Give Confession top priority, Pope asks priests

Vatican, Feb. 19, 2007 (CWNews.com) - At a February 19 meeting with confessors, Pope Benedict XVI remarked on how the “limitless renovating power of divine love” is realized in the sacrament of Penance.

The Holy Father was speaking to the father-confessors of the Roman basilica and the officials of the Apostolic Penitentiary, led by Cardinal James Stafford. He told them that the priest, as confessor, is an “active instrument of divine mercy.”

The task of the confessor, the Pope said, is to help the penitent “recognize the gravity of sin,” and resolve to avoid sin in the future, while provide “the comfort and consolation of Christ.”

“How many penitents find in confession the peace and joy they were seeking for so long!” the Pope said. He encouraged priests to help the faithful use the sacrament properly. To do so, he said, confessors must learn as much as possible about the background of their people, the problems they face, and the spiritual problems they encounter.

Above all, the Pope continued, “We cannot preach forgiveness and reconciliation to others if we do not experience these things personally.” He encouraged confessors to make frequent use of the sacrament themselves, so that they too have a fuller appreciation for the forgiveness offered by Christ through his priestly ministers.

The sacrament of Penance, the Pontiff concluded, “is a specific ecclesial service to which we must give priority."

OK, here's the full interview Vittorio Messori gave to La Stampa published 2/19/07, for which as usual, my thanks to Lella for posting it. I was going to translate it, along with two great Sunday articles on the DICO isuue by Giuliano Ferrara and Antonio Socci, when the Vatican posted the transcript of the Pope's Q&A with the Roman seminarians, so of course, I attended to that first.

I have posted the full translation in HOMILIES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES. As you will see, none of the samplings we got from the few stories yesterday do justice to the Holy Father. Reading his extemporaneous statements like these, about his faith and his practice of it, it's hard not to be overwhelmed all over by the sense of 'disbelieving' wonder I felt first on April 19, 2005, - "Dear Lord, is this really happening? How can we be so blessed with all this? Thank you, Lord, for this grace and blessing, and please watch over him and keep him joyful and loving, healthy and safe, wise and able, for ever and ever. Amen."

The most fascinating creature in God's world today


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'From homosexuals to European Socialists
to the World Health Organization -
behold the enemies of the Church!'


"The World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations; some sectors of Masonry, gay associations especially American; multinational drug companies; the powerful international environmental movements 'who hate Christianity out of a nostalgia for paganism'; and the liberal-radical circles of the politically correct, " Catholic author and journalist Vittorio Messori listed some of those he considers to be among the 'lobbies' referred to by Pope Beneduict XVI last week which are undermining the institutions of matrimony andthe family .

Who are those who ar working against the family, and in general,against Catholic moral perspective?
The existence of the lobbbies meant by the Pope is evident. The acitvities of thiese influnetial pressure groups is not just directed against the married couple in the context of religion but against the entire ethical-moral system of the Catholic Church.

There's WHO, in the matter of contraception, abortion, prenatal diagnosis to prevent the birth of handicapped children. Some important environmental groups which would like to get rid of teh Gospel to indulge their pagan nostalgia. Some sectors of Masonry hostile to Catholic morality. But ther are also other lobbies which the Pope means.

The big gay organizations, for instance. Like every minority, homosexuals are often litigious among themselves, but especially in the United Ctates, they can forget their internal disputes to unite in a pracdtically unanimous aversion for what they call thje "papist" ethic.

Then there's the colossal pharmaceutical industry -the most profitable business in the global economy - which earns formidable profits form their sale of contraceptives and other methods methods that are clearly against Church doctrine.

Are there also lobbies against the family?
Oh yes, above all, not a few influential sectors of the European Socialist Party, who rejected Rocco Buttiglione [Italian politician who is devoutly Catholic] as a commissioner in the European Parliament, the same ones who did not want any mention of Europe's Christian roots in the Constituion of the European Union. The Spanish prime Minister Zapatero is an almost carticatural prototype of the 'ethically correct' politician that Brussels favors - those who advocate a politics of radical populism that sets up the Church as its sworn enemy.

The old Marxist-inspired parties have transforemd themselves into 'liberal' aggregations in which the moral perspective is that advocated by the radical minorty led by Marco Pannella in Italy and which now inspires the hegemony of the vulgar.

Would you say the Church is under attack?
As it has always been. But in a providential manner, fortunately, because the Gospel polarizes. But this is a Church that is under stress not only from outside but within it, as well. Sometimes, one has the impression that the Pope is a commander without troops. After the Second Vatican Council, the Catho-progressivists here in Italy have been demosnrtating against Church institutions.

Moreover, there is some sort of submerged schism by believers who, without manifesting it publicly, do not follow the Church's moral norms in practice. They say they are CAtholics when asked, and they even go to Mass, but they don't give a hoot about the Church's sexual and familial ethics - on the use of contraceptives, their acceptance of divorce, extramarital cohabitation, homosexuality, even abortion. And often, those who preach and speak out most forcefully in defense of the family speak from questionable pupits.

Meaning?
Well, everyone knows that the political leaders who have lined up against DICO are all - and I say all - are in marital or familial circumstances that are considered irregular in the Church. Among all those polticians now defending the family, ther is only one man now in power who can receive the Sacraments without any question, since he has been married to the same wife whom he has never left, and thats Prodi's Minister of Justice Clemente Mastella. Ironically, a member of that very coalition that now wants to regularize de facto unions. [Mastella himself does not support DICO, and
absented himself from the cabinet meeting that approved it].

Of course, God alone can judge, but in human eyes, the politicians who are now banding together to defend the traditional family are flagrant examples of that inconsistency between faith and practice that marks so many Catholics today.

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REUTERS Photos by Remo Casilli

Apropos, the anniversary yesterday of the signing of the Lateran Treaties was an annual occasion for a meeting between officials of the Holy See and the government of Italy.

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Bertone, and Cardinal Ruini, as president of the italian Bishops Conference, to meet with Prime Minister Prodi and discuss his government's DICO initiative, and with the President of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano.

In particular, Bertone and Prodi had a 30-minute private conversation about DICO, at which they agreed that public debate about the issue should be carried out without unnecessary tension.

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Here is a translation of a communique issued today by the Vatican:

His eminence, Cardinal Paul Popuard, President of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialog, Presidnet of the Commission for Religious Relations with mUslims, and President of teh Pontifical Council for Culture, was received today, Feb. 20, by Sheik Mohammed Sayyed Al-Tantawi, Grand Imam pf Al-Azhar Al-Sharif (University in Caito, Egypt).

Received in a climate of great cordiality, His Eminence transmitted to Sheik Tantawi greetings from His Holiness Benedict XVI and the Pope's invitation to meet him in Rome - an invitation which was gladly accepted.

