BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

See preceding page for earlier posts today, 2/26/10, including action on the Pope's suggestion for a contemporary 'Court of the Gentiles'.




Friday, February 26

Photos on the left and right from the Church of St. Porphyrius in Gaza.
ST. PORPHYRIUS OF GAZA (b Thessalonica 353, d Gaza 421), Bishop and Confessor
Born on the European mainland, he came to Jerusalem where he was ordained a priest at the age of 40.
Before that, he had spent much time living in the desert and in caves as an ascetic, and had a reputation
for generosity to the poor. At age 45, he was elected unexpectedly by the tiny Christian community in
Gaza to be their bishop. Gaza in the early 5th century was a center of paganism. With patient work,
Porphyrius tended his flock and preached to pagans, and some time in 401-402, he went to Constantinople
to ask the Emperor for a decree ordering the destruction of the pagan temples in the city. He served for
another 20 years. A Life of Porphyrius written by his deacon Mark survives today in modern
editions.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/022610.shtml



OR today.

No stories on the Holy Father in this issue.
The Page 1 stories have to do with children
as victims of the war in Afghanistan (300
killed in 2009), China as a hoped-for mover
in denuclearizing the Korean peninsula, a $15-
billion jobs bill passed by the US Senate,
and another hopeful speculation on a faster
US-Russia disarmament agreement.


It's the sixth day of the Holy Father's Lenten retreat.

From the number of books that keep coming out about Benedict XVI - and by him, past and present - one could well say books are still very much alive as phsyical objects despite the Internet, even if they are all destined eventually to end up on Kindle and other e-book formats. Here is the latest one in English:


'Benedict XVI and the sacred liturgy'
Neil J. Roy & Janet E. Rutherford, editors
2009

Benedict XVI and the Sacred Liturgy is the published proceedings of the first Fota International Liturgical Conference held in Cork, Ireland, in July 2008 and it aims to provide a general overview of some of the more important themes in Benedict XVI’s liturgical writings.

It serves as a broad introduction to issues central to Benedict XVI’s concern for authentic renewal of Catholic worship, according to the principles set out by the Second Vatican Council, and to his critique of liturgical innovations deviant from those principles.

The book explores some of the formative influences on Joseph Ratzinger’s liturgical vision and points to the consistent application of those critically assimilated influences over a spectrum of issues facing modern liturgical scholarship:
- the recovery of the sacred, the cosmic and eschatological dimensions of Christian worship
- advocacy of continuity rather than rupture in the liturgical tradition
- the need for historical and intellectual honesty in discerning development (as well as in areas such as vernacular translations of the core texts of the Roman Rite); and
- the renewal of genuine scientific exploration of the sources of the Roman Rite.

The book is aimed at a professional and general audience. For the most part, it is easily accessible and plots the map for a series of more specific issues to be dealt with in the Fota Liturgical Conference Series.

Rev. Dr Neil J. Roy is visiting assistant Professor, University of Notre Dame, Indiana. Janet E. Rutherford is the Secretary of the Patristic Symposium of Maynooth, Ireland.

The book can be ordered on line at
www.bookdepository.com/book/9781846822544/Benedict-XVI-and-the-Sacred...


Two reviews:


"The Fota Liturgical series represents an important contribution to the new liturgical movement called for by Joseph Ratzinger as early as 1989. This first volume in the series, Benedict XVI and the Sacred Liturgy, brings together the reflections of liturgical scholars, drawn from North America and Europe, on several of the issues central to that renewal of Christian worship desired by the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium."
-- Antonio Cardinal Canizares Llovera
Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship
and the Discipline of Sacraments


"Long before his ascent to the papacy, Joseph Ratzinger believed that the celebration of the liturgy was not only central to Catholic life, but that liturgical aberrations contributed mightily to post-Conciliar confusion and decline. Benedict XVI and the Scared Liturgy is an excellent starting point for exploring the Holy Father's liturgical vision and concerns as the Church moves to purify and renew the liturgy."
-- George Cardinal Pell, Archbishop of Sydney


I must post an update on the B16 books that have been published by the Vatican itself since January.

Coming soon: Benedict XVI's
pastoral letter for Ireland
and 3-year-mark Instructions
on 'Summorum Pontificum'
by Ignacio Ingrao
Adapted and translated from
the current issue of

Issue No. 10, 2010


The Pope's much-awaited pastoral letter to the Catholics of Ireland is expected to be published on March 6.

As made known earlier, Benedict XVI had a draft of the letter which he asked the Irish bishops to review for their suggestions when he met with them at the Vatican on February 15-16.

It is expected that the Pope will be very severe about the problem of sex offenses against minors by the clergy, but he will also call on the Irish faithful to stand united and firm in the faith despite the scandals, which the Church is seeking to deal with to do justice to the victims and place the responsibility on the offenders, including their superiors who covered up for them.

Also expected soon are Instructions from the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei on the interpretation and application of Summorum Pontificum approaching the three-year mark of Benedict XVI's liberalization of the traditional Mass.

Many traditionalists continue to denounce the obstructionism of their bishops against the celebration of the Mass designated by Benedict XVI as the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. And disputes and questions continue as to the proper interpretation of some provisions of the Motu Proprio.

The new Instructions are expected to clear up all such questions.

Benedict XVI's 'quiet revolution' is like a pebble cast on water that quietly sends its ripples outwards in concentric and ever-growing circles. It's a pleasure to note the ripples as they occur. BTW, to readers who do not live in the United States, the Wall Street Journal is now the most widely-circulated newspaper in the United States, overtaking last year the former behemoths of MSM like the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times who are fast losing readership because of their increasingly strident partisanship (i.e., liberal and even ultra-liberal).


'Anglicanorum coetibus':
The beginning of the end
for the Reformation?
By CHARLOTTE HAYS

February 26, 2010


WAHINGTON, DC - On a recent evening, about 60 people — ex-Episcopalians, curious Catholics and a smattering of earnest Episcopal priests in clerical collars — gathered downtown for an unusual liturgy: It was Evensong and Benediction, sung according to the Book of Divine Worship, an Anglican Use liturgical book still being prepared in Rome.

Beautiful evensongs are a signature of Protestant Episcopal worship. Benediction, which consists of hymns, canticles or litanies before the consecrated host on the altar, is a Catholic devotion. We were getting a blend of both at St. Mary Mother of God Church, lent for the occasion.

One former Episcopalian present confessed to having to choke back tears as the first plainsong strains of "Humbly I Adore Thee," the Anglican version of a hymn by St. Thomas Aquinas, floated down from the organ in the balcony. A convert to Catholicism, she could not believe she was sitting in a Catholic Church, hearing the words of her Anglican girlhood—and as part of an authorized, Roman Catholic liturgy.

And that was not the only miracle. Although the texts had been carefully vetted in Rome for theological points, the words being sung were written by Thomas Cranmer, King Henry VIII's architect of the English Reformation.

"He remembering his mercy hath holpen his servant Israel," the congregation chanted, "as he promised to our forefathers, Abraham and his seed for ever."

The language of this translation of the Magnificat, one of Christianity's two great evening canticles, is unfamiliar to many Episcopalians today, as it comes from earlier versions of their Book of Common Prayer.

Yet a number of former Anglicans are eager to carry some of this liturgy with them when they swim the Tiber, as Episcopalians becoming Catholic often call the conversion.

"I wonder why the phrase 'and there is no health in us' was omitted from the penitential rite" by the Vatican vetters of the newly approved rite for converts, one nostalgic ex-Episcopalian mused aloud. "Must be too Calvinist," suggested another.

Liturgies of this kind could become more common because of Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Constitution, called Anglicanorum coetibus (the name means "concerning groups of Anglicans"), which was published last November. It provides for former Anglicans to come into the Catholic Church as a group and retain certain of their traditions.

For nearly three decades, the Catholic Church has let Episcopal clergymen who convert, even married men, become ordained as Catholic priests. They are every bit as much priests as other Catholic priests. A former Episcopal priest is not allowed to remarry if his wife dies.

But Anglicanorum coetibus changes the landscape by providing for the establishment of ordinariates, each almost like a diocese administered by its own bishop.

There will be one such ordinariate in the U.S., and Episcopalians and parishes that come into the Catholic Church under this provision can be part of it. The ordinariate will facilitate Anglican Use for its member parishes. A former Anglican priest will head the ordinariate; he will become a bishop only if he is celibate.

The recent liturgical evening in Washington was arranged by Eric Wilson, a 24-year-old layman and former Episcopalian. "I believe the Anglican Use is a model for meaningful ecumenism — insisting on the fundamentals of faith while providing charity in other areas," he said.

The service was conducted by Father Eric Bergman, a Yale Divinity School-educated former Episcopal clergyman who was ordained a Catholic priest in 2007.

Father Bergman stresses that this is not an overture to effete Episcopalians who are angry about changes in their church and want to sneak into the Catholic Church bringing nothing more than their pretty music.

