Google+
 

BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Ultimo Aggiornamento: 23/08/2021 11:16
Autore
Stampa | Notifica email    
17/03/2013 14:09
OFFLINE
Post: 26.478
Post: 8.970
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



ALWAYS AND EVER OUR MOST BELOVED BENEDICTUS XVI








March 17, Fifth Sunday of Lent


ST. PATRICK (PADRAIGH) (b Britain 387?, d N. Ireland, 493), Bishop, Missionary, Apostle of Ireland
Few saints have as many legends about him as Patrick. But the only facts known about his life before he came to Ireland as bishop
and missionary derive from one of only two existing letters from him. He called himself a Roman and a Briton. At 16, he and several
others were captured by Irish raiders and sold as slaves in Ireland. He was put to work as a shepherd but escaped back to Britain
after six years. He may have studied in France, but the next known event is that he was consecrated bishop at age 43. A dream
about Irish children convinced him it was his mission to Christianize what was then pagan Ireland. Once sent there, he made friends
with local chieftains and began converting many Irish, to the point that soon he was creating dioceses, calling councils, founding
monasteries, constantly preaching 'greater holiness in Christ' - and eventually able to send Irish missionaries to help Christianize
Europe in a matter of decades. If the dates currently 'established' for his birth and death are approximately right - they have been
changing over the centuries - he would have been about 106 when he died, and would have spent at least 60 years Christianizing
Ireland. The Irish have celebrated him on the anniversary day of his death for over a thousand years, and he has become very
much part of Irish culture and tradition.
Readings for today's Mass:



AT THE VATICAN TODAY

Pope Francis celebrated Mass at the parish church of Sant'Anna just outside the Leonine Wall
and then led his first Angelus as Pope from the third-floor study window of the Apostolic Palace.


One year ago today...

The Holy Father Benedict XVI met with Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops (weekly meeting); Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, Archbishop of Genoa and president of the Italian bishops' conference; andiIn the afternoon, with Mons. Guy Marie Bagnard, Bishop of Belley-Ars (France).



On the fifth Sunday of Lent last year, March 25, the Holy Father was in Mexico, and delivered his Angelus remarks after the Mass attended by 650,000 faithful in the Bicentennial Park outside Leon. The Gospel text for this year's fifth Sunday, however, is that which was used in the 2010 liturgical cycle. Here is Pope Benedict's Angelus event on that day, March 21, 2010:



ANGELUS TODAY
March 21, 2010





Here is a full translation of the Holy Father's Angelus homily:

Dear brothers and sisters!

We are now in the Fifth Sunday of Lent, on which the liturgy this year offers us the Gospel episode when Jesus saves an adulterous woman from being condemned to death (Jn 8,1-11).

As he was teaching in the Temple, the scribes and Pharisees led in to Jesus a woman who had been caught in adultery, for which the Mosaic law prescribed death by stoning. The men asked Jesus to judge the sinner with the intention of 'putting him to the test' [about Jewish law} and hoping to push him into a false move.

The scene is loaded with drama: the woman's life hung on Jesus's words, but so too did his own life. His hypocritical accusers, in fact, pretended to leave the verdict to him, whereas it was he whom they really wanted to accuse and condemn.

Jesus, on the other hand, was "full of grace and truth' (Jn 1,14): he knows what is in the heart of each man - he wants to condemn the sin but save the sinner, and unmask hypocrisy.

The evangelist John emphasizes a detail: while the accusers were questioning him insistently, Jesus bent down and began to write on the ground with his finger.

St. Augustine writes that this gesture shows Jesus as the divine legislator: indeed, God wrote the Law with his finger on the tablet of stone [in Sinai] (cfr Commentaries on the Gospel of John, 33,4).

Therefore, God is the lawmaker - he is justice in person. And what was his verdict? "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."

These words are full of the disarming power of truth which brings down the wall of hypocrisy and opens the consciusness to a greater justice, that of love, which is the fulfillment of every precept (cfr Rm 13,8-10), It is the justice which also saved Saul of Tarsus, transforming him into St. Paul (cfr Phil 3,8-14).

When the accusers "went away one by one, beginning with the eldest", Jesus, absolving the woman of her sin, introduces her to a new life, oriented towards what is good: "Neither do I condemn you. Go, (and) from now on do not sin any more".

It is the same grace that makes the Apostle Paul say: "Just one thing: forgetting what lies behind but straining forward to what lies ahead, I continue my pursuit toward the goal, the prize of God's upward calling, in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3,12-14).

God only wants goodness and life for us. He looks after the health of our soul through his ministers, lieberating us from evil with the Sacrament of Reconciliation, so that no one will be lost, all will have a way of converting.

In this Year for Priests, I wish to exhort all pastors to imitate the Holy Cure d'Ars in the ministry of sacramental pardon, so that the faithful may rediscover its meaning and beauty, and may be made whole again by the mercy of God, who "is spurred to the point of voluntarily forgetting sin just to pardon us" (Letter to decree the Year for Priests, 2009).

Dear friends, let us learn from the Lord Jesus not to judge and not to condemn our neighbor. Let us learn to be intransigent with sin - starting with our own - and indulgent with persons. May we have the assistance of the Blessed Mother of God, who, exempt from sin, is the Mediatrix of grace for every repentant sinner.







Unfortunately, March 2010 was a particularly terrible month for the relentless battering that the Holy Father took in the MSM about the history of sexual crimes by priests in Ireland and elsewhere, and he had just issued a historic pastoral letter dated on St. Patrick's Day to the Catholics of Ireland, the second of his powerful letters to a national church, after that to the Catholics of China in July 2007, which received the kind of media coverage that is apparent in the following AP report from March 25, 2010. I am reproducing it here just to remind everyone what an annus horribilis 2010 was for Benedict XVI, who got no support at all from his cardinals in Rome, other than from Cardinal William Levada who gave a lengthy written rebuttal to the most scurrilous story that would be written that year by the New York Times seeking to blame Cardinal Ratzinger for the diocesan mishandling of an abuse case that dated back to the 1960s and early 1970s.




I'm starting to wish I had voodoo powers so I could stick a pin through the lying lips of all dishonest reporters for every lie or misinformation they report - in which case this woman from AP would have a mouth stapled shut! Sorry to accommodate this crap but it's the reporting we are dealt with - and that's what the world reads, unfortunately. I filed AP's second story yesterday on the pastoral letter in TOXIC WASTE because it completely took the side of the victims' groups and their glib-tongued leaders.

Pope does not mention
rebuke to Irish bishops

By FRANCES D'EMILIO


VATICAN CITY, March 21 (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday urged Catholics to refrain from judging sinners a day after he rebuked Irish bishops for their handling of a half-century of sexual abuse of minors by clergy.

The Pontiff didn't mention his letter chastising Ireland's Church hierarchy as he made his weekly appearance Sunday from his studio window overlooking St. Peter's Square. He cited the Gospel passage about Jesus inviting those without sin to cast the first stone toward an adulterer.

"While acknowledging her sin, he does not condemn her, but urges her to sin no more," Benedict told English-speaking pilgrims in the square. "Trusting in his great mercy toward us, we humbly beg his forgiveness for our own failings, and we ask for the strength to grow in his holiness."

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, a German daily paper Badische Zeitung accused the head of the German Bishops Conference Zollitsch of covering up sexual abuse cases that happened twenty years ago, while he was in charge of human resources at the Freiburg diocese.

The news magazine Focus quoted the head of the German Bishops Conference on Sunday as acknowledging that Roman Catholic church consciously covered up cases of sexual abuse.

Archbishop Robert Zollitsch of Freiburg said while most cases happened outside the Church, "assaults that took place in such numbers within our institutions shame and frighten me."

"Every single case darkens the face of the entire Church," he said.

On Saturday, Zollitsch apologized personally for a sexual abuse cover-up that happened twenty years ago in a Black Forest community while he was in charge of human resources at the Freiburg diocese.

In the missive made public Saturday by the Vatican, Benedict said Irish bishops made grave errors of judgment about the abuse. But he didn't blame Vatican policies that kept the abuse secret for making the situation worse, as victims in Ireland, the United States and elsewhere have claimed. [SHUT UP YOUR LIES! At least set the record straight and get the facts right, but you merely parrot what the critics say.] He also issued no punishment for derelict Irish bishops.

The Pope said Jesus taught people to "not judge and not condemn one's neighbor. Let us learn to be intransigent toward sin - starting with our own (sin) - and indulgent with people."

Abuse scandals involving Catholic dioceses, monasteries and other institutions - including a Regensburg, Germany, boys choir long led by the pope's brother - have been exploding across Europe. Besides the Pope's homeland of Germany, where Benedict once was the archbishop of Munich, other nations such as Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Italy have seen victims come forward recently with allegations of abuse as well as cover-ups.

Underlings in the Munich archdiocese have sought to spare the former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - who became Pope Benedict in 2005 - of any responsibility for the sex abuse scandal. Lower-ranking prelates have shouldered the blame for the poor handling of cases, including decisions to allow molesters to continue to have contact with children. [MY GOD! That's deliberate falsehood and shame on you! There has only been one case mentioned - so far!. To speak of 'cases' and 'decisions' is to deliberately seek a far greater implication of the archbishop!]

In Switzerland, Martin Werlin, abbot of the Benedictine Abbey at Einsiedeln, criticized the Pope and other bishops for their reaction to the scandal.

"I fear that the Church leadership in Rome fails to take the situation seriously enough," he was quoted as saying by the weekly newspaper SonntagsBlick. [Oh, l;isten to him! After it has been revealed that there may be as many as a hundred cases of sexual abuse at the Benedictine abbey in Ettal!]

Werlen urged the creation of a central register at the Vatican for pedophile priests and other men in the Church guilty of child abuse "because it is clear that moves (of priests) can take place from one country to another."

In many of the scandals, bishops have been accused by victims of having shuffled around molester priests after complaints were lodged.

For years now, Catholic churches in the United States, Australia and Canada have grappled with sexual abuse cases, cover-ups by hierarchy and huge financial payments to victims.

In his letter to the Irish faithful, Benedict apologized to victims but cited no specific punishments to bishops. Probes sponsored by the Irish government accused the bishops of covering up abuse of thousands of children in parishes, orphanages, workhouses and other church-run institutions from the 1930s to the 1990s.

A top Vatican official on Sunday brushed off those who insist the Holy See take some blame.

Critics, including victims advocacy groups, point to a 2001 policy, directed by then-Cardinal Ratzinger at the Vatican, which cloaked church handling of cases in secrecy. That in many instances effectively granted impunity to child molesters. [WRONG WRONG WRONG1 The MSM insist on this slanderous misrepresentation of the 2001 documents - and yet I have yet to see one reporter cite chapter and verse from those documents to prove their allegation! I doubt they have even read it. The Vatican shares the blame for that because it never provided a translation of those documents into English, and even now, they are not among the documents included in their otherwise admirable new reocurse page. It's time for me to go back and translate the articles that came out in the Italian press in 2001 praising those documents when they first came out - especially one by Marco Politi.]

Monsignor Rino Fisichella, rector of a pontifical university in Rome, contended the Pope's letter to Irish faithful signaled a "decisive" break with the past.

"The Pope uses very harsh words toward those who betrayed their vocation and just as harsh words toward those who maintained silence and hid crimes," he told the Avvenire daily.

In Regensburg, Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller likened media coverage of the abuse scandal in the Catholic church to the Nazis' hostility toward the Catholics, Bayerischer Rundfunk radio reported Sunday.

Separately, in a letter to the community, Mueller wrote that "those who want to discredit the reputation of the Catholic church by any price have chosen the Regensburger Domspatzen as their victims."

Mueller was referring to the choir rocked by a physical abuse scandal in recent weeks. The choir was run by the Pope's brother, the Rev. Georg Ratzinger, for 30 years. ['Physical abuse'! Now, suddenly they step back form all the SEX SEX AND SEX labels they placed on the Regensburg events - because Georg Ratzinger had admitted slapping boys for discipline?]

It's hard to top the stupid perversity of a headline and lead sentence like this about today's Angelus!






[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/03/2013 06:40]
18/03/2013 12:15
OFFLINE
Post: 26.483
Post: 8.971
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


Those who obsess about 'two Popes' might well take umbrage at this article.

Don Georg: In many ways,
Benedict XVI's 'aid' to Pope Francis
as his Pontificate starts off

by GIACOMO GALEAZZI
Translated from the Italian service of

March 17, 2013

A discreet presence, one that was hardly taken for granted, on the eve of the election of a new Pope, Mons. Georg Gaenswein, prefect of the Pontifical Household99, has been constantly near Pope Francis since his first public appearances the day after he greeted and blessed the world as the new Pope.



From the early morning prayer visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore to the meeting with the media on Saturday in the Aula Paolo VI, the role of Archbishop Gaenswein agt the start of this Pontificate goes well beyond his official duties as Prefect of the Pontifical Household.

In fact one sees an affective participation that says much about Gaenswein's personality. reflected in words he said a few months ago to describe his work with Pope Benedict XVI - to whom he has been the private secretary since 2003. That he wished to do his work as transparently as clear glass in order not to obscure the Pope in any way.

And if Papa Ratzinger's closest aide wept openly that afternoon when together (like father and son) they left the Papal Apartment for the last time last February 28, it was another emotional moment for him on Thursday afternoon when the seals on the apartment formally placed right after 8:00 p.m. that day were removed for the new Pope to take possession.

He had to help Pope Francis push open the front door which seemed to have been stuck. And once they had entered, the memories must have assailed don Georg, who seemed to have become abstracted that his regent, Mons. Leonardo Sapienza, brought him back to the moment by reminding him to turn on the lights.

The new Pope who is so different from 'his' Pope has obviously struck a sympathetic chord in Gaenswein, On Saturday morning, when the Pope told the media that Benedict XVI's decision to resign had been inspired by the Holy Spirit for the good of the Church, don Georg was evidently very moved.

In public, he has so far been never far away from Pope Francis, but behind the scenes, one imagines that he is giving the new Pope the benefit of his close knowledge of Benedict's Pontificate ,if only to orient Pope Francis in the practical aspects of the inner workings in the Vatican. And to offer his knowledge and observations on pending issues like Vatileaks, the FSSPX, the reform of the Curia, and Vatican finances.

He has become something like the 'shuttle' between two Pontificates, an unprecedented role in the history of the Church as the point of contact between the reigning Pope and the emeritus Pope.

He continues to be Papa Ratzinger's private secretary and now lives with him in Castel Gandolfo, along with the rest of the 'pontifical family' from the Vatican. At the same time, he is running the Pontifical Household of the new Pope. Beyond any protocol or written SOP, he is substantially the transmission belt during this initial phase of Francis's Pontificate.

A Curial head remarked: "He is carrying out a very sensitive task, not so much for what he is doing as Prefect, but because, on behalf of Papa Ratzinger, he is helping the transition in terms of sensitive matters". In short, that the presence (and advice, if required) of Mn.s Gaenswein is a way by which Benedict XVI is helping his successor in the meanderings of the Roman Curia and 'protecting' his successor in the usually slippery course of transition.

The cardinal noted that "It is don Georg who had the Vatileaks dossier to be handed to Benedict's successpr", referring to the report of Cardinals Herranz, Tomko and De Giorgi on the environment and situation in the Curia that made Vatileaks possible.

On Tuesday, Mons. Gaenswein was at the Sistine Chapel up to the extra omnes, being one of the last to leave after the call. On Thursday morning, he was with the new Pope in Rome's Marian basilica [and Pope Francis's visit to recover his luggage and pay his bill at the hotel where he was staying before the Conclave]; then at the Missa pro ecclesia in the afternoon at the Sistine Chapel with the cardinal electors. On Friday, he took part in the Pope's meeting with the full College of Cardinals in the Sala Clementina, many of whom presented letters and gifts to Pope Francis, who passed them on to Francis, the Prefect of is household. Seated or standing to the right of Pope Francis, don Georg was the visible link to the emeritus Pope whom his successor has cited quite a few times. On Saturday, he sat in his usual place as Prefect to the right of Pope Francis when he met the media representatives gathered in Rome for the Conclave and his inaugural Mass.

Don Georg was also a player in an unusual sidelight, when Cardinal Nycz of Poland, after rendering his personal homage to Pope Francis, did not go back to his seat right away but stopped to ask Gaenswein about the emeritus Pope and to ask him to convey his best wishes. A gesture not observed by Cardinal Dsiwisz, who had been to John Paul II what Gaenswein is to Benedict XVI.

As Prefect of the Pontifical Household, don Georg is in charge of preparing the schedule of Pope Francis, but he continues to be Benedict XVI's right hand. [Of course, no one knows if Pope Francis will keep him on in his Curial position which he continues to hold provisionally like the other Curial heads.]

One area that Mons. Gaenswein could help Pope Francis is to tell him which persons he can trust in the Curia for confidential tasks.

A question is what becomes of Mons. Alfred Xuereb, Benedict's other private secretary, who is with him now in Castel Gandolfo to assist him during the day while Mons. Gaenswein is at work?




Strangely enough, on March 17, 2012, I had a couple of posts about the two secretaries of Benedict XVI, as follows:




At book presentation,
Pope's secretary decries
distorted media image
of Benedict XVI



MUNICH, March 16 (Translated from kath.net/KNA) - The Pope's private secretary, Prelate Georg Gaenswein, used part of the media presentation Thursday evening of a new book to criticize the image that most media generally had of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger and which continues to be ascribed to Benedict XVI, saying that this was for the most part a distortion.

He pointed out that this became especially true after the Pope had lifted the excommunication of four FSSPX bishops, including Mons. Richard Williamson, who had publicly made negationist statements about the Holocaust, although the Pope was not made aware of this earlier.

Gaenswein said that the Pope's distorted image was most evident in the German and Anglophone media, calling on the media to correct this distortion. He said, "Whoever knows what the Pope says - which they can read, as his texts are always published - can ask themselves whether they are not watching the wrong film".

He also denied media claims that 'negative news' is withheld from Benedict XVI. "He is always informed about good news as well as bad, and he has long learned how to deal with criticism, to place them in context, and to welcome constructive critiques".



A tribute to Benedict XVI
for his 85th birthday

by Christine Schröpf
]Translated from

March 16, 2012

MUNICH - He has been called 'the George Clooney of the Vatican'. Pope Benedict XVI's good-looking private secretary came to Munich for a quick visit in order to present to the media an early 85th birthday gift for the Pope.



Gaenswein was joined by former Bavarian President Minister Edmuhd Stoiber for the book presentation at the Munich Press Club of the book Benedikt XVI: Prominente über den Papst, a tribute to Benedict XVI from 20 prominent Germans whose lives have been affected by Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, and who describe their personal impressions and experiences in this regard.

The testimonials come from churchmen, entrepreneurs, politicians, theologians and sports figures from football icon Franz Beckenbauer and the ski champion Maria Höfl-Riesch' from Cardinals Joachim Meisner of Cologne and Reinahrd Marx of Munich-Freising to Benedictine abbot Notker Eolf, from prominent Protestants like Peter GGauweiler and the former Minister President Christine Lieberknecht of Thuringia; from Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Scaheuble to Bavarian Social Minister Christine Hadertbauer.

Gaenswein rarely makes public appearances on his own. Thursday night he was besieged by cameramen and media representatives who also wanted him to sign their copies of the new book.

At the book presentation, he began by conveying the Holy Father's greetings. Then he said that as the editor of the book, he had not asked the contributors to 'praise' the Pope, nor that he had wanted only to get 'sweet music from Germany' for the project.

The presentation took place not far from the Mariensäule - where in 2006, on his visit to Bavaria, Benedict XVI had declared that "My heart always beats Bavarian" to describe his what he feels about his native land.

Back in 1982, when he said goodbye to Munich as its archbishop to go to Rome as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he had said at a farewell ceremony in Marienplatz, „Etiam Romae, semper civis bavaricus ero“ (Even in Rome, I will always remain Bavarian).

Bundestag representative Peter Gauweiler noted in his testimonial that "over the years, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI has always prided himself in being Bavarian".

Gauweiler's path crossed that of the man who is now Pope since 2001 in the lead-up towards the US-led war in Iraq, when Cardinal Ratzinger made it possible for Gauweiler to visit Baghdad. He brought letters from ranking Bavarian religious leaders to Saddam Huseein expressing their hopes for peace, along John Paul II's advocacy that a war in Iraq was not justifiable. Gauweiler also represented the sentiments of his own party (CDU), whom he had challenged at the party's annual meeting, "Who will you favor - President Bush or the Pope?"

Gauweiler's most recent encounter was during the Pope's visit to Germany last year, when he met with leaders of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Augustinian monastery in Erfurt where Martin Luther had lived and worked.

"The decade leading to the 500th anniversary of the Reformation couldn't have had a better beginning," he notes. "Where it all began for Luther, the Pope praised his brother Catholic Luther's search for reforms as well as salvation..."

Germany's football 'Kaiser' (emperor) Franz Beckenbauer recalls in the book that he found his way back to the faith after meeting the Pope in 2006 at the Vatican, when he was on a world tour to promote the World Cup held in Germany that year and presented him with a World Cup pennant. He said he found Benedict XVI surprisingly well-informed about football.

Since then, eh said, the picture of that meeting has gone with him on every trip, because he began to go to Church again, going every morning after he dropped off his children in school. "I find the silence pleasing and I pray - prayers of gratitude since God has always given me graces, and I have had much good fortune in my life".

Mons. Ganeswein himself contributes his own tribute, that begins with a question that a reporter for this newspaper had asked the Pope on his trip to Berlin in 2011. We wanted to know how German he still felt, and the Pope replied that he would always be German but that his position meant he now belonged to the universal People of God which gives a new dimension to his nationality.

Mons. Gaenswein, looking back at almost seven years of Benedict's Pontificate, praises his his ease as Pope ('the Pope of words'), his sincerity, his simplicity - and his courage. "He calls out shortcomings and errors by name".

At the same time, he says, the Pope is not 'unmoved' by criticism. "Good news makes him happy, and reacts with a heavy heart to reports that are injurious", as he denied that bad news is kept from the Pope. However, he says, media criticisms do not constitute "the standard under which the ship of the Vatican sails".

The birthday book, he hopes, will give a well-rounded picture of the Pope and correct distortions of his image. The 20 essays provide 20 portraits of the Pope from Catholics as well as a few critics.



'My days alongside Benedict XVI'
by Mons. Alfred Xuereb
Translated from

March 12, 2012

You listen to someone you live alongside of practically the whole day and you are even more aware how much and how often the media have distorted the image of the present Pope. Ratzinger [as most media people. even Catholic journalists, often refer to him rather disrespectfully - what does it cost them to say 'Papa' or 'Pope' as well?] the professor, the Teuton, detached, insensitive, immovable, intransigent, and much worse. And you know it isn't that way at all.

So, how is he, really, this 265th Successor of Peter at the dawn of the third millennium, the 'rock' - the man who alone on earth represents a history begun a long time ago in Galilee, and who carries, along with the Good News, the incredible burden of 2,000 years of Christianity?

And you discover that Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, is, yes, an ex-professor of vast culture from Bavaria, but also a man of extraordinary humanity, faith and gentleness.

Don Alfred Xuereb, 53, Maltese, has been since 2007 one of the Supreme Pontiff's two private secretaries (along with Mons. Georg Gaenswein). He lives in the Vatican, in an apartment above that of the Pope's. Last February he was in Nichelino (a small city near Turin) for a lightning visit, when the city was in the grip of an icy winter, to mark the fifth anniversary of his friend and fellow Maltese priest, Don Joe Galea.

Meeting that night with the young people of the parish, Don Alfred did not decline to answer their questions about what it's like to live so close to the Pope.

He answered with disarming simplicity: "My service begins at six in the morning and ends around nine at night. Almost every day, the Pope receives various groups and persons, but on Wednesdays, there is always a crowd for the General Audience.

"Everyday, a great deal of correspondence arrives from the Secretariat of State, One of my duties is to gather all the requests for prayers that arrive for the Pope - from sick people, from those who are going through difficulties, and those who are suffering. I place these every day on the prie-Dieu in the private chapel where the Pope spends time in recollection and prayer.

