BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

See preceding page for earlier entries today, 12/31/10, including the translation of the Holy Father's last homily for 2010.






Papa Ratzinger's year of grace
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

Dec. 31, 2010

Some have called 2010 Pope Benedict XVI's annus horribilis because of the new conflagration over pedophile priests. But it was really a year of grace for the Pope, despite all the difficulties unleashed by the 'enemy' - the devil. A year of grace and penitence and purification. Its culmination was his trip to the United Kingdom, a visit that was widely considered to be a great risk but instead proved to be a great success.

2010 opened with a significant act - the Pope's visit to the Synagogue of Rome. Only a kilometer separates the Vatican from the Great Temple, heart of the ancient Jewish community in the capital of Christianity.

In making the visit, Benedict XVI symbolically shortened the distance. He presented himself as the humble successor of the Jew Peter, on the day that the Jews of Rome commemorate the miracle of 'Mo-ed di Piombo', the day in 1793 when heavy rainfall extinguished a fire set at the gates of the ghetto by Romans convinced that all Jews were supporters of the highly anti-clerical ideas of the French Revolution.

The Pope assured the Jews that he wished to 'confirm and reinforce' the path of dialog and expressed 'the esteem and affection' of the Church for the Jews. And he asked them to work together with Catholics on the basis of common roots in the Ten Commandments.

On March 19 came the publication of an important document - his letter to the Catholics of Ireland, in which the Pope, who several weeks earlier had met with the bishops of Ireland at the Vatican, confronted the painful subject of the sexual abuse of minors committed by Irish priests and religious:

"I can only share in the dismay and the sense of betrayal that so many of you have experienced on learning of these sinful and criminal acts and the way Church authorities in Ireland dealt with them."

The letter was an unprecedented initiative in which the Bishop of Rome humbly reviewed all that had taken place, expressed closeness to the victims, asked the priests who had committed the abuses to take on their responsibility 'before God' and 'before the courts'. Nor did he spare his criticism of bishops who under-estimated or covered up for the guilty.

But he also indicated a way out, a path of reparation and renewal, without forgetting the context in which the phenomenon took place: the secularization of society, the decline in 'sacramental and devotional practices, like confession and daily prayer'; the tendency even by priests and religious "to take on secular ways of thinking and judgment" without sufficient regard for the Gospel, as well as a misunderstanding of the program of renewal urged by Vatican II.

The letter ends with some concrete instructions. Papa Ratzinger asked all Irish Catholics to offer Friday penance for a year in reparation for the abuses, and urged a rediscovery of Confession and Eucharistic Adoration.

He announced he would send apostolic visitations to some dioceses. religious congregations and seminaries. He proposed a national mission for Irish bishops, priests and religious.

If one reads the Pope's letter calmly and attentively, one cannot miss the fact that from the first to the last line, it is permeated with humility.

The Pope did not defend the Church by hiding behind statistics. He did not seek to make subtle distinctions based on the age of the victims [i.e., were they children or adolescents, which distinguishes= between pedophilia and efebophilia]. Nor did he even hint at the idea of a Church that was under siege because of conspiracy against her.

He did not point fingers at other religious confessions or institutions, but limited himself to the general observation that "the problem of sexual abuse of minors is not specific to Ireland nor to the Church".

Humility, shame, pain at the betrayal. The entire context of the letter exuded contrition. Benedict XVI showed he understood and embraced the suffering of the victims, describing horror at the possible feelings of someone who was abused in school and unable to flee. The true news in the letter was the profoundly evangelical outlook of the Bishop of Rome.

On April 17-18, Benedict XVI made his first foreign visit pf 2010 to Malta. The old fortifications of the main island "speak of the battles fought to defend Christianity, but today Malta must continue to fight for it in a different way, to defend Christian identity, the indissolubility of marriage, the true nature of the family, the sacredness of life, in a Europe at risk of losing all its values.".

Benedict XVI recognized the commitment of the Maltese government "to humanitarian projects of great breadth, especially in Africa". And he urged: "Your nation should continue to defend the indissolubility of matrimony as a natural and sacramental institution, as is the true nature of the family, as you are now doing to defend the sacredness of human life from conception up to its natural end".

For the Pope, this is the great challenge today for Europe, and he was indirectly pointing out that abortion is not allowed in Malta.
On Sunday after Mass, the Pope met, in the chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in Rabat, with eight victims of sexual abuse by priests and assured them of the Church's commitment to bring the guilty to justice.

On May 2, Benedict XVI became a pilgrim on the streets of Italy when he went to Turin, to venerate the Holy Shroud during an extraordinary exposition.

The Shroud, he said, when seen with the eyes of faith, allows us to perceive the Light of the Resurrection. "I think that if thousands upon thousands of persons come to venerate the Shroud - without even counting those who contemplate it through images - it is because in it, they do not see only the darkness, but also the light - not so much the defeat of life and love, but rather the victory of life over death, of love over hatred."

On May 11-14, the Pontiff made his second important international visit of 2010 by visitng Lisbon, FAtima and OpOrto in Portugal, on the tenth anniversary of tHE last visit to Portugal by John paul II.

On the flight to Portugal, replying to a journalist's question, Benedict XVI said the prophecy of Fatima and its significance have not ended with past events, nor in thE sufferings that the Church is experiencing because of the sex abuse scandal involving members of the clergy:

"As for the novelty that we can discover today in this message, there is also the fact that attacks against the Pope and the Church are not just coming from outside, but the suffering of the Church comes from within the Church, from the sin that there is in the Church. This, too, was something we have always known, but now we see it in a really terrifying way: that the greatest persecution of the Church does not come from external enemies, but it is born from sin in the Church, and that therefore, the Church has a profound need to relearn penitence,t o accept purification, to learn forgiveness on the one hand but also the need for justice. Forgiveness is not a substitute for justice".

Among the passages that were most striking in his homilies in Portugal was what he said on the afternoon of May 11, at the Terreiro do Paco in Lisbon: "Often we are anxiously preoccupied with the social, cultural and political consequences of the faith, taking for granted that faith is present, which unfortunately is less and less realistic. Perhaps we have placed an excessive trust in ecclesial structures and programmes, in the distribution of powers and functions; but what will happen if salt loses its flavour?"

The following day, Benedict XVI proceeded to Fatima. The Pope knelt in front of the statue of the Virgin, in the Chapel of the Apparitions at Cova da Iria, where he recalled his predecessor John Paul II and the assassination attempt on him on May 13 1981.

And on May 13th, during the Mass, he affirmed once again that the prophecy of Fatima is not closed as long as man "has not been able to interrupt the cycle of death and terror it predicted".

From June 4-6, he made another important international trip, this time to Cyprus, from where Benedict XVI spoke to the Middle East, on the eve of the Synodal assembly which would open in October, dedicated to the Churches of that tormented region.

Two days before the Pontiff left for Cyprus, Mons. Luigi Padovese, Apostolic Vicar in Anatolia was murdered in Turkey.

In Cyprus, Papa Ratzinger delivered the Instrumentum laboris - the basic agenda for the Synodal Assembly in October - to the bishops of the Middle East. He recalled the 'great trials' undergone by many Christian communities in the region and the precious contribution that these communities bring as 'peacemakers' to the common good.

The Pope appealed to the international community not to forget the Christians who suffer 'because of their faith', expressing the hope for 'just and lasting solutions to existing conflicts'. And he repeated his personal appeal for an urgent and concerted international effort to resolve the tensions that persist in the Middle East, especially in the Holy Land, "before such conflicts lead to further bloodshed".

The Instrumentum laboris for the Synod expressed great concern over Muslim policy that imposes itself through violence on Arab societies, and for the forced Islamization of Christians, denouncing violences and injustices which only end up being exploited by terrorists.

On June 11, the Pope closed the year for Priests with a Mass in St. Peter's Square with 15,000 priests from around the world to conclude a celebration that also marked the 150th death anniversary of St. Jean Marie Vianney, the Curate of Ars.

It had been a year dense with initiatives to rediscover the authentic face of the priest and then marred by the revival of the sex abuse scandal.

In his homily, the Pope said: "It was to be expected that this new radiance of the priesthood would not be pleasing to the “enemy”; he would have rather preferred to see it disappear, so that God would ultimately be driven out of the world. And so it happened that, in this very year of joy for the sacrament of the priesthood, the sins of priests came to light – particularly the abuse of the little ones".

So once more, Benedict XVI was reading events with the serenity and humility of an outlook of faith: "Had the Year for Priests been a glorification of our individual human performance, it would have been ruined by these events. But for us what happened was precisely the opposite: we grew in gratitude for God’s gift, a gift concealed in “earthen vessels” which ever anew, even amid human weakness, makes his love concretely present in this world".

"So let us look upon all that happened as a summons to purification," he continued, "...which makes us acknowledge and love all the more the great gift we have received from God".

The Pope then talked about the shepherd's rod which the Church should use "to protect the faith against those who falsify it, against currents which lead the flock astray. The use of the rod can actually be a service of love. Today we can see that it has nothing to do with love when conduct unworthy of the priestly life is tolerated. Nor does it have to do with love if heresy is allowed to spread and the faith twisted and chipped away, as if it were something that we ourselves had invented".

The most awaited trip of the year was the state visit on Sept. 16-19 to Scotland and England. It was expected to be difficult, preceded as it was by so much polemic and contestations, but instead, it turned out to be a great success.

The occasion of the visit, 28 years after John Paul became the first Pope to visit England in 1982, was the beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman.

September 17 was the longest and most event-filled day, culminating in his address in Westminster Hall, the oldest hall in Westminster Palace, where Thomas More had been condemned to death. More, the patron saint of politicians, had chosen to be faithful to his conscience and was convicted for refusing to accept the supremacy of the King over the Church.

Here, Benedict XVI addressed British institutions and civilian society, telling them that for legislators, "religion is not a problem to solve but a vital factor".

It was a historic occasion. In modern times, only Queen Elizabeth and Nelson Mandela had addressed the British people from this place. Papa Ratzinger, welcomed here by all living former British Prime Ministers, was, of course, the first Pope to do so and he used the occasion to point out that "If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident".

He underscored that the role of religion in the public debate is not to provide the norms of behavior but to help reason 'to discover objective moral principles'.

And if religion needs reason in order to fall into sectarianism and fundamentalism, reason, for its part, "can fall prey to distortions, and without the corrective provided by religion" could lead, for instance, to the totalitarian ideologies of the 20th century.

The Pope lamented that precisely in those nations "who attribute a great value to tolerance", there is "increasing marginalization of religion especially of Christianity". He said these were 'worrisome signs".

There are those who wish to 'silence the voice of religion, or at best, relegate it to the purely private sphere". And there are those, Papa Ratzinger points out, who wish to abolish the celebration of Christmas as a public holiday in order not to offend the faithful of other religions or non-believers. And there are others, he adds, "who paradoxically with the purpose of eliminating discriminations, maintain that Christians who have public responsibilities should, in certain cases, act against their conscience".

On September 21, the Motu proprio Ubicumque et semper was published, instituting the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization, a new dicastery of the Roman Curia.

Benedict XVI, who had announced its creation earlier in June, has entrusted its leadership to Mons. Rino Fisichella. Among the competencies of the new council, which is charged with revitalizing the announcement of the Christian faith especially in the secularized West, it shall also promote a better knowledge of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

On November 20, Benedict XVI held his third consistory to create 24 new cardinals, 20 of whom are under 80 and therefore eligible to vote in a conclave, plus four who are older than 80. A consistory which, alongside a number of Italian metropolitans and curial nominations, also saw four Africans getting the cardinal's hat.

Four days later, on November 24, the Vatican publishing house (and publishers in 10 other languages) published the Pope's interview book, Light of the World, with German journalist Peter Seewald.

Christmas and the last days of 201 were marked by news of persecutions and killing of Christians, from Iraq to the Philippines to Nigeria.

The voice of the Pope, who had dedicated his message for the coming World Day of peace precisely to this issue, now speaks out more urgently for religious freedom, which he calls a way to peace.

THE POPE VISITS THE CRECHE
ON ST. PETER'S SQUARE

After the Vespers service on the last day of the year, Pope Benedict XVI visited the Nativity Scene on St. Peter's Square. He was accompanied by Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, president of the Vatican City Governatorate.






[IMG]http://i601.photobucket.com/albums/tt96/MARITER_7/2010-2/101231-

And our final wonderful images of the Holy Father for 2010 :

BENEDICTUS QUI VENIT


IN NOMINE DOMINI.


AD MULTOS ANNOS,


SANCTE PATER!

Saturday, January 1, Octave of Christmas
WORLD DAY OF PEACE

SOLEMNITY OF MARY, MOTHER OF GOD
From left: The first known Marian image is a Madonna painted on the wall of a 2nd century Roman catacomb; Our Lady of Kazan, 13th-century Russian icon; Our Lady of Perpetual Help, a 13th-century icon from Crete brought to Rome in the 16th century and venerated since the 19th century under her present title; Our Lady of Vladimir, 12th century Russian icon and one of the most venerated images in the Russian orthodox faith; two graphic icons of Mary as the God-bearer,
In 1974, Pope Paul VI instituted this feast on January 1 in place of the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, as the Roman Catholic Church had celebrated the day for centuries. As the Church also celebrates a World Day for Peace on January 1, Paul VI pointed out it was doubly appropriate since Mary is also the Queen of Peace. The first documented reference to Mary as the Mother of God was made by Origen in 252. Veneration of Mary as the Theotokos - 'God-bearer' - became widespread in the next two centuries and initiated a great controversy when the Emperor Nestorius claimed that Mary was only the mother of Jesus the man. Both the Councils of Ephesus and Chalcedon in the 5th century condemned the Nestorian heresy and confirmed the doctrine of the Theotokos. Mary as the God-bearer was a favorite subject of Byzantine icon painters.
Readings for today's Mass: www.usccb.org/nab/readings/010111.shtml

OR today.

The top two papal stories in this issue both have to do with his trip to Spain last November: the Pope's letter to the Archbishop of Compostela on the occasion of the conclusion of the Holy Year of St. James yesterday, and an essay by Cardinal Luis Martinez Sistach of Barcelona on Benedict XVI's 'ars celebrandi', illustrated by his dedication Mass of the Basilica La Sagrada Familia. The third story is an overview of the charities dispensed by the Pontifical Council Cor Unum worldwide last year. Page 1 international news: The International Monetary Fund sees the emerging major economies BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) leading economic growth next year Latin America has record exports in 2010; northeast Australia largely underwater after days of cyclone-driven torrential rains.


THE POPE'S DAY



- Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on the Solemnity of the Mother of God and the World Day of Peace.

- After the Mass, the Holy Father led a holiday Angelus prayer from his study window.


THE POPE'S PRAYER INTENTIONS
FOR JANUARY 2011

---

General intention:
That the riches of the created world may be preserved, valued, and made available as God’s precious gift to all.

Missionary intention:
Christians may attain full unity, witnessing to all the universal fatherhood of God.

---

Thanks to Beatrice and her collagist-friend Gloria for the photmontage.

---

1. At the beginning of the new year I offer good wishes to each and all for serenity and prosperity, but especially for peace. Sadly, the year now ending has again been marked by persecution, discrimination, terrible acts of violence and religious intolerance.

My thoughts turn in a special way to the beloved country of Iraq, which continues to be a theatre of violence and strife as it makes its way towards a future of stability and reconciliation.

I think of the recent sufferings of the Christian community, and in particular the reprehensible attack on the Syro-Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Baghdad, where on 31 October two priests and over fifty faithful were killed as they gathered for the celebration of Holy Mass.

In the days that followed, other attacks ensued, even on private homes, spreading fear within the Christian community and a desire on the part of many to emigrate in search of a better life.

I assure them of my own closeness and that of the entire Church, a closeness which found concrete expression in the recent Special Assembly for the Middle East of the Synod of Bishops. The Synod encouraged the Catholic communities in Iraq and throughout the Middle East to live in communion and to continue to offer a courageous witness of faith in those lands.

