BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

See preceding page for earlier posts today, 3/20/12.



The Holy Family (including Nativity scenes) is arguably the most depicted single icon in Christendom after Mary in her various manifestations and titles...


Informative post-script to the Feast of St. Joseph:

12 reasons why Joseph married Mary
(from St Thomas Aquinas)
by Taylor Marshall
on his blog
CANTERBURY TALES
March 20, 2012


Unable so far to identify the artist, year and other basic info about this image.


Saint Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary were certainly sacramentally married. To say that Christ was born of an "unwed mother" is incorrect. Christ was born into holy wedlock - the most holy marriage in the history of humanity...

Saint Thomas Aquinas, gives us 12 reasons for the fittingness of their bond in holy matrimony. One of the most important was in order that the pregnant Mother of God would not be stoned under the law of Moses.

The first four reasons are for Christ's sake. The next three are for the sake of the Mother of God. The last five are for our sake.

It was fitting that Christ should be born of an espoused virgin:

1) First, for His own sake; secondly, for His Mother's sake; thirdly, for our sake. For the sake of Christ Himself, for four reasons. First, lest He should be rejected by unbelievers as illegitimate: wherefore Ambrose says on Luke 1:26-27: "How could we blame Herod or the Jews if they seem to persecute one who was born of adultery?"

2) Secondly, in order that in the customary way His genealogy might be traced through the male line. Thus Ambrose says on Luke 3:23: "He Who came into the world, according to the custom of the world had to be enrolled Now for this purpose, it is the men that are required, because they represent the family in the senate and other courts. The custom of the Scriptures, too, shows that the ancestry of the men is always traced out."

3) Thirdly, for the safety of the new-born Child: lest the devil should plot serious hurt against Him. Hence Ignatius says that she was espoused "that the manner of His Birth might be hidden from the devil."

4) Fourthly, that He might be fostered by Joseph: who is therefore called His "father," as bread-winner.

It was also fitting for the sake of the Virgin:

5) First, because thus she was rendered exempt from punishment; that is, "lest she should be stoned by the Jews as an adulteress," as Jerome says.

6) Secondly, that thus she might be safeguarded from ill fame. Whence Ambrose says on Luke 1:26-27: "She was espoused lest she be wounded by the ill-fame of violated virginity, in whom the pregnant womb would betoken corruption."

7) Thirdly, that, as Jerome says, Joseph might administer to her wants.

This was fitting, again, for our sake:

8) First, because Joseph is thus a witness to Christ's being born of a virgin. Wherefore Ambrose says: "Her husband is the more trustworthy witness of her purity, in that he would deplore the dishonor, and avenge the disgrace, were it not that he acknowledged the mystery."

9) Secondly, because thereby the very words of the Virgin are rendered more credible by which she asserted her virginity. Thus Ambrose says: "Belief in Mary's words is strengthened, the motive for a lie is removed. If she had not been espoused when pregnant, she would seem to have wished to hide her sin by a lie: being espoused, she had no motive for lying, since a woman's pregnancy is the reward of marriage and gives grace to the nuptial bond." These two reasons add strength to our faith.

10) Thirdly, that all excuse be removed from those virgins who, through want of caution, fall into dishonor. Hence Ambrose says: "It was not becoming that virgins should expose themselves to evil report, and cover themselves with the excuse that the Mother of the Lord had also been oppressed by ill-fame."

11) Fourthly, because by this the universal Church is typified, which is a virgin and yet is espoused to one Man, Christ, as Augustine says (De Sanct. Virg. xii).

12) A fifth reason may be added: since the Mother of the Lord being both espoused and a virgin, both virginity and wedlock are honored in her person, in contradiction to those heretics who disparaged one or the other.

A round-up of major commentary today in the Catholic Anglophone blogosphere shows a negative evaluation of Rowan Williams's tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury which ends this year:

William Oddie in the Catholic Herald musters the arguments best:

The Church of England being what it is,
no Archbishop of Canterbury can succeed
but Rowan Williams has failed more disastrously than most;
a theologian, his actions have been theologically incoherent
By William Oddie

19 March 2012



Rowan Williams’s decision to leave Lambeth Palace and to move at the end of the year (I suspect with enormous relief) into the Master’s lodge at Magdalene, Cambridge, evokes in me two distinct reactions: firstly, well, lucky old him: a prestigious job he can actually do, with no compulsory pastoral work involved, in a very agreeable place indeed, rather than a job in which he has failed disastrously — at least partly because it is one which is absolutely impossible for anyone to pull off successfully; clever old thing to swing it.

My second reaction is that though everyone is being very complimentary about his time at Canterbury — “As a man of great learning and humility,” said David Cameron, “he has guided the church through times of challenge and change. He has sought to unite different communities and offer a profoundly humane sense of moral leadership that was respected by people of all faiths and none” — despite all that, actually he has been a much greater disaster than was actually necessary.

He hasn’t “guided” the Church of England at all. He has lurched, with it, from one crisis to another, as often as not making things a lot worse.

He is supposed to be a distinguished theologian (a proposition about which there is, to say the least, more than one view) and also a man of integrity: but he has consistently failed to handle crises with any theological coherence (theology, incidentally, is supposed to clarify complex problems, not make them more obscure than they need be);.

And, as for integrity, instead of remaining true to his beliefs, he has sought to avoid conflict between opposing views in his Church not by attempting to convince those he believes are wrong but by retreating in the face of internal political pressure, sometimes changing direction in mid-stream.

The classic example is one I have written about before: the case of Dr Jeffrey John, the homosexual but (the crucial qualification) celibate Dean of St Alban’s, who was not appointed Bishop of Southwark because of Dr Williams’s veto, and, who a year or so before that, was not appointed Suffragan (auxiliary) Bishop of Reading, having already accepted it with Dr Williams’s encouragement, only to be told by the archbishop after he had himself been pressured by some very bigoted evangelicals (who didn’t care if Dr John was celibate or not, celibacy not being on their agenda: if he was that way inclined he was in his bones a flagrant sinner) that he must now withdraw his acceptance.

This John did after having been pressured by the same Dr Williams who had previously encouraged him to accept: this was done, according to one insider quoted by the Sunday Times, “with shocking unkindness and bullying over two miserable days. This was not just pusillanimous; it was cruel.”

So here we had, as one commentator puts it, “a … woolly-minded, wordy man of inconsistent and incoherent views presiding over a miserably divided church”. The point is that this supposedly distinguished theologian simply didn’t think clearly and theologically: he went with the Anglican anti-theological flow.

As I wrote in this space after the Crown Appointments Commission caved in to pressure from Dr Williams and failed to appoint John, as its members had intended, to Southwark, “one is tempted to see this story as yet another example of a consistent Anglican incapacity to think theologically. The point about Dr John is that he is ‘celibate’: and by that he means that he and his long-term partner are chaste, that they abstain from any kind of sexual act.

In other words, John's behaviour is entirely consistent with article 2359 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches that “Homosexual persons are called to chastity” and that “By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom… they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.”

Not only did Dr John’s appointment to Southwark not take place: the C of E did not even escape being “split from top to bottom” by his non-appointment: the fact is that Anglicanism is intrinsically divided by its theological incoherence; but, partly as a direct result of Rowan Williams’s treatment of Dr John, there is now an increasingly unpleasant edge to its divisions.

Dr Williams should have resolved this matter theologically: that would have been the way a theologian of his much vaunted “integrity” should have behaved. He would have needed to keep his nerve: but the fact is that whatever he decided to do, including making the wrong decision and caving in to the baying of the theological Neanderthals, would have needed courage.

All Archbishops of Canterbury fail, quite simply because the Church of England isn’t a Church at all, it’s a theme park: you wander about and choose the rides you want to go on. It’s not there to change you but to reflect what you already are. It has no consistent theology; it has a portfolio of theologies, each one inconsistent with the others. We all know that.

But Rowan Williams has simply avoided the theological dimension, and used his prestigious position as a platform for whatever philosophical or political musings his restless mind comes up with.

One minute he is praising Cameron’s vision of the Big Society: a few weeks later he is attacking it, presumably having forgotten what he previously said. His mind ranges endlessly over the possibilities for our society; nothing will deter him from voicing the most eccentric and potentially divisive views. He has behaved not like a pastor but like an academic.*

The most notorious example, of course was the World at One interview in which he said that the adoption of Sharia law in this country was, wait for it, “unavoidable”. This is how the BBC website reported the story:

---

Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4′s World at One that the UK has to “face up to the fact” that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.

Dr Williams argues that adopting parts of Islamic Sharia law would help maintain social cohesion.

For example, Muslims could choose to have marital disputes or financial matters dealt with in a Sharia court.

He says Muslims should not have to choose between “the stark alternatives of cultural loyalty or state loyalty”.

Dr Williams said an approach to law which simply said “there’s one law for everybody and that’s all there is to be said, and anything else that commands your loyalty or allegiance is completely irrelevant in the processes of the courts – I think that’s a bit of a danger”.

---

The whole point, of course, is that our entire democracy is built on the fundamental principle that there is one law for everyone, high or low, believer or unbeliever, and that the law protects our liberties as well as constraining and channelling them.

There’s no habeas corpus in Sharia law; and there’s no right in English law for a man to put away his wife by simply repeating “I divorce you” three times.

Williams’s pronouncements on Sharia law were, said the Sunday Times commentator Minette Marrin, “a truly astonishing revelation of his unfitness for his office”. And so they were.

For the Master of Magdalene to have come out with these speculative reflections would have been just fine. But then, of course, there would have been no interview on The World at One. Nobody would have noticed; but then, there would have been no universal condemnation, no nasty media coverage, either.

It is surely good, for him as well as for the Church of England, that Dr Williams is off to Cambridge now. He will doubtless cause as much local bemusement and irritation there as I remember him doing in Oxford in the 80s; but outside Cambridge, nobody will ever know.

*[My gut reaction was not off, then, when I commented after Williams's decision was made public last week that his basic problem appeared to be intellectualizing his decisions too much rather than choosing what is right for a Church that needs to stay its course. Instead, he allowed the changing Zeitgeist to dictate the Anglican course, instead of making a stand, and staying firm, unequivocal and consistent through the years - like Benedict XVI does. One can understand why Anglicans who appreciate standing by principle and a Church that stands for principle needed Anglicanorum coetibus to give them a ramp out of a floundering ship and to come home to Rome.]

These important nominations were posted late on the Vatican site today (noon nm Rome, 5 pm in New York)...

Pope Benedict names new bishops for Baltimore,
Rockford, Pensacola-Tallahassee and Montreal

March 20, 2012

Pope Benedict XVI today nominated Bishop William Lori, formerly bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, as Archbishop of Baltimore. Bishop Lori is the current head of the U.S. Bishops’ Ad hoc Committee for Religious Liberty.

Baltimore was the first diocese established in the United States, and its archbishop holds “prerogative of place” amongst the bishops of that country.

At a press conference after the announcement, Bishop Lori spoke about his feelings about the appointment: "My first thought is gratitude to the Lord, to the Lord Jesus: the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, the One Who shepherds His people in love and in truth. And so it is to the Lord that my heart, my thoughts first turn. And secondly, I would like to express my gratitude, profound gratitude, to Pope Benedict XVI, who has entrusted me with the stewardship of this great and historic Archdiocese of Baltimore.”

North of the border, in Canada, the nation’s largest French-speaking Archdiocese received a new Archbishop, following the resignation of Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte. Archbishop Christian Lépine succeeds the Cardinal as Archbishop of Montreal.

Two other American dioceses also received new bishops today: Monsignor David Malloy was named the new bishop of Rockford, Illinois, following the resignation of Bishop Thomas Doran; and Father Gregory Parkes was named the new bishop of Pensacola and Tallahassee in Florida.

I am particularly happy that Mons. Lori was given the Baltimore Archbishopric,a premier post he richly deserves. In the past seven years that I have followed the American Church fairly closely, he has always impressed me with his orthodoxy and wise pastoral words, as Bishop of Rockport, CT; as spiritual adviser to the Knights of Columbus; and as a ranking member of the USCCB. May God bless all the new bishops!

Rocco Palmo has good thumbnail profiles of the new bishops on his blog whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com/

Egyptians flock to funeral of
much-loved Pope Shenouda III
BY Ekram Ibrahim and Bel Trew

uesday 20 Mar 2012




Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians gathered Tuesday morning at St Mark's Cathedral, in Abbassiya, Cairo for the funeral of much-loved leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, Pope Shenouda III, who passed away Saturday.

Mourners attempted to enter the cathedral grounds as prayers started at 10am, to pay their respects to the spiritual leader whose body lay in an open casket. However, many were prevented from entering the cathedral grounds, which have been shut since the early hours of Tuesday morning following an announcement by the heads of the Coptic Church that the funeral would be invite-only.

Thousands of key politicians, national and international religious leaders and public figures attended.

Members of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) were present together with Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri and his predecessor Essam Sharaf.

Parliamentary figures such as the People's Assembly speaker Mohamed Saad El-Katatni attended, together with Islamic scholars from Al-Azhar and Islamic preacher Amr Khaled.

Presidential hopefuls Amr Moussa, Ahmed Shafiq (a former prime minister), Khalid Ali, Abdel-Monem Abul-Foutoh and Judge Hisham El-Bastawisi were also in the congregation.

International figures around the world who did not attend the funeral offered personal messages of condolence to the community, including the Vatican, the Al-Quds Al-Sherif and President Obama.

Guests, including the Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and the head of the Syrian Orthodox Church delegation, were invited to lead the initial prayers before Egyptian Bishop Pakhomious of Beheira, who is acting as a temporary patriarch, took over proceedings.

Later, a letter written by the late pope for his funeral was read by the Bishop Pefnotios of Samalot. "I am your father," it read. "Preserve peace and keep in touch with your loved ones, instigate good deeds and do not let yourselves stray from your way."

For the general public, large screens were erected in the cathedral courtyard. Many had travelled for hours and slept in the grounds to come to the funeral. Priests coming from the southern city of Sohag told Ahram Online that they have arrived on Monday afternoon and had only had an hour's sleep. One man, who had travelled from Assiut, had been trying to get into the cathedral for two days in order to see the pope.

Even those with invitations found it hard to get inside, as the church closed its doors a full hour earlier than expected.

"We are coming from Fayoum, have been traveling for three hours and got an invitation. Why are we denied entry?" asked Fayza Mouris, 63, who was in tears, praying, "Please Pope Shenouda, let me inside."

Desperate attempts were made to enter the grounds, with some climbing ladders to watch from the windows of the church. Others scaled trees and jumped over the 12 ft church walls. "I need to get his blessings before he departs," Sadiq Sharaf, 55, from Sharqiya told Ahram Online as he tried to make his entry.

Men, women and children cried as they held pictures of the deceased pope.

Mourners outside the walls, both Christian and Muslims, remembered Shenouda for his key political stances, such as his position on Israel. The late pope was sent to a monastery for four years in 1981, following his criticisms of the late president Anwar El-Sadat's attempts to normalise relations with the self-proclaimed Jewish state.

"The fact that he refused to go to Jerusalem unless Muslims were allowed is enough for us to respect him," Mohamed, a 57-year-old Muslim civil service clerk from Cairo told Ahram Online. "He made us feel like Christians and Muslims are truly one."
Hind, a 21-year-old Muslim student who had come to pay her respects with her mother said, "we are all sad. He mediated between the Christians and the Muslims. He was important. Everyone loved him."

"He has played a crucial role in the sectarian issue in Egypt," added Mohamed Taher, from Shubra.

Mourners also talked about Shenouda as an important campaigner for Coptic rights. Particularly in the 1970s, the late pope took significant political risks in demanding that Sadat end the seizure of Church property and stop applying Islamic law to non-Muslims, as well as calling on the government to protect Coptic interests and their right to worship.

In later years, following what appeared to be a change of heart in exile, Shenouda has been criticised for cooperating with Mubarak's regime and then with the ruling SCAF. However, following the massacre of 27 mostly Coptic protesters outside of the Maspero state TV building on 9 October 2011, Shenouda pronounced the dead to be martyrs, stating, “These martyrs are our beloved children and their blood does not come cheap.”

For the Coptic mourners outside of the cathedral, he was a father-figure who was also an essential protector and representative of the marginal Christian community. With a largely Islamist parliament currently in power, many expressed their fear for the future of the minority group now that he had passed away.

"We don't know what the situation will be for us Copts. We have to see who the new president is and what is written in the constitution. If we have a Salafist or a Muslim Brotherhood president this could be a disaster, as they will judge and control the country based on Muslim principles and may disregard us and our needs," explained Ashraf Shukrallah, 38, an engineer from Cairo.

"We are devastated. For 40 years the Pope strove to do right thing in Egypt for the Coptic community," added Samra, 65, a Coptic resident of Shubra. "After situations like Maspero, he knew how to deal with it; he knew how to mediate between Muslims and Christians."

As she spoke the crowds had began singing Coptic hymns and reciting prayers.

At 1pm the casket was carried out of monastery in a heavily-guarded white ambulance. Fights broke out between mourners and the security forces as people rushed to get a last look.

Thousands pushed through the seven-man-deep lines of police and ran after the vehicle, weeping and crying, "We love you, father."

The casket was flown by military helicopter to St Bishoy Monastery in the Wadi Al-Natroun region, where the patriarch was due to be buried.

On arrival at the desert monastery at 5:30pm, thousands massed around the motorcade carrying the deceased pope's body. In the ensuing scrum, it took the military police over half an hour to get the ambulance to the monastery door. The deacons and altar boys accompanying the vehicle desperately tried to guard it and fight off the press of mourners.

