Pope: From the 'yes' of Mary young people should learn to pronounce 'yes' to God

Vatican City, Dec.14, 2007 (CINS/VIS) - Yesterday evening following a Eucharistic celebration for Roman university students, celebrated in the Vatican Basilica and presided by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar general for the diocese of Rome, the Pope arrived in the basilica to greet the young people gathered there.

In his remarks to them, the Holy Father reflected on two themes: the spiritual formation of the young, and his own recent Encyclical "Spe salvi."

He began by recalling how 150 university students from the diocese of Rome have decided to receive the Sacrament of Confirmation on the eve of Pentecost next year. Addressing them and the other young people present, the Pope invited them "to turn their gaze to the Virgin Mary. From her 'yes' you should learn to pronounce your own 'yes' to the divine call. The Holy Spirit enters our lives in the extent to which we open our hearts with our 'yes.' The fuller that 'yes' is, the fuller is the gift of His presence."

Referring to his Encyclical on Christian hope, Benedict invited his listeners to reflect upon and consider, individually and as a group, the section dedicated to hope in the modern age.

The Pope continued: "In the seventeenth century Europe went through an epoch-making change. Since then a mentality has become ever more widespread according to which human progress is the work of science and technology, while faith concerns only the salvation of the soul.

"The two great concepts of modernity - reason and freedom - have been, so to say, 'disengaged' from God," the Holy Father added. They have "become autonomous and work together in the construction of the 'kingdom of man,' which in practice contrasts with the Kingdom of God. Hence the spread of materialist ideas, nourished by the hope that, by changing economic and political structures, it will finally be possible to achieve a just society in which peace, freedom and equality reign.

This process," the Pope concluded, "which is not without its merits and its historical causes, contains, however, a basic error: man is not just the result of certain economic and social conditions; technological progress does not correspond to the moral development of mankind. In fact without ethical principles science and technology can be used - as has happened and unfortunately still does happen - not for the good but to the detriment of individuals and humanity."

Specail Police to protect Pope during World Youth Day

Sydney, Australia, Dec.13,2007 (CINS/Cathnews) - Special police powers similar to those during the APEC summit will be imposed in Sydney to protect Pope Benedict during his visit for World Youth Day.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports body searches, vehicle confiscation and the right to ban people from WYD events will be some of the rights police will have – including control of air space and unauthorised advertising.

The WYD Amendment Bill passed by the NSW Parliament grants the Church unrestricted access to Randwick Racecourse for the closing papal Mass, which the Church estimates will be attended by up to 500,000 international and Australian Catholic pilgrims.

The bill also includes a controversial clause that can delegate power from Parliament to the Government.

It allows the State Government to introduce regulations that permit police and private security guards to conduct searches of pilgrims and their bags, and any cars at World Youth Day sites, and bar entry to anyone.

Airspace around events is to be restricted to all but emergency, police and military aircraft to protect the Pope.

The new laws protect commercial agreements between the church and its sponsors by restricting advertising around buildings and structures at World Youth Day venues.

The World Youth Day Co-ordination Authority will administer the new laws with Deputy Premier John Watkins. The authority of the body and Ms Watkins cannot be “challenged, reviewed quashed or called into question" in court.

Parliament's Legislative Review Committee has warned the of Mr Watkins and the authority has the potential to deny people natural justice and has called the the regulations governing body and property searches an "inappropriate delegation of legislative power".

Death of Cardinal Alfons Maria,Pope's telegram of condolence

Vatican City, Dec.13, 2007 (CINS/VIS) - Pope Benedict XVI has sent two telegrams of condolence for the death, at the age of 97, of Cardinal Alfons Maria Stickler S.D.B., archivist and librarian emeritus of Holy Roman Church: one to the late cardinal's brother and sisters, and another to Fr. Pascual Chavez Villanueva, major rector of the Salesian Society of St. John Bosco.

The Holy Father describes the cardinal as a "sincere and zealous collaborator of the Holy See" who in all his duties "provided precious testimony of fervent faithfulness to Christ and to the Church." He also mentions the "cultural and ecclesial industriousness of the distinguished jurist and illustrious cardinal."

The Holy Father has also sent a telegram to Cardinal Severino Poletto, archbishop of Turin, Italy, for a recent industrial accident in the city's Thyseen-Krupp factory in which four workers lost their lives. The funerals of the victims are being held today.

In the telegram, the Pope expresses the hope "that all means be used to safeguard the dignity and safety of workers," and unites himself to the suffering of the victims' families.

Pope greets seven new Ambassadors to the Holy See

Vatican City, Dec.13, 2007 (CINS/VIS) - Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received the Letters of Credence of seven new ambassadors to the Holy See: Chaiyong Satjipanon of Thailand, Alain Butler-Payette of Seychelles, Peter Hitjitevi Katjavivi of Namibia, Elizabeth Ya Eli Harding of Gambia, Urmila Joella-Sewnundun of Suriname, Barry Desker of Singapore, and Suhail Khalil Shuhaiber of Kuwait.

The Pope addressed the diplomats as a group before greeting them individually and handing each a written copy of a speech concerning the specific situation in his or her own country.

"Your function as diplomats," the Holy Father told them, "is particularly important in today's world, in order to show that in all situations of international life, dialogue must overcome violence, and the desire for peace and fraternity must prevail over the contrasts and selfishness that lead only to tensions, and the resentments that do not contribute to building reconciled societies."

"Through you," he went on, "I wish to launch a fresh call to everyone who plays a role in public life and to those who participate in governing nations, to do everything in their power to restore hope to the peoples they rule, ... bearing in mind their deepest aspirations so that everyone may benefit from the profits of the natural and economic resources of his or her country, in accordance with the principles of justice and equity."