I offer heartfelt thanks to those Governments which are working to alleviate the sufferings of these, our brothers and sisters in the human family, and I ask all Catholics for their prayers and support for their brethren in the faith who are victims of violence and intolerance.

In this context, I have felt it particularly appropriate to share some reflections on religious freedom as the path to peace. It is painful to think that in some areas of the world it is impossible to profess one’s religion freely except at the risk of life and personal liberty.

In other areas we see more subtle and sophisticated forms of prejudice and hostility towards believers and religious symbols. At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith.

Many Christians experience daily affronts and often live in fear because of their pursuit of truth, their faith in Jesus Christ and their heartfelt plea for respect for religious freedom.

This situation is unacceptable, since it represents an insult to God and to human dignity; furthermore, it is a threat to security and peace, and an obstacle to the achievement of authentic and integral human development.(1)

Religious freedom expresses what is unique about the human person, for it allows us to direct our personal and social life to God, in whose light the identity, meaning and purpose of the person are fully understood.

To deny or arbitrarily restrict this freedom is to foster a reductive vision of the human person; to eclipse the public role of religion is to create a society which is unjust, inasmuch as it fails to take account of the true nature of the human person; it is to stifle the growth of the authentic and lasting peace of the whole human family.

For this reason, I implore all men and women of good will to renew their commitment to building a world where all are free to profess their religion or faith, and to express their love of God with all their heart, with all their soul and with all their mind (cf. Mt 22:37).

This is the sentiment which inspires and directs this Message for the XLIV World Day of Peace, devoted to the theme: Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace.

A sacred right to life
and to a spiritual life
2. The right to religious freedom is rooted in the very dignity of the human person,(2) whose transcendent nature must not be ignored or overlooked.

God created man and woman in his own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:27). For this reason each person is endowed with the sacred right to a full life, also from a spiritual standpoint.

Without the acknowledgement of his spiritual being, without openness to the transcendent, the human person withdraws within himself, fails to find answers to the heart’s deepest questions about life’s meaning, fails to appropriate lasting ethical values and principles, and fails even to experience authentic freedom and to build a just society.(3)

Sacred Scripture, in harmony with our own experience, reveals the profound value of human dignity: "When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have established, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man, that you care for him? Yet you have made him little less than God, and crowned him with glory and honour. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet" (Ps 8:3-6).

Contemplating the sublime reality of human nature, we can experience the same amazement felt by the Psalmist. Our nature appears as openness to the Mystery, a capacity to ask deep questions about ourselves and the origin of the universe, and a profound echo of the supreme Love of God, the beginning and end of all things, of every person and people.(4)

The transcendent dignity of the person is an essential value of Judeo-Christian wisdom, yet thanks to the use of reason, it can be recognized by all.

This dignity, understood as a capacity to transcend one’s own materiality and to seek truth, must be acknowledged as a universal good, indispensable for the building of a society directed to human fulfilment.

Respect for essential elements of human dignity, such as the right to life and the right to religious freedom, is a condition for the moral legitimacy of every social and legal norm.

Religious freedom
and mutual respect
3. Religious freedom is at the origin of moral freedom. Openness to truth and perfect goodness, openness to God, is rooted in human nature; it confers full dignity on each individual and is the guarantee of full mutual respect between persons.

Religious freedom should be understood, then, not merely as immunity from coercion, but even more fundamentally as an ability to order one’s own choices in accordance with truth.

Freedom and respect are inseparable; indeed, "in exercising their rights, individuals and social groups are bound by the moral law to have regard for the rights of others, their own duties to others and the common good of all".(5)

A freedom which is hostile or indifferent to God becomes self-negating and does not guarantee full respect for others. A will which believes itself radically incapable of seeking truth and goodness has no objective reasons or motives for acting save those imposed by its fleeting and contingent interests; it does not have an "identity" to safeguard and build up through truly free and conscious decisions.

As a result, it cannot demand respect from other "wills", which are themselves detached from their own deepest being and thus capable of imposing other "reasons" or, for that matter, no "reason" at all. The illusion that moral relativism provides the key for peaceful coexistence is actually the origin of divisions and the denial of the dignity of human beings.

Hence we can see the need for recognition of a twofold dimension within the unity of the human person: a religious dimension and a social dimension. In this regard, "it is inconceivable that believers should have to suppress a part of themselves – their faith – in order to be active citizens. It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights". (6)

The family -
school of freedom and peace
4. If religious freedom is the path to peace, religious education is the highway which leads new generations to see others as their brothers and sisters, with whom they are called to journey and work together so that all will feel that they are living members of the one human family, from which no one is to be excluded.

The family founded on marriage, as the expression of the close union and complementarity between a man and a woman, finds its place here as the first school for the social, cultural, moral and spiritual formation and growth of children, who should always be able to see in their father and mother the first witnesses of a life directed to the pursuit of truth and the love of God.

Parents must be always free to transmit to their children, responsibly and without constraints, their heritage of faith, values and culture.

The family, the first cell of human society, remains the primary training ground for harmonious relations at every level of coexistence, human, national and international. Wisdom suggests that this is the road to building a strong and fraternal social fabric, in which young people can be prepared to assume their proper responsibilities in life, in a free society, and in a spirit of understanding and peace.

A common patrimony
5. It could be said that among the fundamental rights and freedoms rooted in the dignity of the person, religious freedom enjoys a special status. When religious freedom is acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root, and the ethos and institutions of peoples are strengthened.

On the other hand, whenever religious freedom is denied, and attempts are made to hinder people from professing their religion or faith and living accordingly, human dignity is offended, with a resulting threat to justice and peace, which are grounded in that right social order established in the light of Supreme Truth and Supreme Goodness.

Religious freedom is, in this sense, also an achievement of a sound political and juridical culture. It is an essential good: each person must be able freely to exercise the right to profess and manifest, individually or in community, his or her own religion or faith, in public and in private, in teaching, in practice, in publications, in worship and in ritual observances.

There should be no obstacles should he or she eventually wish to belong to another religion or profess none at all. In this context, international law is a model and an essential point of reference for states, insofar as it allows no derogation from religious freedom, as long as the just requirements of public order are observed.(7)

The international order thus recognizes that rights of a religious nature have the same status as the right to life and to personal freedom, as proof of the fact that they belong to the essential core of human rights, to those universal and natural rights which human law can never deny.

Religious freedom is not the exclusive patrimony of believers, but of the whole family of the earth’s peoples. It is an essential element of a constitutional state; it cannot be denied without at the same time encroaching on all fundamental rights and freedoms, since it is their synthesis and keystone. It is "the litmus test for the respect of all the other human rights".(8)

While it favours the exercise of our most specifically human faculties, it creates the necessary premises for the attainment of an integral development which concerns the whole of the person in every single dimension.(9)

The public dimension of religion
6. Religious freedom, like every freedom, proceeds from the personal sphere and is achieved in relationship with others. Freedom without relationship is not full freedom.

Religious freedom is not limited to the individual dimension alone, but is attained within one’s community and in society, in a way consistent with the relational being of the person and the public nature of religion.

Relationship is a decisive component in religious freedom, which impels the community of believers to practise solidarity for the common good. In this communitarian dimension, each person remains unique and unrepeatable, while at the same time finding completion and full realization.

The contribution of religious communities to society is undeniable. Numerous charitable and cultural institutions testify to the constructive role played by believers in the life of society. More important still is religion’s ethical contribution in the political sphere.

Religion should not be marginalized or prohibited, but seen as making an effective contribution to the promotion of the common good. In this context mention should be made of the religious dimension of culture, built up over centuries thanks to the social and especially ethical contributions of religion.

This dimension is in no way discriminatory towards those who do not share its beliefs, but instead reinforces social cohesion, integration and solidarity.

Religious freedom, a force for
freedom and civilization:
dangers arising from its exploitation
7. The exploitation of religious freedom to disguise hidden interests, such as the subversion of the established order, the hoarding of resources or the grip on power of a single group, can cause enormous harm to societies.

Fanaticism, fundamentalism and practices contrary to human dignity can never be justified, even less so in the name of religion. The profession of a religion cannot be exploited or imposed by force. States and the various human communities must never forget that religious freedom is the condition for the pursuit of truth, and truth does not impose itself by violence but "by the force of its own truth".(10) In this sense, religion is a positive driving force for the building of civil and political society.

How can anyone deny the contribution of the world’s great religions to the development of civilization? The sincere search for God has led to greater respect for human dignity.

Christian communities, with their patrimony of values and principles, have contributed much to making individuals and peoples aware of their identity and their dignity, the establishment of democratic institutions and the recognition of human rights and their corresponding duties.

Today too, in an increasingly globalized society, Christians are called, not only through their responsible involvement in civic, economic and political life but also through the witness of their charity and faith, to offer a valuable contribution to the laborious and stimulating pursuit of justice, integral human development and the right ordering of human affairs.

The exclusion of religion from public life deprives the latter of a dimension open to transcendence. Without this fundamental experience it becomes difficult to guide societies towards universal ethical principles and to establish at the national and international level a legal order which fully recognizes and respects fundamental rights and freedoms as these are set forth in the goals – sadly still disregarded or contradicted – of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

An issue of justice and civility:
fundamentalism and hostility to believers
compromise the positive secularity of states
8. The same determination that condemns every form of fanaticism and religious fundamentalism must also oppose every form of hostility to religion that would restrict the public role of believers in civil and political life.

It should be clear that religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that both represent extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity. Both absolutize a reductive and partial vision of the human person, favouring in the one case forms of religious integralism and, in the other, of rationalism.

A society that would violently impose or, on the contrary, reject religion is not only unjust to individuals and to God, but also to itself. God beckons humanity with a loving plan that, while engaging the whole person in his or her natural and spiritual dimensions, calls for a free and responsible answer which engages the whole heart and being, individual and communitarian.

Society too, as an expression of the person and of all his or her constitutive dimensions, must live and organize itself in a way that favours openness to transcendence. Precisely for this reason, the laws and institutions of a society cannot be shaped in such a way as to ignore the religious dimension of its citizens or to prescind completely from it.

Through the democratic activity of citizens conscious of their lofty calling, those laws and institutions must adequately reflect the authentic nature of the person and support its religious dimension. Since the latter is not a creation of the state, it cannot be manipulated by the state, but must rather be acknowledged and respected by it.

Whenever the legal system at any level, national or international, allows or tolerates religious or antireligious fanaticism, it fails in its mission, which is to protect and promote justice and the rights of all.

These matters cannot be left to the discretion of the legislator or the majority since, as Cicero once pointed out, justice is something more than a mere act which produces and applies law.

It entails acknowledging the dignity of each person11 which, unless religious freedom is guaranteed and lived in its essence, ends up being curtailed and offended, exposed to the risk of falling under the sway of idols, of relative goods which then become absolute.

All this exposes society to the risk of forms of political and ideological totalitarianism which emphasize public power while demeaning and restricting freedom of conscience, thought and religion as potential competitors.

Dialogue between civil
and religious institutions
9. The patrimony of principles and values expressed by an authentic religiosity is a source of enrichment for peoples and their ethos. It speaks directly to the conscience and mind of men and women, it recalls the need for moral conversion, and it encourages the practice of the virtues and a loving approach to others as brothers and sisters, as members of the larger human family.12

With due respect for the positive secularity of state institutions, the public dimension of religion must always be acknowledged. A healthy dialogue between civil and religious institutions is fundamental for the integral development of the human person and social harmony.

Living in love and in truth
10. In a globalized world marked by increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies, the great religions can serve as an important factor of unity and peace for the human family.

On the basis of their religious convictions and their reasoned pursuit of the common good, their followers are called to give responsible expression to their commitment within a context of religious freedom.

Amid the variety of religious cultures, there is a need to value those elements which foster civil coexistence, while rejecting whatever is contrary to the dignity of men and women.

The public space which the international community makes available for the religions and their proposal of what constitutes a "good life" helps to create a measure of agreement about truth and goodness, and a moral consensus; both of these are fundamental to a just and peaceful coexistence.

The leaders of the great religions, thanks to their position, their influence and their authority in their respective communities, are the first ones called to mutual respect and dialogue.

Christians, for their part, are spurred by their faith in God, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, to live as brothers and sisters who encounter one another in the Church and work together in building a world where individuals and peoples "shall not hurt or destroy … for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Is 11:9).

Dialogue as a shared pursuit
11. For the Church, dialogue between the followers of the different religions represents an important means of cooperating with all religious communities for the common good.

The Church herself rejects nothing of what is true and holy in the various religions. "She has a high regard for those ways of life and conduct, precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men and women".(13)

The path to take is not the way of relativism or religious syncretism. The Church, in fact, "proclaims, and is in duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6); in Christ, in whom God reconciled all things to himself, people find the fullness of the religious life".(14)

Yet this in no way excludes dialogue and the common pursuit of truth in different areas of life, since, as Saint Thomas Aquinas would say, "every truth, whoever utters it, comes from the Holy Spirit".(15)

The year 2011 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened in Assisi in 1986 by Pope John Paul II. On that occasion the leaders of the great world religions testified to the fact that religion is a factor of union and peace, and not of division and conflict.

The memory of that experience gives reason to hope for a future in which all believers will see themselves, and will actually be, agents of justice and peace.

Moral truth in
politics and diplomacy
12. Politics and diplomacy should look to the moral and spiritual patrimony offered by the great religions of the world in order to acknowledge and affirm universal truths, principles and values which cannot be denied without denying the dignity of the human person.

But what does it mean, in practical terms, to promote moral truth in the world of politics and diplomacy? It means acting in a responsible way on the basis of an objective and integral knowledge of the facts; it means deconstructing political ideologies which end up supplanting truth and human dignity in order to promote pseudo-values under the pretext of peace, development and human rights; it means fostering an unswerving commitment to base positive law on the principles of the natural law.(16)

All this is necessary and consistent with the respect for the dignity and worth of the human person enshrined by the world’s peoples in the 1945 Charter of the United Nations, which presents universal values and moral principles as a point of reference for the norms, institutions and systems governing coexistence on the national and international levels.

Beyond hatred and prejudice
13. Despite the lessons of history and the efforts of states, international and regional organizations, non-governmental organizations and the many men and women of good will who daily work to protect fundamental rights and freedoms, today’s world also witnesses cases of persecution, discrimination, acts of violence and intolerance based on religion.

In a particular way, in Asia and in Africa, the chief victims are the members of religious minorities, who are prevented from freely professing or changing their religion by forms of intimidation and the violation of their rights, basic freedoms and essential goods, including the loss of personal freedom and life itself.

There also exist – as I have said – more sophisticated forms of hostility to religion which, in Western countries, occasionally find expression in a denial of history and the rejection of religious symbols which reflect the identity and the culture of the majority of citizens.

Often these forms of hostility also foster hatred and prejudice; they are inconsistent with a serene and balanced vision of pluralism and the secularity of institutions, to say nothing of the fact that coming generations risk losing contact with the priceless spiritual heritage of their countries.

Religion is defended by defending the rights and freedoms of religious communities. The leaders of the great world religions and the leaders of nations should therefore renew their commitment to promoting and protecting religious freedom, and in particular to defending religious minorities; these do not represent a threat to the identity of the majority but rather an opportunity for dialogue and mutual cultural enrichment.

Defending them is the ideal way to consolidate the spirit of good will, openness and reciprocity which can ensure the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms in all areas and regions of the world.

Religious freedom in the world
14. Finally I wish to say a word to the Christian communities suffering from persecution, discrimination, violence and intolerance, particularly in Asia, in Africa, in the Middle East and especially in the Holy Land, a place chosen and blessed by God.

I assure them once more of my paternal affection and prayers, and I ask all those in authority to act promptly to end every injustice against the Christians living in those lands. In the face of present difficulties, may Christ’s followers not lose heart, for witnessing to the Gospel is, and always will be, a sign of contradiction.