Being "angry about Gene Robinson," he says of the openly homosexual bishop of New Hampshire, isn't enough reason to become a Catholic. There must be a real conversion to the tenets of Catholicism.

Father Bergman says he began his journey to the Catholic Church by thinking about something that has taken many liberal Catholics out of the Church: contraception.

He regards Anglicanism's 1930 embrace of contraception as a mistake: "Out of that came a confusion about the roles of men and women, a theology of androgyny," he says.

Father Bergman and his wife, Kristina, have six children. They and more than 60 members of his Episcopal parish came into the Catholic Church in 2005. He is now chaplain of the St. Thomas More Society in Scranton, Pa., which seeks to establish Anglican Use parishes.

Naturally, many liberal Catholics are less than thrilled at the prospect of stodgy former Episcopalians importing traditional opinions along with their non-Catholic thou's and thy's.

In a Nov. 23, 2009, story "Where Hype Meets Reality," the liberal National Catholic Reporter pooh-poohed the idea of large numbers of Anglicans coming in under the Pope's new rules.

But Father Bergman not only predicts a mass movement toward Rome. He believes Anglican Use may mark the beginning of the end of the Reformation.

There will be "a flourishing of this throughout the world," he says. "Wherever there are Anglicans, there will be people who want to enter Holy Mother Church."

As he told a rapt audience at St. Mary's, "If we look at histories, heresies run themselves out after about 500 years. I believe we are seeing the last gasp of the Reformation in the mainline Protestant groups."

And so, I ask Father Bergman, how does he feel about a liturgy using the words of Cranmer, one of the Reformation's pivotal figures, in the Catholic Church? "A despicable fellow," he replies.

Even so, he notes, the liturgy Cranmer created was built upon Catholic sources, and where elements were retained they now fit into the Catholic Church.

Father Bergman doesn't quite say that it's "meet and right" to use those and many others of Cranmer's now-famous words. But it is clear that this is what he means.

Beatrice on her site has led me to a blog by a young Dominican priest who is studying in Rome, apparently Swiss-born, and Whose blog is called 'Le Suisse Romain' (The Roman Swiss). It's a play on the more familiar phrase 'Suisse Romande', referring to that southern region in Switzerland bordering on Italy which continues to a speak Romande, a language that derived directly from Latin. Apparently, he was at the Holy Father's meeting with the clergy of Rome last February 18.


On Benedict XVI and St. Augustine:
A brief note on the Pope's
most recent 'lectio divina'
Translated from

February 19, 2010


St. Paul says "The faith is born from listening" [to the Word of God]. And so, I am a fan of Benedict XVI. Yesterday, during his meeting with the clergy of Rome, I was able yet again to directly appreciate his eloquence.

St. Augustine - Joseph Ratzinger's 'master' and friend - explains in De Doctrina Christiana how to give catechesis to catechumens [persons preparing for Baptism]:

One must speak of the truth, so that it is evident (pateat), provokes a change in life (moveat), and warms the heart (foveat), even as it must be pleasing to hear (placeat). Augustine was of the school of St. Ambrose.

In the Gospel, the two disciples at Emmaus felt their hearts 'burning' as they listened to Christ speaking to them of the Scriptures.

To listen to the Vicar of Christ is to touch the mystery of our faith. To listen to Benedict XVI is an enchantment for the heart and mind. Visually, he may not be 'spectacular' enough for our culture of image [Oh, spectacular enough for all us Benaddicts, though I would describe it better as grippingly fascinating!] - but oh, what genius in his words!

He spoke to us yesterday without notes, with the heart of a pastor and a father, with a catechesis that was dense with meaning, perfectly constructed, clear and precise. What a gift!


P.S. Fr. Rimaz's latest blog entries are also interesting. One is a brief note about new speculation in Rome that Archbishop Rino Fisichella may soon leave his position as Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical Lateran University [he has problems at the Pontifical Academy of Life of which he is the president, but that is a messy subject I have so far not posted about, although Sandro Magister has had two major articles about it earlier this mont]h.

And the second is a link to an article in La Vie with excerpts from Hans Kueng's autobiography Vol. 2 (1968-1980) which has just come out in its French edition. The excerpts are those in which he accuses Benedict XVI of betraying Vatican-II but he also has unkind remarks about Pius XII. I will translate perhaps, for the record.


Speaking of the February 18 'lectio divina', it crossed my mind to ask how much of the Pope's texts are followed (i.e., read) by the members of the Roman Curia. If they did, that 'lectio divina' for the Roman priests would have been the perfect preparation for the spiritual exercises this week.

Marco Politi writes an overview of the 'pedophile priest scandal' in the Church which is generally commendable - surprisingly so - except for his misrepresentation of a Vatican document from 1962.


Papal offensive
against pedophile priests
by MARCO POLITI
Translated from

February 25, 2010

It is the cancer hidden in the body of the Church. Thousands of cases of pedophilia, a rosary of violations from Brazil to the USA, to Australia, to Ireland. Italy, with 80 known cases, has not been immune.

And the latest revelations have come from Germany, having to do with at least 120 victims who were abused in the 1960s-1980s at a prestigious Jesuit high school in Berlin, and in other institutions in Hamburg, Hannover, Goettingen, Hildesheim and the famous Aloysius College in Bad Godesberg.

The president of the German bishops' conference (DBK), Mons. Robert Zollitsch, said he was completely devastated by the disclosures and expressed the apology of the Church to the victims of what he called 'a repugnant crime'.

More important, he said the Church would denounce the accused directly to the civilian courts. [In the United States, where most of the criminal cases have progressed so far, the complaints were mostly class actions presented by the victims.]

The horrific scenario has been the same everywhere: first, a slow game of seduction on the past of the priest who ends up subjugating the victim when the latter is unable to escape the unexpected aggression. An abuse of trust - beyond the physical abuse - by those dressed as men of God whose duty it is not just to protect the young placed in their care but to 'raise them spiritually'.

In Bad Godesberg, the same scenario played out. Boys violated by their priest-teachers and become their boy toys, forced to perform sexual acts to provide the older men with sexual stimulation and gratification. With indelible psychological damages to them.

The festering wound was really exposed in the successful class action suits brought against priest offenders in the United States. The diocese of Boston has paid $85 million in damages to some 500 victims and Los Angeles $660 million, to name just two.

The Boston cases, settled out of court in 2003, brought out another dimension of great shame: the tendency of bishops (in Boston, it was Cardinal Law) to transfer offenders from parish to parish in an effort to cover up the scandal.

Typical in this sense was the case of Fr. John Geoghan, named in more than 100 cases, and who was finally sentenced for the first cases brought against him, and who ended up being strangled to death by a fellow inmate.

But even today, there are still bishops who failed to act against their erring priests, remain in place.

Cardinal Law left Boston, but only to become Arch Priest of the papal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore - a move [by John Paul II] that remains scandalous to many American Catholics.

The change in the attitude of the Vatican hierarchy came after the US cases became a public scandal. Meeting with Papa Wojtyla, the US bishops declared a 'zero tolerance' policy, and John Paul II called the offending priests 'traitors' to the Church.

That was also when there was an end to the policy of absolute secrecy that had been decreed by a document from the former Holy Office in 1962 in matters of ecclesiastical processes regarding such cases.

The document, Crimen Sollicitationis, demanded total secrecy, on pain of excommunication, from ecclesiastical authorities involved in the investigation of cases even after judgment had been passed under canon law. It was a system that penalized the victims further since they were also forced to a humiliating wait just to be heard by Church authorities.

[This is a deliberate misrepresentation of the document - which deals with how the Church internally handles crimes against the Sacraments by priests, but does not rule out criminal complaints in civilian courts. It is unforgivable, for any responsible journalist who should know better - see Notes below - to let his obvious bias prevail over objective fact. Consider just one fact, for instance, from the above paragraph: the excommunication penalty was for Church officials who fail to report offenses by priests, and for those who break canonical secrecy.

This is the same document that the BBC misrepresented even worse as 'the Vatican instruction to cover up priestly offenses' in a 2006 documentary, attributing it to Cardinal Ratzinger, who at the time the document was issued, was a German university professor and who would not come to Rome until 20 years later. The BBC never corrected those blatant errors.

Journalists like these are confident - with basis - that few of their readers/viewers are likely to check their 'facts' and so they get away with all kinds of lies.]

The wind changed in 2001 with a new document drawn up by then Cardinal Ratzinger. The Holy See prolonged the statute of limitations for denouncing offenses, making it effective not from the date of the crime, but from when the victim acquires adult status. Bishops are instructed to immediately report known offenses to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and to immediately prohibit the accused priest from further contact with children.

Ratzinger has been accused in the past of having enforced the 'secrecy' line of Crimen sollecitationis [which secrecy instructions were no different from those followed in civilian courts to protect witnesses as well as the accused during investigation and trial].

But certainly, as Pope, Benedict XVI has systematically undertaken a new strategy that favors zero tolerance, maximum transparency, better attention to victims, more strictness, and what represents a revolutionary change compared to the past, calling on Church officials to turn over known offenders to the civilian justice system.

