Pope Benedict XVI recalled the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht
Vatican City, Nov.10, 2008 - Benedict XVI today recalled the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the pogrom carried out against Jewish citizens, synagogues, offices, neighborhoods, from November 9-10, 1938, which "began the violent persecution that concluded with the Holocaust." The pope expressed this commemoration at the end of the prayer of the Angelus, with more than 30,000 faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.
Benedict XVI, a German pope, said that he is "still pained today over what happened in those tragic circumstances." He called upon all to join him to express "solidarity with the Jewish world," and that, above all through the education of young people, "the horror of anti-Semitism and discrimination may never be repeated again." Calling for "prayers for the victims of that time," the pope also said that the memory of these "terrible events" "must serve to keep such horrors from ever happening again."
The pontiff then issued a new appeal for the population of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where "bloody armed confrontations and systematic atrocities have caused and are causing numerous victims among innocent civilians; destruction, pillaging, and violence of every kind have again forced tens of thousands of people to abandon the little that they had to survive. It is estimated that there are more than one and a half million refugees."
"To all and to each of them," the pope said, "I wish to express my particular closeness, while I encourage and bless all of those who are working to alleviate their sufferings, among whom I mention in particular the pastoral workers of the local Church. To the families deprived of their loved ones, I send my condolences and assurances of my prayers on their behalf. Finally, I renew my fervent appeal that all may work to restore peace to that long-tormented land, in respect for legality and above all for the dignity of each person."
Benedict XVI then turned his attention to the Day of Thanksgiving being celebrated in Italy, under the theme "I was hungry and you gave me to eat," to highlight the problem of hunger and the fair distribution of the fruits of the earth, at a time when food price inflation is causing a nutritional crisis for many families in the world.
"I unite my voice," the pope said, "with that of the Italian bishops who, on the basis of the words of Jesus, are drawing attention to the serious and complex problem of hunger, made more dramatic by the increase in the prices of certain staple foods. The Church, while it upholds the fundamental ethical principle of the universal destination of goods, puts it into practice following the example of the Lord Jesus, with various initiatives of sharing. I pray for the rural world, especially for the small farmers in developing countries. I encourage and bless those who work so that no one may lack healthy and adequate food: those who help the poor help Christ himself."
Before the Angelus, Benedict XVI commented on today's feast, that of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, called "mother and head of all the churches of the City and of the World." "This basilica," the pontiff explained, "was the first to be built after the edict of the Emperor Constantine, who, in 313, granted Christians the freedom to practice their religion. The emperor also gave Pope Miltiades the ancient property of the Lateran family, and had the basilica built there, the baptistry and the residence of the bishop of Rome, where the popes lived until the Avignon period. The dedication of the basilica was celebrated by Pope Sylvester at around 324, and the church was named after the Most Holy Savior; it was only after the sixth century that the titles of St. John the Baptist and John the Evangelist were added, the names by which it became commonly known. At first, this feast day was celebrated only in the city of Rome; then, beginning in 1565, it was extended to all the churches of the Roman rite. In this way, by honoring the sacred edifice, love and veneration are expressed for the Roman Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch affirms, "presides in love" over the entire catholic communion (To the Romans 1,1)."
But "the temple of stone," the pope continued, "is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community, which the apostles Peter and Paul, in their letters, call a 'spiritual edifice' . . . The beauty and harmony of churches, destined to render praise to God, also invite us, limited and sinful human beings, to convert and form a 'cosmos', a well-ordered construction, in close communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of the Saints."
"Dear friends," he concluded, "today's feast celebrates a mystery that is always fresh: God wants to build a spiritual temple in the world, a community that will adore him in spirit and truth (cf. John 4:23-24). But this commemoration also reminds us of the importance of the physical buildings in which the communities gather to praise God. Every community, therefore, has the duty of caring for its sacred buildings, which constitute a precious religious and historical patrimony. Let us therefore call for the intercession of Mary Most Moly, that she may help us to become, like her, 'the house of God', a living temple of his love."
- asianews.it
Pope Benedict XVI congratulated Barack Obama
Vatican City, Nov. 5, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI sent a personal message to President-elect Barack Obama Nov. 5, congratulating him and offering his prayers for Obama and for all the people of the United States.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said that because the message was addressed personally to Obama the Vatican did not plan to publish it.
However, he said, the papal message opened by referring to the "historic occasion" of the election, marking the first time a black man has been elected president of the United States.