Let us take to heart the words of the Lord Jesus: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied … Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven" (Mt 5:4-12).

Then let us renew "the pledge we give to be forgiving and to pardon when we invoke God’s forgiveness in the Our Father. We ourselves lay down the condition and the extent of the mercy we ask for when we say: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us’ (Mt 6:12)".(17)

Violence is not overcome by violence. May our cries of pain always be accompanied by faith, by hope and by the witness of our love of God.

I also express my hope that in the West, and especially in Europe, there will be an end to hostility and prejudice against Christians because they are resolved to orient their lives in a way consistent with the values and principles expressed in the Gospel.

May Europe rather be reconciled to its own Christian roots, which are fundamental for understanding its past, present and future role in history; in this way it will come to experience justice, concord and peace by cultivating a sincere dialogue with all peoples.

Religious freedom,
the path to peace
15. The world needs God. It needs universal, shared ethical and spiritual values, and religion can offer a precious contribution to their pursuit, for the building of a just and peaceful social order at the national and international levels.

Peace is a gift of God and at the same time a task which is never fully completed. A society reconciled with God is closer to peace, which is not the mere absence of war or the result of military or economic supremacy, much less deceptive ploys or clever manipulation.

Rather, peace is the result of a process of purification and of cultural, moral and spiritual elevation involving each individual and people, a process in which human dignity is fully respected.

I invite all those who wish to be peacemakers, especially the young, to heed the voice speaking within their hearts and thus to find in God the stable point of reference for attaining authentic freedom, the inexhaustible force which can give the world a new direction and spirit, and overcome the mistakes of the past.

In the words of Pope Paul VI, to whose wisdom and farsightedness we owe the institution of the World Day of Peace:

"It is necessary before all else to provide peace with other weapons – different from those destined to kill and exterminate mankind. What are needed above all are moral weapons, those which give strength and prestige to international law – the weapon, in the first place, of the observance of pacts".(18)

"Religious freedom is an authentic weapon of peace, with an historical and prophetic mission. Peace brings to full fruition the deepest qualities and potentials of the human person, the qualities which can change the world and make it better. It gives hope for a future of justice and peace, even in the face of grave injustice and material and moral poverty.

"May all men and women, and societies at every level and in every part of the earth, soon be able to experience religious freedom, the path to peace!"

From the Vatican
8 December 2010




1] Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 29, 55-57.
[2] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 2.
[3] Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 78.
[4] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate, 1.
[5] ID., Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 7.
[6] BENEDICT XVI, Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations (18 April 2008): AAS 100 (2008), 337.
[7] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 2.
[8] JOHN PAUL II, Address to Participants in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) (10 October 2003), 1: AAS 96 (2004), 111.
[9] Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 11.
[10] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, 1.
[11] Cf. CICERO, De Inventione, II, 160.
[12] Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Address to Representatives of Other Religions in the United Kingdom (17 September 2010): L’Osservatore Romano (18 September 2010), p. 12.
[13] Cf. SECOND VATICAN ECUMENICAL COUNCIL, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions Nostra Aetate, 2.
[14] Ibid.
[15] Super Evangelium Joannis, I, 3.
[16] Cf. BENEDICT XVI, Address to Civil Authorities and the Diplomatic Corps in Cyprus (4 June 2010): L’Osservatore Romano (6 June 2010), p. 8; INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION, The Search for Universal Ethics: A New Look at Natural Law, Vatican City, 2009.
[17] PAUL VI, Message for the 1976 World Day of Peace: AAS 67 (1975), 671.
[18] Ibid., p. 668.

---

MASS ON THE SOLEMNITY
OF THE MOTHER OF GOD
AND WORLD DAY OF PEACE



Libretto illustrations from the Missale Festivum of Cardinal Giorgio Borgia, late 15th-cent., Curia Archivescovile di Chieti.

Concelebrating the Mass today with the Holy Father were Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State; Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Mons. Fernando Filoni, Deputy Secretary of State for Internal Affairs; Mons. Dominique Mamberti, Secretary for Relations with States; Mons. Mario Toso, S.D.B., secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

Also present at the Mass, besides the diplomatic corps to the Holy See, were the children's choirs attending the current international congress of Pueri Cantores in Rome.

---

Dear brothers and sisters:

Still wrapped in the spiritual climate of Christmas in which we contemplated the mystery of the birth of Christ, with the same sentiments we celebrate today the Virgin Mary, whom the Church venerates as the Mother of God, having given flesh to the Son of the Eternal Father.

The Biblical readings for this solemnity place the accent principally on the Son of God made man and on the 'name' of the Lord. The first Reading presents us with the solemn benediction that the priests pronounced on the Israelites on major religious feasts.

That blessing is marked by the name of the Lord, repeated three times, as if to express the fullness and the power that come from such an invocation. This text of liturgical benediction evokes the wealth of grace and peace that God gives man, with a benevolent disposition towards him, and which is manifested by the Lord's face 'shining upon you' and that he 'looks upon you kindly'.

Today, the Church listens to these words as it asks the Lord to bless the new year that has just begun, aware that, in the face of the tragic events of history, in the face of the varied logics of war that unfortunately have yet to be overcome, only God can touch the human soul in its depth and assure hope and peace to mankind.

It has now become tradition, in fact, that on the first day of the year, the Church, throughout the world, raises a choral prayer to invoke peace. It is good to initiate a new stage of the journey by placing ourselves decisively on the road to peace.

Today, we want to bring together the cries of so many men and women, children and older persons, who are victims of war. which is the most horrible and violent face of history. Today, we pray that peace, which the angels announced to the shepherds on Christmas night, may reach everywhere: "super terram pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Lc 2,14) - and on earth, peace to men of good will.

We hope that with our prayers, we can help every man and every nation, particularly those who have responsibility for governing, to walk more decisively along the way of peace.

In the second Reading, St. Paul summarizes in the idea of 'filial adoption' the work of salvation achieved by Christ, into which the figure of Mary is set. Thanks to her, the Son of God, 'born of woman' (Gal 4,4,) was able to come into the world as true man in the fullness of time.

This fulfillment, this fullness, refer to the past and the Messianic expectations, which were thus realized, but at the same time, also refer to fullness in the absolute sense: In the Word made flesh, God gave his last and final Word.

On the threshold of a new year, the invitation resounds to walk with joy towards 'the daybreak from on high' (Lk 1,72), since in the Christian perspective, all time is inhabited by God, there is no future that is not in Christ's direction, and there is no fullness outside of Christ's.

The Gospel passage for today ends with the imposition of the name of Jesus, while Mary takes part in silence, meditating in her heart, on the mystery of this her Son, who is God's gift in a way that is completely singular.

But the evangelical reading we have just heard particularly highlights the shepherds who returned [from visiting the Baby] "glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen" (Lk 2,20).

The angel had announced to them that in the city of David, Bethlehem, the Savior had been born and they would find him as a baby in swaddling clothes in a manger (cfr Lk 2,11-12). Setting forth in haste, they found Mary, Joseph and the Baby.

We note how the evangelist speaks of Mary's motherhood, starting from the Son, that 'baby wrapped in swaddling clothes', because it is he - the Word of God (Jn 1,14) - who is the point of reference, the center of the event, and it is because of him that Mary's maternity is called 'divine'.

This predominant attention dedicated to the Son, to Jesus, by today's readings does not reduce the role of the Mother - rather, it places it in the proper perspective.

Mary is, in fact, the true Mother of God precisely by virtue of her total relationship to Jesus. Therefore, glorifying the Son honors the Mother, and honoring the Mother glorifies the Son. The title Mother of God which today's liturgy highlights, underscores the unique mission of the Blessed Virgin in the story of salvation - a mission which is the basis for the cult and devotion reserved for her by the Christian people.

In fact, Mary did not receive the gift of God for herself alone, but to bring it to the world. In her fecund virginity, God gave men the benefits of eternal salvation (cfr Collect). And Mary continually offers her mediation to the People of God who are pilgrims through history towards eternity, as she once did to the shepherds of Bethlehem.

She who had given her earthly life to the Son of God continues to give divine life to men, Jesus himself and his Holy Spirit. That is why she is considered the mother of every man who is born to Grace, and is invoked at the same time as Mother of the Church.

It is in the name of Mary, Mother of God and of men, that since January 1, 1968, the World Day of Peace has been celebrated around the world. Peace is a gift of God as we heard in the first Reading: "The Lord give you peace" (Rom 6,26).

Peace is the messianic gift par excellence, the first fruit of the charity that Jesus has given us - it is our reconciliation and our peacemaking with God. Peace is also a human value to be realized on the social and political levels, but its roots are in the mystery of Christ (cfr Conc. Vat. II, Cost. Gaudium et spes, 77-90).

In this solemn celebration, on the occasion of the 44th World Day of Peace, I am happy to extend my deferential greeting to the distinguished ambassadors to the Holy See, with my best wishes for their respective missions.

I also extend a heartfelt fraternal greeting to my Secretary of State and to the other responsible officials of the Roman Curia, with a special thought for the President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and his co-workers. I wish to manifest to them my sincere gratitude for their daily commitment towards peaceful coexistence among peoples and towards the ever more solid formation of a conscience for peace in the Church and in the world.

In this perspective, the ecclesial community itself is ever more committed to work, according to the indications of the Magisterium, in order to offer a sure spiritual patrimony of values and principles in the continuous quest for peace.

I wished to recall this in my Message for today's World Day of Peace, from the title 'Religious freedom, the path to peace': "The world needs God. It needs universal, shared ethical and spiritual values, and religion can offer a precious contribution to their pursuit, for the building of a just and peaceful social order at the national and international levels" (No. 15).

Thus, I underscored that "religious freedom is an essential element of a constitutional state; it cannot be denied without at the same time encroaching on all fundamental rights and freedoms, since it is their synthesis and keystone" (No. 5).

Mankind cannot be resigned to the negative power of selfishness and violence. It should not make a habit of conflicts which claim victims and place the future of peoples at risk. In the face of the threatening tensions today, in the face above all of discriminations, tyrannies and religious intolerance, which today particularly strike at Christians (cfr ibid.,1), I reiterate once more my urgent appeal not to succumb to discouragement and resignation.

I call on everyone to pray so that the efforts undertaken by many to promote and build peace in the world may come to a happy end. For this difficult mission, words alone will not suffice - it requires the concrete and constant commitment of responsible national authorities, but above all, it is necessary that every person be animated by the authentic spirit of peace, that must be implored ever anew in prayer and that must be lived in our daily relationships, in every field.

For this Eucharistic celebration, we have before our eyes for our veneration the image of the Madonna dal Sacro Monte of Viggiano, so dear to the people of Basilicata [a southern region of Italy].

The Virgin Mary offers us her Son - she shows us the face of her Son, Prince of Peace. May she help us to remain in the light of this face that shines on us (cfr Nm 6,25), so we can rediscover all the tenderness of God the Father.

May she sustain us in invoking the Holy Spirit so he may renew the face of the earth and transform hearts, softening their hardness before the disarming goodness of the Baby who was born for us.

---

Nuncio to Egypt says New Year’s attack
proves religious freedom is key to peace



I JAN 2011 (RV) - “Here in Egypt the year has started badly with this attack on the Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria”, says Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, Apostolic Nuncio to Egypt, speaking from Cairo to Vatican Radio.

A powerful bomb exploded in front of a crowded Coptic Christian church in the Egyptian city of Alexandria a half hour into the New Year early Saturday, targeting the faithful as they emerged from Mass. The death toll, for now, stands at 21 people dead with dozens wounded.

Nearly 1,000 Christians were attending the New Year's Mass at the Saints Church. The attack came in the wake of repeated threats by al-Qaida militants in Iraq to attack Egypt's Christians.

Police initially said the blast came from an explosives-packed car parked outside the Saints Church in the Mediterranean port city. But the Interior Ministry later said it was more likely from a suicide bomber who blew himself up among the crowd.

“On behalf of all the Christians in this country and particularly on behalf of the Catholics I would like to express our deep sympathy with the Coptic Orthodox community for the loss of lives and the people who have been wounded”, says Archbishop Fitzgerald.

“We condemn this attack, particularly on this first day of the year when the Holy Father has asked us to pray for peace. His message this year is that religious liberty is a condition for peace. We see that this is so, because if communities are not able to celebrate in peaceful circumstances with all tranquillity then there will be no tranquillity within society”.

“We Catholics and other Christians, who celebrate Christmas on the 25th of December were able to do so quite peacefully, without any danger. Now we see that on this first day of the year the Orthodox community has been targeted and they are preparing to celebrate their Christmas on the 7th of January”.

He concluded; “We can understand their worries and concern about the safety of their Churches. Security has been increased but it is very difficult to stop all attacks”.


Pope invites world's religious leaders
to pray for peace in Assisi this year



1 JAN 2011 (RV) - Pope Benedict XVI condemned anti-Christian violence, persecution and discrimination, along with all religious intolerance, in a New Year's appeal that came just hours after a bomb exploded outside a Coptic church in Alexandria, Egypt as worshippers left Mass, killing more than 20 people.

In addition to appeals to political leaders to take concrete steps to end religious discrimination, the Holy Father issued an invitation to leaders of all the world’s religions to meet with him in Assisi this coming October to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1st World Day of Prayer for Peace.

In his homily during Mass to mark the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and again in remarks at the Angelus address, Pope Benedict XVI condemned all manner of religious intolerance, and especially anti-Christian prejudice, while pointing to authentic religious freedom as the essential core of ordered liberty.

It was during his Angelus that the Holy Father announced plans for this October to host a gathering of religious leaders in Assisi to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1st such gathering in the city of St. Francis, and to rededicate themselves to the cause of peace – a cause to which he asked all Christians to dedicate themselves with an increase of prayerful devotion:

“On this day, too, we pray especially for peace throughout the world, and I invite all of you to join in heartfelt prayer to Christ the Prince of Peace for an end to violence and conflict wherever they are found.”

In his homily at St. Peter's Basilica, the Pope exhorted all the Christian faithful to remain strong in the face of discrimination and intolerance, calling on world leaders to make a “concrete and constant commitment” to help guarantee authentic religious freedom, and stressing once again as he had in his Peace Day message, that religious freedom is the essential element of the rule of law. “you cannot deny it,” he said, “without, at the same time, undermining all rights and fundamental freedoms.”

Looking back at 2010:
Church's human and divine aspects
revealed in the year's highs and lows
By George Neumayr, Editor



Reflecting on 2010 in his annual December address to the Roman Curia, Pope Benedict XVI noted that the Year for Priests had “unfolded so differently from the way we had expected,” a reference to the abuse scandal that erupted in Europe. As Pope Benedict acknowledged, it was a year of “tribulations” for the Church.

The abuse scandal, alas, stands as one of the major stories of 2010. Fresh media attention to cases of priestly abuse of minors started in Ireland, jumped to continental Europe, then ricocheted back to America via a New York Times smear campaign against the Holy Father. The coverage reached its most feverish point during Holy Week.

Pope Benedict received the brunt of the criticism for the abuse scandal, even though he had shown the most leadership among Curia officials in confronting it.

Nevertheless, the Holy Father kept his eye on the essential truth beneath the biased coverage: that the Church still hasn’t recovered from the aftershocks of dissent and decadence from the post-Vatican II period and needs ongoing reform.

As Pope Benedict noted in the interview-book Light of the World released in November — a book which represents a singularly unique document in the history of the papacy — the Church’s critics wouldn’t have scandals to use against her if Church officials didn’t commit them.

The aftershocks of 2010 had come from a theological earthquake decades before. Relativism had seeped into the thinking of Church officials and infected policies ranging from seminary admission standards to the application of canon law.

“In the 1970s, pedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children,” Pope Benedict said to the Curia. “It was maintained — even within the realm of Catholic theology — that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a ‘better than’ and a ‘worse than.’ Nothing is good or bad in itself.”

