BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

See preceding page for earlier posts on 11/15/10.





The day after Verbum Domini came out, a Catholic blogger wrote this lengthy piece about the apparent lack of attention from the Catholic blogosphere. If I had read it then, I might have said he was speaking too soon - it had only been released the day before, and it is a major document that does not lend itself to summarizing with the usual soundbites (or text bites) that media employ. And unless the blogger had nothing else to do for the day but read Verbum Domini, it still would have been a daunting task to then proceed to write your first commentary on it! You'd be asking yourself - if Joseph Ratzinger had been asked to comment on a document like this, how would he approach it?

This article is from a group blog by three Catholic Professors of Scripture and Theology: Michael Barber (John Paul the Great Catholic U, San Diego, CA) - who is the author of this piece; Brant Pitre, Notre Dame Seminary, New Orleans, LA). And John Bergsma (Franciscan University, Steubenville, OH). The blog name is from Vatican II, “the study of the sacred page is, as it were, the soul of sacred theology” (Dei Verbum,24).

While this article highlights many points that need to be highlighted about Verbum Domini, and Prof. Barber must be commented for his prompt and substantial reaction, it has quite a few striking and surprising naivetes here and there that one would not expect of a professor of theology and Scripture....

Are Catholic bloggers ignoring
the Pope's 'fundamental priority'?
by Michael Barber

Nov. 12, 2010

Yesterday was probably the most frustrating exciting day of the Pope Benedict's pontificate.

I may be about to get myself in hot water, but someone has to say it: many people, even Catholic bloggers, are ignoring the Pope’s “supreme and fundamental priority”.

What is it? How are even Catholics missing it? How was a disconnect between the Pope's priorities and those of Catholic writers on display yesterday?

Let me explain and let me issue a clarion call to all Catholic teachers, writers and bloggers to make the Pope's priority their priority.

If you simply followed the Pope by getting your information through the mainstream media, you'd probably get the impression that the Pope's top priority is cataloging and condemning each and every one of the evils in the world.

After all, look at the headlines on Google News just yesterday:
"Pope condemns violence 'in the name of God'"
"Pope condemns anti-Church sentiment"

Of course, since the Pope is expected to speak out against all the world's evils, he knows that he has to — when he doesn't, the headlines read, "Pope refuses to condemn. . ."

Even worse, some wrongfully and scurrilously accuse the Pope of being consumed with a cover-up — charges most thinking people have come to see through.

But you'd expect the mainstream media to get the Pope's message wrong. There's really no surprise there. Their anti-Catholicism is well-known. [Not to mention their insouciant ignorance, in which they seem to revel. It's their ultimate expression of contempt, which says they do not take the Pope or the Church seriously enough to at least learn basic facts about them!]

What is surprising — even distressing! — is the way the Holy Father’s chief priority is overlooked by even Catholic bloggers!

Now don't get me wrong, Catholic writers generally recognize some of the chief concerns of Pope Benedict. Certainly, among them would be the following.

1. Unmasking the dangers associated with the "dictatorship of relativism".

2. Reforming the liturgy, e.g., overseeing more accurate translations of the liturgy and emphasizing the need to foster a greater sense of reverence for the Eucharist.

3. Addressing the need for a proper interpretation of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, i.e., the importance of reading these documents according to a "hermeneutic of continuity".

4. Presenting an "affirmative orthodoxy" to the world--i.e., explaining that Christianity is not best understood in terms of a "no" but rather as a "yes" to Christ.

5. Addressing the economic meltdown and the moral problems, which are at its root.

6. Filling vacant episcopal chairs with competent leaders.

7. The need and the challenge of proclaiming the Gospel to what increasingly seems like a post-Christian western culture, i.e., the need for a “New Evangelization”.

8. Dealing with the rise of militant Islam in a Christ-like way.

9. Speaking out against the persecutions throughout the world, particular in Muslim countries.

10. Emphasizing the need for the Church reform the way it has dealt with accusations of clergy sexual abuse.

11. Fostering priestly and religious vocations.

12. The responsibility Catholic institutions of higher learning have to maintain their Catholic identity.

13. Healing divisions in the Body of Christ, e.g., providing a pathway for reconciliation with Anglicans or members of schismatic groups, which have broken away from the Church.

The list above is just a sample of some of the important things the Holy Father has focused on during his pontificate — many other things could be mentioned.

But what if you were to ask the Pope, "Holy Father, what is the top priority for your papacy?" What do you suspect he might say? [An unnecessary question and set-up, to anyone who has been following Benedict XVI - because he has always been clear and consistent about it, but most emphatically in his March 10, 2009 letter to all the bishops of the world. To bring God to the world. And that is why one of the most memorable statements in JESUS OF NAZARETH was: "What has Jesus really brought?... The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God!' And that is why the Church as the extension of Christ in history, as his Mystical Body, must continue to do what he did - bring God to the world.]

Well, you don't have to wonder; he's answered the question, and, in fact, he did not mention any of the things listed above. And sadly, the item identified as the top priority gets short shrift--if any mention at all--in the Catholic blogosphere.

That’s not to say the concerns above are not important to him. They are. Yet when the Pope talked about his “supreme and fundamental” focus he actually named something else.

The sad thing is, most people — even Catholic writers — largely seem to ignore it, emphasizing to one degree or another other aspects of his papacy.

How does the Holy Father describe his top priority? Here's Benedict in his own words:

“Leading men and women to God, to the God who speaks in the Bible: this is the supreme and fundamental priority of the Church and of the Successor of Peter at the present time.”[1]

Leading people to "the God who speaks in the Bible" — that's the Pope's chief aim.

The Pope's clear focus on Scripture has been manifest throughout his papacy. Consider the following,

1. The Year of St. Paul. He devoted an entire year to St. Paul, calling the Church to pay closer attention to Scripture.

2. Numerous talks on St. Paul's teaching. During that year dedicated to St. Paul he meticulously went through the Apostle’s letters, giving numerous catechetical presentations on his teaching and theology.

3. Jesus of Nazareth, in 3 volumes! Much of his precious time has been spent writing a multi-volume work looking at Jesus in the Gospels, namely, Jesus of Nazareth. Volume 1 was a New York Times Best Seller. Volume 2 is about to be released soon, and there's a volume 3 waiting in the wings. This dimension of his papacy alone has highlighted in an important way the Pope's deep desire to lead the faithful to Bible study.

4. The Synod on Scripture. He called together a major Synod in which the bishops of the world gathered to Rome to discuss the role of Scripture in the life of the Church. Again, this was a hugely significant event.

5. New Translations of the Mass. The new translations of the liturgy he has overseen emphasize in a much clearer way the biblical roots of the prayers of the Mass.

Yesterday, then, was like the icing on the cake.

Pope Benedict released a 200-page document laying out in exhaustive detail the Church’s teaching on Scripture, Verbum Domini. The document is a follow-up — almost three years after the fact! — to the Synod on Scripture he convened in 2008.

And yet, this is a historic document. The last major papal document on Scripture was published 57 years ago (Divino afflante Spiritu [1943]). The last major magisterial document outlining Church teaching on Scripture was Dei Verbum, a document of the second Vatican Council--dated to 1965, 45 years ago! [Which was, one must note at every opportunity, the one Vatican-II document that Joseph Ratzinger most contributed to, and by all accounts, his favorite of the 16 Vatican II documents, perhaps because it is also the most unequivocal and orthodox, in the spirit of the Church Fathers (after whom, Biblical studies appeared to have started fading away from the Catholic mindset so that by the mid-20th century, few Catholics had any Biblical 'awareness'.]

Yet this historic and extensive document received only passing mention - if any at all - on many of the most popular Catholic websites.

Let me put it another way: imagine the Pope had released a 200=page letter on the Mass. What kind of treatment and analysis would that be getting? Is the Pope's teaching about the Bible not also worthy of careful attention? [Prof. Barber forgets that the same thing happened with Sacramentum caritatis on the Eucharist, which was Benedict XVI's first Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, and remains one of the least discussed of his major documents. It's because the Exhortations - based on the list of Propositions from the bishops of the Synodal assembly - are, by their nature, detailed and dense, in which every paragraph deserves a separate article and commentary, and cannot be reduced to a soundbite.]

In fact - I'm just going to come right out and say it - there does seem to be a real over-reaction to Protestantism in Catholic circles. [And is 'protestantism' defined then as a tendency to cite the Bible????] Quote chapter and verse from the Bible in some Catholic circles and you might get a weird look: are you really a Catholic? Yet Pope Benedict is calling for precisely that: memorization of Scripture in Catechesis (cf. Verbum Domini 74). [Not 'memorization' for the sake of memorization, but to 'seal' one's familiarity with the passage, as it were.]

There seems to be a creeping suspicion in some Catholic circles that liturgy is for Catholics, the Bible is for Protestants [not after Vatican=II, with the introduction of more Bible readings in the liturgy, although that certainly did not drive Catholics to read the Bible itself,not just the passages excerpted for the liturgy, and that's the reason Benedict XVI called the Synod on the Word of God/]]. The only problem is: that's not what the Pope himself is saying!

To some, perhaps the Synod's call for a renewed focus on Scripture is a distant memory, but not for the Holy Father!

Releasing the document almost three years later seems to make an important statement: Don't forget about the Synod — hearing "the God who speaks in the Bible" needs to remain our “supreme and fundamental” focus. [Rather simplistic statements, that also contain a factual inaccuracy. The Synodal Assembly on the Word of God ended in late October 2008 - the Apostolic Exhortation is dated Sept. 30, less than 2 years later, not three. In comparison, Sacramentum caritatis was released in February 2007, 16 months after the assembly on the Eucharist. The Exhortations are not just 'reminders' - they are fundamental features of each Synodal Assembly, the official compendium of the assembly's recommendations and the only one of its pertinent documents that becomes part of the Magisterium.]

And, just to reiterate how important the Bible is, the document is, once again, almost 200 pages long! [The length of any document is not necessarily an index of its importance. Obviously, every subject of a Synodal Assembly has great specific significance to the Church. In the case of these exhortations, the document length is related to the number of Propositions presented to the Holy Father for his approval and commentary.]

He’s 83 years old. That’s quite an undertaking! He has spent almost three years [two, not three!] crafting his message.

Clearly the Holy Father has a deep concern for calling Catholics to a greater appreciation for Scripture.

Indeed, at the beginning of the document the Holy Father explains:
"I wish to point out certain fundamental approaches to a rediscovery of God’s word in the life of the Church as a well-spring of constant renewal. At the same time I express my hope that the Word will be ever more fully at the heart of every ecclesial activity" (Verbum Domini, paragraph 1).

