NEWS ABOUT BENEDICT

Versione Completa   Stampa   Cerca   Utenti   Iscriviti     Condividi : FacebookTwitter
Pagine: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, ..., 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, [93], 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, ..., 256, 257, 258, 259, 260, 261, 262, 263, 264, 265
TERESA BENEDETTA
00lunedì 12 novembre 2007 20:25
THE POPE WILL BE IN D.C. AND NYC APRIL 15-20, 2008

In the preceding page, Andrea broke the news on the official announcement of the Pope's trip with an AFP report from Washington. An Apcom bulletin in Italy also reported it.


The Holy Father will be celebrating both his 81st birthday
and the third anniversary of his Pontificate in the United States
.




USCCB Day One:
It's official:
Pope to visit United States April 15-20

By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Baltimore
Nov. 12, 2007

John Allen has been covering the Baltimore USCCB conffrence - this was actually the third of six stories he has filed from Day 1 of the confernece so far.


Officially confirming Pope Benedict XVI’s visit next spring to the United States, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the pope’s nuncio, said that the visit could mark a rebirth of the church in the United States after the trauma of the sexual abuse crisis – “less about the suffering of the past, and more about the program of the future,” he said.

The visit, which will take Benedict to Washington, D.C., and New York, will take place April 15-20, 2008. The announcement ended speculation that Benedict XVI might add other destinations such as Boston to his schedule.

Sambi noted that given the range of dates, Benedict will celebrate both his 81st birthday (April 16) and the third anniversary of his election as pope while in the United States.

The energy generated by the papal visit, Sambi said, could mark a turning point for a church recently gripped by crisis.

“We should issue an invitation to return for those who have left the church. The church is still the church of Jesus Christ, of the gospel, and of the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to his apostles,” Sambi said.

Sambi said the visit will also be an occasion to deepen the bonds of communion both among the bishops themselves, and also between the bishops and the pope.

Sambi announced today the following schedule for Benedict XVI’s pastoral visit:

APRIL 15
Benedict XVI arrives in the afternoon.
APRIL 16
Morning: Official welcome at the White House
Afternoon: Address to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
APRIL 17
Morning: Mass at the new sports stadium in Washington, D.C.
Afternoon: Meeting at the Catholic University of America with educational leaders
APRIL 18
Morning: Address to the United Nations
Afternoon: Ecumenical meeting
APRIL 19
Morning: Concelebration with priests of New York and from across the country in St. Patrick’s Cathedral
Afternoon: Session at the Seminary of the New York archdiocese organized by the seminarians
APRIL 20
Morning: visit to Ground Zero
Afternoon: Returns to Rome

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

There seems to be a discrepancy. Will the Mass in New York be at St. Patrick's or at Yankee Stadium?


Rocco Palmo, who's also covering the US bishops meeting in Baltimore, has the following additional info on his blog:

...

"The Pope will not travel much," his representative to the States (Mons. Sambi) said. But even so, Benedict "will address himself to the people of the United States and the whole Catholic church."

Although the pontiff will only be visiting one of the celebrating dioceses, Sambi said that the visit's prime purpose is to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the elevation of Baltimore to archiepiscopal rank and the erection of dioceses at New York, Boston, Bardstown and Philadelphia. The nuncio added that another goal of the visit would be to invite fallen-away Catholics back to the life of the church.

While the trip has been an open secret for months, the surprise of the announcement was due to its timing and format; Vatican protocol usually dictates that papal travel is announced in Rome, two to three months before a visit's planned date.

Benedict's first American host, Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, will helm a lunchtime press conference to discuss the plans. Cardinal Edward Egan of New York is absent from the meeting, recuperating from an emergency dental procedure performed over the weekend.

In his press conference remarks, Wuerl expressed his hope that the visit would bring about a "renewal in the faith life of the church" in the States.

Terming Benedict's visit a "call to lift up the whole country," the DC prelate said he thought the capital had been picked to represent "the entire church in the United States."

Others lobbied as well, and a reporter asked how Wuerl succeeded.

His response: "The power of prayer."

Greeted by a horde of cameras at the presser - and clearly elated to have the public announcement in hand - today marks the archbishop's 67th birthday.

Here are the other wire service reports. Clearly, the Catholic journalists on the spot have them beaten for details.

POPE TO VISIT U.S. IN APRIL
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion Writer


BALTIMORE, Nov. 12 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit to the United States as pontiff next year, and plans to visit the White House, ground zero and speak at the United Nations, Archbishop Pietro Sambi told the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Monday.

Benedict will travel to Washington and New York from April 15-20, speak at the United Nations on April 18 and visit ground zero on the final day of his trip.

The pope will visit the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York to show "solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace," said Sambi, the Vatican's ambassador to the U.S.

The visit will take place on the third anniversary of Benedict's election to succeed Pope John Paul II, who died in April 2005.

An official welcome reception for Benedict will be held at the White House on April 16, Sambi said. The pontiff will celebrate two public Masses, first at the new Nationals Park in Washington on April 17, and again at Yankee Stadium on April 20.

He will also hold meetings with priests, Catholic university presidents, diocesan educators and young people.

"The pope will not travel much, but he will address himself to the people of the United States and the whole Catholic Church," Sambi said.


The AFP report posted by Andrea followed the AP report. Reuters which filed two hours later than the other 2 had some things wrong. All in all, John Allen had the most complete and reliable report.


Pope's U.S. visit to include
New York, Washington



WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict's first visit to the United States next April will include stops in Washington and New York over six days, the U.S. Catholic bishops announced on Monday.

During the trip, from April 15-20, 2008, the Pope will address the United Nations in New York at the invitation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and meet with the bishops at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, the announcement said.

Catholic University of America also said the Pope would visit its campus on April 17 to speak about Catholic education to an invitation-only audience.

Vatican sources had indicated in September that the Pope was planning a spring visit but the dates were not made public until Monday's announcement.

"This is a blessed moment for our nation," said Bishop William Skylstad of Spokane, Washington, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

It was still not clear where the Pope would meet President George W. Bush but traditionally a head of state greets a pope at his arrival.

The Vatican wants the trip to be out of the way before the U.S. presidential campaign enters its most heated phase to avoid anything that could be seen as trying to influence the vote.

The Pope is also due to visit France and Australia in 2008.

(Reporting by Michael Conlon; Editing by Andrew Stern and Sandra Maler)

loriRMFC
00lunedì 12 novembre 2007 21:45
The New York Times has the same thing as AP, that the Pope will celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium on the 20th and then return to Rome that evening. I would really like to go to NY...we'll see. Ideally, I'd see him in NY and Australia.

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

Pope to Visit Ground Zero
and Celebrate Mass at Yankee Stadium


By Sewell Chan
The New York Times



Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States in April will be his first as pope. (Photo: Alessia Giuliani/AFP/Getty Images)

Updated, 2:12 p.m. | Pope Benedict XVI will make his first visit to the United States as pontiff over six days in April, and he plans to visit ground zero, address the United Nations and celebrate Masses at National Stadium in Washington and St. Patrick's Cathedral and Yankee Stadium in New York, officials at the Vatican and the Archdiocese of New York announced today.

The papal visit will be only the fourth in New York City's history. Pope Paul VI visited in October 1965, during the first-ever papal visit to the United States. Pope John Paul II visited New York in October 1979 and October 1995.

Citing remarks by Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Associated Press reported that Pope Benedict will travel to Washington and New York.

The pope will be in Washington from April 15 to 17 and in New York from April 18 to 20. He is to attend a reception at the White House on April 16 and celebrate Mass at the new National Stadium in Washington on April 17. On April 18, he is to address the United Nations and participate in an Ecumenical Service at a New York parish. On April 19, he will celebrate a morning Mass with priests, deacons and members of religious orders at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, followed by a visit to Saint Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers, where the pope will participate in an event with youth and young people.

On April 20, the final day of his visit, Pope Benedict is to visit Ground Zero and celebrate a Mass in Yankee Stadium. He is scheduled to return to Rome that evening.

Cardinal Edward M. Egan, the archbishop of New York, said in a statement:

"When our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, told me last July that he would be visiting New York this coming April, I was delighted with the news and shared it with the People of God of the Archdiocese of New York and the entire community of Greater New York. The response of all was both rejoicing and thanksgiving to the Lord for the great grace of the presence of the Successor of Saint Peter in our midst. I have assured the Holy Father of a warm and prayerful welcome. We all look forward to his visit with pleasure and anticipation."

As City Room reported in July, this will Pope Benedict’s first visit to New York since he was elected in 2005, but not his first visit to New York City. In January 1988, when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany and the Roman Catholic Church’s top theologian, he attended a theological conference in Manhattan. During that visit, several rabbis refused to attend a meeting with Cardinal Ratzinger because he had maintained that Judaism finds its fulfillment in Christianity. Gay demonstrators, angered by the cleric's contention that homosexuality is a "moral disorder," heckled him.

Many New Yorkers have memories of the papal visits of 1965, 1979 and 1995, which were major events in the life of the city. Readers are invited to share those memories — and their thoughts about Pope Benedict and his coming visit — using the comments box below.




SOURCE: cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/pope-to-visit-ground-zero-and-celebrate-mass-at-yankee-stadium/index...


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

From the Washington Post:


Pope Set to Visit
Washington and New York in April

By Jacqueline L. Salmon and Howard Schneider
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, November 12, 2007


Pope Benedict XVI will visit Washington and New York in April, the first papal visit to the United States since 1999 and the current pope's eighth foreign journey since becoming head of the Catholic Church in April 2005.

The six-day trip was announced this morning at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual meeting, held this year in Baltimore.

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the papal nuncio, said he hopes the visit will bring "a new usefulness, a new spring, a new Pentecost, in the church of America."

The pope will arrive April 15 and visit the White House the next day, according to the schedule released by the Vatican. On April 17, he will celebrate Mass at the new Nationals baseball stadium and meet at Catholic University with leaders of Catholic colleges and universities from throughout the country.

On the 18th, he will address the United Nations in New York, with a Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral following the next day. On his last day in the United States, he will visit the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and celebrate Mass that afternoon at Yankee Stadium before returning to Rome.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said he was thrilled that the nation's capital will be "the point of entry" for Benedict's first trip to the United States.

The Mass at the new stadium "means we will be able to have tens of thousands of the faithful be with him, and that will multiply the blessings," Wuerl said.

Benedict's predecessor, John Paul II, made foreign travel a centerpiece of his papacy, and he was the first pope to visit Washington. His Mass on the Mall in 1979 was a historic moment, though attendance fell far below expectations. He visited the United States seven times, with his final trip a 1999 stop in St. Louis. Two of those trips were limited to stopovers in Alaska.

Benedict, the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, already has met President Bush, who stopped at the Vatican in June while in Europe for meetings of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.

The pope, following up on Vatican opposition to the war in Iraq, raised concerns during that meeting about the treatment of Iraqi Christians given the climate of sectarian violence that erupted in the wake of the U.S. invasion.

His other foreign trips have included a politically sensitive visit to Turkey in late 2006 meant to improve relations between Christians and Muslims - an effort complicated by remarks he had made earlier regarding violence and Islam, and cautioning against Turkey's admission to the European Union.

The reaction among U.S. Catholics will be closely watched. As head of doctrine under Pope John Paul II, Ratzinger was a polarizing figure in many U.S. parishes because of his statements about abortion and other social issues. He delivered what was seen as a rebuke to Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) during the 2004 presidential campaign when he wrote that communion should be withheld from politicians who are "consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws."


The Post had a longer story the following day. Note the evident bias worked into this story by the very choice of the people asked to comment and what they said:


Pope Will Visit D.C. In April -
Benedict XVI To Celebrate Mass At New Ballpark

By Michelle Boorstein and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 13, 2007; Page A01


Pope Benedict XVI will visit Washington for three days in April, a Vatican spokesman announced yesterday, the first time a pope will be in the capital since 1979. Tens of thousands are expected to celebrate Mass with him in the new Nationals baseball stadium.

Benedict, who will turn 81 while visiting, had planned to speak before the United Nations in New York and then added the three-day stop in Washington, during which he will also go to the White House and meet with Catholic educators.

Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl beamed yesterday during a meeting in Baltimore of American Catholic bishops as he talked about the pope's visit, saying he invited Benedict to Washington "and then we did pray. We prayed very hard."

It will be Benedict's first visit to the United States as pope and the first papal visit to the United States since the Catholic clergy sex-abuse scandal exploded in Boston in 2002. Vatican officials expressed hope that the visit might encourage a rejuvenation of the church in the wake of the controversy.

"We should issue an invitation to return for those who have left the church. The church is still the church of Jesus Christ, of the Gospel, and of the mission entrusted by Jesus Christ to his apostles," Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the pope's representative in the United States, said at a news conference in Baltimore.

Benedict's decision not to visit Boston was the subject of debate among Vatican-watchers and bloggers yesterday. But William S. Skylstad, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the decision to skip Boston was due to the pope's age and limited energy.

Although Benedict is considered shyer and less of a celebrity than his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, since becoming pope in 2005 he has made several controversial comments about Islam, the primacy of the Catholic Church and pro-choice Catholic politicians. His visit will be of high interest, analysts said yesterday.

"This is America. People will be asking questions about why he didn't go to Boston, looking for him to say something about the sex-abuse scandal, something that relates to them pastorally, [like] why don't they have enough priests? Why can't laypeople do more?" said David Gibson, a longtime religion reporter and author of "The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle With the Modern World."

"He isn't going to address that agenda. He'll just say: 'Pray harder.' "

Benedict will visit Catholic University and speak about Catholic education. The Very Rev. David M. O'Connell, university president, said the school looks forward to the visit "with tremendous anticipation and enthusiasm."

In the eyes of the Vatican, American Catholics are a complex community, with a quarter of the country's people describing themselves as Catholic but a small minority of that group saying they view church leaders as the proper source of moral authority, primarily when it comes to issues of sexuality. Some analysts said yesterday that the Vatican is concerned that Catholic colleges and universities are teaching the faith in a relative way.

"All of my colleagues who teach at Catholic colleges and universities will be listening carefully to see if he talks about orthodoxy among those who teach theology," said Paul Lakeland, chair of Catholic Studies at Fairfield University.

Benedict will arrive in Washington on April 15. The next day, his birthday, he will be officially welcomed at the White House, and that afternoon he will address a special meeting of the bishops' conference. On April 17, he will celebrate Mass at the new Washington Nationals stadium. Wuerl said he expects that all 41,000 seats will be filled but said he did not yet know how admission will be handled.

The pope also will meet with educators at Catholic University that day before leaving for New York City. There, he will address the United Nations, hold an ecumenical meeting and visit Ground Zero before returning to Rome on April 20.

There are about 1 million Catholics in the area of the Washington and Arlington archdioceses. The Washington Archdiocese includes the District and suburban Maryland counties; the Arlington Archdiocese stretches to Shenandoah County, Va., to the west and the Northern Neck to the south.

William D'Antonio, a sociologist at the Life Cycle Institute at Catholic University, said surveys of U.S. Catholics since 1987 show they are increasingly distancing themselves from Vatican teachings, but he did not see that as a plain rejection of the pope.

"I think they are looking to their consciences versus obedience to authority," he said yesterday. They will probably want to see and hear Benedict when he visits because "they look to his personal holiness" and his teachings on social justice. "To the degree which he'll speak about poverty, conflict and war, he'll receive a very positive reception."