"What impresses me most is that among the thousand things he has to do, he remembers names and persons. Days after he first reads their names, he will follow up and ask about their particular circumstances."

Benedict XVI maintains a human and paternal relationship with those who work with him most directly. "You can observe it even in small things. For example, the other day, after lunch, we were going down to the Gardens to pray the rosary. It was rather cold so I helped him put on a windbreaker. Later, as we emerged from the elevator, it was his turn to help me on with my raincoat. He said to me, 'See, we must help each other'."

"And whenever he knows that I have just called home [to Malta], he always asks me how my mother is doing. When I had to come to Nichelino, I explained to him why - and he remembered about Don Joe, and about Don Joshua and a new book by Don Paolo [other priest friends of Mons. Alfred]. And I am sure when I get back, he will ask all about my trip."

Everyday at the Vatican, people come - chiefs of state, bishops, ordinary people from all parts of the globe. The desk of the Successor of Peter is always flooded with a myriad of internal and external problems, controversies, tragic news from places where the Church and the faithful live on the edge in very difficult circumstances. The picture is global. What must the Pope do? What must he say? How can he let his voice be heard, without making it worse for Christians who are already being persecuted?

"Benedict XVI is serene - he is supported by his very great faith. He is a man who continues to live the Gospel in a very simple way". And that's how the boat of the fisherman Peter has proceeded. For over 2,000 years. Sometimes it seems to run aground and to halt, sometimes it may seem on the point of capsizing in story waters, but once the tempest is over, it sails back out into the open. And that is the way it has always been from the beginning.

Other questions from those present. Was it difficult for Benedict XVI to deal with the 'legacy' of Papa Wojtyla and his great charism?

"The Lord asks something special from everyone. Papa Ratzinger has had the courage and the ability to just be himself, and I admire him for this," Don Alfred answered.

Snapshots of daily life. "In the morning I listen to news on the radio, and at breakfast, I transmit the most important news items to the Pope. He loves to talk during meals. Normally, other than myself and Don Georg, we also have the four lay sisters who take care of the household, and we talk about everyday happenings. In the evening, after supper, we watch TV news in Italian or in German".

A boy asks if the Pope is interested in football. Apparently, not really, but he hears of any interesting games from the secretaries, and Don Alfred indicates that he himself is not at all indifferent to football. In fact, during his visit, he was wearing a black scarf with white stripes identified with a Turin football team.

How did this jovial priest, sunny like his people on the island of Gozo [the other large island besides Malta in the nation-archipelago], come to be secretary to the Pope?

His story is like that of don Joe, don Joshua, don Maximilian and so many other Maltese priests we have known. The nation still flourishes with vocations, and Malta has always sent many priests as missionaries. As seminarians, almost all have to spend one season abroad, and then as priests, they must spend at least two years of ministry abroad.

Don Alfred was sent to a parish in Rome, where he continued his studies at a Pontifical University. Then he was employed for many years first at the Secretariat of State then in the Pontifical Household.

When Mons. Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki (don Mietek) - who had been an adjunct secretary to John Paul II and continued as such with Benedict XVI - was named a bishop in the Ukraine in 2007, don Alfred was called to take his place.

And what are the Pope's hobbies, another boy asked. "Well, first of all, it is not true that we have a cat at home, although Papa Benedetto loves animals a lot. They say that when he was a cardinal, he would stop on the streets to talk to stray cats. Someone asked him, 'Eminence, what language do you use with the cats? Italian or German?' And he answered, 'It doesn't matter - they understand your tone of voice'.

"Of course, the Pope is a passionate music lover. He is an excellent pianist. Sometimes, after supper, we can hear him play. And of course, there are his books, which fill up his study. It's a very simple place. All the book shelves and the desk he uses were those he had with him when he was a professor in Tuebingen".

Benedict XVI is 84, one month away from his 85th birthday, before which he will be travelling to Mexico and Cuba. Those who portray him as a sedentary Pope who has no contact with people are simply wrong.

Don Alfred says: "When he was a cardinal and he could move about freely without any escort, he went shopping and browsing in stores in his neighborhood, often stopping to talk to people. 'The things we could do when we both were more free,' the Pope joked once to Italian President Napolitano."



2013 P.S. About Mons. Gaenswein's 85th-birthday book for Benedict XVI, it has now been published in Italian. Earlier, Marie-Anne who contributes to Beatrice's website posted her translations into French of some of the chapters from the German original... I had been meaning to translate to English when February 11 disrupted the normalcy of my life... I will post the items soon...


[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 18/03/2013 20:47]
18/03/2013 16:18
OFFLINE
Post: 26.486
Post: 8.972
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


Fr. Giovanni Scalese is an Italian Barnabite priest who calls himself Querculanus (Latin for oak) on his blog, which in the early years of Benedict XVI's Pontificate was always distinguished by clear, fair and objective analyses of Church events, especially of Vatican II, and later of Summorum Pontificum and the Lefebvrian question. But since he returned from four years of missionary work in the Philippines, he has hardly been heard from, as he explains below. This is the first of two recent blogs which are consistent with Fr. Scalese's approach which is always dispassionate in its analysis but committed in its conclusions. The second blog, which I will post as soon as I have translated it is his commentary on the universal euphoria of having a new Pope... The title of his blog comes from an expression that is also used in Spanish, which means speaking out plainly ('without hair on the tongue').

Why 'Pope emeritus':
Benedict XVI continues
his Petrine service in prayer

Translated from

March 7, 2013

After 20 months of lethargy, the errant oak (who for almost three years has been 'sedentarized') returns to speak out, even if perhaps only this time and in a more assiduous way). Why, you might ask. If nothing that has taken place in the past two years had awakened me from sleep, why am I stirring now?

We are living a truly historical time in the life of the Church with the renunciation of Benedict XVI, and now, with the mechanisms that have been set in motion to elect a new Pope. So much has been written in the past month about these events - much of it interesting, others not. In any case, there has been, and there continues to be a vigorous debate. What need is there, then, to add another voice to the already numerous chorus that has been exhibiting itself these days?

If I do intervene, it is merely to add some reflections which, I believe, have not been made so far. The problem I wish to confront is whether the renunciation of Benedict XVI - certainly a novelty, an unicum in the history of the Church (its precedents, it has been noted, cannot in any way be compared to this case) - constitutes a 'revolutionary' act, a radical turn, a rupture with the tradition of the Church. Or is it rather something - despite its objective novelty - that is in continuity with the past, being something that has always been possible even if it had never happened till now.

Of course, one can question the 'expedience' of a gesture like this. Each of us sees things from our own point of view and have therefore expressed an opinion about whether or not it was 'expedient' for Benedict to have renounced the Pontificate. [The Italian word he uses is 'opportunita' one of whose senses in Italian is expedience or convenience, that also connotes an element of timeliness.]

But one must admit that on this level, one can name infinite motivations for his decision, pro or con. I will limit myself only to two of them, both valid, that could justify its expedience or lack thereof.

Among the many reasons that have been cited to justify Benedict XVI's action, the most interesting to me - in its down-to-earth 'banality' - was that expressed by Cardinal Georges Cottier: "Today, man lives much longer... But that does not bring with it more vigor and lucidity". [Which is exactly the implication of what Benedict XVI said in his Feb. 11 declaratio: "...my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry". I do not know why we need to find any other reason than that which he said and which is a fact that is most obvious.]

On the other hand, the most serious problem about the renunciation, it seems to me, is the risk of relativism that is inherent in the resignation of a Pope. But, please understand that if we take this road, we will still find numberless arguments for and against the action without ever finding a resolution.

So we must be able to accept, with absolute respect, the choice that Benedict XVI made before God. None of us can enter the conscience of a man, certainly not that of a Pope. It is completely out of place to express judgments on his decision, much less extreme ones, whether positive ("A courageous act") or negative ('An act of cowardice").

But if we go from the level of expedience to that of legitimacy, the discourse changes completely. If we ask if the action is legitimate - namely, juridically possible - I don't think there can be any doubt: It is all (and I underline 'all', inclusive of details) totally legitimate.

The possibility of a Pope's resignation is provided for in Canon 332, Section 2, of the Code of Canon Law: "Should it happen that the Roman Pontiff resigns from his office, it is required for validity that the resignation be freely made and properly manifested, but it is not necessary that it be accepted by anyone."

[This would seem to be the best answer to those who believe it is unthinkable for any Pope to resign. The fact that the Code of Canon Law, last updated in the 1980s, provides for it by actually defining how it should be done, means it was not at all unthinkable for the experts who draft, review and update canon law. In all the welter of opinion, learned or un-, that was unleashed after February 11, I do not believe I have come across any explanation for why the provision was ever thought of, to begin with, nor how far back into canon law history is there such a provision. So the statement attributed to John Paul II, telling his doctor he was not going to quit at all "because there is no place in the Church for an emeritus Pope" is either apocryphal, or simply a rhetorical device he used for emphasis, because it is unlikely he would not have been aware of the canon on resignation.]

One must note that the provision does not in any way set limitations to the possibility, nor does it require, as in other cases of ecclesiastical resignations, "serious reasons" for the resignation. The only conditions required for the action to be valid is that it is made in full freedom and that it is properly manifested - both conditions were fully respected in this case, in the Pope's announcement of his decision.

This should reassure us and free us completely of the concern that the next Conclave could lead to the election of an 'anti-Pope'.

If there can be no question about the juridical legitimacy of Benedict XVI's resignation, an event that is expressly provided for in canon law, can we say the same of the practical consequences of the resignation - consequences that are not provided for in law, and which have to do with a situation that is totally new?

I refer to the fact that Benedict XVI decided that he will continue to use his papal name, to use the previously inexistent title of 'emeritus Pope' or 'emeritus Roman 'Pontiff', to continue to be addressed as 'His Holiness' and to continue using a white cassock. Even if there are no objective reference points for these aspects, I think that these too have been decided with complete juridical correctness.

The central issue seems to be that of the title 'emeritus Pope', contested by many with the surprising reason that - there can be no emeritus Pope: either one is Pope or not at all. But an 'emeritus Pope' is no longer Pope - he is only a Pope emeritus.

What does 'emeritus' mean? Canon 185 explains it: "He who loses his office for having reached the age limit or because his resignation has been accepted, can be conferred the title of 'emeritus'". This canon is not referring to bishops, for whom the appropriate provision is made in Canon 402), but of the loss of ecclesiastical office, of any ecclesiastical office. Is the Pontificate an ecclesiastical office or not? It is. Did Benedict XVI, by resigning, lose his office or not? He did. Can he take on the title of 'emeritus Pope'? According to Canon 185, he can.

The title does not mean he is still Pope, only that he was once Pope - and who can deny this common sense? [Sandro Magister and his two canonists do - attacking it as 'theologically and metaphysically impossible', whatever that means! He was Pope, now he isn't, to our infinite dismay and sorrow - what's metaphysical or theological about that?]

They have drawn an analogy with bishops, saying that an emeritus bishop continues to be a bishop. Yes, but his title is not just 'emeritus' but 'emeritus bishop of a specific see': "The Bishop, whose resignation of his office has been accepted, maintains the title bishop emeritus of his diocese" (Canon 402, section 1). In this case, the adjective 'emeritus' does not refer to the bishop himself, but to the office that he held as pastor of a diocese [actual or titular).

Someone like Fr. Gianfranco Ghirlanda in La Civiltà Cattolica had suggested that the title ought to be 'Bishop emeritus of Rome". With all due respect to the proponents of this suggestion, I ask: What is the title of the Bishop of Rome? Answer - 'Pope'. So if one can say "Bishop emeritus of Rome", why not "Pope emeritus"? And for more reason, one can use the other formulation chosen by Benedict - "Roman Pontiff emeritus" (one must note that his formulation was never "Supreme Pontiff emeritus'), since 'Romanus Pontifex' is the corresponding formal Latin expression for 'Bishop of Rome'.

But I suspect that behind these seeming canonical quibbling is an erroneous theological understanding of the Petrine ministry. One would think from some arguments made, that the Successor of Peter has a double position - that of Bishop of Rome and that of Pope, in which the word Pope is understood to be a synonym for 'Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church', almost as though any one of the two 'functions' could be exercised independently of the other.

This is all simply absurd. It is the Bishop of Rome, being such, who exercises primacy over the whole Church. The term 'Pope' does not indicate another office beyond that of being Bishop of Rome, but is simply the title that belongs only to the Bishop of Rome.[Pope Francis obviously knows this because he has so far mostly used the term Bishop of Rome to describe himself.]

Some have also questioned the continued use of the name Benedict XVI, saying he ought to return to his previous rank and title and be called Cardinal Ratzinger again. They take it for granted that a Pope who has resigned reverts back to being a cardinal. Where is that written? It is true that this has happened in the past [under very different circumstances] but this does not mean that it automatically occurs.

When Cardinal Ratzinger was elected Pope, he ceased to be a member of the Sacred College. In order to become part of it again, he must be created a cardinal anew by his successor, which I think is something completely out of the question.

And I don't see what is the scandal if Benedict XVI continues to use his papal name after leaving office. When a king abdicates, does he lose the name under which he reigned? [Besides, contemporary chronicles and commentary will continue to refer to him anyway as 'Benedict XVI', not as "former Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger who was known as Benedict XVI when he was Pope"! Moreover, Popes like saints are 'timeless'. We do not say the late Saint Peter or the late Pius XII, for instance - everyone knows they are no longer on earth! And Benedict XVI is still very much alive. ]

The other two contested details (the address 'our Holiness' and the white cassock) speak for themselves. It is normal that someone who has enjoyed a certain title and address retains it even after he leaves office. In my religious order, the Superior General has the right to be called 'Reverendissimo' for the rest of his life, even after his mandate expires.

Moreover, some non-Catholic Oriental Patriarchs are addressed as 'Your Holiness" [and continue to be addressed as such even after they retire]. Why shouldn't we call the emeritus Pope 'Your Holiness'?

About the white cassock, I cannot imagine anyone could have any problem with it. When I was on mission, I wore white [because priests in the tropics wear white], and I continue to do so here in Italy because it is an experience that has marked my life.

Indeed, I would not even find it strange if, unlikely as it may be, Benedict XVI showed up at a liturgy presided by the new Pope, wearing choir dress, which is the normal custom with emeritus bishops when they appear in public in their diocese.

I wish to end with this reflection, I think that Benedict XVI's renunciation of the Pontificate constrains us to think more deeply about the role of the Pope. Benedict XVI has helped us to do this.

In his last General Audience on February 27, he said: "'Always' also means 'for always' - having been Pope, one cannot return to privacy. My decision to renounce the active exercise of the Petrine ministry does not revoke that. I am not going back into 'private life', to a life of travels, meetings, receptions, lectures, etc. I am not abandoning the Cross, but I remain with the Crucified Lord in a new way. I will no longer carry the powers to govern the Church, but in the service of prayer, I will remain, so to speak, in St. Peter's paddock [enclosure, as for animals]."

While it is true that Benedict XVI has lost any jurisdiction at all over anything, it does not mean that he is now only an ordinary Catholic, or at best, a retired bishop.

It would seem he understands that the Petrine ministry does not simply mean the exercise of authority, but that it has a spiritual dimension - the service of prayer - which continues beyond resignation and retirement.

That is what Benedict XVI wishes to express by retiring to near monastic cloisterhood, by 'ascending the mountain' in order to pray for the Church. The Church is served, yes, by governing her, but she is also served (and perhaps above all) by praying for her.


His description of the place where he will live his new life of prayer ('in St. Peter's paddock') expresses the continuity of his service before and after his resignation. Perhaps the title of Pope emeritus also expresses this continuity.
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/03/2013 02:22]
18/03/2013 19:50
OFFLINE
Post: 24.641
Post: 13.885
Registrato il: 17/06/2005
Registrato il: 18/01/2009
Administratore Unico
Utente Gold
Re:

TERESA BENEDETTA, 16/03/2013 11:39:




Et tu, Christoph?

Is there a rule that now that we have a new Pope, a cardinal can no longer speak of the still very much alive Benedict XVI? None of the cardinals I've heard on TV (or read about online) since the Conclave has had a single word for Benedict XVI - as if he had never existed, and as if it had not been his renunciation that made it possible for them to elect a new Pope. One would think such a ban exists - even if self-imposed - from this interview given by the president of Joseph Ratzinger's Schuelerkreis Foundation, who only a week before, was still saying how proud he was to have been Joseph Ratzinger's friend for 40 years,


Teresita, CHE VERGOGNA!!!! IT'S A SHAME!!!! [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] [SM=g7707] Pope Benedict betrayed even by his friends!!!! [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] [SM=g1782473] I'm very ashamed of this kind of clergy trying to forget BXVI!!!! But we know Benedict is carrying this new cross and surely is offering his sufferings for the best of the Church!
Papa Ratzi Superstar









"CON IL CUORE SPEZZATO... SEMPRE CON TE!"
18/03/2013 20:27
OFFLINE
Post: 24.642
Post: 13.886
Registrato il: 17/06/2005
Registrato il: 18/01/2009
Administratore Unico
Utente Gold
Thank you, Teresita...

... for all you have done for our Pope Benedict! It's not the first time I have to say thank you for helping me with this task God has given to us, that means, defend him from the wolves outside and inside the Church. And I renew my support and say once more thank you for continuing the job in this new difficult stage the Church has to live! Our Papino NEEDS more than ever to be supported and defended!

GO AHEAD, TERESITA, AND GOD BLESS YOU AND HELP YOU TO KEEP HIGH BXVI'S HOLINESS AND HUMILITY!


Papa Ratzi Superstar









"CON IL CUORE SPEZZATO... SEMPRE CON TE!"
18/03/2013 20:39
OFFLINE
Post: 26.487
Post: 8.974
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



Monday, March 18, Fifth Week in Lent

Extreme right: 15th century painting of St. Jerome appearing to St. Cyril.
ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM (315-386), Bishop, Confessor, Doctor of the Church
St. Cyril was born in Caesarea and is among the remarkable group of great 4th century Church Fathers and eventual Doctors of the Church
who were his contemporaries (Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, Athanasiua, Basil, Gregory Nazianzus, John Chrysostom, Ephraem of Syria,
Hilary of Poitiers). He was ordained deacon by Macarius, and consecrated as a bishop by Maximus, both of whom would become saints. Cyril
lived during the high tide of the Arian heresy, and his determined stand against this heresy earned him exile three times, so that half his life
as bishop was spent in exile. With St. Gregory of Nyssa, he attended the second Council of Constantinople, which adopted a modified version
of the Nicene Creed. Although his orthodoxy was apparently doubted by Jerome and Athanasius, the Council at Constantinople hailed him as
a champion of the faith against Arianism. [In fact, his specific Church title is 'Doctor of Faith and against Heresy'.] Before he became a
bishop in 350, he was assigned to prepare catechumens for Baptism. The Catecheses that he wrote for them survive to this day, and was for
a long time, a primary reference on the liturgy and doctrine of the 4th century. Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis of June 7, 2007
to St. Cyril
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/audiences/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20070627...
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031813.cfm



AT THE VATICAN TODAY

Pope Francis met this morning at the Domus Sanctae Marthae

- Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, provisionally reconfirmed earlier in his position
along with other Curial heads, until the Holy Father decides otherwise.
- H.E. Madame Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, President of the Republic of Argentina. This was described
a private meeting without any formal discussions, and it included lunch together.

In the afternoon, he met with
- Mons. Marcello Semeraro, Bishop of Albano (the diocese to which Castel Gandolfo belongs)
- Fr. Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, S.J., Superior-General of the Jesuit order.

The Vatican also released the image of the coat of arms decided upon by Pope Francis - it is his old episcopal
seal, surmounted by a triple-lined miter and the keys of Peter.

It also includes his episcopal motto "Miserando atque eligendo" (generally translated as 'lowly but chosen' - literally, "Looking on him with mercy, he chose him"), a line from St. Bede the Venerable, commenting on how Jesus had chosen the tax collector Matthew to be one of his Apostles. The central symbol is the Jesuit seal of a flaming sun with the Greek monogram IHS of Jesus in the center. The star, according to heraldic tradition, represents Mary; and the grapelike bunch on the left represents spikenard, the flowering branch often held by St. Joseph in his images. (To someone who grew up with a brother who attended Jesuit school for ten years, it is a very Jesuit seal representing the letters JMJ - for Jesus, Mary, Joseph, that Jesuit schoolchildren usually write at the top of every page, alternating with AMDG - 'ad majorem Dei gloriam' (for the greater glory of God'.)


One year ago today
with our blessed and beloved Benedict...


At Sunday Angelus, the Holy Father reflected that in Lent, we continue our journey through the desert of silence and temptation with Christ, facing the prospect of the Cross at the end, the Cross as the summit of love. After the prayers, he thanked those who had sent him good wishes and prayers for his name day the next day, the feast of St. Joseph, and requested prayers for his trip to Mexico and Cuba which was to begin on Friday.

The Vatican Press Office released the communique regarding the visit of European Council inspectors last week to examine Vatican compliance with international standards against money-laundering and funding of terrorism.

And the Holy Father sent a telegram of condolence at the death of Pope Shenouda III, 88, Patriarch of Alexandria of the Orthodox Copts, who succumbed to cancer. He recalled Pope Shenouda's commitment to Christian Unity, signing a Joint Declaration of Faith in the Incarnation of the Son of God on a visit to Paul VI in Rome in 1973, and then meeting in Cairo with Pope John Paul II during the Great Jubilee of the Incarnation, on February 24, 2000.



ANGELUS TODAY
The penitential path to Easter

March 18, 2012


How many ways can you frame the Pope at his study window? The statues atop Bernini's colonnade provide the photographers down on the Piazza many ways to 'frame the Pope', as these three pictures show...







Here is a translation of the Holy Father's reflection for today's Angelus:

Dear brothers and sisters:

In our itinerary towards Easter, we have arrived at the fourth Sunday of Lent. It is a journey with Jesus through the 'desert', that is, a time for us to listen better to the voice of God and also to unmask the temptations that speak within us.

On the horizon of this desert is the Cross. Jesus knows that it is the culmination of his mission: indeed, thee Cross of Christ is the summit of love which gives us salvation. He says so himself in today's Gospel: "Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert,
so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life"
(Jn 3,14-15).

The reference is to the episode during the exodus from Egypt, when the Jews were attacked by poisonous serpents and many died. Then
God commanded Moses to make a serpent of bronze and to hoist it on a staff: if someone was bitten by a serpent, he would be healed by looking at the bronze serpent
(cfr Nm 21,4-9).

Jesus too would be raised on the Cross, so that whoever would be in danger of death because of sin, would be saved by turning with faith to him, who died for us. "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3,17).

St. Augustine comments: "The doctor, for as much as it depends on him, comes to heal the sick. One who does not abide by the doctor's prescription ruins himself. The Savior came to the world: If you do not care to be saved by him, you will be judging yourself" (On the Gospel of John, 12,12L PL35, 1190).

Therefore, just as God's merciful love is infinite, for he gave his only Son as a ransom for us, our responsibility must also be great. Each one must indeed recognize that he is sick in order to be healed. each one must confess his own sins, so that God's forgiveness, already given on the Cross, can have an effect on one's heart and one's life.

St. Augustine also writes: "God condemns your sins; and if you too condemn them, then you unite yourself to God... When what you have done starts to be displeasing to you, then your good works can begin, in order to condemn your bad deeds. Good works begin with an acknowledgment of bad deeds"
(ibid., 13: PL 35, 1191).

Sometimes man likes shadows more than light, because he is attached to his sins. But it is only by opening oneself to the light, only by sincerely confessing one's sins to God, that one finds true peace and true joy.

It is important therefore to regularly frequent the Sacrament of Penitence, especially during Lent, in order to receive the Lord's forgiveness and intensify our journey of conversion.

Dear friends, tomorrow we shall celebrate the solemn feast of St. Joseph. I thank from my heart all those who will remember me in their prayers on my name day. But I especially ask you to pray for my apostolic visit to Mexico and Cuba, which I will undertake starting next Friday.

Let us entrust it to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, so loved and venerated in these two countries that I am preparing to visit.


After the prayers, he said:
Yesterday, in Marseilles, the VI World Forum on Water was concluded, and next Thursday, the world will mark the World Day of Water, which this year, focuses on the fundamental link between this precious and limited resource with food security.

