The surprise would have been if he were not - after all, he is the "head" of one-sixth of the world's inhabitants. He was on the list last year, too, as Cardinal Ratzinger, "the Pope's Thelogical Enforcer" according to the title of the thumbnail sketch written about him by...Andrew Sullivan, of all people;
and in the same category, "Revolutionaries and Leaders", the only religious figure in the group that ranged from George Bush to terrorist Al-Zarqawi. The art work this year is a slight improvement, but then the cartoon they drew last year looked more like Ariel Sharon!

The shock last year was that John Paul II was not among the 100, as though the editors had already counted him off before he died!

Not that lists like these, like readers' polls and "Most Beautiful Whatever", matter at all, but it's a parlor game, so for what it is worth-


TIME 100: The People Who Shape Our World



ILLUSTRATION FOR TIME BY MARCO VENTURA


Leaders & Revolutionaries
Pope Benedict XVI

The New Pontiff Finds His Voice
By PEGGY NOONAN


He was not called John Paul the Adequate. And so that was the challenge for Pope Benedict XVI in the first year of his pontificate: how to fill the shoes of the last man who filled the shoes of the fisherman.

Benedict's first encyclical, issued on Christmas Day 2005, took some by surprise. It began with thoughts on ... love. In his first words he quoted the Apostle John: "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

With unself-conscious clarity, Benedict wrote, "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction."

You shall love your neighbor as yourself, he is saying. Love brings—is—charity. Look to the Good Samaritan for how to live. Look to St. Martin of Tours giving his cloak to a beggar.

This is God's Rottweiler? John Paul's enforcer? The man who bluntly told the Cardinals last year that they must clean the stables of the "filth" that had entered the church?

According to those who have followed the work and life of Joseph Ratzinger — now Pope Benedict — this is the real him: the teacher, the thinker, the ponderer of deepest meanings.

Benedict does not have the effortless theatricality and charisma of the young John Paul. But at his weekly audiences, Benedict, 79, has drawn larger crowds, and as John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter has noted, people came to "see" John Paul; they come to "hear" Benedict.

Here is the complete list of the Leaders & Revolutionaries:
Muqtada al-Sadr, trouble-making Shiite sect leader in Iraq
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, first woman president in Africa
Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela
George W. Bush
John McCain
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran
Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bin-Laden's #2 man and strategist
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Pope Benedict
Condoleezza Rice
Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of China
Ehud Olmert, Prime Minister of Israel
Pervez Musharraf, President of Pakistan
John Roberts, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court
Ismail Haniya, Palestinian Prime Minister and head of Hamas
Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany
Jigme Singye Wangchuk, King of Bhutan
Archbishop Peter Akinola, head of Africa's Council of Anglican Churches
Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan
Oprah Winfrey
Bill & Melinda Gates

It's frightening that the list this year contains one avowed terrorist (Al-Zawahiri), three de facto terrorists (Ahmadinejad, Haniya and Al-Sadr), and the creepy maniac of Venezuela, Hugh Chavez.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 01/05/2006 15.44]

[QUOTE][DIM]7pt[=DIM]Scritto da: TERESA BENEDETTA 01/05/2006 7.14
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Well, I am glad that TIME didn't say anything negative about Papa this time. Last year, their article on election of papa was so full of insinuations and incorrect facts that I had to send a protest letter to the author of that article.

This being said, I am not sure if I like the picture/artwork of papa shown above. It looks so unlike papa and so, er.. 'plastic'..

A nice mention over at Amy Welborn's blog again:
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(Quote) From the Papa Ratzi Fan Forum -Some interesting links - really, those ladies over there are busy translating articles from all over the world - I don't know of any better single source for current global news articles on matters Papal:
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amywelborn.typepad.com/openbook/

Bravo, Teresa. She means you and your wonderful translating skills.

Pope launches month of Mary with visit to Shrine


Rome, May. 01, 2006 (CNA) - Conversion to God, who is a God of Love, is necessary today for the world to be “liberated from war and terrorism,” said Pope Benedict XVI Monday during his papal visit to the Italian Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love.

During his discourse to the faithful who gathered at the shrine, he recalled several points that he made in his first encyclical, Deus caritas est.

“From this shrine, I renew my invitation that was expressed in Deus caritas est: let us live love and, in this way, we will allow the light of God to shine in the world,” he said.

The Pope’s one-hour visit to the shrine on the first day of May launched what is considered the month of Mary in the Church. He led the recitation of the rosary in the old sanctuary and prayed privately in the new sanctuary, which was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1999. He recalled his predecessor’s first visit to the sanctuary in 1979.

“It is a comfort for me to be here with you today to recite the rosary in this Shrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, in which we express great affection for the Virgin Mary, rooted in the soul and history of the Roman people,” he said, following the prayer.

He noted how the Joyful Mysteries “allow the beginnings of our salvation to pass before the eyes of our heart… We have contemplated the docile faith of Mary, who trusts God without reserve and places herself fully in his hands.”

The link that unites Mary and the Holy Spirit was clear throughout her life, from the moment of her Immaculate Conception, to her fiat, to her Assumption into heaven at the end of her earthly life, the Pope said.