Three things here are important.
First: there needs to be a "rediscovery" of God's word. Apparently, some have lost a biblical focus. [An understatement. Most Catholics I know have never had a Biblical focus. And I suspect that's true of the greater part of regular-folk Catholics!]

Second: for the Pope the riches of Scripture are inexhaustible. They represent a “well-spring of constant renewal.” In other words, the Synod in 2008 did not finish the job. We're not done talking about the Bible. [These are odd observations to make. I don't think even the most naive Catholic who follows Church news would ever think that the Bible was simply a subject for one Synod - and finito! There's a reason the Bible continues to be the top-selling book of all time, at any time althouch clearly, not all Bible-buyers are Catholics, and the bulk of such buyers are from the 'evangelical' churches. I think any Christian would appreciate that fact instinctively. I just read that the Bible publisher who serves the mainland China market has already sold 80 million copies this year...]

Third: the Word therefore must be more fully at the heart of everything the Church does. Period. The Bible is not a supplement. It is not optional. It is essential. It must be the center of "everything" the Church does. [That's also rather misleading. I believe the traditional center of Christian life in terms of resources for the faith is - a trinomial like the Trinity - Scripture, Tradition and Liturgy, not just one of them, and all of them pointing to the real center, Jesus Christ, Son of God and face of God.]

Later, citing the Synod, Benedict explains:

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With the Synod Fathers I express my heartfelt hope for the flowering of “a new season of greater love for sacred Scripture on the part of every member of the People of God, so that their prayerful and faith-filled reading of the Bible will, with time, deepen their personal relationship with Jesus” (Verbum Domini, paragraph 72).

---

He also writes:

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In a world which often feels that God is superfluous or extraneous, we confess with Peter that he alone has “the words of eternal life ” (Jn 6:68). There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter God, the God who speaks to us and shares his love so that we might have life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10)" (Verbum Domini, paragraph 2).

---

Of course, keep reading and you'll see that, for Benedict, the principle way we "hear" God "speak" His Word to us is by listening to his voice in Scripture.

In one section he cites St. Jerome, who linked the neglect of God's Word to the Eucharist.

---

Saint Jerome speaks of the way we ought to approach both the Eucharist and the word of God: “We are reading the sacred Scriptures. For me, the Gospel is the Body of Christ; for me, the holy Scriptures are his teaching. And when he says: whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood (Jn 6:53), even though these words can also be understood of the [Eucharistic] Mystery, Christ’s body and blood are really the word of Scripture, God’s teaching.

---

Then he describes the neglect of God’s word in terms of desecration of the Eucharist:

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"When we approach the [Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crumb falls to the ground we are troubled. Yet when we are listening to the word of God, and God’s Word and Christ’s flesh and blood are being poured into our ears yet we pay no heed, what great peril should we not feel?”.[2]

---

This is a hugely impactful passage in the letter and I suspect the Church will be "digesting" it for some time.

Indeed, faithful Catholics would be horrified at the mishandling of the Eucharist at Mass. To imagine the precious blood being spilled all over the altar is an unthinkable thought. Yet the Word of God is poured out to us in the Bible--are we simply letting it fall to the ground?!

God is trying to speak to His Church in the Bible. Are we listening? What an affront it is to God to let those Bibles simply sit on shelves and collect dust! To ignore the Word of God proclaimed in the liturgy! [No, don't mix apples and oranges, Liturgy is liturgy, and the Bible is the Bible. The necessarily brief Bible readings in the liturgy are selected according to some theological-pastoral-seasonal logic and are not meant to be a substitute for the Bible itself.]

To put it another way, we might say this. The phone is ringing. God is on the line. Is anyone going to pick up?

Benedict quotes revelation: "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice I will come in to him and eat with him" (Rev 3:20).

In fact, notice that hearing Christ's voice is the prelude to the banquet--if we fail to hear his voice in the Word, we will miss his coming in the Eucharistic banquet.

The Pope then goes on to offer a beautiful reflection on the “sacramentality” of God’s word:

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Christ, truly present under the species of bread and wine, is analogously present in the word proclaimed in the liturgy. A deeper understanding of the sacramentality of God’s word can thus lead us to a more unified understanding of the mystery of revelation, which takes place through “deeds and words intimately connected”;[3] an appreciation of this can only benefit the spiritual life of the faithful and the Church’s pastoral activity.

---

Many Catholic writers have rightly identified restoring reverence for the liturgy as among the Pope’s top priorities. However, very few talk much about Scripture. [Perhaps wisely not! Because they feel they do not know enough about it, nor are grounded enough in it. Then better they don't. But even in such context, they can and should quote Scripture when applicable to illumine and illustrate a personal experience, as some of them do.]

Just look around at the Catholic blogosphere for posts examining the meaning of Bible passages. Some of course do an excellent job of covering the Bible. Yet many never or hardly ever do.

And so, as I ran down the list of many of the top Catholic blogs yesterday, I was sad to find little if any mention of the Pope's historic document. For some it was a blip on the screen--if even that. Some haven't even mentioned it at all. It's like nothing happened!

Again, if this were a 200-page document on the Mass, people would be picking it apart, listening closely to the Holy Father. [Not necessarily. Vide Sacramentum caritatis!]

It’s high time for Catholics to make the “supreme and fundamental priority” of the Pope, their "supreme and fundamental priority". Let us all work together with the Pope as he calls for a renewal of Catholic biblical studies.

As Jerome said, if the Eucharist were to fall to the ground we would be "troubled". Let us also be troubled by the way the words of Christ in Scripture are poured out and ignored, recognizing the “great peril” we place ourselves in when we fail to listen to God’s Word carefully.

Fellow Catholic bloggers: Let us offer biblical reflections. Let us talk about how we hear the Lord speaking to us in Scripture. Let us highlight lessons in the Sunday readings. Let us mention priests and bishops who do an outstanding job expounding Scripture, offering links to excellent homilies.

Over the next few weeks you will find more posts detailing elements of Verbum Domini on www.TheSacredPage.com. However, I challenge all Catholic writers to seize this moment and embrace the Pope’s call for a greater focus on the role of Scripture in the life of the Church.

ENDNOTES
[1] Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church Concerning the Remission of the Excommunication of the Four Bishops Consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre. Emphasis added.
[2] In Psalmum 147: CCL 78, 337-338.
[3] SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation Dei Verbum, 2.

November 16, Tuesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

ST. MARGARET OF SCOTLAND (b Hungary 1050, d Scotland 1093)
Queen of Scots, Wife and Mother
A niece of Edward the Confessor, granddaughter of King Edmund Ironside of England, great-niece of Saint Stephen of Hungary, she spent much of her youth in the British Isles. While fleeing the invading army of William the Conqueror in 1066, her family’s ship was wrecked on the Scottish coast. They were assisted by King Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland, whom Margaret married in 1070. They had six sons and two daughters, one of whom was the future Saint Maud (Matilda), wife of Henry I. While maintaining her personal holiness with rigorous private devotions, she was an exemplar of the 'just ruler'. Promoting arts and education among her people and practising legendary charity, she founded religious abbeys and sought to reform religious abuses by priests and lay people. Her husband and eldest son were killed in battle against the English in 1093. She died three days after getting the news. Three of her sons became Kings of Scotland, and one became an abbot. She was canonized in 1250.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/111610.shtml


OR for 11/15-11/16/10:

'To overcome the economic crisis'
At the Angelus on Sunday, Benedict XVI asks rich nations not to seek advantageous alliances at the expense of poorer nations;
he also expresses his closeness to the people of Haiti now threatened by a cholera epidemic

Other papal stories in this issue: The Pope closes out a year of meeting Brazilian bishops on ad limina visit, and he receives a delegation of Italian ski instructors and their families. In international news: Ireland plans to ask the EU for help to bail out banks in difficulty, while its total national debt approaches 70-80 billion euros. In the inside pages, a report on the 25th international conference sponsored by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Health Workers on the theme "Equitable and humane health care in the light of Caritas in veritate".


No papal events scheduled today.


The Vatican released the text of the final communique from the talks held in Tehran last week between the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialog and their Iranian counterparts.




The Vatican also announced a morning news conference on Tuesday, Nov. 23, for the formal presentation of Luce del Mondo. Il Papa, la Chiesa, i segni dei tempi. Una conversazione di Benedetto XVI con Peter Seewald, the Italian edition published by Libreria Editrice Vaticana). Presentors will be Mons. Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, and journalist Luigi Accattoli. Peter Seewald will be present, along with Fr. Giuseppe Costa, director of LEV.

This is not a story about Benedict XVI, but since this first cathedral of the so-called 'post-Christian era'
will forever be associated uniquely with him, I am posting it here.


Gaudí's Sagrada Família:
A cathedral for our times
by Austen Ivereigh

16 November 2010



The Sagrada Familia during the solemn Mass and consecration celebrated by the Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday 7 November 2010, during his two-day visit to Spain.


Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926), architect of the awesome basilica consecrated by Pope Benedict in Barcelona on Sunday 7 November, didn't think he was building Europe's last great Catholic cathedral.

The Sagrada Família, he said, was the first of the new Christian era. He built it to speak to a post-industrial, secularised world, to heal the divide between faith and reason, truth and freedom, art and God; and to do so, not through a restatement of the past, but starting from creation itself.

We have long been familiar with the Sagrada's towers and facades, the way the building erupts from Barcelona's suburbs, reaching for the skies. But on the day it was consecrated, thanks to a spidercam deftly directed by the local television station, TV3, millions saw for the first time the recently-completed interior – a thrilling petrified forest of light, colour and space.

The Basilica's modernity, as Pope Benedict observed in his homily, lies in the way Gaudí internalises what is usually left outside – plants, animals, nature – while putting on its outside what is normally confined within church walls: altarpieces and sculptures narrating the Christian salvation story.

In an age when "modern" art strains to reject and disconcert for its own sake, Gaudí's originality stands out as far more radical and authentic.

Focussing intensely on the forms of nature, he discovered that true beauty lies in uncovering and being faithful to those forms, rather than striving after beauty, which results merely in artifice.



Through dozens of 65ft-high tropical trunks rising up to a forest-like canopy through which the sun's rays pour and dance across the walls, the Sagrada's interior creates a heavenly vision of the New Jerusalem – not a ponderous, grandiloquent, statement of a powerful institution, but a glimpse of God, something free and light and generous and intensely beautiful, a space fit for soaring spirits.

Gaudí's own life is a very modern one. He ignored his Catholic faith until he was 42, by which time he was a famous and well-paid architect, something of a dandy courted by wealthy Barcelona industrialists to design their show-off houses. He was the leading light of the Catalan movement of arts and crafts known as the Renaixença, and knew he was far ahead of his generation.

