ADDRESSES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES

ADDRESS TO THE METROPOLITAN ARCHBISHOPS
WHO RECEIVED THE PALLIUM, 6/30/08


Here is a translation of the multilingual address delivered by the Holy Father today to the 40 metropolitan Archbishops who received the Pallium from him at the Mass on St. Peter's Basilica yesterday. The Pope had a special audience for the bishops, their families, friends and diocesan delegations at Aula Paolo VI.


The Pope began his address in Italian:

Venerated brothers,
distinguished officials,
dear brothers and sisters!

After the solemn celebration yesterday, during which I had the joy of imposing the pallium on the Metropolitan Archbishops named in the past year, today's encounter offers me the welcome opportunity to renew to all my heartfelt greetings and to prolong the climate of communion - hierarchical but at the same time familial and informal - that one experiences in this particular circumstance.

The image of the organic body applied to the Church is one of the strong and characteristic elements of the doctrine of St. Paul, and therefore, in this jubilee year dedicated to him, I wish to entrust each of you, dear brothers, to his celestial protection.

The Apostle of the Gentiles will help the community entrusted to you to grow in unity and missionary spirit, coordinated in pastoral action with a constant apostolic impetus.

I now wish to address a greeting to each of you, dear Archbishops, as well as to your families and all the persons who have wished to be present here, as I extend my thoughts and my prayers to your local Churches.

I am happy to begin with the Holy Land, with a greeting to the Patriarch of Jerusalem of the Latins, Mons. Fouad Twal and those who accompany him.

I affectionately greet Mons. Giancarlo Maria Bregantini, Mons. Paolo Benotto and Mons. Francesco Montenegro, metropolitans respectively of Campobasso-Boiano, Pisa and Agrigento. May the Lord always bless you and guide your daily pastoral ministry.


He next greeted the French-speaking archbishops:

I greet with joy the pilgrims who have come from Niger, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti and France who have come with their new Metropolitan Archbishops, to whom I was pleased to impose the pallium, sign of communion with the Apostolic See.

My special greetings go to Mons. Michel Christian Cartatéguy, Archbishop of Niamey (Niger); Mons. Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Congo; Mons. Louis Kébreau, Archbishop of Cap Haïtien (Haïti); Mons. Serge Miot, Archbishop of Port au Prince (Haïti); and Mons. Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Lille (France).

Please convey my greetings to the priests and all the faithful in your dioceses and assure them of my fervent prayers.

The pallium symbolizes the profound union of their pastor with the Successor of Peter, as well as the pastoral concern of the Archbishop for his flock. May the faithful unite themselves even more to Christ in this communion of charity in order to bear witness to him with courage and truth.


He addressed the English-speaking archbishops next:

Your Excellencies, dear friends in Christ, I extend a cordial greeting to the English-speaking Metropolitan Archbishops upon whom I conferred the Pallium yesterday: Cardinal John Njue, Archbishop of Nairobi (Kenya); Archbishop Edwin O'Brien of Baltimore (USA); Archbishop Anthony Mancini of Halifax (Canada); Archbishop Martin Currie of Saint John's, Newfoundland (Canada); Archbishop John Hung Shan-chuan of Taipei (Taiwan); Archbishop Matthew Man-oso Ndagoso of Kaduna (Nigeria); Archbishop Richard Anthony Burke of Benin City (Nigeria); Archbishop Robert Rivas of Castries (Saint Lucia); Archbishop John Ribat of Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea); Archbishop Thomas Kwaku Mensah of Kumasi (Ghana); Archbishop Thomas Rodi of Mobile (USA); Archbishop Donald Reese of Kingston in Jamaica (Jamaica); Archbishop Peter Kairo of Nyeri (Kenya); Archbishop John Nienstedt of Saint Paul and Minneapolis (USA) and Archbishop John Lee Hiong Fun-Yit Yaw of Kota Kinabalu (Malaysia).

I also welcome the family members and friends of the new Metropolitans, and the faithful from their Archdioceses who have accompanied them to Rome.

The Pallium is worn by Metropolitan Archbishops as a symbol of their hierarchical communion with the Successor of Peter in the governance of God's People. It is made of sheep's wool, as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, and the Good Shepherd who keeps vigilant watch over his flock.

The Pallium reminds Bishops that, as vicars of Christ in their local Churches, they are called to be shepherds after the example of Jesus. As a symbol of the burden of the episcopal office, it also reminds the faithful of their duty to support the Church's Pastors by their prayers and to cooperate generously with them for the spread of the Gospel and the growth of Christ's Church in holiness, unity and love.

Dear friends, may your pilgrimage to the tombs of Saints Peter and Paul confirm you in the Catholic faith which comes from the Apostles. To all of you I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace in the Lord.


His next words were for the two German-speaking metropolitans:

I extend a joyful Gruess Gott to all who have come from my home diocese of Munich and Freising to accompany their new Archbishop Reinhard Marx to Rome for the reception of the pallium.

Likewise I greet the guests of Archbishop Willem Jacobus Eick from Utrecht (the Netherlands).

Yesterday, I laid the pallium on your Pastors to remind us of the Good Shepherd who takes up the lost sheep on his shoulders and gives his life for his flock.

The Lord called the Apostles to be his followers in love. Three times the risen Christ asked Petrus if he loved him. And three times he repeated to him the command to pasture his sheep.

So must Pastors today be pervaded by the will to safeguard the unity between the Lord and his flock. I invite you all to serve your Archbishop in harmony and support him with your prayers. May God and his mercy be always with you!


Next, he spoke in Spanish:

I affectionately address the Spanish-speaking metropolitan archbishops - Francisco Pérez González, of Pamplona and Tudela, (Spain); Lorenzo Voltolini Esti, of Portoviejo (Ecuador); Andrés Stanovnik, of Corrientes (Argentina); Óscar Urbina Ortega, of Villavicencio (Colombia); and Antonio José López Castillo, of Barquisimeto (Venezuela), who have come to Rome for the imposition of the Pallium, accompanied by their families, friends and delegations from their local churches.

Dear brothers in the Episcopate, may the pallium - a liturgical ornament with a venerable tradition, woven out of white wool - remind you always of Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd who is also the Lamb who was immolated for our salvation.

