'Light can dwell only within God himself, because it cannot be contained by anything else; and this Light, as understanding, is the Father; this Light, as something understood, is the Son; and the light, as something which loves and smiles upon itself, which understands and is understood, is the Holy Spirit'.]

In truth, even more striking than this revelation of God as a trinitarian circle of understanding and love is the perception of a human face – that of Jesis Christ – which appears to Dante in the central circle of Light. God, infinite Light whose unmeasurable mystery the Greek philosopher had intuited, this God has a human face and, we might add, a human heart. The vision of Dante shows, on the one hand, the continuity between the Christian faith in God and the continuing search into religions by reason, by the world; at the same time, however, a new thing appears which exceeds every human searching – something that only God himself can reveal to us: the love that caused God to take on a human face, to take on flesh and blood, the entire human being. God’s eros is not only a primordial cosmic force; it is the love that created man and bends down to him the same way the good Samaritan bent down toward the wounded man who had been robbed and lay on the verge of the road between Jersualem and Jericho.

The word ‘love’ today is so devalued, so worn out and abused that we almost are afraid to let it escape our lips. But it is a primordial word, an expression of the primordial reality; we cannot simply abandon it, but we should take it up again, purify it and bring it back to its original splendor, so that it can illumine our lives and bring us to the right way. Being aware of this made me choose love as the theme of my first encyclical. I wanted to try and express for our time and our existence something of that which Dante summarized so daringly in his vision. He narrates a ‘sight’ which ‘confirmed itself’, (and) which, as he watched, changed him interiorly (cfr Par, XXXIII, vv 112-114). And this is precisely what we are dealing with: faith becomes a vision-comprehension which transforms us.

It was my desire to emphasize the centrality of faith in God – in that God who has taken on a human face and a human heart. Faith is not a theory that one can keep to oneself or put aside. It is a very concrete thing: it is the criterion which determines our life style. In an epoch in which hostility and greed have become superpowers, an epoch in which we are witnessing the abuse of religion and even the apotheosis of hate, neutral rationality alone cannot protect us. We need the living God, who loved us unto death.

So, in this encyclical, the themes of God, Christ and love are fused together as the central guides of Christian faith. I wanted to show the humanity of faith, of which eros is part – eros which is the Yes of man to his corporeality created by God, a Yes that finds a form rooted in creation, in the indissoluble matrimony between man and woman. In matrimony, eros is transformed into agape – love for the other, which no longer seeks for itself, but becomes a concern for the other, a disposition to sacrifice for the other, and even an opening to the creation of a new human life. Christian agape, love for one’s neighbor following Christ’s lead, is nothing alien to, placed beside, much less directly against eros; rather, in the sacrifice that Christ made of himself for man, agape has found a new dimension that has developed further in the history of charitable Christian dedication to the poor and the suffering.

A first reading of the encyclical may perhaps give the impression that it is divided into two parts that are little related to each other: a theoretical part, which speaks of the essence of love, and a second which deals with ecclesiastical charity or charitable organizations. But precisely what interested me was the unity of these two parts, which can only be understood well when seen as one and the same.

First, it was necessary to deal with the essence of love as it presents itself to us in the light of Biblical testimony. Starting from the Christian image of God, it was necessary to show how man was created to love, and how this love, which initially appears as eros between man and woman, should then become interiorly transformed into agape, into a gift of oneself to the other – in response to the real nature of eros. On this basis it was then necessary to clarify that love of God and of one’s neighbor, as described in the Bible, is the center of Christian existence, the fruit of faith.

Further, however, in the second part, it was necessary to show that the totally personal act of agape can never remain something that is only individual, but must become an essential act of the Church as a community; it therefore needs an institutional form which is expressed in the communitarian work of the Church. The ecclesiastic organization of charity is not a form of social assistance which is casually added to the reality of the Church, nor an initiative that can be left to others. Instead, it is part of the nature of the Church. Just as the words of faith correspond to the divine Word Logos, so too the agape of the Church, its charitable work, must correspond to Agape, which is God.

This charitable activity, beyond its very concrete first meaning as helping one’s neighbor, also means communicating to others the love of God which we ourselves have received. It should make the living God visible in some form. God and Christ should not be strange words to a charitable organization; they are the words that express the original sources of ecclesiastical charity. The power of caritas depends on the power of faith within the Church, its members and co-workers.

The spectacle of suffering man touches our hearts. But the commitment to charity has a sense that goes far beyond mere philanthropy. It is God himself who impels us in our most intimate self to alleviate misery. Thus, it is He himself that we carry to the suffering world. The more consciously and clearly we bring him as a gift, the more effectively can our love change the world and reawaken hope- a hope that goes beyond death and is thus, the true hope for man. I wish God’s blessing on your symposium.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 25/01/2006 1.16]

READ, LEARN AND REJOICE:

www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20051225_deus-caritas-est...

I see that Alejandro Bermudez, editor of Catholic News Agency who blogs as Catholic Outsider, has posted his translation of Papa's letter in the January 31 issue of Famiglia Cristiana that carries the encyclical as a handout. Here is his translation-
www.catholicnewsagency.com/blog/



And here is my translation -
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I am glad Famiglia Cristiana is sending the text of my encyclical to your homes and has given me the chance to accompany it with a few words which may help to facilitate your reading.

In fact, at first, the text may appear a bit difficult and theoretical. But when you get into it, it will be evident that I simply wished to respond tow a few questions that are quire concrete in the life of Christians.

The first question is: Can one really love God? And more: can love be imposed? Is it not a feeling that we either have or don’t?

The answer to the first question is: Yes, we can love God, since he has not remained unreachable, but has entered into our lives. He comes to us, to each of us – in the sacraments through which he works on our existence; with the faith of the Church, through which he addresses us; in making us meet persons who have been touched specially by him and who transmit his light; with dispositions through which he itnervenes in our lives; with the signs of creation which he has given us.

He has not only offered us love, but he has lived it, first of all, and he knocks at our hearts in so many ways in order to rouse love in response. Love is not simply a sentiment, it also involves will and intelligence. With his words, God addresses our intelligence, our will and our feelings so that we may learn to love him “with all our heart and soul”. In fact, we do not find love all ready made: love grows – that is, we can learn to love progressively such that it engages ever more all our strength and opens the way for a correct life.

Th second question is: Can we truly love our neighbor, if he happens to be someone really alien to us or even downright unsympathetic?

Yes we can, if we are friends of God. If we are friends of Christ, it becomes ever more clear to us that he loves us, even if we often turn our gaze away from him and live following a different orientation. But if his friendship becomes for us, little by little, important and incisive, then we will start to wish well to all those whom he wishes well and who has need of our help. He wants us to become friends to his friends, and we can do that if in our hearts we are near him.

Lastly, the question: doesn’t the Church, through its commandments and prohibitions, embitter for us the joy of eros, of being loved, which impels us toward another, with whom we desire union?

In the encyclical, I have sought to show that the most profound promise of eros can find maturation only if we do not seek to grasp at transient happiness. On the contrary, we should find the patience to find each other more in the depth and in the totality of body and soul, so that in the end, the happiness of the other becomes more important than our own.

Then, one seeks not to get but to give, and it is in this liberation from the self that man finds himself and experiences the peak of joy. In the encyclical, I speak of a course of purification and maturation that is necessary so that the true promise of eros may be fulfilled. The language of tradition has called this “education in chastity,” which ultimately means learning to love totally and patiently through love’s growth and maturation.

The second part (of the encyclical) deals with charity, the service of communal love by the Church to all who suffer in body or spirit and who need the gift of love.

Here two questions above all: (First), can the Church not leave this service to philanthropic organizations of which there are so many forms?

The answer is: No, the Church cannot do that. She must practise love of neighbor even as a community, otherwise she would be announcing the God of love in an incomplete and insufficient manner.

The second question: Isn’t it more necessary to favor an order of justice in which there will no longer be anyone needy and therefore charity would be superfluous?

The answer: Without a doubt, the aim of all politics is to create a just order in society, in which everyone is recognized for what he is, and no one suffers from extreme poverty. In this sense, justice is the true aim of politics, along with peace, which is not possible without justice. By its nature, the Church cannot be a primary actor in politics, but rather, respects the autonomy of the State and its order. The search for an order of justice involves our common reason, just as politics is in the interest of all citizens.

Often, however, reason is blinded by interests and by the will to power. Faith serves to purify reason so that it may see and decide correctly. Therefore it is the task of the Church to heal reason and reinforce good will. In this sense, without acting politically itself – the Church participates passionately in the struggle for justice, (and) Christians engaged in the public professions are expected to constantly open new avenues to justice.

But that is only haf the answer to the question. The second part, which is particularly at the heart of the encyclical, says: justice can never make love superfluous. Beyond justice, man will always need love, because only love can give soul to justice. In a world as wounded as it is today, there is really no need to demonstrate this further. The world awaits the witness of Christian love which is inspired by faith. In our world which is often so dark, this love shines with the light of God.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 01/02/2006 21.17]

Teresa, you translate far better.

I did not know Lent messages were released so early, or even in this case, prepared as early as last September!
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VATICAN CITY, JAN 31, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was The Message of Benedict XVI for Lent 2006. The text, dated September 29, 2005, has as its title a verse taken from the Gospel of St. Mark: "Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity." The full English-language version of the document is given below:

"Lent is a privileged time of interior pilgrimage towards Him Who is the fount of mercy. It is a pilgrimage in which He Himself accompanies us through the desert of our poverty, sustaining us on our way towards the intense joy of Easter.

"Even in the 'valley of darkness' of which the Psalmist speaks, while the tempter prompts us to despair or to place a vain hope in the work of our own hands, God is there to guard us and sustain us. Yes, even today the Lord hears the cry of the multitudes longing for joy, peace, and love. As in every age, they feel abandoned. Yet, even in the desolation of misery, loneliness, violence and hunger that indiscriminately afflict children, adults, and the elderly, God does not allow darkness to prevail.

"In fact, in the words of my beloved Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, there is a 'divine limit imposed upon evil,' namely, mercy. It is with these thoughts in mind that I have chosen as my theme for this Message the Gospel text: 'Jesus, at the sight of the crowds, was moved with pity.'

