Pope Benedict XVI's tlk on the Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite
Vatican City, May. 15, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Pope Benedict XVI resumed his series of talks on the early Church Fathers at his weekly public audience on May 14, introducing the Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, explaining how that 6th-century scholar anticipated the demands of inter-faith dialogue today. The actual author of the works written by the Pseudo-Dionysius (also sometimes known as Dionysius the Pseudo-Areopagite) is unknown. He took his pseudonym from the Athenian named Dionysius, a prominent figure at the Areopagus, whose conversion by St. Paul is described in the Acts of the Apostles. The goal of the Pseudo-Dionysius, Pope Benedict explained to his Wednesday audience, was "to place Greek wisdom at the service of the Gospel." The Pseudo-Dionysius firmly believed that truth "eradicates error and brings the good to shine forth," the Holy Father said. Since the truth is found in God, the scholar's work provided the Church with the first " ...Read More
warning of doctrinal difficulties in Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church
Canberra, May. 13, 2008 (vaticans.org) - The Australian Catholic bishops' conference has issued a public statement warning of "doctrinal difficulties" in a book by the retired bishop. Bishop Geoffrey Robinson, who was an auxiliary bishop of the Sydney archdiocese for 20 years prior to his retirement in 2001, is the author of Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church: Reclaiming the Spirit of Jesus. Bishop Robinson is currently on a promotional tour, speaking about the book to audiences in the United States. At their May meeting, the Australian bishops warn that Confronting Power calls into question "the authority of the Catholic Church to teach the truth definitively." The book reflects "Bishop Robinson’s uncertainty about the knowledge and authority of Christ himself," the bishops report. The bishops' statement goes on to note problems with the bishop's book on "among other things, the nature of Tradition, ...Read More
Possibility for Christians to believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life
Vatican City, May. 14, 2008 (vaticans.org) - In an interview for L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican's astronomer has offered his opinion that it is possible for Christians to believe in the existence of extra-terrestrial life. Father José Gabriel Funes, an Argentine Jesuit, told the Vatican newspaper: "Just there is a multiplicity of creatures on earth there could be other beings, intelligent ones, created by God." The astronomer's remarks appeared under the headline: "The extra-terrestrial is my brother." The interview in L'Osservatore Romano spawned dozens of headline stories in the secular press, many of them suggesting-- inaccurately-- that the Vatican had given official approval to belief in life on other planets. Father Funes offered a more limited view, saying that the possibility of extra-terrestrial life cannot be disproved, and "does not contradict our faith." He argued that Christians should not attempt to pl ...Read More
Archbishop Oscar Cruz has been charged with libel
Manila, May. 13, 2008 (vaticans.org) - A longstanding dispute between a Filipino archbishop and the country's government leaders came to a head on May 13 when a Manila court issued a warrant for the prelate's arrest. Archbishop Oscar Cruz of Lingayen Dagupan, a persistent critic of government corruption, has been charged with libel. The complaint was filed by a group of government employees who say that the archbishop defamed them when he said that they had acted as "guest-relations officers" at a party for José Miguel Arroyo, the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In April, Archbishop Cruz said that he would not be deterred by the threat of a libel charge. Government leaders are trying to silence public critic ...Read More
Internet – Easy access to Sin?!
Dear Friends in Christ Jesus, Greetings! ...Read More
Today in Church History - April 21
1957 Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Fidei Donum 1878 Pope Leo XIII publishes encyclical Inscrutabili ...Read More
Pope Benedict: Address to the UN General Assembly [full text]
Mr President,Ladies and Gentlemen,As I begin my address to this Assembly, I would like first of all to express to you, Mr President, my sincere gratitude for your kind words. My thanks go also to the Secretary-General, Mr Ban Ki-moon, for inviting me to visit the headquarters of this Organization and for the welcome that he has extended to me. I greet the Ambassadors and Diplomats from the Member States, and all those present. Through you, I greet the peoples who are represented here. They look to this institution to carry forward the founding inspiration to establish a "centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends" of peace and development (cf. Charter of the United Nations, article 1.2-1.4). As Pope John Paul II expressed it in 1995, the Organization should be "a moral centre where all the nations of the world feel at home and develop a shared awareness of being, as it were, a ‘family of nations’&quo ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI told, "Human rights must be established on the principles of natural law"
New York, Apr. 18, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Human rights must be established on the firm and unchanging principles of natural law, Pope Benedict XVI told world leaders in an April 18 address to the UN's General Assembly. The papal speech-- which he opened with several paragraphs in French before switching to English-- underlined the importance that Pope Benedict attaches to the recognition of natural law as the basis for human rights. Commenting on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Pontiff remarks that those rights, codified by the UN 60 years ago, "are based on the natural law inscribed on human hears and present in different cultures and civilizations." The UN speech was perhaps the most important address sche ...Read More