Shortly after he became Pope, he set the example by penalizing the founder and head of the Legionaries of Christ, Fr. Marcial Maciel, to 'a life of penance, renouncing every public ministry" for repeated acts of sexual abuses against minors dating back to the 1930s. For years, the Maciel file had been shelved in the Vatican [many thought because John Paul II considered him a friend whom he held in high esteem, and he had fierce advocates in the Roman Curia led by Cardinal Angelo Sodano and other cardinals].

In his trips to the United States and Australia in 2008, Benedict XVI met with some victims and spelled out the process that must be followed in dealing with sex abuses by priests.

"I am ashamed", he said simply, on the flight taking him to Washington DC. During that trip, he repeated many times that "there is no place in the Church" for pedophile priests.

However, even in the recent past, there are still some bishops who resist this course of action and who hesitate to intervene when they should.

In Ireland, the Murphy Commission report accused at least four bishops of having neglected "the protection of children" in favor of "protecting the reputation of the Church". Even with hair-raising examples like the priest who admitted he had abused at least a hundred children, or another who said he availed of a different boy every two weeks.

That is why the pastoral letter that Benedict XVI will address to the Catholics of Ireland will have the character of a document for the Universal Church. It will be the first papal text of the contemporary era on the subject of priests committing sex offenses. [Were there ever any such texts in another era????]





Here's a quick overview of the documents that keep being referred to. I translated them in 2006 from a presentation in one of the Italian newspapers, and posted it originally in a REFERENCES thread on the Papa Ratzinger Forum that I created specifically to provide a quick factual reference to set the record straight on all the accusations levelled against Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI on this issue :


'Crimen sollicitationis'
from the Holy Office, 1962

This is a document from the Holy Office, approved by John XXIII in 1962 and confidentially addressed to the bishops of the Church.

It established the procedure to be followed for cases of 'solicitatio ad turpia' ('[provocations for repugnant acts") - as when a priest uses the sacrament of confession to make sexual advances to a penitent. [In 1962, the context of this document was clearly heterosexual.]

Urging maximum secrecy in investigations, the instruction provides for 4 different outcomes:
1) If no basis whatsoever for an accusation is found, the accusatory documents are to be destroyed.
2) Absolution in case of vague unproven indications, but the files are to be archived in case new elements arise about the case.
3) When some sure indications are found but still insufficient to start a canonical process, an admonition must be given to the accused, and the documents must be kept against future developments. 4) If the charges appear sufficiently established, it proceeds to canonical trial.

As penalty, the document provides, in order of increasing gravity of the offense - declaration of inability to carry out the priestly ministry, stripping of all benefits and titles as a priest, reduction to the lay state, and suspension a divinis.

The penalties, by their nature, become public knowledge the moment they are carried out, even though the canonical processes leading to it were previously conducted in secrecy.

Among the aggravating circumstances listed are: the number and the conditions of the victims, especially if of minor age or if they are consecrated or religious persons; the form of the offense, especially if united with false teaching or pretended mysticism; the turpitude of the acts committed; repeated acts; recidivism after admonition; the malice of the offender.

Considered crimen pessimum (worst crime] were homosexual acts, sexual acts with children of either sex, or sex with animals.


John Paul II's motu proprio,
'Sacramentorum sanctitatis tutela'
April 2001

"The Safeguarding of the Sanctity of the Sacraments, especially the Most Holy Eucharist and Penance, and the keeping of the faithful, called to communion with the Lord, in their observance of the sixth commandment of the Decalogue, demand that the Church itself, in her pastoral solicitude, intervene to avert dangers of violation, so as to provide for the salvation of souls - which must always be the supreme law in the Church" (Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1752).

These words start the motu proprio signed by John Paul II on April 30, 2001, and published in the Acta Apostolicae Sedis.

The papal document gives indications to "define in greater detail
1) the more serious crimes (delicta graviora) committed against morals and in the celebration of the sacraments, jurisdiction over which remains exclusively with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, as well as
2) the special procedural norms to declare or inflict canonical sanctions" which were subsequently spelled out in the next document).


Letter from the CDF signed by Cardinal Ratzinger
regarding 'Norms for the more serious offenses
reserved to the jurisdiction of the CDF'
May 2001

Among these 'more serious offenses', alongside provocation to sin "on the occasion of or with the pretext of Confession, was "an offense against the Sixth Commandment committed by a priest against a minor less than 18 years of age."

Beyond reiterating the CDF's canonical jurisdiction for hearing such offenses, it extended the statute of limitations for pedophile acts by allowing charges to be brought up to 10 years after the complainant's 18th birthday.

===================================================================

RELATED DOCUMENTS:


'Statute for the protection
of children and youth',
US Conference of Catholic Bishops
June 2002 (revised May 2006)


On April 23-24, 2004, John Paul II convoked in Rome the leaders of the Catholic Church in the United States on the issue of sexual abuse of minors.

The Pope used strong words: "People need to know that there is no place in priestly and religious life for those who wish to do harm on children." And he asked for concrete provisions.

On June 14, 2002, the US conference of Catholic Bishops approved a "Statute for the protection of children and youth", revised in May 2006, with more rigid norms against those who are accused of abuses, and of care and assistance to the victims. For this purposes, the appropriate commissions were to be constituted in each diocese.

Among other things, it provides that whoever is found guilty even of just one offense should be permanently removed from the ministry.


Instruction of the Congregation for Catholic Education:
'Criteria for vocational discernment
in persons with homosexual tendencies
requesting admission to seminaries
and religious orders'
Nov 2006

Paradoxically, the same elements loudest in their denunciation of sexual offenders in the clergy were equally as vehement in protesting an instruction meant to minimize the likelihood of pedophilic offenses, which are largely homosexual.




Here's Bruno Mastroianni's broader view of the issue and Benedict XVI's handling of it:


Benedetto XVI and the pedophilia scandals:
Only he who trusts in truth
can look evil in the face
by Bruno Mastroianni
Translated from

February 26, 2010


The determination to fight pedophilia in the clergy is the nth manifestation of that trust in truth that characterizes Benedict XVI's actions.

It is not just a sign of his attention to clarity [I think in this case, the more appropriate and 'current' term is 'transparency'] but it goes beyond: it speaks to us of the mission that every Christian should be carrying out.

The fact that the Pope is not afraid to look evil in the face and call it by its name - even when it is within the Church - comes from the awareness that good can only be anchored on what is true, on a recognition of the reality of things.

This is the mission Benedict XVI has undertaken: to remind man who is, where he came from, who created him - not as someone simply offering one doctrine among many, but as one who speaks of a reality that he himself has discovered.

His lucid recapitulation of the ABCs of the faith and of simple morality is not intended only for the faithful but is aimed to help everyone to find answers to the questions that really matter. But it also leads to some mediatic misunderstanding and manipulation [he uses the term 'forzatura' which means forcing, as in trying to fit what the Pope says into the cast of media prejudices]

Such misunderstanding and manipulation are the symptoms of how much the media habit to pigeonhole different perspectives has worked to diminish the human desire to look into 'what is really true'.

It is in this respect that Christians must intervene as Benedict XVI is doing - by recalling that faith in God, more than simple adherence to beliefs or doctrines, is a return to the reality of things. To truth.

Saturday, February 27

ST. GABRIELE DELL'ADDOLORATA (St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows), (Italy, 1838-1862)
Passionist seminarian, Patron of Young People
Francesco Possenti was the 11th of 13 children born to a well-off family in Assisi who later moved to Spoleto.
From childhood, he was known for his piety and charity but he also enjoyed the social scene, partying and girl
friends. At least three times when his life was in danger (twice from illness and once when hit by a stray bullet
while hunting), he promised to enter the religious life but did not. A number of family tragedies ending with the
death of a sister from cholera finally pushed him into carrying out his promise, aided by a brother who was a
Dominican friar. At age 18, he joined the Passionist order where he took the name Gabriele dell'Addolorata.
However, he contracted tuberculosis and died before he could be ordained a priest. In the monastery of Gran
Sasso, he was known for his joyful spirit, even after he fell ill. He was a perfect follower of the Passionist rule,
and was an example to his fellow students, for his excellence in studies as well as for his spiritual life. He has
left writings documenting his spiritual progress. Soon after his death, his fame for sanctity quickly spread among
the people of Abruzzo and among the Passionists. In 1891, his order initiated his cause for canonization. Present
at his beatification in 1908 were one of his brothers, his Passionist spiritual director and his closest friend at
the monastery. He was canonized in 1920 and declared patron of Young People. His cult was particularly strong
among the Italians who migrated to the United States in the early part of the 20th century.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/022710.shtml



OR today.

