Pope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical to be titled “Love in Truth”

Vatican City, Mar 15, 2008 (vaticans.org).- third encyclical will discuss Catholic social teaching, touching on issues as varied as poverty, peace, wars, international cooperation, energy sources, and globalization.

The encyclical will be titled “Caritas in Veritate,” “Love In Truth,” La Repubblica reports.

“Caritas in Veritate” will be Pope Benedict ’s third encyclical.  His first encyclical, “Deus Caritas Est,” examined the virtue of love while the second, “Spe Salvi,” focused upon the virtue of hope.

The four-chapter encyclical will no longer be published on May 1 as previously planned, but will be delayed so that translations, especially the Chinese translation, may be completed.

The decision to offer a Chinese version of the encyclical comes at a time when Pope Benedict is seeking to improve relations with the Chinese government.

Last June, he sent a letter offering dialogue with Chinese authorities.  In September, Chinese priest Father Joseph Li Shan was installed as Bishop of Beijing with the approval of the Pope, an event that has not happened in fifty years.

Other Vatican-approved bishops are believed to have been installed in the official state church in China.  China has an estimated eight to 12 million Catholics split between an ‘underground’ Church loyal to Rome and a state-run Catholic Patriotic Association cooperative with the government.

Source: CNA

Pope Benedict XVI asks youths to make room for Holy Spirit

Vatican City, Mar.14, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Yesterday afternoon in the Vatican Basilica Benedict XVI presided at a penitential liturgy with young people from Rome in preparation for the 23rd World Youth Day. The Day is due to be held in Sydney , Australia from 15 to 20 July on the theme: "You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses".

"At the roots of being Christian", the Holy Father told the young people, "is an encounter with an event, with a Person. This opens a new horizon and, with it, a decisive sense of direction". In order "to favour this encounter you are preparing to open your hearts to God, confessing your sins and - by the action of the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of the Church - receiving forgiveness and peace.

  "Thus", he added, "we make room in ourselves for the presence of the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Blessed Trinity which is the 'soul' and the 'vital breath' of Christian life. The Spirit helps us to grow 'in an understanding of Jesus that becomes ever deeper and more joyful and, at the same time, to put the Gospel into practice'", he said.

On this subject, Pope Benedict recalled one of his own meditations on the Pentecost when he was archbishop of Munich and Freising, inspired by the film "Seelenwanderung" in which one of the characters sells his soul in exchange for worldly success. "From the moment he freed himself of his soul he no longer had any scruples or humanity", said the Pope, "providing striking evidence of how the facade of success often hides an empty life".

"A human being cannot throw away his own soul, because it is the soul that makes him human. ... Yet he does have the frightening possibility of being inhuman, of remaining a person but at the same time selling or losing his own humanity.

"The distance between the human person and the inhuman being is immense, yet it cannot be demonstrated; it is what is truly important, yet it is apparently without importance". Likewise, the Holy Spirit "cannot be seen with the eyes. Whether it enters into a person or not, it cannot be seen or demonstrated; but it changes and renews all the perspectives of human life. The Holy Spirit does not change the exterior situations of life, but the interior".

"Let us then", the Holy Father continued, "prepare ourselves, with a sincere examination of conscience, to present ourselves before the people to whom Christ entrusted the ministry of reconciliation. ... Thus will we experience true joy, the joy that derives from the mercy of God, flows into our hearts and reconciles us to Him. ... Be bearers of this joy, which comes from welcoming the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and witness its fruits in your own lives".

"Always remember that you are 'temples of the Spirit'. Allow Him to dwell in you and humbly obey His commands, in order to make your own contribution to the building of the Church and to discern the type of vocation to which the Lord calls you. ... Be generous, allow yourselves to be helped by using the Sacrament of Confession and by the practice of spiritual guidance".

Benedict XVI concluded his remarks by recalling how 25 years ago John Paul II inaugurated the San Lorenzo Youth Centre near the Vatican "to facilitate the welcome of young people, the sharing of experiences and the witness of faith and, above all, the prayer that helps us to discover the love of God".

On that 13 March 1983, John Paul II said: "Where can we go in this world, with sin and guilt, without the Cross? The Cross takes upon itself all the misery of the world, which is born of sin. It is the sign of grace. ... It encourages us to sacrifice ourselves for others".

