Radical Papist

Spanish Leader to Visit Pope

2010-05-20T01:44:00.000-07:00

ROME, MAY 19, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The prime minister of Spain, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, will visit Benedict XVI on June 10, as Spain takes over the presidency of the European Union.

The Spanish embassy in Rome today confirmed the visit, saying Zapatero will only visit the Vatican.

This will be the second meeting between Zapatero and Benedict XVI. The first took place in Valencia, Spain, in 2006, in the context of the Pope's visit there for the World Meeting of Families.

Since his election in 2004, Zapatero and the Church have often been at odds over his policies to allow more abortions, to permit same-sex marriages and to end compulsory religious education in public schools.

Saint Peter: Prince of the Apostles and First Pope of the Holy Roman Catholic Church

2010-05-19T06:39:00.000-07:00

Saint Peter from the Catholic Encyclopedia

Was Peter the first Pope? From Fisheaters

The Primacy of Peter from Scripture Catholic

The following are articles from Catholic Answers:

Origins of Peter as Pope

Peter and the Papacy

Peter the Rock

Peter's Primacy

Peter's Roman Residency

Peter's Successors

Was Peter in Rome?

Revealed: the tired, trendy, dated music planned for the Papal Mass in Coventry

2010-05-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

By Damian Thompson from the Telegraph.co.uk

A ghastly discovery today: plans to subject Pope Benedict XVI to trendy musical tripe when he celebrates the Beatification Mass for Cardinal Newman at Coventry Airport on September 19. According to Nick Baty, a supporter of the little gang of composers who have liturgical commissions sewn up in this country, the music for the Mass will include:

• Eucharistic acclamations by Fr Peter Jones, who wrote the tiresome Coventry Gloria for John Paul II’s visit in 1982. Yes, he’s still going strong;

• Christ be our Light by Bernadette Farrell, one of the inner circle of old trendies whose work is forced on Massgoers by cloth-eared PPs every week;

• Salisbury Alleluia by Christopher Walker, another of the inner circle;

• A Gloria by Alan Smith (you can hear a taste of it here: not trendy but utterly banal) and a psalm by Paul Wellicome. According to this document, both men are members of the relevant Birmingham diocesan committee;

• One of the most hideous of all folk hymns, Make Me a Channel of Your Peace;

• Some Taizé. You would have thought we’d heard enough Taizé over the years, but apparently not.

Oh, and there’s a brief motet by Elgar and a couple of rousing Newman-based hymns; but basically it’s game set and match to the Society of St Gregory (SSG), the mafia of the mediocre who ensure that most music at Mass in most dioceses reeks of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. This stuff didn’t sound either beautiful or cutting-edge when it was performed for Pope John Paul; how will it sound to the ears of a genuine music lover, Pope Benedict XVI? And young Catholics, especially, loathe it.

I’m confused. I thought that the Bishops of England and Wales had helped to commission the setting of the Mass by James MacMillan that will be heard at the papal ceremony in Glasgow. That is a lovely piece: fresh, original, full of unexpected modulations but also majestic traditional harmonies that will appeal to our Bruckner-loving Pontiff. Why not also perform the MacMillan Mass at the Newman beatification?

Archbishop Bernard Longley of Birmingham is a former student of the Royal Northern College of Music. Your Grace, how can you justify forcing the Holy Father to listen to music that he will not like – indeed, that no one much likes, apart from a few elderly Tabletistas and the SSG (some of whose members make far too much money out of their cosy arrangements with dioceses)?

It’s not too late to put things right, I hope. Does Mgr Guido Marini, the Papal Master of Ceremonies, know of these depressing plans? Also, if the music is going to be this corny, that doesn’t augur well for the rest of the liturgy, does it? The Coventry Mass should be one that makes the heart soar, not the toes curl.

Pope tells crowd Priests must resist temptation

2010-05-17T03:39:00.000-07:00

VATICAN CITY, May 16 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, facing the worst crisis of his five-year-old Papacy because of a widening sexual abuse scandal, told a crowd of nearly 200,000 on Sunday that Priests must guard against worldly temptation.

Benedict said such tests should drive Catholics to greater spiritual fervour and stricter adherence to Church rules.

"The real enemy to fear and to fight is sin, spiritual ill, which sometimes unfortunately affects even members of the Church," the 83-year-old German Pontiff told the crowd gathered in St Peters square.

"We live in the world but we are not of the world, even if we must guard against its temptations," he said. "The tests that the Lord provides drive us to greater fervour and consistency."

Benedict’s tone marked an extension of the latest change in the Vatican’s response to the abuse scandal, which has forced the resignation of Bishops in Ireland, Belgium and Germany.
In recent weeks, a number of Vatican officials had accused the media, gays or progressives of waging a smear campaign against the Church.

However, earlier last week the Pope said during a trip to Portugal that Catholicism’s greatest threat came from "sins within the Church" and he acknowledged it must seek forgiveness, though this was no substitute for justice.

Sunday’s demonstration of support, organised by an Italian Catholic lay association, brought nearly 200,000 people to the wide circular space before St. Peters basilica.

Many of those who came from across Italy waved banners such as "The people of Rome with the Holy Father" or "Renewing the Holy Spirit".

"Thank you for your presence and your faith," the Pope told the crowd, which interrupted his speech with applause. "Today you demonstrate the great affection and closeness of the Church and the Italian people to the Pope and your Priests."

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the Italian Bishops conference and a close collaborator of the Pope’s, said the Church "purified by penitence should be a place of justice and comfort for the faithful".

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Pope+tells+crowd+priests+must+resist+temptation/3035017/story.html#ixzz0oBLtZc5c

Over 150,000 in show of support for Pope at Vatican

2010-05-16T07:15:00.000-07:00

By Gildas Le Roux (AFP)
VATICAN CITY — Tens of thousands pilgrims flocked to the Vatican on Sunday in a rally of support for Pope Benedict XVI as he battles a paedophile Priest scandal.

Police estimated the crowd which filled St Peter's Square and Via della Conciliazione, the broad avenue leading to the holy city, at more than 150,000.

Some bore banners of support for the embattled head of the Roman Catholic Church saying "Together with the Pope" and "Your Holiness, you are not Alone, the whole Church is with you."

The demonstration of support was organised by the Italian Episcopal Conference, two days after Benedict's return from a four-day visit to Portugal which was marked by huge crowds.

"Today you show the great affection and profound closeness of the Church and the Italian people to the Pope and your Priests... because, in the commitment to spiritual and moral renewal, we can always do better," Benedict said, addressing the crowd from the balcony of his Vatican apartment.

"The real enemy to fear and to fight is sin, spiritual evil, which at times, unfortunately, also infects members of the Church," he said.

In what may yet be seen as a watershed in his battle against the Church's biggest crisis in decades, a penitent Pope said last week en route to Portugal that the problems it faced came not from its enemies, but from sin within the institution itself.

Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, president of the Italian Bishops Conference and Archbishop of the northern city of Genoa, led a group prayer focused on the meaning of purification, solidarity, forgiveness and justice.

The Church, "faithful to its mission", must be "purified of the sins of its sons", Bagnasco said.
Tens of thousands of pilgrims, made up of many Catholic associations, arrived in Rome aboard hundreds of chartered buses and special trains.

"We came from all over Italy to Saint Peter's to express our affection in a moment that is so difficult for him and the entire Church," said Paola Dal Toso, head of one of the associations that organised the rally.

"I am here to support the Holy Father in this difficult moment for the Church. He's a good Pope who has known how to react to the paedophilia scandals," said Cristian Papachioli, a 25-year-old student Priest.

Chiara, a 37-year-old from the northern Italian city of Piacenza, said: "We are lucky to have such a committed Pope, it's a blessing."

The faithful had gathered beneath a cloudy sky below the Pope's balcony since early morning, to pray with him during the Regina Coeli, celebrated each Sunday in the weeks ahead of Pentecost.
"I thank you with all my heart, dear brothers and sisters, for your warm presence," Benedict told them.

The Church has for months been embroiled in a series of sex abuse scandals amid allegations that the Vatican had protected paedophile Priests from prosecution in several European countries and the United States.

The Pope's comments that the Church was alone culpable were effectively a reversal of earlier Vatican attempts to blame media sensationalism for its problems and won praise from Vatican watchers.

The Holy See said the turnout in Portugal has been a strong public response to attacks on the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics over his handling of the paedophile crisis.

"The vitality of the people's faith demonstrates great hope, despite internal and external difficulties" facing the Church, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said at the end of the visit.

Pope targeted by Islamic terrorists

2010-05-15T02:13:00.000-07:00

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/05/oremus-pro-pontifice-nostro-benedicto.html

Message to Bishops at Fatima

2010-05-14T00:56:00.001-07:00

http://rorate-caeli.blogspot.com/2010/05/strong-words-from-pope-to-bishops.html

Benedict XVI visits Chapel of the Apparitions in Fatima

2010-05-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

"Penance, penance,penance."- Saint Bernadette repeating a message from Our Lady of Lourdes

2010-05-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/2010/05/profound-need-to-learn-penance-again.html

Holy Mary pray for thy Pope.

2010-05-10T03:22:00.000-07:00

AFP
10 May
Taken from: http://news.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne%2BNews/World/Story/A1Story20100510-215260.html

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI, a bookish theologian, holds a deep-rooted interest in the popular cult of the Virgin Mary, which will be on display during his visit to the shrine of Fatima in Portugal.

"Contrary to what one could imagine, Benedict XVI has a very positive opinion of demonstrations of popular faith like the one you can see in Fatima," Vatican expert Sandro Magister told AFP.

The Pope heads to Portugal on Tuesday to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the beatification of young shepherds who claim to have seen the Virgin Mary appear.

"Like his predecessor John Paul II, Benedict XVI is very pious with regards to Mary," French Cardinal Paul Poupard told AFP.

Several trips have already brought Benedict to sanctuaries devoted to the Virgin Mary, where he celebrated Masses in front of thousands of faithful: Marizell in Austria, Loreto in Italy, Aparecida in Brasil, Altotting in Germany, the "house of Mary" in Turkey and Lourdes in France.

As prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the Pope - then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - dealt thoroughly with apparitions and miracles.

In 2000, John Paul II entrusted Ratzinger with writing a theological document on an aspect of the Virgin's six apparitions to three shepherds in Fatima between May 13 and October 13 in 1917.

The text dealt with what is known as the third secret of Fatima, which John Paul II believed to be a prophecy of the assassination attempt he survived on May 13 1981.

The three secrets of Fatima are visions and prophecies allegedly given by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young Portuguese shepherds.

"The Pope's visit to Fatima is not a visit to any sanctuary dedicated to Mary, as it was in other trips," the Pope's spokesman Federico Lombardi said.

"The Pope dealt thoroughly with these events from the theological and spiritual point of view," he said.

Since the beginning of Benedict's Papacy in 2005, references to the Virgin in his homilies have been on the rise.

Benedict "has often underscored the importance of Catholicism speaking to everyone, including the 'lost sheep,' Catholics who do not practice on a regular basis," Magister told AFP.

"These pilgrimage sites are a way to gather masses. It is not contradictory with his love of sciences and with his university experience," he added.

Benedict has also often shown appreciation for the simple and popular faith of Bavaria, the predominatly Protestant German region where he was born.

Pope's visit to Portgual may shed light on Third Secret of Fatima

2010-05-09T16:50:00.000-07:00

Taken from the Telegraph.co.uk

The Pope will travel to Portugal this week amid hopes that he might shed light on one of the Catholic Church's most intriguing mysteries – the so-called Third Secret of Fatima

During his four day visit, Benedict XVI will pray at the shrine of Fatima, one of the best known centres of Catholic pilgrimage in the world and the focus of endless conspiracy theories and Doomsday predictions.

Its cult is founded on the belief that three shepherd children witnessed a series of apparitions and prophecies of the Virgin Mary in 1917.

Three secrets were supposedly disclosed to them, with the first and second relating to a vision of Hell and predicting the end of World War I, the outbreak of World War II, the collapse of the Soviet Union and Russia's return to Christianity.

The third secret was only disclosed by the Vatican in 2000 and was said to have foretold the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II by a Turkish gunman in 1981.

There has been intense speculation ever since that the Vatican withheld part of the secret, which is said to have concerned the Satanic infiltration of the Catholic Church, the rise of an anti-Pope or even nuclear Armageddon. The Holy See claims that it has released the full text of the secret and that it is holding nothing back, but many Catholics are not convinced.

Benedict is one of the world's leading authorities on the mystery because as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, before he was elected Pope in 2005, he was responsible for developing the Vatican's official position on the miracle of Fatima and wrote a scholarly interpretation of the Third Secret.

Benedict's visit is heavy with symbolism. He will be in Fatima on May 13 – the same day, in 1917, that the Madonna supposedly first appeared to the children. It is also the date on which Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca came close to killing John Paul II after shooting him in St Peter's Square.

Text the Pope.

2010-05-09T03:41:00.000-07:00

(AFP)

ROME — Roman Catholics can send now text messages of support to Pope Benedict XVI, Italian public television said Saturday, as the Church faces an international paedophile scandal.
The mobile phone service was launched by Rai television's Sunday weekly religious programme, ahead of a gathering organised by lay groups in Saint Peter's Square on May 16 to show their backing for the Pontiff.

All messages sent to the special number -- +39 335 18 63 091 -- will be passed along to the Pope by the end of May, the broadcaster said. They will be shown from Sunday during the television show "In His Image".

"It's a truly unique event, because with this number everyone can show their solidarity without being physically present in Saint Peter's Square," said Rosario Carello, the chief of the programme on the Rai Uno channel.

Pope Alexander VI

2010-05-05T12:41:00.000-07:00

An article by Mr. A.G. Ritchie

Pope Alexander VI

"Was Pope Alexander VI the moral monster of legend, and was he truly concerned about the wellbeing of the Church?"

The most infamous of all the Popes, father of several children, and politician extraordinaire. The second Borgia Pope, the most misunderstood and most unexplainable character to have ever sat upon the throne of Saint Peter, dynamic, enigmatic, and intelligent, this man was a shrewd political leader, with a very clear understanding of the politics of his day. Alexander was not a Churchman, he belonged else where, yet he did not neglect his responsibilities to the Church. By no means was he an exemplary Christian, however, he did bring back a prestige and power to the Church that made Her enemies tremble, and Her faithful gasp in wonder and awe.

On 1 January 1431 at Xativa, near Valencia, in Spain, Isabella de Borja gave birth to Rodrigo de Borja, the future Pope Alexander VI. The young Rodrigo had not decided upon any particular profession, however this all changed in 1455.Isabella’s brother, Cardinal Alfonso de Borja, who become Pope Callixtus III in 1455, opened up a completely new host of opportunities for the ambitious Rodrigo. Rodrigo was adopted into Callixtus’ immediate family and entered into the Church, not to serve as a spiritual leader, the thought of a clerical vocation was not even considered, but rather it was the perfect opportunity for him to further himself politically, socially, and financially. The Italians knew Rodrigo de Borja henceforward as Rodrigo Borgia.

Rodrigo’s uncle, Pope Callixtus III, bestowed many rich benefices upon Rodrigo, and then sent him to study law at the University of Bologna for a year. Then in 1456, he was made Cardinal-Deacon of St. Nicolo in Carcere at the age of twenty-five, and he held that title until 1471, when he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Albano, then in 1476, he was made Cardinal-Bishop of Porto and Dean of the Sacred College. Rodrigo’s official position in the Curia of the Church, after 1457, was that of Vice-Chancellor of the Roman Catholic Church, which earned him the envy of many. This was an important and lucrative position, and it seems in his long position in the administration of the Papal Chancery to have given a satisfactory service. Francesco Guicciardini (1483-1540), a Florentine politician and historian, wrote of Rodrigo, “…in him [Rodrigo Borgia] were combined rare prudence and vigilance mature reflection, marvelous power of persuasion, skill and capacity for the conduct of the most difficult affairs…” The list of archbishoprics, bishoprics, abbacies, and other dignitaries that Rodrigo held were many; he had a magnificent household, and had a passion for card playing. He was a moderate eater and drinker, and a careful administrator, all was well for Rodrigo, and it should not come as a surprise to find that he quickly became one of the richest men of his time.

At the age of twenty nine Rodrigo upset the entire town and court of Sienna, after having received a letter from Pope Pius II condemning his misconduct which, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “…had been so notorious as to shock the whole town and court.” In 1468, Rodrigo was ordained into the Priesthood, yet he continued with his immoral ways. In 1470, his relations with the Roman woman, Vanozza de Catanei, begun, she was the mother of Rodrigo’s four children: Juan, Caesar, Lucrezia, and Jofre.

Rodrigo’s contemporaries described him as tall and handsome. Sigismondo de Conti speaks of him as a large, robust man, with a sharp gaze, great amiability, and "wonderful skill in money matters." Others admired his florid complexion, dark eyes, and full mouth; he was praised for his imposing figure, his cheerful countenance, persuasive manner, brilliant conversation, and intimate mastery of the ways of polite society. It is no wonder that a man with handsome features, and the characteristics of prince or politician, did not make a good Priest, yet alone a Pope.

With the death of Pope Innocent VIII on the 25 July 1492, the struggle for the seat of Saint Peter had begun. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, Rodrigo had won the Conclave by a two-thirds majority, which was likely due to vast sums of money, promises, and favors. Rodrigo was a brilliant negotiator and was very good at persuading people to do what he wanted. According to legend, Rodrigo had paid Cardinal Ascanio Sforza, who was the final vote needed to secure a two-thirds majority, four mule loads of silver to sway him to vote for Rodrigo at the Conclave. This story has since been discredited, as Cardinal Ascanio stood to gain more by voting for Rodrigo, because he would become the Pope’s Chief Adviser, which was a lucrative position. Furthermore, there is actually not a single piece of irresistible evidence to prove that Rodrigo had bribed anyone at all. The Conclave was not contested, and according to the law at the time, it was found to be a valid Conclave, which would disprove the fact that Rodrigo had obtained the Papacy through simony.

Francesco Guicciardini wrote that on the 11 August 1492, Rodrigo Borgia become Pope Alexander VI, and this caused great “alarm and horror” in Rome. However, there seems to be no justification for this statement, because there was a massive celebration in Rome on that day. Huge bonfires were lit, there were torchlight processions, garlands of flowers and, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “…triumphal arches were erected with extravagant inscriptions.” Furthermore, on the 26 August 1492, the day of his coronation at Saint Peter’s basilica, and during his progression to the basilica of Saint John Lateran, he was met, according to “The Diarist”, an unknown Papal biographer, with an ovation “…greater than any Pontiff had ever received.” The people of Rome considered Alexander as one of their own, and were confident that he would be a good Pope, bringing peace and dignity back to Rome. It did not take long for Alexander to meet the expectations of the people.

Before Alexander’s ascension to the throne of Saint Peter, Rome was in a terrible state. Two very powerful, baronial families were constantly vying for control of the city. It was not uncommon to see fighting in the streets, and assassinations were commonplace too. According to a historian, Infessura, who lived at the time, there were over two hundred and twenty assassinations in the few months before Alexander’s rise to the Papacy. Rome was falling apart; the Eternal City was in squalor, thieves ran amok and it was in no way a city that was supposed to represent the centre, and seat of power of Christianity. One may ask why previous Popes had not done anything to solve this. The answer is simple; the two baronial families that were mentioned earlier had an almost complete and crippling control of the city.

To answer this question more fully we need to look at the political situation of the time. Nicolò Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a Florentine politician who wrote a book called “The Prince”; this book explains the political situation of Italy and gives a very good insight into the Papacy of Alexander VI. Italy was divided up into many minor states, the main ones being; the Papal States, ruled by the Pope, the state of Venice, which was a Republic, the state of Florence, which was also a Republic, the Kingdom of Naples, which was run by the King of Naples, and lastly the Dukedom of Milan, which was run by the Duke of Milan. There were also a few other smaller states, which were not major players in the political field. These Italian states had two fears, that of foreign invasion, and that of another state taking more territory. Now excluding the fear of foreign invasion, the Italians were most afraid of two states taking more territory, and those were the states of Venice, and the Papal States. In order to restrain the Venetians the different Italian states formed an alliance against them, not to conquer them completely, but just to keep them within their own territory. In order to stop the Popes from taking more land, the Italians made use of the Barons of Rome.

There were two baronial families in Rome, and both were very powerful. The Orsini and the Colonna, they hated each other, and there continual fighting caused the Popes to focus their attentions on solving family feuds, rather than running the Papal States and seeing to the needs of the Church. The Orsini and the Colonna would buy Cardinals, and would use them to vote in a Pope that was sympathetic to their family. Now, as Nicolò points out in his book, that Pope would try to destroy the other family, however, due to a Pope’s short lifespan, usually ten years, the opposing family would never be completely destroyed. When a new Pope came into power, he would be sympathetic to the other family, and would start to destroy the opposing family. Thus, the situation could never be resolved, and as Nicolò says, “This was the reason why the temporal powers of the Pope were little esteemed in Italy.”

Alexander VI changed all of that. With his vast sums of money, his army, and by using Duke Valentino, his son Caesar, Alexander managed to crush both families, and regain power over Rome. No longer would a particular family lay claim to Rome, the Eternal City once again belonged to the successor of Saint Peter. Alexander immediately set out to restore the beauty and grandeur of Rome. Alexander split up the city into four districts, each with its own magistrate. Investigations were made into murders, especially assassinations, the guilty were hanged on the spot, and their houses razed to the ground. Alexander even allowed on a Tuesday for anyone, man or woman, to bring their grievances before him, and he would then resolve them himself, and according to “The Diarist”, “he set about dispensing justice in an admirable manner.” Although Alexander was not a well-educated man, he surrounded himself with learned men, and became a patron of the arts and sciences. He had the University of Rome rebuilt, and hired the greatest professors to teach there. Alexander also loved the theatre, and became a patron of the dramatic arts too.

Alexander then looked to the defense of the city; he turned the Mausoleum of Adrian into a fortress, capable of withstanding a siege, and by fortifying the Torre di Nona, he made Rome safe from a naval attack too. By allowing the growth of art, many great artists and architects came to the city, hoping to find a patron, and Alexander was only too happy to oblige. Artists such as Bramante and Pinturicchio worked for Alexander, in fact, the beautiful Mysteries of Faith, by Pinturicchio was commissioned by Alexander, and they still adorn the walls of the Appartimento Borgia in the Vatican today. The amazing ceiling of the Santa Maria Maggiore was commissioned by Alexander, using the first gold brought from the Americas by Columbus.

Alexander loved Pontifical ceremonies, and fine music. He would listen to good sermons with a critical ear, and he wrote two treaties on canonical subjects, as well as a defense of the Christian Faith. Alexander also passed decrees on prayers and devotions to the Virgin Mary that are still in place today. In 1493, Alexander released a Papal Bull that separated the world into two halves, giving all undiscovered lands in the west to the Spanish, and all undiscovered lands in the east to the Portuguese, thus solving a problem that may have resulted in war between the two nations. Alexander also sent the first missionaries into the Americas and issued a decree that banned certain books that would have caused major uprisings. Alexander was also very lenient on Rome’s Jews by allowing them to live in the city without persecution. He also tried to establish, like his uncle before him, an alliance against the Turks, and he tried his best to persuade Charles VIII of France from invading Italy. In the Jubilee year of 1500, Alexander also managed to accommodate the thousands of pilgrims that came to visit the city, and he did not spare a single coin, in order to ensure the safety and comfort of his “guests”.

Besides all of these things, Alexander still lived an immoral life, in 1492, before he became Pope, Alexander had put aside his mistress, Vanozza de Catanei, and replaced her with the younger Guilia Faranese, who bore another two or three of Alexander’s children. Contrary to popular belief, Alexander had not hosted wild orgies in the Vatican, nor did he fund the Banquet of Chestnuts, a massive orgy, that involved over 50 prostitutes. These tall tales have been found to be just the stories of Alexander’s enemies. Alexander was extremely fond of his children, and he spent lots of money on keeping them pleased, not ashamed of flaunting his children, he earned the disrespect of many of his Cardinals. Alexander’s two favorite children were Lucrezia and Caesar, and with their help, Alexander would become more powerful and rich. Alexander had made his mistress’ brother, Alessandro Faranese a Cardinal, and he was later to become Pope Paul III.

Alexander married his daughter off three times, the first marriage he had annulled, the second marriage was ended when Caesar had killed her husband, and the third she lived out peacefully until her death. Lucrezia was often put in charge of the Church when her father went on his travels, and the rumors that her and her father had sexual relations was just the heated lies of Alexander’s many enemies. Lucrezia is often portrayed in popular media as a vile and immoral person, but she was much more moral and upstanding than she is given credit for.

On the 31 December 1494, the French entered into the city of Rome, Charles VIII was upset that Alexander had refused to crown him King of Naples. Alexander wanted to keep the very fragile peace that was in Italy and had instead crowned Alfonso II, the rightful heir to the throne. At the sight of the French canons, everyone had abandoned Alexander, and he was left alone to face the upset King. Cardinal della Rovere, who supported the French invasion, as he wanted Alexander deposed, had lead a rebellion against Alexander, and had the support of half of the Cardinals. Alexander’s closest ally, his commander of the army, Virginio Orsini had also abandoned him, which was a very harsh blow, yet under all these pressures, Alexander did not give in. After a fortnight, it was Charles who finally gave in, he acknowledged Alexander as the true Pope, and he performed his filial obedience with utmost humility. Charles could still not get Alexander to accept his claims to the Neapolitan crown. Charles entered into Naples and disposed of the unpopular Alfonso, and then wasted two months in trying to convince the Pope that he was in fact the true King of Naples, by this time an alliance of the Italian states, Spain, and the Empire had formed to chase the French out of Italy

Alexander had regained the respect of many, and was now a major player in the political scene. With everything fine in Rome, Alexander turned his attentions to the Papal States. After many years of neglect, the Papal States had been ruled by petty tyrants and rogues, and were in a state of chaos. With the help of his cruel and ruthless son, Alexander managed to bring the Papal States under his control again. Caesar was the head of the Papal army, he was a brilliant military leader, but his cruelty earned not only fear, but disrespect amongst his officers. Some of Caesar’s closest officers were plotting against him, and when he found out, he had no remorse or pity when he had them killed. With the Papal States under his control again, Alexander now wanted to exact revenge on the people who had betrayed him at the French invasion. He had them all excommunicated, and in their powerlessness they handed the keys to their castles to the Sacred College, but Alexander wanted them for himself. When Alexander found out that Cardinal Orsini had been involved in the conspiracy against his son, he showed no mercy on the Orsini at all. Caesar was sent to destroy them completely, and all that remained of them was the fortress of Bracciano, the Pope was truly in control.

On the 18 August 1503, Pope Alexander VI had died of Roman Fever. Contrary to popular belief, he did not die by mistakenly drinking a poisoned wine destined for his Cardinal host. The death of Alexander quickly brought down the empire of his son Caesar, who died in 1507, but the power that Alexander had brought to the Church was never lost.

Conclusion:

To the uneducated person it may seem extremely strange as to why, or how, could a man of such ill repute be given the position of power over a religious institution. Furthermore, if we look into Catholic Theology, we shall see that the papacy is a function of extreme importance within the life of the Church. The Pope is the Vicar of Christ on Earth! So again, we ask, how can this be?

Well it is important to remember that before the reforming Council of Trent, in the mid 16th Century, the papacy was viewed, by the Renaissance world, as an office. It was a position of power, and the thought of it being a religious calling was rarely thought of. The political situations at the time called for a more worldly or secular man to hold the title of Successor of Saint Peter. The Church was fine in terms of spirituality, but in terms of temporal powers, She was in a shambles. A Pope who was concerned about spirituality could not deal with the influences of outside, non-Church related parties. What the Church needed at that time, was a man who could pull the Church out of the clutches of feuding families and barons, and make the Church powerful again, so that the Church could rule Herself, and not be dictated to by kings and princes.

The man to fill that gap was Pope Alexander VI. If he was born in another time, there would have been little chance of him becoming a Priest, yet alone a Pope, but one cannot deny the fact that Pope Alexander did indeed restore the Church to Her former glory. Once Alexander had restored power back to the Church, from then on, more spiritual men could take charge, and see to the needs of the Church.