“In the encyclical Deus caritas est I wrote that Mary is a woman who loves,” he stated. “Yes, dear brothers and sisters, Mary is the fruit and the sign of the love God has for us, of his tenderness and of his mercy.

“For this reason, together with our brothers in the faith of every time and place, we turn to her in our needs and hopes, and in the difficulties of life,” he said.

The Pope noted that many people will likely make a pilgrimage to the shrine in May and said he expected “strong spiritual support” to emanate from the shrine for the Diocese of Rome, for its bishops and clergy, for families, vocations, the poor, children, the elderly, all those who suffer and the nation of Italy.

“We also await the interior strength to fulfill the promise made by the Romans June 4, 1944, when they solemnly asked Our Lady of Divine Love to spare this city from the horrors of war,” he said. The promise was to correct and improve one’s personal moral conduct and conform it more to that of Jesus.

The Pope also recalled the victims, civilians and troops, in last week’s attack in Nassiriya, Iraq. “We entrust them to the intercession of Mary, Queen of Peace,” he concluded.

Here is a belated translation of the lead article in the German newspaper DIE WELT on 4/19/06 to mark the first year of Benedict's Papacy. I will post translations of some other Year-1 evaluations from the German press as soon as I am able to.
----------------------------------------------------------------

WAITING FOR A MIRACLE:
A Year of Benedict XVI
By Gernot Facius

When on the evening of April 19, 2005, the whole world was discussing the sensation of the papal election, those who knew Joseph Ratzinger wagered this prognosis: The most surprising thing about the new Pontificate is that there will be no surprises.

In principle, they have been correct. Benedict XVI has ruled with a calm hand in the past year. Spectacular decisions were not made, leaving many who were fixated on Ratzinger’s image as the Panzer Cardinal, the Grand Inquisitor or God’s Rottweiler astounded.

The first encyclical proved to be an intelligent document over the primacy of love. There are certain signs, as the course of the Bishops Synod showed, of more collegiality. Even Hans Kueng, Joseph Ratzinger’s old antipode, will not rule out that after the mediatic Pope John Paul II, the Catholic world may have gained in Benedikt XVI a Pastor Pope.

Already the change in style seems a miracle in itself. Benedict is the Pope from Germany - he is not “the German Pope.” A quarter-century in Rome has long turned him into a Roman. He thinks in terms of the world church, not of national churches.

But likewise his election was a liberating force for Germany’s role in the world. The capital of the Second World War is finally absolved, according to no less than the Parisian Cardial Jean Marie Lustiger who is of Polish Jewish descent. However, Germany must yet be clear itself about its spiritual role in Europe.

Benedict is the last Pope who went through the experience of Vatican-II and follows its path of ecumenical openness and religious freedom. The question is: Will this Pope defend the Council’s achievements against all ‘restorative’ tendencies and temptations? And how does he understand his office: as service to unity or as a defense of Rome’s absolute primacy in Christendom? Will the Church become more catholic, in the sense of universal, all-embracing, or will it stay Rome-centered?

In a Germany which has often seen religious schisms, where at the moment, the interest in religion, church and trustworthy leaders is growing again, one pays attention to every word and gesture of the German in the Apostolic Palace.

Certainly, even the Protestants here value the Augustinian stamp on this Pope, his efforts to change hearts, his search for the truth, his warnings against a “dictatorship of relativism”, in which only one‘s own ego and wishes are to be valued.

They also praise the new governing style at the Vatican. But they observe at the same time that he does not appear to meet with the Churches of the Reformation as warmly as he does with the Orthodox Churches. (For them), the ecumenical motor is sputtering, and a single representative of Christ on earth is unacceptable to the Protestants as well as to the Orthodox.

But the office of the Pope stands for even greater differentiation within Christendom – this threatens to be underplayed in the general euphoria about Benedict. Yet the word “stalled reform” will accompany even the pontificate of the great theologian Ratzinger.

The discussion over the exclusion of remarried divorced Catholics from Communion, the celibacy requirement for priests, the eucharistic sharing [between different Christian confessions], and recognizing the holy office of other churches, has not been silenced with Benedict’s election.

One hopes that the stated spirit in Deus caritas est of selfless love will also be the measure of internal conduct within the Church.

Who else, if not a conservatively formed Pope like the Pope from Germany, can release the bottleneck in the Church’s structural problems? It would not be so easy for a progressive Pope to do it as he would always have to live with the mistrust of traditionalists.

But for the time being, the German in Rome remains the enigmatic Pope who has managed to undo his image as the fossilized doctrinaire guardian of the faith. Still to be clearly stated is his position on Islam. In inter-religious dialog he has given priority to that with the Jews.

But he has called on all three monotheistic religions “to cooperate with each other for the common good of all men, by serving the cause of justice and peace in the world.”

Benedict is calling for an anthropological context to understanding among religions, remaining in the path that his predecessor blazed. He does not want the dialog reduced to a onetime decision. But he will not visit a mosque and we will not see a picture of him kissing the Koran.

ZENIT's German service ran a mini-wrap-up on 4/24/06 of German press reporting about Benedict's first year. Here is a translation:
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ROME, 24 April 2006 (ZENIT.org).- “Surprising” is the unanimous evaluation of Pope Benedict XVI’s first year in office in almost all the German media.