The meeting between the two allowed a review of the work by the Mixed Committee for Dialog established between Al-Azhar's Permanent Committee for Dialog with the Monotheistic Religions and the Pontifical Council for Itner-Religious Dialog, which hold an annual meeting, alternating between Cairo and Rome on February 24, to commemorate Pope John Paul II's visit to Al-Azhar on February 24, 2000. They also reviewed other aspects of Muslim-Christian relations.

Cardinal Poupard will also meet with the Religion Minister of Egypt, Dr. Hamzi Zaqzuq.

[The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, whoever he is at the time, is considered by Muslims the most important religious authority of Sunni Islamism.]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 20/02/2007 15.23]

John Allen comments today on the Pope's citation of a letter from Cardinal Martini at his meeting with Roman seminarians.

The schism that hasn't been
between Ratzinger and Martini
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
Posted on Feb 20, 2007


For the better part of 25 years, Joseph Ratzinger and Carlo Maria Martini incarnated two different options in Roman Catholicism, at least in the court of public opinion.

Ratzinger was seen as the classic liberal pentito, as the Italians say – a former progressive repulsed by the excesses of the 1968 generation, who embraced a steadily more conservative course. Martini, on the other hand, was the icon of the church’s liberal wing, who seemed the great carrier of the “spirit of Vatican II.”

Ratzinger became the Vatican’s top doctrinal czar in 1981, while Martini took over as archbishop of perhaps the church’s premier see, Milan, in 1980. Because of their deep learning, their impeccable theological credentials, and their facility with languages, both men became critically important points of reference in global Catholic debate.

In truth, Martini has always been more traditional, and Ratzinger more modern, than the stereotypes might suggest. That they have differences on some important questions, however, is not in dispute.

Even in retirement, Martini continues in some ways to play the role of “loyal opposition”. Recently, Italy has been engulfed by a right-to-die debate that became the country’s equivalent of the Terry Schiavo case in the United States, when an advanced muscular dystrophy patient named Piergiorgio Welby asked to be removed from his respirator, and eventually died.

Officially, the Catholic church was critical of the decision, and the pope’s Vicar for Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, denied permission for a church funeral. Martini, however, took a more permissive line, saying publicly that terminally ill patients should be given the right to refuse treatments and that the doctors who assist them should be protected by law.

The election of Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI in April 2005 seemed to many a repudiation of Martini’s more liberal option in Catholicism, so much so that some Italian journalists couldn’t resist manufacturing a storyline to the effect that the conclave had been a showdown between Ratzinger and Martini, and that Martini had renounced election. (In fact, Martini, who suffers from the early stages of Parkinson’s disease, was never a serious candidate.)

Those expecting a dramatic schism between “Ratzinger-ites” and “Martini-ites” under Benedict XVI, however, so far have been grossly disappointed.

To date, the mega-story of Benedict’s pontificate instead has been his apparent desire to govern from the center rather than from any ideological fringe. That’s been characteristic in terms of both substance and symbolism; not by accident, for example, did Benedict make a reunion with his old friend Hans Küng one of the first public acts of his papacy. It was, in effect, his way of telling the Catholic left that he wanted to be their pope too.

Another reminder of the point came on Saturday, when Benedict XVI held a meeting with seminarians at the Roman Seminary for the Feast of Our Lady of Confidence.

The pope was asked six questions by the seminarians, which had been submitted in advance and released to the press. They ranged from asking the pope to reflect on his own priestly formation, to his thoughts about how to avoid careerism in the priesthood. The fact that the questions were pre-arranged means that Benedict had plenty of time to craft his answers.

In the course of responding, the pope cited a number of sages, most prominently St. Augustine, who loomed so large in his own intellectual and spiritual formation, St. Ignatius, and St. Bakhita, the former Sudanese slave canonized by John Paul II in 2000.

The only living figure cited by the pope, however, was Martini.

“I don’t think I’m being indiscreet if I say that today I received a beautiful letter from Cardinal Martini,” Benedict said. “I had expressed best wishes for his 80th birthday – we’re the same age – and in thanking me, he wrote: ‘I’m grateful above all to the Lord for the gift of perseverance. Today,’ he writes, ‘even the good is done for the most part ad tempus, ad experimentum. Good, according to its essence, can only be done definitively; but in order to do it definitively, we need the grace of perseverance. I pray every day,’ he concludes, ‘so that the Lord will give me this grace.’”

The pope then quoted another line from Martini: “So far, the Lord has given me this grace of perseverance, and I hope that he will give it to me also for this last phase of my journey upon this earth.”

To be sure, Benedict was making a spiritual point, not grinding any ideological or political axe. Equally, the citation was an expression of affection between two men with a great deal of history, and a great deal of mutual respect, both of whom find themselves facing their own mortality.

Yet a pope doesn’t have the luxury of making entirely casual comments, especially when he knows that the full text of his remarks will later be issued by the Vatican Press Office and scrutinized around the world. His decision to cite Martini so warmly, and about something so fundamental to the Christian life, therefore can be read on another level.

Especially coming hard on the heels of the Welby case, it seems another way of reaching out to those constituencies in the church that think of Martini as a hero, of gently suggesting that what unites Catholics ought to be more fundamental than what divides them.

Over the long term, the jury is still out as to whether Benedict’s centrist, pastoral approach will win over those Catholics who still lament that it’s not “Papa Martini” warmly citing his old friend, emeritus Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, instead of the other way around.

The very fact that Benedict has embraced such a style, however, offers an intriguing clue about the future prospects for Catholic liberalism at a moment when the church is in the grip of a powerful Catholic identity movement.

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In one of two blog topics yesterday (Settimo Cielo), Sandro Magister commented on how the secular media in Italy, for the most part liberal, blatantly misused a long statement this weekend by Cardinal Dionigi Tettamanzi, Archbishop of Milan, in unequivocal restatement of the Catholic doctrine of the traditional family based on matrimony, as having been a statement against Cardinal Camillo Ruini! - or how anything goes in the high-stakes game over the Prodi government's DICO.

The secular lobby recruits Tettamanzi-
and gets an 'auto-goal' penalty for it!

Meeting the Aposiolic Nuncios to Latin America last February 17 in preparation for the continental conference of Latin American bishops which he will be opening in May, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned a couple of things in his overview of the Latin American situation that ended up the following day touted in the Italian media with drumrolls and trumpets:

The first was about the family "which shows signs of yielding under the pressure of lobbies capable of impacting negatively on legislative processes."

The second was about the role of bishops in the political arena. "I feel the need to restate," the Pope said, "that it is not the role of ecclesiastics to head social or political aggrupations, which should be left to mature laymen who are professionally prepared [for politics]."

This would have referred primarily to Fernando Lugo Mendez, bishop emeritus of San Pedro, Paraguay, who has been suspended a divinis for presenting himself as a candidate for the Presidency of his nation in violation of canon law [that expressly prohibits priests from running for and taking public office].