Nevertheless, the late pope was successfully laid to rest, in the very monastery where he spent his exile. People continue to queue outside to kiss his tomb.

"It's a very terrible day. He touched not only people in Egypt but people all the over world," Abraham, a Coptic priest from Ain Shams told Ahram Online back in Cairo, where people were processing around the cathedral following the departure of the casket.

"'He was like a father to us. He lives with us and we live with him."



Before he was laid out in his opencasket, the late Coptic Pope was honored as he was 'seated' on his patriarchal throne in St. Mark's Cathedral.


Coptic Pope’s death adds to fears
in Egypt’s time of transition
By KAREEM FAHIM

Published: March 20, 2012

CAIRO — A tearful crowd of thousands that included members of Egypt’s emerging political class attended a funeral service Tuesday for Pope Shenouda III, who spent four decades as the popular and charismatic leader of the country’s Coptic Orthodox Church.

An overflowing crowd of mourners attended a funeral service in Cairo on Tuesday for Pope Shenouda III, the departed leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Pallbearers struggled through the crowd. Shenouda led the Coptic Church for four decades.

During a two-hour morning ceremony, with prayers read in Arabic and Coptic, the pope, dressed in an embroidered robe in a white, open coffin, was remembered as a “wise captain” who built bridges to Muslims and other Christian denominations as he spread the church’s influence around the world.

The death Saturday of the only pope many Egyptian Copts had ever known underscored feelings of unease many Christians have about the tumult of Egypt’s political transition since the fall of President Hosni Mubarak.

By the early evening, there were scenes of pandemonium as thousands of people mobbed a van carrying Shenouda to his burial site, in a monastery in northern Egypt. Red-faced military policemen wrestled mourners carrying the pope’s portraits as they strained for a last glimpse through the dark windows of the white van.

The grief seemed only to compound the long-held complaints about discrimination which since Mr. Mubarak’s departure have been replaced by deeper fears that Islamist parties could further marginalize the minority Christian population if they try to fashion Egypt into a more observant Muslim state.

As Egyptians prepare to debate a new constitution and perhaps define notions of citizenship itself, Copts are engaged in a vigorous debate on the role the church should play as it selects a new pope.

For most of his four decades as patriarch, Pope Shenouda managed a delicate balancing act, strongly supporting Mr. Mubarak in exchange for recognition of his role as the government’s primary interlocutor with the Copts.

His close relationship with Mr. Mubarak followed a confrontation with his predecessor, President Anwar el-Sadat, who put Shenouda under house arrest to curb his vigorous advocacy for Coptic rights.

In choosing to support Mr. Mubarak, the pope was given a freer hand to strengthen the church without the state’s interference. In interviews, some Christians said that a new pope should take a less active role in politics and that the time had come for political parties, human rights groups and others to take up the fight against discrimination. At the same time, many said they would still welcome the pope’s playing some sort of advocacy role.

The selection process for a new pope could take months. An interim leader will be selected this week, and on Friday the Supreme Council of Bishops will start receiving nominations for papal candidates. Monks and bishops are eligible for the post.

After two rounds of voting by the Supreme Council of Bishops, the names of three candidates, written on paper, will be placed in a jar, and a boy will be chosen to select one of the names, said Youssef Sidhom, who sits on the church lay council and is the editor in chief of Watani, a newspaper that deals with Coptic concerns.

The bishops may have changed their criteria for an ideal candidate for pope since Shenouda was selected in 1971, Mr. Sidhom said. “When he first came, the criteria were all spiritual — how pious he was, how dedicated to spiritual leadership. The deep change that Pope Shenouda imposed on the post was how wise he was in dealing with explosive cases concerning Christian-Muslim sectarian fights — how wise he was in dealing with the state and the administration.”

Many in the church, especially younger members, chafed at the pope’s political arrangement, which was badly undermined as last year’s uprising gained momentum.

“Churches promoted the idea of not going to the demonstrations,” said Andraos Owaida, a member of the Union of Maspero Youth, an activist group largely made up of young Copts. “Our focus is not religious. We want our rights as Egyptian citizens. We want the youth to get out of the church and take a political position. We’re against mixing religion and politics.”

Sally Toma, a psychiatrist and leftist activist who is a Copt, said that Pope Shenouda may have had no choice in courting Mr. Mubarak, but that things had changed. “Maybe he was forced to play politics,” she said “It’s not what a pope should be involved in.”

Ms. Toma said she hoped for a younger pope, and one more ready to embrace changes, including on the question of divorce, which the church prohibits. “Pope Shenouda was lovable and funny and witty and very educated,” she said. “He was also an army man, a man of discipline. I guess it’s difficult to question discipline. Change is actually a strength. It’s not going to weaken the church.”

Mr. Sidhom said that many in the church, and especially younger members, were also demanding internal changes, including a move for greater participation in church affairs. The long list of political demands facing any new pope made it far-fetched that a monk “who has been living for more than 15 years inside a monastery” would be the right candidate, he said.

At the Orthodox cathedral this week, where mourners lined up for hours for a look at Shenouda’s body, many people had trouble seeing beyond the loss of a revered leader.

“I don’t disagree that he interfered with politics,” said Mina Samy, a 30-year-old physician. “But when he spoke, he did it for Egypt’s best interest, not for his personal interests, like others do.

“I’m hoping for another copy of him,” he said. “Nothing is too much for God. He was a great scholar, and he led the church through major crises. He left us at a time when Egypt needed him.”

The Collected Writings of Joseph Ratzinger:
Volume I - his doctoral dissertation on Augustine -
is the 7th of 16 volumes published in German so far

by Jan Bentz
Translated from the German service of


ROME, March 15 (ZENIT) - The German embassy building in the Parioli quarter of Rome was the splendid setting for the presentation yesterday afternoon of Volume i in the Gesammelte Schriften (Collected Writings) of Joseph Ratzinger.

Dr. Reinhard Schweppe, the German ambassador to the Holy See, had invited Mons. Gerhard Mueller, Bishop of Regensburg, to present the latest volume of the Collected Works, the seventh of the 16-voiume work to have been published -after Volumes 2, 7, 8/1, 8/2, 10, 11 and 12. It came out in Germany last August. (The volumes, which present Joseph Ratzinger's writings chronologically, have been released according to a thematic sequence decided by the Pope himself.)

Volume 1 is Joseph Ratzinger's 1951 doctoral dissertation entitled
Volk und Haus Gottes in Augustinus Lehre von der Kirche
(The People and the House of God in Augustine's Teachings about the Church).



The next volume to be released in a few weeks will be that which puts together all of Joseph Ratzinger's writings about the Second Vatican Council.

Among the prominent guests present were Cardinal Walter Brandmueller, a Church historian; Mons, Robert Zollitsch, Archbishop of Freiburg and president of the German bishops' conference; a number of Curial prelates, representatives of leading German publications, and Vatican Radio.

After a short garden reception, Ambassador Schweppe thanked everyone for their presence and interest in the first scientific writing of theologian Ratzinger.

Mons. Mueller, publisher of the Collected Writings as president of the Regensburg-based Isntitut Benedikt XVI, began the presentation with a lecture on the unity of the Church in the Eucharist as seen in the works of St. Augustine, saying that the teaching and thought of the great 5th century theologian-bishop had influenced Church history like no other in his time.

In 1950, Joseph Ratzinger was asked by his Professor Gottlieb Soehngen to look into Augustine's ecclesiology, particularly his concept of 'the People of God', which was a major concept in the Council of Trent.

The young Ratzinger, who was already an Augustinian scholar, worked on his dissertation between July 1950 and March 1951 and arrived at a new conclusion: that in Augustine, the idea of the 'People of God' was "in accordance with Sacred Scripture, the designaiton for Israel as the chosen people".

But the people called by Christ to be the Church, are also 'a body'. The key text is 1 Corinthians 10, 17: "Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."

Thus the Church is also "a communion of believers in Christ in the unity of the Eucharistic Body that transforms us into Christ". Or, as Mueller formulates it, "The Church lives from the Eucharist and in the Eucharist becomes the Body of Christ".

This teaching was also reiterated in the Second Vatican Council - that the Church is the community of those who celebrate together the Lord's Supper. Thus, the present Pope, with his first important theological work, had highlighted the eucharistic approach of Augustine.

In this respect, Mons. Mueller pointed out that many of Benedict XVI's discourses, including those he delivered in Germany last year, on the idea of Entweltlichung (demondanization) - ridding the Church of worldliness - were 'innovative and inspiring', even 'unexpected', to those who do not know the Pope's intentions.

But the Pope thereby simply intended to show that the Church, amidst still existing 'worldly orders', must assert 'the new strength of faith in the unity of men within the Body of Christ, as a n element of transformation whose form God himself will create". [I am not at all familiar with Mons. Mueller's writings as a theologian, but his attempts to paraphrase or to re-state Joseph Ratzinger's ideas,at least as quoted here, seem to me rather heavy-handed and quite unlike the clarity of Joseph Ratzinger himself. It's rather like OR editor Vian's awkward and uneasy attempts to paraphrase the Pope in his editorials.]

In this sense, Mueller said that in proclaiming the Christian message, Benedict XVI has always been faithful to himself, as he showed in Deus caritas est, in which he calls the attention of the faithful that charity, love of one's neighbor, is the vocation of Christians.

Mueller said the 16-volume series presents Joseph Ratzinger's writings to the time he was elected Pope in April 2005 - that Volume i was a central element of the Pope's theological formation, and that the Pope has always remained closely linked to the figure and thinking of St. Augustine.

He ended his intervention by calling on all Christians to rediscover the meaning of being Christian, of communion, Church and Eucharist.

The series co-publisher, Rudolf Vocerholzer, professor of dogmatic theology and history of dogma at the Catholic faculty of theUniversity of Trier, completed the presentation with a discussion of the linguistic style of Joseph Ratzinger, who is able to explain even the most complex subjects in a simple and understandable way.

Therefore, he said, the Pope's theological work is accessible even to non--specialists. He said the six homilies of Joseph Ratzinger in the volume's appendix constitute the 'homiletic transposition' of the dissertation and illustrate the Pope's abilities as an intermediary.

To the question of whether the young Ratzinger's work also had to do with the relationship between Jews and Christians, Mueller said that the Church specifically represents the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, but the Jews as 'people of God' still had to take 'the next step' towards Jesus Christ.

But he stressed that the relationship between Judaism and Christianity remains special, because Jesus Christ himself was a Jew in continuity with the 'chosen people', and that in the Church both this continuity with Israel as well as her newness in Christ go together.

He said that the volumes reproduce all the writings of Joseph Ratzinger as they were first published, without modifications, and that it is the Pope himself who has decided on the order in which the volumes of the Collected Writings are published.

The Pope decided the first to be published would be the volume containing his writings about liturgy because of the fundamental importance of liturgy as an expression of the faith. However, Mueller said, obviously not all theologians have read the book, otherwise "the Memorandum issued in 2010 by some 200 theologians from German-speaking countries would never have been written".

A refresher:
The volumes in GESAMMELTE SCHRIFTEN
NB: The volumes in green are those that have already been published in German.

1. Volk und Haus Gottes in Augustins Lehre von der Kirche
Die Dissertation und weitere Studien zu Augustinus von Hippo
(The People and the House of God in Augustine's Teachings on the Church:
Dissertation and further studies on Augustine of Hippo)

2. [Das Offenbarungsverständnis und die Geschichtstheologie Bonaventuras
Die ungekürzte Habilitationsschrift und weitere Bonaventura-Studien
(Revelation and St. BonAVenture's Theology of History:
The unabridged Habilitation dissertation and other studies on Bonaventure)
Published Sept. 2009

3. Der Gott des Glaubens und der Gott der Philosophen
Die wechselseitige Verwiesenheit von fides und ratio
(The God of Faith and the God of Philosophers: The reciprocal relationship between faith and reason)

4. Einführung in das Christentum
Bekenntnis – Taufe – Nachfolge
(Introduction to Christianity: Profession of Faith - Baptism - Discipleship)

5. Herkunft und Bestimmung
Schöpfung – Anthropologie – Mariologie
(Origin and Destiny: Creation - Anthropology- Mariology)

6. Jesus von Nazareth
Spirituelle Christologie
(Jesus of Nazareth: Spiritual Christology)

7. Zur Theologie des Konzils
Texte zum II. Vatikanum
(On the ThEology of the Councl: Texts on Vatican II)

8. Zeichen unter den Völkern
Schriften zur Ekklesiologie und Ökumene
(Signs among Peoples: Writings on Ecclesiology and Ecumenism)
Published in 2 volumes June 2009

9. Offenbarung – Schrift – Tradition
Hermeneutik und Theologische Prinzipienlehre
(Revelation - Scripture - Tradition: Lessons on hermeneutic and theological principles)

10. Auferstehung und Ewiges Leben:
Beiträge zur Eschatologie[
(The Resurrection and Eternal Life: Essays on eschatology)

11. Theologie der Liturgie
Die sakramentale Begründung christlicher Existenz
(The Theology of Liturgy: The sacramental foundation of Christian existence)
Published October 2008 - First volume of the collection to be published
at the express request of the Holy Father

12. Künder des Wortes und Diener eurer Freude
Zur Theologie und Spiritualität des Ordo
(Announcers of the Word and Servants of your Joy: The theology and spirituality of the Ordo)
Published Sept. 2010

13. Im Gespräch mit der Zeit
Interviews – Stellungnahmen – Einsprüche
(In Conversation with the Times: Interviews - Positions - Objections)

14. Predigten zum Kirchenjahr
Meditationen, Gebete, Betrachtungen
(Homilies for the Liturgical Year - Meditations, Prayers, Observations)

15. Aus meinem Leben
Autobiographische Texte
(My Life: Autobiographical Texts)

16. Bibliographie und Gesamt-Register
(Bibliography and Complete Index)


Mons. Mueller presented the Pope with Volumes 8-1 and 8-2 of the German edition in June 2010.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 15:29]

Two days after his 'birth-name day', it's the Holy Father's 'papal-name day' today. Even if it is not 'celebrated' every year according to the prescribed (and rotating) calendar of saints, March 21 is the feast day of St. Benedict (480-547), or as his Benedictines were the first to use the term, his birthday in heaven, the day of his death. And so...

HAPPY NAME DAY AGAIN,YOUR HOLINESS!




Wednesday, March 21, Fourth Week of Lent

BLESSED GIOVANNI DA PARMA [John of Parma] (Italy, 1209-1289)
7th Minister-General of the Franciscan Order, Papal Legate, Hermit
One of the second generation of great Franciscans who emerged after the death of St. Francis,
John was a philosophy professor before he joined the Franciscan order around 1233. He was
sent to Paris for further studies, then assigned to Bologna, Naples and Rome, where he caught
the attention of Pope Innocent IV. At the first Council of Lyons in 1245, he represented the
ailing Minister General of the Franciscans. Two years later when thiss superior died, Innocent
supported John to replace him. It was a position he would hold for 10 years, during which he
sought to bring back the order to its early days of poverty and humility under the founder.
He visited almost all the Franciscan convents in Europe on foot, and was received by Louis IX
in France and Henry II in England. Innocent then sent him to Constantinople to win back Greek
Christians who were in schism. He succeeded, but on his return, he decided to retire and urged
the order to elect Bonaventure of Bagnoregio as his successor. John went to a hermitage near
Greccio, where Francis had first instituted a living Nativity tableau. Some time during his 32-
year retirement, he underwent canonical trial under Bonaventure himself for advocating the
theology of Joachim of Fiore. It was said that he may have shared some of Joachim's apocalyptic
views but not his dogmatic errors; and that he retracted during the canonical process. In the year
he was to die, the Greeks in Constantinople threatened schism again and he volunteered, at age 80,
to mediate once again. However, he died along the way in Italy. He was beatified in 1797.
[It is puzzling to me that the Franciscan sites that turn up most frequently online do not even
include include him in their list of 'Franciscan saints and blesseds'. I found the images on an Italian
and a Spanish site.]
Readings for today's Mass:http://usccb.org/bible/readings/032112.cfm


No General Audience today, and no other events announced for the Holy Father,
who undertakes a transcontinental trip to Mexico and Cuba on Friday.


Benedict of Europe:
His Rule continues to be valid today


ROME, March 21 ((Translated from SIR) - "Messenger of peace, realizer of unity, teacher of civilization, and above all, herald of the religion of Christ and founder of Western monasticism". These are the exaltatory tiles of St. Benedict, abbot, principal Patron of Europe.

"With the collapse of the Roman Empire, even as some regions of Europe seemed to fall into darkness and others were still 'uncivilized' and devoid of spiritual values, it was he who with constant and assiduous commitment, brought the dawn of a new era to the continent of Europe.

"Mainly, he and his spiritual sons brought Christian progress - through the Cross, the book and the plow - to diverse peoples from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, from Ireland to the plains of Poland."

Thus did Paul VI write in his Apostolic Letter Pacis Nuntius (Messenger of peace), in proclaiming, on October 24, 1964, St. Benedict of Norcia as "the principal patron of all Europe".

He and his patrimony are remembered today on the anniversary of his 'birth in heaven' in the three Benedictine cities of Norcia, his birthplace; Subiaco, where he lived for 30 years, and where he founded his first monasteries; and Montecassino, where he first drafted his Rule and where he died.

Traditionally linking them is the annual Benedictine Torch 'pro Europa una', which was lit last March 4 in Malta and blessed by Benedict XVI at the General Audience last March 14.

Presiding at Masses and celebrations today will be, in Norcia, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, former Prefect of the Congregation for Bishop; in Subiaco, Mons. Mauro Parmeggiani, Bishop of Tivoli; and in Montecassino, Cird9nal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Concil for Culture.