The impression seems to be that since April 19, 2005, Joseph Ratzinger has shown that personal relationship to Christ is at the center of the faith. Moreover, the clarity of his preaching and a calm governance that has returned a leadership structure (to the Vatican), as well as the unspectacular and very sensitive reforms taken so far in the Roman Curia, have shown an engaging picture of the deep wisdom of this man at the head of the Universal Church.

In its Easter issue, the Rheinische Merkur described Benedict’s Pontificate as “A Pontificate Full of Surprises”, that has been distinguished by small but efficient steps.

The Pope “looks at people he meets deep in the eyes, listens to them, remembers, comments...Patient bridgebuilding is how this first year of the Papacy should be labeled."

Whoever knows the biography of this Pope, who celebrated his 79th birthday on Easter Sunday, said the German weekly, “would have known that the dominant picture here in this country of the Panzerkardinal had little to do with the man, priest and teacher that Joseph Ratzinger is. No one thought that Benedict would be able to overcome that wrong picture in so short a time.”

He himself had the courage with his first Encyclical Deus caritas est “to abandon the beaten path.” In it, he explicitly affirmed the worthiness of human love and physicality without launching any Church critique agaiinst contraception in the same breath – “these were unusual, in many ways the first time that such an 'accent' was heard from Rome.

Nevertheless the Pope will disappoint all those “who would ban everything numinous, all form of mysticism, from the practice of the faith. Instead the beauty and profundity of Joseph Ratzinger’s liturgy has become a topic... In the coming years, he will bring this treasure of Catholic tradition to new splendor.”

The daily newspaper Die Welt noted in their Holy Saturday issue that Italians speak of this Supreme Pontiff as “the Thomas Aquinas of our time”, having also given Pope Benedict XVI the headline “Mozart of theology”.

“After the great Pole in the shoes of the fisherman, the turn taken by this last papal election must be taken as a move by the Holy Spirit. Not because, or not only because, this time a Mozart of theology followed the prophetic John Paul II.”

Even Spiegel acknowledged in its Easter issue that the brilliant preaching of the Holy Father has attracted countless people. If the faithful had earlier come to “see” John Paul II, now tens of thousands stream forth towards Benedict XVI “to hear him.”

The German Catholic newspaper DIE TAGESPOST has a startling report in its issue of 5/4/06, of which the following is a translation:
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The about-to-retire Superior General of the Jesuits, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, has expressed critical questions about the Pope’s encyclical Deus caritas est.

In an interview with the Flemish (Belgian) weekly Tertio, Kolvenbach said that one gets the impression from the encyclical that establishing a just society is exclusively the province of the State, whereas the Church should only concern itself with charity. [I certainly hope Kolvenbach was misquoted on this last clause!]

[The exact quotation from the encyclical is: "We have seen that the formation of just structures is not directly the duty of the Church, but belongs to the world of politics, the sphere of the autonomous use of reason."]

Kolvenbach said that did not seem to him to be a correct interpretation, that faith and justice do not run parallel to each other but belong together, as both are inspired by charity, or love of fellowmen.

Justice without charity would be injustice, and faith with charity would be a meaningless faith, he said, and social action must be an expression of the Gospel. But how this can be concretely done remains an unresolved question, Kolvenbach added.

In the encyclical published last January, Pope Benedict defended the Church against the accusation that Christian charitable works merely served to lighten the conscience of the almsgiver while serving to cement injustice, saying the aim of Christian charity is certainly for a just society, but that the just ordering of society is a duty of the State whose autonomy the Church respects.

The Pope also said the Church itself has the duty to bring together reason and ethical standards so that the claims for justice may be pursued singlemindedly in a political manner, but that ”the direct duty to work for a just ordering of society..is proper to the lay faithful."

The 77-year-old Kolvenbach said that Pope John Paul II had denied him the permission to call a General Coingregation to elect his (Kolvenbach’s) successor, but Benedict XVI has now granted his request so that the General Congregation may accept his announced retirement and elect his successor. [This is scheduled to take place in 2008]

The Jesuit Superior-General is elected for life. Kolvenbach would be the first in the history of the Society of Jesus, established in the 16th century, to give up his position, although both his predecessors John Janssens in the 1960s and Pedro Arrupe after him had wanted to do the same for health reasons.

Kolvenbach became Jesuit Superior-General in 1983.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/05/2006 5.37]

ZENIT's English, Italian and Spanish services today carried this item:

Germany Sees Benedict XVI Differently Now
Says Berlin-based Journalist Vicente Poveda

ROME, MAY 4, 2006 (Zenit.org).- "Oh, mein Gott!" was the front-page headline of the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung the day after Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's election as Pope.

A year after that negatively charged exclamation, the headlines in the Holy Father's native country are highlighting the "beneficial" effect of the election of a German Pontiff.

There seems to be a rebirth of the faith in Germany, some observers say. The number of students of theology and of adult baptisms is increasing, as is that of Catholics returning to the Church.

Meanwhile, the number of those leaving the Church is decreasing, reveals a study carried out by Vicente Poveda Soler, correspondent of the main German news agency, Deutsche Presse-Agentur (DPA).