Faithful to your ministry, seek at every moment to promote communion among the bishops of the ecclesiastical province you preside over and with the Bishop of Rome. Inspire all those who came with you for this beautiful occasion not to stop praying for you so that you may continue to lead the flock entrusted to your pastoral efforts with ardent charity, in order that Christ - he for whom the holy Apostles Peter and Paul shed their blood - may be better known, loved and emulated.

I ask the Virgin Mary, who is invoked with such fervor in your countries - Spain, Ecuador, Argentina, Colombia and Venezuela - to protect and support you with her maternal love, your bishops, priests, religious communities and all the diocesan faithful.

With these feelings I impart to you from the heart the Apostolic Blessing as a token of abundant celestial gifts.


Next, he spoke in Portuguese:

I greet with fraternal esteem the Portuguese-speaking Metropolitan Archbishops who received the Pallium yesterday: Dom Mauro Aparecido dos Santos, of Cascavel (Brazil); Dom Luís Gonzaga Silva Pepeu, of Vitória da Conquista (Brazil); and Dom José Francisco Sanches Alves, of Évora (Portugal).

Dear brothers, may you always be solicitous for the flock of Christ entrusted to your care, seeking to make ever closer the bonds of communion with the Successor of Peter and among your various dioceses.

And to you, dear friends who have accompanied your bishops, follow their teachings obediently, cooperating with them generously towards realizing the Kingdom of God.

Invoking the protection of the Virgin Mother of God, I impart the Apostolic Blessing to those present here and to your diocesan communities.


NB: The following greetings were translated from the Italian translations provided by the Vatican Press Office:
To the Polish bishop and pilgrims, the Holy Father said:

I greet the Polish pilgrims, particularly the new Metropolitan of Gdansk, Archbishop Sławoj Leszek Glódz, who received the Pallium yesterday, on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, as a sign of the close link between every Metropolitan and the Successor of Peter.

I greet all those who are with him on this solemn occasion, especially his dear ones and the other faithful from the city of Gdansk. I hope that the Pauline Year which has just begun may strengthen your faith and your link with the Church and with its Pastors.

In my prayers, I entrust to God the pastoral service of Your Excellency. I bless with all my heart the pilgrims who are present today. May Jesus Christ be praised!


He spoke next in Russian:

I affectionately greet the Archbishop of the Mother of God Cathedral in Moscow, Mons. Paolo Pezzi. I thank the officials present and assure them of my special prayers.

And I address a heartfelt greeting to Mons. Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, Archbishop of Minsk-Mohilev Uktraine), and those who have accompanied him, with my best wishes for his ministry.


In Slovakian, he said:

I cordially greet the pilgrims coming from Slovakia who accompany their two new archbishop metropolitans: Stanislav of Bratislava and Jan of Presov.

With affection, I bless you and your families. Praise be to Jesus Christ!


In Croatian, he said:
I address a heartfelt greeting to Mons. Marin Srakic, the new Archbishop and Metropolitan of Ðakovo-Osijek, his family, and the pilgrims who have come to Rome from ever-faithful Croatia.

The pallium is the sign of the special link between the pastors of the Church and the Successor of Peter. With the hope that the Lord guides and protects you, my venerated brother, and the community of faithful of your dear land, I impart on all a special benediction. Jesus and Mary be praised!


He concluded the omnibus address in Italian:

Dear friends, let us thank God who has not stopped insuring that there are Pastors for his Church to lead it firmly through its earthly pilgrimage.

Let us always remember that for every pastor, the condition of his service is love for Christ, before whom nothing should come ahead.

"Simon bar Jonah, do you love me?" May this question of Jesus to Peter resound always in our heart, dear brothers, and inspire our response, always new and always passionate: "Lord, you know everything: you know I love you".

From this love of Christ comes our mission: "Pasture my lambs" (Jn 21, 16,17) - a mission which is summarized best in our testimony to him, our Master and Lord, who tells us, "Follow me!" (Jn 21,19).

May this be our joy, as it is certainly our Cross - but a gentle adn light Cross, because it is a cross of love.

May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, watch over you and sustain you, while I impart the Apostolic Blessing to each of you, those dear to you, and all who are entrusted to your ministry.

ALL THE TEXTS FOR THE HOLY FATHER'S DISCOURSES IN AUSTRALIA
WERE POSTED IN THE THREAD 'PAPAL VISIT TO SYDNEY FOR WORLD YOUTH DAY'.

HOMILY ON THE SOLEMNITY
OF THE ASSUMPTION
Castel Gandolfo
August 15, 2008



The Holy Father celebrated Holy Mass for the occasion at the pontifical parish church of St. Thomas Villanova in Castel Gandolfo. Here is a translation of the homily which the Pope delivered extemporaneously. The Vatican posted the transcript only on Monday, 8/18/08.


Dear brothers and sisters,

Every year, in the heart of summer, the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the oldest Marian feast, recurs. It is an occasion to rise with Mary to the heights of the spirit, where one breathes the pure air of supernatural life and contemplates the most authentic beauty, that of sanctity.

The climate of today's celebration is completely pervaded with Paschal joy. "Today," chants the antiphon of the Magnificat, "Mary has gone up to heaven: Rejoice! with Christ, she reigns for always. Alleluia."

This announcement tells us of an event that was totally unique and extraordinary and destined to fill with hope and happiness he heart of every human being.

Mary is in fact the 'first fruit' of new humanity, the creature in whom the mystery of Christ - incarnation, death, resurrection and ascension to heaven - has had its full effect, rescuing her from death and transferring her, body and soul, to the kingdom of immortal life. That is why Mary, as the Second Vatican Council reminds us, constitutes a sign of sure hope and comfort (cfr Lumen gentium, 68).

Today's feast impels us to raise our eyes to heaven. Not a heaven made up of abstract ideas, nor an imaginary one created by art, but the heaven of true reality, God himself. God is heaven. He is our goal, the goal and eternal dwelling from which we came and to which we return.