But he was knocked off course by being rejected by a woman he loved, and began to explore – in a very modern, considered way, in full knowledge of the alternatives – the beliefs in which he had until then shown little interest.

Over the next 30 years, he shed his wealth, spent more and more time in prayer, gave up meat and alcohol, put his money into improving the lot of the poor of his barrio, and dedicated himself entirely to the Sagrada Família, convinced that God had called him to this great task. He died, after being run over by a tram aged 72, a beloved pauper, lauded as genius and admired as a saint.

The Church is now on its way to officially declaring him one, not because of his magnificent creation – although, of course, the Sagrada cannot be separated from his faith – but because of the evidence and fruits of a life geared to God.

Unlike other geniuses such as Picasso (who loathed Gaudí for ideological reasons but was indebted to his art) or Mozart, Gaudí never burned out. He understood that artistic genius was a powerful gift, which led to a reckless ego; he actively compensated for that gift through penance and expiation, self-sacrifice and giving.

Convinced that God is revealed first through His creation, his faith led his genius and technical prowess ever deeper into the origins of beauty, not away from them. At a time when technological progress leads to arrogance, Gaudí offers leaves and lizards, eggs and branches, and asks us to look again.

That is why the saintly Gaudí and his great Basilica are the perfect signposts for the contemporary Church to place in the path of the modern seeker. And they offer a way out of the wounds of Spain's civil war, still seen in the tragic division between left and right, Catholics and anticlericals.

Gaudí was a Catalanista, arrested in the 1920s for refusing to speak Castilian to an army officer. Catalan nationalism has always been close to the local Church, and the fact of the Pope using Catalan at the Mass at the Sagrada Família, symbol of Catalan pride, pours balm on old wounds.

Gaudí's great basilica has been built, mostly, from the entrance fees from Europe's agnostic tourists: it attracts 2 million visitors a year, more than the Prado and the Alhambra.

They come, in the age of The Da Vinci Code, curious about symbols and signs, and find that the Sagrada Família, perhaps the greatest attempt since Dante to condense the whole of Christian teaching into a single work, is packed with them.

Yet there is nothing opaque about it. Unlike St Peter's in Rome, which conceals and intimidates as much as it gives glory, Barcelona's basilica opens up in its entirety the moment you step inside – the perfect space for a culture suspicious of institutions, but which is restless for something greater than ourselves.

Bishops announce June 4-5 dates
for Pope's visit to Croatia



ZAGREB, Nov. 16 (Translated from APCOM) - The Croatian bishops' conference has announced that Pope Benedict XVI will visit Croatia on June 4-5, 2011.

A statement said he will be in Zagreb to attend a national gathering of Croatian Catholic families and to pray at the tomb of Blessed Alojize Stepipac.

Croatia is the bulwark of Catholicism in the Balkans, with 90% of its 4.4 million inhabitants identifying themselves as Catholic.

John Paul II visited Croatia three times - 1994, 1998 and 2003.



The visit, first speculated on shortly after the Croatian President called on the Pope at the Vatican last Oct. 9, was officially confirmed on Oct. 28, at which time the dates were not announced.

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NB: So far, we have five pastoral visits scheduled for the Pope in 2011-

May 7-9 Venice and Aquileia
Jun 4-5 Croatia
Jun 18 San Marino-Montefeltro
Aug 18-21 Madrid (World Youth Day)
Oct 9 Lamezia Terme-Certosa San Bruno

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Vatican acquires
HD broadcast capability


VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2010 (VIS) - "New technologies at the service of the communications of the Holy See" was the theme of a press conference held this morning to present the new high-definition outside-broadcasting equipment which the Vatican Television Centre (CTV) will now be using.

Participating in today's conference, held in the Holy See Press Office, were Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and of the administrative board of the Vatican Television Centre; Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J., director of the Vatican Television Centre; Carl A. Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, and Gildas Pelliet, managing director of Sony Italia.

Archbishop Celli highlighted the fact that the lorry containing the CTV outside broadcasting unit is being inaugurated just a few days before the Pontifical Council for Social Communications's newly renewed website "Pope2you" comes online.

The aim of the website, which has existed for some time, "is to accompany the thousands of young people from every continent who wish to follow the Pope closely, listening to his words and, in some way, entering into dialogue with him. The site has thus far had some five million hits", he said.

"The second project we have begun working upon is the creation of a new portal which will bring together, also using multimedia technology, the various sources of news within the Vatican", said Archbishop Celli.

In his remarks Fr. Lombardi explained how the new equipment "certainly represents the biggest investment made by the CTV in recent years, and perhaps in its entire history, ... which began in the year 1983 by order of John Paul II. This is, then, a good opportunity to recall the goals and functions of this institution of social communications of the Holy See, and the criteria it follows in its activities.

"The mission of CTV", Fr. Lombardi added, "as its statute says, is to ensure the tele-visual recording of the Holy Father's activities and of other important events that take place within the Vatican, ... and to create an archive of all these images, both as a source of documentation and in order to produce information services, documentaries, etc. All this, of course, is to serve the mission of the Church, making the Holy Father's activities and teaching better known".

Doing this task well, he went on, "requires operational skill and a quality product, in keeping with advances in tele-visual communications and, more generally, in the modern use of video, for example on the Internet. If we failed to maintain an adequate level ... we would effectively hinder the diffusion of the Pope's image, and hence of his message".

For this reason CTV has greatly increased its live coverage over recent years, and currently "makes an average of 200 live broadcasts every year", said Fr. Lombardi. These include the gmajor celebrations in St. Peter's Square, the Angelus, general and special audiences, and concerts in the Paul VI Hall or in the basilicas.

The director of the Vatican Television Centre also pointed out that the majority of quality documentaries are now produced in high-definition, and that an increasing number of television channels are using this system.

For this reason, he explained, CTV's move to the system "was a necessary step we could not fail to make, for otherwise the image of the Pope would gradually have disappeared from television screens over the coming years".

The cost of the operation has been met from three sources: Sony, which offered favourable terms of payment; a notable contribution from the Knights of Columbus, and the resources which CTV has been earmarking for this purpose over recent years, thanks to its annual budget surplus.

For his part, the KofC's Carl Anderson explained how the new HD outside-broadcasting unit "represents the most recent development in the long history of the Catholic Church's work in mass communication".

The Knights of Columbus, he said, "is happy to be able to support the great communications work of the Vatican" in the hope of reaching "to the farthest corner of this city, Italy and the world".

Gildas Pelliet explained how the new mobile unit, "a lorry 13.9 metres long, ... is divided into four operational areas: audio cabin, equipment room, primary and secondary director's cabin, and camera control. The sixteen television cameras all have high-definition fibre optic connections".

Announcements for
this weekend's events



VATICAN CITY, 16 NOV 2010 (VIS) - The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff has issued a formal notification of events in conncection with Benedict XVI's third consistory to crate new cardinals this weekend.

At 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, Pope Benedict XVI will hold an Ordinary Public Consistory to name the twenty-four new cardinals at St. Peter's Basilica.

The following morning, also in St. Peter's Basilica, at 9.30 a.m. on Sunday 21 November, Solemnity of Christ the King, the Holy Father will preside at a concelebrated Mass with the new cardinals, during which he will give them their ring of office.

The programme for the courtesy visits to the new cardinals has also been published, The new cardinals will receive wellwishers from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20, at the following meeting halls:

AULA PAOLO VI

Atrium:
Cardinals Jose Manuel Estepa Llaurens, Kazimierz Nycz, Raul Eduardo Vela Chiriboga, Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya, Antonios Naguib, Raymundo Damasceno.

Main Hall:
Cardinals Paolo Romeo, Domenico Bartolucci, Elio Sgreccia, Donald William Wuerl, Reinhard Marx, Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don.


PALAZZO DELLA CANONICA
FABRICCA SAN PIETRO:
Cardinal Walter Brandmuller.


APOSTOLIC PALACE

Sala Regia:
Cardinals Gianfranco Ravasi, Angelo Amato.

Hall of Blessings:
Cardinals Robert Sarah, Francesco Monterisi, Fortunato Baldelli, Kurt Koch, Velasio De Paolis, Paolo Sardi.

Sala Ducale:
Cardinals Mauro Piacenza, Raymond Leo Burke.

[On Nov, 19, the cardinals-elect will join the College of Cardinals for a 'day of reflection and prayer' with the Holy Father during which they will hear reports on five major issues facing the Church today.]




FLASH!!!!
USCCB elects New York's Archbishop Dolan
as their next president 128-114 -
'conservatives' triumph over'progressives'
who favored Mgr. Kicanas of Arizona

I have posted the full report(s) in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread..... as well
as a profile of Archbishop Dolan in the NOTABLES thread.
128 to 114! Now we know the 'exact' balance of forces at the moment among US bishops.
Remember that at the height of the MSM denunciations of the Pope over the sex-abuse issue,
Archbishop Dolan was probably the only bishop in the world who took time after Sunday Mass
to speak up from the pulpit for the Pope, and to denounce the MSM war against the Pope on his blog....

Impressions of Benedict XVI -
from a Spanish journalist
who has covered four Popes
Excerpted from an interview
by Carmen Elena Villa
Translated from the Spanish service of


Villa interviews Spanish journalist Paloma Gomez Borrero, now 74. about her 30 years as a Vatican correspondent through four Popes, starting with Paul VI, whose death and funeral was her first Vatican assignment for Spanish TV. The greater part of her Vatican career, however, was spent covering John Paul II, on whose trips abroad, she was often the only woman reporter travelling on the papal plane. I have translated only the last part of the interview that has to do with Benedict XVI. ZENIT has a full English translation on www.zenit.org/article-30965?l=english


... How do you view the five years' plus Pontificate of Benedict XVI?
Paloma Gómez Borrero: This is a Pope that you keep discovering more every day. He has an intelligence, a clarity, a humility, affability and intimacy that I had never imagined of him. I did do a TV interview with him when he was a Cardinal, and even then, I could see that he was a person who could get close to others, who likes to dialog, and most especially, to listen.

I admire his line and his consistency. He wants God to enter into the life of man, of the nation - that we should return to our Christian roots. That all those who believe in one God, should talk to each other, and not ignore the life of others. I would define John Paul II as a superstar, and Benedict XVI as 'Doctor affabilis'.

What fruits do you think will come from the Pope's recent visit to Spain?-
His discourses wee magnificent. And the Pope was very happy. I think that the Spanish people, too, came out for him. What the Pope said is very important for Spain, and he said it with a clarity and respect for everyone that will probably change many things.