Benedict has provoked great debate in the past year, including this spring, when he said during a news conference in Brazil that he agreed with the excommunication of Mexican lawmakers who legalized abortion. During the U.S. presidential campaign in 2004, U.S. bishops debated how to characterize pro-choice candidates, and this week in Baltimore they will again debate it - this time in public - as they vote on a document meant to give American Catholics voting guidance.

The bishops and Benedict are very cautious about this subject, Gibson said, so they don't tie one another's hands. Wuerl, in particular, is in a complex spot, Gibson said, because he is in effect the bishop or all Catholic politicians on Capitol Hill - both supporters and opponents of abortion rights.

Last fall, Benedict suggested that Islam was prone to violence, igniting furor in the Muslim world. He said later that his comments were misunderstood and has worked toward dialogue with Muslims. This summer, he repeated his belief that Catholicism is the only true church, a statement some worry will hurt relations with other denominations.

Staff writer Howard Schneider contributed to this report.







loriRMFC
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 01:22
BENEDICT XVI TO JOIN CELEBRATIONS IN LOURDES

Jubilee Year Marks 150th Anniversary of Apparitions

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 13, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI plans to travel to Lourdes as part of the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the Virgin Mary's apparitions there. The date of the papal visit has not been confirmed.

Today at the Vatican, the program for the anniversary celebrations was announced at a press conference with Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes. The celebrations are planned for this Dec. 8 through Dec. 8, 2008, feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Bishop Perrier confirmed that the Pope would visit "though we still do not know the exact date."

"Shrines and pilgrimages," the prelate went on, "today occupy an important place in religious life, especially among people who do not habitually follow religious practices. Shrines are places of silent evangelization."

Celebrations

Bishop Perrier revealed some of the events to be held during the anniversary year.

This Dec. 8, in homage to Pope John Paul II, the inauguration will take place of mosaics representing the luminous mysteries of the rosary on the facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. The mosaics were created by Father Marko Ivan Rupnik.

On Feb. 11, feast of Our Lady of Lourdes and World Day of the Sick, the first of the 18 apparitions of the Virgin to Bernadette will be commemorated.

A week later, on Feb. 18, feast of St. Bernadette, the first of the apparitions that went on for 15 straight days will be remembered. "Our Lady asked Bernadette to come to the grotto every day, and she kept her promise despite the difficulties," the bishop explained.

March 25 will mark the anniversary of the 16th apparition of the Virgin. "On that day, feast of the Annunciation, the Lady finally pronounced her name: I am the Immaculate Conception," Bishop Perrier added.

From July 15 to 20, coinciding with World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, various groups of young Christian artists will perform in Lourdes.

A Mariological-Marian congress in Lourdes, Sept. 4-8, on the theme of "The Apparitions of the Virgin Mary: History, Faith and Theology," will consider the call to conversion exercised by shrines in general and by Marian shrines in particular.

A path

Pilgrims will be invited to follow a "path of the Jubilee," which symbolically leads from baptism to the Eucharist. It includes four stages, the bishop explained: the parish baptistery where Bernadette was baptized; the hut where her family lived that, "with its poverty and darkness, is a cause for reflection on the paradoxical nature of divine preferences"; the road to the grotto; and the chapel of the hospice where Bernadette received first Communion on June 3, 1858.

The anniversary will also be celebrated with a Jubilee Mass composed by Brother Jean-Paul Lecot, musical director of the Shrine of Lourdes.

Some 8 million pilgrims are expected to visit Lourdes for the anniversary year.


SOURCE: www.zenit.org/article-20995?l=english

benefan
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 04:54

Pope to Skip Boston in US Tour

By Jeff Israely/Rome
TIME Magazine
Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2007

Critics are saying one important city is missing on Pope Benedict XVI's coming visit to the United States. In April, he will fly to Washington and New York, in his first U.S. visit as pope, and the first papal trip to the U.S. since Sept. 11. Stops at the White House, the United Nations and the site where the World Trade Center once stood were confirmed this week by the U.S. Bishops conference. Each of those appearances offers an opportunity for the 80-year-old Pope to address international affairs, and the unique role of the American superpower, while two open-air masses at baseball stadiums will allow the Catholic flock in the U.S. to pray with their visiting pastor-in-chief.

Still, the announcement Monday of Benedict's five-day American itinerary is a reminder that 2001 was also the year of a different kind of "9/11 moment" for the U.S. Catholic Church. That year saw the first revelations of what would become a devastating priest sex abuse crisis. But the Ground Zero for that tragedy — Boston, the stronghold of American Catholicism — is one city the Pope will not be visiting.

Boston was where the first spiral of revelations from victims of abusive clerics began to emerge, and where the head of the Archdiocese, Cardinal Bernard Law, was eventually forced to resign after admitting that he'd protected a priest who he knew had sexually abused young members of his church.

Several activist groups that speak out on behalf of victims of priest sex abuse immediately criticized the exclusion of the city from the Pope's April 15-20 trip. According to a statement by the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Benedict is missing a "golden opportunity" to confront the crisis head-on. Victims' activist Anne Barrett Doyle told the Agence France Presse that the Pope is avoiding Boston for fear of protests. She added that his three days in New York is a sign of papal support for the city's Archbishop, Cardinal Edward Egan, who has refused to release documents about accused priests, in contrast to the Boston archdiocese's belated disclosure of similar documents. "So the pope is sending the signal that he is honoring the cardinal who may be his most successful keeper of secrets," Doyle said.

But Father Thomas Reese, a senior research fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center in Washington, says other factors were key to Benedict's choice to limit his trip to just two cities. The original purpose of the trip was to speak at the United Nations, as both Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II did. Benedict wanted to extend the stay and visit the nation's capital as well, but never intended the trip to be a U.S. tour. "The choice of Washington and New York was preordained," Reese says. "If they went to a third diocese, everyone else would say 'why didn't you come to us?'"

Reese defends Benedict's record on the abuse scandal, pointing out that he worked to respond to the crisis when he was a senior Vatican Cardinal. Some mention of the scandal is expected, but don't expect it to be the focus on his trip to the States. "Will he give a whole speech on sex abuse crisis? I doubt it," Reese says. Another option could be to arrange a more spontaneous meeting between the erudite Pope and survivors of priest abuse. It's the sort of gesture that would have been characteristic of Benedict's popular predecessor — Pope John Paul II.

benefan
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 05:08
The Papal Trip to the U.S.

The TIME Magazine article above of course takes a negative approach to the pope's U.S. visit and dredges up yet again the priest abuse angle. So Boston is unhappy Papa isn't going there and so is Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Chicago, judging from the headlines of leading newspapers in those cities. I just hope folks in New York and Washington turn out in droves to give Benedict a friendly welcome and don't heckle or just stay away. Whenever I read about those big sports stadiums being reserved for papal Masses, I have to shudder. Americans are so apathetic, even church-going Catholics, that I worry about the possible embarrassment of only half-filled stadiums. [SM=g27819]

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

YUP! Jeff Israely strikes again! But while his negative angle was predictable [and by the way, I would dispute his statement that 'Boston is the stronghold of American Catholicism'), a very pleasant surprise was Fr. Thomas Reese, of all people, coming to the defense of the Pope, in effect, and saying all the right things for the right reasons. Especially saying "he worked to respond to the (sex abuse) crisis when he was a senior Vatican Cardinal".

Then Israely resorts to the ploy 'John Paul II would have done this or that', trying to lay an onus a priori that Benedict must live up to, the implication being that if he didn't, he's a lesser figure for it. That's despicable.

What Reese didn't point out is that Benedict will be 81 at that time - and while he looks smashingly good for 81, he must prudently observe a schedule that will enable him to keep well as long as he possibly can for the singularly enormous task of being Pope.

In the U.S., he will be spending 6 days - as much as he spent in Bavaria - and yet visiting only two cities. Washington is a must - it's his first visit to the USA not only as Pope but as a head of state, so diplomatic protocol dictates that (it also returns the visit that the US president made to him last June).

And thank God the UN headquarters hasn't been sent packing from New York yet! They have exactly six months between now and the Pope's visit to make sure that building meets the city's safety standards, because today, Mayor Bloomberg said its violations of the building code were so numerous that he will not allow school groups to visit the UN until the violations are set right!

Sadly, NYC is also Ground Zero for the scourge of the 21st century, and Benedict will be able to fulfill something John Paul II could not do because of the state of his health when he was as 'near' as Toronto in 2002. GZ is almost like a second Auschwitz, really, because there is the same irrational horror in the deeds that have caused so many deaths already [the daily massacre of Muslims in Iraq is an intra-Muslim Shoah that is unspeakably horrible in the worst sense), and who knows what the eventual toll of worldwide terrorism will be?

But the head of state (in DC), the statesman (at the UN), and the moral conscience of the world (at GZ) is, above all, the Successor of Peter, so equal play for the pastoral aspects of the visit.....

And I, for one, am already scheming desperately how it will be possible to be in Washington as well as New York, or how to try and be near Ground Zero as well as Yankee Stadium on the same day.....

BTW, I don't think there will be half-filled stadiums - New York alone would have more than 60,000 Catholic Hispanics who would not miss the chance to go to a Papal Mass at Yankee stadium!

TERESA


benefan
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 05:14

Here's a bit more detail on the story Lori posted above.

Officials confirm papal visit to Lourdes to mark Marian apparitions

By Carol Glatz
Catholic News Service
Nov. 13, 2007

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Officials confirmed Pope Benedict XVI will visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in France to mark the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions there, but said the exact time period of the papal visit was not yet known.

Bishop Jacques Perrier of Tarbes and Lourdes, who is in charge of the preparations for the jubilee celebrations, said the papal journey was "a sure thing."

The bishop and others spoke to journalists during a Nov. 13 Vatican press conference, unveiling details of the yearlong jubilee celebrations.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, head of the Vatican press office, said the papal trip "most probably" would have Lourdes as its sole destination and for now would not include stops in other cities.

Bishop Perrier said he is often asked if the pope will arrive at Lourdes for one of the "significant moments" for the church, such as Feb. 11, the day the apparitions began and also the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, or Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption.

Bishop Perrier said whatever date the pope decides for his visit would be a significant moment for them.

He said Cardinal Ivan Dias, president of the Vatican's Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, will lead celebrations when the jubilee kicks off in Lourdes Dec. 8, the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

The French bishop added there also "might be a televised link" with the pope as he visits a Marian monument in the center of Rome the same day.

Highlights of the Dec. 8, 2007, to Dec. 8, 2008, jubilee in Lourdes include:

-- An international Marian/Mariology conference Sept. 4-8 organized by Rome's International Pontifical Marian Academy.

-- A Christian rock and pop music festival for young people that will coincide with World Youth Day celebrations in Sydney, Australia, July 15-20.

-- An international peace pilgrimage that will bring together people from nations once at war.

-- A joint Catholic-Anglican pilgrimage.

-- An interreligious pilgrimage of Catholic and Hindu ethnic Tamil peoples.

-- A weeklong pilgrimage for Gypsies and other itinerant travelers with space for campers, trailers and tents.

Beginning Feb. 11, 1858, Mary appeared on 18 different occasions in a cave near Lourdes to St. Bernadette Soubirous, a poor 14-year-old girl.

Bishop Perrier said the apparitions still "nourish the church" today. He said Lourdes continues to contribute to the mission of the church and spread the Gospel in the world.

Further details of the 150th anniversary of the Marian apparitions can be found online at: www.lourdes2008.com/.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 16:22
GENERAL AUDIENCE TODAY

A full translation of the Pope's catechesis today has been posted in AUDIENCE AND ANGELUS TEXTS.


Here is the Pope's synthesis in English of his catechesis today:

In this week’s catechesis we continue our reflections on Saint Jerome, the priest and scholar who was responsible for the Latin translation of the Bible known as the Vulgate.

Convinced that "ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ", Jerome everywhere urged the daily, prayerful study of the word of God. He insisted that the correct interpretation of the Scriptures demands not only the interior assistance of the Holy Spirit but also conformity to the Church’s authoritative teaching.

Jerome stressed the importance for all Christians, but especially for preachers, of ensuring that their lives accord with the ethical teaching offered in the sacred texts.

Devotion to the word of God also shaped Jerome’s ascetic doctrine, which emphasized the virtue of obedience and encouraged the pious practice of pilgrimage, particularly to the Holy Land.

Finally, by his spiritual counsel, especially to parents, he emphasized the importance of a broad and disciplined Christian education for the young, including women. Jerome’s integration of the enduring values of classical civilization and the wisdom of the inspired word of God made him one of the great figures of the emerging Christian culture of late antiquity.














Among the groups greeted by the Pope above are students attending a World Congress for Peace (with all the flags)
and an association of Italian cooks. The Pope also used a new Mercedes Popemobile for the first time.
.



Pope encourages Christians to read Bible
By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY, Nov. 14 (CNS) - To know God and to know how to live their lives, Christians must read the Bible, Pope Benedict XVI said.

"Drawing close to the biblical texts, especially the New Testament, is essential for believers because 'ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ,'" the pope said, quoting St. Jerome.

At his Nov. 14 weekly general audience, the pope continued a talk begun the week before about the importance of the teaching of St. Jerome, the fourth-century doctor of the church.

Reading the Bible teaches believers the way they are to live their lives, the pope said, but the Scriptures must be read in a spirit of prayer and must be understood the way the church understands them.

"For Jerome, a fundamental criterion for the interpretation of Scriptures was harmony with the magisterium of the church," he said.

Pope Benedict said the books of the Bible "were written by the people of God, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit," so "only in harmony with the faith of this people can we understand the sacred Scripture."

The pope said St. Jerome also emphasized the importance of "a healthy, integrated education" in religion, morality and culture for all Christians, including women, which was unusual in ancient times.

St. Jerome, he said, recognized the "right of women to have a complete human, scholastic, religious and professional formation."

Education, the pope said, especially regarding one's "responsibilities before God and other human beings, is the real prerequisite for true progress, peace, reconciliation and the exclusion of all violence."

"The sacred Scriptures offer us guidance for education and, therefore, for true humanism," the pope said.


ST. JEROME: COHERENCE BETWEEN LIFE
AND THE DIVINE WORD


VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2007 (VIS) - At today's general audience, Benedict XVI continued the catechesis on St. Jerome which he had begun last week. Addressing the thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope explained how the saint was "enamoured of the Word of God," and "an eminent doctor in the interpretation of Sacred Scripture."

For St. Jerome, said the Holy Father, the Bible was "the stimulus and the source of Christian life for all situations and for all people. To read Scripture is to converse with God."

"For Jerome, a fundamental criterion for interpreting Scripture was that it should harmonize with the Magisterium of the Church," said the Pope, going on to observe that "we cannot interpret Scripture alone because we come across too many closed doors and fall into error. The Bible was written by the People of God and for the People of God. ... Only in this communion of the People of God can we enter 'with ourselves' into the heart of the truth that God Himself wishes to tell us." In this context, Benedict XVI recalled a phrase of St. Jerome: "He who clings to the chair of Peter is accepted by me."

The Pope went on to indicate how Jerome "did not overlook ethical aspects and often recalled the duty of living in accordance with the divine Word. Such coherence is indispensable for all Christians, and especially for preachers" whose actions must be "in keeping with their words."

On the subject of coherence the saint affirmed that "the Gospel must be translated into attitudes of true charity because the Person of Christ is present in every human being. ... And Jerome makes it clear that 'it is yours to clothe Christ in the poor, to visit Him in the sick, to feed Him in the hungry, to shelter Him in the homeless'."