St. German, Bishop of Constantinople in the eighth century, in a discourse given on the feast of the Assumption, expressed himself this way in addressing himself to the celestial Mother of God: "You are she who, through your immaculate flesh, rejoined the Christian people to Christ... Just as everyone who thirsts runs to the spring, so does every man aspire to live, to see the light which never sets, and so does every Christian aspire to enter into the light of the Most Holy Trinity, where you have already entered."

These are the same sentiments which animate us today as we contemplate Mary in the glory of God. When she went to sleep in this world to reawaken in heaven, in effect she simply followed her Son Jesus for the last time in his longest and most decisive journey, in his passage 'from this world to the Father" (cfr Jn 13,1).

Like him, together with him, she left this world to return 'to the house of the Father' (cfr Jn 14,2). And all this is not remote from us, as it might seem at first glance, because we are all children of the Father, God. We are all brothers of Jesus, and so we too are all children of Mary, our Mother.

And we are all reaching out towards happiness. The happiness we are all reaching to is God. We are all on a journey towards this happiness which we call heaven, which is really God.

Mary helps us, encourages us, so that every moment of our existence becomes a step in this exodus, in our journey toward God. And so she helps us to render present even the reality of heaven, the greatness of God, in the life of our world.

Is this not basically the Paschal dynamism of man, of every man, who wants to become heavenly, totally happy, in the power of Christ's Resurrection? And is this not, perhaps, the start and anticipation of the movement which concerns every human being and the entire cosmos?

She whose flesh God took on and whose soul was pierced by a sword on Calvary became associated first and foremost, and in singular manner - to the mystery of this transformation which we are all reaching for, often pierced as we are ourselves by the sword of suffering in this world.

The new Eve followed the new Adam in suffering, in the Passion, and thus, too, towards definitive joy. Christ is the 'first fruit', but his resurrected flesh is inseparable from that of his earthly Mother, and in her, all mankind is involved in the Assumption to God; and with her, all creation, whose groans of suffering are, as St. Paul tells us, the labor pains of the new humanity.

Thus are born the new heavens and the new earth, in which there will no longer be tears nor lamentations, because there will no longer be death (cfr Ap 21,1-4).

What a great mystery of love is presented to us again today for our contemplation! Christ conquered death with the omnipotence of his love. Only love is omnipotent. This love impelled Christ to die for us and thus to conquer death. Yes, only love can make us enter the kingdom of life. Mary entered it behind her Son, associated in his glory, after having been associated in his Passion.

She entered with an uncontainable impetus, keeping open after her the way for all of us. Because of that, we invoke her today as 'Gate of Heaven', "Queen of the Angels', and "Refuge of Sinners".

Certainly no reasoning will make us understand these most sublime facts - only simple, direct faith, and the silence of prayer which puts us into contact with the Mystery which will always surpass us infinitely. Prayer helps us to speak to God and to listen to how the Lord speaks to our heart.

Let us ask Mary to give us today this gift of his faith, the faith which enables us to live already in this dimension between the finite and the infinite, the faith that transforms even our sense of time and the course of our existence, that faith in which we feel intimately that our life is not sucked back by the past but drawn towards the future, towards God, where Christ has preceded us, and after him, Mary.

Contemplating Our Lady assumed into heaven, we can better understand that our life of every day, although it may be marked by trials and difficulties, runs like a river towards the divine ocean, towards the fullness of joy and peace.

We can better understand that our dying is not the end, but entry into a life that does not know death. Our setting into the horizon of this world is a re-emergence into the dawn of a new world and of the eternal day.

"Mary, as you accompany us in the effort our daily living and dying, keep us constantly oriented towards the true homeland of teh Beatitudes. Help us to do as you did."

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends who are taking part today in our festivities, let us make this prayer to Mary together. Before the sad spectacle of so much false joy and contemporaneously of so much anguished pain which is widespread in the world, we should learn from her to become signs of hope and comfort ourselves - we must announce with our lives the Resurrection of Christ.

"Help us, Mother, radiant Gate of Heaven, Mother of Mercy, the spring from which comes forth our new life and our joy, Jesus Christ". Amen



.

MESSAGE TO THE 29TH ANNUAL MEETING
FOR FRIENDSHIP AMONG PEOPLES
(Rimini, Italy, August 24-30, 2008)


On the occasion of the 29th annual Meeting for Friendship among Peoples held in Rimini, on the theme 'O Protagonista o Nessuno' - (the Church is) Either a Protagonist or No One (in public life), Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone sent a message to the organizers and participants in the name of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. The message was read at the start of the Opening Day Mass on Sunday by Mons. Francesco Lambiasi, Bishop of Rimini. Here is a translation of the message:


To His Excellency
Mons. Francesco Lambiasi
Bishop of Rimini


Most Reverend Excellency,

On the occasion of the 29th edition of the Meeting for Friendship among Peoples taking place in Rimini from August 24-30, I am happy to convey to you, to the promoters and to all participants in this significant manifestation the heartfelt greetings of His Holiness Benedict XVI.

The provocative title of the encounter "O protagonisti o nessuno' is an immediate attention-getter. Actually, this is the precise intention of the organizers: to urge reflection on the concept of the person.

What does it mean to be a protagonist in one's own existence and that of the world? The question is urgent today because the alternative to playing an active role often appears to be a life without sense, the grey anonymity of so many 'nobodies' who are all confused among teh folds and creases of an amorphous mass, and incapable, unfortunately, of emerging with their own face and being worthy of notice.

The question then must be placed in better focus and could be reformulated thus: what gives a man a face, what makes him unmistakably himself, what assures full dignity to his existence?

The society and culture in which we are immersed, and for which the mass media constitute a powerful echo chamber, are largely dominated by convictions that notoriety/fame constitutes an essential component of one's personal realization.

To emerge from anonymity, to succeed in imposing oneself in the public eye through any means and pretext - this is the goal pursued by many. Political and economic power, prestige in one's profession, wealth that can be displayed grandly, teh notoriety of one's own self-realizations, ostentation even of one's excesses - all these are considered complacently as 'success' in life.

That is why, very often, the new generations aspire to professions and careers that they idealize precisely because they offer a spotlight that would allow them to 'shine', to feel they are 'somebody'. The ideal they aim for is represented by movie stars, personalities in show business and television, athletes, foot ball players, etc.