Are you hopeful for the future of the faith in Spain?
Yes, because as the Pope said, a secular government or State need not be in opposition to the Church, but that they can have a fruitful encounter on all points that they agree upon: the defense of man, of his dignity, of his freedom of education, of collaboration. That confrontation is very dangerous. That is what the Pope wanted to get across.

What do you think are the qualifications for a newsman who is assigned to report and inform about what is taking place in the Church?
Not just about what happens in the Church but in whatever field that a newsman must inform about, he must always go for the truth above all. Instinctively, you would report according to how you see or interpret things, but you should never manipulate what you see. You cannot 'orchestrate' the news or what the Pope or a politician says. And you can't take the news out of its proper context nor manipulate it.

Papa Ratzinger turns on
the 'Light of the world'
by Francesco Antonio Grana
Translated from

Nov. 17, 2010


When, in 1981, he was called yet again with insistence by John Paul II to become Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Ratzinger asked that he be allowed to continue writing for publication.

He did not wish his new responsibility in Rome as a custodian of the Catholic faith to interrupt his theological studies and writings.

John Paul II, who wanted him in the Roman Curia at all costs, did not hesitate to agree to this request. After all, even he, as Pope, would eventually allow himself some editorial license.

In addition to his Magisterial documents, he published 'autobiographical' books such as the bestselling interview book Crossing the Threshold of Hope with Vittorio Messori [inspired, as George Weigel tells us in his biography of teh Polish Pope, by the great success of Messori's interview book years earlier with Cardinal Ratzinger, published in English as The Ratzinger Report, which, Weigel continues, played a major role in John Paul's decision to convoke the 1985 Special Synodal Assembly on the 'reception' in the Church of Vatican II, 20 years after the Council]; Gift and mystery, on the Golden Jubilee of his priesthood; the books on his pastoral mission, Rise, let us be on our way and Memory and Identity, and Roman Triptych, a book of poems.

With JESUS OF NAZARETH, Volume 2 of which will come out early next year (subtitled Holy Week: From the Entry into Jerusalem to the Resurrection], Benedict XVI has followed the practice inaugurated by his immediate predecessor.

Nonetheless, "Never before has a Pope written a book about Jesus," Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini wrote in 2007 when the first volume came out. "John Paul II had accustomed us to some accounts of his life. But it is the first time that a book by a Pope directly confronts a subject as difficult and wide-ranging as the entire life of Jesus and the meaning of his work".

Now Benedict XVI is gifting us with another editorial first. On November 24, Light of the World, an interview book with Peter Seewald, will be on sale in most bookstores around the world. It is the third interview book between Joseph Ratzinger and the Bavarian journalist.

The two earlier ones, Salt of the earth and God and the world, were international bestsellers. Seewald's winning formula: simple questions to his illustrious interlocutor.

For Light of the world, the two met at Castel Gandolfo in the last week of July, one hour a day for six days. And this face-to-face with the Pope is the true novelty of this book. [Equally important to note, the questions were not pre-screened nor discussed beforehand!]

It is not, in fact, the first interview book with a Pope. John Paul II's book with Vittorio Messori had been preceded by that of Paul VI with Jean Guitton [French philosopher-theologian who was the Pope's friend; the book was The Pope speaks: Dialogues of Paul VI with Jean Guitton, published in the USA in 1968].

With both Papa Montini and Papa Wojtyla, their interviewers submitted written questions, to which they received written answers.

But Light of the world is the outcome of face-to-face interviews between the Pope and Seewald - one that was not filtered through any linguistic haze, either, because they spoke to each other in the Bavarian dialect they share.

[Similar face-to-face sessions resulted in the three interview books before it - Cardinal Ratzinger met with Messori in the seminary of Bressanone for The Ratzinger Report [the language they used was Italian]; with Seewald, in a former Jesuit residence in Frascati, for Salt of the Earth, and in the Benedictine Abbey at Montecassino for God and the world.]

"I continue to be amazed by the kindness and availability of the Pope," Seewald said. "Everyone will be surprised to find a Pope who was so accessible and open [to all the questions raised]".

Nov. 17, Wednesday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

ST. ELIZABETH OF HUNGARY (Also known as Elizabeth of Thuringia) (b Hungary 1207, d. Germany 1231)
Princess of Hungary, Queen of Thuringia, Mother and Widow, Lay Franciscan
Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis last Oct. 20 to the saint
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20101020...
who has been described as "one of the most pious women to ever live... who made more of an impact on an entire country then most people who live three times as long as she did". Married to Ludwig of Thuringia at 14, he allowed her to use royal resources for her charities and is locally venerated as a saint himself even if he was never canonized. Their third child was born after Ludwig was killed as he set out for the Sixth Crusade. She was devastated by his death and joined the Franciscan third order. Venerated for her life of prayer, sacrifice and service, she was canonized just four years after she died.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/111710.shtml


OR today.
No papal stories in today's issue. There is a front-page editorial reflection on the paradox that new advances in medical science and technology have contributed to the erosion of respect for human life since genetically flawed, handicapped or terminally ill persons are now considered disposable. Page 1 international news: the European Union's alarm over Ireland's debt crisis, particularly Portugal which has long been thought to be 'the next Greece'; growing concern over the resurgent Taliban in Afghanistan who now threaten nationwide attacks; UN troops clash with Haiti demonstrators protesting lack of effective action against the cholera epidemic in the earthquake-ravaged country. In the inside pages, an interview with Mons. Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Ministry to healthcare Workers, now holding its 25th international convention in Rome on the subject of providing health care in the light of Caritas in veritate.


THE POPE'S DAY

General Audience today - The Holy Father's catechesis was devoted to St. Juliana of Liege, a 13th century Belgian nun, mystic and devotee of the Eucharist, whose advocacy led to the designation of the Feast of Corpus Christi to celebrate the Eucharist. The Pope also made a special appeal for the immediate release of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death on a false charge of blasphemy against Islam.




Worldwide mobilization
for Asia Bibi
Translated from


At lesat 40,000 e-mails have been sent by Christioan associations, human rights groups and ordinary folk to Pakistan government agencies asking for the release of 37-year-old Asia Bibi,

The Churches in Pakistan and Christian communities around the world have also launched a petition to abolish Pakistna's law against blasphemy. 75,000 signatures were gathered and submitted to the government in Islamabad, in an initiative by the Justice and Peace Commission of the Pakistan bishops' conference and many other Christian groups.

On the international level, the initiative is led by the Aid to the Church that Suffers, which has been gathering signatures in Europe.

[Background on this story was posted earlier in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread.]


- Mons. Karl Golzer, Bishop of Bressanone-Bolzano, has disclosed he has a rare atypical case of Parkinson's disease that affects his speech and mobility. He has been receiving therapy and will continue carrying out his duties, with some restrictions on his activities.. The Pope had appointed Golzer to succeed Mons. Wilhelm Egger who died unexpectedly in 2008.

Our prayers and best wishes for Asia Bibi and Mons. Golzer, and all those who suffer in similar conditions.


- A conservative blogger in the Daily Telegraph offers this informative commentary today about the Irish leadership that have led Ireland to the verge of catastrophic economic implosion, which is tied up to the prevalent anti-Church sentiment among the Irish today:

---

the Irish political class (is) an even more self-satisfied and closed-minded collection of people than our own Guardianistas. Kevin Myers has often said that Ireland overthrew the clergy only to replace it with the commentariat, a group with a remarkably narrow set of views and completely intolerant of dissent – Church bad, multi-culturalism good; Brits bad, America worse, Israelis worst of all. Being part of the European project goes without saying among this herd of beach-bound whales.

Ireland has a historical attachment to continental Europe, as liberator from British rule, but it perhaps goes even deeper than that, back to its monks’ preservation of Western civilisation during the Dark Ages. Ireland, more than most countries, feels itself profoundly European and its Catholicism was always a part of that. It is not entirely a coincidence that as Christianity, faded Ireland adopted a replacement ideology – the dream of Brussels. Or the world’s biggest suicide pact, as I think of it.

The Irish political elite, progressive in social and cultural issues, naturally loves Brussels’s social agenda, which is hostile to the Church, religion or any moral opposition...

---

And that is the poisoned rancorous environment which has fomented and exacerbated hostility to the Church given the pretext of abuses committed by some priests.

GENERAL AUDIENCE TODAY:
Catechesis on St. Juliana of Liege



The Holy Father's catechesis was devoted to St. Juliana of Liege, a 13th century Belgian nun, mystic and devotee of the Eucharist, whose advocacy led to the designation of the Feast of Corpus Christi to celebrate the Eucharist.

The Pope also made a special appeal for the immediate release of Asia Bibi, the Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death on a false charge of blasphemy against Islam.





Springtime of the Eucharist


NOV 2010 (RV) - On Wednesday Pope Benedict said that the Church is witnessing a “springtime in Eucharistic devotion”, particularly among young people who are finding time to “stop in silence before the tabernacle to spend time with Him”.

The Pope described this as a “wonderful development” and specifically mentioned the Eucharistic Adoration he led in Hyde Park London during his recent apostolic visit there.

He said he hoped that this “springtime of the Eucharist” would spread to other parishes, particularly in Belgium, the birthplace of St Juliana of Liège, a 13th century Augustinian nun, whose devotion to the Eucharist gave rise to the universal feast of Corpus Christi, and to whom he dedicated his catechesis this week:

---

Intelligent and cultured, she was drawn to contemplative prayer and devotion to the sacrament of the Eucharist. As the result of a recurring vision, Juliana worked to promote a liturgical feast in honour of the Eucharist.

The feast of Corpus Christi was first celebrated in the Diocese of Liège, and began to spread from there. Pope Urban IV, who had known Juliana in Liège, instituted the solemnity of Corpus Christi for the universal Church and charged Saint Thomas Aquinas with composing the texts of the liturgical office.

The Pope himself celebrated the solemnity in Orvieto, then the seat of the papal court, where the relic of a celebrated Eucharistic miracle, which had occurred the previous year, was kept.

As we recall Saint Juliana of Cornillon, let us renew our faith in Christ’s true presence in the Eucharist and pray that the “springtime of the Eucharist” which we are witnessing in the Church today may bear fruit in an ever greater devotion to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood.

---

In his traditional greetings to English speaking pilgrims, the Holy Father extended a warm welcome to the delegation from the International Catholic Migration Commission. He also offered prayerful good wishes to the Sisters of Notre Dame of Coesfeld meeting in General Chapter and greeted the priests from England and Wales celebrating their anniversaries of ordination.