The saint "also left us a rich and varied teaching on Christian asceticism," said the Holy Father. "He recalls the fact that courageous commitment to perfection requires constant vigilance, frequent mortification (with moderation and prudence), assiduous intellectual or manual work to avoid idleness and, above all, obedience to God."

"Among Jerome's main achievements as a pedagogue we must highlight the importance he attributed to healthy and complete education from earliest infancy, ... and the need for study in order to achieve a more complete human formation. Moreover, a question somewhat overlooked in antiquity but considered vital by our author was the promotion of women, whom he recognizes as having the right to a full education."

The Holy Father concluded his catechesis by emphasizing "the effective contribution" made by St. Jerome "in safeguarding the positive and important elements of the ancient Hebrew, Greek and Roman cultures in nascent Christian civilization."






Pope Benedict talks to relatives of the victims of a bomb attack against Italian forces in Nassiriya, Iraq four years ago, at the end of today's general audience.





POPE GETS COPY
OF 'JOSEPH E CHICO'



Translated from PETRUS:

"To think it was I, as a boy, who wanted to write a story about cats. Instead, now, it's a cat who is writing about me!" Pope Benedict XVI jested today, as he received copies of the book JOSEPH E CHICO in Italian and its Braille edition from its author Jeanne Perego asnd illustrator Donata Dal Molin Casagrande, after the General Audience.

With them were officials of the Edizioni Messaggero, the publishing house of Padua, which published the book.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 16:29
POPE PRAYS VENERATES RELICS OF ST. THERESE OF LISEIUX


The Pope prays in his private chapel
by the urn containing the relics
of St. Therese, after the audience today
.


From the CNS story on the General Audiecne today, I have separated the last part about the relics of St. Therese:

... Immediately after the (General) Audience, Pope Benedict went up to his private chapel in the Apostolic Palace to venerate the relics of St. Therese of Lisieux, the 19th-century Carmelite saint. Pope John Paul II proclaimed her a doctor of the church in 1997.

The relics were brought to Rome by the bishop of Bayeux, France, to mark the 120th anniversary of St. Therese's trip to Rome at the age of 15 to ask Pope Leo XIII for permission to enter the Carmelite order. Pope Leo told her the local Carmelite superior would have to decide if she could enter despite her young age. She was admitted to the convent in 1888.

Pope Benedict told the estimated 13,000 people at his audience, "St. Therese wanted to learn the biblical languages to better read the Scriptures. Imitating her and the example of St. Jerome, take time to read the Bible regularly."


VATICAN CITY, NOV 14, 2007 (VIS) - At the end of today's general audience, the Pope addressed a special greeting to faithful from the French diocese of Bayeux and Lisieux, accompanied by Bishop Pierre Auguste Pican S.D.B., who have come to Rome on pilgrimage with the relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face.

The Holy Father recalled how "120 years ago Therese of Lisieux came to Rome to ask permission of Pope Leo XIII to enter the Carmelite Order, despite her youth. Eighty years ago Pope Pius XI proclaimed her patron saint of missions, and in 1997 Pope John Paul II declared her a Doctor of the Church."

"In this audience," he went on, "I will have the joy of praying before her relics, as will many faithful over the course of this week in various churches in Rome. St. Therese would have liked to learn the languages of the Bible in order to better understand Sacred Scripture. Following her example and that of St. Jerome, dedicate time to frequent reading of the Bible. By familiarizing yourselves with the Word of God, you will discover Christ and remain in intimate contact with Him."

Benedict XVI then addressed relatives of the Italian soldiers who lost their lives in a bomb attack in Nassiriya, Iraq, four years ago. "May the memory of these our brothers, and of others who have made the supreme sacrifice of their lives for the noble cause of peace, contribute to supporting the journey to hopeful rebirth of the dear Iraqi people."

TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 17:41
TEACHING THE POPE!

The announcement of the Pope's visit to the United States commanded prominent play in newspapers all over the world, and the United States, of course, even if most reports were from the same wire services.

Here's an editorial from the lIberal Los Angeles Times today presuming to teach the Pope. That is the title they used. Clearly, whoever wrote this has not read anything of Benedict himself nor followed what he has been saying as Pope, including all his statements about 'render unto Caesar...', and has a skewed idea of what the Church expects of Catholic politicians. In short, a presumptuous piece based on sheer prejudice, arrogance and ignorance of the subject.



Teaching the Pope:
During his visit to the U.S. in April,
Benedict XVI could learn the value
of separation of church and state

Los Angeles Times
November 14, 2007



Pope Benedict XVI will be preaching on his visit to Washington and New York next April, his first trip to the United States as pope. That's part of a pope's job description.

But many American Catholics hope that the papal visit will double as what politicians in this country call a "listening tour." They know that, erudite as this former theology professor may be, he still might be able to learn something from their experience in a pluralistic country where the Catholic faith has flourished despite - or because of - the separation of church and state.

Benedict's visit, announced this week, will coincide with a presidential campaign. During the 2004 campaign, America's Catholic hierarchy was divided on whether pro-choice Catholic politicians - including Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry - should be denied Holy Communion.

Some bishops, including Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, believed that pro-choice politicians should search their conscience before deciding whether to approach the Communion rail. Others took a more confrontational line, warning that they would deny the sacrament to pro-choice politicians.

Earlier this year, Benedict seemed to endorse the hard-line view, answering "yes" when asked if he agreed with the idea that Mexican legislators who voted to legalize abortion should be excommunicated. But a spokesman later issued a clarification that, while reasserting church teaching against abortion, left unclear whether the pope would deny Communion to pro-choice politicians.

When Benedict comes to the United States, he is likely to be importuned by conservative Catholics to side with the hard-liners. He would be wiser to listen to other Catholics, laypeople as well as clergy, who know what mischief would be caused by a decree that would seem to force some Catholic officials to choose between their responsibility to their constituents or the Constitution and their standing in the church.

These American Catholics believe, as President Kennedy said in 1960, in "an America where the separation of church and state is absolute; where no Catholic prelate would tell the president - should he be Catholic - how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote."

The pope's visit could be educational on another front as well: Christian-Islamic relations. Even before his much-criticized remarks about Islam at a conference in Germany, Benedict had seemed to side with those who believe that Europe is a Christian civilization that can't assimilate a significant Muslim presence.

On his home continent, it was common until recently for Christianity of one form or another to be the established religion. In the United States, which never has had a national church, Protestants, Catholics, Jews and now Muslims vigorously practice their faith.

Perhaps more important, research indicates that Muslims in America are more assimilated and less alienated than their fellow believers in Europe. The pope should hear their voices too.

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

The editorial writer assumes that this Pope does not listen, that the Catholic church tells its faithful who to vote for, that Benedict opposes assimilation of Muslims into European society, etc.

One word to the LA Times - have your writers do their homework first about this Pope and the church so they can write some informed commentary before they mount the soapbox.

He might begin closer to home by reading the US bishops' statement today on 'Faithful Citizenship".




TERESA BENEDETTA
00mercoledì 14 novembre 2007 21:38
RECOGNIZING THE PRIMACY OF PETER




A couple of earlier stories in NEWS ABOUT THE CHURCH anticipated this report. The final document from Ravenna is supposed to be released officially tomorrow, but PETRUS has this story on an advance 'exclusive' in Repubblica today but I have not managed to get the original story online so far. Here is a translation of the PETRUS story.

11/15/07 P.S. This is the Repubblica story, it turns out. Once again, PETRUS has failed to credit a story properly - a major one, too.

Orthodox recognize the Pope
as the first among Patriarchs

By MARCO POLITI


VATICAN CITY - The Pope is the 'first among Patriarchs', Rome is the 'first See', and the Church of Rome 'presides in charity.'

Black on white, in a document to be released by the Catholic church and the Orthodox Churches, the Primacy of the Roman Pontiff is reaffirmed in definitive form and unequivocal language, in a step that could hasten reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches since the Great Schism of 1054.

La Repubblica has an exclusive story today about the document which is "the fruit of the Ravenna meetings in October, where a Catholic delegation led by Cardinal Walter Kasper and a pan-Orthodox delegation led by Metropolitan Zizioulas of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople laid the foundations for a more in-depth look at the questions that remain to be resolved in order to re-establish Christian unity."

The newspaper summarizes 46 paragraphs that present 'a true road map' for the milestones yet to be passed in order to overcome the differences that have arisen since the Schism.

After recognition of the Petrine primacy, the Pope's role as "Bishop of the first See' in the context of the entire unified Church needs to be defined. What are the Pope's prerogatives in terms of 'ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority'?

Both sides agree that the bishop is the head of a local church and cannot be substituted by anyone; and that the the 'one Holy Church' is realized simultaneously in each local Church which celebrates the Eucharist, and in the communion of all local churches.

The document also reports agreement on the structure of the universal Church: The bishop is the authority on the local level. At the regional level, a group of Churches shall recognize among them a 'primary' bishop (protos in Greek) .

But on the global level, a lot more remains to be done: The document states that on the universal level, "those who are the primary bishops in the different regions, together with all other bishops, shall cooperate in wmatters that concern the whole Church."

In order to assure concord, the ecumenical 'road map' says, "conciliarity is needed", namely, a mutual cooperation among all.

All bishops within the Christian world, the document says, must not only be united among themselves in the faith, but "also have the same responsibility and render the same service to the Church".

Bishops' councils are to be the 'principal instruments' through which the communion of the Church shall be expressed.

In short, the Orthodox world makes it clear that the Bishop of Rome cannot be seen as a totalitarian sovereign who can decide by himself or can substitute for the bishop at the local level. [???? What about matters regarding the Magisterium itself? Or the Pope's prerogatives for making decisions Motu Proprio? Do these stop applying to Catholics????]

Papa Ratzinger himself has said on previous occasions that the Roman Pontiff cannot behave like an 'absolute monarch'. A passage of the document which refers to regional authorities says, "The primary bishop cannot do anything without the consensus of all".

The document refers to the Pope only as the Bishop of Rome, and one of the five historic early patriarchs.

Now,it's up to Papa Ratzinger - only he can give the go-ahead to proceed. [This implies absurdly that there is a possibility he won't! ]

On November 23, the Pope has called a plenary session of the College of Cardinals, for which ecumenism has been announced to be on the agenda. The Ravenna document would be the basis for this discussion.

Meanwhile, Benedict XVI has been reforming the Bishops' Synod, the consultative assembly of all Catholic bishops which is held every three years.

More delegates will be coming from the Catholic Oriental churches, which are a bridge to the Orthodox world; there will be more opportunities for debate; and the working groups will eb reconstituted more efficiently.

from the day he was elected, Pope Benedict has stated his desire to take 'concrete steps' towards realizing Christian reunification.

But there's a problem in the Orthodox world, the article concludes: "Patriarch Alexei II of Moscow is recalcitrant about recognizing the primacy of the Patriach of Constantinople and is also unforgiving about what it claims to be proselytizing [among Russian Orthodox faithful] by Catholic dioceses in the former Soviet Union. In Ravenna, Moscow's representatives walked out because the Estonian Orthodox Church associated itself with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople."


THE WORD FROM CARDINAL KASPER:
'IT IS A MODEST FIRST STEP -
LET US NOT EXAGGERATE'


Here is the translation of an interview given by Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of th Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, given today to the Italian service of Vatican Radio:


The Pontifical Council for Christian Unity will release tomorrow the final document of the meetings in Ravenna last October 8-14 between a delegation led by the head of the Vatican dicastery for ecumenism, Cardinal Walter Kasper, and all the Orthodox churches.

The document is entitled "The ecclesiological and canonical consequneces of the sacramental nature of the Church".

Cardinal Kasper, speaking to our microphones, sought to correct the Repubblica article today which states that the document affirms "in definitive form and unequivocal language, in a step that could hasten reunification of the Eastern and Western Churches since the Great Schism of 1054."

Countering such speculation, he described the Ravenna meetings as 'an important first step in a long road'.

Philippa Hitchen interviewed Kasper:

Kasper: Yes, we met with all the Orthodox churches from Oct. 8-14 in Ravenna, we discussed and concluded with a document on the ecclesiological and canonical consequences of the sacramental nature of the Church: ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority.

The document to be released tomorrow describes the inherent tension between authority and conciliarity, or more properly, synodality, at the local level, that is from the diocese, to the regional and universal levels.

Now the real breakthrough is that for the first time, the Orthodox Churches said yes, this universal level of the Church exists, and even at that level, there is conciliarity, synodality and authority. This means that there is also a Primate, and according to the practice of the ancient church (the pre-Schism church), the Primate bishop is the Bishop of Rome - there is no doubt about this.

But we did not yet speak about the prerogatives of the Bishop of Rome; we simply indicated what the old practice was, for future discussion.

So this document is a modest first step, and as such, it gives us hope, but we cannot exaggerate its importance. The next time, we will return to the question of the role of the Bishop of Rome in the universal Church during the first millennium, and then after that, of the second millennium - both Vatican Councils - and this is not going to be easy.

The road is long and difficult,but this document gives us hope, because we have taken a first important step. We are grateful to all who worked with us and those who prayed for us during the Ravenna meetings, because we did have the help of God and the Virgin Mary.


But in Ravenna, the Russian delegation walked out. How does that affect the validity of this document?

It is true, the Russian Orthodox delegation walked out on Day 1 because of an intra-Orthodox problem. There is a dispute between Moscow and Constantinople over recognition of the Orthodox Church of Romania. It is a problem internal to them, we cannot interfere, but we are saddened and very concerned because it is important that the Russian Orthodox take part in future discussions.

We call on Moscow and Constantinople to do their best to find a rolution, a compromise, and if they wish, we could help facilitate this solution, either on a bilateral level (just between them), or on a pan-Orthodox level. We don't wish to proceed without the participation of the Russian Orthodox Church, which is very important and numerous.

[The report leaves out what, if any, Cardinal Kasper answered to the question of the validity of the document without Russian participation. He said in Ravenna that there was a pan-Orthodox agreement according to which talks with the Catholic Church could continue even if not all the Orthodox Churches were present. This presumably makes the Ravenna document valid.]

TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 10:26
A DIALOG ON THE 'REAL' JESUS IN THE POPE'S BOOK
by Angelo Zema

Here is a translation of an account of the dialog held Tuesday night in Rome between a leading Churchman and a leading secular intellectual as part of a series sponsored by the Diocese of Rome.


A book for the world, which has entered the world of profane culture, in the confidence that God 'can also be made science'. A book that proposes a 'real' Jesus, whom it is possible to have hand to hand, heart to heart, to encounter for eternity.

It's the book JESUS OF NAZARETH by Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, as it emerges in the reflections of Archbishop Gianfranco Ravasi and and the journalist Giuliano Ferrara who, on Tuesday evening, more than 5,000 people heard at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, crowded for the occasion as it has never been in years.

"An extraordinary evening," said Cardinal Camillo Ruini at the end of the event, which was the successful return of the diocesan cultural project, "Dialogs in the Cathedral", on a theme - in this case, the Pope's book on Jesus - related to the priorities in the pasoral program of the diocese.

Ruini recalled this in citing the fundamental intention of Benedict XVI in 'demonstrating' that the Jesus of History and the Jesus of the faith are identical. This unity is the cornerstone of Catholicism and of every Christianity which intends to be a 'believing Christianity'.

Ferrara, editor of the newspaper Il Foglio, pointed to the optimism of Benedict XVI, his confidence in his relationship with the world, even in a context where reason and faith 'live separate lives', in which men and women 'live in the twilight of rationalism and the night of relativism.'