What remains of Benedict's patrimony today? Is his message still relevant for the Old Continent that has become secularized and relativiztic?

For the Abbot of Subiaco, don Mauro Meacci, "The relevance of St. Benedict rests on the advice that pervades all his teaching - Never put anything before love for Christ - which implies love and respect for man as as a creature of God". A lesson that is necessary in the Church's ongoing battle in defense of life and the family.

"We are witnessing a decomposition of society," the abbot said, "which is being drained of its natural human values. Man, forgetting his derivation from God, becomes ever more manipulated by the economy, by politics, a manipulation that leads to frustrations, dissatisfaction and disappointment.

"The rule of St. Benedict helps man to recover his soul, to regain his heart. It transposes the Gospel to reality, and invites us to a complete and full life, even in a time of grave material crisis".

In the rediscovery of the Cross that Benedict brought to early medieval Europe, Benedict also brought 'the book and the plow', to use the words of Paul VI.

"The book is the Bible, but also, culture, intelligence, creativity, while the plow represents commitment, responsibility, sacrifice and work," said Mons. Renato Boccardo, Bishop of Spoleto-Norcia.

"Personal and communal responsibility, in the light of REvelation, can generate a Christian humanism that places man at the center and object of our attention, he said.

"We have lost sight of the richness and beauty of man. But re-establishing humanistic values, following the example of St. Benedict, we can give a new spirit to Europe. Christian humanism gives a vision of society that is inspired by wisdom, that makes us look at man, at the family, at service for the promotion of the good of each human being. Benedict places the accent on man as 'the union of body and spirit' that should not be broken up according to changing interests and convenience."

The abbot of Montecassino, dom Pietro Vittorelli, says of Benedict's Rule: "In a time when society is as fluid as it is today, the Rule can help re-establish the correct rules of relationships witnin the family and in society. 'Ora, labora, lege' - pray, work and study - which is the basis of the Rule, has attracted young people in every era and every generation. Today, you can see how many young people choose to have retreats in monasteries where they can rediscover such a harmonious order of life that can orient their own lives. Monastic spirituality welcomes every man without prejudice or exclusion. The world is always present in the prayers of the monks who are not detached from the world in that sense".

There's a spate of stories out there about the coming papal visits but most of it is in the nature of expressions of hope and expectation as to what the trip could bring in terms of eventual pastoral benefits. But i like this one because for the first time, to my knowledge, some high-ranking prelate has brought up a topic no one else in the Church has dared to speak aloud. It is particularly important - as I remarked on an earlier story highlighting the overt bias, almost a hostility, expressed by some Mexican Catholics against Benedict XVI because he is not John Paul II - to educate Catholics that the current living Pope is the one and only Vicar of Christ on earth, that Benedict XVI would be the last person on earth to 'compare' himself to John Paul II, much less to a Pope he has beatified and whom he may even canonize in his own lifetime! I don't believe any such papal partisanship among the faithful has been evident in the modern era (or perhaps, ever!), and it is a degradation of the faith, somehow, that it ever developed.


Bishop of Leon calls on Mexicans
to stop comparing BXVI to JPII


Leon, Mexico, Mar 20, 2012 (CNA/EWTN News) - A local archbishop encouraged Catholics in Mexico as they prepare to welcome Pope Benedict for his March 23-25 visit to the country not to compare him to Blessed John Paul II.

In an interview with CNN Mexico, Archbishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon said: “All of the Popes are equal and deserve our respect and adherence, regardless of whatever their personal charism might be.”

“I think we need to say this to everyone, so that they don’t expect to see Pope Benedict as a repeat, or crudely put, as a clone of Pope John Paul II,” he said.

The archbishop expressed his hope, however, that just as with the apostolic visits of Blessed John Paul II, Pope Benedict's trip would also inspire many vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

Archbishop Rabago said the papal trip is an honor for the state of Guanajuato, which, “together with Aguascalientes and Jalisco, has the highest percentage of Catholics in Mexico, with nearly 94 percent.”

He called the pontiff's visit “a reward” as well as “an acknowledgment of the fidelity of this people to the Catholic Church.”



Mexico awaits the Pope
Interview with Cardinal Lozano
by Andres Beltramo Alvarez
Translated from the Spanish service of

March 18, 2012


VATICAN CITY - The Pope is travelling to Mexico with a mission supra partes - above and beyond parties - and his words cannot be coopted into the 'trivialities' of any political party, according to Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who will be the only Mexican cardinal in the Pope'e delegation from the Vatican for the coming trip.

The emeritus president of the Pontifical Council for Ministry to Health Care Workers said that the Pope's visit to Mexico would not interfere in any way with the current political campaign for national elections in July, when Mexicans will elect a new President and new senators and representatives of their Federal Parliament.

In an interview with VATICAN INSIDER, the cardinal analyzed the expectations and challenges in Benedict XVI's first apostolic visit to a Spanish-speaking country in Latin America, which has more than 40% of Catholics in the world

How do you think this visit will go?
The Pope has been to Latin America a few times. He came to Mexico when he was a cardinal and visited Guadalajara and Mexico City. He has beento Colombia [and to Ecuador and Peru, and probably is the only future Pope to ever have gone to Machu Picchu]. And so this is not an unknown place for him. Nor is he unaware of our reality - he knows what we are and how we live.

What will he encounter in Mexico?
Unfortunately, in Mexico, as in the rest of the continent, we are suffering from the irruption of the mafia-like gangs involved in narco-trafficking which has generated insecurity, violence and kidnappings. Since there are at least 20 million drug users in the United States, the 3,850-kilometer frontier with Mexico will continue to be the major entry point for the drug runners, with all its consequent money laundering, the traffic in arms, and the toll in terms of people killed.

Is it not a contradiction that Mexico, which is supposed to have an eminently Catholic soul, is now overrun by violence and organized crime?
It is not just Mexico - other countries in Latin America and in Europe suffer from similar situations. It is precisely the mafiosi among them who kill each other and involve innocent persons. [That's sort of glossing over the virulence and degree with which Mexico has been overrun by the greed-fueled scourge of narco-trafficking. Perhaps Colombia is the only other comparable country in Latin America. And in Europe, not even the worst of Mafia and Mafia-like organized crime in Italy approaches the daily bloodbaths in Mexico, much of it, as the cardinal points out, inflicted on innocent people caught up in the crossfire of drug wars!]

How will Benedict XVI's visit affect this situation?

The Pope will be carrying a message marking the bicentennial of the independence of most Latin American nations. For us, the figure of the Pontiff represents unity, one who brings a message of solidarity, of understanding, of affection and acceptance.

Argentina is very different from Mexico, or Colombia from Brazil , but we are all brothers. Benedict XVI will strengthen our links of brotherhood in the continent. He will also be strengthening us in our national sovereignties, so that each nation may reinforce its own identity within which each can grow to a more promising future.

Benedict XVI will arrive in Mexico shortly after the campaign season begins. Is there no danger that his words could be exploited politically?
The Pope has a pastoral mission - it's not political or partisan. His objective is to lead us all towards brotherhood. As disciples of Jesus, we must all be committed to understanding each other, respecting the dignity of each person and being mutually supportive.

To try to use his words for any political purpose would be like trying to contain the ocean inside an oyster shell. The Pope's mission is completely supra partes. He cannot be involved in the triviality of partisan politics.

This trip also takes place in the midst of a year that has already started turbulently for the Holy See with the so-called Vatileaks. Will the trip be a breath of fresh air for the Pope? [It's such a banal assumption for the interviewer to assume that the turbulence in the media over those leaks necessarily mean 'turbulence' within the Vatican! Concern and annoyance, obviously (and even embarrassment) that confidential documents could be leaked to the media, but since no major scandals were exposed other than normal bureaucratic rivalries, the disturbance it caused was certainly far less than the publicly perceived effects of earlier media-generated crises like Regensburg and the Williamson case.]
With all respect to the media, this was one of those occasional flare-ups that throw light on some events that end up slipping away like rosary beads do as we pray. There have always been attacks against the Church, and journalists will always find something to exploit.

First it was pedophilia by some priests, now it is a supposed corruption in the IOR or a plot to kill the Pope. Once those have been exhausted as news, the media will find something else, and they can have great imagination. That ought not to frighten us in the Church- that's the way it has always been, and that's the way it will continue to be. But we have the certainty that the Church has lasted 2000 years and it will last to the end of time.

With this visit, is the Bishop of Rome settling something he owes Latin America? [Another mindless journalistic assumption! Did anyone ever say John XXIII 'owed' any place of the world anything because he did not travel abroad?]
It is important to distinguish between Popes. John Paul II is being made the reference point for Benedict XVI. Just because Karol Wojtyla began his foreign travels as Pope with Mexico, thus launching his course as a 'missionary to the world' throughout his Pontificate, does not mean he should be the model for Benedict XVI.

To be Pope is to become the principle of unity within the Church, which each Pope carries out according to his personality and the circumstances of his time. You cannot compare becoming Pope at 58, as John Paul II did, to becoming Pope when you are 78 as Benedict XVI did. For him to travel to Mexico at the age of 85 is something extraordinary and very special.




Mexican cartel says
no violence during papal visit
By E. EDUARDO CASTILLO


MEXICO CITY.March 18 (AP) — Banners purportedly signed by one of Mexico's drug cartels and hung in Guanajuato promise there will be no violence during next weekend's visit to the state by Pope Benedict XVI, an official said Sunday.

At least 11 banners signed by The Knights Templar gang were found in five municipalities, including the city of Leon, where the pope begins his trip Friday, an official at the state Attorney General's Office said. The official agreed to discuss the events on condition of anonymity, because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

He said the banners were found Saturday hanging from pedestrian bridges and carried messages about "a sort of truce for peace and said they are going to keep the peace during the pope's visit."

The official did not reveal the exact wording of the messages, but the newspaper Reforma's Sunday edition said one banner read: "The Knights Templar disavow any military action, we are not murders, welcome to the Pope."

The Knights Templar gives itself a pseudo-religious persona, proclaiming in banners that it is the defender of the region's people. It was created in neighboring Michoacan state after a split with the since-weakened La Familia cartel.

In February, The Knights Templar put out banners warning rival gangs to stay away and not create trouble during the pope's stay.

Benedict is scheduled to visit Guanajuato from Friday until Monday, when he will fly to Cuba. Mexican President Felipe Calderon plans to greet the pope at Leon's airport.

Earlier Sunday, Mexican authorities announced they had found 10 severed heads dumped outside a slaughterhouse in a town in northern Guerrero state. They said police were still searching for the bodies.

A statement from the Teloloapan police said the heads of seven men and three women were left with a message that appeared to threaten the La Familia cartel. The warning said: "This is going to happen to all those who support the FM."

La Familia is based in Michoacan state, which lies to the east of Guerrero. Both states have suffered in recent years from fighting among drug gangs. Authorities say La Familia has been severely battered in the fighting.

In another development, Mexico's army said soldiers in the western state of Jalisco captured a suspected local leader of Jalisco New Generation, a drug gang allegedly allied with the powerful Sinaloa cartel.

A military statement said Jose Guadalupe Padilla Serna, alias "The Vulture," was a New Generation commander in six municipalities in Jalisco and was caught with another alleged gang member. Padilla was a direct subordinate of the recently captured Erick Valencia Salazar, purported head of New Generation, the army said.

Religious freedom rallies on March 23
in over 120 locations across the USA
By Benjamin Mann


Chicago, Ill., Mar 21, 2012 (CNA/EWTN News) - On March 23, more than 120 cities and towns across the U.S. will hear a demand to stop the Obama administration's contraception mandate and restore the freedom of religious institutions and believers.

“The buzz is incredible,” said Eric Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, who is organizing the Nationwide Rally for Religious Freedom along with Citizens for a Pro-Life Society.

“I'm getting phone calls from people all over the country.”

When CNA last spoke with Scheidler, on Feb. 29, protests were being planned in around 50 cities. Since then, the administration has refused to withdraw or change its contraception insurance mandate – and the scope of the national protest movement has more than doubled.

“New cities and towns are still coming on to the rally every single day,” Scheidler said on March 20. “We went into the weekend with 110, we came out of the weekend with over 120.”

“The number of blog posts, and stories, and chatter on Facebook is another sign,” he noted. Based on these indications in both new and traditional media, he expects “a huge turnout across the country,” possibly reaching into the tens-of-thousands.

The March 23 protests, taking place at historic sites and government buildings, are scheduled for the Friday before the Church's Feast of the Annunciation. That date also happens to be the anniversary of Patrick Henry's 1775 “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech.

Scheidler says the protests are part of a movement that will not stop until it secures the free exercise of faith.

“At no point has the Obama administration ever taken seriously the conscience concerns, the moral objections, or the religious objections, of the American people to this mandate,” he observed.

“Until they allow all employers to opt out of providing contraceptives, sterilization, and abortion-inducing drugs – which are not 'preventive care' for anything, because pregnancy is not a disease – we will continue to fight this mandate.”

The debate over the contraception rule has intensified in recent weeks, despite the White House's attempt to quell controversy in February by promising a set of accommodations that would involve different methods of payment and billing.

These changes were rejected by the U.S. Catholic bishops and others, who called for an end to the rule requiring institutions to provide contraception, sterilization, and abortion-causing drugs through their health plans.

Health and Human Services' most recent announcement suggested some alternate payment plans that religious institutions' insurance providers might use to cover contraception without a co-pay. But the same announcement made clear that the mandate's narrow exemption clause would not be revised.

Some supporters of the mandate have accused opponents of waging a “war on women.” President Obama has presented the argument as a debate over access to contraception, a charge Scheidler considers both a falsehood and a ruse.

“It is insulting to the intelligence of women, and men, that they continue to use this outrageous rhetoric – and create these entirely fictional 'crises.'”

“There's no contraception (access) 'crisis' in this country. And nobody – nobody! – is suggesting that contraceptives be banned.”

Opponents of the mandate, he said, are only demanding the right to opt out either of paying for contraception and abortion-causing drugs, or making contracts under which they would be provided.

Regarding the assertion of a “war on women,” Scheidler dismissed the charge as bogus – suggesting that the very idea was part of a “war going on against women's intelligence.”

“Anyone can see how much of the pro-life and pro-family movement is led by women,” he noted.

For more information, please visit: standupforreligiousfreedom.com

Report on Europe finds 'numerous'
anti-Christian actions and crimes
By Kevin J. Jones


Vienna, Austria, Mar 21, 2012 (CNA).- A new report says that 85 percent of hate crimes committed in Europe during 2011 were aimed at Christians.

The report, from the Austria-based Observatory on Intolerance and Discrimination Against Christians in Europe, summarized incidents ranging from vandalism and insults to the suppression of religious symbols, desecrations, “hate crimes” and religiously motivated violence.

Dr. Gudrun Kugler, director of the observatory, said studies suggest that 85 percent of hate crimes in Europe are directed against Christians.

“It is high time for the public debate to respond to this reality!” Kugler said.

In Scotland, 95 percent of religiously motivated violence targets Christians. In France, 84 percent of vandalism is directed against Christian places of worship.

The observatory has also monitored professional restrictions on Christians. A restrictive definition of freedom of conscience means that professions such as magistrates, doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists are “slowly closing for Christians.”

Teachers and parents “get into trouble” when they disagree with state-defined sexual ethics, the report said.

One survey in the U.K. indicates popular perception agrees. Seventy-four percent of poll respondents said that there is more negative discrimination against Christians than people of other faiths.

The observatory intends to monitor both the social marginalization of Christians and the denial of their equal rights.

Catholic Bishop András Veres of Szombathely, Hungary, reacted to the report March 19.

“The bishops in Europe are particularly conscious of these manifestations of religious discrimination and intolerance which actually confirm how some values and fundamental rights proper to Europe, such as freedom of religion and the legal recognition of our Churches, are far from being an established reality in some nations of the continent,” said the bishop, who follows the observatory’s activities under a mandate from the Council of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe.

He characterized the report as an invitation for all Christians who have experienced discrimination or intolerance because of their religious beliefs to “step out from anonymity and be courageous.”

The observatory’s report said that the anti-Christian actions are technically “a form of persecution,” but it advised against labeling them as that in Europe to prevent confusion with anti-Christian crimes in other countries.

The report also lamented stereotypes and prejudices in public discussion about religion, such as the instantaneous and incorrect labeling of Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik as a fundamentalist Christian.

The observatory also noted positive developments.

“We were pleased to note that many who have focused exclusively on third world countries that demonstrated outright persecution, are beginning to notice that the marginalization and restriction of rights and freedoms of Christians in Europe are also of concern and deserves our attention,” Kugler said in the report’s introduction.

Among the highlights for 2011 were a resolution in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that encouraged public debate on anti-Christian issues and a reassessment of legislation with the potential for negative effects on Christians.

Another was the European Court of Human Rights to overturn a court decision against crucifixes in state school classrooms in Italy.

In January 2012, the Spanish government stopped a compulsory education class which drew objections from 55,000 parents, including many Christians.

The observatory stressed the religious freedom rights of both individuals and religious communities. Religion is a “valuable asset” for society that encourages healthy life and contributions to the common good, it said.

Bishop Veres encouraged religious believers to live their faith.

“(B)elieving in God must not be perceived as a fault or sign of weakness,” he said. “Living and witnessing to one’s own religious creed in respect for the freedom and sensitivity of others can only be beneficial for everyone, believers or non-believers, Christians or non-Christians.”

The bishops of Europe support those whose rights are not respected. Religious freedom is a “valuable good” that continues as a “pillar of peace on our continent,” the bishop said.





