The Year for Priests will be inaugurated by Pope Benedict XVI on June 19th
Vatican City, May 29, 2009 - "The Year for Priests, announced by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, is drawing near. It will be inaugurated by the Holy Father on the 19th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests."
This is the opening of the letter written by the Prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, addressed to the priests of the world, asking for their common effort "so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world – in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community – with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labors.”
The Cardinal continues: “It must be a year that is both positive and forward looking in which the Church says to her priests above all, but also to all the Faithful and to wider society by means of the mass media, that she is proud of her priests, loves them, honours them, admires them and that she recognises with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life.” While the priests “are important not only for what they do but also for who they are,” the Cardinal mentions that “some priests have been shown to have been involved in gravely problematic and unfortunate situations,” and obviously, “it is necessary to investigate these matters, pursue judicial processes and impose penalties accordingly. However, it is also important to keep in mind that these pertain to a very small portion of the clergy. The overwhelming majority of priests are people of great personal integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry; men of prayer and of pastoral charity.”
Among the objectives of this Year, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy mentions “intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society.” He also expresses the hope that it will be a “year in which the concrete circumstances and the material sustenance of the clergy will be considered, since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship ,” and “a year as well of religious and of public celebration which will bring the people – the local Catholic community – to pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honor to their priests.”
The Letter concludes with an invitation to all the Bishops' Conferences, dioceses, parishes, and local communities, to prepare a program for this special Year. “The local Churches are invited on the 19th June next, the same day on which the Holy Father will inaugurate the Year for Priests in Rome, to participate in the opening of the Year, ideally by some particular liturgical act and festivity. Let those who are able most surely come to Rome for the inauguration, to manifest their own participation in this happy initiative of the Pope.”
Pope Benedict XVI calls Sri Lanka to ensure security civilians
Pope Benedict XVI has called for the warring sides in Sri Lanka to ensure security for evacuating civilians and for aid groups to get them the food and medicine they urgently need.
In his weekly Sunday blessing, Benedict said he was spiritually close to all Sri Lankans and was praying for peace and reconciliation in the island nation.
"There are thousands of children, women, old people for whom the war has taken years of their lives and hope," Benedict said.
Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels admitted defeat on Sunday in their 25-year civil war with the government, promising to lay down their arms.
Benedict said the aid groups should "leave no stone unturned" as they care for the thousands of civilians who fled the waning battles between the government and rebels.
He said he was adding his voice to that of the UN Security Council, which last week demanded that civilians be allowed to leave the war zone.
Pope Benedict XVI : I come to encourage you
Amman, Jordon, May 11, 2009 - May Christ “give you his courage”: that was Benedict XVI’s wish and mandate to the 20 thousand Catholics who filled the International Stadium of Amman for mass this morning which gave the Pope the opportunity to underline “prophetic chrism” of women, particularly in this region.
It is the only public mass to be celebrated by the Pope in this nation. Jordan – which conceded a holiday to Christians today – is in a certain way a oasis for the regions Christians, who count a little over 100 thousand, 2% of the entire population, but who are free to profess their faith, build churches and schools and now even universities. All around the situation is completely different: from tight control in Syria to violence in Iraq. And there are 70 thousand Christians among the 700,000 Iraqi refugees in Jordan. They too were present at the mass, calling out loud in greeting to their Pope. Among the 200 children receiving their first Holy Communion today were 40 Iraqi boys and girls, some of whom received the sacrament from Benedict XVI.
I come, the Pope told them, “to encourage you to persevere in faith, hope and love, in fidelity to the ancient traditions and the distinguished history of Christian witness which you trace back to the age of the Apostles. The Catholic community here is deeply touched by the difficulties and uncertainties which affect all the people of the Middle East. May you never forget the great dignity which derives from your Christian heritage”. Already on the flight from Rome to Amman, Benedict XVI had told journalists that his visit aimed at encouraging Christians in the region to “find the courage, humility and patience to stay in these countries and offer their contribution for the future”.