"Reason as the self-sufficient criterion for history," Ferrara observed, "is still the queen of public discourse," while faith "is considered with a wary attitude, if not mocking or distrustful."

This vision, Ferrara said, is linked to the secularist dogmas which derive from a contradictory, trivialized, unconvinced reading of the Gospels.

Examples like "accepting Jesus as a man and denying the messianic possibility of the Incarnation; accepting the moral charism of the Gospels but denying the mystery of the Resurrection; accepting Christian history as a past read in the light of the fleeting present but denying the collective Christian memory."

He continues: "That is 'programmatic and dogmatic' secularism which would 'confine faith to the private sphere', which maintains that 'the only possible truth is systematic doubt', and 'considers public confession of faith as obscurantism', especially 'rational argumentation which accepts the horizon of mystery and scrutinizes it as an unsurpassed and perhaps unsurpassable limit."

And it is precisely on this horizon that one must confront the crucial point in the Pope's book, which asks for an earnest of sympathy - 'initial good will'- from whoever reads it.

"It is not just an ecclesial book, a manifesto of charity and love, a new testimony of faith. It is a book thjat proposes a method for rading Scripture, in the confidence that the 'ungraspable nature of the divine, its otherness and remoteness, may be, if not known, at least stated, examined, questioned, conveyed."

It is a confidence by the author which Ferrara reciprocates, concluding with his 'credo' of a secular person who loves and respects the faith of others and acknowledges the limits of reason.

"I believe that the other, the human being, and even his design for life and his memory, is entitled to rights which are at the same time duties. I believe that not everything is negotiable or relative."

The passage from this secular creed to the reflections of a believer is an original itinerary with respect to the 'real' Jesus. This is the adjective used with insistence by Archbishop Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, using a phrase of Benedict XVI from JESUS OF NAZARETH, in which 'real' is not synonymous to 'historical'.

"We need not only the bistorico-critical method but also those that are theological and mystical;," Ravasi said, who analyzes two components of the 'real' Jesus with the metaphors of space and time.

The first dimension indicates an "indispensable horizon - Christ's unique relation with the Father. Space is the mystery of his communion with the Father. The condition of being a Son is the heart of Christ's consciousness."

As to time, "Jesu's time is not only historical. He has another unit of measure that is beyond chronology. Eternity and history unite in him. Precisely because he is eternal, Jesus can be our contemporary. Thus, authentic believers can have a visceral love for him, even as his figure also speaks to those who are seriously in search. And there are those who feel him so contemporaneous as to love him for always, sharing the Cross with him in their life of everyday."

RomaSette, 14 novembre 2007
TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 10:26
SECOND ENCYCLICAL IS READY

VATICAN CITY, Nov. 14 (Apcom) - Benedict XVI's second encyclical is ready. As anticipated earlier, it is entitled Spei salvi (Saved by hope) and will be published by Christmas.

It thus precedes the so-called social encyclical, which Vatican sources say, is still 'in deep water' and whose title 'is still being debated.'

Spei salvi will be a meditation on Christian hope, taking off from a passage in St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, "Because in hope we have been saved" (8,24).

The Pope worked on the encyclical during his summer holiday in the Dolomites. It is now in translation.

It may be dated Dec. 2, the first Sunday of Advent (period of Christian hope) or December 8, feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Traditionally, the encyclical will be issued in Latin with initial translations in Italian, English, French, German and Spanish.

Benedict's first encyclical, Deus caritas est, was dated December 25, 2005 and was published on January 24, 2006.


THE POPE'S DAY TODAY, 11/15/07

The Pope met today with
- Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, President of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei
- Bishops of Kenya on ad-limina visit
- Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.





TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 15:49
RAVENNA DOCUMENT RELEASED
Vatican hails "step"
to healing Orthodox rift

By Phil Stewart


VATICAN CITY, Nov. 15 (Reuters) - The Vatican has praised an agreement between Roman Catholic and Orthodox theologians as a first step towards a possible healing of their millennium-long schism but said the road ahead was long and arduous.

The Vatican issued on Thursday a joint declaration agreed last month that said the Pope held the highest rank in the unified Church before the 1054 Great Schism - a statement that could allow Catholics and Orthodox to work more closely.

But the document made clear neither side yet agreed on what power came with that rank. The Orthodox in the old Byzantine Empire rejected the universal authority of the Roman Pontiff and gradually developed autonomous national churches with no papacy.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, head of the Vatican department promoting Christian unity, said the document gave Catholics hope but cautioned there was still a very long way to go before Catholics and Orthodox could speak of any kind of unity.

"This document is a modest first step and as such one of hope. But we must not exaggerate its importance," he told Vatican radio late on Wednesday ahead of the document's release. "This will not be easy. The road is very long and difficult."

Pope Benedict has made dialogue with the Orthodox a priority of his pontificate. He met in Istanbul last year with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is spiritual head of all Orthodox but has administrative power only over his small flock in Turkey.

Worldwide Orthodoxy is organized under national churches totaling some 220 million members, compared to the 1.1 billion Roman Catholics who all come under the Vatican's authority.

The Russian Orthodox, whose national church is the largest and most influential in world Orthodoxy, abandoned the October 8-14 theologians' meeting in Ravenna, Italy. The document was leaked last month on an Orthodox Web site.

Kasper played down the walk-out, which he said was due to an inter-Orthodox dispute over the autonomy of Estonia's church.

"This is an inter-Orthodox question. We cannot interfere. But we are saddened and concerned because for us it is important the Russian Orthodox Church participates in our dialogue," he said. "We don't want to have dialogue without the Russians."

Kasper said the Orthodox-Catholic talks would next tackle the role of the Pope in the pre-schism Church. Benedict has said this model, which was more decentralized than today's papacy, could help Catholics and Orthodox work together more closely.

But they would then have to discuss more contentious issues from the second millennium, during which the papacy became a powerful, centralized institution and the Pope was declared infallible when he makes decisions on faith and morals.


The English text of the 10-page document may be found on:
www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/chrstuni/ch_orthodox_docs/rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_20071013_documento-ravenna...


Orthodox recognize Pope
as head of universal Church;
disagreements remain



Vatican City, Nov 15, 2007 (CNA)- A joint commission of Orthodox and Catholic theologians has agreed that the Pope has primacy over all bishops, though disagreements about the extent of his authority still continue.

The Joint Commission for Theological Dialogue reached the agreement in a meeting in Ravenna, Italy last month, according to a document published Thursday.

The meeting from October 8 to October 15 was only the second since Catholic-Orthodox dialogue resumed in 2006 after a six-year break.

Pope Benedict has said that uniting all Christians and healing the split is a "fundamental" priority of his pontificate.

Cardinal Walter Kasper, who led the commission’s discussions, told Vatican Radio that "the real breakthrough is that for the first time the Orthodox were ready to speak about the universal level of the church" whereas in the past discussion is limited to the church on a local or regional level under a patriarch or archbishop.

Even more importantly “this means that there is also a Primate; according to the practice of the ancient Church, the first bishop is the bishop of Rome," Cardinal Kasper said.

The commission agreed "that the bishop of Rome was therefore the 'protos' among the patriarchs." "Protos" is an ancient Greek word meaning "first."

Acknowledging the difference of interpretation, the document noted disagreement "on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as 'protos."'

"While the fact of primacy at the universal level is accepted by both East and West, there are differences of understanding with regard to the manner in which it is to be exercised, and also with regard to its scriptural and theological foundations," the document continued.

The commission advised more in-depth study of the role of the Bishop of Rome - that is, the Pope - in communion with other churches.

The Russian Orthodox representative Bishop Illarion walked out of the meeting over a territorial dispute with a rival Orthodox Church.

Bishop Illarion posted the final document on his website. However, he noted that the document's adoption in the absence of representatives of the Moscow Patriarch cast doubt over whether it could be considered to reflect Moscow's views. The website posting said Moscow would present its views after further analysis of the document.
The Catholic and Orthodox Churches were united until the Great Schism of 1054. The Joint Theological Commission is working to heal the split between the churches.
TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 17:37
ARGENTINA AND CHILE INVITE POPE TO VISIT NEXT YEAR


BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, nOV. 14 (AP): Argentina and Chile have invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit next year, the Vatican's secretary of state said Wednesday.

A visit would coincide with the 30th anniversary of a territorial dispute over the Beagle Channel at the southern tip of South America. The Vatican is credited with averting armed conflict between the neighboring nations by mediating a resolution.

"Everyone wants the holy father to visit," Roman Catholic Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone said, noting the anniversary. But he said the pope has a busy travel schedule next year and he was not sure whether a trip would be possible.

Benedict visited Brazil in May, his first trip to Latin America since becoming pope in 2005.

The proposal to invite the pope was raised during a meeting Chilean President Michelle Bachelet held with Fernandez last week in Santiago, Chile, on the sidelines of the Ibero-American Summit, according to Argentine government news agency Telam.

Fernandez, who succeeds her husband Dec. 10 for a four-year term, has signaled she will emphasize international diplomacy more than her husband, who was strongly focused on domestic affairs.

On Saturday, Bertone presided over the first-ever beatification of an Argentine Mapuche Indian, Ceferino Namuncura, in the Patagonian community of Chimpay.


Bertone called yesterday in Buenos Aires on Argentine President Nestor Kirchner and his wife Kristina who was recently elected to succeed him.






benefan
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 19:45

Lori, they're holding a place for you.

Archbishop Wuerl hopes pope's visit will energize people's faith

By Jerry Filteau
Catholic News Service

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl said he hopes Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the nation's capital next spring will deepen the faith of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Washington and give them new energy.

"Personally, I'm thrilled that he will be here and be with all of us," he said.

"There is so much renewal going on, among our young people, in the whole church," he said. "His visit will be a reaffirmation of that. But also I'd like to think it's going to be a way of just re-energizing us."

He said he believes the emphasis of the pope's trip will be "on the renewal of the faith life of the church."

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, announced the pontiff's April 15-20 visit to Washington and New York -- billed as an "Apostolic Visit to the United States of America and to the Seat of the United Nations" -- at the Nov. 12 opening session of the U.S. bishops' national meeting in Baltimore.

Pope Benedict's main public event in Washington will be a Mass April 17 at the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium.

Shortly after the nuncio spoke, Archbishop Wuerl told the Catholic Standard, newspaper of the Washington Archdiocese, that the visit "will be an opportunity for all of us in the church in Washington to show the Holy Father our affection, to show him our profound loyalty, but also to demonstrate to him how alive the church in Washington is, how profoundly faith-filled the church is."

He said he and other church officials have been laying the groundwork for the visit since August, but he did not know for sure if it would happen until the nuncio officially announced the planned papal itinerary.

The pope is to arrive in Washington April 15 and meet with President George W. Bush at the White House the following day, which also happens to be the pope's 81st birthday. That afternoon he will address the U.S. bishops -- probably at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Archbishop Wuerl said.

After the stadium Mass April 17, the pope is to meet with heads of Catholic colleges and universities and diocesan education leaders at The Catholic University of America, followed by a meeting with leaders of non-Christian faiths at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center.

During a midday press conference Nov. 12, Archbishop Wuerl said that in visiting the nation's capital "the Holy Father is attempting to speak to the church throughout the United States."

He said that when it was first announced last summer that the pope was considering a U.N. visit next spring "it seemed appropriate to invite him to Washington."

The fact that the pope would make Washington his first stop "says to me that he sees this as a center representing the entire church in the United States," he said.

Besides being the home of Catholic University and the national shrine, Washington is the location of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' headquarters.

He added that the pope's plan to address representatives of Catholic higher education highlights the importance of faith formation and Catholic education in the life of the church.

The archbishop said preparing for the papal visit "will be a lot of work, but it'll be joyful work, because we'll be welcoming the head of the church. We'll be welcoming the successor to Peter, and he will come here to say to all of us, 'Be strong in your faith. ... Be a light of the Gospel to this country.'"

Asked how ticket distribution would be handled for the stadium Mass, Archbishop Wuerl said he did not know yet.

"I suspect there will be more people who want to see and be with the pope than there are places at the stadium. ... We have to take into account that there will be people coming from all over the country," he said. "They will not see this as a Washington event. They will see it as a national event."

"I think that we have to make sure that people -- especially our young people -- get a chance to see him," he added. "That's going to take some planning on our part, but I think the principle we want to work from is (that) we want to make sure the coming generation of Catholic young people get a chance to see him."
TERESA BENEDETTA
00giovedì 15 novembre 2007 20:00
COMMENTS ON RAVENNA DOCUMENT
What the two major Orthodox churches have to say. Translated from Apcom items today:


Constantinople:
Petrine Primacy, yes,
but only as 'first among equals'



VATICAN CITY, Nov. 15 (Apcom) - "Primacy (of Rome) yes, but also collegiality, that is, there must be agreement among all the Patriarchs".

This was the clarification issued today by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople under Bartholomew I, on the document issued by the mixed international theological commission of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

"The document is very important," a representative told Apcom, "because it recognizes the Primacy of the Pope as first among the Patriarchs at the historical level, that is, when the Church was one, before the Schism of 1054. But the Pope is 'primus inter pares', first among equals, which means, we wish to underscore collegiality in the direction of the universal Church."

In fact, the document states (Paragraph 41):

Both sides agree that ... in the era of the undivided Church... Rome, as the Church that “presides in love” according to the phrase of St Ignatius of Antioch (To the Romans, Prologue), occupied the first place in the taxis(order), and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos among the patriarchs.

They disagree, however, on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium.


Moscow did not sign Ravenna document -
appears to prefer bilateral dealings with Rome



VATICAN CITY, Nov, 15 (Apcom) - The Patriarchate of Moscow anticipated the release of the Ravenna document by placing it online last October 26, although its delegation walked out of the Ravenna meetings on the first day of the weeklong session last month.

Moscow appears to have its own ideas of the ecumenical effort. It is at odds with other Orthodox Churches, particularly Constantinople, and it appears to prefer dealing with Rome directly instead of joining a larger group.

The Ravenna document highlights a fundamental intra-Orthodox issue. While Constantinople and all the other Orthodox churches recognize the historical primacy of the Bishop of Rome, Moscow undeer Alexei II has kept its distance.

The document represents formal recognition of the Petrine primacy but as a historical fact, not in a substantial way. (See above story)

What was Moscow's motivation in anticipating by three weeks the official release of a document it had not even signed? It may be seen as a deliberate discourtesy, particularly to the Patriarch of Constantinople, but even Vatican offiacils were not pleased.

Yesterday, Cardinal Walter Kasper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said that the road to Christian reunification was still 'long and difficult'.

He was referring only to the Catholic-Orthodox confrontation, but to intra-Orthodox differences. The Moscow Patriarchate, which is the largest Orthodox church by far, is disdainful of the pitifully reduced Patriarchate of Constantinople, whose Patriarch, nevertheless, is considered 'first among equals' in the orthodox world.

To highlight is rivalry with Constantinople, Moscow has sent signals on two fronts: first, the walkout from Ravenna to protest a decision by Constantinople to accredit the Estonian Orthodox church to the meetings; and second, some indications of relaxing its relations with the Vatican.

Pope Benedict's appointment of Italian Archbishop Paolo Pezzi last month to replace the Polish-born Tadeusz Kondrusiewcki as Archbishop of Moscow was welcomed with explicit appreciation by Alexei II.

Three days after Mons. Pezzi was installed, Alexei's 'foreign minister', Metropolitan Kirill, announced that "therre is a growing understanding between the two Churches on many questions regarding mankind, and this creates a certain solidarity in their relationships at the level of international activity and of dialog with the secular world."

