Family first, Pope tells bishops of Dominican Republic
Vatican City, Jul. 6, 2007 (CINS /CWN) - Pope Benedict XVI met on July 5 with bishops from the Dominican Republic, who were completing their ad limina visits to the Holy See.
The Holy Father said that the people of the Dominican Republic have "a profoundly Christian soul," remarking that the country has a "spirit open and sensitive to the Good News." Still the Church faces challenges, he said, because of secularizing trends and threats to family life.
The family, the Pontiff continued, is the place where young people are formed, and must be protected from the moral indifference that arises in "a society so marked by hedonism and religious indifference." He encouraged the bishops to give the greatest possibility support to families, recognizing the threats that they face "especially with the tragedy of divorce and pressures to legalize abortion, as well as the spread of unions not in accordance with the Creator's design for marriage."
Pope Benedict went on to ask the bishops to pay close attention to "the human and Christian suitability" of candidates for the priesthood and their careful preparation for pastoral work. He said that lay people, too, need "adequate religious formation" to carry out their work of transforming society and establishing "a more equitable social order." In their country, the Pope added, the Catholics of the Dominican Republic should take special interest in eliminating "the unseen and widespread blight of corruption" in private and public life.
Pope Benedict XVI imposed the Pallium on 46 metropolitan Archbishops
Vatican City,June.29,2007(CINS/AsiaNews) – Benedict XVI today imposed the pallium on 46 metropolitan archbishops in a sign of their communion with the Apostolic See during mass in St Peter’s basilica. The pallium is a stole made of lamb’s wool, symbolizing the bishop’s vocation as pastors to care for Christ’s flock and his lost sheep. It bears five embroidered crosses, a sign of Christ’s wounds and was blessed by the pope after having been placed on the Confessional, the tomb of the apostle Peter, underlining unity with the pontiff and the See of Peter.Among those who received the pallium, there were Indian and Philippine bishops. A further 5 prelates not present in the basilica will receive it in their own diocese.
As has become tradition, there was also a delegation from the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople present at the ceremony. This year the delegation was composed by Emmanuel Adamidis, Greek orthodox archbishop of France, director of the Orthodox Church office at the European Union; Gennadios Limouris, metropolitan of Sassima, Co-president of the mixed international commission for dialogue between the Catholic and Orthodox Church, and deacon Andreas Sofianopoulos, from the Patriarchal seat of Fanar.
For years now the Church of Rome and Constantinople send delegations to celebrations marking the feast of the apostles, patrons of the two Churches, Peter (June 29) and Andrew (November 30). November 30th last the Pope himself, on official visit to Turkey, took part in the feast of St Andrew in Constantinople, together with Patriarch Bartholomew I.
This ecumenical dimension, linked to the ministry of Peter and the primate, was the theme of the pontiff’s homily. “Peter’s confession – said the pope – cannot be separated from his pastoral duty to Christ’s flock”, the so called “power of the keys” (Mt 16, 17-19).
With the subtlety of a theologian, Benedict XVI explained that the confession of full faith in Jesus as the Son of God, is not just something which belongs to the Church in general, rather it is something entrusted in particular to Peter, a “task conferred on Peter by the Lord…. rooted in the personal relationship between the historic Jesus and Simon the fisherman, starting from their very first encounter, when Christ says to him : “You are Simon … you will be called Cefa (which means Peter)" (Jn 1,42). Again: “Christ entrusted Peter with a very particular task, recognising in him a special gift of faith from the heavenly Father”. Correcting some erroneous interpretations along protestant lines, which place Peter and Paul’s vocation on the same level, the pontiff clarified: “Parallels between Peter and Paul are suggestive, but they cannot diminish the weight of Simon’s historic journey with his Master and Lord, who from the very beginning characterised him as the “rock” upon which the new community, the Church, would be built”.
The ministry of Peter, the pontiff underlined, is to insure the fullness of the Christian faith. Inspired by today’s Gospel and by Christ’s two questions to his disciples, ("Who do people say that the Son of Man is – But who do you say that I am?” Mt16,13-20),the pope explained : “People think that Jesus is a prophet”, but that is inadequate. “Great scholars – continued Benedict XVI – recognise his spiritual and moral stature and his influence on the history of humanity, comparing him to Buddha, Confucius, Socrates and other great thinkers and figures in history” but they “fail to grasp ….. They fail to recognise his unique entity”. Faced with these people’s response, fruit of an “external” consciousness of the figure of Jesus, “we want to make Peter’s response our own. According to Mark’s Gospel he says: ‘You are the Messiah’ (8, 29); in Luke the affirmation is ‘The Messiah of God’ (9, 20); in Mathew: ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’ (16, 16); and finally in John: ‘you are the Holy One of God’ (6, 69). They were all the right answers, also valid for us”.
Peter’s confession needed to be ‘corrected’ by Jesus: “in the synoptic Gospels – continues the pope - Peter’s confession is always closely followed by Christ’s announcement of his imminent passion. An announcement which provokes a reaction from Peter, who is as of yet unable to comprehend. And yet it is a fundamental element, an element on which Jesus insists with strength”.
“Today as in Christ’s time – continues the pope - it is not enough to possess the right confession of faith: it is always necessary to learn from the Lord the way in which he is the Saviour and the path we must take to follow him. We must recognise that, even for the believer, the Cross is always hard to accept. Our instincts push us to avoid it, and the tempter leads us to believe that it is wiser to save ourselves than lose our lives for our faith in the love of the Son of God made man”.
