Vatican City, Nov 22, 2009 / 11:05 am (CNA).- In his message on the Feast of Christ the King to the tens of thousands of people gathered on St Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI explained that the "power" of Christ is different from that of "the great of this world." Choosing Christ the King, he said, does not guarantee success, but peace and joy.
"Choosing Christ does not guarantee success according to the criteria of today’s world, but ensures that peace and joy that only He can give,” Pope Benedict added. “This is shown, in every age, by the experience of many men and women who, in Christ's name, in the name of truth and justice, have been able to resist the lure of earthly powers, with their different forms, until their fidelity was sealed with martyrdom.”
The Feast of Christ the King, he continued, is "a celebration of relatively recent introduction, but it has deep biblical and theological roots."
"It begins with the expression ‘King of the Jews' arriving then to that of ‘universal King,’ Lord of the cosmos and of history, so far beyond the expectation of the same Jewish people."
Benedict XVI expounded on the regal power of Jesus: “It is not that of the kings and great of this world, it is the divine power to give eternal life to free us from evil, to defeat the dominion of death. It is the power of love, which knows how to derive good from evil, soften a hardened heart, bring peace to the bitterest conflict, turn the thickest darkness into hope.” more...
On the Feast of Christ the King we celebrate the full and final triumph and return of the One through whom the entire universe was created and in whom it is being recreated.
Christians mark time by the great events of the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are always moving forward and toward His loving return. We mark our Christian culture with events of importance from the ongoing 'family', history of the Church. The members of that family were birthed from the wounded side of the Savior on the Cross-at Calvary’s hill.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Our Catholic liturgical year follows a rhythmic cycle. It points us toward beginnings and ends and, in so doing, emphasizes an important truth that can only be grasped through faith. This is the Thirty Fourth or last Sunday in the Western Church year and we celebrate the Feast of the Solemnity of Jesus Christ the Sovereign King.
Then, no sooner than we have celebrated the last Sunday of the Year, the feast of Christ the King, we will celebrate the First Sunday of Advent, and begin the time of preparation for the great Nativity of Our Savior. Our Catholic Christian faith and its Liturgical practices proclaim to a world hungry for meaning that Jesus Christ is the “Alpha”, (the first letter of the Greek alphabet) and the “Omega” (the last letter), the beginning and the end. He is the Giver, the Governor and the fulfillment of all time. In Him the whole world is being made new.
Our Liturgical seasons offer us a way to receive time as a continual gift. Their celebration can help us to grow in the life of grace as we say “yes” to their invitations. They invite us to walk with the Lord in a way of life which becomes infused with supernatural meaning. The liturgical seasons help us mark time with those deeper truths that matter most. Human beings have always marked time by significant events. The real question is not whether we will mark time, but how we will do so. What events and what messages are we proclaiming in our calendaring? For the Christian, time is not meant to be a tyrant, somehow ruling over us. Rather, it is to be a teacher, instructing us, a series of invitations to allow the Lord to be our King, to reign in our real, daily lives. Rather than an enemy, time is to be a companion, a friend. It is a path along which the redemptive loving plan of a timeless God is revealed and received. In Christ, time is now given back to us as a gift, a field of choice and a path to holiness and human flourishing. more...
Vatican City, Nov 21, 2009 / 12:36 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI and the Anglican Primate Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, have agreed to maintain momentum in the ecumenical dialogue between the two churches despite the fact that the Apostolic Constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus will imply the reception of some half a million Anglicans into the Catholic Church.
The Pope received Williams this Saturday morning, and according to a Vatican press release, "in the course of the cordial discussions attention turned to the challenges facing all Christian communities at the beginning of this millennium, and to the need to promote forms of collaboration and shared witness in facing these challenges.
"The private meeting also “focused on recent events affecting relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion, reiterating the shared will to continue and to consolidate the ecumenical relationship between Catholics and Anglicans," the press release said. more...
Vatican City, Nov 21, 2009 / 02:59 pm (CNA).- Today Pope Benedict XVI extended a warm personal welcome to artists from all over the world who met with him in a private audience hosted at the Sistine Chapel. In a moving address he challenged the artists, as "custodians of beauty," to be "heralds and witnesses of hope for humanity."
Artists from many countries, who represented the gamut of artistic categories including architecture, sculpture, music, dance and film, met with the Holy Father this morning in the Sistine Chapel just off St. Peter's square. Around 250 artists, Catholics and non-Catholics alike, responded to the Holy See's invitation to all professionals in the arts to take part in the event.
The Pope read a moving letter to the group in which he invited the artists to "friendship, dialogue, and cooperation" with the church. Profusely citing a wide variety of artists' interpretations of beauty throughout history and also quoting the particularly art-conscious Popes Paul VI and John Paul II numerous times, Pope Benedict illustrated a simple message very clearly: with their vision and skill, artists have a unique ability to use their vocations to promote beauty in the world, which is a gift from God. more...
AP – FILE - In this Aug. 12, 2000 file photo, The Holy Shroud, a 14 foot-long linen revered by some as the …
AP via Yahoo! News By ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writer – 20 mins ago
ROME – A Vatican researcher has rekindled the age-old debate over the Shroud of Turin, saying that faint writing on the linen proves it was the burial cloth of Jesus.
Experts say the historian may be reading too much into the markings, and they stand by carbon-dating that points to the shroud being a medieval forgery.
Barbara Frale, a researcher at the Vatican archives, says in a new book that she used computer-enhanced images of the shroud to decipher faintly written words in Greek, Latin and Aramaic scattered across the cloth.
She asserts that the words include the name "(J)esu(s) Nazarene" — or Jesus of Nazareth — in Greek. That, she said, proves the text could not be of medieval origin because no Christian at the time, even a forger, would have mentioned Jesus without referring to his divinity. Failing to do so would risk being branded a heretic.
"Even someone intent on forging a relic would have had all the reasons to place the signs of divinity on this object," Frale said Friday. "Had we found 'Christ' or the 'Son of God' we could have considered it a hoax, or a devotional inscription."
The shroud bears the figure of a crucified man, complete with blood seeping from his hands and feet, and believers say Christ's image was recorded on the linen's fibers at the time of his resurrection. more...
During a visit to Argentina, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the longtime personal secretary to Pope John Paul II, said that the next step toward beatification of the late Pontiff was up to Pope Benedict XVI. "We do not want the Pope to rush, he should analyze it properly," the Polish cardinal said. His words seemed to provide indirect confirmation of recent Italian media reports that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has approved a decree testifying to the "heroic virtue" of Pope John Paul. If those reports are true, the decree would now await the approval of Pope Benedict.
In an unrelated comment during a news conference in Argentina, Cardinal Dziwisz confirmed that during the early years of his pontificate, John Paul II would sometimes slip out of the Vatican to spend a day in the mountains. The Pope would travel in disguise, he said, but he and his aides realized that they would have to be more careful when a young Italian boy recognized the Pope on a ski slope.
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Two days before he is scheduled to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, the Archbishop of Canterbury made a spirited defense of the Anglican decision to ordain women as priests, and minimized the differences between the Anglican communion and the Catholic Church, in a talk at the Gregorian University in Rome.
Dr. Rowan Williams said that the Anglican communion, with its sharp internal differences on issues such as homosexuality, could offer a model for other Christian churches, by showing that unity is possible despite such doctrinal disagreements. He argued that Christians are bound together by ties that are stronger than their disputes, and suggested that Christian unity could be achieved by, in effect, agreeing to disagree, in order to "maintain a degree of undoubtedly impaired communion."
The Anglican leader applied that principle explicit to relations between Canterbury and Rome, saying that much progress had been made in the past 40 years to defining a common sense of what constitutes the Christian Church. "When so much agreement has been established in first-order matters about the identity and mission of the Church, is it justifiable to treat other issues as equally vital for its health and integrity?" he asked.
The scheduled November 21 meeting between Archbishop Williams and Pope Benedict has been a focal point of attention, in light of the Pope's apostolic constitution inviting Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church. In his speech at the pontifical university, the Archbishop of Canterbury downplayed the importance of the Pope's move, saying that "it is an imaginative pastoral response to the needs of some; but it does not break any fresh ecclesiological ground."
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Vatican City, Nov 19, 2009 / 12:06 pm (CNA).- This afternoon Pope Benedict XVI met with professors and students of Roman Pontifical Universities and discussed the “urgent need, which still persists today, to overcome the separation between faith and culture.”
Speaking as well to participants in the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC), the Holy Father drew from John Paul II's Apostolic Constitution “Sapienta christiana,” which has its 30th anniversary this year, and stated its continued relevance in today's society.
The concepts of “Sapienta christiana,” the Pope continued, “still retain their validity. Indeed in modern society where knowledge is becoming ever more specialized and sectorial but is profoundly marked by relativism, it is even more necessary to open oneself to the wisdom which comes from the Gospel.” more...
"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe — and enough shadows to blind those who don't." —Blaise Pascal
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Lights and Shadows
And so it comes to the time of leaving, and of summing up.
Who can sum up Russia? (Photo: St. Basil's Cathedral at the end of Red Square two nights ago.)
I can only offer glimpses, blurry photographs, impressions, fragments of conversations. And yet, these too have their significance.
And from them, one can try to draw conclusions, without pretending that the conclusions are entirely valid, but only that they are possible.
My first thought is: confusion. Not just in Russia, but everywhere.
Russia is not Russia. Or at least, not the Russia I imagined. I imagined "Holy Russia," filled with silent, holy monks and splendid, divine liturgies. more...
Vatican City, Nov 18, 2009 / 11:11 am (CNA).- In his catechesis to the 8,000 present during Wednesday's general audience, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of "the glory of the Christian Middle Ages," the Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals. He described how the early Christians' medieval structures reveal their faith and glorify the Lord.
The Holy Father noted that the Christian faith, “rooted in the men and women of the Middle Ages” inspired “some of the most exalted artistic creations of all civilization.” He explained that in medieval times, the historical conditions were more favorable to artistic creation due to the increase in population, trade and wealth.
These developments enabled the construction of churches where the liturgy could be celebrated with dignity, he added.
One of the novelties of Romanesque churches, Pope Benedict continued, was the introduction of sculptures which, more than seeking technical perfection, "had an educational aim... Their recurring theme was the representation of Christ as Judge, surrounded by the figures of the Apocalypse. In general it is the portals of Romanesque churches that present this image, underlining the fact that Christ is the Door that leads to heaven." more...
The process leading to the possible canonization of the Servant of God John Paul II may have taken a major step forward.
The funeral of Pope John Paul II was viewed throughout the world and captivated millions. His life changed the world, the Church and countless lives.
ROME (Catholic Online) - Andrea Tornielli is a frequently cited European Journalist whose reports have sometimes been later denied by the Vatican. He writes for Il Giornale and blogs on Giornale.it. His latest report is creating quite a stir globally, that Pope John Paul II will soon be beatified.
His claim was considered accurate by Catholic News Service (CNS) - and then picked up by other news sources - the “Congregation for the Causes of Saints” has recommended the late Servant of God John Paul II be declared “Blessed”. The CNS report noted that “The Vatican did not deny or confirm that the vote took place because the process is supposed to be secret until Pope Benedict signs the decree recognizing the heroic virtue of his predecessor and declares him venerable”.
The November 16, 2009 report which is the source for all of the other stories was entitled Pope John Paul II "Santo Subito" and was written by Andrea Tornielli in Italian. It is very roughly and very loosely translated below:
*****
“Today is a decisive day. They meet this morning in the Vatican, cardinals and bishops, members of the Congregation for the Cause of Saints, called to discuss and then to speak with a vote on the process of the beatification of John Paul II.
The outcome of these meetings can never be taken for granted and last-minute surprises are always possible, as has already happened before when the case was examined by theologians and experts. The need for a second examination was not because there were doubts about the sanctity of the Polish Pope, but because those investigating requested further documentation.
But everything suggests that the outcome will be positive and that the cardinals and bishops, members of what is called "the factory of saints" will make a decision after discussing this with each other. If so, the “Congregation for the Causes of Saints” will put its final approval on the process and recommend the proclamation of the 'heroic virtues "of Pope Wojtyla, which is the final step before the beatification itself.
Such a proclamation, to become effective, must be expressly approved and authorized by Pope Benedict XVI. It would be presented by the Prefect of the Congregation, Archbishop Angelo Amato to Pope Benedict XVI. The materials were prepared to submit for the decree in recent months and that meeting is expected to occur before the end of the year.
If, as expected, today's decision is positive, then by the end of 2009, Pope Benedict’s signature will be placed upon the decree proclaiming the heroic virtues of his predecessor. At that point, there will need only to be the approval of the miracle attributed to the intercession of Karol Wojtyla, one of the many miraculous healings reported after his death by people who turned to him.
The Polish-born prelate Msgr. Slawomir Oder, the postulator of the cause for beatification, has chosen the case of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre, stricken with Parkinson's disease that prevented her from working in the maternity ward of a French hospital. She was cured suddenly and inexplicably, after the nuns prayed to the recently deceased pontiff.
It is still premature to suggest dates for the beatification but it could occur in Rome in 2010, in either May or October. It is expected that hundreds of thousands of pilgrims will arrive in Rome, all devoted to Pope John Paul II. As you recall, Pope Benedict XVI, a few weeks after the election and upon the request being made by the Vicar of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, agreed to waive the waiting period of five years from the death that canon law establishes as necessary before starting the process of beatification. He thus made possible the immediate start of the case, as had happened a few years before to Mother Teresa of Calcutta. more...
VALLETTA, Malta, NOV. 17, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Archdiocese of Malta announced the main events of Benedict XVI's visit to the nation, which will commemorate 1,950 years since St. Paul's shipwreck there.
The visit, set for April 17-18, was announced in September. The Maltese bishops, as well as the nation's president, George Abela, had invited the Pope.
"The Pope will arrive in Malta on Saturday afternoon and return to Rome Sunday evening," the archdiocese reported Saturday. "On arrival, His Holiness will hold meetings with the highest Civil Authorities and then visit St. Paul’s Grotto in Rabat.
"On Sunday morning the Pope will celebrate Mass on the Granaries, in Floriana and he will then meet youths at the Valletta Waterfront in the afternoon."
It will be the third trip of a Pontiff to the Mediterranean island nation, including Pope John Paul II's trips in 1990 and 2001.
The visit will celebrate the 1,950th anniversary of St. Paul's shipwreck in the archipelago that, according to tradition, occurred in the year 60, during his second voyage toward Rome.
The Apostle of the Gentiles, the Acts of the Apostles says, was welcomed by the local population "with rare humanity."
He remained on the island for three months before setting out for Sicily. Bitten by a viper, he was unaffected, and many islanders who were ill went to him and were healed.
Malta, which won independence from the United Kingdom in 1964, has some 410,000 inhabitants, 98% of whom are Catholic.
The cause for beatification of Pope John Paul II has cleared a crucial hurdle, and the Polish Pontiff could now be beatified with the approval of a miracle through his intercession, according to informed sources at the Vatican.
Respected Vatican journalist Andrea Tornielli reported this week that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has voted to approve a decree testifying to the "heroic virtue" of John Paul II. When that decree is officially approved by Pope Benedict XVI, John Paul would acquire the title of "venerable" and would be eligible for beatification as soon as Vatican officials attest to the authenticity of a miracle attributed to his intercession.
The Vatican has neither confirmed nor denied Tornielli's report. However officials have acknowledged that the Congregation for the Causes of Saints has met and considered the dossier on John Paul II. The decisions of the Congregation are not ordinarily announced until the Pope ratifies them at an ordinary consistory of the cardinals present in Rome. Such a session would probably place in December.
Several miracles attributed to the intercession of the late Pontiff are already being scrutinized by Church officials. Reported miracles are examined first by a team of Vatican-appointed doctors, who are asked to rule out any possibility of a natural explanation, and then by theologians before being referred to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and ultimately to the Pope for final approval.
Ordinarily the Church does not allow the opening of a cause for beatification until 5 years after the candidate's death. Pope Benedict waived that waiting period in the case of John Paul II, citing his predecessor's worldwide reputation for holiness. If the reports from Rome are accurate, the Vatican might announce plans for the beatification of John Paul II barely 5 years after the late Pope's death.
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A wise Orthodox bishop, miraculous icon, a night train ride into the snow.....
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Moscow
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The Icon of Our Lady of Kazan
(Note: I left off my last report, Letter #50, from Moscow and Kazan, just before entering the sanctuary in Kazan, Russia, to view the icon of Our Lady of Kazan on Sunday afternoon, November 15. Here is the continuation of that report...)
"Let's go to see the icon," says Father Diogenes. "Dmitri and Maxim are waiting for us there..." more...
Pope urges the faithful to imitate St. Paul and ‘make good use of today's 'areopaghi', where the great challenges of evangelization are to be found’
Pope Benedict: 'New doors are being opened to the Gospel and a longing for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal is spreading throughout the world'.
VATICAN CITY (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Holy Father to Cardinal Ivan Dias, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, for the plenary assembly of that dicastery, currently being held on the theme: "St. Paul and the new areopaghi". The reference to the Areopagus in Athens where St. Paul announced the Gospel "represents a pressing call to make good use of today's 'areopaghi', where the great challenges of evangelization are to be found", the Pope writes.
He also highlights how "the missionary activity of the Church must be oriented towards these nerve centers of society in the third millennium. Nor should we undervalue the influence of a widespread relativist culture, usually lacking values, which enters into the sanctuary of the family infiltrating the field of education and other areas of society, contaminating them and manipulating consciences, especially among the young. At the same time however, despite these snares, the Church knows that the Holy Spirit is always at work.
"New doors are being opened to the Gospel and a longing for authentic spiritual and apostolic renewal is spreading throughout the world", the Pope adds. "As in other periods of change, the pastoral priority is to show the true face of Christ. ... This requires each Christian community and the Church as a whole to offer witness of faithfulness to Christ, patiently building that unity He wanted and called for from all His disciples. In fact, Christian unity will make it easier to evangelize and to face the cultural, social and religious challenges of our time".
The Pope concludes his Message with a call "to imitate the lifestyle and the apostolic spirit" of the Apostle of the Gentiles, "focusing entirely on Christ. Through such complete adherence to the Lord, Christians will easily be able to transmit the heritage of faith to new generations, a heritage capable of transforming even difficulties into opportunities for evangelization".
A holy Catholic priest, a mystical Russian Catholic nun, a wise Orthodox bishop, a miraculous icon. A night train ride into the snow and a talk with the executive director of the St. Gregory Foundation
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Moscow
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Night Train to Kazan
I left off my last report, driving to the train station, and snapping a blurry photo of St. Basil's Cathedral in the rain.
As I rode the overnight train to Kazan, I remembered that St. Basil's Cathedral, on the edge of Red Square, the last thing I saw as I was leaving Moscow, was built to commemorate the victory of Ivan the Terrible over the Tartars of Kazan in the mid-1500s -- more or less the symbolic moment when Russia became a significant power in the world.
It takes 12 and a half hours by train from Moscow to Kazan, about 600 miles almost due east -- halfway to the Ural mountains.
So, if we take the Ural mountains to be the eastern border of Europe, Kazan is hundreds of miles inside Europe.
But Kazan, on the Volga River, is also the gateway to Asia, and to the Middle East. more...
By Jennifer Hartline 11/16/2009 Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
'There will be no easy paths through these dark days, and no way around it. Our mission is clear: We must be the light in the darkness'
There will be no easy paths through these dark days, and no way around it. Our mission is clear: We must be the light in the darkness. We must set our light high upon the hill and expose the evil that wants to remain hidden. We must tell the world the truth that will set them free. It is Jesus, the Way, the Truth, and the Life; Jesus, the Light of the world.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - Our society is made of bendy, cowardly stuff these days. The travesty at Fort Hood last week is only the latest proof. We're in desperate need of a vaccination, alright, but not for the swine flu. We need a massive shot in the arm of courage to help strengthen us against this rampant virus of godless political correctness.
After this terrible, heartbreaking week, I think if I hear one more person extolling the virtues of diversity I'm going to throw up. Diversity simply for the sake of appearances, for the sake of balanced-looking statistics leads to trouble. What happened at Fort Hood leaves no doubt. Battle-tested men with bars and stars on their chests were reluctant to speak the truth because the pressure of political-correctness was stronger than the threat of violence. 14 people are dead not because there wasn't tight enough security at the front gate, but because a terrorist wearing an Army uniform was protected by a climate of fear.