What is the importance of this investigation? Well it is simple. History has dealt Pope Alexander VI a bad hand, his name deserves to be cleared from the lies he was usually subscribed to. There is a need to show the truth, and whether that truth is bad, or good, it must be shown. Pope Alexander VI has been a bit of a black sheep for the Church, but this investigation wishes to show that there is no need for the Church to see Alexander in that light. Although the chances of Alexander ever being declared a Saint are near impossible, he should at least be given some credit for restoring the dignity of the Holy See, and the might of the Church.

One can look over all the evidence for one’s self and one can interpretate this evidence in a variety of manners; however, the burden of proof will rest on your shoulders in trying to prove that Alexander was the moral monster of legend. The majority of the evidence points out Alexander’s faults, and even less point’s out his strengths, yet only a fool, bigot, or completely ignorant person would still cling to the notion that he was a lustful, power maddened, and blood-thirsting creature.

Pope Alexander VI, was he the moral monster of legend? No, although he was not an upstanding moral spiritual leader, and by no means was he a good example of Christian virtues, he was not the vile man he is popularly made out to be. He was ruthless, yet the politics of the time called for it. It must be understood that the Papacy was viewed as an office, not a vocation, and it must be said that there were many times that Alexander performed in a manner that most other men would have shrunk away from. He was resilient, intelligent, and brave, he would have, and did, make a brilliant secular leader. De Maistre in his book “Du Pape” said it right when, “…the vices lightly passed over in a Louis XIV become most offensive and scandalous in an Alexander VI.” He did nothing that is wrong when viewed from the perspective of a secular leader, but as a spiritual one, he became the infamous “Borgia Pope”.

Was he truly concerned about the wellbeing of the Church? At times, it may seem that he was only concerned about himself, and his family, which was true, yet he did a great many things for the Church, and he ensured the propagation of the Faith to those people in the New World. Although not a great Churchman, he did bring back glory and dignity to the Holy See, and made the Church powerful and rich. It is important to realize, as Pope Leo the Great once said, “…the dignity of Peter suffers no diminution even in an unworthy successor.” Therefore, as much as an unworthy successor Alexander may have been, this does in no way damage or harms the truth of the Faith or the validity of the Catholic Church.

Bibliography:

Websites:

Loughlin, J. (1907). Pope Alexander VI. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.Retrieved June 1, 2008 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01289a.htm

Gardner, E. (1910). Francesco Guicciardini. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.Retrieved June 1, 2008 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07064a.htm

Books:

“The Prince”, by Nicolò Machiavelli. Translated by, W.K. Marriott, published by, William Benton, published in 1978. Part of Encyclopedia Britannica. Copyright 1952

“The Papacy”, by Paul Johnson. Published by, George Weidenfeld & Nicolson Ltd. Published in 1997. Copyright 1997

“A short history of the Catholic Church”, by J. Derek Holmes and Bernard W. Bickers. Published by, Burns & Oates, published in 1992. Copyright 1983

“Rome and Vatican”, by Cinzia Valigi. Published by, Plurigraf Narni-Teri, published in 1990. Copyright 1990

5th of May feast of Pope Saint Pius V

2010-05-05T12:36:00.000-07:00

Read about this Saint on Rorate Caeli

Pope’s Pain at Continued Attacks on Iraq’s Christians

2010-05-04T08:20:00.000-07:00

(04 May 10 – RV) On Tuesday Pope Benedict XVI denounced renewed attacks against the Christian community in Iraq. A telegram written on his behalf by the Secretary of State Cardinal Bertone, was sent to Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa , the Syrian Archbishop of Mosul. It notes the Pope’s deep sadness at the “news of the tragic loss of life and injuries caused by the recent bomb attack near Mosul”.

The Holy Father was referring to a weekend bomb attack on a column of buses carrying Christian students from the village of Hamdaniya, 40 km east of Mosul, to University in the city.

Four people were killed and 171 injured, at least 17 seriously. Pope Benedict XVI asks local Church leaders to convey his heartfelt condolences to those affected by this crime and to their families. He reaffirms his spiritual closeness to the Christian communities of Iraq and renews his appeal to all men and women of good will to hold steadfast to the ways of peace and to repudiate all acts of violence which have caused so much suffering.

The Holy Father offers fervent prayers for the eternal repose of the victims and invokes Almighty God’s abundant gifts of strength and consolation upon those who are injured and mourning.

Pope Benedict comments on the Shroud of Turin

2010-05-04T08:19:00.000-07:00

Taken from the Telegraph.co.uk

Fifty thousand people were there when the Pope said Mass in the open air in Turin on Sunday.He went to see the Shroud of Turin, which is being exhibited at the Cathedral there. “This is a burial cloth that wrapped the remains of a crucified man in full correspondence with what the Gospels tell us of Jesus,” he said.Pope Benedict did not give any opinion on its authenticity, but he added that it was “an icon written in blood”. That seems a well judged phrase.

Happy 83rd Birthday to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI

2010-04-16T04:34:00.000-07:00

Manilla Bulletin

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his 83rd birthday today. Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Alois Ratzinger) was born on April 16, 1927 at Marktl am Inn, Bavaria, Germany and was baptized on the same day as it was Holy Saturday and in Catholic tradition, children are baptized on Easter Vigil.

His father, Joseph Ratzinger Sr., was a police officer and belonged to a family of peasants while his mother, according to the Pope’s official biography, was the daughter of artisans from Rimsting on the shore of Lake Chiem, and before marrying she worked as a cook in a number of hotels. Joseph Ratzinger’s brother, Georg Ratzinger is a priest and was director of the Regensburger Domspatzen choir, a famous church choir in Germany, for quite a long time.

Ratzinger spent his youthful years in tumultuous times. In 1941, a few days after his 14th birthday, he was forced to join the Hitler Youth Movement. Because he was only coerced to join the movement, he refused to participate in the meetings and activities of the group. Later on as a seminarian, he was drafted into the German anti-aircraft corps but a subsequent infirmity did not permit him from fulfilling his military duty.

Joseph and Georg Ratzinger were both ordained in Freising on June 29, 1951 by Cardinal Michael von Faulhaber of Munich.

Ratzinger joined the academic community of the University of Bonn as a theology professor in 1959. During his stint as faculty, he was appointed advisor of the Archbishop of Munich. It was also during this time when he was summoned to be part of the historic Second Vatican Council. From then on, he has been known the world over as a brilliant theologian.

In 1977, he was appointed Archbishop of Munich and in 1981, he was summoned by Pope John Paul II to head the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. After the death of Pope John Paul II, he was elected by the College of Cardinals as the 265th Successor of Peter.

We wish His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI good health and God’s immense blessings on his birthday. May he steadfastly lead the Church worldwide as we face great challenges. Happy 83rd Birthday to our Holy Father!

"Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him." - Blessed Jacinta of Fatima

2010-04-15T04:40:00.000-07:00

"I saw the Holy Father in a very big house, kneeling by a table, with his head buried in his hands, and he was weeping. Outside the house, there were many people. Some of them were throwing stones, others were cursing him and using bad language. Poor Holy Father, we must pray very much for him." - Blessed Jacinta, (child-seer of Fatima, Portugal)

Pope Benedict’s German Birthplace Vandalized, Police Say

2010-04-15T04:36:00.000-07:00

April 13 (Bloomberg) -- The house in which Pope Benedict XVI was born in the southern Bavarian village of Marktl am Inn was vandalized overnight with an “obscene” phrase spray- painted above the main door, police said.

The blue graffiti was discovered early today, Bavarian police said in a statement on their Web site. Authorities, who estimate the damage at 1,500 euros ($2,040), have painted over the text to cover it up. Police are searching for the person who vandalized the house.

“You can presume” the graffiti was related to the sex- abuse scandal linked to the Catholic Church in Germany, police spokesman Konrad Rutzinger said by phone from southern Germany. He declined to give details on the content of the graffiti.

The house defacement occurred three days before the German pope’s 83rd birthday in the town on the Inn River near the Austrian border. The pope was born in the three-story, 18th century house on April 16, 1927. The building has become a museum dedicated to Benedict XVI.

Benedict himself was drawn into the widening scandal last month when the Munich archdiocese said the Pontiff, then Archbishop Joseph Ratzinger, played a role in moving a priest later convicted of molesting boys to his diocese in 1980.

The Vatican yesterday responded to criticism linked to the sex abuse scandal by publishing its guidelines for dealing with Roman Catholic clerics accused of molesting minors for the first time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Patrick Donahue in Berlin at at pdonahue1@bloomberg.net.

The mob should lay off. The Pope is completely innocent

2010-04-15T04:15:00.000-07:00

Richard Dawkins's case against the Pope is nonsense. Benedict has striven to rid the Church of child abuse.

Jack Valero
The Guardian

On Sunday I appeared on The Big Questions on BBC1 to discuss whether the Pope should "resign". It quickly descended into a heckling circus where calmly reasoned argument fell victim to unfocused outrage. Afterwards, two representatives of the Protest the Pope Coalition told me menacingly I had "no right" to defend Benedict XVI's record on abuse.

But shouting down the truth doesn't make it go away. I don't defend the pPpe because I think it is the duty of a good Catholic; I defend him because he is completely innocent of the charges made against him, and because the media has merged with the mob and misreported the facts.

The three recent stories from the US cited by Richard Dawkins and his mob as "proving" that the Pope should be arrested under international law – the horrible cases of Murphy in Wisconsin, Teta and Trupia in Arizona, and now Kiesle in California – have this in common: the abuse took place in the 1970s; the police were informed and acted; the Priest was suspended by his Bishop; requests for dismissal from the clerical state ("defrocking") were sent to Cardinal Ratzinger's department in the Vatican, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; and some time later the Priests were defrocked – except in the case of Murphy, who died during his trial.

Suspension and defrocking are two separate actions. The first can be done by a Bishop, with immediate effect; the second is a lengthy process that involves Rome. Suspension – meaning a Priest is no longer able to function as a Priest – say Mass, hear Confession, act as chaplain etc – is the key action that a Bishop has to take against an abusive Priest to prevent him having contact with minors. If, in any of these "smoking gun" cases, the Bishop failed to suspend an abusive Priest immediately, he did wrong. But such failure would have had nothing to do with Cardinal Ratzinger, whose only involvement was when a request for defrocking landed on his desk.

The time Rome took over each defrocking says nothing whatsoever about cover-up or collusion. It says only that defrocking was then a complex and elaborate procedure that took too long. However, what prevented the abuse was not the defrocking but the suspension by the Bishop. There is no link between the length of the defrocking process and the Priest's opportunity to abuse. In fact, in the case of Kiesle, most of the abuse for which he was convicted took place after he was defrocked, when his Bishop had no more control over him.

But wasn't Ratzinger in charge while all this was going on? Didn't it happen on his watch? No. From 1981 to 2001 he was in charge of a department that dealt with defrocking, but not with suspensions and penalties for paedophile Priests, which were the responsibility of local Bishops. A number of Bishops failed to suspend the abusive Priests, some of whom continued to abuse. That is the scandal. It has been exposed and dealt with, and a number of Bishops have, as a result, resigned. More important, guidelines are now in place to prevent it ever happening again.

Not only was Cardinal Ratzinger not complicit in these failures, he was the Vatican official who most clearly saw what was needed to tackle the problem. Then, in 2001, Pope John Paul asked him to review the local churches' handling of clerical abuse cases. Cardinal Ratzinger asked Bishops around the world to forward to him all cases where credible allegations had been made against Priests.

He did this not to "cover up" the crimes – which had been reported to the local police – but to ensure that the Priests were more speedily dealt with. He accomplished this by amending the procedure for defrocking to allow for a fast-track procedure that did not involve trials.

Some try to make out that Cardinal Ratzinger's 2001 letter orders a cover-up by insisting that parties observe secrecy under pain of excommunication. What it actually says is that confidentiality should be observed during Church trials, to allow the victims to give evidence freely and to protect the accused until found guilty. There is nothing in that letter preventing victims reporting the case to the police, and the assumption is that they should.

Pope Benedict is not responsible for cover-up, collusion, turning a blind eye, institutional idolatry or any of the other accusations that, with greater or lesser vehemence, have been hurled at the Catholic Church during recent weeks. On the contrary, he is the one in the Vatican who has done most to rid the Church of this scourge. He is the one who has acted most consistently and energetically to improve the Church's handling of these cases.

And so the relentless attempts to 'get' Pope Benedict XVI continue… by Damian Thompson

2010-04-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

From the Telegraph.co.uk

The Associated Press is claiming that the former Cardinal Ratzinger was implicated in a decision to delay defrocking a paedophile priest. Sounds bad, doesn’t it? But, as with all the media attempts to “get” Pope Benedict XVI, the story turns out to be a bit more complicated than the headlines imply. Fr Stephen Kiesle committed his disgusting crimes in the 1970s, the Diocese of Oakland withdrew him from priestly ministry and he asked to be laicised, a complicated canonical procedure. In 1985 Ratzinger signed a letter (in Latin) urging caution but then did give permission for the defrocking, which happened in 1987.

Probably the delay was a bad decision; but it was as a lay worker that Kiesle later volunteered for youth ministry – and seems to have got away with it, thanks to the diocese, not the CDF. We don’t really know the full details, but it’s pretty clear to me that, as with The New York Times’s dodgy Wisconsin story, the shocking negligence of the Church authorities can’t easily be laid at the door of the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, who did not take over direct responsibility for sex cases until 2001. And, indeed, no one would be trying to do so if he hadn’t later become Pope.

Meanwhile, as I pointed out the other day, a genuine sex and corruption scandal is engulfing the Vatican, as it becomes clear that senior Cardinals and curial officials accepted money from the creepy Legionaries of Christ. But there’s a problem: as in the case of the pervert Cardinal Groer, Joseph Ratzinger is untainted by the scandal. So no big deal, eh? All that matters to various media outlets is that they beat the opposition to The Story That Brings Down The Pope. And if it doesn’t exist? “Of course it exists!” scream certain editors.

None of this Ratzinger-baiting helps the victims of clerical abuse. In fact, it has helped one or two sleazebag prelates pass the buck. I despair.

Oremus pro Papa nostro Benedicto!

2010-04-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Institute of Christ the King is in need of your help in presenting a Spiritual Bouquet to our Holy Father, in support and fidelity to the Vicar of Christ amidst all the persecution he is undergoing by the perfidious and slanderous media. God bless the Pope!

Bishops around the world speak out in support of Pope Benedict XVI

2010-04-06T09:15:00.000-07:00

Vatican City, Apr 6, 2010 / 03:09 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Catholic leaders from around the world have expressed solidarity with the Pope in a united response to attempts by some media sources to connect him personally to cases of sexual abuse which reached a boiling point over Holy Week. One prelate remarked that the coincidence of the media pressure with the arrival of Easter is no accident.

L'Osservatore Romano (LOR), reported the words of many Catholic bishops in its Sunday edition, among which were comments from Archbishop of Santo Domingo, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez. In a press conference last week, he said that Benedict XVI has maintained firmness, transparency and severity in reacting to cases, although some media outlets seek to "undervalue facts and force interpretations."

The archbishop from the Dominican Republic went on to say that the underlying cause for the offensive by some against the Pope in the U.S. and Europe is due to the firm position of the Church "in defense of life and its rejection of the crime of abortion."

Attempts have been made by some media sources in recent days to tie the Pope to the mishandling of cases of abuse in the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, where he served 30 years ago, and to others which reached the Vatican while he was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Mexican Bishop Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel of San Cristobal de Las Casas, spoke on Sunday of the Pope's line of actions, saying "while he was archbishop of Munich and later in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he always treated these cases with extreme delicateness and utmost responsibility."

Cardinal Norberto Rivera said from Mexico City, where he is Archbishop, that the Church will in no way tolerate or defend any act of sexual abuse of minors and that because of the actions of "some dishonest and criminal priests" the Pope has had to confront "defamation and attacks" marked by "lies and cowardice."

Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois, in his homily during the Chrism Mass last week said that through the trials of the Church in these moments, "we must also notice the offensive of the audiovisual media that celebrate Easter in their way concentrating on Holy Week their criticisms of the Church and of the Christian faith."

The Cardinal continued to say that the most vulnerable to these attacks are those who are "less informed and less involved in the life of the Church" who are "bombarded by messages that present themselves as criticisms but that are nothing more than operations of propaganda... gross propaganda."

"In our democratic countries, Christians are still citizens on a level with all others but they are certainly not so in the treatment received by the information media," he asserted.

LOR underlined in the article that together with these and other messages, the Church adds the "painful admission of the faults to the past," and it will not allow any attempts at intimidation to distract it from "the duty to provide clarification."

In an interview with Italy's La Stampa, Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, said that "the criticisms and the incomprehensions" have always existed and will always exist. "Our duty is to preach the word of Christ to all."

He added that "there will always be those who won't retain as sufficient or adequate our actions or reparations, but that which counts is the effectiveness of the intervention and the purity of hear with which it is carried out for the common good."

Cardinal Etchegaray also emphasized that following the example of Pope Benedict XVI "is the way that leads out of this storm."

Rome Cardinals decry alleged anti-Catholic 'hate' campaign, say target is gay marriage stand

2010-04-06T09:08:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles Times

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican is ratcheting up its counterattack against accusations that Pope Benedict XVI helped cover up the actions of pedophile Priests to save the Church's reputation.

Senior Cardinals in Rome are decrying what they depict as an anti-Catholic "hate" campaign that they say is related to the fact that Benedict is leading Church opposition to same-sex marriage.

Vatican Radio on Tuesday quoted Italian Cardinal Giovanni Lajolo, a Holy See official, as saying the Church must pardon its attackers for what he called "hatred against the Catholic Church."

Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, who heads a Vatican disciplinary commission, says the Pope is being attacked because of his stands against abortion and same-sex marriage. [Cardinal] Herranz is quoted as saying powerful lobbies want to impose a different agenda.

Cardinal tells Pope not to be distracted by 'petty gossip’

2010-04-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

A senior Vatican cardinal used yesterday’s Easter Mass to say the Catholic Church should not be distracted by “petty gossip” about child sex-abuse allegations.

By Nick Squires in Rome

The Telegraph

Published: 8:30AM BST 05 Apr 2010

Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, broke with tradition to launch a staunch rebuttal of the Pope’s critics.

In the Easter Sunday Mass which preceded the Pope’s Urbi et Orbi message, Cardinal Sodano told the pontiff: “The people of God are with you and do not allow themselves to be impressed by the petty gossip of the moment.”

The heads of the Catholic churches in England, Wales and Ireland all used their addresses to acknowledge the failure to properly address the scandal.

And protestors briefly interrupted Easter Sunday Mass at Dublin’s Pro Cathedral, placing children’s shoes at the altar to represent the victims of clerical sex abuse.

However, the Pope himself avoided any reference to the scandals during his Easter address, instead taking the opportunity to call for mankind to undergo a “spiritual and moral conversion”...

...Cardinal Sodano’s rebuttal of the Pope's critics in the Easter Mass was highly unusual, and considered a measure of how seriously the Vatican is taking the paedophile priest scandals that have hit the Church in Ireland, the US, Germany and several other countries.

Afterwards Benedict XVI told thousands of faithful in St Peter’s Square that humanity needed to emerge from “a profound crisis”, as he called for an end to conflicts in Africa and the Middle East and expressed fears for Christians living in Pakistan and Iraq.

Earlier, the crowds cheered when the Cardinal, a former secretary of state at the Vatican, described the Pope as a “solid rock” on which the Church rests...

Pope Makes Plea for Safety of Iraqi Christians

2010-02-25T03:35:00.001-08:00

2/25/2010

Zenit News Agency (www.zenit.org)

Leader of the Archdiocese of Mosul, Archbishop Emil Shimoun Nona, says if the situation does not improve, the ancient Christian community of the region will disappear.

Tuesday, three Christians of the same family were slain in Mosul, now bringing to eight the number of Christians killed in the city in the last 10 days.

VATICAN CITY (Zenit.org) - Benedict XVI is asking the Iraqi government to increase security around places of worship; a letter to the Iraqi prime minister was published today after more Christians were killed in Mosul.

A Jan. 2 note from the Pope's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was published today in L'Osservatore Romano.

The letter affirms that the Pontiff "prays with fervor for the end of the violence and appeals to the government to do everything possible to increase security around places of worship in the whole country."

At the time the letter was written a church had been attacked on Christmas morning 30 miles north of Mosul, three Christians in Mosul were killed, and a Christian student was kidnapped from her university.

In the note, the cardinal recalled the visit of the prime minister to the Vatican in 2008, during which "the common hope was expressed that, through dialogue and cooperation between the ethnic and religious groups of your country, including its minorities, the Republic of Iraq will be able to effect a moral and civil reconstruction, in full respect of the identity of those groups, in a spirit of reconciliation and in the pursuit of the common good."

He added that on that occasion, the Pope exhorted "respect in Iraq for the right of freedom of worship and appealed for the protection of Christians and their churches," and the secretary of state did the same.

"You assured me," the cardinal wrote, "that your government was taking very seriously the situation of the Christian minority which has lived for so many centuries together with the Muslim majority, contributing in a considerable way to the economic, cultural and social well-being of the nation."

Sorrow

Cardinal Bertone stressed that the Pope asked him to write the Iraqi prime minister "to transmit his sincere solidarity to you, Excellency, and to all those who died or were wounded in the recent series of attacks on government buildings and places of worship in Iraq, both Muslim as well as Christian."

The letter ends with the cardinal expressing his "appreciation for the numerous initiatives undertaken in benefit of the whole Iraqi community," and assuring Al-Maliki of his "highest esteem."

According to L'Osservatore Romano, the text was published after the Pope learned "with profound sorrow" of the latest killings in Mosul.

The Pontiff, who at present is on spiritual exercises together with his collaborators of the Roman Curia, "is close to those who are suffering the consequences of the violence, with prayer and affection," it reported.

Panic

Already last week, the leader of the Archdiocese of Mosul, Archbishop Emil Shimoun Nona, told Aid to the Church in Need that if the situation does not improve, the ancient Christian community of the region will disappear.

Four Christians had been killed in as many days, and the prelate -- who at 42 is the Church's youngest archbishop -- affirmed that the city's few remaining Christians are panicked.

The situation has only worsened, however. Tuesday, three Christians of the same family were slain in Mosul, now bringing to eight the number of Christians killed in the city in the last 10 days.

Syrian Catholics Aishwa Maroki, 59, and his two sons, Mokhlas, 31, and Bassim, 25, were shot in their home.

Pope likely to draw huge crowds in Malta

2010-02-24T10:26:00.001-08:00

Vatican City, Feb 23, 2010 / 06:29 pm (CNA).- In preparation for Pope Benedict's coming visit to Malta, the Holy See has released some numbers concerning the Church there. The large number of Catholics on the island nation could mean the Pope will see huge crowds.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pope praying for victims of disaster on Portuguese island

2010-02-23T15:01:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Feb 23, 2010 / 11:13 am (CNA).- The Holy Father offered his profound condolences today for the victims of the recent flooding on the Portuguese island of Madeira. In a telegram to the Bishop Antonio Jose Cavaco Carrilho of Funchal, he said that he was "dismayed with the "grave consequences" of the disaster.

Torrential rains hammered the island of Madeira in the Atlantic over the weekend, swelling rivers and leaving the coastal city of Funchal "thigh deep in mud," according to Agence France Presse. At least 42 people perished in the tragedy.

The papal telegram comes on the second of three days of mourning decreed by the Portuguese goverment for the victims. Through the letter signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy Father wished to "assure the whole local community" that he had entrusted the victims to God and asked for "comfort and assistance" for the victims' families, for the injured and for everyone who had lost their possessions.

Pope Benedict XVI also offered his Apostolic Blessing and invoked the divine graces on "all tested by this drama," as well as those participating in search and rescue and relief efforts on the island.

SIR news agency reported yesterday that Bishop Cavaco Carrilho of Funchal also expressed his "profound communion and solidarity to the population and victims" on Tuesday.

Cat's biography of Pope purrfect for kids

2010-02-23T04:23:00.000-08:00

Taken from Brisbane Times

THE story of Pope Benedict XVI's life — from his birth in Germany to his election as pontiff — is told through the eyes of a tabby cat called Chico in a children's book to hit Italian bookstores soon.

In Joseph and Chico: A Cat Recounts the Life of Pope Benedict XVI, the orange tabby cat tells readers the Pope is "my dearest friend, a wonderful man with whom I've spent many happy moments".

He recounts the pontiff's childhood and his passion for reading and playing the piano. The book depicts the future Pope's early steps in the Catholic Church from when he entered a seminary in 1939 to his ordination as a priest in 1951.

The feline narrator is inspired by a real orange tabby in Pentling — the German town where the Pope, then Joseph Ratzinger, lived before moving to Rome in 1981 — that belonged to the family next door.

"I can assure you that what you will find in this book … is all true and interesting," the Pope's secretary, Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, says in the preface.

The 44-page book touches on the Nazi era, when a teenaged Ratzinger enrolled in the Hitler Youth. "In that period, Joseph was forced to do something that absolutely went against his will: enrol in the army and leave for war," it says.

The Pope eventually deserted without seeing combat and was taken prisoner by US forces before being released several weeks later. The biography ends with Pope John Paul II's funeral and Benedict XVI's election to the pontificate on April 2005.

The Pope is known to like cats. Before he was elected, he looked after stray cats in his old neighbourhood near the Vatican.

AP

Pope sees Lent as time for spiritual combat

2010-02-22T17:48:00.000-08:00

February 22, 2010

Catholic Culture.org

At his Angelus audience on February 21, the first Sunday in Lent, Pope Benedict XVI likened the season of Lent to a "long retreat," a period of spiritual combat. Commenting on the day's Gospel, which recounted Christ's temptation in the desert, the Pope remarked that Jesus taught not merely by example but by actions, "by struggling personally with the Tempter, all the way to the Cross." The message for the faithful, the Pope said, is "that the world is improved by beginning with ourselves, by changing, with God's grace, what is wrong with our lives."

At the conclusion of his remarks, the Pope asked the crowd in St. Peter's Square to pray for the success of the annual Lenten Retreat at the Vatican, which would begin that evening. The Pope and the leaders of the Roman Curia will set aside their regular work for the week-long spiritual exercises.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window:

Angelus: Lent, a Period of Spiritual 'Combat' (VIS)

Pope Benedict XVI Calls Child Sexual Abuse a Heinous Crime

2010-02-21T13:17:00.000-08:00

Author: Racquel Nicdao
Published: February 21, 2010 at 11:29 am

Taken from Technorati

As a result of the two-day closed door discussions between Irish Bishops and senior members of the Roman Curia, concerning the child sexual abuse scandal in the Irish Catholic Church, the Vatican released an official statement February 16.

In the Vatican statement, Pope Benedict XVI was quoted as saying that child sexual abuse is a “heinous crime and is a grave sin which offends God and wounds the dignity of the human person created in his image.”

The discussions which took place last Monday and Tuesday have brought into light the serious situation in the Irish Catholic Church, revealed by the Murphy and Ryan reports. The two reports accounted cases of sexual abuse of minors committed by Priests from 1975 and 2004, and the efforts to cover up such abuses by some of the Church’s hierarchy over many years. A third government inquiry is still going on in the diocese of Cloyne.

There were 24 Irish Bishops present in the reunions, headed by Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Sean Brady and Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin. Each of the Bishops were called in separately and were given the opportunity to voice their respective views, and to explain the line of conduct they had assumed in addressing the delicate issue.

The failure of the Church authorities to act effectively was acknowledged in the Vatican statement. Furthermore, it stated errors and omissions in judgment were some of the factors that contributed in a “breakdown in trust” in the Church’s leadership in Ireland.

The Pope Benedict XVI expressed his hope that the discussions would eventually conduct in a cohesive effort in establishing concrete and effective steps meant to bring justice to the victims, to promote a rekindling of faith, and to re-establish the Church’s spiritual and moral reputation.

IAM VOS OMNES

2010-02-20T03:16:00.000-08:00

A call by Blessed Pope Pius IX for all Protestants and non-Catholics to reject their errors and embrace the truth of the Holy, Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. I think it is important in this day of so much error, to remember that the Catholic Church alone leads men to eternal salvation.-Ashley

TO ALL PROTESTANTS AND OTHER NON-CATHOLICS.

Pius IX., Pope.