But even the Pope's earlier mention of lobbies was typical of Latin America, where church leaders, whether conservative or progressive, have often spoken out against them, generally referring to pro-abortion and anti-family organizations in the United Nations and in the rich secularized nations of the northern hemisphere.

But the Italian media used both statements by the Pope in an exclusively domestic context to attack Cardinal Camillo Ruini, president of the Italian bishops conference.

But that was not all. The Italian media were playing the same discordant counterpoint against Ruini, using Cardinals Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini and Dionigi Tettamanzi as their pretext.

Cardinal Martini was approached by newsmen after he celebrated Mass on his 80th birthday in Ariccio near Rome to ask his thoughts about DICO. [Curiously, this is the first I have read about this.]

Martini: "I don't wish to speak about it. I live far away now and I am not informed enough."

And about the family? "Yes, the family must be promoted and defended - but promoted more than defended." He did not say one word more or one word less.

On the other hand, Tettamanzi had a long address (published in full the next day, Feb, 18, by Avvenire, newspaper of the Italian bishops conference) to the pastoral council of the Archdiocese of Milan, in which he did not mince his criticism of DICO, without a single word in its favor.

But both cardinals were exhibited for the nth time by the Italian media as though they had spoken against Ruini, invoking for this the reticence of Martini and some words said by Tettamanzi.

The howler is that Tettamanzi had dedicated a paragraph of his address precisely to the 'deformations' of information carried out by secular interests and accused the media of acting as a lobby in themselves:

"It cannot be denied that the instruments of social communications contribute to to the dissemination and strengthening of such 'deformations' every time they exempt themselves from furnishing free and correct information and end up being subjects [he used the word 'succubi', plural of succubus] to economic, political and cultural 'powers.'

"This [situation about the public debate on DICO] incurs the risk of exploitation of a social phenomenon for ends that are quite different from the declared intention [of DICO] of giving an answer - even if only juridical and legal - to the complaints and demands of cohabiting couples."

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Isn't it curious, to say the least, that Cardinal Martini did not want to comment on DICO at all????

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Magister's second blog topic had to do with the Pope's address to the Apostolic Penitentiaries of the four Roman Basilicas yesterday:


...Papa Ratzinger has been dedicating a lot of effort so that the fourth Sacrament may be practised more widely.

The Papal encounter with youth which comes once a year just before Easter will take place this time inside St. Peter's Basilica and will culminate in sacramental confessions by all those present.

In his speech to the penitentiaries, the Pope pointed out, among other things, that "the confessor is not a passive spectator but a 'persona dramatis', that is, an active instrument of divine mercy."

That is why, he said, it was necessary for a confessor to unite serious theological, moral and pedagogical preparation to spiritual and pastoral sensitivity, which will make him capable of understanding the experience of the person who is confessing."

He recommended following the example of those saints who devoted a large part of their ministry to the Sacrament of Reconciliation: the cure of Ars, St. Jean-Marie Vianney; St. Leopold Mandic; and St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

On the same day, for different reasons, La Civilta Cattolica, the Jesuit magazine published under the supervision of the Vatican Secretariat of state, published an editorial dedicated to the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

[Magister furnishes the editorial, but only in Italian. I will translate later.]

From the English service of the Polish news agency PAP today:

Papal nuncio about pope's letter
to archbishop Wielgus

Warsaw, Feb. 20 (PAP): Apostolic Nuncio to Poland archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk informed the Polish Episcopate on Tuesday that Pope Benedict XVI had sent a letter to archbishop Stanislaw Wielgus.

In the letter the pope expressed the wish that Wielgus resumes his activity in the service of Christ for the good of the beloved Church in Poland, according to a statement of the Episcopate council. »

The rest of the story is available only to subscribers but PETRUS carries the story in Italian, presented here in translation:

...PAP quotes from the letter, as follows:
"From the heart, I wish to assure you of my spiritual nearness and fraternal understadning for the suffering that you have had to undergo in your life as a chaplain and as archbishop up to your recent resignation as Archbishop of Warsaw.

"I send you a special blessing, with the wish that you may be able to return soon to the service of the Church... I am aware of the particular conditions in which Your Escellency had to function when the Marxist regime in Poland used every means to stifle the freedom of citizens, and most particularly, that of men of the Church.

"I appreciate the sense of responsibility you showed for the Church in Poland when you decided last month to resign your new assignment because the situation that had arisen would have brought to question teh actions and the authority of the Archdiocese of Warsaw."

Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican Press Office, said later that the Pope's letter was "one of comfort and spiritual support, in which the Pope expresses the hope that Mons. Wielgus can resume his activities in a way whereby his culture and his priestly service may bear fruit for the Church."

He said the significance of the letter was of "appreciation and encouragement... of comfort and good wishes."

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A lawyer for Wielgus told the media earlier this weekend that Wielgus was going to court to seek to clear his name. For practical reasons - mainly, to have spared all the unpleasant publicity that resulted for the Church and for the Pope himself - I still wish Mons. Wielgus had acted much earlier.

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When the Pope's Lenten message for 2007 was released on February 13, I called it a Valentine from Benedict to all the faithful. Since tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which officially begins Lent, Sandro Magister's piece for today is about that message...

'They shall look on him whom they have pierced.'

[Click on image to enlarge]
Cimabue, Crucifix, 1287-88.
Panel, 448 x 390 cm, Museo dell'Opera di Santa Croce, Florence


Lent 2007:
The Love Letter Written by Pope Benedict

Why is he so strenuous in his defense of the family as founded upon marriage between a man and a woman?
He explains why in his message in preparation for Easter.
In it, he writes that “eros is part of the very heart of God,” and therefore...

by Sandro Magister


ROMA, February 20, 2007 – Tomorrow, Ash Wednesday, is the beginning of Lent for the Catholic Church of the Roman rite. And Benedict XVI will start it with a penitential procession on the Aventine hill, with the celebration of Mass in the basilica of Santa Sabina, and with the rite of the imposition of ashes.

As has been done for more than thirty years, at the beginning of this Lent as well the pope has addressed a message to the faithful, in order to direct their preparation for Easter. Until now, the messages for the beginning of Lent – including last year’s – have usually concerned the duty of charity, of aid for the various forms of human suffering: poverty, hunger, sickness, persecution, exile.

But this year Benedict XVI has broken with this tradition, and in the message for the beginning of Lent he has invited the faithful above all to contemplate Jesus on the cross.

He explains the reason for this himself: because it is only Jesus on the cross who fully reveals the love of God to men.

This is a love that is both agape and eros together. In a few extremely intense passages, Benedict XVI expresses once again that astonishing “essence of Christianity” that he had already placed at the center of his encyclical Deus Caritas Est.

The agape and eros of God are poured out upon man with the blood and water that spring from the pierced side of Jesus, a figure of Baptism and the Eucharist. But those who welcome this love – the pope continues – must in turn “pass it on to their neighbors, especially to those in the greatest suffering and need.”