Even now, that climate of fear is working overtime to squelch the truth and put a palatable spin on the fact that we've been suckered like cowards into pooh-poohing the danger any fool can plainly see because we fear being branded as prejudiced or intolerant. So we cover our eyes and pretend not to see the truth staring us in the face, and deadly things happen.
Pitifully, this is the standard modus operandi now in our society. We're not much interested in the truth anymore; only in making sure we appear to be tolerant, diverse, and “equal” in all things. Here's a newsflash folks: all things are not “equal”, and some choices are always wrong.
To those who salute the flag of godless political correctness, sometimes the words equality, tolerance and choice are actually "code-speak" that disguises a nefarious meaning. Those terms are now used as weapons against anyone who dares to say that something is immoral and wrong. They are thrown like bombs at anyone who won't compromise what they know in their hearts to be right and true.
To the well-meaning yet weak-willed, otherwise commendable concepts like diversity, equality and choice have an attractive glow and they sound good and right, and it's easy to be fooled. But when the death of one person is being sold as the “choice” of another, when the immoral sexual activity engaged in between two men or two women is proclaimed to be “equality”, when appropriate questioning and good judgment are silenced for the sake of a false notion of “diversity”, it's time to wise up and see the wolf beneath the lamb's wool. more...
Speaking at the FAO International Summit, Benedict XVI said that technical solutions (investment, banking, justice, climate, markets ...) is not enough to help the more than one billion hungry. A conversion to solidarity is needed.
Rome (AsiaNews) - Benedict XVI's speech at the FAO, is a very brief overview of the many problems posed by hunger in the world. There is no easy and immediate solution to the tragedy of a billion and more hungry people. The pope is aware of this and avoids chasing easy platitudes and general accusations about the serious delay in the various "goals" that FAO had established in the recent past. On the one hand he recalls and clarifies his many exhortations on technical issues that we have already encountered in the recent "Caritas in Veritate" (international justice, rich countries investment in agriculture in poor nations, attention to climate change, access to international markets for poor economies, etc.). on the other he insists with particular strength and renewed approach the need to "redefine the concepts and principles that have hitherto governed international relations, in such a way as to answer the question: what can direct the attention and the consequent conduct of States towards the needs of the poorest? ".
The dramatic growth in the number of hungry people is a fact that regards not only world leaders but each and every man and woman, if they have formed a "consciousness of solidarity, which considers food and access to water as a universal right of all human beings, without distinction or discrimination". The pontiff praised the FAO for acting in this way, even enlarging "of the objectives of this right over and above the mere guarantee of satisfying primary needs." The Church has always been at the forefront in the fight against hunger and poverty, creating a "consciousness of solidarity." That is, he states: "only in the name of common membership of the worldwide human family can every people and therefore every country be asked to practise solidarity, that is, to shoulder the burden of concrete responsibilities in meeting the needs of others, so as to favour the genuine sharing of goods, founded on love".
An original speech, new to the environment of FAO, where the technical, economic and trade problems that abet the persistence of hunger in the world are debated, a hunger that has increased despite numerous projects, efforts, funding measures. Benedict XVI does not neglect the practical difficulties of those on the ground in the war against hunger. But in this discourse he is appealing in particular to the consciences of individuals, because he is convinced that the gap between the rich and poor of the world (developed and undeveloped) is so deep, that it cannot be bridged by a certain number of billions of dollars, although it must be made available to those who fight this one war worth fighting. We need a new consciousness of the people, especially young people, to become active participants and we can all help to form it.
The FAO summit is where many subjects and issues that concern governments, international organizations, banks, professional technicians are discussed, with the result that, in my opinion, the nations and individuals following these discussions are almost exclusively reduced to the role of spectators . They are interested but not affected or involved. And yet the scandal of a billion hungry people is a cry of anguish, a clear sign of the failure of the world that we all are helping to build and maintain. It is first and foremost a human problem, a billion men and women like us, not just a technical-economic problem. Pope Benedict thus sets out a "consciousness of solidarity" capable of being the driving force for a decisive breakthrough in the fight against hunger: " Acknowledgment of the transcendental worth of every man and every woman is still the first step towards the conversion of heart that underpins the commitment to eradicate deprivation, hunger and poverty in all their form".
According to official statistics do not exist, but to Repentance in the Arab and Muslim world there is a big wave of Christianity. Catholic Newspaper quotes from it in the next edition Friday a number of the Muslim leaders are very concerned. “There are a disaster taking place within Islam,” said one of them. “He takes place within Islam a disaster,” says one of them. In a country like Sudan knocks the cruelty of the Islamic regime against Christians off many Muslims. In Sudan as a land of cruelty and shot against the Mohammedan regime Christians off many Muslims. 800,000 of them have become Christians. 800.000 of them became Christians.
In all Arab-Muslim countries is prohibited evangelism and conversion to Christianity is punishable by law. In all the Arabic-Mohammedan evangelism is prohibited and Conversion to Christianity country legally punished. Conversions are therefore not officially registered and many dare not openly come out. In Europe: according to Magdi Allam, the Egyptian Muslim in the Easter Vigil of 2008 was baptized by the pope, the continent is in a “new catacombekerk” created. Repentance leg are therefore not officially registered and many are not openly dare to.
Not even in Europe: according to Magdi Allam, Egyptian Moslems, the Easter Vigil in 2008 and was baptized by the Pope, is in the continent “a new catacombekerk created.
Even with the clumsy electronic translation, that seems pretty clear. Though “unofficial” -since conversion to Christianity is punishable by death in much of the Muslim world, including Sudan, where life is very cruel- nearly a million Sudanese Muslims have secretly become Christians. The Easter 2008 baptism of Magdi Allam, by Pope Benedict XVI seems to have been a catalyst for this creation of a new “underground, hidden” church, where these new Christians dare not worship openly.
Let us pray for them, then. The church underground is always the church most vibrantly alive; blessed with heroic faith and watered by the blood of martyrs, it grows deep roots. Something its persecutors never understand. So is the remnant:
The thing about remnants is that they identify themselves after a carpet has been laid or a robe has been cut, not before.
Remnants do not stop a construct from happening…they survive it.
I have read several pieces recently about large numbers of Muslims being “converted” to Christianity after encountering Christ in dreams; the stories are difficult to source, however, given the threatening climate in Islamic countries. more...
Vatican City, Nov 15, 2009 / 11:25 am (CNA).- With thousands of faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the Sunday Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI focused his address on Sunday’s Mass reading from the Gospel of St. Mark. While creation is “destined to end,” he said, Jesus’ words are "eternal."
On the second-to-last Sunday of the liturgical year, Pope Benedict expressed his thanks to God for another year in “the great family of the Church” almost complete: “It is an inestimable gift, which permits us to live in history the mystery of Christ, welcoming in the paths of our personal and communal existence the seed of the Word of God, an eternal seed that from the inside transforms this world and opens it to the Kingdom of Heaven.”
St. Mark, he added, today presents us a part of the discourse of Jesus on the end times: “In this discourse, there is a sentence that is striking for its clear synthesis: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.’”
The expression “Heaven and earth,” Benedict XVI explained, appears frequently in the Bible to indicate all the universe, the entire cosmos. “Jesus,” he added, “declares that all that is destined to pass away, not only earth, but Heaven, which is included here in the cosmic sense, not as synonymous of God.”
“Sacred Scripture is unambiguous. All creation is destined to end, including elements divinized by ancient mythology. There is no confusion between creation and the Creator, but a clear difference.” more...
The Russian Orthodox have set up a vehicle to work with Catholics, Protestants and others to promote traditional Christian values in Europe. It's name: The St. Gregory Foundation
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Moscow
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The Founding
"We were on Mt. Athos on the 11th of August this year, three months ago, and we went to the monastery where are kept the holy remains of St. Gregory Nazianzus the Theologian," Leonid Sevastianov, a young Russian friend, said to me.
"We were on Mt. Athos on the 11th of August this year, three months ago, and we went to the monastery where are kept the holy remains of St. Gregory Nazianzus the Theologian," Leonid Sevastianov, a young Russian friend, said to me.
"The archbishop called me to his side, and together we venerated the relics."
Leonid was referring to Archbishop Hilarion Alfeyev, 42, the head of the External Relations Department of the Russian Orthodox Church.
"Just at that precise moment, my cellphone rang. It was Moscow calling. A government official informed me that the St. Gregory Foundation had been registered that morning. Just at that moment! We took it as a sign..."
What Will It Mean?
Since the end of communism in 1991, for 18 years, many Catholic groups have tried to help the persecuted Russian Orthodox Church re-emerge from the catacombs. These groups. like Aid to the Church in Need, based in Koenigstein, Germany, Renovabis and Misereor, the charitable foundations of the German bishops, gave many millions of dollars to support Russian Orthodox clergy in a period when the Russian Orthodox Church was attempting to get "back on its feet" after 70 years of repression.
Now, the Russian Orthodox Church is back on its feet. It's beginning to stretch its legs, and starting to move. But it doesn't want to run this race alone.
Remembering the Communist time, and the two decades since, the Russians say they are prepared to work together with those who did not forget them in times of persecution and suffering. But what type of work?
Seeing the predicament of modern Russia, where divorce rates are high and the abandonment of children a national tragedy, where financial corruption is eating away at the country's social fabric and limiting the chances for Russia to transition from totalitarianism to a more open and free society, the Russian Orthodox Church is developing a two-fold strategy: to renew the Church internally, and to engage the wider society externally, confronting the great human and social problems Russia faces.
On both fronts, but particularly on the second, Archbishop Hilarion and Sevastianov have told me, the Russian Orthodox have now decided to engage with Catholics, and others, in a collaboration which can be compared to an actual alliance against the great social evils of our day, not only in Russia, but also throughout Europe and the world.
Therefore, with the spiritual blessing of Patriarch Kirill (photo meeting Pope Benedict XVI, before Kirill was elected Patriarch early this year) Archbishop Hilarion, working with a team of young Orthodox clergy and laymen, decided to found the St. Gregory Nazianzus Foundation in order to work together with Catholics and others in the West, to support traditional spiritual values in Russia, but also throughout the world,
St. Greory was a theologian in the 300s, well before the division of the Church into East and West, and so is venerated both by the Catholics and by the Orthodox. He is a Father of the Church for all Christians.
The co-founders of this new foundation are Archbishop Hilarion and Vadim Yakunin, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Russia.
Yakunin has made a personal commitment to support the spiritual and social vision articulated by Patriarch Kirill.
Other wealthy Russians are also prepared to support this Foundation. But participation by Americans and Western Europeans would also be very much appreciated. more...
Published on November 14, 2009 by EU News Network (EUNewsNet.com and OfficialWire)
VATICAN CITY, ITALY Pope Benedict XVI is to call for global cooperation in addressing hunger when he speaks at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome, the Vatican said.
The pope is to deliver the keynote address Monday at the summit organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, ANSA reported Saturday.
The summit aims to give new "momentum to the fight against hunger and malnutrition" affecting more than a billion people worldwide, the U.N. group said in a statement Friday.
The world's population is expected to grow by 50 percent and reach 9 billion by 2050, making it critical that countries cooperate to ensure food security for all, said the U.N. group, based in Rome.
Pope Benedict XVI will visit Malta on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 April 2010, on the occasion of the 1950th anniversary of St Paul’s shipwreck. The Pope will arrive in Malta on Saturday afternoon and return to Rome Sunday evening. On arrival, His Holiness will hold meetings with the highest Civil Authorities and then visit St. Paul’s Grotto in Rabat.
On Sunday morning the Pope will celebrate Mass on the Granaries, in Floriana and he will then meet youths at the Valletta Waterfront in the afternoon.
The possibility of Pope Benedict’s visit was announced on September 12 when it was communicated that His Holiness might visit Malta in April next year. The Bishops of Malta and the President of the Republic had previously invited His Holiness to visit Malta.
Some of the John Paul II Film Festival award winners
Miami, Fla., Nov 13, 2009 / 12:09 am (CNA).- Self-described as “a home to filmmakers who have chosen to use this medium to express and share a message of hope, struggle, triumph and
Love to the world,” the John Paul II International Film Festival held its first awards ceremony on Saturday night, in Florida.
The festival took place on the Miami campus of Florida International University on Nov. 7, where guests were welcomed by a live band and a spread of wine, coffee and desserts.
Speaking to a packed room, the festival's co-director and coordinator Laura Alvarado explained,
“Most festivals do not open their awards ceremonies to the community, but we have said from the beginning that this is the 'People's Festival.' For this reason, the community is most welcome in it's attendance.”
The brand new film festival was hosted by the non-profit 7eventhDay Media, Inc., and was created in response to the late Pontiff's apostolic “Letter to Artists.” A statement on the festival's website said that, “in 1999 the late Pope John Paul II challenged artists to respond to the world's need for Truth, Love and Peace through the use of art. With the coming generations, it is becoming more and more apparent that the world hungers for meaning – for a reminder of what we are meant to do on this earth.”
According to festival organizers, there is “a strong demand for films that promote life, love and strong family values,” which was evidenced by the more than 100 submissions to this year's event.
Five awards were presented Saturday night to filmmakers of feature, short and documentary films.
“The Reel Rose Awards are presented to the films this year which exceptionally provided provocative story telling, high artistic technique, and truthful filmmaking,” said co-director and film coordinator Frank Brennan, before announcing the winners.
In addition to the Reel Rose Awards, other categories for competition included People's Choice and the film that best personified the Festival's 2009 theme, “Faith through the Storm.” This former honor went to a documentary titled “The Water Project,” which followed a non-profit group that traveled to the Dominican Republic and installed an aqueduct for a community that had never seen running water.
“When the JP2 crew first began working on this festival back in late January of 2009, we would never have thought we'd be putting together such a huge project in nine months,” festival organizers told CNA.
Msgr. William Stetson is the secretary of the pastoral provision, the structure provided by Pope John Paul II in 1980 to enable married former Episcopal priests to be ordained as Catholic priests. The pastoral provision also empowers the establishment of "personal parishes" -- groups to which the Church grants special pastoral care (in this case, non-Catholic Christians from the Episcopal Church) -- that follow the Anglican Use liturgy.
The pastoral provision is overseen by an ecclesiastical delegate -- at the time of its institution, then-Bishop Bernard Law. Since 1996, the ecclesiastical delegate has been Archbishop John Myers of Newark. Monsignor Stetson works for the archbishop -- meeting candidates, managing the examination process, and guiding the application for dispensations to Rome.
I interviewed Monsignor Stetson during a retreat for priests of the pastoral provision in Tampa, Florida, this week.
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Father Longenecker: You've been working in this area for more than ten years, and you belong to the Opus Dei prelature. How is the new personal ordinariate different from a personal prelature?
Monsignor Stetson: In the new ordinariate, the faithful will receive all their pastoral care from priests in the ordinariate. In a personal prelature, the faithful normally receive their sacraments and pastoral care from the clergy of their diocesan parishes.
FL: The Anglican personal ordinariate -- who's in? Who can belong?
MS: Former members of the Episcopal/Anglican Church who, at the time of coming into full communion, request in writing to be members of the ordinariate. Also, priests -- married or single -- may request to be part of the ordinariate, and then they may move forward through the selection and discernment process to be ordained as Catholic priests. It is also possible for the faithful who are presently Catholic, but who converted from Anglicanism, to belong to the ordinariate.
FL: What about cradle Catholics who have converted to Anglicanism? Can they belong to the ordinariate?
MS: This touches the question not only of those individuals but also Latin Catholics who wish to belong to the ordinariate for whatever reason. The Apostolic Constitution says that those who were baptized as Catholics outside the ordinariate will not normally belong to the ordinariate, unless they belong to a family that is part of the ordinariate. more...
Instead of battling to return the cross to once Christian lands, besiegers struggle to uproot the cross from its 2,000-year-old home.
From left to right, Italian political parties were taken aback by the decision. Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, claimed that the decision was the 'consequence of the cowardice of the European governors who refused to mention the Christian roots of Europe in the European Constitution.'
ROME (Zenit.org) - And you thought the Crusades were over. Nope. Now, however, instead of battling to return the cross to once Christian lands, besiegers struggle to uproot the cross from its 2,000-year-old home. On Nov. 4, the European Court of Human Rights decreed that the presence of crucifixes in schools violates students’ rights to religious freedom.
The seven judges of the European court handed down the sentence that “the crucifix could be easily interpreted by students of all ages as a religious symbol. Thus they would feel that they are being educated in a scholastic atmosphere of a certain religious stamp.”
(As an art teacher, I have to sadly note that a great many students do not know what a crucifix is or means, leaving them incapable of comprehending the vast body of Western art produced from the fourth to the 17th centuries.)
The judges awarded €5,000 in damages to Soile Lautsi Albertin, an Italian citizen of Finnish origin, who started her suit in 2002 to remove crucifixes from her sons’ classrooms in Padua. After every Italian court found against her, she finally brought her case to the European Union, which found unanimously in her favor.
Although the court fined the government, it did not order crucifixes to be removed, which hang in Italian schools by law. Italy has three months to file an appeal.
Massimo Albertin, the plaintiff’s husband, obviously delighted by the verdict, was quoted by ANSA news agency as saying “The crucifix creates discrimination.”
The Albertins’ position was not shared by the Italian government, nor the overwhelming majority of Italians on the street. Television reporters combed Italian piazzas recording the shock and perplexity of the Italians.
From left to right, Italian political parties were taken aback by the decision. Pier Ferdinando Casini, leader of the Union of Christian and Centre Democrats, claimed that the decision was the “consequence of the cowardice of the European governors who refused to mention the Christian roots of Europe in the European Constitution.”
Even the Secretary of the Italian Communist Party, Paolo Ferrero noted that “the Strasburg sentence is not a good answer to the demands of a lay state, which are legitimate and understandable.”
The Atheist and Muslim Unions, however, were both pleased by the decision.
Several Italian politicians noted a more menacing aspect of the verdict. Minister of Education Mariastella Gelmini warned that it is “not by eliminating the traditions of individual countries that a united Europe is built," and Sandro Bondi, the Italian Minister of Culture, mourned that “this decision takes us away from the idea of Europe founded by De Gaspari, Adenauer and Schumann [founders of the European Union]. At this rate, failure is inevitable.”
In Italy the crucifix is more than a religious symbol; it is a reminder of what continued to unify the peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire. Ever since Constantine’s vision of a cross on the eve of the battle of the Milvian bridge the crucifix has been a beacon for Italy’s greatest achievements. The reminder of Christ’s sacrifice, far from being a cause of discrimination (we don’t have fundamentalists here except as regards mozzarella, olive oil and soccer) draws out the best of the Italians.
When Italians spontaneously help a person in need, they often say “quel povero Cristo” calling to mind “that poor Christ” they have seen on the cross all their lives who spurs them to selfless kindness.
One of the first things that made me appreciate Italy enough to dissolve my love affair with France and settle here was the powerful sense of identity and tradition among the Italians. As an art historian, it seemed that I could still glimpse the world of Michelangelo and Giotto in their modern descendants. This ECHR verdict, aimed at eliminating differences among the people of the European Union, indicts Italy for having maintained its link with its Christian identity.
This ruling should serve as an alarm bell to citizens of the European Union, urging them to monitor closely the ideologies that are about to be foisted on its member states. Most of the Europeans see the EU as a gravy train, leading its members into greater prosperity, but nothing comes for free. European citizens need to realize that for a few more designer clothes and fancy cars, they may end up having unwittingly sold their souls.
Where does this ruling end? Will we have to deface our monuments and rip down our images of the Madonna and Child that gaze benevolently upon us from countless street corners? Will the Pope be prohibited from carrying the crucifix in the Corpus Christi procession?
The ultimate legacy of the European Court’s verdict is a void, an emptying of the beauty and tradition which distinguishes Italian culture. As Pope Benedict XVI has so often reminded us, religious faith and expression stand at the very core of human culture. Removing them guts culture of its transcendent soul.
Far more frightening is what is appearing on the horizon to fill that void. Rex Murphy, writing for the Globe and Mail last week, noted that the anti-crucifix ruling coincided with a U.K. court decision that gives climate change beliefs the same legal status as religion. more...
Vatican City, Nov 12, 2009 / 04:51 pm (CNA).- The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, shared this week that the Holy Father has an appreciation for new developments in technology and is comfortable surfing the internet and using email.
