PAPA'S NEW YEAR BEGINS

No time off for Papa. Here's Catholic World News' account of Papa's first working day in 2006 and some other activities soon to take place.


Routine meetings as Pope begins new year quietly

Vatican, Jan. 02 (CWNews.com) - Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) has begun the new year quietly, holding a series of private audiences with several key Vatican officials.

On Monday morning, January 2, the Holy Father met with Cardinal Camillo Ruini, his vicar for Rome and the president of the Italian bishops' conference; with Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary; and with Archbishop Franc Rodé, the prefect of the Congregation for Religious Life. During the first week of January the Pope will visit the famous Christmas crèche maintained by Rome sanitation workers on January 5, and preside at Mass for the feast of the Epiphany on January 6. On January 8 he will baptize children in the Sistine Chapel.

The first widely anticipated public statement of the Pope's year will be on January 9, when he speaks to the Vatican diplomatic corps. That annual address to the 174 ambassadors accredited to the Holy See gives the Pontiff an opportunity to survey world affairs and establish the public priorities of the Vatican. Pope Benedict will be making the first such speech since his election in April 2005.

Vatican-watchers also expect the publication of the new Pope's first encyclical, entitled God is Love, sometime in January. There are also rumors that the Pope might begin making major changes in the leadership of the Roman Curia, and that he could call a consistory to name new cardinals.

Once in a while, someone in the media can shock us pleasantly - and this article
is infinitely more meaningful because it is written by a journalist, but I doubt that
any of us Benaddicts can do better.

This comes from the 1/2/06 issue of the Italian newspaper Libero, made available
to the main forum by Dipl, a new member. It is written by Renato Farina
[of whom I wish I knew more] - who not only captures in words what we have always felt
instinctively about our Pope, but frames his unabashed and unqualified appreciation
of Benedict within the cultural and historical context of our day and age.

I hope my translation approximates the original. READ AND REJOICE...

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Enemies of the Ratzinger option
By RENATO FARINA

Among the “greats” in the world today, there is one distinctive face. The Pope. We lost one,
but now we have Benedict. What will he do? This was a question one always asked about Wojtyla,
who always managed to surprise the world, in gesture or in words, and even in his dying.

Whereas Ratzinger - I have understood this about him: he is an open mystery ("candido mistero”),
the promise of something enchanting.The fact that he exists is enough, and that he acts
to keep our hopes alive.

Because of this, (someone like) Oriana Fallacci met him face to face in his study and He welcomed her.
(Perhaps) they sought each other out. Many obscure enemies have already met him face to face,
and we wait to see what they will do next.

One thing at a time, though. Yesterday at noon (January 1), when he came to his window
from the third floor of the Apostolic palace, a rebellious and at the same time delicate strand of hair
escaped from under his Papal cap. For the rest, during the two Masses broadcast by TV throughout
the world, he was, as always (during liturigical rites), like a well-behaved altar boy,
with every gesture rigorously done according to the rule.

Benedict XVI does everything properly. But that hair and those eyes have something indomitable,
stronger than philosophies, perhaps even stronger than words. (They show)the "wildness"
of a quiet cat – because cats are always disquieting when they are in love. And Ratzinger burns
with an interior passion. Wojtyla had it – he showed it in powerful gestures: the Polish Pope
opened his arms wide in the great theater of the world, and the world seemed small by comparison.

With Raztinger, everything takes place within the calm of protocol. He projects the power
of simple joy. That is why the faithful flock to him in droves. They can see it –
he communicates his joy by the simple act of looking at you. It is not an irrational phenomenon –
it is quite human. Is his look inexplicable? No, it is the essence of relationships
between friends, between lovers, between father and child.

Ratzinger communicates a look that is calm and disquieting at the same time, because he burns
with an inextinguishable inner fire. No one takes this into account when they speak
of Joseph Ratzinger: that he is certainly there in our midst with Another Presence.
So, when he says “We are not alone, no one is alone” (as he said three times during
his installation Mass on April 24, indicating the presence of a constant friend, Jesus),
he is only speaking the truth of what he is experiencing.