Pope's appeal for Asia Bibi

At the end of his general audience Wednesday Pope Benedict XVI joined the international community in expressing his concern for the plight of Christians in Pakistan, “often victims of violence or discrimination”.

He said “especially today I express my spiritual closeness to Mrs. Asia Bibi and her family, while I ask for full freedom to be restored to her, as soon as possible”.

Pope Benedict XVI added “I also pray for those who find themselves in similar situations, that their human dignity and their fundamental rights be fully respected”.

Nongovernmental organizations are re-launching campaigns against Pakistan’s blasphemy law following the recent death sentence of the Christian woman, Asia Bibi, a mother of five children. Bibi has been on trial for over a year after a row with a group of Muslim women.

She is the first woman to be convicted on charges of blasphemy in Pakistan – a law that the Christian minority says is often misused to settle personal scores.

“The death sentence has shocked the civil society here,” says Peter Jacob, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Justice and Peace of the Pakistani Bishops Conference.

“Civil society in Pakistan is very active,” Peter Jacob told Vatican Radio. “There’s a number of appeals going on – signature campaigns – to make the authorities, the prime minister and parliament aware of people’s sentiment that this injustice is not acceptable to the people of Pakistan.”









Here is a full translation of the catechesis today:

---

Dear brothers and sisters.

This morning I wish to present to you another female figure, little known, but to whom the Church owes a great deal, not just for her holiness in life, but also because, with her great fervor, she contributed to the institution of one of the most important liturgical solemnities of the year, the Feast of Corpus Domini.



She is St. Juliana of Cornillon, also known as St. Juliana of Liege. The information we have about her life comes above all from a biography probably written by a churchman who was her contemporary, and who recounts various testimonies by persons who knew the saint directly.

Juliana was born in 1191 or 1192 near Liege in Belgium. It is important to emphasize the place, because at that time, the Diocese of Liege was, so to speak, a true 'Eucharistic cenacle'.

Before Juliana, distinguished theologians had illustrated the supreme value of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and in Liege, there were women's groups who were generously dedicated to Eucharistic worship and to fervent communion. Guided by exemplary priests, they lived together, dedicating themselves to prayer and charitable works.

Orphaned at age 5, Juliana and her sister Agnes were entrusted to the care of Augustinian nuns in the convent-leprosarium of Mont-Cornillon. She was educated particularly by a nun named Sapienza who followed her spiritual maturation until Juliana received the religious habit and became an Augustinian nun herself.

She acquired remarkable culture, to the point where she read the works of the Church Fathers in Latin, particularly St. Augustine and St. Bernard Clairvaux.

Besides her lively intelligence, Juliana showed, from the start, a particular propensity for contemplation. She had a profound sense of the presence of Christ which she experienced with particular intensity in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, often meditating on the words of Jesus: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28,20).

At 16, she experienced her first vision which was repeated several times afterwards during her Eucharistic adorations. The vision showed the moon in full splendor, with a dark stripe which crossed it diametrically. The Lord made her understand the significance of what she saw. The moon symbolized the life of the Church on earth, the opaque line represented the absence of a liturgical feast, for the institution of which Juliana was called on to work effectively - that is, a feast in which believers could adore the Eucharist in order to augment their faith, advance in the practice of virtues, and repair offenses through the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Also involved was a much-esteemed priest, John of Lausanne, canon of the Church of St. Martin in Liege, whom the women devotees asked to advocate their dearest cause among theologians and ecclesiastics. The responses were positive and encouraging.

What happened with Juliana of Cornillon is often repeated in the life of saints: In order to confirm that an inspiration truly comes from God, one must always immerse oneself in prayer, know how to wait patiently, seek the friendship and opinion of other good souls, and submit everything to the judgment of the pastors of the Church.

It was the Bishop of Liege himself, Robert de Thourotte, who, after initial hesitation, welcomed the proposal of Juliana and her companions, and instituted for the first time, the Solemnity of Corpus Domini in his diocese. Later, other bishops imitated him, establishing the feast in the territories entrusted to their pastoral care.

Nonetheless, the Lord often asks the saints to overcome trials in order to further increased their faith. This happened to Juliana, who had to suffer the severe opposition of some members of the clergy and of the superior of her monastery.

Therefore, of her own will, Juliana left the convent of Mont-Cornillon with some companions, and for ten years, from 1248 to 1258, she was a guest in various monasteries of Cistercian nuns. She edified everyone with her humility, she never had a word of criticism or reproach for her adversaries, but continued to zealously spread the Eucharistic cult.

She died in 1248 at Fosses-La-Ville, in Belgium. In the cell where she lay, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, and according to her biographer, Juliana had died, contemplating, with her last impulse of love, Jesus in the Eucharist, whom she had always loved, honored and adored.

Also conquered by the good cause of the Feast of Corpus Domini was Jacques de Troyes who had known the saint when he was archdeacon of Liege. It was he who, as Pope Urban IV, in 1264, instituted the Feast of Corpus Domini as a required feast for the universal Church on the Thursday after Pentecost.

In the Bull instituting the feast, entitled [CC]Transiturus de hoc mundo (dated August 11, 1264), Pope Urban discreetly evoked the mystical experiences of Juliana, valuing their authenticity, and wrote:

"Although the Eucharist is solemnly celebrated everyday, we think it is right that at least once a year, a greater and more solemn commemoration should be held. In this sacramental commemoration of Christ, under the species of bread and wine, Jesus Christ is present among us in his own substance. Indeed, before he ascended to heaven, he had said: "And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age" (Mt 28,20).

The Pontiff himself wished to set an example, celebrating the Solemnity of Corpus Domini in Orvieto, the city where he lived at the time. By his order, the city's Cathedral conserved - and still does - the famous corporal with the traces of the Eucharistic miracle that had taken place the year before, 1263, in Bolsena.

A priest, as he was consecrating the bread and wine, was seized by sudden doubt as to the real presence of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist. Miraculously, drops of blood started to ooze from the consecrated Host, confirming what our faith proclaims.

Pope Urban asked one of the greatest theologians in history, St. Thomas Aquinas - who was at the time with the Pope in Orvieto - to compose the texts for the liturgy of this new feast. Those texts, which are still in use today, are masterpieces in which theology and poetry merge.

They are texts which make the chords of the heart vibrate to express praise and gratitude to the Most Blessed Sacrament, while the mind, penetrating with wonder into the mystery, acknowledges in the Eucharist the living presence of Jesus, of his sacrifice of love which reconciles us with the Father and gives us salvation.

Although, after the death of Urban IV, the celebration of the Feast of Corpus Domini was limited to some regions in France, Germany, Hungary, and northern Italy, yet another Pontiff, John XXII, renewed it in 1317 for the whole Church. Since then, the feast developed marvelously, and even today, it is devoutly felt by the Christian people.

I wish to affirm with joy that today, in the Church, there is a Eucharistic spring! How many persons stop fora moment of silence before the Tabernacle, to have a conversation of love with Jesus! It is comforting to know that not a few groups of young people have rediscovered the beauty of praying in adoration before the Most Blessed Sacrament. I think, for instance, of the Eucharistic Adoration we held in London's Hyde Park.

I pray that this Eucharistic spring may continue to spread even more in all parishes, particularly in Belgium, St. Juliana's homeland. Venerable John Paul II, in his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, noted that "in so many places... the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament finds ample space in the daily routine and becomes an inexhaustible spring of holiness. The devout participation of the faithful in the Eucharistic procession on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, is a grace from the Lord, who every year fills with joy all who participate in it. Other signs of Eucharistic faith and love can be mentioned" (No. 10).

In remembering St. Juliana of Cornillon, let us renew our faith in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. As the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us, "Jesus Christ is present in the Eucharist in a unique and incomparable way. He is, in fact, present in a true, real and substantial way: with his Body and his Blood, with his Soul and with his Divinity. In it, he is present in a sacramental way, that is, under the Eucharistic species of bread and wine - Christ who is whole and total, God and man"(No. 262).

Dear friends, fidelity to the encounter with the Eucharistic Christ in the Sunday Mass is essential for the journey of faith, but let us also seek to frequently visit the Lord present in the Tabernacle!

Contemplating the consecrated Host in adoration, we encounter the gift of God's love, we encounter the Passion and the Cross of Jesus, as well as his Resurrection.

Through contemplating him in adoration, the Lord draws us towards him, within his mystery, to transform us as he transforms the bread and wine. The saints have always found strength, comfort and joy in the Eucharistic encounter.

With the words of the Eucharistic hymn 'Adoro te, devote', let us repeat before the Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament: "Make me believe ever more in you, because in you, I have hope, and because I love you". Thank you.

---

POPE BLESSES VATICAN'S
NEW HD-TV MOBILE STATION
Adapted from the English service of

Nov. 17, 2010





After the GA, the Pope was given a first hand look at the new $5-million broadcast van that will help transmit images for CTV, the Vatican television center.

The Pope blessed the van and was shown the features of the stete-of-the-art unit that will be the hub of CTV coverage of all major Vatican events.

The equipment will undergo final adjustments and is expected to be operational by Christmas, transmitting Vatican broadcasts in high-definition (HD) images. It will eventually have 3D-image capability.

Coinciding with Pope's visit:
56 new seminarians in UK this year
set a 10-year high for vocations
by Peter Hutchison

15 Nov 2010



A total of 56 men began training for the priesthood in September this year, the National Office of Vocation said. That was up on the 49 who started the process to become priests in 2009.

The rise coincided with the four-day visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain.

Catholic leaders put the rise in applicants down to outreach programmes which were leading young men to ask questions about what was important in life to them.

Many dioceses and religious orders now run discernment groups for young men and women where all vocations are discussed.

Fr Christopher Jamison, Director of the National Office of Vocation, said: “When everybody in the Church takes seriously Newman’s insight that ‘God has created me to do him some definite service,’ then a greater number discover their call to the priesthood and religious life.”

The news also comes a week after five Church of England Bishops announced that they were defecting to the Catholic Church and two months after the first visit of a Pontiff to British soil since Pope John Paul II in 1982.

Pope Benedict XVI spent four days in Britain in September and the Church believes that trip will inspire others to train to become priests next year.

Fr Stephen Lanrgidge, Chairman of the Vocations Directors of England and Wales, said: “The number of people responding to the call of Christ to be priests and religious has been rising slowly but surely, and may rise further as people respond to the visit of Pope Benedict.”

The Pope reminded Spain that
everything must start with God
by Cardinal Antonio CAÑIZARES
Translated from

Nov. 16, 2010


The gestures, the words, the events, of Benedict XVI's recent visit to Santiago de Compostela and Barcelona remain alive and luminous. The echoes cannot be muffled and we cannot forget how much we received and learned in those days. Therein lies our future - and I don't exaggerate in making this affirmation.