But for all of 2010’s problems, the year also contained many moments of hope and pride. Among other high points, the Church marked the fifth anniversary of Benedict’s consequential pontificate, held a major synod, launched the historic initiative Anglicanorum Coetibus, and elevated important figures of orthodoxy, like former St. Louis Archbishop Raymond Burke, to the College of Cardinals.

Pope Benedict continued to plant civilizational seeds within Europe on trips to Spain, Portugal, and Malta, and established a new Vatican department called the Pontifical Council for New Evangelization with the aim of re-Christianizing the West.

During a year when the clash of civilizations continued to rage, with atheists in the West demanding “reason” without faith and extremists in the East clamoring for “faith” without reason, the Church remained the still point of history harmonizing faith and reason for the betterment of the world.

Pope Benedict’s trip to Britain, which ranks as one of the chief highlights of the year and a remarkable reversal of English history, drew attention to that synthesis.

As he recalled to the Curia:

---

My thoughts go first of all to the encounter with the world of culture in Westminster Hall, an encounter in which awareness of shared responsibility at this moment in history created great attention which, in the final analysis, was directed to the question of truth and faith itself. It was evident to all that the Church has to make her own contribution to this debate.

Alexis de Tocqueville, in his day, observed that democracy in America had become possible and had worked because there existed a fundamental moral consensus which, transcending individual denominations, united everyone.

Only if there is such a consensus on the essentials can constitutions and law function. This fundamental consensus derived from the Christian heritage is at risk wherever its place, the place of moral reasoning, is taken by the purely instrumental rationality of which I spoke earlier.

In reality, this makes reason blind to what is essential. To resist this eclipse of reason and to preserve its capacity for seeing the essential, for seeing God and man, for seeing what is good and what is true, is the common interest that must unite all people of good will. The very future of the world is at stake.

---

This debate over faith and reason will drive many of the issues and controversies of 2011, and the Church will remain at the forefront of it.

Secularism has not prevailed in creating a new world order, as the economic and moral crises afflicting many countries in 2010 all too clearly attest. Political and cultural upheaval, both in America (where President Barack Obama’s party suffered historic defeats) and abroad, reveal that resistance to the Brave New World will not disappear any time soon.

Confident secularists wish to consign the Church to the dustbin of history, yet historians of the future will likely look back upon 2010 and marvel at the Church’s resilience.

Who, for example, could have imagined over four centuries ago that the Queen of England would greet Pope Benedict on an official state visit?

The highs and lows of 2010 are a reminder of what the Church has always taught: it is weak and exposed in its human dimension but indestructible in its divine one.


P.S. Ignatius official Mark Brumley had this comment to Neumayr's article:

---

Well said: "Who, for example, could have imagined over four centuries ago that the Queen of England would greet Pope Benedict on an official state visit?"

The circumstances of our age sometimes inure us to events of historical significance. The sentence above helps put one of the year's significant events into perspective.

---

ANGELUS TODAY





Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words at the Angelus today:

---

Dear brothers and sisters:

On this first Angelus of 2011, I extend to everyone my wish for peace and all that is good, entrusting this to the intercession of the Most Blessed Mary whom we celebrate today as the Mother of God.

At the start of a new year, Christian people gather spiritually in front of the cave in Bethlehem where the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. We ask our Mother for a blessing, and she blesses us by presenting her Son to us - in fact, he is the Blessing himself.

In giving us Jesus, God gave us everything: his love, his life, the light of truth, the forgiveness of sins. He gave us peace. Yes, Jesus Christ is our peace (cfr Eph 2,14).

He brought to the world the seed of love and peace, far stronger than the seed of hatred and violence. Far stronger because the Name of Jesus is superior to any other name - it contains all the lordship of God, as the prophet Micah had announced: "But you, Bethlehem... From you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel... He shall stand firm and shepherd his flock by the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD, his God... (and) he shall be peace" (5,1-4).

Therefore, in front of the icon of the Virgin Mary, the Church on this day invokes God, through Jesus Christ, for the gift of peace. It is the World Day of Peace, a propitious occasion for us to reflect together on the great challenges that our era presents to mankind.

One of these - which is tragically urgent in our day - is that of religious freedom. That is why I dedicated this year's Message for World Peace Day to the theme, 'Religious freedom, a path to peace'.

Today we are witnessing two opposing tendencies, both of them negative extremes. On the one hand, secularism, which, often insidiously, marginalizes religion by limiting it to the private sphere. On the other hand, fundamentalism, which would impose itself on everything with force.

In fact, "God beckons humanity with a loving plan that, while engaging the whole person in his or her natural and spiritual dimensions, calls for a free and responsible answer which engages the whole heart and being, individual and communitarian" (Message, No. 8).

Wherever religious freedom is effectively recognized, the dignity of the human being is respected at its root, and through a sincere search for the true and the good, moral conscience is consolidated, atrengthening both institutions as well as civilian coexistence (ibid.,5). And that is why religious freedom is a favored way to build the peace.

Dear friends, let us direct our gaze once more at Jesus, in the arms of Mary, his Mother. Looking at him, who is the Prince of Peace (Is 9,5), we understand that peace does not come to us with weapons, nor with economic, political, cultural adn media power.

Peace is the work of consciences who are open to truth and love. May God help us to progress along this path in the new year which he has given us to live.

After the prayers, he said this:

In the message for today's World Day of Peace, I underscored how the major religions can constitute an important factor of unity and peace for the human family, and I recalled, in this respect, that the year 2011 will be the 25th anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace that the Venerable John Paul II convoked in Assisi in 1986.

Therefore, next October, I will go to the city of St. Francis as a pilgrim and invite my brother Christians of various confessions, representatives of the other religious traditions in the world, and ideally, all men of good will, to join me for the purpose of commemorating the historic gesture by my predecessor and to solemnly renew the commitment of believers of every religion to live their own religious faith as a service to the cause of peace.

Whoever is on the path to God cannot but transmit peace and whoever builds the peace cannot but come close to God. I invite all to accompany this initiative with your prayers from here on.

In this context, I wish to greet and encourage all those in the Church who, since yesterday evening and today, have been praying for peace and religious freedom.

In Italy, the traditional peace march promoted by the Italian bishops' conference, Pax Christi and Caritas took place in Ancona, the city which will host the National Eucharistic Congress in September.




Here in Rome, and in other cities of the world, the Sant'Egidio Community reproposed its yearly initiative 'Peace in all lands'. From the heart, I greet all those who have taken part.

I also greet the representatives of the Movement of Family Love, who held a vigil last night in St. Peter's Square and in the dioceses of L'Aquila, praying for the peace of families and peace among nations.

In English, he said:

I extend a warm welcome to the English-speaking visitors here today.

On the first day of the year the Church pays special honour to the Mother of God, recalling how in humble obedience to the Lord’s will she bore in her womb and gave birth to him who is the Light of the World.

On this day, too, we pray especially for peace throughout the world, and I invite all of you to join in heartfelt prayer to Christ the Prince of Peace for an end to violence and conflict wherever they are found.

Upon all of you, and upon your loved ones at home, I invoke God’s abundant blessings for the year that lies ahead. Happy New Year!

---

So, the New Year was barely a few hours old, and Benedict XVI announces his first surprise of the year.

Perhaps, it should not be such a surprise because he is very punctilious about observing important anniversaries, especially those associated with his predecessors. And even if he may have objected to any syncretic tendencies and actions in the first World Day of Interfaith prayer in Assisi 25 years ago, no one can doubt that he shared the intention, as he pointed out when he visited Assisi in 2007.

We may be sure he will plan the gathering in such a way that all faiths will be honored properly but without implying any syncretism, much less the equivalence of all religions as man's path to salvation.


Benedict announces inter-faith
meeting in Assisi in October
By RACHEL DONADIO

January 1, 2011

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday announced that he would hold an interfaith meeting in Assisi, Italy, this October to mark the 25th anniversary of a watershed meeting held there by his predecessor, John Paul II.

In the ever-shifting legacy of a complex papacy, the announcement seemed intended to show Benedict’s good will toward other faiths after years in which he was criticized by Muslims, Jews and other Christian denominations, especially Anglicans. [Is Donadio in a time warp here? One would think B16 had done nothing in the past 5 years and eight months to promote authentic interfaith dialog - not maningless kumbaya lip szervice - and concrete cooperation where possible to fight secularization!]

But it was also significant because as the longtime head of the Vatican’s powerful doctrinal office when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he was widely seen as having had serious reservations about the 1986 meeting, where leaders of all faiths met and prayed.

In a speech in 1990, then-Cardinal Ratzinger declared inter-religious relativism — in effect, honoring other religions as equal to Christianity — “the fundamental problem of faith in our time.”

In 2000, he drew intense criticism from leaders of other faiths for Dominus Jesus, a document that essentially stated that Christianity was the only true path to salvation. And it has been a recurring theme at the heart of his six-year-old papacy. [DUH! It also happens to be a fundamental teaching of Christianity!]

Celebrating World Peace Day on Saturday, Benedict said that he would travel as a pilgrim to Assisi in October, inviting Christians of other confessions, leaders of other world faiths “and, ideally, all men of good will, to recall the historic gesture sought by my predecessor and to solemnly renew the commitment of the faithful of all religious to live their own religious faith as a service for the cause of peace.”


Pope to hold peace summit
with other religious leaders
By Philip Pullella


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, worried over increasing inter-religious violence, will host a summit of world religious leaders in Assisi in October to discuss how they can better promote peace, he announced on Saturday.

Benedict told pilgrims and tourists in St Peter's Square the aim of the meeting would be to "solemnly renew the commitment of believers of every religion to live their own religious faith in the service of the cause for peace".

He made the announcement hours after a bomb killed at least 17 people in a church in Egypt in the latest attack on Christians in the Middle East and Africa.

The Assisi meeting will take place on the 25th anniversary of a similar encounter hosted by the late Pope John Paul in 1986 in the birthplace of St Francis.

That meeting was attended by Muslim and Jewish leaders and heads of many other religions, including the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, and the Archbishop of Canterbury.

John Paul called on all nations and groups in conflict to silence their weapons during the meeting. Most groups adhered.

A main theme of the 1986 summit was the public repudiation of the concept of violence in the name of God.

"Humanity ... cannot be allowed to become accustomed to discrimination, injustices and religious intolerance, which today strike Christians in a particular way," Pope Benedict said in his New Year's Day homily to 10,000 people in St Peter's Basilica on the day the Church marks its World Day of Peace.

"Once again, I make a pressing appeal (to Christians in troubled areas) not to give in to discouragement and resignation," he said.

Hours earlier, in the northern Egyptian city of Alexandria, a bomb at a Coptic Christian church killed at least 17 people and wounded 43 as worshippers gathered to mark the New Year. The Egyptian interior ministry said it may have been the work of a foreign-backed suicide bomber.

The attack in Muslim-majority Egypt was the latest against Christians that has worried Church officials.

On Christmas Day, six people died in attacks on two Christian churches in the northeast of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, and six people were injured by a bomb in a Roman Catholic Church on the island of Jolo in the Philippines.

In a message issued last month for the Jan. 1 peace day, the Pope said Christians were the most persecuted religious group in the world today and that it was unacceptable that in some places they had to risk their lives to practise their faith.

In November, 52 hostages and police officers were killed when security forces raided a Baghdad church to free more than 100 Iraqi Catholics captured by al Qaeda-linked gunmen.

The Vatican fears that continuing attacks, combined with severe restrictions on Christians in countries such as Saudi Arabia, are fuelling a Christian exodus from the region.





Since he became Pope, Benedict XVI has taken every occasion to set the record strsight about the Assisi prayer initiative, as well as about who St. Francis really was and what he stood for. In other words, 1) against the idea of inter-religious dialog being nothing more than generic kumbaya goodwill, or alternatively, aimed at theological dialog which is clearly meaningless in the context of Catholics talking to the non-Christian faiths; and 2) against a St. Francis erroneously and simplistically reduced to nothing more than a nature-loving pacifist - the original flower child, as his New Age devotees like to think - rather than the living imitation of Christ that he was.

It's helpful to reread Benedict XVI's message to the Bishop of Assisi on the 20th anniversary of the first Assisi world prayer for peace
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20060902_xx-incontro-assisi...
his texts during his pastoral visit to Assisi in June 2007
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/travels/2007/index_assisi...
and his catechesis on St. Francis last year:
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100127...

The following is the first serious commentary I have read on the Pops'e 2011 peace message. I question a couple of Ivereigh's arguments, and perhaps he overstates his definition of it as a 'manifesto for a new humanism'. After all, the Pope has made all these arguments on various occasions before - for instance, most people overlook the speech he gave to the United Nations in April 2008. But maybe the Peace Message does resonate strongly now, in a way that the 'no occasion' UN speech did, because of the wave of anti-Christian violence in recent months and China's blustery tyranny!


Pope's Peace Day message:
Manifesto of a new humanism?
by Austen Ivereigh

January 01, 2011

Pope Benedict's message for today's World Day of Peace is a powerful and succint argument for religious freedom as the foundation of all other human rights and freedoms. It's not an academic matter.

Mounting violence against Christians in the Middle East -- the Pope begins with the massacre in Baghdad, since then eclipsed by last night's in Alexandria -- as well as below-the-radar daily persecution and discrimination across the world, makes this an urgent matter, as is the growing exclusion of Christianity from the European public sphere in the name of equality.

The genius of the Pope's message is his linking of religious fundamentalism and aggressive secularism, seeing them as the mirror images of each other.

"The same determination that condemns every form of fanaticism and religious fundamentalism must also oppose every form of hostility to religion that would restrict the public role of believers in civil and political life", he says, adding: "religious fundamentalism and secularism are alike in that both represent extreme forms of a rejection of legitimate pluralism and the principle of secularity."

Defending "secularity" against "secularism" is turning out to be one of the interesting intellectual keynotes of this papacy. In October, the Synod on the Middle East in Rome positioned the Church as the region's advocate of what it called (not without controversy) "positive secularism [laicite]", meaning a healthy relationship between state and Church, faith and public square, religion and reason.

A similar message lay at the heart of Pope Benedict's address at Westminster Hall on his visit to London last September. The first had its eye on the Islamic states of the Middle East, while the second looked to the rise of what he has called Europe's "dictatorship of relativism".

The Pope sees both as urgent and necessary. But asserting the freedoms and rights of Christians in Islamic states or China is politically and intellectually more straightforward.

The Church can appeal to international law, not least the 18th Article of the Declaration of Human Rights which enshrines “the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion”, a right which “includes freedom to change religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest [one’s] religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance”.

As the Pope comments: "The international order thus recognizes that rights of a religious nature have the same status as the right to life and to personal freedom, as proof of the fact that they belong to the essential core of human rights, to those universal and natural rights which human law can never deny."

The challenge, in other words, is not persuading Western nations of the case for freedom of religion, but for mustering sufficient political will on the world stage to put religious freedom as high on the western political agenda as other human rights. And that's where the link with the other part of the argument comes in.

Theocrats and secularists have this in common: they usually cannot see what the problem is. Just look, for example, at China's reaction to the Pope's Christmas Day criticism of the country's lack of religious freedom. Because China has no grasp of the separation of realms, it sees the Vatican's insistence on the right to appoint bishops as interference in sovereignty.

[This is a very faulty statement on more than one level. First of all 'separation of Church and state', or even the very concept of 'church' itself, is alien to Chinese Communist ideology which remains officially atheist - so theoretically, there is no 'church' to be separated from. Second, even if Beijing does allow some religions to exist de facto in China, it is still a totalitarian government where everything is under government control - so the very idea of any 'separation' is moot! And third, Beijing selectively controls various religions depending on the perceived threat to them - Tibetan Buddhsm being at the top of the list, and the Falun Gong next.