No news about the Holy Father in this issue. Page 1 stories:
5 suicide bombers kill at least 17 in an attack on a Kabul
hotel; the US Federal Reserve investigates involvement of US
financial giants in Greece's economic crisis; an iceberg as
big as Luxembourg breaks off from a larger Antarctic iceberg,
but scientists say it was a natural process not having to do
with climate change; and an editorial commentary on the need
for rules governing Internet use, after Italian court finds
Google co-responsible for privacy violation through the use
of its search engine.


Today is the final day of the Holy Father's Lenten retreat.

Next consistory now expected
to be called in November -
and the likely candidates
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

February 27, 2010


ROME - The next consistory expected in November will introduce new cardinals who will considerably change the balance in the College of Cardinals for the next Conclave.

According to information 'leaked' by authoritative Vatican sources, the consistory may be held by November 20, to be announced one month earlier, at the time of the Special Synodal Assembly on the Middle East.

Benedict XVI may name as many as 24 new cardinals in the third consistory of his Pontificate (the first two were in March 2006 and in November 2007).

By the end of November 2010, in fact, there will be 19 vacancies among the 120 cardinal electors - those under age 80 - whereas another five will turn 80 in early 2011, including Cardinal Camillo Ruini.

Therefore, Papa Ratzinger could conceivably name more than 19 in November even though this would exceed the 120 limit for cardinal electors, since this number would come down to 120 within three months of the consistory.

There are a number of Italians who are in line for the red hat. In the Roman Curia, for sure: Monsignors Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood; Velasio De Paolis, president of the Holy See's Prefecture for Economic Affairs; Fortunato Baldelli, Major Penitentiary, who was until recently Apostolic Nuncio in France; and probably, Paolo Sardi, Pro-patron of the Sovereign Order of Malta, and Francesco Monterisi, Arch priest of teh Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls.

Other possible candidates are Monsignors Francesco Coccopalmiero, president of the Council for the Interpretation of Legislative texts; Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture; Antonio Maria Veglio, president of the Pontifical Council for Migrants; and Claudio Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

Then there are the diocesan bishops: Archbishops Paolo Romeo of Palermo, Giuseppe Betori of Florence, and whoever will be named the new Archbishop of Turin after Cardinal Severino Poletto retires.

Since it is unlikely that more than half of the new nominations will be Italian, some of the names listed above will not make it.

The Pope is likely to name non-Italians in the Curia, notably Archbishop Raymond Burke of the United States, who is prefect of the Apostolic Segnatura - considered a certainty; and possibly, Mons. Zygmunt Zymowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Ministry to Healthcare Workers.

Not to mention the incoming successors to five Curial heads due for canonical retirement soon - Bishops, Clergy, Evangelization, Religious, and Christian Unity - unless the new heads to be named are already cardinals.

Among the non-Italian diocesan bishops, the most likely to be named cardinals in November are Archbishops Reinhard Marx (Munich-Freising), Kazimierz Nycz (Warsaw), Timothy Michael Dolan (New York), Orani João Tempesta (Rio de Janeiro), and Thomas Collins (Toronto).

Strong possibilities are: for Europe - Archbishops Vincent Nichols (London); André-Mutien Léonard (Brussels), Dominik Duka (Prague); and the archbishops of Toledo and Sevilla in Spain; in Latin America- the archbishops of Montevideo(Uruguay), Asuncion (Paraguay), and Belo Horizonte, Fortaleza and Brasilia (Brazil); in Asia - Malcolm Ranjith (Colombo), Peter Okada (Tokyo), and Charles Maung Bo (Yangon, Myanmar); in Africa, the archbishops of Kampala, Kinshasa e Yaoundé; and in the Middle East, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Fouad Twal.



Franca Giansoldati in Il Messaggero says the most likely date for the consistory is November 24, Feast of Christ the King. She also notes that there are currently 182 cardinals, of whom 71 are aged 80 and above. [God gives long life to his bishops!]

In advance of the expected release later today by the Vatican of the holy Father's concluding words at the end of this week's Lenten spiritual exercises, here is an overview of the retreat from a Vatican Radio priest via ZENIT.



Lenten exercises for the Curia
focused on vocation



VATICAN CITY, FEB. 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's spiritual exercises this week have been a "profound experience" for the Pope, says a Vatican spokesman.

Father David Gutiérrez, director of Vatican Radio's Spanish programs, told ZENIT that "once again, the Pontiff gives the faithful the example of the attitude one must have in this particular time of prayer, reflection and conversion."

The Holy Father and members of the Curia will complete spiritual exercises Saturday, which are being preached by Salesian Father Enrico Dal Covolo.

Each day of the week constituted a specific framework from which to look at the vocation to the priesthood, in line with the Year for Priests convoked by Benedict XVI.

Monday was a day of "listening," Father Gutiérrez explained, centered on the "lectio divina" of a well-known biblical passage as paradigm of the vocational calling, God's calling to the prophet Samuel (1 Kings 19:1-21).

The preacher proposed several biblical figures as well as Fathers of the Church on this attitude of listening to the divine call, and especially the model of St. Augustine, a saint much loved by Benedict XVI.

Tuesday was dedicated to reflect on man's response to the divine call. According to the spokesman, the preacher reflected on "the response man gives to that call of God, reviewing some biblical stories, especially the one referred to in the Gospel according to St. Matthew where Jesus speaks about building on the sand of our interests or building on the Rock of God."

The second day ended with a reflection on the priestly example of the Holy Curé d'Ars.

Wednesday was dedicated to penance, in order to reflect on "the human aspects that are involved in [the vocation call], especially those referring to what we can call the resistances that the human being presents in face of the will of God who calls."

"Temptations, doubts and resistances form part of our history, what generates the awareness that we are always sinners, but they also invite to openness to the grace of God who always forgives us," Fr. Gutierrrez said. "It is the permanent attitude of conversion that the Church asks of her faithful in this season of Lent and that the Pope is living in a profound way with his Spiritual Exercises."

Following the tradition of the Church to consecrate Thursday to Eucharistic worship and the veneration of the ministerial priesthood, Thursday was "Christological" - to reflect on the person of Jesus Christ as priest, and his call to to the first disciples.

"Both the lectio divina as well as the morning meditations followed this text to understand Jesus's role in the life of every priest," priest," he said.

The priestly model presented this day by Father Dal Covolo was the Italian Salesian Giuseppe Quadri, whose priestly life was an example of humility and simplicity.

"His motto was 'I will try to be a saint' - which was the final message in Fr. Dal Covolo's meditations - that all may be saints in the exercise of the priestly ministry," said Father Gutiérrez.

Today, the meditation centered on the Virgin Mary, model of response to the divine call. As Father Gutiérrez explained, "the Holy Father and his collaborators meditated, following the texts of the Magnificat and the Annunciation, both taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke, on the figure of our heavenly Mother, seeing in her the example of the confirmation of God when he calls one of his children."

"The preacher presented today for reflection the figure of Pope John Paul II," he added, "a person who lived his priestly, episcopal and Petrine ministry with full trust in the Virgin."



NB: A ZENIT item dated 2/26/10, 'Pontiff Reaches out to Priests and Seminarians', is their report on the English translation of an OR editorial on 2/20/10 on 'The Pope as Pastor' translated and posted on p. 71 of this thread the day it was published.

Walking in hope, wisdom and mission:
The Pope's apostolic trip to Portugal



February 27 (RV) - The Bishops of Portugal have officially published the theme of Pope Benedict XVI’s upcoming Papal Voyage to the Western European Nation.

The Holy Father will travel to Lisbon, Fatima and Oporto from May 11th to 14th next.

The Bishops have revealed that the theme for the pastoral visit is "With You, We Walk in Hope," with the subtitle, "Christianity, Wisdom and Mission."

Its aim is to confirm Portuguese people in their faith, as the nation prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the Beatification of the small Shepherd children, to whom the Virgin Mary appeared.

The Pope will be in Portugal both for a pilgrimage and an official visit. He was invited by the Portuguese Episcopal conference and by the Portuguese government. Celebrations and meetings will be held in Lisbon, Fatima and Oporto.

Masses are scheduled to be held in all three cities. In the capital Lisbon, the city's central square and adjacent streets have the capacity to accommodate 150 thousand people, a figure that amounts to 250 thousand in the case of the Avenida dos Aliados, in the city of Oporto.

The bishops also launched a Portuguese language website for the visit.

The Bishops conference noted that the pastoral note it was planning to issue regarding the visit has been postponed until the next meeting of the Permanent Council on March 1.




P.S. Last February 13, Pope Benedict waived the five-year waiting period to allow the beaitfication process to begin for Sister Lucia dos Santos, the oldest of the three Fatima visionaries, on the third anniversary of her death. I posted a story today in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread, as I was completely unaware of the news. Sorry.



Vatican advance team completes
Portugal reconaissance visit



LISBON, Portugal, FEB. 26, 2010 (Zenit.org).-The Vatican team responsible for organizing security and logistics for Benedict XVI's international trips ended a three-day visit to Portugal on Thursday.