During an interview with the program “Studio Aperto” on the Italia 1 TV network, Archbishop Celli added, while the Pope doesn't have a personal email address, he “sends his own personal emails. He does! He has great appreciation for new technology.”
The archbishop explained that while the Pope “cannot respond to the millions of messages that arrive in his inbox,” he is committed to “offering his prayers for all who write to him.”
“The internet is an excellent means of communication,” he continued. “We are seeking to be present where the people are, especially the youth.”
‘Today it can be said that we are moving to a moment when it becomes possible to prepare a meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow’
Relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches are improving and a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, may be in the cards.
MOSCOW (Catholic Online) – The warming of relations between the Catholic and orthodox Churches are evident in their pledge to work together in the defense of life, marriage and family, and other issues of mutual concern in an increasingly secularized age. However, the question still looms as to when Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI will meet.
“Interfax News” reported the following on Thursday, November 12, 2009:
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Meeting Possible between Pope, Patriarch Kirill
“Moscow, November 12, Interfax - Relations between the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches are improving and a meeting between Pope Benedict XVI and the Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, may be in the cards, a Russian Orthodox bishop said.
"Today it can be said that we are moving to a moment when it becomes possible to prepare a meeting between the Pope and the Patriarch of Moscow," Archbishop Hilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Department for External Church Relations, told reporters in Moscow.
"There are no specific plans for the venue or timing of such a meeting but on both sides there is a desire to prepare it," the Archbishop said.
Preparations for such a meeting must involve finding "a common platform on all remaining points of dispute," the Archbishop said.
One such issue is the relations between the Uniate community and Orthodox believers in Ukraine. In the early 1990s, "the fragile interdenominational balance was upset and a serious situation took shape that still exists," Archbishop Hilarion said. more...
Appeal of Benedict XVI at the end of the general audience, during which he reaffirmed the fundamental role of Christianity in the birth of "European identity" and asked that all those who cherish authentic humanism and the future of Europe to rediscover, appreciate and protect its great spiritual heritage.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Respect for human rights, a just political solution to the problems that still exist and international support. This was Benedict XVI’s request for Sri Lanka, six months, as he himself pointed out, from the end of the conflict, while "we note with satisfaction the efforts of those authorities who are facilitating the return home of displaced persons". The Pope's appeal came at the end of the general audience, during which he spoke of the Cluniac order to the nine thousand people present in the Paul VI, once again strongly emphasising the role of Christianity in the formation of European identity in particular for its affirmation of "respect of the human person" and the "precious gift of peace."
"It's been about six months - is the appeal of the Pope – since the end of the conflict that has bloodied Sri Lanka. We note with satisfaction the efforts of those authorities which, in recent weeks, have been facilitating the safe return of displaced persons from war. I strongly encourage an acceleration of that commitment and I urge all citizens to strive for a quick peace with full respect for human rights, and for a just political solution to the challenges still facing the country. I hope, finally, that the international community will act to support the humanitarian and economic needs of Sri Lanka, and I raise my prayer to the Holy Virgin of Madhu, to continue to watch over that beloved Land".
Earlier, in his address to those present, the Pope spoke of "a monastic movement of great importance in the Middle Ages", the order of Cluny "which at the beginning of the twelfth century came to include almost 1,200 monasteries” and which was born in 910, thanks to a donation from William the Pious. "Western monasticism was greatly degraded since the days of St. Benedict, due to unstable political and social conditions caused by invasions and devastation”. There was widespread poverty and dependence of the abbeys on local lords.
Monastic revival began in Cluny. "The Benedictine rule was restored, with some adaptations and above all the central role of the liturgy in the Christian life with great care to chants, psalms, liturgy of the hours, the celebration of Holy Mass, enriching the worship of God with displays of art and music and introducing new festivals in early November as a celebration for the dead" and a great devotion to Mary, all as" participation in the liturgy of heaven. They felt responsible to intercede on behalf of the living and the dead at the altar of God". Precisely for this purpose William the Pious had wanted the birth of the abbey of Cluny, as indicated in the Act of donation.
To "custody an atmosphere of prayer, the rule of Cluny emphasized the practice of silence to which monks willingly subjected themselves, convinced of the importance of an intimate and constant meditation”. The famed sanctity of the abbey soon spread and many monastic communities decided to follow their customs. Popes and kings promoted their creation and "in doing so they began outlining a Europe of the spirit in France, Italy, Germany Hungary" which "helped shape the Christian identity of the continent”.
"The success was due primarily to an elevated spirituality, but also to other factors". The monasteries were recognized as exempt from the jurisdiction of bishops local authorities and directly under the jurisdiction of the Roman pontiff. Thanks to the protection and encouragement born of this bond with the See of Peter they were able to spread rapidly. The abbots were elected without any interference from civil authorities, unlike in other institutions". “Truly worthy people” succeeded to the leadership of the movement "like the saints Oddone, Odilon, Majolus, Hugh, ensuring stability to the reform undertaken”. more...
Urges Italian Bishops to Make Education a Priority
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 10, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is telling Italian bishops that their biggest challenge today is "presenting God again" to a world that has forgotten about him.
The Pope affirmed this in a message to the prelates, who have gathered in Assisi for their 60th general assembly. The papal statement, made public today, was directed to Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the episcopal conference.
The Holy Father took up two main themes: the educational crisis and the ongoing Year for Priests, relating both of them to the new evangelization.
Regarding education, the Pontiff classified it as a challenge that "concerns all sectors of the Church and means that the great questions of the modern age must be faced with decision: the question concerning the nature of man and his dignity -- a decisive element in the complete formation of the person -- and the 'question of God' which seems ever more pressing in our own times."
Taking up his exhortation from last July in Aosta, Italy, he continued: "If our fundamental relationship with God is not living, if it is not lived, then none of our other relationships can take their correct form. [...] If we do without God, if God is absent, we lack the compass [...] to show us the path, the direction we must follow.
"God! We must bring the truth of God back into the world, make him known, make him present," the Holy Father declared.
And he urged the Italian bishops to "place the formation of new generations at the center of the attention and efforts of each one, according to each person's respective responsibilities."
"Education is a constitutive and permanent need in the life of the Church," the Pope affirmed.
Priests
Linked to the question of education, Benedict XVI highlighted the need to reinvigorate priestly ministry, saying, "In order for this to happen we [...] first and foremost and with all our being, must become living adoration, a gift that changes the world and restores it to God." more...
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Dozens of scientists gathered at a Vatican-sponsored meeting to fit together emerging pieces of a puzzle still waiting to be solved: whether there is life on other planets.
If finding extraterrestrial life is like "a detective chase, a crime to be solved, we're getting very close to the answer," said Chris Impey, head of the Steward Observatory and the University of Arizona's department of astronomy in Tucson, Ariz.
Impey was one of 30 high-level scientists attending a Nov. 6-10 study week on astrobiology sponsored by the Vatican Observatory and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He and others spoke at a Vatican press conference Nov. 10.
The astronomer said it is widely believed that life needs three basic ingredients: carbon-based material, energy provided by stars, and water, "which is one of the most common molecules in the universe."
"These three elements have already been found in a lot of places in galaxies," he said.
"The universe, if it's like a table, the table is set for dinner. Everything is there, all the ingredients are there" to welcome and support life, Impey added.
Until 1995, no one knew whether there were planets circling some of the billions of stars in the universe.
Advancements in planet detection have since led scientists to discover more than 400 planets outside of the solar system and dozens more are found each year, he said.
Jonathan Lunine, professor of planetary science and physics at the University of Arizona, said three or four worlds within the solar system also have conditions where life may be found. more...
Pope Benedict XVI is hoping to be Top of the Popes this Christmas after an album of him singing is released at the end of this month.
The eight track CD is produced by record label Geffen, which also manages rock legends Guns N' Roses, The Stone Roses, The Cure and Nirvana, as well as rapper Snoop Dogg.
Entitled Music From The Vatican Alma Mater, the eight track album, which costs £9.99, features a blend of chants and songs featuring the voice of Pope Benedict XVI for the first time.
On the CD he sings in Latin, Italian, Portuguese, French and German and is accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, which was recorded at the world famous Abbey Road studios in London.
Pope Benedict did not go to the studios - made famous by The Beatles - as the recordings were provided by the Vatican Radio service and the album also features the Choir of the Philharmonic Academy in Rome.
The Pontiff is a keen music fan and often plays the piano in his private Vatican apartments. People who have heard him sing in private say he has a 'powerful and emotional voice'.
Two years ago the German born Pontiff underlined his love of music and said: ’I am convinced that music really is the universal language of beauty which can bring together all people of goodwill on earth.'
The specially-commissioned music was written by three composers: Briton Simon Boswell, who has composed music for several films including Shallow Grave and Hackers, Italian Stefano Mainetti and Moroccan Nour Eddine.
Boswell describes himself as agnostic, Mainetti a Roman Catholic and Eddine a Muslim – so the album is international and multi-faith as well.
The date of November 9, 1989 has special meaning for the citizens of East Berlin. That is when the wall between East and West was breached.
The voice of the people, fueled by hope and joined in solidarity which both began when Pope John Paul II visited Poland, took down a wall and the tyranny that had erected it.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) – On Monday, November 9 we remember that a physical wall which stood almost three decades was breached. The breach, however, was more than just a change in the concrete and barbed wire barrier. It was the end of an era.
The fall of the wall did not occur through an aggressive armed assault at blocks of cement. Nor did it come through long days of dialog by political leaders. It came from the voices of people – thousands of them – in East Germany.
Just like shouts of the Israelites around the walls of Jericho, the people of East Germany had been shouting aloud. Monday demonstrations, peaceful protests, were taking place. Beginning in Leipzig on September 4, 1989, they spread to other East German Cities. By October 23rd, over 320,000 people were gathering in Leipzig alone.
It was this pressure that ultimately led to the end of the wall and ultimately the end of the communist era in Germany.
The physical Berlin Wall began August 13, 1961 when the German Democratic Republic, part of the Soviet bloc, erected 97 miles of barbed wire around the Western section of the city to cut it off from East Berlin and the rest of the communist-controlled territory in which it lay.
Located 150 miles inside of East Germany, West Berliners were cut off from normal means of travel as well as from loved ones who lived on the other side of the barricade.
In succeeding months, high concrete walls, watchtowers, flood lights, and a “no man’s land” were added. The separation was complete.
The wall now tangibly expressed the ideological gap that had existed in the occupation zones inhabited by the Soviets since the end of World War II. The four allied powers – America, Britain, France, and the Soviet Union – were assigned occupation zones in what was previously Nazi-Germany.
It didn’t take long to recognize that the intentions of the Soviets toward Germany were far different from that of the other Allied Powers, who adopted the Marshall Plan for reconstruction and re-development of the country along with other areas of Western Europe. more...
The Vatican has released the full text of an apostolic constitution in which Pope Benedict XVI makes provision for Anglicans seeking corporate union with the Catholic Church. The text, entitled Anglicanorum Coetibus, explains and establishes the "personal ordinariates" that will be set up to provide an administrative structure for former Anglicans within the existing Catholic hierarchy.
The apostolic constitution-- the most authoritative form of papal document-- was accompanied by a set of Complementary Norms, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, to flesh out the canonical structure of the new personal ordinariates and their relationship to existing dioceses and episcopal conferences. The Vatican also released an official commentary on the documents, written by Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda, SJ, the rector of the Gregorian University.
The main thrust of the apostolic constitution, establishing personal ordinariates that would allow for the preservation of a distinct Anglican tradition within the Catholic Church, had been announced on October 20. But the promulgation of the apostolic constitution was delayed until November 9. While Italian media outlets reported that the delay was due to disagreements over questions about how the norm of clerical celibacy would apply to the personal ordinariates, Vatican officials denied that concern, claiming that the question was already resolved and that the norm of celibacy would not be altered. Nevertheless the apostolic constitution does allow for some exceptions to that norm. The Vatican cautioned: "The possibility envisioned by the apostolic constitution for some married clergy within the personal ordinariates does not signify any change in the Church's discipline of clerical celibacy."
Anglicanorum Coetibus supersedes the "pastoral provision" that had for individual Anglican priests-- and, in a few cases, entire Anglican parishes-- to enter the Catholic Church over the past two decades. Anglicans dismayed by developments within their communion, and hopeful of preserving an Anglo-Catholic tradition, had deluged the Vatican with petitions for some form of corporate union. As Father Ghirlanda put it in his official commentary, "The Pastoral Provision was not suitable for the new situation to which that the Holy See was called upon to respond."
In releasing the new document, the Vatican stressed that Pope Benedict was answering repeated petitions, rather than making an aggressive move to encourage defections from the Anglican communion. The apostolic constitution, the Vatican announced "represents not an initiative on the part of the Holy See, but a generous response from the Holy Father to the legitimate aspirations of these Anglican groups." The announcement added that "this new structure is consistent with the commitment to ecumenical dialogue, which continues to be a priority for the Catholic Church." Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, repeated that message by saying that the move was "not an initiative by the Pope to attract new members" to the Catholic Church, but a response to those who already sought membership.
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Visiting Brescia, 30 years after the death of Paul VI, Benedict XVI recalls the words and example of the Montini Pope. A Church "poor, and thus freed" which, then as now, must have, and search for "consciousness", "renewal" and "dialogue." And "many - he said - expect dramatic gestures from the Pope, energetic and decisive action. The Pope does not believe that he must follow another line that is not that of confidence in Jesus Christ, to which his Church is more dear than to anyone else”.
Brescia (AsiaNews) - The "question of the Church, its necessity in the plan of salvation and its relationship with the world" is "absolutely central," as Pope Paul VI wrote, it is in fact made even more "radical" today, due to developments of secularization and globalization, "in confronting forgetfulness of God, on the one hand, and non-Christian religions, on the other."
30 years after the death of Paul VI, Benedict XVI, visiting Brescia and Concesio, birthplace of the Montini Pope, who "devoted his entire life" to the Church, underlined the challenges of today’s world that the Church, in all of its components, is facing and the importance it has for the salvation of humanity. At the same time he also stressed the requirement that a relationship of mutual understanding and love be established between the Church and society. A Church that is "poor, and thus free" as the Montini Pope defined it, and that, then as now, must have, and search for "consciousness", "renewal" and "dialogue."
Almost 15 thousand people managed to find a space in a completely full Paul VI Square, despite the rain, (photo). During the Mass, Benedict XVI, among others, quoted some passages from the spiritual testament of the late Pope where he wrote: "And to the Church, to which I owe everything and that was mine, what will I say? The blessings of God be upon you: be aware of your nature and your mission; be aware of the real and profound needs of humanity; and walk poor, that is free, strong and loving toward Christ". "What can we add - continued Benedict XVI – to such elevated and intense words? Allow me to point to that vision of the 'poor and free' Church, which recalls the evangelical figure of the widow. This is how the Church community must be, to be able to speak to contemporary humanity". This was particularly dear to Pope Montini, who "devoted all his energies to a church as conformed to the Lord Jesus Christ as possible, so that meeting by encountering it, modern man can meet Him, because it has an absolute need of Him. This is the basic desire of Vatican II, which corresponds to the reflection of Pope Paul VI on the Church. "
"Dear friends - and I say this especially to you brothers in the episcopate and the priesthood – how can we not see that the question of the Church, its necessity in the plan of salvation and its relationship with the world, even today remains absolutely central? Indeed, the development of secularization and globalization have made it even more radical in confronting forgetfulness of God, on the one hand, and non-Christian religions, on the other? Paul VI’s reflection on the Church is even more valuable now than ever before as an example of his love for her, inseparable from that for Christ. " Benedict XVI then quoted the encyclical Ecclesiam suam "The mystery of the Church - we read - is not simply an object of theological knowledge, it is a fact to be lived in, in which even before it is clear notion, the faithful soul can have almost ingrained experience "(ibid., p 229, n. 178). This presupposes a strong inner life, which is "the great source of the Church's spirituality, its own way to receive the radiation of the Spirit of Christ, a radical, irreplaceable expression of its religious and social activities, inviolable defence and resurgent energy in its difficult contact with the secular world "(ibid., p. 231, n. 179). more...
Vatican City, Nov 8, 2009 / 10:51 am (CNA).- Speaking before Sunday’s Angelus in the city of Brescia, Italy, the Holy Father recalled Paul VI’s strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. "As his ecclesial responsibilities increased he in fact developed an ever wider vision and organic relationship with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the mystery of the Church," noted Pope Benedict.
The Pontiff continued, recalling the promulgation of "Lumen Gentium." "In the words of Paul VI it 'has as its summit and crowning a whole chapter devoted to the Virgin’." In that context, Pope Paul "proclaimed the Blessed Virgin Mary 'Mother of the Church,' pointing out, with great ecumenical sensitivity, that 'devotion to Mary...is an ordained means of guiding souls to Christ and thus join them with the Father, in the love of the Holy Spirit’."
Finally the Holy Father prayed with words of Paul VI: "O Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, to you we entrust the Church of Brescia and all the people of this region."
Warnings that Democrats plan to scrap pro-life Stupak amendment language in Senate
By Kathleen Gilbert
WASHINGTON, D.C., November 8, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Celebration over the dramatic victory of a pro-life amendment in the House health care bill late Saturday night was quickly dimmed by the passage of the bill, which not only presents a plethora of other dangers, but also could lose even the hard-won pro-life language in later proceedings.
At approximately 10:20 p.m. EST Saturday night, the U.S. House voted 240-194 to approve an amendment to H.R. 3962 that maintains long-standing federal policy on abortion by banning government-appropriated funds from covering elective abortions. Then, just before 11 p.m., House lawmakers voted 220-215 to pass the massive health care overhaul. One Republican voted for the bill.
Family Research Council president Tony Perkins called the passage of the pro-life amendment "a huge pro-life victory" and congratulated the bipartisan effort against the bill's abortion coverage. "We applaud this House vote which prohibits the abortion industry from further profiting from taxpayers by using government funds to pay for the gruesome act of abortion," he said.
"Unfortunately, H.R. 3962 is a seriously flawed piece of legislation," said Perkins, who pointed out the bill's massive governmental power grab and open door to health care rationing, among other issues.
National Right to Life's Douglas Johnson agreed that the victory was not total. "Today's bipartisan House vote is a sharp blow to the White House's pro-abortion smuggling operation," he said.
"But we know that the White House and pro-abortion congressional Democratic leaders will keep trying to enact government funding of abortion, and will keep trying to conceal their true intentions, so there is a long battle ahead."
Pro-abort leaders across America flew into a rage as the pro-life Stupak amendment, unexpectedly approved for consideration Friday night, went on to gain an easy victory Saturday. Many pointed fingers at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), whose input several lawmakers relied on to discern solidly pro-life amendments for the bill.
Yet various sources confirm that Pelosi's last-minute turnaround was not a true abandonment of her abortion allies, but a temporary concession to keep the struggling bill alive - with hopes that a subsequent bicameral version would scrap the pro-life language. There is a larger pro-abortion majority in the Senate, making it unlikely a similar pro-life scenario would play out on the Senate floor.
Some Democrat lawmakers have already vowed to pursue such a reversal.
"I feel certain [the Stupak amendment] will come out of the bill before it comes back from committee," pro-abortion California Democrat Lynn Woolsey told The Hill. "I will insist that it come out."
Ultimately pro-life leaders appeared to agree that the amendment, though important in its own right, put hardly a dent in an otherwise massively dangerous bill. more...
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /Christian Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Randall Terry, Operation Rescue Insurrecta Nex:
Mr. Terry and his associates from around the country have been fighting to keep child-killing by abortion out of any health care bill for months.
Mr. Terry states: "This is a great first step to victory - a touchdown in the first quarter - but we have a lot of fighting ahead of us. Our rejoicing must be tempered by reality. The Senate Bill must also prohibit any money from going to child-killing; and then we must insure that the conference committee does not include child-killing in the final bill, should it pass both houses. We have many hurdles left.
"Those of us who despise Socialism must now broaden our battle to kill the bill entirely. Our biggest battle is to stop the slaughter of children. The next battle is to keep our children from being saddled with trillions of dollars of debt.
"Many of us would rather die half-starved free men than be well fed slaves on Uncle Sam's plantation."
To schedule an interview with Mr. Terry on the next wave of action to "kill the bill," call 904-687-9804.
Faithful Catholics must recognize the primacy of the Fundamental Right to Life as we evaluate this proposed legislation.