Shahbaz Bhatti - already a martyr
for the Catholics of Pakistan
Translated from the Italian service of

March 21, 2012

"For our people, Shahbaz Bhatti is already a martyr because he gave his life for the faith," said Mons. Andrew Francis, Bishop of Multan in Pakistan's Punjab region, to L'Osservatore Romano, on the first anniversary last March 2 of the killing by Muslim extremists of Bhatti, then Pakistan's Minister for Minorities.

[He was gunned down in his car on the way to work in a street in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital].

Mons. Francis, president of the Committee for Inter-Religious Dialog of the Pakistan bishops' conference, said Bhatti was killed by those who "wished to prevent him from carrying on his generous work in defense of religious minorities in an overwhelmingly Muslim nation".

In other statements reported by the Fides news agency (of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions), Mons. Francis said "the Church in Pakistan intends to respond to Benedict XVI's call for new evangelization, and the memory of Bhatti will help that not just in Punjab but in all of Pakistan".

He continued: "His martyrdom was not in vain - we bishops are presenting it in the evangelical perspective of faith and hope. Unless the mustard seed died first, it will not bear fruit".

"We bishops are pressing hard for a resolution of the investigation into Bhatti's killing. But we trust in divine justice and place our hopes in the merciful God".

What a sweet idea and great tribute it is for someone to have written a book about Benedict XVI's humility! Here's one by Andrea Monda, who has studied both law (at La Sapeinza) and religious sciences (at the Pontifical Gregorian U). He writes articles about the Church for various Italian publications and has written books on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.... Here's a translation of the blurb from the book, published by Lindau in Italy, and coming out on March 31.

---

'Blessed humility:
The simple virtues
of Joseph Ratzinger'

Tuesday, April 19, 2005, 5:44 p.m. Piazza San Pietro, navel of the world. The smoke is white from the Sistine chapel. It is here that Joseph Ratzinger began his new life as Vicar of Christ on earth.

And here, too, starts our journey to 'discover' Benedict XVI, 'simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord', as he described himself that day.

But these first words - which are impressed in the minds of all those who heard him - Were they borne of the emotion of the moment? Do they just represent a rhetorical formulation? Or do they say something more profound about the man who had just been called to be the Successor of Peter?

Choosing the last hypothesis, Andrea Monda enters a 'luminous forest' of discretion, renunciation, availability, dedication, ease, sacrifice, self-irony, humor and joy - all precious pieces to construct the profile of the Professor-Pope through analysis of a personal style which perhaps is one of the most important lessons that he gives.

In particular, the centerpiece of all is humility - that most mysterious of virtues - and its sweetest fruit, humor. Two words that have a common etymological root in the word humus, earth.

Someone who is 'down to earth', who does not boast, is both humble and endowed with good humor, because he isa ware that the world is much greater than his own 'I', and that beyond this world, there is something even much greater.

Humility and good humor are the secret to good living, especially for Catholics, and they are two traits which most characterize the man Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, as well as his work.

At the end of an analysis of the Pope's gestures and deeds, his words, and the thinking of the authors who are dear to him (from St. Augustine to Hans Urs von Balthasar, C.S. Lewis to G.K. Chesterton), it now becomes possible to see the present Pope in a light different from that cast by the media, and it will be easier to give him that which, with candid courage, he once asked for in the first volume of JESUS OF NAZARETH: "that initial goodwill without which there can be no understanding".

---

I still wish someone somewhere would keep track in public of all the books that have been written about Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI since he became Pope, of which there ought to be a record number by now in his first seven years as Pope. I am sure the faithful Birgit Wansing is keeping track, as is the Schuelerkreis for their ongoing documentation, but I wish they would publish their updated list at least once a year.

I looked up the bibliography on books about John Paul II in George Weigel's biography of him - though the list is apparently limited only to those written in English, or in Polish translated to English (strange not to find anything in Italian)- and note that apart from 1 biography published in 1978 (he became Pope in October 1978) and another 8 published in 1979 (the first full year of his Pontificate), the next wave of books did not come out till 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world came to recognize the role the Pope had played, along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, in bringing down the Communist regimes of Europe.

In pointing this out, I have no intention other than to call attention to facts as they were - against the idealized picture that the media has held forth since the Blessed Pope's death that all 26 years of his Pontificate were an uninterrupted age of universal hosannas and instant recognition of his greatness and saintliness. On the other hand, of course, I am not aware that any books were written specifically to attack him at all, as there have been about Benedict XVI, starting with malicious 'biographies' such as those by John Allen (Version I - written in 2000, then revised to be more positive when it was re-published in 2005 after the Conclave) and the more opportunistic one by David Gibson in 2005. to quite a few anti-Benedict books in Italian, including Marco Politi's book-length diss. Somehow, John Paul II did not polarize people to the extent that those on the negative extreme were driven in any way to vent their spleen in public.

Thursday, March 22, Fourth Week of Lent

Center: Engraving, St. Nicholas's torture.
ST. NICHOLAS OWEN (England, 1550-1606), Carpenter/Mason, Lay Jesuit, Reformation Martyr
Owen was one of the 40 Martyrs of England and Wales canonized by Paul VI in 1970. They died for
the faith during anti-Catholic persecutions from 1535-1679. Called 'Little John' because he was born
a dwarf, he made his reputation by building so-called priest holes, or hiding places for Catholics that
were undetectable to raiders. He was arrested three times himself, the first time in 1582 for having
defended St. Edmund Campion, once a favorite of Elizabeth I, but who eventually refused to renounce
his faith and was 'hanged, drawn and quartered' on a trumped up conspiracy charge. Little John was
released, went back to building priest-holes and caught again when he was betrayed in 1594. His last
capture was in 1606 when he was subjected to great torture - hung by his hands with a weight on his
feet while he was beaten, and stretched on the rack, from which he eventually died.
Readings for today's Mass:
usccb.org/bible/readings/032212.cfm


No bulletins so far from the Vatican.


No papal stories in today's OR.


One year ago today...

The Congregation for Catholic Education presented a new Decree on the Reform of Ecclesiastical Studies in Philosophy
to restore the 'original vocation' of philosophy; which is the search for truth and its sapiental and metaphysical
dimension". It prescribed three years of philosophy for seminarians instead of the usual two, with great emphasis
on logic and metaphysics. It was the first major reform in seminary studies since 1979, and reflected in many ways
an observation made by Benedict XVI in 2007:

---

The crisis in post-conciliar theology is in large measure the crisis in its philosophical foundations.... When these foundations are not clear, then theology lacks solid ground under its feet, because then, it is not clear to what degree man truly knows reality, and the bases from which he can think and speak.

---

The narrative being peddled by the Anglophone MSM about the Pope's trip to Mexico and Cuba is openly negative and quite sickening. What could possibly generate this kind of animus that the reports specifically make Benedict XVI the scapegoat no matter how far-fetched the association is?

In Mexico, the main party-pooping claim is that Mexicans are so enamored of John Paul II that they couldn't care less - or even look down upon - the current Vicar of Christ; and secondarily, that he is not meeting at all with any of the victims of Fr. Marcial Maciel, Mexico's most notorious prelate of the 20th century and the only founder of a modern ecclesial movement to have been found to be an outright unholy man and a criminal! [Not that there have been any demands at all for such a meeting by Maciel's victims, who are well aware that Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI had nothing to do at all with their misfortune or with coddling Fr. Maciel.]

In Cuba, the rap is that the local Church has been conniving with the Communist government - never mind that such 'connivance' has resulted in thousands of political prisoners having been released by the government through the Church's mediation, and that media considered the rapprochement between that government and the local Church as the object of hosannahs at the time the breakthrough was marked by John Paul II's visit to Cuba. Why the rapprochement is now seen as blameworthy and nefarious - as Benedict somehow giving his unqualified blessing to the Cuban government - can only be explained by irrational bias against Benedict.

Of course, the assault on the head of the Roman Catholic Church is an assault on the Church itself - and maybe, it is a measure of what the secular media think of Benedict XVI's leadership that they feel they can best strike at the Church by running him down. With all that in mind, consider this report from a major newspaper chain in the Americas.

Benedict's visit to Mexico
brings ache for John Paul II
by Tim Johnson
McClatchy Newspapers

MEXICO CITY — The imminent visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico is drawing little excitement, underscoring the stark differences between this Pontiff and his predecessor, John Paul II, a figure beloved to Mexicans.

Since the moment John Paul II descended from a jetliner in 1979 and kissed Mexican soil, on the first of five visits, Mexicans felt he held their nation close to his heart.

In contrast, Pope Benedict, who arrives Friday in Mexico, is "the antithesis of John Paul II. He is not very charismatic," said Maria de las Heras, head of the Demotecnia public opinion firm.

An opinion survey by her company earlier this month found that 77 percent of Mexican Catholics feel indifferent to the pontiff's visit or are less enthusiastic about it than they were to John Paul's.

Pope Benedict will visit the states of Guanajuato and Leon, areas of fervent Catholicism northwest of Mexico City, before traveling on to Cuba for two days. It is his first trip to Latin America [NO! How can the reporter overlook his visit to BraZil in 2007????], a region critical to the Church's long-term vitality.

The visit comes as Mexico struggles with rampant violence by criminal gangs that has rent the Church, separating those who want a greater role in ministering to the victims and denouncing human rights abuses from clerics who support a hard line against the gangs, or those who look the other way as they take donations from drug lords.

But such divisions — as well as legislative debates on relaxing anti-clerical provisions in the constitution — are less at the forefront than the notable lack of enthusiasm for Pope Benedict's arrival, which led a Catholic prelate to admonish Mexicans to stop comparing the German-born pontiff to his Polish predecessor.

"From the perspective of faith, all Popes are equal and deserve our respect and our loyalty without regard to the charisma that they may embody," Archbishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon told CNNMexico. "We need to say this to everyone so that they don't expect to see in Pope Benedict a repeat, or a clone, to put it bluntly, of Pope John Paul."

The Mexico where Pope Benedict will set foot for the first time is at once deeply Catholic and officially anti-clerical when it comes to intervention by the church in state affairs.

Only in 1992 did Mexico establish diplomatic relations with the Vatican and relax strictures such as one that barred priests from wearing clerical garb in the streets.

"It is a church that is quite powerful but one that has lost many of its faithful. It is estimated that they've lost 15 to 20 percent of their followers in the last two decades," said Ilan Semo Groman, a historian at the Jesuit-run Ibero-American University in the capital.

Semo said Pope Benedict has not won the hearts of Mexicans.

"He's always the Pope. But there are beloved popes and less beloved popes. And in circles of power, he's not seen with great affection," Semo said.

Mexicans are hard-pressed not to draw comparisons to Pope John Paul II, who visited in 1979, 1990, 1993, 1999 and 2002, traveling to 12 of Mexico's 31 states and ministering to millions in open-air masses in the nation's largest cities.

"Every time he arrived, it was nuts. The country came to a standstill, even among non-Catholics," recalled de las Heras, the pollster. "John Paul II had the virtue of convincing Mexican Catholics that the country was very special to him."

The affection was so great that at times police intervened to give the Spanish-speaking pontiff, who died in 2005, some rest from those who sought to serenade him each night.

President Felipe Calderon, whose ruling National Action Party is trailing in July 1 presidential elections, will greet Pope Benedict on his arrival Friday in Leon, perhaps hoping that his party's candidate will get a boost.

Pope Benedict will speak on all aspects of national life, including the violence that has taken more than 50,000 lives since Calderon came to office in late 2006.

"The violence has increased so much that the church has to speak out from a national perspective," said Richard Jones, a deputy regional director for Catholic Relief Services, a Baltimore-based charity. "The Pope is going to focus on a message of peace and hope."

Mexico's Catholic hierarchy shifted sharply to the right under John Paul II, a crusader against communism who revived the Church while promoting conservative clergy. In Mexico, that meant that clerics who sided with the leftist Zapatista rebellion in the mid-1990s, for example, were shunted aside.

But Mexico's roiling domestic violence threatens to split the Church again, dividing activists from a somewhat aloof hierarchy that has failed to propose effective antidotes to runaway killings, extortion and drug trafficking. [I do not know if there was any time in history when the Church has been able to counteract human vice on a grand scale! You can be pretty sure that Mafiosi as well as Mexican drug lords - who may all have been cradle Catholics - automatically make the sign of the Cross before they pull the trigger to carry out a massacre! Both actions are automatic to these people the first one, out of sheer lifelong interia, the other out of inexorable current compulsion.]

"This is one of the reasons why the Pope is coming," Semo said.

Moreover, some clergy have clearly been lured by donations from drug lords. The founder of Los Zetas, Heriberto Lazcano, a man so brutal he is known as "the executioner," paid for an elegant chapel in his hometown, Pachuca. [So? What has the man's private chapel have to do with the Church? Did he endow the local church or the diocese, or build a completely new church for the public?]

Federico Estevez, a political scientist at the Autonomous Technological Institute of Mexico, said drug money has remade other churches, including one southeast of the capital in the state of Mexico.

"Go and see how it glitters today. It's all narco money," he said.

Church officials said Leon was chosen as the center of Benedict's visit over Mexico City because the capital's high elevation — nearly 12,000 feet — was a health risk for the 84-year-old pontiff.

By sidestepping Mexico City, however, the Pope will also avoid one of Latin America's most permissive cities, one where gay marriage and abortions are permitted.

In contrast, the state of Guanajuato that will welcome Pope Benedict is among its most religiously orthodox.

"He's going to a state that is so conservative that they passed a law that life begins at conception," said Richard Grabman, author of several books on Mexican history, including one on a religious war in the early 20th century. "That means indigenous women who've had miscarriages have been imprisoned for murder."
[Did the reporter bother to check out this outrageous statement at all????]

The pedophilia scandal that shook the church worldwide also took a toll in Mexico, the homeland of Marcial Maciel, the disgraced pedophile founder of the Legions of Christ, a wealthy and powerful global congregation.

Pope John Paul II was an enthusiastic supporter of Maciel, impressed at his skill in amassing wealth on behalf of the Legion of Christ and its lay branch, Regnum Christi. The Pope gave the Mexican priest a very public blessing in 2004.

Only two years later, however, with John Paul dead, Benedict ordered Maciel, who is believed to have fathered up to six children, into a "life of prayer and penitence," without spelling out his transgressions.

In 2010, two years after Maciel's death, the Vatican appointed an Italian cardinal to oversee the Legion of Christ.

A former Legionnaire who claims to have been a victim of Maciel, Jose Barba, is a co-author of a book to be released later this week in Mexico that alleges the Vatican knew for years of Maciel's sexual abuse but did nothing about it. [It is dishonest of the reporter not to specify that 'the Vatican' referred to in the book is definitely not 'the Vatican' under Benedict XVI! In the same way, has no polling been done at all about how Mexicans feel regarding the long-favor enjoyed by Maciel under successive Popes since the 1950s, and the fact that it took Benedict XVI to directly expose him and take measures to redress his long corrupt regime at the head of a large and powerful ecclesial movement?]

Here's a more equitable perspective on the trip from a Vaticanista who has been generally reliable and fair:

Benedict XVI: A mission of truth amid
the contradictions of Mexico and Cuba
by Salvatore Izzo


MEXICO CITY, March 22 (Translated from AGI) - Benedict XVI will be undertaking an apostolic trip that will be far from stereotype when he lesves Fiumicino on Friday for Leon in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico. This was one place never visited by John Paul II in five visits to Mexico.

Even if this site of his visit was dictated by medical advice to the near-85-year-old Pope - to skip the capital, Mexico City, because its 12,000-foot altitude could be harmful to someone with Benedict XVI's specific health problems (hypertension and a history of heart trouble) - the fact that the German Pope is starting his 23rd international trip out of his predecessors beaten path has a symbolic value beyond doubt.

Mexico is indeed still a huge Catholic country whose profound faith has been irrigated by the blood of the Cristeros martyrs of the early 20th century - those who defiantly proclaimed 'Cristo Rey!" (Christ is King) when they fought an implacably anti-Catholic Masonic-secular regime in 1926-1929, setting themselves up for martyrdom by the hundreds.

Mexico's relationship with the Holy See - which only dates back to 1982 (three years after Jo0hn Paul I first visited Mexico) - is the 'positive evolution', as Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said this week, who underscored that on the part of the government (specifically, the ruling Partido Revolucionario Institucional,PRI, which once persecuted believers), there is finally "an acknowledgment of the universal function carried out by the Church an the Holy See".

But Mexico has been, unfortunately and by common knowledge, the homeland of the worst symbol of the 'filth' denounced and fought by the current Pontiff since he waa at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith : Fr. Marcial Maciel, founder of the once very powerful Legionaries of Christ, who was a drug addict, pedophile, rapist and illegitimate father of children from relationships, all kept hidden from exposure for decades by generous pay-offs.[to anyone and everyone who could be bought, including his own priest-lieutenants and ranking officials in the Vatican [at least up until the CDF under Cardinal Ratzinger finally overcame what seemed to be a resistance even by Blessed John Paul II].

Unlike in the United States, the tragedy of sexual abuses committed by proiests and religious has not yet led to any serious examination of conscience on the part of the bishops who had not seen or did not want to acknowledge this kind of wrongdoing. And unlike in Ireland, the Mexican government has not intervened at all in this lack of initiative by the local Church nor to help clean itself up .

Thus, the trip of Benedict XVI could be a historic occasion to trigger off a cleansing process even in Mexico, where in recent days, victims of Maciel have produced a document demanding clarification and clarity on the role of the Church hierarchy, in Mexico and at the Vatican, whom they had first asked in 1998 to denounce the behavior of the man who was responsible for odious crimes committed against them.