"May this experience be renewed for you today", said Benedict XVI. "Look to the Cross now, and let us accept God's love which is given to us by the Cross, by the Holy Spirit which comes from the pierced side of the Lord and, as John Paul II said: 'Yourselves become redeemers of the young people of the world'".

During the ceremony, many of the thousands of young people present confessed with the Holy Father and with the hundreds of priests and penitentiaries from the four papal basilicas.

Source: VIS

Pope at General Audience: True happiness lies in continuing to hope in God

Vatican City, Mar 12, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict greeted pilgrims in Paul VI Hall this morning as he held his weekly general audience. Continuing his catechesis on ancient Church figures, he spoke today about Boethius and Cassiodorus, two great Christian writers who lived in Italy during the years following the fall of the Roman Empire.

Boethius, best known for his work “On the Consolation of Philosophy”, was born in Rome in 480, and entered public life as a senator at the age of 25. However, he continued his philosophical and religious studies alongside his public responsibilities, anxious to preserve the heritage of Greek and Roman learning for future generations.

Unjustly imprisoned and later executed by King Theodoric for allegedly plotting to assassinate him, he wrote his greatest philosophical work in prison. In reflecting on the injustice of his situation in the light of biblical Wisdom literature and classical authors, he concluded that true happiness lies in continuing to hope in God, despite adversity.

The Holy Father said, that indeed, "Boethius is a symbol of a huge number of prisoners unjustly condemned throughout all times and across all latitudes. His life is in fact a place to enter into the contemplation of the mystery of the Crucifixion of Golgotha."

Speaking of Cassiodorus, Boethius' contemporary, Pope Benedict said, "Indeed, harsh fortune helps us to distinguish true friends from false ones, and there can be few greater consolations than that of true friendship."

Cassiodorus also sought to preserve the heritage of Greek and Roman learning and devoted much time and energy to promoting the monastic movement. He did so because he believed that monks were the people best placed to preserve and hand on the heritage of Classical Christian culture.

He conceived the idea of entrusting to monks the task recovering, preserving and passing on to posterity the immense cultural heritage of the ancients.  With this purpose in mind,  Cassiodorus founded a monastery, and ensured that monks were trained not only in manual and agricultural labor, but in transcribing and preserving manuscripts.

At the same time, Cassiodorus maintained the monastic spiritual ideals of contemplation and charitable service to the poor. Pope Benedict remarked that, "We would do well to take note of his advice to his monks: 'Meditate day and night on the law of the Lord and always focus your attention upon Christ'."

In closing, Pope Benedict invoked his blessing on all the pilgrims present saying, "Upon all of you, and upon your families and loved ones at home, I invoke God's blessings of joy and peace."

Source:CNA

Chinese youth will join Filipino youth to see the pope in Sydney.

Manila, Philippines, Mar.12,2008 (Vaticans.org) - A group of 20 young people from Hong Kong will join the Manila delegation to participate in the upcoming World Youth Day scheduled to take place in Sydney in July.

The confirmation comes from the archbishop of the Philippine capital, Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales, who agreed to the request presented by Fr Nugent, the cultural liaison for the nunciature, who resides in the territory.

According to Brother Rey Domingo, the program coordinator of the Ministry for Youth Affairs of the Manila archdiocese, "by accepting this request, Cardinal Rosales wanted to display the friendship that binds him to Fr Nugent.  It is a rare opportunity for the young people of Hong Kong, who will be able to participate in the event and see the pope in person".

Before their departure, the delegation of young people will meet in Manila for an orientation program.

Source:AsiaNews/CBCP

Pope Benedict XVI's third enclyclical coming soon

Vatican City, Feb.29,2008 (vaticans.org) -  Pope Benedict will soon finish his encyclical on social issues, the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone has confirmed.

Catholic News Agency reports Cardinal Bertone said the Pope is working on a social encyclical, which he believes will have a "significant impact on the great social and economic problems in the contemporary world".

"Pope Benedict will address issues particularly related to the third and the fourth world," Cardinal Bertone said

The concept of the "fourth world" was coined by Pope John Paul II in his social encyclical Sollicitudo Rei Socialis in reference to the poor and marginalized living in developed countries.

While Cardinal Bertone gave no clue as to when the document will be released, unnamed sources from the Vatican said the third encyclical of Pope Benedict would be signed on the feast of St Joseph on 19 March and released during Easter.

"The encyclical will focus on international social problems, with special attention to developing countries," he said.

Source:CN

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