Benedict XVI laid emphasis on the fact that young people "are a country's greatest wealth" and that their "integral education" is "a fundamental necessity." In this context, he also recalled that merely technical and academic training is not enough, and that it is important "to promote education based on human and moral values" in order to ensure that young people "may occupy their rightful place in the development of the nation," having been given an "awareness of the needs of others."

Education "with the help of international institutions involved in eradicating illiteracy," said the Pope, is one "particularly important way to combat the desperation that can take root in the hearts of young people, and that lies at the base of many individual or collective acts of violence."

The Holy Father completed his address by pointing out how the Catholic Church, "through her various educational institutions, is in the frontline alongside men and women of good will, in the field of the integral formation of the young."

In his written remarks to the Thai ambassador, the Pope expresses his concern over "the scourge of AIDS, prostitution and the trafficking of women and children which continue to afflict the countries of the region." In this context, he also points out how "the decline in moral values, fuelled by the trivialization of sexuality in the media and entertainment industries, leads to the degradation of women and even the abuse of children. The complexity of this unspeakable human exploitation demands a concerted international response."

Referring to the Christian concept of human love and sexuality, the Holy Father writes in his discourse to the Namibian ambassador that "the understanding of marriage as the total, reciprocal and exclusive communion of love between a man and a woman not only accords with the plan of the Creator, it prompts the most effective behaviors for preventing the sexual transmission of disease: namely, abstinence before marriage and fidelity within marriage."

In the copy of his address to the ambassador of Singapore, Benedict XVI writes of the Church's particular concern "to defend the universal rights to life and to religious freedom. ... Moreover, the effective recognition of the right to freedom of conscience and religious freedom is one of the most serious duties of every community that truly wishes to ensure the good of the individual and of society. Your government is known for its commitment to initiatives aimed at promoting dialogue, respect and cooperation between different religious groups, of particular importance in view of the diverse ethnic and religious affiliation of your population."

In his discourse to the representative from Kuwait, the Pope says "your country, which has overcome the devastating effects of violence and war, continues to play an important role in the delicate process of reconciliation which offers the only sure hope for a resolution of the many complex problems affecting the Middle East."

Pope at General Audience: Wish you a nice time of Advent inspired by the communion of the Church

Vatican City, Dec.12, 2007 (CINS/SIR) - A figure that “helps us feel the Church as a sacrament of the intimate union with God, the unity between all of us and with all of mankind”. This is how the Pope defined Saint Paolino of Nola, a monk, a presbyter and a bishop of that city of Campania (but a native of Bordeaux), a contemporary of Saint Augustine, bound to him “by a lively friendship”. Of Saint Paolino’s typical spiritual traits, Benedict XVI mentioned “communion as his key approach to the mystery of the Church. In this sense – said the Pope to the about 5 thousand devotees who were in Aula Paolo VI –, I wish you a nice time of Advent”. In telling the biography of the Saint who was the topic of the catechesis of today’s general audience, the Pope began by recalling that Saint Paolino had “a fast political career”, as he became “at a young age” the governor of Campania, a position in which “he was much admired for his gifts of wisdom and mildness”. His “conversion” was driven by “the simple, intense faith with which the people used to honour the tomb of a saint, Felix the martyr”. “Since he was in charge of governance – said the Pope –, he took an interest in the sanctuary and had a poorhouse built, with a street to ease access to the pilgrims”. His meeting with Christ “was the finishing line of a laborious path, sown with ordeals” in which he experienced the transience of all things.

“A big-hearted man”, who “managed to be close to his people in the sorrowful contingencies of the barbarian invasions”. This is another definition used by the Pope to describe Saint Paolino of Nola, who “also experienced marriage”: he actually married Teresia, a “pious noblewoman” from Barcelona, from whom he had a son, who however died shortly after. Just because of this premature death, told Benedict XVI, Paolino understood that “God had some other design for his life”, and he felt himself “called to devote himself to Christ in a rigorous ascetic life”. Thus, “in full agreement” with his wife, he moved to Nola, where he lived in “chaste fraternity” and according to “a form of life of typically monastic retreat”. Ordained presbyter in Barcelona, Paolino “lived his priesthood to the benefit of the pilgrims” by lavishing pastoral attention mostly on the poor and through a “genuine pastoral of charity”. “In his monastic community – said the Holy Father –, the poor felt at home”, because Paolino “did not just give them alms, but welcomed them as Christ Himself”; he had “given them a ward of the monastery, he called them his patrons”.

With his poems, according to the Pope, Paolino “created the true Christian poetry”: “for me, the only art is faith – one of his verses – and Christ is my poetry”. His poetic production, according to Benedict XVI, is made up of “songs of faith and love, in which the daily history of small and big events is grasped as the history of salvation, of God with us”. Paolino was also “a paragon of Christian archaeology”: he had the sanctuary of Saint Felix extended with a new basilica and added to it “pictures and captions for a visual catechesis”, to attract people’s interest. As well as poverty, prayer and the practice of the “lectio divina”, Paolino had a strong feeling, according to the Pope, “of the meaning of the Church as a mystery of unity”, of “communion, mostly lived through a marked practice of spiritual friendship: in this he was a real master”, as is proven by “the intense pages he wrote to Augustine”, which exude “the warmth with which he praises friendship itself as a manifestation of the only body of Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit”. “A beautiful description of what it means to be Christians, to live in the communion of the Church”, Benedict XVI defined it. 

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