The debate over this attempted 'Health Care Reform' has generated an extraordinary amount of citizen participation. This is good in a Nation which is supposed to be based upon a representative form of governance. Unfortunately, it has also generated an accompanying sense of disillusionment among many citizens that the 'People’s House' is simply not what it is supposed to be.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) – I just returned from Washington, DC. The City is charged with a frenzied war of words and increasing activity, all revolving around the “Health Care Reform” package which Speaker Nancy Pelosi is trying to get passed quickly. Today, in a rare Saturday session, the “showdown” in the “People’s House” begins. The very term “People’s House” developed in reference to the House of Representatives because it has been perceived as closer to the people then the Senate.
The House, until the passage of the 17th Amendment to the US Constitution, was the only legislative branch to be elected. Senators were chosen by their respective State legislators. The term “People’s House” reflected the widely held perception that the House members were actually closer to the people and listened to them, especially after the amendment. In addition, the fact that each of the 435 members is accountable to a smaller District apportioned according to population, and only served for two years, furthered the impression that it deserved the term “the People’s House”.
Unfortunately, in the debate over “Health Care Reform”, that perception - or what was left of it - is being seriously undermined and nearly eliminated. The amount of money and “special interest” involvement in this process is staggering. The apparent lack of interest in hearing from the people is evident.
For faithful Catholics, we must recognize the primacy of the Fundamental Right to Life and the Dignity of Every Human Person from conception to natural death as we evaluate this proposed legislation. We should also then apply a hierarchy of values and principles in our approach to evaluating the legislation. We can and we will differ among ourselves on a number of issues. However, the very premise for even attempting any reform of the current system for the delivery of health care services is the dignity of every human person, right? The grave dangers which the current version of “Health Care Reform” present, if not amended to protect our youngest neighbors in the first home of the womb as well as our ill and elderly from the looming risks of rationing, must be our utmost concern.
Proceeding from this foundational concern over the current legislation and its disregard of the Right to Life arise a panorama of other very serious concerns, not the least of which is whether this massive bill - and the infrastructure it creates - violates the principle of subsidiarity. This is a social ordering principle articulated in the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church which rightly enshrines the common sense understanding that governance is “good” when it is closer to those being governed in order to best allow for their participation and ensure efficiency, effectiveness and justice. The smallest governmental unit, beginning with the family and moving out from there, should always have the primacy of placement in the provision of governance in order to serve the true common good. A larger governing unit or mediating institution should not take the rightful role of the smaller.
The debate over this attempted “Health Care Reform” has generated an extraordinary amount of citizen participation. This is good in a Nation which is supposed to be based upon a representative form of governance. Unfortunately, it has also generated an accompanying sense of disillusionment among many citizens that the “People’s House” is simply not what it is supposed to be. The Health Care Debate has also fueled an even more rapid degradation of discourse than what had already been occurring, especially in the media. The use of disparaging and dismissive terms such as “Wing- nuts”, heard now regularly as a “talking point” on one network, and “Wacko’s”, heard too frequently on another, demonstrate this unfortunate turn in our discourse. more...
Vatican City, Nov 6, 2009 / 02:02 pm (CNA).- The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, denied reports this week claiming that Pope John Paul II will be beatified in April 2010. According to Vatican Radio, the cardinal said, “No, the news about the beatification next spring is not based on any concrete decision.” Several phases in the late Pope’s cause have yet to be completed, he added.
Vatican Radio also reported that the cardinal’s statements “confirm the opinions recently made by members of the Congregation for the Causes of the Saints” who noted “it would be difficult to conclude the beatification process of John Paul II by the fifth anniversary of his death,” that is, by April of 2010.
Much has been made lately of Pope Benedict XVI's apparent lenience for "cafeteria Catholicism" on the right. Two developments have fed the perception: talks between the Vatican and the Society of St. Pius X, the "Lefebvrites," who broke with Rome in protest of liberalizing currents after the Second Vatican Council (1962-65); and new structures to allow Anglicans to become Catholic while preserving their heritage, with the most likely takers being conservative Anglicans opposed to homosexuality and women's ordination.
Though it's not clear how many Lefebvrites or Anglicans will walk through the doors Rome has tried to open, the effect on both fronts will be to inject new pockets of traditionalist believers into the Catholic circulatory system.
What's the underlying logic for such moves? While it may at first blush seem unrelated, a controversial decision on Tuesday by the European Court of Human Rights, which held that displaying crucifixes in Italian public school classrooms violates freedom of conscience, can help provide some context.
In effect, Benedict's outreach to Lefebvrites and dissident Anglicans forms part of a trend I've described as "evangelical Catholicism." One cornerstone is to reassert markers of Catholic distinctiveness -- such as Mass in Latin, and traditional moral teaching -- as a means of ensuring that the church is not assimilated to secularism. At the policy-setting level of the church today, this defense of Catholic identity is job number one.
Historically, "evangelical Catholicism" is a creative impulse rather than something purely defensive, with roots in the papacy of Leo XIII in the late 19th century and his effort to bring a renewed Catholic tradition to bear on social and political life. Nevertheless, fear that secularism may erode the faith from within is also a powerful current propelling evangelical Catholicism forward.
To over-simplify a bit, Benedict XVI is opening the door to the Lefebvrites and to traditionalist Anglicans in part because whatever else they may be, they are among the Christians least prone to end up, in the memorable phrase of Jacques Maritain, "kneeling before the world," meaning sold out to secularism.
At this stage, some critics may be tempted to ask if the cure is perhaps worse than the disease -- in other words, if secularism is really so bad.
Benedict XVI himself has talked about a "healthy secularism," which involves the separation of church and state and recognition of the essentially lay character of politics. Evangelical Catholics such as the late Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger of Paris actually see this kind of secularism as a precondition for authentic faith, because it forces Christianity to be a personal choice, rather than something imbibed from religiously homogenous cultures where faith and practice are buttressed by the state.
"We're really at the dawn of Christianity," Lustiger used to say of the transition to a secular world.
Yet that's not the perception of secularism that tends to drive the ecclesiastical train these days, especially in Europe. At senior levels of the church, there's a growing conviction that a tipping point has been reached -- that Western secularization is crossing the line from neutrality to outright hostility, toward religion in general and Catholicism in particular. Cardinal Renato Martino, the former President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, put things this way: "It looks like a new Inquisition. It is a lay Inquisition, but it is so nasty. You can freely insult and attack Catholics, and nobody will say anything."
All of which brings us back to the stunner this week from the European Court of Human Rights.
The court, based in Strasbourg, issued its ruling in response to a petition from an Italian woman named Soile Lautsi, who lives near Padua and who claimed that having crucifixes in the public school classrooms attended by her two children violates the church/state separation provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court agreed, awarding Lautsi 5,000 euros (roughly $7,400) in damages.
The court did not order Italian schools to remove the crucifixes, in part because under European law it had no authority to do so. Lautsi had tried and failed to press the issue in Italian courts, which rejected her claim on the basis that crucifixes are symbols of Italy's national identity.
The Vatican was predictably dismayed. Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, issued a statement greeting the ruling with "astonishment and sorrow." Lombardi decried the effort to "cast out of the educational world a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture."
It's tough not to regard the ruling as a way for European judges to grind an axe, since whatever else it may mean, it certainly does not augur the end of crucifixes in Italian classrooms. Italian authorities have said they will appeal, and politicians of the left, right and center tripped over one another denouncing the ruling. Polls have consistently showed overwhelming public support for leaving the crucifixes in place. more...
An appeal to Benedict XVI "for the return to an authentically Catholic sacred art." The main signatory is the great German writer Martin Mosebach. And in the meantime, the meeting between the pope and artists in the Sistine Chapel is drawing near
by Sandro Magister
ROME, November 5, 2009 – A few days before the meeting announced for November 21 between the pope and artists in the Sistine Chapel, an appeal anticipating its principal motivation has already come to Benedict XVI's desk.
The appeal is "for the return to an authentically Catholic sacred art," and was signed not by artists, but by scholars and other figures who are passionately concerned, for various reasons, about the fate of Christian art. Among all: Nikos Salingaros, Steven J. Schloeder, Steen Heidemann, Duncan G. Stroik, Pietro De Marco, Martin Mosebach, Enrico Maria Radaelli.
Mosebach is an established German writer whom Joseph Ratzinger knows well. His latest book: "The heresy of the shapeless. The Roman liturgy and its enemy" was published this year, including an Italian edition by Cantagalli. And it is a stunning apologia on behalf of great Christian art, and more than that, of the Catholic liturgy itself as art. With biting invective against the iconoclasm that reigns today within the Catholic Church itself.
Radaelli, a disciple of the great Catholic philosopher and philologist Romano Amerio, is a sophisticated scholar of theological aesthetics. His masterpiece is: "Ingresso alla bellezza [Entryway to beauty]," released in 2008, a magnificent introduction into the mystery of God through his "Imago," which is Christ. Beauty as the manifestation of the truth.
The appeal was born also from seminars held in recent months in the library of the pontifical commission for the cultural heritage of the Church, hosted by the vice-president of this Vatican commission, Benedictine abbot Michael J. Zielinski. Participants in the meetings included Fr. Nicola Bux and Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, consultants for the office of papal liturgical celebrations. Fr. Lang is also an official at the congregation for divine worship. But no clergyman figures among the promoters of the appeal, not to mention any Vatican official. The signatories are laymen, of various competencies and professions.
After a brief introduction, the test unfolds in seven small chapters dedicated to the causes of the current fracture between the Church and art, to theological references, to the commission, to the artists, to the sacred space, to sacred music, to the liturgy.
And it ends with the appeal itself, which is formulated in this way:
"For all the reasons set out above, we are eager to receive from Your Holiness a fatherly listening and the merciful attention of the Vicar of Christ. We beseech you, Holy Father, to read in our heartfelt appeal our most pressing concern for the appalling conditions of contemporary sacred art and sacred architecture, as well as a modest and most humble request for your help so that sacred art and architecture can once again be truly Catholic. This so that the faithful can again enjoy the sense of wonder and rejoice once again at the presence of the beauty in God's House. This so that the Church can be once more regain her rightful place, in this era of irrational, mundane and malforming barbarism, as a true and attentive promoter and custodian of an art that is both new and truly "original": an art that today as always flowers in every age of progress, which reflowers from its ancient roots and eternal origin, faithful to the most intimate sense of Beauty that shines in the Truth of Christ." more...
The old adage has so often proven to be an accurate assessment of reality, the 'best Catholics are converts'.
The authentic ecumenical mission, the full and visible unity of the Church, was at the heart of Pope John Paul’s pontificate – and is at the heart of Pope Benedict’s - because it is in the center of the heart of the Lord.
LONDON (Catholic Online) - Damien Thompson reported on Thursday in the UK Telegraph that the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) members in the United Kingdom have formally passed a resolution accepting the invitation from the Holy See to pursue full communion through the establishment of a Personal Ordinariate. It is expected that the Apostolic Constitution setting forth the process will be released in days.
Damien Thompson wrote the following in a piece entitled “Pope's Anglican offer accepted by Traditional Anglican Communion in Britain":
*****
“The UK wing of the Traditional Anglican Communion – a group of rebel traditionalists who have left official Anglicanism – has voted to accept Pope Benedict XVI’s offer of a Personal Ordinariate. The TAC has only a few small communities in Britain, but the Pope will be pleased by this development.
Hat-tip to Fr Tim Finigan, who says on his blog: “I hear a lot of sceptical comments about the Holy Father’s offer of Personal Ordinariates, with the conventional wisdom being that it will not really attract many people. So it is good to hear news of twenty or so parish communities that will be interested. The TAC asked for the provision in the first place so it is to be expected that they would be first off the mark; but I think that there may well be plenty more to follow in due course.”
Here are more details, from the Signum blog: The Traditional Anglican Communion in the UK voted last Thursday (October 29) to request that they form part of the proposed Ordinariate in the UK.
During the Forward in Faith conference Archbishop Hepworth of the TAC had stated that the motion would be placed before the Synod of the Traditional Anglican Church in the UK (and other Synods of the TAC) that the Apostolic Constitution of Benedict XVI be accepted and that its immediate implementation be requested.
The website of the TAC in the UK is now reporting that the following resolution was passed:
That this Assembly, representing the Traditional Anglican Communion in Great Britain, offers its joyful thanks to Pope Benedict XVI for his forthcoming Apostolic Constitution allowing the corporate reunion of Anglicans with the Holy See, and requests the Primate and College of Bishops of the Traditional Anglican Communion to take the steps necessary to implement this Constitution. more...
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops, speaks during the presentation of a new book on Pope John Paul II at St. Stanislaus Church in Rome Nov. 4. At left is Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator for Pope John Paul's sainthood cause. (CNS/Paul Haring)
ROME (CNS) -- Pope John Paul II lives on "because he has remained in people's hearts," said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, prefect of the Congregation for Bishops.
"The light of his teaching and example was not extinguished with his death," the cardinal said during a conference to present a new book on the late pope's legacy.
Msgr. Slawomir Oder, postulator of Pope John Paul's sainthood cause, also spoke at the conference Nov. 4 at the parish of Rome's Polish community.
Asked about a date for the beatification of the pope, who died in 2005, Msgr. Oder said the Congregation for Saints' Causes is studying the case and he could not guess when they will finish.
"I can tell you that we are following all of the procedures foreseen for these cases. Everything is moving at a natural rhythm. I understand many people want this to happen sooner, but as Pope Benedict told us: 'Do it quickly, but do it well.' And this is what we are doing," Msgr. Oder said.
Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemanno, told reporters in late October that he expects the beatification to take place in Rome in 2010, and he said the city government would work with the Vatican to facilitate the visit of a massive group of people expected to come for the ceremony. more...
The English members of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) have voted to accept Pope Benedict's invitation to enter the Catholic Church. At a meeting last week, English members of the group approved a resolution thanking the Pope for his forthcoming apostolic constitution and asked TAC leaders "to take the steps necessary to implement this constitution." The group also recommended Bishop Robert Mercer as a candidate to head a personal ordinariate for Anglicans.
Although the TAC has relatively few members in Great Britain, the worldwide body-- which boasts a membership of 400,000-- has been active in discussions with Vatican officials about the prospect of corporate reunion.
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
Vatican City, Nov 5, 2009 / 11:17 am (CNA).- This morning, Pope Benedict celebrated a Mass for the souls of the cardinals and bishops who have died over the past year. In his homily, the Holy Father described death as “an enigma charged with anxiety,” and noted the importance of faith, hope and mercy in times “of human sadness and distress.”
The Mass, which is a traditional November occurrence, was concelebrated by members of the College of Cardinals.
Among the many men remembered during the celebration were the following cardinals: Pio Laghi, Stephanos II Ghattas, Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, Paul Joseph Pham Dinh Tung, Umberto Betti, and Jean Margeot, and the American Jesuit Avery Dulles.
The Pope spoke of death as “an enigma charged with anxiety,” acknowledging that separation from loved ones is painful. However, he continued, “the faith sustains us in these moments full of human sadness and distress.” It is from the faith that our “hope of immortality” springs.
In today’s second reading, the Pontiff continued, St. Peter encourages us to “maintain the prospect of hope, a ‘living hope,’ alive in our hearts… because God in his great mercy has regenerated us ‘through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead’.”
This mercy and hope, Pope Benedict added, "is the reason we must be 'full of joy', even if we are afflicted by suffering. If, indeed, we persevere in goodness, then our faith, purified by many trials, will one day shine forth in all its splendor.”
The Holy Father concluded that, with the end goal of our faith being the salvation of souls, we are to “exult 'with an indescribable and glorious joy,’” having such reason for hope despite the temporal separation of death.
In the general audience, Benedict XVI recalls the dispute between Bernard and Abelard to assert that theological discussion must safeguard the Church's faith and that there are situations in which Church teaching must intervene to defend believers from "unscrupulous interpretations."
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The belief that "the intention" is the main criterion for judging the goodness of a person’s behaviour is "dangerous subjectivism", present in the culture of moral relativism of our time, but which is already outlined in statements of Abelard, the great thinker of the twelfth century. The heated dispute that saw him in opposition to St. Bernard of Clairvaux was commemorated today by Benedict XVI to support the validity of theological discussion, in which, however, "we must preserve the faith of the Church and truth in charity" and protect "the simple and humble faithful" from "unscrupulous theological interpretations" which puts their faith at risk.
Speaking to almost 15 thousand people in St. Peter's Square for the general audience, the Pope returned to talk about the confrontation that saw monastic and scholastic theology opposed in the in the twelfth century. There was “broad debate and sometimes heated debate” between monastic theology, which we can call of the heart, and scholastic theology, which we can call of reason” symbolized in the controversy between St. Bernard of Clairvaux and Abelard". "To understand this confrontation between the two great masters, we must remember that theology is the search for a rational understanding, as far as possible, of the mysteries of the Christian faith."
For Bernard "faith itself is endowed with inner certainty, strengthened by the testimony of the saints and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers, and in case of doubt, by the exercise of the Magisterium of the Church." "In his view, the critical examination of reason risks intellectualism, the relativization of truth, that could even lead to questioning one’s own faith” and is "the result of human pride which claims to capture" God. "What is closed and sealed - he said – it does not open, rather it uproots it”.
"For Bernard, theology has the sole purpose of promoting the intimate experience of God, to love the Lord more and more." "There are varying stages in this journey until the culmination is reached, when the soul of the believer is intoxicated by the summits of love." It is a “mystical experience that can even be achieved on this Earth", and in this "mystical union it enjoys great serenity and sweetness”. In short, for Bernard, theology "must be nourished by contemplative prayer".
Abelard, was "the one who introduced the term theology in the sense we understand it today," born in Britain, he was equipped with a " vivid intelligentsia and vocation to study." He first devoted himself to philosophy, which he then applied to theology. His dialectic ability procured a large number of students in the "most cultured city of the time, Paris, and then in the monasteries in which he lived." He had a "religious spirit, but anxious personality," he challenged his teachers, had a son by "Heloise, a cultured and intelligent woman," and also suffered ecclesial convictions. "It was Bernard himself who contributed to the condemnation of certain doctrines of Abelard in the synod of Soissons." "The abbot of Chaiaravalle disputed the overly intellectualist method, which reduced faith to mere opinion. Bernard’s fears were not unfounded and were shared by other thinkers of the time. Indeed the excessive use of philosophy undermined his doctrine of the Trinity". more...
PRETENTIONS OF COURT’S AUTHORITY CONDEMNED BY ALL POLITICAL PARTIES OF ITALIAN REPUBLIC AS VIOLATIONS OF ITS CULTURE AND SOVEREIGNTY
(Nov. 4, 2009) — Rogue courts are not endemic to the United States alone, nor are rogue justices who use their authority to undermine the Christian culture of the common man.
Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the Italian Government must remove Crucifixes from all the rooms in all the public schools of the nation. The reason: they offend the religious sensibility of one Finnish student, in a small village, outside of Padua, in Northern Italy.
The Post & Email reported last Friday that the European Union was about to adopt a legally binding Charter of Human Rights, which was written so vaguely that it would allow the encroachment of bureaucrats upon the rights of individuals. Yesterday that was confirmed according to numerous comments from leading politicians and clergymen in Italy.
The Court’s ruling cited the presence of the Cross with the image of Christ crucified as a violation of the rights of parents to educate their children according to their own convictions, and of the students’ liberty of religion. The
Court’s actual words were:
The presence of the Crucifix, which is impossible not to notice in the student’s classrooms, could easily be interpreted by students of all ages as a religious symbol. Such a display in an educational setting has the smack of religious instruction*
In Italy, in all public rooms of schools and government buildings, from town halls to the Parliament chambers, it has been customary for centuries to place a Cross depicting Christ’s crucifixion, as a sign of Christ’s Sovereignty over men, and of the adherence of the Nation to the Christian religion. In recent decades it has been justified as a culture sign of the Christian history of the nation.
Mariastella Gelmini, Minister of Education for the Italian Republic immediately announced that the Italian Government would appeal the decision of the Court of Human Rights to the plenary assembly of justices, known as the Grand Camera, whose jurisdiction concerns disputes regarding the fundamental obligation of signatories to the European Union’s charter.
Father Frederico Lombardi, spokesman for Pope Benedict XVI reacted with dismay at news of the ruling, saying:
The crucifix has always been a sign of God’s offering of love and of the union and acceptance of all humanity. It is deplorable that it has come to be considered as as sign of division, of exclusion or of a limitation of liberty. It is not this, not is it such in the sentiments of our nation.