From this comes forth his denunciation of relativism and nihilism, and of religious fanaticism
which generates terrorism. Fanaticism is a “religion” that dones not accept verification
by reason and experience. Relativism and nihilism constitute the true poverty in men today
who are unhappy for that reason.

On Saint Sylvester’s night (December 31), during the Te Deum rites, Ratzinger called attention
to the poor and homeless of the world. By homeless he did not only mean those who are
on the Caritas aid rolls, but “those who are most poor and most abandoned, because
they have lost hope in finding sense to their own existence.”

Therein lies the disease of the West – not that people do not find any sense in life,
but that they believe it is useless to look for it because there is none! And those
who believe this brag about it.

Ratzinger bears witness to another possibility. That is why Oriana Fallacci came to him.
She loves liberty and life, and she will not allow these concepts to be surrendered
to (radical) Islamism. She refuses to wrap herself in intellectual skepticism.
She came (to Castel Gandolfo) to see that smile grounded on the rock of certainty:
Life may be wretched and difficult, it may be hard, but it is easy to be like the shepherds
of Bethlehem – if there is a light, one must run to find it – with all one’s pain
and anger and expectations.

And so, in this routine existence, which often seems to have no opening into the infinite,
(we saw) something unexpected: a Pope’s good and disquieting eyes meeting those of an atheist
who believes in (transcendent) beauty.

The choice is not between Islam or nihilism, not between the negation of liberty
or its transformation into an idiotic joust. The other possibility is the Ratzinger option.

Giulio Andreotti [ex Prime Minister of Italy, Christian Democrat, and founder of
the Italian Catholic monthly magazine 30 Giorni] sent the Pope a silver cat as a Christmas gift.
He commissioned it from a silversmith in the Abruzzo, who modelled it after a photograph
of Chico the cat, published last year in Libero. The Papal seal is engraved on the box that contains it.

I was present when the gift was delivered from the silversmith. (When he first saw it),
Andreotti made a movement of surprise. He covered the silver head with his hand and said:
“These are the Pope’s eyes!”

The world has so many problems, there is much to talk about other than the eyes and hair
of the Pope, of the Pope who is facing 2006. But up to now, we have been most concerned
only about his thinking, whether it is too conservative and so on, but for the faithful,
what they see is his face, his smile, in which they see certainty.

Benedict XVI was the news of 2005. He will be the news of 2006 to a much greater degree
[the writer uses the term ‘quadrato’, meaning “(mathematically) squared”].
Lately, his enemies have tried to make Ratzinger into some sort of a Dan Brown villain –
a black king conjured by the Opus Dei, as though the Opus Dei were the hands of the devil.
And they would persist in this macabre fiction.

The answer comes from the public who have embraced him with affection: vox populi, vox Dei.

Orianna Fallacci said, when she recently received a prize for courage (in New York),
that an era of openness to religion has started. But let us not confound this
with devotion or pietism. Religiosity is a desire for the infinite, to look at death
but to hope not to die.

Last year, it was Cardinal Ratzinger who explained to the world the powerlessness of death,
with two homilies broadcast live on television, at the funeral Masses for Don Luigi Giussani
[founder of the movement Communio e Liberazione] on February 24, and for John Paul II on April 8.

As Pope, he has become the living testimonial for faith as a “security exit” from worldly ennui.
He has done so through reasoning, which is open to discussion, not presented as a reliquary
to be kept on the altar. One should be able to discuss God the way one eats French fries
or drinks a glass of wine.

Unfortunately, among us today, this magnificent way out of banality has been suffocated
by a debate over the relations between Church and State, or between laicism and religion.
These are important things, but frankly, minor in the grand scheme of life. However,
they are issues often raised in such a way that they have deformed the only truly decisive question.