According to the official Website of the papal visit to Portugal, set for May 11-14, a team led by Alberto Gasbarri met at the Apostolic Nunciature in Lisbon with members of the organizing committee of the visit, headed by Auxiliary Bishop Carlos Azevedo of Lisbon.

The Vatican group then held a working session in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with representatives of the offices of protocol and security.

On Wednesday, the team traveled to Fatima and Oporto, where it met with those in charge locally of the organization and security of the visit.

The master of papal liturgical ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini, plans to be in Portugal from March 8-10, to visit the venues where liturgical ceremonies will take place during Benedict XVI's visit.

The prelate will participate in the preparation of the celebrations and will attend some of the rehearsals.

Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in Lisbon on May 11, and on May 12 will travel to Fatima.

There he will visit the Chapel of the Apparitions and preside at vespers, rosary and procession at the Church of the Most Holy Trinity. On May 13, Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass in Fatima.

Before leaving Portugal, the Pope will visit Oporto and celebrate Mass there on May 14.






Very little news so far from Malta, which is the first of the Holy Father's trips outside Rome this year:




Earlier this week, CNA tried to make the most of a Vatican release of Catholic statistics pretaining to Malta:

Pope likely to draw
huge crowds in Malta

Vatican City, Feb 23, 2010 (CNA) - In preparation for Pope Benedict's coming visit to Malta, the Holy See has released some numbers concerning the Church there. The large number of Catholics on the island nation could mean the Pope will see huge crowds.

The Holy Father will be visiting Malta between April 17 and 18 on the occasion of the 1,950th anniversary of the shipwreck of St. Paul.

If the statistics released through Vatican Press Office on Tuesday are any sign, it's likely that the Pope will draw large crowds during his visit.

The Central Office of Statistics of the Church reports that 94.4 percent of the country's 443,000 people are Catholic and that there are 853 religious and diocesan priests in their service.

This, according to the official statistics, means that there is a priest for every 490 Catholics on the island and an average of 10 priests for every place of worship.

In addition to the elevated number of clergy, there are almost 1,150 religious in Malta.

The Church in Malta also has 91 major seminarians, nearly half the number currently studying for the priesthood in Ireland, which has nearly 10 times the population.

Among scheduled events over Pope Benedict's two-day visit are stops at the place traditionally though to have been where St. Paul preached and St. Paul's Grotto in Rabat. The Holy Father will also celebrate Sunday Mass in the Granaries Square of Floriana.


And from the Archdiocese of Malta itself, which does not have a separate site for the papal visit:



Press briefing on the visit


On Tuesday, 23rd February, 2010, the Interdiocesan Organising Committee and the National Organising Committee of the Pope’s visit to Malta organised a Press Briefing for Editors of local news agencies.

During this well attended business breakfast, news editors were free to ask questions and mention their suggestions on the media arrangements for the Pope’s visit to Malta.

The Archbishop’s delegate for Social Communications, Fr Charles Tabone O.P, and the Director General of the Department of Information, Mr Martin Bugelli, invited representatives of television, radio and print media to participate in a series of weekly press briefings to be held in the coming weeks as part of the build-up leading to the Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Malta.

The Press Centre for tHE visit will be located in La Valletta's Excelsior Hotel.

Since this event was held at the Excelsior hotel, News Editors were taken to see the large hall which will host the Press Centre.


Pope Benedict XVI:
His Teachings, his Visit, his Impact?





On Thursday, 18th February 2010, a dialogue event was held at the University Chapel. The event was organised by the University Chaplaincy and commissioned by the Diocesan Youth Commission (KDZ),

Fr John Berry – Visiting Lecturer, Faculty of Theology, Ms Alessandra Dee Crespo as well as Mr David Torpiano, two theology students, outlined the Pope Benedict’s teachings based on his book ‘Jesus of Nazareth’.

Following these presentations, young people took the floor in a question and answer session aimed at instigating deeper reflection on the teachings of Pope Benedict, the significance and impact of his visit next April.

A copy of the book ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ was given to every participant free of charge courtesy of KDZ.




There's better luck with regard to the Cyprus visit, from one of many sites one has to check from time to time in this respect - the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the Catholic Church in Cyprus, the Franciscan Custody of the Holy Land and Terrsanta. this interview gives some insight into the particular situation of the Church in Cyprus, a divided nation.



Pope coming to Cyprus:
What are the preparations?
by GIAMPIERO SANDIONIGI

February 10, 2010



Left, the Church of the Holy Cross in Nicosia; right, Fr. Barato.

At the beginning of June, Benedict XVI will travel to Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean, for a pastoral journey. He will also give the bishops of the Middle East the Instrumentum laboris of the Synod due to be held next October in the Vatican.

A small Catholic community, made up of lay people and religious of the Maronite and Latin rites, lives on the island. The Latins come under the pastoral responsibility of the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem and for centuries have been assisted by the friars minor of the Custody of the Holy Land.

Prior to the Pope's visit, we asked Father Umberto Barato, parish priest in Nicosia and Vicar General for Cyprus of the Latin Patriarchate, a few questions about the trip.

Father Barato, the Pope receives invitations from many governments and episcopates but cannot accept them all. How do you explain his decision to come to Cyprus, an island with, after all, a fairly small Catholic community?
I don't know how many invitations the Pope receives and from how many countries. I only know that he decided to accept the invitation of the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, and the President Dimitri Christofias.

There had been a precedent and perhaps that also counted: John Paul II had wanted to visit the island but, due to questions of time and the Pope's poor health, he never made the journey.

It is true that the Catholic community in Cyprus is small, but I do not think that this is a contra-indication. However that may be, I believe that Benedict XVI decided to make the visit prior to the Synod on the Middle East. In addition, he will also have thought about the political and religious situation of the island.

It's not that the Pope can solve the problem of the division of Cyprus or tell the leaders what they should do, but his presence can give courage and a positive impulse to relations between the two sides.


When the trip was announced, some people imagined that it would have particular consequences on ecumenical dialogue at a European, or even global, level. What do you think about this? What are the daily relations between Catholics and Orthodox like in Cyprus, and with the Turkish Muslim minority?
It's natural that people think like that. Going to a country with an Orthodox majority, it is obvious that some people think that the meeting between the Pope and the leaders of the local Church can be ecumenical in character, that it is like a step ahead in the encounter, understanding and reciprocal acceptance.

I expect that after the visit, relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches in Cyprus will become even closer. They are already excellent and at a level that I do not believe can be found elsewhere in parts of the world where the two Churches coexist. I'll pass over the minor difficulties that sometimes we come up against. In general, these are the fruit of ignorance or prejudice fuelled by the long separation and reciprocal non-recognition between the two sides.

The positive fact is that the Catholic Church in Cyprus is accepted, recognized and esteemed for its work of apostolate and education. There are already some forms of collaboration, but the Pope's visit will certainly be a privileged occasion for the bonds to become even closer. With the Muslims, on the contrary, we have no relations.


The months leading up to June will undoubtedly be a period of intense preparation for you. How are you proceeding? What is most important for you?
Time is passing quickly. We have set up a central committee of management and coordination. Its chairman is Mons. Ioussif Soueif, the archbishop of the Maronites of Cyprus and I am the deputy chairman. The committee coordinates about ten commissions - made up of priests, religious and lay volunteers - who will take on the various organizational aspects.

We had a meeting on 14th January, open to all the Maronite and Latin faithful, which was attended by about 250 people. After general information given by Mons. Soueif, many of those present chose the commission they wanted to join. On Saturday 30th January we called all the coordinators together to give them further details on the duties of the commissions. Now each coordinator has to convene their commission and begin work.

Monsignor Soueif places great emphasis on spiritual preparation for the Pope's visit. We hope that it is not just an extraordinary social occasion, with a few solemn moments of prayer. It is our intention to prepare our parishes with instruction, preaching and prayer.

I see the need to give our faithful precise information on the figure of the Pope in the Catholic Church, the theological implications of his ministry and also the difference that there exists between our Church and the Orthodox Church regarding his role. We have given a prayer for the Pope to all our faithful, which is said in English or in Greek at the end of every Mass.


The programme of the Pope's journey is still being worked on. Perhaps, however, we can already answer one question: will Benedict XVI also cross into the northern part of the island, occupied by Turkish troops?
So far nothing has been said about this and I don't think anything will be said later on either.


Have you been able to collect any impressions and expectations on the visit from outside the Catholic community in Cyprus?
I think that very few Orthodox know about the visit as yet. Almost every day I meet people who still have not heard the news. When I say that the Pope will really be coming, they seem pleased. I think that when the date of the trip draws nearer, the papers and TV will wake up as well. And then... it'll be every man for himself!


The Latin community is made up essentially of simple people, who have come to Cyprus from poorer countries in search of work. How will they come into contact with the Pope? What were their feelings when they heard the news that he was coming?
There is enthusiasm and joy amongst our faithful. They feel privileged, in a certain sense, because it is a unique opportunity. I think that as the preparation continues, their enthusiasm will be even more visible.