But what about those who will never reach such a level of social visibility? What about those who are forgotten if not downright crushed by the dynamics of worldly success to which is oriented the society in which we live? What about those who are poor, powerless, sick, aged or disabled, those who have no talent to make their way ahead among others or have no means to cultivate any talents, those who do not have the voice to make their ideas and beliefs felt? How do we consider those who lead obscure lives with no apparent relevance or interest for the mass media?

Man today, like man at all times, is driven to find happiness and will pursue it wherever he thinks he may find it. Here then is the true question hidden by the word 'protagonism' [playing an active role] that the Meeting offers for our reflection this year. What does happiness consist of? What can really lead man to achieve it?

Pope Benedict VI has designated this year as a special jubilee year dedicated to a champion of Christianity for all time, the Pharisee from Tarsus called Saul, who,after having persecuted the early church with fury, converted upon receiving the call of teh Lord. From that moment on, he served the cause of the Gospel with total dedication, tirelessly going to all the parts of the known world in his time and contributing to set the bases for that which would become European culture informed by Christianity.

Rare are the spirits who have shown a vastness of knowledge and acumen equal to his. His letters demonstrate the explosive power of his passionate personality and have attracted millions of readers, exercising a unique influence on generation after generation of men, on entire peoples and on nations.

Through his writings, Paul never ceased to present Christ as the authentic source of respect among men, peace among nations, adn justice with coexistence.

All of us, two thousand years removed, can still consider ourselves the 'children' of his preaching, and our civilization knows what it owes this man precisely for the values that have formed its foundation.

And yet St. Paul's existence was far from the glare of the spotlight and of public recognition. When he died, the Church that he had contributed to spread was still a small seed, a grouping that the highest authorities of the Roman Empire could either choose to ignore or to try to crush in blood.

The existence of Paul, examined in its daily particulars, was full of tribulations, afflicted by hostility and dangers, much more full of difficulties to face rather than comforts and joys. He himself gives vivid testimony of these in many passages of his writings.

Her is what he says, for instance, in the Second Letter to the Corinthians: "Five times at the hands of the Jews I received forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I passed a night and a day on the deep; on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own race, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, dangers among false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many sleepless nights, through hunger and thirst, through frequent fastings, through cold and exposure. And apart from these things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led to sin, and I am not indignant?" (11, 24-29).

This obstacle course - as we might define it - which he overcame with the strength and in the name of his Redeemer, Paul concluded in Rome, where after being condemned to death, he was beheaded. Together with him, in the fury of the persecutions by the Emperor Nero, many other Christians died, among them Peter, the fisherman from Galilee and head of the Church.

Can we consider Paul's life a 'success'? Here we face the paradox of Christian life as such. What, in fact, does it mean for a Christian to 'succeed'? What do the lives of saints tell us who have spent their lives hidden in convents? What are we told by the lives and deaths of countless Christian martyrs, most of them unknown, who ended their existence nor amid acclamation but surrounded by scorn, hatred or indifference? Where are we to find the 'greatness' in such lives, the luminosity of their testimony, their 'success'?

Even recently, the Holy Father Benedict XVI recalled that man is made for the eternal fulfillment of his existence. This goes way beyond worldly success and is not in contradiction to however humble the conditions in which his earthly pilgrimage may take place.

Man's fulfillment is knowing God, by whom every person was created and to whom every fiber of our being reaches out. To do this, neither fame nor success before the crowds do not serve.

This then is the protagonism that the title of this edition of the Rimini Meeting aims to examine. Man is the protagonist of his own existence when he gives his life to God, who calls him to cooperate in the universal plan of salvation.

The Meeting wishes to reiterate that only Christ can disclose to man his true dignity and convey to him the authentic sense of his existence. When the believer follows him obediently, he is capable of leaving behind a lasting trace in history. It is the trace of love, of which he becomes a witness because he himself has been gripped by love.

Then, that which was possible for St. Paul also becomes possible for each of us. It doesn't matter if God's plan sees for us a small radius of action. It doesn't matter if we live behind the walls of a cloistered monastery or if we are immersed in multiple and diverse activities in the world. It doesn't matter if we are fathers and mothers, priests or consecrated persons.

God makes use of us according to his plan of love, according to ways that he decides and he asks us to fall in with the action of his Spirit - he needs collaborators to realize his Kingdom. To each one he says, "Come follow me" (Lk 18,22), and only by following him can man know the true exaltation of his ego.

This is what we are taught by teh experience of the saints, men and women who very often have lived their faithfulness to God indiscreet and ordinary ways. Among them we find many true leading players in history, persons who were fully realized, living examples of hope and witnesses to a love which fears nothing, not even death.

The Holy Father hopes that these reflections may help the participants of the Meeting to encounter Christ, to better understand the value of Christian life and to realize its sense in humble protagonism in the service of mission for the Church, in Italy and around the world.

To this end, he assures you of his prayers for the success of this Meeting adn send to you, to the organizers and all present today, a special Benediction.

I gladly extend my most fervent wishes for the profitable success of this demonstration, and will avail of the occasion to affirm my respects in the name of the Lord.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone
Vatican Secretary of State

Reserved for the Pope's eulogy
for Cardinal Innocenti, 9/10/08
To be translated from Italian

All the Papal texts during the visit to Cagliari on Sept. 7 have been posted in the thread PASTORAL VISIT TO ITALY.

Reserved for
ADDRESS TO THE BISHOPS OF PARAGUAY, 9/11/08
To be translated from Spanish

All the Papal texts during the apostolic visit to Paris and Lourdes have been posted in NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT and will also be posted in the thread APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO FRANCE which I have started to construct but must post.

I must apologize I was unable to open the thread before the visit as I have done with all the other visits since the visit to Poland.

ADDRESS TO THE AMBASSADOR
FROM BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA
9/18/08


Here is the text of the address delivered in English by the Holy Father at the presentation of credentials by the new ambassador from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Madame Jasna Krivośić-Prpić, at the Apostolic palace in Castel Gandolfo.


Your Excellency,

I am pleased to welcome you today and to accept the Letters of Credence by which you are appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Holy See.

