BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

The wisdom of Popes
Editorial
by Giovanni Maria Vian
Translated from the 9/6-9/7/10 issue of





Speaking of Leo XIII on the bicentennial of his birth, his current successor explained the task of every Pope (and 'of every pastor of the Church'): to transmit 'wisdom' to the faithful.

Wisdom not as abstract truths, but as a message that unites 'faith and life, truth and concrete reality'.

Indeed, it does not suffice to repropose doctrines which to many may appear remote from the problems of existence - one must do so with constant attention to the historical context: in faithfulness to tradition and 'measuring up to the great questions that remain open".

As that Pontiff did, "aged, but wise and far-sighted', who ushered into the 20th century a rejuvenated Church capable of facing unprecedented challenges.

Of Papa Pecci, "a man of great faith and profound devotion", Benedict XVI wished to underscore first of all his religious side, in general hardly referred to, but which "always remains the basis of everything, for every Christian, including the Pope".

Indeed, Benedict's re-reading of Leo XIII's life and work had many points of great interest: references not just to Rerum novarum but to the entire social magisterium of his predecessor, which became the organic foundation of Catholic social doctrine.

Benedict XVI summarized this in the expression "Christian brotherhood', which, not by chance, was the subject of the young Joseph Ratzinger's first published monograph (Die christliche Brüderlichkeit), after his theses on Augustine and Bonaventure.

The novelty of Christianity eventually led to the abolition of slavery - already nullified by the Apostle Paul, and also the subject of Papa Pecci's encyclical Catholicae Ecclesiae - as well as to overcoming "other barriers between men that still exist", with the evangelical images of the seed and yeast, manifested in various societies by 'the beneficial and peaceful forces for profound change' that Christians have represented.

Even in difficult circumstances, as the era that followed the revolutions of the 19th century and the Napoleonic upheavals, which Benedict XVI described in brief descriptive term:, including the multiple and reiterated attempts to eradicate every expression of Christian culture, the bitter anti-clericalism, the inflammatory manifestations against the Pope.

On the same day that he paid homage to his predecessor in these eloquent terms, the Pontiff st the Angelus prayers also decided to personally present his Message for the next World Youth Day to be held in Madrid in 2011.

The message, released by the Vatican in all its official languages the day before, had been ignored, misrepresented or misunderstood by all the media - news agencies, TV, radio, the newspapers.

In fact, the message contained many examples of the papal wisdom that the Pope had described in Carpineto as characteristic of papal teachings - what he described as a combination of "faith and life, truth and concrete reality".

And so, in a culture that is "indecisive about its fundamental values", the Pope once more pointed to the personal encounter with Christ as the definitive experience, sustained by the faith of the entire Church.

There is no sense "in claiming to eliminate God in order to make man live", Benedict XVI said in a message that was impassioned and full of personal testimonials: from recalling World Youth Day in Sydney to the distant days of his youth when, during the years of 'asphyxiation' by by Nazi tyranny, he and his generation also desired to go beyond 'the normality of middle-class life' through the encounter with Christ.

The message for WYD 2011 is almost a personal letter written with the inexhaustible passion of a Christian life. And with the wisdom of one who has truly encountered Jesus.


Enthusiastic reception by
Papa Pecci's townmates
for Benedict XVI
by Nicola Gori
Translated from the 9/6-9/7/10 issue of






The police barriers could not hold back the people who lined the narrow and steep streets of Carpineto Romano as Benedict XVI in his Popemobile passed through on Sunday morning.

Others were hanging out their windows, standing on balconies or on any raised terrain to greet the Pope who had come to their town on Monte Lepini to pay homage to the Pope who laid the basis for the social doctrine of the Church, Leo XIII. The occasion is the bicentennial year of his birth as Vincenzo Goacchino Pecci in Carpineto in the ancestral home of the Counts of Pecci, on March 2, 1810.




The Popemobile took the Pope from the helifield where he arrived from Castel Gandolfo to the main piazza on the Largo dei Monte Lepini. BenedictX VI was welcomed by the Bishop of Angagni-Alatri, Mons. Lorenzo Loppa, who would later recall the preceding visits of Paul VI in 1965 and John Paul II in 1991 to celebrate, respectively, the 75th and 100th anniversary of the encyclical Rerum novarum.