This Pope faces an educational challenge – whether he can communicate the true meaning
of existence to the young, at whatever age; to show whether there is an answer to their thirst,
or whether even to ask about the meaning of existence is in itself a futile desire.

The power of that meeting between the Pope and Fallacci highlights the essence of religiosity.
Ratzinger told her: “Let me propose this to you, Oriana. Even if you do not believe in God,
live as though God exists. Not the God of philosophers, or of the freemasons, or the God
of the Merovingian kings who sleeps above the clouds, but the God that comes to us through tradition.”

Ratzinger now has an encyclical ready about this God. It is entitled “God is love.”
A love that was made flesh. A love that looks at me and you, like a cat, like a Papa
[“come un Papa” – could have both senses, like a Pope and like a father].

----------------------------------------------------------------

For a lay person's (not a Benaddict) unusually striking impressions on meeting the Pope
up close, read the article in POPE-POURRI about Ulisse Sartini the painter.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 03/01/2006 23.21]

Teresa thanks - it's the best article ever written about Papa

---

“... Even if you do not believe in God, live as though God exists. Not the God of philosophers, or of the freemasons, or the God of the Merovingian kings who sleeps above the clouds, but the God that comes to us through tradition.”

---

I love that quote from Papa to Oriana. It is one that should be included in any book of famous quotes from history. And how very true it is. Thanks for the great article, Teresa. It is a pleasant surprise to read something like this coming from the journalistic pen of a "heathen".

ANOTHER YEAR-END ASSESSMENT OF PAPA

I thought I had already posted this article on our forum but can't find it. If anybody locates it, don't tell me. I think I am suffering from posting overload.

Pope softly set to shake up bishops
Gerard McManus
Melbourne Herald Sun
29dec05

IT was always going to be a hard act to follow, but Pope Benedict XVI has taken a surprise "softly softly" approach in taking over from Pope John Paul II.

After eight months Pope Benedict, at 78, is curiously displaying no signs of being in a hurry.
His moves and decisions so far have been minor, nothing like the reactionary, hard-line pontificate hostile commentators had predicted.

Up to his last days, John Paul II set a frenetic pace, criss-crossing the world and issuing a blizzard of sermons and papal documents.

Benedict has slowed things down considerably.

He meets fewer dignitaries, makes fewer speeches and statements and travels far less frequently than his predecessor -- though he has pencilled in a trip to Australia for World Youth Day in 2008.

His twice-weekly sermons at St Peter's Square, however, attract larger crowds and are considered easier to understand than those of his predecessor, whose heavy Polish accent was slightly slurred.

A S Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, his reputation was as the intransigent Vatican enforcer -- the Grand Inquisitor -- but as pope, Benedict's demeanour has been joyful and serene.

For Australian church commentator Dr Paul Collins, whose book God's New Man hit the bookshops soon after the April conclave, Benedict has done the right thing by doing very little.

"We needed a retreat from the high papacy of JPII. He tried to be omnipresent and was up for every gig that you could poke a stick at," Dr Collins said.

"In Benedict we have a more modest approach -- he's got a better grip of the true role of the pope, which is partly to inspire others to use their gifts."

Benedict is a deep thinker, thorough and brutally analytical. Problems are approached from every angle and then acted on, decisively.

But he is also from folksy beer-drinking Bavaria.

He relaxes by playing Mozart on his piano and prefers traditional sacred music and art.

It is believed he wants big improvements in the liturgy, but realises tens of millions of Catholics have grown accustomed to their suggestions being included in masses, weddings and funerals.

Dr Collins predicted that priorities for the new pope would include healing the 1000-year rift with the Orthodox churches, reorganising the curia (the central administration of the church) and appointing a more talented bench of bishops.

Others predict Benedict will attempt to reform the church's liturgy, which they believe has gone from a universal and familiar rite to a free-for-all at which congregations have a tendency to worship themselves rather than God -- with bad music to go with it.

Another church commentator, Fr Ephraim Chifley, said the curia was likely to be frightened of the new pope because he used to be one of them.