I hope that these initiatives will contribute to guarantee equitable, sure and adequate access to water for all, thus promoting the rights to life and to nutrition of every human being, and a responsible and mutually supportive use of the goods of the earth for the benefit of present and future generations.


He had a special message for Spanish-speaking pilgrims:
I greet all Spanish-speaking pilgrims, particularly the the group from the Pontificio Colegio Mexicano in Rome, and the faithful who have come to Rome from Tarragona, Ferrol and Madrid.

I call on you all to turn your eyes to Jesus Christ, raised as a standard for the world, who is the reason for the salvation of the human species.

At the same time, I ask your prayers for my coming apostolic trip to Mexico and Cuba, where I have the good fortune of going w9ithin a few days in order to confirm the Christians of those beloved nations and of all Latin America in their faith.

I ask everyone to accompany me with spiritual nearness so that this pastoral visit may reap abundant fruits of Christian life and ecclesial renewal, thus contributing to authentic progress in those countries.

I entrust this pilgrimage to the most blessed Virgin Mary, which in those blessed lands, is known intimately as Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Charity.






[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/03/2013 02:28]
19/03/2013 00:12
OFFLINE
Post: 26.488
Post: 8.975
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



“Viva il Papa!”
Translated from

March 17, 2013

Perhaps some of my readers may have thought I have gone back into hibernation. One swallow does no a summer make, of course, but in this case [following his March 7 blog on 'Pope emeritus' that broke his 21-month absence online], my silence was simply due to lack of material time. Besides, it is not easy to return to writing regularly after such a long break...

I have been asked especially to say something about the election of a new Pope. I would be a hypocrite if I said that I jumped with joy when Cardinal Tauran made the announcement. Personally, I would have preferred Cardinal Scola, whom I esteem, or Cardinal Tagle of the Philippines, whom I got to know there.

To hear that it was Cardinal Bergoglio who had been elected was certainly a surprise. Sometimes surprises can be welcomed joyfully - and this seems to have happened for most of the faithful. It did not happen for me, not because I have anything against Cardinal Bergoglio, about whom I knew little, but simply because I had been conditioned by what had been said about him after the Conclave of 2005: that he was the candidate of the anti-Ratzinger bloc, that bloc said to have been led by now-deceased Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. So to hear that the 'anti-Ratzinger' had now been elected Pope, I had the impression that the cardinals had perhaps made a deliberate polemical choice meant to be a rebuke to the previous Pontiff.

It is true that this impression was immediately belied by the newly-elected Pope himself. But it is also true that a whole series of small details, astutely amplified by the media seemed to confirm my original impression: the rejection of the mozzetta for the new Pope's traditional first presentation to the world, the return to what seemed to be a pre-Benedettian liturgy, etc.

But in these cases, one must not be conditioned too much by first impressions, by instinctive reactions, and must instead seek to reflect on facts with rationality. First of all, one must not allow oneself to be conditioned by the mass media, who only present to us selected facts, and sometimes they are selected to provoke certain reactions [pushing buttons, i.e.].

What sense, for instance, was there in focusing on showing us Pope Francis's black shoes if not to convey the message that Benedict XVI, who wore red shoes, wore Prada, and was therefore anti-evangelical, whereas Francis is a truly poor Pope.

I don't know if you have observed how certain statements attributed to the new Pope have been given wide circulation (I do not know if he truly said them or not) that made a lot of people rejoice but has hurt many others as well.

Papa Bergoglio is reported to have told Mons. Marini, who was helping to prepare him for his loggia debut, and handed him the red mozzetta [a symbol of papal office, not a frivolous accessory]: "No, you can wear it yourself. The time is over for carnival wear!"

Or that the following day, at Santa Maria Maggiore, upon seeing Cardinal Law, emeritus Arch-Priest of the Basilica, he murmured to his aides, ""Send him away. I don't ever want him near the Basilica again". [I read all about this supposed episode with Cardinal Law, which despite everything the latter may have been guilty of, would not have been 'condemned' so unconditionally by Pope Francis, who spoke precisely about this censorious attitude towards others as lack of mercy in his first Angelus homily on Sunday. In fact, one news agency released a series of about 15 pictures taken of the greeting between the Pope and Cardinal Law when it was the latter's turn to reverence the Pope - and there was not the slightest hint of reproach in Francis's hearty demeanor, having one hand on Law's shoulder, and the other around him. The alleged remark to Mons. Marini is even more unlikely!] I do not think that by doing this, the reporters are doing the Pope any service.

In the second place, we must free ourselves of prejudices. We cannot judge someone within a few minutes of seeing him for the first time. Let us give him time to present himself and for us to get to know something more about him. We ought not to be judging others anyway, but if we insist on doing so, then let us wait until he acts, and judge him by his deeds. never by his intentions or what we think his intentions are (whether good or bad, it doesn't matter).

And it would be best to refrain from a-critical exaltations. So Pope Francis naturally favors an informal style. Excellent, and why not? It also comes from the culture of his country. But that does not represent by itself 'a turning point for the Church', almost as if the very act of paying his hotel bill was symbolic of how he would 'save the Church'. [Frankly, I found that particular episode a bit of grandstanding, as if someone in the Press Office said, 'Hey this is the perfect photo-op'. It seemed to spoil all the preceding account of how he slipped out of the Vatican early in the morning to pray in Santa Maria Maggiore. Only to be followed by this 'perfect photo-op'. (To be fair, it seems only the Vatican photographers were present, and the photo of the Pope standing behind a hotel counter was then released to the news agencies.) Papa Ratzinger had no hotel bill to pay in 2005 because he lived right next to the Vatican, and the second time he visited his apartment after he was elected Pope, three days after his election, he walked from the Vatican. And sure, the media ran stories about it and used some pictures, but did they make a hullaballoo about it? Not at all. nfter all, they figured, here was someone who had walked to and from work over 20 years, who was a fixture walking about in the neighborhood like any ordinary Roman. No big deal, right?, even if were now Pope! Or that as a profesor, he rode around on a bicycle, and did not drive an Alfa-Romeo as Hans Kueng did. Was that all 'less humble', less admirable, less evangelical than riding a bus? And he didn't cook for himself because he was lucky to have had a loving sister who devoted herself to taking care of him. And yet, I remember reading some articles back in 2005 castigating him for letting his sister keep house for him rather than allowing her to have 'a life of her own'. I'm sure Pope Francis does not share the Schadenfreude and utter malice of the media in trying to exalt him for his lifestyle the better to put down his predecessor!]

And yes, welcome simplicity, by all means, if this will help persons to come back to the Church. But let us not equate an informal style with humility! One can be humble too by submitting to a liturgical master who proposes the same mozzetta worn at their 'papal debuts' by all the previous Popes in living memory, including John Paul II. [Maybe Francis objected to the ermine-lined velvet mozzetta worn in the winter. He could have asked for the plainer summer mozzetta made of satin. John XXIII - and who could have been more down-to-earth than the grandfatherly and really quite sophisticated Papa Buono who had grown up in a peasant family - had no problem using the winter mozzetta? Not for his 'debut' because he was elected in the summer, so he wore the summer mozzetta, as did Paul VI and John Paul II, but on several occasions afterwards. Did we hear anyone criticize - or imply criticism as they have done with Benedict XVI - Pius XII, John XXIII, Paul VI and the two John Pauls for wearing the mozzetta?]

Let me place myself, for an instant, in the shoes of some of our most 'acute' observers in the media. Pope Francis, under his cassock, has so far worn shirts with proper cufflinks. Papa Ratzinger, at his 'debut', was wearing a long-sleeved black sweater under all the new papal regalia (cassock, rocchetta or surplice, and mozzetta or capelet), and afterwards, in cold weather, always wore a sweater under his cassock. [He said later about the black sweater that he had worn for the Conclave, "I felt cold, so I kept it on!"]

One thing that captured the most visible reaction from the crowd in St. Peter's Square Wednesday night was the new Pope's choice of papal name. Of course, the Holy Father can choose any name he wants. But he did not really break tradition so radically. Other than Benedict XVI [who is known to have told Peter Seewald years before 2005 that he thought Benedict was an excellent papal name], the last several Popes all chose a name that was more or less original. Papa Roncalli chose John, which had not been used since the 14th century. Paul VI used a name last chosen in the 17th century. Papa Luciani chose to use the names of his two immediate predecessors - a double papal name was a first. And Papa Wojtyla carried it on to honor the first John Paul.

So Papa Bergoglio could have chosen any name, but obviously, a name can often mean a program. And Pope francis explained it himself to newsmen on Saturday: Francis, he said, represented poverty, peace, love of nature. And who could not share these ideals? As long as the virtues are not transformed to ideology - pauperism instead of poverty, pacifism instead of peace, ecologism instead of a genuine guardianship of creation.

I hope from the heart that the new Pope embodies the true St. Francis, not the surrogate that has been proposed to us by the media and pop culture (and often, by the Franciscans themselves!). One of course must underscore the saint's original calling, "Francis, rebuild my Church!"

And just as I dislike facile enthusiasms, I dislike unappealably absolute excoriations even more, from either side. I have been extremely annoyed by the attempts to make Bergoglio complicit with the military dictatorship in Argentina under General Videla, and equally so by accusations that he is a misogynist (he supposedly said, "Women were not created to govern").

And I am appalled at the immoderate reaction of some traditionalists: After having accused other priests for years of disobedience to the Pope for not following his way of celebrating liturgy, all of a sudden, they themselves are attacking the new Pope, based only on their perception of certain elements selectively pointed out by the media in their attempt to show the 'discontinuity' between the new Pope and his predecessor.

Of course, there appears to be a difference in external form and style, but does this mean a real rupture by Francis with Benedict XVI and the tradition of the Church? Let us get real. At least for now, everything is being reduced to marginal details, such as what Pope Francis chooses to wear or how he celebrates Mass.

I've said what I thought about papal garments. As for liturgy, I don't think at all that Pope Francis would 'destroy' the liturgy. One must remember that he is a Jesuit, and anyone who knows something of the Jesuits realizes they are not great liturgists, not out of choice, but because it is the way they are formed.

One might almost think that for the Jesuits, the liturgical movement and Vatican II had never happened. Basically, they have always remained a bit Tridentine. Moreover, one simply has to consider St. Ignatius's Spiritual Exercises to realize that examination of conscience appears to be more important than participation in Mass.

If the cardinals had wanted a liturgist Pope, they should have elected a Benedictine, not a Jesuit. Jesuits are more concerned about 'spirituality' than the liturgy. ['Spirituality' is a word that Papa Bergoglio uses often.] They consider themselves real 'contemplatives in action', and in this respect, we may look to Pope Francis for great help in our spiritual life.

I am certain that Pope Francis has many surprises in store - but maybe not what the media expect of him. When John Paul II and then Benedict XVI were elected, I experienced great joy and had great expectations which were in some cases subsequently disappointed.

This time, as I said, I did not experience the same enthusiasm at the 'Habemus papam', so I hope by a similar reversal, it will be followed by satisfaction. But even if that does not happen, it does not change the fact that a Pope is not elected to satisfy our expectations, but to confirm us in our faith and to serve the Church.

At this time, wee are not asked to sing hosannas to the Pope nor to criticize him. We are only asked to submit ourselves to him
Subesse Romano Pontifici … omnino esse de necessitate salutis» (It is altogether necessary to submit to the Roman Pontiff in order to be saved) (Boniface VIII, Papal Bull
'Unam sanctam'),
to pray for him, and to 'remain in total tranquility... knowing that Jesus Christ governs his Church" (Rosmini, Massime di perfezione cristiana, III massima).

Even an eventual fading out of this 'feeling' for Pope Francis can have beneficial effects in the long run, because it would force us not to dwell on his person, but to go beyond, to the One he represents. It will force us to distinguish between the person and the office he represents.

And it would be useful to recall what we are told about Don Bosco, because it would seem to refer to us today:

THE news from Rome had reached Turin, and even here one could here the occasional frenetic and obstinate screams, saying VIVA PIO NONO (Pius IX)! But Mons. Fransoni, Archbishop of Turin, understood right away that beneath the exaggerated expressions of enthusiasm lay the artifice of various sects, who had been solicited by the Pope to encourage the people to help Irishmen then in the grip of the Great Famine. On June 7, 1847, he wrote in a pastoral letter: "Those well-moderated ways of showing obsequy to the Pontiff deserve to be praised. Not like those who applaud Pius IX not for what he is, but for what they would want him to be. One must realize that it is not the noisy clapping of hands, nor wild tumultuous acclamation that will please him, but rather, listening obediently to his exhortations and carrying them out promptly, not that he commands you but that he invites you".

Don Bosco thought as his Archbishop did. Because naturally, even at his Oratory, everyone was shouting their lungs out with Vivas and Hosannas for the great Pontiff, especially since Don Bosco had always spoken to them about the Pope with great esteem.

He often told them that he was necessary to stay close to the Pope because he was the link that united the faithful to God, and he warned of ominous falls and punishments that would come to those who would dare oppose the Holy See or even censure it in the least. So much love was he able to instill in his own young people for the Pope that they felt ready to always be obedient and faithful to him, and even to defend him at the cost of their lives.

And so the young people were screaming EVVIVA PIO NONO! But they were surprised to hear him say now: "Do not shout VIVA PIO NONO, but simply VIVA IL PAPA!" "Why?" they asked him. "Isn't Pio Nono the Pope?"

"You are right," Don Bosco told them. "But you are not seeing beyond your senses. There are persons who wish to separate the Sovereign of Rome from the Pontiff, the man from his divine office. So we praise the person. but I do not see that you wish to have the same reverence for the dignity in which he is vested. So, let us be on the side of what is right and sure, and let us cheer VIVA IL PAPA". And all his young people cheered right back, VIVA IL PAPA! (Memorie biografiche, vol. III, Ch. 21).


[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/04/2013 14:12]
19/03/2013 11:57
OFFLINE
Post: 26.489
Post: 8.976
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



A word
by Amy Welborn
March 17, 2013

I’m going to try to offer a short reflection on the explosion of reactions to Pope Francis. Perhaps if I put it in list form, that will force me to be more succinct than I otherwise would be.

I believe that this conversation that is happening is being shaped, in a negative way, by the fact that Pope Emeritus Benedict is still alive. I think that if Pope Francis’s pontificate – what little of it there has been so far – less than a week – had occurred in the wake of Benedict’s death, the general tone would be more subdued, shaded as it would be by a period of grief and mourning and probably sympathy for a dying Pope.

Instead there is what I’m going to come straight out and call a tone of “relief.” It seems to spill over from the normal level of interest in and hope that any new papacy evokes, onto another level. Half of the Facebook posts on my newsfeed seem to begin with “At last!” or “Finally!” I don’t think this would be happening if Benedict were dead. It’s weird.

I’m startled by the number of people who are under the impression that Pope Benedict neglected to mention Jesus Christ, mercy or the poor during his pontificate. Who don’t understand the substantial reforms Pope Benedict undertook over the past few years.

So for example: Pope Francis mentioned the danger of the Church becoming seen as just another NGO, to wide acclaim – from some of the same quarters who have looked askance at Pope Benedict making exactly the same points – and putting them into action (as in his actions, for example, regarding Caritas last year). The post below this one tweaks that reflex – and it’s a reflex to be aware of.

Liturgical conversations have resurfaced with a vengeance over the past few days. Just a few points there: A few days ago, a church historian was quoted as saying, “You have to remember that Benedict was a clotheshorse.”

What that expert fails to recognize was that Benedict’s attention to papal garb was not about vanity – I mean – really. It was about what he was always about: history And not history as a museum, out of an antiquarian interest, but as a link from the present to the past.

The red shoes – so maligned even by Catholics who should know better – are a symbol of blood. Blood, people. The blood of the martyrs and the blood of Christ on which His vicar stands, and through him, all of us. Popes – yes, even John XXIII and Paul VI – wore them until John Paul II stopped. Then Benedict reinstated them. That is, he humbled himself before history and symbol and put the darn things on.

Why did he reinstate them? Because he was vain, monarchical and arrogant? Because he was out of touch with the poor? Because he was, in the terms of the esteemed professor, a “clotheshorse?” Because they look good? I doubt it, because, you know, they don’t, not really.

Maybe – just maybe – because he believes was they symbolize? That his office is rooted in the blood of the martyrs, especially Peter? And that it is good for the Pope in the 21st century to maintain this link to and through other Popes who have done the same thing, to Peter, and then to Christ?

But hardly anyone even bothered to go that far. Just think if we had. Just think if more of us had been open to being taught by these gestures and symbols and instead of reflexively looking askance at it because it is culturally distant from us, had asked these questions and let them inform our faith – our own willingness to be martyred, to give our lives and our hearts to Christ and his people.

For me, it comes down to this. Both of these Popes were and are pastors. Both have given their lives for us, for Christ. We can – and should be open to being – taught by both. All I’m saying is that – as Pope Francis himself has acknowledged in his own words these past few days – Pope Benedict was all about Christ. He spent 8 years as your Pope, “proposing Jesus Christ” through his words and actions – even his red shoes.

If Pope Francis’s actions so far preach Christ more clearly to you then so be it. Christ is who is important, and we are a Church of great diversity for a reason.

But what has been so bizarre and even saddening over the past few days is a tone and implication that Benedict was somehow about something else besides Jesus Christ.

There is much more to say on liturgy, and plenty of people are saying it, mostly from positions of uncertainty and fear. I have nothing to say about those specific worries because it’s all a complete unknown at this point. Who knows what will happen. My hope is that there are clearly huge problems in the Church that need attention. The liturgy, as reset by Benedict, is not one of those problems, but that’s just the way it seems to me.

But one more comment on those conversations – the reactions to the reactions to the reactions - that are flying about. Here’s what is important to remember. The “changes” that Benedict made to the liturgical direction of the Church are not expressions of his aesthetic or taste. What Benedict did was to implement the Church’s liturgy in the Church’s practice. There are documents. Decrees and such. Books. Rubrics. Believe it or not, Benedict’s reset button was really nothing more than pointing us to what we are supposed to be doing anyway. If you don’t believe me, read them yourself.

There is a deeper theological and spiritual reasoning and structure as well, but really, the basic goal was: fidelity to what the Church offers. If you read Ratzinger on liturgy, his thinking is quite pastoral. It basically comes down to: Every Catholic has the right to the Church’s liturgy.

I’m not interested in debating the liturgical direction of Pope Francis, because I have no idea what that is, and besides..why? What I am interested in is that the discussion, which is inevitably coming back around to Pope Benedict’s liturgical work, be grounded in truth about what that was really about.

The great thing about the Roman liturgy is (believe it or not) its flexibility. It can be celebrated from the back of a pickup truck in a field or in a Gothic Cathedral. It can be celebrated with no music or a polyphonic choir and everything in between.

But – the Roman liturgy is also not formless. Benedict’s liturgical work was oriented towards reacquainting us with that form and deep spiritual substructure, not for its own sake but for the sake of the seeker encountering Christ there.

And I hope that’s it for me on that score. I vow not to be one of those people. That is, like folks who never could quite get it through their heads, even by 2012, that John Paul II wasn’t Pope anymore. Promise you, and I promise myself.

19/03/2013 12:55
OFFLINE
Post: 26.490
Post: 8.977
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master

March 19
SOLEMNITY OF ST. JOSEPH, SPOUSE OF MARY
PATRON OF THE UNIVERSAL CHURCH




March 19 is a double gala for our beloved Benedict XVI - the monthly anniversary of his election as Pope falls in March on the Solemnity of St. Joseph as Patron of the Universal Church.

It is one of many name days for Benedict XVI/Joseph Ratzinger throughout the year, since St. Joseph has another major feast day in the liturgical calendar, May 1, when he is honored as the Patron of Laborers, and St. Benedict has two feast days - March 21, anniversary of his birth in heaven, still observed in local churches and by the Benedictines, and July 11, to which the Memorial was transferred after Vatican II, because March 21 falls in Lent. The feast of Benedict XVI's other name saint, Aloysius Gonzaga, is June 21.




It is 7 years and 11 months today since Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope. His Pontificate ended after 7 years, 10 months and 9 days. He is less than a month away from his 86th birthday.


AD MULTOS ANNOS, BENEDICTE!

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU ARE

TO THE CHURCH, TO THE WORLD, TO ALL OF US
.






AND A BLESSED NAME DAY, DEAREST PAPINO...



During his Pontificate, Benedict XVI had a number of occasions to speak about St. Joseph - the first Angelus he led as Pope fell on May 1, St. Joseph's feast day as Patron of Laborers. Perhaps the most powerful statements he delivered about his patron saint was in this homily that he delivered in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on March 19, 2009.

Dear Brother Bishops,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Praised be Jesus Christ who has gathered us in this stadium today that we may enter more deeply into his life!

Jesus Christ brings us together on this day when the Church, here in Cameroon and throughout the world, celebrates the Feast of Saint Joseph, Husband of the Virgin Mary. I begin by wishing a very happy feast day to all those who, like myself, have received the grace of bearing this beautiful name, and I ask Saint Joseph to grant them his special protection in guiding them towards the Lord Jesus Christ all the days of their life.

I also extend cordial best wishes to all the parishes, schools, colleges, and institutions named after Saint Joseph. I thank Archbishop Tonyé-Bakot of Yaoundé for his kind words, and I warmly greet the representatives of the African Episcopal Conferences who have come to Yaoundé for the promulgation of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

How can we enter into the specific grace of this day? In a little while, at the end of Mass, the liturgy will remind us of the focal point of our meditation when it has us pray: “Lord, today you nourish us at this altar as we celebrate the feast of Saint Joseph. Protect your Church always, and in your love watch over the gifts you have given us.” We are asking the Lord to protect the Church always – and he does! – just as Joseph protected his family and kept watch over the child Jesus during his early years.

Our Gospel reading recalls this for us. The angel said to Joseph: “Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home,”
(Mt 1:20) and that is precisely what he did: “he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him” (Mt 1:24).

Why was Saint Matthew so keen to note Joseph’s trust in the words received from the messenger of God, if not to invite us to imitate this same loving trust? Although the first reading which we have just heard does not speak explicitly of Saint Joseph, it does teach us a good deal about him.

The prophet Nathan, in obedience to God’s command, tells David: “I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins”
(2 Sam 7:12) David must accept that he will die before seeing the fulfilment of this promise, which will come to pass “when (his) time comes” and he will rest “with (his) ancestors”.

We thus come to realize that one of mankind’s most cherished desires – seeing the fruits of one’s labours – is not always granted by God. I think of those among you who are mothers and fathers of families. Parents quite rightly desire to give the best of themselves to their children, and they want to see them achieve success.

Yet make no mistake about what this “success” entails: what God asks David to do is to place his trust in him. David himself will not see his heir who will have a throne “firm for ever”
(2 Sam 7:16), for this heir, announced under the veil of prophecy, is Jesus. David puts his trust in God.

In the same way, Joseph trusts God when he hears his messenger, the Angel, say to him: “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her”
(Mt 1:20).

Throughout all of history, Joseph is the man who gives God the greatest display of trust, even in the face of such astonishing news.

Dear fathers and mothers here today, do you have trust in God who has called you to be the fathers and mothers of his adopted children?

Do you accept that he is counting on you to pass on to your children the human and spiritual values that you yourselves have received and which will prepare them to live with love and respect for his holy name?

At a time when so many people have no qualms about trying to impose the tyranny of materialism, with scant concern for the most deprived, you must be very careful. Africa in general, and Cameroon in particular, place themselves at risk if they do not recognize the True Author of Life!

Brothers and sisters in Cameroon and throughout Africa, you who have received from God so many human virtues, take care of your souls! Do not let yourselves be captivated by selfish illusions and false ideals! Believe – yes! – continue to believe in God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – he alone truly loves you in the way you yearn to be loved, he alone can satisfy you, can bring stability to your lives. Only Christ is the way of Life.

God alone could grant Joseph the strength to trust the Angel. God alone will give you, dear married couples, the strength to raise your family as he wants. Ask it of him! God loves to be asked for what he wishes to give. Ask him for the grace of a true and ever more faithful love patterned after his own. As the Psalm magnificently puts it: his “love is established for ever, his loyalty will stand as long as the heavens”
(Ps 88:3).