"In this light, I would like to pause and reflect upon an issue much debated today: the question of development. Even now, the compassionate 'gaze' of Christ continues to fall upon individuals and peoples. He watches them, knowing that the divine 'plan' includes their call to salvation. Jesus knows the perils that put this plan at risk, and He is moved with pity for the crowds. He chooses to defend them from the wolves even at the cost of His own life. The gaze of Jesus embraces individuals and multitudes, and He brings them all before the Father, offering Himself as a sacrifice of expiation.

"Enlightened by this Paschal truth, the Church knows that if we are to promote development in its fullness, our own 'gaze' upon mankind has to be measured against that of Christ. In fact, it is quite impossible to separate the response to people's material and social needs from the fulfillment of the profound desires of their hearts. This has to be emphasized all the more in today's rapidly changing world, in which our responsibility towards the poor emerges with ever greater clarity and urgency. My venerable predecessor, Pope Paul VI, accurately described the scandal of underdevelopment as an outrage against humanity. In this sense, in the Encyclical 'Populorum Progressio,' he denounced 'the lack of material necessities for those who are without the minimum essential for life, the moral deficiencies of those who are mutilated by selfishness' and 'oppressive social structures, whether due to the abuses of ownership or to the abuses of power, to the exploitation of workers or to unjust transactions.'

"As the antidote to such evil, Paul VI suggested not only 'increased esteem for the dignity of others, the turning towards the spirit of poverty, cooperation for the common good, the will and desire for peace,' but also 'the acknowledgement by man of supreme values, and of God, their source and their finality'

"In this vein, the Pope went on to propose that, finally and above all, there is 'faith, a gift of God accepted by the good will of man, and unity in the charity of Christ.' Thus, the 'gaze' of Christ upon the crowd impels us to affirm the true content of this 'complete humanism' that, according to Paul VI, consists in the 'fully-rounded development of the whole man and of all men.' For this reason, the primary contribution that the Church offers to the development of mankind and peoples does not consist merely in material means or technical solutions. Rather, it involves the proclamation of the truth of Christ, Who educates consciences and teaches the authentic dignity of the person and of work; it means the promotion of a culture that truly responds to all the questions of humanity.

"In the face of the terrible challenge of poverty afflicting so much of the world's population, indifference and self-centered isolation stand in stark contrast to the 'gaze' of Christ. Fasting and almsgiving, which, together with prayer, the Church proposes in a special way during the Lenten Season, are suitable means for us to become conformed to this 'gaze.' The examples of the saints and the long history of the Church's missionary activity provide invaluable indications of the most effective ways to support development.

"Even in this era of global interdependence, it is clear that no economic, social, or political project can replace that gift of self to another through which charity is expressed. Those who act according to the logic of the Gospel live the faith as friendship with God Incarnate and, like Him, bear the burden of the material and spiritual needs of their neighbors. They see it as an inexhaustible mystery, worthy of infinite care and attention. They know that he who does not give God gives too little; as Blessed Teresa of Calcutta frequently observed, the worst poverty is not to know Christ. Therefore, we must help others to find God in the merciful face of Christ. Without this perspective, civilization lacks a solid foundation.

"Thanks to men and women obedient to the Holy Spirit, many forms of charitable work intended to promote development have arisen in the Church: hospitals, universities, professional formation schools, and small businesses. Such initiatives demonstrate the genuine humanitarian concern of those moved by the Gospel message, far in advance of other forms of social welfare. These charitable activities point out the way to achieve a globalization that is focused upon the true good of mankind and, hence, the path towards authentic peace.

"Moved like Jesus with compassion for the crowds, the Church today considers it her duty to ask political leaders and those with economic and financial power to promote development based on respect for the dignity of every man and woman. An important litmus test for the success of their efforts is religious liberty, understood not simply as the freedom to proclaim and celebrate Christ, but also the opportunity to contribute to the building of a world enlivened by charity. These efforts have to include a recognition of the central role of authentic religious values in responding to man's deepest concerns, and in supplying the ethical motivation for his personal and social responsibilities. These are the criteria by which Christians should assess the political programs of their leaders.

"We cannot ignore the fact that many mistakes have been made in the course of history by those who claimed to be disciples of Jesus. Very often, when having to address grave problems, they have thought that they should first improve this world and only afterwards turn their minds to the next. The temptation was to believe that, in the face of urgent needs, the first imperative was to change external structures. The consequence, for some, was that Christianity became a kind of moralism, 'believing' was replaced with 'doing.' Rightly, therefore, my Predecessor, Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, observed: 'The temptation today is to reduce Christianity to merely human wisdom, a pseudo-science of well-being. In our heavily secularized world, a gradual secularization of salvation has taken place, so that people strive for the good of man, but man who is truncated.We know, however, that Jesus came to bring integral salvation.'

"It is this integral salvation that Lent puts before us, pointing towards the victory of Christ over every evil that oppresses us. In turning to the Divine Master, in being converted to Him, in experiencing His mercy through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we will discover a 'gaze' that searches us profoundly and gives new life to the crowds and to each one of us. It restores trust to those who do not succumb to skepticism, opening up before them the perspective of eternal beatitude. Throughout history, even when hate seems to prevail, the luminous testimony of His love is never lacking. To Mary, 'the living fount of hope,' we entrust our Lenten journey, so that she may lead us to her Son. I commend to her in particular the multitudes who suffer poverty and cry out for help, support, and understanding. With these sentiments, I cordially impart to all of you a special Apostolic Blessing."
MESS/LENT 2006/... VIS 060131 (1440)

Yet another papal message released way in advance:
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Papal Message for World Communications Day
"The Media: A Network for Communication, Communion and Cooperation"

VATICAN CITY, JAN. 24, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is Benedict XVI's message for the 40th World Communications Day. The message, published today, is entitled "The Media: A Network for Communication, Communion and Cooperation." The World Day will be observed May 27.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. In the wake of the fortieth-anniversary of the closing of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, I am happy to recall its Decree on the Means of Social Communication, "Inter Mirifica," which in particular recognized the power of the media to influence the whole of human society. The need to harness that power for the benefit of all mankind has prompted me, in this my first message for World Communications Day, to reflect briefly on the idea of the media as a network facilitating communication, communion, and cooperation.

Saint Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, vividly depicts our human vocation to be "sharers in the divine nature" ("Dei Verbum," 2): through Christ we have access in one Spirit to the Father; so we are no longer strangers and aliens but citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, growing into a holy temple, a dwelling place for God (cf. Ephesians 2:18-22). This sublime portrayal of a life of communion engages all aspects of our lives as Christians. The call to be true to the self-communication of God in Christ is in fact a call to recognize his dynamic force within us, which then seeks to spread outwards to others, so that his love can truly become the prevalent measure of the world (cf. Homily for World Youth Day, Cologne, 21 August 2005).

2. Technological advances in the media have in certain respects conquered time and space, making communication between people, even when separated by vast distances, both instantaneous and direct. This development presents an enormous potential for service of the common good and "constitutes a patrimony to safeguard and promote" ("Rapid Development," 10). Yet, as we all know, our world is far from perfect. Daily we are reminded that immediacy of communication does not necessarily translate into the building of cooperation and communion in society.

To inform the consciences of individuals and help shape their thinking is never a neutral task. Authentic communication demands principled courage and resolve. It requires a determination of those working in the media not to wilt under the weight of so much information nor even to be content with partial or provisional truths. Instead it necessitates both seeking and transmitting what is the ultimate foundation and meaning of human, personal and social existence (cf. "Fides et Ratio," 5). In this way the media can contribute constructively to the propagation of all that is good and true.

3. The call for today's media to be responsible -- to be the protagonist of truth and promoter of the peace that ensues -- carries with it a number of challenges. While the various instruments of social communication facilitate the exchange of information, ideas, and mutual understanding among groups, they are also tainted by ambiguity. Alongside the provision of a "great round table" for dialogue, certain tendencies within the media engender a kind of monoculture that dims creative genius, deflates the subtlety of complex thought and undervalues the specificity of cultural practices and the particularity of religious belief. These are distortions that occur when the media industry becomes self-serving or solely profit-driven, losing the sense of accountability to the common good.

Accurate reporting of events, full explanation of matters of public concern, and fair representation of diverse points of view must, then, always be fostered. The need to uphold and support marriage and family life is of particular importance, precisely because it pertains to the foundation of every culture and society (cf. "Apostolicam Actuositatem," 11). In cooperation with parents, the social communications and entertainment industries can assist in the difficult but sublimely satisfying vocation of bringing up children, through presenting edifying models of human life and love (cf. "Inter Mirifica," 11). How disheartening and destructive it is to us all when the opposite occurs. Do not our hearts cry out, most especially, when our young people are subjected to debased or false expressions of love which ridicule the God-given dignity of every human person and undermine family interests?

4. To encourage both a constructive presence and a positive perception of the media in society, I wish to reiterate the importance of three steps, identified by my venerable predecessor Pope John Paul II, necessary for their service of the common good: formation, participation, and dialogue (cf. "Rapid Development," 11).

Formation in the responsible and critical use of the media helps people to use them intelligently and appropriately. The profound impact upon the mind of new vocabulary and of images, which the electronic media in particular so easily introduce into society, cannot be overestimated. Precisely because contemporary media shape popular culture, they themselves must overcome any temptation to manipulate, especially the young, and instead pursue the desire to form and serve. In this way they protect rather than erode the fabric of a civil society worthy of the human person.

Participation in the mass media arises from their nature as a good destined for all people. As a public service, social communication requires a spirit of cooperation and co-responsibility with vigorous accountability of the use of public resources and the performance of roles of public trust (cf. "Ethics in Communications," 20), including recourse to regulatory standards and other measures or structures designed to effect this goal.

Finally, the promotion of dialogue through the exchange of learning, the expression of solidarity and the espousal of peace presents a great opportunity for the mass media which must be recognized and exercised. In this way they become influential and appreciated resources for building the civilization of love for which all peoples yearn.

I am confident that serious efforts to promote these three steps will assist the media to develop soundly as a network of communication, communion and cooperation, helping men, women and children, to become more aware of the dignity of the human person, more responsible, and more open to others especially the neediest and the weakest members of society (cf. "Redemptor Hominis," 15; "Ethics in Communications," 4).