As he did in the encyclical Deus Caritas Est, Benedict XVI has thus placed love, in its dizzying divine and human fullness, at the center of this message for the beginning of Lent.

He has done so even as he sees just how much love, in the present culture, is “such a disfigured, worn-out, and abused word.”

He has done so even as he sees Italy, Europe, and the world giving legal and cultural approval to “weak” forms of love that undermine the “extremely strong” love that makes a man and a woman “one flesh” in the family.

He has done so even as certain famous Catholic intellectuals – like minister Rosy Bindi and historian Pietro Scoppola in Italy – accuse the Church of “talking about PACS [the laws on de facto heterosexual and homosexual unions] more than it does about the mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection.”

In short, this message for the beginning of Lent thus makes clear – with its profound reasoning - why Benedict XVI insists so strenuously, and at every opportunity, on the defense of the family as a “divine institution” (Gaudium et Spes, 48), founded not by human will, but by that God who is love.

[Magister then provides the text of the Lenten message, which we posted in HOMILIES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES on 2/13/07.]

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Pope: Lent, a time to become Christian again



Vatican City, Feb. 21 (AsiaNews) – Lent, which starts today, Ash Wednesday, is an “opportunity to become Christian again”, to “rediscover our baptism”, which “often is not very efficient in our daily life”.

Ash Wednesday, “a particular day, characterized by an intense spirit of meditation and reflection” was the theme tackled by Benedict XVI today when he addressed the faithful who took part in the general audience.

The event was once again held in two parts, first in the Basilica of St Peter and then in Paul VI Hall to accommodate the number of people present: around 7,000 in the hall and 3,000 in the basilica.

Speaking during the general audience, Benedict XVI said that Ash Wednesday, which he will celebrate this afternoon in the Roman basilica of Santa Sabina, introduces the period of the 40 days separating it from Easter “a time of listening to the Word, prayer and penitence: days in which to revive the stages of salvation”.

The pope recalled that in the early Church, Lent was a “time of immediate preparation for Baptism, to be administered during the Easter vigil” as an invitation to “rediscover” and to give new strength to baptism. Today it has become a “renewed catechumenate to renew our baptism in depth”, “an occasion to become Christians again”.

A time of conversion, then, because “conversion is never made forever”, rather it is a “journey” which “cannot be limited to a particular time, it must embrace the entire span of our existence, every day of our life.”

Converting, in the words of the pope, means “seeking God”, “going with God”, “humbly following the teachings of his son Jesus”: “It is not an effort to realize ourselves”, because “the human being is not architect of himself, we did make ourselves.”

“Conversion consists precisely in not thinking that we are our own creators, and thus discovering the truth, accepting with love to depend in everything on love from God” because “depending on this love is not dependence but freedom”.

“It is no use pursing our personal success, which is something that passes”. Rather, for the Christian, Christ must become “my all in all”, said the pope, citing as phrase of Mother Teresa.

In Lent, then, we are ever more stimulated to “tear out” the roots of vanity, to “educate our heart to love God”. The sincere desire for God “leads us to reject evil and to do good, which is above all a free gift of God”, “our true happiness”.

This is why Lent, “while inviting us to reflect and to pray, also urges us to emphasize penitence, prayer and fasting” and works of charity towards our brothers, “spiritual paths to follow to return to God in response to the continued calls of conversion in today’s liturgy.”

May the Lenten period, added Benedict XVI, “be for all a renewed experience of the merciful love of God, who on the cross poured out his blood for us. Let us submit ourselves humbly to his teaching to learn how to give, once again, our love to our neighbours in our turn, especially those who are in difficulties.”

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Ash Wednesday:
charity, prayer and penance
as ‘weapons’ against evil, says Pope


Cardinal Tomko,titular bishop of the Dominican Church of St. Sabina in Rome, places ashes on the Pope's head in rhe traditional ritual that begins Lent, held this afternoon.

Rome, Feb. 21 (AsiaNews) – The imposition of ashes, which marked Benedict XVI’s day, also marks the beginning of Lent and carries a double meaning, namely an invitation to inner change, to conversion and penance, and a reference to the precariousness of human existence.

The Pope today highlighted the meaning of the Ash Wednesday ceremony he led in Rome’s Santa Sabina Basilica, first traditional ‘Lent Station’ in which the bishop of Rome also participates.

A long procession of cardinals, bishops, priests, men religious and the faithful lined up under a grey afternoon sky, sprinkled with rain, in a ceremony that has repeated since ancient times.

Led by the Pope the procession made its way from the Sant’Anselmo Benedictine Church to Santa Sabina. Here Mgr Jozef Tomko, titular cardinal of Santa Sabina, imposed the ashes on Benedict XVI, who then did the same to others present.

In his homily the Pope said that “with the penitential procession we have begun the austere period of Lent. Introducing ourselves in the Eucharistic celebration we have prayed that the Lord may help the Christian people to ‘begin a journey towards true conversion so as to victoriously confront with the weapons of penance the fight against the spirit of evil’ (Opening Prayer). "

In receiving the ashes on the forehead, we shall listen again to a clear invitation to convert that can be expressed in a dual formula: ‘Convert and believe in the Gospel’ or ‘Remember that we come from dust and that we return to dust’.”

Benedict XVI then emphasised that “today’s liturgy and its gestures form an ensemble that anticipates the whole Lenten period,” a time “to become reconciled with God in Jesus Christ.”

“For the liturgy of Ash Wednesday,” he said, “a heartfelt conversion to God is the fundamental trait aspect of the time of Lent. It is the quite suggestive reference that comes to us from the traditional ritual of the imposition of the ashes. This ritual has a double meaning. The first refers to an inner change, to conversion and penance, whilst the second refers to the precariousness of human existence easily seen in the two expressions that accompany the gesture.”

Now “we have 40 days to deepen this extraordinary ascetic and spiritual experience.” Jesus himself tells us what are “the useful instruments to achieve a true inner and communal renewal: charity (alms), prayer and penance (fasting). These are three fundamental practices that are also dear to the Jewish tradition because they contribute to the man’s purification before God (cf Mt 6, 1-6.16-18).

Such external gestures, which must be performed to please God and not to get men’s approval and consensus, are acceptable to Him if they express the heart’s determination to serve Him only in simplicity and generosity.”

“Fasting, which the Church invites us to do during this demanding time, is certainly not motivated by physical or aesthetic reasons. It stems man’s need to purify himself from within and detoxify himself from sin and evil. It teaches him to accept the beneficial renunciatory practices that free the believer from the slavery of his own self. It makes him listen more attentively to God and more available to Him and to serve his brothers.

"For this reason fasting and other Lenten practices are seen in the Christian tradition as spiritual ‘weapons’ in the fight against evil, wicked passions and vices.”


The Pope, in turn, imposed the ashes on Cardinal Toko and other prelates present.

