Friday, December 11
ST. DAMASUS (POPE DAMASUS I, 366-384) (b Lusitania [Portugal] ca 305, d Rome 384)
The son of a Roman priest, Damasus was described by his secretary St. Jerome as
“an incomparable person, learned in the Scriptures, a virgin doctor of the virgin
Church, who loved chastity and heard its praises with pleasure.” He served Pope
Liberius and was elected to succeed him in 366. But opponents elected an anti-Pope
Ursinus, and violent battles between teh two camps followed, that ended only after
Valentinian became emperor and exiled Ursinus. Damasus commissioned Jerome to
translate the entire Bible into what became the first standard version of all 72 books,
the Vulgate. Damasus is also remembered for uncovering the Roman catacombs to pay
proper homage to the early Christian martyrs. He defended Christian orthodoxy
against Arianism and other heresies and was upheld by the Council of Constantinople
in 382. He strengthened the faith after it became the official religion of empire
with his liturgical and esthetic enhancement of the churches of Rome, and defended
the rights of the Papacy in the imperial setting.
OR today.
Strangely, the main papal story on Page 1, about the Pope's address to the new Cuban ambassador, under the headline "Man is
the primary capital to be safeguarded', did not merit a picture, the editors choosing instead to use a photo of Barack Obama
receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. Other Page 1 stories are the Pope's audience for the President of Gabon (photo), and an editorial
commentary on a new children's book recounting the story of a Vatican Christmas tree, a squirrel that came with it, and
a conversation between the squirrel and John Paul II - as an excellent example of how to carry across the Church's ecological
message. In the inside pages, the Pope's message to the international conference on God taking place in Rome this week, and
a true story with photos about a rare white blackbird that the Pope and his secretaries had spotted while walking in the Vatican
Gardens. At the Pope's request, one of the secretaries, Mons. Xuereb, had a camera ready to take pictures of the 'merlo bianco'
as soon as they could spot him again. Unfortunately, the online posting by OR does not include the story or the photos.
THE POPE'S DAY
At 9 a.m., the Holy Father joined the Roman Curia at the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace
to listen to the second Advent sermon of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher of the Papal Household.
Later he met with
- H.E. Nguyen Minh Triet, President of the Republic of Vietnam, and his delegation
- Members of the Irish bishops' conference to discuss the recent government report on offenses by priests
against minors in the Diocese of Dublin.
And in the afternoon, with
- Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (weekly meeting)
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/12/2009 16:06]