“May the courage of Christ our shepherd – he added today - inspire and sustain you daily in your efforts to bear witness to the Christian faith and to maintain the Church’s presence in the changing social fabric of these ancient lands. Fidelity to your Christian roots, fidelity to the Church’s mission in the Holy Land, demands of each of you a particular kind of courage: the courage of conviction, born of personal faith, not mere social convention or family tradition; the courage to engage in dialogue and to work side by side with other Christians in the service of the Gospel and solidarity with the poor, the displaced, and the victims of profound human tragedies; the courage to build new bridges to enable a fruitful encounter of people of different religions and cultures, and thus to enrich the fabric of society. It also means bearing witness to the love which inspires us to “lay down” our lives in the service of others, and thus to counter ways of thinking which justify “taking” innocent lives.”. “Let us seek the intercession of Mother of Mercy and Queen of Peace – he added in the Regina Caeli - for all the families of these lands, that they may truly be schools of prayer and schools of love. Let us ask the Mother of the Church to look down in mercy upon all the Christians of these lands, and with the help of her prayers, may they be truly one in the faith they profess and the witness they bear”.
During the prayers of the faithful, a prayer for the “long desired peace” in the Middle East, Palestine and Lebanon. In one side of the stadium is a group of Lebanese invites the Pope to come visit them. Palestinian flags can be seen here and there.
There were songs and chants in Arabic and Aramaic, and the great alter was decorated with images of Jesus, Mary, and John Baptist, patron saint of Jordan. The crowd paid close attention and was particularly careful to the proceedings within the stadium, the same place where in 200 John Paul II celebrated mass. Prince Ghazi Bin Mohammad, the king’s chief advisor on religious affairs was also present: one of the chief signatories of the Letter by 138 Muslim scholars and it was he who accompanied Benedict XVI during his visit to the “al-Hussein bin-Talal” Mosque in Amman. The Pope thanked him for his presence. During his address the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Fouuad Twal, also praised the stability offered by prolonged wise governance of the country and added that the Church in this land is witnessing a growth in vocations.
For the Church in the Holy Land this is the Year of the Family. Benedict XVI recalled this and spoke of the “strong Christian families of these lands” stressing the role of women in God’s plans. “How much the Church in these lands owes to the patient, loving and faithful witness of countless Christian mothers, religious Sisters, teachers, doctors and nurses! How much your society owes to all those women who in different and at times courageous ways have devoted their lives to building peace and fostering love! From the very first pages of the Bible, we see how man and woman, created in the image of God, are meant to complement one another as stewards of God’s gifts and partners in communicating his gift of life, both physical and spiritual, to our world. Sadly, this God-given dignity and role of women has not always been sufficiently understood and esteemed. The Church, and society as a whole, has come to realize how urgently we need what the late Pope John Paul II called the “prophetic charism” of women (cf. Mulieris Dignitatem, 29) as bearers of love, teachers of mercy and artisans of peace, bringing warmth and humanity to a world that all too often judges the value of a person by the cold criteria of usefulness and profit. By its public witness of respect for women, and its defence of the innate dignity of every human person, the Church in the Holy Land can make an important contribution to the advancement of a culture of true humanity and the building of the civilization of love.”.
Benedict XVI also spoke of the “prophetic charism of women” in his Regina Caeli address. The supreme example of womanly virtue is the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Mother of Mercy and Queen of Peace. As we turn to her now, let us seek her maternal intercession for all the families of these lands, that they may truly be schools of prayer and schools of love”.
The people applaud, and then they slowly begin to leave. Reluctantly: tomorrow Benedict XVI will leave, destination Jerusalem.
-Asianews
Jewish leaders know Pope Benedict's teaching about Jews and Judaism
Vatican City, May 11, 2009 - As Pope Benedict XVI prepared to visit Israel in early May, Jewish leaders involved in dialogue appeared to be hopeful and not particularly wary about what the pope would say.
On the other hand, many members of the Jewish community and Catholics sensitive to their feelings appeared to be holding their breath, praying that the pope would not inadvertently offend his hosts.
The difference stems from the fact that Jewish leaders know Pope Benedict 's teaching about Jews and Judaism from his theological speeches and articles.
Speaking in Rome in March, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, the U.S.-born chief rabbi of Poland, said the Holy Land trip can be "very enlightening and help Pope Benedict show in a very clear way" the sensitivity and respect that has been clear in his writings for decades.