You all know already that We, having been raised, not withstanding Our unworthiness, to this Chair of Peter, and therefore invested with the supreme government and guardianship of the whole Catholic Church, divinely entrusted to Us by Christ our Lord, have judged it seasonable to call to Us Our Venerable Brethren, the Bishops of the whole earth, and to unite them together, to celebrate, next year, an Ecumenical Council ; so that, in concert with these Our Venerable Brethren who are called to share in Our cares, We may take those steps which may be most opportune and necessary, both to disperse the darkness of the many noxious errors which everywhere increasingly prevail, to the great loss of souls ; and also to establish and confirm daily more and more among the Christian people entrusted to Our watchfulness the Kingdom of true Faith, Justice, and the Peace of God. Confidently relying on the close ties and most loving union which in so marked a way unite to Ourselves and to this Holy See these Our Venerable Brethren, who, through all the time of Our Supreme Pontificate, have never failed to give to Ourselves and this Holy See the clearest tokens of their love and veneration ; We have the firm hope that this Ecumenical Council, summoned by Us at this time, will produce, by the inspirations of Divine Grace, as other General Councils in past ages have done, abundant fruits of benediction, to the greater glory of God, and the eternal salvation of men.

Sustained by this hope, and roused and urged by the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave His life for the whole human race, We cannot refrain Ourselves, the occasion of the future Council, from addressing Our Apostolic and paternal words to all those who, whilst they acknowledge the same Jesus Christ as the Redeemer, and glory in the name of Christian, yet do not profess the true faith of Christ, nor hold to and follow the Communion of the Catholic Church. And We do this to warn, and conjure, and beseech them with all the warmth of Our zeal, and in all charity, to consider and seriously examine whether they follow the path marked out for them by Jesus Christ our Lord, and which leads to Eternal Salvation. No one can deny or doubt that Jesus Christ Himself, in order to apply the fruits of his redemption to all generations of men, built His only Church in this world on Peter ; that is to say, the Church, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic ; and that He gave to it all necessary power, that the deposit of Faith might be preserved whole and in inviolable, and that the same Faith might be taught to all peoples, kindreds, and nations, that through baptism all men might become members of His mystical body, and that the new life of grace, without which no one can ever merit and attain to life eternal, might always be preserved and perfected in them ; and that this same Church, which is His mystical body, might always remain in its own nature firm and immovable to the end of time, that it might flourish, and supply to all its children all the means of Salvation. Now, whoever will carefully examine and reflect upon the condition of the various religious societies, divided among themselves, and separated from the Catholic Church, which, from the days of our Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles has never ceased to exercise, by its lawful pastors, and still continues to exercise, the divine power committed to it by this same Lord; cannot fail to satisfy himself that neither any one of these societies by itself, nor all of them together, can in any manner constitute and be that One Catholic Church which Christ our Lord built, and established, and willed should continue; and that they cannot in any way be said to be branches or parts of that Church, since they are visibly cut off from Catholic unity. For, whereas such societies are destitute of that living authority established by God, which especially teaches men what is of Faith, and what the rule of morals, and directs and guides them in all those things which pertain to eternal salvation, so they have continually varied in their doctrines, and this change and variation is ceaselessly going on among them. Everyone must perfectly understand, and clearly and evidently see, that such a state of things is directly opposed to the nature of the Church instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ; for in that Church truth must always continue firm and ever inaccessible to all change, as a deposit given to that Church to be guarded in its integrity, for the guardianship of which the presence and aid of the Holy Ghost have been promised to the Church forever. No one, moreover, can be ignorant that from these discordant doctrines and opinions social schisms have arisen, and that these again have given birth to sects and communions without number, which spread them selves continually, to the in creasing injury of Christian and civil society.

Indeed, whoever recognizes religion as the foundation of human society can not but perceive and acknowledge what disastrous effect this division of principles, this opposition, this strife of religious sects among themselves, has had upon civil society, and how powerfully this denial of the authority established by God, to determine the belief of the human mind, and to direct the actions of men as well in private as in social life, has excited, spread, and fostered those deplorable upheavals, those commotions by which almost all peoples are grievously disturbed and afflicted.

Wherefore, let all those who do not hold to the unity and truth of the Catholic Church avail themselves of the opportunity of this Council, whereby the Catholic Church, of which their forefathers were members, displays a fresh proof of her perfect unity and her unconquerable vitality; and let them, in obedience to the longings of their own hearts, be in haste to rescue themselves from a state in which they cannot be assured of their own salvation. And let them not cease to offer most fervent prayers to the God of Mercy, that He may break down the wall of separation, that He may scatter the mists of error, and that He may lead them back to the bosom of Holy Mother Church, where their fathers found the wholesome pastures of life, and in which alone the doctrine of Jesus Christ is preserved and handed down entire, and the mysteries of heavenly grace dispensed.

As for Us, seeing that We ought, in accordance with the duty of Our supreme Apostolic Ministry intrusted to Us by our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, to fulfil with most fervent zeal all the offices of a good Shepherd, and with paternal love to follow and embrace all men throughout all the world We therefore address this Our Letter to all Christians separated from Us, wherein We exhort and entreat them, again and again, to hasten their return to the One Fold of Christ; for with Our whole soul We ardently desire their salvation in Jesus Christ, and We fear lest We may one day have to render an account to the same Lord, who is Our Judge, if We do not, so far as is in Our power, show them, and prepare for them the way to attain to this eternal salvation. Truly, in every prayer of Ours, beseeching and giving thanks, We cease not, day and night, to entreat humbly and earnestly for them, from the Eternal Pastor of souls, the abundance of light and heavenly grace. And since, notwithstanding Our unworthiness, We are His Vicar here upon earth, We therefore wait, with outstretched hands, and with most ardent desire, the return of Our wandering children to the Catholic Church, that We may most lovingly welcome them to the home of their Heavenly Father, and enrich them with his exhaustless treasures. Upon this longed for return to the truth and unity of the Catholic Church depends the salvation not only of individuals, but also of all Christian society; and never can the whole world enjoy true peace, unless there shall be one Fold and one Shepherd.

Given at Rome, in St. Peter's, on the 13th day of September, 1868, and in the year of Our Pontificate the twenty-third.

Taken from:
http://www.archive.org/stream/theinvitationhex00stonuoft/theinvitationhex00stonuoft_djvu.txt

Pope Benedict XVI to visit Lutheran Church in Rome

2010-02-19T11:15:00.000-08:00

Read the article on Rorate Caeli.

Take a look at the comments...Food for thought?

Remember the heretic Martin Luther and all his followers are reprobates. See Pope Leo X's Bull, "Exsurge Domine."

Incorrect Date on Pius XII Document Explains Silence

2010-02-18T04:35:00.000-08:00

This is taken from Zenit, and it was published on the 2nd of February, I only saw it today.-Ashley

Pope Couldn't Be Indifferent to Raid as It Hadn't Happened Yet

By Jesús Colina

ROME, FEB. 2, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Pope Pius XII was again in the news this week, as researchers presented two documents that were interpreted as putting the Pope in a negative light regarding his response to the Holocaust.

As ZENIT reported Monday, a brief document was presented as a new find dated Oct. 19, 1943. The document is a telegram from American diplomat Harold Tittmann on his meeting with the Pope.

The document does not mention the Oct. 16 raid on the Jews of Rome, wherein more than 1,000 of the city's Jews were rounded up and deported to Auschwitz.

Given that Tittmann's report does not mention the raid (though theoretically it had happened just three days before), and instead reports Pius XII's concern about Communists in Rome and his desire to keep the Eternal City in peace, headlines reported the Pope's "indifference" to the Holocaust.

However, there is a basic problem.

In a statement sent to ZENIT, Professor Ronald Rychlak of the University of Mississippi explains that Pius XII could not have expressed concern about the roundup of Roman Jews because it hadn't happened yet.

Rychlak is the author of "Hitler, the War, and the Pope.

"He explained: "The transcribed message to Washington from Harold Tittmann is dated Oct. 19, but this is a mistake. Vatican records show that the meeting between Pius and Tittmann took place on Oct. 14.

"In fact, L'Osservatore Romano of Oct. 15, 1943, reported on page one -- top of the first column -- that Tittmann was received by the Pope in a private audience on Oct. 14, 1943.

"Apparently a handwritten '14' was misread as a '19' when the documents were typed. The Pope did not mention the roundup of Jews because it had not yet happened!"

Rychlak noted that what the Pope did express to Tittmann was his concern "that a group of Communists would commit a violent act and this would lead to serious repercussions. Of course, he proved to be exactly correct the following spring."

Moreover, though the Oct. 14 document was presented as a new find, historians were already aware of it because it was published in 1964, with the incorrect date.

It is in the Foreign Relations of the United States (FRUS) collection, in Volume II of 1943, on page 950.

In his blog, Andrea Tornielli, Vatican expert of the Italian daily "Il Giornale," points out that the researchers who presented this "new document," Giuseppe Casarrubea and Mario Cereghino, have already made such "revelations" in the past.

"In October of 2008," he reported, "they presented as unpublished a document to use it against Pius XII (it was also referred to by ANSA [news] agency) and later they had to apologize."

--- --- ---
On the Net:

Text of the telegram in the Foreign Relations of the United States:

http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/FRUS/FRUS-idx?type=goto&id=FRUS.FRUS1943v02&isize=M&submit=Go+to+page&page=950

Why it doesn't matter if the Pope's Ordinariate for ex-Anglicans is small at first

2010-02-18T04:24:00.000-08:00

By Damian Thompson Last updated: February 18th, 2010

Taken from the Telegraph

Here’s my op-ed article on the Anglican ordinariates from this week’s Catholic Herald:

On Monday, Anglo-Catholics across England will be holding a day of prayer to help their bishops, clergy and laity decide how to respond to the Pope’s provision of a self-governing Ordinariate for former Anglicans. Many members of our Church will be praying with them; in Oxford, Anglicans are joining the members of the Oratory for a Holy Hour in front of the Blessed Sacrament.

There is a lot to pray about, and a lot to pray for. Anglo-Catholics interested in the Holy Father’s offer will be praying for gifts of discernment not only for themselves but for their fellow Anglican Catholics and Catholic Anglicans. (The two terms are not quite interchangeable, which gives you some idea of the complexity of the situation.)

But I’m guessing that top of the list of requests to the Almighty will be for the Catholic Church, in consultation with the Anglo-Catholic leaders, to get it right. That is, to offer a carefully designed model for the Ordinariate, together with detailed instructions for constructing it. And they will have to be detailed, because people will be joining what is, in effect, a non-territorial diocese from different starting points, bringing with them different aspects of the Anglican “patrimony”, and – at least initially – different expectations.

In his address to the English and Welsh bishops earlier this month, Pope Benedict urged them to be generous in their implementation of Anglicanorum coetibus, the Apostolic Constitution that will create Ordinariates worldwide as a permanent provision for ex-Anglicans. Why did he single out this subject? One rumour is that the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is puzzled by the small numbers of members of the Church of England planning to join the Ordinariate, and are worried that elements in the Bishops’ Conference are pouring cold water on the project.

As it happens, there are prominent Catholics talking down the Ordinariate scheme, and they should be ashamed of themselves; but they certainly do not include Archbishop Bernard Longley, Bishop Malcolm McMahon and Bishop Alan Hopes, the three bishops on the Commission working out the details of the English scheme. This seems to me to be an ideal trio of English bishops for the task, combining holiness, humour, intellect and, in the case of Bishop Hopes, the specialist knowledge that comes from having once been a leading Anglo-Catholic.
No: what is slowing things down is the fact that a divided, demoralised and confused Anglo-Catholic constituency is under pressure to make decisions about an offer that is not yet on the table. How could it be, when so much hangs on the attitude and decisions of the Church of England?

The General Synod will not outline its legislation for women bishops until its July meeting. So far as I can work out, there is a slim chance that the Synod may give traditionalists limited oversight by bishops who do not ordain women. This would be no more than a fig leaf, and it is probably not going to be offered anyway, so how can Forward in Faith, the main Anglo-Catholic body, justify delaying its official response to Anglicanorum coetibus until the Synod is over? The Apostolic Constitution, remember, was drawn up following requests from traditionalist Anglican bishops for pastoral oversight; it was not intended as a last resort.

In the end, however, the Catholic Church has to face the fact that, in England more than any other country, history has bequeathed us an almighty ecclesiastical mess. Anglo-Catholicism is part of the established religion of England; it is here that a movement of clergy and their patrons adopted a Catholic (sometimes ultra-Catholic) style of worship that developed in opposition to the Church of England hierarchy, and has always been embraced more readily by priests than by lay people. Not only are there fearsome legal barriers to vicars “taking their parishes with them” – the congregation does not own the building, as it does in other countries – but the men and women in the pew are often less diehard in their opposition to women priests and bishops than their pastors. Or, to put it another way, their objections are cultural rather than theological.

My impression is that the Ordinariate appeals most to the Anglican bishops who proposed it and to young, conservative Anglican clergy and seminarians. Older incumbents are split between those few who will move soon, with whoever follows them; those who never wanted to be “Roman Catholics” and will either stay put or move into a dissident Anglican sect or Orthodoxy; and a very large group who favour the Ordinariate in principle but will stay in the C of E for as long as it takes to persuade significant numbers of their flock that this is their only opportunity to carry on worshipping as Catholics (which is what they consider themselves to be). That will take time; the reality of women bishops will have to sink in. The Catholic Church must not be too dismissive of Anglo-Catholic priests who stay to argue gently the case for the Ordinariate, as opposed to staying to fight the lost cause of classic Anglo-Catholicism. Anglicanorum coetibus has no expiry date; some of its finest fruits may not be visible for a decade, when traditionalist laity overcome their natural fear and plunge into the Tiber.

For that to happen, it is essential that the first groups of Anglicans who enter the Ordinariate do flourish, on however small a scale. There have been predictions that around 20 parishes will leave the Church of England soon; I take those with a pinch of salt, so enormous are the legal and pastoral obstacles for a single parish to detach itself corporately from the Established Church. It may be that the first English Ordinariate structure incorporates merged parishes using borrowed church buildings; that will not be a disappointing outcome so much as a realistic one.

In a sense, we should be glad that this experiment, unprecedented in English history, will be pioneered on a small scale. If the Church gets this right, I am confident that the Ordinariate will not stay small for long. The Catholic Church in England and Wales is crying out for new talent, for a true “diversity” rooted in an English devotion that pre-dates the Reformation. But that discussion must wait for another day.

Daily conversion frees and saves, Pope declares as Lent begins

2010-02-17T13:48:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Feb 17, 2010 / 11:05 am (CNA).- The Holy Father dedicated the General Audience on Wednesday in the Paul VI Hall to the significance of the Lenten season which begins today. He emphasized the importance of daily conversion for swimming "against the current" of a society that promotes a “superficial lifestyle” and “moral mediocrity.”

Lent, Pope Benedict observed, is an "acceptable and grace-filled time" in which we can better understand the words "repent and believe in the Gospel."

The call to conversion is one to take with "extraordinary seriousness" because it "reveals and denounces the easy superficiality that often characterizes our lives," Pope Benedict taught.

"Repentance means changing direction in the path of life," he said emphasizing that this is "not with a small adjustment, but with a true and personal reversal." It is going "against the current, where the 'current' is the superficial lifestyle... that often pulls at us, dominates us and makes us slaves of evil and, so, prisoners of moral mediocrity."

In our conversion, the Pope explained, we shoot for the "highest measure of the Christian life” as we put our trust in the "living and personal Gospel" of Jesus Christ.

"His person is the final goal and the deep meaning of repentance... he is the road by which all are called to walk in life, letting ourselves be illuminated by his light and sustained by his strength that moves our steps."

In this way, "it isn't a simple moral decision that rectifies our life's conduct, but a choice of faith that involves us entirely in the intimate communion with the living and concrete person of Jesus, noted Benedict XVI.

Repenting and believing the Gospel, the Holy Father elaborated, are expressions of the same reality and conversion, which "is the 'yes' of he who gives his own existence to the Gospel, responding freely to Christ who first offers himself to man as the way, truth and life, as it is He alone that frees and saves him."

This is the meaning of the first words with which Jesus preaches the Gospel, 'This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel,' the Pope added.
Pope Benedict also focused on how repentance and conversion are lifelong commitments.

"Every day is a 'acceptable' moment, one of grace, for every day we are invited to give ourselves to Jesus, to trust in Him, to abide in Him, to share His lifestyle, to learn true love from Him, to follow Him in doing the will of the Father every day, which is the only great law of life.”

"Every day" we need to seek conversion, Pope Benedict continued, "even when we are faced with difficulties and troubles, in spite of the tiredness and the failures, including when we feel like abandoning the path of following Christ, and when we want to withdraw into ourselves, into our selfishness, without realizing that we need to open ourselves to God’s love in Christ to live the same logic of love and justice.”

The Holy Father also reflected on the meaning of the ashes distributed today. The ashes given on the first day of Lent, he said, serve as an act of renewal "of our commitment to follow Jesus, to let ourselves be transformed in His paschal mystery, to win over evil and do good, to let the 'old man' tied to sin die and let the 'new man' be born transformed in the grace of God."

In closing, Pope Benedict invoked the protection and aid of Our Lady to accompany us in these 40 days of prayer and sincere penance so that we will be purified and "completely renewed" for Easter.

Pope sprinkles ashes in Lent tradition

2010-02-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

ROME — Pope Benedict XVI is marking the start of the solemn Lenten season by sprinkling ashes on the bowed heads of faithful in a Roman Catholic tradition.

Ash Wednesday services for Roman Catholics worldwide usher in a period of penitence and reflection that leads up to Easter Sunday, this year being celebrated on April 4.

Benedict pinched a bit of ash from a silver-colored bowl held out to him by an aide, and then distributed the ashes to prelates, other clergy and lay people, including children, who approached him one by one in St. Sabina's Basilica on Rome's ancient Aventine Hill.

The Pope in his homily said that humanity needs to hope in a world that is more just, and described Lent as an opportunity for spiritual renewal of people.

BBC lobby Pope to deliver Thought for the Day slot

2010-02-17T04:16:00.000-08:00

By Ian Burrell

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

The Independent

The BBC is lobbying the Vatican in an effort to persuade the Pope to deliver the “Thought for the Day” religious slot on the Radio 4 Today programme.

The corporation hopes that a broadcast can be recorded to coincide with the Papal visit to Britain later this year.

Mark Thompson, the BBC director general and a devout Roman Catholic who was educated by Jesuits, is leading the corporation’s negotiations himself. Thompson met the Pope recently on a visit to Rome, when he is believed to have raised the possibility of the recording.

Plans for the broadcast, which would be unprecedented in the history of the BBC, are certain to upset secularist groups which have already expressed fears that the Papal visit will be exploited by the Vatican as great media opportunity.

But the BBC has also recently found itself under fire from the religious establishment over a perceived marginalisation of faith issues in its broadcasting schedules in recent years. The Church of England’s General Synod last week carried an almost unanimous vote on a motion criticising the lack of religious output on the BBC.

If Pope Benedict XVI, who is likely to come to Britain in September, was to appear on the Today programme it would be a personal ambition realised for Mark Damazer, the controller of Radio 4, who today confirmed that talks were already taking place with the Vatican.

Damazer whose ambition is to include on the Radio 4 schedule during his tenure as controller a list of “dream” presenters that also includes Mick Jagger and Bruce Springsteen, indicated that Thompson was taking the lead in the negotiations. “I think Mark Thompson is better qualified than me,” he said, referring to the director general’s religious beliefs.

Asked if a request had been made specifically in relation to the Today programme, Damazer said: “Mark knows of my aspiration.”

The recording, if it happens, would be likely to be made by the BBC’s religious department, which is based in Manchester.

The BBC’s plan was condemened today by the Secularist Society which is running a campaign to stop the Papal visit being state-funded. Terry Sanderson, the society’s president, said: “I think this is an indication of what we can expect. I think the BBC under Mark Thompson is going to go into overdrive and we are going to have Pope, Pope, Pope, driven down our throats for the whole three days of the visit.

“We cannot help but suspect that Mark Thompson’s recent visit to the Vatican for what were called ‘high-level talks’ with Vatican officials might well have been to plan this kind of propaganda exercise.”

When challenged, Sanderson accepted that “Thought for the Day” was a religious slot and so to have the Bishop of Rome of presenter was not an unreasonable ambition. But he said: On its own terms it is reasonable that he should be invited onto ‘Thought for the Day’ but the Pope gets to say what he wants unchallenged.

“It would be much better if he was on the mainstream Today programme under the scrutiny of [presenter] John Humphrys rather than just giving the Catholic Church an opportunity to promote itself.”

Catholic scholars urge Pope to slow Pius sainthood

2010-02-17T03:59:00.000-08:00

Despite the typical media hype surrounding this article, especially the end bit where the Pope's past in the Hitler Youth League and the lifting of the excommunication of "holocaust-denier" Bishop Williamson, are brought up, rather unnecessarily, I think this article actually brings forth a good point. Despite my personal opinions regarding Venerable Pius XII, and despite what I think of ecumenism, I must say I agree with the Catholic scholars. History will vindicate Venerable Pius XII, and if it means Pope Benedict must slow down the canonization process of Pius XII, in order to fully examine the historical evidence from the Vatican Archives, then I say go ahead. Also, like I said earlier, despite my feelings regarding ecumenism, there is no need to offend the Jews unnecessarily. If Pius XII's canonization is held off a bit longer, the media, sensitive Jews, and other enemies of the Church will forget about this and move on to something else. - Ashley

ROME (Reuters) - Top Catholic scholars have written an unusual and impassioned private letter to Pope Benedict urging him to slow down the sainthood procedure for wartime Pope Pius XII, accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust.

The letter, which was made available to Reuters by a source familiar with the initiative, is extremely rare because in the past it has mostly been Jewish groups and not Catholic academics who have written to Popes about the issue.

The 18 Catholic scholars from United States, Germany and Australia, used the word "implore" twice in the letter, saying that if Pius was made a saint before the historical record is cleared up, it could irreparably harm Catholic-Jewish relations.

"Holy Father, we implore you, acting on your wisdom as a renowned scholar, professor and teacher, to be patient with the cause of Pius XII," the scholars wrote in their letter.
Many Jews say Pius, who reigned from 1939 to 1958, did not do enough to help Jews facing persecution by Nazi Germany.

The Vatican maintains that Pius chose to work behind the scenes, concerned that public intervention would have worsened the situation for both Jews and Catholics in a wartime Europe dominated by Hitler.

The Catholic scholars suggested that they had to take a hard-line judgment on Pius until Vatican archives were open for more study by historians.

"Currently, existing research leads us to the view that Pope Pius XII did not issue a clearly worded statement, unconditionally condemning the wholesale slaughter and murder of European Jews," the scholars told the German Pope.

HEROIC VIRTUES

In December, Benedict angered Jews when he approved a decree recognizing Pius's "heroic virtues", moving him one step closer to sainthood. The two remaining steps are beatification and canonization.

"The movement to press forward at this time the process of beatification of Pius XII greatly troubles us," the scholars told the Pope.

The scholars included Rev. Dr. John Pawlikowski of the Catholic Theological Union, a leading historian on Judaism and the Holocaust and Dr. Eugene Fisher, the retired expert on Jewish relations for the U.S. Catholic Bishops Conference.

Copies of the letter were to be sent to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican official in charge of relations with Jews, and Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, a leading figure in Catholic-Jewish dialogue in the United States.

Jews have asked repeatedly that the Vatican's wartime archives be opened for study and Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom repeated the request to the Pope directly when the Pontiff visited Rome's synagogue last month.

"We implore you to ensure that such a historical investigation takes place before proceeding with the (sainthood) cause of Pope Pius XII," the scholars told the Pope.

They said that Pius had become in essence, a de facto "symbol of Christian-anti-Judaism and anti-Semitism" and added:

"Proceeding with the cause of Pope Pius XII without an exhaustive study of his actions during the Holocaust might harm Jewish-Catholic relations in a way that cannot be overcome in the foreseeable future."

Benedict, a German who was drafted into the Hitler Youth and German army as a teenager during World War Two, has had a more difficult relationship with the Jewish community than his predecessor Pope John Paul II.

Many are still seething at his decision last year to start the rehabilitation process of traditionalist Bishop Richard Williamson, who denied the full extent of the Holocaust.

Revealed: Anglo-Catholic bishop in talks with CDF to stop English bishops 'smothering' Pope's Anglican plan

2010-02-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

"Somebody has leaked to the Guardian a sensitive email from the Rt Rev Andrew Burnham, “flying” Bishop of Ebbsfleet, to Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne, the Catholic auxiliary bishop in charge of implementing Anglicanorum coetibus in Australia.

In it, Bishop Burnham – an outstanding and inspiring Anglo-Catholic leader – confirms what we’ve all long suspected: that there are forces in the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales who hate the Pope’s plan and want Anglicans to stay Anglican. Or, as he puts it, “who think that Anglicans are best off doing what they are presently doing”.

Bishop Burnham will be embarrassed by this leak, which reveals that in order to make sure that the Ordinariate project is not “smothered” he has been talking privately to Mgr Patrick Burke at the CDF (another great priest, by the way). He’s also a bit disobliging about Archbishop Hepworth of the Traditional Anglican Communion.

But the important point is this. Although of course Bishop Burnham wouldn’t want his private correspondence revealed in this way, it does show that he has been doing the sensible thing, which is to deal directly with the CDF to stop the Magic Circle (the name of a certain monsignor comes to mind) putting a spanner in the works. He’d be neglecting his duty to his flock if he wasn’t doing so.

This email was leaked by an enemy of the Pope who timed it to throw Anglo-Catholics into confusion just before their day of prayer on Monday. They mustn’t let that happen."

Taken from the Telegraph

This is disturbing, when a possible convert to the Catholic faith has to secretly avoid Catholic Bishops in order to contact Rome about converting to the Catholic Church! Why? Because these Catholic Bishops are opposed to the plans of the Pope to bring lost sheep back into the fold!!! The Catholic Bishops are opposed to the Pope saving lost souls! This is what it boils down to.

"Pray much for the Holy Father fo he has much to suffer..." Let us pray also for those Bishops to stand behind our Holy Father, and not against him.

Faithful Priests are spur to more vocations, Pope says

2010-02-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Catholic Culture.org 16 February 2010

Good Priests are the best natural encouragement for young men considering a life in ministry, Pope Benedict XVI writes in his message of the 47th World Day of Prayer for Vocations.

The World Day of Prayer will be observed on April 25, the 4th Sunday of Lent (The 25th of April is actually the 3rd Sunday after Easter). The Pope's message for the occasion was released by the Vatican on February 16.

In the message the Holy Father says that while prayer is the first essential means of ensuring new vocations, experience shows that the witness offered by faithful Priests can "awaken in others a desire to respond generously to Christ's call." He notes that St. Peter was called through St. Andrew, and the same call went out to other disciples.

To be effective witnesses, the Pope says, priests must be thoroughly dedicated to God, encouraging others along the same path. "The story of every vocation," he writes, "is almost always intertwined with the testimony of a Priest who joyfully lives the gift of himself to his brothers and sisters for the sake of the Kingdom of God."

If Priests are remote figures, they do not attract the attention of the young, the Pope observes. But a Priest who "radiates the joy of serving Christ" cannot fail to attract others.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

•Witness Awakens Vocations (VIS)

Vatican WW2 secret archives to go online

2010-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Posted: Sunday, February 14, 2010 11:46 pm
ICN- Indepenent Catholic News

Pope Pius XII The Holy See has announced plans to publish secret archive documents from World War II on the internet.

The Pave the Way Foundation, an organization dedicated to bridging gaps between religions, has begun making digital files of about 9,000 pages of documents, descriptions from the closed section of the Vatican archives, from the period of March 1939 to May 1945.

The documents will be available on the Pave the Way and Vatican websites. Gary Krupp, the Jewish president and founder of Pave the Way explained that they had decided to make the documents in order to clarify the role of Pope Pius XII during World War II.

"Controversy abounds on whether he did enough to prevent the slaughter of Jews at the hands of the Nazis. Our research has revealed that five years after Pius XII's death, the KGB hatched a plot to discredit their enemy, the Roman Catholic Church, called 'Seat 12."

Krup said Rolf Hochhuth's fictitious 1963 play about Pius XII, 'The Deputy', was "the worst character assassination of the twentieth century."

He explained that in 1964, Pope Paul VI had asked a team of Jesuit historians to "conduct intensive research to identify relevant documents from the war years from the closed section of the Vatican Secret Archives."

They had begun the project, but not completed it, he said. In 1999, Cardinal Edward Cassidy, at that time the president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, called for a special commission of Jewish and Catholic scholars to come together to study these documents. Again, the work was never completed.