On this significant occasion I would ask that you kindly convey my heartfelt greetings to the members of the Presidency and all the citizens of your country. Assure them of my fervent prayers for their ongoing efforts to achieve reconciliation and the consolidation of peace and stability.

The Holy See’s diplomatic relations form a part of her mission of service to the international community. Her engagement with civil society is anchored in the conviction that the task of building a more just world must recognize the supernatural vocation proper to every individual.

The Church therefore promotes an understanding of the human person who receives from God the capacity to transcend individual limitations and social constraints so as to recognize and uphold the universal values which safeguard the dignity of all and serve the common good.

Ambassador, as you have observed, your country though small in area is blessed with much natural beauty. Such evidence of the hand of the Creator gladdens the hearts of its inhabitants and helps them lift their thoughts towards the Almighty.

Reflecting its particular geographical location, Bosnia and Herzegovina also contains a rich mix of cultures and precious patrimonies. Tragically, however, cultural and ethnic differences throughout history have not infrequently been a source of misunderstanding and friction.

Indeed, as each of the three constitutive peoples that make up your country know only too well, they have even been the cause of conflicts and wars. No person wishes for war. No parents desire conflict for their children. No civic or religious group should ever resort to violence or oppression. Yet, so many families in your land have been subjected to the suffering which results from these calamities.

Listening to the voice of reason, however, and prompted by the hope that we all desire for ourselves and the generations which follow, every individual can find the strength to overcome past divisions and indeed hammer swords into ploughshares and spears into sickles (cf. Is 2:4).

In this regard, I wish to acknowledge the progress being made to consolidate gestures of reconciliation and to encourage the International Community to continue its efforts to assist Bosnia and Herzegovina to this end.

I trust that, in accepting the facts of regional history and the grave lessons to be learnt from recent years, the courage will be found to build a future with a healthy sense of solidarity.

A State’s spirit is shaped at many levels. The family home is where children learn the essential values of responsibility and harmonious coexistence. It is here too that prejudices are either born or broken.

Every parent therefore has the grave duty to instil in their children, through example, respect for the dignity that marks every person irrespective of ethnicity, religion or social grouping. In this way, the splendour of lives led justly - with integrity, fairness and compassion - can shine forth as examples for the young, indeed everyone, to emulate.

Education too contributes greatly to the soul of a nation. Good schooling not only attends to the cognitive development of children but to the civic and spiritual as well. Teachers who exercise their noble profession with a passion for truth can do much to discredit any false anthropological ideologies that contain seeds of hostility (cf. 2007 Message for World Day of Peace, 10) and to foster an appreciation of cultural and religious diversity in the life of a country.

In this vein, I would also like to offer a word of encouragement to those working in the media. They can do much to overcome lingering attitudes of distrust by ensuring that they do not become tools of prejudice but rather transcend particular interests and promote broad-based and inclusive civic goals, thus becoming instruments at the service of greater justice and solidarity (cf. 2008 Message for World Communications Day, 2).

Your Excellency, as you are well aware, the State too is called to pursue with vigour its responsibility to strengthen the institutions and extol the principles which lie at the heart of all democracies.

This demands unwavering commitment to the rule of law and justice, the eradication of corruption and other forms of criminal activity, the support of an independent and impartial judiciary, and equal opportunity in the employment market.

I am sure that the constitutional reforms which your government is currently studying will address the legitimate aspirations of all citizens, guaranteeing both the rights of individuals and social groups, while preserving the common moral and ethical values which bind all peoples and render political leaders accountable.

In this way all sectors of society can contribute to the national planning of social and economic development and likewise assist in attracting the investment necessary for economic growth, enabling in particular your young people to find satisfying employment and guarantee a secure future.

For her part the Church in Bosnia and Herzegovina will continue to assist in the attainment of the goals of reconciliation, peace and prosperity. Through her parishes, schools, health-care facilities, and community development programmes she exercises her mission of universal charity in its threefold form: material, intellectual and spiritual.

Her participation in ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue should be seen as a further way of serving society at large. The promotion of spiritual and moral values, discernible to human reason, not only forms part of the transmission of religious traditions but also nourishes the wider culture, motivating men and women of goodwill to strengthen ties of solidarity and to manifest how a united society can indeed arise from a plurality of peoples.

Your Excellency, I am confident that the diplomatic mission which you begin today will further strengthen the bonds of cooperation existing between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Holy See.

The application of the recently ratified Basic Agreement, among other matters, facilitates the right to establish places of religious worship and to undertake ecclesial works, and at the same time offers a positive example of the democratic principles taking root in the country.

In this regard, I am confident that the Mixed Commission will soon commence its important work. Assuring you of the assistance of the various offices of the Roman Curia and with my sincere good wishes, I invoke upon you and your family together with all the citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the blessings of Almighty God.

ADDRESS TO THE PARTICIPANTS
OF THE SYMPOSIUM ON POPE PIUS XII
9/18/08


Here is the text of the address delivered by the Holy Father in English to the participants of the Symposium on Pope Pius XII sponsored by the US-based Pave the Way Foundation, established by the American Jew, Gary Krupp, who is also its President. The Symposium participants had an audience with the Pope at the Swiss Hall of the Apostolic Palace in Castel Gandolfo at the end of their Sept 16-18 symposium held in Rome.



Dear Mr Krupp,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to meet with you at the conclusion of the important symposium organized by the Pave the Way Foundation.

I know that many eminent scholars have participated in this reflection on the numerous works of my beloved predecessor - the Servant of God Pope Pius XII - accomplished during the difficult period around the time of the second world war.

I warmly welcome each of you especially Mr Gary Krupp, President of the Foundation, whom I thank for the kind words expressed on your behalf.

I am grateful to him for informing me how your work has been undertaken during the symposium. You have analyzed without bias the events of history and concerned yourselves only with seeking the truth. I also greet those accompanying you on this visit, as well as your family members and loved ones at home.

The focus of your study has been the person and the tireless pastoral and humanitarian work of Pius XII, Pastor Angelicus. Fifty years have passed since his pious death here at Castel Gandolfo early on the ninth of October 1958, after a debilitating disease.