In evaluating the pope's work, Jewish leaders appreciate several facts: Pope Benedict explicitly recognizes that God chose the Jewish people as his own and established a special bond with them; he recognizes that for centuries Christians used Jesus' death as an excuse to denigrate -- and even persecute -- the Jews; and he understands that the contempt some Christians had for the Jews created an atmosphere that the Nazis easily and progressively manipulated to the point of killing 6 million Jews.
But theological work does not grab the headlines the way gestures do and a Vatican explanation of a papal misstep may limit the damage, but it is hard to eliminate all suspicion.
Those who are worried can't seem to shake their puzzlement over the fact that in January the pope lifted the excommunication of a bishop who minimized the Holocaust.
The Vatican later made it clear that Bishop Richard Williamson, a member of the Society of St. Pius X, who had denied the extent of the Holocaust, must publicly recant his views if he wants to function as a bishop in the Catholic Church.
Writing to the world's bishops in March, Pope Benedict said he was saddened that people seemed to jump to the conclusion that he was stepping back from efforts to promote reconciliation between Catholics and Jews and was rejecting the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
"Precisely for this reason I thank all the more our Jewish friends, who quickly helped to clear up the misunderstanding and to restore the atmosphere of friendship and trust," the pope wrote after emphasizing the horror of the Holocaust and the importance of remembering it.
The papal apology was effective with the church's Jewish dialogue partners because they were able to put the issue into the perspective of what they knew about the German-born pope's thinking, especially from what he had published as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The day the Vatican released the pope's apologetic letter, Pope Benedict met with a delegation from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
Rabbi Shear-Yashuv Cohen, chief rabbi of Haifa, told the pope, "We thank the Holy See for making this renewal (of dialogue) possible by the clear and unequivocal statements deploring the Holocaust denial and making it very clear that the Catholic Church leaders are committed" to continue working for improved relations with the Jews.
In his remarks to the rabbis, the pope reaffirmed in summary form his understanding of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council that make respect, dialogue and reconciliation between Catholics and Jews possible.
"The church recognizes that the beginnings of her faith are found in the historical divine intervention in the life of the Jewish people and that here our unique relationship has its foundation," he said.
"The Jewish people, who were chosen as the elected people, communicate to the whole human family knowledge of and fidelity to the one, unique and true God," the pope said.
The teachings are the same as those meticulously spelled out by then-Cardinal Ratzinger during a speech to a major international Catholic-Jewish conference in Jerusalem in 1994.
The speech -- widely republished and included in Cardinal Ratzinger's book, "Many Religions, One Covenant" -- is such a clear synthesis of his thinking about Jews and Judaism that Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, included the full text in background materials for Vatican Radio reporters covering the trip.
The future pope began with an acknowledgment: "The history of the relationship between Israel and Christendom is drenched with blood and tears. It is a history of mistrust and hostility, but also -- praise be to God -- a history marked again and again by attempts at forgiveness, understanding and mutual acceptance."
The Holocaust, he said, was not simply a horror to be remembered, but it is a demand on humanity -- especially on believers in the one God -- to engage in a mission of reconciliation and mutual acceptance.
But respect for the Jewish people and their ongoing special relationship with God does not and cannot mean that the pope will not speak about the gift of salvation in Jesus Christ as he visits the land of the savior's birth, life, death and resurrection.
The pope is well aware, however, that for centuries Christians blamed the Jews, rather than human sinfulness, for Jesus' death and that attitude was at the root of the so-called "teaching of contempt."
It was a central topic in Cardinal Ratzinger's 1994 speech.
Even as a child growing up in Germany, he told his audience, "I could not understand how some people wanted to derive a condemnation of Jews from the death of Jesus because the following thought had penetrated my soul as something profoundly consoling: Jesus' blood raises no calls for retaliation, but calls all to reconciliation."
In the Bible, he said, "there are not two effects of the cross -- a damning one and a saving one -- but only a single effect, which is saving and reconciling."
-CNS
Benedict XVI expressed his deep respect for the Muslim community
Amman, Jordan, May 08, 2009 - Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Jordan on the first leg of a Holy Land pilgrimage and praised the country's efforts to oppose conflict and violence between the West and the Islamic world.
At an airport welcoming ceremony in Amman May 8, the pope expressed his "deep respect for the Muslim community" and paid tribute to interfaith dialogue initiatives launched by Jordanian leaders.