The foreign workers and various refugees will come into contact with the Pope in particular on 6th June, when he will celebrate the solemn Eucharist in the stadium and everybody will be able to see him, even though from afar.


As usual, Benedict XVI will stay in the nunciature and in Nicosia, the nunciature occupies a wing of the Franciscan convent. The Custody of the Holy Land has taken this opportunity to do some renovation and you, the friars, for the time being, have been "evicted". What sort of work is being done, when did it start and when will it finish?
We have taken this occasion to renovate a house built at the end of the 1950s and nothing had ever seriously been done to modernize it. It needed some work, especially replacing the whole of the electrical wiring which, according to the experts, was dangerous. Work began on 4th January and should be finished on 15th April.

Work is intense and the first results can already be seen. In the end we will have a more modern and efficient convent which better suits the needs of life today. At the same time, though, it will not lose the simplicity of a Franciscan place. Quod est in votis...


The surroundings of the convent/nunciature are rather a sorry sight and still show the scars left by the civil conflict in the 1960s and 70s. Do you think that the authorities will take the occasion of the Pope's visit to develop the area?
I can't answer this question. To date I haven't heard anything about work by the local authorities on the buildings standing around the Church and the convent. I think that it will be difficult for them to intervene or they will be able to intervene in some way with the permission of the UN [which administers the buffer zone between the Greek part and the Turkish part of Nicosia].

It's the Turks who have to think about the scars and the ruins on the other side, if they think about them at all! But wouldn't it be better for the Pope to see the division and ruins that still exist 35 years after the Turkish invasion with his own eyes?

Pope sends girthday greetings
to Patriarch Bartholomew I, 70



February 27- RV) Pope Benedict XVI has sent a telegram of best wishes to Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I ahead of his 70th birthday. [Bartholomew was born on February 29, so he will celebrating his birthday on March 1 this year.]

---

To His Holiness Bartholomaios I
Archbishop of Constantinople
Ecumenical Patriarch


The happy occasion of your Seventieth Birthday offers me a welcome opportunity to give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Giver of every good gift, for the abundant blessings which he has bestowed upon Your Holiness, and at the same time to convey my warm good wishes.

These fervent and fraternal good wishes are accompanied by my prayers that our One Lord will sustain you with his strength and grace as you carry out your high ministry of Pastor, Preacher of the Gospel and Teacher of the spiritual life.

With pleasant memories of our meetings, particularly my visit to the Phanar for the Feast of the Apostle Andrew, Peter’s brother, I exchange with Your Holiness a holy embrace, while expressing my prayerful confidence that the Spirit of God will continue to enlighten and guide our path towards the full communion willed by Christ for all his disciples.


BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

---

Since we had news reminders today of the Holy Father's apostolic visits abroad this year,
here's a reminder of his 2010 pastoral trips in Italy:


PASTORAL VISITS IN ITALY, 2010

Turin, May 3 - Exposition of the Holy Shroud


Sulmona, July 4 - 800th birth anniversary of Pope Celestine V



Carpineto Romano, September 5 - 200th birth anniversary of Pope Leo XIII



Palermo, October 3 - Encounter with Families and Youth

Vatican Radio's English service has been unusually valuable this Saturday morning!


Pope ends Lenten retreat



February 27 (RV) Pope Benedict XVI and his co-workers in the Vatican Curia concluded today their week of Lenten Spiritual Exercises, on the theme: “Lessons of God and the Church on the priestly vocation”.



Pope Benedict XVI emerged from a week of prayer, reflection and silence to describe the meditations offered by Salesian Priest, Don Enrico Dal Covolo, as a very "passionate and personal reflection” on the ministry of the priesthood.

The spiritual exercises in preparation for Easter, which started on Sunday 21 with the exposition of the Eucharist and the celebration of Vespers, were held throughout the week in morning and afternoon sessions at the Redemptoris Mater" chapel of the Apostolic Palace.

In thanking the Fr. Dal Covolo, the Pope stressed the importance of having an inner ear and an obedient heart heart which render man capable of listening to God.

In impromptu remarks, he noted that the act of listening “sums up the Christian vision of man” because man is a relational being - “he needs to listen and be listened to, above all he needs to listen to God. Only then will he truly become himself”.

This form of listening, the Pope continued, is a sign of wisdom that can only be achieved in communion with the Church - listening that the Pope said he carried out in the past week while gazing at one of the beautiful mosaics that adorn the Redemptoris Mater chapel, a mosaic which portrays the Virgin Mary, called the "Living Throne of Wisdom".

"The Church Fathers say that the moment of conception of the Eternal Word in the womb of the Virgin Mary in the Holy Spirit came through the ear. Listening conceived the Eternal Word. And thus it is to have a listening heart. "

The Holy Father also recalled the so-called emblematic priests presented by Don Enrico Dal Covolo, which gave substance to their reflection on the vocation to ordained ministry. Five portraits of exemplary priests, from St. John Vianney to John Paul II, with a preamble focusing on the idea that the priesthood has ancient Fathers, such as St. Augustine and St. Ignatius of Antioch.

“With renewed courage,” he concluded “we now face our mission”.


THE POPE'S CLOSING REMARKS
Translated from

February 27, 2010


Today, with the chanting of Lauds and the final meditation, the Lenten spiritual exercises for the Holy Father and the Roman Curia came to an end.

The meditations this year were offered by fr. Enrico Dal Covolo, S.D.B., on the theme "Lessons from God and the Church on the priestly vocation".

Here is a translation of the remarks by the Holy Father at the end of the retreat:

---

Dear brothers,
Dear Don Enrico:

In the name of all of us who are present, I wish to thank you with all my heart for these exercises, for the passionate and very personal way that you guided us along a path to Christ, a path of renewal for our priesthood.

You chose as a starting point - as the ever present underpinning - the prayer of Solomon for 'a heart that listens'. In fact, it seems to me that this summarizes the Christian vision of man.

Man is not perfect in himself, he is in need of a relationship, he is a being in relationship. His own thought cannot conceive all reality. He needs to listen, to listen to the other, but most especially, the Other, with a capital C, namely, God. Only then will he know himself, only then will he become who he is.

From where I was this week, I always had in view the Mother of the Redeemer, Seat of Wisdom, the living throne of wisdom, with Wisdom himself incarnated in her womb.

As we saw, St. Luke presents Mary precisely as a woman with a heart that listens, who is immersed in the Word of God, who listens to the Word, meditates on it (synballein) and keeps it, guards it in her heart.

The Fathers of the Church said that at the moment when the eternal Word was conceived in the womb of the Virgin, the Holy Spirit entered through her ear. Listening, she conceived the eternal Word, gave her flesh to the Word. And that is what it means to have a heart that listens.

[In this chapel], Mary is surrounded by the fathers and mothers of the Church, by the communion of saints. Thus we see, as we understood during these daus, that it is not in the isolated 'I' that we can really hear the Word, but only in the 'we' of the Church, in the 'we' of the communion of saints.

You, dear Don Enrico, have shown us, have given voice to five exemplary figures of the priesthood, starting with Ignatius of Antioch to our dear Venerable Pope John Paul II. Thus we preceived again what it truly means to be a priest and to become ever more priestly.

You also underscored that consecration tends toward mission - it is destined to become mission. These days, we have looked deeply with God's help into our own consecration. And with new courage, we can confront anew our mission. May the Lord help us.

Thank you for your help, Don Enrico.

---

In the issue for Sunday, 2/28/10, L'Osservatore Romano's editor offers additional information about the retreat:


For priests, the primacy of
contemplating God over mere activism
Translated from
the 2/28/10 issue of



"There can be no authentic service of charity without prayer and the diaconate of words".

In the concluding meditation of the spiritual exercises for the Pope and the Roman Curia, the Salesian priest Fr. Enrico Dal Covolo reiterated "the primacy of listening, of contemplation" in the life of the priest, saying that they represent the only 'antidote' against activism as an end in itself.

In the Redemptoris Mater chapel, before the Pope's concluding reflection, the Salesian preacher offered his final suggestions, taking off from Chapter 6 of the Acts of the Apostles which narrates the ordination of the first seven deacons by the community of Jerusalem 'to serve at table' [specifically, in their case, to help the widows of Christians, in the context of "It is not right for us (the Twelve) to neglect the word of God to serve at table."].

A service, he explained, that "presupposes the primacy of the contemplative dimension". Indeed, it seems evident to Fr. Del Cavolo that the service of charity must be subordinated to prayer and the service of the Word.

The Twelve, he said, understood that "the task of discernment in order to realize true works of charity must be sustained by intimacy with the Lord, by confidencein him and profound friendship with him".

To make the issue actual, the risk today for those who serve in the Church is that which Luke describes in Chapter 10 of his Gospel: that of those who, like Martha, allow themsevles to be so taken up by "many services to the point of losing the correct scale of values".

But Luke's narration also provides the 'antidote', the healing 'drug' for Martha's prosaic concerns, and suggests to those who serve charitable purposes how to overcome the risk: to listen to the Word, defined as "the better part, the only necessity, at the top of the scale of values".