Krup his foundation wanted to publish as many documents as possible, and make them publicly available so they can be studied by all.

He has requested that "French, Italian and German scholars consider helping us by translating documents into English and forward this work to Pave the Way Foundation so that we can make the information available to more scholars for research."

"We also would like to receive any comments, positive or negative, relative to the content of these documents."

He said: the initiative was "not meant to be a substitute for the full access" to the archives, "but will absolutely show the unique efforts of Pope Pius XII and the dangers he was forced to operate under a direct threat from the Nazi regime."

Source: VIS

Pope in running for Brit award

2010-02-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

(UKPA) – 10 hours ago

Pope Benedict XVI has received his first Classical Brit nomination - and finds himself battling it out with Britain's Got Talent star Faryl Smith and X-Factor's Rhydian Roberts among others.

Each year, The Classical Brit Awards highlight the 10 biggest-selling classical albums of the past 12 months by nominating them for the NS&I album of the year award, the only category to be voted for by the public.

The Priests' second release Harmony will see the three Catholic Fathers also vying with the Pope, whose voice appears on Alma Mater - Music From The Vatican.

The only two female nominations go to debut albums from 14-year-old Faryl Smith, which became the fastest selling solo classical album in British chart history, and Gary Barlow's protegee Camilla Kerslake with her eponymously-titled record.

Following in the footsteps of last year's winners, the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, are The Coldstream Guards with their debut Universal release Heroes.

Also nominated are Blake with Together and last year's composer of the year winner Howard Goodall with Enchanted Voices.

Welsh artists dominate the category with three of the album nominations - Fron Male Voice Choir for Memory Lane, Choir Wars winners Only Men Aloud with their debut Band Of Brothers and former X-Factor runner-up Roberts with his debut O Fortuna.

Votes can be cast via classicfm.co.uk/music and voting closes on April 23.

The winners will be announced at the 11th annual Classical Brit Awards with NS&I at the Royal Albert Hall in London on May 13.

Hosted by Myleene Klass, the event will feature performances from the lifetime achievement recipient Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and chart phenomenon Andre Rieu.

Copyright © 2010 The Press Association. All rights reserved.

Pope promotes common good

2010-02-14T08:34:00.000-08:00

Published Date: 14 February 2010

Taken from News.scotsman.com

THE visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Scotland is a challenge to the secular assumptions that appear to underpin life. Religion is marginalised to the outer periphery of the polity where dialogue of faith and culture does not exist. The teaching of the Catholic Church on such matters as the sacredness of human life from the moment of conception to natural death is a case in point.

We in Scotland tolerate the destruction of unborn life as a matter of "choice" and have recently witnessed the attempt of a parliamentarian to introduce a bill to allow voluntary euthanasia for those who believe their own life is no longer worth living.

The Pope recently told the bishops of Scotland that the "positive and inspiring vision" of the Church on human life is a positive message of hope: not a series of prohibitions and retrograde positions, but a message directed to "the fullest possible realisation of the great potential for good and for happiness that God has implanted within every one of us."

The development of a "culture of death" our society is experiencing is dangerous for all, as a coarsening of public opinion to accept and even welcome abortion and euthanasia leads inexorably to a "survival of the fittest" mentality, where brute power and strength are the points of reference to what is considered the "good" of human life.

I am sure that the Holy Father will be made welcome by the people of Scotland and will offer the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to aid us in promoting the common good for our nation in the midst of confusion and moral relativism.

Andrew Gray, Edinburgh

Pope to start UK visit in Scotland to visit the Queen

2010-02-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

"Hello, I will be able to update this blog a bit more regularly, Deo volente, for the next couple of weeks. I thought I would start off with this bit of news, seeing as I am in Scotland myself!"-Ashley

Taken from The Mirror

The Pope will fly from Rome and touch down in Scotland on his visit to Britain later this year.
Pope Benedict XVI will arrive at Edinburgh Airport in September on the first UK visit by a pontiff since 1982.

Protocol demands that as a visiting head of state the Queen receives him ceremonially – usually at Horse Guards Parade in London.

But the Queen will be at Balmoral making it practical to receive the Pope at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh.

A source said: “Neither the Pope, who will be 83, nor the Queen, need any stress and it was thought this will be more comfortable. The Pope has a huge following in Scotland.”
The source added: “They will have lunch and then Pope Benedict will rest before Mass at Glasgow Green.”

The Pope will then fly to London on his four-day tour taking in Birmingham. In another break with tradition, he has refused a state procession due to the austere times.

An apology

2010-01-27T04:20:00.000-08:00

Dear reader you must please forgive my inactivity of late. I am back in France, and so unable to get to a computer as often as I would like, to keep this blog updated. Please bear with me, and thank you for your patience thus far.

God bless,

Ashley

Very interesting...

2010-01-27T04:18:00.000-08:00

http://eponymousflower.blogspot.com/2010/01/orthodox-and-catholic-agreements-on.html

Pope on the SSPX and Anglicans

2010-01-15T11:09:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, 15 JAN 2010 (VIS) - Participants in the annual plenary assembly of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the president of which is Cardinal William Joseph Levada, were received this morning by the Holy Father. In his address to them he highlighted the fact that their dicastery "participates in the ministry of unity" which is primarily entrusted to the Pope through his "commitment to doctrinal fidelity.

"Unity", he added, "is first and foremost unity of faith, upheld by the sacred tradition of which Peter's Successor is the primary custodian and defender. ... This is an indispensable service upon which depends the effectiveness of the Church's evangelising activity unto the end of time.

"The Bishop of Rome", the Pope explained, "must constantly proclaim that ... Jesus is Lord". The Roman Pontiff's "potestas docendi" requires "obedience to the faith, so that the Truth that is Christ may continue to shine forth in all its grandeur, ... and that there may be a single flock gathered around a single Shepherd".

The goal of a shared witness of faith among all Christians "represents, then, a priority for the Church in all periods of history. ... In this spirit, I trust particularly in your dicastery's commitment to overcoming the doctrinal problems that still persist in achieving the full communion of the Society of St. Pius X with the Church".

Benedict XVI then went on to thank the members of the congregation for their efforts towards "the full integration of groups and individuals of former Anglican faithful into the life of the Catholic Church, in accordance with the provisions of the Apostolic Constitution 'Anglicanorum coetibus'. The faithful adherence of these groups to the truth received from Christ and presented in the Magisterium of the Church is in no way contrary to the ecumenical movement", he said, "rather, it reveals the ultimate aim thereof, which is the realisation of the full and visible communion of the disciples of the Lord".

The Pope then turned his attention to the Instruction "Dignitas Personae" concerning certain bioethical questions, which was published by the congregation in 2008. "It represents", he said, "a new milestone in the announcement of the Gospel, in full continuity with the Instruction 'Donum vitae' published by the dicastery in 1987. In such delicate and pressing questions as those that concern procreation and the new therapeutic advances involving the manipulation of the embryo and the human genetic patrimony, ... the Magisterium of the Church seeks to offer its own contribution to the formation of consciences, not only the consciences of believers but of everyone who seeks the truth and is willing to listen to arguments that arise not only from the faith, but also from reason itself".

"Christian faith also makes its truthful contribution in the field of ethics and philosophy, not supplying prefabricated solutions to real problems such as biomedical research and experimentation, put presenting moral standpoints within which human reason can seek and find appropriate solutions", said the Pope.

And he went on: "There are, in fact, certain aspects of Christian revelation that throw light on the problems of bioethics. ... These aspects, inscribed in the heart of man, are also understandable in rational terms as elements of natural moral law, and may find acceptance even among people who do not recognise themselves in the Christian faith".

"Rooted in human nature and accessible to all creatures possessing reason, natural moral law constitutes the foundation for opening a dialogue with all men and women who seek the truth and, more generally, with civil and secular society", said Pope Benedict. And he concluded: "This law, inscribed in the heart of all human beings, touches an essential aspect of legal theory and appeals to legislators' consciences and sense of responsibility".
---
See also:
Benedict XVI
Address to the Plenary Session of the
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
(Full address, in Italian)

Taken from Rorate Caeli

Pope meets and forgives Christmas Eve Mass attack woman

2010-01-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

Pope Benedict XVI has had a meeting with the mentally disturbed woman who knocked him over at Mass on Christmas Eve, and has forgiven her.

Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said the woman, Susanna Maiolo, told the Pope she was sorry for what had happened.

Father Lombardi added that the Pope expressed "his interest and best wishes" for her health.
The Vatican is continuing a legal case against Ms Maiolo.

She and her family met Pope Benedict in a private audience at the end of his general audience, Father Lombardi said in a statement.

The Pope inquired about Ms Maiolo's health and "wanted to demonstrate his forgiveness".
The Vatican said no photographs or video would be released of the meeting.

The Roman Catholic world was shocked by the attack, in which Ms Maiolo leapt over a barrier at St Peter's Basilica and brought the 82-year-old Pope to the ground at the beginning of the Mass.
She was quickly overpowered and Pope Benedict, who was not injured, proceeded with the service.

Ms Maiolo was treated at a psychiatric clinic outside Rome after the incident, and was released on Saturday.

Taken from BBC News

Pope laments Haiti's 'tragic situation'

2010-01-13T03:52:00.000-08:00

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday urged a generous response to the "tragic situation" in Haiti where hundreds are feared dead following a massive earthquake.

The Pope lamented Haiti's "tragic situation (involving) huge loss of human life, a great number of homeless and missing and considerable material damage."

"I appeal to the generosity of all to ensure our concrete solidarity and the effective support of the international community for these brothers and sisters who are living a time of need and suffering," the Pontiff said at the end of his weekly general audience. - AFP

Taken from here.

Pius' 'silence' saved more Jews in WWII

2010-01-13T03:48:00.000-08:00

Taken from The Philadelphia Inquirer

Last Tuesday's commentary "Church's misguided honor: Moving to canonize a World War II-era Pope amounts to an attack on Jews" could not have been more flawed, judgmental, and historically erroneous.

The historical record suggests that the alleged "silence" of Pius XII had everything to do with his capacity to intervene and save as many of Hitler's victims as possible and nothing to do with indifference to the great suffering around him in Nazi-dominated Europe, as his critics assert.

Why would anyone assume that the Pope saying more would have saved more? And why single out Pius XII? He may not have publicly denounced Hitler, which would have pleased the Allied governments at the time and greatly bolstered the Pope's reputation. But the Pope surely realized that such an action would have been a noble failure and would certainly have cost more lives. In order to save Jews from Hitler it was necessary for the Church to maintain lines of communication with those who had the power of life and death.

It is simply historically inaccurate to scapegoat the man responsible for saving an enormous number of Jews from the clutches of the Third Reich for his "silence." There are a great many Jews alive today either because they, or their parents or grandparents, were saved by the Catholic Church at the Pope's direction during the Holocaust.

The fact that Pope Pius XII hid thousands of Jews on his own property at Castel Gandolfo to save them from almost certain death speaks volumes. Could there be more eloquent testimony to Pius XII's opposition to Hitler and all he stood for?

John H. Ahtes III

Professor of Church history

St. Charles Borromeo Seminary

Professor of History, Immaculata University

Too soon for Orthodox, Catholic Church heads to meet

2010-01-12T22:31:00.000-08:00

Ties between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Vatican have improved in recent years, but the time has not come for a historic meeting of their leaders, a senior Russian bishop said on Tuesday.

"Dialog with the Roman Catholic Church has been intensified," said Archbishop Ilarion of Volokolamsk, the head of the Moscow Patriarchy's foreign Church relations. "We have been working to resolve problems that hinder a breakthrough in our relations."

He told a news conference it was too early to talk about "an exact date and venue" for a meeting of Russian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Benedict XVI as their meeting "should still be thoroughly prepared."

Ilarion again cited problems in western Ukraine, where hundreds of Orthodox Churches were handed over to Greek-Catholic parishes after the atheist Soviet regime collapsed in the 1990s.

The Archbishop said the Russian Church expects the Vatican to step in and make up for the loss for Orthodox believers in the region.

Catholic proselytism has been cited by Russian Church officials as the main obstacle to moves to bridge the 1054 schism that divided the Christian Churches and resulted in political and theological differences. The Vatican has denied the proselytism accusations.

However, high-level visits between the Churches have become more frequent under Benedict and Kirill, who took office in February, with both Churches pledging to improve their relations.
Moscow and the Vatican established full diplomatic relations late last year, and Russia will now have an embassy instead of a representative office in the Vatican. The Russian Church and the Holy See both hailed the move as a sign of further improvement in their relations.

The Vatican's representative in Moscow attended Patriarch Kirill's Orthodox Christmas service at Christ the Savior Cathedral last Thursday.

Ilarion said the now late Pope John Paul II and Patriarch Alexy II were to meet in 1997, but the meeting was canceled at the last minute as the sides realized that consensus could not be reached.

MOSCOW, January 12 (RIA Novosti)

Pope ad orientem

2010-01-12T08:11:00.000-08:00

Taken from New Liturgical Movement

The sedia gestatoria would protect the Pope

2010-01-08T00:25:00.000-08:00

Article taken from The Catholic Herald

Security expert Dominic Scarborough urges the Vatican to draw on tradition to prevent a repeat of the Midnight Mass attack on Benedict XVI

8 January 2010

Many years ago there was a joke doing the rounds of the pubs and clubs about two Irishmen on pilgrimage in Rome who ask at a bar near the Vatican what the Pope likes to drink. Upon being told he likes Crème de Menthe the two intrepid drinkers order two pints of the stuff.

Several hours and a lot of pints later both are lying comatose in the street. When they eventually come around one says to the other: "No wonder they carry him around in a chair!"

On a more serious note, the attack on Pope Benedict during the entrance procession of Midnight Mass by Susanna Maiolo, a mentally ill woman who once again, as she did last year, vaulted over the barriers before lunging at the Pope, poses serious questions about the Holy Father's safety.

Since 1970 alone there have been three documented attempted assassinations of the Pope. In 1970 Pope Paul VI was attacked by a man with a knife at Manila Airport, in 1981 there was the shooting of Pope John Paul II in St Peter's Square and only a year later, when the same Pope visited Fatima to give thanks for his survival, he was attacked yet again by a deranged knife-wielding priest.

Aside from Pope Benedict's annual Christmas encounters with Miss Maiolo there was the attempt by a German man to get into his Popemobile during an audience in 2007. After these incidents and the rise of Islamic terrorism since 9/11 there have been many noticeable changes to the security surrounding the Pontiff.

Long gone are the days when it was deemed enough for Archbishop Marcinkus to stand next to the Pope as a kind of clerical "heavy". On all his travels around the world now the Pope is accompanied by armed close-protection officers from the 130-strong Vatican Corps of Gendarmes who accompany him and work with the close-protection teams afforded by the Italian state and the particular host country. His Popemobile is fitted with bullet-resistant glass and his movements by limousine are handled in exactly the same way as any head of state, with armed officers travelling with him and in a support vehicle. When the Pope visited Turkey he was even asked to wear body armour under his overcoat.

At every papal ceremony in St Peter's when the Pope is required to walk through the crowded basilica to reach the sanctuary it is possible to see not only his personal protection officer Domenico Giani, (who has been Inspector General of the Corpo della Gendarmeria since 2006), walking nearby but also other black-suited, close-protection officers walking at the sides of the procession. Indeed, the Pope's close-protection team are to be congratulated that one of their number seized Miss Maiolo as she leapt the barrier but the distance between the barrier and the Pope was so small that, ironically, it was the force of this officer tackling her at the very moment she grabbed at the Pope's vestments that actually brought the Pontiff crashing to the floor.

For these protection officers the security of their principal can never be guaranteed particularly when, like the Pope, he wants to be visible to the crowds who have turned out to see him and a degree of compromise is always required. Unlike a president or prime minister whose close-protection officers are usually found within an arm's reach of their principal, as any press photograph taken during a walkabout will show, the Pope is frequently engaged in liturgical acts which have no rubrical provision for an armed suited man wearing an ear-piece to be in the midst of things. That said, as with much of this pontificate the answer to this particular problem might just be found from recovering something from the past.

One only has to look at old black and white footage of pontiffs prior to Paul VI to see how popes always used to enter the basilica being carried shoulder high in the sedia gestatoria. Not only that, but there was always a throng of people around the chair, not only the actual bearers but numerous chamberlains and nobility and a large number of guards: Swiss Guards, uniformed Gendarmes, the Palatine Guard and Noble Guard. These comprised the old papal court which Pope Paul VI abolished and which formed a kind of buffer zone between the Pope and the crowds, no doubt as much a practical defence measure as a piece of ceremony.

The use of the sedia continued until very recently and many are unaware that the last pope to use the sedia was actually Pope John Paul I. While the abolition of this ancient form of transport may have since been considered appropriate in the context of the late 20th century and the need to democratise the appearance of papal ceremonies, the reality has left the Pope an isolated and vulnerable figure separated from the deacons ahead and the MCs behind, one who appears all too often like the figure in the Third Secret of Fatima: a victim walking alone simply waiting to be attacked.

While there are bound to be some who would see the return of the sedia as yet another example of this Pope "turning the clock back", in fact not only would it save an elderly man's tired legs but it would allow more of the crowd to see him. Most importantly, it would actually insulate him from the kind of physical assault we saw at Christmas by virtue of the mob of people surrounding it (who could these days be swelled by Swiss Guards and the gendarme officers in suitably formal garb) to work alongside the suited officers at the perimeter.

Naturally, the risk of attack from a gunman or explosive device would still be present and indeed potentially magnified by the sedia but the use of X-ray machines at the entrance to the basilica and physical searches of congregants should by now be mandatory at such events to confront these risks which are no more heightened by the Pope presiding at Mass from an elevated platform, as he does, than from being carried in a chair.

It was being reported earlier in the year on several Catholic blogs that the Vatican was actively considering a return for the sedia gestatoria for ceremonies in St Peter's, more because of the Pope's age than as a protection against attack. Perhaps the latest incident will persuade them that what tradition hands down frequently has a practical origin beyond merely the visually impressive spectacle that to sceptical modern eyes it had appeared to have become.

Dominic Scarborough is a regular commentator in the press and internet on Catholic affairs. His company, Proteus Risk, advises companies on security issues

Venerable Pius XII, ora pro nobis!

2010-01-07T02:02:00.000-08:00

"Ok, I know I have been posting a lot of stuff with regards to Venerable Pius XII lately, however I believe it is necessary to spread the truth as much as possible. This saintly Pope is being attacked, slandered, and falsely accused from all sides. The truth of this Pontiff's courage is there for all to see. I wish to do all in my power to see that others see this Pope the way he was, a true servant and Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ!"-Ashley

Pius defender responds to ADL
By Ami Eden · January 6, 2010

We recently cited a column in The New York Post by Gary Krupp of the Pave the Way Foundation defending defending the World War II-era record of Pope Pius XII and the rebuttal from the Anti-Defamation League.

Now the foundation has sent in a response to the ADL's response:

"Pave the Way foundation is Saddened by the Recent Attack on our Work by Abe Foxman Executive Director of the ADL.

Pave the Way Foundation, is a non-sectarian organization, which sought to bring this 46 year old negativity between Jews and Catholics concerning the papacy of Pope Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) to a public forum. To correct Foxman’s fallacious statements, we held our symposium in Rome in September 2008 not 2009. All of the Holocaust institutions and the critics (including Prof. Paul O’Shea) were invited to attend. We hoped to open an exchange of information in order to reveal newly discovered documents and eye witness testimonies. All of the critics declined our invitation since they didn’t consider it a scholarly forum and it was going to be open to a public group of Rabbis and Jewish leaders. These same critics claimed that the symposium was one sided, which is comical since their refusal to participate created that impression.

The documents, Foxman is referring to, were only recently discovered in Campagna and only showed that there are thousands of Vatican WWII documents that are available for study by those who wish to simply look. To correct Foxman again, according to the report Prof. Paul O’Shea sent to me, the Campagna documents did in fact show how Pius XII directed efforts to send financial aid specifically for care of the Jews. This was in one small diocese in Italy. Just like General Eisenhower, Pius XII had his army of trusted clergy to carry out his instructions and verbal orders. He physically couldn’t do everything as Foxman seems to demand as proof of his benevolence. He acted to save Jews when no one else would. He did this, according to our original documents, fully expecting a full scale invasion of the Vatican where he would have be kidnapped and the clergy would be killed.

The significant evidence that we have gathered is from many other countries. More importantly the testimony from eye witnesses who describe the secret actions that they were ordered to take by the Vatican to save Jewish lives. Pius XII took these actions with German guns 200 yards under his very windows when he expected the imminent attack on the Vatican. He still managed to save more Jews than all of the world’s religious and political leaders combined. Pacelli acted directly to stop the arrest of the Roman Jews 2 PM on the day it began October 16, 1943 and managed to hide over 7000 Jews in just one day. He accomplished all of this anonymously (this is our highest form of charity).

Foxman is calling for the Vatican Archives to be opened when curiously just over 2 years ago Pope Benedict XVI ordered the opening of the archives up to 1939 along with the documents of the Inter Arma Caritas up to 1947. According to the sign in sheets in Rome, none of the recognized critics or institutions showed up to study this material. What should be questioned is why did virtually every Jewish organization, (including the ADL), every major Jewish religious personality and Israeli leader of that era, who lived through the war, praise Pius XII unreservedly? What happened? What smoking gun? What documents were discovered to change this?

I Invite Foxman and all others to devote 56 minutes to view a narrated power point illustrating just a small part of the evidence we discovered, then you be the judge. Additional documented proof and video testimonies can be viewed on http://www.ptwf.org/. I further challenge the ADL to host its own open forum on this subject and, like in our cherished jury system, allow the public to decide whether Eugenio Pacelli is guilty of these charges. "

The ADL shows no signs of backing down. In fact, it's stepping things up, with a lengthy report attempt at rebutting the documents that Krupp has taken to citing.

See also:

Catholic league: Attack on Pius XII is Unseemly

Pius XII did help the Jews

Pope of Reason

2010-01-06T02:15:00.001-08:00

Taken from http://popebenedictxvinews.blogspot.com/

Millions of faithful see Benedict XVI in 2009

2010-01-06T01:23:00.000-08:00

Vatican City, Jan 5, 2010 / 11:17 am (CNA).- The Prefecture of the Pontifical House released statistics today detailing the estimated numbers of faithful able to attend public events with the Pope in 2009. Estimates reach well over two million people just at the Papal residences.

Between events at the sites of Pope Benedict XVI's living quarters at the Vatican and Castel Gandolfo, he was seen by nearly 2,250,000 million people in the year 2009, the Holy See's Prefecture of the Pontifical House reported on Tuesday.

The final numbers were reached by combining the monthly attendance estimates for general and special audiences with the Pontiff, liturgical celebrations and the Sunday Angelus.

Benedict XVI was seen by almost exactly half of the total at the Sunday Angelus. The weekly event involves the Holy Father appearing in the window of the Vatican Palace to recite the Angelus prayer to Mary and greet the crowds that gather in St. Peter's Square.

The busiest months for the Pope were January and December, when he was visited by 180,000 people, while the "slowest" months were April and September, when there were "only" 8,000 privileged to be in his company.

The statistics did not take into acount the Holy Father's five pastoral visits within Italy, his stops at local Roman parishes or the three trips he made abroad. On March 24 alone, it was estimated that there were one million people in attendance for Pope Benedict's celebration of a Mass in Angola, Africa.

Pope's security boosted

2010-01-05T14:59:00.000-08:00

News24.com

Vatican City - Pope Benedict XVI's security has been reinforced, including by widening his safety cordon, after a woman knocked him to the ground at Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, media reported on Tuesday.

Illustrating the changes, Il Giornale daily published images of the Pope as he walked through St Peter's Basilica prior to the Christmas attack and images of him within the Church with the new security measures in place.

They show the cordon around him enlarged by about a metre on all sides.

The larger space would give security services more time to react if someone tried to approach the 82-year-old Pontiff, and more space in which to intervene if necessary, the paper said.
The photos also show that the Pope escorted by four security agents rather than two as in the past.

The Pope was unhurt in the assault by 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo's assault, but French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray fell and fractured the top of his femur. Il Giornale said he had been jumped on by a security agent trying to intervene.

Etchegaray underwent a hip replacement operation a few days later.

According to the religious information agency i.media, there will be also be more security personnel along the path the Pope takes as he moves through St Peter's.

Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi would not comment about the report.

After Maiolo's assault, Vatican authorities said it would be impossible to entirely protect the Pope without putting a wall between him and the masses who come to see him.

That would be unthinkable and "like stopping him from breathing", Lombardi has said.

The Pope's security detail is made up of about 350 people: 110 from the Swiss Guard, about 100 from the Vatican police and 140 Italian police.

Maiolo, who has Swiss and Italian nationality, has been in a psychiatric hospital since the attack and has been described as mentally unbalanced. She had also lunged at the Pope at the 2008 Midnight Mass.

She has reportedly told doctors that she "did not want to hurt the Pope, just ask him to help the weak".

But Vatican sources cited by said i.media said the young woman had confessed last year to wanting to scratch the Pontiff's face.
- AFP

Queen Mary's letter is revealed

2010-01-04T01:56:00.000-08:00

Pope Sixtus V

Mary, Queen of Scots

Published Date: 04 January 2010

Northampton Chronicle

A letter written from Mary Queen of Scots' Northamptonshire prison cell three months before she was executed has been released from the Vatican's 'secret archive'.

The letter to Pope Sixtus V sees the well known figure ask forgiveness for her sins.

In the letter, she also warns the pope of treacherous cardinals.

It was written by Mary Queen of Scots on November 23, 1586 from her prison cell at Fotheringay Castle in the north of Northamptonshire.

The letter has been published as part of a new book called The Vatican Secret Archives.

The book collects together 105 documents from the Vatican's archives, 19 of which have never been seen before in public.

Mary Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle, near Oundle, at 8am on February 8, 1587 because of the threat she posed to Queen Elizabeth I as she was considered the rightful ruler of England by many Catholics.

Mary had fled to England after an unsuccessful attempt to regain the throne in Scotland.

She initially sought protection from Queen Elizabeth, but because of the perceived threat she posed was instead imprisoned before being tried and executed for treason.

As well as the Fotheringhay letter, the book of Vatican documents also includes letters written to Hitler by Pope Pius XI in 1934 and one received by his controversial (Not true-Ashley) successor, Pius XII, from Japan's Emperor Hirohito.

There is also an entreaty to Rome written on birch bark by a tribe of North American Indians.

The Vatican's 'secret archive' currently occupies a total of 85 kilometres of bookshelves but it is constantly growing.

Today in history...

2010-01-03T22:19:00.000-08:00

His Holiness Pope Leo X

Today is the 3 January. On this day in 1521, His Holiness Pope Leo X excommunicated the wretched Martin Luther from the Most Holy Roman Catholic Church. To read Pope Leo's Bull of Excommunication, entitled "Exsurge Domine" click here.

Pope Planning an Intense 2010

2010-01-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

Calendar Filling up With 4 International Trips and Mideast Synod

By Jesús Colina

ROME, JAN. 1, 2010 (Zenit.org).- The year beginning today promises to be the busiest yet for Benedict XVI's pontificate, as the almost-83-year-old-Pope is planning four international trips and a synod on the Middle East.

The year 2010 looks to be one of the most intense of his five years in the Chair of Peter. The Pope will turn 83 on April 16, but this does not affect how quickly his calendar fills up.
The Holy Father will visit Malta, Portugal, Cyprus and the United Kingdom during 2010. He will also preside over the first synod on the Middle East, and his several pilgrimages within Italy will include celebrations as momentous as a visit to the Shroud of Turin.

It also promises to be a year when the expected will come to pass: Pope John Paul II might be beatified (though the Vatican has repeatedly reiterated that his cause must follow the normal path leading to beatification), and the second part of Benedict XVI's bestseller "Jesus of Nazareth" could be published. As well, his apostolic exhortation taking up the conclusions of the 2008 synod on the Word of God could be released.

The year beginning today is also expected to bring forward causes that the German Pope has made a priority: advances in Christian unity, and unity with other religions, particularly Islam and Judaism.

In fact, one of the most symbolic events of the year will be his Jan. 17 visit to the Synagogue of Rome. That trip will take place just weeks after some Jews have protested the Holy Father's official recognition of the heroic virtues of his predecessor, Pope Pius XII.