The much-specualted meeting between Pope Benedict and Alexei is not around the corner by any means, but Moscow's tone has changed. [Really? Not about proselytism, which they keep accusing Catholics of, almost with every statement that comes from the Patriarchate. See Interfax files].

The Russian Orthodox Church, with at least 150 million members, feels itself much stronger now than in the first post-Soviet decade, but continues to be suspicious that the Catholic Church wants to gain converts from among the Russian Orthodox.

Recently, Pope Benedict sent Mons. Paul Joseph Cordes of Cor Unum to meet with Alexei, but the meeting was cancelled because Alexei was ill. It appears his health problems are worsening.

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

Not surprisingly, given that everyone only had the Ravenna document itself and Cardinal Kasper's remarks to Vatican Radio yesterday as their primary sources, reporting in the Italian media today about the Ravenna document - substantially 'scooped' by Marco Politi in Repubblica yesterday - had little new to add.

One reporter did however - Lucio Brunelli, writing for L'Eco di Bergamo, a northern Italy newspaper published out of John XXIII's home city. If Brunelli's name sounds familiar, he's the journalist who wrote up the co-called 'cardinal's secret diary' of the 2005 Conclave. But since what he reports in this case is open verifiable fact, then it's worth something. Here is a trabnslation:



...

The most important statements (on Petrine primacy) have come from the vice-president of the mixed commission, Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas, theological pointman for the Patriarchate of Constantinople, who has been known for his open ecumenical attitudes.

"According to Tradition," he said in an interview with 30 Giorni in 2003, "the Bishop of Rome is the Primate Bishop in all the Church. The difficulty about the Petrine primacy is that it implies a universal jurisdiction under which a Pope could interfere with local Churches. But if we could find a way to interpret the universal primacy of the Pope that will not imply any damage to the full authority of local Churches, we can accept that."

Therefore, it is clear the issue is to agree on the concrete limits of the authority of the Bishop of Rome. Both Papa Wojtyla and Papa Ratzinger have declared themselves willing to discuss such limits.

Meanwhile, Catholics and Orthodox have put down, in black and white, their mutual commitment to examine this crucial issue in depth. It is a very important step, considering that after the break-up of the Soviet Union, Orthodox fears of a 'Catholic invasion' (and a bias against John Paul II just because he was Polish) froze the dialog with Moscow for many years.

But this next step will actually be a work program that may take years. So, a healing of the Great Schism is not around the corner just yet.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 16 novembre 2007 15:11
WILL STUDENTS GET TO GREET THE POPE AT CATHOLIC U?

Thomas Peters, on his American Papist blog, discloses some details of the Pope's visit to Catholic Unviersity of America, which Peters now attends.



Thursday, November 15, 2007
Exclusive Details for Pope Benedict's visit to CUA


The student newspaper of the Catholic University of America, The Tower (which I must hasten to add has a somewhat spotty record on getting the facts straight) has published an exclusive report of the Pope's upcoming visit to the CUA campus that seems credible enough [my comments in brackets]:

Pope Benedict XVI will speak in the Pryzbyla Center on April 17. He will also visit the John Paul II Cultural Center and the Basilica.

His address will follow a meeting at the White House, Mass at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception with all U.S. Bishops and a public Mass at the new Washington Nationals Stadium in southeast Washington, D.C.

The pope, who was born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927, will speak in the Pryzbyla Great Room in front of an audience of educational representatives and specialists from every diocese in the United States. At this time the exact number of representatives is unavailable. Presidents from every Catholic university will also be invited. There is no information available on whether or not students will be invited. [My guess: they won't.]

Benedict will meet leaders from many faiths at the John Paul II Cultural Center, hold mass at the Nationals Stadium on the banks of the Anacostia River and speak at the University on the same day. [That's quite an ambitious itinerary, but not impossible.]

Rev. David O'Connell, president of the University, is convening a committee to deal with the logistics of the papal visit. All final decisions regarding the visit will be made by O'Connell, according to Victor Nakas, associate vice president for Public Affairs.
...

Students may not be invited to the Pryzbla Center address, as the Great Room holds a maximum of about 1,000 people and interest in attending the event will likely be high.

The Mass at Nationals Stadium is a public event. Tickets to the public will be available for free to several area dioceses. Information on how to obtain them is not available at this point. [More on how to get your tickets to Papal events posted here.]
...

O'Connell was not available for comment on the visit. Public Affairs said he will release a letter with more details about the visit at a later date.

Classes at CUA will be cancelled on the day of the visit.

One of the CUA students made the comment to the effect that she hopes they "will be able to at least attend one function with the Pope during his visit. It would be a shame to have Pope Benedict XVI come to campus and not interact.-.even at a distance.- with the students."

My quick response would be that, at least in previous papal trips, there is generally some time allotted before and after closed-door events for the Pope to come around and briefly greet people gathered outside. Security is sure to be tight, but there have been some wonderful impromptu words delivered by the Holy Father in these types of occasions. So don't lose heart.


As for the Pryzbyla Center - commonly known simply as "The Pryz" - I'm sure the CUA folks are happy for the opportunity to showcase one of their newest buildings.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 16 novembre 2007 15:34
THE POPE'S DAY TODAY

The Holy Father today met with
- Mons. Jean-Claude Périsset, Apostolic Nuncio in Germany
- Bishops of Kenya, Group 2, on ad-limina visit
- Participants of a meeting of Missionary Superiors-General. Address in English.
- (PM) Bishops of Kenya, Group 3, on ad-limina visit.


POPE ADDRESSES SUPERIORS
OF MISSIONARY ORDERS


Pope Benedict XVI today urged the missionary orders to accommodate lay men and women, especially the youth, within their mission of evangelization.

The Pope addressed the Superiors-General of 21 missionary societies of consecrated life (religious orders), 15 of which are pontifical orders, and 6 diocesan.

Thanking all missionaries for their service to the poorest societies around the world, the Poope said: "Today, as in the past, missionaries continue to leave their families and homes, often at great sacrifice, for the sole purpose of proclaiming the Good News of Christ and serving him in their brothers and sisters. Many of them, also in our time, have heroically confirmed their preaching by the shedding of their blood, and contributed to establishing the Church in distant lands."

On the need to recruit more missionaries, religious as well as laity, the Pope said:

"One of the promising indications of a renewal in the Church’s missionary consciousness in recent decades has been the growing desire of many lay men and women, whether single or married, to cooperate generously in the missio ad gentes.

"Today, changed circumstances have led in many cases to a decrease in the number of young people who are attracted to missionary societies, and a consequent decline in missionary outreach. All the same, as the late Pope John Paul II insisted, the mission ad gentes is still only beginning, and the Lord is summoning us, all of us, to be committed wholeheartedly to its service....

"As the Council stressed, the work of evangelization is a fundamental duty incumbent upon the whole People of God, and all the baptized are called to 'a lively awareness of their personal responsibility for the spreading of the Gospel'".

He noted that "while some Missionary Societies have had a long history of close collaboration with lay men and women, others have only more recently developed forms of lay association with their apostolate."



TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 16 novembre 2007 16:52
AFTERMATH OF THE BRAZIL VISIT
An account by two bishops
By Renato Farina


Thanks to Lella, this article is from the October 2007 issue of Tracce, the monthly magazine of Comunione e Liberazione.





Benedict XVI's visit to Brazil last May, above all to the shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, has led an entire people and their bishops to turn back to Christ, according to two Brazilian bishops, Mons. Giancarlo Petrini, Vicar Genral of San Salvador de Bahia, and Mons. Filippo Santoro, Bishop of Petropolis.

The two bishops addressed the international assembly of Comunione e Liberazione officers recently at La Thuile.

They said that the Pope's personal choice of the theme, 'Disciples and missionaries of Jesus Christ', for the fifth General Assembly of the bihops of Latin America and the Caribbean, which he opened in Aparecida, was indicative of his message and the results of his trip which are beginning to be observed.

"Everything starts with an attraction - Jesus attracts persons and people with his beauty and extraordinary humanity, and Aparecida is the Virgin, Mother and icon of the welcoming church, as well as a place for the experience of love," they said.


What was the situation before the Pope came? How did the Pope re-propose the Church position? Because ourtside Brazil, it was said - "The Catholic Church has now overcome the Marxist elements of liberation theology, but the problem of growing Protstant sects is worse."


Petrini: The largest Brazilian newspaper, A Folha di Sao Paulo, ran the results of a survey shortly after the Pope left (but done before the visit), which showed that 74% of Brazilians today (total population 180 million) call themselves Catholic. That was encouraging because between 1991-2001, earlier surveys had shown that the percentage of Catholics in Brazil had dropped from 83% to 73%, a process that had appeared unstoppable.

Today, even the newspapers that look at the Chruch with distrust admit that 'something is happening'. That the Church has started to talk about Jesus again! Papa Ratzinger urged this, and this is happening, and it gives us greater encouragement. That's the big news.

Santoro: The Pope came to Brazil and told us, "The Church grows by attracting people." In Aparecida he said: "The Church is a disciple and missionary of Christ's Love. It can be missionary only insofar as it is a disciple, which mweans, capable of always being attracted to God with ever-new wonder, God who has loved us, and loved us first (cfr Jn 4,10). The Church does not proselytize. Rather it develops by 'attraction': Christ attracts everyone to himself with the power of his love, which culminated in his ssacrifice on the Cross. And that is how the Church fulfills its mission."

It was a beautiful statement, which was repeated at least ten times a day during the sessions of the Aparecida conference (May 13-30).

The Pope had set the tone: "The Church grows by attraction." And this is a winning card. The moralism characteristic of past generations is a bit stale. But now, the choice is to speak of the fascination that Christ has, the attraction towards Christian living that is full of beauty and meaning, and which responds to the needs in man's heart.

Petrini: This kind of rpeaching was seen in the past as limited only to some groups. Who spoke about the fascination of Jesus Christ before this? Only some new church movements. Perhaps only one. [It is the basic teaching of don Giussani who founded Comunione e Liberazione.] But now, this has begun to be a theme for the whole church.


We are familiar with a hymn from Aparecida in which man calls on Mary to look after him.

The Pope's visit was a renewal of this prayer. He himself has the Virgin's protection and he made us feel it as something 'living' in Aparecida. All the five days that the Pope was in Brazil was for us an experience of his paternal love and concern.

[Before he arrived,] the Holy Father was still being presented in Brazil as a rigid defender of orthodoxy, closed, doctrinaire, gruff. But all his appearances showed the amiability of this Successor of Peter, his ease among people, the simplicity of his language, particularly in his meetings with young people, and unforgettably, those with the recovering drug addicts in Guaratingueta.

Everyone saw this Pope kissing babies, comforting the ex-addicts, be near the people when he can, as in Guaratingueta, where his security allowed him to be far more accessible. All this transmitted to the public an image of warmtn and goodness, of a man who hugs people easily.

Of course, his visit had its share of precise doctrinal interventions, as in his encounter with all the bishops of Brazil at Sao Paulo Cathedral. But even these interventions, which provide us with precise points of reference, all had to do with the 'attraction of Christ.'


What were the dangers the Pope warned the Christian community about? And what did he propose by way of preserving and appreciating what is good?

Petrini: The Pope did not identify the new religious denominations (we try not to use the word 'sects' because it has acquired a derogatory connotation) as the most important 'risk'. He said the serious problem was secularism, in which the presence of mystery, transcendence, has been 'moved away' from everyday life. This should be the point of attack.

In the pastoral ministry of most parishes and in many dioceses of Brazil - but perhaps everywhere else - there is still a current of thought that insists on social commitment above all, obscuring or ignoring the dimension of a relationship with God, separating social action from its profoundly religious essence. The other current focuses on relationship with the Mystery of God, on the experience of faith, as purely emotional.

The great thing about the Pope is that he succeeds in making the heart vibrate and respond to the message of Christ with the extraordinary clarity of his statements, conveyed through that easy relationship that feels like an embrace to those he addresses.

Santoro: The fundamental point of the visit was the experience of Aparecida itself, the Pope's spontaneous intuition in suggesting that the bishops conference be held there - in the presence of the Mother of God, who is the sign of the Mystery at hand, even to the poorest.

And for the bishops, the experience of being surrounded by 30,000 faithful on Friday, 80,000 on Saturday, and 120,000 on Sunday ....All of us saw that Brazilians are still a Christian people full of faith. A people who embrace their bishops. Not the so-called 'popular Church' based on ideology, which according to Marxist theology of liberating the poor, is the subject that will transform history!

The Aparecida conference, following Benedict XVI, reaffirmed that the subject who transforms history is the man of faith. Whether he is rich or poor - and in Brazil, the great majority are poor - what's important is their experience of the faith, of its beauty.

Aparecida may be summed up in two phrases: the joy of being disciples of Christ and the joy of proclaiming him to all.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 16 novembre 2007 17:34
MONS. RANJITH AGAIN - ON DISOBEDIENCE TO THE POPE
AND CONTINUING LITURGICAL ABUSES OF THE NOVUS ORDO

Translated from Apcom:


ROME, Nov, 16 (Apcom) - The secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Sacramental Discipline, Mons. Albert Malcolm Ranjith, has once again criticized the attitude of some bishops towards the Pope over his Motu Proprio liberalizing the use of the traditional Mass.

In an interview with Fides, the news agency of the Congregation f or the Evangelization of peoples, Nons. Ranjith also reiterated that some dances, musical instruments and songs were inappropriate for use during the celebration of Mass, as well as 'some homilies of a political-social character'.

Mons. Ranjith said that the attitude of 'autonomy' shown by 'some ecclesiastics' even in 'the highest ranks of the Catholic Church' does not at all help the 'noble mission entrusted by Christ to his Vicar on earth', the Pope.

"One has seen that in some countries and dioceses, bishops have issued rules that practically annul or deform the intentions of the Pope [in Summorum Pontificum]. Such behavior is not in consonance with the dignity and nobility of the vocation of a Pastor of the Church."

He recalled the reasons that led the Pope to formally sanction the validity of the liturgy that preceded the Second Vatican Council.

"The post-Conciliar reforms to the liturgy were certainly not all negative," he said. "There are many positive things that have been achieved. But there have also been abusive changes that have been introduced and continue to be practised despite their harmful effects on faith itself and the liturgical life of the Church."

In particular, Ranjith cited "the use of dancing, musical isntruments and songs that have little to do with liturgy and are not at all appropriate to the sacred environment of the Church and of the sacramental nature of liturgy. I would also add some homilies with a political-social charatcer which are often extemporaneous. All this denatures the celebration of Holy Mass, making it a choreography and a theater event, but not a manifestation of faith."

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

Let us hope that the Pontifical Council Ecclesia Dei or some other responsible Vatican agency has been putting together the regulations issued by bishops around the world for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum, with emphasis on those that 'annul or deform the Pope's intentions', as Mons. Ranjith says - and passing them onto the Pope himself. Because it would be in character for him to pick up the phone and speak directly to a dissenting bishop, or at least, write a fraternal letter meeting the individual bishop's objections head-on.



The Holy Father met with Cardinal Dario Castrillon-Hoyos, head of Ecclesia Dei, yesterday. Perhaps Ecclesia Dei is about to release its answers to clarify major questions raised about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. Not that these clarifications will mollify the hardcore dissenters, but they would guide all other dioceses who itnend to follow the MP in good faith.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00venerdì 16 novembre 2007 17:43
Posted today in the preceding page:

Will students get to greet the Pope at Catholic University?- American Papist publishes
university item about Pope's visit to Catholic U in Washington, but it's to meet with
Catholic educators.