In conclusion, I return to the encouraging words of Saint Paul: Christ is our peace. In him we are one (cf. Ephesians 2:14). Let us together break down the dividing walls of hostility and build up the communion of love according to the designs of the Creator made known through his Son!

From the Vatican, 24 January 2006, the Feast of Saint Francis de Sales.

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

Following is a translation of the homily delivered by Pope Benedict at the Mass today at St. Peter's Basilica on the occasion of the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus, also marked by the Church as the Day of the Consecrated Life.
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Dear brothers and sisters!

Today’s feast of the Presentation of Jesus at the Temple, 40 days after his birth, places before our eyes a particular moment in the life of the Holy Family. According to Mosaic law, the baby Jesus was brought by Mary and Joseph to the temple in Jerusalem to be offered to the Lord (cfr Lk 2,22). Simeon and Anna, inspired by God, recognized in the Baby the Messiah who was so awaited and prophesied about. We are in the presence of a mystery, simple and solemn at the same time, in which the holy Church celebrates Christ, consecrated to the Father, as the firstborn of a new humanity.

The suggestive procession of the candles at the start of our celebration today made us relive the majestic entrance, sung in the responsorial psalm, of Him who is “king of glory”, “the Lord (who is) mighty in battle” (Ps 23,7,8). But who is the powerful God who enters the temple? It is a baby – the baby Jesus in the arms of his mother, the Virgin Mary. The Holy Family complied with what the Law prescribed: the purification of the mother, the offering of the firstborn to God, and his ransom through a sacrifice. In the first reading today, we heard the prophecy of the prophet Malachia: “Soon the Lord will enter his temple” (Mal 3,1).These words communicate all the intensity of the desire which animated the Jewish people’s waiting for the Messiah in the course of centuries. Finally, the ‘angel of the alliance’ enters his house and submits to the Law: he comes to Jerusalem to enter the house of the Lord in an attitude of obedience.

The significance of this gesture acquires an even wider meaning in the excerpt from the Letter to the Hebrews, proclaimed in the second reading today. Here Christ is presented to us as the mediator who brings together God and man, abolishing the distance between them, eliminating all divisions and knocking down every wall of separation. Christ comes as a new “high priest (who is) merciful and faithful in the things that concern God, for the purpose of expiating the sins of the people” (Heb 2, 17). We note therefore that God’s mediation no longer takes place through the "holy separation" of the ancient priest, but in a liberating solidarity with men. He starts, while still a baby, to walk the path of obedience which he will follow to the very end. The Letter to the Hebrews puts it well: “In the days of his earthly life, he offered prayers and supplications… to Him who could liberate him from death… Though he was the Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered and, made perfect, became the cause of eternal salvation for all those who obey him” (cfr Heb 5, 7-9).

The first person who is associated with Christ on the path of obedience, of tried and tested faith, and of shared suffering is his mother Mary. The Gospel text shows her to us in the act of offering her Son- an unconditional offering which involves her directly. Mary is the Mother of Him who is “the glory of his people Israel” and “light to illumine the Gentiles”, but also “a sign of contradiction” (cfr Lk 2, 32,34). She herself, in her immaculate soul, would be pierced by the sword of pain, thus, her role in the history of salvation did not end with the mystery of the Incarnation, but will be completed in her loving and sorrowful participation in the death and resurrection of her Son. In bringing her Son to Jerusalem, the Virgin Mary offered him to God as a true Lamb who takes away the sins of the world; she hands him to Simeon and Anna as an announcement of redemption; she presents him to all as a light on the sure path towards truth and love.

The words which pass the lips of the old Simeon at this encounter – “My eyes have seen your salvation” (Lk 2,30) – find an echo in the soul of the prophetess Anna. These just and pious persons, wrapped in Christ’s light, could contemplate in the baby Jesus “the comfort of Israel” (Lk, 2,25). Their waiting is transformed into a light that clarifies history. Simeon is the bearer of an ancient hope and the Spirit of the Lord speaks to his heart: therefore he could contemplate Him whom many prophets and kings had wanted to see, Christ, the light who would illumine all men. In that Baby, Simeon recognized the Savior, but he also senses that around this Baby the destiny of humanity would be in play, and that He would suffer much at the hands of those who would deny him. Simeon proclaims the identity and the mission of the Messiah with the words which form one of the hymns of the nascent Church, from which emanates all the communal and eschatological exaltation of the fulfillment of long-awaited salvation. The enthusiasm is so great that living and dying become one and the same, and “light” and “glory” become a universal revelation.

Anna is a ‘prophetess’, a wise and pious woman who interprets the profound sense of historic events and the message of God that is hidden in them. Because of this she is able to “praise God” and talk of “the baby to all who await the redemption of Jerusalem” (Lk 2,38). Her long widowhood dedicated to the temple, her loyal observance of the weekly fast, her participation in the wait for Him who would rescue Israel, all culminate in her encounter with the baby Jesus.

Dear brothers and sisters, in this feast of the Presentation of Jesus, the Church celebrates the Day of the Consecrated Life. It is a timely occasion to praise the Lord and thank him for the inestimable gift of the consecrated life in its different forms. It is also a stimulus to promote among all the people of God a recognition and esteem for those who are totally consecrated to God. Just as Jesus’s life, in his obedience and dedication to the Lord, is the vivid parable of “the living God with us”, so also the concrete dedication of persons consecrated to God and their brothers becomes an eloquent sign of the Kingdom of God for the world today. Their way of living and working serves to show how fully they belong to God; their complete submission to Christ and to the Church is a strong and clear announcement of the presence of God, in language that is understandable even to our contemporaries. This is the first service that the consecrated life renders the Church and the world. Within the people of God, these consecrated persons stand like sentinels who announce the new life that is already present in history.

Now I address myself specially to you, dear brothers and sisters who have embraced the vocation of special consecration, to greet you with affection and to thank you from the heart for your presence today. I greet specially Mons. Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Society for the Apostolic Life, and to his co-workers who are concelebrating this Mass with me. May the Lord renew daily in you and in all consecrated persons a joyous response to his freely-given and faithful love. Dear brothers and sisters, like lighted candles, may you radiate always and everywhere the love of Christ, light of the world. May the most Holy Mary, woman consecrated, help you to live fully your special vocation and mission in the Church for the salvation of the world.

It was too late to insert the picture into the translation of the homily - there's a 24-hour grace period to edit a post on this forum.

Here is a translation of the Pope's message at Angelus today:


Today, Italy celebrates the Day for Life, which constitutes a precious occasion for prayer and reflection on the themes of the defense and promotion of human life, especially when it finds itself in difficult conditions. Many lay faithful who work in this field are present at St. Peter’s Square, including members of the Movement for Life. I extend to them my cordial greetings, with a special thought for Cardinal Cammillo Ruini who is accompanying them, and I renew my expression of appreciation for the work which they do so that life may always be welcomed as a gift and always accompanied with love.

While I invite you to meditate on the message of the Italian bishops on the theme “Respect life”, I think back to the beloved John Paul II who gave his constant attention to this issue. In particular, I wish to recall the encyclical Evangelium vitae which he published in 1995 and which represents an authentic milestone in the teaching of the Church on a question that is so topical and critical. Placing the moral aspects (of the issue) in a broad spiritual and cultural frame, my venerated predecessor affirmed time and again that human life has a primary value that must be recognized and that the Gospel invites us to respect it always.

In this respect, even before carrying out (pro-life) initiatives, it is essential to promote a correct attitude towards our neighbor: the culture of life is, in effect, based on attentiveness to others, without exclusion or discrimination. Every human life, as such, deserves and needs to be always defended and promoted. We know very well that this truth often risks being contradicted by the widespread hedonism in the so-called welfare societies, (in which) life is exalted as long as it is pleasant, but it tends not to be respected any longer int hose who are sick or disabled.

However, if one begins with profound love for every person, it is possible to carry out effective forms of service to life – to lives that are yet unborn as well as to lives which are marked by marginality or suffering, especially in the terminal phases.

With perfect love, the Virgin Mary accompanied the Word of Life, Jesus Christ, who came to the world so that men “may have life in abundance” (Jn 10,10). To her we entrust all pregnant women and their families, as well as the health workers and volunteers who are engaged in various ways in services to life. And let us pray, in particular, for those who now find themselves in major difficulty.

After the Angelus, the Pope added:

The “Week for Life and the Family” begins today in the diocese of Rome, and will end next Sunday with a celebration dedicated to families at the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Divine Love. This initiative demonstrates yet again a priority commitment of the diocese in its pastoral work for families, and I assure you of my prayers.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/02/2006 6.31]

Here is a translation of the homily delivered by the Pope today at the Parish Church of Saint Anne in the Vatican:



The Gospel we heard today begins with an episode that is very endearing, very beautiful, but also full of meaning. The Lord comes to the house of Simon Peter and Andrew and finds Peter’s sister with fever; He takes her by the hand, makes her stand up, and the woman is healed and starts to serve the guests.

This episode symbolically shows the entire mission of Jesus – Jesus, coming from the Father, enters the house of humanity, on earth, and finds an ailing humanity, sick with fever, that fever which consists of ideologies, idolatries and forgetting God. The Lord gives us his hand, lifts us, and constantly heals us with the gift of his words, giving us Himself.

But even the second part of this story is important – The lady, as soon as she is well, starts to serve the guests, the Gospel says. Immediately, she starts to work, to be at the disposal of others, and thus, she represents all good women, mothers, nuns, women in different professions and callings, who make themselves available to serve, who get up and serve others – they animate the family, they animate the diocese.

And here, seeing the paintings over the altar, we see that women do not only perform external services. (Here we see) Saint Anna introducing her daughter Mary to the Sacred Scriptures, to the hope of Israel, which would find its fulfillment in Mary herself.

Women are the first bearers [to their children] of the word of God in the Gospel, true evangelists. And it seems to me that the Gospel, with this seemingly modest episode, here in this Church of Saint Anne, gives us the occasion to offer heartfelt thanks to all the women who animate this parish, to the women who serve in all ways, to help us to recognize anew the word of God not only with the mind but with the heart.