The starting point of all Christianity and the Church, and what they bring to mankind, to society, to all the nations, is God, mot a human plan, the Pope said in Santiago de Compostela. As the servants that we are of all men, we can bring no greater treasure to our contemporaries.

In Santiago, the Holy Father, in speaking of the needs, the fears and the hopes of Europe - we might say, of Spain, too - added: "What is the specific and fundamental contribution of the Church to that Europe which for half a century has been moving towards new forms and projects?"

His answer was a confession of faith, which ennobles and fills us with hope, an affirmation that God is a friend to man and his freedom, the origin of our being, foundation and peak of our freedom,
not the antagonist to this freedom.

The contribution of the Church, he said, "is centered on a simple and decisive reality: God exists and he has given us life. He alone is absolute, faithful and unfailing love, that infinite goal that is glimpsed behind the good, the true and the beautiful things of this world, admirable indeed, but insufficient for the human heart".

This is the tragedy we suffer from: to think that God is against man, or that it is better to do without him, to live and organize ourselves as if he does not exist.

And where does this lead us? To live without a solid foundation, without finding the solid base on which to establish the dignity and the grandeur of every human being from the first moment of his existence; to journey through life without the great hope that alone can satisfy the hunger for life, for happiness, for love, that there is in every human being; to cast ourselves precipitately on the wrong and empty pathways that lead nowhere - never to encounter the firm basis for living together in profound and responsible brotherhood.

How could God have created all things without loving them - He who in his fullness needs nothing? God, as he has revealed himself to us in the human face of his Son, Jesus Christ, is love, a rejection of violence - he is rich in mercy and forgiveness, he listens and defends the afflicted who have no protector, and defends the poor and those who are unjustly treated.

Man, every man, every human being, in his singularity, is loved by God to the extreme. We can only understand the grandeur of man and God's wager on man in the light of God's love. We can only measure what man is worth, every man, in the light of what he is worth to God. Therefore, how and why should we set God aside or reduce him to the private sphere?

"How can it be that there is public silence with regard to the first and essential reality of human life? How can what is most decisive in life be confined to the purely private sphere or banished to the shadows? We cannot live in darkness, without seeing the light of the sun. How is it then that God, who is the light of every mind, the power of every will and the magnet of every heart, be denied the right to propose the light that dissipates all darkness? This is why we need to hear God once again under the skies of Europe, under the skies of Spain...."

The way of the Church, of Christianity, is man. To affirm man is to affirm God - this affirmation, which has a universal character, and is decisive for everyone, for our individual and collective future, can never be made against him or without him.

God has wagered fully and irrevocably for man in Jesus. That is why the Church, which adores the living God, has no other stake nor can she offer anything other than what God wants: to serve man, offer him all that is best and what he most needs - God himself and his infinite love.

The Church does not legislate anything in society. There are those who have that responsibility. The Church proposes, she does not impose, that which will make it possible for legislations not to be against man but always in his favor. What she offers is a guarantee of coexistence, of fraternity and of authentic and certain freedom for man.

Neither the Pope nor the Church propose a society that is confessional or subject to the Church. But she cannot be denied her duty, and therefore, her right, to affirm God - with all its consequences, but with the certainty and guarantee that she serves man in this way, she affirms him and offers him the most radical foundations of faithfulness to the grandeur and dignity of the human being, upon which the common good is based, and without which there can be no laws that are just and that are bearers of the peace and the future.

The Holy Father in his visit to Spain, which he loves very much and which concerns him very much in the most noble and paternal sense, has left us a great legacy for our future. To mistake his words for interference is to be wrong about everything, and worse, to walk without the light and towards the void.

Is that what we want? Certainly not. Well then, let us be prudent and wise, and let us act with the respect and the moderation that Christians - all of us, but above all, the Pope - deserve.

Wednesday, Nov. 18, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

DEDICATION OF THE BASILICAS OF ST. PETER AND ST. PAUL IN ROME
The Church of Rome celebrates the dedication of its four papal basilicas - Santa Maria Maggiore on August 5, San Giovanni in Laterano on Nov. 9, and San Pietro and San Paolo fuori le Mura jointly on Nov, 19. The basilicas dedicated to the Apostles of Rome were each built over the sites where they were martyred and buried. The original Basilicas on the sites were built by the Emperor Constantine...Vatican Hill was a simple cemetery where believers gathered at St. Peter’s tomb to pray. In 319 Constantine built on the site a basilica that stood for more than a thousand years until, despite numerous restorations, it threatened to collapse. In 1506 Pope Julius II ordered it razed and reconstructed, but the new basilica was not completed and dedicated for more than two centuries... St. Paul’s Outside the Walls stands near the Abbazia delle Tre Fontane, where St. Paul is believed to have been beheaded. The largest church in Rome until St. Peter’s was rebuilt, the basilica also rises over the traditional site of its namesake’s grave. The most recent edifice was constructed after a fire in 1823. The first basilica was also Constantine’s work... From the time the basilicas were first built until the empire crumbled under barbarian invasions, the two churches, although miles apart, were linked by a roofed colonnade of marble columns.

St John Chrysostom's words on the Apostles' tombs:"The sepulchres off those who have served Christ crucified surpass the palaces of kings; not so much in the greatness and beauty of the buildings (though in this also they go beyond them) as in other things of more importance, such as the multitude of those who go with devotion and joy repair to them. For the emperor himself, clothed in purple, goes to the tombs of the saints and kisses them; humbly prostrate on the ground he beseeches the same saints to pray to God for him; and he who wears a royal crown looks on it as a great privilege from God that a tentmaker and a fisherman, and these dead, should be his protectors and defenders, and for this he begs with great earnestness."


OR today.
No papal photos, but Page 1 highlights the Holy Father's appeal at yesterday's General Audience for the immediate release of the Pakistani Christian woman sentenced to death on a false charge of blasphemy against Islam, and features his catechesis on St. Juliana of Liege, thanks to whom the Feast of Corpus Domini was instituted. Secular news: Europe's finance ministers seek a strategy to save the euro in the event debt-ridden countries like Ireland, Portugal and Spain default on their national debts; Haiti's unchecked cholera epidemic provokes more violence from citizens protesting lack of effective countermeasures; and the Italian Parliament schedules a no-confidence vote in the Berlusconi government next month.



THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father met today with

- His Grace, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and Primate of the Anglican Communion

- His Eminence Iannis Zizioulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon

(Both Williams and Ioannis are in Rome for the 50th anniversary of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.)

- 10 Brazilian bishops of the Central-West sector on ad limina visit. Individual meetings. (The second group
of the region's bishops met individually, although the Pope addressed the entire delegation earlier this week.)

- Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Address in Italian.


Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi released the following statement today:

---

CONCERNING NEWS ABOUT
AN EPISCOPAL ORDINATION
IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Question: What is the position of the Holy See regarding the news according to which some bishops in Mainland China are forced to participate in a bishop ordination in Chengde, Hebei? Is the candidate approved by the Pope?

Answer: The Holy See is disturbed by reports from Mainland China alleging that a number of bishops in communion with the Pope are being forced by government officials to attend an illicit episcopal ordination in Chengde, northeastern Hebei, said to be scheduled around November 20.

If these reports are true, then the Holy See would consider such actions as grave violations of freedom of religion and freedom of conscience.

It would also consider such an ordination as illicit and damaging to the constructive relations that have been developing in recent times between the People's Republic of China and the Holy See.

Moreover, the Holy See confirms that Fr Joseph Guo Jincai has not received the approval of the Holy Father to be ordained as a bishop of the Catholic Church.The Holy See, keen to develop positive relations with China, has contacted the Chinese authorities on this whole matter and has made its own position clear.

---

Pope, church leaders call for
guaranteed health care for all
By Sarah Delaney


VATICAN CITY, Nov. 18 (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI and other church leaders said it was the moral responsibility of nations to guarantee access to health care for all of their citizens, regardless of social and economic status or their ability to pay.

Access to adequate medical attention, the Pope said in a written message Nov. 18, was one of the "inalienable rights" of man.

The Pope's message was read by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, to participants at the 25th International Conference of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry at the Vatican Nov. 18-19.

The theme of this year's meeting was "Caritas in Veritate - toward an equitable and human health care."

The Pope lamented the great inequalities in health care around the globe. While people in many parts of the world aren't able to receive essential medications or even the most basic care, in industrialized countries there is a risk of "pharmacological, medical and surgical consumerism" that leads to "a cult of the body," the Pope said.

"The care of man, his transcendent dignity and his inalienable rights" are issues that should concern Christians, the Pope said.

Because an individual's health is a "precious asset" to society as well as to himself, governments and other agencies should seek to protect it by "dedicating the equipment, resources and energy so that the greatest number of people can have access."

"Justice in health care should be a priority of governments and international institutions," he said, cautioning that protecting human health does not include euthanasia or promoting artificial reproductive techniques that include the destruction of embryos.

Care for human life from conception to its natural end must be a guiding light in determining health care policy, the Pope said.

In his own written statement, Cardinal Bertone had strong words in support of the need for governments to take care of all citizens, especially children, the elderly, the poor and immigrants.

"Justice requires guaranteed universal access to health care," he said, adding that the provision of minimal levels of medical attention to all is "commonly accepted as a fundamental human right."

Governments are obligated, therefore, to adopt the proper legislative, administrative and financial measures to provide such care along with other basic conditions that promote good health, such as food security, water and housing, the cardinal said.

Private health insurance companies, he said, should conform to human rights legislation and see to it that "privatization not become a threat to the accessibility, availability and quality of health care goods and services."

Cardinal Bertone recommended that government leaders in poor countries use their limited resources wisely and for the good of their citizens.

The governments of richer nations with good health care available should practice more solidarity with their own disadvantaged citizens and help developing countries promote health care while trying to avoid a "paternalistic or humiliating" way of assisting, the cardinal said.

Cardinal Bertone warned of the "war of interests" between pharmaceutical companies and developing nations who have little access to medicines because they can't pay for them. He said that those manufacturers should not be driven by "profit as the only objective" in the creation and distribution of medicines.

Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Care Ministry, said in opening remarks that to have good health "is a natural right" recognized by international institutions.

Despite such recognition, he said, great imbalances persist and developing nations find themselves with inadequate structures and without the ability to provide basic medicines to their people. Wealthier countries, on the other hand, have a "technical" approach to the sick, which ignores "the sick person in his entirety and dignity," Archbishop Zimowski said.

The council, created by Pope John Paul II 25 years ago, will continue the Church's mission to serve the sick and promote health for all, the archbishop said.