Poveda explained during the fifth Professional Seminar of the Church's Communication Offices, held at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome from April 27-29, that "the main criticisms of Ratzinger were always in Germany."

But since his election to the papacy, "a new approach has been generated toward the figure of the Pontiff," said Poveda.

Benedict XVI's papacy "has been amply analyzed by the press as an important step in the total rehabilitation of the country 60 years after the liberation of Auschwitz, Hitler's suicide and the end of World War II," said the journalist.

He gave numerous examples to illustrate this change. The German Language Society voted the phrase "Wir sind Papst" as the second most important expression of the year 2005, only surpassed by "Bundeskanzlerin," the feminine for "federal chancellor," after Angela Merkel's election.

The DPA's Spanish correspondent in Berlin pointed out that "the most important politicians of the country, from Merkel to President Horst Köhler and the former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, spoke of their 'pride' over Ratzinger's election, despite the fact all of them are Protestants."

Moreover, Poveda observed that "the country's most popular television presenters, such as Harald Schmidt and Stefan Raab, acknowledge they read the Pope's works, whose sales took off after his election."

Poveda, who has a degree in institutional communication from the German Academy of Public Relations in Frankfurt, said that before there was a "negative environment against the official Church -- 'Amtskirche' -- that is, 'Rome,'" and it was due to a "strong media presence of Catholic critics: the Wir Sind Kirche group, Hans Küng and Eugen Drewermann."

The most significant change is that the Pope has passed from being regarded as "guardian of the faith" to "pastor."

For example, the Suddeutsche Zeitung said on April 22 that "Benedict advocates concentration and contemplation, whereas his predecessor" sought "amplitude." Benedict XVI seeks "profundity" and the "core," the newspaper added.

Added Poveda: "And for Joseph Ratzinger that core is not the Church or the ecclesiastical hierarchy but the faith."

Poveda highlighted "the beauty of the faith" and the "real humility and goodness" of the Pope, underscored by the German newspapers a year after the papal election.

In Germany this climate of restoration of confidence in the Church and its Holy Father has been translated in an increase of interest in religious topics and a marked decline in the number of those leaving the Church.

In 2004 there were 101,252 defections recorded; last year that number dropped by a third, Poveda said.

Other indicators, he said, are the boom in sales of the Pope's books and the fact that the name Benedict is now more fashionable for newborns. The name moved from 50th to 37th place in terms of popularity.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 05/05/2006 1.41]

GOOD NEWS FROM GERMANY

I am really glad to see Germany is getting so pro-Papa. He has been abused and disliked there for so long. I hope he gets an absolutely fantastic reception when he visits in September. He deserves the love.

[QUOTE][DIM]7pt[=DIM]Scritto da: benefan 05/05/2006 5.31

GOOD NEWS FROM GERMANY

I am really glad to see Germany is getting so pro-Papa. He has been abused and disliked there for so long. I hope he gets an absolutely fantastic reception when he visits in September. He deserves the love.


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Me too, am glad for Papa. I hope he gets more love from other parts of Germany, besides Bavaria.

VATICAN: EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT HAS PRIVATE AUDIENCE WITH POPE

Vatican City, 5 May (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday met European Commission president José Manuel Barroso for their first bilateral talks. Their discussions covered interreligious and intercultural dialogue, as well as the fight against poverty and other topics the Vatican and European Union consider top prioirities, the European Commission said in a statement.

During his private audience with Benedict XVI , Barroso said dialogue among religions and civilisations is key to Europe's future. "The experience of the construction of the European Union, proud of its religious diversity, culture and languages is an important example of the dialogue between people," he said.

"Europeans have succeeded in guaranteeing peace through dialogue over the last half century. Our founding Treaties are the very expression of such dialogue between people who have been in conflict since the dawn of time," Barroso noted.

Responding to a specific concern expressed by the pontiff to ensure freedom of worship, Barroso stated: "Freedom of religion is not negotiable, arises from the fundamental rights of people and communities, and is a cornerstone of European law. Mutual respect and understanding are our basic principle, along with democracy, dialogue and debate."

"Pope Benedict XVI made it clear that he has confidence in Europe and its capacity to face its challenges. I am glad for his encouragement, and for his support for European integration," said Barroso.

When appointed European Commission president in 2004, Barroso defied members of the European Parliament's calls for him to jettison conservative Italian Catholic politician Rocco Buttiglione - an outspoken opponent of gay and women's rights - as nominee justice and civil liberties commissioner. After the standoff risked provoking an institutional crisis in the EU, Italy's former foreign minister, Franco Frattini, eventually replaced Buttiglione in the sensitive portfolio.

Sometimes an agenda can drive a translation. The Tagespost seems to have wanted to read Father Kolvenbach's rather cryptic remarks as opposition to Pope Benedict XVI rather than what they actually are: an objection to those who choose to misinterpret Deus Caritas Est. I've posted a fairly literal translation from the Dutch on Amy Welborn's Open Book blog. Thought you'd like to know and correct the misimpression that the leader of the Jesuits is not being supportive of the Pope.

For the record, when I posted my translation of the Tagespost article, I did include in parenthesis after that egregious quote attributed to him that I hoped Fr. Kolvenbach was misquoted, because the statement was, to say the least, startling, the adjective I used when I made the post.