In reviewing 2009 with the Roman Curia, Benedict XVI observed that last year developed in the light of Africa. The synod on Africa in Rome and the Holy Father's first trip to the continent as Pontiff marked 2009. In this regard, 2010 will be a year in the light of the Middle East, given that the synod to discuss that region is scheduled for Oct. 10-24.

The Pope will officially present the working document for the synod during his visit to Cyprus from June 4 to 6.

That trip is symbolic for other reasons because it will bring to light certain central themes of the pontificate, such as dialogue with the local Orthodox Church. That Church, since the 2006 election of Chrysostomos II, has become a leader in ecumenical efforts, as well as a promoter of interreligious dialogue with Islam, due to Turkish presence on the divided island.

Benedict XVI's first 2010 trip out of Italy will bring him to Malta, April 17-18. The visit will mark the 1,950th anniversary of St. Paul's shipwreck there, which tradition holds to have taken place in A.D. 60. Paul was headed to Rome, but instead was welcomed by the local population and spent three months evangelizing the archipelago, which is still majority Catholic.

Then the Pontiff will head to Portugal in May, a visit that includes a pilgrimage to Lourdes (I think it is supposed to be Fatima?-Ashley) -- one more stop on what has become his world tour of Marian shrines including Loreto, Italy; Altötting, Germany; Mariazell, Austria; Aparecida, Brazil; Lourdes, France; Mvolye, Cameroon; and Pompeii, Italy.

The fourth international trip will bring the Pope to the United Kingdom. Though the dates have not been officially announced, it is expected that he will be in England between the 17th and 19th of September.

While there, it is expected that the Pontiff will beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman (1801-1890), an intellectual Anglican convert. That visit will obviously have decisive ecumenical repercussions in light of last year's Oct. 20 announcement that paves the way for Anglicans to come to full communion with the Holy See in groups.

There are also four apostolic trips within Italy already on the papal agenda. The first is to Turin on May 2, during the extraordinary exposition of the Shroud that will take place from April 10 to May 23. In July, the Holy Father will visit the region affected by last April's earthquake. That visit will mark the 800th anniversary of the birth of Pope Celestine V (who died in 1296), one of the few popes to abdicate.

In September, Benedict XVI will visit Carpineto Romano, a small town of the Roman province, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pope Leo XIII.

And finally, in October, the Holy Father will visit Palermo to participate in meetings with families and youth.

Not to be overlooked in 2010 is the closing of the Year for Priests, with June 9-11 events in Rome. The Holy Father has invited the priests of the world to participate in the celebrations marking the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney. But he has also asked the faithful of every walk of life to include themselves in the celebrations by expressing the Church's love for its priests.

MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE CELEBRATION OF THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE 1 JANUARY 2010

2010-01-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

IF YOU WANT TO CULTIVATE PEACE, PROTECT CREATION

1. At the beginning of this New Year, I wish to offer heartfelt greetings of peace to all Christian communities, international leaders, and people of good will throughout the world. For this XLIII World Day of Peace I have chosen the theme: If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation. Respect for creation is of immense consequence, not least because “creation is the beginning and the foundation of all God’s works”,[1] and its preservation has now become essential for the pacific coexistence of mankind. Man’s inhumanity to man has given rise to numerous threats to peace and to authentic and integral human development – wars, international and regional conflicts, acts of terrorism, and violations of human rights. Yet no less troubling are the threats arising from the neglect – if not downright misuse – of the earth and the natural goods that God has given us. For this reason, it is imperative that mankind renew and strengthen “that covenant between human beings and the environment, which should mirror the creative love of God, from whom we come and towards whom we are journeying”.[2]

2. In my Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, I noted that integral human development is closely linked to the obligations which flow from man’s relationship with the natural environment. The environment must be seen as God’s gift to all people, and the use we make of it entails a shared responsibility for all humanity, especially the poor and future generations. I also observed that whenever nature, and human beings in particular, are seen merely as products of chance or an evolutionary determinism, our overall sense of responsibility wanes.[3] On the other hand, seeing creation as God’s gift to humanity helps us understand our vocation and worth as human beings. With the Psalmist, we can exclaim with wonder: “When I look at your heavens, the work of your hands, the moon and the stars which you have established; what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” (Ps 8:4-5). Contemplating the beauty of creation inspires us to recognize the love of the Creator, that Love which “moves the sun and the other stars”.[4]

3. Twenty years ago, Pope John Paul II devoted his Message for the World Day of Peace to the theme: Peace with God the Creator, Peace with All of Creation. He emphasized our relationship, as God’s creatures, with the universe all around us. “In our day”, he wrote, “there is a growing awareness that world peace is threatened … also by a lack of due respect for nature”. He added that “ecological awareness, rather than being downplayed, needs to be helped to develop and mature, and find fitting expression in concrete programmes and initiatives”.[5] Previous Popes had spoken of the relationship between human beings and the environment. In 1971, for example, on the eightieth anniversary of Leo XIII’s Encyclical Rerum Novarum, Paul VI pointed out that “by an ill-considered exploitation of nature (man) risks destroying it and becoming in his turn the victim of this degradation”. He added that “not only is the material environment becoming a permanent menace – pollution and refuse, new illnesses and absolute destructive capacity – but the human framework is no longer under man’s control, thus creating an environment for tomorrow which may well be intolerable. This is a wide-ranging social problem which concerns the entire human family”.[6]

4. Without entering into the merit of specific technical solutions, the Church is nonetheless concerned, as an “expert in humanity”, to call attention to the relationship between the Creator, human beings and the created order. In 1990 John Paul II had spoken of an “ecological crisis” and, in highlighting its primarily ethical character, pointed to the “urgent moral need for a new solidarity”.[7] His appeal is all the more pressing today, in the face of signs of a growing crisis which it would be irresponsible not to take seriously. Can we remain indifferent before the problems associated with such realities as climate change, desertification, the deterioration and loss of productivity in vast agricultural areas, the pollution of rivers and aquifers, the loss of biodiversity, the increase of natural catastrophes and the deforestation of equatorial and tropical regions? Can we disregard the growing phenomenon of “environmental refugees”, people who are forced by the degradation of their natural habitat to forsake it – and often their possessions as well – in order to face the dangers and uncertainties of forced displacement? Can we remain impassive in the face of actual and potential conflicts involving access to natural resources? All these are issues with a profound impact on the exercise of human rights, such as the right to life, food, health and development.

5. It should be evident that the ecological crisis cannot be viewed in isolation from other related questions, since it is closely linked to the notion of development itself and our understanding of man in his relationship to others and to the rest of creation. Prudence would thus dictate a profound, long-term review of our model of development, one which would take into consideration the meaning of the economy and its goals with an eye to correcting its malfunctions and misapplications. The ecological health of the planet calls for this, but it is also demanded by the cultural and moral crisis of humanity whose symptoms have for some time been evident in every part of the world.[8] Humanity needs a profound cultural renewal; it needs to rediscover those values which can serve as the solid basis for building a brighter future for all. Our present crises – be they economic, food-related, environmental or social – are ultimately also moral crises, and all of them are interrelated. They require us to rethink the path which we are travelling together. Specifically, they call for a lifestyle marked by sobriety and solidarity, with new rules and forms of engagement, one which focuses confidently and courageously on strategies that actually work, while decisively rejecting those that have failed. Only in this way can the current crisis become an opportunity for discernment and new strategic planning.

6. Is it not true that what we call “nature” in a cosmic sense has its origin in “a plan of love and truth”? The world “is not the product of any necessity whatsoever, nor of blind fate or chance… The world proceeds from the free will of God; he wanted to make his creatures share in his being, in his intelligence, and in his goodness”.[9] The Book of Genesis, in its very first pages, points to the wise design of the cosmos: it comes forth from God’s mind and finds its culmination in man and woman, made in the image and likeness of the Creator to “fill the earth” and to “have dominion over” it as “stewards” of God himself (cf. Gen 1:28). The harmony between the Creator, mankind and the created world, as described by Sacred Scripture, was disrupted by the sin of Adam and Eve, by man and woman, who wanted to take the place of God and refused to acknowledge that they were his creatures. As a result, the work of “exercising dominion” over the earth, “tilling it and keeping it”, was also disrupted, and conflict arose within and between mankind and the rest of creation (cf. Gen 3:17-19). Human beings let themselves be mastered by selfishness; they misunderstood the meaning of God’s command and exploited creation out of a desire to exercise absolute domination over it. But the true meaning of God’s original command, as the Book of Genesis clearly shows, was not a simple conferral of authority, but rather a summons to responsibility. The wisdom of the ancients had recognized that nature is not at our disposal as “a heap of scattered refuse”.[10] Biblical Revelation made us see that nature is a gift of the Creator, who gave it an inbuilt order and enabled man to draw from it the principles needed to “till it and keep it” (cf. Gen. 2:15).[11] Everything that exists belongs to God, who has entrusted it to man, albeit not for his arbitrary use. Once man, instead of acting as God’s co-worker, sets himself up in place of God, he ends up provoking a rebellion on the part of nature, “which is more tyrannized than governed by him”.[12] Man thus has a duty to exercise responsible stewardship over creation, to care for it and to cultivate it.[13]

7. Sad to say, it is all too evident that large numbers of people in different countries and areas of our planet are experiencing increased hardship because of the negligence or refusal of many others to exercise responsible stewardship over the environment. The Second Vatican Ecumenical Council reminded us that “God has destined the earth and everything it contains for all peoples and nations”.[14] The goods of creation belong to humanity as a whole. Yet the current pace of environmental exploitation is seriously endangering the supply of certain natural resources not only for the present generation, but above all for generations yet to come.[15] It is not hard to see that environmental degradation is often due to the lack of far-sighted official policies or to the pursuit of myopic economic interests, which then, tragically, become a serious threat to creation. To combat this phenomenon, economic activity needs to consider the fact that “every economic decision has a moral consequence” [16] and thus show increased respect for the environment. When making use of natural resources, we should be concerned for their protection and consider the cost entailed – environmentally and socially – as an essential part of the overall expenses incurred. The international community and national governments are responsible for sending the right signals in order to combat effectively the misuse of the environment. To protect the environment, and to safeguard natural resources and the climate, there is a need to act in accordance with clearly-defined rules, also from the juridical and economic standpoint, while at the same time taking into due account the solidarity we owe to those living in the poorer areas of our world and to future generations.

8. A greater sense of intergenerational solidarity is urgently needed. Future generations cannot be saddled with the cost of our use of common environmental resources. “We have inherited from past generations, and we have benefited from the work of our contemporaries; for this reason we have obligations towards all, and we cannot refuse to interest ourselves in those who will come after us, to enlarge the human family. Universal solidarity represents a benefit as well as a duty. This is a responsibility that present generations have towards those of the future, a responsibility that also concerns individual States and the international community”.[17] Natural resources should be used in such a way that immediate benefits do not have a negative impact on living creatures, human and not, present and future; that the protection of private property does not conflict with the universal destination of goods;[18] that human activity does not compromise the fruitfulness of the earth, for the benefit of people now and in the future. In addition to a fairer sense of intergenerational solidarity there is also an urgent moral need for a renewed sense of intragenerational solidarity, especially in relationships between developing countries and highly industrialized countries: “the international community has an urgent duty to find institutional means of regulating the exploitation of non-renewable resources, involving poor countries in the process, in order to plan together for the future”.[19] The ecological crisis shows the urgency of a solidarity which embraces time and space. It is important to acknowledge that among the causes of the present ecological crisis is the historical responsibility of the industrialized countries. Yet the less developed countries, and emerging countries in particular, are not exempt from their own responsibilities with regard to creation, for the duty of gradually adopting effective environmental measures and policies is incumbent upon all. This would be accomplished more easily if self-interest played a lesser role in the granting of aid and the sharing of knowledge and cleaner technologies.

9. To be sure, among the basic problems which the international community has to address is that of energy resources and the development of joint and sustainable strategies to satisfy the energy needs of the present and future generations. This means that technologically advanced societies must be prepared to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving its efficiency. At the same time there is a need to encourage research into, and utilization of, forms of energy with lower impact on the environment and “a world-wide redistribution of energy resources, so that countries lacking those resources can have access to them”.[20] The ecological crisis offers an historic opportunity to develop a common plan of action aimed at orienting the model of global development towards greater respect for creation and for an integral human development inspired by the values proper to charity in truth. I would advocate the adoption of a model of development based on the centrality of the human person, on the promotion and sharing of the common good, on responsibility, on a realization of our need for a changed life-style, and on prudence, the virtue which tells us what needs to be done today in view of what might happen tomorrow.[21]

10. A sustainable comprehensive management of the environment and the resources of the planet demands that human intelligence be directed to technological and scientific research and its practical applications. The “new solidarity” for which John Paul II called in his Message for the 1990 World Day of Peace [22] and the “global solidarity” for which I myself appealed in my Message for the 2009 World Day of Peace [23] are essential attitudes in shaping our efforts to protect creation through a better internationally-coordinated management of the earth’s resources, particularly today, when there is an increasingly clear link between combatting environmental degradation and promoting an integral human development. These two realities are inseparable, since “the integral development of individuals necessarily entails a joint effort for the development of humanity as a whole”.[24] At present there are a number of scientific developments and innovative approaches which promise to provide satisfactory and balanced solutions to the problem of our relationship to the environment. Encouragement needs to be given, for example, to research into effective ways of exploiting the immense potential of solar energy. Similar attention also needs to be paid to the world-wide problem of water and to the global water cycle system, which is of prime importance for life on earth and whose stability could be seriously jeopardized by climate change. Suitable strategies for rural development centred on small farmers and their families should be explored, as well as the implementation of appropriate policies for the management of forests, for waste disposal and for strengthening the linkage between combatting climate change and overcoming poverty. Ambitious national policies are required, together with a necessary international commitment which will offer important benefits especially in the medium and long term. There is a need, in effect, to move beyond a purely consumerist mentality in order to promote forms of agricultural and industrial production capable of respecting creation and satisfying the primary needs of all. The ecological problem must be dealt with not only because of the chilling prospects of environmental degradation on the horizon; the real motivation must be the quest for authentic world-wide solidarity inspired by the values of charity, justice and the common good. For that matter, as I have stated elsewhere, “technology is never merely technology. It reveals man and his aspirations towards development; it expresses the inner tension that impels him gradually to overcome material limitations. Technology in this sense is a response to God’s command to till and keep the land (cf. Gen 2:15) that he has entrusted to humanity, and it must serve to reinforce the covenant between human beings and the environment, a covenant that should mirror God’s creative love”.[25]

11. It is becoming more and more evident that the issue of environmental degradation challenges us to examine our life-style and the prevailing models of consumption and production, which are often unsustainable from a social, environmental and even economic point of view. We can no longer do without a real change of outlook which will result in new life-styles, “in which the quest for truth, beauty, goodness and communion with others for the sake of common growth are the factors which determine consumer choices, savings and investments”.[26] Education for peace must increasingly begin with far-reaching decisions on the part of individuals, families, communities and states. We are all responsible for the protection and care of the environment. This responsibility knows no boundaries. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity it is important for everyone to be committed at his or her proper level, working to overcome the prevalence of particular interests. A special role in raising awareness and in formation belongs to the different groups present in civil society and to the non-governmental organizations which work with determination and generosity for the spread of ecological responsibility, responsibility which should be ever more deeply anchored in respect for “human ecology”. The media also have a responsibility in this regard to offer positive and inspiring models. In a word, concern for the environment calls for a broad global vision of the world; a responsible common effort to move beyond approaches based on selfish nationalistic interests towards a vision constantly open to the needs of all peoples. We cannot remain indifferent to what is happening around us, for the deterioration of any one part of the planet affects us all. Relationships between individuals, social groups and states, like those between human beings and the environment, must be marked by respect and “charity in truth”. In this broader context one can only encourage the efforts of the international community to ensure progressive disarmament and a world free of nuclear weapons, whose presence alone threatens the life of the planet and the ongoing integral development of the present generation and of generations yet to come.

12. The Church has a responsibility towards creation, and she considers it her duty to exercise that responsibility in public life, in order to protect earth, water and air as gifts of God the Creator meant for everyone, and above all to save mankind from the danger of self-destruction. The degradation of nature is closely linked to the cultural models shaping human coexistence: consequently, “when ‘human ecology’ is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits”.[27] Young people cannot be asked to respect the environment if they are not helped, within families and society as a whole, to respect themselves. The book of nature is one and indivisible; it includes not only the environment but also individual, family and social ethics.[28] Our duties towards the environment flow from our duties towards the person, considered both individually and in relation to others.

Hence I readily encourage efforts to promote a greater sense of ecological responsibility which, as I indicated in my Encyclical Caritas in Veritate, would safeguard an authentic “human ecology” and thus forcefully reaffirm the inviolability of human life at every stage and in every condition, the dignity of the person and the unique mission of the family, where one is trained in love of neighbour and respect for nature.[29] There is a need to safeguard the human patrimony of society. This patrimony of values originates in and is part of the natural moral law, which is the foundation of respect for the human person and creation.

13. Nor must we forget the very significant fact that many people experience peace and tranquillity, renewal and reinvigoration, when they come into close contact with the beauty and harmony of nature. There exists a certain reciprocity: as we care for creation, we realize that God, through creation, cares for us. On the other hand, a correct understanding of the relationship between man and the environment will not end by absolutizing nature or by considering it more important than the human person. If the Church’s magisterium expresses grave misgivings about notions of the environment inspired by ecocentrism and biocentrism, it is because such notions eliminate the difference of identity and worth between the human person and other living things. In the name of a supposedly egalitarian vision of the “dignity” of all living creatures, such notions end up abolishing the distinctiveness and superior role of human beings. They also open the way to a new pantheism tinged with neo-paganism, which would see the source of man’s salvation in nature alone, understood in purely naturalistic terms. The Church, for her part, is concerned that the question be approached in a balanced way, with respect for the “grammar” which the Creator has inscribed in his handiwork by giving man the role of a steward and administrator with responsibility over creation, a role which man must certainly not abuse, but also one which he may not abdicate. In the same way, the opposite position, which would absolutize technology and human power, results in a grave assault not only on nature, but also on human dignity itself.[30]

14. If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. The quest for peace by people of good will surely would become easier if all acknowledge the indivisible relationship between God, human beings and the whole of creation. In the light of divine Revelation and in fidelity to the Church’s Tradition, Christians have their own contribution to make. They contemplate the cosmos and its marvels in light of the creative work of the Father and the redemptive work of Christ, who by his death and resurrection has reconciled with God “all things, whether on earth or in heaven” (Col 1:20). Christ, crucified and risen, has bestowed his Spirit of holiness upon mankind, to guide the course of history in anticipation of that day when, with the glorious return of the Saviour, there will be “new heavens and a new earth” (2 Pet 3:13), in which justice and peace will dwell for ever. Protecting the natural environment in order to build a world of peace is thus a duty incumbent upon each and all. It is an urgent challenge, one to be faced with renewed and concerted commitment; it is also a providential opportunity to hand down to coming generations the prospect of a better future for all. May this be clear to world leaders and to those at every level who are concerned for the future of humanity: the protection of creation and peacemaking are profoundly linked! For this reason, I invite all believers to raise a fervent prayer to God, the all-powerful Creator and the Father of mercies, so that all men and women may take to heart the urgent appeal: If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation.

From the Vatican, 8 December 2009

BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

[1] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 198.
[2] Benedict XVI, Message for the 2008 World Day of Peace, 7.
[3] Cf. No.48.
[4] Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Paradiso, XXXIII, 145.
[5] Message for the 1990 World Day of Peace, 1.
[6] Apostolic Letter Octogesima Adveniens, 21.
[7] Message for the 1990 World Day of Peace, 10.
[8] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 32.
[9] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 295.
[10] Heraclitus of Ephesus (c. 535 – c. 475 B.C.), Fragment 22B124, in H. Diels-W. Kranz, Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, Weidmann, Berlin,1952, 6th ed.
[11] Cf. Benedict XVI,Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 48.
[12] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 37.
[13] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 50.
[14] Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 69.
[15] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 34.
[16] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 37.
[17] Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 467; cf. Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 17.
[18] Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 30-31, 43
[19] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 49.
[20] Ibid.
[21] Cf. Saint Thomas Aquinas, S. Th., II-II, q. 49, 5.
[22] Cf. No. 9.
[23] Cf. No. 8.
[24] Paul VI, Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, 43.
[25] Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 69.
[26] John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 36.
[27] Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 51.
[28] Cf. ibid., 15, 51.
[29] Cf. ibid., 28, 51, 61; John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Centesimus Annus, 38, 39.
[30] Cf. Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, 70.

Finally, some reason, sense, and fairness!

2009-12-29T03:39:00.000-08:00

Friend to the Jews

Pius XII's real wartime record

By GARY L. KRUPP

Last Updated: 3:33 AM, December 28, 2009

Posted: 1:03 AM, December 28, 2009

A recent papal decree moved Pope Pius XII, among others, closer to sainthood -- returning to the forefront the controversy over his role in World War II and the Holocaust.

Growing up Jewish in Queens, I never dreamt I would be defending the man I once believed to be a Nazi sympathizer and an anti-Semite. But my work since 2002 with my wife, Meredith, and the Pave the Way Foundation has led me to this point.

We founded Pave the Way to identify and eliminate nontheological obstacles between religions. Thus, despite our early prejudices, we decided to investigate the papacy of Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli), one of today's greatest sources of hurt between Jews and Catholics.

After years of research in documentary evidence and eyewitness testimony, what we found shocked us. We found nothing but praise and positive news articles concerning Pius' actions from every Jewish, Israeli and political leader of the era who lived through the war.

A few articles in the postwar era suggested that he should have done more to confront the Nazis -- but it wasn't until 1963, in the wake of the fictitious play "The Deputy" (written five years after Pius died), that accusations began flowing that he had failed to act, that he was a cold-hearted Nazi sympathizer who couldn't care less about the Jewish people.

The evidence strongly suggests this was part of a KGB-directed and -financed bid to smear Pius, a Soviet disinformation campaign meant to discredit the Catholic Church, which at that time was profoundly anti-Communist.

In any case, the facts simply don't match what so many have come to believe about Pius.

It is unquestionable that Pius XII intervened to save countless Jews at a time most nations -- even FDR's America -- refused to accept these refugees. He issued false baptismal papers and obtained visas for them to emigrate as "Non Aryan Catholic-Jews." He smuggled Jews into the Americas and Asia. He ordered the lifting of cloister for men and women to enter monasteries, convents and churches to hide 7,000 Jews of Rome in a single day.

Among the 5,000 pages of documents that Pave the Way has located, there is abundant evidence that Pacelli was a lifelong friend of the Jews. Some highlights:

* In 1917, at the request of World Zionist Organization Director Nachum Sokolow, Nuncio Pacelli intervened with the Germans to protect the Jews of Palestine from extermination by the Ottoman Turks.

* In 1925, Pacelli arranged for Sokolow to meet with Pope Benedict XV to discuss a Jewish homeland in Palestine.

* In 1930, Pacelli supported the German bishops' orders excommunicating anyone who joined "the Hitler Party."

* In 1938, Pacelli intervened to defeat a Polish anti-koshering law.

* In 1939, A.W. Klieforth, the US consul general based in Cologne, Germany, wrote a confidential letter to Washington reporting on the "extremeness" of Pacelli's hatred of National Socialism and of Hitler.

* In 1947, at the United Nations, he encouraged the 17 Catholic countries out of the 33 in favor to vote for the partitioning of Palestine to create the State of Israel.

* A 1948 deposition by Gen. Karl Wolff, the SS commandant for Italy, revealed the Nazis' wartime plan to kidnap the pope, kill countless cardinals and seize the Vatican.

But the personal tales may be more compelling. Pacelli's childhood best friend was Guido Mendes, an Orthodox Jewish boy. He tells how Pacelli shared Shabbat meals with him. Mendes taught him Hebrew, and Pacelli helped him to emigrate to Palestine in 1938.

Pius XII's detractors prefer to criticize rather than simply look at the evidence. Two years ago, Pope Benedict XVI ordered the opening of the Vatican's archives up to 1939, containing much evidence of Eugenio Pacelli's activities leading up to his papacy. According to the sign-in sheets, few of Pius' critics have bothered to come to the archives to view the material.

Pinchas Lapide, a Jewish historian, theologian and Israeli ambassador, stated that the actions and policies of Pius XII saved as many as 860,000 Jews.

Albert Einstein, Golda Meir, the chief rabbi of Palestine, the chief rabbi of Rome and the heads of every Jewish organization showered praise upon him during his lifetime.

Were all these witnesses who lived through the war misguided?

Gary L. Krupp is president of the Pave the Way Foundation, which has many of the documents noted here online at ptwf.org and which will soon publish a book with the main evidence in English, Hebrew, Spanish and French.

Taken from New York Post

Pope's 15th Century letter saved

2009-12-28T03:49:00.000-08:00

The document is one of six letters from the Pope setting up the university

Work to preserve a 15th Century letter from the Pope* founding the University of St Andrews has been completed.

The Bull of Foundation is one of a series of six letters from the Pope, sent in 1413, which brought the institution into existence.

It took experts three weeks to restore the Papal Bull, including surface cleaning, repairing edge tears and the realignment of the document's silk tag.

The document will now be able to be displayed to the public.

Experts from the University of Dundee's Book and Paper Conservation Studio worked on the document. The work cost £600.

Rachel Hart of the University of St Andrews said: "We are the custodians of a vital piece of evidence not only of the university's history but also of its place as an international seat of learning within the history of Scotland.

"The Bull of Foundation is an amazing document to see and I hope that with the 600th anniversary approaching, many may have the opportunity."

A school of higher studies was started in May 1410 in St Andrews before the "third oldest university in the English speaking world" was formally founded, a spokeswoman said.

The Bull of Foundation recognised the school as a properly constituted institution.

*Pope Benedict XIII

Taken from BBC News

Venerable Pius XII and the Nazis.

2009-12-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

“During the Nazi terror, When fearful martyrdom came to our people in the decade of Nazi terror, the voice of the Pope was raised for the victims. The life of our times was enriched by a voice speaking out on the great moral truths, above the tumult of daily conflict. We mourn a great servant of peace.” – Golda Meir, Israeli Prime Minister, in a cable to the Vatican expressing condolences at the death of Pius XII, 1958.

“The people of Israel will never forget what His Holiness and his illustrious delegates, inspired by the eternal principles of religion which form the very foundation of true civilization, are doing for our unfortunate brothers and sisters in the most tragic hour of our history, which is living proof of divine Providence in this world.” – Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog of Palestine, February 28, 1945.

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/popepius.htm

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/gratitude.htm

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/dalin.htm

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/ppius.htm

http://www.catholic.com/library/HOW_Pius_XII_PROTECTED_JEWS.asp

http://www.fisheaters.com/hitler.html

Pope's Christmas Message Urbi et Orbi

2009-12-26T12:23:00.000-08:00

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Rome and throughout the world, and all men and women, whom the Lord loves!

"Lux fulgebit hodie super nos, quia natus est nobis Dominus.

A light will shine on us this day, the Lord is born for us"
(Roman Missal, Christmas, Entrance Antiphon for the Mass at Dawn)

The liturgy of the Mass at Dawn reminded us that the night is now past, the day has begun; the light radiating from the cave of Bethlehem shines upon us.

The Bible and the Liturgy do not, however, speak to us about a natural light, but a different, special light, which is somehow directed to and focused upon "us", the same "us" for whom the Child of Bethlehem "is born". This "us" is the Church, the great universal family of those who believe in Christ, who have awaited in hope the new birth of the Saviour, and who today celebrate in mystery the perennial significance of this event.

At first, beside the manger in Bethlehem, that "us" was almost imperceptible to human eyes. As the Gospel of Saint Luke recounts, it included, in addition to Mary and Joseph, a few lowly shepherds who came to the cave after hearing the message of the Angels. The light of that first Christmas was like a fire kindled in the night. All about there was darkness, while in the cave there shone the true light "that enlightens every man" (Jn 1:9). And yet all this took place in simplicity and hiddenness, in the way that God works in all of salvation history. God loves to light little lights, so as then to illuminate vast spaces. Truth, and Love, which are its content, are kindled wherever the light is welcomed; they then radiate in concentric circles, as if by contact, in the hearts and minds of all those who, by opening themselves freely to its splendour, themselves become sources of light. Such is the history of the Church: she began her journey in the lowly cave of Bethlehem, and down the centuries she has become a People and a source of light for humanity. Today too, in those who encounter that Child, God still kindles fires in the night of the world, calling men and women everywhere to acknowledge in Jesus the "sign" of his saving and liberating presence and to extend the "us" of those who believe in Christ to the whole of mankind.