For Fr. Dal Covolo then, the primacy of listening is to be saved at all costs, "at the risk of non-sense and degeneration of action".

Whoever works in charity must therefore commit himself to "a mature synthesis among the thousand demands of charity and the contemplation of God". It is a balance, he said, that pastors "must always seek to their dying day".

Priests, he added, often find themselves "having to live necessarily in a multiplicity of services" and therefore end up being "tense and tired". Nonetheless, he said, what matters is "to have a correct sense of values... and to understand that the fundamental service remains that of prayer and the Word, that the starting point of every authentic diaconate of charity is the heart of Jesus Christ, rich with mercy and forgiveness".

The Salesian preacher asked all present to ask the Lord for the grace to conitnue pasturing his flockk according to the ways and demands specific to the vocation of each one, "with faith and love, with solicitude and humility, without ever yielding to the temptations of closing in upon ourselves, of hoarding our resources, of being instrumentalized".


Indeed, it should be added that the primacy of prayer in the life of every Christian, but especially of priests, is something that Benedict XVI - who is above all a priest - constantly invokes in almost everything he says, and in everything he does, as he, the Vicar of Christ, sets the example for prayerful action and prayerful activity.

One of the most powerful images that he always evokes is that of Jesus praying to the Father, how he always found time to set himself apart from his disciples in order to pray. Which is why the chapter on the 'Our Father' in JESUS OF NAZARETH is probably the most powerful part of the book.

Sunday, February 28
Second Sunday of Lent

Panel shows the African Memorial Cathedral of Dakar, Senegal.
BLESSED DANIEL BROTTIER (France, 1876-1936), Spiritan Priest, Missionary, Wartime Chaplain, Worker of Charity
Daniel was ordained a diocesan priest in 1899 and started out as a teacher, but four years later, he joined the Congregation
of the Holy Spirit (CSSp) in order to serve as a missionary in Africa. He served in Senegal for eight years but had to return
to France due to poor health. However, he started to raise funds to build a cathedral for Dakar to honor Africans who had died
for France. [In fact, the cathedral was inaugurated just four weeks before he died in 1936, but he was too sick to attend]. In
1914, he volunteered to be a chaplain on the battlefronts, where he served the wounded and the dying for 52 months. He would
attribute his survival to St. Therese of Lisieux, in whose honor he built a chapel in Auteuil, the Paris suburb where he spent
the last 10 years of his life, which he dedicated to a foundation for orphans and abandoned children which continues flourish
today. Less than 50 years after his death, Fr. Brottier was beatified by John Paul II in Paris in 1984.
Reading for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/022810.shtml


OR today.

The papal story in this issue is on the end of the Lenten exercises for the Pope and the Roman Curia
[both the Pope's closing remarks and the additional story have been translated and posted above]. The
main news is the magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off the coast of Concepcion, Chile, yesterday,
which appears to have caused at least $30 billion in material damages but far less devastation in terms
of human lives and wounded compared to Haiti (primarily because Chile has been an 'earthquake-ready'
nation since the 1960s). There is an editorial commentary on the Afghan situation - that if arms and
diplomacy fail to resolve the Taliban threat, then the future looks even more dark for Afghanistan; and
Obama calls an April summit on nuclear security. In the inside pages, an essay on the impact of Leo
XIII's social teaching, and one on a major exhibit of pre-Raphaelite paintings in Ravenna.


THE POPE'S DAY

Sunday Angelus - The Holy Father reflected on the Transfiguration of Jesus from today's Gospel.
After the prayers, he made a special appeal to Iraqi and international authorities to guarantee
safety for the Christian minority and expressed his closeness to the persecuted Christians.
He also expressed his sympathy for the Chileans who have been struck by a massive earthquake.

ANGELUS TODAY




Before the prayers, the Holy Father reflected on the Transfiguration of Jesus from today's Gospel. This is what he said in English:

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On this Second Sunday of Lent the voice of our Heavenly Father instructs us to listen to Jesus, the beloved Son of God.

May our Lenten journey continue to dispose our hearts to Christ and to his saving truth. Upon all of you I invoke Almighty God’s abundant blessings of strength and peace!

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After the prayers, he made a special appeal to Iraqi and international authorities to guarantee safety for the Christian minority and expressed his closeness to the persecuted Christians.

He also expressed his sympathy for the Chileans who have been struck by a massive earthquake.



Here is a translation of the Pope's words today:

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Dear brothers and sisters:

Yesterday at the Apostolic Palace, we concluded the spiritual exercises which are traditionally held at the start of Lent at the Vatican.

With my co-workers in the Roman Curia, we spent several days of meditation and intense prayer, reflecting on the priestly vocation, in keeping with the Year for Priests that the Church is celebrating. I thank all those who were close to us in spirit.

On this second Sunday of Lent, the liturgy is dominated by the episode of the Transfiguration, which in the Gospel of Luke, immediately follows the master's invitation: "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me" (Lk 9,23). This extraordinary event is an encouragement to follow in the footsteps of Jesus.

Luke does not use the term 'transfiguration' but he describes what happened through two elements: the face of Jesus which changed, and his garments which became white and dazzling, in the presence of Moses and Elijah, symbols of the Law adn the Prophets.

The three disciples who were present were overcome by sleepiness: It is the attitude of those who, although spectators of divine miracles, do not understand what is taking place.

Only fighting the torpor which assailed them allows Peter, James and John to 'see' the glory of Jesus. Then the rhythm picks up: As Moses and Elijah take leave of the Master, Peter speaks, and as he does so, a cloud casts its shadow on him and the other disciples.

It is a cloud which, even as it covers them, reveals the glory of God, as it did for the Israelis wandering through the desert. The eyes can no longer see, but the ears can hear the voice that comes down from the cloud: "This is my chosen Son. Listen to him" (v 35).

The disciples are no longer in front of a transfigured face, nor of a dazzling garment, nor a cloud that reveals the divine presence. Before their eyes there is 'Jesus alone" (v 36).

Jesus is alone before his Father as he prays, but at the same time, 'Jesus alone' is all that has been given to the disciples and to the Church in all times: he alone should suffice for the journey.

He alone is the voice to listen to, the only one to follow, he who in going up to Jerusalem would give his life and one day "will change our lowly body to conform with his glorified body" Phil3,21).

"Master, it is good that we are here" (Lk 9,33). Peter says ecstatically, expressing what is like the desire we often have when we receive comfort from the Lord.

But the Transfiguration reminds us that the joys sowed by God in our lives are not points of arrival but are lights that he gives us for our earthly pilgrimage, so that "Jesus alone' may be our Law, and his Word the criterion that guides our existence.

In this Lenten period, I invite everyone to meditate assiduously on the Gospel. I also hope that in this Year for Priests, all pastors "may be truly pervaded by the Word of God - may they truly know it, may they love it to the point that it truly gives them life and shapes their thoughts" (Homily at the Chrismal Mass, April 9, 2009).

May the Virgin Mary help us to live intensely the moments of our encounters with the Lord so that we may follow him everyday with joy. Let us turn to her now by invoking her in praying the Angelus.


After the Angelus, he said this:

I have recevied with profound sorrow the tragic news about recent killings of Christians in the city of Mosul, and I have been following with great concern the other episodes of violence perpetrated in the tormented land of Iraq on helpless persons belonging to different religious affiliations.

In these days of intense meditation, I have prayed for all the victims of such violenc,e and today I wish to join the prayer for peace and for renewed security promoted by the Council of Bishops in Niniveh.

I am affectionately close to the Christian communities of the entire nation: Do not tire of being the ferment for good in the nation to which, for centuries, you belong with full entitlement.

In the delicate political phase that Iraq is going through, I appeal to the civilian authorities to make every effort to restore security to the people, particularly the most vulnerable religious minorities.

I hope they will not yield to the temptation of allowing temporal and partisan interests to prevail over the safety and fundamental rights of every citizen.



Finally, as I greet the Iraqis who are present in St. Peter's Square, I call on the international community to to do all it can to give the Iraqis a future of reconciliation and justice, while I trustfully invoke almighty God for the precious gift of peace.

My thoughts go out as well to Chile and the populations struck by the earthquake which has caused numerous losses in human lives as well as huge damages.

I pray for the victims, and I am close to all those who are severely tried in this serious calamity. I ask God to relieve them in their suffering and to give them courage in these adversities.

I am sure that they will not want for the solidarity of so many, particularly that of church organizations.