This anniversary provides an important opportunity to deepen our knowledge of him, to meditate on his rich teaching and to analyze thoroughly his activities. So much has been written and said of him during these last five decades and not all of the genuine facets of his diverse pastoral activity have been examined in a just light.

The aim of your symposium has been precisely to address some of these deficiencies, conducting a careful and documented examination of many of his interventions, especially those in favour of the Jews who in those years were being targeted all over Europe, in accordance with the criminal plan of those who wanted to eliminate them from the face of the earth.

When one draws close to this noble Pope, free from ideological prejudices, in addition to being struck by his lofty spiritual and human character one is also captivated by the example of his life and the extraordinary richness of his teaching.

One can also come to appreciate the human wisdom and pastoral intensity which guided him in his long years of ministry, especially in providing organized assistance to the Jewish people.

Thanks to the vast quantity of documented material which you have gathered, supported by many authoritative testimonies, your symposium offers to the public forum the possibility of knowing more fully what Pius XII achieved for the Jews persecuted by the Nazi and fascist regimes.

One understands, then, that wherever possible he spared no effort in intervening in their favour either directly or through instructions given to other individuals or to institutions of the Catholic Church.

In the proceedings of your convention you have also drawn attention to his many interventions, made secretly and silently, precisely because, given the concrete situation of that difficult historical moment, only in this way was it possible to avoid the worst and save the greatest number of Jews.

This courageous and paternal dedication was recognized and appreciated during and after the terrible world conflict by Jewish communities and individuals who showed their gratitude for what the Pope had done for them.

One need only recall Pius XII’s meeting on the 29th of November 1945 with eighty delegates of German concentration camps who during a special Audience granted to them at the Vatican, wished to thank him personally for his generosity to them during the terrible period of Nazi-fascist persecution.

Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for your visit and for the research you have undertaken. Thanks also to the Pave the Way Foundation for its ongoing activity in promoting relationships and dialogue between religions, as witnesses of peace, charity and reconciliation.

It is my great hope that this year, which marks the fiftieth anniversary of my venerated predecessor’s death, will provide the opportunity to promote in-depth studies of various aspects of his life and his works in order to come to know the historical truth, overcoming every remaining prejudice.

With these sentiments I invoke upon you and the proceedings of your symposium an abundance of divine blessings.

MESSAGE TO MUSLIMS
ON THE OCCASION OF RAMADAN, 2008


The Vatican today released the annual message from the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialog to the Muslims of the world to mark the annual celebration of Ramadan, the Miuslim month of fasting and penitence. In addition to the general release in English, French, Italian and Arabic texts, the message was also sent to all the Muslim countries in the following languages, respectively: Hausa, Bulgarian, Farsi, Albanian, Indonesian, Kazakh, Kiswahili, Portuguese, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, German, Thai, Turkish and Urdu.


Christians and Muslims:
Together for the dignity of the family

Dear Muslim friends,

1. As the end of the month of Ramadan approaches, and following a now well-established tradition, I am pleased to send you the best wishes of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue. During this month Christians close to you have shared your reflections and your family celebrations; dialogue and friendship have been strengthened. Praise be to God!

2. As in the past, this friendly rendezvous also gives us an opportunity to reflect together on a mutually topical subject which will enrich our exchange and help us to get to know each other better, in our shared values as well as in our differences. This year we would like to propose the subject of the family.

3. One of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes, which deals with the Church in the modern world, states: ‘The well-being of the individual person and of human and Christian society is intimately linked with the healthy condition of that community produced by marriage and family. Hence Christians and all men who hold this community in high esteem sincerely rejoice in the various ways by which men today find help in fostering this community of love and perfecting its life, and by which parents are assisted in their lofty calling. Those who rejoice in such aids look for additional benefits from them and labour to bring them about.’ (n. 47)

4. These words give us an opportune reminder that the development of both the human person and of society depends largely on the healthiness of the family!

How many people carry, sometimes for the whole of their life, the weight of the wounds of a difficult or dramatic family background? How many men and women now in the abyss of drugs or violence are vainly seeking to make up for a traumatic childhood?

Christians and Muslims can and must work together to safeguard the dignity of the family, today and in the future.

5. Given the high esteem in which both Muslims and Christians hold the family, we have already had many occasions, from the local to the international level, to work together in this field. The family, that place where love and life, respect for the other and hospitality are encountered and transmitted, is truly the ‘fundamental cell of society.’

6. Muslims and Christians must never hesitate, not only to come to the aid of families in difficulty, but also to collaborate with all those who support the stability of the family as an institution and the exercise of parental responsibility, in particular in the field of education.

I need only remind you that the family is the first school in which one learns respect for others, mindful of the identity and the difference of each one. Interreligious dialogue and the exercise of citizenship cannot but benefit from this.

7. Dear friends, now that your fast comes to an end, I hope that you, with your families and those close to you, purified and renewed by those practices dear to your religion, may know serenity and prosperity in your life! May Almighty God fill you with His Mercy and Peace!

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran
President

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata
Secretary

ADDRESS TO BENEDICTINE ABBOTS, 9/20/08


Here is a translation of the address by the Holy Father to the participants of the International Congress of the Benedictine Confederation whom he met at the Swiss Hall of the Pontifical Palace in Castel Gandolfo on Saturday morning.



Dear Father Abbots,
dear sister Abbesses,

It is with great joy that I welcome and greet you on the occasion of the international congress which gathers in Rome every four years all the abbots of your confederation and the superiors of independent priories, to reflect and discuss ways to embody the Benedictine charism in the present social and cultural context, and to respond to the ever new challenges it poses to bearing witness to the Gospel.

First of all, I greet the Primate Abbot, Dom Notker Wolf, and I thank him for what he expressed in the name of all.

I also greet the group of Abbesses who represent the Communio Internationalis Benedictinarum, as well as the Orthodox representatives.

In a desacralized world and in an era marked by a pre-occupying culture of emptiness and 'non-sense', you are called on to announce without compromises the primacy of God and to advance proposals for eventual new paths of evangelization.

Your task of sanctification, personal and communitarian, and the liturgical prayer that you cultivate enable you to render testimony of particular efficacy.

