BENEDICT XVI: NEWS, PAPAL TEXTS, PHOTOS AND COMMENTARY

Monday, December 13, Third Week of Advent


ST. LUCIA (Sicily, 283-304), Virgin and Martyr
Born to a wealthy family, Lucy is said to have vowed herself to virginity,
refused to marry a man chosen by her family, and given away her dowry
to the poor. For her staunch defense of her faith in Christ against the
prevailing society of her day, she was executed during the Diocletian
persecution. Legend has it that her eyes were gouged out before she was
put to death, an event commemorated in her images and her veneration
as the patroness of eyesight. Although little historical fact is known about
her, she is venerated as a saint by all the Christian churches, and is one
of only seven women (including Mary) mentioned in the Canon of the Mass.
Lutherans in the Scandinavian countries have a particular devotion to her.
Readings for today's Mass:
www.usccb.org/nab/readings/121310.shtml


No OR today.


THE POPE'S DAY

This afternoon, the Holy Father will meet with Bishops of Japan.





- Some media headlines on the Wikileaks dump concerning US State Department communications about the Vatican are now reporting the comments of a mid-level attache at the US embassy to the Vatican as fact, as in the outrageous headline "Documents show Pope impeded Irish abuse investigation'. What could the Vatican have contributed to investigations into cases that mostly dated form the 1920s to 2000 - a time when all disciplinary action on offending priests was exclusively the jurisdiction of the local bishop?

- Almost as outrageous, IMHO, is John Allen's ongoing one-man campaign pushing now-Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi as his candidate for the next Pope, with a title like "Cardinal dazzles in a time of PR doldrums'. Dazzles??? You would think the Pope himself has not been doing anything 'stellar' all this time! Like LOTW wasn't both a news and historical 'dazzler'!
ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/vatican%E2%80%99s-%E2%80%98minister-culture%E2%80%99-dazzles-time-pr-...
This is at least Allen's third article in the past 12 months touting Ravasi, in an exercise that, in any case, is always distasteful when indulged before a Pope dies.
AD MULTOS ANNOS, BELOVED PAPA RATZI!

- In www.chiesa, Sandro Magister continues to fight a media battle that has pretty much died away elsewhere, citing an Opus Dei theologian who takes a more liberal view of condom use, but with sufficient hedging so as not to cross the orthodox line. If you are still interested in having others tell you what they think the Pope really meant, read on:
chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1345909?eng=y

- For an idea of what some educated Muslims think of Christmas, read this:
www.izharudeen.com/christmas-path-to-hellfire-article.html