The pope congratulated Obama, his wife and family, Father Lombardi said.
"He assured him of his prayers that God would help him with his high responsibilities for his country and for the international community," Father Lombardi said.
The pope also prayed that "the blessing of God would sustain him and the American people so that with all people of good will they could build a world of peace, solidarity and justice," the spokesman said.
Asked if the pope mentioned any specific issues he was concerned about, Father Lombardi responded, "peace, solidarity and justice."
The message to Obama was sent through the office of Mary Ann Glendon, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, he said. Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, also sent a message.
Father Lombardi said it is likely a formal message also will be sent on the occasion of Obama's Jan. 20 inauguration; in past years, the Vatican custom has been that the pope congratulates a new U.S. president only when he formally takes office.
The Vatican newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, was published Nov. 5 with an opinion piece headlined "A choice that unites."
"In the end, change occurred. The slogan that accompanied Barack Obama's whole electoral campaign found its expression" in the results of the Nov. 4 election, said the article by Giuseppe Fiorentino.
"As the president-elect underlined in his victory speech in Chicago, America really is the country where anything can happen," a country "able to overcome fractures and divisions that not long ago seemed impossible to heal," it said.
But, the article said, the vote for Obama was "very pragmatic" because he was the "more convincing" candidate for "an electorate needing new hope, especially for a quick economic recovery."
The newspaper said Obama and his supporters know "not everything is roses and flowers," because of the "huge political, social, economic and moral challenges" the United States is facing.
Obama must unite the nation, a process L'Osservatore said will be helped by the concession speech of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who referred to Obama as "my president."
Vatican Radio called the election of Obama a "historic day" for the United States and underlined the overwhelmingly positive reaction around the world.
A commentary on the election for Asianews, a Rome-based missionary news agency, ran under the headline: "I'm happy for the victory of Barack Obama."
Written by Father Piero Gheddo, a member of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, the commentary listed three reasons for satisfaction at the result:
-- Obama will give a positive impression of the United States at a time when "America is seen in a bad light and even hated throughout the world."
-- The election of the first black U.S. president offers a lesson on racial equality, especially for Europe. It is an extraordinarily encouraging sign for black people around the world, who have often faced humiliation, it said.
-- Obama's victory speech ended with the words, "God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America," something that would not be possible in Catholic Italy and which demonstrates that religion remains at the foundations of public life in the United States.
- CNS
Pope Benedict XVI : the mission of the Church to bring Christ to all mankind
Castel Gandolfo, Aug. 25, 2008 - At his Angelus audience on Sunday, August 24, Pope Benedict XVI said that the mission of the Church-- to bring Christ to all mankind-- should never be identified with any nation or culture.In his remarks to the crowd gathered in the courtyard of the apostolic palace at Castel Gandolfo, the Holy Father reflected on the day's Gospel reading, with Peter's profession of faith and Jesus' reply: "You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my Church."
"This is the first time that Jesus speaks of the Church," the Pope observed. As he gives Peter the commission to lead the Church, Jesus also indicates the purpose of the Petrine ministry: to build up the Church by protecting against division-- by serving as the one rock upon which the Christian community is founded.
The Pope told his audience that he felt the weight of this responsibility, and asked for the prayers of the faithful to help him with his duties. He underlined the importance of bringing Christ's offer of salvation to all of the world's people. "What blessings mankind would receive by accepting this offer, which brings joy and peace," the Pope said.
After leading the Angelus prayer, the Holy Father turned his attention to the international scene, remarking sadly on "a deeply worrisome rise in tensions" and a "progressive deterioration in the climate of trust and cooperation among nations." In what appeared to be a reference to the violence in South Ossetia he warned against a new rise of nationalism, reminding his audience that nationalism has produced "tragic consequences" in other cases.
Despite the dangers of current world events, the Pope said, "we must not give in to pessimism!" He urged recognition of "the moral force of law," and "fair and transparent negotiations" to resolve international tensions.
Above all, the Pope said, world leaders must resist "the temptation to meet new situations with old systems." To underscore his meaning he added: "Violence must be repudiated."
- CWNews.com
Pope Benedict XVI sketched a rough biography of St. Paul
Vatican, Aug. 27, 2008 - At his Wednesday public audience on August 27, Pope Benedict XVI sketched a rough biography of St. Paul.