The Pope's day - He calls on missionary orders to involve more laymen in their mission.

Aftermath of the Brazil visit - Two Brazilian bishops say Brazilian Catholics are
'turning to Christ' again, as the Pope exhorted during his trip and in his choice of theme
for the Aparecida bishops' conference. Excellent story, translated from Tracce.

Mons. Ranjith decries bishops' regulations that 'annul or deform' the Pope's
intentions in Summorum Pontificum- Translated from Apcom.



Creating cardinals:
Pomp, circumstance and
giving input to the pope

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service



VATICAN CITY, Nov. 16 (CNS) - Pope Benedict XVI presides over his second consistory in late November, inducting 23 new cardinals into the church's most exclusive body.

The ceremony to create the cardinals takes only an hour or so, but the celebratory and consultative events that surround it last four days.

The working part comes first, when the pope meets Nov. 23 with the College of Cardinals - including the cardinals-to-be - in a closed-door assembly. The main topic for the morning session is ecumenism, while the afternoon is open to "free interventions" on other matters.

On Nov. 24 the pope holds the consistory proper, a Liturgy of the Word, during which he pronounces a formula that officially creates the new cardinals.

Then, as each cardinal kneels before him, the pope hands him a scarlet biretta - the "red hat" - whose color signifies a cardinal's willingness to shed his blood for the faith. It's a moment that always prompts applause from pilgrim cheering sections.

In the afternoon, the Vatican hosts receptions for the new cardinals in an 'open house' event that attracts thousands of well-wishers. For some, it's a rare chance not only to greet the cardinals but also to see rooms of the Apostolic Palace that are normally off-limits.

On Nov. 25, the pope concelebrates a morning Mass with the new cardinals, presenting each of them with a gold ring, a sign of their special bond with the church of Rome.

The consistory and the ring Mass are scheduled for St. Peter's Square, mainly because of the huge crowds expected. Rain and cold could force the events inside, but that's a worst-case scenario that liturgical planners hope they don't have to face.

On Nov. 26, the pope holds an audience with the new cardinals, their relatives and the pilgrims who have accompanied them. It's a less-formal event and gives the visitors a real chance to voice support for their favorite sons.

In recent years, consistories have celebrated the church's universality, and this one is no different. Pilgrims from 15 countries are descending on Rome; they include U.S. contingents from the archdioceses of Philadelphia, home of Cardinal-designate John P. Foley, and Galveston-Houston, where Cardinal-designate Daniel N. DiNardo is archbishop.

Some of the new cardinals, including Cardinal-designate Foley, are taking advantage of the pilgrims' presence to celebrate their first Mass in the Rome churches to which they have been assigned. These "titular" churches symbolize their status as members of the clergy of Rome and their new relationship with the bishop of Rome, Pope Benedict.

Although most of the attention will focus on the public events, the consultative session with cardinals is an important part of the program. Pope Benedict, continuing a tradition of his predecessor, convened the cardinals at his first consistory in 2006 to get their input on issues that included dialogue with Islam and outreach to Catholic traditionalists.

This time, the focus is on ecumenism.

"I am very happy and I am very grateful that the Holy Father has chosen this theme," Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican's chief ecumenist, told Vatican Radio.

The cardinal said the session would include a report on the state of ecumenism, followed by a general discussion among the cardinals. The results of a recent Catholic-Orthodox meeting will be taken up, but the discussion will be much wider, covering relations with Oriental churches, Protestant churches and Pentecostal movements, he said.

Cardinal Kasper said the opportunity to examine ecumenical themes with all the world's cardinals was particularly important because "ecumenism is a mandate from Our Lord. It is not an option, it is an obligation for the church."

Naturally, not all the cardinals will be able to make it to Rome for the consistory events. Vatican officials were still doing a final tally, but they estimated that about 150 of the 180 existing cardinals would be able to attend.

That will ensure a large red sector around the papal altar. It used to be a much smaller group: 50 years ago, there were only 70 cardinals; 30 years ago, there were 134.

After this consistory, the College of Cardinals will have 201 members. That's a record number, but one that seems destined to be broken in coming years.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 02:32
FULL TRANSCRIPT OF MONS. RANJITH INTERVIEW WITH FIDES

Thanks to Lella for this, as I cannot access the FIDES news service which requires subscription. The Apcom story I posted earlier barely scratched the surface of this very substantial interview. Here is a translation:


'Summorum Pontificum' also indicates
for the whole Church some theological
and disciplinary principles necessary
for its renewal as intended by Vatican-II


Interview with Archbishop Albert Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation for Diovne Worship and Sacramental Discipline.


VATICAN CITY (Fides News Agency) - With the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI has enabled the celebration of the traditional Mass without necessarily requesting the permission of the local bishop.

After Vatican-II and in particular, with the consequent liturgical reform of 1970 promoted by Pope Paul VI, the old Missal was replaced by the Novus Ordo, and even if the old rite was never abolished, those who wished to use it had to get the local bishop's express permission. And were often denied.

But such a permission was sanctioned by another Motu Proprio - Ecclesia Dei afflicta issued by John Paul II on July 2, 1988. With Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio, such permission is no longer necessary and any 'stable group' can freely ask their parish priest for the celebration of the traditional Mass on a regular basis.

Fides agency directed some questions about the Motu Proprio to Mons. Ranjith.


Your Excellency, what do you think is the deepest significance of Summorum Pontificum?

I see in this not only the Holy Father's concern to open the way for a return to full communion with the Church of the followers of Mons. Lefebvre, but an idnication to the whole Church of some theological and disciplinary principles that must be preserved in order to carry out the profound renewal of the Church which was the great intention of Vatican-II.

I think the Pope strongly desires to correct the temptations evident in some circles who see the Council as a rupture with the past and as a completely new beginning. We should not forget his speech on December 22, 2005 to the Roman Curia.

Moreover, not even the fathers of Vatican-II themselves thought in terms of rupture. Whether it had to do with doctrinal or liturgical choices, or juridical and pastoral decisions, the Council was a time for profound examination and an updating, aggiornamento, of the rich theological and spiritual legacy of the Church from its bimillennial history.

With teh Motu Proprio, the Pope wished to affirm clearly that any temptation to deprecate the Church's venerable traditions is out of line. The message is clear: progress, yes, but not at the expense of, or doing without, the Church's previous history. So, even liturgical reform should be faithful to what took place in the life of the Church from the beginning to the present, without excluding anything.

On the other hand, we must never forget that for the Catholic Church, divine Revelation does not only come from Scriptures but also from the living Tradition of the Church. This distinguishes us cldearly from other manifestations of Christian faith.

For us, truth is what emerges, so to speak, from both poles of Scripture and Tradition (capital "T"). I think this position is much richer than any other because it respects the Lord's freedom to guide us toward a more adequate understanding of truth that can be revealed even through what could happen in the future.

Of course, the process of discerning just what emerges is realized through the Magisterium of the Church. But what we must grasp is the importance attributed by the church to Tradition. Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution Dei verbum states this clearly (DV 10).

Moreover, the Church is a reality that goes beyond the level of mere human invention. It is the mystical Body of Christ, the heavenly Jerusalem, the people elected by God. Therefore, it goes beyond earthly frontiers and every limitation of time. It is a reality that transcends by far her earthly and hierarchical manifestations.

That is why, within the Church, whatever has been received must be transmitted faithfully. We are neither inventors of the truth nor its masters. We are only those who receive it and have the task to safeguard it and pass it on to others.

As St. Paul said, speaking of the Eucharist, "In fact, I have received from the Lord what, in my turn, I am passing on to you" (1 Cor 11,23).

Respect for Tradition is not our free choice in searching for the truth - it is the basis for it, and we must accept it as such. Therefore, faithfulness to Tradition is an essential attitude of the Church itself.

And the Motu Proprio, in my opinion, should also be understood in this sense. It is a possible stimulus for a necessary course correction. Because, in some choices made for the liturgical reform carried out after the Council, orientations were adopted that obfuscated soem aspects of liturgy which were better reflected in the traditional rite - all because those who were responsible interpreted liturgical renewal as something to be done from scratch, ex novo.

But we know very well that was not the intention expressed in Sacrosanctum concilium, which states that "new forms must draw organically from those that already exist" (SC 23).


One characteristic of Benedict XVI's Pontificate appears to be an insistence on the correct intepretation (hermeneutic) of Vatican-II. Do you see Summorum Pontificum as a step in that direction? And in what way?

Already as a cardinal, the Pope in his writings rejected a certain 'exuberance' found in some theological circles who were motivated by a so-called 'spirit of Vatican-II'. which for him was actually an 'anti-spirit', what he called a Konzils-Ungeist (Chapter 2, The Ratzinger Report).

He wrote then: "One must decisively oppose this scheme of a 'before' and 'after' in the history of the Church, which is totally unjustified by the documents of Vatican-II, which do nothing but to reaffirm the continuity of Catholicism".

However, such an erroneous interpretation of the Council and the historical-theological path of the Church has influenced all sectors of the Church, including the liturgy. This attitude of facilely rejecting eccclesiastical, theological and liturgical developments of the past millennium, on the one hand, and a naive idolization of what they presume to be the thinking (mens) of the early Christians, on the other, has had an influence of not little relevance to the liturgical-theological changes of the post-conciliar era.

The categorical rejection of the pre-Conciliar Mass, as a 'relic' of an era that has definitely been 'overcome', is a result of that mentality. So many in the Church took up that attitude, but thank God, not everyone.

Sacrosanctum concilium, the Council Constitution on the Liturgy, does not offer any justification for such an attitude. Whether in its general principles or in the standards it proposes, the document is moderate and faithful to what the liturgical life of the Church should be. Just read the Paragraph 23 of that Constitution!

Some liturgical reforms abandoned important elements of liturgy and their related theological considerations. Now it is necessary and important to recover these elements.

The Pope, who considers the Mass of Pius V revised by John XXIII as a way to recover those elements obfusdcated by the 1970 reform, surely thought a lot about his decision. We know that he consulted different sectors of the Church about this first, and then, despite some objections, he decided nevertheless that free access to the traditional rite should be allowed.

It is not, as some have said, a return to the past, as much as a way to restore balance in an integral way between the eternal, transcendent and heavenly aspects of the liturgy and its earthly and communitarian aspects. This will help eventually to establish an equilibrium between the sense of the sacred and of mystery, on the one hand, and the external gestures, attitudes and socio-cultural aspects deriving from liturgy.


When he was still a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger insisted a lot on the need to read Vatican-II starting with its first document, which was Sacrosanctum concilium. Why do you think the Council Fathers decided to make liturgy their first objective?

Surely, it must have been primarily their awareness of the vital importance of liturgy to the life of the Church. The liturgy is, so to speak, the nucleus, because what one celebrates is what one believes and what one lives - the famous axiom of Lex orandi, lex credendi. That is why every true reform of the Church passes through liturgy. The Council Fathers were very aware of this importance.

Moreover, liturgical reform was already under way even before the Council, starting with the Motu Proprio Tra le Sollecitudini of St. Pius X, and the Mediator Dei of Pius XII. It was Pius X who attributed to liturgy the expression that it is the 'primary spring' of authentic Christian spirit.

So perhaps, the existence of structures and the experience of those who had been studying the possible introduction of liturgical reforms led the Council Fathers to choose it as the subject for their first sessions.

Pope Paul VI reflected on the thinking of the Council Fathers about this when he said, "Let us review together our scale of values and duties: God in the first place; prayer as our first obligation; the liturgy as the first source of divine life communicated to us, the first school for our spiritual life, the first gift which we can make to the Christian people"(Paul VI, Address at the closing session of the second period of Vatican-II, Dec. 4, 1963).


Many see the publication of Summorum Pontificum as the Pope's attempt to bring back the Lefebvrians into the Church. Is that right?

Yes, but that was not the only reason. The Holy Father, in explaining his decision, listed all his reasons, both in the Motu Proprio and in his explanatory letter.

Of course, he took into account the growing requests from various groups and above all, the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX, formal name of the Lefebvrian movement) and the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, as well as various lay associations, to liberalize the traditional Mass.

To achieve the total reintegration of Lefebvrians into the Church is important because, in the past, errors of judgment were made which caused unnecessary divisions within the Church, divisions which cannot perhaps be easily overcome now. And the Pope describes this risk in his explanatory letter to the bishops.


What do you think are the most urgent problems that must be dealt with for proper celebration of the liturgy? What would be the priorities?

I think that in the growing demand for the liberalization of the traditional Mass, the Pope saw signs of a certain spiritual void caused in part by how the Mass has come to be celebrated.

These less than desirable practices have been the result of post-
Conciliar litugical reforms which tend to reduce, or perhaps, better said, to misunderstand certain essential elements of the faith, as well as an attitude of adventure and innovation that is not itself faithful to the discipline imposed by the liturgical reform - and that is something we see everywhere.

I think that one of the causes why some important elements from the traditional Mass were abandoned in the post-Conciliar reform by some liturgical sectors was ignoring or under-estimating what took place in the liturgy during the second millennium of Christianity. Some liturgists have considered the developments of that period only as negative.

It is an erroneous attitude, because when one speaks of the living Tradition of the Church, we cannot pick and choose only those which agree with our own preconceived ideas.

Tradition, considered in a general sense even in the fields of science, philosophy and theology, is always something living which continues to evolve and progress through the high and low points of history.

As I said earlier, living Tradition is, for the Church, one of the sources of divine Revelation and is the fruit of a continuous evolution. That is true even in liturgical tradition with a small 't'.

The liturgical developments in the second millennnium have their value. Sacrosanctum concilium does not talk of a new rite, or of a rupture, but of a reform that can emerge organically from what exists already.

That is why the Pope said: "In the history of liturgy, there is growth and progress but no rupture. What was sacred in preceding generations remains sacred and great even for us, and cannot suddenly be completely prohibited or even judged dangerous" (Letter to bishops, July 7, 2007).

To idolize and idealize the liturgy of the first millennium at the expense of the second is hardly a scientific or modern attitude. The Fathers of Vatican-II did not show such an attitude.

But the second great problem is a crisis of obedience to the Holy Father that is evident in some circles. The attidue of autonomy which some ecclesiastics have displayed, even in the highest ranks of the Church, certainly does not help the mission that Christ has entrusted to his Vicar on Earth.

One has seen that in some countries and dioceses, bishops have issued rules that practically annul or deform the intentions of the Pope [in Summorum Pontificum]. Such behavior is not in consonance with the dignity and nobility of the vocation of a Pastor of the Church.

I'm not saying this of everyone. Majority of the bishops and ecclesiastics have accepted the wishes of the Pope with due reverence and obedience, and that is very laudable. It is just unfortunate that there are these voices of protest.

At the same time, it cannot be ignored that the Pope's decision was necessary because as he said, the Holy Mass "in some places has not been celebrated in a way that follows the prescriptions of the new Missal, but instead, the new Missal was taken to be an authorization, or even an obligation, to be 'creative' which has often led to deformations of the liturgy to the limits of what is supportable."

"I speak from experience," he contiinued, "because I, too, lived through that period with all its expectations and confusions, and I saw how the arbitrary deformations of the liturgy profoundly hurt many persons who are totally rooted in the faith of the Church" (Letter to Bishops).

So the result of these abuses was a growing spirit of nostalgia for the traditional Mass.

The situation has been aggravated by a sense of general disinterest in reading and following normative documents from the Holy See or even the Instructions and Premises of the liturgical books.

Liturgy still does not count enough to be a priority in the courses for continuing education of churchmen.