Going back to the Gospel today: Jesus sleeps in the house of Peter, but in the early morning, when it is still dark, he gets up and looks for a quiet place to pray. Here we see the very center of Jesus’s mystery. Jesus enters into a conversation with his Father and lifts his human spirit in the person of the Son, such that the Son’s humanity, united with the Father, is engaged in a Trinitarian ‘dialog,’ rendering true prayer possible, even to us. In the liturgy, Jesus prays with us, we pray with Jesus, and so we enter into real contact with God, we enter into the mystery of eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity.

Jesus speaks with the Father – this is the source and the center of all of Jesus’s activity. We see that his preachings, the healings, the miracles, and finally the Passion itself, arise from this center, from his being with the Father. And so, this Gospel teaches us the center of our Faith and of our life, namely, the primacy of God.

Where God is absent, man himself is no longer respected. Only if God’s splendor shines on the face of man, then man as the image of God becomes protected by a dignity that no one should violate.

God’s primacy: We see in the Lord’s Prayer how the first three requests refer precisely to this primacy: that the name of God be blessed (‘hallowed be Thy Name’)– respect for the divine mystery should always be alive and animate all of our life; “Thy Kingdom come” and “Thy will be done” are two aspects of the same coin – where the will of God is done, heaven already is – it starts here on earth; and where God’s will is done, the Kingdom of God is present. Because the Kingdom of God is not a series of things – it is simply the presence of God, man’s union with God. It is towards this end that Jesus wishes to guide us.

The Kingdom of God is at the center of His message – namely, God as the source and center of our life. God alone is man’s redemption. We can see in the history of the past century that in the states where God was “abolished”, not only the economies were destroyed but above all, men’s souls. The moral destruction, the destruction of human dignity, are basic destructions, and a renewal can only come with a return to God, with a recognition of the centrality of God.

Recently, a Bishop from the Congo who came on an ad limina visit told me: “The Europeans generously give us many things for development, but they hesitate to help us in pastoral work. It seems they consider pastoral work useless, that only material and technical development counts. But the opposite is true,” he continued, “development does not function in places where the word of God is not heard; it does not have positive results. Only where the word of God is heard first, only when man is reconciled with God, only then can material development work well.”

The Gospel today ,as it continues, confirms this strongly. The apostles tell Jesus: “Come back, everyone is looking for you.” And he says, “No, I should go to the other towns to announce God and to drive away the devils, the forces of evil. It is for this that I have come.” Jesus has come (to us) – in the Greek text, Jesus’s “I have come” is expressed as “I have come from my Father” – not to bring us the comforts of life, but to bring us the fundamental conditions for our dignity, to bring us the word of God, the presence of God, in order to triumph over evil.

He indicates this priority with great clarity: “I did not come to heal – even if I do this, as a sign; I have come to reconcile you with God.” God is our creator, God gave us life and our dignity, so we should turn to him above all others.

As Father Gioele said, the Church celebrates today in Italy the Day for Life. The Italian bishops in their message have wished to emphasize our primary duty to “Respect life”, considering life as an indisposable value. Man is not the master of life; rather, he is its guardian and administrator. The primacy of God automatically gives rise to this priority to administer and guard the life of man, who is created by God. This truth – that man is the guardian and administrator of life – constitutes a qualifying point in natural law which is fully illuminated by Biblical revelation.

But this truth is seen these days as a “sign of contradiction” by the dominant mentality. We see for a fact that although there is widespread convergence of views on the value of human life in the general sense, when it comes to the question of the “disposability” of life, two viewpoints oppose each other irreconcilably. In simple terms: one viewpoint considers that human life is in the hands of man; the other, that it is in the hands of God.

Modern culture has legitimately emphasized the autonomy of man and of earthly reality, within a perspective dear to Christianity, namely, the incarnation of God. But, as the Second Vatican Council clearly stated, if this autonomy leads us to think that “the objects of creation do not depend on God, and that man can function without reference to his creator,” then this can lead to profound disequlibrium, because “the creature without its Creator vanishes” (Gaudium et spes, 36).

It is significant that the conciliar document, in the passage we cited, affirms that the capacity to recognize the voice and manifestation of God in the beauty of the created thing belongs to all believers, whatever religion they profess. We can conclude from that, that full respect for life is linked to the religious sense, to the interior attitude that man has towards reality, whether he considers himself master or custodian.

Moreover, the word “respect,” which comes from the Latin verb respicere – to look or to regard, indicates a manner of looking at things and at persons which leads us to recognize what they consist of, not to appropriate them for our use, but to have regard for them, to take care of them.

In the last analysis, if God’s creatures are deprived of any reference to God as their transcendental source, then they risk being at the mercy of man’s arbitrariness, who can then wrongly make use of other creatures [including their fellowmen].

Dear brothers and sisters, let us together ask for the intercession of Saint Anne for your community and parish, whom I greet with affection. I particularly greet your parish priest, Fr. Gioele, and I thank him for the words he addressed to me earlier. I also greet the Augustinian brothers and their Prior General. I greet Mons. Angelo Comastri, mi Vicar-General in Vatican city; Mons. Rizzatio, my almsmaster; and everyone present, especially the babies and the young people, and those who frequently worship at this church. May Saint Anne, your patron in heave, watch over you and obtain for each one the gift of being a witness for God in life and in love.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/02/2006 6.26]

Sorry - I made a mistake. I posted a translation of the Pope's 2/8/06 Audience catechesis here first, but I have transferred it to the right thread AUDIENCE AND ANGELUS

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/02/2006 15.09]

Pope Benedict met with his former congregation today at the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace to mark the end of the CDF's annual Plenary Assembly, the first one not presided by Cardinal Ratzinger since 1981. Here is a translation of the message he delivered in Italian -
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Distinguished cardinals,
Venerated brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Dear brothers and sisters!

I am happy to meet, at the end of your plenary session, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, over which I had the joy of presiding for more than 20 years by the mandate of my predecessor, the venerated John Paul II. Your faces remind me of all those who have worked with the dicastery all these years. I think of everyone with gratitude and affection. I cannot but remember, in fact, with some emotion, the very intense and productive period that I spent at the Congregation which has the task of promoting and keeping watch over the doctrine of the faith and its practices in the entire Catholic Church (cfr Pastor bonus, 48).

In the life of the Church, faith has a fundamental importance, because the gift that God makes of himself in Revelation is fundamental, and this self-giving by God is received with faith. From this stems the relevance of your Congregation which, in its service to all the Church and particularly to the Bishops, as preachers of the faith and pastors, is called upon, in the spirit of collegiality, to emphasize and recall the center of the Catholic faith in its authentic expression. When the perception of this centrality is weakened, the very structure of church life loses its original energy and becomes eroded, decaying into a sterile activism. But if the truth of the faith is placed simply and decisively at the center of Christian life, then man’s life becomes energized and renewed by a love that knows no rest nor limits, as I had occasion to point out in my recent encyclical letter Deus caritas est(DCE).

Charity, from the heart of God through the heart of Christ, emanates through the Holy Spirit throughout the world as the love which renews all. This love is born from our encounter with Christ in the faith. “At the start of being a Christian is not an ethical decision or a great idea, but the encounter with an event, with a Person, who gives to life a new horizon, and with this, a decisive direction” (DCE, 1). Jesus Christ is Truth incarnate, who attracts the world to him. The light that he radiates is the splendor of truth. Every other “truth” is a fragment of the Truth that He is and which comes from him. Jesus is the polar star of human freedom: without him, freedom loses its direction, because without knowing truth, freedom is denatured, is isolated and is reduced to sterile free will. With Him, freedom is found, it is recognized as something intended for good, and is expressed in charitable actions and behavior.

Because of this, Jesus gives man (the opportunity for) full familiarity with the truth and invites him continuously to live in truth. This truth is offered as a reality which restores man while it overcomes and dominates him – like a mystery that accommodates (accoglie) and exceeds at the same time the reach of his intelligence. Nothing better than love for the truth can succeed at pushing human intelligence towards unexplored horizons. Jesus Christ, who is the fullness of truth, attracts to him the heart of every man, inflames it and fills it with joy. Only truth can invade the mind and make it rejoice totally. This joy expands the dimensions of the human spirit, uplifting it from the strictures of egoism and making it capable of authentic love. It is the experience of this joy that moves and attracts man to free adoration, not to prostrate himself in a servile manner, but to incline his heart towards the Truth that he has found.

Therefore, service to the faith, which is giving witness to Him who is Truth entire, is also a service to joy, and it is this joy which Christ wishes to permeate the world: it is the joy of faith in Him, of the truth which is communicated through him, of the salvation that comes from Him! It is this joy which the heart feels when we kneel down to adore Jesus in faith! This love for the truth inspires and orients even the Christian approach to the contemporary world and the evangelistic mission of the Church, themes which you discussed during your plenary session.

The Church welcomes with joy the authentic conquest of human knowledge, and recognizes that evangelization requires that we take note of the horizons and challenges that modern knowledge has revealed. In reality, the great progress in scientific knowledge, which we witnessed in the past century, has helped us understand better the mystery of creation, and has made its mark on the consciousness of all men. But such scientific progress has been at times so fast that it has not been easy to recognize how the new knowledge may be compatible with the truths revealed by God about man and his world. Sometimes, some scientific statements have directly contradicted such truths. This could provoke some confusion among the faithful and has even caused some difficulty in proclaiming and receiving the Gospel. Therefore, vital importance accrues to every study that aims to deepen knowledge of truths discovered by reason, in the certainty that “there is no competition whatsoever between reason and faith” (Fides et ratio, 17).

We should not have any apprehensions about facing this challenge: Jesus Christ is the Lord of all creation and history. The believer knows well that “all things were created through him and in him …and that everything subsists in him.” (Col 1, 16,17). By continuously deepening our knowledge of Christ, center of the cosmos and of history, we can show the men and women of our time that faith in Him is not irrelevant to the destinies of humanity: in fact, faith is the fulfillment of all that is authentically human. Only in this perspective can we offer convincing answers to a man in quest. Such a commitment is of decisive importance in announcing and conveying the faith in our contemporary world. The dialog between faith and reason, religion and science, does not only offer the possibility of showing to the man of today, in the most effective and convincing way, the reasonableness of faith in God, but also that the definitive fulfillment of every authentic human aspiration is in Jesus Christ. In this sense, a serious evangelizing effort cannot ignore the questions that arise from current scientific discoveries and philosophical modes.