Cardinal Ratzinger was head of the Congregation for the Doctrine and the Faith for 24 years.

"No one knows what he's going to do," Fr Chifley said. "Because he is 'curia wise', he won't be suffering from staff capture."

Fr Chifley also described the new pope as a man of symbols.

"What he's done so far suggests he is very 'old school' and won't be conducting vast masses with dancing girls," he said.

"He's a step-by-step man, but no one will have any doubts about what direction he is heading in."

HIS few decisions so far have included prohibiting sexually active gay men from training to be priests and a crackdown on seminary professors promoting a gay culture.

However, Benedict sensibly stopped short of totally banning a religious life for those with homosexual inclinations.

At the same time he opted to maintain the tradition of a celibate priesthood -- something likely to create difficulties for many bishops.

But Benedict also invited the church's most famous rebel, Hans Kung, to his summer palace -- and the liberal theologian said the meeting was friendly.

Papal watchers predict Pope Benedict is likely to axe several Vatican departments and bring to heel the all-powerful Secretariat of State, which has run the church since Pope Paul VI upgraded it in the 1960s.

When still a cardinal, Benedict argued that the two biggest problems facing the church were its lacklustre bishops and the crisis in the liturgy.

However, a recent synod of hundreds of bishops in Rome showed his "generals" were extremely reluctant to revive past practices and Benedict knows he cannot move too far ahead of them.

W HILE there are exceptions, the Catholic Church's bishops range from the uninspiring and complacent through to the timid and negligent.

Dr Collins agrees that quality of bishops is a major problem, but argues that the pool of clergy to choose from are "limited, small and ageing".

"He won't be able to do much to brighten up our bishops, because he refuses to broaden out who can be ordained," Dr Collins said.

Inside the Vatican editor Dr Robert Moynahan recently declared that the new pope faced myriad problems, but all were reducible to just one: the faith.

"We all know the consequences of the loss of faith: selfishness, sin, cruelty, oppression, strife, division, suffering, disease, tears, hatred, death," Dr Moynahan said.

"However, the overall 'plan' of Benedict's pontificate can be nothing other than this -- as it is the overall plan of all popes: to preserve the faith and to confirm others in the faith."

When many believe we are in the post-Christian era, it is equally a very modest and a monumental agenda, but more than enough to keep a man on the cusp of his 80th birthday occupied.

PAPA TALKS ABOUT LOVE

In anticipation of Papa's first encyclical, which is about love, here is an interesting article from the Chicago Sun Times.

Pope on divine love vs. erotic love

January 4, 2006

BY CATHLEEN FALSANI Religion Reporter

Pope Benedict XVI may try to "save eros," in the first encyclical of his papacy, Chicago's Cardinal Francis George told the Chicago Sun-Times.

George expects the new pope will try to explain that erotic love, eros, and unconditional love, agape, are both inherently good in God's eyes in his encyclical titled "Deus, Caritas Est," Latin for "God is Love." An encyclical is a pope's most authoritative document, a pastoral letter circulated to the universal church.

Letter talks about Christ

The cardinal has not yet seen Benedict XVI's encyclical, which is expected to be released by the Vatican within days, but said he has "seen comments" about it. The pope has asked George to deliver an address about the major themes of the encyclical to a gathering of the pontifical charity organization Cor Unum in Rome at the end of the month, according to Colleen Dolan, the cardinal's spokeswoman.

Benedict XVI's first encyclical will likely "talk about Christ, which is a good thing for a pope to talk about in his first encyclical. John Paul II did that," George said. "And he is going to talk about the relationship between love and truth, between agape and eros."

Agape (pronounced "ah-gah-pay") is a Greek word, referring to unconditional love, the kind Catholic doctrine teaches God has for humankind. Eros was the Greek god of love, and his name has come to refer to sexual love or desire.

In the mid-1900s, Anders Nygren, a Lutheran bishop from Sweden, published a book called Eros and Agape, in which he concluded that agape is the only truly Christian kind of love.