Let me be clear. The post-Conciliar reforms to the liturgy were certainly not all negative. There are many positive things that have been achieved. But there have also been abusive changes introduced and that continue to be practised despite their harmful effects on faith itself and the liturgical life of the Church.

I would cite, for example, a change which was never proposed by the Council Fathers nor in Sacrosanctum concilium, which is to receive Communion in one's hands. This alone has resulted in a certain diminution of faith in the real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Such a practice, and doing away with communion rails, and kneelers for the pews, the introduction of practices which oblige the faithful to be seasted or standing at the elevation of the Blessed Sacrament - diminish the genuine significance of the Eucharist and the sense of profound reverence with which the Church, its faithful, should address the Lord, God's only-begotten Son.

Then, there is the fact that the Church, God's dwelling, becomes nothing more than an assembly hall for meetings, concerts or inter-religious rites.

In some Churches, the Blessed Sacrament is almost hidden away or abandoned in some inconsequential side chapel that is not even properly set up.

All these laxities tend to dim and diminish the faith that is central to the Church, namely the real Presence of Christ. For us, Catholics, the physical Church is properly the dweelling of the eternal.

Another serious error is to confuse the specific roles of the clergy and the laity in the liturgy, so that the presbytery, the space around the altar, becomes a place of too much movement - certainly not a place from which the Christian can catch a sense of wonder and splendor in the presence and saving grace of the Lord.

Then there's the use of dancing, musical instruments and songs that have little to do with liturgy and are not at all appropriate to the sacred environment of the Church and of the sacramental nature of liturgy. I would also add some homilies with a political-social character which are often extemporaneous. All this denatures the celebration of Holy Mass, making it a choreography and a theater event, but not a manifestation of faith.

There are other aspects which are hardly consistent with the beauty and the wonder of what is being celebrated on the altar.

Still, not everything has gone wrong with the Novus Ordo, but much has to be put into order so as to avoid further damage to the life of the Church.

I think that our atttiude to the Pope, his decisions, and the expression of his concern for the good of the Church, should be what St. Paul advised the Corinthians - "Everything should be done for building up" (1 Cor 14,26).


TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 14:15
WHAT THE POPE IS WRITING THESE DAYS

Pope is working on three documents
simultaneously, Vatican sources say



ROME, Nov 16, 2007 (CNA).- Sources at the Holy See have confirmed to CNA that Pope Benedict XVI is set to finish an encyclical on the virtue of hope that, according to the Italian daily La Repubblica, will be called Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope).

In addition, they said the Pontiff is also working simultaneously on two other important texts, including one on social issues.

After the announcement of the theme of the next encyclical, which according to the Italian daily, could be published before Christmas, Vatican sources consulted by CNA said the Pope is also working on a social document, confirming what was informally said during the Pope’s vacation last summer.

This new document, “which may or may not be an encyclical, would be an updating of the themes contained in Populorum Progressio from the perspective of the social and ethical challenges posed by globalization,” the sources said.

This year marked the 40th anniversary of Populorum Progressio, the encyclical by Paul VI that addressed the issue of human development as an integral phenomenon that should have political, social, ethical and spiritual effects.

“There has not been, therefore, ‘a change’ in what the Holy Father is interested in, but rather he is working on different texts at the same time, as he did as a theologian and as a Cardinal,” sources explained.

They also said Benedict XVI is working on a third text: the second and last part of his book on Jesus Christ. In this second part, he will write about the Gospel passages on the Passion, Resurrection and the infancy of Jesus.

“This theological and personal work of the Pope, which will be the second part of JESUS OF NAZARETH, is also being written, without impacting the other official documents which he is considering publishing as part of his Magisterium,” sources said.


TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 14:28
THE LONDON 'TIMES' REPORTS ON THE RAVENNA DOCUMENT

Vatican joins historic talks to end
950-year rift with Orthodox church

By Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent
and Paul Bompard in Rome
The Times of London
November 16, 2007

That's a strange headline, to say the least! "Vatican joins..."??? You'd think the Vatican came on as a me-too or Johnny-come-lately rather than being one of the prime movers in a formal series of dialogs of which there have been at least 10!


The Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches took tentative steps towards healing their 950-year rift yesterday by drafting a joint document that acknowledges the primacy of the Pope.

The 46-paragraph “Ravenna Document”, written by a special commission of Catholic and Orthodox officials, envisages a reunified church in which the Pope could be the most senior patriarch among the various Orthodox churches.

Just as Pope John Paul II was driven by the desire to bring down Communism, so Pope Benedict XVI hopes passionately to see the restoration of a unified Church. Although he is understood to favour closer relations with traditional Anglicans, the Anglican Communion is unlikely to be party to the discussions because of its ordination of women and other liberal practices.

Unification with the Orthodox churches could ultimately limit the authority of the Pope, lessening the absolute power that he currently enjoys within Catholicism. In contrast, a deal would greatly strengthen the Patriarch of Constantinople in his dealings with the Muslim world and the other Orthodox churches.

Pope Benedict has called a meeting of cardinals from all over the world in Rome on November 23, when the document will be the main topic of discussion. The Ravenna “road map” concedes that “elements of the true Church are present outside the Catholic communion”.

It suggests that means “be sought out” to set up a new ecumenical council, similar to those of the early Church which drew up the Nicene and other creeds, and to which Catholic and Orthodox bishops would be invited. Such a council would attempt formally to end the schism of 1054 between East and West.

If the proposals move forward, the Pope would be acknowledged as the universal Primate, as he was before the schism. Although it is not stated outright, he would be expected by the Orthodox churches to relinquish the doctrine of infallibility. The proposals could also allow married priests in the Catholic Church, as already happens in the Orthodox.

However, continuing disputes within the Orthodox Church between Constantinople and Moscow mean that there is unlikely to be agreement among the entire Orthodox community about reconciliation with Rome.

The document, The Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church, has been produced by a commission of Orthodox and Catholic bishops and theologians that met in Ravenna in western Italy last month. The Russian delegate walked out of the meeting, an indication of the enduring disputes within the Orthodox Church.

Referring to the early councils of the Church, whose decisions are still central to doctrine throughout Christendom, the document adds: “In the course of history, when serious problems arose affecting the universal communion and concord between Churches – in regard either to the authentic interpretation of the faith, or to ministries and their relationship to the whole Church, or to the common discipline which fidelity to the Gospel requires – recourse was made to Ecumenical Councils.”

These councils, which assembled bishops from Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem [NOT ONLY THEM! The councils were ecumenical, i.e., universal in those times] are still regarded as binding by Catholics and the Orthodox in particular.

“The means which will allow the reestablishment of ecumenical consensus must be sought out,” the document states.

The Catholics at the Ravenna meeting were led by Cardinal Walter Kasper, of the Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The Orthodox were headed by Metropolitan Zizioulas, of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

A delegate from Moscow blamed Constantinople for upsetting the talks, and the final text published by the Vatican was agreed without the input of the Moscow Patriarchate.

After Rome and Constantinople, Moscow is agreed to be third in the hierarchy of “equals”, but it is still at odds with Rome over the Uniate Catholics in Ukraine, whose loyalty is to the Pope.

If the Orthodox were able to move closer to Rome, the Constantinople Patriarchate would have much stronger influence in its dialogue with the Muslim world in Turkey and beyond. Healing the schism would in effect turn Patriarch Bartholomew into an Orthodox “Pope”.

The document suggests that the Pope, always referred to in the text as “Bishop of Rome”, could be the “first” among the regional patriarchs. But this would be only as a primus inter pares, with his authority resting firmly on the support and consensus of the other patriarchs.

“Certainly Rome could not be the absolute centre of administration, with authority over all the others,” Greek Metropolitan Athanasios Chatzopoulos, one of the participants of the Ravenna conference, said. “The ‘primus’ would not be able to do anything without the consent of the other Patriarchs.”

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

About the Great Schism

- On July 16, 1054, Pope Leo IX excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople. The Patriarch, Cerularius, soon reciprocated, excommunicating the Pope.

- Christianity has since been split in two, largely because of three words: The Nicene Creed of the Roman Church says that the Holy Ghost “proceeds from the Father and the Son”; the Orthodox Church claims the Holy Ghost originates with the Father alone.

- This “Filioque clause” was the official reason for the Great Schism, but other disputes would now need to be clarified before the churches could unite.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 14:28
A BRITISH VIEW OF THE POPE'S REFORM STRATEGY




The headline below given by the newspaper to the story is rather misleading, of course... The writer is also the editor of the British weekly, Catholic Herald, which has 'conservative' views as against the liberal Tablet.


Pope gets radical
and woos the Anglicans

By Damian Thompson
Daily Telegraph (UK)
Nov. 16, 2007




Two and a half years after the name "Josephum" came booming down from the balcony of St Peter's, making liberal Catholics weep with rage, Pope Benedict XVI is revealing his programme of reform. And it is breathtakingly ambitious.

The 80-year-old Pontiff is planning a purification of the Roman liturgy in which decades of trendy innovations will be swept away.

This recovery of the sacred is intended to draw Catholics closer to the Orthodox and ultimately to heal the 1,000 year Great Schism. But it is also designed to attract vast numbers of conservative Anglicans, who will be offered the protection of the Holy Father if they covert en masse.

The liberal cardinals don't like the sound of it at all.

Ever since the shock of Benedict's election, they have been waiting for him to show his hand. Now that he has, the resistance has begun in earnest - and the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, is in the thick of it.

"Pope Benedict is isolated," I was told when I visited Rome last week. "So many people, even in the Vatican, oppose him, and he feels the strain immensely." [Just because he has opponents, as anyone is bound to have, does not mean he is isolated! He draws strength, commmunion and companionship from sources far more powerful.]

Yet he is ploughing ahead. He reminds me of another conservative revolutionary, Margaret Thatcher, who waited a couple of years before taking on the Cabinet "wets" sabotaging her reforms.

Benedict's pontificate moved into a new phase on July 7, with the publication of his apostolic letter Summorum Pontificum.

With a stroke of his pen, the Pope restored the traditional Latin Mass - in effect banned for 40 years - to parity with the modern liturgy. Shortly afterwards, he replaced Archbishop Piero Marini, the papal Master of Ceremonies who turned many of John Paul II's Masses into politically correct carnivals.

Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor was most displeased. Last week, he hit back with a "commentary" on Summorum Pontificum.

According to Murphy-O'Connor, the ruling leaves the power of local bishops untouched. In fact, it removes the bishops' power to block the ancient liturgy. In other words, the cardinal - who tried to stop Benedict issuing the ruling - is misrepresenting its contents.

Alas, he is not alone: dozens (????) of bishops in Britain, Europe and America have tried the same trick.

Murphy-O'Connor's "commentary" was modelled on equally dire "guidelines" written by Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds with the apparent purpose of discouraging the faithful from exercising their new rights.

A few years ago the ploy might have worked. But news travels fast in the traditionalist blogosphere, and these tactics have been brought to the attention of papal advisers.

This month, Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, a senior Vatican official close to Benedict, declared that "bishops and even cardinals" who misrepresented Summorum Pontificum were "in rebellion against the Pope".

Ranjith is tipped to become the next Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, in charge of regulating worldwide liturgy. That makes sense: if Benedict is moving into a higher gear, then he needs street fighters in high office.

He may also have to reform an entire department, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, which spends most of its time promoting the sort of ecumenical waffle that Benedict abhors.

This is a sensitive moment. Last month, the bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion, a network of 400,000 breakaway Anglo-Catholics based mainly in America and the Commonwealth, wrote to Rome asking for "full, corporate, sacramental union".

Their letter was drafted with the help of the Vatican. Benedict is overseeing the negotiations. Unlike John Paul II, he admires the Anglo-Catholic tradition. He is thinking of making special pastoral arrangements for Anglican converts walking away from the car wreck of the Anglican Communion.

This would mean that they could worship together, free from bullying by local bishops who dislike the newcomers' conservatism and would rather "dialogue" with Anglicans than receive them into the Church.

The liberation of the Latin liturgy, the rapprochement with Eastern Orthodoxy, the absorption of former Anglicans - all these ambitions reflect Benedict's conviction that the Catholic Church must rediscover the liturgical treasure of Christian history to perform its most important task: worshipping God.

This conviction is shared by growing numbers of young Catholics, but not by the church politicians who have dominated the hierarchies of Europe for too long.

By failing to welcome the latest papal initiatives - or even to display any interest in them, beyond the narrow question of how their power is affected - the bishops of England and Wales have confirmed Benedict's low opinion of them.

Now he should replace them. If the Catholic reformation is to start anywhere, it might as well be here.


In his blog 'Holy Smoke' for the Daily Telegraph, Thompson wrote this last week:


Cormac's dangerous game
Posted by Damian Thompson
on 11 Nov 2007

Pope Benedict XVI knows that Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor and the English bishops are trying to block his reform of the liturgy, according to German contacts of mine in the Vatican.

As a result, he may well decide to bring forward the date of Murphy-O’Connor’s resignation. The English cardinal is certainly behaving like a man with nothing to lose: in a statement last week, he produced an interpretation of the Motu Proprio that reads as if it was designed to irritate the Pope as much as possible.

Benedict is not surprised. “He remembers that Murphy-O’Connor, together with other liberal cardinals, did his best to stop a Ratzinger victory in the conclave,” says my source, who reckons that the English bishops are merely following the example of German liberals in trying to sabotage the liberation of the Latin Mass.

It’s a risky strategy, however.

Cardinal Murphy-O’Connor is anxious to ensure that his successor comes from inside the “magic circle” of Bishops’ Conference liberals. So was it really wise to allow one of his favourites, Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds, to misrepresent the Pope’s wishes in a letter to his clergy?

The Pope is not a man who bears personal grudges – he likes Murphy-O’Connor, despite everything – but he has a faultless memory, and if he sees the name Arthur Roche on the terna, or shortlist, for Westminster, the first thing he will think is: “Ah, an opponent of my Motu Proprio.”

Apart from anything else, the liberals have picked the wrong battlefield. The Motu Proprio has already removed the power of bishops to block the 1962 Missal, and that power isn’t coming back to them any time soon.

Let me quote no less an authority than the New York Times, which in an article yesterday said: “In July, Pope Benedict issued a letter giving parishes the authority to celebrate the [Tridentine] Mass without obtaining bishops’ permissions.” [Mr. Thompson, not that anyone would use or need the New York Times as an 'authority' in matters regarding the Catholic Church! The Motu Proprio itself is clear enough about this particular provision.][

Cormac, Arthur, Kieran and Crispian, let me ask you: what part of that sentence do you not understand?


TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 17:08
THE RAVENNA DOCUMENT: THE RUSSIANS HIT BACK

Well, we knew we'd hear from them, and not kindly, but not inaccurately either! Translated from an Apcom item carried in Avvvenire today:


ROME, Nov. 16 (Apcom) - After having walked out of the Ravenna Catholic-Orthodox meetings last month adn broken an embargo on publishing the Ravenna document, the Patriarchate of Moscow has now openly criticized that document.

"It has a series of doubtful conclusions and statements that are not supported by historical fact," said Bishop Ilarion, representative of the Patriarchate to the Russian news agency Interfax.

"It seems we are caught in a trap," he continues, "in which the Roman Catholics are trying to express an ecclesiological model of the ecumenical Church in such a way that the role of the 'primary bishop' becomes as close as it can possibly be to the role of the Pope in the modern Roman Catholic Church. And on his part, the Patriarch of Constantinople is trying to obtain for the 'first' Patriarch in the (Orthodox) hierarchy rights which it does not have now." [But this is outrageous! Where in the Ravenna document is any of this stated or even implied? All its references, insofar as agreed upon about the Bishop of Rome, was his historical role and functions in the first millennium!]