But since 1950, it has devised a diabolical means to keep the Catholic Church in a strangleholdby setting up a government-controlled parallel 'church' - an absurd construct for an atheist regime, and a farce that even the Soviet Union never thought of. The only purpose is to defy the Vatican and to be able to claim that a) they tolerate Catholicism, but b) only as long as they can totally control and vaunt it as something independent of the Vatican. The 'official church' is nothing but a propaganda tool primarily, but apparently, it does allow orthodox Catholic doctrine and practices as long as the official priests and bishops do not owe any allegiance to the Pope and the Vatican.]

So, too, in Europe, when you raise the issue of religious freedom; you usually get told that it's ridiculous for Catholics to complain: people are free to believe and to practise their faith. The idea that faith might have corporate rights -- the "freedom to manifest belief", a vital part of religious freedom, requires, for example, that Catholic organisations might need to hire and fire people on the basis of their beliefs and lifestyles -- is one that doesn't often occur to Europeans.

The problem for the Church is that on issues of sexuality -- and the gay rights agenda in particular -- it is seen as opposed to basic democratic freedoms and rights, or at least selective in their application. There is a strong suspicion among European and other western intellectual elites that the Church argues for the freedom to believe in and practise what the Church teaches, but not what it doesn't. [But that fallacy is easy to answer. Many of the 'rights' claimed by secularists are artificial rather than natural rights. Consider abortion, contraception, euthanasia, assisted reproduction, and same-sex marriage.]

That's why attacking "aggressive secularism" in modern western democracies can sound to secular humanists like attacking what the Church dislikes. That's not fair, and reflects a blind spot in contemporary secularism, one that Pope Benedict brilliantly takes on in his recent book interview, Light of the World, in which he shows how tolerance is being overturned in the name of tolerance.

But it's a complex, sophisticated argument which flies high above the heads of most. Rather than pick intellectual fights in lofty terrain, the Church needs to advance a positive vision for politics and society -- a new humanism, if you like, that can compete with the narrow secular narratives currently on offer.

That's where religious freedom comes in. It is a positive concept which appeals to the sacred modern icon of freedom. And it's the keystone of a religiously-inclusive -- and therefore genuinely pluralist -- democracy.

The Pope's Peace Day message argues for religious freedom as the cornerstone of everything western democracies hold dear. The denial of it, he says, is to create injustice, stifle peace, and inhibit humanity's growth.

Enabling it, on the other hand, is to allow for people to choose for themselves what is right and good. "Religious freedom should be understood," he says, "not merely as immunity from coercion, but even more fundamentally as an ability to order one’s own choices in accordance with truth."

The commentary on the Message by the president of the Vatican's Justice and Peace Council, Cardinal Peter Turkson, notes that the Pope uses the concept of religious freedom to refer to "man’s freedom to express his being capax Dei: his freedom to respond to the truth of his nature as created by God and created for life with God without coercion or impediments. It is in this that man finds his peace, and from there becomes an instrument of peace."

In other words, we have here the way of ordering a society -- its laws, its institutions, its priorities -- which maximises human flourishing by giving expression to the core human freedom.

To a contemporary (western) society that suspects the Church of restricting and chilling that freedom, that's a message that's hard to hear. And yet, Pope Benedict argues, "The sincere search for God has led to greater respect for human dignity. Christian communities, with their patrimony of values and principles, have contributed much to making individuals and peoples aware of their identity and their dignity, the establishment of democratic institutions and the recognition of human rights and their corresponding duties."

He goes on:

"Through the democratic activity of citizens conscious of their lofty calling, [society's] laws and institutions must adequately reflect the authentic nature of the person and support its religious dimension. Since the latter is not a creation of the state, it cannot be manipulated by the state, but must rather be acknowledged and respected by it."

Or as the Pope also neatly puts it: "It should never be necessary to deny God in order to enjoy one’s rights”.

God precedes the state; and the state's acknowledgement of that is the door which opens up all other freedoms, because the state is acknowledging that it is not the arbiter of right and wrong, but at its service.

That's what makes society possible. And that is why, as the Pope argues, "With due respect for the positive secularity of state institutions, the public dimension of religion must always be acknowledged. A healthy dialogue between civil and religious institutions is fundamental for the integral development of the human person and social harmony."

What undermines religious freedom, in other words, is what distorts the delicate balance between temporal and spiritual, the eclipse of one by the other, leading to fundamentalism enthroned in theocracy, or relativism enthroned in totalitarianism. As Cardinal Turkson says, relativism, syncretism and fundamentalism are "all abused forms of religious freedom".

A leading official told at the J&P Council told me recently that the its agenda over the coming year would be, essentially, "Caritas in veritate plus the Pope's Peace Day message".

It is, essentially, the social Catholic agenda of the coming era, a "third way" between fundamentalism and relativism, just as social Catholicism was a third way between liberalism and totalitarianism in the 1920s-30s. The historic parallels seem to me unmistakable. This year looks exciting already.


The other AMERICA essay article is less welcome and far more problematic. The writer sounds condescending to the Pope most of the time, his subtext being that it's about time the Pope spoke about these things, as if he has never done so before. And even worse, he interprets the Pope's words according to what he would like them to be, not according to what they say objectively..


Benedict XVI, inter-religious leader
by Francis X. Clooney, SJ

January 01, 2011


Cambridge, MA - Austen Ivereigh’s most recent blog very helpfully draws our attention to the Pope’s New Year’s Day - World Day of Peace – message, "Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace", just as he did a week ago to the Pope’s BBC broadcast and its welcome message.

Given the religious violence that is in the news these days, it is timely that the Pope is speaking out and challenging his peers in other traditions to work together for respect and human rights.

And it is good that the Pope uses these public occasions to make broad, general appeals that we live together in peace, and work with our sisters and brothers in other religious traditions to ensure freedom of religion and make religious commitment a source of respect for all people. (In this regard, it is striking that he plans now to honor John Paul II’s bold initiative in gathering religious leaders for prayer in Assisi in 1986, by an anniversary event there this fall.)

As readers know, I enjoy teasing out themes of inter-religious significance from this Pope’s writings and pronouncements, as I did recently with respect to his book-length interview, The Light of the World.

But in this case, it is easy, and a pleasure, to add this blog in support of Mr. Ivereigh’s, since the Pope's 'Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace', is rich in statements about the mutual cooperation and mutual respect required today, not just of individual believers, but of religious communities — in all faiths, large and small.

I close my part of this reflection with just a few further observations.

First, again, it really is true that this Pope is now taking the lead in pushing the Church to take religious diversity seriously as a positive reality.

Second, it is important to notice that he is not speaking simply of individuals with good faith and sincerity, but of entire traditions, with their own leadership structures, as counterparts to the Church.

Nor does there seem to be any thought in the Pope’s remarks of “the Church plus the great religions” — rather, the Church is one among these religions today, however we understand that fact.

But three harder points also need to be made. First, it is not so easy to mark off the “great religions” as our counterparts. It would not be easy, nor useful, to decide which traditions are great or little, so the door is open to taking seriously many small and more local traditions that don’t fit neatly onto the Judaism-Christianity-Islam-Hinduism-Buddhism-Confucianism-Taoism-Shintoism list.

It would be very far from the logic of the Pope’s appeal to ignore small traditions, even if he does not refer to them. Nor, of course, do religions’ most prominent and powerful clerics necessarily speak adequately for their communities, so the conversation on religious liberty envisioned by the Pope cannot be merely a top-down enterprise.

Second, the quotes I selected below from paragraph 11 appeal to Vatican II’s Nostra Aetate (and not, for instance, Dominus Iesus) to ground a Catholic openness to other faiths.
[Of course, because the Pope is not talking of theological agreement here - Dominus Iesus is a theological document - but of practical concrete ways of working together for a universal purpose common to all believers and men of goodwill, which is the thrust of Nostra aetate.]

This is fine, but there is work to be done in dealing with the widespread opinion among people of other faith traditions, after 45 years, that Nostra Aetate offers only a good start, a cautious, limited, partial, even condescending respect for the world’s religions.

The Pope and the Vatican very much need to work with theologians and those with long experience in actual inter-religious dialogue to bolster with credibility the appeal made in 'Religious Freedom, the Path to Peace' and the new Assisi gesture.

Unless it is clear that to its deepest core the Church is thoroughly serious about working with people of other traditions and in not predetermining the conversation, it seems unlikely that real cooperation will take place.

Third, it is rather early to ponder the issue, but what kind of spiritual exchange will take place at the proposed Assisi 2011 meeting? It is well known that many, including Joseph Ratzinger, hesitated at the idea that religious leaders could or should pray together at Assisi in 1986. [His objection was not to praying together but to those parts of the program that allowed non-Christian and even pagan ritual carried out inside a consecrated Catholic church!]

But it seems necessary today that we ambition more: if we do not pray together, can we really work together as religious persons? Speeches and declarations and photo ops will not suffice; dare I say that God will not be satisfied with leaders who insist on praying only separately from one another?

In his last book, Christianity and the Religions, Jacques Dupuis, SJ, reflected on Assisi 1986 and discussed the ways in which we can think about praying together with people of other faith traditions. I hope there is still a copy of this good book at the Vatican, since it will be a good reference in the months to come.
[WARNING! Depuis was rebuked by the CDF in 2001 for a book entitled Towards a Christian Theology of Religious Pluralism, when the CDF used principles enunciated in the Dominus Iesus to strike down Dupuis's arguments for 'religious pluralism'. See the CDF note on www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20010124_dupuis_...

Selections from what the Pope said in his New Year's Day address:

---

7. "How can anyone deny the contribution of the world’s great religions to the development of civilization? The sincere search for God has led to greater respect for human dignity. Christian communities, with their patrimony of values and principles, have contributed much to making individuals and peoples aware of their identity and their dignity, the establishment of democratic institutions and the recognition of human rights and their corresponding duties.

10. "In a globalized world marked by increasingly multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies, the great religions can serve as an important factor of unity and peace for the human family. On the basis of their religious convictions and their reasoned pursuit of the common good, their followers are called to give responsible expression to their commitment within a context of religious freedom. Amid the variety of religious cultures, there is a need to value those elements which foster civil coexistence, while rejecting whatever is contrary to the dignity of men and women.

"The public space which the international community makes available for the religions and their proposal of what constitutes a “good life” helps to create a measure of agreement about truth and goodness, and a moral consensus; both of these are fundamental to a just and peaceful coexistence. The leaders of the great religions, thanks to their position, their influence and their authority in their respective communities, are the first ones called to mutual respect and dialogue.

11. "For the Church, dialogue between the followers of the different religions represents an important means of cooperating with all religious communities for the common good. The Church herself rejects nothing of what is true and holy in the various religions. “She has a high regard for those ways of life and conduct, precepts and doctrines which, although differing in many ways from her own teaching, nevertheless often reflect a ray of that truth which enlightens all men and women.”

"The path to take is not the way of relativism or religious syncretism. The Church, in fact, “proclaims, and is in duty bound to proclaim without fail, Christ who is the way, the truth and the life (Jn 14:6); in Christ, in whom God reconciled all things to himself, people find the fullness of the religious life”. Yet this in no way excludes dialogue and the common pursuit of truth in different areas of life, since, as Saint Thomas Aquinas would say, “every truth, whoever utters it, comes from the Holy Spirit.”

"The year 2011 marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of the World Day of Prayer for Peace convened in Assisi in 1986 by Pople John Paul II. On that occasion the leaders of the great world religions testified to the fact that religion is a factor of union and peace, and not of division and conflict. The memory of that experience gives reason to hope for a future in which all believers will see themselves, and will actually be, agents of justice and peace.

12. "Politics and diplomacy should look to the moral and spiritual patrimony offered by the great religions of the world in order to acknowledge and affirm universal truths, principles and values which cannot be denied without denying the dignity of the human person."

---

I encountered Francis X. Clooney in another unpleasant context once before. In January 2007, I posted in the READINGS thread of the PRF in January 2007
freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=355008&p=2
a rebuttal by Carl Olson of an essay by Clooney criticizing Benedict XVI - "Benedict the Brusque' - for the Regensburg lecture and his whole approach to inter-religious dialog, because he considers the Holy Father's preference for straight talk as 'brusque'. Olson's essay is worth rereading.

In 2003, on the 25th anniversary of John Paul II's Pontificate, Sandro Magister wrote an excellent report on the question of religious pluralism and inter-religious dialog in general, and Dominus Iesus and the Assisi prayer day, in particular,
chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/19632?eng=y

And the second big news for and about Pope Benedict XVI on the first day of 2011... Very much Benedict the newsmaker... Even with the announcements made a few weeks ago, the actual first materialization just crept up on us all... God bless this hgreat initiative and all the good souls involved in it...


History is made: First Anglican group,
including 3 bishops, join the Church
under Benedict XVI's 'Anglicanorum coetibus'
By Jonathan Wynne-Jones, Religious Affairs Correspondent

01 Jan 2011


The first Anglicans have received into the Roman Catholic Church under a scheme set up by Pope Benedict XVI.

Priests and worshippers from around 20 Church of England parishes converted to Catholicism on Saturday at a ceremony in Westminster Cathedral.

Three former bishops were among those confirmed at the service, which saw the first wave of Anglicans defecting to Rome to join the Ordinariate.

The Pope introduced the structure in 2009 to welcome disillusioned Anglicans into the Catholic fold after secret meetings were held at the Vatican with Church of England bishops, as The Sunday Telegraph revealed a year earlier.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, admitted the move had put him in “an awkward position”, but more recently he said he respected the decisions of those who decided to leave.

While around 50 clergy are expected to defect to the Catholic Church over the coming months, it has been predicted that thousands of traditionalist worshippers will join the exodus, particularly if they are given no concessions once women are made bishops.

Opposition to women bishops was one of the main reasons for the priests’ resignations from the Church of England, said Bishop Alan Hopes, the Catholic bishop who has overseen their welcome into the Ordinariate.

More importantly, he added, “most of them have been journeying, seeking the fullness of truth, and they found it in the Catholic Church”.

The former bishops of Fulham, Ebbsfleet and Richborough, John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton respectively, were applauded after they received holy communion before a packed congregation at the cathedral yesterday.

They have been key to orchestrating the exodus from the Church of England and advocating the Ordinariate, which they described as an “answer to their prayers”.

Fr Broadhurst has been particularly vocal in criticising the Church, accusing it of breaking promises to opponents of women bishops and describing it as “vicious” and “fascist”.

Two of the bishops’ wives were also confirmed as Catholics yesterday, along with three former Anglican nuns who were forced to take refuge in a Catholic convent after being told to leave their house at Walsingham Abbey.

Their departure devastated the community in Walsingham, leaving four older nuns to run the priory while the younger ones faced a period of uncertainty.

One of the nuns, Sister Wendy Renata, said she felt “fantastic” after formally being welcomed into the Catholic Church.

“I’ve wanted to do it for years. I’ve finally done it,” she said.

In the next few weeks, the next groups of clergy and worshippers are set to be received into the Catholic Church, which is due to announce the precise timetable for the launch of the Ordinariate this month.

The confirmations at yesterday’s service were the first step to its establishment in this country. All of the clergy who have resigned from the Church of England now have to be re-ordained as the Catholic Church does not recognise Anglican orders.

It is expected that as many as 50 clergy will be ordained by Easter as the new structure begins to take shape, but there are likely to be many disputes in parishes torn over whether to remain in the Church of England.

The Most Rev Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster, said in November that he did not feel “guilty” that some Anglican parishes would be left without vicars.

He said the Catholic Church would provide £250,000 in start-up funding for the Ordinariate and look to raise more money from donations and sponsors to cover running costs.

Archbishop Williams has expressed regret at the resignations of the clergy and warned that there will be challenges as they set up their new churches.

“I think the challenge will come in working out shared use of churches, of how we as Anglicans 'recommend’ people and also of course there will be some parishes without priests - so we have a practical challenge here and there,” he said.