Wherever there is an "us" which welcomes God’s love, there the light of Christ shines forth, even in the most difficult situations. The Church, like the Virgin Mary, offers the world Jesus, the Son, whom she herself has received as a gift, the One who came to set mankind free from the slavery of sin. Like Mary, the Church does not fear, for that Child is her strength. But she does not keep him for herself: she offers him to all those who seek him with a sincere heart, to the earth’s lowly and afflicted, to the victims of violence, and to all who yearn for peace. Today too, on behalf of a human family profoundly affected by a grave financial crisis, yet even more by a moral crisis, and by the painful wounds of wars and conflicts, the Church, in faithful solidarity with mankind, repeats with the shepherds: "Let us go to Bethlehem" (Lk 2:15), for there we shall find our hope.

The "us" of the Church is alive in the place where Jesus was born, in the Holy Land, inviting its people to abandon every logic of violence and vengeance, and to engage with renewed vigour and generosity in the process which leads to peaceful coexistence. The "us" of the Church is present in the other countries of the Middle East. How can we forget the troubled situation in Iraq and the "little flock" of Christians which lives in the region? At times it is subject to violence and injustice, but it remains determined to make its own contribution to the building of a society opposed to the logic of conflict and the rejection of one’s neighbour. The "us" of the Church is active in Sri Lanka, in the Korean peninsula and in the Philippines, as well as in the other countries of Asia, as a leaven of reconciliation and peace. On the continent of Africa she does not cease to lift her voice to God, imploring an end to every injustice in the Democratic Republic of Congo; she invites the citizens of Guinea and Niger to respect for the rights of every person and to dialogue; she begs those of Madagascar to overcome their internal divisions and to be mutually accepting; and she reminds all men and women that they are called to hope, despite the tragedies, trials and difficulties which still afflict them. In Europe and North America, the "us" of the Church urges people to leave behind the selfish and technicist mentality, to advance the common good and to show respect for the persons who are most defenceless, starting with the unborn. In Honduras she is assisting in process of rebuilding institutions; throughout Latin America, the "us" of the Church is a source of identity, a fullness of truth and of charity which no ideology can replace, a summons to respect for the inalienable rights of each person and his or her integral development, a proclamation of justice and fraternity, a source of unity.

In fidelity to the mandate of her Founder, the Church shows solidarity with the victims of natural disasters and poverty, even within opulent societies. In the face of the exodus of all those who migrate from their homelands and are driven away by hunger, intolerance or environmental degradation, the Church is a presence calling others to an attitude of acceptance and welcome. In a word, the Church everywhere proclaims the Gospel of Christ, despite persecutions, discriminations, attacks and at times hostile indifference. These, in fact, enable her to share the lot of her Master and Lord.

Dear Brothers and Sisters, how great a gift it is to be part of a communion which is open to everyone! It is the communion of the Most Holy Trinity, from whose heart Emmanuel, Jesus, "God with us", came into the world. Like the shepherds of Bethlehem, let us contemplate, filled with wonder and gratitude, this mystery of love and light! Happy Christmas to all!

Taken from NLM

Pope gets accosted by "crazy" lady for Christmas.

2009-12-26T12:15:00.000-08:00

Article from NPR. See here.

Pope Benedict XVI appeared in good shape on Saturday as he addressed the faithful two days after a woman knocked him down at the start of Christmas Eve Mass.

Benedict spoke about the plight of persecuted Christians around the world and did not mention the incident in his message to a crowd gathered in a rainy St. Peter's Square.

On the day Christians commemorate St. Stephen, the church's first martyr, the pope remembered those who "undergo trials and suffering because of their faith" and urged prayers for them.

The 82-year-old pontiff was processing through St. Peter's Basilica on Thursday when a woman described by Vatican officials as mentally unstable jumped the barricades and pulled him to the ground as she was taken down by guards.

Benedict quickly got up and, though slightly rattled, continued with the Mass. The morning after, he delivered his traditional Christmas Day message.

While Benedict was unhurt in the tumble, a retired Vatican diplomat, French Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, fell and fractured his hip in the commotion.

The Vatican's spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said Saturday that the 87-year-old prelate would probably undergo surgery on Sunday.

"Visitors report that the cardinal is serene and in high spirits and that he offers his prayers for the pope and awaits with optimism the surgery," Lombardi said in a statement.

The Vatican identified the woman involved in Thursday night's incident as 25-year-old Susanna Maiolo, a Swiss-Italian national with psychiatric problems.

She remains in a clinic for treatment and Lombardi said she is still under Vatican jurisdiction. The city-state's judiciary will decide in the coming days whether to take further steps against her based on the reports from Vatican police and doctors, he said in the statement.

Maiolo was from in the Swiss town of Frauenfeld, where she spent two years at a residential home for people with psychiatric disorders and illnesses, said Rolf Kessler, director of the Wohngruppe Kanzler home.

Confirming reports in Swiss media, Kessler said Maiolo stayed there from July 2006 to July 2008 before moving into her own apartment.

Italy's ANSA news agency said the woman's family visited her Saturday afternoon at a hospital outside Rome where she is being held.

The incident raised fresh questions about security for the pontiff, especially after officials said Maiolo was the same person who had jumped the barriers at the 2008 Christmas Eve Mass in a failed bid to get to the pope. She even wore the same red hooded sweat shirt.

The Vatican has said it will review security procedures, while warning there will always be risks since the pope is regularly surrounded by tens of thousands of people for his weekly audiences, Masses, papal greetings and other events.

A blessed Christmas to you all!

2009-12-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

"Have a merry and blessed Christmas from Radical Papist Blog!"

Venerable Pope Pius XII Christmas Message of 1942.

My Dear Children of the Whole World:

As the Holy Christmas Season comes round each year, the message of Jesus, Who is light in the midst of darkness, echoes once more from the Crib of Bethlehem in the ears of Christians and re-echoes in their hearts with an ever new freshness of joy and piety. It is a message which lights up with heavenly truth a world that is plunged in darkness by fatal errors. It infuses exuberant and trustful joy into mankind, torn by the anxiety of deep, bitter sorrow. It proclaims liberty to the sons of Adam, shackled with the chains of sin and guilt. It promises mercy, love, peace to the countless hosts of those in suffering and tribulation who see their happiness Shattered and their efforts broken in the tempestuous strife and hate of our stormy days.

The church bells, which announce this message in every continent, not only recall the gift which God made to mankind at the dawn of the Christian Era; they also announce and proclaim a consoling reality of the present, a reality which is eternally young, living and life-giving; it is the reality of the "True Light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this World," and which knows no setting. The Eternal Word, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, began His mission of saving and redeeming the human race by being born in the squalor of a stable and by thus ennobling and hallowing poverty.

He thus proclaimed and consecrated a message which is still, today, the Word of Eternal Life. That message can solve the most tortuous questions, unsolved and insoluble for those who bring to their investigations a mentality and an apparatus which are ephemeral and merely human; and those questions stand up, bleeding, imperiously demanding an answer, before the thought and the feeling of embittered and exasperated mankind.

The watchword "I have compassion on the multitude" is for Us a sacred trust which may not be abused; it remains strong, and impelling in all times and in all human situations, as it was the distinguishing mark of Jesus.

The Church would be untrue to herself, ceasing to be a mother, if she turned a deaf ear to her children's anguished cries, which reach her from every class of the human family. She does not intend to take sides for any of the particular forms in which the several peoples and States strive to solve the gigantic problems of domestic order or international collaboration, as long as these forms conform to the law of God. But on the other hand, as the "Pillar and Ground of Truth" and guardian, by the will of God and the mandate of Christ, of the natural and supernatural order, the Church cannot renounce her right to proclaim to her sons and to the whole world the unchanging basic laws, saving them from every perversion, frustration, corruption, false interpretation and error.

This is all the more necessary for the fact that from the exact maintenance of these laws, and not merely by the effort of noble and courageous wills, depends in the last analysis the solidity of any national and international order, so fervently desired by all peoples. We know the qualities of courage and sacrifice of those peoples, and We also know their straitened conditions and their sorrow; and in this hour of unspeakable trial and strife We feel Ourselves bound to each and every one of them without exception, by a deep, all-embracing, unmovable affection, and by an immense desire to bring them every solace and help which is in any way at Our command.

Primary Elements of Social Life

In our last Christmas Message, We expounded the principles- which Christian thought suggests, for the establishment of an international order of friendly relations and collaboration such as to conform to the demands of God's Law. Today We shall, with the consent, We feel, and the interested attention of all upright men, pause to consider very carefully and with equal impartiality, the fundamental laws of the internal order of the States and peoples.

International relations and internal order are intimately related. International equilibrium and harmony depend on the internal equilibrium and development of the individual States in the material, social and intellectual spheres. A firm steady peace policy towards other nations is, in fact, impossible without a spirit of peace within the nation which inspires trust. It is only, then, by striving for an integral peace, a peace in both fields, that people will be freed from the cruel nightmare of war, and the material and psychological causes of further discord and disorder will be diminished in a desire for peace, and hence aims at attaining peace, that "tranquil living together in order" in which St. Thomas finds the essence of peace. Two primary elements, then, regulate social life, a living together in order, and a living together in tranquillity.

Order

Order, which is fundamental in an association of men (of beings, that is, who strive to attain an end appropriate to their nature) is not merely external linking up of parts which are numerically distinct. It is rather, and must be, a tendency and an ever more perfect approach to an internal union; and this does not exclude differences founded in fact and sanctioned by the will of God or by supernatural standard.

A clear understanding of the genuine fundamentals of all social life has a capital importance today as never before, when mankind, impregnated by the poison of error and social aberrations, tormented by the fever of discordant desires, doctrines, and aims, is excitedly tossing about in the disorder which it has itself created, and is experiencing the destructive force of false ideas that disregard the Law of God or are opposed to it. And since disorder can only be overcome by an order which is not merely superimposed and fictitious (just as darkness with its fearful and depressing effects can only be driven away by light and not by will o' the wisps); so security, reorganizations, progressive improvement cannot be expected and cannot be brought about unless by a return of large and influential sections to correct notions about security.

It is a return which calls for the Grace of God in large measure, and for a resolute will, ready and prepared for sacrifice on the part of good farseeing men. From these influential circles who are more capable of penetrating and appreciating the beauty of just social norms, there will pass on and infiltrate into the masses the clear knowledge of the true, divine, spiritual origin of social life. Thus the way will be cleared for the reawakening, the growth and fixing of those moral principles without which even the proudest achievements create but a Babel in which the citizens, though they live inside the same walls, speak different and incoherent languages.

From individual and social life we should rise to God, the First Cause and Ultimate Foundation, as He is the Creator of the first conjugal society, from which we have the society which is the family, and the society of peoples and of nations. As an image, albeit imperfect, of its Exemplar, the One and Triune God, Who through the Mystery of the Incarnation, redeemed and raised human nature, life in society, in its ideals and in its end, possesses by the light of reason and of revelation a moral authority and an absoluteness which transcend every temporal change. It has a power of attraction that, far from being weakened or lessened by delusions, errors, failures, draws irresistibly the noblest and most faithful souls to the Lord, to take up with renewed energy, with added knowledge, with new studies, methods and means, the enterprises which in other times and circumstances were tried in vain.

The origin and the primary scope of social life is the conservation, development and perfection of the human person, helping him to realize accurately the demands and values of religion and culture set by the Creator for every man and for all mankind, both as a whole and in its natural ramifications.

A social teaching or a social reconstruction program which denies or prescinds from this internal essential relation to God of everything that regards men, is on a false course; and while it builds up with one hand, it prepares with the other the materials which sooner or later will undermine and destroy the whole fabric. And when it disregards the respect due to the human person and to the life which is proper to that person, and gives no thought to it in its organization, in legislative and executive activity, then instead of serving society, it harms it; instead of encouraging and stimulating social thought, instead of realizing its hopes and expectations, it strips it of all real value and reduces it to a utilitarian formula which is openly rejected by constantly increasing groups.

If social life implies intrinsic unity, it does not, at the same time, exclude differences which are founded in fact and nature. When we hold fast to God, the Supreme Controller of all that relates to man, then the similarities no less than the differences of men find their allotted place in the fixed order of being, of values, and hence also of morality. When, however, this foundation is removed, there is a dangerous lack of cohesion in the various spheres of culture; the frontier of true value becomes uncertain and shifting, even to the point where mere external factors, and often blind instincts, come to determine, according to the prevalent fashion of the day, who is to have control of this or that direction.

After the fateful economy of the past decades, during which the lives of all citizens were subordinated to the stimulus of gain, there now succeeds another and no less fateful policy which, while it considers everybody with reference to the State, excludes all thought of ethics or religion. This is a fatal travesty, a fatal error. It is calculated to bring about far-reaching consequences for social life, which is never nearer to losing its noblest prerogatives than when it thinks it can deny or forget with impunity the external source of its own dignity: God.
Reason, enlightened by faith, assigns to individuals and to particular societies in the social organization a definite and exalted place. It knows, to mention only the most important, that the whole political and economic activity of the State is directed to the permanent realization of the common good.

In a conception of society which is pervaded and sanctioned by religious thought, the influence of economics and of every other sphere of cultural activity represents a universal and most exalted center of activity, very rich in its variety and coherent in its harmony, in which men's intellectual equality and diversity of occupation come into their own and secure adequate expression. When this is not so, work is depreciated and the worker is belittled.

That social life, such as God willed it, may attain its scope, it needs a juridical order to support it from without, to defend and protect it. The function of this juridical order is not to dominate but to serve, to help the development and increase of society's vitality in the rich multiplicity of its ends, leading all the individual energies to their perfection in peaceful completion, and defending them with appropriate and honest means against all that may militate against those who only by this means can be held within the noble discipline of social life. But in the just fulfillment of this right, an authority which is truly worthy of the name will always be painfully conscious of its responsibility in the sight of the Eternal Judge, before Whose Tribunal every wrong judgment, and especially every revolt against the order established by God, will receive without fail its sanction and its condemnation.

The precise, bedrock, basic rules that govern society cannot be prejudiced by the intervention of human agency. They can be denied, overlooked, despised, transgressed, but they can never be overthrown with legal validity. It is true indeed that, as time goes on, conditions of life change. But there is never a complete break or a complete discontinuity between the law of yesterday and that of today, between the disappearance of old powers and constitutions and the appearance of a new order. In any case, whatever be the change or transformation, the scope of every social life remains identical, sacred, obligatory; it is the development of the personal values of man as the image of God; and the obligation remains with every member of the human family to realize his unchangeable destiny, whosoever be the legislator and the authority whom he obeys.

In consequence, there always remains, too, his inalienable right, which no opposition can nullify—a right which must be respected by friend and foe—to a legal order and practice which appreciate and understand that it is their essential duty to serve the common good.
The juridical order has, besides, the high and difficult scope of insuring harmonious relations both between individuals and between societies, and within these. This scope will be reached if legislators will abstain from following those perilous theories and practices, so harmful to communities to their spirit of union, which derive their origin and promulgation from false postulates. Among such postulates We must count the juridical positivism which attributes a deceptive majesty to the setting up of purely human laws, and which leaves the way open for a fatal divorce of law from morality.

There is, besides, the conception which claims for particular nations, or classes, the juridical instinct as the final imperative and the norm from which there is no appeal; finally, there are those various theories which, differing among themselves, and deriving from opposite ideologies, agree in considering the State, or a group which represents it, as an absolute and supreme entity, exempt from control and from criticism even when its theoretical and practical postulates result in and offend by, their open denial of essential tenets of the human Christian conscience.
Anyone who considers with an open and penetrating mind the vital connection between social order and a genuine juridical order, and who is conscious of the fact that internal order in all its complexity depends on the predominance of spiritual forces, on the respect of human dignity in oneself and in others, on the love of society and of its God-given ends, cannot wonder at the sad effects of juridical conceptions which, far from the royal road of truth, proceed on the insecure ground of materialistic postulates. But he will realize at once the urgent need of a return to a conception of law which is spiritual and ethical, serious and profound, vivified by the warmth of true humanity and illumined by the splendor of the Christian Faith, which bids us seek in the juridical order an outward refraction of the social order willed by God, a luminous product of the spirit of man which is in turn the image of the Spirit of God.

On this organic conception which alone is living, in which the noblest humanity and the most genuine Christian spirit flourish in harmony, there is marked the Scripture thought, expounded by the great Aquinas: —The work of justice shall be peace—a thought which is applicable to the internal as to the external aspect of social life. It admits of neither contrast nor alternative such as expressed in the disjunction, love or right, but of the fruitful synthesis, love and right. In the one as in the other, since both radiate from the same Spirit of God, We read the program and the seal of the human spirit; they complement one another, give each other life and support, walk hand in hand along the road of concord and pacification, while right clears the way for love and love makes right less stern, and gives it a higher meaning. Both elevate human life to that social atmosphere where, even amid the failings, the obstacles and the difficulties of this earth a fraternal community of life is made possible.

But once let the baneful spirit of materialist ideas predominate; let the urge for power and for predominance take in its rough hands the direction of affairs; you shall then find its disruptive effects appearing daily in greater measure; you shall see love and justice disappear; all this as the sad foretaste of the catastrophes that menace society when it abandons God.

Tranquillity

The second fundamental element of peace, towards which every human society tends almost instinctively, is tranquillity.

O blessed tranquillity, thou has nothing in common with the spirit of holding fixedly and obstinately, unrelenting and with childish stubbornness, to things as they are; nor yet with the reluctance—child of cowardice and selfishness—to put one's mind to the solution of problems and questions which the passage of time and the succession of generations, with their different needs and progress, make actual, and bring up a burning question of the day. But for a Christian who is conscious of his responsibilities even towards the least of his brethren, there is no such thing as slothful tranquillity; nor is there question of flight, but of struggle, of action against every inaction and desertion in the great spiritual combat where the stakes are the construction, nay the very soul, of the society of tomorrow.

In the mind of Aquinas, tranquillity and feverish activity are not opposed, but rather form a well-balanced pair for him who is inspired by the beauty and the urgency of the spiritual foundations of society, and of the nobility of its ideals. To you, young people, who are wont to turn your back on the past, and to rely on the future for your aspirations and your hopes, We address Ourselves with ardent love and fatherly anxiety; enthusiasm and courage do not of themselves suffice, if they be not, as they should be, placed in the service of good and of a spotless cause. It is vain to agitate, to weary yourselves, to bustle about without ever resting. You must be inspired with the conviction that you are fighting for truth, that you are sacrificing in the cause of truth your own tastes and energies wishes, and sacrifices; that you are fighting for the eternal laws of God, for the dignity of the human person, and for the attainment of its destiny.

When mature men and young men, while remaining always at anchor, in the sea of the eternally active tranquillity of God, coordinate their differences of temperament and activity in a genuine Christian spirit, then if the propelling element is joined to the refraining element, the natural differences between the generations will never become dangerous, and will even conduce vigorously to the enforcement of the eternal laws of God in the changing course of times and of conditions of life.

In one field of social life, where for a whole century there was agitation and bitter conflict, there is today a calm, at least on the surface. We speak of the vast and ever growing world of labor, of the immense army of workers, of breadwinners and dependents. If we consider the present with its wartime exigencies, as an admitted fact, then this calm may be called a necessary and reasonable demand; but if we look at the present situation in the light of justice, and with reference to a legitimately regulated labor movement, then the tranquillity will remain only apparent, until the scope of such a movement be attained.

Always moved by religious motives, the Church has condemned the various forms of Marxist Socialism; and she condemns them today, because it is her permanent right and duty to safeguard men from currents as thought and influences that jeopardize their external salvation. But the Church cannot ignore or overlook the fact that the worker in his efforts to better his lot, is opposed by a machinery which is not only not in accordance with nature, but is at variance with God's plan and with the purpose He had in creating the goods of earth.

In spite of the fact that the ways they followed were and are false and to be condemned, what man, and especially what priest or Christian, could remain deaf to the cries that rise from the depths and call for justice and a spirit of brotherly collaboration in a world ruled by a just God? Such silence would be culpable and unjustifiable before God, and contrary to the inspired teaching of the Apostle, who, while he inculcates the need of resolution in the fight against error, also knows that we must be full of sympathy for those who err, and open-minded in our understanding of their aspirations, hopes and motives.

When He blessed our first parents, God said: "Increase and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it." And to the first father of a family, He said later: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread." The dignity of the human person, then, requires normally as a natural foundation of life the right to the use of the goods of the earth. To this right corresponds the fundamental obligation to grant private ownership of property, if possible, to all. Positive legislation regulating private ownership may change and more or less restrict its use. But if legislation is to play its part in the pacification of the community, it must prevent the worker, who is or will be a father of a family, from being condemned to an economic dependence and slavery which is irreconcilable with his rights as a person. Whether this slavery arises from the exploitation of private capital or from the power of the state, the result is the same. Indeed, under the pressure of a State which dominates all and controls the whole field of public and private life, even going into the realm of ideas and beliefs and of conscience, this lack of liberty can have the more serious consequences, as experience shows and proves.

Five Points for Ordering Society

Anyone who considers in the light of reason and of faith the foundations and the aims of social life, which we have traced in broad outline, and contemplates them in their purity and moral sublimity, and in their benefits in every sphere of life, cannot but be convinced of the powerful contribution to order and pacification which efforts directed towards great ideals and resolved to face difficulties, could present, or better, could restore to a world which is internally unhinged, when once they had thrown down the intellectual and juridical barriers, created by prejudice, errors, indifferences, and by a long tradition of secularization of thought, feeling, action which succeeded in detaching and subtracting the early city from the light and force of the City of God. Today, as never before, the hour has come for reparation, for rousing the conscience of the world from the heavy torpor into which the drugs of false ideas, widely diffused, have sunk it. This is all the more so because in this hour of material and moral disintegration the appreciation of the emptiness and inconsistency of every purely human order is beginning to disillusion even those who, in days of apparent happiness, were not conscious of the need of contact with the eternal in themselves or in society, and did not look upon its absence as an essential defect in their constitutions. What was clear to the Christian, who in his deeply founded faith was pained by the ignorance of others, is now presented to us in dazzling clearness by the din of appalling catastrophe which the present upheaval brings to man and which portrays all the terrifying lineaments of a general judgment even for the tepid, the indifferent, the frivolous. It is indeed, an old truth which comes out in ever new forms and thunders through the ages and through the nations from the mouth of the Prophet: "All that forsake thee shall be confounded; they who depart from thee, shall be written in the earth; because they have forsaken the Lord, the Vein of Living Waters."

The call of the moment is not lamentation but action; not lamentation over what has been, but reconstruction of what is to arise and must arise for the good of society. It is for the best and most distinguished members of the Christian family, filled with the enthusiasm of Crusaders, to unite in the spirit of truth, justice and love to the call; God wills it, ready to serve, to sacrifice themselves, like the Crusaders of old.

If the issue was then the liberation of the land hallowed by the life of the Incarnate Word of God, the call today is, if We may so express Ourselves, to traverse the sea of errors of our day and to march on to free the holy land of the spirit, which is destined to sustain in its foundations the unchangeable norms and laws on which will rise a social construction of solid internal consistency. With this lofty purpose before Us, We turn from the crib of the Prince of Peace, confident that His grace is diffused in all hearts, to you, beloved children, who recognized and adore in Christ your Savior; We turn to all those who are united with Us at least by the bond of faith in God; We turn, finally to all those who would be free of doubt and error, and who desire light and guidance; and We exhort you with suppliant paternal insistence not only to realize fully the dreadful gravity of this hour, but also to meditate upon the vistas of good and supernatural benefit which it opens up, and to unite and collaborate towards the renewal of society in spirit and truth.

The essential aim of this necessary and holy crusade is that the Star of Peace, the Star of Bethlehem, may shine out again over the whole mankind in all its brilliant splendor and reassuring consolation as a pledge and augury of a future better, more fruitful and happier. It is true that the road from night to full day will be long; but of decisive importance are the first steps on the path, the first five mile-stones of which bear chiseled on them the following maxims:

1. Dignity of the Human Person. He who would have the Star of Peace shine out and stand over society should cooperate, for his part, in giving back to the human person the dignity given to it by God from the very beginning; should oppose the excessive herding of men, as if they were a mass without a soul; their economic, social, political, intellectual and moral inconsistency; their dearth of solid principles and strong convictions, their surfeit of instinctive sensible excitement and their fickleness.

He should favor, by every lawful means, in every sphere of life, social institutions in which a full personal responsibility is assured and guaranteed both in the early and the eternal order of things. He should uphold respect for and the practical realization of the following fundamental personal rights; the right to maintain and develop one's corporal, intellectual and moral life and especially the right to religious formation and education; the right to worship God in private and public and to carry on religious works of charity; the right to marry and to achieve the aim of married life; the right to conjugal and domestic society; the right to work, as the indispensable means towards the maintenance of family life; the right to free choice of state of life, and hence, too, of the priesthood or religious life; the right to the use of material goods; in keeping with his duties and social limitations

2. Defense of Social Unity. He who would have the Star of Peace shine out and stand over society should reject every form of materialism which sees in the people only a herd of individuals who, divided and without any internal cohesion, are considered as a mass to be forded over and treated arbitrarily; he should strive to understand society as an intrinsic unity, which has grown up and matured under the guidance of Providence, a unity which within the bounds assigned to it and according to its own peculiar gifts—tends, with the collaboration of the various classes and professions, towards the eternal and ever new aims of culture and religion.

He should defend the indissolubility of matrimony; he should give to the family—that unique cell of the people—space, light and air so that it may attend to its mission of perpetuating new life, and of educating children in a spirit corresponding to its own true religious convictions, and that it may preserve, fortify and reconstitute, according to its powers, its proper economic, spiritual, moral and juridic unity. He should take care that the material and spiritual advantages of the family be shared by the domestic servants; he should strive to secure for every family a dwelling where a materially and morally healthy family life may be seen in all its vigor and worth; he should take care that the place of work be not so separated from the home as to make the head of the family and educator of the children a virtual stranger to his own household; he should take care above all that the bond of trust and mutual help should be reestablished between the family and the public school, that bond which in other times gave such happy results, but which now has been replaced by mistrust where the school, influenced and controlled by the spirit of materialism, corrupts and destroys what the parents have instilled into the minds of the children.

3. Dignity of Labor. He who would have the Star of Peace shine out and stand over society should give to work the place assigned to it by God from the beginning. As an indispensable means towards gaining over the world that mastery which God wishes, for His glory, all work has an inherent dignity and at the same time a close connection with the perfection of the person; this is the noble dignity and privilege of work which is not any way cheapened by the fatigue and the burden, which have to be borne as the effect of original sin, in obedience and submission to the will of God.

Those who are familiar with the great Encyclicals of Our predecessors and Our Own previous messages know well that the Church does not hesitate to draw the practical conclusions which are derived from the moral nobility of work, and to give them all the support of her authority. These exigencies include, besides a just wage which covers the needs of the worker and his family, the conservation and perfection of a social order which will make possible an assured, even if modest, private property for all classes of society, which will promote higher education for the children of the working class who are especially endowed with intelligence and good will, will promote the care and the practice of the social spirit in one's immediate neighborhood, in the district, the province, the people and the nation, a spirit which, by smoothing over friction arising from privileges or class interests, removes from the workers the sense of isolation through the assuring experience of a genuinely human, and fraternally Christian, solidarity.
The progress and the extent of urgent social reforms depend on the economic possibilities of single Nations. It is only through an intelligent and generous sharing of forces between the strong and the weak that it will be possible to effect a universal pacification in such wise as not to leave behind centers of conflagration and infection from which new disasters may come. There are evident signs which go to show that, in the ferment of all the prejudices and feelings of hate, those inevitable but lamentable offspring of the war psychosis, there is still aflame in the people the consciousness of their intimate mutual dependence for good or for evil, nay, that this consciousness is more alive and active. It is not true that deep thinkers see ever more clearly in the renunciation of egoism and national isolation, the way to general salvation, ready as they are to demand of their peoples, a heavy participation in the sacrifices necessary for social well-being in other peoples?

May this Christmas Message of Ours, addressed to all those who are animated by a good and generous heart, encourage and increase the legions of these social crusades in every nation. And may God deign to give to their peaceful cause the victory of which their noble enterprise is worthy.