In particular, it is grave crime to want to marginalize from the world of education the fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in the history and culture of Italy. Religion gives a precious contribution to the formation and moral growth of the human person, and is an essential component of our civilization. It is wrong and myopic to want to exclude it from the reality of contemporary education.
I am shocked that a European Court would intervene so heavily in a matter so profoundly tied to the historical, cultural, and spiritual identity of the Italian people.
This is not the way to attract us to love and share the idea of a united Europe, as we Catholic Italians have done from its origins.
Gianfranco Fini, president of the House of Deputies, said:
I hope that the sentence will not considered a just affirmation of the secularity of public institutions, which value is something much more than the negation proper to the worse kind of secularism, a negation of the very role of Christianity in society and in the identity of Italy.
Sandro Boni, the Minister for Cultural Affairs, and chairman of Berlusconi’s “People of Liberty” political bloc, forewarned the decision would lead to the breakup of the European Union, if left to stand:
These decisions distance us from the idea of Europe presented by De Gasperi, Adenauer and Schuman. From this point onward the political failure of the Union is inevitable. more...
The late Pope John Paul II could be beatified within months, setting him on the path to full sainthood, according to reports in Italy.
Daily Telegraph By Nick Squires in Rome Published: 4:50PM GMT 02 Nov 2009
The late Pope John Paul II could be beatified within months, setting him on the path to full sainthood Photo: AP
The mayor of Rome, who would play a pivotal role in organizing the event, said the beatification of John Paul is expected to take place "at the latest" by 2010.
Speaking on a visit to Krakow, in the former Pope's native Poland, Gianni Alemmano said: "These are internal decisions (for the Vatican) but it is expected to take place at the latest by next year."
Vatican observers say the most likely date for the beatification would be April next year, on the fifth anniversary of the popular Pontiff's death.
Beatification precedes canonisation and involves a complicated process including the verification of miracles attributed to the person being considered.
A miracle normally takes the form of the curing of a disease or affliction which has no scientific explanation. A second miracle is then required for sainthood.
In John Paul's case, the miracle under consideration is said to have taken place when a French nun was cured of Parkinson's disease.
The process leading to sainthood usually takes decades, but Pope Benedict XVI launched the beatification process for John Paul just two months after his predecessor's death on April 5, 2005. more...
Vatican City, Nov 3, 2009 / 01:42 pm (CNA).- In a meeting last Saturday with the new ambassador of Bulgaria, Nikola Ivanov Kaludov, Pope Benedict XVI spoke on the importance of Christianity in the development of Bulgaria, which joined the European Union in 2007.
Stating the necessity of Bulgaria keeping its cultural identity, the Holy Father said that “countries must not sacrifice their own cultural identity in the process of constructing Europe. Quite the opposite, they must find the means to produce good fruits that enrich the entire community.”
“Bulgaria,” he commented, “undoubtedly plays an important role in creating serene relations among neighbor States, and in the defense and promotion of human rights.”
In the case of Bulgaria, the Holy Father stated that Christianity is central to its identity and that the development of the country must have a “spiritual dimension.” Referencing his recent encyclical “Caritas in Vertitate” the Holy Father said that “it is vital for development not to be limited exclusively to economic domination, but that it take account of the integrity of the human person.”
The Pope warned Bulgarians to not view Christianity as merely “a treasure of the past to be conserved” but instead to recognize its “truly promising future which protects human beings from the temptations that always threaten to make them forget their own greatness.”
Pope Benedict finished his address by stating the importance of “mutual understanding and respect” between the many religious communities in Bulgaria and that “the Catholic community wishes to open generously to everyone and to work with everyone.”
Meeting the week after the Vatican announced Pope Benedict’s forthcoming apostolic constitution on the reception of Anglican communities into the Catholic Church, the Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Consultation deferred comment on the document until its publication. At the same time, it welcomed, in the words of a US bishops’ conference press release, “the Catholic Church’s acknowledgement of a substantial overlap in faith and the legitimacy of many Anglican traditions.”
The dialogue was devoted to immigration and Pope John Paul II’s encyclical on moral theology, Veritatis Splendor, with participants finding much agreement on the former and some disagreement on the latter.
One of the most prominent Catholic participants in the dialogue was Father Thomas Rausch, SJ, a critic of the works of G. K. Chesterton, Msgr. Ronald Knox, and Thomas Howard, all of them prominent Anglican converts to Catholicism.
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
Solidarity can extend across generations, and unite the dead with the living, Pope Benedict XVI said at his Angelus audience on November 1, as the Church celebrated the feast of All Saints. He urged the faithful to show that solidarity the next day--
November 2, the feast of All Souls-- by praying for the dead, perhaps by visiting cemeteries to pray for their loved ones who are "in the hands of God."
Pope Benedict himself observed the feast of All Souls by visiting the grotto of the Vatican basilica on Monday afternoon to spend some time in prayer at the tombs of his predecessors.
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
Pope Benedict XVI visits the tomb of the late Pope John Paul II under Saint Peter's Basilica on All Souls Day at the Vatican November 2, 2009.REUTERS/Osservatore Romano (VATICAN OBITUARY RELIGION) Enlarge photo...
A Bosnian Catholic woman lights candles for deceased family members at Sarajevo's 'Saint Joseph' Catholic cemetery, on All Saints day, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009.
While some believers used the day to honor those who have died over the past year, others used the day to celebrate all loved ones who have died.
Then, there are those – especially among Catholics – who used the day to honor the memory of believers who have been canonized or designated as saints. Unknown saints are also honored.
“Those who follow Jesus in this life are welcomed where He came before us. So as we visit cemeteries, let us remember that there, in the tombs, are only the mortal remains of our loved ones awaiting the final resurrection,” said Pope Benedict XVI to those gathered Sunday in St. Peter’s Square.
All Saints Day has been observed each year since Pope Boniface IV officially established it in the seventh century to honor all saints at one time, rather than each one strictly on their own date. In the eight century, Pope Gregory III moved the observance from May 13 to Nov. 1, which continues to be the date that All Saints Day is observed among Western churches. Eastern Orthodox churches mark All Saints Day on the Sunday after Pentecost.
Though most popular among Catholics, All Saints Day is also observed by members of Protestant denominations including Anglicans, Methodists and Baptists.
Following All Saints Day is All Souls Day, which is marked by prayers for the departed.
Collect: Merciful Father, hear our prayers and console us. As we renew our faith in your Son, whom you raised from the dead, strengthen our hope that all our departed brothers and sisters will share in his resurrection, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
"On this day is observed the commemoration of the faithful departed, in which our common and pious Mother the Church, immediately after having endeavored to celebrate by worthy praise all her children who already rejoice in heaven, strives to aid by her powerful intercession with Christ, her Lord and Spouse, all those who still groan in purgatory, so that they may join as soon as possible the inhabitants of the heavenly city." — Roman Martyrology
Every priest is permitted to say three Masses on this day and it would be a good practice for the laity to attend three Masses and offer them for the Poor Souls.
All Souls IndulgencesAn indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who devoutly visit a cemetery and pray, even if only mentally, for the departed. The indulgence is plenary each day from the first to the eighth of November; on other days of the year it is partial.
A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to the faithful, who on the day dedicated to the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed [November 2 {as well as on the Sunday preceding or following, and on All Saints' Day}] piously visit a church. In visiting the church it is required that one Our Father and the Creed be recited.
To acquire a plenary indulgence it is necessary also to fulfill the following three conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic communion, and prayer for the intention of the Holy Father. The three conditions may be fulfilled several days before or after the performance of the visit; it is, however, fitting that communion be received and the prayer for the intention of the Holy Father be said on the same day as the visit.
The condition of praying for the intention of the Holy Father is fully satisfied by reciting one Our Father and one Hail Mary. A plenary indulgence can be acquired only once in the course of the day.
All Souls Day
The Church, after rejoicing yesterday with those of her children who have entered the glory of heaven, today prays for all those who, in the purifying suffering of purgatory await the day when they will be joined to the company of saints. At no place in the liturgy is stated in more striking fashion the mysterious union between the Church triumphant, the Church militant and the Church suffering; at no time is there accomplished in clearer fashion the twofold duty of charity and justice deriving for every Christian from the fact of his incorporation in the mystical Body of Christ. By virtue of the consoling doctrine of the communion of saints the merits and prayers of each one are able to help all; and the Church is able to join her prayer with that of the saints in heaven and supply what is wanting to the souls in purgatory by means of the Mass, indulgences and the alms and sacrifices of her children. more...
Benedict XVI corrects the macabre interpretation of Halloween. The Feast of All Saints is a festival of solidarity. Visiting the cemeteries should be noted that the souls of the dead "are in the hands of God." He recalls the Joint Declaration of Augusta, between the World Lutheran Federation and the Catholic Church, defined by John Paul II a milestone on the difficult road of rebuilding full unity among Christians.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The "communion of saints" is a "beautiful and comforting" reality because it says that "we are never alone." This is how Benedict XVI presented the solemnity of All Saints - which is celebrated today - to the faithful gathered in St Peter's Square for the Angelus. The definition of the pope puts it in complete opposition to how this holiday has been marketed and turned into "Halloween" and in a macabre celebration of monsters and zombies, enemies of man.
"We are part of a spiritual 'company', where deep spiritual solidarity prevails: the good of each is to the benefit of all and, conversely, common happiness radiates in individuals. It is a mystery that, to some extent, we already experience in this world, in families, in friendship, especially in the spiritual community of the Church".
The pontiff recalled the ancient cult of the martyrs in the early Church, which later became that cult of all saints, "a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and tongue (Revelation 7:9)."
From these, in this Year for Priests, the Pope recalled "the Saintly priests, both those that the Church has canonized ..., and those - many, many more - who are known to the Lord."
The Pope also offered ideas to think on and live tomorrow, when we commemorate the faithful departed. "I would ask - said the pontiff – that this liturgical memory be lived in a genuine Christian spirit, that is, in light of the Paschal Mystery. Christ died and rose again and he opened the door to the house of the Father, the kingdom of life and peace. Those who follow Jesus in this life are welcomed where He came before us. So as we visit cemeteries, let us remember that there, in the tombs, are only the mortal remains of our loved ones awaiting the final resurrection. Their souls - as Scripture says – are already 'in the hands of God' (Wis 3:1). Therefore, the most proper and effective way to honour and pray for them, is by offering acts of faith, hope and charity. Tin union with the Eucharistic Sacrifice, we can intercede for their eternal salvation, and experience the deepest communion, as we wait to find ourselves together again, to enjoy forever the Love that created and redeemed us". more...
Collect: God our Father, source of all holiness, the work of your hands is manifest in your saints, the beauty of your truth is reflected in their faith. May we who aspire to have part in their joy be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that having shared their faith on earth we may also know their peace in your kingdom. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Today the Church celebrates all the saints: canonized or beatified, and the multitude of those who are in heaven enjoying the beatific vision that are only known to God. During the early centuries the Saints venerated by the Church were all martyrs. Later on the Popes set November 1 as the day for commemorating all the Saints. We all have this "universal call to holiness." What must we to do in order to join the company of the saints in heaven? We "must follow in His footsteps and conform [our]selves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things. [We] must devote [our]selves with all [our] being to the glory of God and the service of [our] neighbor. In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history" (Lumen Gentium, 40).
During the year the Church celebrates one by one the feasts of the saints. Today she joins them all in one festival. In addition to those whose names she knows, she recalls in a magnificent vision all the others "of all nations and tribes standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood."
The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope. Among the saints in heaven are some whom we have known. All lived on earth lives like our own. They were baptized, marked with the sign of faith, they were faithful to Christ's teaching and they have gone before us to the heavenly home whence they call on us to follow them. The Gospel of the Beatitudes, read today, while it shows their happiness, shows, too, the road that they followed; there is no other that will lead us whither they have gone.
"The Commemoration of All Saints" was first celebrated in the East. The feast is found in the West on different dates in the eighth century. The Roman Martyrology mentions that this date is a claim of fame for Gregory IV (827-844) and that he extended this observance to the whole of Christendom; it seems certain, however, that Gregory III (731-741) preceded him in this. At Rome, on the other hand, on May 13, there was the annual commemoration of the consecration of the basilica of St. Maria ad Martyres (or St. Mary and All Martyrs). This was the former Pantheon, the temple of Agrippa, dedicated to all the gods of paganism, to which Boniface IV had translated many relics from the catacombs. Gregory VII transferred the anniversary of this dedication to November 1. more...
'Halloween' comes from 'All Hallows Eve', the Vigil of the celebration of the Christian Feast of 'All Saints'.
The Feast of All saints is our family Feast day when we honor all those who have died, marked with the sign of faith, and gone on before us to be with the Lord. They now beckon all of us into the fullness of the communion of love.
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (Catholic Online) - I just tried to place my books down on the file drawer outside of my makeshift home office and had to move three carved smiling pumpkins out of the way. Our grandson and his mom, our daughter, live with us. I really should say we all live with him, given his ability to “occupy the turf” so to speak, with his toys and the amazing little world he has built. It ever reminds me of the gift of childhood. He has completely transformed our home. He will soon be three years old. He is a continual invitation to my wife and me to keep it simple. We raised five children of our own but have never achieved what people call the “empty nest” stage. They just seem to return home. Family truly is a way of life and, when lived as a domestic church, it is a source of real grace and conversion.
This year our grandson discovered a place he incessantly refers to in his adorable attempts at conversation as the ‘punkin patch’. I have heard so many stories about his two trips with his mom to the “punkin patch” that I could probably write a book. He is looking forward to “trick or treating” with his mom in our neighborhood this year and his excitement is contagious! He has his little “Dash” costume ready. For my readers unfamiliar with who “Dash” is, he is the little boy from the family of Super Heroes in the movie “The Incredibles” who can run really fast. I have seen the video at least five times. The day he tried the costume on we watched him run all over the house with the kind of joyful abandon we sadly lose as we “grow up.” So, pushing those pumpkins out of the way today to clear a spot for my books made me smile.
I hurriedly opened my laptop and read one of the news sources I often check, the UK “Daily Telegraph.” I knew I wanted to write on the Feast of All Saints. A report out of Rome bore this headline “Vatican condemns Halloween as anti-Christian.” However, a further read of the original source upon which the Telegraph reporter based his article in L’Observatore Romano, revealed a very different headline. The article in the Vatican paper was entitled 'The Dangerous Messages of Halloween.' The priest interviewed for the story warned that the celebration has sometimes been hijacked by occultism and encouraged parents to 'to be aware of this and try to direct the meaning of the feast towards wholesomeness and beauty rather than terror, fear and death.' Good, sound advice for all of us.
“Halloween” comes from “All Hallows Eve”, the Christian Vigil of the celebration of the Christian Feast of “All Saints”. I contend that what it is becoming simply reflects the waning influence of the Christian vision in the West and presents an opportunity for Catholic Christians to do what we have always done, live like missionaries in our own culture. The Church has always recognized that cultural practices can be “mixed”, containing those aspects which elevate the human person and those which do not. However, members of the Church are invited to transform such cultural practices from within through our proper participation. That has been the missionary model of the Church for two millennia.
Many of the dates which were “Christianized” and now host Christian “Holy-Days” were originally utilized for “Pre-Christian” (“Pagan”) celebrations. This process reflects the wisdom of the Church and a missionary approach. She has “baptized” them, recognizing the seeds of what was good within them. By immersing them in the beauty of the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the fullness of truth and the source of all goodness, she transforms them into vehicles for transforming culture. The Church is His Body. She is meant to be the home of the whole human race. As the early fathers were fond of proclaiming, the Church is the world reconciled - the world in the process of transfiguration. We who live our lives in the Church do so for the sake of the world. We should not be afraid of human culture; we are called to continue the redemptive mission of our Lord by transforming it from within as leaven in a loaf. more...
Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the CDF
Vatican City, Oct 31, 2009 / 12:13 pm (CNA).- In an extensive clarification released on Saturday by the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. made clear, on behalf of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Levada, that there is no “celibacy issue” delaying the publication of the Constitution that will establish the context in which Anglicans can be received into the Catholic Church.
In a statement released in English –breaking the common use of Italian- Fr. Lombardi explained that “there has been widespread speculation, based on supposedly knowledgeable remarks by an Italian correspondent Andrea Tornielli, that the delay in publication of the Apostolic Constitution regarding Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans entering into full communion with the Catholic Church, announced on October 20, 2009, by Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, is due to more than ‘technical’ reasons.”
“According to this speculation, there is a serious substantial issue at the basis of the delay, namely, disagreement about whether celibacy will be the norm for the future clergy of the Provision,” Fr. Lombardi’s statement explains.
Responding to the speculations, which include suggestions that also celibacy in the Catholic Latin rite would be open to discussion, Fr. Lombardi offered the official comments of Cardinal Levada.
“Had I been asked I would happily have clarified any doubt about my remarks at the press conference. There is no substance to such speculation. No one at the Vatican has mentioned any such issue to me.”
According to Cardinal Levada, Pope Benedict’s Apostolic Constitution will be ready “by the end of the first week of November” and its delay “is purely technical in the sense of ensuring consistency in canonical language and references.” more...
AP via Yahoo! News By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer – Fri Oct 30, 2:29 pm ET
VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the Archbishop of Canterbury next month in the leaders' first encounter since the Catholic church moved to make it easier for disenchanted Anglicans to convert to Catholicism, a Vatican spokesman said Friday.
Archbishop Rowan Williams, the Anglican leader, was already due to visit Rome in November for ceremonies at a pontifical university to honor a late cardinal who worked for Christian unity, said the spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. Taking advantage of the archbishop's presence in Rome, Benedict will receive Williams on Nov. 21 at the Vatican, Lombardi said in a telephone interview.
The Vatican's move, announced last week, to ease Anglican conversions to Catholicism is designed to entice traditionalists opposed to women bishops, openly gay clergy and the blessing of same-sex unions in the church headed by Williams.
Given the surprise overture to potential converts, the talks between Benedict and Williams "take on a particularly important significance," said Lombardi. But he stressed that Williams has met with the pontiff during past trips to Rome and indicated that the two would have likely met even without the recent developments. more...
An article in L'Osservatore Romano has cautioned against the "dangerous messages" in popular celebrations of Halloween. “Halloween has an undercurrent of occultism and is absolutely anti-Christian," wrote Joan Maria Canals, noting that a focus on the macabre and ghoulish has crept into the celebrations even of young children. The Vatican newspaper article encourages parents to help their children avoid the harmful influences of the occult and the frightening aspects of public observances.
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I had an email a few days ago, from someone who sent me a youtube video.
The emailer was a new correspondent, and the video was meant to “help” me understand that the Catholic church was the Whore of Babylon, and that Pope John Paul II was the Beast of Revelation, who would rise from the grave and fool the world.
No, I don’t think I will be linking to the video. Normally I ignore that sort of stuff; between the hate mail from the left, the hate mail from the far-right and the strongly-dislike mail from certain Christian quarters (who seem to have more problems with me than the atheists do), I have enough to read, watch, link to and throw out, each day. But this thing was so ignorant, and so hateful, so Jack Chick on Crack that I confess it annoyed me a bit.
It annoyed me enough (particularly since I count so many Evangelicals among my dear friends, but I suspect this person is not really Evangelical) that -just because I can, and because we are about to observe All Saints and All Souls days (and because I am a great fan of the Communion of Saints)- I’m going to put up the video of the Litany of Saints from John Paul II’s funeral, which back then troubled some, too. The video is not, sadly, the straight-up Litany with funeral footage, but it’s the best I could find.
Not long ago, a friend and I were talking about children and holidays. "What am I going to do about Hallowe'en?" she asked. "My kids love planning costumes, figuring out jokes and riddles for trick-or-treating, and then there's the big night when dozens of neighbor children come to our door for handouts. But now I wonder if it's right for Christians to let our kids participate in pagan holidays like this at all."
Her concern was real — and considering some of the adult Hallowe'en street celebrations in recent years, anyone would think this is a deeply pagan festivity. (The same might be said of Mardi Gras celebrations!) Add to that the fact that some people today actually claim to be witches. They have claimed "ownership" of Hallowe'en. They claim it is really an ancient pagan harvest festival.
What about this? Can even innocent children's parties, trick-or-treating, dressing up like witches and ghosts on October 31 — as almost all Americans have done for generations — be participating in a pagan religious celebration? Worse, is it a way of seducing our kids into the occult or devil worship?