Meeting between the Pope
and Archbishop of Canterbury




Vatican City, Nov 18, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- The head of the Church of England, Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury met privately in Rome with Pope Benedict XVI on Nov. 18.

The meeting comes at an awkward time in relations between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

On Nov. 8, five Anglican bishops announced they were resigning their posts to enter the Catholic Church under special terms outlined last year by Pope Benedict.

One of the five, Bishop John Broadhurst of Fulham, told the London Times, that he believed thousands, not hundreds, of laity would follow them into the Catholic Church.

Archbishop Williams had already been scheduled to visit Rome to take part in 50th anniversary celebrations of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

However, his meeting with the Pope recalled one held in Rome almost exactly one year ago — after the Pope had released his plans to create “personal ordinariates” for Anglicans seeking to come over to Rome. [Not to mention their meetings in London during teh Holy Father's state visit in September!]

Details of this latest meeting have not been released. Archbishop Williams did address the conversions in an interview with Vatican Radio Nov. 18.

He said he was “deeply skeptical” about the “larger claims” of a massive exodus of Anglicans to Rome.

Asked about the Pope’s invitation to Anglicans and his creation of personal ordinariates, Archbishop Williams said: “I don’t see it as an aggressive act, meant to destabilize the relations of the churches, and it remains to be seen just how large a movement we’re talking about.”

For the first time, Archbishop Williams suggested that worshipers who join the ordinariate could be allowed to stay in their Anglican churches under a plan to let Roman Catholics share Church of England facilities.

The process is just getting underway and the parameters for new dioceses to be composed of former Anglicans, called "personal ordinariates," are still up in the air. By way of these ordinariates Anglicans will be able to "cross over" singly or en masse into the Catholic Church while retaining their liturgical traditions.

Through direct communication between the bishops and the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the first could be created in the United Kingdom early next year.





Archbishop Williams on ecumenism,
the Ordinariates and the Pope's UK visit


18 NOV 2010 (RV) - The legacy of the past half century of dialogue between the different Christian denominations and the future direction of the ecumenical journey were under the spotlight in the Vatican last night.



Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams and Orthodox Metropolitan John Zizioulas joined past and present members of the Pontifical council for Christian Unity for a celebration recalling the founding of their original Secretariat by Pope John XXIII in 1960 in preparation for the Second Vatican Council.

Drawing inspiration from New Testament texts, Dr Williams spoke of the three dimensions of unity – with Christ, with each other and with the apostolic tradition – which can underpin a new phase of ecumenical dialogue.

Urging his listeners not to lose sight of the ‘Ut Unum Sint agenda’, he called for shared reflection on the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed and, above all, on Eucharistic theology. which he said has ‘worn thin’ in many Christian communities.

Talking to Philippa Hitchen after the event, Dr Williams also spoke of the five Anglican bishops who announced this week they’d be joining the new Ordinariate to be established for those seeking unity with Rome:

“Obviously my reactions to the resignations is one of regret but respect - I know the considerations they’ve been through, particular the two who were my suffragans, we’ve talked about it, we’ve worked through it and parted with prayers and blessings so there’s no ill feeling there. I think the challenge will come in working out shared use of churches, of how we as Anglicans ‘recommend’ people and also of course, there will be some parishes without priests so we have a practical challenge here and there.”

Asked to comment on Pope Benedict’s description of the Ordinariate as a ‘prophetic gesture’, he replied,

“Well I think if the Ordinariate helps people evaluate Anglican legacy or patrimony, well and good, I’m happy to praise God for it. I don’t see it as an aggressive act, meant to destabilise the relations of the Churches and it remains to be seen just how large a movement we’re talking about.

"But prophetic? Maybe yes, in the sense that here is the Roman Catholic Church saying there are ways of being Christian in the Western church which are not restricted by historic Roman Catholic identity - that’s something we can talk about".

Dr Williams also spoke of his recent two-week visit to India where he met with victims of anti-Christian persecution:

“I think Christians are drawn closer together than in any other circumstances when they face persecution – in Iraq, Pakistan Indonesia, Orissa or Rajasthan, Christians under pressure don’t have the luxury of waiting to stand together until they’ve sorted everything out.

"I met first-hand with a number of people on the receiving end of violence – a woman who’d seen her husband tortured to death in front of her for refusing to abandon his Christian faith – that’s simply a moment when you realise what the basic truths are.”



NB: The Holy Father also met with Metropolitan Zizouilias Thursday morning, but I haven't seen a photo or story about it so far.

50 years of promoting Christian unity:
Pursuing ecumenism with passion





18 NOV 2010 (RV) - The legacy of the past half century of dialogue between the different Christian denominations and the future direction of the ecumenical journey were under the spotlight here in the Vatican this week as the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity marked its 50th anniversary.

On Thursday Pope Benedict met with members of the Council who haveve been holding their plenary assembly all week on the theme of ‘A new phase of the ecumenical dialogue’.

In his address the Pope said the ecumenical journey has come a long way over the past 50 years, building up new understanding and respect between the different churches and communities, overcoming historical prejudices, advancing the theological dialogue but also that of charity and cooperation on issues including the defence of life, the promotion of justice, care of the environment and common biblical translations.

The Pope noted that many in the Western churches feel the ecumenical journey has lost its impetus, thus there is an urgent need to form new generations and revive the enthusiasm necessary to tackle the challenges of further fragmentation and new ethical questions.

The Pope said the Church has been pursuing the cause of Christian unity with the Orthodox and non-Catholic Oriental Churches, including the crucial question of the role of the Bishop of Rome.

Pope Benedict stressed that even when faced with new and difficult situations, the goal of the ecumenical journey must remain unchanged, along with our firm commitment to it - not in terms of political negotiations or skilled mediation which sooner or later much reach a compromise acceptable to all sides, but rather in the two-fold action of theological research and prayer which remains at the heart of our whole journey together.




Ecumenical flight still
far from destination
By Cindy Wooden


VATICAN CITY, Nov. 18 (CNS) -- For years, Christian leaders have recognized a waning enthusiasm for ecumenism, but now they are warning that too many Christians assume their divisions and differences just don't matter.

Whether a divided Christianity is an anomaly, as an eminent Orthodox theologian said, or the result of sin, as a cardinal said, the ecumenical dialogues involving the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity are signs that the Catholic Church and other mainline churches are not going to settle for anything less than full unity in faith.

The pontifical council held its 50th anniversary celebration Nov. 17 at the Vatican and its members met the Pope the next morning.

The evening celebration featured talks by Cardinal-designate Kurt Koch, council president; Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams of Canterbury; Orthodox Metropolitan Ioannis (Zizioulas) of Pergamon; and Cardinal Walter Kasper, retired council president.

Cardinal-designate Koch used a metaphor to describe 50 years of Vatican ecumenical activity. He said it is like a plane trip -- there is much activity and excitement in preparing for the trip, everyone feels something happening during take-off, but when cruising altitude is reached, no one notices how fast the plane is moving, and passengers start to fidget and wonder if they ever are going to arrive.

Ecumenical activity may have appeared to level off, he said, but it still is moving forward, and people must trust that it will reach its destination, he said.

The cardinal-designate did not mention the recent turbulence experienced on the ecumenical flight because of serious differences, including over the ordination of women, blessing homosexual unions and dealing with abortion and other life issues.

Cardinal Kasper said the sins of Christians throughout the centuries have fractured the body of Christ.

"The great danger is that we get use to this situation of division, taking it simply as a fact," he said. "The existence of confessional churches, one alongside the other, is a reality that contradicts the will of the Lord and is the fruit of sin."

Christians cannot take shortcuts to unity or gloss over differences that, in fact, may reveal they are not united in faith, he said.

"Good-natured coexistence," cooperation in social service projects and shared events during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are all positive developments, Cardinal Kasper said, "but they are not enough to fulfill Christ's will for his Church."

In fact, both Archbishop Williams, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, and Metropolitan Ioannis, Orthodox co-chairman of the Catholic-Orthodox theological dialogue, expressed caution about a new trend in ecumenism -- "reconciled diversity."

They warned that unity cannot be the result of believing differences are not important or too difficult to tackle, so that churches simply skip ahead to mutual recognition of ministers and full sacramental sharing.

The Orthodox churches, like the Catholic Church, have longer and more detailed lists of the differences that they consider necessary to resolve before unity can be restored, but Archbishop Williams said the Anglican and many mainline Protestant churches also have trouble seeing how "reconciled diversity" can respond to each dimension of the "biblical foundation for a theology of Christian unity."

Archbishop Williams said the New Testament calls for the unity of Christians in Jesus Christ, unity with one another and unity with the witness of the apostles and apostolic teaching.

The central place where Christians stand in unity with Christ is in the Eucharist, he said, because it is "the place where the prayer of Christ becomes our prayer."

However, he said, increasingly the Eucharist is not the central action of many Christian communities, including in some parts of the Anglican Communion, and the archbishop called for a renewed effort to develop an ecumenical theology of the Eucharist.

While almost all Christians would agree they need to maintain the faith handed on by the apostles, their ideas on how that is guaranteed vary widely and go from the Catholic vision that it is the Pope who guarantees unity and apostolic continuity to an evangelical vision in which individual Christians read the Bible and basically decide for themselves.

Most Christians who support the "reconciled diversity" model of unity, he said, believe the problem of authority is too complicated to deal with, so they simply move on.

Metropolitan Ioannis, a top theologian and representative of the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, said a real challenge to ecumenism today is that not all Christians agree on what unity means and entails.

For the Orthodox, he said, "unity cannot avoid the question of truth," of what is an orthodox theological position and what is heresy.

While some Christians "would be happier to remain separated," Metropolitan John said that only serious dialogue can lead to the full unity Christ willed for his Church.

Nov. 19, Thursday, 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

ST. AGNES OF ASSISI (1193-1253)
Poor Clare Nun and Abbess
A younger sister of St. Clare, she followed her sister to St. Francis's second order.
It is said that various miraculous interventions prevented her family's efforts to get
her back. Eventually, her sister sent her to set up a convent in Tuscany, the first of
many that she established. She died three months after Clare, and is buried with her.
She was canonized in 1753.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/111910.shtml


OR today.