In your monasteries, above all, you renew and deepen daily that encounter with the person of Christ, whom you always have with you as a guest, friend and companion. That is why your convents are places where men and women, even in our time, can run to in order to look for God and to learn to recognize the signs of Christ's presence, of his charity, of his mercy.

With humble confidence, you do not tire of sharing with those who turn to you for spiritual solicitude the richness of the evangelical message which is summarized in announcing the love of the merciful Father, who is ready to embrace every person through Christ.

Thus you continue to offer your precious contribution to the vitality and sanctification of the People of God, according to the particular charism of Benedict of Norcia.

Dear Abbots and Abbesses, your are the guardians of the patrimony of a spirituality which is radically anchored in the Gospel - per ducatum evangelii pergamus itinera eius [Let us walk in his paths by the guidance of the Gospel]- says St. Benedict in the Prologue to the Rule.

It is this which commits you to communicate and give to others the fruits of your interior experience. I know and appreciate well the generous and competent cultural and formative work that so many of your monasteries carry out, especially on account of the younger generations, creating a climate of brotherly welcome which favors a singular experience of the Church.

Indeed, it is of primary importance to prepare young people to confront their future and measure themselves against the multiple demands of society, with constant reference to the evangelical message which is always actual, inexhaustible and life-giving.

Dedicate yourselves, then, with renewed apostolic ardor to the youth, who are the future of the Church and of humanity. To construct a 'new' Europe, one must indeed begin with the new generations, offering them the possibility of intimate closeness to the spiritual riches of the liturgy, of meditation and of lectio divina.

This pastoral and formative action, in truth, is more than ever needed by the entire human family. In so many parts of the world, especially in Asia and Africa, there is a great need for vital spaces of encounter with the Lord, in which, through prayer and contemplation, one may recover peace and serenity in oneself and with others.

Therefore, do not fail to meet with open heart the expectations of those who, even outside Europe, express a sincere desire for your presence and your apostolate so they may draw from the riches of Benedictine spirituality.

Let yourself be guided by the intimate desire to serve every man with charity, regardless of race or religion. With prophetic freedom and wise discernment, be significant presences wherever Providence calls you to establish yourself, always distinguishing yourself by the harmonious equilibrium of prayer and work which characterizes your way of life.

And what about the famous Benedictine hospitality? That is a particular vocation of yours, an experience that is fully spiritual, human and cultural. And even in this, let there be balance: may the heart of the community stay open, but let the times and ways of hospitality be proportionate.

Thus you will be able to offer to men and women of our time the possibility to deepen their sense of existence, in the infinite horizon of Christian hope, cultivating interior silence in communion with the Word of salvation.

A community capable of authentic fraternal life, fervent in liturgical prayer, in study, in work, and in sincere availability to the neighbor who is thirsty for God, constitutes the best impulse to inspire in the hearts, especially of young people, the monastic vocation and in general, a fecund path of faith.

I wish to address a special word to the representatives of Benedictine nuns and sisters. Dear sisters, like other families, you suffer, especially in some countries, from the scarcity of new vocations.

Don't let yourselves be discouraged but face these painful situations of crisis with serenity and with the awareness that what is asked of each one is not so much success but the commitment to be faithful. What must be absolutely avoided is to have any less spiritual adhesion to the Lord and to one's own vocation and mission.

Faithfully persevering, one confesses, with great effectiveness, even in the eyes of the world, one's firm trust in the Lord of history, in whose hands rest the times and destinies of persons, institutions, and peoples, and to him we also entrust what can be achieved by his gifts in historical situations.

Make yours the spiritual attitude of the Virgin Mary, who was happy to be the 'handmaid of the Lord', totally available to the will of the heavenly Father.

Dear monks, nuns and sisters, thanks for this most gratifying visit. I accompany you with my prayers, so that in your meetings in this daily congress proceedings, you may discern the most timely and opportune modalities that will visibly and clearly testify - in your way of life, your work and your prayer - your commitment to a radical imitation of the Lord.

May the most Blessed Mary sustain you in every project for good, help you to always have God before your eyes, before anything else, and accompany you maternally along the way.

As I invoke abundant celestial gifts in support of your every generous intention, I impart a special Apostolic Blessing to you and the entire Benedictine family.

ADDRESS TO NEW BISHOPS, 9/20/08
To be translated from Italian

HOMILY ON THE DEDICATION OF THE NEW ALTAR
Cathedral of San Pancrazio, Albano Laziale
9/21/08


At 9 a.m. today, the Holy Father went to Albano Laziale to celebrate Holy Mass and dedicate the new main altar of the Cathedral. Welcoming the Pope upon his arrival at the rear gate of the Pontifical Villas of Castel Gandolfo which open on to Piazza Pia in Albano were Cardinal Angelo Sodano, titular bishop of Albano and dean of the college of Cardinals; Mons. Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano; and Albano Mayor Marco Mattei.

The Pope walked across the Piazza towards the Cathedral of Albano where he was formally welcomed by the Mayor with brief remarks, and by the Canons of the Cathedral.

Here is a translation of the Holy Father's homily:


Dear brothers and sisters!

Today's celebration is more than usually rich with symbols, and the Word of God which has just been proclaimed helps us to understand the significance and value of what we are doing today.

In the first Reading, we heard the account of the purification of the Temple and the dedication of the new altar of offerings by Judas Maccabaeus in 164 B.C., three years after the Temple was profaned by Antiochus Epiphane (cfr 1 Mac 4,52-59).

To commemorate that event the feast of Dedication, lasting 8 days, was instituted. This feast, initially linked to the Temple where the people came in procession to offer sacrifices, was also enlivened by lighting the homes, and in this form, it survived the destruction of Jerusalem.

The sacred author underlines rightly the joy and merriment that characterized that event. But how much greater, dear brothers and sisters, should be our joy, knowing that on the altar, which we are about to consecrate, the sacrifice of Christ himself will be offered daily.

On this altar, he will continue to immolate himself, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, for our salvation and that of the whole world. In the Eucharistic mystery that is renewed on every altar, Jesus becomes really present.