"We can say that these worthy initiatives have achieved much good in furthering an alliance of civilizations between the West and the Muslim world, confounding the predictions of those who consider violence and conflict inevitable," he said in a speech.
He commended Jordan for curbing extremism and protecting the religious freedom of the country's Christian minority and said its leaders had promoted "a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam."
The 82-year-old pontiff appeared energetic, quickly descending from the plane on the first stop on an eight-day pilgrimage that was later to take him to Israel and Palestinian territories. His visit to Jordan was his first to an Arab country.
He was met at Queen Alia International Airport outside Amman by King Abdullah II of Jordan and Queen Rania, his wife. The king had announced he would break protocol to personally greet the pope at the airport and to send him off three days later.
After a cannon salute and the playing of the Vatican and Jordanian national anthems, the pope and king disappeared from public view for several minutes before entering a tent and giving their formal speeches.
King Abdullah told the pope that Muslims, Christians and Jews -- as "believers in the one God" -- have an obligation to love God and to love one another, commandments that are found in the holy books of all three faiths.
The king said that when Pope John Paul II visited in 2000 the pontiff had emphasized the importance of dialogue to promote respect among believers and peace in the world. Later events, including the 9/11 terrorist attacks, proved that Pope John Paul was right, the king said.
"Voices of provocation, ambitious ideologies of division, threaten unspeakable suffering. We must reject such a course for our world's future. Here and now we must create a new and global dialogue, of understanding and good will," he said.
Jordan, a predominantly Muslim country, is considered a model for Christian-Muslim relations, and the members of the royal family have led the way in promoting interreligious dialogue.
The open letter that launched the Common Word initiative in 2007, a moderate Muslim dialogue effort, was written by Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Muhammad bin Talal, who was among the first to greet the pope at the airport.
Pope Benedict said he had come to Jordan as a pilgrim to visit Christian holy places, including Mount Nebo, from which Moses saw the Promised Land, and the Jordan River, where Christ was baptized.
He said the fact that he would bless foundation stones for new churches near the baptism site reflected well on Jordan's respect for religion and protection of religious rights.
"Religious freedom is, of course, a fundamental right, and it is my fervent hope and prayer that respect for the inalienable rights and dignity of every man and woman will come to be increasingly affirmed and defended, not only throughout the Middle East, but in every part of the world," he said.
King Abdullah told the pope all Jordanian citizens -- Christians and Muslims -- are equal citizens under law and "all share in creating our country's future."
The king also prayed that the pope's visit would give new energy to efforts to promote peace throughout the Middle East, but especially in the Holy Land.
He spoke about creating a "neighborhood of peace, where every family can enjoy the blessings of safety, where no child will be held back by violence and destruction, where all communities will know the power of reconciliation, and where the Palestinian people will find an end to occupation and suffering and share, at last, in the rightful dignity of freedom."
Muslims make up about 92 percent of the Jordanian population; the Arab Christian community in Jordan, which has existed on this land since the time of Jesus, is estimated today at between 3 percent and 6 percent. Catholics in Jordan number about 109,000, according to the latest church statistics.
The pope praised the country's leaders for supporting efforts to find a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In late April, King Abdullah met with U.S. President Barack Obama and urged him to make decisive moves for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, warning that a new Middle East war could erupt if no real progress is made over the next 18 months.
The king met more recently with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to try to relaunch serious peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis based on a two-state solution.
The pope favorably noted Jordan's welcoming of refugees from Iraq. Jordan has absorbed an estimated 700,000 Iraqi refugees, including some 70,000 Christians, according to church sources. In addition, Jordan is home to 1.9 million Palestinian refugees who have been forced to leave their homes on land occupied by Israel since 1948.
Outside the airport, hundreds of schoolchildren cheered as the papal motorcade passed. Wearing kaffiyehs and papal-visit caps, they waved Vatican flags and held banners with various welcome messages written in Arabic.
After leaving the airport, the pope was to visit a church-run center for the disabled in Amman and later in the day make a courtesy visit to the king and queen at the royal palace.
While the official Jordanian welcome was warm and cordial, the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and its political arm, the Islamic Action Front, have criticized the pope's visit and insisted that he should apologize for his 2006 speech that linked Islam and violence.
-CNS