"In a kind of Lutheran fashion, he distinguished between agape, the love of God in us, which is good; and eros, which is our own erotic life and desire, which turns us away from God," George said. "He said that in English 'love' is ambiguous and you have to distinguish between these two. And you do.

"What the pope is going to do is to try to save eros. That is to say that our own human love, our desires, are good in themselves. . . . The distinction between agape and eros is not a clean one. In fact, one influences the other and therefore both should be considered good. But we are sinful creatures, so they can be misused."

A pope's first encyclical is seen as setting the tone for the rest of his papacy. Pope John Paul II, who died in April, published 14 encyclicals during his 27-year pontificate.

What will it mean if Benedict XVI tackles the issue of erotic love versus divine love?

"It might be part of his overall program of trying to not let things become purely secularized and devoid of religious connection," the Rev. Donald Senior, president of Chicago's Catholic Theological Union, said by phone from Rome on Monday night.

'Purifying the church'

Senior is there for a meeting of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, which was led by Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, before he became pope in April.

"He has spoken about, in a couple of his statements already, a 'soulless materialism,' so trying to integrate human experience with the divine is really fundamental to him," Senior said.

"It may be that he's worried about a picture of human love or sexuality that is devoid of any connection to the divine. And in a strange way, it may be part of his response . . . to the clergy abuse crisis.

"He talked about 'purifying the church.' Maybe this is part of his way of doing it," Senior speculated.

The pope, who is said to have begun work on his first encyclical last summer, is a scholar of St. Augustine, who famously had a hard time reconciling erotic and divine love.

"Maybe he's going to try to repair Augustine a bit," Senior said, adding that he has not seen the encyclical and had expected it to be solely about Christology, or the study of Christ.

The pontiff's "focus is so much more dogmatic. Nevertheless, he does have a very emotional way of speaking. In his homilies and stuff, people have been noting that they're all very rich in imagery and much more affective than cerebral," Senior said. "Bavarians are very sentimental and romantic."

Following is a translation of an article from today's issue
(1/5/06) of the Italian newspaper Il Tempo
(thanks to ratzi.lella in the main forum for the lead):
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THE CRUX OF VATICAN FOREIGN POLICY
By PAOLO L. RODARI

On Monday, January 9, Pope Benedict XVI will meet with the diplomatic corps
accredited to the Holy See, at the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace. Representatives of
174 nations will be present.

This is a much-anticipated meeting because the Pope is expected to speak on the foreign policy
of the Holy See.

He has met with the whole diplomatic corps only once before – last May 12, shortly after
his election as Pope. At that time, the Pope solemnly reaffirmed the Church’s commitment
to peace, justice and the defense of life and human rights.

He also expressed the hope of establishing relations with “those nations
with whom the Holy See does not yet have diplomatic relations.” It was widely understood
that he meant China, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia.

On January 9, the Pope may well report how much progress the Holy See has made and
how much more remains to be done in this respect, again without necessarily
mentioning the countries.

For Benedict XVI, it appears that diplomacy is absolutely not the art of compromise
arrived at and pursued just for the sake of "peaceful coexistence". On the contrary.

Perhaps because this Pope did not come from a diplomatic background, his diplomacy
may be best characterzied as the art of stating the truth firmly, with courtesy and charity,
but unequivocally. A truth which, because it is not imposed, enjoys a credibitility
and following even in settings and with personalities who are outside the Catholic Church.

Even on the theme of the necessity for peace on earth, as he expressed it last May 12
[and recently in his message for World Peace Day], the Pope, who stands for truth
rather than compromise, has always managed to speak of peace without falling
into partial prospects, without ever referring to the “forward march of peace” or
rainbow-colored hopes.

Rather, he has always recalled the Catholic doctrine that it is not possible to establish
a society of genuine peace, a society of love, without following Christ who is the Truth.
And everyone has understood him, or (better yet), not misunderstood him.