[If these victims are expecting the Vatican to come out in black and white with a specific statement acknowledging that Maciel's crimes were substantially 'swept under the carpet' by the Vatican at least up to 2004, when Blessed John Paul II made that very public commendation of Maciel on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of his ordination, they are being unrealistic. The Vatican can simply refer them to the 2005 CDF announcement of the canonical penalty imposed by Benedict XVI on Maciel, which gave the background for the penalty, and probably to any documents from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints that directly respond to any protests made by victims of Maciel against John Paul II's cause for sainthood.

While it seems obvious that the Polish Pope and his associates supported Maciel in his protestations of innocence up til 2004, at the very least, it also seems apparent that shortly afterwards, John Paul II gave Cardinal Ratzinger the go-ahead to resume investigations of Maciel which had been earlier suspended.

John Paul II's egregious miscalculation - let's call it a downright error - in standing by Maciel so long and so unequivocally does not mean the late Pope was willing to tolerate outright crimes by people he trusted, but that he placed his trust so wrongly in such an unworthy person as to choose not to entertain any doubts at all about Maciel's integrity. So, one obvious flaw in a life that was otherwise saintly and which certainly did not pretend to be perfect does not invalidate his cause for sainthood!

But this should also say something very significant to those who see John Paul II as the unsullied paragon of all virtues [he himself would not have thought so!] in contrast to a Benedict XVI they dislike and whom they persist in considering to be incapable of any virtue whatsoever! And I mean you, Marco Politi and ilk, above all! I have more forbearance for the poorly-catechized Mexican Catholics who are playing the game of papal favorites to an unprecedented and totally unhealthy extreme.]

It is well known that Cardinal Ratzinger was virtually the only person in the Roman Curia to believe the victims' accusations but that he was prevented from doing anything about it - according to statements made by Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn of Vienna in 2010, who laid the blame on close associates of John Paul II. In fact, a note came to light from the Secretariat of state (then under Cardinal Angelo Sodano) that denied as late as 2004 that Maciel was under investigation in any way at all.

However, Papa Wojtyla ultimately was convinced there was a basis for the persistent accusations against Maciel, and a few months before he died, finally auithorized the CDF to proceed with its investigation.

Thus, even without a canonical trial [which the CDF said it did not undertake because of Maciel's advanced and age and poor health at the time, but on the basis of depositions made by victims over the years and interviews conducted in 2005-2006 by the CDF's chief prosecutor with many of them], Benedict XVI in 2006 deprived Maciel of any authority in the Legion and its various branches, nor to officiate any liturgies in public, and ordered him to live the rest of his days in isolation.

Subsequently, Benedict XVI placed Maciel's entire organization under papal authority while the institutions are being reorganized [and 'purified' of the people and elements corrupted by Maciel].

Unfortunately, outside the Vatican - where many ranking prelates accepted money from Maciel - the latter apparently used the same methods to buy the support and silence of many Mexican bishops. {While I cannot imagine that Cardinal Sodano and now Cardinal Dsiwisz - the two names most prominently mentioned as arch-supporters of Maciel in the Wojtyla Pontificate - could have used Maciel's donations to line their own pockets (they probably gave it to worthy causes not their own). I hope they have since redressed any such use of tainted money by putting their own money into those causes!]

maciel's corrupt influence among Mexican bishops may explain why, as Varican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi confirmed last week, Mexican bishops did not present any request to the Pope to meet with victims of local priestly abuse, as local bishops did in the USA, Australia, Malta, the UK and Germany.

Such a meeting with the victims of Maciel would be important, if not decisive, in forcing the Mexican bishops to examine their consciences about Maciel.

Nonetheless, the Pope could carry out a significant gesture in this regard during his three-day visit by apologizing, in the name of the Church, for the offenses of Maciel and other priestly criminals to their victims and the families of the latter.

He will certainly be forceful about appealing for a general respect for life - whether it concerns the wanton daily bloodshed generated by the drug wars, or the culture of abortion that seems to be widespread in Mexico. [There's also the still 'unsolved' murder of the Bishop of Guadalajara in a Mexican airport two decades ago.] [I know I posted something about this years back in the PRF, so I have to look it up.]

Likewise, in the second half of this Latin American trip, when he is in Cuba, this aged but courageous Pope could still surprise everyone - not just with an eventual meeting with Fidel Castro - but agreeing to meet dissidents who wish to have 'one minute; with him during his visit to Cuba. [If Benedict XVI, who is very proper, told his hosts beforehand that he planned to do this, I don't think they would object. The Vatican, when announcing such a meeting after it take place, can always reiterate the same admonition the Pope made to the underground Church in China - that they ought to be good citizens as well as good Catholics - and guard against the dissidents from unduly exploiting their meeting with the Pope for propaganda. It won't keep them from doing so, obviously, but the Vatican will have guarded its flanks.]

In Cuba, too, Benedict XVI will undertake something that John Paul II was unable to do in 1998 - a visit to the Shrine of Our lady of Charity of El Cobre, a place that has symbolized the Catholic faith of Cubans over decades of persecution by the Communist regime.

At the end of his 1998 visit, John Paul II called on Cuba to open itself to the world and on the world to open itself to Cuba. But although much has improved since then, much remains to be done, especially in terms of political dissidents being imprisoned. And the United States embargo against commerce with Cuba remains in place, [despite Barack Obama's liberal administration, which obviously is courting the all-important Florida electoral votes for the 2012 elections and will therefore not alienate the considerable Cuban-American vote there by doing any favors to the Castro regime.].

But even in the case of the US embargo, Papa Ratzinger - who is not inclined to compromise and keeping off 'taboo' subjects - could ay and do something that could change history. [Somehow, I think not in this case. It's the US government he must 'influence', not the Cubans, and who can see Obama kissing the Florida electoral vote goodbye by lifting the embargo against Cuba?]

Vatican Radio interviewed the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba, the first city to be visited by Benedict XVI, Mons, Guillermo Garcia Ibanez, who is also president of the Cuban bishops' conference who said that his primary concern was "that everyone in our nation may feel the need for reconciliation, of common undertaking, of respect for the person in his full dignity and all his rights, so that all Cubans may feel united, as citizens of a country we love, and that we can all feel like brothers, regardless of faith, thinking, or social conditions".

Mons. Carlos Aguiar Retes, president of the Mexican bishops' conference in 2006, and current president of the Conference of Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed through Radio Vatican the expectations of his fellow Mexican bishops, observed that "During the time that Mexicans underwent serious difficulties because of religious conflicts, the figure of the Pontiff was always a most important element in the Church life of Mexico".

Now, he said, "Mexico is experiencing problems she never had before. She has to face particularly complex situations that do not lend themselves to immediate solutions. But we know that precisely in this situation, or faith as disciples of Christs is growing and maturing".

This, he said, is 'the confidence with which the Catholic Church in Mexico faces every event with hope. Therefore we trust and hope that the presence of the Holy Father will infuse us all with great enthusiasm and joy despite all our current difficulties".

For some reason, through the years that I've been following the papal trips abroad closely, only Korazym has bothered to provide its readers with the following kind of information, which must be available to all Vaticanistas but no one else thinks is worth writing about. I do - part of those sidelights that enliven any coverage. In the past, Korazym was even able to post pictures of the inflight program usually given out to passengers on VIP flights - elegant little booklets in heavy cream paper tied up with yellow-and-white cord perhaps, to represent the Vatican colors...

Who's flying with the Pope
to Mexico and Cuba?
by Salvatore Scolozzi
Translated from

March 22, 2012

Mexico and Cuba - two countries in which Benedict XVI will arrive as a 'pilgrim of faith, hope and charity'. So many reasons for this pastoral visit - from the bicentennial of independence for the Latin American countries to the 400th anniversary of the finding of the image of Cuba's Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre, patroness of Cuba.

For Benedict XVI, it is his 23rd apostolic voyage abroad, and it comes five years after he launched 'the great continental mission for new evangelization' of Latin America in the Marian Shrine of Aparecida, Brazil, in May 2007.

He leaves Friday morning from Fiumicino airport on a Boeing-777 Sestriere of Alitalia with the technical identification AZ4000 [equivalent to Air Force One for any plane on which the US President is flying]]

On board with the Holy Father will be his delegation, the journalists who have chosen to be on the papal flight, the crew, and supervisors from the Vatican and Alitalia - all in all, 108 people.

The 32 members of the Pope's delegation includes five cardinals, two bishops, seven priests and 18 laymen. The cardinals are Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone; Prefect of Bishops Marc Ouellet, who is also president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America; Prefect of Divine Worship Antonio Canizares Loovera; President of Cor Unum Robert Sarah; and Mexican Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, emeritus Prefect of the Pontifical Council for Ministry to healthcare Workers.

The bishops are Mons. Giovanni Angelo Becciu, deputy Secretary of State for General Affairs, who was the Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba before his present assignment, and the deputy Secretary of State for foreign relations, Mons. Dominique Mamberti.

The priests are Mons. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies; Mons. Georg Gaenswein and Alfred Xuereb, the Pope's private secretaries; Mons. Fernando Chica Arellano, of the Secretariat of State; Mons, Konrad Krajewski and Diego Ravelli, assistants to Mons, Marini; and Fr. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman and director of its Press Office Vatican Radio and CTV (with his lay assistant for media affairs, Vik van Brantegem).

The other laymen in the Pope's delegation include: Alberto Gasbarri, papal trip coordinator and his assistant, Paolo Corvini; Giovanni Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano; the Pope's personal physician, Dr. Patrizio Polisca and his assistant, Dr. Giampiero Vetturini; and the Pope's valet, Paolo Gabriele.

The Pope's personal security includes Domenico Giani, Chirf Inspector of the Vatican Police; and Lt. Col. Christoph Graf and Maj. William Kloter of the Swiss Guard.

The media of the Holy See are represented by Francesco Sforza, OR photographer; and two operators each from Vatican Radio and CTV.

Coordinating flight arrangements for Alitalia is Stefania Izzo.

Seventy-three journalists are travelling with the Pope - 10 of them for Italian media, five for the Vatican media (Alessandro di Bussolo and Simone Coali for CTV, Martio Ponzi and Simone Risoluti for the OR, and Philippa HItchen for Vatican Radio). All the rest represent various international news media.

There are six photojournalists: Alberto Pizzoli for AFP, Ettore Ferrari for ANSA, Gregorio Borgia for AP, Antonino Gentile for Reuters, Alessia Giuliani for Catholic Press Photo, Grzegor Galazka for Michalineum, and Paul Haring for CNS.

TV is represented by 27 newsmen (14 correspondents, 12 cameramen and one producer). The correspondents include: Valentina Alazraki Crastich of Televisa, Renaud Bernard of France 2, Greg Burke of Fox News, Philippine De Saint-Pierre of French KTO, Javier Martinez Brocal Ogayar of Rome Reports, Phoebe Natanson of ABC News, Guido Todeschini of Telepace, Fabio Zavattaro of RAI-Tg1, Javier Alatorre Soria of Tv Azteca, Maria Collins of Univision, Pedro Ferriz De Con of Grupo Imagen, Joaquín Lopez Doriga Velandia of Televisa, Celso Mora Tagle of Telemundo, Pablo Reinah Martinez of Uno Tv.

The TV cameramen represent EU Pool TV, AP-Reuters Pool TV, Rome Reports, Telepace, Televisa, KTO, France 2, ZDF, Univision Network, Grupo Imagen, Telemundo, and producer Eleanor Biles for the AP-Reuters Pool TV.

There are 34 correspondents for all media (press, radio and TV). From the Italian newspapers - Marco Ansaldo (La Repubblica), Giacomo Galeazzi (La Stampa), Salvatore Mazza (Avvenire) and Gian Guido Vecchi (Corriere della Sera).

Covering for foreign newspapers are: Rachel Donadio (The New York Times), Juan Gonzalez Boo (ABC), Jean-Marie Guénois (Le Figaro), Maria Jimenez Caliz (Milenio Diario), Stéfanie Le Bars (Le Monde), Dario Menor Torres (La Razon), Felipe Monroy Gonzalez (Cepcom), and Frédéric Mounier (La Croix); and for the German publications, Albert Link of Bild and Tanja May of Bunte.

Various news agencies with correspondents on board are ANSA, Gecox, AM, ItarTass, EFE, CIC, Enfoque, AFP, I.Media, DPA, Kyodo News Agency, Reuters, Zenit, Catholic News Service and AP.

The five radio correspondents are Raffaele Luise of RAI's Religion bureau, Paloma Gomez Borrero of Spain's Cadena COPE), Anais Fuega or Radio France, Stefan Troendle of Germany's ARD/BR-RD, and Aura Vistas Miguel of Brazil's Radio Renascença.

After a flight of 14 hours and 10,267 kms, the papal flight will land at the international airport of Leon/Guanajuato around 4:30 pm, local time, having flown over Italy France, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Greenland, Canada, and the United States into Mexico.

Joining the papal delegation in Leon are Mons. José G. Martín Rábago, Archbishop of Leon; Mons. Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantl and president of both the Mexican bishops' conference and the Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops; Cardinals Norberto Rivera Carrera, Archbishop of Mexico City; Francisco Robles Ortega, Archbishop of Guadalajara; and Juan Sandoval Iñiguez, emeritus Archbishop of Guadalajara; along with Mons. Christophe Pierre, Apoostlic Nuncio to Mexico, and two of his counselors at the Nunciature, Mons. Giovanni Gaspari and Tomasz Grysa.

On Monday, March 26, at 9:30 a.m., the papal flight (the same Alitalia 777) will leave Leon/Guanajuato airport for the three-and-a-half hour trip to Santiago de Cuba, arriving at the Antonio Maceo International Airport around 2 p.m., local time,.

The original 108 passengers will also be joined by Orlando Marquez, communications officer of the Cuban bishops' conference; Rev. Julio Fernandez Triana, to assist Vik von Brantagem; and 10 representatives of the Cuban government's Protocol and Security Services.

In Cuba, the papal delegation will be joined by Cardinal Jaime Ortega Alamino, Archbishop of Havana; Mons. Dionisio Guillermo García Ibáñez, Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba and president of the Cuban bishops' conference; Archbishop Bruno Musaro, Apostolic Nuncio to Cuba, and his secretary, Mons. Fabrice Rivet.

The flight back to Rome on March 28 will be shorter (10 hours and 15 minutes), proceeding over the Atlantic Ocean directly towards France and Italy.

Friday, March 23. Fourth Week of Lent

ST. TORIBIO DE MOGROVEJO (b Spain 1538, d Peru 1606)
Missionary, Bishop, Patron Saint of Latin American Bishops
A most appropriate saint of the day as Benedict XVI begins an apostolic visit to Latin America:
St. Toribio was a brilliant professor of canon law at the University of Salamanca when Phillip II named him
Grand Inquisitor in Granada. He was scrupulous in rendering justice to all who came before him to
the point that some accused him of being heretical. At age 40, the King named him to be Bishop
of Lima, Peru, where the colonial administration had serious problems with a corrupt clergy. In vain
he argued that he was not qualified for such a position, but he left for Peru in 1579, serving
as missionary and administrator for the next 27 years until his death. In Lima, he confirmed the
girl who would become Santa Rosa de Lima, and was a confessor to the priest who would become St.
Martin de Porres. After 1590, he also had the assistance of the priest who would become St. Francis
Solano. Toribio was beatified in 1679 and canonized in 1726.
Readings for today's Mass: usccb.org/bible/readings/032312.cfm

The Pope begins his apostolic visit to Mexico today.

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APOSTOLIC VISIT OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT VI

TO MEXICO AND CUBA

March 23-29, 2012

Friday, March 23

ROME

09.30 Departure from Da Vinci International Airport for Leon/Guanajuato.




LEON/GUANAJUATO

16.30 ARRIVAL CEREMONY
Guanajuato International Airport, Silao.
- Address by the Holy Father.


Saturday, March 24

08.00 Private Mass
Chapel of Colegio Miraflores.

18.00 COURTESY VISIT to President Felipe Calderon
Casa del Conde Rul, Guanajuato City.

18.45 GREETING TO SCHOOLCHILDREN
Plaza de la Paz, Guanajuato.
- Remarks by the Holy Father.


Sunday, March 25

10.00 HOLY MASS
Parque del Bicentenario, Leon
- Homily by the Holy Father
- RECITAL OF THE ANGELUS
- Remarks by the Holy Father

18.00 CELEBRATION OF VESPERS with the Bishops of Mexico and Latin America
Cathedral of Madre Santisima de Luz, Leon
- Homily by the Holy Father.


Monday, March 26

09.00 DEPARTURE CEREMONY
International Airport of Guanajuato, Silao
- Address by the Holy Father

09.30 Departure for Santiago de Cuba.




Monday, March 26

SANTIAGO DE CUBA

14.00 ARRIVAL CEREMONY
Antonio Maceo International Airport
= Address by the Holy Father

17.30 HOLY MASS on the 400th anniversary of the finding
of the image of the Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre
Plaza Antonio Maceo
- Homily by the Holy Father


Tuesday, March 27

09.30 VISIT TO THE SHRINE OF THE VIRGEN DE LA CARIDAD

10.30 Departure from Antonio Maceo International Airport for Havana.


LA HABANA

12.00 Arrival at the Jose Marti International Airport.

17.30 COURTESY VISIT TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL OF STATE
and to the Council of Ministers
Palacio de la Revolucion

19.15 Meeting and dinner with Cuban bishops and the papal delegation
Apostolic Nunciature


Wednesday, March 28

09.00 HOLY MASS
Plaza de la Revolucion
- Homily by the Holy Father.

16.30 DEPARTURE CEREMONY
Jose Marti International Airport
- Address by the Holy Father

17.00 Departure from Jose Marti International Airport for Rome


Thursday, March 29

ROME

10.15 Arrival at Ciampino airport.

Time difference:
Rome (to 3/24): GMT +1
(from 3/25: GMT +2
Mexico: GMT +6
Cuba: GMT +5

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1. There is a gap of more than 24 hours between the Pope's arrival in Leon Friday afternoon and his first event after the airport arrival (when he meets with President Calderon the next day). He obviously needs time to recover from the trans-Atlantic journey, as he needed a three-day acclimatization-adjustment period following the 18-hour trip to Australia for World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008.

