On the Pope's UK visit
Translated from
Sept. 11, 2010
Great anticipation is building for the visit of Benedict XVI to the United Kingdom on Sept. 16-19 as it approaches. It is an event with multiple significances, as Fr. Lombardi underscores in his editorial for Octava Dies, the weekly TV magazine of the Centro Televisivo Vaticano.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, the Pope will fly to Edinburgh to begin from there, with an official welcome by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, one of the most awaited visits in his Pontificate, to the United Kingdom.
Last Wednesday, the Pope expressed his gratitude for the official invitation from the Ween, because he knows very well the commitment and attention which not only Her Majesty and her Government have put into his visit, but also that of the Anglican Primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and of course, the entire Church in England, Wales and Scotland.
Even the interest and attention in British society is growing, well beyond the noisy but nonetheless marginal expressions of protest against the visit.
In fact, such opposition confirms the perception that the great religious and moral authority of the Pope could offer a specific contribution that is important, positive and constructive to orient society in how to face the great challenges of the world today.
Certainly, the Pope's meeting with the most important representatives of British institutions and civilian society in historic Westminster Hall will be one of the high points of the visit.
But the Pope's message will reach its full significance in the beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman on Sept. 19 in Birmingham. This Englishman, whom the Pope has called 'truly great', rich with 'gentle wisdom' and an example of 'integrity and personal holiness'.
With his writings, Newman has been a source of inspiration for the Church and for society around the world, embodying in the most persuasive manner the fascinating fruit of the profound synthesis of reason and faith, and of the British spirit and its continuing fecundity for the world today and tomorrow.
And here's a belated post of Cardinal Murphy O'Connor's essay for the OR yesterday, Friday.
Benedict XVI in the UK:
Where faith confronts secularization
by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor
Emeritus Archbishop of Westminster
Translated from the 9/10/10 issue of
I remember well the first visit of a Pope to the United Kingdom. John Paul II arrived on May 28, 1982. I had the privilege to welcome him at Gatwick airport, which is in the territory of Arundel and Brighton, of which I was the bishop then.
It was a tragic period for Great Britain because of the conflict with Argentina over the Malvinas/Falkland islands. That is why the Pope's visit could not be a state visit. But it was an extraordinary and happy week of celebration in England, Wales and Scotland.
Every event was focused on one of the seven Sacraments, and it was a wonderful way of showing to Britons, through television, something of the traditions and liturgy of the Catholic Church.
[Which however, high Anglicans often find much better represented in their own traditional liturgies!]
It was also a discovery for many persons to see how Catholics from every social class were well integrated into British life and society.
One of the most significant events was the Pope's visit to the Cathedral of Canterbury where he met with all the Anglican bishops and the officials of other Christian churches in England and Wales. It was a very moving moment which offered great encouragement and hope to the ecumenical movement, particularly to the growing friendship with the Anglicans.
[Murphy-O'Connor, of course, has a personal history verging on ultra-liberalism, and apparently is among the professional 'ecumenists' who are obsessed with ecumenism for ecumenism's sake - the kumbaya brigade. Yet, even liberal Cardinal Walter Kasper acknowledged when he was president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity that the greatest obstacle to any further rapprochement between the Catholic Church and the Protestant denominations including the Anglicans, is the latter's fairly recent adoption and espousal of practices like women priests and bishops, actively homosexual priests and bishops, and same-sex marriage.
Even assuming that the present Archbishop of Canterbury might have held out against these liberal practices if he had the votes among Anglican bishops, the hard reality is that - forgive me for restating the figures - 670 million Protestants have broken with Christian tradition on these practices, against 1.5 billion Catholics and Orthodox who have remained firm on it (Except, of course, for dissidents and liberals like Murphy-O'Connor who are too ready to give in to worldly exigencies)... And surely, Murphy-O'Connor cannot possibly say that if the Anglican Church had adopted all these 'non-Christian' practices in 1982, John Paul II would not have had something to say about it - and it would not have been approving!]
Nonetheless, the search for Christian unity and the journey towards it, which Christ wanted, continue and will never cease to be the desire and constant wish of the Catholic Church.
[But not at the expense of its commitment to original Christian principles! Obviously for now, ecumenism with the Protestant churches must remain limited to working together on concrete social initiatives for the common good in the name of Christian charity, and perhaps, an occasional agreement on a topic of dogma, such as the joint declaration about Mary a few years ago. Even taking Communion together has become an impossible goal, under the circumstances.]
That which Benedict XVI will be undertaking on Sept, 16-19 is a state visit, because the former Prime Minister Gordon Brown officially invited him to visit our country, and these invitation was taken up by many of us, including the bishops of England, Wales and Scotland.
Great Britain has greatly changed today compared to 28 years ago. Our society has become very secular, and for Christians of various denominations, it has become increasingly difficult to have a central commanding position in the culture of our country.
Nevertheless, the Catholic Church has a very influential voice in bearing witness to Christian teachings and values in England and Wales.
[How influential can it be if it is divided? Or if it does have some influence, then is it the dissident liberal wing that predominates since, going by what Damian Thompson says, they appear to be in the majority?]
It is definitely a Christian voice that is battling to guarantee the freedom to express Catholic teaching and discipline
[What discipline, if the bishops openly defy the Pope?] in the culture of our nation. This does not mean imposing our views but to offer them as an authentic contribution to the life and common good of England and Wales. The same holds for the Church in Scotland.
Benedict XVI will receive a warm reception in our country. Catholics are eager to see him, some through TV, and many participating in the various encounters and celebrations that he will preside over during his four days in the UK. I wish to comment on some aspects of the visit that I consider particularly important.