So, even in the matter of diplomatic relations with China, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia,
Papa Ratzinger's actions have been characteristic: the only course to be pursued
can be that of the truth, and nothing else. Thus, for example, when he invited
some Chinese bishops to attend the recent Synod in Rome and the government in Peking
refused to authorize the trips, what did he do?

Benedict XVI accepted the decision, did not remonstrate publicly nor in private,
but politely and without offending anyone, he reiterated on several occasions his concern
about the situation in countries where religious freedom is still not guaranteed.

The Vatican, under this Pope, has repeatedly asked in public statements that
legitimate conditions for the exercise of religious freedom be guaranteed to Catholic missions
throughout the world, not only in China, Vietnam and Saudi Arabia. However, it has also
made clear that it wishes this to take place with the full consent of the concerned nations,
and that it wishes to work towards this objective with honesty, discretion and cordiality.

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.

thanks Teresa and benefan!:)

Here is a translation of an article that came out in the December 31, 2005 issue of Avvenire,
the daily newspaper of the Italian bishops conference:
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2005- A YEAR TO REMEMBER. Beyond the mere events, “a great spiritual experience.”
In which the death of John Paul II and the election of Benedict XVI as his successor
“in a natural peaceful continuity”, happening within the Year of the Eucharist,
have sent the world “a message of extraordinary intensity.”

The Swiss cardinal Georges Marie Martin Cottier, until recently the Pope’s theologian,
talks with almost wondrous enthusiasm to Salvatore Mazza of Avvenire, about
the events that marked 2005. “The vox populi was not wrong,” he says, remembering
the profound involvement of the faithful in both events.

What kind of a year was 2005 for the Church?
I must say it was truly a great spiritual experience. Two facts particularly struck me:
the first, that John Paul II had proclaimed it the Year of the Eucharist, thus giving
the Church year a framework of great spirituality, within which, also, he experienced
his own sufferings and death. This way, he has left us a great spiritual legacy.
And as we all saw, the faithful realized this.

And the second fact?
The manner – I would describe it as “peaceful” – in which the succession, the election
of Benedict XVI occurred. After a 26-year Papacy, it would have been “normal”
to expect problems or difficulties in that respect. History tells us that such a situation
lent itself to creating problems that would have been most natural and understandable.
But none of that happened. As you know, I did not take part in the Conclave
[he is over 80 years old] but I did take part in all the meetings that led to it.
I can tell you that I never once sensed any anxiety or tension. I think that in itself
was a pretty strong spiritual sign. It is always said that one should catch the signs
of the times, but often it is difficult to recognize them at the moment when they present
themselves. But the two facts I just mentioned were really signs of the times,
signs that were able to speak to us in the Church as well as
to the entire world.

In what way did they speak to the entire world?
We saw it in the great respect shown worldwide towards the figure of John Paul II
in a manner never seen before, in the arrival here of leaders from all over the world
for his funeral, in the way in which the mass media followed the events. The world
is in great disorder, but John Paul II was perceived as an oak, a solid point of reference.
Some cultures today do not like the idea of “paternity” even if the need for a father figure
is clearly felt. Papa Wojtyla satisfied that need – just look at the youth who always
followed him. He was a defender of the peace and of human life, because he loved life.
One can say perhaps that he almost forced even those who had a different viewpoint
into reflecting on these problems, to understand that these are questions to which
one cannot remain indifferent. He has made others reflect, and he did this by
showing himself vulnerable, an example of evangelical poverty ["poverta evangelica"
- I do not understand the sense of this term].

How do you interpret the election of Benedict XVI?
It was a very beautiful thing, a sign of continuity. It was very beautiful if only
for what the Church showed of itself. They are certainly two different personalities,
Papa Wojtyla and Benedict, but with an evident and very close nearness.