And when I called Amy Welborn's attention to the translation, I wrote her I was hoping someone would come up with a French or German translation of the full interview as I don't know Flemish (the interview having originally appeared in a Flemish magazine), so we could know exactly what Fr. Kolvenbach said.

Now, thanks to rcesq who translated from the Dutch, it seems quite clear that Fr. Kolvenbach was clearly misrepresented in the Tagespost article insofar as that quote was concerned, by the simple expedient of their omitting the sentence that followed, which said "To me that does not appear to be a correct interpretation..." which makes a world of difference.

I have taken the liberty to lift rcesq's post from Open Book:

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This is a fairly literal translation from the Dutch of Father Kolvenbach's remarks. It appears that he was misquoted in the German Tagespost and that those of you who commented uncharitably about Father's opposition to Pope Benedict may want to rethink. He is not taking issue with the Pope's reasoning, but with those who would choose a crabbed reading of the encyclical:

[Interviewer]: "Do Jesuits expressly strive for a world that is more just?"

[Fr. Kolvenbach]: "The substantial link between faith and justice in the study and exercise of our spirituality cannot be eliminated. Although the concrete working out is not as self-evident or easy. That will certainly have to be discussed at length at the next General Congregation. If we, as Jesuits and as Church strive for justice, we don't do that for political reasons, but because Christ himself always made a choice for the poor and we want to follow Him in that. Therefore, everything in social work must be an expression of the Gospels. How that can take a concrete shape is a question that still has not been solved.

From the first encyclical of Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, we could get the impression that justice remains exclusively the province of the state, while caritas is the work of the Church. To me that does not appear to be a correct interpretation [of the encyclical]. Faith and justice are not parallel actions. They belong together, because they are inspired by the same caritas. Justice without caritas is injustice, and faith without caritas is faith without works."

Posted by: rcesq at May 5, 2006 4:54:08 PM

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And I apologize to Fr. Kolvenbach for passing on an item that turned out to be a significant example of tendentious journalism, or as rcesq put it, journalism with an agenda, because I cannot believe that anyone who translated from the original to German would have dropped the sentence that made all the difference!

I have also posted this comment in slightly modified form on Open Book.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/05/2006 3.13]

CHRISTIAN ROOTS ARE PART
OF EUROPE'S 'MATERIAL' CONSTITUTION

VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 2006 (VIS) - This morning, Holy See Press Office Director Joaquin Navarro-Valls released the following declaration to journalists:

"At 11 a.m. today, the Holy Father Benedict XVI received Jose Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission. President Barroso was accompanied by Luis Ritto, head of the European Commission delegation to the FAO; Jacques De Baenst, European Commission head of protocol; Pedro Cymbron and Clara Martinez Alberola. members of the president's cabinet; and Johannes Laitenberger, Commission spokesman.

"In the absence of Cardinal Secretary of State Angelo Sodano, President Barroso met with Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, secretary for Relations with States, who was accompanied by Maria Isabel Telleria and Msgr. Ettore Balestrero, officials of the Secretariat of State.

"During the discussions, President Barroso dwelt on the current state of the European Union, the challenges awaiting it and its future prospects. It was agreed that, despite current shadows, the process of integration and consolidation of European institutions may be regarded with hope.

"In the course of the conversation, particular attention was given to the ideal conditions and commitments of solidarity necessary for ensuring this process achieves stable goals, and to the contribution that Christians can make."

Photo-montage by Sylvie. Photos: www.catholicpressphoto.com/servizi/2006-05-05-barroso/def...

Later, Mr. Barroso had a 15-minute interview with Piero Schiavazzi of the televison channel Telepace. Here is a translation of excerpts from the interview:

Do you think that the Bavarian Pope, coming from the heart of the continent, could represent a chance for European unity?
Absolutely. Benedict XVI, even in the name he chose, is the symbol of Germany and of a reunified Europe, and we need this message of trust in the future. The thing that struck me most about him was his trust in the future of Europe. I gave him my analysis of the Ruopean situation and my vision of the future. I received his message of trust in this future and of encouragement for the actions of European institutions.

Peter’s successor and the President of the European Commission are both “guardians” of their respective institutions. What quality in Joseph Ratzinger do you like best?
His capacity for listening, his perseverance and his attachment with great conviction to values and principles.

Europe’s Christian roots have not found a place in the written constitution, but is there still a place for them in the material and spiritual constitution of Europe? In your travels throughout the continent, do you sense that Christian roots are still strong in society?Definitely. They are part of our material constitution, as you say, of which there is proof everywhere. Even non-believers acknowledge that Europe is in large part a product of Christianity, the values of which are present concretely in society.

One of my concerns is dialogue with various religions. The Constitution has provided an appropriate space for such a dialog and we feel committed to this. This month I will be meeting in Brussels with leaders of various religions, among them the Cardinal of Vienna and the Patriarch of Lisbon, who have both accepted the invitation.

It is important to develop this path so that our society will not be dominated only by economic pragmatism and so people understand that there is a wider dimension to collective life. Independently of their secular nature, the European institutions should stay connected to the men and women of this continent. Religion is present in society, so more advanced forms of dialog should be developed.