4. The Rehabilitation of Juridical Order. He who would have the Star of Peace shine out and stand over social life should collaborate towards a complete rehabilitation of the juridical order. The juridic sense of today is often altered and overturned by the profession and the practice of positivism and a utilitarianism which are subjected and bound to the service of determined groups, classes and movements, whose programs direct and determine the course of legislation and the practices of the courts. The cure of this situation becomes feasible when we awaken again the consciousness of a juridical order resting on the supreme dominion of God, and safeguarded from all human whims; a consciousness of an order which stretches forth its arm, in protection or punishment, over the unforgettable rights of man and protects them against the attacks of every human power.

From the juridic order, as willed by God, flows man's inalienable right to juridical security, and by this very fact to a definite sphere of rights, immune from all arbitrary attack. The relations of man to man, of the individual to society, to authority, to civil duties; the relations of society and of authority to the individual, should be placed on a firm juridic footing and be guarded, when the need arises, by the authority of the courts. This supposes:

a) A tribunal and a judge who take their directions from a clearly formulated and defined right.

b) Clear juridical norms which may not be overturned by unwarranted appeals to a supposed popular sentiment or by merely utilitarian considerations.

c) The recognition of the principle that even the State and the functionaries and organizations depend on it are obliged to repair and to withdraw measures which are harmful to the liberty, property, honor, progress of health of the individuals.

5. Christian Conception of the State. He who would have the Star of Peace shine out and stand over human society should cooperate towards the setting up of a State conception and practice founded on reasonable discipline, exalted kindliness and responsible Christian spirit. He should help to restore the State and its power to the service of human society, to the full recognition of the respect due to the human person and his efforts to attain his eternal destiny. He should apply and devote himself to dispelling the errors which aim at causing the State and its authority to deviate from the path of morality, at severing them from the eminently ethical bond which links them to individual and social life, and at making them deny or in practice ignore their essential dependence on the will of the Creator. He should work for the recognition and diffusion of the truth which teaches, even in matters of this world, that the deepest meaning, the ultimate moral basis and the universal validity of "reigning" lies in "serving."

Postwar Renovation of Society

Beloved Children, may God grant that while you listen to Our voice your heart may be profoundly stirred and moved by the deeply felt seriousness, the loving solicitude, the unremitting insistence, with which We drive home these thoughts, which are meant as an appeal to the conscience of the world, and a rallying-cry to all those who are ready to ponder and weigh the grandeur of their mission and responsibility by the vastness of this universal disaster.
A great part of mankind, and, let Us not shirk from saying it, not a few who call themselves Christians, have to some extent their share in the collective responsibility for the growth of error and for the harm and the lack of moral fiber in the society of today.

What is this world war, with all its attendant circumstances, whether they be remote or proximate causes, its progress and material, legal and moral effects? What is it but the crumbling process, not expected, perhaps, by the thoughtless but seen and depreciated by those whose gaze penetrated into the realities of a social order which hid its mortal weakness and its unbridled lust for gain and power? That which in peace-time lay coiled up, broke loose at the outbreak of war in a sad succession of acts at variance with the human and Christian sense. International agreements to make war less inhuman by confining it to the combatants to regulate the procedure of occupation and imprisonment of the conquered remained in various places a dead letter. And who can see the end of this progressive demoralization of the people, who can wish to watch helplessly this disastrous progress? Should they not rather, over the ruins of a social order which has given such tragic proof of its ineptitude as a factor for the good of the people, gather together the hearts of all those who are magnanimous and upright, in the solemn vow not to rest until in all peoples and all nations of the earth a vast legion shall be formed of those handfuls of men who, bent on bringing back society to its center of gravity, which is the law of God, aspire to the service of the human person and of his common life ennobled in God.

Mankind owes that vow to the countless dead who lie buried on the field of battle: The sacrifice of their lives in the fulfillment of their duty is a holocaust offered for a new and better social order. Mankind owes that vow to the innumerable sorrowing host of mothers, widows and orphans who have seen the light, the solace and the support of their lives wrenched from them. Mankind owes that vow to those numberless exiles whom the hurricane of war has torn from their native land and scattered in the land of the stranger; who can make their own the lament of the Prophet: "Our inheritance is turned to aliens; our house to strangers." Mankind owes that vow to the hundreds of thousands of persons who, without any fault on their part, sometimes only because of their nationality or race, have been consigned to death or to a slow decline. Mankind owes that vow to the many thousands of non-combatants, women, children, sick and aged, from whom aerial war-fare—whose horrors we have from the beginning frequently denounced—has without discrimination or through inadequate precautions, taken life, goods, health, home, charitable refuge, or house of prayer. Mankind owes that vow to the flood of tears and bitterness, to the accumulation of sorrow and suffering, emanating from the murderous ruin of the dreadful conflict and crying to Heaven to send down the Holy Spirit to liberate the world from the inundation of violence and terror.

And where could you with greater assurance and trust and with more efficacious faith place this vow for the renewal of society than at the foot of the "Desired of all Nations" Who lies before us in the crib with all the charm of His sweet humanity as a Babe, but also in the dynamic attraction of His incipient mission as Redeemer? Where could this noble and holy crusade for the cleaning and renewal of society have a more significant consecration or find a more potent inspiration than at Bethlehem, where the new Adam appears in the adorable mystery of the Incarnation? For it is at His fountains of truth and grace that mankind should find the water of life if it is not to perish in the desert of this life; "Of His fullness we all have received." His fullness of grace and truth cows as freely today as it has for twenty centuries on the world.

His light can overcome the darkness, the rays of His love can conquer the icy egoism which holds so many back from becoming great and conspicuous in their higher life. To you, crusader-volunteers of a distinguished new society, live up to the new call for moral and Christian rebirth, declare war on the darkness which comes from deserting God, of the coolness that comes from strife between brothers. It is a fight for the human race, which is gravely ill and must be healed in the name of conscience ennobled by Christianity.

May Our blessing and Our paternal good wishes and encouragement go with your generous enterprise, and may they remain with all those who do not shirk hard sacrifices—those weapons which are more potent than any steel to combat the evil from which society suffers. Over your crusade for a social, human and Christian ideal may there shine out as a consolation and an inspiration the star that stands over the Grotto of Bethlehem, the first and the perennial star of the Christian Era. From the sign of it every faithful heart drew, draws and ever will draw strength; "If armies in camp should stand against me, my heart shall not fear." Where that star shines, there is Christ. "With Him for leader we shall not wander; through Him let us go to Him, that with the Child that is born today we may rejoice forever."

Twas the night before Christmas...

2009-12-24T13:30:00.001-08:00

Come, thou Redeemer of the earth,

Come, testify thy Virgin-birth:

All lands admire, all times applaud:

Such is the birth that fits a God.

Note of the Holy See Press Office concerning the decree on the heroic virtues of Pius XII

2009-12-23T07:01:00.000-08:00

"The Pope's signing of the decree 'on the heroic virtues' of Pius XII has elicited a certain number of reactions in the Jewish world; perhaps because the meaning of such a signature is clear in the area of the Catholic Church and of specialists in the field, but may merit certain explanation for the larger public, in particular the Jewish public who are understandably very sensitive to all things concerning the historical period of World War II and the Holocaust."

"When the Pope signs a decree 'on the heroic virtues' of a Servant of God - i.e., of a person for whom a cause for beatification has been introduced - he confirms the positive evaluation already voted by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. ... Naturally, such evaluation takes account of the circumstances in which the person lived, and hence it is necessary to examine the question from a historical standpoint, but the evaluation essentially concerns the witness of Christian life that the person showed (his intense relationship with God and continuous search for evangelical perfection) ... and not the historical impact of all his operative decisions".

"At the beatification of Pope John XXIII and of Pope Pius IX, John Paul II said: 'holiness lives in history and no saint has escaped the limits and conditioning which are part of our human nature. In beatifying one of her sons, the Church does not celebrate the specific historical decisions he may have made, but rather points to him as someone to be imitated and venerated because of his virtues, in praise of the divine grace which shines resplendently in them'.

"There is, then, no intention in any way to limit discussion concerning the concrete choices made by Pius XII in the situation in which he lived. For her part, the Church affirms that these choices were made with the pure intention of carrying out the Pontiff's service of exalted and dramatic responsibility to the best of his abilities. In any case, Pius XII's attention to and concern for the fate of the Jews - something which is certainly relevant in the evaluation of his virtues - are widely testified and recognised, also by many Jews."

"The field for research and evaluation by historians, working in their specific area, thus remains open, also for the future. In this specific case it is comprehensible that there should be a request to have open access to all possibilities of research on the documents. ... Yet for the complete opening of the archives - as has been said on a number of occasions in the past - it is necessary to organise and catalogue an enormous mass of documentation, something which still requires a number of years' work."

"As for the fact that the decree on the heroic virtues of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XII were promulgated on the same day, this does not mean that from now on the two causes will be 'paired'. They are completely independent of one another and each will follow its own course. There is, then, no reason to imagine that any future beatification will take place together".

"It is, then, clear that the recent signing of the decree is in no way to be read as a hostile act towards the Jewish people, and it is to be hoped that it will not be considered as an obstacle on the path of dialogue between Judaism and the Catholic Church. Rather we trust that the Pope's forthcoming visit to the Synagogue of Rome will be an opportunity for the cordial reiteration and reinforcement of ties of friendship and respect".

Taken from Rorate Caeli

DECLARATION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE FIGURE OF THE POPE

2009-12-20T23:43:00.000-08:00

"Recent years have witnessed a great increase of affection and esteem for the person of the Holy Father. There has also been a desire to use the Pope’s name in the title of universities, schools or cultural institutions, as well as associations, foundations and other groups.

In light of this fact, the Holy See hereby declares that it alone has the right to ensure the respect due to the Successors of Peter, and, therefore, to protect the figure and personal identity of the Pope from the unauthorized use of his name and/or the papal coat of arms for ends and activities which have little or nothing to do with the Catholic Church. Occasionally, in fact, attempts have been made to attribute credibility and authority to initiatives by using ecclesiastical or papal symbols and logos.

Consequently, the use of anything referring directly to the person or office of the Supreme Pontiff (his name, his picture or his coat of arms), and/or the use of the title "Pontifical", must receive previous and express authorization from the Holy See."

Taken from here.

Well this directly regards my blog. Does anyone have an idea as to how to obtain authorization from the Holy See?

Perhaps the visitor from the Vatican can help me out?

Venerable Pius XII to be beatified, as well as Pope John Paul II

2009-12-20T23:37:00.000-08:00

"The Pope today authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decrees recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servants of God Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) and John Paul II (Karol Wojtyła). The recognition of a miracle is the only step needed for a beatification."

Taken from Rorate Caeli.

Apostolic Visitation?

2009-12-20T08:33:00.000-08:00

Hmmm...It appears my humble little blog had a vistor from the Vatican.

Nice.

Scroll to the bottom of the blog and click on the image of the world map with little red dots. That will open another window with the number of vistors that have visited my blog, as well as stating which country they came from. You will see I had 1 (so far!) visitor from the Vatican.

God bless.

Benedict to expedite sainthood process for Pope John Paul II

2009-12-18T14:46:00.000-08:00

"Pope John Paul II is not my favourite Pope by far...Speaking as a "traditionalist" Catholic that is. However, it is not for me to decide who gets canonized or not. I will post later some reasons why I am not a fan of Pope John Paul "the Great" as some over zealous Catholics call him already..."

Rome, Italy (CNN) -- Pope Benedict XVI is expected to sign a decree on Saturday that will put his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, a step closer to sainthood.

The Diocese of Rome's press office said Friday that the pontiff is expected to approve the "heroic virtues" of John Paul II and then declare him "venerable."

A miracle attributed to his intervention will have to be verified for the late pope to be declared "blessed," or beatified.

A second miracle would have to be confirmed for him to then be officially canonized, or made a saint.

John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, at age 84. Several months after his death, his successor said he had dispensed with rules that normally impose a five-year waiting period before beatification.

The rule is intended to allow time for evidence and witnesses supporting the sainthood cause to be prepared, as well as to wait for emotions to dissipate after death.

But John Paul himself set a precedent in 1999 when he granted a dispensation and let Mother Teresa's sainthood cause begin two years after her death.

Pope says even scholars must be humble enough to worship baby Jesus

2009-12-18T02:40:00.001-08:00

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI said he knows it is tempting for a university student or professor to resist being humble enough to approach the baby Jesus with awe.

But the Christmas manger is precisely where "each one of us can discover the truth about God and about the human person, about ourselves," the Pope told Rome university students and professors Dec. 17 as he celebrated evening prayer with them in St. Peter's Basilica.

Humanity encounters God "in that Baby, born of the Virgin," the Pope said. "The human yearning for eternal life softened the Heart of God, Who was not ashamed to take on the human condition."

But, he said, too many people -- in Jesus' time as well as today -- are ashamed to adopt the humility needed to recognize and accept God's love.

Pope Benedict's homily focused on the "O Antiphon" for the day's celebration of evening prayer: "O Wisdom of our God Most High, guiding creation with power and love: come to teach us the path of knowledge."

He told the students and professors that "the Christian paradox consists precisely in identifying divine wisdom -- the eternal word -- with the man Jesus of Nazareth and his story."

Whether studying math or science or art history or literature, a truly Christian scholar conducts all of his or her research trying to catch the glimpses of divine wisdom present in everything, the Pope said.

"I cannot avoid making a reflection that might be a bit uncomfortable, but useful for those of us who are here and mostly belong to an academic environment," said the Pope, who was a university professor.

"On Christmas night, who was at the grotto in Bethlehem?" the Pope asked. "Who ran to see Him, recognized Him and adored Him? Not the doctors of the law, the scribes or the wise. Mary and Joseph were there, and the shepherds."

The fact that God chose to reveal the Saviour to the meek and humble does not mean there is anything wrong with studying, the Pope said. It simply means that even while pursuing knowledge, Christians must maintain the attitude of "the little ones: a humble and simple spirit."

At the end of the service, a delegation of Australian university students passed over to a delegation of African university students and icon of Mary, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom. The icon will travel to different universities in Africa before being taken to Madrid, Spain, for World Youth Day 2011.

Pope Reaches Out to Cyber Youth With YouTube, Tupac, Podcasts

2009-12-17T04:41:00.000-08:00

By Chiara Remondini and Flavia Krause-Jackson

Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Pope Benedict XVI, who at 82 still handwrites his speeches rather than use a computer, is tapping YouTube, MySpace and podcasts to lure disenchanted youth into the Church’s fold.

Reaching out to the cyber-faithful, he this year debuted on YouTube, Google Inc.’s video-sharing site, and has a MySpace playlist that includes a rap song by Tupac Shakur. His midnight Christmas Mass next week will be podcast, and for the first time ever a Webcam will broadcast the Pope’s appearances from his apartment window overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“New media will be increasingly important for the Church and the Pope himself has said the Internet is a tool,” Don Paolo Padrini, 36, a priest in the northern Italian village of Stazzano, said in an interview. “It demonstrates the Church isn’t afraid of technology and is keeping up with the times.”

Pope Benedict, who was elected in April 2005, is looking for ways to reach out to the young amid a decline in church attendance and following. Catholics were overtaken for the first time last year by the world’s 1.1 billion Muslims, according to the Vatican Statistical Yearbook. Attendance at Mass in the U.S. fell to 25 percent in 2002 from 75 percent in 1965, according to “Index of Leading Catholic Indicators: The Church since Vatican II” by Kenneth C. Jones.

“The new digital arena, the so-called cyberspace, allows (people) to encounter and to know each other’s traditions and values,” the Pope said in a May speech. It’s for “young people, who have an almost spontaneous affinity for the new means of communication to take on the responsibility for the evangelization of this ‘digital continent,’” he said.

‘Theoblogical’ Revolution

At least 100 people, including reporters and technicians, contribute to the Holy See’s Web efforts, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. From the www.pope2you.net Web site people can send Pope Benedict Christmas wishes. They can download a Facebook Inc. application that lets them listen to the Pope’s words, see his pictures and receive greetings from him through virtual postcards.

Religion-related Web sites, smart-phone applications including liturgies, groups on Twitter Inc. and other social networks and even a cross-shaped USB key are among signs people want to share ideas on their faith, nun Maria Trigila, one of the contributors to the book “Publishing, Media and Religion,” said in an interview.

“Religion-related Web sites are spreading like wildfire,” said Trigila. “We’re facing a ‘theoblogical’ revolution. The Church believes technology is one of the keystones for the future.”

Youth Trends

The Vatican, the world’s smallest state and home to the Pope, has flip-flopped between embracing new technologies and traditions, seeking to reach out to young generations without estranging older churchgoers.

In 2007, the Pope lifted a ban on celebrating Latin Mass in an effort to heal a 40-year-old spat with traditionalists, while a year later he took the online pseudonym ‘Bxvi’ in his first foray into Catholic forums in Internet chat rooms.

Emerging “spiritual” trends among young people include listening to religious podcasts, watching online videos and visiting Web sites of their churches, according to a February study by Ventura, California-based Barna Research Group.

Padrini, the Stazzano priest, set up a Webcam in his parish to broadcast Mass and had to open a second account on Facebook after reaching 5,000 friends.

‘Holy Trivia’

Padrini also masterminded iBreviary, an application for Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Research In Motion Ltd.’s Blackberry and other mobile phones with computer capabilities. He teamed up with Web developer Dimitri Giani to create an application containing hymns, psalms and prayers prescribed for each day, in five languages. It was the first application to obtain the Vatican’s approval, Giani said.

“Younger generations go to the Internet to get what they need,” Padrini said.

Giani is working on “Holy Trivia,” a video game with quizzes on the Bible and religious matters to approach the sacred texts in an “instructive and enjoyable” way. He said he plans to submit the video-game application to Apple for approval in coming weeks.

“Demand for iPhone applications is very high, but in the religion field there is still a lot to do,” Giani said.

The Web 2.0, or the second generation of the World Wide Web focusing on interactive and shareable content, may foster new links with the faithful.

Digital Rosary

The digital rosary, where a leading voice accompanies the recitation of the prayer, was unveiled last month and presented as the social network of prayer.

“A year ago, the electronic rosary was developed, a small device that even I carry with me in the car,” Archbishop Giovanni Tonucci said in a statement. “It was a success, so we decided to open up to new horizons through mobile phones.”

Barcelona-based industrial designer Gerard Moline developed the USB lab, which has the double functionality of a cross and key drive and “symbolizes the adaptation to the social and cultural changes in the information age,” he said.

The Vatican’s efforts to tap digital technologies go back to the 1990s. As his health began to fail, Pope John Paul II started the official Vatican Web site in 1995 and sent text messages to Catholic subscribers to his weekly Angelus prayer. The late pontiff also called the Internet a tool to “promote justice and solidarity.”

The Vatican’s Internet TV channel, meanwhile, offers “news coverage of the main activities of the Holy Father and Vatican events” and has 19,600 subscribers and more than 2.1 million total video views, according to the Web site.

“You must find new ways to spread voices and images of hope through the ever evolving communication system that surrounds our planet,” Pope Benedict said this year.

Taken from Bloomberg

Modifications to the Code of Canon Law

2009-12-17T02:05:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, 15 DEC 2009 (VIS) - Made public today was Benedict XVI's Motu Proprio, "Omnium in mentem" [in Italian]. The document is dated 26 October 2009 and contains two variations to the Code of Canon Law (CIC), variations which have long been the object of study by dicasteries of the Roman Curia and by national episcopal conferences.

The document published today contains five articles modifying canons 1008, 1009, 1086, 1117 and 1124. According to an explanatory note by Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, these variations "concern two separate questions: adapting the text of the canons that define the ministerial function of deacons to the relative text in the Catechism of the Catholic church (1581), and suppressing a subordinate clause in three canons concerning marriage, which experience has shown to be inappropriate".

The variation to the text of canon 1008 will now limit itself to affirming that "those who receive the Sacrament of Orders are destined to serve the People of God with a new and specific title", while canon 1009 "will be given an additional third paragraph in which it is specified that the minister constituted into the Order of the episcopate or the priesthood receives the mission and power to act in the person of Christ the Head, while deacons receive the faculty to serve the People of God in the diaconates of the liturgy, of the Word and of charity".

Archbishop Coccopalmerio's note then goes on to explain that the other changes contained in the Motu Proprio all concern the elimination of the clause "actus formalis defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica" contained in canons 1086 para. 1, 1117 and 1124. This clause, "following much study, was held to be unnecessary and inappropriate", he writes.

"From the time the Code of Canon Law came into effect in the year 1983 until the moment of the coming into effect of this Motu Proprio, Catholics who had abandoned the Catholic Church by means of a formal act were not obliged to follow the canonical form of celebration for the validity of marriage (canon 1117), nor were they bound by the impediment concerning marriage to the non- baptised (canon 1086 para. 1), nor did they suffer the prohibition on marrying non-Catholic Christians (canon 1124). The abovementioned clause contained in these three canons represented an exception ... to another more general norm of ecclesiastical legislation according to which all those baptised in the Catholic Church or received into her are bound to observe ecclesiastical laws (canon 11).

"With the coming into effect of the new Motu Proprio", Archbishop Coccopalmerio adds, "canon 11 of the Code of Canon Law reacquires its full force as concerns the contents of the canons thus modified, even in cases were there has been a formal abandonment. Hence, in order to regularise any unions that may have been made in the non-observance of these rules it will be necessary to have recourse, if possible, to the ordinary means Canon Law offers for such cases: dispensation from the impediment, sanation, etc".

Taken from Rorate Caeli

Send the Pope a Virtual Christmas Card

2009-12-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 15, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Vatican Web page Pope2you.net has made it possible this Christmas to send Benedict XVI a personalized Christmas card through e-mail or the social networking site Facebook.

Father Paolo Padrini, the project's coordinator, told ZENIT of the site's newest features for Christmas.

Upon visiting the site, launched by the Vatican Council for Social Communications in May, click on "Send the Pope your Christmas Greetings." Simply follow the instructions and a personalized, virtual card will be sent to the Holy Father. Even a picture can be included.

Pope2you.net is also offering a Facebook application that one can use to send Christmas cards to friends that feature an official picture of the Pope as taken by L'Osservatore Romano, accompanied by the Pontiff's "words of hope and peace."

The cards can be sent in English, Italian, Spanish, German and French, and there are four options to choose from.

Pope2you.net is an official site of the Vatican, and it aims to bring the words and message of Benedict XVI to the youth. In only eight months, the site has received 7 million visits.

--- --- ---

On the Net:

www.pope2you.net

Pope Facts: Crowning Achievement

2009-12-13T05:58:00.000-08:00

The Papal Tiara

God Wants to Do Great Things in You

2009-12-10T01:21:00.000-08:00

VATICAN CITY, DEC. 9, 2009 (Zenit.org).- God wants to "do great things" in the lives of young people, just as he did for the Virgin Mary, Benedict XVI says.

The Pope reflected on Mary today when he offered his customary greeting to youth, the sick and newlyweds at the end of the general audience.

He noted how Tuesday was the feast of the Immaculate Conception, saying the celebration "reminds us of Mary's singular adherence to God's salvific plan."

"Dear young people, make an effort to imitate [Mary] with a pure and transparent heart, letting yourselves be molded by God who also in you wills to 'do great things,'" the Holy Father said, citing St. Luke.

And he added: "Dear sick people, with the help of Mary always trust the Lord, who knows your sufferings and, uniting them to his, offers them for the salvation of the world. "

And you, dear newlyweds, make your home in imitation of that of Nazareth, welcoming and open to life."

Pope: The Eucharist is not a "rite of socialization," in it Jesus is truly present

2009-12-10T00:50:00.001-08:00

http://popebenedictxviblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/pope-eucharist-is-not-rite-of.html

Clericus Cup

2009-12-08T02:05:00.000-08:00

Since February 2007, the Vatican organizes each year the Catholic football World Cup, called the Clericus Cup. It includes sixteen teams composed of priests and seminarians, reinforced by lay people working for religious orders. Players come mostly from international colleges of Rome.

The Vatican team carries the colors of the papal flag on its jerseys. They are one of only eight fully-recognised sovereign states whose national team is not a FIFA member.

The Vatican City squad consists of the Swiss Guards (voluntary military force drawn from male Swiss citizens), members of the Papal council and museum guards (Italian citizens). Since only members of the Swiss Guard can get the citizenship of the Vatican and they cannot be amassed in large numbers for a long time, the national team can play only a few rare international matches often drawing a fair amount of interested press.

On December 18, 2006, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, stated that he did "not preclude the possibility that the Vatican, in the future, could put together a football team of great value, that could play on the same level as Juventus, Roma, Inter Milan and Sampdoria". Meanwhile Vatican has organized the Clericus Cup.

Taken from the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference site.

Ineffabilis Deus

2009-12-07T10:21:00.000-08:00

The Immaculate Conception - Ineffabilis Deus

Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius IX, December 8, 1854

God Ineffable - whose ways are mercy and truth, whose will is omnipotence itself, and whose wisdom "reaches from end to end mightily, and orders all things sweetly" - having foreseen from all eternity the lamentable wretchedness of the entire human race which would result from the sin of Adam, decreed, by a plan hidden from the centuries, to complete the first work of his goodness by a mystery yet more wondrously sublime through the Incarnation of the Word. This he decreed in order that man who, contrary to the plan of Divine Mercy had been led into sin by the cunning malice of Satan, should not perish; and in order that what had been lost in the first Adam would be gloriously restored in the Second Adam. From the very beginning, and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, he would be born into this world. Above all creatures did God so lover her that truly in her was the Father well pleased with singular delight. Therefore, far above all the angels and all the saints so wondrously did God endow her with the abundance of all heavenly gifts poured from the treasury of his divinity that this mother, ever absolutely free of all stain of sin, all fair and perfect, would possess that fullness of holy innocence and sanctity than which, under God, one cannot even imagine anything greater, and which, outside of God, no mind can succeed in comprehending fully.

Supreme Reason for the Privilege:The Divine Maternity

And indeed it was wholly fitting that so wonderful a mother should be ever resplendent with the glory of most sublime holiness and so completely free from all taint of original sin that she would triumph utterly over the ancient serpent. To her did the Father will to give his only-begotten Son - the Son whom, equal to the Father and begotten by him, the Father loves from his heart - and to give this Son in such a way that he would be the one and the same common Son of God the Father and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was she whom the Son himself chose to make his Mother and it was from her that the Holy Spirit willed and brought it about that he should be conceived and born from whom he himself proceeds.(1)

Liturgical Argument

The Catholic Church, directed by the Holy Spirit of God, is the pillar and base of truth and has ever held as divinely revealed and as contained in the deposit of heavenly revelation this doctrine concerning the original innocence of the august Virgin - a doctrine which is so perfectly in harmony with her wonderful sanctity and preeminent dignity as Mother of God - and thus has never ceased to explain, to teach and to foster this doctrine age after age in many ways and by solemn acts. From this very doctrine, flourishing and wondrously propagated in the Catholic world through the efforts and zeal of the bishops, was made very clear by the Church when she did not hesitate to present for the public devotion and veneration of the faithful the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin.(2) By this most significant fact, the Church made it clear indeed that the conception of Mary is to be venerated as something extraordinary, wonderful, eminently holy, and different from the conception of all other human beings - for the Church celebrates only the feast days of the saints.

And hence the very words with which the Sacred Scriptures speak of Uncreated Wisdom and set forth his eternal origin, the Church, both in its ecclesiastical offices and in its liturgy, has been wont to apply likewise to the origin of the Blessed Virgin, inasmuch as God, by one and the same decree, had established the origin of Mary and the Incarnation of Divine Wisdom.

Ordinary Teaching of the Roman Church

These truths, so generally accepted and put into practice by the faithful, indicate how zealously the Roman Church, mother and teacher of all Churches, has continued to teach this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. Yet the more important actions of the Church deserve to be mentioned in detail. For such dignity and authority belong to the Church that she alone is the center of truth and of Catholic unity. It is the Church in which alone religion has been inviolably preserved and from which all other Churches must receive the tradition of the Faith.(3)

The same Roman Church, therefore, desired nothing more than by the most persuasive means to state, to protect, to promote and to defend the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. This fact is most clearly shown to the whole world by numerous and significant acts of the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors. To them, in the person of the Prince of the Apostles, were divinely entrusted by Christ our Lord, the charge and supreme care and the power of feeding the lambs and sheep; in particular, of confirming their brethren, and of ruling and governing the universal Church.