"The faces of everyone speak for themselves," he said. "They express our joy to once again have the Successor of Peter in our midst. to be confirmed in our faith and to receive the gift of a more solid hope".

"Papa Pecci," Mons. Loppa said, "was an intrepid pastor, who prepared to confront the 'new' which was fast advancing, to confront modernity which was knocking at the door, without pronouncing anathemas, but with firmness of principle, clarity of thought and above all, a good dose of kindness towards the society of his time which was a world in tumultuous transformation".

Mayor Quirino Briganti, in welcoming the Pope, underscored the affectionate ties that kept Papa Pecci close to his hometown. "He was a great man who never forgot this land with its sub-Alpine peaks and slopes, all of which he scaled familiarly in the years of his youth. On Monte Lepini, he found the Arcadian world where peasants and shepherds have lived for centuries in dignified poverty - and who probably inspired his most famous encyclical".

Recalling Leo XIII's Magisterium Briganti said "the innovative and pioneering power of Papa Pecci's social teachings have reached the third millennium intact... He was likewise firm in his farsighted conviction that the ecumenical path can contribute to bring peace among peoples".


After the formal greetings, Pope Benedict XVI vested for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, along with Cardinal Agostino Valli, his Vicar for Rome, 18 bishops of the Lazio region, and numerous priests from the diocese.

At the end of the Mass, the Pontiff paid homage to the image of the Immacolata, patron of Carpineto, which occupied a place of honor on the altar built for the Mass.

For the visit, Benedict XVI wore a gold pectoral cross decorated with gems that had been given to Leo XIII by an anonymous donor. In turn, Papa Pecci gave the cross to Mons. Giuseppe Sarto, when he was the Bishop of Mantua, who brought it with him to the Vatican when he was elected Pope Pius X to succeed Leo XIII in 1903.

The Diocese of Anagni-Alasri and the parish of Carpineto presented Benedict XVI with a gold medallion bearing the image of Leo XIII on one face, and the words 'Anno bicentenario 1810-2010', and on the reverse side, a relief of the collegiate church of the Sacred Heart. An inscription on the case reads, "A sign of the filial devotion of the Diocese of Anagni-Alatri'.

The commune of Carpineto also presented the Pope with a commemorative medallion of the Leonine Year, bearing the logo of the bicentennial on the front, and on the back the coat of arms of Leo XIII.

It is rare even in Italy that one place is so intimately linked to a Pope. In Carpineto, almost everything reminds you of Leo XIII. From the building where he was born, to the parish church where he was baptized, to the college that he endowed.

During his Pontificate, so many social works inspired by his magisterium were started: an orphanage and children's asylum, a girls' school, a hospice for the aged, adn teh civilian hospital.

Papa Pecci's encyclicals on Marian devotion, especially the rosary, continue to inspire enthusiasm among the faithful. The parish priest says that most families in Carpineto still pray the rosary together in the evening.

Leo XIII also began the first public lighting by acetylene gas and later by electricity in Carpineto, as well as a water system that brought spring water from neighboring Monte Carpino.

To commemorate the latter event, Papa Pecci commissioned two artistic fountains from a Sicilian sculptor. In recognition of all his gifts to the town, his townmates placed markers and named streets and places for him. A marble bust in the collegiate church was given a place of honor in the altar stage used by Benedict XVI.



The Holy Father arrived by helicopter from Castel Gandolfo at the Galeotti sports field. In his party were Archbishops Fernando Filoni, deputy Secretary of State, and James Harvey, Prefect of the Pontifical Household; Mons. Paolo de Nicolo, his regent; Mons. Georg Gaenswein, the Pope's secretary; Dr. Patrizio Polisca, Fr. Ciro Benedettini, deputy press director; and our editor.

Welcoming the Pontiff were Archbishop Giuseppe Bertello, Apostolic Nuncio in Italy; Mons. Loppa; and don Giuseppe Ghirelli, parish priest of Carpineto. Civilian authorities were led by Gianni Letta, undersecretary in Prime Minister Berlusconi's cabinet; Antonio Zanardi Landi, Italy's ambassador to the Holy See; Renata Polverini, president of Lazio region; Nicola Zingaretti, president of the Province of Rome; Mayor Briganti of CArpineto; and Giuseppe Pcoraro, Prefect of Rome.