The Holy Father had announced on July 2 that he planned a series of weekly talks on St. Paul's life and teaching during the current Pauline year. But the Pope's regular cycle of weekly audiences was interrupted by his vacation and his trip to Australia for World Youth Day. Upon resuming his weekly sessions, the Pope devoted two audiences to other topics: on August 13 to the importance of prayer and on August 20 to the veneration of the saints. So his August 27 talk was only the second in the projected series.
The audience was also the first held at the Vatican in several weeks; on the two previous Wednesdays the Pontiff had met with the faithful in the courtyard of his summer residence. Today he traveled by helicopter from Castel Gandolfo to the Vatican, returning later in the day.
Explaining his plans to the crowd in the Paul VI auditorium, the Pope said that he would speak the following week about the pivotal event in St. Paul's life: his conversion on the road to Damascus. For now he offered an overview of the Apostle's life.
First the Pope explained that experts set the birth of St. Paul in the year 8 AD-- thus establishing this year as the 2000th anniversary-- because Saul was described as a young man at the time St. Stephen was slain, and as an old man when he was imprisoned in Rome.
Saul was born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia that was a provincial capital-- which, incidentally, was once ruled by Cicero, and later was the site of the first meeting between Marc Antony and Cleopatra.
Saul was a Jew who spoke Greek and a Roman citizen. Thus, the Pope remarked, he lived at the intersection of three important cultures. He was also a trained craftsman, who probably learned from his father to make tents.
At about the age of 12, young Saul left Tarsus for Jerusalem, to study in the strict tradition of the Pharisees. That study, the Pope observed, "instilled in him a great zeal for the Mosaic law," and caused him to view the followers of Christ as dangerous threats to Jewish orthodoxy and identity.
That intolerant attitude was changed completely along the road to Damascus, the Pope continued, and Paul became a tireless missionary for the Gospel. He undertook three great missionary journeys, which are described in the Acts of the Apostles, followed by his fourth trip as a prisoner to Rome.
Pope Benedict traced the route taken by Paul and his companions on those trips, as well as the key role that Paul played in the Council of Jerusalem. The Pope noted that while St. Luke reports that Paul spent two years in Rome under house arrest, the final events of the Apostle's life are not fully recorded. But apparently his appeal to the Emperor Nero was unsuccessful, and he died as a martyr. The Pontiff promised to speak about St. Paul's martyrdom, too, in a future Wednesday catechetical talk.
cwnews
Pope Benedict XVI urged to overcome all forms of racial intolerance
VATICAN CITY -- Pope Benedict XVI warned that racism is alive in modern society, and he urged the church to help overcome all forms of racial intolerance.
He said racism today is often tied to economic and social problems. Although such problems may be real, they can never justify racial discrimination, he said Aug. 17.
While the pontiff did not mention specific countries, his words had an immediate echo in Italy, where a series of government actions against illegal immigrants have prompted strong debate inside and outside the church.
The pope, addressing pilgrims at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, began his remarks by quoting the prophet Isaiah about the "foreigners" who will be included in the Lord's universal house of prayer.
Likewise, the pope said, the church today is made up of people of every race and culture, and part of its mission is to help forge bonds of communion between races.
That task includes "helping civil society to overcome any possible temptation to racism, intolerance and exclusion," he said.
"One of humanity's great achievements is, in fact, overcoming racism," he said.
The pope said various countries had "new, worrisome signs of racism, often tied to social and economic problems," but such problems could "never justify racial contempt and discrimination."
The pope asked for prayers so that mutual acceptance may grow in the world.
In Italy, some Catholics have criticized the government's new crackdown on illegal immigration and other security measures, saying they are racially discriminatory.
Some of the strongest criticism came after the government, led by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, announced plans to fingerprint every Gypsy who lives in Italy. The Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana, Italy's top-selling newsweekly, said the plan was evidence of a "creeping racism."
In mid-August, Famiglia Cristiana stepped up its criticism of the Berlusconi government, saying in effect that officials were provoking a "war among the poor" instead of dealing with Italy's real criminal problems. The comments prompted an outcry.
On Aug. 14, the Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, said that while Famiglia Cristiana was an important Catholic magazine its views represented its own editorial line and not necessarily that of the Vatican or the Italian bishops.
Members of the political parties that form the governing coalition said the spokesman's statement represented a clear distancing of the Vatican from the magazine's criticism.
-(CNS)