2. He will not be going to the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City for a literal flying visit. One might conclude his doctors advised against even such a brief visit because of the altitude, which ruled out his visiting the capital itself, to begin with.

3. This is the most pared-down program so far for any of his apostolic visits, and we must get used to such adjustments as he and his physicians prudently seek to conserve his energies. May the Lord continue to watch over his Vicar on earth!


BON VOYAGE, NOTRE SAINT-PERE!

The Holy Father has left Rome for Mexico. According to ADNKronos:

Mario Monti, president of Italy's Council of Ministers, greeted Benedict XVI at Rome's Leoanrdo da Vinci international airport before the Pope left for Mexico this morning.

The Prime Minister welcomed the Pope as he arrived by helicopter from the Vatican. they exchanged brief greetings before the Pope boarded his Alitalia flight for Mexico.


Note the Holy Father's black cane, which he does uot use going up the plane - easier to hold on to the handrail.




Pope uses cane at airport
at start of trip
By FRANCES D'EMILIO


ROME,March 23 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday used a cane - apparently for the first time in public - to help him walk up to a plane during an airport ceremony to see him off on a pilgrimage to Mexico and Cuba.

Benedict, who turns 85 next month, leaned on a black cane with his right hand as he walked steadily for about 100 meters (yards) to the foot of the Alitalia plane from the helicopter which flew him from the Vatican to Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport Friday morning.

Papal aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pope started using the cane about two months ago in private because it makes him feel more secure, and not for any medical problem. [And he is right and prudent to do so - because a fall at his age could have very serious consequences, principally any blood clot that may develop within a blood vessel and block circulation.]

Italian Premier Mario Monti and Church officials greeted him at the departure ceremony. Benedict then climbed the steps of the aircraft unaided, stopping at one point to wave, before entering the plane, which began a 13-1/2 hour-flight to Mexico.

Benedict returns to Rome on March 29.

A few months ago, Benedict started using a wheeled platform to save his energy when navigating the vast length of St. Peter's Basilica. On Wednesday, Benedict didn't hold his usual weekly public audience, Vatican officials said, so he could rest before the trip.

The Vatican should not even have to explain all these precautions one normally takes at age 85, even by the healthiest of persons! But I guess we must resign ourselves to a state-of-the-Pope's-health watch by MSM from here on. Nonetheless, I must thank Ms. D'Emilio, nonetheless, for the calm tone of this report. God keep close watch over his Vicar on earth!

I hate to have to post another one of these distasteful stories, but I would love to have all these MSM Cassandras proven wrong as they were in all the Pope's previous 'difficult' trips abroad....

Pope in Latin America
in shadow of John Paul


Mexico City, March 23 (Reuters) - A ghost will be following Pope Benedict at every step of his trip to Mexico and Cuba -- that of his predecessor John Paul.

John Paul, who died in 2005, was a huge draw in many places. But, apart from his native Poland, nowhere was he a more towering figure than in Latin America, visiting every one of the region's countries at least once.

He drew oceanic, throbbing crowds, sloshed through swampy slums in Ecuador, challenged Maoist guerrillas in the Peruvian highlands and defended miners' rights in Bolivia. [In short, a superman far above and beyond the humble and meager gifts of his successor to ever hope to even approach in stature! How much more insulting can they be to Benedict XVI. The distressing part is that MSM does not think there's anything wrong at all with their eternal comparison games, even if they have been proven wrong time and again!]

The more cerebral, sedate and shy Benedict, who enters the eighth year of his papacy in April, [AND MORE TO THE POINT, HE TURNS 85 IN THREE WEEKS!] is making only his second trip to Latin America and his first to the Spanish-speaking part. He visited Brazil in 2007.

John Paul, underscoring the importance of overwhelmingly Roman Catholic Latin America for the Church's future, chose Mexico as the first place to go just months after his election in 1978. [The choice was dictated primarily by the fact that the Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops were holding their third conference in Puebla, Mexico - in the same way Benedict XVI made his first papal trip to Latin American to attend CELAM's fifth General Conference in Aparecida, a site he himself personally chose shortly after he became Pope as a tribute to the Virgen de Aparecida]

He made one trip to Latin America nearly every year of his 27-year papacy, the last when he was 82 and in failing health. [John Paul II's record is stupendous enough as it is without having to exaggerate. In 27 years, he made 18 trips to Latin America (i.e., 9 years during which he did not travel to Latin America) - which included 5 trips to Mexico between 1979 and 2002, four to Brazil, three to the Dominican Republic; and two each to Argentina, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. He made one visit each to Belize, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay and Puerto Rico.]

Of the 22 trips Benedict has made since his election in 2005, 15 of them have been in Europe. [I drew up a comparison of the trips both Popes made in the first seven years of their Pontificate

Opinion polls show that a majority of people in Mexico and Cuba, reflecting the mood throughout Latin America, feel more affection and veneration for John Paul than for Benedict, who they believe understands them and their culture less.

The difference in pre-trip enthusiasm is so palpable that Bishop Jose Guadalupe Martin Rabago of Leon, the Mexican city where Benedict will be based, felt impelled to admonish his flock to stop making comparisons with John Paul.

"From the perspective of faith, all popes are equal and deserve our respect and our loyalty regardless of the charisma they have," he told CNNMexico.

"We need to say this to everyone so they don't expect to see in Pope Benedict a repeat, or, to put it bluntly, a clone of Pope John Paul".

While the Vatican stresses that the papacy cannot be seen as a popularity contest, from a statistical point of view John Paul clearly spread his attention more evenly around the globe, lavishing much of his time and attention on Latin America and the developing world in general. [He had 26 years to do all that, starting when he was 58! Benedict has only been Pope for less than seven years, and having started to travel as Pope after he turned 78, he has necessarily had to make different choices for his destinations.

Benedict, by contrast, is seen as Euro-centric. [MSM insist on portraying him as Eurocentric - he is the Universal Pastor of the Church and does not play favorites.]

"Benedict has always been concerned about the decline of Christianity in Europe," said Father Tom Reese, a Jesuit who is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Centre at Georgetown University in Washington.

"His fears are relativism, consumerism, and secularism, which are less of a problem in Latin America. He has been going to the places he understands, and Europe has lots and lot of problems. There are people who think Christianity is going to be a minority religion in Europe pretty soon," Reese said. [Oh the ubiquitous MSM-indispensable Fr. Reese! When will MSM learn to start using resource persons who do not have known biases against Benedict XVI to 'analyze' or 'interpret' what he does????]

This fear for Europe's future, some believe, may explain Benedict's choice of new cardinals last month. Europeans account for 12 of the 18 new "cardinal electors" under 80 years old and thus eligible to enter a conclave to elect the next Pope.



For some reason, AP's reporters in Mexico have decided to somewhat tone down the John Paul II hysteria of their earlier report this week, but the underlying theme is still 'lack of enthusiasm' [or, as they put it in their earlier article, Benedict's 'failure to stir passions'... Of course, one can see them setting up for what they clearly expect to be their next headline, "Pope fails to bond with Mexicans"....

Vatican: Pope will bond
with Mexico on first trip
by E. EDUARDO CASTILLO and MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN


LEON, Mexico, March 23 (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI headed off on his first trip to Mexico on Friday, using a cane as he boarded the plane for a trip that a representative says will help him build his own bonds with a nation that had a passionate adoration of his predecessor.

Pope John Paul II was greeted with ecstatic scenes on each of his five trips to Mexico, and love for the late pontiff was so strong that millions turned out to honor him even after death when a glass case containing his blood was brought to the country.

He was a vigorous 58-year-old when he first arrived. Benedict is now 85, his age emphasized by the black cane he carried as he set out on his own pilgrimage on Friday.

Papal aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Pope started using the cane about two months ago in private because it makes him feel more secure, and not for any medical problem.

So far Mexicans have shown restrained excitement about the Pope's arrival in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative state in sun-baked central Mexico. Dedicated campgrounds with a capacity for hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were virtually empty.

Carlos Aguiar, president of the Mexican Episcopal Conference, said he expected the faithful to begin arriving Friday.

The papal envoy, Christophe Pierre, said Benedict's visit would allow Mexicans to "discover the Pope" and "his ability to communicate, to speak deeply, but simply." [Why does no one mention the Mexicans who are always a raucous and enthusiastic presence at the General Audiences and Angelus events in the past seven years? With their flags and chants of 'SI, SI, SI - EL PAPA ESTA AQUI"]

There were some stirrings of enthusiasm [Gee, thanks!] about Benedict's first trip to Mexico as locals tidied up the city in preparation. About 60 people burned brush to create a neater vista along a section of the Pope's route from the airport to the Catholic school where he will spend his three nights in Mexico.

Maria Belen, a 36-year-old homemaker, swept inches of powdery dust and gravel off a sidewalk. "It's the first time a Pope has visited our community. We're excited," [Bless you!]

Farther down the highway, young men and women sold flags in the yellow-and-white Vatican colors, although few motorists stopped to buy them.

The biggest crowd appeared to be the thousands of youths attending a convention of evangelical Protestant missionaries a the highway exit leading to Bicentennial Park, where Benedict will deliver Mass on Sunday.

Light of the World Church spokesman Ezequiel Zamora said the convention had been planned long before the pope's visit was announced, and the evangelical church had no intention of trying to upstage the pontiff.

Guanajuato is 93.8 percent Catholic, the highest percentage in Mexico, but Protestant and evangelical denominations have made deeper inroads in other parts of the country, particularly along the northern and southern borders.

The last time a Pope visited Mexico, more than 1 million believers cheered and wept in the streets of Mexico City. Dancers dressed in Aztec costumes shook rattles and blew conch shells inside the cathedral where John Paul II canonized the first Indian saint in the Americas.

A decade later, Benedict comes to a church battling to overcome painful setbacks that include legalized abortion and gay marriage in the capital of the most populous Catholic country in the Spanish-speaking world.

It is also a nation grappling with a drug war that has spread fear into once-tranquil regions such as Guanajuato.

"There is a very immense peace that we need in Mexico because of the insecurity," said Marcela Arguello, a 26-year-old housewife who said she planned to stand along the route of the papal motorcade through the city of Leon, the state's largest city.

Mexico has been traumatized by the deaths of more than 47,000 people in drug-related violence in less than six years, and while Guanajuato is far from major drug trafficking routes, the shadow of the conflict looms even here.

"Yes, he'll talk about violence, we can't ignore that, but I can tell you as a representative of the Holy Father that there's much more than violence in Mexico," Pierre said.

"The Holy Father, in the name of God, comes to remind, to ask people not to lose their path in life," Pierre added.

As many as 300,000 people are expected to gather for the Sunday Mass.

Guanajuato's constitution declares that life begins at conception and bars abortion with extremely limited exceptions. Seven women were jailed there in 2010 for the deaths of their newborns and later released. The women said they had miscarriages, not abortions.

Benedict's Church is encouraging more such laws across Mexico, reacting partly to the legalization of gay marriage and abortion in Mexico City, the cultural and political center of the country.

At the same time, Church leaders are fighting to overcome a scandal over the [formerly - he's been dead for 5 years now!] most influential Mexican figure in the church.

The Rev. Marcial Maciel founded the Legionaries of Christ order, which John Paul II praised as a model of rectitude. But a series of investigations forced the order to acknowledge in 2010 that Maciel had sexually abused seminarians and fathered three children. Church documents released in a book this week reveal the Vatican had been told of Maciel's drug abuse and pederasty decades ago. [That is nothing new, however. Earlier charges presented to the Vatican and investigated then dismissed - as early as the 1950s - have been documented by at least one American journalist who wrote a book about the Maciel case a couple of years ago.]

President Felipe Calderon's government is backing legislation that would end legal restrictions on religious observances in public places, as well as a ban on religious participation in politics.

If approved, it could lay the groundwork for laws allowing Church ownership of media and openly religious education on school property, said political analyst John Ackerman at the legal research institute at Mexico's National Autonomous University.

"This opens the door for the Church to start using public spaces," Ackerman said. "It has the full intention to be interpreted as occupying public spaces with religious ceremonies, that's what's on the table."

The hacker group Anonymous in Mexico crashed at least two of the websites for Benedict's visit to Mexico on Thursday, claiming his trip is meant to support Calderon's conservative National Action Party, which is especially strong in Guanajuato, at the start of a presidential election campaign.

Anonymous Mexico also said in a video posted on social media sites that the Pope's visit will cost Mexicans money that could be better spent on the poor. [And no one protested the 'cost' of John Paul II's five visits to Mexico? How about AP mentioning that?]

The following article from the Wall Street Journal is extremely offensive because it is terribly one-sided, regards Benedict XVI is, at the very least, ignorant of facts and politically naive, and assumes the liberal Western prejudice that in a totalitarian country, all dissidents are lily-white and the regime can only be unconditionally evil. It is as deliberately contra-factual as Laurie Goodstein's New York Times story on the Murphy case.

Worse, the reporter completely ignores what the Catholic Church has done in recent years to secure the release of political prisoners - about 2,500 who are not accused of other crimes besides political dissidence. For this article now to make it appear that Cuba's political prisoners were jailed mainly because of their faith is somehow ludicrous. Most of Cuba's political prisoners were jailed because of open opposition to the regime or for pretexts like insanity or homosexuality. I do not recall that any of the prominent prisoners championed by Amnesty International and other human rights groups all these years was ever imprisoned for being Catholic or insisting on practising his faith. [I checked the Wikipedia entry on Cuban political prisoners just now to make sure of this assertion.] I do not recall reading that any Cuban Catholics who started going to Mass after the government relaxed its control of the Church was ever arrested for going to church.

Do this reporter and the protestors for whom her heart bleeds really think they have to remind the Vicar of Christ about the Christian works of mercy - that he would not himself speak to the Cuban leaders in behalf of the oppressed without their pressure and reminders?

I wonder if the Wall Street Journal wrote the same things before John Paul II's visit in 1998. He didn't meet with any dissidents then. It is sheer hypocrisy for the Cuban dissident supporters and their kneejerk advocates in the media to now lay all the burden on Benedict XVI for the sins of the Castro regime, simply because he is availing of their official invitation to visit the Catholics of Cuba and the Virgin of Cobre.

I never thought I would find the MSM sniping against Benedict XVI more vicious and unfair for the Mexico and Cuba trips than it ever was before his trips to France, Australia and the United Kingdom... Just consider the unhinged remote-from-reality headline for this item...

The Pope's Cuba gamble
Ignoring those who have suffered for their faith
may win some favor for the Church,
but it risks alienating the island's faithful.
By MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY



Pope Benedict XVI is scheduled to make the second papal visit to Cuba in 14 years, and joyful anticipation ought to be buoying the island's Christians. But for those brave soldiers of Christ who have stood up against political repression, the prevailing mood is deep frustration. [Did this reporter ever research how many of Cuba's political prisoners profess any religion at all? Or how many, if any, were jailed because of their religion?]

For 53 years, Cuba's totalitarian regime has made life hell for the population. But Castro also has spared no expense in running a clever international propaganda campaign. Regime survival has depended on East German-style repression covered over by a smiley face for international consumption. It has worked [Really???? is she saying the whole world has been taken in by Cuban propaganda? She obviously is not - how can she presume everyone else is naive, but not she?, and Cuban human-rights defenders have suffered their indignities with little moral support from the outside world. [Again, really? Don;t they have the unconditional support of all the bleeding heart liberals in the United States and around the world? The problem, of course, is that all these supporters have been unable to translate their bleeding concern into a single concrete improvement in the plight of the political prisoners! Yet, they would disparage or ignore the not-insignificant number of political prisoners whose release the Church ibn Cuba has managed to negotiate with the regime!][/DIM]

Cuban dissidents had hoped the Pope's visit would help them expose the twisted jailors who run the island prison. [What? The Cuban colony in Florida - not to mention all the human rights militants of the world - have not managed to make that common knowledge in the past 50 years? Where has this O'Grady woman lived all this time?]

So what are we to make of the fact that the pontiff will not be meeting with any of the island's Christian human-rights advocates? These communicants have endured unspeakable acts of state terror to be witnesses to the faith. They have earned papal recognition. Disappointment doesn't begin to describe their dashed hopes.

[Boo-hoo! I can't contain my weeping. Since when have Cuba's political prisoners been jailed because of their faith? There should be no political prisoners anywhere but Cuba has been and remains a police state. The Pope's visit - just as John Paul II's visit in 1998 - is not about supporting the regime in any way but to accommodate to a modus vivendi where the Church can at least fulfill its basic functions in an officially atheist nation.

Nor is it about securing the release of all political prisoners -since no one is in a position to do that with any totalitarian regime. Benedict XVI's visit, as was John Paul II's visit, is to minister to all the country's Catholics, not just to those in jail. In his own native Poland, John Paul II made three pastoral visits between 1979 and 1987, but much as he galvanized his people and encouraged the Solidarity movement, it was not until the start of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1988 and those of its satellites that Poland too managed to cast off the Communist regime in June 1989.