Papa Ratzinger, in his addresses, continues to underline this continuity with
his predecessor, but it seems as if you are talking of a more profound continuity,
something that goes beyond words.
Above all, there are two characteristics that the two Popes have in common:
both are souls with a rich interior life, and both have a great love for the Church.
John Paul II was a man of prayer, a lover and true servant of the Church which is
the reality left behind by Christ to carry on his work. And just a few days ago,
in a most beautiful address to the Curia, we heard Benedict XVI deliver
a masterful interpretation of the (Second Vatican) Council, which fully reflected
his sense of the Church. I would like to mention another thing which they have in common,
which places them in truly close continuity: their towering sense of responsibility.
That is, (when a person) takes a decision, he must carry it through. When something needs
to be said, it must be said, without equivocation.

An evident continuity,in short. And yet with clear differences in character,
which can be noted even in their rhythms.
Sure, their character and their styles are profoundly different. John Paul II
became Pope quite young, and he had incredible spontaneity and communicative ability.
Benedict XVI, elected at a late age, appears more reflective. But things proceed.
There is no hurry. I know that events in the Church are measured differently
from common events which we are used to which can be ephemeral, but
what happens in the Church always remains real.

There are those who saw in the election of a 78-year-old Pope a sign
that the Church has closed in on itself, almost out of fear.
I am older than the Pope and I must say I do not feel old. Maybe I show my age
when I walk, but speaking is something else. Respect for age has been lost in the West,
but things are different when we speak of intellectual dynamism. Look at China,
where the ruling class Is made up mostly of older people, because that’s part
of their culture. What does spiritual or intellectual age mean? I know
university professors who have not gone beyond their graduate thesis,
who have stopped coming up with any new ideas. But we all know very well what
Cardinal Ratzinger has done (in this respect). No, I would say age mattered little
in this succession.

Just the other day, the Prefecture of the Papal Household released data about pilgrims
who came to Rome to see the Pope this year. And the figures were impressive –
almost 3 million people. How do you interpret this?
I must say that even this was a surprise, a great surprise. I think many of them
also came to visit the tomb of John Paul II, but then an encounter with Benedict XVI
is always surprising. I am thinking of some stupendous moments, like his meeting
in October with children who had just made their First Communion, and that
beautiful lesson he gave about joy, and many other things. Benedict XVI always
speaks of joy, have you noticed? And now, it is beautiful to see how many people
come to listen to him. When I was young, Rome was a far place. Today, there is
a nearness to the Pope, which started slowly from the time of John XXIII,
then came John Paul II who visited throughout the world;
and this nearness
continues now. We can see that even in the many chiefs of state
who ask to be received
by the Pope in private audience, even if they are not Catholic.

Rome therefore still remains very much in the center. Even with the Vatican’s
“uncomfortable” stands and the things it denounces.
Yes. If we look at the immediate problems, I remain much impressed by the fact
that Benedict XVI has placed such emphasis on ecumenism and the inter-religious dialog,
on his anguish for the future, on so many forgotten wars to which most of the world
remains indifferent, despite the fact that world peace is a problem for all,
and that all should unite in the common battle.

And his continued warnings against the dangers of relativism?.
It is a crucial question, because relativism means that the sense of truth is diseased,
so the way lies open for abortion or euthanasia. That's why I hope that above all,
Catholics and all Christians should lead the way in waking up to this problem.
We can’t say that all is lost, but the situation calls for a great examination
of intellectual conscience. I belong to a disappointing generation,
from this point of view, and therefore, this continuous call to reflect (on the dangers
of relativism) is a great service that the Pope does for all of us.


-------------------------------------------------------------

BENEDICT ASSESSED BY CARDINAL DULLES

Cardinal Dulles Explores Pope’s View on Vatican II

From Forham University's website
Contact: Michael Larkin

NEW YORK—In the 40 years since the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict’s views of this landmark event have remained fundamentally consistent, but there are instances where his theology has evolved, said Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J., during the Fall McGinley Lecture on Oct. 25 at the Leonard Theatre on Fordham University’s Rose Hill campus.