The desire for truth belongs to the very nature of man, and all creation is an immense invitation to look for the answers which open human reason to the great answer which is ever sought and found: The truth of Christian revelation, which is found in Jesus of Nazareth, allows anyone to accept the ‘mystery’ of his own life. The supreme truth respects the autonomy of each creature and his freedom, but also obliges him to open himself to transcendence. It is here that the relationship between freedom and truth culminates, and one understands fully what the Lord said, “You will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (Jn 8, 32).” (Fides et ratio, 15).

It is here that the Congregation finds the reason for its task and the horizons of its service. Your service to the fullness of the faith is a service to truth and therefore to joy, a joy that comes from the depths of the heart, which spouts forth from those abysses of love that Christ threw open with his heart bared open on the Cross and that his Spirit diffuses with inexhaustible generosity throught the world. From this point of view, your doctrinal ministry can appropriately be defined as pastoral. Your service is dedicated to the full dissemination of God’s light in this world.

May the light of faith, expressed in its fullness and entirety, always illuminate your work and be the “star” which guides you and helps you to direct the hearts of men towards Christ! This is your heavy but fascinating task to complement the mission of Peter’s Successor, whom you are called upon to work with.

Thank you for your work and for your service! With these sentiments, I impart my blessing on all of you.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/02/2006 13.40]

The Pope came to St. Peter's Basilica at the end of a Mass celebrated by Cardinal Camillo Ruini to mark the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes and the World Day for the Sick observed by the Church as part of that commemoration. Later, he watched fireworks at St. Peter's Square from the "Angelus window" of teh Apostolic Papalce. Here is a translation of the discourse that the Pope delivered before granting his Apostolic Blessing to the sick:
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Dear brothers and sisters!

I have come to join you with great joy and I thank you for your warm welcome. My greetings are addressed specially to you, dear brothers who suffer from illness and who are present here today at St. Peter’s Basilica, as well as to all those who are following us by radio and television, and those who do not have that opportunity but who are all joined with us in deep spiritual bonding, in faith and in prayer.

I greet Cardinal Camillo Ruini, who presided over the Eucharistic celebration, and Cardinal Francesco Marchisano, Archpriest of this Basilica. I greet the other bishops and priests present, I thank UNITALSI and the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi who prepared and organized this gathering with the participation of numerous volunteers.

My thoughts also go to the other side of the world, in the city of Adelaide, Australia, where they have been holding the culminating celebration of the World Day for the Sick, presided by my envoy Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care.

For the past 14 years, the 11th of February, liturgical commemoration of the Madonna of Lourdes, has also been celebrated as the World Day for the Sick. We all know that near the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, the Virgin came to show God’s care for the suffering. We feel this loving concern most particularly on the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes, as the mystery of Christ, Redeemer of man, is ritualized in the liturgy, especially in the Mass.

Showing herself to Bernadette as the Immaculate Conception, the most holy Mary came to remind the modern world, which was in danger of forgetting, of the primacy of Divine Grace, stronger than sin or death. And so the place of her apparitions, the grotto of Massabielle in Lourdes, has become a magnet for the people of God, especially those who feel oppressed and suffering in body and spirit. “Come to me, all you who are weary and oppressed, and I will restore you” (Mt 11,28), Jesus said. In Lourdes, he continues to repeat this invitation, with the maternal mediation of Mary, to all who will come to him with faith.

Dear brothers, this year, together with my co-workers in the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, we wished to place at the center of attention those who are afflicted with mental health problems. “Mental health and human dignity” was the theme of the conference that took place in Adelaide, which looked into the scientific, ethical and pastoral aspects of the problem.

We know that Jesus is concerned for man in his wholeness, to heal him completely in body, in the psyche, in the spirit. The human being is one person, whose many dimensions can and should be distinguished but never separated. Therefore, the Church always seeks to consider persons in their wholeness, a concept that guides all Catholic health institutions and our health care workers.

At this time, I think particularly of the families who have a mentally-ill person in their midst and who live through the trials and problems that this means. We feel close to you with our prayers and all the initiatives that the church community carries out in all parts of the world, expecially in places where relevant legislation is inadequate, public structures to deal with the problem are insufficient, and natural calamities or armed conflict produce grave psychic traumas. These are forms of poverty which require the charity of Christ, of the good Samaritan, and of the Church, indissolubly linked to Christ in the service of suffering humanity.

To all the physicians, nurses and other health care workers, as well as volunteers who are engaged in this field, I would like to symbolically hand you today the encyclical Deus caritas est, with the wish that the love of God will always be alive in your hearts, to inspire your daily work, your projects, your initiatives, and above all, your relationship with the sick persons you are caring for. Acting in the name of charity and in the various ways of charity, you, my dear friends, are also offering your services to the work of evangelization, because the annunciation of the Gospel requires the corresponding actions that confirm its words. These actions speak the universal language of love, a language that is understood by all.

Shortly, to recreate the spiritual atmosphere at Lourdes, the lights in the Basilica will be turned off and we will light our candles, symbol of faith and ardent invocation to God. Singing the Ave Maria of Lourdes will invite us to spiritually be at the grotto in Massabielle, at the feet of the Immaculate Virgn. To her, with profound faith, we wish to present our human condition, our ailments, as a sign of the need that we all have, while we are on our earthly pilgrimage, to be saved by her son Jesus Christ.

May Mary uphold our hopes so that, faithful to Christ’s teachings, we may renew our commitment to assist our brothers who are sick. May the Lord grant that no one is alone and abandoned in the moment of need, but on the contrary, will be able to live with human dignity even in sickness. With these sentiments, I bestow a heartfelt Apostolic Blessing on all of you – the sick as well as all health care workers and volunteers.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/02/2006 20.40]

Sorry this is out of chronological order. I failed to translate this on the day it came out and 'forgot' all about it until ZENIT published its translation yesterday.
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VATICAN CITY, FEB. 14, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave Jan. 28 to the members of the tribunal of the Roman Rota.

"Love for the Truth,
the Meeting Point Between
Canon Law and Pastoral Ministry"

Distinguished Prelate Auditors,
Officials and Collaborators of the
Apostolic Tribunal of the Roman Rota,

Almost a year has passed since your Tribunal's last meeting with my beloved Predecessor, John Paul II. It was the last in a long series of meetings. Of the great legacy of canon law that he has also bequeathed to us, I would like in particular to focus on the instruction "Dignitas Connubii," on the procedures to follow in handling causes of the nullity of marriage. It was intended to set out a sort of "vademecum" which not only contains the respective norms in force on this subject but enriches them with further, relevant measures necessary for their correct application.

The greatest contribution of this Instruction, which I hope will be applied in its entirety by those who work in the ecclesiastical tribunals, consists in pointing out, in the causes of matrimonial nullity, the extent and manner in which to apply the norms contained in the canons concerning ordinary contentious judgment, as well as the observance of the special norms dictated for causes on the state of persons and for the public good.

As you well know, the attention dedicated to trials of the nullity of marriage increasingly transcends the context of experts. In fact, for many of the faithful, ecclesiastical sentences in this sector bear upon whether or not they may receive Eucharistic Communion.

It is this very aspect, so crucial from the viewpoint of Christian life, which explains why the subject of the nullity of marriage arose again and again at the recent Synod on the Eucharist. It might seem at first glance that there is a great divergence between the pastoral concern shown during the Synod's work and the spirit of the collection of juridical norms in "Dignitas Connubii," almost to the point of their being in opposition.

On the one hand, it would appear that the Synod Fathers were asking the ecclesiastical tribunals to strive to ensure that members of the faithful who are not canonically married regularize their marital situation as soon as possible and return to the Eucharistic Banquet.

On the other, canonical legislation and the recent Instruction would seem instead to limit this pastoral thrust, as though the main concern were rather to proceed with the foreseen juridical formalities at the risk of forgetting the pastoral aim of the process.

This approach conceals a false opposition between law and pastoral ministry in general. Here, I do not intend to go deeply into this issue which John Paul II already treated on several occasions, especially in his address to the Roman Rota in 1990 (cf. Jan. 18, 1990; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, [ORE], Jan. 29, 1990, p. 6).

At this first meeting with you, I prefer to concentrate on love for the truth, which is the fundamental meeting point between canon law and pastoral ministry. With this affirmation, moreover, I associate myself in spirit with precisely what my venerable Predecessor said to you in his address last year (Jan. 29, 2005; ORE, Feb. 2, p. 3).

The canonical proceedings for the nullity of marriage are essentially a means of ascertaining the truth about the conjugal bond. Thus, their constitutive aim is not to complicate the life of the faithful uselessly, nor far less to exacerbate their litigation, but rather to render a service to the truth.

Moreover, the institution of a trial in general is not in itself a means of satisfying any kind of interest but rather a qualified instrument to comply with the duty of justice to give each person what he or she deserves.

Precisely in its essential structure, the trial is instituted in the name of justice and peace. In fact, the purpose of the proceedings is the declaration of the truth by an impartial third party, after the parties have been given equal opportunities to support their arguments and proof with adequate room for discussion. This exchange of opinions is normally necessary if the judge is to discover the truth, and consequently, to give the case a just verdict. Every system of trial must therefore endeavor to guarantee the objectivity, speed and efficacy of the judges' decisions.

In this area too, the relationship between faith and reason is of fundamental importance. If the case corresponds with right reason, the fact that the Church has recourse to legal proceedings to resolve inter-ecclesial matters of a juridical kind cannot come as a surprise. A tradition has thus taken shape which is now centuries old and has been preserved in our day in ecclesiastical tribunals throughout the world.

It is well to keep in mind, moreover, that in the age of classical medieval law, canon law made an important contribution to perfecting the institutional structure of the trial itself.

Its application in the Church concerns first and foremost cases in which, since the matter remains to be resolved, the parties could reach an agreement that would settle their litigation but for various reasons this does not happen.

In seeking to determine what is right, not only does recourse to proceedings not aim to exacerbate conflicts, but it seeks to make them more humane by finding objectively adequate solutions to the requirements of justice.