Just as on other continents, the family today – in your country and across Africa – is experiencing a difficult time; but fidelity to God will help see it through. Certain values of the traditional life have been overturned. Relationships between different generations have evolved in a way that no longer favours the transmission of accumulated knowledge and inherited wisdom.

Too often we witness a rural exodus not unlike that known in many other periods of human history. The quality of family ties is deeply affected by this.

Uprooted and fragile members of the younger generation who often – sadly – are without gainful employment, seek to cure their pain by living in ephemeral and man-made paradises which we know will never guarantee the human being a deep, abiding happiness.

Sometimes the African people too are constrained to flee from themselves and abandon everything that once made up their interior richness. Confronted with the phenomenon of rapid urbanization, they leave the land, physically and morally: not as Abraham had done in response to the Lord’s call, but as a kind of interior exile which alienates them from their very being, from their brothers and sisters, and from God himself.

Is this an irreversible, inevitable development? By no means! More than ever, we must “hope against all hope”
(Rom 4:18). Here I wish to acknowledge with appreciation and gratitude the remarkable work done by countless associations that promote the life of faith and the practice of charity. May they be warmly thanked! May they find in the word of God renewed strength to carry out their projects for the integral development of the human person in Africa, especially in Cameroon!

The first priority will consist in restoring a sense of the acceptance of life as a gift from God. According to both Sacred Scripture and the wisest traditions of your continent, the arrival of a child is always a gift, a blessing from God.

Today it is high time to place greater emphasis on this: every human being, every tiny human person, however weak, is created “in the image and likeness of God”
(Gen 1:27). Every person must live! Death must not prevail over life! Death will never have the last word!

Sons and daughters of Africa, do not be afraid to believe, to hope, and to love; do not be afraid to say that Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and that we can be saved by him alone.

Saint Paul is indeed an inspired author given to the Church by the Holy Spirit as a “teacher of nations”
(1 Tim 2:7) when he tells us that Abraham, “hoping against hope, believed that he should become the father of many nations; as he had been told, ‘So shall your descendants be’” (Rom 4:18).

“Hoping against hope”: is this not a magnificent description of a Christian? Africa is called to hope through you and in you! With Jesus Christ, who trod the African soil, Africa can become the continent of hope!

We are all members of the peoples that God gave to Abraham as his descendants. Each and every one of us was thought, willed and loved by God. Each and every one of us has a role to play in the plan of God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

If discouragement overwhelms you, think of the faith of Joseph; if anxiety has its grip on you, think of the hope of Joseph, that descendant of Abraham who hoped against hope; if exasperation or hatred seizes you, think of the love of Joseph, who was the first man to set eyes on the human face of God in the person of the Infant conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

Let us praise and thank Christ for having drawn so close to us, and for giving us Joseph as an example and model of love for him.

Dear brothers and sisters, I want to say to you once more from the bottom of my heart: like Joseph, do not be afraid to take Mary into your home, that is to say do not be afraid to love the Church.

Mary, Mother of the Church, will teach you to follow your pastors, to love your bishops, your priests, your deacons and your catechists; to heed what they teach you and to pray for their intentions.
- Husbands, look upon the love of Joseph for Mary and Jesus;
- those preparing for marriage, treat your future spouse as Joseph did;
- those of you who have given yourselves to God in celibacy, reflect upon the teaching of the Church, our Mother: “Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes and confirms it. Marriage and virginity are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the Covenant of God with his people”
(Redemptoris Custos, 20).

Once more, I wish to extend a particular word of encouragement to fathers so that they may take Saint Joseph as their model. He who kept watch over the Son of Man is able to teach them the deepest meaning of their own fatherhood. In the same way, each father receives his children from God, and they are created in God’s own image and likeness.

Saint Joseph was the spouse of Mary. In the same way, each father sees himself entrusted with the mystery of womanhood through his own wife. Dear fathers, like Saint Joseph, respect and love your spouse; and by your love and your wise presence, lead your children to God where they must be
(cf. Lk 2:49).

Finally, to all the young people present, I offer words of friendship and encouragement: as you face the challenges of life, take courage! Your life is priceless in the eyes of God! Let Christ take hold of you, agree to pledge your love to him, and – why not? – maybe even do so in the priesthood or in the consecrated life! This is the supreme service.

To the children who no longer have a father, or who live abandoned in the poverty of the streets, to those forcibly separated from their parents, to the maltreated and abused, to those constrained to join paramilitary forces that are terrorizing some countries, I would like to say: God loves you, he has not forgotten you, and Saint Joseph protects you! Invoke him with confidence.

May God bless you and watch over you! May he give you the grace to keep advancing towards him with fidelity! May he give stability to your lives so that you may reap the fruits he awaits from you! May he make you witnesses of his love here in Cameroon and to the ends of the earth! I fervently beg him to give you a taste of the joy of belonging to him, now and for ever. Amen
.



And here is the OR's name-day tribute to Benedict XVI last year:


Tribute to the Pope on his name day
Editorial
by Giovanni Maria Vian
Translated from the 3/18/12 issue of




L'Osservatore Romano extends its best wishes to the Pope with this popular representation of St. Joseph who carries the baby Jesus in his arms. In turn, the baby caresses him and appears to be supporting him, with the Cross in his hand, under the loving and protective gaze of the Virgin Mary.

It is an ingenuous image which is also very expressive that this newspaper offers the Pope, who was baptized with the name of the Patron of the Universal Church, its most heartfelt wises fOr his name day feast. Wishes that we express in the name of our readers, who join so many men and women throughout th world who look to the Holy Father with attention, affection and admiration.

Benedict XVI, too, like his patron saint, shows us Jesus - about whom he is completing the third and last volume of his book - and is supported by him, under the gaze of Mary, daughter of Zion and image of the Church.


[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/03/2013 15:49]
19/03/2013 13:54
OFFLINE
Post: 26.491
Post: 8.978
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



Pope Francis's inaugural Mass:
'Protect the environment,
the weakest and the poorest'

by Nicole Winfield




VATICAN CITY, March 19, 2013 (AP) — Pope Francis urged princes, presidents, sheiks and thousands of ordinary people gathered for his installation Mass on Tuesday to protect the environment, the weakest and the poorest, mapping out a clear focus of his priorities as leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

The Argentine native is the first pope from Latin America and the first named for the 13th-century friar St. Francis of Assisi, whose life's work was to care for nature, the poor and most disadvantaged. Echoing the gentleness for which St. Francis is known, the pope said a little bit of tenderness can "open up a horizon of hope."

The Vatican said between 150,000-200,000 people attended the Mass, held under bright blue skies after days of chilly rain and featuring flag-waving fans from around the world. In Buenos Aires, thousands of people packed the central Plaza di Mayo square to watch the celebration on giant TV screens and erupted in joy when Francis called them from Rome, his words broadcast to the crowd over loudspeakers.

"I want to ask a favor," Francis told them. "I want to ask you to walk together, and take care of one another. ... And don't forget that this bishop who is far away loves you very much. Pray for me."

Back in Rome, Francis was interrupted by applause several times during his homily, including when he spoke of the need to protect the environment, serve one another with love and not allow "omens of destruction," hatred, envy and pride to "defile our lives."

Francis said the role of the pope is to open his arms and protect all of humanity, but "especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison."

"Today amid so much darkness we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others," he said. "To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope, it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds," he said.

Francis, 76, thrilled the crowd at the start of the Mass by taking a long round-about through the sun-drenched piazza and getting out of his jeep to bless a disabled man. It was a gesture from a man whose short papacy so far is becoming defined by such spontaneous forays into the crowd and concern for the disadvantaged.

The blue and white flags from Argentina fluttered above the crowd, which Italian media initially estimated could reach 1 million. Civil protection crews closed the main streets leading to the square to traffic and set up barricades for nearly a mile (two kilometers) along the route to try to control the masses and allow official delegations through.

Before the Mass began, Francis received the fisherman's ring symbolizing the papacy and a woolen stole symbolizing his role as shepherd of his flock. He also received vows of obedience from a half-dozen cardinals — a potent symbol given his predecessor Benedict XVI is still alive and was reportedly watching the proceedings on TV from the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo. [Excuse me - this reporter continues to report on the Church without any effort at all to give the least consideration for the essentials of her teachings. Even if Benedict XVi is still alive, he is no longer Pope - there is only one Pope at a time, and Benedict himself made this very clear when, in his last address to the College of Cardinals on February 27, he said, "Among you is the future Pope... And I now pledge my reverence and obedience to him".]

A cardinal intoned the rite of inauguration, saying: "The Good Shepherd charged Peter to feed his lambs and his sheep; today you succeed him as the bishop of this church."

Some 132 official delegations attended, including more than a half-dozen heads of state from Latin America, a sign of the significance of the election for the region. Francis has made clear he wants his pontificate to be focused on the poor, a message that has resonance in a poverty-stricken region that counts 40 percent of the world's Catholics.

In the VIP section was German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the Argentine President Cristina Fernandez, Taiwanese President Ying-Jeou Ma, Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, Prince Albert of Monaco and Bahrain Prince Sheik Abdullah bin Haman bin Isa Alkhalifa, among others. All told, six sovereign rulers, 31 heads of state, three princes and 11 heads of government were attending, the Vatican said.

Francis directed his homily to them, saying: "I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be protectors of creation, protectors of God's plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment."

Among the religious VIPs attending was the spiritual leader of the world's Orthodox Christians, Bartholomew I, who became the first patriarch from the Istanbul-based church to attend a papal investiture since the two branches of Christianity split nearly 1,000 years ago. Also attending for the first time was the chief rabbi of Rome. Their presence underscores the broad hopes for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue in this new papacy given Francis' own work for improved relations and St. Francis of Assisi.

In a gesture to Christians in the East, the Pope prayed with Eastern rite Catholic patriarchs and archbishops before the tomb of St. Peter at the start of the Mass and the Gospel was chanted in Greek rather than the traditional Latin. [BTW, that was not the first time this was done. I must check back, but believe it was usually chanted in Greek at the Easter Sunday Masses of Benedict XVI.]

But it is Francis' history of living with the poor and working for them while archbishop of Buenos Aires that seems to have resonated with ordinary Catholics who say they are hopeful that Francis can inspire a new generation of faithful who have fallen away from the church.

"I think he'll revive the sentiments of Catholics who received the sacraments but don't go to Mass anymore, and awaken the sentiments of people who don't believe anymore in the church, for good reason," said Judith Teloni, an Argentine tourist guide who lives in Rome and attended the Mass with a friend.

"As an Argentine, he was our cardinal. It's a great joy for us," said Edoardo Fernandez Mendia, from the Argentine Pampas who was in the crowd. "I would have never imagined that it was going to be him."

Recalling another great moment in Argentine history, when soccer great Diego Maradona scored an improbable goal in the 1986 World Cup, he said: "And for the second time, the Hand of God came to Argentina."

Francis has made headlines with his simple style since the moment he appeared to the world on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, eschewing the ermine-lined red velvet cape his predecessor wore in favor of the simple papal white cassock, then paying his own bill at the hotel where he stayed prior to the conclave that elected him pope.

He has also surprised — and perhaps frustrated — his security detail by his impromptu forays into the crowds.

For nearly a half-hour before the Mass began, Francis toured the square in an open-air jeep, waving, shouting "Ciao!" to well-wishers and occasionally kissing babies handed up to him as if he had been doing this for years. At one point, as he neared a group of people in wheelchairs, he signaled for the jeep to stop, hopped off, and went to bless a disabled man held up to the barricade by an aide.

"I like him because he loves the poor," said 7-year-old Pietro Loretti, who attended the Mass from Barletta in southern Italy. Another child in the crowd, 9-year-old Benedetta Vergetti from Cervetri near Rome, also skipped school to attend.

"I like him because he's sweet like my Dad."

In an indication of his devotion to the Virgin Mary, which is common among Latin American Catholics, Francis prayed by a statue of the Madonna at the end of the service.

After the Mass, Francis stood in a receiving line to greet each of the government delegations in St. Peter's Basilica, chatting warmly with each one, kissing the few youngsters who came along with their parents and occasionally blessing a rosary given to him. Unlike his predecessors, he did so in just his white cassock, not the red cape.

On Wednesday, he holds an audience with the visiting Christian delegations. He has a break from activity on Thursday; a gracious nod perhaps to the fact that the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, is being installed that day in London.

As a result, Welby wasn't representing the Anglican Communion, sending instead a lower-level delegation.

Pope Francis's inaugural homily

Dear Brothers and Sisters, I thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry on the solemnity of Saint Joseph, the spouse of the Virgin Mary and the patron of the universal Church.

It is a significant coincidence, and it is also the name-day of my venerable predecessor: we are close to him with our prayers, full of affection and gratitude.

I offer a warm greeting to my brother cardinals and bishops, the priests, deacons, men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I thank the representatives of the other Churches and ecclesial Communities, as well as the representatives of the Jewish community and the other religious communities, for their presence. My cordial greetings go to the Heads of State and Government, the members of the official Delegations from many countries throughout the world, and the Diplomatic Corps.

In the Gospel we heard that “Joseph did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary as his wife” (Mt 1:24). These words already point to the mission which God entrusts to Joseph: he is to be the custos, the protector.

The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is then extended to the Church, as Blessed John Paul II pointed out: “Just as Saint Joseph took loving care of Mary and gladly dedicated himself to Jesus Christ’s upbringing, he likewise watches over and protects Christ’s Mystical Body, the Church, of which the Virgin Mary is the exemplar and model” (Redemptoris Custos, 1).

How does Joseph exercise his role as protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently, but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity, even when he finds it hard to understand. From the time of his betrothal to Mary until the finding of the twelve-year-old Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, he is there at every moment with loving care.

As the spouse of Mary, he is at her side in good times and bad, on the journey to Bethlehem for the census and in the anxious and joyful hours when she gave birth; amid the drama of the flight into Egypt and during the frantic search for their child in the Temple; and later in the day-to-day life of the home of Nazareth, in the workshop where he taught his trade to Jesus.

How does Joseph respond to his calling to be the protector of Mary, Jesus and the Church? By being constantly attentive to God, open to the signs of God’s presence and receptive to God’s plans, and not simply to his own.

This is what God asked of David, as we heard in the first reading. God does not want a house built by men, but faithfulness to his word, to his plan. It is God himself who builds the house, but from living stones sealed by his Spirit.

Joseph is a “protector” because he is able to hear God’s voice and be guided by his will; and for this reason he is all the more sensitive to the persons entrusted to his safekeeping. He can look at things realistically, he is in touch with his surroundings, he can make truly wise decisions.

In him, dear friends, we learn how to respond to God’s call, readily and willingly, but we also see the core of the Christian vocation, which is Christ! Let us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can protect creation!

The vocation of being a “protector”, however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone. It means protecting all creation, the beauty of the created world, as the Book of Genesis tells us and as Saint Francis of Assisi showed us.

It means respecting each of God’s creatures and respecting the environment in which we live.

It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about.

It means caring for one another in our families: husbands and wives first protect one another, and then, as parents, they care for their children, and children themselves, in time, protect their parents.

It means building sincere friendships in which we protect one another in trust, respect, and goodness. In the end, everything has been entrusted to our protection, and all of us are responsible for it. Be protectors of God’s gifts!

Whenever human beings fail to live up to this responsibility, whenever we fail to care for creation and for our brothers and sisters, the way is opened to destruction and hearts are hardened.

Tragically, in every period of history there are “Herods” who plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.
Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment.

Let us not allow omens of destruction and death to accompany the advance of this world! But to be “protectors”, we also have to keep watch over ourselves! Let us not forget that hatred, envy and pride defile our lives! Being protectors, then, also means keeping watch over our emotions, over our hearts, because they are the seat of good and evil intentions: intentions that build up and tear down! We must not be afraid of goodness or even tenderness!

Here I would add one more thing: caring, protecting, demands goodness, it calls for a certain tenderness. In the Gospels, Saint Joseph appears as a strong and courageous man, a working man, yet in his heart we see great tenderness, which is not the virtue of the weak but rather a sign of strength of spirit and a capacity for concern, for compassion, for genuine openness to others, for love. We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!

Today, together with the feast of Saint Joseph, we are celebrating the beginning of the ministry of the new Bishop of Rome, the Successor of Peter, which also involves a certain power. Certainly, Jesus Christ conferred power upon Peter, but what sort of power was it?

Jesus’s three questions to Peter about love are followed by three commands: feed my lambs, feed my sheep. Let us never forget that authentic power is service, and that the Pope too, when exercising power, must enter ever more fully into that service which has its radiant culmination on the Cross.

He must be inspired by the lowly, concrete and faithful service which marked Saint Joseph and, like him, he must open his arms to protect all of God’s people and embrace with tender affection the whole of humanity, especially the poorest, the weakest, the least important, those whom Matthew lists in the final judgment on love: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick and those in prison (cf. Mt 25:31-46). Only those who serve with love are able to protect!

In the second reading, Saint Paul speaks of Abraham, who, “hoping against hope, believed” (Rom 4:18). Hoping against hope! Today too, amid so much darkness, we need to see the light of hope and to be men and women who bring hope to others.

To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope!

For believers, for us Christians, like Abraham, like Saint Joseph, the hope that we bring is set against the horizon of God, which has opened up before us in Christ. It is a hope built on the rock which is God.

To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves: this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out, yet one to which all of us are called, so that the star of hope will shine brightly. Let us protect with love all that God has given us!

I implore the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry, and I ask all of you to pray for me! Amen.



Forgive the quibbling here: The AP pointedly avoids giving a figure for the attendance at the Mass, having predicted, like the other MSM, that at least a million faithful would be in attendance. Estimates in the Italian media put it at 150,000. I only point this out because the MSM, in reporting on the crowd at Pope Francis's first Angelus originally started out by saying there were 150,000, but by the end of the day, they had changed that to 300,000, which did not at all sound absurd to them. The point they were trying to make was that Francis drew a much larger crowd than those who came for Benedicvt XVI's last Angelus. So now that it seems only a fraction of the million they predicted was present, AP has decided to leave the number at "thousands of ordinary people". (They were crazy to predict that number even, misplaced partisanship obliterating all common sense. It would have rivaled the attendance at John Paul II's beatification, an event for which pilgrims had months to plan to come to Rome.)

I do have another question that has been nagging me since it was announced last week that Bartholomew I was attending the inaugural Mass. Why did he not attend Benedict XVI's inaugural Mass in 2005? He was represented by the ranking Greek Orthodox Patriarch in Italy at the time. Subsequently, of course, he attended at least a couple of Saints Peter and Paul celebrations in the Vatican. More importantly, Benedict XVI asked him to address a Catholic Synod at the Special Assembly on the Word of God in 2009, and he did so from the Sistine Chapel - the first Orthodox Patriarch to do so. (Side note: Now=Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, then the 'foreign minister' of the Russian Orthodox Patriarchate, represented his church at Benedict XVI's inauguration.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/03/2013 16:04]
19/03/2013 14:36
OFFLINE
Post: 26.492
Post: 8.979
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


A reminder of Benedict XVI's inaugural Mass ...



4/24/05

Benedict XVI officially installed:
Calls 'listening'
his 'program of governance'

By Stacy Meichtry

April 24, 2005



Pope Benedict XVI officially took the reins of the Roman Catholic church Sunday, receiving the symbols of his authority with a call for unity with other faiths and a pledge to govern the church through cooperation rather than papal mandate.

In a ceremony colored by centuries-old pageantry, Benedict accepted the fisherman's ring and seal -- the symbol of his continuity with St. Peter -- and a lamb's wool pallium -- a sash that signifies the pope's role as the shepherd of the faithful.

Benedict then delivered a homily that aimed to recast these tokens of papal power as symbols of servitude, signaling a dramatic departure from his former role as the church's chief doctrinal authority.

"At this moment there is no need for me to present a program of governance," he told the 350,000-strong crowd, composed of dignitaries, religious leaders, royalty and rank-and-file faithful. "My real program of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole church."

Benedict extended his call to Christian churches "not yet in full communion" with the pontiff and to the "Jewish people," whom he characterized as "brothers and sisters," united with the church through "a great shared spiritual heritage."

As Cardinal Ratzinger, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Benedict was the chief author of a document that reasserted Catholicism's superiority over other faiths and claimed that other Christian churches derive salvific power through their links to Catholicism. On Sunday, Benedict showed no signs of excluding anyone from his reign.

"Like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike," Benedict said.

Benedict began the ceremony beneath the Basilica, in a space believed to mark the burial spot of Catholicism's first pope St Peter. He wore heavy golden vestments, embroidered with a seashell patterns and gripped a papal staff that once belonged to his predecessor, John Paul II. Upon appearing in the square, Benedict stood immobile before the cheering crowd. His eyes scanned the throng while his face remained expressionless.

With St. Peter's massive façade looming over his shoulder, Benedict waited as the fisherman's ring and the pallium were carried from the altar to his throne.

Cardinal Jorge Medina Estevez, the Chilean who proclaimed Benedict's name to the world from the basilica balcony last Tuesday, placed the pallium around the pontiff's neck. A simple stole made of white lambs wool, the pallium was embroidered with five crimson crosses that Estevez pinned with silver stakes to signify the nailing of Christ to the cross.



Benedict described the pallium, an accessory popular among Medieval popes, as a "yoke" that "does not alienate us, it purifies us -- even if this can be painful."

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's Secretary of State, brought a golden jewel box before the pontiff with its lid ajar, exposing the glittering fisherman's ring, emblazoned with a relief of Peter casting his fishing net -- the image traditionally used to seal apostolic letters. Benedict plucked it from the box and slid his right ring finger through it.

Twelve people representing Christ's disciples then lined up to kneel before Benedict and kiss his ring. Among the 12 chosen was a religious woman -- the first ever to participate in the ritual.

As Benedict read the Mass's homily, his eyes fixed to the text. Occasionally he invoked the name of John Paul, stirring applause from the crowd and memories of his predecessor's commanding skills as an orator. Once he cited John Paul's Mass of Investiture in 1978, when the late pontiff imported: "Do not be afraid!" The words stood in stark contrast to Benedict's soft-spoken message.

"I am not alone," Benedict declared, prompting loud cheers from the audience. "You see," he said, briefly lifting his eyes to the crowd in a brief departure from his text. "We see it. We hear it."

Benedict's call for unity also contrasted with the dire tones of the messages he had delivered as a cardinal -- most notably a Good Friday address that characterized the church as a sinking ship and the pre-conclave Pro Eligendo Mass, in which the former cardinal called on the church to defend itself against an ideology-based "dictatorship of relativism."

Sunday Benedict cast his condemnation of ideological influence in a more subtle light.

"All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way. They justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity," he said. "God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the crucified, not by those who crucify."

[G]"Pray for me," he said, "that I may not flee for fear of the wolves."

After the Mass concluded, Benedict mounted a white jeep and circled the square to the cheers of onlookers who held out their hands and flashed digital cameras. Beyond the square, an endless crowd packed the Via della Conciliazione, which was lined with jumbotrons for the occasion. Similar screens were positioned outside Vatican City walls to accommodate late arrivals.


City officials estimated that 100,000 pilgrims from the pope's native Germany attended the event.

Among them was Simone Steffan, 30, who traveled 12 hours by train from Munich to arrive in Rome Sunday morning and secure a spot in the square.

"I saw the top of his hat," she said, describing the pontiff's cruise on the popemobile. Steffan followed most of the Mass in a state of incomprehension, waiting for the pontiff to speak in his native tongue. Her wish was not fulfilled. "I just wanted one word in German," she said.

Dignitaries from more than 131 countries also attended the Mass, including German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Prince Albert II of Monaco and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams; Metropolitan Chrisostomos, a top envoy for Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world's Christian Orthodox; and a senior representative of the Russian Orthodox church, Metropolitan Kirill were present at the Mass and scheduled to meet with the freshman pontiff later in the day.

Following the Mass, dignitaries formed a line inside the Basilica to greet the newly installed pope. Schroeder gently bowed and shook hands with Benedict while Queen Sofia of Spain, wearing a lacy white dress and a flowing veil, knelt before the pontiff and planted a kiss on his newly minted ring.