It is a dynamic presence, which takes hold of us to make us his, to assimilate us to him. He draws us with the power of his love, making us come out of ourselves to unite with him, becoming one with him.

The real presence of Christ makes each of us his 'home', and all of us together make up his Church, the spiritual edifice of which St. Peter speaks:

"Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God," the apostle wrote, "and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pt 2,4-5).

Almost as though developing this beautiful metaphor, St. Augustine observes that in the faith, men are like wood and stone taken from the woods and the mountains for building materials. Through baptism, catechesis and preaching, they are hewn, put together and smoothened to a finish. But they can become the house of the Lord only if they are put together with charity.

When believers are reciprocally linked according to a determined order, mutually and tightly juxtaposed and cohesive, when they are united together in charity, they they truly become the house of the Lord which does not fear it will collapse (cfr Serm., 336).

It is therefore Christ's love, the charity that 'never fails' (1 Cor 13,8), which is the spiritual energy that unites those who take part in the same sacrifice and who eat of the only Bread broken for the salvation of the world.

Is it, in fact, possible to communicate with the Lord if we don't communicate among ourselves? How can we present ourselves divided at the altar of God, distant from each other?

May this altar, on which the sacrifice of the Lord will soon be renewed, be for you, dear brothers and sisters, a constant invitation to love. Come to it always with hearts ready to welcome the love of Christ and to spread it, to receive forgiveness and to give it.

To this end, we are offered an important lesson in life by the Gospel passage which was just proclaimed (cfr Mt5,23-24). It is a brief but urgent and incisive appeal for fraternal reconciliation, indispensable in order to present a worthy offering at the altar - an appeal which takes up a teaching that was already very much present in prophetic preaching.

Even the prophets had, in fact, denounced with vigor the uselessness of acts of worship that were devoid of corresponding moral dispositions, especially in relationships with one's neighbor (cfr Is 1,10-20; Am 5, 21–27; Mic 6, 6-8).

Therefore, every time that you approach the altar for the Eucharistic celebration, may your spirit open up to forgiveness and to brotherly reconciliation, ready to accept the apologies of those who have injured you and ready, in your turn, to forgive them.

In the Roman liturgy, the priest, after having offered the bread and wine, bowing before the altar, prays softly: "Humble and repenting, receive us, Lord: may our Sacrifice which we offer today be pleasing
to you."

Thus, he prepares to enter, with the entire assembly of the faithful, into the heart of the Eucharistic mystery, the heart of that celestial liturgy referred to in the second Reading, taken from the Apocalypse.

St. John presents an angel who offers "a great quantity of incense... along with the prayers of all the holy ones, on the gold altar that was before the throne" (cfr Ap 8,3).

The altar of sacrifice becomes, in a certain sense, the point of encounter between heaven and earth; the center, we might say, of the one Church which is celestial and at the same time, a pilgrim Church on earth, where, between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God, the disciples of the Lord announce his passion and death, and then his return to glory (cfr Lumen gentium, 8).

Even more, each Eucharistic celebration already anticipates the triumph of Christ over sin and the world, and shows in the splendor of his Church, "immaculate spouse of the immaculate Lamb, the Spouse Christ loved and for whom he gave himself in order to make it holy" (ibid, 6).

These reflections are inspired by the rite which we are about to carry out in your Cathedral, which we admire today in its renewed beauty and which you rightly wish to make ever more welcoming and dignified.

It is an effort that has involved all of you, and which, in the first place, asks the entire diocesan community to grow in charity and in apostolic and missionary dedication.

Concretely, this means bearing witness with your life of your faith in Christ and the total trust that you have in him. It also means cultivating the ecclesial communion, which is above all a gift, a grace, fruit of the free and gratuitous love of God, therefore something divine that is effective, always present and functioning in history despite every appearance to the contrary.

But ecclesial communion is also a task that is entrusted to the personal responsibility of every one.

May the Lord grant that you live a communion that is ever more convinced and industrious in collaborating and in sharing responsibility at every level: among priests, consecrated persons and laymen; among the different Christian communities of your diocese; among the various lay associations.

I now address my heartfelt greeting to your bishop, Mons. Marcello Semeraro, whom I thank for the invitation and for the kind words of welcome which he gave in behalf of all of you. I also wish to express my fervent wishes on the 10th anniversary of his episcopal consecration.

A special thought goes to Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals and titular bishop of your suburbicarian church, who joins us today on this joyous occasion.

I greet the other prelates present, the priests, consecrated persons, young and old, families, children, the sick - embracing with affection all the faithful of the diocesan community who are spiritually gathered here.

I greet the authorities who honor us with their presence, first of all the Mayor of Albano, whom I thank for the kind words he addressed to me before the Mass began.

I invoke on everyone the celestial protection of St. Pancratius, titular saint of this Cathedral, and of the apostle Matthew, whom the liturgy remembers today.

I invoke, in particular, the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. On this day which crowns the efforts, sacrifices and commitment on your part to give the Cathedral a renovated liturgical space - with timely improvements on the Episcopal Chair, the ambo and the altar, may Our Lady obtain for you to be able to write another page of daily and popular saintliness,to add to those that have marked the life of the Church of Albano for centuries.

Certainly, as your Pastor reminded, there will be no lack of difficulties, challenges and problems, but equally great are the hopes and the opportunities for announcing and bearing witness to the love of God.

May the Spirit of the Risen Lord, which is the Spirit of Pentecost, open you up to his horizons of hope, and nourish in you a missionary impulse towards the vast horizons of the new evangelization. For this let us pray as we proceed with our Eucharistic celebration.



After the Mass, the Holy Father greeted some of the benefactors and sponsors of the restoration work for the Cathedral.

At 11:45, he left the Cathedral and returned to Castel Gandolfo.

i am so behind with translations, but by now, some of them must have official translations already.

For now, let me just put place holders - 12 in all before the 10/4/08 homily at St. paul.

9/22 NEW BISHOPS

9/25 CEI CATHOLIC SCHOOLS

9/26 URUGUAY BISHOPS

9/26 RETROUVAILLE MOVEMENT

9/27 NEW CZECH AMBASSADOR

9/27 SOCIAL TOURISM