Earlier in the process, the Vatican published its “apostolic constitution Anglicanorum coetibus”, allowing Anglican clergy to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while maintaining aspects of their spiritual heritage.

While Catholic priests are not permitted to marry, there are a small number of former Anglican bishops with wives, who joined the Catholic clergy post the mid-90s.

“They were given disciplinary sanction from clerical celibacy in order to be ordained as a Catholic priest,” Bishop Hopes said.

Commenting on how the Anglican Archbishop might feel about the arrangement, Bishop Hopes said he understood he would be feeling unhappy.

“But I know too that he understands that we are all on a journey of faith, and sometimes our paths take standard routes.

“And if you truly believe that you have found fullness of truth in the Catholic Church, there is nothing you can do about it.

“You have to become a Catholic.”

A former Anglican convert himself, Bishop Hopes was received into the Catholic Church in 1994.


And once more, Austin Ivereigh who was present for the historic event:

The discreet beginnings
of the Ordinariate
by Austen Ivereigh

January 01, 2011


The 1230 Mass today at London's Westminster Cathedral looked like any other. But for the hint in the booklet for the feast of Mary, Mother of God, that after the homily would be a "Rite of reception and confirmation", there was nothing at all to indicate the significance of what was to happen.

The celebrant, an auxiliary bishop of Westminster, Alan Hopes, said nothing at the start of Mass, and it wasn't until the end of a lengthy homily on Mary as Theotokos, or God-bearer, and the controversies of the fourth-century Council of Nicea which led to this Feast, that Bishop Hopes mentioned that they would be receiving some former members of the Church of England into full communion.

They included, he said, three former bishops and their relatives, as well as three Anglican nuns.

It would have been hard, if you had just dropped into the Cathedral for Mass, to understand the significance of what was happening. There was nobody around to explain that these are the founding members of the world's first Ordinariate, the scheme created by Pope Benedict to allow for the corporate reception of Anglicans.

The Ordinariate will be created in the next week or so, with Rome's legislative act expected to be announced on 11 January. The jurisdiction will be headed by an Ordinary -- inevitably one of the ex-bishops received into the Church today.

The ordination to the diaconate and priesthood of the three ex-bishops will take place in a couple of weeks. They will be followed at Easter, according to Ruth Gledhill of The Times -- who seemed to be the only one who knew that today's Mass was happening -- by about 20 parish groups, perhaps 40-50 clergy, and a further three former bishops.

Among the three ex-bishops received today was John Broadhurst, 68, until last night the Bishop of Fulham with pastoral care of 55 parishes across the country opposed to the ordination of women as bishops. He remains the leader of the Anglo-Catholic group of about 1,000 clergy known as Forward in Faith.

The three nuns received today are the youngest members of the popular Anglo-Catholic shrine of Walsingham, and include its former superior. Their departure leaves only four elderly religious.

I counted nine lay people also being received today; among them two wives of the defecting ex-bishops.

The celebrant, Bishop Hopes, himself a former Anglican, spoke of their "long and challenging journey" on the road to the Catholic Church, and this, their "decisive step on the road of your discipleship". He prayed for the "perfect unity" one day between Catholics and Anglicans.

Then he spoke to those being received -- but without a microphone, so the congregation could barely hear. When the microphone was restored, he told them they were now full members of the Catholic Church, and we clapped. Then it was Mass as normal.

The beginning of a historic realignment of Western Christianity thus began with an event about as unpublic and understated as it was possible to have designed. Not even members of Forward in Faith knew about it.

It is not hard to guess why. Too much fanfare and publicity now could make the Ordinariate look triumphalist, and cause ill-feeling among both Anglicans and Catholics. Much better to begin discreetly, and let it grow away from the spotlight. But perhaps just as important are the delicate sensibilities of those left behind, many of whom are wrestling with the decision of whether to follow.

So there was no press conference, no photographers -- and barely a journalist in sight. The Ordinariate, one might say, began today with a very English whimper. [I wouldn't call it a whimper at all - but a discreet whisper, yes! Indeed, there is no mention of it at all on the website of the Archdiocese of Westminster.]


Three ex-Anglican bishops
received into the Catholic church

Saturday, 1 January 2011


Three former Anglican bishops were received into full communion with the Catholic Church during a Mass at Westminster Cathedral today.

John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton – the former bishops of Fulham, Ebbsfleet and Richborough respectively – will take prominent roles in the Personal Ordinariate for England and Wales which will be established in early 2011.

The wives of two of the ex-Church of England bishops and three nuns from Walsingham were also received.

Westminster auxiliary Bishop Alan Hopes, himself a former Anglican, was chief celebrant at the Mass.

Fr Seán Finnegan, a Catholic priest and blogger who was present at the Mass, commented: “Only the three active flying bishops were received, all modestly and humbly in ties, together with some members of some of their families, plus the three sisters from Walsingham.

“I was surprised to see that even John Broadhurst, baptised a Catholic, was received along with the rest. They were then confirmed – some in accord with tradition took confirmation names; one of the former bishops took Benedict, another Joseph, others used their baptismal names – and they returned to their places to gentle applause. One of the sisters, descending the steps grinned at the congregation and gave two thumbs up.

“We all received Communion (five of our new brethren, including all three former bishops, on the tongue) and, lo, it was done. We are in communion.

“The Ordinariate is launched very quietly and gently, slipping almost unnoticed into the water.”

Jeffrey Steel, a Catholic blogger and former Anglican priest, said: “The Mass was beautifully sung and parts of it were set to the Lourdes Mass. The Mass was very well attended.

“Having served with these former Anglican bishops as a priest and fellow member of SSC [Society of the Holy Cross], it was good to see them finally take the step of faith and enter into full communion with the Catholic Church.

“Bishop Alan Hopes preached an encouraging homily on the Mother of God and added encouraging words about those on the journey who were a part of the Ordinariate.”


A couple of other accounts about the New Year's Day 'receptions' into the church is in the Ordinariate portal:http://ordinariateportal.wordpress.com/

January 2, Sunday after Christmas

From left: Basil and Gregory; St. Basil; St. Gregory; and the two saints with St. John Chrysostom - celebrated in the Orthodox Churches as the "Three Hierarchs' with their joint feast on January 25
SAINTS BASIL THE GREAT (Asia Minor, 330-379) and GREGORY NAZIANZENE (Asia Minor, 330-390)
BISHOPS, THEOLOGIANS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH
Apart from the fact that they were friends from youth and had almost parallel lives, I have not immediately found an explanation for why they have the same feast day. Both born in what is now central Turkey, they studied together in Cappadocia and much later, in Athens. Both were engaged in the great battle against Arian heresy. Basil, as Bishop of Cappadocia, also distinguished himself for spelling out what Benedict XVI called 'the first social doctrine of the Church'. Gregory, who later became Bishop of Constantinople, was such a gifted theologian that he is also known as Gregory the Theologian. His most outstanding contributions are to the doctrine of the Trinity and of the Holy Spirit. In July and August 2007,
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/inde...
Benedict XVI dedicated two catecheses each to these two towering figures of fourth-century Christianity. Along with St. Athanasius and St. John Chrysostom, they were the first Doctors of the Eastern Church in the Catholic faith.

NB: In some countries like the United States, the Feast of the Epiphany is observed today. At the Vatican, which follows the liturgical calendar used in Italy, the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6, its traditional date. The Holy Fatter will be celebrating the Mass of the Epiphany at St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday.


No OR today. The next issue will be for 1/3-1/4/11.


PAPAL EVENTS TODAY

Sunday Angelus - The Holy Father reflected on today's Gospel, which is the Prologue to the Gospel of St. John.
He then addressed the annual Mass and rally of Catholics in Madrid in defense of family values. After the prayers,
he once again denounced the New Year's Day massacre of Coptic Christians in Egypt and the continuing attacks on
Christians in Iraq.

ANGELUS TODAY






Here is a translation of the Holy Father's words today:

---

I renew to everyone my best wishes for the New Year and I thank all who have sent me messages of spiritual closeness.

The liturgy this Sunday presents to us once more the Prologue to the Gospel of St. John, which is also solemnly proclaimed on Christmas Day.

This admirable text expresses, in the form of a hymn, the mystery of the Incarnation, as preached by eyewitnesses, the Apostles, and specifically here, by John, whose feast day we observe, not by chance, on the 27th of December.

St. Cromatius of Aquileia says that "John was the youngest of all the disciples of the Lord - the youngest by age but old in faith" (Sermo II,1 De Sancto Iohanne Evangelista, CCL 9a, 101).

When we read, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God" (Jn 1,1), the evangelist - traditionally likened to an eagle - soars above human history while scrutinizing the profundity of God.

But, following his Master, he quickly comes back to earth saying, "And the Word was made flesh" (Jn 1,14). The Word is "a living reality: God... who communicates by becoming man himself" (J. Ratzinger, Teologia della liturgia, LEV 2010, 618).

In fact, John affirms, "He made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory" (Jn 1,14). "He abased himself to assume the humility of our human condition", St. Leo the Great comments, "without diminishing his majesty" (Tractatus XXI, 2, CCL 138, 86-87).

In the Prologue we also read: "From his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace" (Jn 1,16). "What is the first grace we receive?", St. Augustine asks, and replies - "It is faith". The second grace, he adds immediately, is 'eternal life' (Tractatus in Ioh. III, 8.9, CCL 36, 24.25).

Now, in Spanish, I wish to address the thousands of families gathered in Madrid for a major demonstration.

I affectionately greet the numerous pastors and faithful gathered in Plaza de Colon, Madrid, to celebrate with joy the value of matrimony and the family, with the slogan, "The Christian family, hope for Europe".

Dear brothers and sisters, I ask you to be strong in love and to contemplate humbly the Mystery of the Nativity which continues to speak to the heart and transforms itself into a school of familial and fraternal life.

The maternal attention of the Virgin Mary, the loving protection of St. Joseph, and the tender presence of the Baby Jesus are a clear image of what each Christian family ought to be - authentic shrines of faithfulness, respect and understanding, in which faith is transmitted, hope is strengthened, and charity is enkindled.

I encourage everyone to live the Christian vocation in the home with renewed enthusiasm, as genuine servants of love that welcomes, nourishes and defends life.

Make your homes into a true nursery of virtues and a serene and luminous space of trust, in which, guided by the grace of God, the call of the Lord may be wisely discerned, who continues to invite us to follow him.

With these sentiments, I fervently entrust to the Holy Family of Nazareth the intentions and results of your meeting so that daily, there may be more families where joy, reciprocal commitment and generosity reign. May God bless you always.

He resumed in Italian:

To the Virgin Mary, to whom the Lord entrusted 'the disciple he loved', let us ask for the strength to act as children 'generated by God' (cfr Jn 1,13), accepting each other and thereby manifesting fraternal love.

After the prayers, he said:

Yesterday morning, we learned with sorrow about the grave attack against the Coptic Christian community of Alexandria in Egypt. This vile act of death - like that of placing bombs near the homes of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave - is an offense to God and all mankind, which only yesterday had prayed for peace as we started a new year with hope.

In the face of this strategy of violence targeting Christians, with consequences to the entire population, I pray for the victims and their families, and I encourage the ecclesial communities to persevere in the faith and in bearing witness to non-violence as the Gospel teaches.

I also think of the many pastoral workers killed in 2010 in various parts of the world, whom we affectionately remember before the Lord.

Let us remain united in Christ, our hope and our peace.

---

Pope denounces killing of Christians
against Christians in Egypt and Iraq



2 JAN 2011 (RV) - “An offense against God and all humanity” - that is how Pope Benedict XVI has described the New Year’s eve bombing of a Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria, Egypt, and the ongoing campaign of violence against Christians in Iraq.

Speaking to a densely packed St Peter’s Square after the Sunday Angelus prayer, the Pope spoke of his sorrow and pain on hearing news of the latest spate of killings targeting Christians communities.

He said: “Yesterday morning we learned with sorrow the news of the serious attack against the Coptic Christian community in Alexandria, Egypt. This vile act of death, like planting bombs close to the homes of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave, offends God and all humanity, who only yesterday prayed for peace and began the New Year with hope”.

On Saturday, the 44th World Day for Peace, in fact, Pope Benedict had renewed his call for religious freedom as the only path to peace, social stability and coexistence between cultures and peoples.

The Holy Father then appealed for Christians to remember the Gospel teachings of non-violence: “Before this strategy of violence that has targeted Christians, and has consequences for the whole population, I pray for the victims and family members, and encourage church communities to persevere in faith and witness to non-violence that comes from the Gospel”.

Pope Benedict also remembered the priests, religious and lay faithful killed during the course of the past year because of their witness to their faith: “I think also of the many pastoral workers killed in 2010 in various parts of the world to them also goes our loving remembrance before the Lord”.

Once again this year, Fides published its annual report of all the pastoral workers who lost their lives in a violent manner over the course of the last 12 months: 23 pastoral care workers were killed: one Bishop, 15 priests, one male religious, one religious sister, two seminarians and three lay people.

Again this year, the continent most affected is America, with the blood of 15 pastoral care workers: 10 priests, one male religious, one seminarian and three lay people. In Asia, the toll included one Bishop, four priests and one religious sister.; and in Africa, one priest and one seminarian.

The Holy Father concluded Sunday by reminding the tens of thousands of pilgrims and visitors to the Square this Sunday, that as Christians “we remain united in Christ, our hope and our peace!”.

“Today we continue to contemplate the divine mystery of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem of the Virgin Mary. He is the Word of God made flesh for our salvation, the Wisdom of God who has come to enlighten us. Let us always cherish this presence of Jesus who brings us grace and truth! I wish you all a pleasant Sunday and renew my good wishes for a Happy New Year!”.





Family Day rally in Madrid




Extreme left, Cardinal Antonio Rouco Varela, Archbishop of Madrid, led the concelebration of the Mass.

MADRID, Jan. 2 (AP) - Tens of thousands of people celebrated a Mass honouring the family as a building block of Christianity in downtown Madrid on Sunday.

The outdoor service under bright blue skies in Colon square was conducted by Archbishop Antonio Rouco Varela on Sunday with the backing of the conservative opposition Popular Party.

The Roman Catholic Church has in recent years balked at Spain's rapid transition from a once-staunchly Catholic nation to one of Europe's most liberal.

The Vatican has sternly opposed the Socialist government-led transformation, which has ushered in gay marriage, fast-track divorce and allowed easier abortions.

"Whenever the true worth of matrimony and family values is questioned, negative consequences come forward rapidly," Rouco Varela said.

Pope Benedict XVI conveyed his blessing from Rome via a video link and the three kings made an appearance riding camels.

Catholic congregations from throughout Europe sent delegations of faithful and clergy to the service.

Egypt's top Muslim cleric
accuses Pope of meddling




Upper left photo, Grand Imam al-Tayeb and Coptic Pope Shenouda; upper right, a much-sanitized photograph of the bombing aftermath; and bottom photos, Copts praying at the church that was targeted.

CAIRO, Jan. 2 (AFP) - Egypt's top Muslim cleric on Sunday criticised Pope Benedict XVI's call for world leaders to defend Christians as interference in his country's affairs, the official MENA news agency reported.

The call, following a deadly church car-bombing in northern Egypt, was "unacceptable interference in Egypt's affairs," Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, the oldest Islamic seat of learning, told reporters.

"I disagree with the Pope's view, and I ask why did the Pope not call for the protection of Muslims when they were subjected to killings in Iraq?" he said at a news conference. [WHAT ARRANT NONSENSE! Who but Muslim extremists have been responsible for killing Iraqis and foreigners of whatever religion in Iraq? At the time of the much ballyhooed letter from Muslim intellectuals responding favorably to Benedict XVI's call for a dialog of reason and truth, I remember raising the question several times of why not one of these leaders and intellectuals had ever been on record once objecting to Muslim terrorism, even when in Iraq, Muslim extremists were killing - and continue to kill - so many more Muslims than any other 'category' of persons by their indiscriminate terror bombings! And now we have this Grand Imam blathering on like he does!