Concluding, Benedict XVI thanked the delegation from the ecumenical patriarchate of Constantinople and the metropolitans who received the pallium, ending his homily with a prayer to the Blessed Virgin: “May Her inexhaustible faith, which sustained the faith of Peter and the Apostles, continue to inspire the faith of generations of Christians : Queen of the Apostles, pray for us!”.
Following the celebration, accompanied by the Patriarchate delegation, the pope visited the tomb of St Peter where he remained for a moment of silent prayer.
Benedict XVI returned to the theme of ecumenism in reflections before the Angelus with pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s square. After greeting and thanking the delegation from the patriarchate of Constantinople the pope added: “The feast of the Apostles Peter and Paul invites us in a very particular way, to intense prayer and firm action for the cause of unity between Christ’s disciples. The Christian East and West are very close and can already count on an almost complete communion, as is remembered in the Second Vatican Council; I will see that it guides our ecumenical journey. Our encounters, visits and the dialogue which is underway are not mere courtesy or attempts to reach compromises, but signs of our shred will to do all that is possible to achieve full communion implored by Christ in his prayer to the Father after the Last Supper: ‘ut unum sint’”.
The pontiff then recalled the dedication of the Pauline Year which will begin 28 June 2008 and end 29 June 2009, to mark 2000 years since the birth of the apostle Paul. “I hope – said the pope – that the various initiatives organised will contribute to a renewed missionary enthusiasm and intensify our relations with our brothers in the East and with other Christians who like us venerate the Apostle to the gentiles”.
Following the Marian prayer, Benedict XVI greeted the people of Rome, whose patron saints are Peter and Paul, wishing them “peace” and “Christian prosperity”. He asked Rome’s Christians to “always behave in a way that is worthy of the Gospel, to be the ‘yeast’ of every area of life”.
Solidarity of Bishops to Christians in Iraq
Bordeaux,France,June,27,2007(CINS/SIR) - “The news coming from Iraq reveal the increase in armed violence, including murders, sufferings, human tragedies“. It was the opening of the message which Card. Jean-Pierre Ricard, archbishop of Bordeaux and president of the French Bishops’ Conference, sent to Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Babylonia of the Chaldeans. Card. Ricard expressed the “strong solidarity of the French bishops” to the Patriarch and the Christian community in Iraq.
“The whole population is the victim of this dramatic situation – went on Card. Ricard –, but the Christian population is a special victim”. By recalling that “in two years, one half” of them “had to leave the country to seek refuge in nearby countries”, the president of the French bishops stated that “in Iraq, the Christians are in their own country, and they have the right to remain in there”. He said that the perspective of building “a sort of ghetto” is “certainly unacceptable”. Apart from expressing the solidarity of “the Catholics in France to their Iraqi brothers”, Card. Ricard encouraged “the community of the nations and responsible governments to act with determination, to stop violence and to guarantee civil peace in Iraq”. He also asked “political and religious exponents to undertake brave actions”.
Irish Bishops urge Zimbabwean government to address crisis
Maynooth,Ireland,June.22,2007(CINS/ICN) - In company with Catholic Bishops' Conferences throughout the world, the Bishops of Ireland wish to express our deepest concern and dismay at the ever-worsening political and humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe. We wish to register our solidarity with the Bishops and the people of Zimbabwe in their struggle against the forces of oppression.
The Bishops of Zimbabwe have said: "The confrontation in our Country has now reached a flashpoint. As the suffering population becomes more insistent, generating more and more pressure through boycotts, strikes, demonstrations and uprisings, the State responds with ever-harsher oppression through arrests, detentions, banning orders, beatings and torture. In our judgement, the situation is extremely volatile". (God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed, Pastoral Letter of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference, 5 April 2007)
In the light of the current grave humanitarian and political crisis, the Bishops of Ireland:
* Call on the Zimbabwean government to address the crisis of governance and leadership as outlined in the bishops' pastoral letter of the 5 April, God Hears the Cry of the Oppressed.
* Call on the Zimbabwean government to provide urgently needed shelter and food for its population and to facilitate the efforts of aid agencies including those sponsored by the Churches, to provide humanitarian and development assistance to the dispossessed.
* Call on the Irish people to continue their support for aid agencies such as Trócaire in their work to alleviate the worst effects of the humanitarian crisis.
In issuing this statement, we are aware of the long history of friendship which unites Irish people with Zimbabweans, which is due in no small measure by the ongoing dedicated work of Irish missionaries in partnership with the people of Zimbabwe. In this respect, we are conscious of the widespread regard for the memory of the late Irish Carmelite and former Bishop of Mutare, Donal Lamont, who was fearless in his stand for justice and civil rights and who did so much to advance the cause of independence in Zimbabwe.
We join with Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, in his support for the Bishops of Zimbabwe in their call for prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward for the suffering and oppressed people of Zimbabwe.
Another death threat for Italian bishops' leader
Vatican City, Jun. 12, 2007 (CINS/ CWN) - Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, the president of the Italian bishops' conference, has received another death threat, according to the Italian newspaper Il Secolo XIX.
The newspaper reports that Archbishop Bagnasco received a letter on Saturday, saying, "I will kill you." The letter came in an envelope that contained three bullets, the story says.
The Archbishop of Genoa has received several serious threats since he became the leading spokesman for the Catholic opponents of a bill that would allow for legal recognition of same-sex unions in Italy. Vandals have spray-painted slogans and threats on the Genoa cathedral and other Catholic churches, and in April the archbishop received another envelope containing a bullet and a warning.
For the past two months Archbishop Bagnasco has been accompanied by two police guards during all his public appearances, including liturgical ceremonies.