Benedict XVI has invited Christian politicians to ‘checkmate’ a culture that would reduce religion to the private sphere. Do you think they will succeed or will they instead suffer the setback?
I will respond in my personal capacity, since this is not directly the competence of the Commission. Therefore I speak as Catholic and not as a representative of an institution. And I must tell you in this respect that today one must have the courage to affirm onve’s own convictions. I am certainly in favor of separating that which is God’s and that which is Caesar’s. It is the conquest of civilization that Christianity has given as dowry to Western politics. That being said, we must recognize that there is a spiritual dimension, at least for many, that should not be ashamed to manifest itself. The world is not just a market. Values exist and they must be discussed. This is my personal belief.

You brought the Pope a statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Do you find time during your days in Brussels to pray for Europe?
You are really asking me a very intimate and personal question. I can tell you that in my work, the dimension of being a Christian and a believer is ever present. And I am proud to be able to say so.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 06/05/2006 7.11]

I think Germany is the craziest place on this planet...considering it's hunger for negativity and depression fueled by the press, which sadly forms public opinion.

Strange enough it's Bavaria who stands tall and proud, seemingly teflon coated, deeply rooted in tradition and faith. Coincidence!? I think NOT!!

Priest says Auschwitz visit to highlight unhealed wounds

By Jonathan Luxmoore, Catholic News Service

WARSAW, Poland (CNS) -- A German priest who works at the Auschwitz death camp said Pope Benedict XVI's visit in late May will highlight the church's awareness of "still unhealed wounds" between Christians and Jews.

"The Holy Father's visit isn't intended to end the past -- just the opposite, it will recall what was done here," said Father Manfred Deselaers of Germany's Aachen Diocese, who has worked at Auschwitz since 1990. "Benedict XVI, a son of the German nation, is coming above all as pope, as a witness to faith. This pilgrimage will have great significance for Germans."

In an interview with Poland's Catholic information agency, KAI, the priest predicted the pope's brief visit would be a "summons to peace" for Catholics worldwide.

"Auschwitz is still an open wound between the Polish and German and German and Jewish peoples, as well as between Christianity and Judaism," and the fact that the pope wants to visit the death camp shows he is aware of this, said the priest, who works at Auschwitz's Center for Dialogue and Prayer. "Auschwitz represented the total destruction of interhuman relations. The wound to the German spirit lies in the problem of guilt and fear that this guilt from the past will burden future relations."

Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit the former Nazi-run death camp May 28, at the end of his May 25-28 trip to Poland. He is also scheduled to visit the Marian shrines of Jasna Gora and Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, as well the Wadowice birthplace of Pope John Paul II, who prayed at Auschwitz in 1979.

The camp, 90 percent of whose estimated 1.5 million victims were Jewish, has been a focus of periodic Catholic-Jewish disputes since the late 1980s, when a Carmelite convent was temporarily located there.

In his KAI interview, Father Deselaers said the church still needed to atone for past Jewish sufferings, despite its condemnation of anti-Semitism at the Second Vatican Council and subsequent expressions of regret in 2000.

"The final word at Auschwitz belonged not to Hitler, but to God. I think that's the message the pope will bring with him," said the priest, whose father was a Nazi and German armed forces member.

Besides Jewish victims, around 100,000 mostly Catholic Poles also were killed at Auschwitz, which was one of many death camps in Poland after the country's 1939 invasion by Germany.

Pope holds mass to mark 500 years of Swiss Guards


VATICAN CITY (AFP) - Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a special mass to mark the 500th anniversary of the founding of the Swiss Guards, and was later to swear-in a crop of new recruits to the traditional Vatican army.

The 79-year-old pontiff paid tribute to the corps for "demonstrating your faith" during the bloodiest moment in the Guards' history, when 147 members died protecting Pope Clement VII during the sacking of Rome on May 6, 1527.

The 42 surviving Guards saved the pope's life.

After the mass in a packed St Peter's basilica Saturday, Benedict held a 20-minute private audience with the President of the Swiss Confderation, Moritz Leuneberger.

Later Saturday, the pope was set to attend a swearing-in ceremony for the new recruits, all Roman Catholics and trained by the Swiss army.

Thank you for sharing the article Benefan!

During World Youth Day Papa visited the Synagogue after which a lady who was interviewed had said that now the Holocaust was finally over... a German Pope coming to a Synagogue - not to deny what happened - not to belittle what happened - but to acknowledge what happened and try to move forward.

[Personally, I think this is a good idea. He doesn't need to wear himself out seeing every politician under the sun.]


Pope to grant audiences to leaders only
May 06, 2006
The Daily Telegraph

IN a change of policy from the Vatican, Pope Benedict the 16th will in future grant audiences only to heads of state and government and the leaders of international institutions.

The new rules, announced in a letter to 174 papal nuncios around the world, are reportedly designed to cut down on the 79-year-old pontiff's public commitments.

The news will come as a blow to cabinet ministers .. ambassadors and political party leaders who, up to now, were able to have private audiences with the pontiff.

Nan,

One of the most moving moments in Papa's visit to that synagogue was right at the end but it wasn't shown in the news. He had just gotten into his car to leave when an older Jewish man in some sort of brown uniform ran up to the car door nearest Papa and kissed the window glass. Papa made a very positive impression on that congregation.