Almost every week, in every major statement, on every possible occasion, Benedict XVI calls for an end to violence and hatred of all kinds, and of course, he mentions Chrstians specifically when an episode targets them specifically. But we don't read about Muslim and Arab leaders doing the same thing about victims of Muslim terrorism, even if most of them are Muslim.]

Benedict at a New Year's Mass at the Vatican appealed for the "concrete and constant engagement of leaders of nations" to protect Christians in the Middle East, in what he termed a "difficult mission."

In the wake of rising tension and "especially discrimination, abuse and religious intolerance which are today striking Christians in particular, I once again launch a pressing appeal not to give in to discouragement and resignation," he said.


BBC photos after the carbomb explosion yesterday. Lower left, young Copts protest at a nearby mosque.

Tayeb, who renewed his condemnation of the New Year's Eve church bombing which cost 21 lives, said Azhar, the highest institute in Sunni Islam, would form a joint committee with the Coptic Church to resolve disputes between the communities.

The committee, which should begin its work in two weeks, will "discuss reasons for deterioration (in Muslim-Copt ties) and propose appropriate solutions," he said.

Tayeb later met with the head of Egypt's Coptic Church, Pope Shenouda III, at his headquarters in Cairo's St Mark Cathedral.

But several dozen Coptic protesters chanted at Tayeb: "We don't want you" and banged on his car as he left.

Sectarian tensions have mounted throughout the past year, which began with a massacre of six Copts and a Muslim security man outside a church in a village of southern Egypt. Three Muslim men are on trial for that attack.

Copts, who make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's 80-million people, complain of discrimination and have been the targets of sectarian attacks.



For the attack on a Coptic church last year, see the accounts posted in the CHURCH&VATICAN thread on 1/8/10:
benedettoxviforum.freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?idd=8593...



Witnesses say Egyptian security guards
withdrew an hour before church blast
by Mary Abdelmassih


CAIRO, Jan. 2 (AINA) -- The car explosion that went off in front of Saints Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria killed 21 and injured 96 parishioners who were attending a New Year's Eve Mass.

According to church officials and eyewitnesses, there are many more victims that are still unidentified and whose body parts were strewn all over the street outside the church. The body parts were covered with newspapers until they were brought inside the church after some Muslims started stepping on them and chanting Jihadi chants.

According to eyewitnesses, a green Skoda car pull up outside the church shortly after midnight. Two men got out, one of them talked shortly on his mobile phone, and the explosion occurred almost immediately after they left the scene. On the back of the Skoda was a sticker with the words "the rest is coming".

It was reported that the bomb, locally made, had 100KG of explosives in addition to having nails, glass and iron balls inside. The strength of it not only caused glass panes to be shattered in all the neighborhood, but also made body parts fly into the building's fourth floor, and to the mosque facing the church.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but officials hastily blamed either Al-Qaida or the Israeli Mousad of being behind the blast, but none of them mentioned the Egyptian state security which is viewed by Copts as the real culprit.

To clear his security forces of negligence, the Minister of Interior said that the blast was an "individual" case, caused by a single suicide terrorist detonating his vest, and has nothing to do with an exploding car. The governor of Alexandria claimed the attack as being aimed at Muslims and Christians alike.


Egyptian police hold 17 suspects


CAIRO, Jan. 2 - Egyptian police have detained at least 17 people suspected of their involvement in church attacks that killed 21 people on New Year's Eve. No extremists outfit has so far claimed responsibility for the blasts.

Two explosions targeting more than 1000 worshipers who gathered to mark the New Year in the Sidi Bechr district rocked the northern port city of Alexandria on Friday.

The bomb blasts are dubbed as the worst attacks against the Christian minority in the past decade. President Hosni Mubarak already stated that a 'foreign hand' was being suspected in the bombing.

Several people attended the Sunday Mass at Al-Qiddissine church in Alexandria, while riot police were deployed to prevent violence. On Saturday, several Coptic Christians took to the streets and clashed with police and Muslim groups.

Benedict's call for an inter-religious
meeting in Assisi is a 'cry of anguish'
Editorial
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated from

January 3, 2011

After a bloody Christmas and New Year's Day for Christians in Egypt and Iraq, Benedict XVI made an announcement at the January 1 Angelus that has passed almost in silence [very little reaction so far in the Italian media]: that he is calling religious leaders around the world to meet in Octobere in Assisi.

A gesture more significant because it was unexpected - one by which Papa Ratzinger intends to mark the 25th anniversary of the first inter-religious meeting called by John Paul II in 1986, at a time when nuclear war hung like a sword of Damocles over the planet.

But also significant because that occasion - the World Day of Prayer for Peace - was marked by excessses and abuses, certainly not through any fault of John Paul II, but due to the frivolity of the organizers (the Franciscans of the Assisi mother house) who ended up conveying a message of religious syncretism.

It is well known that Cardinal Ratzinger, then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, shared the objections raised at the time [to the excesses and the syncretist message].

In the book Faith, Truth and Tolerance later, he would write of "undeniable dangers" in those excesses and pointed out that many had 'erroneously' interpreted the meeting in Assisi. But he also said "it would be equally wrong to totally and unconditionally reject multi-religious prayer", explaining that it should take place under certain conditions.

The first was that inter-religious gatherings aimed at invoking peace should "only be a sign in extraordinary situations when, so to speak, a common cry of anguish must be raised to shake the hearts of men as well as the heart of God".

The second was to present the event "in such a way that it is clear it is not a show of relativism, which would by itself rob it of any meaning".

Yesterday at the Sunday Angelus, Benedict XVI used the words "vile act of death' to describe the carbomb attack at a Coptic Orthodox church in Alexandria, Egypt, in which at least 21 persons were killed and dozens more injured, and likewise, the bombs planted near Christian homes in Iraq intended to 'evict' them from the country, and he spoke of "a strategy of violence targeted at Christians".

These judgments show the Pope's growing concern for the global situation today against Christians. In 1986, the World Day of Prayer for Peace called by John Paul II was prompted by the threat of nyclear conflict.

In 1993, Papa Wojtyla called another meeting in St. Francis's birthplace in connection with the war that was causing so much bloodshed in the former Yugoslavia. And he presided at a third one in January 2002, shortly after 9/11.

If Benedict XVI has chosen to repeat the gesture, it can only mean that the hrowing spiral of hatred and violence, the exploitation of God's name to justify terrorism, the 'strategy' against Christians and the continued growth of religious fundamentalism demand an occasion for that 'common cry of anguish' and above all, the call for a common commitment to peace and the right to religious freedom.


The fact is that Benedict XVI was concerned enough about the growing threats to religious freedom, and specifically, the persecution of Christians, in many parts of the world, that he made it the theme for his 2011 World Day of Peace message - and events since he wrote and released that message last month have only tragically and dramatically confirmed his concern.

As for the 'excesses and abuses' that happened at that first World Day of Prayer for Peace in 1986, the following translation of a 2005 interview with Vittorio Messori gives us an idea of it... It is one of the first items I posted in the PRF the day we opened the English section of the Forum there on November 24, 2005.
freeforumzone.leonardo.it/discussione.aspx?c=65482&f=65482&idd=354494&tid=1116a8b0ae8853c7f6517fc13d9c1dc700520ae24edec1bd5ed2b57c...
The occasion was Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio on November 9, 2005, in which he asks the Franciscans who are in charge of the three major churches in Assisi to submit from thereon to the jurisdiction of the diocesan bishop. Vittorio Messori gave an interview to La Stampa in which he gives his views on the Pope's decision and its repercussions.

'In Assisi, they even sacrificed
chickens on the altar at St Clare's'
Interview with Vittorio Messori
by Giacomo Galeazzi

Nov. 21, 2005

“The Church has a long memory. This concerns the inter-religious meeting of 1986 about which Joseph Ratzinger had an account to settle with the friars of Assisi. And now things have come to a head.”

Vittorio Messori, probably the most-read Italian Catholic author in the world (the only journalist to have co-authored a book with each of the last two Popes) reveals what is behind the recent pontifical action regarding the three Franciscan churches in Assisi and recounts how the future Pope Benedict XVI was indignant over some pagan sacrifices conducted at the altar of St. Clare’s Basilica, right over the Gothic crypt where the remains of the saint are kept.

Pagan sacrifices?
Ratzinger has not pardoned the Franciscan community for the excesses of the first day of prayers conducted by Pope John Paul II and leaders of other world religions. It was carnival-like, in the opinion of many – and it was the friars themselves who had gone far beyond previous agreements on what was to be done, in effect forcing the Pope to take part in questionable rites.

The friars allowed African animists to kill two chickens on the altar of St. Clare’s and some American Indians to perform dances inside the Church. Ratzinger, perplexed, had strong reservations about all this from the start, and refused to go to Assisi then. Perhaps his reservations limited the damage.

In what way?
The night before that meeting, he reviewed the Pope’s text for his discourse and he advised reining in some parts. It had become clear to him that the Franciscan enclave, free of any links with the Bishop of Assisi, was an anomaly that had to be corrected, that it should be limited in its autonomy and brought back under the jurisdiction of the Church. Thus, the accounting for the 1986 aberration of a Christian church used for pagan rites has been settled after 19 years.

Too much autonomy?
The friars have abused the so-called spirit of Assisi. In fact, they venerate and disseminate illicitly the image of a romantic saintlet of Protestant descent, a mythic St. Francis, a sort of village fool who speaks to wolves and birds, sends everyone off with a pack slung on the shoulders. It is a false vulgarization of St. Francis, which debases his message. The historic Francis is, in fact, the most authentic son of the Church of the Crusades.

He was not a pacifist?
Absolutely not. Francis participated in the fifth Crusade as chaplain of troops who were certainly not men of peace. He sought martyrdom through participating in a crusade to reconquer the Holy Land and fell into depression when the crusaders lost. He did not go to the sultan to dialog but to try and convert him, challenging him to walk over burning coals to prove whether Christ or Mohammed was more powerful.

And he was not even an 'animal lover'. In his Song of Creation, he never mentions animals. Nor was he an ecologist! He opposed those among his followers who wanted to be a vegetarian community.

Now, therefore, the Pope wishes to re-establish orthodoxy?
Of course. Even in San Giovanni Rotondo [hometown of Padre Pio], the Franciscans have taken the Sanctuary from the control of the diocese. So both there and in Assisi, it is important that the friars’ initiatives be in agreement with that of the bishopric. It wil be good even for the Sacred Convent [main Franciscan church in Assisi], because it will put an end to the friars' politically correct demagoguery.

An end to the pretense of peace, ecology, ecumenism and pseudo-courageous vaingloriousness which shakes the hands of dictators [this refers to the ostentatious welcome given by the friars to Saddam's deputy Tariq Aziz, a Christian, when he visited Assisi a few months before the war began] and violates the Church itself.

The Pope wants to normalize things?
The spirit of Assisi is not what the friars of the Sacred Convent have made it to be, and Joseph Ratzinger is fully aware of the colossal error made during that World Day of Prayer in 1986.

So much so that three years later, he succeeded in attenuating the syncretist tendencies of the last inter-religious meeting in Assisi, beginning with a correction of the false picture of the historic Francis

And it has been disconcerting that up to now, the bishop of Assisi only learns of any new initiative by the friars by reading about it in the papers.

The end to the “world capital of ecumenism”?
The Franciscans should coordinate with the bishops. Ratzinger’s intervention at this point is irreproachable. The Pope has followed his own style, acting in a respectful manner that does not interfere with the monastic life of the order itself, but decisively, in a way that serves as a warning to all.

The Church will no longer tolerate events which are exempt from the laws of the Church. It is a choice that is well within Benedict’s pastoral strategy. No one can be a law unto themselves.

P.S. One assumes the Franciscans have since fallen in line. In June 2007, Benedict XVI made a pastoral visit to Assisi, during which he made five major discourses in the space of less than 10 hours, clearly placing his stamp on the genuine 'spirit of Assisi' with respect to the World Day of Prayer for Peace, and the genuine St. Francis, and not the flower child that he has been made out to be. He also visited the shrine of Padre Pio in San Giovanni Rotondo in 2009, and hosted the Franciscans in Castel Gandolfo during their 800th anniversary Chapter General in 2009.

Meanwhile, some of the initial reactions to Benedict's new Assisi initiative have been disapproving (and to me, perplexing and disappointing) - those I read from some followers of Lella's blog, for instance, who are generally Benaddicts, and the one from New Catholic at the staunchly traditionalist Rorate caeli blog, who called it 'an inauspicious start' for 2011, and comments: "Interreligious dialogue: as the massacre of Christians in Alexandria reminded us just today, 'How's that workin' out for ya?'" Which misses the point completely.

For some reason, the assumption is that Benedict XVI's Assisi program would necessarily be identical to what was done three times under John Paul II - and we must note that the second and third Assisi events were obviously correct and unexceptionable. We do not know yet exactly what form Benedict's 'Assisi day' will take, but whatever it is, we can be sure it will not send the wrong message to the world about religious relativism or syncretism! As Assisi 1986 showed, the exploitation of the event to showcase politically correct but totally misplaced syncretic religious rituals - rather colorful and 'carnival-like' as Messori put it - backfired so badly as to overshadow the 'cry of anguish' that the occasion was supposed to be.

Sorry to have been away for more than 24 hours...My PC conked out early yesterday morning while I was working on my first post - not the hard drive, but apparently something wrong with its power card...And then, despite an hour on the phone with a Time-Warner specialist, there were technical problems to hook up my Internet service to my laptop - some problem with an interface card or something... Anyway, I had no access to the Internet all the while, and I didn't get another PC till this morning, while the other one is in repair, but it has all my settings for the Forum, so working on another PC will really slow me down a lot... Let me try to catch up first on what has been happening in the Papacy and the Church and then I will try to catch up on posting...

Monday, January 3

FEAST OF THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS
The Angel Gabriel told Mary that her son would be named Jesus, the name Mary and Joseph gave him when he was circumcised eight days after his birth. St. Paul had exalted it as 'the name above every other name', but devotion to the Holy Name began in the 12th century with Cistercian monks and nuns. St. Bernardine of Siena in the 15th century was the great apostle of devotion to the Holy Name as a way to overcome the bitter conflicts in the Italian city-states of his time. Dominicans and Franciscans alike propagated the devotion, and since the 16th century, the Jesuits who adopted the Christogram IHS, an abbreviation of the Greek form of Jesus, as their symbol. The feast of the Holy Name was introduced into the Universal Church in 1731.

There was no OR on January 3, and no events announced for the Holy Father.


Tuesday, January 4

Center photo: Seton house and shrine in downtown New York City.
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON (USA, 1774-1821)
Widow, Convert and Founder of the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph
This remarkable woman who accomplished so much in 46 years of her life was born
tp an Episcopalian family in New York City's high society. At age 19, she married
a wealthy banker and bore him five children, after which he lost his fortune and
fell sick. He died while convalescing in Italy, where his wife became exposed to
Catholicism. She converted after his death and was denounced by her family for
doing so. Having to raise five children by herself, the moved to Baltimore where
she set up a free school for the poor, the first Catholic parish school in the USA.
It became the basis, in 1809, for founding the first American religious community
for women, the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, dedicated to educating children
of the poor. Seton also established the first American Catholic orphanage. She died
early of tuberculosis. She was beatified in 1963 and canonized in 1975, the first
native-born American citizen to become a saint. She is considered as the patron
saint of schools.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/010411.shtml


OR for 1/3-1/4/11:

Center photo in top panel shows Coptic women touching the blood-stained image of Christ on a mural in the Alexandria church
that was car-bombed on New Year's Day, with at least 21 dead and dozens injured.
Benedict XVI denounces the 'strategy of violence' against Christians and urges everyone:
'Move decisively on the road to peace'
The issue covers all the papal events since the Dec. 31 Vespers/Thanksgiving/Te Deum; the Pope's visit to the Nativity
scene on St. Peter's square afterwards; the New Year's Day Mass to mark the solemnity of the Mother of God; the New
Year's Day Angelus at which he first decried the massacre of Coptic Orthodox Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, and
some Christians in Nigeria, on the very World Day of Peace in which his message was on religious freedom as the path
to peace, and announced an inter-religious meeting in Assisi next October; and the Sunday Angelus during which he
further denounced the apparent strategy of violence aginst Christians in many parts of the world and addressed the
annual Family Day rally in Madrid. Other Page 1 news: Follow up stories on the Alexandria and Nigeria anti-Christian
violence reports of two Christian churches burned Jan. 2 in Inguscetia, an autonomous Russian territory, and another
one in Nigeria; both churches were empty, fortunately. In the inside pages, Benedict XVI is named by Italy's leading
financial newspaper, Il Sole 24 Ore, as one of the leading 'protagonists of the eocnomy' in 2010 for "his
constant reminders to the economic and financial communities against selfish interests and savage exploitation of
natural resources" and "for having brought transparency to the Vatican bank IOR".