Veneration of the Immaculate

Our predecessors, indeed, by virtue of their apostolic authority, gloried in instituting the Feast of the Conception in the Roman Church. They did so to enhance its importance and dignity by a suitable Office and Mass, whereby the prerogative of the Virgin, her exception from the hereditary taint, was most distinctly affirmed. As to the homage already instituted, they spared no effort to promote and to extend it either by the granting of indulgences, or by allowing cities, provinces and kingdoms to choose as their patroness God's own Mother, under the title of "The Immaculate Conception." Again, our predecessors approved confraternities, congregations and religious communities founded in honor of the Immaculate Conception, monasteries, hospitals, altars, or churches; they praised persons who vowed to uphold with all their ability the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. Besides, it afforded the greatest joy to our predecessors to ordain that the Feast of the Conception should be celebrated in every church with the very same honor as the Feast of the Nativity; that it should be celebrated with an octave by the whole Church; that it should be reverently and generally observed as a holy day of obligation; and that a pontifical Capella should be held in our Liberian pontifical basilica on the day dedicated to the conception of the Virgin. Finally, in their desire to impress this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God upon the hearts of the faithful, and to intensify the people's piety and enthusiasm for the homage and the veneration of the Virgin conceived without the stain of original sin, they delighted to grant, with the greatest pleasure, permission to proclaim the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin in the Litany of Loreto, and in the Preface of the Mass, so that the rule of prayer might thus serve to illustrate the rule of belief. Therefore, we ourselves, following the procedure of our predecessors, have not only approved and accepted what had already been established, but bearing in mind, moreover, the decree of Sixtus IV, (4) have confirmed by our authority a proper Office in honor of the Immaculate Conception, and have with exceeding joy extended its use to the universal Church.(5)

The Roman Doctrine

Now inasmuch as whatever pertains to sacred worship is intimately connected with its object and cannot have either consistency or durability if this object is vague or uncertain, our predecessors, the Roman Pontiffs, therefore, while directing all their efforts toward an increase of the devotion to the conception, made it their aim not only to emphasize the object with the utmost zeal, but also to enunciate the exact doctrine.(6) Definitely and clearly they taught that the feast was held in honor of the conception of the Virgin. They denounced as false and absolutely foreign to the mind of the Church the opinion of those who held and affirmed that it was not the conception of the Virgin but her sanctification that was honored by the Church. They never thought that greater leniency should be extended toward those who, attempting to disprove the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin, devised a distinction between the first and second instance of conception and inferred that the conception which the Church celebrates was not that of the first instance of conception but the second. In fact, they held it was their duty not only to uphold and defend with all their power the Feast of the Conception of the Blessed Virgin but also to assert that the true object of this veneration was her conception considered in its first instant. Hence the words of one of our predecessors, Alexander VII, who authoritatively and decisively declared the mind of the Church: "Concerning the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, ancient indeed is that devotion of the faithful based on the belief that her soul, in the first instant of its creation and in the first instant of the soul's infusion into the body, was, by a special grace and privilege of God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, her Son and the Redeemer of the human race, preserved free from all stain of original sin. And in this sense have the faithful ever solemnized and celebrated the Feast of the Conception."(7)

Moreover, our predecessors considered it their special solemn duty with all diligence, zeal, and effort to preserve intact the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. For, not only have they in no way ever allowed this doctrine to be censured or changed, but they have gone much further and by clear statements repeatedly asserted that the doctrine by which we profess the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin is on its own merits entirely in harmony with the ecclesiastical veneration; that it is ancient and widespread, and of the same nature as that which the Roman Church has undertaken to promote and to protect, and that it is entirely worthy to be used in the Sacred Liturgy and solemn prayers. Not content with this they most strictly prohibited any opinion contrary to this doctrine to be defended in public or private in order that the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin might remain inviolate. By repeated blows they wished to put an end to such an opinion. And lest these oft-repeated and clearest statements seem useless, they added a sanction to them.

Papal Sanctions

All these things our illustrious predecessor, Alexander VII, summed up in these words: "We have in mind the fact that the Holy Roman Church solemnly celebrated the Feast of the Conception of the undefiled and ever-Virgin Mary, and has long ago appointed for this a special and proper Office according to the pious, devout, and laudable instruction which was given by our predecessor, Sixtus IV. Likewise, we were desirous, after the example of our predecessors, to favor this praiseworthy piety, devotion, feast and veneration - a veneration which is in keeping with the piety unchanged in the Roman Church from the day it was instituted. We also desired to protect this piety and devotion of venerating and extolling the most Blessed Virgin preserved from original sin by the grace of the Holy Spirit. Moreover, we were anxious to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace in the flock of Christ by putting down arguments and controversies and by removing scandals. So at the instance and request of the bishops mentioned above, with the chapters of the churches, and of King Philip and his kingdoms, we renew the Constitutions and Decrees issued by the Roman Pontiffs, our predecessors, especially Sixtus IV,(8) Paul V,(9) and Gregory XV,(10) in favor of the doctrine asserting that the soul of the Blessed Virgin, in its creation and infusion into the body, was endowed with the grace of the Holy Spirit and preserved from original sin; and also in favor of the feast and veneration of the conception of the Virgin Mother of God, which, as is manifest, was instituted in keeping with that pious belief. So we command this feast to be observed under the censures and penalties contained in the same Constitutions.

"And therefore, against all and everyone of those who shall continue to construe the said Constitutions and Decrees in a manner apt to frustrate the favor which is thereby given to the said doctrine, and to the feast and relative veneration, or who shall dare to call into question the said sentence, feast and worship, or in any way whatever, directly or indirectly, shall declare themselves opposed to it under any pretext whatsoever, were it but only to the extent of examining the possibilities of effecting the definition, or who shall comment upon and interpret the Sacred Scripture, or the Fathers or Doctors in connection therewith, or finally, for any reason, or on any occasion, shall dare, either in writing or verbally, to speak, preach, treat, dispute or determine upon, or assert whatsoever against the foregoing matters, or who shall adduce any arguments against them, while leaving them unresolved, or who shall disagree therewith in any other conceivable manner, we hereby declare that in addition to the penalties and censures contained in the Constitutions issued by Sixtus IV to which we want them to be subjected and to which we subject them by the present Constitution, we hereby decree that they be deprived of the authority of preaching, reading in public, that is to say teaching and interpreting; and that they be also deprived ipso facto of the power of voting, either actively or passively, in all elections, without the need for any further declaration; and that also, ipso facto, without any further declaration, they shall incur the penalty of perpetual disability from preaching, reading in public, teaching and interpreting, and that it shall not be possible to absolve them from such penalty, or remove it, save through ourselves, or the Roman Pontiffs who shall succeed us."

"We also require that the same shall remain subject to any other penalties which by us, of our own free will - or by the Roman Pontiffs, our successors (according as they may decree) - shall be deemed advisable to establish, and by the present Constitution we declare them subject thereto, and hereby renew the above Decrees and Constitutions of Paul V and Gregory XV."

"Moreover, as regards those books in which the said sentence, feast and relative veneration are called into question or are contradicted in any way whatsoever, according to what has already been stated, either in writing or verbally, in discourses, sermons, lectures, treatises and debates - that may have been printed after the above-praised Decree of Paul V, or may be printed hereafter we hereby prohibit them, subject to the penalties and censures established by the Index of prohibited books, and ipso facto, without any further declaration, we desire and command that they be held as expressly prohibited."(11)

Testimonies of the Catholic World

All are aware with how much diligence this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God has been handed down, proposed and defended by the most outstanding religious orders, by the more celebrated theological academies, and by very eminent doctors in the sciences of theology. All know, likewise, how eager the bishops have been to profess openly and publicly, even in ecclesiastical assemblies, that Mary, the most holy Mother of God, by virtue of the foreseen merits of Christ, our Lord and Redeemer, was never subject to original sin, but was completely preserved from the original taint, and hence she was redeemed in a manner more sublime.

The Council of Trent

Besides, we must note a fact of the greatest importance indeed. Even the Council of Trent itself, when it promulgated the dogmatic decree concerning original sin, following the testimonies of the Sacred Scriptures, of the Holy Fathers and of the renowned Council, decreed and defined that all men are born infected by original sin; nevertheless, it solemnly declared that it had no intention of including the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, in this decree and in the general extension of its definition. Indeed, considering the times and circumstances, the Fathers of Trent sufficiently intimated by this declaration that the Blessed Virgin Mary was free from the original stain; and thus they clearly signified that nothing could be reasonably cited from the Sacred Scriptures, from Tradition, or from the authority of the Fathers, which would in any way be opposed to so great a prerogative of the Blessed Virgin.(12)

Testimonies of Tradition

And indeed, illustrious documents of venerable antiquity, of both the Eastern and the Western Church, very forcibly testify that this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin, which was daily more and more splendidly explained, stated and confirmed by the highest authority, teaching, zeal, knowledge, and wisdom of the Church, and which was disseminated among all peoples and nations of the Catholic world in a marvelous manner - this doctrine always existed in the Church as a doctrine that has been received from our ancestors, and that has been stamped with the character of revealed doctrine. For the Church of Christ, watchful guardian that she is, and defender of the dogmas deposited with her, never changes anything, never diminishes anything, never adds anything to them; but with all diligence she treats the ancient documents faithfully and wisely; if they really are of ancient origin and if the faith of the Fathers has transmitted them, she strives to investigate and explain them in such a way that the ancient dogmas of heavenly doctrine will be made evident and clear, but will retain their full, integral, and proper nature, and will grown only within their own genus - that is, within the same dogma, in the same sense and the same meaning.

Interpreters of the Sacred Scripture

The Fathers and writers of the Church, well versed in the heavenly Scriptures, had nothing more at heart than to vie with one another in preaching and teaching in many wonderful ways the Virgin's supreme sanctity, dignity, and immunity from all stain of sin, and her renowned victory over the most foul enemy of the human race. This they did in the books they wrote to explain the Scriptures, to vindicate the dogmas, and to instruct the faithful. These ecclesiastical writers in quoting the words by which at the beginning of the world God announced his merciful remedies prepared for the regeneration of mankind - words by which he crushed the audacity of the deceitful serpent and wondrously raised up the hope of our race, saying, "I will put enmities between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed"(13) - taught that by this divine prophecy the merciful Redeemer of mankind, Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was clearly foretold: That his most Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary, was prophetically indicated; and, at the same time, the very enmity of both against the evil one was significantly expressed. Hence, just as Christ, the Mediator between God and man, assumed human nature, blotted the handwriting of the decree that stood against us, and fastened it triumphantly to the cross, so the most holy Virgin, united with him by a most intimate and indissoluble bond, was, with him and through him, eternally at enmity with the evil serpent, and most completely triumphed over him, and thus crushed his head with her immaculate foot.(14)

This sublime and singular privilege of the Blessed Virgin, together with her most excellent innocence, purity, holiness and freedom from every stain of sin, as well as the unspeakable abundance and greatness of all heavenly graces, virtues and privileges - these the Fathers beheld in that ark of Noah, which was built by divine command and escaped entirely safe and sound from the common shipwreck of the whole world;(15) in the ladder which Jacob saw reaching from the earth to heaven, by whose rungs the angels of God ascended and descended, and on whose top the Lord himself leaned'(16) in that bush which Moses saw in the holy place burning on all sides, which was not consumed or injured in any way but grew green and blossomed beautifully;(17) in that impregnable tower before the enemy, from which hung a thousand bucklers and all the armor of the strong;(18) in that garden enclosed on all sides, which cannot be violated or corrupted by any deceitful plots;(19) as in that resplendent city of God, which has its foundations on the holy mountains;(20) in that most august temple of God, which, radiant with divine splendors, is full of the glory of God;(21) and in very many other biblical types of this kind. In such allusions the Fathers taught that the exalted dignity of the Mother of God, her spotless innocence and her sanctity unstained by any fault, had been prophesied in a wonderful manner.

In like manner did they use the words of the prophets to describe this wondrous abundance of divine gifts and the original innocence of the Virgin of whom Jesus was born. They celebrated the august Virgin as the spotless dove, as the holy Jerusalem, as the exalted throne of God, as the ark and house of holiness which Eternal Wisdom built, and as that Queen who, abounding in delights and leaning on her Beloved, came forth from the mouth of the Most High, entirely perfect, beautiful, most dear to God and never stained with the least blemish.

The Annunciation

When the Fathers and writers of the Church meditated on the fact that the most Blessed Virgin was, in the name and by order of God himself, proclaimed full of grace(22) by the Angel Gabriel when he announced her most sublime dignity of Mother of God, they thought that this singular and solemn salutation, never heard before, showed that the Mother of God is the seat of all divine graces and is adorned with all gifts of the Holy Spirit. To them Mary is an almost infinite treasury, an inexhaustible abyss of these gifts, to such an extent that she was never subject to the curse and was, together with her Son, the only partaker of perpetual benediction. Hence she was worthy to hear Elizabeth, inspired by the Holy Spirit, exclaim: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb."(23)

Mary Compared with Eve

Hence, it is the clear and unanimous opinion of the Fathers that the most glorious Virgin, for whom "he who is mighty has done great things," was resplendent with such an abundance of heavenly gifts, with such a fullness of grace and with such innocence, that she is an unspeakable miracle of God - indeed, the crown of all miracles and truly the Mother of God; that she approaches as near to God himself as is possible for a created being; and that she is above all men and angels in glory. Hence, to demonstrate the original innocence and sanctity of the Mother of God, not only did they frequently compare her to Eve while yet a virgin, while yet innocence, while yet incorrupt, while not yet deceived by the deadly snares of the most treacherous serpent; but they have also exalted her above Even with a wonderful variety of expressions. Eve listened to the serpent with lamentable consequences; she fell from original innocence and became his slave. The most Blessed Virgin, on the contrary, ever increased her original gift, and not only never lent an ear to the serpent, but by divinely given power she utterly destroyed the force and dominion of the evil one.

Biblical Figures

Accordingly, the Fathers have never ceased to call the Mother of God the lily among thorns, the land entirely intact, the Virgin undefiled, immaculate, ever blessed, and free from all contagion of sin, she from whom was formed the new Adam, the flawless, brightest, and most beautiful paradise of innocence, immortality and delights planted by God himself and protected against all the snares of the poisonous serpent, the incorruptible wood that the worm of sin had never corrupted, the fountain ever clear and sealed with the power of the Holy Spirit, the most holy temple, the treasure of immortality, the one and only daughter of life - not of death - the plant not of anger but of grace, through the singular providence of God growing ever green contrary to the common law, coming as it does from a corrupted and tainted root.

Explicit Affirmation

As if these splendid eulogies and tributes were not sufficient, the Fathers proclaimed with particular and definite statements that when one treats of sin, the holy Virgin Mary is not even to be mentioned; for to her more grace was given than was necessary to conquer sin completely.(24) They also declared that the most glorious Virgin was Reparatrix of the first parents, the giver of life to posterity; that she was chosen before the ages, prepared for himself by the Most High, foretold by God when he said to the serpent, "I will put enmities between you and the woman."(25) - unmistakable evidence that she was crushed the poisonous head of the serpent. And hence they affirmed that the Blessed Virgin was, through grace, entirely free from every stain of sin, and from all corruption of body, soul and mind; that she was always united with God and joined to him by an eternal covenant; that she was never in darkness but always in light; and that, therefore, she was entirely a fit habitation for Christ, not because of the state of her body, but because of her original grace.

Of a Supereminent Sanctity

To these praises they have added very noble words. Speaking of the conception of the Virgin, they testified that nature yielded to grace and, unable to go on, stood trembling. The Virgin Mother of God would not be conceived by Anna before grace would bear its fruits; it was proper that she be conceived as the first-born, by whom "the first-born of every creature" would be conceived. They testified, too, that the flesh of the Virgin, although derived from Adam, did not contract the stains of Adam, and that on this account the most Blessed Virgin was the tabernacle created by God himself and formed by the Holy Spirit, truly a work in royal purple, adorned and woven with gold, which that new Beseleel(26) made. They affirmed that the same Virgin is, and is deservedly, the first and especial work of God, escaping the fiery arrows the the evil one; that she is beautiful by nature and entirely free from all stain; that at her Immaculate Conception she came into the world all radiant like the dawn. For it was certainly not fitting that this vessel of election should be wounded by the common injuries, since she, differing so much from the others, had only nature in common with them, not sin. In fact, it was quite fitting that, as the Only-Begotten has a Father in heaven, whom the Seraphim extol as thrice holy, so he should have a Mother on earth who would never be without the splendor of holiness.

This doctrine so filled the minds and souls of our ancestors in the faith that a singular and truly marvelous style of speech came into vogue among them. They have frequently addressed the Mother of God as immaculate, as immaculate in every respect; innocent, and verily most innocent; spotless, and entirely spotless; holy and removed from every stain of sin; all pure, all stainless, the very model of purity and innocence; more beautiful than beauty, more lovely than loveliness; more holy than holiness, singularly holy and most pure in soul and body; the one who surpassed all integrity and virginity; the only one who has become the dwelling place of all the graces of the most Holy Spirit. God alone excepted, Mary is more excellent than all, and by nature fair and beautiful, and more holy than the Cherubim and Seraphim. To praise her all the tongues of heaven and earth do not suffice.

Everyone is cognizant that this style of speech has passed almost spontaneously into the books of the most holy liturgy and the Offices of the Church, in which they occur so often and abundantly. In them, the Mother of God is invoked and praised as the one spotless and most beautiful dove, as a rose ever blooming, as perfectly pure, ever immaculate, and ever blessed. She is celebrated as innocence never sullied and as the second Even who brought forth the Emmanuel.

Preparation for the Definition

No wonder, then, that the Pastors of the Church and the faithful gloried daily more and more in professing with so much piety, religion, and love this doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God, which, as the Fathers discerned, was recorded in the Divine Scriptures; which was handed down in so many of their most important writings; which was expressed and celebrated in so many illustrious monuments of venerable antiquity; which was proposed and confirmed by the official and authoritative teaching of the Church. Hence, nothing was dearer, nothing more pleasing to these pastors than to venerate, invoke, and proclaim with most ardent affection the Virgin Mother of God conceived without original stain. Accordingly, from ancient times the bishops of the Church, ecclesiastics, religious orders, and even emperors and kings, have earnestly petitioned this Apostolic See to define a dogma of the Catholic Faith the Immaculate Conception of the most holy Mother of God. These petitions were renewed in these our own times; they were especially brought to the attention of Gregory XVI, our predecessor of happy memory, and to ourselves, not only by bishops, but by the secular clergy and religious orders, by sovereign rulers and by the faithful.

Mindful, indeed, of all these things and considering them most attentively with particular joy in our heart, as soon as we, by the inscrutable design of Providence, had been raised to the sublime Chair of St. Peter - in spite of our unworthiness - and had begun to govern the universal Church, nothing have we had more at heart - a heart which from our tenderest years has overflowed with devoted veneration and love for the most Blessed Virgin - than to show forth her prerogatives in resplendent light.

That we might proceed with great prudence, we established a special congregation of our venerable brethren, the cardinals of the holy Roman Church, illustrious for their piety, wisdom, and knowledge of the sacred scriptures. We also selected priests, both secular and regular, well trained in the theological sciences, that they should most carefully consider all matters pertaining to the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin and make known to us their opinion.

The Mind of the Bishops

Although we knew the mind of the bishops from the petitions which we had received from them, namely, that the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin be finally defined, nevertheless, on February 2, 1849,(27) we sent an Encyclical Letter from Gaeta to all our venerable brethren, the bishops of the Catholic world, that they should offer prayers to God and then tell us in writing what the piety an devotion of their faithful was in regard to the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God. We likewise inquired what the bishops themselves thought about defining this doctrine and what their wishes were in regard to making known with all possible solemnity our supreme judgment.

We were certainly filled with the greatest consolation when the replies of our venerable brethren came to us. For, replying to us with a most enthusiastic joy, exultation and zeal, they not only again confirmed their own singular piety toward the Immaculate Conception of the most Blessed Virgin, and that of the secular and religious clergy and of the faithful, but with one voice they even entreated us to define our supreme judgment and authority the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin. In the meantime we were indeed filled with no less joy when, after a diligent examination, our venerable brethren, the cardinals of the special congregation and the theologians chosen by us as counselors (whom we mentioned above), asked with the same enthusiasm and fervor for the definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Mother of God.
Consequently, following the examples of our predecessors, and desiring to proceed in the traditional manner, we announced and held a consistory, in which we addressed our brethren, the cardinals of the Holy Roman Church. It was the greatest spiritual joy for us when we heard them ask us to promulgate the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mother of God.(28)

Therefore, having full trust in the Lord that the opportune time had come for defining the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, which Holy Scripture, venerable Tradition, the constant mind of the Church, the desire of Catholic bishops and the faithful, and the memorable Acts and Constitutions of our predecessors, wonderfully illustrate and proclaim, and having most diligently considered all things, as we poured forth to God ceaseless and fervent prayers, we concluded that we should no longer delay in decreeing and defining by our supreme authority the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin. And thus, we can satisfy the most holy desire of the Catholic world as well as our own devotion toward the most holy Virgin, and at the same time honor more and more the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord through his holy Mother - since whatever honor and praise are bestowed on the Mother redound to the Son.

The Definition

Wherefore, in humility and fasting, we unceasingly offered our private prayers as well as the public prayers of the Church to God the Father through his Son, that he would deign to direct and strengthen our mind by the power of the Holy Spirit. In like manner did we implore the help of the entire heavenly host as we ardently invoked the Paraclete. Accordingly, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for the honor of the Holy and undivided Trinity, for the glory and adornment of the Virgin Mother of God, for the exaltation of the Catholic Faith, and for the furtherance of the Catholic religion, by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."(29)

Hence, if anyone shall dare - which God forbid! - to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.

Hoped-For Results

Our soul overflows with joy and our tongue with exultation. We give, and we shall continue to give, the humblest and deepest thanks to Jesus Christ, our Lord, because through his singular grace he has granted to us, unworthy though we be, to decree and offer this honor and glory and praise to his most holy Mother. All our hope do we repose in the most Blessed Virgin - in the all fair and immaculate one who has crushed the poisonous head of the most cruel serpent and brought salvation to the world: in her who is the glory of the prophets and apostles, the honor of the martyrs, the crown and joy of all the saints; in her who is the safest refuge and the most trustworthy helper of all who are in danger; in her who, with her only-begotten Son, is the most powerful Mediatrix and Conciliatrix in the whole world; in her who is the most excellent glory, ornament, and impregnable stronghold of the holy Church; in her who has destroyed all heresies and snatched the faithful people and nations from all kinds of direst calamities; in her do we hope who has delivered us from so many threatening dangers. We have, therefore, a very certain hope and complete confidence that the most Blessed Virgin will ensure by her most powerful patronage that all difficulties be removed and all errors dissipated, so that our Holy Mother the Catholic Church may flourish daily more and more throughout all the nations and countries, and may reign "from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth," and may enjoy genuine peace, tranquility and liberty. We are firm in our confidence that she will obtain pardon for the sinner, health for the sick, strength of heart for the weak, consolation for the afflicted, help for those in danger; that she will remove spiritual blindness from all who are in error, so that they may return to the path of truth and justice, and that here may be one flock and one shepherd.
Let all the children of the Catholic Church, who are so very dear to us, hear these words of ours. With a still more ardent zeal for piety, religion and love, let them continue to venerate, invoke and pray to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin. Let them fly with utter confidence to this most sweet Mother of mercy and grace in all dangers, difficulties, needs, doubts and fears. Under her guidance, under her patronage, under her kindness and protection, nothing is to be feared; nothing is hopeless. Because, while bearing toward us a truly motherly affection and having in her care the work of our salvation, she is solicitous about the whole human race. And since she has been appointed by God to be the Queen of heaven and earth, and is exalted above all the choirs of angels and saints, and even stands at the right hand of her only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, she presents our petitions in a most efficacious manner. What she asks, she obtains. Her pleas can never be unheard.

Given at St. Peter's in Rome, the eighth day of December, 1854, in the eighth year of our pontificate.

Pius IX

Footnotes

(1) Et quidem decebat omnino, ut perfectissimae sanctitatis splendoribus semper ornata fulgeret, ac vel ab ipsa originalis culpae labe plane immunis amplissimum de antiquo sepente triumphum referret tam venerabilis mater, cui Deus Pater unicum Filius suum, quem de corde suo aequalem sibi genitum tamquam seipsum diligit, ita dare disposuit, ut naturaliter esset unus idemque communis Dei Patris et Virginis Filius, et quam ipse Filius, Filius substantialiter facere sibi matrem elegit, et de qua Siritus Sanctus voluit et operatus est, ut conciperetur et nasceretur ille, de quo ipse procedit.

(2) Cf. Ibid., n. 16.

(3) Cf. St. Irenaeus, Adv. Haereses, book III, c. III, n. 2.

(4) C.A. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Denz., n. 734.

(5) Decree of the Sared Cong. of Rites; September 30, 1847.

(6) This has been the constant care of the Popes, as is shown by the condemnation of one of the propositions of Anthony de Rosmini-Serbati (cf. Denzinger, nn. 1891-1930). This is how the 34th proposition runs (Denzinger, n. 1924): "Ad praeservandam B. V. Mariam a labe originis, satis erat, ut incorruptum maneret minimum sesmen in homine, neglectum forte ab ipso demone, e quo incorrupto semine de generatione in generationem transfuso, suo tempore oriretur Virgo Maria." Decree of the Holy Office, December 14, 1887 (AAS 20, 393). Denz. n. 1924.

(7) Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum, December 8, 1661.

(8) Apost. Const. Cum Praeexcelsa, February 28, 1476; Grave Nemis, September 4, 1483; Denz., nn. 734, 735.

(9) Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, September 12, 1617.

(10) Apost. Const. Sanctissimus, June 4, 1622.

(11) Alexander VIII, Apost. Const. Sollicitudo Omnium Ecclesiarum, December 8, 1661.

(12) Sess. V, Can. 6; Denz. n. 792. Declarat tamen haec ipsa sancta Synodus, non esse suae intentionis, comprehendere in hoc decreto, ubi de peccato originali agitur, beatam et immaculatam Virginem Mariam Dei genitricem, sed observandas esse constitutiones felicis recordationis Sixti Papae IV, sub poenis in eis constitutionibus contentis, quas innovat.

(13) Gn 3:15.

(14) Quo circa sicut Christus Dei hominumque mediator, humana assumpta natura, delens quod adversus nos erat chirographum decretia, illud cruci triumphator affixit; sic Sanctissima Virgo, Arctissimo et indissolubili vinculo cum eo conjuncta, una cum illo et per illum, sempiternas contra venenosum serpentem inimicitias exercens, ac de ipso plenissime triumphans, illus caput immaculato pede contrivit.

(15) Cf. Gn. 6:9.

(16) Cf. Gn 28:12.

(17) Cf. Ex 3:2.

(18) Cf. Sg 4:4.

(19) Cf. Sg 4:12.

(20) Cf. Ps 87:1.

(21) Cf. Is 6:1-4.

(22) Cf. Lk 1:28.

(23) Ibid., 42.

(24) Cf. St. Augustine: De Natura et Gratia, c. 36.

(25) Gn 3:15.

(26) Cf. Ex 31:2.

(27) Cf. Ibid., n. 19ff.

(28) Cf. Ibid., n. 27ff.

(29) Declaramus, pronuntiamus et definimus doctrinam quae tenet beatissimam Virginem Mariam in primo instanti suae conceptionis fuisse singulari Omnipotentis Dei gratia et privilegio, intuitu meritorum Christi Jesu Salvatoris humani generis, ab omni originalis culpae labe praeservatam immunem, esse a Deo revelatam, atque idcirco ab omnibus fidelibus firmiter constanterque credendam. Cf. Denz., n. 1641.

Worldwide Petition Launched: Ask YouTube to Remove Blasphemous Videos

2009-12-02T13:03:00.000-08:00

Worldwide Petition Launched: Ask YouTube to Remove Blasphemous Videos

Good Pope Saint Pius X

2009-11-28T05:47:00.000-08:00

"Remember that I am just a poor man and that Jesus Christ is all."

"The City cannot be built otherwise than as God has built it; society cannot be setup unless the Church lays the foundations and supervises the work; no, civilization is not something yet to be found, nor is the New City to be built on hazy notions; it has been in existence and still is: it is Christian civilization, it is the Catholic City. It has only to be set up and restored continually against the unremitting attacks of insane dreamers, rebels and miscreants. OMNIA INSTAURARE IN CHRISTO."