Of course, this solution on its own does not suffice, for people need love, but when it is inevitable, it is an important step in the right direction.

Indeed, trials may also revolve around matters whose settlement is beyond the competence of the parties involved since they concern the rights of the entire Ecclesial Community. The process of declaring the nullity of a marriage fits precisely into this context: In fact, in its twofold natural and sacramental dimension, marriage is not a good that spouses can dispose of nor, given its social and public nature, can any kind of self-declaration be conjectured.

At this point the second observation spontaneously arises: No trial is against the other party, as though it were a question of inflicting unjust damage. The purpose is not to take a good away from anyone but rather to establish and protect the possession of goods by people and institutions.

In addition to this point, valid in every trial, there is another, more specific point in the hypothesis of matrimonial nullity. Here, the parties are not contending for some possession that must be attributed to one or the other. The trial's aim is rather to declare the truth about the validity or invalidity of an actual marriage, in other words, about a reality that establishes the institution of the family and deeply concerns the Church and civil society.

Consequently, it can be said that in this type of trial the Church herself is the one to whom the request for the declaration is addressed. Given the natural presumption of the validity of a marriage that has been formally contracted, my Predecessor, Benedict XIV, an outstanding canon lawyer, conceived of and made obligatory in such proceedings the participation of the defender of the bond at the said trial (cf. apostolic constitution "Dei Miseratione," Nov. 3, 1741). Thus, the dialectic of the proceedings whose aim was to ascertain the truth was better guaranteed.

Just as the dialectic of the proceedings leads us to understand the criterion of the search for the truth, so it can help us grasp the other aspect of the question: its pastoral value, which cannot be separated from love for the truth.

Indeed, pastoral love can sometimes be contaminated by complacent attitudes toward the parties. Such attitudes can seem pastoral, but in fact they do not correspond with the good of the parties and of the Ecclesial Community itself; by avoiding confrontation with the truth that saves, they can even turn out to be counterproductive with regard to each person's saving encounter with Christ.

The principle of the indissolubility of marriage forcefully reaffirmed here by John Paul II (cf. addresses: Jan. 21, 2000, in ORE, Jan. 26, 2000, p. 1; Jan. 28, 2002, in ibid., Feb. 6, 2002, p. 6) pertains to the integrity of the Christian mystery.

Today, unfortunately, we may observe that this truth is sometimes obscured in the consciences of Christians and of people of good will. For this very reason, the service that can be offered to the faithful and to non-Christian spouses in difficulty is deceptive: It reinforces in them, if only implicitly, the tendency to forget the indissolubility of their union.

Thus, the possible intervention of the ecclesiastical institution in causes of nullity risks merely registering a failure.

However, the truth sought in processes of the nullity of marriage is not an abstract truth, cut off from the good of the people involved. It is a truth integrated in the human and Christian journey of every member of the faithful. It is very important, therefore, that the declaration of the truth is reached in reasonable time.

Divine Providence certainly knows how to draw good from evil, even when the ecclesiastical institutions neglect their duty or commit errors.

It is nonetheless a grave obligation to bring the Church's institutional action in her tribunals ever closer to the faithful. Besides, pastoral sensitivity must be directed to avoiding matrimonial nullity when the couple seeks to marry and to striving to help the spouses solve their possible problems and find the path to reconciliation. That same pastoral sensitivity to the real situations of individuals must nonetheless lead to safeguarding the truth and applying the norms prescribed to protect it during the trial.

I hope that these reflections will serve to help people understand better that love of the truth links the institution of canonical causes of the nullity of marriage with the authentic pastoral sense that must motivate these processes. With this key to interpretation, the instruction "Dignitas Connubii" and the concerns expressed during the last Synod can be seen to converge.

Dear friends, the Ecclesial Community is deeply grateful to you for your discreet approach to the arduous and fascinating task of bringing about this harmony. With the sincere hope that your judicial activity will contribute to the good of all who turn to you and will encourage them in their personal encounter with the Truth that is Christ, I bless you with gratitude and affection.

On February 2, the Pope sent the following letter to the president of the Episcopal Conference of Cuba, Carinal Jaime Lucas Ortega Alamino, Archbishop of Havana. The letter, in Spanish, was published online today, 2/16/05, by the Vatican Press Office. Here is a translation -
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To Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino
Archbishop of San Cristobal de La Habana (St. Christopher of Havana)
President of the Confreence of Catholic Bishops of Cuba

On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Cuban National Church Encounter [ENEC, by its Spanish acronym], I wish to send to the Bishops as well as priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of this beloved nation an affectionate greeting, and let them know of my spiritual nearness in order to encourage their envangelizing tasks.

Human reality is full of events that we are invited to live as saving events, when the divine presence, which inspires and strengthens, came into time and history. Therefore when you reflect on this anniversary over what you have experienced, you must see this reality as a way of promise and salvation that one must follow with careful and compassionate steps in order to discover in that experience the signs and signals of the living God who walks with you. Yes, he walks with all those who live on earth, believers or not, those who are near him as well as those who are distant, those who sow and those who scatter, because everyone is invited to the feast of life which the Father gives us.

In this respect, as you reflect on your anniversary, it would be good to remember especially the words which my predecessor, Pope John Paul II, said on his visit to that beloved land: “May Cuba open to the world and the world open itself to Cuba,” an opening that requires us to examine first how to open the heart and the mind to the things of God, how those who must live together must open themselves to each other, believing and trusting each other, even if there are differences in ways of thinking or in belief; and finally, how to open up to the world, with its networks of possibilities along with its difficulties.

Only by a loving look, as God looks lovingly at us, can one reach the truth about each person, each group and all those who live in the same land. In this journey, much help will come from the experience of prayer of each Christian, in the slience and humility of his daily work, in his loyalty to the faith he has professed, in the implicit or explicit announcement of the Gospel. Also very helpful is the love that most Cubans have for the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, patron of this land for some time now, she who accompanies its inhabitants with the tenderness of a mother.

To her I commend all the meetings that will take place for the 20th anniversary of ENEC, so that her nearness may inspire hope and that her intercession to her divine Son may obtain the gift of faith in your part of the City of God. With these sentiments, I impart from my heart to all participants as well as to all ecclesiastical communities in Cuba the Apostolic Blessing.

Here is the Vatican's official English text of the message by the Holy Father for the youth of the world on the occasion of the 21st worldwide celebration of World Youth Day at the diocesan level on Palm Sunday, April 6. The text was released yesterday, 2/27, but dated Feb. 22, Feast of the Chair of Peter.
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"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps 119 [118]:105)

My dear young friends!

It is with great joy that I greet you as you prepare for the 21st World Youth Day, and I relive the memory of those enriching experiences we had in August last year in Germany. World Youth Day this year will be celebrated in the local Churches, and it will be a good opportunity to rekindle the flame of enthusiasm that was awakened in Cologne and which many of you have brought to your families, parishes, associations and movements. At the same time, it will be a wonderful chance to invite many of your friends to join the young generation’s spiritual pilgrimage towards Christ.

The theme that I suggest to you is a verse from Psalm 119 [118]: "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (v. 105). Our dearly loved John Paul II commented on that verse of the psalm as follows: "The one who prays pours out his thanks for the Law of God that he adopts as a lamp for his steps in the often dark path of Life" (General Audience, Wednesday 14 November 2001). God reveals himself in history. He speaks to humankind, and the word he speaks has creative power. The Hebrew concept "dabar", usually translated as "word", really conveys both the meaning of word and act. God says what he does and does what he says. The Old Testament announces to the Children of Israel the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of a "new" covenant; in the Word made flesh He fulfils his promise. This is clearly specified in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father's one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In him he has said everything; there will be no other word than this one" (n. 65).

The Holy Spirit who has led the chosen people by inspiring the authors of the Sacred Scriptures, opens the hearts of believers to understand their meaning. This same Spirit is actively present in the Eucharistic celebration when the priest, "in persona Christi", says the words of consecration, changing the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ, for the spiritual nourishment of the faithful. In order to progress on our earthly pilgrimage towards the heavenly Kingdom, we all need to be nourished by the word and the bread of eternal Life, and these are inseparable from one another!

The Apostles received the word of salvation and passed it on to their successors as a precious gem kept safely in the jewel box of the Church: without the Church, this pearl runs the risk of being lost or destroyed. My dear young friends, love the word of God and love the Church, and this will give you access to a treasure of very great value and will teach you how to appreciate its richness. Love and follow the Church, for it has received from its Founder the mission of showing people the way to true happiness. It is not easy to recognise and find authentic happiness in this world in which we live, where people are often held captive by the current ways of thinking. They may think they are "free", but they are being led astray and become lost amid the errors or illusions of aberrant ideologies. "Freedom itself needs to be set free" (cf the encyclical Veritatis Splendor, 86), and the darkness in which humankind is groping needs to be illuminated. Jesus taught us how this can be done: "If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free" (Jn 8:31-32). The incarnate Word, Word of Truth, makes us free and directs our freedom towards the good. My dear young friends, meditate often on the word of God, and allow the Holy Spirit to be your teacher. You will then discover that God’s way of thinking is not the same as that of humankind’s. You will find yourselves led to contemplate the real God and to read the events of history through his eyes. You will savour in fullness the joy that is born of truth.

On life’s journey, which is neither easy nor free of deceptions, you will meet difficulties and suffering and at times you will be tempted to exclaim with the psalmist: "I am severely afflicted" (Ps 119 [118]. v. 107). Do not forget to add as the psalmist did: "give me life, O Lord, according to your word... I hold my life in my hand continually, but I do not forget your law" (ibid. vv. 107; 109). The loving presence of God, through his word, is the lamp that dispels the darkness of fear and lights up the path even when times are most difficult.

The author of the Letter to the Hebrews wrote: "Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow; it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (4:12). It is necessary to take seriously the injunction to consider the word of God to be an indispensable "weapon" in the spiritual struggle. This will be effective and show results if we learn to listen to it and then to obey it. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains: "To obey (from the Latin ob-audire, to ‘hear or listen to’) in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard, because its truth is guaranteed by God, who is Truth itself" (n. 144).