Right photo: CERN photo of anti-matter particles imaged for the first time.
Benedict XVI to the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity:
'Christian unity lies in prayer'
The other papal news in this issue: The Pope's message to the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Ministry to Healthcare Workers on their 25th international conference. Page 1 international news. European Union on the verge of bailing out Ireland from its debt crisis; a news feature on the daily attrition of civilian lives by the long-standing civil war in Somalia; and a report that CERN, European center for nuclear research, which possesses the world's most complex scientific instrument, the large hadron collider (LHC), finally captured the image of 36 atoms of anti-hydrogen for a fraction of a second - long enough to photograph them. (The physics of anti-matter is too complex to explain in a single sentence, except the obvious: An anti-matter particle colliding with a matter particle causes mutual annihilation. To physicists, the universe as we know it exists because so much more matter than anti-matter was generated by the Big Bang, and natural anti-matter is found only at the outer limit of galaxies.]


THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father presided today at the Day of Prayer and Reflection with 150 cardinals (including the 24 cardinals-designate)
preceding his third consistory this weekend to create new cardinals.
Morning and afternoon sessions were held. In between,
the Holy Father hosted lunch for the cardinals.

FIVE YEARS & SEVEN MONTHS TODAY, AND COUNTING....

AD MULTOS ANNOS, SANCTE PATER!

We can never love you enough.

Official announcement from
German bishops and government:
Benedict XVI to make third visit
to Germany next autumn



BERLIN, Nov. 19 (AP) — Pope Benedict XVI will make an official visit to his homeland next year, his third trip to Germany since his election in 2005, the President's office announced Friday.

Benedict will visit Berlin, along with the Erfurt diocese in eastern Germany and the Freiburg diocese in the country's southwest, President Christian Wulff's office said.

The visit will take place in the second half of 2011, likely September, but no exact dates were given.

Benedict has been to Germany twice since being elected in 2005 — going to Cologne and to his native Bavaria.

The German bishops' conference made a similar statement earlier.

"The Holy Father's visit will be a significant moment in the life of our country and the life of our church," said Freiburg Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, the head of the German Bishops Conference.

He said the visit "will strengthen the church in Germany and its service for people".

Erfurt is approx. 1/2 hr. from here!!!!!!
I'm sure he'll be visiting the rather famous Wartburg, which is appr. 20 min. from here!!!

*there is no appropriate smiley to explain my emotions*






I think this one is the best.... explosion out of joy and happiness!!
Even if I'd like to spare him from going to Berlin!
The notoriously anti-catholic, anti-Bavarian capital of atheism and left-wing extremism in Germany!





SOOOOOOO HAPPY FOR YOU and all the other Benaddicts in Germany! I took so long to come to this since this very itinerary Berlin-Erfurt-Freiburg was first reported in 2008! As for the Berlin extremists, perhaps they will come up with the same fate as the London extremists once Papino is actualyl there. Meanwhile, ENJOY.....

Teresa

This unsigned article in BBC News is a perfect illustrration of what's wrong with reporting on the Church in generla. It starts out with a certain bias and hypothesis, and proceeds to argue on the basis of that bias alone. In this case, that the cardinals named and the College of Cardinals itself, do not represent the demographic constitution of the Catholic Church - but failing to cite all the obvious and inevitable reasons why this is so, for now!


Benedict XVI has now chosen two-fifths
of cardinal electors for next Conclave -
by 2012, it will be up to two-thirds
as more cardinals reach age 80

18 November 2010


The Vatican will be a flurry of red over the next three days as the Pope gathers his principal advisers and welcomes a select few to join their number.

In the third consistory of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI will elevate 24 new members to the College of Cardinals.

The consistory will bring the total number of "red hats" to 203, from 69 countries. Their jobs vary, from advising the Pope as and when requested, to running a department of the Vatican or a regional diocese.

But for the 121 cardinals, including 20 of the new batch, under the age of 80, arguably the most important role is choosing the Pope's successor - in the event of his abdication or death - at a conclave.

While reports may focus on topics discussed at the consistory, Pope Benedict's choice of cardinals itself says much about his priorities for the Church.

More than half of the new cardinals are from Europe, bringing the total number of Europeans eligible to vote for the Pope's successor to 62, 25 of whom hail from Italy.

With 121 cardinal-electors in total - including 21 from Latin America, 15 from the US and Canada, 10 from Asia, 12 from Africa and one from Australasia - Europeans will comprise a majority of voters in a potential conclave. Demographically, only a quarter of the world's Catholics come from Europe.

By significantly boosting the number of Europeans in the college, the Pope seems to be responding to the challenges posed in a continent that houses the Church's headquarters, but which he considers awash in non-religious secularism. This was a key message during his recent visits to the UK and Spain.

"Since being elected Pope in April 2005, Pope Benedict XVI has given a disproportionate number of Europeans top positions," said Robert Mickens, Rome correspondent for The Tablet.

"Although the universal Church is clearly no longer European, he has taken deliberate steps to ensure that hierarchs from the old continent will continue governing it for years to come."

The latest appointments extend a demographic imbalance between the hierarchy of the Church and the faithful, said the National Catholic Reporter's John Allen.

"Two-thirds of the 1.2bn Catholics in the world today live in the global south, but two-thirds of the cardinals are from the north," he said.

It continues to infuriate me that veteran Vaticanistas like Mickens and John Allen keep citing these numerical facts as though Benedict XVI himself personally 'chooses' to name more Europeans to the detriment of prelates from other parts of the world. There are other factors in play, not just geographical distribution, in the naming of cardinals:

#1 - The cardinals who elected Benedict XVI were already more than half European/First World - by the very nature of things: Until half a century ago, the college of cardinals was overwhelmingly European. Africa, Asia and Latin America have not had enough time to develop a 'bench' of potential cardinals deep enough and experienced enough at this point to be named cardinals. Even John Paul II in his 26 years Pontificate could not arbitrarily 'increase' the number of Third World cardinals compared to the Europeans.

#2- The Pope can only name as many cardinal-electors as there are positions that become vacant by virtue of death or having turned 80. He has no control over that timing.

#3- Appointments to be cardinal electors have to be distributed among meritorious diocesan bishops, Curial officials who require a cardinal's rank to be able to impose authority, and bishops leading key dioceses that have traditionally been led by a cardinal. The last two criteria further limit the possibility of naming cardinals purely on the basis of seeking appropriate demographic representation.

It will take a bit more time before the College of Cardinals reflects the actual demographic constitution of the Church, but it will come. Unthinking commentators often forget that until the second half of the 20th century, there were no Asian cardinals - the Philippines, which has been Catholic since the 16th century, did not get its first cardinal until 1953!

In comparison, only two of the new cardinals are from Latin America, even though the continent is home to more than 40% of the world's Catholics - suggesting the Pope does not follow geographical quotas when he makes his cardinal selections.
[DUH!] There are now only five cardinal-electors in Brazil, the world's largest Catholic country. [It has been the world's largest Catholic country for over half a century. Why then did John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II not name more Brazilian cardinals? Of the five current cardinals, including the incoming Cardinal from Aparecida, Benedict XVI has named two. Is that not the more pertinent fact in this case????]

Meanwhile, two Americans are among those given their red hats this weekend, meaning the US now has 13 cardinals, even though American Catholics makes up little more than 5% of the global total. [The two Americans named this year both happen to meet one of the three preconditions other than their own personal merit: Cardinal Burke heads the Vatican Supreme Court, and Cardinal Wuerl is the Archbishop of Washington, DC. I dare anyone to argue against their nominations!]

Among the southern hemisphere picks, the elevation of such archbishops as Medardo Joseph Mazombwe of Lusaka and Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa shows that Africa is finally getting its due, said Rocco Palmo, Vatican expert and editor of the Whispers in the Loggia blog. [Please!!!! That is ignoring actual history. Look at the number of African cardinals named in the past 50 years. Africa has long been getting its due - both in terms of cardinals and of men who have led or lead a Curial dicastery. Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI have always included African nominations in their consistories and named Africans to be Curial heads.

Cardinal Ratzinger's cardinal 'classmate' in 1977, under Paul VI, the late Bernardin Gantin of Benin, was Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops from 1984-1996, and the first African ever to be seriously considered papabile. He was Dean of the College of Cardinals from 1986 until he retired to Benin when he turned 80 in 2002 - making Cardinal Ratzinger Dean of that college. Today, Benedict XVI has two Africans heading a curial office - Cardinal Turkson of Ghana at Justice and Peace, and Cardinal-Designate Sarah of Guinea, at Cor Unum.]

Experts say the latest crop of cardinals contains both traditionalists and pragmatists. "With the elevation of four Africans and one Asian elector, Benedict XVI has significantly increased the number of voters in Catholicism's most prolific growth zones," Allen said. [Doesn't this argument militate against Allen's own complaint about the lack of geographical representation in the College of Cardinals?]

Meanwhile, the choice of the Egyptian Antonius Naguib, the Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria, suggests the Pope is keen to give a voice to Christians in areas where they are marginalised. [Again, the recent Popes have also always been careful to recognize the Oriental Patriarchs appropriately, not only in terms of who they represent but because of their personal merit. It is demeaning to a cardinal-designate to imply that his nomination was primarily due to where he comes from rather than that, independent of who he represents, he is worthy to be cardinal!]

The latest crop of cardinals is divided between traditionalists and pragmatists, as evidenced by the US appointments of uncompromising Archbishop Raymond Burke and the centrist Archbishop Donald Wuerl.

Rather than picking candidates of a certain mould, Mr Palmo argues, the Pope appears to value a divergence of opinions among the princes of the Church.

However, 13 of the new cardinal-electors currently work or have worked in the Roman Curia - the Vatican's bureaucracy - and Curial officials now make up nearly a third of all cardinal-electors, prompting speculation the next Pope is likely to be a "Roman", if not an Italian.

In the 1960s, Pope Paul VI established guidelines recommending there should be no more than 120 cardinal electors in the college. While the last Pope, John Paul II, exceeded that number by as many as 15, Pope Benedict has adhered closely to the limit.

As dean of the college after the 2005 death of John Paul II, then-Cardinal Ratzinger heard complaints from his fellow electors that they did not know each other particularly well.

Once elected Pope, Benedict XVI introduced discussion sessions at consistories to allow the whole college to air their concerns and priorities.

Hence this consistory will include a day's debate on issues the Pope deems most pressing for the Church's future. These include clerical sex abuse, Catholic liturgy, challenges to religious freedom and the outreach project for Anglicans seeking to convert to Catholicism.

Members of the college will be watching to see who impresses during these "open mic" sessions - thereby improving their credentials as papabile - or papal contenders.

Although he has been Pope for less than six years, Benedict XVI has named about two-fifths of cardinal-electors.

By 2012, the German Pope is expected to have chosen two-thirds of the men who would pick his successor - the majority required to elect a Pope. [It's not his choice: it's the luck of the draw, as many of those named cardinal under John Paul II turn 80.]

In that way perhaps more than any other, he will have left an indelible mark on the future of the papacy.