The first is the meeting on Thursday, Sept. 16, with Queen Elizabeth at Holyrood Castle in Edinburgh. It is interesting that the Queen and the Pope are contemporaries - she being just one year older than he.
Both have had a wealth of experience, and I know that the Queen herself is looking forward to meeting the Pope upon his arrival in Scotland.
The warmth of the welcome from the Queen, who is so beloved and esteemed by her people, is very significant, especially in the light of the history of the English monarchy over the last few centuries. It will set the seal on the four days that the Pope will spend in the country.
The second aspect I wish to underscore is the importance of the Pope's address on Friday, Sept. 17, in Westminster Hall. It is the Great Hall of Parliament where John Fisher and Thomas More were tried and sentenced under Henry VIII.
Here, Benedict XVI will address parliamentarians, diplomats and other ranking representatives of British society. In many ways, this will also be his address to the British population in which, I am sure, he will express the Catholic idea of a fecund dialog with society in a country that is widely secularized.
On the same day, the Pope will visit Westminster Abbey, where he will recite Vespers with bishops of the Anglican Communion and other Anglican officials. The Abbey is over 1,000 years old. Benedictine monks settled on that site for the first time in mid-9th century. It was the site of the royal coronation in 1066 (year of the Norman Conquest] and it is the resting place of 17 sovereigns .
It is very appropriate that the joint prayer service with the Anglicans is offered in a place that embodies the ancient history of Christianity in this land and its subsequent history through the centuries.
On Saturday morning, the Pope will celebrate Mass with the bishops of England and Wales in Westminster Cathedral, in the presence of the priests, religious and lay faithful of England and Wales.
The communion between our bishops and the Successor of Peter has always been a distinctive trait of the Catholic bishops of our land.
[Really! When was the last time they showed that trait? Apparently not with regard to Summorum Pontificum - again going by Damian Thompson (who may be hyperbolic sometimes, but would not falsify facts). Since dissidents and liberals have always used the liturgy as the emblem of their ideological battles in the name of Vatican-II as a rupture with Tradition, their defiance re SP is more than just misplaced loyalty to the Novus Ordo (which the Pope obediently observes and does better than any of them) with a corollary contempt for the traditional Mass. No, it is a declaration of war against the Pope, who respects both Tradition and Vatican II - and I cannot imagine what effort they must need to mask their hostility when in the presence of the Pope.]
The Mass at Westminster Cathedral will reflect the infinite loyalty and fidelity of bishops, priests and the people of this land towards the Holy See.
[Brrrr... I shiver at the sheer hypocrisy of the statement!]
On that occasion, Benedict XVI will be able to confirm the faith of Catholics, recalling the great gift that they have received from the Holy Spirit and encouraging them to continue witnessing to the faith in their cities, towns and villages.
Finally, the Pope will go to Birmingham, where, in the presence of almost 100,000 pilgrims, he will celebrate the Mass during which he will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman.
Newman's life was one of pilgrimage and faith. Even today we still sing his hymn. "Lead kindly light amidst the encircling gloom', which continues to be a kind of touchstone for many pilgrims as it was for Newman himself.
His life was a
sorrowful pilgrimage.
{Would Newman have characterized his life as 'sorrowful'????]. He started as an evangelical, then he became Anglican, and finally converted to the Catholic Church. As a Catholic, his pilgrimage continued
[in rather humble manner, as a parish priest for 30 years] until, marvelously, Leo XIII made him a cardinal.
There is so much to say about this extraordinary and holy man. I know that the Pope admires Newman and I am sure that he will speak about the reasons why he must be considered a very significant figure, not just for Catholics and for Anglicans, but for so many others who seek the truth.
He died on August 1, 1890, and on his coffin was inscribed his motto,
Cor ad cor loquitur - heart speaks to heart. On his gravestone were inscribed words that he had chosen:
Ex umbris et imaginibus in veritatem - From shadows and symbols into the truth.
No one but than this Pope can speak better of this extraordinary Christian who so nourished Christian life in this country even after his death.
Cardinal Newman was very interested in the heart and the mind, and the link between them. He was an erudite man who never avoided intellectual rigor. But at the same time, he was fascinated by the way in which the human being is able to love and to understand, and particularly, to love God.
The prayers of all Catholics and other persons of good will will be with Benedict XVI when he comes to visit us.
I have just read a sickening article coming out in the Sunday Independent (Sept. 12)
www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/peter-popham/peter-popham-benedict-is-not-to-blame-for-every-failing-2077...
by the hateful Peter Popham, a man who has never before written anything positive about Benedict XVI. Now, suddenly, he writes what purports to be an objective commentary - consider the title, 'Benedict is not to blame for every failing' - but don't be taken in, because he expresses his contempt in other ways, as in this paragraph:
Pope Benedict XVI has the opposite effect [from the 'charismatic John Paul II and the Dalai Lama', he means]: even those who share his faith find him hard to love. He comes across as a small person both literally and metaphorically, with neither the physical presence nor the passion to move and impress us. He looks like the sort of person who would have been the target of bullies in the school playground, and he brings out the bully in us, too.
[Speak for yourself, Popham, if your bigotry is that pathological! You are a contemptible creature to use this occasion to make such an ad-hominem attack on someone whose very physical appearance you cannot stand. You have taken journalistic bias - and UNTRUTH - to a new low. I wonder what you look like yourself... And I pass on fisking this one. It threatens my health and deprives me of all charity.]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/09/2010 11:13]