While Abraham exemplifies this way of listening which is obedience, Solomon in his turn shows himself to be a passionate explorer of the wisdom contained in the Word. When God said to him: "Ask what I should give you", the wise king replied: "Give your servant therefore an understanding heart" (1 Kings 3:5,9). The secret of acquiring "an understanding heart" is to train your heart to listen. This is obtained by persistently meditating on the word of God and by remaining firmly rooted in it through the commitment to persevere in getting to know it better.

My dear young friends, I urge you to become familiar with the Bible, and to have it at hand so that it can be your compass pointing out the road to follow. By reading it, you will learn to know Christ. Note what Saint Jerome said in this regard: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" (PL 24,17; cf Dei Verbum, 25). A time-honoured way to study and savour the word of God is lectio divina which constitutes a real and veritable spiritual journey marked out in stages. After the lectio, which consists of reading and rereading a passage from Sacred Scripture and taking in the main elements, we proceed to meditatio. This is a moment of interior reflection in which the soul turns to God and tries to understand what his word is saying to us today. Then comes oratio in which we linger to talk with God directly. Finally we come to contemplatio. This helps us to keep our hearts attentive to the presence of Christ whose word is "a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Pet 1:19). Reading, study and meditation of the Word should then flow into a life of consistent fidelity to Christ and his teachings.

Saint James tells us: "Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers who deceive themselves. For if any are hearers of the word and not doers, they are like those who look at themselves in a mirror; for they look at themselves and, on going away, immediately forget what they were like. But those who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and persevere, being not hearers who forget but doers who act - they will be blessed in their doing" (1:22-25). Those who listen to the word of God and refer to it always, are constructing their existence on solid foundations. "Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them", Jesus said, "will be like a wise man who built his house on rock" (Mt 7:24). It will not collapse when bad weather comes.

To build your life on Christ, to accept the word with joy and put its teachings into practice: this, young people of the third millennium, should be your programme! There is an urgent need for the emergence of a new generation of apostles anchored firmly in the word of Christ, capable of responding to the challenges of our times and prepared to spread the Gospel far and wide. It is this that the Lord asks of you, it is to this that the Church invites you, and it is this that the world - even though it may not be aware of it - expects of you! If Jesus calls you, do not be afraid to respond to him with generosity, especially when he asks you to follow him in the consecrated life or in the priesthood. Do not be afraid; trust in him and you will not be disappointed.

Dear friends, at the 21st World Youth Day that we will celebrate on 9 April next, Palm Sunday, we will set out, in our hearts, on a pilgrimage towards the world encounter with young people that will take place in Sydney in July 2008. We will prepare for that great appointment reflecting together on the theme The Holy Spirit and the mission in successive stages. This year our attention will focus on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Truth, who reveals Christ to us, the Word made flesh, opening the heart of each one to the Word of salvation that leads to the fullness of Truth. Next year, 2007, we will meditate on a verse from the Gospel of John: "Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another" (13:34). We will discover more about the Holy Spirit, Spirit of Love, who infuses divine charity within us and makes us aware of the material and spiritual needs of our brothers and sisters. We will finally reach the world meeting of 2008 and its theme will be: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses" (Acts 1:8).

From this moment onwards, my dear young friends, in a climate of constant listening to the word of God, call on the Holy Spirit, Spirit of fortitude and witness, that you may be able to proclaim the Gospel without fear even to the ends of the earth. Our Lady was present in the cenacle with the Apostles as they waited for Pentecost. May she be your mother and guide. May she teach you to receive the word of God, to treasure it and to ponder on it in your heart (cf Lk 2:19) as she did throughout her life. May she encourage you to declare your "yes" to the Lord as you live "the obedience of faith". May she help you to remain strong in the faith, constant in hope, persevering in charity, always attentive to the word of God. I am together with you in prayer, and I bless each one of you with all my heart.

From the Vatican, 22 February 2006, Feast of the Chair of Saint Peter Apostle.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 28/02/2006 14.39]

Yesterday, 2/27/05, the Holy Father received the participants in the General Aseembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life and the International Congress on the theme "The human embryo in the pre-implantation phase" at the Sala Clementina of the Apostolic Palace. Here is a translation of the discourse he delivered to them-
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Respected brothers in the Episcopate and Priesthood,
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen!

I address my deferential and cordial greeting to all on the occasion of the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life and of the International Congress which has just begun on “The Human Embryo in the Pre-Implantation Phase.” I specially greet Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, President of the Pontifical Council for Ministering to Health, and Mons. Elio Sgreccia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life, whom I thank for the kind words with which he brought to light my particular interest in the subject matter that is being addressed on this occasion.

In effect, the theme chosen for your Assembly, “The human embryo in the pre-implantation phase” – that is, in the first few days following conception – is a question of extreme importance today, for its evident repercussions on philosophical, anthropological and ethical considerations, as well as for its prospective applications in the fields of biomedical and juridical sciences.

It deals undoubtedly with a subject that is fascinating but difficult and challenging, given the delicate nature of the issue and the complex epistemological problems regarding the relationship between a survey of facts at the level of experimental science and the subsequent and necessary evaluation of these facts at the anthropological level.

Understandably, neither Sacred Scriptures nor the most ancient Christian tradition could have any explicit references to your topic. However, Saint Luke, in recounting the encounter between the Mother of Jesus, who had conceived him just a few days earlier, with the mother of John the Baptist, who was in her sixth month of pregnancy, calls attention to the active presence, though unseen, of the two babies: “When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leapt in her womb“ (Lk 1,41). Saint Ambrose commented: “Elizabeth perceived the arrival of Mary, he (John) perceived the arrival of the Lord; the woman, the arrival of the other woman; the baby, the arrival of the other baby.” (Comm. in Luc. 2, 19,22-26).

Nevertheless, even in the absence of explicit teachings on the very first days of life of the baby-to-be-born, it is possible to find in Sacred Scriptures sentiments of admiration and respect for the human being who has just been conceived, that provide valuable indications especially for those, like you, who propose to study the mystery of human generation.

The sacred books, in fact, tend to show the love of God for each human being even before he takes form in the mother’s womb. “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you” (Jer 1,5), God said to the prophet Jeremiah. And the Psalmist acknowledges with gratitude: "You formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb. I praise you, so wonderfully you made me; wonderful are your works! My very self you knew… My days were shaped before one came to be.” (Ps, 13-14).

These are words that acquire all their richness of meaning when one considers that God intervenes directly in the creation of the soul of each new human being. God’s love does not distinguish between a new conceptus still in its mother’s womb, and a baby, a boy, an adult or an old man. It makes no difference because each of them bears the imprint of God’s own image and resemblance (Jn 1,26). It makes no difference because in all, he sees reflected the face of his Only-Begotten Son, in which “he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world….he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ, in accord with the favor of his will” (Eph 1,4-6).

This limitless and almost imcomprehensible love of God for man shows why the human person is worthy to be loved for himself alone – independent of any other consideration – intelligence, beauty, health, youth, integrity, etc. In the end, human life is always a a good thing, because “it is, in this world, a manifestation of God, a sign of his presence, an imprint of his glory” (cfr Evangelium vitae, 34). In fact, man has been endowed with supreme dignity which has its roots in the intimate links that unite him to his Creator: in man, in every man, at whatever stage or condition of life, there shines the reflection of the reality of God. That is why the Magisterium of the Church has always proclaimed the sacred and inviolable character of human life, from its conception to its natural end (cfr Evangelium vitae, 57).

This moral judgment is valid from the initial life of an embryo, even before it implants into the mother’s womb, which will guard it and nourish it for nine months until it is born: “Human life is sacred and inviolable at every moment of its existence, even in those that precede birth” (ibid., 61).

I know very well, dear scholars, with what sentiments of wonder and profound respect for man you are carrying forward your challenging and fruitful work of research into the origins itself of human life, a mystery whose meaning science will always be able to illuminate more, even if it will be dificult to decipher it completely. In fact, as soon as reason succeeds to overcome a limit once conceidered unbreachable, new limits that were hitherto unknown arise to pose new challenges.

Man will always remain a profound and impenetrable mystery.
Already in the 4th century, St. Cyril of Jerusalem proposed to the catechumens who were preparing to be baptized the following meditation: “Who was it who predisposed the cavity of the womb for the procreation of children? Who breathed life into the inanimate fetus? Who provided us with sinews and bones, enveloping them in flesh and skin (cfr Jb 10,11), and who, as soon as the baby is born, makes milk flow out of the mother’s breast? How is it that the baby, growing up, becomes an adolescent, from an adolescent changes into a youth, subsequently into an adult, and finally into an old man, without anyone succeeding to [pinpoint the exact day when the change takes place?” He concluded: “You are seeing, O man, the author: you are seeing the all-knowing Creator.” (Catechesi battesimale, 9, 15-16).

At the start of the third millenium, they still remain valid – these considerations which refer not so much to the physical or physiologic phenomenon but to its anthropological and metaphysical significance. We have tremendously improved our knowledge and have better identified the limits of our ignorance, but human intelligence seems to find it too hard to recognize that in looking at creation, one meets the imprint of the Creator.

In reality, whoever loves the truth, as you do, dear scholars, should perceive that research into a theme so profound places us in a condition of seeing and even almost touching the hand of God. Beyond the limits of experimental science, at the limits of the field that some call meta-analysis, where neither sensory perception nor scientific verification do not suffice or are not possible, begins the adventure of transcendence, the challenge of “proceeding beyond.”

Dear researchers and scholars, I wish that you will always succeed not only in examining the reality which is the object of your labors, but also to contemplate it in such a way that, together with your discoveries, those questions will also arise that will lead you to discover the reflection of the Creator in the beauty of his creations.

In this context, I am pleased to express my appreciation and thanks to the Pontifical Academy for Life for its precious work of “study, formation and information” availed of by the Dicasteries of the Holy See, by local churches and by scholars who are attentive to what the Church proposes in the field of scientific research, and on the question of human life, its relation with ethics and the law. For the urgency and importance of these problems, I find the institution of this Academy by my venerated predecessor John Paul II truly providential.

Therefore to all of you, the administration, the staff and the members of the Pontifical Academy for Life, I wish to express with sincere cordiality my nearness and my support for your work. With these feelings, and entrusting your labors to the protection of Mary, Im impart to you all the Apostolic blessing.