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For some reason, AsiaNews's English service is lagging today- it has not yet come out with the story of the Pope's message to the Roman clergy on the Feast of Peter's Chair today (nor has the Vatican Press Office, for that matter), nor with this story which just came out in its Italian service:


Rome, Feb. 22 (AsiaNews) – Russian President Vladimir Putin will be received by Pope Benedict XVI in private audience on the afternoon of March 13, although there has been noofficial announcement yet in Moscow nor in the Vatican.

It would be Putin's first meeting with Benedict VXI. He met twice with John Paul II in 200 and in 2003. Both times, unlike his predecessors Gorbachev and Yeltsin, Putin did not invite the Pope to come to Moscow.

Whether Putin will make the invitation now will reflect the current state of relations between the Catholic church and the Russian Orthodox Church under Alexei II, Patriarch of Moscow.

Orthodox circles are reportedly saying that a representative of the patriarchate will be part of Putin's delegation.

Putin was one of the few heads of state who did not attend the funeral of John Paul II. He was baptized in the Orthodox Church and has said in the past that he could be a man of mediation between the Churches.

PETRUS has a story from Italian news agency sources on the Pope's encounter with the Roman clergy today, which was yet another of his Q&A sessions, at which the Pope appears to be increasingly more at ease. Check out how he answered someone who posed a long question that contained his own answer!

Here is a translation:

'The faith is deeply rooted
in Italy but threatened'


VATICAN CITY, Feb. 22 - "In Italy I see how the faith is still deeply rooted in the heart of society, but it is also being threatened."

This was the cry of alarm raised by Pope Benedict XVI this morning during the traditional encounter with the clergy of the Diocese of Rome held yearly on the Feast of the Chair of Peter.


REUTERS Pool Photos


It was a topical remark that was just one out of many that he made during a question-and-asnwer session with the priests, a practice he initiated last year at his first encounhte with them as Pope.

"We cannot think that we can live the Christian life completely without doubts and sins," the Pope said referring Lent which began yesterday. "We should recognize that we are all on a journey, that we can learn as we go and convert ourselves in the process."

"Conversion is for always, but realizing it is the work of a lifetime, undertaken patiently, and never losing faith and courage along the way," he explained.

The Pope, responding to a question on how to carry out pastoral work in the parishes with the youth, said priests should convey the message that "we cannot make perfect Christians of ourselves but that we must just go ahead with the fundamental option of staying the course of conversion with perseverance."

It is often difficult, he says, and sometimes, one would much rather just give up."But the Lord is generous, and with His forgiveness, we too can become generous."

Responding to a question about the presence of ecclesiastical movements in the diocese, the Pope referred to his current series of meetings with italian bishops coming for their ad limina visits to Rome. "This way I am learning better the geography of the faith in Italy."

"I will soon sign the post-synodal exhortation from the Bishops Synod held in October 2005," the Pope announced. The theme of the Synod was "The Eucharist: origin and summit of the life and mission of the Church."

"It will help in personal as well as liturgical meditation," said the Pope, "as well as in the preparation of homilies and celebrating the Holy Mass, but it will also guide, illuminate and help revitalize popular piety."

The Pope spent almost 90 minutes in the encounter, answeering eight questions from the priests, answers which included theological meditations, pastoral considerations and some witty remarks.

The discussion ranged from the importance of the Bible to the state of the faith in Italy, from the role of ecclesiastical movements to religious art.

"I must confess a personal weakness," the Pope said, when answering a question about priestly activities. "At night, I find it difficult to pray. I just want to sleep," he said to much applause. "Nevertheless, it is really necessary to find some time for the Lord."

"It's easier said than done," he added, "but we should always try to spiritualize our work."

At the start of the question period, the Pope referred to the distance there could be between the activities of a theologian-Pope and the daily routine of priests in Rome. He was applauded frequently for his answer.

"You expect light and comfort from me, while for me, to see so many priests of every generation is light and comfort."

He added: "Above all, I could learn from you about actual situations, about your experiences and difficulties, and so be able to share not just abstractly but through dialog what life actually is in the parishes."

"And I am happy to feel that I am also the Bishop of a large diocese, and not just Pope," he added, to more applause.

The Pope dwelt at length on some questions, but limited himself to a quick overview of those he considered too complex to discuss at such an occasion.

For example, "When I was still a member of the International Theological Commission, we spent a year devoted to this problem alone," he began, when he was asked about religious pluralism.

Then he answered in general terms: "On the one hand, the theologian, as his responsiblity and profession, seeks to find ways to respond to the demands of our time, but on the other hand, he must always be conscious that everything he does must be based on the faith of the Church."

He was even more concise when he replied to a priest who said he was a professor of missiology and presented a lengthy articulated question about martyrs, which was much-applauded.

The Pope answered, to more applause, "Their applause shows that you yourself have given us ample answers. "And so to your question, I can only answer Yes," raising a chorus of laughter. "We will meditate on your words," he said as a transition to the next question, which was about relating Christ to young people.

Jesus, said the Pope - taking the occasion to emphasize the importance of reading the Bible, of good homilies, and of ecclesiastical movements - should not be seen as a prophet, or a historical personage, but as a man who still lives today.

At the beginning of the encounter, Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the Pope's Vicar in Rome, thanked him "for your interventions addressed to the entire world but also specifically to Rome and Italy, which have allowed us to grasp more deeply and with extraordinary clarity the mystery of our faith, in itself, and its multiple implications in the reality of our lives."

Ruini pointed out that the theme of pastoral work in the diocese of Rome this year was 'the joy of faith and the education of the new generations".

"And so, we will continue our task of prayer and mission, addressed above all to the family, and to help our parishioners towards an encounter with Christ, especially the children and the youth who are the ones most exposed to secular and de-Christianizing influences, and who strongly feel the need for a sense to their lives," Ruini concluded.

================================================================

And Lella shares a story about the event from La Repubblica online today, with a few more details, translated here:

The Pope's light-bearted remarks
in encounter with Roman clergy


VATICAN CITY - There were moments of hilarity this morning in the encounter between the Pope and the priests of the Diocese of Rome in their traditional start-of-Lent appointment.

Benedict XVI made some offhand remarks that provoked applause or laughter from his audience, responding to some of thequestions placed to him in his second Q&A session with them as Pope. He innnovated this practice at their first encounter last year.

Laughter broke out when the pope cited St. Augustine, saying he was 'torn away' from his intended life of meditation and prayer to immerse himmelf all day in his episcopal tasks and so only had the nighttime left for prayer. But he followed that by saying:

"I must confess a personal weakness. At night, I find it difficult to pray. I just want to sleep," he said to much applause. "Nevertheless, it is really necessary to find some time for the Lord. It's easier said than done, but we must try to spiritualize our work."

There were nine questions posed to the Pope in his capacity as Bishop of Rome. Many of them were so long and articulated that the Pope, with a good dose of humor, said yes, he agreed with the solutions suggested and had nothing more to add.