Popes are not political miracle workers, nor are they meant to be. Certainly, no Pope would ever think that his mere visit would solve all the problems of the host country by some miracle. That's not what the Christian faith is about. Jesus himself did not wipe out the Jewish people's problems with the Romans in his time.]

It's not that they haven't asked. They've begged. From Havana, former Cuban political prisoner Angel Moya put the dissident concerns this way: "The Cuban regime will try to manipulate the pontiff's presence in Cuba," he told the website "Pieces of the Island." [Of course, they will. But who in the West will not recognize the manipulation fort what it is? The regime will certainly not convince Cubans living on Cuba that the Pope by his visit is endorsing the regime!]]

"We are calling on the support of the international community and of our exiled brothers, so we, the outcast, the persecuted, are able to meet with Pope Benedict XVI and tell him what is really happening here on the island . . ."

Berta Soler — Mr. Moya's wife and the spokeswoman for the Ladies in White, who since 2003 have withstood beatings, arrests and harassment by the regime to attend Mass as a group and protest political imprisonments — has gone even further. She delivered, through the papal nuncio in Havana, a formal request from the Ladies to see the Pope, "even for one minute."

Numerous other Christians on the island have made similar requests. From the U.S., Yale Prof. Carlos Eire wrote a powerful plea on behalf of the Ladies for National Review Online on March 5: "Like the Canaanite woman who cried out to Jesus, 'Lord, help me!' or the woman who touched the hem of Jesus's robe in hope of a cure, they are reaching out, full of faith, begging against all odds. In an island where everyone has been turned into a beggar, they beg for the rarest and most precious gift of all: your presence."

[This mawkish soap-opera approach is absurd. I can sympathize with their despair, but to address such words to the Pope - as if he were completely naive or ignorant of the situation, or worse, uncaring - is insulting.]

Cuban Cardinal Jaime Ortega's office told the Ladies in White that the Pope's schedule is too tight

Some dissidents wonder whose side the cardinal is on. In recent years he was instrumental in helping the regime deport scores of political prisoners who had become a liability for the regime's image. [That is gross misrepresentation of what happened with the first group of prisoners released two years ago through Cardinal Ortega's mediation.. One of the conditions for their release was that they would not remain in Cuba, and they agreed, most of them going to Spain [not the USA, strangely enough!]

Though he recently offered a Mass for ailing Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez, Ms. Soler's request for a Mass for deceased dissidents has gone unanswered. [I'd check out the truth of these allegations. They seem designed to make out Cardinal Ortega as an unregenerate villain and sellout to the Castro regime. ]

The cardinal has said that the purpose of the trip is "a new evangelization" and of course spreading the gospel is the Lord's work. But it is hard to see how converts will be won if the Pope snubs the marginalized and schmoozes with the powerful. [EXCUSE ME! What a cheap shot to make against the Vicar of Christ! First, this writer simply assumes that Benedict XVI will absolutely not do anything while he is in Cuba to reach out to these dissident supporters. Second, he is not 'schmnozing with the powerful' - he must be respectful to his hosts without whose invitation he would be unable to even visit Cuba!]

On Thursday, 13 Christians [I am not sure they were all necessasrily Christians - the AP report consistently referred to them only as 'dissidents'; without identifying their faith] holed up inside Our Lady of Charity of Cobre church in Havana to demand that the Pope hear their grievances against the regime were forcibly removed by police, reportedly at the request of Cardinal Ortega. {Yes, he requested police assistance, but all the eyewitnesses reported the police took away the occupiers peacefully, and that Cardinal Ortega requested that the occupiers not be charged, the AP reported.] Then on Friday the Vatican announced that if Fidel Castro wants to meet, "the Pope will be available." [The Vatican has made that understood for weeks, long before the Ladies in White went public last week with their request to see the Pope.]

In case all this is not enough to destroy Cuban confidence in the Pope as an ally [Sitting comfortably in New York, how can O'Grady presume to speak for the Cuban people???], the government newspaper Granma said this in an editorial last week: "We are sure that His Holiness will affectionately treasure the memory of this Caribbean Island, which values his visit as a manifestation of trust and a renewed expression of the excellent and uninterrupted relations between the Holy See and Cuba." [So is the Pope now responsible for whatever the Cuban Communist organ decides to write?]

All Cubans know that the "revolution" persecuted the faithful. They were sent before firing squads or to the dungeons, Catholic schools and churches were shuttered, and the island was declared an atheist paradise.

But now Fidel is reminding Cubans that relations were never broken with Rome and he is claiming that all the while he has gotten on fabulously with the Pope [So? He is a demagogue and says anythign he pleases. That doesn't make his statements true! Besides, O'Grady writes as if Cuba were 100% Catholic, and apparently has not taken account of the fact that after 50 years of atheism, the surviving population that still professes Catholicism is rather sparse]1 Will Pope Benedict, who is by no means a Castro sympathizer, allow the regime to get away with this?

Unless he has something up his sleeve, the visit may turn out to be a gross miscalculation. Cubans know that they are hostages in their own country. If the Pope is perceived as going along with this big lie, it will only heighten the sense of betrayal toward Cardinal Ortega and it will do nothing to strengthen the Church in Cuba. [I give up! This woman is incorrigibly biased and completely determined to impose her armchair perception of the Cuban situation ather than present the facts objectively, nor even to grant that Benedict XVI is not exactly a moron!]

P.S. Cardinal Ortega has been leading daily Via Crucis processions in Havana, and no arrests have been reported. And yet, a total of about 70 members of the Ladies in White were arrested last weekend in what seemed to be nuisance arrests, in the capricious manner of totalitarian regimes, because they were all subsequently released after some hours in detention. The Cuban government accuses them of being paid agents of the US government, which is absurd. But the fact remains that since they were formed nine years ago, they have mostly been able to attend Mass together every week before staging a protest march calling for the release of all political prisoners.

One might say that the Cuban government might never have tolerated their activism without also throwing them all into jail for good, if John Paul II had not visited Cuba in 1998. So who knows what new concessions might be forthcoming after Benedict XVI's visit?

Too bad for the Cubans that they have not managed to come up with a freedom fighter who could mobilize enough Cubans around him to throw off the Castro regime, without their having to wait for it to collapse of its own internal weaknesses! Does anyone even know if the eventual death of the Castro brothers would automatically mean a return to freedom? All Cuba needs our prayers, not just the political prisoners.]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/03/2012 02:56]

Papal inflight Q&A:
On sharing Mexico's griefs and difficulties, and
on Marxist ideology no longer responding to reality

March 23, 2012




En route to Mexico, Pope Benedict XVI spoke with journalists travelling with him aboard the Papal plane.

Responding to a question about how he felt at the outset of the six-day visit to Latin America, especially in view of the first leg of the visit, to Mexico, the Holy Father said, “It is for me a great joy, one that responds to a desire I have had for a long time.”

To describe his sentiments, the Holy Father said, “The words of the II Vatican Council come to mind: gaudium et spes, luctus et angor – joy and hope, but also grief and anguish. I share the joys and the hopes, and I also share the griefs and the difficulties of the great nation [of Mexico.”

The Holy Father went on to say, “I am going to encourage and to learn, to comfort in Faith, Hope and Charity, to console with commitment to the good and to the struggle against evil.”

Asked what role the Church has in combating the scourge of drug trafficking and drug-related violence in Mexico, Pope Benedict said, “We know well the beauties of Mexico, but also this enormous problem of narcotics trafficking and violence. It is certainly a great responsibility for the Catholic Church, in a country in which 80 percent of the people are Catholic. We must work against this evil, which is destructive of mankind and [especially] of our youth.”

The Pope went on to say, “The first task is to proclaim God: God the judge, God who loves u,s but loves us [in order to pull us] toward the good, toward truth and away from evil. The Church's great responsibility, therefore, is to educate consciences, to educate in the moral responsibility and to unmask evil, to unmask this idolatry of money that enslaves men; to expose these false promises, lies, deceits – we must see that humanity needs the Infinite.”

Responding to a question about the Cuban leg of his trip, the Pope said, “With this visit a way of cooperation and dialogue has been inaugurated – a long road that requires patience, but that leads forward.”

The Pope added, “It is evident today that Marxist ideology as it had been conceived no longer responds to reality.” [Listen to that, Ms. O'Grady and all those who constantly choose to dismiss this Pope as a negligible lightweight: Do not doubt he will speak truth to power when he has to!] He said, “New models must be found, though with patience.”

Addressing the broader context of Latin America, which is celebrating two centuries of independence, the Pope said, “Naturally, the Church must always ask herself whether enough is being done for social justice on this great continent... (But) the Church is not a political power, not a party, but a moral reality, a moral power.”


Secularism even in Mexico's most Catholic state: Airport billboard greets the Pope as 'Chief of State of the Vatican' - the word Pope does not appear. The rest of the message says 'Guanajuato receives you with open arms'.


Here is a translation of the Q&A from the rough transcript published by the Italian service of Vatican Radio, in which there were quite a few ellipses (missing phrases) but the essential meaning is clear. I will revise ti as soon as the official transcript is available.

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Fr. Federico Lombardi says some introductory words:
Holiness, at the start of this beautiful and important trip, as you see, our travelling party is numerous - There are more than 70 journalists who will be following it with attention. And the most important group, besides the Italians, are of course, the Mexicans. There are at least 14, representing Mexican television who will be covering the whole trip. There are also newsmen from the United States, from France and other countries. So, we represent a bit of the whole world.

As in the past, we have gathered in recent days various questions from the newsmen and have chosen five which express the general expectation. But this time, since we have more time, I will not propose the questions, but the newsmen themselves will. We will start with a question from Madame Collins for Univision. She is Mexican and will ask the question in Spanish which I will then repeat in Italian.

Holy Father, Mexico and Cuba are places where the trips of your predecessor made history. In what spirit and with what hopes do you now place yourself in his footsteps?
Dear friends, first of all, I wish to say Welcome and thank you for accompanying us on this trip which we hope will be blessed by the Lord.

In this trip, I feel completely in continuity with Pope John Paul II. I remember his first trip to Mexico very well which was truly historic. having taken place in a confused juridical situation. [There were no diplomatic relations between the Vatican and Mexico, and Mexico's anti-Catholic laws at the time even prohibited priests from wearing their cassocks in public. But guess who was instrumental in arranging for the Pope to get a personal invitation to visit from President Portillo of Mexico, not as a chief of state, but as a regular visitor who had to get a visa! Father Maciel - See Page 282 of George Weigel's 'Witness to Hope']

But doors were opened, and a new phase of collaboration started among Church, society and State. And I also remember his historic voyage to Cuba. Therefore, I will seek to follow in his footsteps and continue what he began.

For me, (this trip) answers a desire to visit Mexico. As a cardinal, I had been to Mexico and have excellent memories [of the experience]. And now as Pope, every Wednesday, I hear the applause and the joy of Mexicans who are present. It is a great joy for me to fulfill a desire I have had for some time.

To express the feelings that I have on this occasion, words from the Second Vatican Council come to mind - "gaudium et spes, luctus et angor" - joy and hope, but also, grief and anguish.

I share the joys and the hopes, but also the grief and the difficulties of this great nation. I go there to encourage and to learn, to comfort in faith, in hope and in charity, to comfort with the commitment for good and the commitment to fight evil. Let us hope that the Lord helps us.

FR. LOMBARDI: Now let us hear from the representative of TV Azteca, one of the major Mexican networks which will be covering us these days.

Holiness, Mexico is a country with great resources and marvelous possibilities, but at this time, we also know that it is a land of violence because of the problem of drug trafficking. As many as 50,000 have been killed in the past five years. How does the Catholic Church face this situation? What will you say to the authorities and to the drug lords who sometimes profess to be Catholics and who are even benefactors of the Church?
We all know the beauties of Mexico, but also this major problem of drug trafficking and the associated violence. it is certainly a great responsibility for the Catholic Church in a country that is 80% Catholic. We must do everything possible to combat an evil which destroys our humanity, and our young people.

I would say that our first act must be to announce God:: God who judges us, who loves us in order to draw us towards good and the truth against evil. And so, it is the Church's great responsibility to educate consciences, educate them to moral responsibility, and to unmask evil, unmask that idolatry of money which enslaves men - unmask the false promises, the lies, the deceptions... We must see that man needs the Infinite.

If there is no God, then the infinite creates its own paradises, an appearance of infinities which is only a lie. So, it is very important that God is present and accessible - that is a great responsibility. To have God our judge who leads us, draws us towards the truth and to faith. The Church unmasks evil by rendering present the goodness of God, his truth, the true infinite. It is the great duty of the Church...But we must all do it together, more and more...

FR. LOMBARDI: Holiness, the third question is from Valentina Alazraki for Televisa - she is, of course, one of the veterans on our papal trips and you know her well. She is very happy that you are finally visiting her country...

Holiness, we welcome you to Mexico - we are all very happy that you are coming to Mexico. My question is this: You said that from Mexico, you wish to address yourself to all of Latin America on the bicentennial of independence for most of her nations. But Latin America, despite its development, continues to be a region of strong social contrasts, where the very rich live alongside the very poor. Sometimes it seems that the Catholic Church is not sufficiently committed in this field. Can we continue to speak of liberation theology in the positive sense after some of its excesses - Marxism and violence - are corrected?



Of course, the Church must always ask herself whether she is doing enough for social justice on this great continent. It is a question of conscience that we must always ask ourselves - what should the Church do, what can she not do, what should she not do?

The Church is not a political power, it is not a party - it is a moral entity, a moral power. In fact, politics should fundamentally be a moral reality. The Church must act along that fundamental track. So I will repeat what I said earlier: the first thought of the Church is to educate consciences and thus create the necessary responsibility. It must educate consciences in individual ethics as well as public ethics.

In this perhaps, there may well be a lack. One sees in Latin America and elsewhere, among not a few Catholics, a certain schizophrenia between individual and public morality... In the private sphere, they are believers, but in their public life, they follow other paths that do not correspond to the great evangelical values that are necessary for the foundation of a just society.

So the Church must educate to overcome this schizophrenia, educate not only towards an individual morality but towards a public morality, and we must seek to do this with the Social Doctrine of the Church. This public morality must be reasonable, shared and able to be shared even by non-believers, a morality of reason.

Of course, we, in the light of faith, can see many things better with reason. But faith also serves to liberate us from false interests. With the social doctrine, we can create substantial models that will help overcome these social divisions. It is for this that we must work hard. The important thing is a common rationality towards which the Church offers a fundamental contribution, and which must always help in educating consciences for individual responsibility as well as for public life.

The next question comes from Paloma Gomez Borrero, a veteran Spanish tele-journalist (who, I believe, has the distinction of having joined each of John Paul II's trips abroad]...

Holiness, let us turn to Cuba. Everyone remembers John Paul II's famous words: "Let Cuba open up to the world, and let the world open up to Cuba". Fourteen years have passed, but it seems that these words still apply. As you know, in the days leading to your visit, many voices from the [Cuban] opposition and human rights advocates have been raised. Do you intend to reiterate John Paul II's message, thinking of both the internal situation in Cuba as well as its international relations?
As I have said, I feel myself to be in absolute continuity with the words of the Holy Father John Paul II that continue to be very relevant. This visit opens a new path of collaboration and constructive dialog - a path which will be long and require much patience, but which will lead forward.

Today, it is evident that Marxist ideology as it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality. Therefore it can no longer respond to [the demands of] building a new society - these must be sought in other models, with patience and constructively. In this process, which requires not just patience but decisiveness, we wish to help, in a spirit of dialog, to help avoid traumas and to help build a fraternal and just society for all the people. We wish to collaborate in this sense.

Obviously, the Church is always on the side of freedom - freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, so that even the simple faithful will contribute in the road ahead.

From the journalist of Agence France Press:
Holiness, after the Conference in Aparecida, there was talk of a 'continental mission' for the Church in Latin America. In a few months, he Bishops' Synod will meet on the New Evangelization and the Year of Faith will start. Latin America faces the challenges of secularization as well as (the new) sects. Cuba is experiencing the results of a long atheist period while Afro-Cuban religiosity is widespread. Do you think this trip will be an encouragement for the new evangelization, and what are the points that you consider most important int his perspective?
The path of the New Evangelization started with the [Second Vatican] Council -this was a fundamental intention of Pope John XXIII, which was underscored by John Paul II. The need for it in a world that is undergoing great changes has become even more evident.

The Gospel must be expressed in new ways... new words that can cut through the difficulty of orienting oneself today. The common condition in the world today is secularization - the absence of God, the difficulty of finding him, and of putting him in the center, to see him as a reality who affects my life.

On the other hand, there are also specific dangers. You referred to that in Cuba with Afro-Cuban syncretism and others that are culturally-based. We must start with what we have in common: In our modern rationality, we can rediscover God, as a fundamental orientation for our life, the foundation of those values which can truly build a society, and the way we can best consider the specificities of diverse situations.

So first, I think it is important to announce God who responds to our reason - we see the rationality of the cosmos, we see that there must be something behind it all, and we also see how near God is, the synthesis of greatness and majesty who is close to us and orients us to the values of truth. He is the nucleus of evangelization, the fundamental nucleus we need in order to live with all the problems of our time.

On the other hand, we must consider concrete realities. In Latin America, generally, I would say that it is very important that Christianity was never so much a matter of reason but of the heart. The Virgin of Guadalupe is known and loved by everyone because they understand that she is the Mother of all. She has been present almost from the very beginning in this new America shortly after the arrival of the Spaniards. They know intuitively that she exists to love us and to help us.

But this, let us say, intuition of the heart, must be linked to the rationality of faith and to the profundity of faith that goes beyond reason. We must seek not to lose this intuition of the heart but to link heart and reason, so that man may be whole, and as a whole man, promote the new evangelization.