Although Spain ranks among Europe's largest Catholic countries, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Spain's prime minister, did not attend Benedict's investiture Mass. This week, the lower chamber of the Spanish parliament passed by an overwhelming majority a bill that allows gay couples to marry and adopt children.

As the former Cardinal Ratzinger, Benedict condemned homosexuality as a premarital sexual relationship. He has not addressed the issue since becoming pope as Vatican officials have worked hard to present their pope in a softer hue. Saturday Benedict met with the media and thanked them for their hard work and the intensive coverage they have provide during this time of the death of a pope and the election of a new one.

Benedict "has been catapulted into this position," said Costantino Mirra, 52, who runs a sanitation company in southern Italy. "Before he had an embarrassing job," he said, referring to Benedict's days as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. "Now he can reflect, taking his new job one day at a time."

While his ministry officially began today, Benedict has been in the public eye for months. As the dean of the College of Cardinals, he was designated to celebrate the only Mass of the year that drew more supporters than Sunday's ceremony: John Paul's funeral.

In a repeat performance of that day, Italian authorities employed elaborate security measures. Boats patrolled the Tiber River, a no-fly zone was imposed, anti-missile units were put in position as were NATO surveillance aircraft. The city of Rome reported that 10,000 police were deployed.

In a final invocation of the late pope, Benedict reformulated John Paul's 1978 call to not be afraid: "I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ!"


HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI
St. Peter's Square
Sunday, 24 April 2005

Your Eminences,
My dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Authorities and Members of the Diplomatic Corps,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,

During these days of great intensity, we have chanted the litany of the saints on three different occasions: at the funeral of our Holy Father John Paul II; as the Cardinals entered the Conclave; and again today, when we sang it with the response: Tu illum adiuva – sustain the new Successor of Saint Peter.

On each occasion, in a particular way, I found great consolation in listening to this prayerful chant. How alone we all felt after the passing of John Paul II – the Pope who for over twenty-six years had been our shepherd and guide on our journey through life! He crossed the threshold of the next life, entering into the mystery of God. But he did not take this step alone.

Those who believe are never alone – neither in life nor in death. At that moment, we could call upon the Saints from every age – his friends, his brothers and sisters in the faith – knowing that they would form a living procession to accompany him into the next world, into the glory of God. We knew that his arrival was awaited. Now we know that he is among his own and is truly at home.

We were also consoled as we made our solemn entrance into Conclave, to elect the one whom the Lord had chosen. How would we be able to discern his name? How could 115 Bishops, from every culture and every country, discover the one on whom the Lord wished to confer the mission of binding and loosing?

Once again, we knew that we were not alone, we knew that we were surrounded, led and guided by the friends of God. And now, at this moment, weak servant of God that I am, I must assume this enormous task, which truly exceeds all human capacity. How can I do this? How will I be able to do it?

All of you, my dear friends, have just invoked the entire host of Saints, represented by some of the great names in the history of God’s dealings with mankind. In this way, I too can say with renewed conviction: I am not alone. I do not have to carry alone what in truth I could never carry alone. All the Saints of God are there to protect me, to sustain me and to carry me. And your prayers, my dear friends, your indulgence, your love, your faith and your hope accompany me.

Indeed, the communion of Saints consists not only of the great men and women who went before us and whose names we know. All of us belong to the communion of Saints, we who have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we who draw life from the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood, through which he transforms us and makes us like himself.

Yes, the Church is alive – this is the wonderful experience of these days. During those sad days of the Pope’s illness and death, it became wonderfully evident to us that the Church is alive. And the Church is young. She holds within herself the future of the world and therefore shows each of us the way towards the future.


The Church is alive and we are seeing it: we are experiencing the joy that the Risen Lord promised his followers. The Church is alive – she is alive because Christ is alive, because he is truly risen.

In the suffering that we saw on the Holy Father’s face in those days of Easter, we contemplated the mystery of Christ’s Passion and we touched his wounds. But throughout these days we have also been able, in a profound sense, to touch the Risen One. We have been able to experience the joy that he promised, after a brief period of darkness, as the fruit of his resurrection.

The Church is alive – with these words, I greet with great joy and gratitude all of you gathered here, my veneraRble brother Cardinals and Bishops, my dear priests, deacons, Church workers, catechists. I greet you, men and women Religious, witnesses of the transfiguring presence of God. I greet you, members of the lay faithful, immersed in the great task of building up the Kingdom of God which spreads throughout the world, in every area of life.

With great affection I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of Baptism but are not yet in full communion with us; and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God’s irrevocable promises. Finally, like a wave gathering force, my thoughts go out to all men and women of today, to believers and non-believers alike.

Dear friends! At this moment there is no need for me to present a programme of governance. I was able to give an indication of what I see as my task in my Message of Wednesday 20 April, and there will be other opportunities to do so. My real programme of governance is not to do my own will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by Him, so that He himself will lead the Church at this hour of our history.

Instead of putting forward a programme, I should simply like to comment on the two liturgical symbols which represent the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry; both these symbols, moreover, reflect clearly what we heard proclaimed in today’s readings.

The first symbol is the Pallium, woven in pure wool, which will be placed on my shoulders. This ancient sign, which the Bishops of Rome have worn since the fourth century, may be considered an image of the yoke of Christ, which the Bishop of this City, the Servant of the Servants of God, takes upon his shoulders. God’s yoke is God’s will, which we accept. And this will does not weigh down on us, oppressing us and taking away our freedom.

To know what God wants, to know where the path of life is found – this was Israel’s joy, this was her great privilege. It is also our joy: God’s will does not alienate us, it purifies us – even if this can be painful – and so it leads us to ourselves. In this way, we serve not only him, but the salvation of the whole world, of all history.

The symbolism of the Pallium is even more concrete: the lamb’s wool is meant to represent the lost, sick or weak sheep which the shepherd places on his shoulders and carries to the waters of life.

For the Fathers of the Church, the parable of the lost sheep, which the shepherd seeks in the desert, was an image of the mystery of Christ and the Church. The human race – every one of us – is the sheep lost in the desert which no longer knows the way.

The Son of God will not let this happen; he cannot abandon humanity in so wretched a condition. He leaps to his feet and abandons the glory of heaven, in order to go in search of the sheep and pursue it, all the way to the Cross. He takes it upon his shoulders and carries our humanity; he carries us all – he is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep.

What the Pallium indicates first and foremost is that we are all carried by Christ. But at the same time it invites us to carry one another. Hence the Pallium becomes a symbol of the shepherd’s mission, of which the Second Reading and the Gospel speak.

The pastor must be inspired by Christ’s holy zeal: for him it is not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the desert. And there are so many kinds of desert.

There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love.

There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast.

Therefore the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction.

The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance.


The symbol of the lamb also has a deeper meaning. In the Ancient Near East, it was customary for kings to style themselves shepherds of their people. This was an image of their power, a cynical image: to them their subjects were like sheep, which the shepherd could dispose of as he wished.

When the shepherd of all humanity, the living God, himself became a lamb, he stood on the side of the lambs, with those who are downtrodden and killed. This is how he reveals himself to be the true shepherd: “I am the Good Shepherd . . . I lay down my life for the sheep”, Jesus says of himself (Jn 10:14f).

It is not power, but love that redeems us! This is God’s sign: he himself is love. How often we wish that God would make show himself stronger, that he would strike decisively, defeating evil and creating a better world.

All ideologies of power justify themselves in exactly this way, they justify the destruction of whatever would stand in the way of progress and the liberation of humanity. We suffer on account of God’s patience. And yet, we need his patience.

God, who became a lamb, tells us that the world is saved by the Crucified One, not by those who crucified him. The world is redeemed by the patience of God. It is destroyed by the impatience of man.

One of the basic characteristics of a shepherd must be to love the people entrusted to him, even as he loves Christ whom he serves. “Feed my sheep”, says Christ to Peter, and now, at this moment, he says it to me as well.

Feeding means loving, and loving also means being ready to suffer. Loving means giving the sheep what is truly good, the nourishment of God’s truth, of God’s word, the nourishment of his presence, which he gives us in the Blessed Sacrament.


My dear friends – at this moment I can only say: pray for me, that I may learn to love the Lord more and more. Pray for me, that I may learn to love his flock more and more – in other words, you, the holy Church, each one of you and all of you together. Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves. Let us pray for one another, that the Lord will carry us and that we will learn to carry one another.

The second symbol used in today’s liturgy to express the inauguration of the Petrine Ministry is the presentation of the fisherman’s ring. Peter’s call to be a shepherd, which we heard in the Gospel, comes after the account of a miraculous catch of fish: after a night in which the disciples had let down their nets without success, they see the Risen Lord on the shore. He tells them to let down their nets once more, and the nets become so full that they can hardly pull them in; 153 large fish: “and although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn 21:11).

This account, coming at the end of Jesus’s earthly journey with his disciples, corresponds to an account found at the beginning: there too, the disciples had caught nothing the entire night; there too, Jesus had invited Simon once more to put out into the deep. And Simon, who was not yet called Peter, gave the wonderful reply: “Master, at your word I will let down the nets.” And then came the conferral of his mission: “Do not be afraid. Henceforth you will be catching men” (Lk 5:1-11).

Today too the Church and the successors of the Apostles are told to put out into the deep sea of history and to let down the nets, so as to win men and women over to the Gospel – to God, to Christ, to true life.

The Fathers made a very significant commentary on this singular task. This is what they say: for a fish, created for water, it is fatal to be taken out of the sea, to be removed from its vital element to serve as human food. But in the mission of a fisher of men, the reverse is true.

We are living in alienation, in the salt waters of suffering and death; in a sea of darkness without light. The net of the Gospel pulls us out of the waters of death and brings us into the splendour of God’s light, into true life.

It is really true: as we follow Christ in this mission to be fishers of men, we must bring men and women out of the sea that is salted with so many forms of alienation and onto the land of life, into the light of God.

It is really so: the purpose of our lives is to reveal God to men. And only where God is seen does life truly begin. Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is.

We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved, each of us is necessary.

There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know Him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.

The task of the shepherd, the task of the fisher of men, can often seem wearisome. But it is beautiful and wonderful, because it is truly a service to joy, to God’s joy which longs to break into the world.

Here I want to add something: both the image of the shepherd and that of the fisherman issue an explicit call to unity. “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must lead them too, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd” (Jn 10:16); these are the words of Jesus at the end of his discourse on the Good Shepherd. And the account of the 153 large fish ends with the joyful statement: “although there were so many, the net was not torn” (Jn 21:11).

Alas, beloved Lord, with sorrow we must now acknowledge that it has been torn! But no – we must not be sad! Let us rejoice because of your promise, which does not disappoint, and let us do all we can to pursue the path towards the unity you have promised. Let us remember it in our prayer to the Lord, as we plead with him: yes, Lord, remember your promise. Grant that we may be one flock and one shepherd! Do not allow your net to be torn, help us to be servants of unity!

At this point, my mind goes back to 22 October 1978, when Pope John Paul II began his ministry here in Saint Peter’s Square. His words on that occasion constantly echo in my ears: “Do not be afraid! Open wide the doors for Christ!”

The Pope was addressing the mighty, the powerful of this world, who feared that Christ might take away something of their power if they were to let him in, if they were to allow the faith to be free.

Yes, he would certainly have taken something away from them: the dominion of corruption, the manipulation of law and the freedom to do as they pleased. But he would not have taken away anything that pertains to human freedom or dignity, or to the building of a just society.

The Pope was also speaking to everyone, especially the young. Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us?

Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom?

And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation.

And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.





No matter how many times I have read it, this homily always brings a flood of tears - for its original and comprehensive content in conveying the Christian message so powerfully, the beauty with which it is all expressed in which one sees the beautiful person, heart and soul, of Benedict XVI.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 19/03/2013 16:13]
20/03/2013 11:31
OFFLINE
Post: 26.493
Post: 8.980
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


The Pope and the poor
A Jesuit reflects on the new pontificate
and the problem of poverty

by James V. Schall, S.J.

March 19, 2013

The day following the election of the archbishop of Buenos Aires to the papacy, I must have received fifty e-mails from friends and fampolm009802ily asking if I knew the man or had any comment on him. What struck me was how little we knew about him.

If he has a paper trail (the previous three popes had extensive ones), it is yet to reach us, though I did read the following comment from a statement in Buenos Aires a couple of years ago: “We hope legislators, heads of state, and health professionals, conscious of the dignity of human life and the rootedness of the family in our peoples, will defend and protect it from the abominable crimes of abortion and euthanasia, that is their responsibility.”

I presume Ignatius Press is busily translating and preparing what we do have for English publication. What we do have are actions taken and gestures made while he was Jesuit provincial and a bishop in Argentina. He rides the bus, leads a simple life, and loves the poor.

Though Cardinal Bergoglio was reportedly a contender in the previous conclave, his age and health seemed to militate against him, but in retrospect only “seemed.” They turned out to be advantages. We are reminded that Pope Leo XIII was elected as a sort of interim pope but he lasted twenty-five productive years.

With the voluntary retirement of Benedict XVI, the whole issue of a pope’s health has changed. I have heard it said that Pope Francis has only one lung. Well, I figure if Schall can get by with one eye, the man on the Chair of Peter can get by with one lung!

Two things immediately strike us about Pope Francis: he is from Argentina and he is a Jesuit. Neither one of these may mean much in the long run. He is now in an office that transcends both, but does not necessarily bypass them. Pope Francis will clearly, I think, have cordial relations with Benedict XVI, as well as with the Jesuit General and the Latin American Bishops’ Conference, not to mention the Franciscans. He is a friend of Opus Dei.

With John Paul II and Benedict, we have become used to the attention paid to the various Orthodox traditions, and this connection will continue. Francis was a friend of the Ukrainian Catholic community in Argentina, and he will be meeting this Wednesday with delegates from several Eastern Catholic Churches.

It seems pretty well settled that Francis is Francis of Assisi, not Francis Borgia, Francis Xavier, or Francis de Sales. Yet probably every Francis is ultimately named after Francis of Assisi. We think of Chesterton’s book on St. Francis of Assisi. It helps to know who a man’s heroes are, as I think we are defined by our heroes. If we consider the names that he did not take — Linus, Michael, Eusebio, Alexander - we cannot help but concluding that Francis was chosen for virtues that Francis manifested in his own life.

In his earlier administration in the Jesuits, Pope Francis showed that he understood the temptation to ideology that lies in much modern political and religious concern for the poor. One might say that most modern ideology is presented in the name of “helping the poor.” This concept is its moral grounding.

The problem is usually not that of intention but of fact. Does the program or attitude advocated help the poor? Even more basic: do we want the poor to remain poor?

Is the purpose of Christian revelation to make everyone poor and keep them that way so that we can “care” for them and thereby give ourselves a seemingly lofty purpose? We should not approach the problem of poverty without some idea of why the poor are poor, or how they might cease to be poor.

The trouble with such considerations is that the fact and feeling of poverty can diverge. If I live in a home that is worth a million dollars, it is possible that I feel deprived if the folks all around me are in houses worth three million. But no one would say that I am poor.

The same holds true in the barrios. There are richer and poorer “poor” people. And there are poor people who try not to be poor and others who are content permanently to receive aid without their doing anything to earn it. It has long been pointed out that usually a relation exists between envy discussions and poverty discussions. One man’s poverty is another man’s riches.

Moreover, in the modern world, a close connection exists between ecology and poverty. Paul Johnson rightly pointed out that, at the fall of Marxism, the left often migrated into ecology. Why? It gives to the state vast new powers over the people, over both their desires and their very existence.

Indeed, a good part of ecology thinking is based on the need not to grow so that men can take care of everyone but to reduce the population to two or three billion so that we do not have many to take care of.

The “increase and multiply” admonition of Genesis, which is the major stimulus for man to develop ways of taking care of himself, is replaced by a reluctance to do anything but keep the planet in a state of permanent under-development in the name of “future” generations that may or may not ever exist or exist with only our present level of development.

It is one thing for a member of a religious order with a vow of poverty to live more like a poor man. It is quite a different thing if he wants everyone to live like he does so that he does not know how or refuses to make the world more abundant and prosperous by the application of mind to matter.

Thus, we not only want to know how a man lives, but what he thinks about how he lives. For whom is his example intended? The reason the poor are poor is not because the rich are rich. Indeed, if we have a no-growth theory, which lacks the incentives to create riches, we must end up with a “redistributionist” mentality.

We think that one man’s wealth is taken away from some other man unjustly just because there is disparity. What caused the disparity is often overlooked.

In the modern world, probably the greatest producers of poverty are government plans to alleviate it. Not only is this a problem of poverty but one of freedom also. If we misunderstand the causes of poverty and fail to understand what causes wealth, we will make everyone poor in the noble name of helping the poor.

A further element arises from Benedict’s encyclicals, which warn us of the limits of government bureaucracy in dealing with the poor. Modern governments often want and demand complete control of the economy so that they are the ones who “take care of the poor.” In this sense, no room is left except for state control in the name of helping the poor, usually with policies of abortion, "gay marriage", euthanasia, and other such devices to control population.

Francis has urged Argentines to not come to Rome to celebrate his elevation to the papacy. He suggests they stay at home and spend the money on the poor. Now if we consider that a good part of the income of Romans and Italians has to do with the tourist trade, by which many poor are helped, we can see some of the problems connected with such suggestions.

Do we also advise Japanese, Germans, Swedes, and Mexicans not to come to Rome? What would this approach do to world economy? If we universalize this admonition we also imply that the traveling to see beauty and worthwhile human things has something wrong with it. We reduce human life to one dimension.

And if we all stay at home and help the poor, just what do we do? If we take all the existing world wealth and simply distribute it, what would happen? It would quickly disappear; all would be poor.

We need ways to create wealth. We sometimes forget that the only real resource in the world is the human mind, not, say, oil or minerals or land. Without thought, these raw materials are useless. We often project what we can do in the future based on a present technology that is soon out of date.

Henry Adams, in his studies of the Virgin, said that she was a greater producer of wealth than the dynamo. And one of the sources of wealth in the Eternal City itself are the beautiful things that the popes inspired to which all the world comes to visit. It is difficult to see how the world would be better if everyone stayed at home. We come to visit, see, and experience beautiful things precisely to show we are not bound to material things.

Some have suggested, on the basis of Francis’s understanding of what a bishop is, that he will not travel as John Paul and Benedict did. He will concentrate on ruling the Diocese of Rome and suggest that other bishops do the same. He will concentrate on appointing good bishops. Francis has already made it clear that he does not want priests engaging in political movements. He does not consider opposition to abortion to be simply “political.”

So, in the light of such speculations, what are we to make of this new bishop of Rome? The cardinals have chosen a worthy man. His will be a different papacy. Benedict and John Paul have pretty well cleared the intellectual scene within the Church and indeed within the world.

What remains is what Francis seems to understand midst growing threats of persecution throughout the world including in the democracies. Benedict often told us that we need to live our faith. We find our models in the saints and Francis comes across as a man who understands this well.

We are here primarily, as St. Ignatius said, “to praise, reverence, and serve God and thereby to save our souls.” The world can choose not to listen to the brilliance of a John Paul or a Benedict. It can also, but with less confidence, choose to vilify or reject the example of a Mother Teresa in order to reject what she stands for.

But a bishop of Rome who sets about governing the Church quietly and firmly in the light of orthodox Christian living may be something else, a completion of what the Holy Spirit has begun in the previous bishops of Rome.

I am glad Fr. Schall - a Jesuit who is anything but jesuitic in his thinking, and moreover, one of the great minds writing about the faith today - has brought up the points he did. It allows me to say something I have inhibited myself from doing because it might be considered in poor taste, or worse, as criticism of Pope Francis for 'partisan' reasons.

I have a congenital intolerance for bleeding-heart liberals, whom I have always found pharisaic. And so, I have always been uneasy about anyone, politician or priest, pontificating about 'the poor' or their 'love for the poor". But if our new Pontiff has been doing just that, he is the Pontiff after all and the only one who can pontificate, and more important, he does so with the credentials of someone who has spent his long years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires in the service of the poor. And so I found it very strange that, as the Pope himself recounted days later, the first thing whispered to him, after he reached 77 votes in the Conclave, by his friend from Brazil, Cardinal Hummes, was "Do not forget the poor"! Surely, Cardinal Bergoglio did not have to be reminded of that.

By now, we've all read testimonials by some of the Pope's former diocesan faithful among 'the poor' of Buenos Aires, and one gets the impression that what he achieved was to make the residents of Buenos Aires's poorest neighborhoods feel the nearness of the Church by his frequent presence among them, preaching the faith which teaches us to entrust ourselves to God, but to work hard and never lose hope, as well as setting an example by his simple life.

And it is admirable that he has done that, rather than, one gathers, engaging in what has generally been called social work, a euphemism for doing charity. Obviously, the Church does what it can by way of charity for the neediest, but it is never enough, and meanwhile, someone must be teaching the 'able poor' to fish instead of just giving them fish.

And so, like Fr. Schall, I was disturbed by the Pope's call for those Argentinians planning to come for his inauguration to just give the money they would have spent 'to the poor'. Fr. Schall has raised larger arguments I did not even think of, since my first reaction was of a practical nature: And how exactly are they going to do that? Should they send the money to Caritas or some similar organization? Or should they go to a poor neighborhood and find a needy family or person to 'adopt' and take care of? Or maybe as cardinal, the Pope had an effective mechanism through which the charitable intentions of the better-off faithful were channelled appropriately to the really deserving, so he did not have to spell out to the would-be pilgrims what they ought to do.

In any case, when Pope Francis talks of 'the poor', he apparently means those whose poverty is primarily material and physical, which is the only sense which the secular world has of poverty. So I was even more struck, re-reading Benedict XVI's inaugural homily today, by the powerful section where he speaks of the deserts in the contemporary world - internal as well as external:

The pastor must be inspired by Christ’s holy zeal: for him it is not a matter of indifference that so many people are living in the desert. And there are so many kinds of desert.

There is the desert of poverty, the desert of hunger and thirst, the desert of abandonment, of loneliness, of destroyed love.

There is the desert of God’s darkness, the emptiness of souls no longer aware of their dignity or the goal of human life. The external deserts in the world are growing, because the internal deserts have become so vast.

Therefore the earth’s treasures no longer serve to build God’s garden for all to live in, but they have been made to serve the powers of exploitation and destruction.

The Church as a whole and all her Pastors, like Christ, must set out to lead people out of the desert, towards the place of life, towards friendship with the Son of God, towards the One who gives us life, and life in abundance.


Of course, Pope Francis also leads everything to Christ, to God, but I do have some trouble with some of the statements in the homily:

"We must not be afraid of goodness, of tenderness!"...
[Is anyone really 'afraid' of goodness and tenderness? Some may be reluctant to express tenderness - maybe macho men - but it is said even the most hardened gangsters are often very tender to those they love. The 'Do not be afraid' (of letting Christ into your life) of John Paul II's inaugural homily was movingly reiterated by Benedict XVI in his own homily. For some reason, Pope Francis limited his exhortation to 'goodness and tenderness'.]

"It means protecting people, showing loving concern for each and every person, especially children, the elderly, those in need, who are often the last we think about"...
[I do not know who started the practice, but Benedict XVI always ended his GA and Angelus greetings with messages directed especially to "newlyweds (as future parents and generators of family), the young, older people, and all who are sick or in difficulties", varying his messages to the different groups according to the Gospel of the day or a holy feast being observed. It was a thought that was constantly and regularly expressed. ]

"To protect creation, to protect every man and every woman, to look upon them with tenderness and love, is to open up a horizon of hope; it is to let a shaft of light break through the heavy clouds; it is to bring the warmth of hope!"...
[Did earlier Popes then not speak about protecting Creation and protecting every man and woman, and in many other ways, offered hope to the faithful? The 'dark clouds' over mankind are not the fault of the Church - she, too, suffers under these dark clouds, but she has never not offered Christian hope, which is beyond merely 'hope for a better future here on earth" - at least in the universal Magisterium, though we well know this is not always preached - not in words, and much less in deeds - by willfully 'autonomous' bishops and priests, among whom, obviously, Cardinal Bergoglio was not one.