To a priest affilitated with the Sant'Egidio community from St. Bartholomew's Church on Tiberina, the islet on the Tiber river in the midst of Rome, the Pope answered: "It's exactly as you said. We shall meditate on your words."

Another remark concerned the centrality of the Word of God in the life of the Church, which, the Pope reminded the priests, will be the theme of the next Bishops Synod.

In urging the priests never to neglect reading the Bible, the Pope recalled a patristic image - that of the leper and the ass who both drink at the same spring.

"It doesn't matter if we are lepers or asses," he said, "We are nonetheless grateful to the Lord for allowing us to drink from His spring." Once again, the Hall of Benedictions, where the audience took place, erupted into general laughter and spontaneous applause.

And of course,the Pope referred to topical matters indirectly, noting for instance that "the faith is still deeply rooted in the heart of Italian society but is threatneed."

He expressed concern for the youth who live "in a world that is remote from God." It is very difficult for them, he added, "to be able to encounter Christ in this cultural context, and so the youth have particular need to be led in order to find the way to Christ."

But he exhorted the Roman parish priests not to be pessimistic. Seeing the weight of evil that seems to have the upper hand in the world today, one could despair, he said, but "God Himself has entered our history."

We should know, he said, that the Lord is the counterweight to evil, a counterweight of absolute value that overcomes evil with an immense surplus of good.

He then underscored the centrality of the moral norms that the Church proposes not only to its own faithful. "It would seem that science tells us completely different things, but with some experience, we can say like Pascal did to a non-believing friend of his: 'First try to do some of the things that a believer does, and that experience will show you that to believe (in God) has both logic and truth.'"

The Pope said that the relationship between reason and faith was also the testing ground even for those who profess to be Christian.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 22/02/2007 23.11]

Islamic leader denies accepting papal invitation

Cairo, Feb. 22, 2007 (CWNews.com) - A leading Islamic cleric has announced that he is weighing an invitation to visit the Pope-- an invitation that the Vatican announced he had already accepted.

Sheikh Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi, the rector of Cairo’s Al Azhar University, told reporters on February 22 that he has not yet received a formal invitation to visit Pope Benedict XVI and will not make a final decision until he hears from the Pontiff.

The Vatican had announced a day earlier that the prominent Sunni Muslim leader had accepted the invitation proferred by Cardinal Paul Poupard, the president of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, during a visit to Cairo. But Sheik Tantawi said that “one cannot take a verbal invitation as an official invitation.”

The Egyptian cleric said that he welcomed the visit from Cardinal Poupard, and believed that the Vatican is working to repair the damage done to Catholic-Muslim relations by Pope Benedict’s speech at Regensburg last year. Earlier he had said that the Pope “must retract his statements” to ensure further progress in relations.

Some Islamic colleagues of Sheikh Tantawi, citing concerns about the Regensburg speech, have declined to participate in a Catholic-Islamic dialogue commission, which had been meeting annually since 2000, when it was set up by the joint agreement of Sheikh Tantawi and Pope John Paul II.

============================================================
Comment by Teresa:

Oops, another embarassment! How could the Vatican have committed such a breach of diplomatic etiquette - no big deal, perhaps, but yes to this particular invitee - as to announce the acceptance of an invitation that had not been officially extended yet????

But can it be possible that Mons. Fitzgerald in Cairo,the Vatican expert on all things Muslim - who would know not only the etiquette about announcing such things, but also the sensitivities and accepted practices among Muslim religious leaders, in particular, Sheik Al-Tantawi - totally dropped the ball on this?

Or was the Vatican communique perhaps prepared and released without clearing it with him - when he is, after all, the man on the spot and the 'resident expert'?

Ooooh, Cardinal Bertone and Fr. Lombardi really have to be more careful.....

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/02/2007 17.23]

The Vatican's bulletin about the only public event on the Holy Father's calendar today confirms that
he will preside at the canonization of Brazil's first saint, the Blessed Antonio Galvao de Franca,
a Franciscan friar (1739-1822), and that the canonization will take place on May 11, when he is
in Brazil.


Reuters/OR pool photo

Pope Benedict XVI presided this morning at what is called a Public Ordinary Consistory for the
Canonization of 'Blessed', in particular, the following new saints:

GIORGIO PRECA, Latese priest, founder of the Societas Doctrinae Christianae (M.U.S.E.U.M.):

SIMONE DA LIPNICA, Polish priest, Order of Franciscan Minor Friars;

CARLO DI SANT’ANDREA (Giovanni Andrea Houben), Dutch priest, Congregation of the Passion of
Our Lord Jesus Christ;

ANTONIO DI SANT’ANNA (Antonio Galvão de França), Brazilian priest, Order of the Alcantarini
Minor Friars, founder of the 'Recolhimento de luz monastery in Brazil; and

MARIA EUGENIA DI GESÙ (Anna Eugenia Milleret de Brou), French nun, founder of the Institute
of Sisters of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The information about Fr. Galvao's canonization in Brazil is gleaned from the last paragraph
of the bulletin which says:

The canonization ceremony of Blessed Antonio will take place on May 11, 2007, while that for the
other four will be on June 3, 2007.

May 11 is the date of the Pope's Mass in Sao Paolo, where the Brazilian hierarchy expect a crowd
of about 1.5-2 million in attendance. The numbers may swell now that the canonization has been
confirmed.

This was first mentioned to the Brazilian media as a probability by Archbishop Piero Marini
when he visited Brazil last week for a preliminary survey of preparations related to the Pope's
liturgical celebrations in Brazil from May 9-13.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 23/02/2007 17.16]

As we are still awaiting the transcript of the Pope's Q&A with the Roman clergy yesterday, here's a translation of a story from PETRUS about what the Pope had to say about church movements on that occasion.


VATICAN CITY - "Gratitude and patience," on the one hand, but also 'clarity' about their need to be integrated into the Church and to obey the Pope: these are the two criteria which Benedict XVI identified about the relation of the Church to church movements, a relationship that he also described as characterized by 'suffering' and 'difficulties.'

The Pope was replying to oen of the questions posed to him by Roman priests at his encoutner with the clergy of the Diocee of Rome yesterday.

He recalled: "Church movements have arisen inevery century. Initially, there always 'inconvenient" for the Church. Even St. Francis at the time was quite 'inconvenient' and it was very difficult for the Pope then to give his movement a canonical form. For St. Francis himself, it was a great sacrifice to have to fit into a juridical scheme. But ultimately, a reality was born [the Fransiscan orders]that lives and will live on, which gives new strength and new elements to the life of the Church."

The Pope then referred to 'two fundamental rules' that govern relations between the Vatican and church movements today.

The first is "Not to extinguish charisms: if teh Lord gives us new gifts, we should be grateful even if they may be inconvenient."

The second is to have 'gratitude' as well as 'patience', accepting the 'sufferings - which are inevitable' of such movements. But the Church also needs "to be clear about how to integrate these elementsinto the life of teh Church."