---

Monday, March 1

ST. DAVID OF WALES [DEWI SANT, in Welsh] (Wales, 500-589)
Abbot, Bishop, Patron Saint of Wales
He was thought to be the son of a Welsh king who became a priest and soon gained fame as a teacher
and preacher, in a region that was often prey to barbaric invasions and surrounded by pagan lands.
He led a community of monks who followed a very ascetic rule of work and prayer, and were reputed
to live on nothing but bread, herbs and water. Legend has it that once, he was preaching to a large
crowd who were unable to see him, until a dove came to pluck him by the shoulder to raise him even
as the ground rose below him so everyone could see him. At one point, he traveled to Jerusalem where
the Patriarch consecrated him an archbishop. But he lived most of his life in Wales where he founded
many monasteries and lived to an advanced age. In the 11th century, a hagiography called Book of
David appeared supporting the local Welsh veneration of him. Indeed, he was canonized in 1120, the
only Welsh saint so far. Today there are more than 50 churches in Wales named for St. David. He is
buried at the church named for him in southwestern Wales where he founded his main monastery.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/030110.shtml


No OR today.


THE POPE'S DAY

The Holy Father met today with

- Bishops of Uganda on ad-limina visit

- Mons. Julián Barrio Barrio, Archbishop of Santiago de Compostela (Spain) and his delegation.
The shrine of St. James (Santiago) in Compostela is observing a Jacobean Jubilee this year,
as it does on years when the saint's feast day falls on a Sunday, which happens 14 times
in every century.


The Pope's prayer
intentions for March 2010

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General intention:
"That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity,
taking account of the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest.”

Mission intention:
“That the Churches in Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice
in every part of that continent.”

---

It almost skipped my mind that the Holy Father is scheduled to make another pastoral visit in Rome soon. But a municipal newspaper in Rome, La Quarta, and a lively eclectic site on Rome happenings which calls itself with the catchy palindrome RomaamoR both have advance reports.


On Sunday, the Pope will make
a pastoral visit to a 'new' Rome suburb
Translated from

March 1, 2010


Great expectations in the Rome suburb of Colle Salario for the pastoral visit that Benedict XVI will make to the new parish church of San Giovanni della Croce on Sunday morning, March 7.

The Pope will say Mass at 9 o'clock and meet with the Pastoral Council before going back to the Vatican in time for the noon Angelus.

The church is only a few years old in this populous new suburb north of Rome right next to Rome's major circumferential highway. Before that, the community congregated in a commercial building.

Colle Salario is part of the so-called 'fourth municipality' ('la quarta') of Rome/ It had its beginnings in the mid-1980s when the first residential apartments were built there. It still does not have a main road, only a number of secondary roads. Its territory covers a lot of parkland.

It is a growing community because it has good public transport with bus and train lines to central Rome and to the airport in Fiumicino. It is an example of the suburbs ['periferie'] that Benedict XVI sees as a primary object of urgent pastoral attention from the Church.


Below right, an aerial picture of the built-up area, and some thumbnails from an online site on Colle Salario. Note the logo of the Colle community.



Colle Salario awaits the Pope
Translated from

March 1, 2010

"Blessed are you who come in the name of the Lord" is the slogan for the Pope's visit to the parish church of San Giovanni della Croce in Colle Salario on Sunday, March 7.

The parish sent out a bulletin to all the media saying, "We thank Divine Providence for this gift. But we too would like to be a gift to the Holy Father, and so besides cleaning up the parish premises, we are also preparing by cleaning our souls. In the light of the Ideal of Unity that our parish represents, we feel more than ever the bonds between us and all the groups and movements of the various parochial communities. The Pope will find in us a most welcoming community and a living Church".

Those who wish to be at the Mass must be at the church by 8:30 on Sunday. After Mass, the Pope will meet with the parish's pastoral council. Before he lives Colle Salario, the Pope is expected to briefly address the parishioners from the front door of the Church.

Pope may have big open-air Mass
in Glasgow as John Paul II did
by Stephen Stewart

February 28, 2010


EDINBURGH - Church chiefs are drawing up plans for the Pope to follow in his predecessor's footsteps with a giant mass in Bellahouston Park.

Senior sources in the Catholic Church have revealed the park on Glasgow's south side is a front-runner to host Pope Benedict's visit to the city on September 16.

It had been thought that Glasgow Green would be the venue for the mass but the choice of Bellahouston would have a huge emotional pull for many Catholics as the same venue hosted Pope John Paul II on his only Scottish visit in 1984.



A crowd of 250,000 people from all over Scotland gathered to see the Pope then.

One senior source said: "It has come down to a straight choice between the two venues.

"He will probably land at Edinburgh, then go to Holyrood to meet the Queen. He will have a mass either in Glasgow Green or Bellahouston. The rest of his stay is in England so he should be leaving on the night of the 16th at about 8pm."

Peter Kearney of the Scottish Catholic media office, said: "There have been a number of venues considered.

"The details were submitted to a delegation from the Vatican. We expect to hear back in the first part of March."

Bishop's 'delegation' turns out
to be the President of Galicia

Alberto Nunez FeiJoo, the President of the Spanish region of Galicia - where Santiago de Compostela is located - was not listed among the persons scheduled for a private audience with the Pope today but his Archbishop was - Mons. Julian Barrio of Compostela, who was listed as coming with 'a delegation.'

One can only surmise Nunez came to add his voice to that of the Spanish bishops, hoping that Benedict XVI may find an opportunity to visit Compostela during the current Jubilee Year of St. James.

There is no story on the visit either from Vatican Radio or L'Osservatore Romano in its double issue tomorrow.







P.S. It turns out I was half right about my surmise - there was an invitaiton but not for the Jacobean Jubilee this year. Here's the story from an online Spanish journal:


Pope invited for the VIII centenary
of the Cathedral of Compostela
Translated from

March 2, 2010


The president of the Xunta (Regional Council) of Galicia, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, invited Pope Benedict XVI yesterday to visit his region in 2011 when it celebrates the eighth centenary of the consecration of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, shrine of the Apostle James the Greater (Santiago Apostol, in Spanish).

Nunez made the invitation during an audience with the Pope, at which he was accompanied by the Archbishop of Santiago, Mons. Julian Barrio.

They reported to the Holy Father on the activities of the Jacobean Holy Year 2010 in Compostela and presented him with its first commemorative medallion.



Speaking to newsmen after the audience, Núñez Feijóo said "we hope to have good news about the invitation we extended to the Holy Father - this is my hope as a Galician and as president of the Xunta".

The delegation gave the Pope a miniature of the famous giant thurifer of the Cathedral of Compostela and a copy in the Galizian language of the Códice Calixtino, a 12th century manuscript about pilgrimages to the tomb of St. James in Compostela.

[The pilgrimage to Compostela was one of the three great medieval pilgrimages - with Rome and Jerusalem - and was done on foot along the Camino de Santiago leading from France to Spain. It is still a very popular devotion today.]

The president said that In May, an exposition will open at the Charlemagne Arm of the Bernini colonnade in St. Peter's Square, on the first Archbishop of Santiago, Mons. Diego Gelmirez (1059-1139), who initiated construction of the cathedral on the site venerated by tradition as the tomb of St. James.

Pope Benedict XVI is expected to visit Spain in August 2011 for the quadrennial World Youth Day to be held in Madrid. On February 17, the Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that an invitation for the Pope to consecrate the Antonio Gaudi's temple in Barcelona at that time is also being studied.

Tuesday, March 2

Extreme right: Agnes on the 50-crown Czech banknote; her father King Ottokar was on the demonetized 20-crown bill.
ST. AGNES (ANEZKA) OF BOHEMIA (1205-1282), Poor Clare nun
She was the daughter of the King of Bohemia and was betrothed at age 3 to a duke who died three years later. Growing up,
she felt a strong religious calling. After declining offers of marriage from King Henry VII of Germany and Henry III of England,
she had to appeal to Pope Gregory IX to refuse the proposal of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, who replied that he would
not be offended to be turned down for 'the King of heaven'. Agnes built a hospital for the poor and a convent for the new
Franciscan order in Prague. Then in 1236, she and seven other noblewomen set up the first Poor Clares community in Bohemia.
St. Clare herself sent five sisters from San Damiano to help them set up, and wrote at least four letters to Agnes counseling
her on being an abbess. Agnes preferred to call herself 'senior sister'. Besides her untiring work for the poor, she became
known for her strict rule of poverty, obedience and mortification. She led her community for 46 years until she died, inspiring
great devotion among her people. She was canonized by John Paul II in 1989, and Benedict XVI remembered her during his
visit to the Czech Republic on the 20th anniversary of hercanonization last year.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/030210.shtml


OR for 3/1-3/2/10:

At the Sunday Angelus, the Pope appeals for security in behalf of the Christians of Iraq:
'For Iraq, a future of reconciliation and peace'
He also calls on the international community to extend a hand to earthquake-stricken Chile.
Other Page 1 stories: The Pope's concluding remarks following his weeklong Lenten retreat with the Roman Curia; the emergency facing Chile in the earthquake aftermath and the help extended by the Church and Catholic organizations; Somalia left to itself to deal with a worsening civil war; and
an essay on Leo XIII given at a Lateran symposium marking the 200th anniversary of his birth this year. In the inside pages, a report on the annual Catholic-Muslim dialog held in Cairo's Al-Azhar University.


No events scheduled for the Holy Father today.