---

I really have a problem with the too-broad context of the questions presented to the Pope, particularly those that confront him almost challengingly to say, in effect: "This is what John Paul II said and did. What can you say and do to top that?"... And if these were the questions 'selected', how bad could the other questions have been????

And I'd like to dance a jig because Reuters did appreciate the surprise wallop Benedict packed in his little Q&A on the plane. Wasn't it just a few hours ago Reuters only had disparaging words for this Pope? I cna only say MSM must be insane in a different way from what Einstein said - not expecting different results but again and again, expecting their own worst prognostications, even if, in the case of Benedict XVI, they keep being proven wrong!


BXVI says Marxism a failure;
Cuba's foreign minister
'respectful' of Pope's words




HAVANA, March 24 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict said yesterday that communism had failed in Cuba and offered the Church's help in creating a new economic model, drawing a reserved response from the Cuban government ahead of his visit to the island next week.

Speaking on the plane taking him from Rome for a six-day trip to Mexico and Cuba, the Roman Catholic leader said: "Today it is evident that Marxist ideology in the way it was conceived no longer corresponds to reality."

Responding to a question about his visit to Cuba, 145 km off the coast of the United States and a Communist bastion for more than 50 years, Pope Benedict added: "In this way we can no longer respond and build a society. New models must be found with patience and in a constructive way."

The 84-year-old pontiff's comments reflected the Church's history of anti-communism and were more pointed and critical than anything his predecessor John Paul II said on his groundbreaking visit to Cuba 14 years ago. [BINGO! And those Vaticanistas on the plane seeking to confine him to the rut John Paul II had already travelled...]

They were also surprising because, after decades of poor relations following Cuba's 1959 revolution, the Church and government have moved closer in recent years, so it was widely thought the Pope would avoid problems by treading lightly on controversial topics. [But the Vicar of Christ must speak truth even to power! Imagine what he could tell Raul and Fidel when he meets them in private. Of course, John Paul II spoke his mind as well to Pinochet in Chile and Ortega in Nicaragua.]

If Cuban leaders were riled by his comments, Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez gave no hint of this news conference at the opening in Havana of the press centre for the visit.



"We will listen with all respect to his Holiness," he said when asked about the Pope's words.

"We respect all opinions. We consider useful the exchange of ideas," he added, noting however that "our people have deep convictions developed over our country's long history."

Mr Elizardo Sanchez, head of the independent Cuban Commission on Human Rights, praised the Pope for showing "the good will of the Catholic Church and especially Pope Benedict XVI about the situation in Cuba," but he doubted much would change. ['Much' has already changed, because now Mr. Sanchez and hundreds of other dissidents are essentially free to speak out their minds and even lobby against the Cuban regime and propagandize their cause with foreign media. Of course, it is all arbitrary as things are in a totalitarian regime, but it all seems just a matter of time, perhaps sooner than later. The Vatican openly refers to the current phase in Cuban history as the 'transition to democracy'.]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/03/2012 13:08]

The Pope arrives in Leon

March 23, 2012



Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Mexico on Friday afternoon, at the start of his six-day trip to Latin America that will also take him to the island nation of Cuba.

In remarks during the official welcome ceremony at Leon/Guajuanato international airport, the Holy Father said he has come to confirm the people of Mexico, Cuba and all Latin America in their faith, at a time when the peoples of the region are celebrating the bicentenary of their independence.

"I come," said Pope Benedict, "as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love. I wish to confirm those who believe in Christ in their faith, by strengthening and encouraging them to revitalize their faith by listening to the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and living coherently."

Here is the official translation of the Holy Father's arrival speech:

---

Mister President,
Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
Beloved People of Guanajuato and of Mexico,

I am very happy to be here, and I give thanks to God for allowing me to realize the desire, kept in my heart for a long time, to confirm in the faith the People of God of this great nation in their own land.

The affection of the Mexican people for the Successor of Peter, whom they always remember in their prayers, is well known. I say this here, considered to be the geographical centre of your land, which my venerable predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, wanted to visit during his first Apostolic Journey.

Although he was not able to come, on that occasion he left a message of encouragement while flying over its airspace. I am happy to repeat his words here on land among you: “I am grateful”, he said in the message, “to the faithful of El Bajío and Guanajuato for your affection towards the Pope and your faithfulness to the Lord. May God be with you always” (cf. Telegram, 30 January 1979).

With this in mind, I offer my thanks to you, Mister President, for your warm welcome and I respectfully greet your wife and the rest of the civil authorities who have honoured me by their presence.

I offer a special greeting to the Most Reverend José Guadalupe Martín Rábago, Archbishop of León, and to the Most Reverend Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla and President of the Mexican Episcopal Conference and the Latin America Episcopal Council.

With this brief visit, I wish to greet all Mexicans and to include all the nations and peoples of Latin America, represented here by many Bishops.

Our meeting in this place, where the majestic monument to Christ the King on Mount Cubilete, gives testimony to the deep roots of the Catholic faith among the Mexican people, who receive his constant blessings in all their vicissitudes.

Mexico, and the majority of Latin American nations, have been commemorating in recent years the bicentennial of their independence. There have been many religious celebrations in thanksgiving to God for this important and significant moment.

During these celebrations, as in the Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Most Holy Mary was invoked fervently, she who gently showed how the Lord loves all people and gave himself for them without distinction.

Our Heavenly Mother has kept vigil over the faith of her children in the formation of these nations and she continues to do so today as new challenges present themselves.

I come as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love. I wish to confirm those who believe in Christ in their faith, by strengthening and encouraging them to revitalize their faith by listening to the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and living coherently.

In this way, they will be able to share their faith with others as missionaries to their brothers and sisters and to act as a leaven in society, contributing to a respectful and peaceful coexistence based on the incomparable dignity of every human being, created by God, which no one has the right to forget or disregard. This dignity is expressed especially in the fundamental right to freedom of religion, in its full meaning and integrity.

As a pilgrim of hope, I speak to them in the words of Saint Paul: “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Th. 4:13).

Confidence in God offers the certainty of meeting him, of receiving his grace; the believer’s hope is based on this. And, aware of this, we strive to transform the present structures and events which are less than satisfactory and seem immovable or insurmountable, while also helping those who do not see meaning or a future in life.

yes, hope changes the practical existence of each man and woman in a real way (cf. Spe Salvi, 2). Hope points to “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), that is already making visible some of its reflections.

Moreover, when it takes root in a people, when it is shared, it shines as light that dispels the darkness which blinds and takes hold of us. This country and the entire continent are called to live their hope in God as a profound conviction, transforming it into an attitude of the heart and a practical commitment to walk together in the building of a better world.

As I said in Rome, “continue progressing untiringly in the building of a society founded upon the development of the good, the triumph of love and the spread of justice” (Homily, 12 December 2011).

Together with faith and hope, the believer in Christ – indeed the whole Church – lives and practises charity as an essential element of mission. In its primary meaning, charity “is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations” (Deus Caritas Est, 31), as we help those who suffer from hunger, lack shelter, or are in need in some way in their life.

Nobody is excluded on account of their origin or belief from this mission of the Church, which does not compete with other private or public initiatives. In fact, the Church willingly works with those who pursue the same ends. Nor does she have any aim other than doing good in an unselfish and respectful way to those in need, who often lack signs of authentic love.

Mister President, my dear friends: in these days I will pray to the Lord and to Our Lady of Guadalupe for all of you so that you may be true to the faith which you have received and to its best traditions. I will pray especially for those in need, particularly for those who suffer because of old and new rivalries, resentments and all forms of violence.

I know that I am in a country which is proud of its hospitality and wishes no one to feel unwelcome. I already knew this, and now I can see it and feel it in my heart. I sincerely hope that many Mexicans who live far from their homeland will feel the same way and that nothing will cause them to forget it or to lose the wish to see it growth in harmony and in authentic integral development. Thank you!

---

Pope arrives in Mexico,
denounces violence


GUANAJUATO, Mexico, March 23 (AP) - Pope Benedict XVI has begun a pilgrimage to the New World by calling on Mexicans to conquer an "idolatry of money" that feeds drug violence and urging Cuba to leave behind a Marxism that "no longer responds to reality".

The Pope's plane set down on Friday afternoon in Guanajuato, a deeply conservative state in sun-baked central Mexico, and his route into the city of Leon was thronged with thousands of people eager to get a glimpse of the Pontiff.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and first lady Margarita Zavala greeted the Pope and escorted him along a red carpet amid clanging church bells and cheers from a crowd waving Vatican flags. A swelling throng gathered to cheer him along his path from the airport on his first visit to Spanish-speaking Latin America.

"Benedict, brother, you are now Mexican," people shouted. ['BENEDICTO, HERMANO - YA TU ERES MEXICANO']

Volunteers led the crowds in chants of "Benedicto! Benedicto!" as passing drivers pounded their horns in encouragement. Vendors sold Benedict buttons, T-shirts, Vatican flags and key chains with the image of the Pope and the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The pontiff, who turns 85 next month, descended the stairs without the cane he had used when he walked to the plane in Rome, the first time he had walked with it in public.

Upon his arrival, Benedict referred again to the everyday violence that ordinary Mexicans confront, saying he was praying for all in need "particularly those who suffer because of old and new rivalries, resentments and all forms of violence".

He said he was coming to Mexico as a pilgrim of hope, to encourage Mexicans to "transform the present structures and events which are less than satisfactory and seem immovable or insurmountable while also helping those who do not see meaning or a future in life".

After the Alitalia plane carrying the Pope landed, the streets of Leon took on a carnival atmosphere. Police blocked traffic on the central boulevard the Pope would travel, and people lined up three and four deep on both sides of the avenue. Everyone stopped to watch the arrival on restaurant and shop televisions.

"Mexico is standing because we're a country that perseveres with hope and solidarity, we're a people with values and principals that believe in family, liberty, justice and democracy," Calderon said in a speech on the tarmac to cheers of "Viva!" from the crowd. "Your visit fills us with joy in moments of great tribulation."

Benedict acknowledged the historic nature of John Paul's first trip to Mexico - the first by any Pope. The 1979 visit, just months after being elected Pope and his first foreign trip, came at a time when Mexico's anti-religion laws were so restrictive that John Paul II was technically breaking the law by wearing clerical garb in public.

The Pope said violence was destroying Mexico's youth.

The "great responsibility of the church is to educate the conscience, teach moral responsibility and strip off the mask (from) the idolatry of money that enslaves mankind, and unmask the false promise, this lie that is behind" the drug culture, he said.

The week-long trip to Mexico and Cuba, Benedict's first to both countries, will be a test of stamina for the Pope, who is due to arrive in Cuba on Monday.

Many businesses and schools closed for the day in Leon, and thousands of people were travelling in on buses from across the country.

DEO GRATIAS! Reading the preliminary stories by AP and Reuters, one would have thought only the proverbial four cats' would show up for this Pope. God provides! Even for simple humble workers in his vineyard.... And I am infinitely reassured that the Mexican pilgrims with an always-enthusiastic presence at the Vatican audiences are more typical of Mexican Catholics than all those diehard John Paul II fans who reject Benedict XVI offhand but who seem to be the only Mexicans ever quoted in the MSM stories leading up to Benedict XVI's visit.




The AP did not provide any numbers - for Benedict XVI, they usually don't, especially if the crowds are much larger than they had predicted or even imagined... so here's the story....



At least 600,000 greet
the Pope in Leon
Translated from

March 24, 2012

LEON, Mexico - The welcome by the people of Leon for Benedict XVI at his arrival in Mexico yesterday constituted a truly unexpected start for his current visit to Latin America.

Record crowds - such as those that turn up only for truly great occasions - welcomed the Pope, starting from the festive and most lively welcome ceremony at the airport of Leon-Guanajuato and along the 34 kms of highway traversed by the Popemobile on the way to the city of Leon.

Semi-official numbers cited by Fr. Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, at a briefing for journalists estimated the crowds at 600,000-700,000.

The panorama of people who did not want to miss the occasion of seeing the first Pope to visit this part of Mexico was unusually warm and celebratory, acclaiming the Pope with happy cheering and chanting, waving yellow-and-white Vatican flaglets as well as balloons in the colors of the Vatican. [those who are fmailiar with the nethusiastic participation of Mexican pilgrims at the General Audiences and Angelus gatherings at the Vatican can well imagine that ebthusiasm multiplied a hundred-thousandfold.

At the airport, there was the inevitable Mexican mariachi music, and during the entire welcome ceremony, the crowds never tired chanting the Pope's name or the slogan, 'Bendito, hermano, ya eres Mexicano" (Benedict, brother, you are now Mexican').

The youth presence was overwhelming. And there was a whole variety of signs along the route with the photo of the Pope, and the slogan 'Mexico siempre fiel' (Ever faithful Mexico).

As the papal motorcade entered the city of Leon, people clambered on rooftops, perched on billboards and climbed trees the better to see the Popemobile.

"The Pope was very pleased and impressed with the welcome," Fr. Lombardi said. He added that the Pope was 'in good health, in fantastic condition".

Papa Ratzinger's self-assuredness was evident even in the fluidity with which he answered the questions during the inflight Q&A towards the start of the 14-hour flight from Rome to Leon, during which he touched the major points of this papal visit to Mexico and Cuba.

He spoke of continuity with his predecessor in seeking greater openness in Cuba and towards Cuba, with his best line of the day ("Marxist ideology no longer reflects reality"), promising the Church's help in 'avoiding traumas' during Cuba's eventual transition to democracy; and in Mexico, the necessary commitment of the Church to help 'unmask the evil' of drugs and the widespread violence resulting from drug trafficking' even speaking of the 'schizophrenia' among those who profess to be Catholics but make public choices which violate the evangelical values; and the defense of human rights, starting with freedom of conscience and freedom of religion.

This last was a theme that he also sounded at his airport arrival speech, in connection with a very controversial proposed law in Mexico.

At the airport, the Pope had his first chance to chat with Mexican President Felipe Calderon. "A very cordial chat", according to Fr. Lombardi, :in which they spoke about John Paul II's five visits to Mexico, the Pope's gratitude for the welcome from the people of Leon, and some of the principal social problems of Mexico".

The Pope will pay a formal courtesy call on President Calderon at 6 p.m. Saturday evening at the federal government's Casa del Conde Rul in Guanajuato city, which will be followed by a greeting from Mexican children at the adjoining Plaza de la Paz. These are the only activities on the Pope's second day in Mexico.

He is staying at the nuns' convent iN the Colegio de Miraflores in Leon.

A joyful visit

March 24, 2012

Every smile that lights up a face is a ray of light, an invitation to smile ourselves. It is an efficacious dialogue, without need for words. For those who follow the Pope on his travels, the smiles, the applause, the expressions of joy along the way, are among the most striking characteristics of his journeys.

Sometimes the crowds go on for miles, but they are never an indistinct mass; they are always countless individual people, individual souls and unique stories that speak through their eyes and gestures.

And the Pope is touched by them, so much so that many times after his recent visit to Benin, he spoke about the spontaneous and warm vivacity of the welcome he was accorded. In the enthusiasm of the people, the Pope saw the bursting desire for life – and for a good life – of a poor population that faces dramatic problems but believes and hopes in the future.

The warmth and enthusiasm of Latin America is no less than that of Africa. And in expressing their love and joy, the people of Mexico desire to be second to no one.

It’s amazing that even a fleeting sight of the passing of an elderly Pope can arouse so much sincere and intense joy. It’s a sign that people feel and understand that he brings a precious message of peace for their lives.

The Pope often speaks of Christian joy, a deep joy that originates from faith in the risen Christ, a joy that no one can ever take from a believer. His message is profound.

We hope that through hearing the Gospel, the joy that welcomes him to Mexico can mature into the lasting joy of a hope that will never disappoint.


Rapturous welcome for
Pope Benedict in Mexico

March 24, 2012

‘Bienvenido al corazon de Mexico’ – ‘Welcome to the heart of Mexico’ are the words emblazoned on a giant billboard at the entrance to Guanajuato airport, and the people of this city, at the geographical centre of the country, certainly pulled out all the stops to welcome the Pope on Friday, March 23.

The airport is situated about 35 km from the city centre and as the Popemobile made its way slowly through the industrial suburbs, under the new millennium gate arching over the road, and on into town, the crowds went literally wild with excitement.

People of all ages had lined the route for hours, many climbing onto balconies or low roofs of buildings to get a better view, singing, waving flags, balloons and banners, or throwing yellow and white tickertape to carpet the papal route into town.

At the official welcome ceremony under a white awning set up at the airport, Mexican president Felipe Calderon proudly reminded the Pope that his nation remains one of the most Catholic countries in the world.

Despite a difficult history of conflict with the state over the past century, the Church here is renowned for its deep Marian devotion and for its dedication to the successor of Peter.

Pope John Paul chose Mexico for his first ever pastoral journey in 1979 and made a total of five visits to this country, though he never fulfilled his wish to visit this city and the great statue of Christ the King standing on nearby Mount Cubilete with arms outstretched across the whole region.

Loud cheers punctuated Pope Benedict’s first address to the people of Mexico as he told them he had come in the footsteps of his predecessor “as a pilgrim of faith, hope and love” to confirm them in their faith.

Believers in Christ, he said, must act as a leaven in society, contributing to a respectful and peaceful coexistence based on the dignity of every human being. This dignity, he insisted, is expressed “in the fundamental right to freedom of religion in its full meaning and integrity” – a poignant message to his hosts in the Mexican government, currently debating legislation on religious liberty that would finally put an end to the anti-clerical discrimination of past decades.