No events announced for the Holy Father today.




The Holy Father has accepted the resignation of Slovenian Cardinal Franc Rodé as Prefect of the Congregation for
the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life for having reached canonical retirement age,
and has named Brazilian Mons. João Braz de Aviz, till now Archbishop of Brazilia, to succeed him.




Vatican medical experts and theologians
recognize John Paul II miracle - beatification
almost certain to take place this year
Andrea Tornielli reports this in today's Il Giornale. I will post the translation later.

- The governor of the Pakistani province of Punjab was killed today by one of his bodyguards, who said he did so
because the governor had criticized the so-called black law punishing 'blasphemy' against Islam - the law under
which Asia, Bibi, a Christian mother of four, was sentenced to death simply for having defended Christianity.
Her sentence is under appeal. and there is a movement by non-Muslim religious leaders to seek repeal of the law.

- You may have read about this earlier: The city of Barcelona, will put up a monument to gay and transgender people who have been persecuted “throughout history". City officials issued a statement last week saying the pink triangular stone monument, which will be unveiled in February, will bear the inscription “In memory of the gays, lesbians and transsexual people who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history. Barcelona 2011.” Among the sites considered is the plaza in front of the Basilica of La Sagrada Familia... Consider the lack of perspective in all this. Did the city council of Barcelona even think for one moment to denounce the killing of Christians in Alexandria, Nigeria and the Philippines this week? The other perspective is that when the Pope was in Barcelona in November, only a few hundred homosexuals and their advocates turned up for the so-called 'kiss-in' (only some 100 couples actually took part), against 250,000 who showed up to greet the Pope.

Vatican medical experts and theologians
recognize John Paul II miracle - beatification
almost certain to take place this year
by Andrea Tornielli
Translated and adapted from

January 4, 2011


Medical experts consulted by the Congregation for the Causes of Sainthood have recognized the miracle presented for the cause of John Paul II's beatification, and subsequently, the Congregation's theologians also did.

The files have been provided to the cardinals and bishops of the congregation for review, and they will formally vote on the late Pope's beatification in mid-January, to pass it on to Benedict XVI for his formal approval. He will then set a date for beatification, which could conceivably take place in the spring on the sixth anniversary of the Polish Pope's death.

The miracle presented for the cause was the healing of a French nun from Parkinson's disease, the illness which eventually led to the death of John Paul II.

It will be recalled that the decree on Papa Wojtyla's virtues was announced by Benedict XVI on December 19, 2009, after the unanimous vote of the Congregation following thorough investigation of the Pope's life and writings.

Papa Wojtyla's postulator, Mos. Slawomir Oder, then presented the case for a presumed miracle that occurred through the late Pope's intercession after his death.

Sister Marie Simon Pierre, a 44-year old French nun, had been afflicted with an aggressive form of Parkisnon's disease and was forced to leave her job in a hospital maternity ward in Arles, southern France. After her fellow nuns offered special prayers in her behalf to John Paul II in June 2005, Sister Marie's symptoms instantaneously anc inexplicably disappeared.

However, one of the medical specialists consulted by the Congregation to rule on the scientific inexplicability of the healing expressed doubts as to whether the nun's affliction was indeed Parkinson's. The congregation requested further expert medical investigation to avoid any doubts. The final verdict was favorable, and the medical experts' conclusion, reached last week, was then presented to the Congregation's theologians.

Some had interpreted the apparent 'slowdown' in the medical investigation as a 'political' decision. Evidently, a false conclusion. In any case, through all the phases of investigation so far, no one has ever expressed any doubt on the personal holiness of the late Pope.

The meetings of the medical consultants and the theologians took place last month in the strictest secrecy. It may be assumed that the meeting of the full congregation this month will approve the beatification.

In which case, Cardinal Angelo Amato, prefect of the Congregation, will then submit the recommendation to Benedict XVI for his approval, Then, all that remains will be to set a date.

Theoretically, the sixth anniversary of John Paul II's death on April 2 remains possible, Or it could take place in October, on the 33rd anniversary of Karol Wojtyla's election as Pope.

The event will pose many organizational problems because of the number of pilgrims expected to attend the beatification, and this must be taken into account. [Not necessarily. With little preparation, Rome was able to handle the unprecedented influx of pilgrims for the funeral in April 2005.]

At the Pope's funeral in 2005, admirers unfurled streamers in St. Peter's Square reading 'Santo subito!" (Make him a saint right away).
During the Conclave, the cardinals had reportedly signed a petition to open the beatification process right away.

Benedict VXI, after having weighed the various proposals, decided in May 2005, to start the beatification procress - without waiting for five years after the candidate's death, as required by Church law, but without any other shortcuts.

{It is, of course, very important that no one, inside the Church or outside, can later fault the Vatican for having failed to conduct all the necessary investigations appropriately, or to cast any doubt on the beatification and eventual canonization process. BTW, if John Paul II had not been Pope, his beatification would take place in his native diocese of Cracow.]

Fr. Lombardi says Pope advocates
authentic religious freedom for
everyone - not just Christians


3 JAN 2011 (RV) - The Director of the Vatican Press Office, Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, renewed the Holy See’s commitment to authentic religious liberty as the essential element in the search for true peace.

He was responding to remarks from the chief imam of Al-Azhar University in Egypt, who on Sunday condemned the deadly New Year’s attack on Coptic Christians emerging from church in Alexandria, but criticised the appeal by Benedict XVI to Egypt's leaders to counter the persecution of Christians, as an "interference" in internal Egyptian affairs.

Fr. Lombardi notes both the Imam’s condemnation of the attack, and his personal visit to the Coptic Pope to offer his condolences, before going on to reiterate the position of the Holy Father and the Holy See.

The full statement:

---

Pope Benedict XVI’s position is very clear, and always has been: a radical condemnation of violence, closeness to the community that has been so horribly stricken, and concern for the religious freedom of Christian minorities.

As he said in his Peace Day Message, the Pope’s concern for the religious freedom of Christians has always been within the context of his concern for the religious freedom of all people, not only Christians.

Time and again, the Pope has condemned violence against all people - not only that, which is perpetrated against Christians. We recall his recent discourse to the new Ambassador to the Holy See from Iraq, in which the Holy Father spoke of the innocent victims of violence, both Muslim and Christian.

Right now, we need the commitment of all those responsible for the safety of peoples and the fight against terrorism; we also need all those from all faiths, from every persuasion, who work for peace, to commit themselves to opposing a foul plan that evidently aims to divide, to arouse tension, hatred and conflict.

The Pope’s invitation to Assisi for this coming October demonstrates his desire to repeat the message that no war may be waged in God’s name, but only peace. Between the 6th and the 7th of January, Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas. Let us unite ourselves to them in profound solidarity with their suffering and with prayers for the peace of all their communities.

---

Bishop of Lahore speaks out
on Punjab governor's killing
for opposing Pakistan's blasphemy law


4 JAN 2011 (RV) - “The assassination of the Governor of Punjab is going to make it virtually impossible for anyone to speak out against the blasphemy law”, says Archbishop Lawrence J. Saldanha of Lahore.

“Initially when the High Court sentenced Asia Bibi to death, many members of civil society spoke out against this law and there was a general sense that it needed to be repealed. Now that tide has turned”, he adds.

On Tuesday Punjab Governor, Salman Taseer, was shot by one of his own guards in Islamabad. The gunman later told police it was because of his opposition to Pakistan's controversial blasphemy law.

The Governor had also requested a pardon for Asia Bibi, the Christian mother of five sentenced to death under the law, on fabricated charges, her lawyers claim.

The killing came just one day after a main coalition partner quit government and has added to concerns about inroads by Islamist fundamentalists into Pakistan's establishment. It also follows on the heels of nationwide strikes, called by radical Islamic groups to counter any moves to repeal the law.

Archbishop Saldanha, expressing the Catholic Churches sadness at the murder of Govenor Taseer. notes there is a rising tide of intolerance against any form of dissent in Pakistan, spurred on by fundamentalist fringes in the Muslim majority nation.

“We Catholics feel increasing marginalised”, he says, “ we have had to increase security around our Churches, especially during Christmas celebrations”. “While there was some hope before that things may change, now with the government virtually a lame duck, that hope has gone”.


The following article gives an indication of how Benedict XVI is the only world leader today who shows real continuing concern for the violations of relgiious freedom around the world.


The greatest story
never told in 2010
by Gary Bauer

Jan. 4, 2011

The writer is president of American Values and Campaign for Working Families, two Washington-based organizations promoting the values of America's Founding Fathers and Christian pro-life, pro-family policies, respectively. He was Ronald Reagan's undersecretary for education for eight years, then became president of the US Family Research Council. A Republican, he pushed his convervative positions in campaigns for the presidential primaries in 1999-2000.

In all the reviews and lists of the most important events of 2010, one story of devastating importance was scarcely mentioned: that of the persecution of Christians throughout the world, particularly in majority Muslim countries.

Christian persecution has been on the rise for years, but it seemed to reach a new level of intensity in 2010. In fact, it’s not an exaggeration to suggest that Christians in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt now confront the prospect of extinction at the hands of radical Islam.

When Pope Benedict XVI recently said,"At present, Christians are the religious group which suffers most from persecution on account of its faith," many in the Western media rolled their eyes. But various governmental and non-governmental groups (most recently the Vatican) have released reports documenting the breadth and depth of abuse against Christians the world over.

A comprehensive Pew Forum report earlier this year found that 70 percent of the world's people live in countries where religious freedom is severely restricted, and that a disproportionate share of religious persecution happens in Muslim-majority countries. Many countries make the practice of Christianity, or conversion to it, punishable by death, while others merely treat their Christians as second-class citizens.

The catalog of atrocities against Christians grows literally by the day. A Christian pastor in Iran is scheduled to be executed for converting to Christianity. In Somalia, Christian children are being murdered in a campaign, waged by Al Shabaab, an insurgent Muslim group that controls large parts of central Somalia, to eradicate the underground Christian church there.

In Egypt, 130 Christians spent Christmas in prison after being arrested in late November for trying to turn a Christian center into a church. And in Nigeria, at least 38 people were killed in attacks during the first four days of Christmas that included assaults on two Christian churches. Local police suspect that a radical Muslim group with a history of deadly violence is responsible.

Nowhere are Christians suffering more than in Iraq. The worst attack since the war’s inception took place in late October when an al Qaeda-affiliated group invaded a Catholic church during Mass, killing 58 people and injuring scores more.

Since then, hundreds of worshipers have been targeted in churches and elsewhere. Christmas services were canceled in churches across Iraq because of fear and threats of violence.

The American-backed Iraqi government has done little to combat the violence. U.S. forces have been reluctant to help, too, not wanting to reinforce many Iraqis’ belief that the war is a Christian crusade against Islam. Our government even helped the Iraqis write Sharia law into their new constitution.

Clearly, as Chaldean Catholic Auxiliary Bishop Shlemon Wardana said last March, "The life of Christians in this nation does not appear to be among the priorities."

But the plight of Iraq’s Christians does not appear to be a priority for America’s media and political elites either. The Obama administration hasn’t exactly placed the protection of religious freedom at the top of its To Do list.

It took the president a year-and-a-half even to nominate an ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom. Human rights and religious freedom have taken a back seat in the Obama administration to everything from climate change and advancing gay rights to "outreach" to the "Muslim world," a false term applied to a region in which Christianity predates Islam by hundreds of years.

Congress has been pressing Obama to act on the growing violence against Iraq's Christians. Kudos to Congressmen like Frank Wolf (R-Va.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who have done so much to draw attention to the plight of religious minorities, including Christians and Jews, across the Middle East.

In November, Smith introduced a congressional resolution with 37 cosponsors that condemned the continuing carnage in Iraq and called on Washington to help develop a comprehensive security plan and encourage quick resettlement of Iraqis fleeing religious persecution.

According to The Hill newspaper, in late December Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill sent a letter to the President warning that the current situation "promises more innocent Christian blood in Iraq, more turmoil in that country and more shame for America."

Sad to say, such calls to action continue to fall on deaf ears. In an interview with The Hill, Wolf said he and other Members of Congress regularly send letters to the White House encouraging action to combat religious persecution abroad. But, he lamented, "We very seldom get answers back. To write the White House, it's like there’s no one home: no response, no one calls."

It is a failure of Obama’s Administration that it stands silent in the face of such obvious suffering. And it is particularly painful to note such apathy at the close of the Christmas season when the birth of Christ is celebrated worldwide even as many Christians are being persecuted for their faith.

America was founded on the grand ideals of religious freedom and freedom from religious persecution. If the Obama Administration continues to be unwilling to be a voice for the weak and defenseless around the world, it will be replaced by those who will.

I must say, I was a bit concerned about you!!
Thank God you're ok!!

Warm regards!!






Dear Heike... Thanks for the concern. I've been home since New Year's Day with flu-like symptoms because of the temperature swings in the Big Apple -
and it was frustrating not to have my laptop function as backup for Internet service. It's frustrating now to work with a 'new' PC that is much
slower than my own, and which does not carry Microsoft Office itself but take-offs on its programs so the menus/features are completely different
and just trying to figure it all out takes time...

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas and New Year and that Liam
was able to serve at a Christmas Mass....

God bless you all, and loads of Ratzibacioni.

TERESA

Yes, Liam did serve. Even though we had quite a snow storm on Holy Night - parking in front of our Church was impossible.
He was nervous and the only server for that Mass!! But! He did really well! Our Priest was thrilled!
It's so cute to see all the elderly ladies giving him candy, praising him and stroking his head. Nothing like a nine year old, blonde, little altar boy with big blue eyes... he's got them all bagged.

We took in a stray kitten (orange tabby) on New Years Day and are now running around in circles to make the little guy comfortable at our house.

I hope you'll be getting over various problems ASAP!!

Thanks once more for your invaluable service!!



Lucky you for the snowy Holy Night - and best of all, for Liam and your family.,,, Share some pix if you can....

We had no snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and then came the blizzard that dumped 20 inches of snow in Manhattan, kept everyone indoors for two days, and 'in hell' for the next 2-3 more days as City Hall failed its most basic functions to clear the snow from the streets and sidewalks, and to pick up the trash. Fortunately, we swung from below freezing to like 55F weather which melted much of the snow, thank God, but the garbage bags are still heaped on the sidewalks...

TERESA

My troubles are not at an end.. .Suddenly, the spacing on this page is all wrong - and I can't figure out why.
I'm still trying to troubleshoot. Usually it's because two images that are wider than 9 inches are inadvertently
posted side by side, but I have checked each and every post on the thread and cannot find the 'culprit'...
Will keep trying...

P.S. OK - I discovered the glitch, and all is right once again... I hated to have my 'New Year's Day page' spoiled! In any case, the next entries will fall on the next page because I believe this is Post #20 on this page...