Are we compromising our religious beliefs and principles by letting our children, even if innocently, dabble in something that has its origins in evil? As Catholic families, what is our obligation to be consistent and true to our faith?
We think that Hallowe'en can be a real teaching moment. Despite what many people think — or what some modern-day "witches" may claim — Hallowe'en is and has always been a Christian holiday.
The word Hallowe'en itself is a contraction of "Hallowed evening". Hallowed is an old English word for "holy" — as in "Hallowed be Thy Name", in the Lord's Prayer.
Why is this evening "hallowed"? Because is is the eve of the Feast of All Saints — which used to be called All Hallows. Like Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, and the Easter Vigil, the Church's celebration of her greatest feasts begins the evening before. (This follows the ancient Jewish practice of beginning the celebration of the Sabbath at sundown on Friday evening.)
We need to begin to re-Christianize or re-Catholicize Hallowe'en by repairing the broken link to its Christian meaning and significance. We need to reattach it to All Saints Day — and to All Souls Day, for it is only in relation to this that we can understand the original and true significance of the "hallowed eve".
The Communion of Saints
The Church's belief in the Communion of Saints is a key to unlocking the real mystery of Hallowe'en and to restoring its connection to the Church's celebration of All Saints and commemoration of All Souls.
The Communion of Saints is really a definition of the Church: the unity in faith in Christ of all believers, past, present and future, in heaven and on the earth. We are united as one body in Christ by holy things, especially the Eucharist, which both represents the Mystical Body of Christ and brings it about. (See the Catechism of the Catholic Church §960)
The Communion of Saints also means the communion in Christ of holy persons (saints) — "so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all". (CCC §961)
So, as Pope Paul VI put it, "We believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church".
Furthermore, "we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and His saints is always [attentive] to our prayers". (CCC §962)
This is why Catholics honor the saints and "pray to the saints". (Actually, what we are doing is are asking them to pray for us -- to add their prayers to ours, just as we might ask a friend to pray for us. This is known as "intercessory prayer".)
It is because of our belief in the communion of all the faithful in Christ — in this world or in the next — that Catholics pray for the dead, for all those those have died and who are being purified (in Purgatory), that they will soon be granted eternal rest in heaven with God and reunited with all the saints. more...
The Pope's general intention is: "That all the men and women in the world, especially those who have responsibilities in the field of politics and economics, may never fail in their commitment to safeguard creation."
His missionary intention is: "That believers in the different religions, through the testimony of their lives and fraternal dialogue, may clearly demonstrate that the name of God is a bearer of peace."
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
Vatican City, Oct 29, 2009 / 10:48 am (CNA).- The Office of Papal Liturgical Celebrations announced today the list of events that the Pope will preside over from November through January 2010. Highlights of the celebrations include the Christmas Midnight Mass, the Urbi et Orbi blessing and the baptism of children.
The full list of celebrations is as follows:
NOVEMBER
- Saturday 28. At 5 p.m. in the Vatican Basilica, celebration of first Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent. more...
Over a week after the Vatican announced the Pope’s intention to create personal ordinariates that would allow Anglican communities to enter the Catholic Church, op-ed writers continue to praise and condemn the Pontiff. Reactions range from “There'll be some bumps in the road, but we're headed home at last. Hallelujah!” (first link) to “That women are or should be subservient to male hierarchies is an unacceptable superstition (practice) in need of an exorcism” (last link).
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Vatican City, Oct 29, 2009 / 11:30 am (CNA).- Addressing the full Pontifical Council for Social Communications today, Benedict XVI urged its members to help communicate the teachings of the Church on the “digital continent” of the ever-changing technological landscape.
Reflecting on the role of social networking and increasingly real-time electronic communication, Pope Benedict XVI said on Thursday that "modern culture is established, even before its content, in the very fact of the existence of new forms of communication that use new languages; they use new technologies and create new psychological attitudes.”
"Effectively," he continued, the advent of new technology “supposes a challenge for the Church, which is called to announce the Gospel to persons in the third millennium, maintaining its content unaltered but making it understandable.”
Quoting John Paul II's encyclical "Redemptoris Missio" that affirms: "Involvement in the mass media, however, is not meant merely to strengthen the preaching of the Gospel. There is a deeper reality involved here: since the very evangelization of modern culture depends to a great extent on the influence of the media.” more...
By Taylor Marshall 10/28/2009 Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
As a former Anglican priest myself, I am profoundly grateful for our Holy Father’s generous proposal toward Anglicans, 'that they all might be one'
Taylor Marshall is a former Anglican priest and the author of 'The Crucified Rabbi: Judaism and the Origins of Catholic Christianity'.
DALLAS, TX (Catholic Online) - On October 20, 2009, the Holy See made an unexpected announcement: the Holy Father will be issuing an Apostolic Constitution (the highest form of papal document) through which he will erect personal ordinariates for Anglican clergy and laity wishing to enter the Catholic Church. While rumors about this have been stirring since 2007, the recent decision came as a surprise to most Catholics and Anglicans.
Those who remember their high school history might recall that Pope Gregory the Great sent missionaries to England in the late sixth century to establish the Catholic Church in England. In A.D. 598, Pope Gregory the Great designated the township of Canterbury as the nation’s principal see. There were hiccups along the way (Norman conquest), but England remained under the pastoral oversight of the Pope until 1534 when King Henry VIII declared himself caput ecclesiae anglicanae “Head of the English Church.” Henry VIII never shook his devotion to the old rites. He demanded priestly celibacy, Latin Masses, and prayers for the dead. He did however have an appetite for the wealth of the monasteries. When Henry VIII died in 1547, he left his son Edward VI as king. As a Protestant, Edward approved a Protestantized English ritual which became known as the Book of Common Prayer in 1549.
The liturgies found in the Book of Common Prayer and subsequent editions reveal a careful blend of medieval Catholic piety mixed with subtle Protestantism. Henry’s daughter Queen Elizabeth fully realized this compromise between Catholicism and Protestantism—perhaps the cleverest grab for political power in history. As England colonized the world, she spread her national Anglican church. In America, she became the Episcopal Church. The new worldwide conglomerate of national churches became known as the Anglican Communion. Since those days, the Anglican Communion has been divided into roughly three camps: High Church (more Catholic), Low Church (more Protestant), and Broad Church (liberals who bless the political and cultural mores of society—something going all the way back to Henry’s desire for a second marriage, and then a third marriage, and then a fourth…you know the story).
In the last twenty years, the Broad Churchmen emerged as victors in the Anglican Communion as they secured the ordination of women in the 1980s and 1990s. The past decade has been embroiled in debates about homosexuality as it touches on marriage and clerical ordination. The disaffected conservatives (High Church and Low Church) are looking for options. Clearly, the High Church movement is open to the Catholic Church and many bishops, priests, and lay people have appealed to the Pope for help. The Pope has now provided an an answer: “Come home! Rome opens its doors to you!”
The New York Times, the London Times and almost every known newspaper has printed articles about this new announcement. The blogs are ablaze. However, there is a lot of misinformation churning around out there. I have collected five common misconceptions about the Holy See’s announcement. Each myth merits an informed and measured response.
Myth #1 The Pope is sheep-stealing
The Pope’s alleged “sheep-stealing” been the most popular subject within the secular media. To them, the Holy Father has launched a media campaign to kick the Anglican Communion while it’s down. The poor Archbishop of Canterbury is struggling to keep things together and then “Bamm!” the Pope surprises everyone with a bid for Anglican souls. However, we must remember that it was Anglicans who pursued the matter with the Holy Father—and we’re not talking about just one or two Anglicans. We are talking about thousands and thousands of Anglicans: bishops, priests, deacons, and laity. Anglican bishops from several nations have sent private letters to the Holy See. Much of this is confidential. They want a way out. They want to become Catholic. The Pope is responding to souls looking to him for guidance. The pope is not stealing sheep—He is holding out his pastoral staff to those sheep looking for protection. more...
At his regular weekly public audience on Wednesday, October 28, Pope Benedict XVI continued his series of talks on the development of Christian thought, moving into the 12th century with its enormous expansion of theological studies. The Gregorian reform had taken effect, the Pope said, bringing "a greater evangelical purity" to the Church, and among the results were the development on monastic and scholastic theology, which would produce the great works of Sts. Bonaventure and Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century.
Monastic theology, the Holy Father said, was characterized by a careful attention to the Word of God. He recommended that approach today, urging to faith "to reserve a certain time each day for meditation on the Bible." The scholastic approach, he continued, developed the style of argument known as the quaestion, which is "not easy for modern mentality to understand." But behind that unfamiliar form was the clear recognition that "faith and reason, in reciprocal dialogue, tremble with joy when they are both animated by the search for intimate union with God."
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They, said Benedict XVI during the general audience, are "the wings on which the human spirit rises up to God". monastic and scholastic theology arose in the twelfth century, one is a prayerful listening to the Word of God, the other shows the merits of the mysteries of God, with faith, but also with reason.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - Between faith and reason "there is a natural friendship," they "are filled with joy when they are both animated by the search of the intimate love of God" and, as John Paul II wrote they are "the wings on which the human spirit rises up to God ". This was the lesson proposed today by Benedict XVI to the 15 thousand people in St. Peter's Square for the general audience. A lesson which spoke of "the history of the flourishing of Latin theology in the twelfth century".
At that time, he recalled, Western Europe lived "a period of relative peace, economic development and structural consolidation as well as a vibrant cultural life thanks to relations with the East". The Church was witnessing the fruits of Gregorian reform, which "established evangelical purity particularly in the clergy and restored wide freedom of action to the papacy". It was also a period of "development of consecrated life with the birth of new orders and the revival of existing ones." "Theology also flourished, refining methods, advancing towards new problems, in contemplation of the mystery of God," "inspiring arts and culture."
The two different environments in which this fervid theological activity flourished were monasteries and scholae [schools] that "would soon gave birth to universities, which are one of the typical inventions of medieval Christianity". Thus there came to exist monastic and scholastic theology. The former was mainly due to "abbots gifted with evangelical fervour, dedicated to inspire and nurture the desire for God," the latter to "educated men, fond of research, aiming to show the merits of the mysteries of God, with faith certainly but with also with reason".
In the monasteries the method was primarily linked to the explanation of Holy Scripture. "The monks were all devoted listeners and readers of Scripture," which became "lectio divina, an orated reading of the Bible. Simple reading is not enough to perceive its profound mystery, its message. They needed a spiritual reading of the Bible, allegorically interpreted to discover Christ and his saving work in every page". more...
Our first three columns this term discussed the Obama administration's takeover of the American private sector, including the automotive industry, banking, health care, student loans, etc. To avoid getting lost in details, let's note some controlling principles offered by Pope Benedict XVI in his third encyclical, "Love in Truth" (Caritas in Veritate) (CIV), issued June 29. CIV builds upon his first two encyclicals, "God is Love" (Deus Caritas Est, 2006) and "In Hope We Were Saved" (Spe Salvi, 2007). It carries forward Benedict's assertion in his first World Day of Peace message, on Jan. 1, 2006, that "Any authentic search for peace must begin with the realization that the problem of truth and untruth is the concern of every man and woman; it is decisive for the peaceful future of our planet." His first three encyclicals emphasize that love and acceptance of the truth about man and God offer the only hope for peace. "Jesus," said Benedict in that message, "defined himself as the Truth in person, and … states his complete aversion to 'everyone who loves and practices falsehood.'"
CIV focuses on "integral human development," as urged by Paul VI in "Populorum Progressio" in 1967. CIV's opening words note the spiritual as well as material character of such development: "Charity in truth, to which Jesus Christ bore witness … is the … driving force behind the … development of every person and of all humanity."
CIV deserves attention, especially within the Beltway and in the media. Don't hold your breath waiting for that. Let us, rather, note some unfashionable truths offered in CIV: more...
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will visit Pope Paul VI's birthplace and inaugurate the new premises for an institute dedicated to the 1963-1978 Bishop of Rome.
The Nov. 8 visit to Concesio will occur in the context of the Holy Father's pastoral visit to the Italian province of Brescia, 30 years after Paul VI's death.
The Vatican press office published today the official program for the one-day pastoral visit. The Pope will arrive to Brescia at 9:30 a.m.. He will then make a private visit to the parish church of Botticino Sera, where he will venerate the remains of St. Archangel Tadini.
He will then be welcomed at the Duomo of Brescia cemetery, and will make a brief visit to this church.
A concelebrated Mass will be held at 10:30 a.m. in the Paul VI Square of the city of Brescia. Benedict XVI will deliver the homily and after Mass, he will pray the Angelus and address a few words to the faithful. more...
A conservative group of Anglican priests in the US and Canada has responded cautiously to the initiative by Pope Benedict XVI welcoming Anglicans into the Catholic Church. The Society of Catholic Priest in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada acknowledged that "such a move may make some sense" for many Anglican clerics, and could constitute "a natural extension of our understanding of the evolution of Tradition in the life of the Church.”
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Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn celebrates Mass at St. John the Baptist Cathedral in Turin in 2000, the last time the Shroud of Turin was on public display. (CNS/Nancy Wiechec)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI will join hundreds of thousands of pilgrims traveling to northern Italy in 2010 to see the Shroud of Turin, which many believe is the burial cloth of Christ.
The Vatican and the Archdiocese of Turin announced Oct. 27 that Pope Benedict will visit the city May 2. "As the first act of his visit, the Holy Father will pause for personal prayer before the holy shroud," the archdiocese said.
Earlier in the year, the archdiocese had announced the shroud would be on public display April 10-May 23, 2010, offering members of the public their first opportunity to see the shroud since it underwent major cleaning and restoration in 2002.
The work involved removing 30 fabric patches and a fabric backing, known as the Holland Cloth, sewn onto the shroud in 1534 after a fire.
Pope Benedict's visit to Turin will include the celebration of an outdoor Mass, a visit with a group of sick people and an evening gathering with young people.
The Archdiocese of Turin operates a Web site -- www.sindone.org -- with information about the shroud, the current state of scientific studies on the cloth and information for tourists, which will include the possibility of making a reservation online to view the shroud during the exposition period.
Though 82, Benedict XVI is moving on all fronts: Lefebvrists, Anglicans, the Orthodox, Jews. The "pontificate of transition" is becoming the "pontificate of action." Will the Pope's vision succeed?
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
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These newsflashes can be found on the web by clicking on the icon below:
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"Nam oportet et haereses esse, ut et qui probati sunt, manifesti fiant in vobis." ("For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.") —1 Corinthians 11:19
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Movement on All Fronts...
The talks began today, Monday, October 26.
On this historic Monday, unprecedented high-level theological discussions between representatives of the Society of St. Pius X and of the Holy See got underway to discuss "all the unresolved doctrinal questions" ("grandi temi dottrinali non risolti") related to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), its implementation and interpretation.
The talks took place in the building once known as the "Holy Office of the Inquisition" and still called the Sant'Uffizio in Italian -- the Holy Office.
On one side, representatives of the Society of St. Pius X, founded by the French Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre (died 1991). From their founder, the members of the Society are often called "Lefebvrists."
On the other, top theologians from the Vatican itself, men very close to Pope Benedict XVI, led by Mosignor Guido Pozzo (yesterday I erroneously labeled him as an archbishop), the head of gthe Ecclesia Dei commission. (Photo: Pozzo at the main door of the Holy Office.)
The talks continued for three hours.
They went very well.
And they will continue.
Not only will they continue, they will continue at an almost frenetic pace for the Holy See, which generally "thinks in centuries": there will be meeting every two weeks for as long as it takes to settle these questions.
Father Federico Lombardi noted this relative haste when he delivered a brief communique on the meeting this afternoon in the Vatican Press Office. "This is a rather rapid paste for the Holy See," he said.
This is worth noting because it suggests that the Pope wants this dialogue on a "fast track," not something that drags on interminably. more...
Addresses 100-Year-Old Pontifical Biblical Institute
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The historical-critical method of interpreting biblical texts is legitimate and necessary, but it must not be forgotten that the key to the interpretation of Scripture is the faith of the Church, says Benedict XVI.
"If exegesis also wishes to be theology," he told the Pontifical Biblical Institute today, "it must acknowledge that the faith of the Church is that form of 'sim-patia' without which the Bible remains as a sealed book."
The Pope received in audience the professors and students of the Pontifical Biblical Institute on the occasion of the institute's 100th anniversary. Pius X founded the institute in 1909, and entrusted its direction to the Society of Jesus.
Benedict XVI alluded to the debate on the historical-critical method of sacred Scripture, which aims to understand Scripture in light of the historical context and worldview of the era.
The Holy Father explained that the Second Vatican Council clarified in the dogmatic constitution "Dei Verbum" that the historical-critical method is legitimate and necessary, "reducing it to three essential elements: attention to literary genres; study of the historical context; examination of what is usually called Sitz im Leben" (roughly translated as "setting in life").
"The foundation on which theological understanding of the Bible rests is the unity of Scripture," the Pope affirmed, which implies "the understanding of the individual texts from the whole."
"Scripture being only one thing starting from the one people of God, which has been its bearer throughout history, consequently to read Scripture as a unit means to read it from the Church as from its vital place, and to regard the faith of the Church as the real key to interpretation," he added. more...
The Vatican's announcement this week that it will allow former Anglicans who join the Catholic Church to retain a collective identity, using many of their traditional prayers and hymns in their own specially designed dioceses, is an event with profound implications for both Anglican and Catholic life.
The decision, made to accommodate Anglicans upset with their church's growing acceptance of homosexuality and of women clergy, is likely to transform ecumenical relations between the churches. It will also heighten the internal Catholic debate over the requirement of priestly celibacy (which is to be routinely waived for married Anglican clergy who convert under the new rules, extending an exception made on a limited basis till now).
Perhaps the most striking effect of the Vatican's move is the likelihood that, within the next few years, Catholic priests around the world will be celebrating Mass in a form that draws largely from the Book of Common Prayer. This resonant text, in its many versions, has informed Anglican worship since shortly after King Henry VIII led the Church of England away from Rome nearly five centuries ago.
Startling as that may sound, the Vatican's adoption of a liturgy with Protestant origins is merely the latest—and hardly the most exotic—addition to the Catholic church's liturgical smorgasbord. The range of worship forms has grown ever wider in recent years as the global church has become ever more diverse.
Millions of Charismatic Catholics today, most commonly in Latin America but also in Africa and the Philippines, regularly attend spectacular Masses featuring Pentecostal-style faith healing, speaking in tongues and preaching that echoes the upwardly mobile aspirations of the Prosperity Gospel. Catholic Masses in sub-Saharan Africa typically feature exuberant dancing, not only by designated performers but by the congregation at large, and music derived from popular local traditions. more...
Pope Benedict XVI met on October 26 with leaders of the Pontifical Biblical Institute, which is marking its 100th anniversary this year. The Pontiff reminded the Jesuit administrators of the Biblicum that the study of the Scriptures must take place in a context of Christian faith and loyalty to the teaching magisterium. "Furthermore it is the Church, in her institutions, that has the decisive word in the interpretation of Scripture," he said.
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Cardinal Turkson will come to Rome. And, a word of wisdom. Two, in fact...
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
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"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy." —James 3:17
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Flash: Turkson to Replace Martino at Justice and Peace
First, the breaking news -- Cardinal Peter Turkson (photo), 61, the Archbishop of Cape Coast, Ghana, the eloquent "relator" or general secretary of this month's Synod for Africa, will succeed Cardinal Renato Martino (photo below), 77, as the head of the Vatican's Council for Justice and Peace, it was announced today.
This will make Turkson the highest-ranking African cardinal in the Church, and give him important experience in a curial position, at the heart of the Church.
The appointment was announced at 1 pm in the Vatican Press Office, in Turkson's presence, at a Vatican Press Conference held to "wrap up" the Synod on Africa, by Father Federico Lombardi, S.J., the Pope's press spokesman... and Turkson looked surprised. more...
Here is the full text of the Message prepared by the Bishops during the African Synod. It looks at the continent’s tragedies and hopes as well as the Church’s commitment to development, the dignity of women, and the fight against AIDS. It also refers to the dialogue with the Churches of Asia.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – We publish the full text of the Message of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, which was approved during the 18th General Congregation last Friday, 23 October, and released today. It contains many important points. First, it signals the commitment of various ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups to the unity of the Church and mentions the fact that African Churches were founded as far back as apostolic times. One section is dedicated to the activities of the Church in favour of development and AIDS patients. On this issue, the bishops express their solidarity towards the Pope who back in March said that condoms were an “inadequate” means to eradicate the disease. The document also expresses appreciation for the women who talked about their role in society and in African Churches. Given the poverty of the continent, the Message stresses the urgency to study and apply the social doctrine of the Church and proposes greater South-South cooperation as well as between the Churches of Africa and Asia.