"Just as in matrimony, there is always conflict and suffering," he remarked, to the laughter of his audience, "nut nevertheless, the couple goes ahead and that is how true love matures."

The Pope then referred specifically to the Neo-Catechumenal Way.

"Right now," he said, "it must be studied whether after five years of experimentation [from the time the movement was recognized by the Church], their statues can be confirmed definitively, or whether some more time is needed, or whether we should perhaps make some changes in their structure."

In any case, he went on, "I have followed this movemntn from the beginning. it has been a long way, with many complications that continue till now, but a form has been found that has much improved the coexistence between the priests and the movement, and we hope to make more progress."

=============================================================

I need to dig up ZENIT's brief rundown on this movement to provide a convenient backgrounder.

The Vatican Press Office has now posted the transcript of the Holy Father's responses to questions from the Roman clergy yesterday. The questions themselves are summarized rather than given in full. But given the length, I won't be able to post a translation until late tonight or tomorrow morning.

I've rearranged the order in this blog item by Sandro Magister today to play up some incidental information he provides towards the end of it. Here is a translation:


Benedict XVI's book on Jesus will come out within a few weeks in five simultaneous editions: Italian, English, German, French and Spanish, followed shortly thereafter by the Portuguese and Polish editions. A third installment be editions in about a dozen languages from Croatian to Korean.

Magister begins the blog by quoting Mons. Giuseppe Betori, secretary-general of the Italian bishops conference in an implicit criticism of the best-selling "Inquiry on Jesus' by Italian authors Corrado Augias and Mauro Pesce.

Betori said recently:
"we impatiently await Benedict XVI's book on Jesus of Nazareth, certain that it will provide the best response to how historical research can accompany the faith, and with respect to Jesus, may be capable of giving Him a much more reliable face than that - mutilated and insignificant and restricted to his historical time - offered to us by some men of culture and historians of Christianity who are misguided by ideological considerations."

Betori's words came in a lecture to mark the 30 years of the Center for Biblical Studies in Sacile, province of Pordenone (northeastern Italy) on February 22.

An ample excerpt from Betori's lecture - about the research criteria used by the Pope in writing his book on Jesus appeared in Avvenire on that day. [Yet another translation memo for me!]

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/02/2007 15.15]

Spiritual exercise: Pope clears calendar for annual Lenten retreat

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Continuing an 80-year-old papal tradition, Pope Benedict XVI is canceling regular audiences and clearing his calendar to make a weeklong Lenten retreat.

The spiritual exercises not only shut down the normal business of his pontificate, but also place the pope in the unusual position of doing all the listening and none of the talking.

Judging from his own remarks in recent years, Pope Benedict doesn't mind giving up center stage and reflecting on someone else's insights.

Chosen to preach the Feb. 25-March 3 retreat this year was Italian Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, the retired archbishop of Bologna, who is making an unusual second appearance. In 1989, he led the Lenten retreat for Pope John Paul II.

Cardinal Biffi has a reputation for outspokenness, and perhaps his history of verbal fireworks led the pope to bring him back for another round. The papal retreat is attended by the Roman Curia and involves many hours of sermons and meditations, and the ability to keep people awake is a requisite for the job.

The idea of preaching to the pope may sound intimidating, and past retreat masters have acknowledged some trepidation at the task. It may help that when they get into the pulpit, the pope is not staring at them from the front row -- he listens off to the side, in a semiprivate alcove.

Past preachers have included simple Franciscan friars and leading cardinals from around the world. In 1967, Archbishop Karol Wojtyla -- the future Pope John Paul II -- was chosen to lead the retreat. In 1983, it fell to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the present pope.

That has given the job a certain aura, and over the years journalists and others have looked to the registry of Lenten preachers when it comes time to draw up their "papabili" lists. So far, Pope Benedict is turning to elderly, retired prelates; last year, the preacher was 80-year-old Italian Cardinal Marco Ce.

Cardinal Biffi, who is 78, will preach on the theme, "The Things Above," which refers to St. Paul's letter advising early Christians to "think of what is above, not of what is on earth."

If the cardinal wants some guidance, he could look back to Pope Benedict's own words last year about the same passage. The pope said St. Paul was not telling people to cut themselves off from their earthly responsibilities, but to orient their daily lives toward the supernatural.

Then again, Cardinal Biffi is not required to follow the pope's lead.

The retreat opens with adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, an evening prayer service and an introductory talk. Each day afterward, the retreat master gives three meditations in morning and afternoon sessions, accompanied by prayer and reflection.

As the retreat goes on, the Roman Curia machinery winds down. Not everyone attends the entire program of spiritual exercises, but the top officials in each office are encouraged to do so, and the pope's Redemptoris Mater Chapel fills up quickly.

The pope disappears for a week, too. No private audiences, no liturgies, no working lunches. Even the Wednesday general audience is canceled, to the disappointment of pilgrims who chose this week to be in Rome.

Pope Benedict certainly has plenty to do: the final review of a long-awaited post-synodal document, a book on Jesus due out this spring, a backlog of "ad limina" appointments with bishops and a string of homilies and talks to prepare for the coming weeks.

But taking time out of a busy schedule is precisely the point. Pope Pius IX first instituted the papal Lenten retreat in the 1920s, and in 1929 he issued an encyclical promoting spiritual exercises for the entire church, saying that "the most grave disease" of the modern age is lack of spiritual reflection.

He said people's insatiable search for riches and pleasure "so entangles them in outward and fleeting things that it forbids them to think of eternal truths, and of the divine laws and of God himself."

Pope Benedict no doubt agrees. As a cardinal, he once cautioned against Vatican hyperactivity and said church leaders should recognize they "have less need of discussion and more need of prayer."

The retreat is private, but outsiders can catch up later on the content. Most papal retreat masters publish their sermons in book form several months afterward.

[Modificato da benefan 24/02/2007 4.09]

Like the Prodi government that proposed it, the draft legislation on DICO is currently in limbo, and one would think that even if Prodi is asked to name a new government, DICO would not be its burning legislative priority.

This has not meant that the Church in Italy is putting down its guard on the issue. Indeed today, the Pope once again referred indirectly to it and to other current tendencies that may be seen as an attack on human life itself.

Here is a translation of a story from PETRUS about the Pope's address this morning to memebrs of the Pontifical Academy for Life. However, as usual, when the Pope gives a closely argumented statement, it's much easier- and obviously more productive - to read his entire statement directly. I have posted a translation in HOMILIES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES.

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI has appealed to the conscience of Christians to reject "multiple initiatives to legalize forms of cohabitation other than matrimony which are closed to (the possibility of) natural procreeation."

The Pope spoke to participants of the general assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life whom he received at the Vatican today at the conclusion of a conference on the theme "Christian conscience in support of the right to life."