[QUOTE][DIM]7pt[=DIM]Scritto da: benefan 06/05/2006 17.11
Pope holds mass to mark 500 years of Swiss Guards

[DIM]9pt[=DIM]Later Saturday, the pope was set to attend a swearing-in ceremony for the new recruits, all Roman Catholics and trained by the Swiss army.[/DIM]
[/DIM][/QUOTE]
No, He didn't attend the ceremony - a bishop stood in for him. It must be a great blow to many people who were there to witness the Swiss Guards being sworn in one by one, pledging loyalty and protection to him who was not there.... The Swiss Guards themselves must have felt being let down...

I wonder why Papa wasn't at that ceremony. He did officiate at the Mass with the Swiss Guards today and blessed them from his window the other day. Maybe the news people just got the message wrong and assumed he would also be at the swearing-in session when he actually wasn't scheduled to be there. I hope the Guards and their families weren't disappointed.

When I saw an earlier news item about the Vatican informing nuncios that Papa would only be receiving heads of state now instead of all sorts of politicians, it made me wonder if he was getting worn out from all these activities. I hope his absence from the swearing-in ceremony didn't mean he was not feeling well.

He wasn't at the one last year, and I remember seeing excerpts of previous years' ceremonies and JPII was not there either...

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Scritto da: MusicofLorien 06/05/2006 19.06
He wasn't at the one last year, and I remember seeing excerpts of previous years' ceremonies and JPII was not there either...

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Popes never use to attend this cerimony.
So, Benedict XVI is simply complying with a "not written" rule!

Ciao

[Here is a more complete article on the ceremonies honoring the Swiss Guard. Teresa has posted Papa's beautiful homily from the Mass he said for them on the Homilies thread.]


Pope Honors Swiss Guards During Mass

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI thanked the Swiss Guards on Saturday for their 500 years of service protecting popes, praising them as examples for all young people who want to serve the church.

Benedict recalled the colorful history of the elite papal corps during a special Mass in St. Peter's Basilica in honor of the anniversary of the corps' foundation.

Guards in their distinctive gold-and-blue striped uniforms sat in the front rows of the basilica and served as the readers during the service — a rare change for the young men, who normally stand silently at attention during papal Masses.

Later Saturday, the guards returned to St. Peter's Square in full armor for the annual swearing-in ceremony for the 33 newest members of the corps. The ceremony is held May 6, commemorating the day in 1527 when 147 Swiss Guards died protecting Pope Clement VII during the Sack of Rome.

During the ceremony, the new recruits raised three fingers and swore to uphold the Swiss Guard oath to protect Benedict and his successors "and also dedicate myself to them with all my strength, sacrificing if necessary also my life to defend them."

The celebrations capped a busy week of anniversary events for the guards.

On Thursday, more than 100 former guardsmen marched into St. Peter's Square, ending a monthlong re-enactment of the 450-mile march from Switzerland completed by the first members of the elite corps five centuries ago.

Pope Julius II summoned the first group of 150 Swiss mercenaries in 1506 to protect him and the Vatican.

Benedict recalled those milestones in his homily Saturday, saying it was necessary to highlight such long-ago events to properly pay homage to the dedication and sacrifice of so many men.

Speaking in Italian, German and French, Benedict said the guards' willingness to serve was a model for others, particularly the young.

"Among the many expressions of the presence of lay people in the Catholic Church, there is also the particular one of the Pontifical Swiss Guards, young men who motivated by love for Christ and church, put themselves at the service of the successor of Peter," Benedict said.

He said that for some men the service is limited, while others make it their life's work. "For all, however, being a Swiss Guard means accepting Christ and the church without reserve and being willing to give your life."

At the end of the Mass, the guards — wearing their trademark halberds and crimson-plumed helmets — marched two-by-two down the main aisle of the basilica to applause from the pews.

Later in the day, thousands of people turned out for the swearing-in ceremony, which usually takes place in an inner Vatican courtyard but was held in St. Peter's Square this year to accommodate crowds of people marking the anniversary, many carrying Swiss flags.

Several historic military corps also took part in the ceremony, including Britain's Honorable Artillery Company, founded in 1537, as well as the Guardia Real, the official security unit of the Spanish royal house, the Swiss Guards said.

The Swiss Guard commander, Col. Elmar Maeder, told the new recruits they would not be able to do as they please during their service. "Personal interests take second place, while egoism, consumerism and individualism must be put aside."

"However, we have the privilege of serving the successor of St. Peter," he said.

The guards provide ceremonial guard duty, assist at Vatican functions as well as help to protect the pope. Each recruit must be Catholic, between the ages of 19 and 30, have completed mandatory Swiss military service, have an impeccable reputation and agree to sign up for at least two years.

Ahhhh, sweet memories of World Youth Day where Papa connected with so many young people... and then in October in St. Peter's Square with all the children who had celebrated their 1st Communion. Papa normally radiates God's light but never so brightly as when he is talking with the young people.

I loved the Mass today. Wow, Mozart AND Papa in 1 day. How lucky can a girl get?!?!?!