Moreover, 'protecting Creation' in today's world takes us to environmentalism, and 'protecting every man and woman' [and child, including the unborn] evokes the problems of Christian persecution, abortion and euthanasia.

Popes set the priority and direction of Church teachings and activities, but execution of good intentions does not depend on them. Everything must be brought down to the diocesan and parish level, and that will not happen if bishops and priests continue to believe they know best and can safely ignore what the Pope says!

John Paul II, for all his charisma, certainly did not get everyone in the Church to heed him - despite his insistence on the 'correct reception and implementation' of Vatican-II, the 'spirit of Vatican II' was alive and booming over those 26 years. Moreover, it is pretty much agreed by most Vatican commentators that his episcopal appointments were flawed because those around him pushed names who were known liberals and progressivists, who would and have undermined Catholic orthodoxy in their respective jurisdictions. Benedict XVI has, on the whole, named bishops who share his orthodox but creative thinking on Catholic doctrine and practice and how they must be applied in their work as pastors.

As for social justice - which goes beyond merely taking care of the weakest and the poorest - the Social Doctrine of the Church, first articulated and compiled under Leo XIII, has since been enriched by the social encyclicals of John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul II and Benedict XVI, applied to the concrete social problems of the contemporary world. (BTW, part 2 of Deus caritas est is very much a 'social justice' discourse, anticipating Caritas in veritate).

Perhaps, Pope Francis's first encyclical will be on social justice and will tell us how the Church can do more than she already does to care for the weakest and the poorest, and propose new ways for the Church to encourage protection of the environment and of natural resources.

20/03/2013 15:48
OFFLINE
Post: 26.494
Post: 8.981
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



'Francis is fully in line
with Benedict XVI, even if
his style if very different''

Interview with Vittorio Messori
by Riccardo Cascioli
Translated from

March 19, 2013

"The honeymoon with Pope Francis by a certain agnostic and atheist clerical culture which is spilling over from all the media = of which Eugenio Scalfari [publisher and former editor of Italy's most anti-Church newspaper La Repubblica] is pope - will be brusquely interrupted when the Pope starts to speak seriously about ethical matters".

Vittorio Messori, the most-translated Italian Catholic author who has been a personal friend of the two recent Popes, is absolutely certain that Papa Bergoglio is in continuity with Papa Ratzinger on Catholic teaching, even if their personal styles are very different.

He expresses this conviction in one of the articles in an instant book published by Corriere della Sera entitled La chiesa di Francesco (The Church of Francis) and issued with the 3/19/13 issue of the newspaper (it will also be sold in news stands and bookstores) diversi. [The title is not felicitous at all - as Benedict XVI reminded everyone again and again in the final days of his Pontificate, it is the Church of Christ. And while one understands the sense of how it is used in the book title - i.e., the Church under Pope Francis - isn't it too early to use the term, since he has only been in office a week?]

Benedict XVI, in renouncing the Pontificate, referred to the challenges that the Church faces today which require great strength to confront. What are the major challenges faced by Pope Francis?
First of all, I must make it a premise that, unlike Scalfari, it is certainly not my intention to suggest to the Pope what he ought to do. But as a humble journalist, I can say that I have always agreed with Papa Ratzinger who always said - as cardinal and Pope - that the true problem of the Church is that the faith, especially in the West, is being extinguished like a candle that is guttering out.

The true problem from which everything arises is just that - the eclipse of the faith, the fact that we no longer believe. We are no longer able to commit ourselves to the divinity of Christ, and to the life beyond death that awaits us. And in all this, the clerical intelligentsia do not help at all.

Think of the Biblicists, for example, who a-critically accepted the method invented by Protestantism that one might call agnostic - the so-called historico-critical method, according to which only what the Biblicists conclude would remain of the Gospels. If you take the Gospels seriously at all, you would be considered reactionary, but woe unto you if you do not take the Biblicists' word seriously!

That is why I have thought for so many years that the Church ought to rediscover serious apologetics that is carried out as Peter says in his letter, with obedience and respect, an apologetics that is at once calmly and rigorously reasoned.

In fact, Benedict XVI did dust off the word itself...
Apologetics as the reasons for our belief, yes. [Making clear] the reasons for our faith is the first task of the Church today, therefore, it is what the Pope must propose. I repeat, I am not giving advice to the Pope like Scalfari, but it is what Joseph Ratzinger has said all his life, and what, as cardinal and Pope, he, poor man, sought to do!

For example, his three books on JESUS OF NAZARETH are pure apologetics in the best sense: to seek to confirm the roots of the tree of faith, because it seems that Christianity has become an oak without roots.

Meanwhile, the world, including most Western Catholics, love to hear words about social commitment, about the poor...
But that is what I would call secondary Christianity. Social commitment, social work, these are good things, but if they do not come from faith, then they are meaningless. The best gift Papa Ratzinger has given us - besides the books on Jesus, which are a treasure because while he follows modern exegetical methods, he also shows that they do not at all destroy the foundations of Christianity - is the Year of Faith which began last October, and which Pope Francis must now complete.

For those who would be 'clerically correct', the term 'apologetiss' sounds bad because they think it means regression. In fact, the word has disappeared in seminaries, where it is now subsumed into 'fundamental theology'.

But in the fundamental theology that is being taught - I have looked through the textbooks used - there is noting to reinforce the faith, which, as has now become usual, is taken for granted. Instead, all sorts of fine-sounding considerations are discussed around it.

But, as Papa Ratzinger said in the Apostolic Letter with which he decreed the Year of Faith, today, bishops and priests go on about the duties of Catholics in the social, charitable and humanitarian fields, while taking the faith for granted in that no one is questioning himself about what he believes and why he believes. Very often, the faith is no longer there, even.

And so, the Church must put things right - first the faith, then morals. First, primary Christianity, which is the announcement of the kerygma [as the term is now used, it refers to 'the irreducible essence of Christian apostolic teaching'], then secondary Christianity, which are the works - including social work - that come from accepting the kerygma.

Do you think Pope Francis will be in continuity with Benedict XVI?
Yes. Even if these days, what has been over-emphasized, almost grotesquely, are elements of 'discontinuity' - all about having returned to Domus Sanctae Marthae after the Conclave in the same minibus as other cardinals, or that he went to pay his bill at the hotel where he was staying before the Conclave (a hotel, by the way, that is owned by the Vatican and run for the benefit of visiting bishops and priests), etc.

These are rather grotesque details, and I am sure that this honeymoon between a certain agnostic and atheist clerical culture of which Eugenio Scalfari is the Pope, with which media reporting spilling over, will be brusquely interrupted soon when the Pope starts to speak on serious issues, in ethics and morals, to begin with.

He is 76, and he is not exactly a novelty as far as the things that he has said quite often, on the moral level as well as on the catechetical level. On the level of faith, he was always perfectly in agreement with Benedict XVI. So this honeymoon is destined to end with a bang.

But there is this huge emphasis on his commitment to the poor...
I think that there is great equivocation about this. The media seem to forget that all the 'social saints' of the 19th century - in Turin alone, we had Don Bosco, Cottolengo, Faa di Bruno - all those who did their best to help the poor, who sought to give material bread to the unfortunate ones who were around them, were considered in their time to be reactionaries. They were all devoted sons of Pius IX and then of Leo XIII.

Social commitment does not mean being a priest alla Don Gallo [....] or agreeing with theologians like Hans Kueng. Social holiness is all about, yes, giving material assistance if you can, but at the same time, loving, respecting and teaching the catechism of faith. And so, all the facile reporting and commentary in the media about 'social commitment' comes from not understanding anything about the dynamics of Catholicism.

Cardinal Bergoglio went into Buenos Aires's poor neighborhoods even as Don Bosco and the other Torinese saints worked among Turin's poor people. As many other saints and saintly people have done before them. Did anyone call Don Bosco an innovator?

But that Cardinal Bergoglio worked in what he calls the 'villas miserias' (poor cities) does not mean that he is contesting anything theological. Indeed, everything he has said about morals and catechism before becoming Pope was perfectly in line with Benedict XVI's thinking.

Don Bosco had a beautiful motto, 'Pane e Paradiso' (bread and paradise). Of course, one must give bread to the hungry, but they also need bread for the spirit. He took in homeless boys and cared for them, he trained them in skills so that they could go out and earn a living eventually, but all the boys were also formed with extreme attention to their catechism - catecheses which were perfectly in line with Pius IX.

These people who know nothing about the Church have immediately categorized the Pope as a 'social priest'. All very well, but wait until he starts to speak of ethics and morals - he will say exactly what Benedict XVI has been saying.

Much emphasis has also been made about his style which seems to do away with many formalities of the Papacy, seeming to forget that in his time, John Paul II caused some anxiety among his security men and his liturgical assistants...
That's all part of the grotesquerie. It is true that there are too many newspapers, too many TV channels, too much radio, giving out hyper-information obsessively, and that includes focusing on the more 'picturesque' details they can report on.

But they forget a simple fact: God created us equal but not uniform - he made each of us different from one another. Everyone has his own character, his own style, but that is not what counts in Popes.

The Pope is, above all, magister et custos fidei, teacher and guardian of the faith - all his other functions are accessory. So I look at Papa Bergoglio as our teacher and guardian of the faith, and as long as he is that, I do not care if he has his own personal tastes and style, his own way of moving and speaking, which are all part of the extraordinary and marvelous variety that God has wanted men to be.

A Pope must not be judged by his style nor even by his character, but by what he teaches, because that is his primary task. I often cite the example of Papa Borgia (Alexander VI), who acted terribly, was very evil, but he preached well, he preached the right things. In his time, I would have followed what he taught [because at the time, the ordinary Catholic would have had absolutely no idea of his evil life], certainly not his example. The faith he preached was very orthodox, even if it was later said that among other evils, he went to bed with his own daughter. Which is terrible, because he ought to have been consistent with what he preached. He did not, but he did his duty as Pope by preaching good doctrine.

It has also been pointed out that Pope Francis has been 'insistent' on referring to himself as the Bishop of Rome, hardly ever as Pope. I don't think that is bad in itself, In fact, I had almost forgotten that once, in an article for Corriere, I had said that I would not object if the Pontificate went back to being based at the Lateran, which is the seat of the Bishop of Rome. In fact, the Popes have been at the Vatican only for the last few centuries. Up to the Avignon exile and even for a period after that, they were based at the Lateran.

And I think one can even hypothesize now on such a transfer. By the Catholic logic of et-et, the Pope is both the leader of the universal Church, as well as a bishop among other bishops - the bishop of what used to be the capital of the Roman empire and therefore he had the most authority.

I do not object to the emphasis on the Pope as Bishop of Rome - who exercises authority over the entire Church because of the See over which he presides - because basically, it is an aspect that we have forgotten. The Vatican only happens to be at or near the place where Peter was martyred, and apart from having the relics of Peter therein, there are no other reasons for Popes to be 'bound' there. Rather, the Pope should be bound to his 'cathedra', his seat, which is the Lateran.

But I do not see the present situation at all as Scalfari does, who maintains that Francis will finally give birth to a federal Church, something like the Lombard League [...] Imagine if Bergoglio had a federal Papacy in mind, which would make the primacy of the Pope an issue! But for him to underscore that the Pope is the Bishop of Rome means that he feels called first to tend to the sheep entrusted to him directly in the Church of Rome - and this does not raise any questions about the essential unity of the Church.

But other than Scalfari [who has nothing to do with the Church, does not want to have anything to do with the Church which he constantly ridicules and denigrates. but is obsessed with her and thinks he alone knows best what the Church 'ought to do', there are some episcopal conferences and individual bishops who speak about 'regionalizing' the Church, advocating a 'collegiality' that would give more powers to the bishops' conferences.

And I must say that the more I look at the documents of Vatican II, the more I appreciate them. Unfortunately, we have all been misled by erroneous interpretations coming from both the left and the right.

In fact, the collegiality referred to in Vatican II is described in Lumen gentium, which is the dogmatic constitution on the Church, and one might say, part of the Church's DNA. And according to Lumen gentium, collegiality does not at all mean that the Church should become federated. There already is a federal Church - the Orthodox Churches, each of whom is autonomous. The Patriarch of Contantinople only has a primacy of honor, not authority.

Vatican II is clear that the Pope does not preside solely in name, or only as an honorific. The cardinals and bishops around him are his brothers in the episcopate [as Benedict XVI always addressed them], not his servants, and this is very beautiful, even in the theological sense.

But even with this, there is no rupture with the past. Papa Ratzinger was one of the theological fathers of Vatican II, and he has always said: You are wrong and you have fallen into equivocal speculation, you from the right and from the so-called left, when you speak about a Vatican II as it never was.

If we have followed Papa Ratzinger, we know that he has always acknowledged these documents of Vatican II, seeing his thoughts in them (in fact, he contributed to drafting some of the documents). And he could never think of the Church other than what Lumen gentium describes her - local churches with some autonomy but all united in the universal Church under the Successor of Peter.

[Apropos, Ifind it remarkable that Pope Francis has so far not referred to Vatican II at all, and I think only once to the Year of Faith.]

Mark Shea has written something similar about the continuity between the new Pope and his predecessor, although I have yet to read or hear a cardinal elector say so - their immediate post-Conclave statements were all to the effect that Francis was the answer to creating the 'much-needed reforms' in the Church - by which they all meant the Roman Curia, when they of all people should know how fallacious it is to equate the Roman Curia with the Church! Or perhaps they really meant that Francis has to change the Church left behind by Benedict XVI, but change her how and to what? And I must say again, why did the cardinal electors seem to blame the Curia in Rome exclusively for perceived ills (other than the scorched earth left behind by Vatileaks) when everything that happens concretely in the dioceses is the direct result of the bishop's pastoral and doctrinal choices, and that bishops can and often do ignore any directive from Rome that they disagree with?

Francis and Benedict
are on the same page

by Mark Shea

March 20, 2013


I’m seeing an increasing number of people who are worried that a dichotomy and opposition is being manufactured by the Father of Lies, working both through the press and through various sectarians, to the effect that “liberal” Francis is somehow going to be the antithesis of “conservative” Benedict. It’s crude and ridiculous, of course. But we are a crude and ridiculous people here in America, so that stuff plays.

In this fantasy world, Benedict (who was the author of Caritas in Veritate, recall) is supposed to have cared nothing for “social justice” while Francis is all about social justice.

Yeah. About that. Here’s the thing: Francis is not somebody who threatens the legacy of Benedict. Francis is somebody who threatens the legacy of neoconservatives and libertarians who are convinced they can, like George Weigel [who quite stridently opposed CIV on the grounds that much of it was 'imposed on Benedict XVI' - can you believe it? - by liberal types in the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, and as though CIV hadsomehow called into question John Paul II's social encyclicals, just because its primary reference to a papal encyclical was Paul VI's Populorum progressio], just snip up the Church’s social teaching like Thomas Jefferson editing the New Testament. As Daniel Nichols astutely notes, here are just two quotes from Francis that are already proving deeply threatening, not to Caritas In Veritate, but to the people described in Dale Ahlquist’s classic little essay, “The Trouble with Catholic Social Teaching“:

“When you pick up a volume of the social teaching of the Church you are amazed at what it condemns. For example, it condemns economic liberalism. Everyone thinks that the Church is against Communism, but it is as opposed to that system as it is to the savage economic liberalism which exists today. That is not Christian either and we cannot accept it. We have to search for equality of opportunities and rights, to fight for social benefits, a dignified retirement, holidays, rest, freedom for trade unions. All of these issues create social justice. There should be no have-nots and I want to emphasise that the worst wretchedness is not to be able to earn your bread, not to have the dignity of work.”

He also said, just the other day:
“And those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away, thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. Then I thought of all the wars, as the votes were still being counted, till the end. Francis is also the man of peace. That is how the name came into my heart: Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation; these days we do not have a very good relationship with creation, do we? He is the man who gives us this spirit of peace, the poor man … How I would like a Church which is poor and for the poor!”

That last line in particular has caused some shrieks of panic, as well as head-patting condescension to the Pope over on FB. One insightful person was explaining that advocacy for the poor is satanic. Another mini-conclave convened to explain at great length that the hope for the poor lies in the rich, not in a pope (or presumably, a Messiah) who identifies with the poor and joins them in their poverty. Good to know.

[My first reaction, of course, (which I inhibited myself from expressing at the time) to Pope Francis's anecdote about how the name of Francis came to him in a flash at the Conclave was that the description he gave of him - "the man of poverty, the man of peace, the man who loves and protects creation" - reiterated the popular image of St. Francis, which Benedict XVI always sought to make right by pointing out that Francis was much more than all that; that Francis's greatest virtue was how he sought to imitate Christ in every way, that he was the 'alter Christus', not the picture postcard saint of recent mythology.]

And that whole anti-war thing? Yeah. The total opposite of John “No more War. Never again war!” Paul II and Benedict, who coolly explained “Preventive War is not in the catechism” to the Americans led by Michael Novak who came to explain to the Pope [??? or the then-cardinal?] his duty to support our glorious war in Iraq ten years ago. [With due respect to Mr. Shea, the quotation he attributes to John Paul II was made by Paul VI when he addressed the United Nations- "Jamais plus la guerre!"]

Don’t buy the banana oil. There is remarkable continuity from JPII, through Benedict, to Francis. There is, however, going to be a bumpy road ahead for those trying to baptize Randian economics and the neoconservative devotion to war as the health of the state. The spin machines will have to go into overtime to try to square that circle.

It's absurd to even think of 'discontinuity' among the Popes. Their primary duty is to uphold and defend the 'deposit of taith' as it has come down to them through the centuries, and to confirm their brothers in that faith. How could they possibly be discontinuous in carrying out that mission?

On the subject of 'the poor' and 'helping the poor' (about whom Jesus said "you will always have the poor among you" - which I take literally not just about material poverty but about spiritual poverty as well - I personally consider that citstion the strongest argument against the erroneous liberal and Marxist notion that Jesus was primarily and most importantly, a social worker, that God had sent his son to rescue the materially poor and not the spiritually poor!), Benedict XVI formulated his thoughts very well in both Deus caritas est, Part 2, and Caritas in veritate, not to mention the recent apostolic letter on Catholic charity.

Except of course that MSM for the most past homed in only on the 'eros-agape' part of DCE and on the proposal for a world financial authority in CIV, in both cases, missing the whole point of the encyclicals. (Not to mention, I cannot fail to point out, the comparatively slight attention they gave to Spe salvi and the concept of Christian hope - from which they could not extract a 'thought bite' - and yet, IMHO, it is the 'best' of the three encyclicals, for many reasons that every successive re-reading of it confirms.)_

Bleeding-heart Catholics facilely sling about platitudes about the poor, knowing full well they themselves cannot really do much beyond short-term relief at best, and yet they lecture the Church constantly about 'not helping the poor' when she is doing so in many more direct and concrete ways by providing education, health care and emergency necessities to the extent that she can around the world.

Perhaps they ought to learn from Cardinal Bergoglio's pastoral apostolate which consisted, it seems, not in doling out material aid, but of his constant physical and spiritual nearness to 'the poor' and patient preaching of the faith that can help transcend present difficulties and inspire men to help themselves.



***************************************************************************************




And speaking of the opportunistic and selective amnesia that has overtaken much of MSM, it has spilled over even to Vatican Radio, which has apparently decided on what is to be its current logo during the Pontificate of Pope Francis. Here is a comparison of the logo used during the years of Benedict XVI, and with the two versions they have come out so far for Francis - one was the 'Habemus Papam' version, and I could understand they had to come out with one in haste, which could explain its stylistic incongruity with the previous logo (based on a mural in Vatican Radio headquarters) since all they could do was to super-impose a photo of the new Pope.


]The new version, below, has not changed much. The photograph of Francis is still the one that was shot with his face too dark compared to the rest of the photograph (any attempt now to brighten it, as it appears on the logo, ends up washing out the figures in the background); the caption is now 'Papa Franciscus', not that it needs to be captioned at all, instead of 'Habemus papam'. But the super-imposition was tweaked not to 'uncover' Benedict XVI's image but it looks like it covers more of it.[/C]

As someone who has become quite adept at reducing and enlarging images several times a day to fit as and where I want them to be, it would have been fairly simple to simply reduce the Francis image enough for it not to cover half of Benedict XVI's image, and the reduction would not have been perceptible at all (it was disproportionately large to begin with). Or, more easily, they could have moved the image a bit more to the right - enough space there before getting to JP2's image - thus uncovering Benedict XVI's whole image and centering the Francis image better!

OK, fine, so maybe RV's graphic artist has better things to do and couldn't be bothered to rectify the obvious 'anomaly'. Then what about this headline from RV's English service yesterday:


'Everyone's Pope?' - Whether the tag Implies that previous Popes were not 'everyone's Pope', or that more directly, Francis is a Pope 'everyone likes' unlike other Popes, the evident comparison is completely gratuitous and unnecessary! (But is it not an honored dictum in media mythology that John XXIII and the two John Pauls were 'everyone's Pope', where Pius XII, Paul VI and Benedict XVI were far less 'universally liked'? Suddenly, the other Popes previously considered 'everyone's Pope' are no longer so? But why must Vatican Radio show partisanship in any way, to begin with???? Or reflect the dominant and oh-so-perverted thinking of the media, for that matter?
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 01:03]
21/03/2013 00:47
OFFLINE
Post: 26.495
Post: 8.982
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



Wednesday, March 20, Fifth Week of Lent

Left photo: Death of St. Salvador, 16th century painting.
ST. SALVADOR DE HORTA (b Spain 1520, d Sicily 1567), Lay Franciscan
Yet another in the line of sainted Franciscan laymen who, while serving as porter, cook and official beggar for his community,
revealed healing powers and was venerated in his day. Son of a peasant family, he worked as a shepherd and shoemaker before
joining the lay Franciscans at age 21. Carrying out his humble work, it was found he could heal by the Sign of the Cross. His fame
was such that 2,000 people came to see him every week and tore at his habit to get a relic. The relentless attention eventually
forced his community to transfer him to Cagliari in Sicily where he died two years later. Many miracles continued to happen
at his tomb. When he was exhumed 23 years after his death for his beatification, the body was found incorrupt. However,
he was not canonized until 1938.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032013.cfm


AT THE VATICAN TODAY

The Holy Father Francis met this morning at the Pope's Private Library in the Apostolic Palace with
- H.E. Madame Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, and her delegation

- His Holiness, Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople

- Metropolitan Hilarion, representing the Patriarchate of Moscow.

Later, at the Sala Clementina, he met with the Fraternal Delegates to his inauguration from the other Christian
Churches and ecclesial communities, and internationalecumenical organizations, as well as representatives
of non-Christian faiths. Address in Italian.

Afterwards, he met separately with Claudio Epelman, from the Latin American Jewish Congress.

Here is Vatican Radio's translation of the Pope's discourse to the ecumenical and interfaith gathering:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

First of all, heartfelt thanks for what my Brother Andrew told us. Thank you so much! Thank you so much! ['Brother Andrew' is the Ecumenical Patriach Bartholomew I of Constantinople who delivered the opening tribute in behalf of all the fraternal delegates.]

It is a source of particular joy to meet you today, delegates of the Orthodox Churches, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the West. Thank you for wanting to take part in the celebration that marked the beginning of my ministry as Bishop of Rome and Successor of Peter.

Yesterday morning, during the Mass, through you, I recognized the communities you represent. In this manifestation of faith, I had the feeling of taking part in an even more urgent fashion the prayer for the unity of all believers in Christ, and together to see somehow prefigured the full realization of full unity which depends on God’s plan and on our own loyal collaboration.

I begin my Apostolic Ministry in this year during which my venerable Predecessor, Benedict XVI, with true inspiration, proclaimed the Year of Faith for the Catholic Church. With this initiative, that I wish to continue and which I hope will be an inspiration for every one’s journey of faith, he wished to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council, thus proposing a sort of pilgrimage towards what for every Christian represents the essential: the personal and transforming relationship with Jesus Christ, Son of God, who died and rose for our salvation. This effort to proclaim this eternal treasure of faith to the people of our time, lies at the heart of the Council's message.