INTRODUCTION
1. It was a special gift of grace and like a last will and testament to Africa when the Servant of God Pope John Paul II, towards the end of his life, on November 13th, 2004, announced his intention to convoke a Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. This same intention was confirmed by his successor, our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, on the 22nd of June 2005, in one of the first major decisions of his pontificate. As we gather here for this Synod, from all countries of Africa and Madagascar and the adjacent Islands, with brother bishops and colleagues from all continents, with and under the Head of the Episcopal College, with the participation of some fraternal delegates from other Christian traditions, we thank God for this providential opportunity to celebrate the blessings of the Lord on our continent, to assess our stewardship as Pastors of God=s flock, and to seek fresh inspiration and encouragement for the tasks and challenges that lie ahead. It is now fifteen years since the First Assembly in 1994. The teachings and directives of the Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Ecclesia in Africa have not ceased to be a valid guide for our pastoral efforts. In this follow up assembly, however, the Synod has been able to concentrate on a theme of the greatest urgency for Africa: our service to reconciliation, justice and peace in a continent that is very much in dire need of these graces and virtues.
2. We started our work here with an inaugural celebration of the Holy Eucharist, presided over by His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, invoking the Holy Spirit to “lead us into all truth” (Jn 16:13). On that occasion, the Pope reminded us that the Synod is not primarily a study session. Rather, it is God’s initiative, calling us to listen: listen to God, to one another and to the world around us, in an atmosphere of prayer and reflection.
3. As we prepare to disperse to our various places of assignment, with renewed commitment and courage, we wish to address this message to the whole Church, Family of God, especially to the Church in Africa: to our brother bishops on whose behalf we are here; to the priests, deacons, religious and all the lay faithful, and to all whose hearts God may open to listen to our words.
PART I
LOOKING AT AFRICA TODAY
4. We live in a world full of contradictions and deep crisis. Science and technology are making giant strides in all aspects of life, equipping humanity with all that it takes to make our planet a beautiful place for us all. Yet tragic situations of refugees, abject poverty, disease and hunger are still killing thousands on a daily basis.
5. In all this, Africa is the most hit. Rich in human and natural resources, many of our people are still left to wallow in poverty and misery, wars and conflicts, crisis and chaos. These are very rarely caused by natural disasters. They are largely due to human decisions and activities by people who have no regard for the common good and this often through a tragic complicity and criminal conspiracy of local leaders and foreign interests.
6. But Africa must not despair. The blessings of God are still abundant, waiting to be prudently and justly employed for the good of her children. Where the conditions are right, her children have proved that they can reach, and have indeed reached, the height of human endeavours and competence. There is much good news in many parts of Africa. But the modern media often tend to emphasize bad news and thus seem to focus more on our woes and defects than on the positive efforts that we are making. Nations have emerged from long years of war and are moving gradually along the path of peace and prosperity. Good governance is making appreciable positive impact in some African nations, challenging others to review past and present bad habits. Signals abound of many initiatives seeking to bring effective solutions to our problems. This Synod, precisely by its theme, hopes to be part of such positive initiatives. We call on all and sundry to join hands to address the challenges of Reconciliation, Justice and Peace in Africa. Many are suffering and dying: there is no time to waste. more...
ROSEMONT, Pa. — When the Vatican announced last week that it would welcome groups of traditionalist Anglicans into the Roman Catholic Church, leaders of one Episcopal parish celebrated as if a ship had arrived to rescue them from a drifting ice floe.
Enlarge This Image Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times Bishop David Moyer of the Church of the Good Shepherd welcomes a Vatican decision to embrace traditionalist Anglicans.
“We’d been praying for this daily for two years,” said Bishop David L. Moyer, who leads the Church of the Good Shepherd, a parish in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia that is battling to keep its historic property. “When I heard the news I was speechless, then the joy came and the tears.”
This parish could be one of the first in the United States to convert en masse after the Vatican completes plans for a new structure to allow Anglicans to become Catholic while retaining many of their spiritual traditions, like the Book of Common Prayer and married priests.
The arrangement is tailor-made for an “Anglo-Catholic” parish like this one, which has strenuously opposed the Episcopal Church over decisions like allowing women and gay people to become priests and bishops. Mass here is celebrated in the “high church” style reminiscent of traditional Catholic churches, with incense, elaborate vestments and a choir that may sing in Latin.
“The majority of our members will be on board with this,” the Rev. Aaron R. Bayles, the assistant pastor, said as he finished celebrating a noon Mass devoted to church unity in a small side chapel lighted with blue votive candles.
He said he was exultant when he heard the news from the Vatican because he had always hoped to see the unification of Anglican, Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christianity. more...
AFP PHOTO/BEN CURTIS/Getty Images Lord Carey (above) said Pope Benedict XVI's failure to consult was 'inexcusable' Enlarge
The former archbishop of Canterbury criticised the Roman Catholic Church this weekend, branding as "inexcusable" its failure to consult leading Church of England clergy on the Pope's invitation for Anglo-Catholics to join him.
Lord Carey gave a cautious welcome to the proposals from Rome but said he was "distressed" that his successor had received just two weeks' notice of them.
He said that the move by Pope Benedict XVI could help clergy in the Church of England who were unhappy with the ordination of women bishops.
However, he urged the current Archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, to protest at the lack of consultation.
He told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4: "I would protest and say what we must do is to work closely together, and I gave the example of 10 or 15 years years ago when we were ordaining women as priests.
"My views are predicated on one little word: 'if'. I don't know the details, but if my successor was only informed about this two weeks ago then I think this is quite distressing.
"We are closer together, we share offices – ecumenical offices – in many dioceses and so on. There was really no need for it to be done in this kind of way."
He added: "I was very surprised by the way this was done, not the action itself. I think we ought to give this a cautious welcome."
Dr Williams said earlier last week that he had been informed of the move at a very late stage, but said he did not see it as an act of aggression by the Catholic church.
He added that it would be a "serious mistake" to view it as a response to the difficulties within the Church of England. more...
London, England, Oct 23, 2009 / 12:22 am (CNA).- Hundreds of traditionalist Anglican clergy will meet this weekend in London to discuss whether to enter the Catholic Church in light of Pope Benedict XVI’s creation of an Anglican “ordinariate.”
About 500 members of members of the group Forward in Faith will attend the meeting, the Times Online reports. Many of them are waiting for the Vatican’s publication of a Code of Practice, which will provide more detail about the proposed new church structure organized under an Apostolic Constitution.
The chairman of Forward in Faith, Bishop of Fulham, England John Broadhurst, issued a statement on Tuesday responding to the Vatican announcement that a structure will be created to assist Anglicans who want to enter into communion with Rome.
Bishop Broadhurst said that Anglican Catholics have had “frequently expressed hope and fervent desire” to be enabled to enter into full communion with Rome while retaining “every aspect of their Anglican inheritance which is not at variance with the teaching of the Catholic Church.”
“We rejoice that the Holy Father intends now to set up structures within the Church which respond to this heartfelt longing. Forward in Faith has always been committed to seeking unity in truth and so warmly welcomes these initiatives as a decisive moment in the history of the Catholic Movement in the Church of England.”
He closed his message with the Latin phrase “Ut unum sint,” Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John meaning “may they be one.” The phrase is also the title of Pope John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical on ecumenism. more...
Archbishop Nichols Addresses Prayer Lecture Series
LONDON, OCT. 23, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Westminster is encouraging Christians to experience the "lure of God," and is offering tips on setting aside distractions in order to cultivate a prayerful relationship with him.
Archbishop Vincent Nichols told a childhood story to the crowd gathered in London's Westminster Cathedral Hall Thursday evening, of a time when he and his brothers went mackerel fishing on a holiday in southern Ireland.
"We rowed out into the bay," he said. "In fact we went too far and had some difficult moments on our return journey."
We threw the lines into the sea, the prelate recalled, and "at the end of each line, on each of the many hooks, was a spinner -- a rotating, highly colored piece of metal with sharp hooks attached."
"The mackerel could not resist the flash of light reflecting off the spinners and, once we hit a shoal, they were quickly caught," he said, adding that they "soon had enough for a healthy supper for everyone in the hotel."
The archbishop used this image to illustrate the topic of his talk, "The Lure of God," as he spoke about "the ways in which God can reel us in, if we are able to let him."
He encouraged his listeners to feel "the pull of God," sense the desire for God and turn "all of that into action."
The purpose of our spiritual lives, Archbishop Nichols affirmed, can be expressed in this way, "What I seek is that Christ is born in me, day by day, so that he can do his work through me." more...
Pope Benedict has sure gotten the ball rolling and it seems others want to get into the ecumenical action! Thanks to A Catholic Knight on this one:
A Bulgarian Orthodox prelate told Benedict XVI of his desire for unity, and his commitment to accelerate communion with the Catholic Church.
At the end of Wednesday's general audience, Bishop Tichon, head of the diocese for Central and Western Europe of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, stated to the Pope, "We must find unity as soon as possible and finally celebrate together," L'Osservatore Romano reported.
"People don't understand our divisions and our discussions," the bishop stated. He affirmed that he will "not spare any efforts" to work for the quick restoration of "communion between Catholics and Orthodox."
Bishop Tichon said that "the theological dialogue that is going forward in these days in Cyprus is certainly important, but we should not be afraid to say that we must find as soon as possible the way to celebrate together."
"A Catholic will not become an Orthodox and vice versa, but we must approach the altar together," he added.
The prelate told the Pontiff that "this aspiration is a feeling that arose from the works of the assembly" of his diocese, held in Rome, in which all the priests and two delegates from every Bulgarian Orthodox parish took part.
"We have come to the Pope to express our desire for unity and also because he is the Bishop of Rome, the city that hosted our assembly," he stated.
Initiatives
After the bishop, Luka Bebic, speaker of the Croatian Parliament, addressed the Holy Father, inviting the Pontiff to visit his homeland and thanking him "for the support the Holy See has given our people since independence, during the war back then and now in the process that will lead Croatia to enter the European Union." more...
Disaffected Anglican Dioceses in Papua New Guinea, the United States and Australia might consider switching to Roman Catholicism under a new constitution offered by Pope Benedict, according to Forward in Faith (FiF), a worldwide association of Anglicans opposed to the ordination of women priests or bishops. About a dozen bishops from the Church of England, the Anglican mother church, are also likely to convert, it says.
(Photo: Vatican Cardinal William Levada announces offer to Anglicans, 20 Oct 2009/Tony Gentile)
The Church of England could not comment on numbers likely to convert, with one source adding: “It’s all guesswork.” But Stephen Parkinson, director of FiF, said a figure of 1,000 Church of England priests, reported in the media, was “credible.” Read our news story on this here.
Estimates of laity are “much harder,” Parkinson said. “Inevitably if you say 1,000 priests you are then talking about several thousand laity.”
But he said he “would not be at all surprised at a dozen” bishops in England switching. However, in England, bishops were likely to move individually rather than take their entire dioceses, which tend to have diverse views, with them. Some Anglican clergy anticipated numbers would not be great, pointing to the early 1990s when about 500 switched over the ordination of women priests. Some later returned to Anglicanism. more...
Pope John Paul II at the headquarters of the Christian doctrine society - MUSEUM during his visit to Malta in 2001. Photo: Darrin Zammit Lupi
A narrator is walking along the rocky shore in Dwejra, Gozo recalling thoughts expressed by Pope John Paul II as the TV cameraman takes in the magnificence of the Azure Window.
The scene forms part of a 90-minute documentary called The Great Pope: Pilgrim In White dealing with the philosophy advocated by the late Pope from Warsaw, Poland. The pontiff had urged nations to treasure their cultural roots irrespective of the onslaught of the media and other forces. The documentary will be in English and Polish.
"This is not a biography but a closer look at how John Paul II changed the mentality on how people relate with each other," Krystyna Mikulanka, co-producer of the documentary said while the crew was filming here.
Ms Mikulanka, who is also honorary consul for Malta, added that when she spoke about the filming to Gaetan Naudi, who is Maltese Ambassador to Poland, his reply was "why don't you go to Malta as well?"
"It is not practical to go to every place the Pope had visited but with my passion for Malta, it was not hard at all to convince me to come here", Ms Mikulanka said.
The Polish crew of seven - which includes Tadeusz Lampka and Stanislaw Szymanski, producers, as well as Michal Walczak, production manager - have still to film in Mexico and Bolivia, Senegal and Zimbabwe, the Holy Land, Jordan and Egypt. more...
The villages of the ancient parishes of Broughton, Marton and Thornton nestle in a corner of North Yorkshire that is perilously close to the Lancashire border. And even closer to Rome.
For the rector, the Rev Canon Nicholas Turner, editor of the traditionalist magazine New Directions, the Pope’s decree was the fulfilment of a long-held dream. But he must now decide whether to be reordained as a Roman Catholic priest. And if he does, what will happen to the churches and his parishioners?
To visit the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Thornton is to enter a Norman building that gives every appearance of being Catholic already. There is a statue of the Madonna and Child. There are candles and incense. Father Nicholas celebrates Mass, occasionally in Latin, hears confession and grants absolution.
The three parishes in the united benefice voted in the 1990s for resolutions granting them distance from the Bradford Diocese. Now the three parochial church councils may face a further vote: whether to join their priest and defect en masse to Rome, albeit a version of Roman Catholicism that would allow them to maintain much of their Anglican identity.
If it came to that, though, a hurdle would remain. Their three churches would still belong to the Church of England; unless a deal were reached, where would the new Catholics worship? In Father Nicholas’s ideal world, one church would pass into the control of the Anglican Catholics while the other two remained with the Church of England.
His world is not ideal, however, because his wife, Canon Ann Turner, is the local deacon and the Roman Catholic Church does not accept female deacons. Some tough decisions lie ahead.
“The Pope’s decision is a wonderfully generous move to unity,” he said. “It would be wonderful if the Church of England could return to full communion with Rome while still being the Church of England. But I can’t just abandon over 30 years of ministry as though they never happened. These are exciting times, but one can’t ignore the history of a village church. It is at the centre of the community and I hope we can forge a path that allows all of us to stay together.”
In Walthamstow, East London, Father David Waller sits on a green chair, a black and white cat draped across his knees, and offers a cup of tea. “This could be the most significant thing to happen to the English Church since the Reformation,” he says.
His cat is named Joseph — after Cardinal Ratzinger, who became Pope Benedict XVI, and there is a picture of the Pope on the wall. The Anglican priest is one of the hundreds considering defecting to the Roman Catholic Church after the Pope decreed that he would introduce a structure for accepting Anglicans. The 120-strong congregation of the parish of St Saviour is one of several considering moving over en bloc. more...
Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria, the most prominent of that continent's Anglican leaders, says that he is "still weighing the implications of the Vatican's offer." His response will be a crucial test for the Pope's plan, since he leads the world's largest and most robust Anglican community.
A spokesman for the traditionalist Anglican group Forward in Faith predicts that up to 1,000 priests will enter the Catholic Church under the terms of the apostolic constitution-- although he cautions that no one has seen the document yet.
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Washington D.C., Oct 22, 2009 / 04:00 am (CNA).- Catholic commentator George Weigel says that the Vatican’s announcement of a new provision for Anglican groups who desire to convert to Catholicism is an “end of an era” in Anglican-Catholic relations, showing a widening “theological gulf” between Anglican leadership and the Christian tradition.
Writing in The Washington Post's "On Faith" blog, Weigel recounts how Anglican-Catholic relations reached a peak around the time of the Second Vatican Council.
However, in the following decades some Anglican leaders appeared to be distancing themselves from the apostolic tradition on the priesthood and the sacraments.
Weigel discusses an exchange of letters in the 1980s between Pope John Paul II, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie and Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, then the head of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
Asked by the Catholic prelates to explain why parts of the Anglican Communion had decided to ordain women as priests, Weigel recalls that Archbishop Runcie replied in “largely sociological, rather than theological terms.” The then-senior prelate in the Church of England cited women’s changing roles in business, culture and politics as a justification for the novel practice.
When the exchange of letters ended in 1986, a “parting of the ways” had been reached. Catholic authorities believed that apostolic tradition precluded the ordination of women to the priesthood, while Archbishop Runcie and similarly-minded Anglicans, in Weigel’s view, believed that “contemporary human insights into gender roles trumped apostolic tradition and necessitated a development of both doctrine and practice.”
“Rome could not accept that as a legitimate development of Christian self-understanding,” Weigel explains, reporting that Catholic leaders feared the new Anglican approach would cause the revision of their teachings on many other issues, such as sexual morality.
With Pope Benedict’s announcement of a new Anglican provision, Weigel writes at On Faith, Anglicans have been offered a “path into full communion” with the Catholic Church that “honors the distinctiveness of their spiritual and liturgical traditions.”
In fact, in all the years of his pontificate, since the spring of 2005 after his election, his custom has been to keep his light on until about 11 pm. Then the window goes dark. Sometimes it is a little before 11, sometimes a little after.
But this evening, it was still burning at 11:15, at 11:30, at 11:45, and at 12 midnight. I don't know if it was on any longer, because midnight was when I glanced up at the Apostolic Palace for the last time before calling it a day myself and heading back here to write. The light was still on as I turned and walked away.
Is the Pope working late?
Or did someone forget to turn off the light?
I don't know -- I only know that the light stayed on much longer than usual.
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The Next Pope?
This evening I was invited to dine, along with a dozen other journalists, with Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, 61, the Archbishop of Cape Coast in Ghana, in West Africa.
Turkson is not just any cardinal.
He is the youngest African cardinal.
And, as the "Relator," or General Secretary, of the Synod on Africa currently taking place in Rome, he is unquestionably one of the "top" African cardinals (as he is often termed in the press).
At an October 5 press conference to open the Synod, Turkson was asked whether he thought the time was right for a black Pope, particularly following the election of President Barack Obama.
Turkson replied: "Why not?"
He argued that every man who agrees to be ordained a priest has to be willing to be a Pope.
He noted that, with Obama and the previous U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan, there have been several blacks in positions of global leadership.
He said, "If God would wish to see a black man also as Pope, thanks be to God."
And his words put him in the headlines around the world.
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"He is my brother"
It was a beautiful, warm October evening as I walked up the cobblestones, past the Synod Hall, for our 7:30 pm dinner appointment inside the Vatican.
Next to me was my friend, Jesus Colina, the founder of the Zenit news agency. About nine other journalists were walking with us.
We reached a Vatican security checkpoint inside Vatican City (there are several of these). The guards checked our names on a list they had received the day before, and we were free to continue toward Casa Santa Marta, but we stood for a moment, waiting for two more journalists who were late.
An African prelate walked by, dressed very simply. From his clothes, he could have been an ordinary monsignor. But something about his greying hair and the shape of his head...
General audience, Benedict XVI illustrates the figure of Bernard of Clairvaux, the last of the Fathers of the Church. He expressed man's participation in the love of God, he devoted himself particularly to the figures of Jesus and Mary and not coincidentally is the one to whom Dante entrusts the prayer to Mary in Paradise. He fought the heresy of the Cathars and antisemitism.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - "We too must recognize that man looks for and finds God better and more easily in prayer than in discussion”: this is the teaching that Benedict XVI has drawn from the life and works of St. Bernard of Clairvaux, "called the last of the Fathers of the Church," the figure to whom he devoted his catechesis today in the general audience.
Speaking to almost 40 thousand people in St. Peter's Square, the pope recalled the figure of the great Monk for whom "sometimes we claim to have resolved the fundamental questions about God, about man and the world with the powers of reason alone," but "without a deep faith in God, nourished by prayer and contemplation, from an intimate relationship with the Lord, our reflections on the divine mysteries are in danger of becoming a futile intellectual exercise, and lose their credibility".
Born in 1090 in Fontaines in France to a "numerous and fairly well-off," family Bernard studied grammar, rhetoric and dialectic and at 20 entered the monastery of Citeaux, "a new more agile monastic foundation, but also more rigorous” than the existing ones of the time, "At only 25 years of age he chose monastic life" and "looking at the lives of other monasteries called for a sober and measured lifestyle in eating and clothing and recommended care for the poor." In 1130 he began an "extensive correspondence with many” important but humble people. To these letters, many sermons, judgements and treaties must be added. He also began "to deal with serious problems of the Holy See and the Church."