Cardinal Trujillo, President of Pontifical Council for the Family, passes away
Rome,Italy, Apr,20, 2008 (vaticans.org)- Cardinal Alfonso López Trujillo, President of the Pontifical Council for the Family, died Saturday of complications from diabetes. The cardinal had been in a hospital fighting different health complications for nearly four weeks before he passed away. Cardinal Trujillo, Archbishop emeritus of Medellin, Colombia, was 72.Born on November 8, 1935 in the Colombian city of Villahermosa, he moved to the capital Bogotá when he was a young boy. After entering seminary, he studied in Rome and obtained his doctorate in philosophy from the Angelicum, taking courses in theology and sociology and also studying Marxism. Ordained a priest on November 13, 1960, he continued his studies in Rome for another two yearsReturning to B ...Read More
Rally with Seminarians and Young People - Pope Benedict XVI
April 19, 2008 - By Pope Benedict XVIYour Eminence,Dear Brother Bishops,Dear Young Friends,"Proclaim the Lord Christ … and always have your answer ready for people who ask the reason for the hope that is within you" (1 Pet 3:15). With these words from the First Letter of Peter I greet each of you with heartfelt affection. I thank Cardinal Egan for his kind words of welcome and I also thank the representatives chosen from among you for their gestures of welcome. To Bishop Walsh, Rector of Saint Joseph Seminary, staff and seminarians, I offer my special greetings and gratitude.Young friends, I am very happy to have the opportunity to speak with you. Please pass on my warm greetings to your family members and relatives, and to the teachers and staff of the various schools, colleges and universities you attend. I know that many people have worked hard to ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI said the U.S. bishops have "rightly moved" to address the sex-abuse scandal
WASHINGTON, April, 17, 2008 (vaticans.org) -- One of the "countersigns to the Gospel of life" in the United States is the sexual abuse of minors, a situation "that causes deep shame," Pope Benedict XVI told about 300 U.S. bishops gathered April 16 in the crypt church at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.He called it an "evil" and said the U.S. bishops have "rightly moved" to address it. The programs they have put in place to discipline priests and other church personnel who are abusers, to create safe environments protecting young people, to foster healing and to "bind up the wounds" caused by "such breach of trust" are bearing fruit, he said.But the pope also said the problem of sex abuse must be placed in a wider context when pornography, violence and "the crude manipulation of sexuality" are so prevalent in society ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI’s 81st Birthday
Pope Benedict will turn 81 on today, April 16. ...Read More
The eighth international voyage of Pope Benedict XVI began today
Vatican City, April 15, 2008 (vaticans.org) - Under the banner of a "hope for peace, for justice, for freedom" that cannot be realised "without obeying the law of God", the eighth international voyage of Benedict XVI began today, which will take him to the United States of America and to the headquarters of the United Nations. The airplane with the pope on board took off from the airport of Fiumicino (Rome) at noon, and will arrive in Washington at 4:00 p.m. local time (8:00 p.m. GMT). At his arrival at the international airport of Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, Benedict XVI will be welcomed by President George W. Bush, together with the first lady. It is an unusual gesture for American protocol, and indicates the importance that the White House attributes to the papal visit, to which the American media are also devoting significant coverage. The trip, which will continue until the 20th, includes among its most highly anticipated appointmen ...Read More
Pope Benedict XVI called attention to the World Day of Prayer for Vocations
Vatican City, Apr. 14, 2008 (vaticans.org) - During his Regina Caeli address on April 13, Pope Benedict XVI called attention to the World Day of Prayer for Vocations and encouraged more prayers "for numerous and holy vocations to the priesthood, to consecrated life and the missions, and to Christian marriage." The Holy Father reminded the faithful that the Church is preparing for a special year devoted to St. Paul, who was a "missionary par excellence." The epistles of St. Paul, he remarked, remind readers that "vocation and mission are inseparable," because God calls all of his follower to spread the Word. "This missionary service is carried out in the first place by priests," the Pope continued, noting that priests are necessarily to bring the sacraments to the people. Male and female religious also play "a prime role in evangelization," he continued-- pausing to pay tribute to two religious who were killed recently w ...Read More
Pope and US President spoke about a wide range of issues
Washington, Apr. 16, 2008 (vaticans.org) - In a private conversation at the White House on April 16, Pope Benedict XVI and US President George W. Bush spoke about a wide range of issues including terrorism, the dignity of human life, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, immigration, and development in Africa. The Holy Father met with Bush in the Oval Office after a public reception attended by over 10,000 people on the White House lawn earlier on Tuesday morning. [See the separate CWN headline story.] In a joint statement released after the private session, the Vatican and the White House reported that President Bush had renewed his birthday greetings to the Pontiff, thanking him for his visit. The President made a special point of thanking the Pope for scheduling a visit to pray at the "Ground Zero" site in New York--- an event that is on the papal calendar for Sunday, April 20. The joint statement listed a number of topics on which the Vatican an ...Read More
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