In the face of initiatives for 'alternative' forms of union, the Pope said "Conscience - often overpowered by collective pressure - does not show enough vigilance about the seriousness of the issue at stake, and the power of the strong weakens and seems to paralyze even persons of good will."

That is why, he underscored, "It is more than ever important to appeal to conscience, and particularly to Christian conscience."

He exhorts all Christians to "mobilize yourselves to confront the multiple attacks on the right to life, among them 'eugenism' - the race towards having 'the perfect child' and 'diagnoses that favor selection.'"

In turning back these attacks, the Pope said, the Christian motivation is "profoundly rooted in natural law and can therefore can be shared by every person with right consicence."

The Pope also expressed concern that "in all the world, attacks against the right to life have extended and multiplied, taking on new forms."

For instance, he said, "Pressures are increasingly greater to legalize abortion in the countries of Latin America and in the developing world, resorting to liberalization with new means of chemical abortion used under the pretext of reproductive health. The politics of demographic control is on the rise, despite the fact that this has now been seen as pernicious even on the economic and social levels."

The Pope said "the right to life is a right that demands support by everyone because it is the fundamental right that leads to other human rights," reiterating that this right must be respected "from the very beginning of life to its natural end".

He spoke of lay responsibility in temporal matters, about which the Second Vatican Council urged "welcoming what their pastors decide as teachers and officials of the Church," and that likewise, priests should "recognize and promote the dignity and trhe responsibility of laymen within the Church."

Papa Ratzinger cited concepts form the Conciliar constitution Gaudium et spes. "When teh value of human life is at stake," he said, "the harmony between mahisterial function and lay commitment becomes singularly important: life is the first among the gifts received from God and it is the basis of everything else. To guarantee the right to life for all and in the same manner for all is an obligation on whose fulfillment the future of humanity depends."

The world today, he said, needs properly-formed consciences that are capable of "defending individual freedom of choice against mass tendencies and the lures of propaganda."

As such, he emphasized the importance of the role played by parents, educators and the church in educating consciences, young and adult, in the 'difficult but sensitive and indispensable task" of forming persons able to follow the truth.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 24/02/2007 18.34]

Pope speaks out against "designer babies"

Sat Feb 24, 2007 1:07 PM ET

ROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict on Saturday condemned genetic engineering and other scientific practices that allow people to select so-called "designer babies" by screening them for defects.

In a speech to the Pontifical Academy for Life, a Church body of experts, the Pope also attacked artificial insemination and the widespread use of medical tests that can detect diseases and inherited disorders in embryos.

"In developed countries, there is a growing interest for the most sophisticated biotechnological research to introduce subtle and extensive eugenics methods in the obsessive search for the 'perfect child'," the Pope said.

He said the right to life was increasingly under attack in the world, citing pressures to legalize abortion in Latin America, and euthanasia in the richest countries.

He also spoke out against civil unions as an alternative to marriage, his latest criticism of a bill approved this month by the Italian government granting rights to unwed and gay couples.

Turning that bill into law now appears a more remote possibility, as it was dropped from a government program submitted by Romano Prodi to his allies to allow him to stay on as prime minister and end the latest political crisis.

Sunni Muslim sheik will meet with pope

VATICAN CITY The grand sheik at the highest theological college in the Sunni Muslim world has agreed to meet with Pope Benedict XVI in Rome, the Vatican said.

Cardinal Paul Poupard, who leads the Vatican commission on relations with Muslims, went to Al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo to meet with Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, grand sheik at the Al-Azhar Mosque, and extended the invitation.

No date was announced for the visit.

I have posted a translation of the Holy Father's words at the Angelus today in AUDIENCE AND ANGELUS TEXTS. The Pope and the Roman Curia begin their annual Lenten retreat today at the Vatican. Here is the AsiaNews report on the Pope's Angelus message:




'Let us look at Christ
pierced by our sins'


Vatican City, Feb. 25 (AsiaNews) – A few hours before the start of spiritual exercises in the Vatican, the Pope urged pilgrims in St Peter’s Square to enter the time of Lent by "looking at the pierced ribs" of the Crucified Jesus.

In doing so he restated the theme of his 2007 Lenten message entitled "They shall look on Him whom they have pierced. "

Referring also to his encyclical Deus caritas est, the Pope said that by looking at Jesus who died on the Cross, we can know that “God is love”.

“In this contemplation,” the Pontiff said, “the Christian discovers the path along which his life and love must move (Deus caritas est, 12). Contemplating the Crucifix with the eyes of faith, we can deeply understand what sin is, how tragic its gravity is and at the same time how incommensurable is the power of the Lord’s forgiveness and mercy.”

The lance that pierced Christ’s ribs is witnessed in the Gospel of John. “That act carried out by an unknown Roman soldier,” Benedict XVI explained, “bound to be forgotten, was engraved in the eyes and heart of the Apostle who mentioned it in the Gospel. How many conversions have taken place over the centuries because of this eloquent message of love that those who look on the Crucified Jesus receive.”

“In these days of Lent,” the Pope added, “let us not remove our hearts from this mystery of profound humanity and high spirituality. By looking at Christ, let us feel that He is looking at us. The one we have pierced with out sins never tires to pour onto the world a boundless stream of merciful love. May humanity understand that it is only from this source that we can draw the indispensable spiritual energy to build the peace and happiness that each human being endlessly seeks.”

“Let us call on the Virgin Mary,” the Pope said by way of conclusion, “whose soul was pierced near Her Son’s cross, to help gain a firm faith. Guiding us on the Lenten path, may she help us put aside all that distracts us from listening to Christ and his word of salvation.”

And it is to her that the Pope entrusted the spiritual exercises which Cardinal Giacomo Biffi will preach in the Vatican starting today till Saturday morning March 3 to the Pontiff and the Roman Curia.

Cardinal Biffi, archbishop emeritus of Bologna, will preach on the subject "Look for things above, where Christ sits on the right side of God; think about things above, not about those on earth."

[The Pope will not have any more public appearances till Angelus next Sunday, after the Lenten retreat ends. There will be no general audience this Wednesday.]

==============================================================


Predictably, the Italian MSM today played up the Pope's address to the Pontifical Academy for Life yesterday [full text translation in HOMILIES, DISCOURSES, MESSAGES and stories about it in the preceding page of ths thread] in which the Pope denounced abortion, euthanasia, eugenism in reproductive medicine, and any legalization of homosexual unions.

One newspaper said the most significant part of the Pope's speech was when he cited a Vatican Council document which exhorts "lay believers to accept what their pastors decide as teachers and heads of the Church."

It is interpreted as a reference to a forthcoming statement by the Italian Bishops Conference (CEI) re-stating the Church position against any alternative forms of union other than matrimony beween a man and a woman. Cardinal Camilo Ruini, president of the CEI, had said it should be 'binding on all who believe in the Magisterium of the Church.'

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Maklara, I hope the Vatican has it right this time about the Sheik!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 26/02/2007 14.06]