On Ash Wednesday, March 1, the Holy Father presided at an observance of the old custom of Roman "stations", which statred with prayer at the Church of St. Anselm on the Aventine Hill, followed by a pentiential procession to the Basilica of St. Sabina, where the Pope celebrated Mass with the rite of the blessing and imposition of ashes.

Here is a translation of the Pope's homily -
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The penitential procession with which we started today’s celebration, has aided us to enter into the atmosphere particular to Lent, which is a personal and communal pilgrimage of conversion and spiritual renewal.

Following the ancient Roman tradition of Lenten “stations” at this time, the Roman faithful, together with pilgrims, assemble every day and stop by – statio – one of the many memorials to the martyrs who constitute the base of the Church of Rome. In the basilicas, where their relics are exposed, Mass is celebrated preceded by a procession during which the litany of saints is chanted. This commemorates those who have borne witness to Christ with their blood; evoking their memory becomes a stimulus for every Christian to renew his own adherence to the Gospel.

Despite the passage of centuries, these rites conserve their value because they remind us how important it is, even in these days, to receive God’s words uncompromisingly: “If any one wants to be with me, then he must renounce himself, take up his cross every day and follow me.” (Lk 9. 33).

Another symbolic rite, which belongs exclusively to rhe first day of Lent, is the imposition of ashes. What is its real significance? It certainly is not mere ritualism, but it is something very deep which touches our heart. It makes us understand the admonition of the prophet Joel, re-echoed in the first reading today, an admonition which continues to be healthily valid even for us: sincerity of the spirit and coherence of works should always correspond to exterior gestures.

What does it serve – asks the inspired author – to rend one’s garments if the heart remains remote from the Lord, that is, from good and justice? That is what truly counts: to return to God, with a sincerely repentant spirit, in order to obtain his mercy (cfr Jl, 2, 12-18). A new heart and a new spirit: these we ask, with the penitential Psalm par excellence, the Miserere, which today we chant with the refrain “Forgive us, Lord, for we have sinned.” The true believer, aware of being a sinner, aspires with all of his being – spirit, soul and body – for divine pardon, to restore joy and hope as to a new creation. (cfr Ps 50, 3,5,12,14).

Another aspect of Lenten spirituality is that which we may define as “agonistic”, and it emerges in today’s prayer for “Collects”, which speaks of the “weapons” of penitence and the “combat” against the spirit of evil. Every day, but specially in Lent, the Christian should face this struggle, like that which Christ underwent in the desert of Judea, where for 40 days he was tempted by the devil, and then at Gethsemane, when he rejected the final temptation and accepted completely the will of God.

It is a spiritual battle directed against sin, and ultimately, against Satan. It is a battle which invovles the whole being and requires watchful and constant vigilance. St. Augustine observes that whoever wishes to walk in God’s love and mercy cannot be satisfued with merely freeing himself of grave and mortal sins, but “work in truth and recognize even the sins that are considered less grave.. and bring this to light, fulfilling worthy acts (of penitence). Even sins that are less grave, if neglected, proliferate and produce death.” (In Io evang, 12,13,35).

Lent reminds us also that Christian existence is a struggle without rest, in which the “weapons” are prayer, fasting and penitence. To fight against evil, against every form of egoism and hate, and to die to oneself in order to live in God is the ascetic itinerary which every disciple of Jesus is called on to follow with humility and patience, with generosity and perseverance. The docile emulation of the divine Master makes Christians witnesses and apostles of peace.

We can say that this internal attitude helps us to better demonstrate what the Christian response should be to the violence that threatens the peace of the world. Certainly, not vengeance, not hate, not even the escape to a false spiritualism. The answer of whoever follows Christ is to follow the way chosen by Him who, before the evils of his time and of all time, decisively embraced the Cross, following the longer but more effective path of love. Following his footsteps and united with Him, we should all commit ourselves to oppose evil with good, lies with truth, hate with love.

In the encyclical Deus caritas est, I wished to present this love as the secret of our personal and ecclesial conversion. Recalling the words of Paul to the Corinthians: “The love of Christ motivates us” (2 Cor 5, 14), I have emphasized how “the awareness that in Him God himself gave himself for us unto death, should lead us no longer just to live for ourselves but for Him, and with Him, for others.” (n. 33).

Love, as Jesus says in the Gospel today, should translate itself into concrete gestures to our neighbor, especially towards the poor and the needy, always subordinating the value of “good works” to the sincerity of our relationship with the “Father who is in heaven”, who “sees our secrets” and “will repay” those who do good in a humble and selfless way (cfr Mt 6, 1,4,6,18).

The concrete act of love constitutes one of the essential elements in the life of Christians, who are urged by Christ to be a light in this world, so that men, seeing their “good works”, will render glory to God (cfr Mt 5, 16). This injunction comes to us even more opportunely at the start of Lent, so that we should understand even more that “charity is not for the Church simply an activity of social assistance…but belongs to its nature, it is an irrenounceable expression of its very existence” (Deus caritas est, 25, a).

True love is translated into acts that do not exclude anyone, following the example of the good Samaritan who, with great openness of spirit, helped a stranger in dificulty, one whom he met “by chance” along the way. (cfr Lk 10,31).

Lord Cardinals, venerated brothers in the e[piscopate and the priesthood, dear members of religious orders and faithful laymen, whom I greet with warm cordiality, let us enter the special atmosphere of this liturgical period with these sentiments, allowing the word of God to enlighten and and guide us. During Lent, we will often hear repeated that invitation to convert ourselves and believe in the Gospel, and we will be constantly stimulated to open our spirits to the power of divine grace. Let us treasure the teachings which the Church will offer us abundantly in this season.

Animated by a strong commitment to prayer, determined to make greater efforts to do penitence, fasting and showing love for our brothers, let us journey together towards Easter, accompanied by the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church and model for every true disciple of Christ.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 02/03/2006 14.34]

Here's one I missed translating, so thanks to Zenit for this:
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Benedict XVI's Discourse to Roman Major Seminary
"St. Joseph Should Be an Encouragement to All"

ROME, MARCH 3, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's discourse during his Feb. 25 visit to the community of the Roman Major Seminary on the occasion of the feast of Our Lady of Trust.

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Dear Brothers in the Episcopate and in the Presbyterate,
Dear Seminarians,
Brothers and Sisters,

It gives me great pleasure to be with you this evening at the Roman Major Seminary on such a special occasion as the feast of your patroness, Our Lady of Trust.

I greet you all with affection and thank you for having welcomed me so warmly. I greet in particular the cardinal vicar and the bishops present; I greet Monsignor Giovanni Tani, the rector, and I thank him for his words on behalf of the other priests and all the seminarians, to whom I gladly extend my greeting. I then greet the young people and all those from the different parishes of Rome who have come here to spend this joyful moment with us.

I have long been awaiting an opportunity to come in person to visit you who make up the community of the seminary, one of the most important places in the diocese. There are many seminaries in Rome but this one, strictly speaking, is the diocesan seminary, as is recalled by its location here in the Lateran, next to the Cathedral of St. John, the cathedral of Rome.

Consequently, following a tradition dear to beloved Pope John Paul II, I have made the most of today's feast to meet you here, where you pray, study and live in brotherhood, training for your future pastoral ministry.

It really is very beautiful and meaningful that you venerate the Virgin Mary, Mother of Priests, with the special title of Our Lady of Trust. It evokes a twofold meaning: the trust of the seminarians who, with her help, set out on their journey in response to Christ who has called them, and the trust of the Church of Rome, especially that of her bishop, which invokes the protection of Mary, the Mother of every vocation, upon this nursery-garden of priests.

It is with Mary's help, dear seminarians, that today you can prepare for your mission as priests at the service of the Church. A moment ago, when I paused in prayer before the venerable image of Our Lady of Trust in your chapel, which is the heart of your seminary, I prayed for each one of you.

In the meantime, I was thinking once again of the many seminarians who have passed through the Roman Seminary and have subsequently served Christ's Church with love. I am thinking among others of Father Andrea Santoro, recently killed in Turkey while he was praying. And I also called upon the Mother of the Redeemer to obtain for you the gift of holiness.

May the Holy Spirit, who shaped the priestly Heart of Jesus in the Virgin's womb and later at the house in Nazareth, work within you with his grace, preparing you for the future tasks that will be entrusted to you.

It is equally beautiful and appropriate today that together with the Virgin Mother of Trust, we should venerate in a special way her husband, St. Joseph, who has inspired Monsignor Marco Frisina's Oratory this year. I thank him for his sensitivity, for having chosen to honor my holy patron, and I congratulate him on this composition, while I warmly thank the soloists, the choir, the organist and all the members of the orchestra.

This oratory, significantly entitled "Shadow of the Father," affords me an opportunity to emphasize how the example of St. Joseph, a "just man," the Evangelist says, fully responsible before God and before Mary, should be an encouragement to all of you on your way toward the priesthood.

Joseph appears to us ever attentive to the voice of the Lord, who guides the events of history, and ready to follow the instructions, ever faithful, generous and detached in service, an effective teacher of prayer and of work in the hidden life at Nazareth. I can assure you, dear seminarians, that the further you advance with God's grace on the path of the priesthood, the more you will experience what abundant spiritual fruits result from calling on St. Joseph and invoking his support in carrying out your daily duty.

Dear seminarians, please accept my most cordial best wishes for your present and your future. I place them in the hands of Mary Most Holy, Our Lady of Trust. May those who are formed at the Roman Major Seminary learn to repeat the beautiful invocation, "Mater mea, fiducia mea," your distinctive motto that was coined by my Venerable Predecessor Benedict XV.

I pray that these words will be impressed upon the hearts of each one of you and will accompany you always, in your life and in your priestly ministry. Thus, you will be able to spread around you, wherever you may be, the fragrance of Mary's trust which is trust in God's provident and faithful love.

I assure you that you will be present in my prayers every day, for you are the hope of the Church of Rome. And I now cordially and joyfully impart my apostolic blessing to you and to everyone present, as well as to your relatives and to all who are close to you on your way toward the priesthood.
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[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 04/03/2006 16.21]