I posted the following comment yesterday on the CHATTER thread, and a quick look today shows me that most of th Italian newspapers played up the Pope's homily from the Ordination Mass yesterday, although most of them chose to lead with his warning against careerism in the priesthood. I will translate a round-up later today.
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Posted in CHATTER 5/7/06:

I just wanted to point out that Papa's homily today on priests who must always strive and pray constantly to be one with Christ the Good Shepherd was another "URGENT MEMORANDUM" to all priests from a person who appears to be a priest above everything else. (I didn't think I was going to spend the first two hours of today translating a long homily as well as the Regina Caeli message, which was also on vocations, but it was very edifying!)

Following his great homily on what a priest ought to be (a man of prayer, above all) at the Mass of the Chrism on Maundy Thursday, these homilies should be printed and sent to every priest who should post it beneath their bathroom mirror so that they see it first and last thing every day!

I was struck then and am struck now by the fact that when the Pope begins to speak about what a priest must be and should do, he modulates from the third person to the first person - I - in the course of his exposition, so that what he says and recommends acquire the force of his personal testimony.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/05/2006 15.03]

Benedict XVI's Greatest Strength

Interview With Bishop of San Marino

ROME, MAY 7, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI's greatest strength is his kindness, says the bishop of San Marino-Montefeltro.

In this interview with ZENIT, the Bishop Luigi Negri, 64, assessed the first year of the Holy Father's pontificate.

Q: What are the essential lines of this pontificate?

Bishop Negri: Above all his kindness. We are learning to love the Christian mystery; to love it as a substantial experience of life. I would say his strength lies in his kindness, and this strength he has used to propose the Christian event again as decisive.

Moreover, and this has surprised me very much, his teachings are totally inscribed in those of Pope John Paul II's magisterium.

It is, on one hand, as if Benedict XVI is helping the Church to love the mystery of Christ and, on the other, to understand more profoundly the contents of this mystery that Pope John Paul II had already given.

Q: Do you think that this is also the secret of the attraction he exercises on young people?

Bishop Negri: The secret of young people's attraction to him has something to do also with what is in young people -- incredible, if one thinks of all that is generally written about young people in the sociological area. There is something in young people that has made this encounter possible and has given it a special vibration.

Deep down, Benedict XVI is a great educator, and a youth, at a certain point in his life, needs a teacher who will teach him how to live and how to apply that knowledge in concrete circumstances.

Q: One of the first statements Benedict XVI made was the invitation to overcome relativism, as the fundamental enemy of life and faith.

Bishop Negri: The Pope speaks to us of a double level which he has pointed out with extreme clarity: relativism as expression of weakness and, therefore, of the crisis of reason.

And now we are before one of the great themes of "Fides et Ratio": the crisis of reason that followed the modern hypertrophy of reason, which prefers the equating of uncertainties to certainties. To rescue tolerance, a strange, individualist coexistence is imposed by people who do not want interferences in their own private lives.

However, the Pope has also clarified that relativism conceals a desire for totalitarianism. For this pseudo-relativism, in which all positions are equal, there are some positions that are more worthy than others, and they are the positions that hold power, above all the power of the media.

So that in the end, one must ask: Who decides what is really relative and what, instead, less relative? Who guards this relativist system? The media, which essentially always serves the strongest voice, in some manner wishes to impose itself.

Q: From this point of view, the Holy Father has also indicated a program against relativism, when he has spoken about "non-negotiable values."

Bishop Negri: Undoubtedly. When a person affirms religious freedom as capacity of presence in social life he is opening the doors to the mission, as Pope John Paul II would say. This is the lived social doctrine, which is the safeguard of all the capacities of action in society.

Q: Benedict XVI has often said that at present an alliance is necessary between faith and reason. In your opinion, what is at present the response of the "men of reason"?

Bishop Negri: The response of some "men of reason" to this proposal of Benedict XVI, can be summarized, in the end, in this expression: It is better to believe than not to believe; it is better to live believing than not believing, as Pope Paul VI said.

The theory that God does exist is more positive than the fact that God does not exist. It is about the future of civilization, as the president of the Italian Senate, Marcello Pera, says.

[A little further clarification on this subject. In fairness to Cherie Blair, Benedict asked to see her, not the other way around. From The Telegraph.Co.UK.]


Pope stops politicians using audiences as PR
By Malcolm Moore
(Filed: 08/05/2006)

The Vatican has sharply cut back the number of political audiences to prevent the Pope being exploited by visiting politicians looking for headlines.

From now on, only heads of government and heads of state will be granted an audience with the pontiff.

A set of tough new rules has been drafted to protect 79-year-old Pope Benedict XVI from the flood of requests that arrive daily.

Cherie Blair, for example, had a private audience with the Pope two weeks ago after a conference on the problems facing young people. Italian politicians are always desperate for a papal endorsement.

Before the general election last month, the prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, and leaders of his party visited the Pope. Now Mr Berlusconi is the leader of the opposition, he will no longer be welcome.

The Vatican outlined the rules in a letter to papal nuncios, its ambassadors abroad. One month's notice is needed and meetings will be restricted to Friday and Saturday mornings.

If there are several heads of state in Rome for a summit, they will meet the Pope at the same time.