Benedict XVI then recalled, "especially his polemical writings” and in particular those against the heresy of the Cathars who despised the material and the human body and thus despised the Creator." Instead he defended the Jews, so much so that a rabbi, Ephraim, "addressed a stirring tribute” to him. “His sermons on the Song of Songs are renowned" and "also a very special for a pupil of his, Bernardo Pignatelli, who became Pope Eugenius III, on how to be a good pope, it remains obligatory reading for all popes". He died in 1153. more...
The Vatican today made a dramatic announcement: Pope Benedict has authorized a bold new plan to bring Anglicans back into full union with Rome. But many questions remain unanswered
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
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VATICAN CITY, October 20, 2009 -- Dramatic news today -- as dramatic as the decision earlier this year to "un-excommunicate" the four Lefebvrist bishops, as dramatic as the decision on July 7, 2007 (in the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum) to restore the old Mass.
Pope Benedict XVI is proposing a special Church structure for those Anglicans who wish to come into full communion with Rome without giving up many of the things they cherish as Anglicans.
The news, which came without prior warning this morning, was precisely coordinated between Rome and London. more...
Addressing the new head of the Commission of European Communities’ delegation to the Holy See, Pope Benedict emphasized Europe’s Christian roots and said that “the transcendent vision of the human person” stemming from those roots is Europe’s “most precious treasure.”
“You, Mr. Ambassador, have described the European Union as ‘an area of peace and stability that brings together 27 States with the same fundamental values,’” said Pope Benedict. “It is a happy description. And yet, it is right to observe that the European Union has not gifted itself with these values … These values are the fruit of a long and torturous history in which, no one can deny, Christianity has played a major role. The equality of all human beings, the liberty of the act of faith as root of the other civil liberties, peace as the decisive element of the common good, of human development -- intellectual, social and economic … are a few of many other central elements of Christian Revelation that continue to mold European civilization.”
The Pontiff continued:
The immense intellectual, cultural and economic resources of the Continent will continue to bear fruit if they continue to be fertilized by the transcendent vision of the human person, which is the most precious treasure of European heritage. This humanist tradition, in which so many families of different thoughts recognize themselves, makes Europe capable of addressing the challenges of tomorrow and of responding to the population's expectations.
It is primarily the search for a just and delicate balance between economic efficiency and social exigencies, the safeguarding of the environment and, above all, the indispensable and necessary support to human life from conception to natural death, and to the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman. Europe will be really itself only if it is able to preserve the originality that has constituted its greatness, and this is capable of making of it, in the future, one of the principal actors in the promotion of the integral development of persons, which the Catholic Church regards as the genuine way able to remedy the present imbalances of our world.
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The Holy See took the ecumenical imperative out of the hands of ecumenists, with the result that the reunion of Christians -- at least in one limited area of schism -- ensued. From the Vatican website:
With the preparation of an Apostolic Constitution, the Catholic Church is responding to the many requests that have been submitted to the Holy See from groups of Anglican clergy and faithful in different parts of the world who wish to enter into full visible communion. In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony. Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.
The Times of London, with its dizzyingly reckless Monty Python approach to religion stories, headlines its article Vatican Moves to Poach Traditional Anglicans, but the "poaching" metaphor is an odd choice of images when the "rabbits" in question have been pleading, sometimes for decades, to jump into the hunter's game bag. After all, the decisions that changed the playing field were made by the Anglican churches, not the Pope. The Vatican's explanatory statement does not hesitate to point to the shattering effect of Anglican capitulations to Left/liberal secularism:
In the years since the Council, some Anglicans have abandoned the tradition of conferring Holy Orders only on men by calling women to the priesthood and the episcopacy. More recently, some segments of the Anglican Communion have departed from the common biblical teaching on human sexuality -- already clearly stated in the ARCIC document "Life in Christ" -- by the ordination of openly homosexual clergy and the blessing of homosexual partnerships.
While in recent years the Catholic Church has lost some members to Anglicanism, she has benefitted overwhelmingly from the inbound traffic. As your Uncle Di has pointed out before: the dissatisfied Anglican leaves because his Church ain't what she used to be. The dissatisfied Catholic leaves his Church because she is.
Orthodox Catholics deserve to feel satisfaction at today's development. Yet it's easy to exaggerate the advantages. On one hand, the Anglicans coming home to full communion will be active in practice, theologically aware, and proportionately resistant to gay and feminist faddishness. On the other hand we have to admit that a sizable minority of (nominally) Catholic clergy envy the Church of England for precisely the reasons its orthodox are bolting. Who knows how many of our own ecclesiastics, even unindicted ones, are gazing wistfully at the lighted windows of Gene Robinson's honeymoon suite while Rembert Weakland's autobiography slumbers in their lap?
By the same token, under the earlier dispensation most Anglican converts found themselves in ordinary Catholic parishes -- with the ordinary attendant problems -- and they gave a boost to the orthodox cradle Catholics in the customary street-fighting for decent liturgy, decent catechesis, decent clerical deportment, etc. Yet those potential allies who convert under the terms of the Personal Ordinariate will in one sense be in quarantine, hived-off with their own clergy and their own bishop, able to help out in the Catholic culture wars only indirectly if at all. Were I a Robert Lynch or a Roger Mahony I'd feel relieved that these new Catholics, even those domiciled in my diocese, were not under my "pastoral care" -- which means I'd have no need to respond to their articulate and well-informed pleading for the redress of grievances.
Based on who's sputtering in indignation at the Holy See's move and who's not, the Personal Ordinariate is a score for right team. The Church is perpetually and perfectly one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic, but by today's action the attributes "one" and "Catholic" are realized that much more visibly. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.
There was a T-shirt on the market last year for converts to the Catholic faith. Emblazoned on the front were the words, "Member of the Tiber Swimmers Club." After today's amazing announcement from the Vatican, Anglicans no longer need to change into their swimming trunks. Trembling toes no longer need to be dipped in the chilly waters of the Roman river. Anglicans needn't take the plunge: Benedict has built a bridge.
The "personal ordinariate" is a structure whereby Anglicans will be able to come into full communion with the Holy See. Individuals, congregations, parishes, religious communities, whole dioceses and provinces will be able to maintain their Anglican traditions, use the Anglican Use Roman liturgy, see their married priests ordained to serve as Catholic priests, and even have their own "ordinary" (akin to their own bishop). Think of a mixture of the system used to minister to the military and the semi-autonomous structure that the Eastern Rite Catholics enjoy.
The Archbishop of Canterbury looked a bit like a deer in the headlights at the press conference in London today, where he admitted that he was not consulted about this step and was only informed about it two weeks ago. Nevertheless, he should have seen it coming: Not only has the Traditional Anglican Communion been publicly courting the Vatican, but two of his own traditionalist bishops were in a "secret" meeting with the Vatican last Easter.
The archbishop and the rest of the established Anglican Communion regarded the dissenters in their ranks as a rather troublesome sore that, in time, they hoped would go away. Even so, the mainstream Anglican response will be the lofty response usually given by those who are in established institutions to upstarts. With a casual wave of the hand they will imagine that the traditionalist Anglicans are just an eccentric rump. They will regard the Traditional Anglican Communion, Forward in Faith, and all the other traditionalist groups as "garage churches" -- little schismatic groups who trouble the great Anglican Communion as a fly might annoy an elephant. more...
The prayers of millions have been answered and Christian history has been made on October 20, 2009. 'May They Be One'.
Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and Archbishop Augustine DiNoia, Secretary of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, the Vatican Congregations who will oversee Anglican Christians entering into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
ROME (Catholic Online) - In an absolutely stunning announcement on the morning of October 20, 2009, the Holy See has, by Apostolic Constitution, provided the canonical vehicle for Anglican Christians to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Throughout the evening expectations rose throughout the world along with the fervent prayers of millions who have longed to see this day. Many Catholics have watched in prayer with hopeful, heartfelt longing for their Christian brethren in the Anglican Communion. Many Anglican Christians have suffered from the ravages of their community from within brought about by moves away from Christian orthodoxy and orthopraxy. Now,there is a way to the safe harbor of the Catholic Church.
This morning the Vatican offered a lifeline into the Ark of Peter for Anglican Christians who wish to avail themselves of the invitation. Expectations had been that, in response to the formal petition of the “Traditional Anglican Communion” for a vehicle for corporate entry into full communion, the Holy See would offer a juridic structure under Canon Law similar to the “personal prelature” which is the global organizing vehicle for the ecclesial movement Opus Dei. In essence it provides a “floating” global Diocese wherein the prelature has its own Bishops and its own priests while welcomed alongside of the existing Dioceses of the Catholic Church.
However, the announcement from Rome is much farther reaching and, for Vatican watchers, nothing short of spectacular in its implications for Anglican Christians seeking a place in the Church captained by the successor of Peter. Pope Benedict XVI has offered to establish “Personal Ordinariates”, the structure offered for those in the military, within which to care for Anglicans, lay and clergy, while enabling them to maintain the liturgical and spiritual unique distinctives of their tradition. That is correct, the Roman Catholic Church by way of an “Apostolic Constitution” will provide the process which will allow for Anglican Christians to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
The Congregation for the Doctrine of the faith said this concerning the Apostolic Constitution in a statement just released: “In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony”. That spiritual patrimony will include enabling married men called after marriage to serve as priests. Following the ancient Christian tradition they are allowed to do so now in the Eastern Christian Churches, both Orthodox and Catholic. However, again following the practice of the ancient Christian tradition, the Bishops of these Ordinariates will be chosen from among the ranks of the celibate clergy.
The prayers of millions have been answered and Christian history was made on October 20, 2009. Pope Benedict XVI has fashioned, after much serious theological and pastoral work, a way home for many of our Anglican brethren. This canonical vehicle will allow for a form of corporate entry into full communion which could conceivably enable not only the “Traditional Anglican Communion” a path over the troubled Tiber but also provide for other groups of Anglicans including parishes, religious communities and even entire Dioceses. So monumental is this announcement that a nearly simultaneous Press Conference was also held in London including the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, and Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster. They issued this joint statement:
“Today’s announcement of the Apostolic Constitution is a response by Pope Benedict XVI to a number of requests over the past few years to the Holy See from groups of Anglicans who wish to enter into full visible communion with the Roman Catholic Church, and are willing to declare that they share a common Catholic faith and accept the Petrine ministry as willed by Christ for his Church.
“Pope Benedict XVI has approved, within the Apostolic Constitution, a canonical structure that provides for Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of distinctive Anglican spiritual patrimony.
“The announcement of this Apostolic Constitution brings to an end a period of uncertainty for such groups who have nurtured hopes of new ways of embracing unity with the Catholic Church. It will now be up to those who have made requests to the Holy See to respond to the Apostolic Constitution. more...
Pope Benedict is promulgating an apostolic constitution that will permit Anglican communities whose members wish to be received into the Catholic Church to do so as communities.
The papal document allows for the creation of "personal ordinariates" to be headed by formerly Anglican priests, providing a structure within the Catholic hierarchy to supervise the pastoral care of Anglicans who have become Catholics. These "personal ordinariates" would be integrated into national episcopal conferences, but encouraged to preserve the distinctive aspects of the Anglican tradition.
“In this Apostolic Constitution the Holy Father has introduced a canonical structure that provides for such corporate reunion by establishing Personal Ordinariates, which will allow former Anglicans to enter full communion with the Catholic Church while preserving elements of the distinctive Anglican spiritual and liturgical patrimony,” according to a note published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. “Under the terms of the Apostolic Constitution, pastoral oversight and guidance will be provided for groups of former Anglicans through a Personal Ordinariate, whose Ordinary will usually be appointed from among former Anglican clergy.”
"The forthcoming Apostolic Constitution provides a reasonable and even necessary response to a world-wide phenomenon, by offering a single canonical model for the universal Church which is adaptable to various local situations and equitable to former Anglicans in its universal application," the note continues. "It provides for the ordination as Catholic priests of married former Anglican clergy. Historical and ecumenical reasons preclude the ordination of married men as bishops in both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. The Constitution therefore stipulates that the Ordinary can be either a priest or an unmarried bishop. The seminarians in the Ordinariate are to be prepared alongside other Catholic seminarians, though the Ordinariate may establish a house of formation to address the particular needs of formation in the Anglican patrimony. In this way, the Apostolic Constitution seeks to balance on the one hand the concern to preserve the worthy Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony and, on the other hand, the concern that these groups and their clergy will be integrated into the Catholic Church."
Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster and the Archbishop of Canterbury-- Dr. Rowan Williams, the primate of the Anglican Communion-- issued a joint statement in response to the announcement. Their joint statement said that the new apostolic constitution was the fruit of years of ecumenical dialogue, without which such a rapprochement would not be possible. Acknowledging that recent developments in the Anglican communion have complicated the quest for reunion with Rome, the joint statement nevertheless insists that both the Vatican and the Anglican communion remain committed to the ecumenical process.
The second meeting for dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox, taking place in Cyprus, sees strong protest and progress at a standstill for fear of "subjugating the Orthodox to the Pope in Rome." Even among Catholics there is dogmatic resistance. A call to all from Johannes Zizoulas, Metropolitan of Pergamon, tenacious advocate of the value of dialogue.
Paphos (AsiaNews) - The 2nd round of dialogue between Catholics and Orthodox is being held in Paphos (Cyprus) from October 16 to 23. Progress, however, appears a distant goal. Two days ago, groups of traditionalist Orthodox monks and Orthodox priests from Larnaca interrupted the meeting of the Joint Commission, asking Archbishop Chrisostomos to stop it. They believe that dialogue between the two Churches is designed to "subjugate the Orthodox to the pope in Rome". Yet it is to this very island, a martyred land of ancient Christian traditions, divided by the last wall in Europe, the one between Greece and Turkey, that Benedict XVI will come on a papal visit in June 2010.
The dialogue of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches began in Ravenna in 2007 where a road map for process towards full unity was signed. The Ravenna document, of great importance, is based on the ecclesiology of the first millennium, when the two churches were in full communion, although even then differences arose from time to time.
The Ravenna document was not signed by the Russian Orthodox Church, which withdrew over differences with the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople on the question of the Church in Estonia. But these days it was involved in the work. Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople confirmed two days ago that "engaging in dialogue is our duty and obligation. Dialogue is a road of no return". more...
Vatican City, Oct 19, 2009 / 11:58 am (CNA).- After listening to a piano concert on Saturday evening, Pope Benedict offered his reflections on “great music,” saying that it can become prayer.
The concert was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the International Piano Academy and featured the Chinese pianist Jin Ju.
Ju took his audience on a musical journey through different historical periods, playing pieces by Bach, Scarlatti, Mozart, Czerny, Beethoven, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Liszt.
At the end of the concert the Pope expressed his thanks to the academy and to the pianist, who "enabled us to savor ... the emotional impact of the music she played." more...
Pope Benedict XVI underlined the importance of Christianity in the development of European civilization, as he accepted the diplomatic credentials of Yves Gazzo, who will head a delegation to the Holy See from the Commission of the European Communities. The Holy Father remarked that European society today is "the fruit of a long and complex history in which, it cannot be denied, Christianity has played a primordial role."
"It is important," the Pope said, "that Europe does not allow her model of civilization to fray, thread by thread." He said that the Church will continued to take a keen interest in the development of European institutions, and will always press for recognition of the fundamental principles that have contributed to European civilization-- specifically mentioning the respect for life from conception to death and the unique role of the family based on marriage.
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Rome, Italy, Oct 19, 2009 / 02:29 pm (CNA).- In a brief greeting to the participants of the SIGNIS World Congress, which began on October 17 in Thailand, Pope Benedict XVI encouraged efforts by those working in communications to promote the rights of children and to make them a priority in their daily work, so that they might bear fruit in a culture of peace.
SIGNIS is an organization dedicated to supporting Catholic communications and promoting human dignity, justice and reconciliation.
In Pope Benedict's message, published by the News Service of the Archdiocese of Mexico City, the he pointed to “the need for responsible management and use of the media, in its message and in its methods, which attract young people in a particular way.”
Recalling his message for the 41st World Day of Communications in 2007, Benedict XVI noted that participants can view their relationship with the media from two perspectives: the formation of children by the media; and the training of children to respond appropriately to the media.”
The Pope offered his prayers for the promotion of children’s rights and that communicators might make their promotion a priority in their daily work, so that they might bear fruit in a culture of peace.
The SIGNIS World Congress is being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand, October 17-21.
As rain fell in St Peter's Square, a solemn High Mass according to the old rite was celebrated this morning in Latin in St. Peter's Basilica by American Archbishop Raymond Burke. After Mass, the sun came out over the Square, in a blue sky. Photos...
By Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome
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The Mass in St. Peter's
Archbishop Raymond Burke (photo above) made history in Rome this morning.
Burke, formerly Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri, now the head of the Apostolic Signature of the Holy See, celebrated a solemn High Mass according to the old rite at 9:45 this morning in the Chapel of the Most Holy Sacrament in St. Peter's Basilica (photo by Angela Ambrogetti, who writes for Inside the Vatican and who attended the Mass).
The Apostolic Signature is an office more or less comparable to the "Supreme Court" of the Catholic Church. The head of this office is, according to Church custom, a cardinal. This means that, barring some change, Burke should relatively soon be made a cardinal. The decision of a probable future cardinal to celebrate this Mass gives the event a certain weight and seriousness it might not otherwise have had. more...
Vatican City, Oct 18, 2009 / 10:19 am (CNA).- Tens of thousands of faithful attended the Angelus with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square on World Mission Sunday. Pope Benedict’s words to them recalled missionaries who suffer persecution, including Father Ruggero Ruvoletto, killed in Brazil, and Father Michael Sinnot, kidnapped in the Philippines.
His message, Benedict XVI explained, was inspired by an expression from the Books of Revelation: “The nations will walk by its light.” The light is that of God, revealed by the Messiah and reflected on the Church, the Holy Father added.
“It is 'the light of the Gospel,’ that guides people towards the realization of one great family, in justice and peace, under the fatherhood of one good and merciful God,” Pope Benedict said. “The Church exists to proclaim this message of hope to all humanity, which in our time ‘has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself.’" more...
Madrid, Spain, Oct 16, 2009 / 08:42 pm (CNA).- Bishop Jesus Garcia Burillo of Avila, Spain announced this week that he will be sending an invitation to Pope Benedict XVI to visit the diocese in 2015 to mark the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Teresa. The bishop added that he will also ask the Holy See to “declare a Jubilee Year” to celebrate the occasion.
Although he acknowledged that it may be difficult for the Pope to grant his request, Bishop Burillo said he would nonetheless extend a formal invitation to the Holy Father requesting “the inestimable grace of his presence among us.”
The bishop expressed his “deepest desire that His Holiness the Pope visit Avila for this centenary, as did his predecessor John Paul II in 1982 on the occasion of the closing of the 400th anniversary of the death of St. Teresa.” more...
The search for God is witnessing a rebirth in countries formerly under the influence of atheism. Persecution, Martyrdom can never stop evangelization.
AsiaNews aims to serve the Church's mission, by telling of persecution, but also proclaiming the hope with which Christians "infect" the world, the Good News, the Gospel.
ROME (AsiaNews) - "The nations will walk in its light": this phrase from the Apocalypse of St. John is the theme of the 2009 World Mission Day which this year is celebrated on October 18.
Benedict XVI drafted a message reminding all of the faithful of our Mission to the Nations. In it, he underscores the elements of the commitment and mission of the Church. he writes "the widespread and profound changes in present-day society render ever more urgent" (n. 3).
First, the Holy father notes is the affirmation that the "primary" commitment, which must be "anxiously" and "passionately" carried out, is the call to "enlighten all peoples with the light of Christ." To "proclaim the Gospel", so as to render the mission ad gentes, to non-Christian peoples, "the priority of pastoral planning" of the Church itself.
This means that weariness, fears over a lack of clergy, the fatigue of organization, and even (sometimes) meagre results must not become an obstacle. Rather,they should orient us all the more to communicate "the light of Christ that shines on the face the Church ", well aware that" God has a great people in all cities, accompanied ... by the apostles of today. "
The resurgence of religion in many societies once dominated by state atheism (Russia, China, Vietnam, ...) and the anxiety of many young Western materialistic