Together with you I cannot forget how much the council has meaning for the ecumenical journey. I like to remember the words that Blessed John XXIII, of whom we will soon mark 50 years since his death, when he gave his memorable inauguration speech: "The Catholic Church therefore considers it her duty to work actively so that there may be fulfilled the great mystery of that unity, which Christ Jesus invoked with fervent prayer from His heavenly Father on the eve of His sacrifice. She rejoices in peace, knowing well that she is intimately associated with that prayer ".

Yes, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all be intimately united to our Saviour's prayer at the Last Supper, to his invocation: ut unum sint. We call merciful Father to be able to fully live the faith that we have received as a gift on the day of our Baptism, and to be able to it free, joyful and courageous testimony. The more we are faithful to his will, in thoughts, in words and in deeds, the more we will truly and substantially walk towards unity.

For my part, I wish to assure, in the wake of my predecessors, the firm wish to continue on the path of ecumenical dialogue, and I thank you, the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity, for the help it continues to offer in my name, for this noble cause.

I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to bring my cordial greetings to the Churches and Christian communities who are represented here. And I ask you for a special prayer for me so that I can be a pastor according to the heart of Christ.

And now I turn to you, distinguished representatives of the Jewish people, to whom we are bound by a very special spiritual bond, from the moment that, as the Second Vatican Council said, "the Church of Christ acknowledges that according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets".(Decree Nostra Aetate, 4).

I thank you for your presence and trust that with the help of the Almighty, we can continue that fruitful fraternal dialogue that the Council wished for. And that it has actually achieved, bringing many fruits, especially during the last decades .

I greet and thank cordially all of you, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions; firstly the Muslims, who worship the one living and merciful God, and call upon Him in prayer. I really appreciate your presence, and in it I see a tangible sign of the wish to grow in reciprocall trust and in cooperation for the common good of humanity.

The Catholic Church is aware of the importance of the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – this I wish to repeat this: the promotion of friendship and respect between men and women of different religious traditions – this is attested evident also in the valuable work undertaken by the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

The Church is equally aware of the responsibility that each of us bring towards our world, and to the whole of creation, that we must love and protect. And we can do a lot for the good of the less fortunate, for those who are weak and suffering, to promote justice, to promote reconciliation, to build peace.

But above all, we must keep alive in our world the thirst for the absolute, and must not allow the vision of the human person with a single dimension to prevail, according to which man is reduced to what he produces and to what he consumes: this is one most dangerous threats of our times.

We know how much violence has been provoked in recent history by the attempt to eliminate God and the divine from the horizon of humanity, and we feel the need to witness in our societies the original openness to transcendence that is inherent in the human heart.

In this we feel the closeness also of those men and women who, while not belonging to any religious tradition, feel, however the need to search for the truth, the goodness and the beauty of God, and who are our precious allies in efforts to defend the dignity of man, in the building of a peaceful coexistence between peoples and in the careful protection of creation.

Dear friends, thank you for your presence. To all, I offer my cordial and fraternal greetings.



Late yesterday, the Vatican Press Office released this short but significantg bulletin that I failed to post in a timely manner:

Yesterday, Francis called Benedict XVI
to extend best wishes on his name day

Translated from

March 19, 2013


This afternoon, March 19, shortly after 5 pm, Pope Francis called emeritus Pope Benedict XVI to extend his heartfelt best wishes on the latter's name day, the Feast of St. Joseph, and to express once more his gratitude and that of the Church for Benedict XVI's service.

The conversation was ample and cordial. The emeritus Pope said he had followed the events of the day with 'intense participation', especially the Eucharistic celebration at which Francis was formally installed in the Petrine ministry. He assured his successor of his continuing closeness in prayer.


Pope Francis has set a beautiful example of utmost consideration for Benedict XVI, from the time he first presented himself to the world as Pope. He called him right after he was elected, has mentioned him in his early discourses and quoted from him, and there is the prospect of visiting him and lunching together in Castel Gandolfo on Saturday. Unfortunately, of course, no one in the media seems to be paying attention, much less follow his lead... Nor any of the cardinal electors, to my knowledge. As if they would not touch him with a 10-foot pole at all, while falling all over each other to beat their breasts at how proud they are to have made the perfect choice. I'm so bitter I think I can imagine some of them saying they should have voted for him in 2005 and made him Pope then - and how much better the Church would be by now!

We must be grateful to the handful of persons who have not been 'ashamed' to buck the tsunami of universal praise for the new Pope - who cannot be blamed, of course, for the media's generally indecent behavior, though he praised them copiously and told them he loved them at the lovefest in Aula Paolo VI last Saturday - and speak up for Benedict, in an effort to 'rescue' him for now from the oblivion to which the media and their cohorts in the Catholic and secular world have consigned him with the most gleeful Schadenfreude. It's as if these despicable types were only waiting for the opportunity not just to kick him around, but to 'stomp him down' and blot him out of the public consciousness, unless it serves their purpose to hold him up as the negative image of everything that Pope Francis is.


One year ago today...
The Press Office released a Summary of the findings of the Apostolic Visitation in Ireland, on the results of the Visitations to four Archdioceses, Religious Institutes and Irish Seminaries held in 2010-2011, to look into why sexual crimes against minors were committed by priests and religious in these institutions. The report was approved by the Offices which conducted the Visitation and contains some further observations from the Holy See, in addition to those that the individual Dicasteries communicated to the leaders of the respective Archdioceses or Institutes. It comes on the second anniversary of Benedict XVI's historic pastoral Letter to the Catholics of Ireland. {It is incumbent to re-post that historic and very Pauline letter, and I will do so...]



Oh, look, someone actually wrote a book
last year about Benedict's humility -
and long before his renunciation!


Of the things I could choose to re-post today, I found this one very serendipitous, indeed... How blessedly apropos!


What a sweet idea and great tribute it is for someone to have written a book about Benedict XVI's humility! Here's one by Andrea Monda, who has studied both law (at La Sapienza) and religious sciences (at the Pontifical Gregorian U). He writes articles about the Church for various Italian publications and has written books on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.... Here's a translation of the blurb from the book, published by Lindau in Italy - it is coming out on March 31 (2012).

'Blessed humility:
The simple virtues
of Joseph Ratzinger'


Tuesday, April 19, 2005, 5:44 p.m. Piazza San Pietro, navel of the world. The smoke is white from the Sistine chapel. It is here that Joseph Ratzinger began his new life as Vicar of Christ on earth.

And here, too, starts our journey to 'discover' Benedict XVI, 'simple, humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord', as he described himself that day.

But these first words - which are impressed in the minds of all those who heard him - Were they borne of the emotion of the moment? Do they just represent a rhetorical formulation? Or do they say something more profound about the man who had just been called to be the Successor of Peter?

Choosing the last hypothesis, Andrea Monda enters a 'luminous forest' of discretion, renunciation, availability, dedication, ease, sacrifice, self-irony, humor and joy - all precious pieces with which to construct the profile of the Professor-Pope through analysis of a personal style which perhaps is one of the most important lessons that he gives.

In particular, the centerpiece of all is humility - that most mysterious of virtues - and its sweetest fruit, humor. Two words that have a common etymological root in the word humus, earth.

Someone who is 'down to earth', who does not boast, is both humble and endowed with good humor, because he is aware that the world is much greater than his own 'I', and that beyond this world, there is something even much greater.

Humility and good humor are the secret to good living, especially for Catholics, and they are two traits which most characterize the man Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, as well as his work.

At the end of an analysis of the Pope's gestures and deeds, his words, and the thinking of the authors who are dear to him (from St. Augustine to Hans Urs von Balthasar, C.S. Lewis to G.K. Chesterton), it now becomes possible to see the present Pope in a light different from that cast by the media, and it will be easier to give him that which, with candid courage, he once asked for in the first volume of JESUS OF NAZARETH: "that initial goodwill without which there can be no understanding".


I still wish someone somewhere would keep track in public of all the books that have been written about Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI since he became Pope, of which there ought to be a record number by now, in his first seven years as Pope. I am sure the faithful Birgit Wansing is keeping track, as is the Schuelerkreis for their ongoing documentation, but I wish they would publish their updated list at least once a year.

I looked up the bibliography on books about John Paul II in George Weigel's biography of him - though the list is apparently limited only to those written in English, or in Polish translated to English (strange not to find anything in Italian)- and note that apart from one biography published in 1978 (he became Pope in October 1978) and another 8 published in 1979 (the first full year of his Pontificate), the next wave of books did not come out till 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the world came to recognize the role the Pope had played, along with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, in bringing down the Communist regimes of Europe.

In pointing this out, I have no intention other than to call attention to facts as they were - against the idealized picture that the media has held forth since the Blessed Pope's death that all 26 years of his Pontificate were an uninterrupted age of universal hosannas and instant recognition of his greatness and saintliness. On the other hand, of course, I am not aware that any books were written specifically to attack him at all, as there have been about Benedict XVI, starting with malicious 'biographies' such as those by John Allen (Version I - written in 2000, then revised to be more positive when it was re-published in 2005 after the Conclave) and the more opportunistic one by David Gibson in 2005. to quite a few anti-Benedict books in Italian, including Marco Politi's book-length diss. Somehow, John Paul II did not polarize people to the extent that those on the negative extreme were driven in any way to vent their spleen in public as the media have done about Benedict XVI.





[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 14:37]
21/03/2013 11:15
OFFLINE
Post: 26.496
Post: 8.983
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


The following piece is a surprise, because it is one of those rare items that remember Benedict XVI at all in the radical 'Benedict amnesia' that has taken over the media, although I think the interviews were done before a new Pope had been elected, since there is no reference to him at all. Nonetheless, I am thankful to the three prelates interviewed for their unequivocal appreciation of what Benedict XVI accomplished in matters of liturgy. I am happy that they evidently spoke during the sede vacante, and so did not have to be challenged by having to measure their words out of misplaced deference to the new Pope, to whom of course, they owe more than deference. (Reverence and veneration - even outright adulation - for the Pope in office absolutely do not exclude saying something positive about his predecessor, but alas, not so for the MSM!)...

Benedict XVI put the liturgy
front and center even as cardinal

by TRENT BEATTIE

March 20, 2013


Pope Benedict XVI’s keen liturgical interest is well known to devout Catholics. Even before his papacy, books by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, such as The Feast of Faith and The Spirit of the Liturgy, were formative for many of the faithful in search of true liturgical principles.

During Benedict’s papacy, documents such as the 2007 apostolic exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis continued Benedict’s catechesis on the source and summit of the Christian life. While these writings have been highly significant for the Church, priests and bishops near the now-retired Holy Father believe his example has been even more so.

Msgr. James Moroney had the privilege of working with Pope Benedict on the completion of the new English translation of the Roman Missal, which was implemented in Advent 2011.

The effort was begun by Pope John Paul II, who appointed Msgr. Moroney as a consultor to the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. He is also executive secretary to the Vox Clara Committee, founded for the purpose of assisting the congregation in issuing a new English translation of liturgical texts.

Msgr. Moroney, currently rector of St. John Seminary in Boston, believes that Pope Benedict XVI is, in many respects, the best articulator of the post-conciliar liturgical reform.

“This was true even before his papacy,” Msgr. Moroney said. “As head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he was a leader in correcting popular misconceptions about what the Council Fathers said on many topics, the liturgy included.”

“The revivification of true liturgical reform was inspired not so much by the Holy Father’s words, as important as they were,” he said. “It was primarily inspired by his actions. He had a devotion to the liturgy that was manifested in the joyful and solemn way he celebrated it. He knew it was the source and summit of the Christian life, so this understanding brought joy and wonder to his heart, which was noticeable on his face.”

At the center of Pope Benedict’s liturgical legacy, according to Msgr. Moroney, is the proper definition of “full and active (or actual) participation by all the people,” recommended in the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the sacred liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium. Msgr. Moroney believes the Holy Father’s contribution to the understanding of what it means to participate in the liturgy can be summarized in three parts.

“The first,” he said, “is Benedict’s emphasis on interior participation in the liturgy. Our participation is not comprised mainly of exterior actions, but interior ones. Proper celebration of the liturgy is only possible when a grasp of the paschal mystery is present. That grasp is the heart of true liturgical participation.”

The second part is Benedict’s “exceptional support” of the re-translation of the Roman Missal into English. He continued his predecessor’s work, due to a desire for “an ever deeper, fuller participation of the faithful,” made possible with a more accurate translation.

“The third part,” Msgr. Moroney said, “of Benedict’s contribution to the proper definition of participation in the liturgy is his promotion of mystery and solemnity inherent in the Church’s official worship. He knew the liturgy was not something we invent, but something we receive, and that it was an encounter with the living God, the source of our well-being.”

Norbertine Father Ambrose Criste currently serves as the novice master for St. Michael’s Abbey in Silverado, Calif. Priests from the abbey offer both the Novus Ordo and the traditional Latin Mass. In fact, many of the Sunday Masses offered in the extraordinary form in Southern California are done so by Norbertine priests who venture to parishes outside the abbey.

Father Criste, like Msgr. Moroney, believes Pope Benedict’s greatest contribution to the sacred liturgy is the authentic interpretation of the writings of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council.

“So many false ideas about the liturgy were spread after the Council. It was refreshing to have Pope Benedict clarify things, which he actually started to do long before his papacy,” Father Criste said.

After Cardinal Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI, he went one step further in making his previous liturgical teachings apparent, according to Father Criste. In 2007, he issued Summorum Pontificum, which allowed the faithful greater access to the traditional Latin Mass. In the letter accompanying the motu proprio, the Holy Father made it clear that the Mass offered according to the 1962 Missal was never abrogated.

“This was highly significant,” Father Criste said, “because authentic liturgy is never a matter of breaking with the past, but a continuation of it. There can be legitimate developments, to be sure, but to make something up without any connection to what preceded it is decidedly un-Catholic.”

Father Criste was honored to serve as the Holy Father’s deacon at two Masses. Of those occasions, he said, “The humility and reverence with which Benedict conducted himself were remarkable. There was nothing casual about what he did. Rather, you could see that he was deeply, prayerfully devoted to the sacred liturgy. He knew it was not a matter of creativity or novelty, but faithfulness and tradition.”

“Benedict has successfully shown that Vatican II was all about faithfulness and tradition, as well,” Father Criste added. “For a correct interpretation of the ‘spirit of the Council,’ he recommended a reading of the letter of the Council. This has been happening gradually over the years, and we’re getting closer to what the Council Fathers intended regarding the liturgy.”

Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Neb., sees Pope Benedict’s promotion of the beauty of the liturgy as his primary legacy.

“When I first came to Rome in 1989 as a priest-student, I was fortunate to witness many of Cardinal Ratzinger’s Masses,” the former Denver auxiliary said. “They were in the ordinary form, but in Latin. They were always done reverently, due to the cardinal’s perception of the transcendent nature of the liturgy. He knew that when you encounter the Almighty casualness was not acceptable.”

“He knew, even before his days as Cardinal Ratzinger, that without reverence — which is intimately linked with faithfulness to the rubrics — you are not allowing the liturgy to influence your soul,” Bishop Conley said. “Instead, you are the one creating your own liturgy in your own image.”

Bishop Conley believes the release of Summorum Pontificum was a huge turning point in the modern liturgical life of the Church because it made the extraordinary form of the Roman rite more accessible to the faithful and removed any shadows that might have been associated with it. This has influenced not only those attending the extraordinary form, but those attending the ordinary form as well.

“It has become more common to witness the use of the Latin language, the pipe organ and Gregorian chant in the ordinary form,” the Lincoln bishop pointed out. “Benedict wanted to demonstrate that the two forms are very much connected. This reality had been blurred in most places following the Council because the writings of the Council Fathers often went unheeded. Benedict wanted to make it clear that, at its core, the Church’s liturgy is one, although it does have various forms.”

“For any form of the liturgy to be effective, it must express the order, harmony and appeal of God. Beauty is not optional, but essential, for proper liturgy,” Bishop Conley explained. “This was taught by the Council Fathers in a very particular way to bishops in Article 124 of Sacrosanctum Concilium, which reads: ‘Let bishops carefully remove from the house of God and from other sacred places those works of artists which are repugnant to faith, morals and Christian piety and which offend true religious sense, either by depraved forms or by lack of artistic worth, mediocrity and pretense.’”

Bishop Conley said that Benedict knew sacred art was not about self-expression, but pointing to the source of beauty — almighty God. Sacred art, whether visual or auditory, enables us to transcend our daily lives and encounter the living God in a way that is often far more effective than merely stating facts about God.

“Benedict thought the most powerful arguments for the faith were Christian art and the lives of the saints,” Bishop Conley stated. “These two entities are very closely related, because the saints received the graces necessary for their exemplary lives through the liturgy of the Church, which is the wellspring of Christian art.

“We are indebted to Pope Benedict for many things. Within the liturgy specifically, I think his most outstanding contribution was drawing our attention to the majesty of God. This was done through his writings and actions, which directed our aim outside our own circle and toward a more complete relationship with our Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.”
21/03/2013 12:10
OFFLINE
Post: 26.497
Post: 8.984
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master



In the following interview, Cardinal Marc Ouellet, whom news reports after the Conclave said led the first two ballots and then asked his supporters to switch their votes to Cardinal Bergoglio - does set an example for how one can speak positively of both Pope Francis and emeritus Pope Benedict in the same interview. The first cardinal I have seen to have done this. I believe it's also the first time I've seen a candidate Pope asked directly about his candidacy after the Conclave.

Cardinal Ouellet on Vatileaks,
Benedict’s act of faith
and the new Pope

A conversation with
Father Raymond J. de Souza

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

In Rome for the election of a new pope, Father Raymond J. de Souza, a Roman Catholic priest for the Archdiocese of Kingston, Ont., and editor-in-chief of Convivium, a magazine about faith in Canadian public life, met with Canadian Cardinal Marc Ouellet, much touted as a papal contender, at the Vatican.

We have a new pope elected, Pope Francis. Could you tell us why this man was chosen?
This man was chosen because the College of Cardinals had a sense that the time was right for a leader coming from South America and this was a man of great authority in the area.

I’ve known him for many years, we are good friends and, at the meeting of the Latin American Episcopacy in 2007, in Aparecida, Brazil, he was the main figure who encouraged this continental mission. He came to Quebec City [in 2008] out of friendship for me and to support me because usually he doesn’t accept outside invitations.

He barely comes to Rome—only when it’s absolutely necessary. Because he is a pastor: he’s concerned with his people. I think we’ve made a great choice. And it will bear fruit in the life of the Church.

Many of the cardinals have said they don’t know him very well. What do you know about him that makes you hopeful?
Simplicity. And he’s a good shepherd, very close to his flock. Last Sunday, he was like a parish priest: he did the Mass and then he went out and greeted the people. This is extraordinary. For me, the main encouragement for the people in the field is his election. The priests, deacons, pastoral agents will identify with him.

You spent time in Colombia so you have more experience than most Canadian or European bishops with Latin America. Did you get to know Cardinal Bergoglio then or afterwards?
Not when I lived there. I was a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America even before being at the Congregation for Bishops. On the occasion of these plenary [sessions] we would meet and talk and we had common friends in Rome. I can say we shared a common vision. He’s a man of experience and I think he’ll be a reformer, too. The name Francis is a conscious choice.

He will certainly act in the Curia; we know there is a need of reform, but reform in the sense to regain moral credibility. [Finally, someone who states the problem correctly! The damage done by the irresponsible interpretations of Vatileaks to the moral credibility of the Curia reinforced the great damage already done to the moral credibility of the Church as a whole by abusive priests in the eyes of 'the world' as represented by the all-pervasive mass media and the public opinion they are able to shape more and more effectively.]

This was an important factor. The Vatileaks did great damage to the Church. Bad information, all kinds of comments that you couldn’t necessarily contradict and very secretive. I think he’ll be able to do something for that, too.

We need a broader vision—beyond Europe. There is a great need of support of Christianity in Latin America to counteract the influence of the Pentecostals in particular. So his election is a great encouragement. It will also have political weight. Not because he’ll be involved in politics but because it will strengthen Catholicism in Argentina, for example. It will force governments to be more respectful of the Catholic community, of Catholic culture in these countries. It’s really good news.

You are a younger cardinal but you’ve participated in two conclaves, one in 2005 and one in 2013. Both conclaves elected a Pope on the first full day. What has the experience been like for you?
Very good. It’s basically a spiritual experience. When popes were heads of states with great properties it was very difficult to elect a pope because there were many material interests involved, political interests involved. Thank God, we got rid of this. So the more you go forward, the more the College of Cardinals is autonomous.

You’re not bound to a context; for example, at this time, the political context of Italy is very uncertain. But the College of Cardinals - there are many Italians in it - but the great majority could make a decision without being conditioned by the local politics. This is a great freedom for the Church. And the combination of the prayer, the intense prayer of the whole Church, and the wisdom of the College of Cardinals, is a great formula to elect a pope, to be free and to give to the world a surprise—a positive one.

One of the great surprises was the resignation of Pope Benedict. He was not only your pope but you were also a student of his...
Not so much a student of his. But I would say we had close theological visions. I’m more a disciple of [Hans urs] von Balthasar [the Catholic theologian] and [Benedict] is a great admirer of von Balthasar. When he went to Castel Gandolfo he brought von Balthasar’s Theological Aesthetics to reread.

Do you hope that he has a continuation?
First, I think he did three times what we could have expected from him, being elected at 78. It’s extraordinary what he did, to write his own books. I said and I repeat: a great doctor of the Church. His homilies will remain as a heritage to be meditated. He’s not just a theologian without a philosophy underneath. So we have a lot to think about after his pontificate and after his intellectual contribution. What he did with his books is he renewed theological exegesis. He bridged a gap between theology and exegesis — extraordinary! We needed that badly. We can build on that for the future.

In the days before the election there was a great excitement in Canada for the possibility of the guillotine to fall on your neck, if I can put it in that unusual way— [The metaphor was first used by Benedict XVI describing to German delegations his feelings as he realized at the Conclave that he was going to be elected.]
[laughs] Yes.

Maybe you could comment on what that was like for you?
This time was very special for me and my family, an incredible experience and a positive one. Even my family told me, “Oh, we’ve discovered chapters of your life we didn’t know very well, like your 10 years in Latin America.” They [the media] interviewed my friends and people with whom I’m still in contact — wonderful.

It was a difficult exercise for me. I had to be prepared. Not by ambition, but just by reasoning. I told the media, “In the position I’m in, who knows what can happen.”

Were you afraid at all?
Less than before because I had been working with the Pope [Benedict] so closely. Out of what I was doing with him I could imagine what he was doing with the other chiefs of the dicasteries [departments in the Vatican] and I was part of other congregations — a plenary here and there. I’m very much aware of the whole situation of the Church and I learned so much about situations in the different continents where I’ve studied dioceses to provide for bishops. So all these things told me I had a certain preparation for that but, you know, there are many factors. I’m convinced this was a good choice. His first steps and gestures confirm it. We needed a good shepherd, close to the people. This is already a success. There will be reform: he is free, completely free, he has no link whatsoever . . .

No link to what, Your Eminence?
To inside the Vatican. And he knows. But he’s independent. In that sense, he’ll make decisions — not without pressure here and pressure there — but he will listen and then he will make his decision. If you saw, when we met on Friday, at the end of the line, he started business immediately. It was even surprising for me.

Did he ask you for your dossiers [on candidates for episcopal appointment]?
Absolutely! I will not go into the details but he was gesturing with determination. [This is reminiscent of the recollectrion of Chicago's Cardinal George about when he first approached the newly elected Benedict in the Sistine Chapel to render his homage - and Benedict said to him, "I will not forget what we talked about", referring to a conversation they had before the Conclave about what needed to be done regarding the problem of sex offender priests in the United States.]

What is your hope for the Church in Canada?
I hope for a Year of Faith that will make a difference. And we have two or three things that will make a difference.

The renunciation of Pope Benedict was a great act of faith on his part. He did that with spiritual discernment; he wasn’t forced. Other popes have been exiled, they’ve been killed, they’ve been forced to renounce. He did it being aware of his limitations so a successor could do it better.