For Ilarion, in any case, the document approved by the delegations in Ravenna must now be examined by Russian experts in canon law and then decided on by a Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church.

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

11/18/07
I found the original Interfax item on which the above item was based. I have edited the item to read less awkwardly than Interfax's English translation from the Russian.

Bishop Hilarion says Russian Orthodox
Theologians Commission must examine
'ambiguous' document adopted at
the Orthodox-Catholic conference in Ravenna


Moscow, November 16, Interfax - The Russian Orthodox Church's representative to the European Institutions, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, says the final document of the 10th meeting of the Joint Orthodox-Catholic Commission in Ravenna should be examined in detail by Russian Orthodox theologians.

"The document has a whole series of dubious conclusions and assertions that are not borne out by historical truth," Bishop Hilarion told Interfax in an interview.

He said the Ravenna's document must be "thoroughly examined by a group of canon law specialists, ecclesiologists and church historians" under the Theologian Commission of the Russian Orthodox Church. Then the official assessment by the Commission must be approved by the Holy Synod of the Russian Church.

The document was not signed by the representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate as theyleft the Ravenna sessions at the start to protest the participation of the "Estonian Apostolic Church" established by the Constantinople Patriarchate on the Russian Church's canonical territory in 1996.

Hilarion said the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue may not be considered legitimate without the Moscow Patriarchate's participation.

He told Interfax that the Ravenna document does not describe the modern Roman-Catholic and Orthodox Churches as they are but "probably some theoretical Church based on ecclosiological principles of the Ecumenical Councils period."

The representative of the Moscow Patriarchate disputes Paragraph 39 of the document which states that "even after the break between East and West which rendered impossible the holding of Ecumenical Councils in the strict sense of the term, both Churches continued to hold councils whenever serious crises arose. These councils gathered together the bishops of local Churches in communion with the See of Rome or, although understood in a different way, with the See of Constantinople, respectively." [These are the actual sentences from Paragraph 39 of the Ravenna statement, rather than Interfax's version.]

"In Belgrade last year, I already disputed these assertions as contradictory to the ecclesiological self-interpretation of the Local Orthodox Churches," Ilarion said.

[It's hard to see what Hilarion's objection is, unless it is based on a misunderstanding of the provision if we are to go by the Interfax version, as follows:

In 1054 after the Schism between the Eastern and Western Churches both the Churches continued assembling councils in critical situations, and bishops of the Local Churches associated with the Rome See, and those associated with the Constantinople Se attended those councils.

The translation makes it appear that bishops of both sides continued to attend each other's councils, when it is clear in the Ravenna statement, edited and released in English, that each side held their own councils.]


But Hilarion agrees that the assertion in Paragraph 45 "to examine more thoroughly" the role of the Rome bishop in the communion of all Churches should be the starting point in the next stage of the Commission meetings, where the primacy in the Ecumenical Church will be discussed.

However, he ontinues: "Apparently we will find ourselves in a trap. That is to say: The Roman Catholics would strive to express an ecclesiological model of the Ecumenical Church so that the role of 'the first bishop' would most closely match the actual role the Bishop of Rome now has in the modern Roman Catholic Church."

He adds that in its turn the Constantinople Patriarchate "would strive to arrange so that the 'the first patriarch' in the Orthodox hierarchy (the Bishop of Constantinople' would obtain rights that he does not have now."


And there was a companion piece to the above:

Orthodox-Catholic dialogue incomplete
without Moscow Patriarchate - Bishop Hilarion


Moscow, November 16, Interfax - Deliberate exclusion of the Moscow Patriarchate from the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue makes this dialogue incomplete and deprives it of legitimacy, Bishop Hilarion of Vienna and Austria, the Russian Orthodox Church's envoy to European nternational organizations, said. [But what delberate exclusion? It was they who walked out in Ravenna!]

"It will no longer be an Orthodox-Catholic dialogue. It will be the Vatican's dialogue with just a part of the Orthodox Church. I don't think all Orthodox churches will accept the outcome of such a dialogue," Bishop Hilarion said in an interview with Interfax.

"Without the Russian Church, whose size is greater than the size of all other local Orthodox churches taken together, it will be difficult to pretend that the dialogue involves the Orthodox Church in all its entirety," he said.

Bishop Hilarion was commenting on the recent statement by the Chairman of the Joint Orthodox-Catholic Theologian Commission, Metropolitan Ioannis of Pergamos of the Constantinople Patriarchate, to the effect that the Moscow Patriarchate's decision to leave the commission meeting in Ravenna in October only demonstrated the "authoritarianism" and "self-isolation" of the Russian Church, and on the assertion by Catholic member of the commission and advisor to the Roman Curia, Priest Dimitri Salakas, that this departure was "not a barrier to progress in the dialogue."

A delegation of the Moscow Patriarchate led by Bishop Hilarion in October left the Ravenna meeting in protest against it being attended by representatives of the so-called Estonian Apostolic Church, formed in 1996 by the Constantinople Patriarchate on the canonical territory of the Moscow Patriarchate.

TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 17:42
CLARIFICATORY 'INSTRUCTION' ON THE MASS MP EXPECTED SOON



I'm surprised Rocco Palmo does not have this item on his blog yet, but although this particular item is marked 'free' on the site of the Tablet, I am having trouble logging on, so here's a translation of the report from the Italian news agency ASCA:


VATICAN CITY, Nov. 16 (ASCA) - According to the British Catholic weekly, The Tablet, the Vatican will be issuing 'before Christmas' an Instruction to clarify some aspects of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.


It claims that Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, Prefect of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, presented the Instruction draft to Pope Benedict XVI at their meeting last Thursday.

The Instruction would clarify, for instance, what is meant by a 'stable group' of faithful who may request the parish priest to make the traditional Mass available to them.

Other clarifications have to do with aspects of canon law.

Such clarifications are deemed necessary because of lukewarm or even hostile reactions on the part of some bishops and bishops conferences to the Pope's full validation of the traditional Mass.

Such reactions have given rise to guidelines issued by some bishops which are considered restrictive rather than supportive of the Pope's Motu Proprio.

In recent interviews, Mons. Malcolm Ranjith, the number-two man at the Congregation for Divine Worship, has spoken about the 'rebellion' and 'disobedience' of some bishops against the Pope with regard to the Motu Proprio.


La Repubblica also has a similar story, quoting from Mons. Ranjith's interview with Fides (full transcript posted earlier on this page).


RELATED ITEM:
SEMINARIES WILL BE REQUIRED
TO TEACH THE TRADITONAL MASS?


The Italian news agency Adnkronos reports that the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei will soon publish an order addressed to seminaries "in which it is required that the celebration of the Latin Mass be taught to future priests

It is not clear whether the order will be an exclusive document or if it will be part of the general Instruction on implementing the motu proprio which is expected tyo be published soon.

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

Apropos, here is what the Tablet said in its issue last week about the implementation of the Mass MP. The article reacts to Mons. Ranjith's earlier interview with PETRUS when he spoke of the 'rebellion' of some bishops and priests over the revalidation of the traditional Mass. The Tablet article gives a brief overview of the major 'objectors' to the MP so far.

Rebuke for bishops who resist Old Rite
By Robert Mickens
The Tablet
Nov. 9, 2007


A senior official at the Congregation for Divine Worship [and Discipline of the Sacraments] (CDW) this week said that bishops who were trying to curtail use of the Tridentine Mass were "in rebellion against the Pope" and guilty of pride, "one of the gravest sins".

Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, who serves as the CDW secretary, levelled his criticism at "theologians, liturgists, priests, bishops and even cardinals" who have written "interpretative documents that inexplicably try to limit the Pope’s motu proprio" – the document that liberalised use of the pre-Second Vatican Council Mass.

The CDW official told an Italian online news service that the bishops should especially "return to obedience" since they "have professed fidelity to the pontiff".

Pope Benedict issued his motu proprio last July despite concerns by many bishops that it could deepen divisions in the Church.

Since the motu proprio came into force on 14 September, entire national episcopal conferences – including those in the Philippines and Germany – have released explanatory letters that could be seen as placing conditions on the celebration of the Tridentine Rite and therefore limiting the implementation of the papal document.

A motion to issue such a letter by a group of Italian bishops was voted down by the conference’s permanent committee.

Some bishops around the world – including Bishop Arthur Roche of Leeds, chairman of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy, and Bishop Donald Trautman of Erie, chairman of the US bishops’ liturgy office [As of Nov. 14, 2007, not any more!] – have individually written explanatory letters directly to priests in their own dioceses, and at least two Italian bishops have publicly stated that they would not permit the pre-conciliar liturgy in their churches.

Those who favour the Tridentine Mass have complained that such restrictions contradict the clear stipulations contained in the Pope’s motu proprio.

Archbishop Ranjith, who is close to the Pope and is expected by many to be the next prefect of the CDW, accused bishops who are limiting the Old Rite of being motivated by "prejudices of an ideological type or by pride".

Clergy who have voiced reserves about the motu proprio have been careful not to criticise the Pope directly and have sought subtle ways to justify their opposition to his decree.

The most prominent among them has been Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. The retired Archbishop of Milan made his point in a leading Italian paper last September by saying, that he would not celebrate the Tridentine Mass even if he counted himself among the most qualified to do so.

Others, such as Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels, have downplayed the motu proprio by saying there was no interest in the Tridentine Mass in their countries, even though the head of the worldwide pro-Tridentine Mass organisation Una Voce is from Belgium.

Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi told priests in Milan that the document did not apply to the northern Italian archdiocese since it uses the Ambrosian Rite rather than the Roman one. [This, however, is sure to be clarified by the Pontifical Commission. It is said that the document will state that the Motu Proprio applies to the other Latin rites.]

In Augus,t Archbishop Mario Conti of Glasgow sent out a letter pointing out that the motu proprio required provision for "stable groups" who "adhered" to the earlier rite, and said he thought it unlikely there were such groups in his diocese (The Tablet, 25 August).

Archbishop Ranjith, a native of Sri Lanka, said the motu proprio was "an act of liberty and justice towards traditionalists". He then criticised celebrations of the New Rite Mass that are frequently "transformed into shows with dancing, singing and applause".

Meanwhile a small number of prominent bishops around the world have spoken in favour of the Tridentine Mass’s wider use. Cardinal George Pell became the first archbishop in four decades to celebrate the Old Rite in Sydney’s cathedral last Saturday morning.


When Father Z ran the above article on his blog, some readers asked what Cardinal Arinze, Prefect of the CDW and Mons. Ranjith's boss, has had to say about the MP. A Father McAfee posted this answer:

Cardinal Arinze has spoken out before the motu proprio. He did so on EWTN. There, he said the classical roman liturgy (his name for the 1962 missal) should be celebrated whenever people want one.

However, he was not in favor of removing the requirment of the approval of the local bishop. When Benedict convened the meeting of the dicasteries, it was reported that Cardinal Arinze called for an expansion of the present indult but not a general de-restriction of the mass. The Pope chose to derestrict the Mass.

It would be interesting to find out how the cardinal envisioned expanding on the indult .How could you expand it without the removal of the major obstacle to it - the local bishop? Maybe I will ask him when I see him.

Comment by fr.franklyn mcafee

If anybody has seen anywhere any article about Cardinal Arinze's current attitude to the Motu Proprio, please share. I have been wondering about this myself, interpreting his resounding silence as disapproval, and if he does, then I feel very sorry indeed.

Fr. McAfee is right. The Pope had to bypass the local bishops in this case - doutless on solid canonical grounds that doing so through a decree with churchwide scope does not in any way challenge the bishop's authority within his diocese. At least, not one bishop or lay critic of the MP has questioned the Pope's right to issue the Motu Proprio.


TERESA BENEDETTA
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 18:15
THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father met today with
- Bishops of Kenya, Group 5, on ad-limina visit
- Participants of the International Conference of Health Workers sponsored by the Pontifical Council
for Health Ministry. Address in Italian.


POPE ADDRESSES
HEALTH CARE WORKERS


Translated from PETRUS today:



VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI today re-stated the Church's opposition to euthanasia, saying it implies society's renunciation of its duty to heal the sick, who even if considered incurable, have the right to be assisted and supported until their natural death.

"The temptation to perform euthanasia," he said in an address to participants in a Vatican-sponsored international conference of health care workers on the proper care for aged patients, "is one of the most alarming symptoms of a culture of death which is making headway in the welfare society."

In what could be an indirect response to those who have claimed that John Paul II's death was the result of euthanasia, Benedict XVI said, "My venerated predecessor, especially in sickness, offered ab exemplary testimony of faith and courage....On many occasions, he called on scientists and doctors to engage themselves in research to prevent and cure illnesses linked to old age, without ever yielding to the temptation to cut short the lives of aged sick people in ways that would amount to euthanasia."

"Human life in every stage deserves maximum respect," he said, "and in many ways, even more so, when it is marked by old age and sickness."

He said "a general commitment is needed so that human life is respected this way not only in Catholic hospitals but in all places of healing."

Citing John Paul II's encyclical Evangelium vitae, the Pope said "Human life is a gift of God and all of us are called on to safeguard it always", aduty, he said that is particularly incumbent on all health care workers, "whose specific mission is to be 'ministers of life' in all its phases, particularly when it is made most fragile by illness."

"It is possible to live through illness as a human experience to be assumed with patience and courage," the said. "It is right to use palliative cures when necessary, because even if they cannot cure, they can at least alleviate the pain that comes with some illnesses" but it is also important "to show ill persons love, because they ne understanding, comfort, encouragement and constant accompaniment."

The same is true, he said, in the care of older people, "when one arriveds naturally at the last stage of our earthly journey, which has distinct phases, each with its own lights and shadows."

maryjos
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 18:59
Article in the London Daily Telegraph
www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2007/11/16/do...

Dear Friends,
Sorry if I'm repeating something already reported, but here's the full article by Damian Thompson in Friday November 16th's Daily Telegraph, just in case a British perspective hasn't been added to the blatant misrepresentation of the Motu Proprio by numerous bishops.

You can't tell me they didn't understand Summorum Pontificum! They just didn't want to. I feel so angry that I wish cries of "Heresy!" would come back and these rebellious bishops could be dealt with in 16th Century ways!!!!!
[SM=g27830] [SM=g27830] [SM=g27830] [SM=g27830]
PapaBear16
00sabato 17 novembre 2007 23:44
Cardinal Sean addresses the Holy Father's visit to the U.S.
In case no one has checked it out, Cardinal Sean O'Malley has a personal blog

www.cardinalseansblog.org/

and today is his first post after the USCCB meeting just concluded. The first item he addresses is why the Holy Father is not coming to the Archdiocese. I think he did fine, gentle and brief job of it. Hopefully those who are upset will consider the points he brings up and the Cardinal does hold out some hope for a future date.

If you want to check out his Archives, you'll find so many beautiful photos ... especially of the recent Catholic-Orthodox pilgrimage he led, first to Rome and then to Istanbul. The photos of the churches visited and other sites are really incredible.

Enchoy ... [SM=g27828] [SM=g27828] [SM=g27828]
Questa è la versione 'lo-fi' del Forum Per visualizzare la versione completa clicca qui
Tutti gli orari sono GMT+01:00. Adesso sono le 07:09.
Copyright © 2000-2024 FFZ srl - www.freeforumzone.com