Saturday, February 23, First Week of Lent
ST. POLYCARPUS (Smyrna, ca 69-156), BISHOP AND MARTYR
He was a disciple of St. John, who consecrated him Bishop of Smyrna (now Izmir, present Turkey), and a friend of St. Ignatius
of Antioch. With St. Pope Clement of Rome (the first Successor of Peter) and Ignatius, he is considered one of the three
Apostolic Fathers of the Church. As s 'second-generation' Christian, his testimony was critical for affirming orthodox
teaching in the face of many conflicting interpretations of what Jesus said. At age 86, after he refused to burn
incense to the Roman emperor (Marcus Aurelius), a bloodthirsty crowd tried to burn him at the stake without success -
they finally killed him with a dagger. After St. Stephen's, the report of his martyrdom was the earliest reliable
account about the death of an early Christian martyr. A letter he wrote to the Christians of Philippi survives.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/bible/readings/022313.cfm
AT THE VATICAN TODAY
The Holy Father and members of the Roman Curia ended their weeklong spiritual exercises for Lent this morning.
Benedict XVI's last words as he ended his last Lenten retreat as Pope were both awesome as he generally is on
such occasions, as well as infinitely moving because of his farewell.
Later he met with
- Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture, who preached the Lenten exercises.
The Vatican also released the text of Benedict XVI's formal letter of thanks to the Cardinal.
- H.E. the Hon. Giorgio Napolitano, President of the Republic of Italy, and his spouse.
The Secretariat of State released a statement commenting on the fallout from the speculations about the cardinals' report to Benedict XVI in the wake of Vatileaks. Here is what the Vatican calls its 'working translation' in English:
Communiqué of the Secretariat of State
The freedom of the College of Cardinals, which is responsible for providing under the law for the election of the Roman Pontiff, has always been strongly defended by the Holy See, as a guarantee of a choice was based on evaluations addressed solely for the good of the Church.
Through the course of centuries, Cardinals have had to face many forms of pressure exerted upon individual electors or on the College of Cardinals. Such pressures had as their goal to condition the decisions, following a political or worldly logic.
If in the past, the so-called powers, i.e., States, exerted pressures on the election of the Pope, today there is an attempt to do this through public opinion that is often based on judgements that typically do not capture the spiritual aspect of the moment that the Church is living.
It is deplorable that as we draw closer to the beginning of the Conclave when the Cardinal electors will be held, in conscience and before God, to freely indicate their choice, that there is widespread dissemination of often unverified, unverifiable or completely false news stories that cause serious damage to persons and institutions.
At this time more than ever, may Catholics focus on what is essential: Praying for Pope Benedict, praying that the Holy Spirit may enlighten the College of Cardinals, praying for the future Pope, confident that the fate of the barque of Peter is in the hands of God.
Thanks for saying "Pray for Pope Benedict", but I don't know that it was at all necessary to issue a statement warning against pre-Conclave 'pressures' exerted on the cardinal electors, because one must assume such pressures would not and should not count with the individual cardinals and the cardinal electors in general.
All the unsavory speculation now swirling about homosexuals in the Curia - that seems to be the current item of unseemly prurient interest - pressures the cardinal electors into exactly what? Not to elect a homosexual as Pope? Since there are no acknowledged front-runners at this time, the speculation neither serves nor disserves any particular candidate or any potentially coagulating groups behind a specific candidate. This was not about 'pressuring' the cardinals at all. It was about a last-minute 'turn of the screw' to squeeze out what blood they can from Benedict XVI's lily-whiteness.
If SecState had to issue a statement at all, it should have been to say simply, "Any reports on the alleged contents of the confidential report submitted by Cardinals Herranz, Tomko and De Giorgi to the Holy Father must be considered as nothing more than speculation, because the report has been kept strictly confidential."
And it could have been a golden opportunity, the last (and at last!, but alas, missed again), to stand up for Pope Benedict XVI, who, at this point, is the only victim of this 11th-hour manufactured 'scandal' (other than the truth, of course). He is the victim, not just because the speculation inevitably associates these new distasteful insinuations with his Pontificate, but it also fuels the unwarranted, uncharitable and irrational skepticism questioning the Pope's given - and painfully obvious - reason for stepping down.
Why, all of a sudden - just because this has not happened with any previous Pope - is physical inability to live up to the demands of a task not reason enough for anyone to step down, whether he is Pope or street cleaner? Especially when he is 86, clearly showing the relentlessly inevitable toll that age takes on the human body, yet sworn to carry out the uniquely gargantuan task of Pope?
As usual, however, the Secretariat of State completely misses that obvious point. It was their last chance to come to the defense of the sacrificial lamb and scapegoat that Benedict XVI has represented for them all these years, and once again they failed. Shame on them!
One year ago today...
Benedict XVI had his annual meeting with the priests of Rome, his Diocese, and addressed them
in a lectio divina on Ephesians 4,1-14, during which he warned the clergy once more against vainglory.
[Who better than he to say this, especially in the light of his renunciation less than a year later?]
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/02/2013 23:26]