For our country, it forces a reflection on what is the Catholic faith, what is our heritage, what is our Church. And maybe, a sort of revision. I think there will be an awakening among the youth. I’ve seen that already in some — they’re not against it, they’re just not aware of what is the Catholic faith.

But there will be, I hope, a movement of conversation, because we need to retrieve that if we want to make sense of our presence in this continent. We must be proud of having an American pope — American in the broad sense.


If you have not already read it, please see George Weigel's article on Pope Francis whom he interviewed at length in May 2012 for his new book on Evangelical Catholicism
www.catholicsun.org/2013/03/20/meeting-pope-francis/
Unless he already lists all those virtues in his book, one cannot count out the ex-post-facto factor in his profile of Pope Francis. Does this mean we can look forward to a 'God's Choice, Part 2' - or perhaps 'God's Real Choice' (as in 'the cardinal-electors read the signals wrong in 2005')?

BTW, Andrea Tornielli has beat everyone from the get-go with a biography on Pope Francis, "Francis: Pope of a New World" which is already available in English from Ignatius Press.

Two more oddities in these odd times:
Sandro Magister, in an article on Pope Francis. opens with this paragraph:

In the 1,330 words of the homily at the Mass for the beginning of the pontificate of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, the word “pope” appears only one time. The name of Peter four times. What dominates instead, twelve times, is the name of Joseph. That the office of “guardian” of the Holy Family personified by the putative father of Jesus should have been taken as emblematic of the papal function is another of the particularities of his debut by the successor of Benedict XVI.

But of course, Mr. Magister, Joseph is mentioned 12 times because the Pope's Inaugural Mass was the Mass for the Solemnity of St. Joseph! A day chosen for the inauguration even if it was not Sunday, because first, St. Joseph is fittingly the Patron of the Universal Church, and secondly because the first possible Sunday would have been March 24, which is Palm Sunday, a solemnity that cannot be superseded.

And Greg Kandra on his blog 'The Deacon's Bench' features the official photo of Pope Francis as released by the Vatican. Kandra captions it - 'No gold, no mozzetta, no stole'. Here below is the new photo, and alongside it, the official photo of Benedict XVI that the Vatican never changed although it was clearly taken before his inauguration because he is still wearing his cardinal's ring and cardinal's pectoral.

In other words, Deacon Kandra, Benedict XVI did not 'dress up' for the occasion either, any more than Pope Francis who is shown wearing his cardinal's pectoral. Enough already of this sanctimony, all done in the name of the new Pope who we can be sure does not share it!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 14:19]
21/03/2013 13:51
OFFLINE
Post: 26.498
Post: 8.984
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


Speaking of bucking the tsunami, here is what one might call a 'contrarian' view by the former editor of Catholic World Report. I say 'contrarian' because he has not joined the stampede to canonize Pope Francis outright, and if anything, sounds cautionary. An Italian follower of Lella's blog said that the attitude of MSM can be expressed as "Santo subito' with regard to John Paul II, and "Santo gia" (already a saint) with respect to Pope Francis. I suppose one might describe their attitude towards Benedict XVI as 'Santo mai, mai, mai" (never, never, never will be a saint).

Reading the papal tea leaves
By George Neumayr

March 20, 2013

In what direction will the Church move under Pope Francis?

“I was overwhelmed by joy,” said Hans Kung, the dissenting European theologian, in a radio interview after the elevation of Pope Francis.

“There is hope in this man,” gushed Kung, who predicted that Pope Francis will conform to the progressive interpretation of Vatican II and not follow the “line of the two popes from Poland and Germany.”

Leonardo Boff, one of the fathers of liberation theology, was quoted in the German press as saying that Francis is “more liberal” than commonly supposed.

Cardinal Roger Mahony took to Twitter to proclaim that the Church would move from high church to “low” church under Francis: “So long, Papal ermine and fancy lace!” [This smarmy prelate guilty by his own admission of protecting abusive priests is truly despicable!]

The National Catholic Reporter approvingly quoted an unnamed Vatican diplomat as saying that “the Traditional Latin Mass brigade is finished.”

Esteban Paulon, president of the Argentine Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transsexuals, told the Washington Post that Pope Francis is “known for being moderate” and when “he came out strongly against gay marriage, he did it under pressure from the conservatives.”

According to Sergio Rubin, whom the Post calls his authorized biographer, Pope Francis initially “urged his bishops to lobby for gay civil unions” as an alternative to gay marriage.

Benedict’s speech on Islam at the University of Regensburg didn’t sit well with Francis, according to the Telegraph in the United Kingdom. “These statements will serve to destroy in 20 seconds the careful construction of a relationship with Islam that Pope John Paul II built over the last twenty years,” it quotes him as saying.

Reports on his compliance with Benedict’s authorization of wider use of the Traditional Latin Mass are conflicting, but it is safe to say that he was less than thrilled by it. According to columnist E.J. Dionne, “an American bishop noted that the choice of Francis would not be greeted as a clear victory by conservatives,” since on “liturgical issues, he has opposed those who seek to roll back changes instituted by the Second Vatican Council.”

The picture that is forming of Pope Francis from all these bits and pieces is not that of a Ratzingerian restorationist but of a centrist prelate whose theological views, tone, and emphases are characteristic of the post-Vatican II period.

He is no Hans Kung. He is too pro-life and Marian for that level of theological conjecture. But it is a stretch to think that he shares Benedict’s rigorous critique of the crisis within the Church and the modern world. There is a reason why the progressive bloc within the previous conclave saw him as a desirable alternative to Ratzinger.

It was telling that Pope Francis in his first address from the papal window pointed to Cardinal Walter Kasper as a theologian whom he admires. Kasper is known for his hyper-ecumenism and taste for theological novelty.

“We are on good terms with the Archbishop of Canterbury and as much as we can we are helping him to keep the Anglican community together,” Kasper said in 2010, referring to a group of disaffected conservative Anglicans that wanted to join the Catholic Church. “It’s not our policy to bring that many Anglicans to Rome.”

Apparently Kasper and Francis agreed on this issue. Greg Venable, an Anglican prelate in Latin America, has told the press that the future pope “called me to have breakfast with him one morning and told me very clearly that the Ordinariate was quite unnecessary and that the Church needs us as Anglicans.”

Francis has the benevolent and winning personality of John Paul II and the humility of Benedict (though his took a less celebrated form), but his theological views mark him out as more centrist than his two predecessors. They attributed the collapse of Catholic institutions largely to a misapplication of Vatican II. Referring to the liturgy, Benedict spoke of the need for a “reform of the reform.” Francis appears happy enough with the first reform. [He finally referred to Vatican II, for the first time since he became Pope, in his address to the representatives of other Christian confessions and non-Christian faiths yesterday.]

Francis’s papacy may not so much move the Church into the future as back to the recent past, circa 1970. Quarrels over the proper interpretation of Vatican II are more likely to explode than end. Emboldened liberal bishops under him may seek a reform of the “reform of the reform,” and they may push for a revisiting of settled moral, theological, and disciplinary stances.

None of this repositioning will take place at the level of official teaching but at the murkier levels of tone, emphasis, and appointment.

That the Catholic left considers his election a shot in the arm can’t be chalked up simply to projection. There are enough nuances here to give them hope. They believe that this is their moment to try to undo the papacies of John Paul II and Benedict and return to the casual, informal, and spontaneous liturgical spirit of the 1970s while reviving a more poll-friendly situational ethics.

Tweeted Mahony: “Don’t you feel the new energy, and being shared with one another?”

Hans Kung accepts that Pope Francis can’t adapt to “everything” in the modern world, but just hopes the general trajectory of his pontificate will be progressive.

In Pope Francis’s apparent emphasis on individual conscience (he dispensed with the traditional spoken papal blessing when speaking to journalists last Saturday on the grounds that some of them weren’t Catholic or believers), toned-down morality, and Seamless Garment-style prioritizing of poverty, peace, and the environment, Kung and company see a pope with whom they can at long last “dialogue.”

Just a simple thought about the Pope's decision to 'dispense with the traditional papal blessing' at his meeting with the media. I thought, upon resding the news, that it was a bit of unnecessary, and perhaps calculated, grandstanding (unless this is a practice he had adopted as Cardinal Bergoglio). I don't recall that anyone in the media had ever before even hinted at any objection to the Pope giving a papal blessing to an international crowd anywhere! He is Catholic and he is the Pope, so of course, he would give the papal blessing, which is an invocation of God's blessing and does not exclude anyone, whether they believe in God or not! The media don't care! Popes do it all the time, at the Angelus prayers, the general audiences, any public appearance, in fact, since the people present at these gatherings are not necessarily all Catholic or Christian. If the spoken papal blessing was acceptable at St. Peter's Square on March 13, why not at Aula Paolo VI on March 16? I disagree with Mr. Neumayr that it meant 'emphasis on individual conscience' - that's the fallacious argument that ACLU and atheist extremists in the USA use to try and shut down anything Christian in the public sphere.]


[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 14:43]
21/03/2013 15:19
OFFLINE
Post: 26.499
Post: 8.985
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


Lella's blog led me to this touching letter that one of her followers said ought to be copy-furnished to every cardinal... The writer works for the Promotions Department of the Pontifical University of Santa Croce. I doubt that many - or any - in the media would subscribe to his feelings:

Open letter to Benedict XVI
by Ivan Quintavalle
From a group blog in Italian
http://costanzamiriano.com/2013/03/19/lettera-aperta-a-benedetto-xvi/
March 19,2013

Mio dolce Benedetto,

These are strange days, you know. There is a strange atmosphere about.

There is such euphoria - as if the world suddenly has undergone a conversion. Maybe so. I hope so, sincerely. But I find myself unable to rejoice. It doesn't matter, really. But I was trying to understand why not. Last night, I sought to clear out my heart. But not having your saintliness, I cannot live through all this with your serenity of spirit.

In battling my insomnia, I understood the reason behind my sadness, subtle but still sad. The principal reason for my spiritual uneasiness is my ingratitude. Perhaps it is one of the worst failings in human beings, but it is the fault that more than anything else makes me less human.

We are all rejoicing these days for having 'rediscovered' poverty, and yet we no longer think of you who have become, in one sense, the poorest of us all.

You who have chosen solitude and silence, you who do not vaunt your poverty to the world, because you have never wished to advertise your virtues. You simply placed them in the service of all of us and of the Church of Christ. You practised your virtues in such a discreet and non-personalized way so that they did not seem to be yours alone.

But how ungrateful and unloving I was to you all these years!

I questioned your decision to renounce the Pontificate, tempted initially to see it as an act of cowardice. But these days have served to make your greatness shine forth. [But only to a few, it seems!] Indeed, recent events have clarified it but in an invisible way. Just as you, Holiness, have chosen to be hidden.

What greatness, what courage in your decision! No love for oneself, only for Christ and his Church. But we continue to make comparisons. We did so all the time, comparing you with your beloved predecessor, John Paul II, while you were silently writing memorable pages in the Magisterium of the Church.

We are doing so now, while you, with your voluntary absence, are writing what I might call your most beautiful encyclical. On humility.

Today is your name day, my beloved Benedict. I ask you to forgive me for my previous ingratitude, but above all for my lack of faith.

I wish you happy days, and I will try to be a better son to Pope Francis than I ever was for you.

In Christ,

Ivan Quintavalle

21/03/2013 15:36
OFFLINE
Post: 419
Post: 129
Registrato il: 28/05/2007
Registrato il: 19/02/2009
Utente Comunità
Utente Junior
still scared
I think I might be too pragmatic (being of Prussian / Norwegian blood), but I can't warm up to the circus.
It's too much, too fast and too unstable.

Nobody knows what will happen next! And where? And why?
It seems that Pope Francis appeals to the crowd which could never warm up to B16 because he's so reserved (in the most endearing way) and cerebral and possibly never understood him. I think that's perfectly fine.

However! He's managed to unnerve MANY orthodox Catholics (I'm not talking about the über-trad crowd) like myself.
As a convert, I felt safe and protected by the small, shy, but rock-solid figure of B16. I would have walked through hell on his side - and I would have felt protected by his serenity, holiness and calm, solid strength.

Now, I'm afraid that the very difficult step I took - after years and years of conscience wrestling and loyalty sidestepping, might be turned into something meaningless by a left turn in the name of social justice! Protestantism is nothing but social justice! No liturgy, not tradition.... only social justice.

Küng's endorsement made me physically ill!
I'm scared!




Dearest Heike...

I'm still trying to work through the unending maelstrom of thoughts and sensations that have assailed me since February 11 but which have only gotten worse since March 13. Since when I have been stuck at the rage stage with all the uncharitable treatment of Benedict XVI by the media and those whose opinions they shape, but especially of the cardinals including those who were supposed to be his friends. In other words, I am still too angry to be scared.

One thing I do know - we must not be scared that our dearest Papino's legacy will be lost to history. It's only 'lost' right now in the short-term memory of those who think that anything new automatically cancels out anything that went before - the 'spirit of Vatican II' mentality is much more common than one thinks.

I have, of course, considered whether it wasn't time for me to 'chill out' already. To stop being personally offended and hyper-defensive about B16, in the face of the merciless and continuing denigration of him, open and implied, that seems to go on, especially with each new report about Pope Francis. Other than Cardinal Ouellet, all the other cardinals appear to have taken a vow of omerta never ever to refer to Benedict XVI again, God forbid, now that we have a new Pope.

Our Papino is probably the only once-Pope in recent memory that the so-called Princes of the Church have 'repudiated' so totally as the cardinals of the 2013 Conclave have done. When Benedict XVI became Pope, everyone continued to sing hosannas to John Paul II, and many in the media openly said the German Pope could never hope to even approach the stature and greatness of the Polish Pope. Fine! Afterwards, many of them had to eat their words. But all that is now forgotten...

If I was very punctilious about correcting or rebutting every lie, misinformation or misrepresentation of Benedict XVI when necessary in the items I posted, how can I stop now when it is so much worse and even more unfair?

Amy Welborn, a very wise person, posted a very brief message on her blog yesterday: "Pray away your agenda. Now. And just love."

I don't hate anyone. But the only love I am capable of right now for those who mistreat Benedict XVI so terribly is Christian love in the sense of not wishing ill of anybody. I denounce their words and opinions, but I have tried not to be ad hominem about it. I have no agenda, because I am no one - there is nothing I can say or do to change anything, other than prayer. Meanwhile, all I can do 'concretely' is to record my thoughts and feelings - and perhaps that is selfish indulgence. So be it.

We have a new Pope, I admire the virtues he has been shown to have, and I pray for him and the Church, as I have always prayed for the Pope and the Church. And I love him with the generic impersonal love I had for all the Popes in my lifetime before John Paul II and Benedict XVI. It's the love most Catholics have for the Pope, any Pope. In time, I may develop a personal affection for him, because he has a very engaging personality on top of an impressive Christian biography.

This personal involvement overwhelmed me instantaneously with the last two Popes the moment they stepped on to the central loggia of St. Peters. With far greater force for Benedict XVI than it had for John Paul II (something I had not thought possible at all). But despite my deep gratitude and surprise at the wonderful thoughtfulness of Pope Francis leading prayers for Benedict XVI that night of March 13, I did not feel that connection. Perhaps I am too invested in the extraordinary love I feel for Benedict XVI to be open to a new 'involvement'. Of course, none of this matters at all to anyone but me - what I feel, what one individual feels, cannot possibly dilute the universal deluge of love for Pope Francis. I just wish some of that love could also be directed to Benedict XVI.

I shall end by quoting a comment from one of Amy Welborn's followers:

Pope Benedict is as precious to me as my own grandfather. I love what one commentator correctly described as his gentle scholarliness, and I love the humility and love for God that float invisibly around him like a mantle.

No, he wasn’t perfect. Yes, he should have managed the Curia better. And, yes, I fully expect Pope Francis to be just as holy a pope as Benedict was – but also to make just as many mistakes, albeit likely different ones. Don’t we all?

As a relatively new Catholic, though, I have to say that all the harsh injustice that is being leveled at Benedict in the form of comparisons with Francis is the most painful, heartbreaking thing I have experienced since entering the Church.



TERESA
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 19:13]
21/03/2013 16:49
OFFLINE
Post: 26.500
Post: 8.987
Registrato il: 28/08/2005
Registrato il: 20/01/2009
Administratore
Utente Master


Two days after his 'birth-name day', it's Benedict XVI's 'papal-name day' today. Even if it is not 'celebrated' univerally every year according to the prescribed (and rotating) calendar of saints, March 21 is the feast day of St. Benedict (480-547), or as his Benedictines were the first to use the term, his birthday in heaven, the day of his death, and the day they celebrate his feast day, as well as in July 11, to which the feast was moved in the liturgical calendar so as not to be superseded in Lent. And so...

HAPPY NAME DAY AGAIN, YOUR HOLINESS!





Thursday, March 21, Fifth Week of Lent

BLESSED GIOVANNI DA PARMA [John of Parma] (Italy, 1209-1289)
7th Minister-General of the Franciscan Order, Papal Legate, Hermit
One of the second generation of great Franciscans who emerged after the death of St. Francis,
John was a philosophy professor before he joined the Franciscan order around 1233. He was
sent to Paris for further studies, then assigned to Bologna, Naples and Rome, where he caught
the attention of Pope Innocent IV. At the first Council of Lyons in 1245, he represented the
ailing Minister General of the Franciscans. Two years later when thiss superior died, Innocent
supported John to replace him. It was a position he would hold for 10 years, during which he
sought to bring back the order to its early days of poverty and humility under the founder.
He visited almost all the Franciscan convents in Europe on foot, and was received by Louis IX
in France and Henry II in England. Innocent then sent him to Constantinople to win back Greek
Christians who were in schism. He succeeded, but on his return, he decided to retire and urged
the order to elect Bonaventure of Bagnoregio as his successor. John went to a hermitage near
Greccio, where Francis had first instituted a living Nativity tableau. Some time during his 32-
year retirement, he underwent canonical trial under Bonaventure himself for advocating the
theology of Joachim of Fiore. It was said that he may have shared some of Joachim's apocalyptic
views but not his dogmatic errors; and that he retracted during the canonical process. In the year
he was to die, the Greeks in Constantinople threatened schism again and he volunteered, at age 80,
to mediate once again. However, he died along the way in Italy. He was beatified in 1797.

[It is puzzling to me that the Franciscan sites that turn up most frequently online do not even
include include him in their list of 'Franciscan saints and blesseds'. I found the images on an Italian
and a Spanish site.]

Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032113.cfm



AT THE VATICAN TODAY

The Holy Father Francis met with

- Adolfo Pérez Esquivel, 1980 Nobel Peace Prize winner (an Argentinian like the Pope)

- Mons. Carlos Maria Nannei (presumably an Argentine prelate)

- Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, emeritus president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum

= His Beatitude Louis Raphaël I Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, and his delegation.

The Vatican released the text of Pope Francis's greeting to the new Archbishop of Canterbury, His Grace Justin Welby,
on his enthronement today, as well as the text of Benedict XVI's message to Mons. Welby on his election last
January as Primate of the Church of England.


Pope to celebrate Mass of the Lord's Supper
at a Roman jail for juvenile delinquents

Translated from

March 21, 2013

On March 28, Maundy Thursday, the Holy Father Francis will celebrate the Chrismal Mass in the morning at St. Peter's Basilica, and in the afternoon, at 5:30, he will celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper at Rome's Istituto Penale per Minori at Casal del Marmo

The Mass of the Lord's Supper is characterized by the Gospel on the commandment of love and by the gesture of washing the feet of some faithful in commemoration of the Lord's gesture to his Apostles.

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergoglio made it a practice to celebrate this Mass in a jail, a hospital or a hospice for poor and disadvantaged people. He wishes to continue this practice as Pope in a context of simplicity.

All other Holy Week liturgies presided by the Pope will take place as in previous years.

It will be recalled that Pope Benedict XVI visited the institution at Casal del Marmo on March 18, 2007, and celebrated Mass at the Chapel of the Merciful Father.



One year ago today...
It was a Wednesday but no General Audience, as the Holy Father Benedict XVI was to undertake a transcontinental trip for his apostolic visit to Mexico and Cuba early Friday morning.


A timely reminder meanwhile of St. Benedict's legacy:

Benedict of Europe:
His Rule continues to be valid today



ROME, March 21, 2009 ((Translated from SIR) - "Messenger of peace, realizer of unity, teacher of civilization, and above all, herald of the religion of Christ and founder of Western monasticism". These are the exaltatory tiles of St. Benedict, abbot, principal Patron of Europe.

"With the collapse of the Roman Empire, even as some regions of Europe seemed to fall into darkness and others were still 'uncivilized' and devoid of spiritual values, it was he who with constant and assiduous commitment, brought the dawn of a new era to the continent of Europe.

"Mainly, he and his spiritual sons brought Christian progress - through the Cross, the book and the plow - to diverse peoples from the Mediterranean to Scandinavia, from Ireland to the plains of Poland."

Thus did Paul VI write in his Apostolic Letter Pacis Nuntius (Messenger of peace), in proclaiming, on October 24, 1964, St. Benedict of Norcia as "the principal patron of all Europe".

He and his patrimony are remembered today on the anniversary of his 'birth in heaven' in the three Benedictine cities of Norcia, his birthplace; Subiaco, where he lived for 30 years, and where he founded his first monasteries; and Montecassino, where he first drafted his Rule and where he died.

Traditionally linking them is the annual Benedictine Torch 'pro Europa una', which was lit last March 4 in Malta and blessed by Benedict XVI at the General Audience last March 14.

What remains of Benedict's patrimony today? Is his message still relevant for the Old Continent that has become secularized and relativistic?

For the Abbot of Subiaco, don Mauro Meacci, "The relevance of St. Benedict rests on the advice that pervades all his teaching - Never put anything before love for Christ - which implies love and respect for man as as a creature of God". A lesson that is necessary in the Church's ongoing battle in defense of life and the family.

"We are witnessing a decomposition of society," the abbot said, "which is being drained of its natural human values. Man, forgetting his derivation from God, becomes ever more manipulated by the economy, by politics, a manipulation that leads to frustrations, dissatisfaction and disappointment.

"The rule of St. Benedict helps man to recover his soul, to regain his heart. It transposes the Gospel to reality, and invites us to a complete and full life, even in a time of grave material crisis".

In the rediscovery of the Cross that Benedict brought to early medieval Europe, Benedict also brought 'the book and the plow', to use the words of Paul VI.

"The book is the Bible, but also, culture, intelligence, creativity, while the plow represents commitment, responsibility, sacrifice and work," said Mons. Renato Boccardo, Bishop of Spoleto-Norcia.

"Personal and communal responsibility, in the light of Revelation, can generate a Christian humanism that places man at the center and object of our attention", he said.

"We have lost sight of the richness and beauty of man. But re-establishing humanistic values, following the example of St. Benedict, we can give a new spirit to Europe. Christian humanism gives a vision of society that is inspired by wisdom, that makes us look at man, at the family, at service for the promotion of the good of each human being. Benedict places the accent on man as 'the union of body and spirit' that should not be broken up according to changing interests and convenience."

The abbot of Montecassino, dom Pietro Vittorelli, says of Benedict's Rule: "In a time when society is as fluid as it is today, the Rule can help re-establish the correct rules of relationships witnin the family and in society. 'Ora, labora, lege' - pray, work and study - which is the basis of the Rule, has attracted young people in every era and every generation. Today, you can see how many young people choose to have retreats in monasteries where they can rediscover such a harmonious order of life that can orient their own lives. Monastic spirituality welcomes every man without prejudice or exclusion. The world is always present in the prayers of the monks who are not detached from the world in that sense".
[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 21/03/2013 18:02]
Nuova Discussione
 | 
Rispondi
Cerca nel forum

Feed | Forum | Bacheca | Album | Utenti | Cerca | Login | Registrati | Amministra
Crea forum gratis, gestisci la tua comunità! Iscriviti a FreeForumZone
FreeForumZone [v.6.1] - Leggendo la pagina si accettano regolamento e privacy
Tutti gli orari sono GMT+01:00. Adesso sono le 17:01. Versione: Stampabile | Mobile
Copyright © 2000-2024 FFZ srl - www.freeforumzone.com