Cardinal Dulles presented this shift in Pope Benedict’s thinking by reviewing his interpretation of some points in the four great constitutions of the council: Sacrosanctum Concilium (the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy), Dei Verbum (the Dogmatic Constitution on the Divine Revelation), Lumen Gentium (the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) and Gaudium et Spes (the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World).

At Vatican II, Pope Benedict XVI, who was then the young theologian Joseph Ratzinger, was appointed as consultor to the subcomission revising the texts on Revelation and on the Church. He belonged to an inner circle of German theologians who had a major role in shaping the council throughout its four sessions that extended from 1962 to 1965. According to Cardinal Dulles, the pope’s theology has been firmly rooted in the Augustinian tradition: He values prayer and worship, but is suspicious of social activism and of human claims to be building the Kingdom of God.

“For this reason, he most appreciates the council documents on the Liturgy and Revelation, and has reservations about the Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, while giving it credit for some solid achievements,” said Cardinal Dulles, the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion Professor of Religion.

Cardinal Dulles added that a young Ratzinger lent considerable importance to the theology of the bishops and local churches. Later in his life, his views on the two groups had swung in the other direction.

“Since 1992, [Ratzinger] has contended that the universal church has ontological and historical priority over the particular churches. [The church] was not originally made up of local regional churches,” said Cardinal Dulles. “Those who speak of the priority of the particular church over the universal, he says, misinterpret the council documents.”

A similar shift is apparent in the pope’s view of episcopal conferences, which he had once characterized as “collegial organs with a true theological basis.” By 1986, according to Dulles, Ratzinger says, “we must not forget that the episcopal conferences have no theological basis, they do not belong to the structure of the church as willed by Christ, that cannot be eliminated; they have only a practical, concrete function.”

Cardinal Dulles noted that in interpreting the document on the Liturgy in his earlier commentaries, Ratzinger praised it highly but in later writings he pointed out many of its misinterpretations. “The Council Fathers,” he [Ratzinger] insists, “had no intention of initiating a liturgical revolution. They intended to introduce a moderate use of the vernacular alongside of the Latin, but had no thought of eliminating Latin, which remains the official language of the Roman rite.

“Ratzinger seems to have nothing against the celebration of Mass according to the missal that was in use before the council,” said Cardinal Dulles.

Ratzinger’s theological orientation appeared to be shifting when he accepted the position of editor at the conservative review Communio in 1972, said Cardinal Dulles, who attributes Ratzinger’s later assessments on certain areas of Vatican II to “finding his own theological path.”

“Ratzinger’s [Pope Benedict] career appears to have affected his theology,” said Cardinal Dulles. “As an archbishop and a cardinal he has had to take increasing responsibility for the public life of the church and has gained a deeper realization of the need for universal sacramental structures to safeguard the unity of the church and her fidelity to the Gospel.”

Fordham University’s McGinley Chair in Religion and Society was established in 1985 as a tribute to Laurence J. McGinley, S.J., who first attained distinction as a professor of theology and later served as president of Fordham University from 1948 to 1963. The McGinley lectures explore the relationship between religion and current social and political issues.

Founded in 1841, Fordham is the Jesuit University of New York, offering exceptional education distinguished by the Jesuit tradition to approximately 15,800 students in its five undergraduate colleges and its six graduate and professional schools. It has residential campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan and Tarrytown, and the Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station in Armonk, N.Y.

NOTE: A number of items have been posted in this thread on 1/6-1/7, so please be sure
to check out the previous page for other "new" stories.
----------------------------------------------------------------
From Emma in the main forum, a recent clipping from the diocesan newspaper of Venice.
Here is a translation-
---------------------------------------------------------------

Benedict the communicator

On the one hand, Papa Wojtyla, great man, great communicator, loved by all. On the other hand,
Papa Ratzinger, a man of immense culture but at the same time an innate ability to make himself
understood by anyone. Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why Don Sandro Vigani, editor of
Gente Veneta, the weekly newspaper of the diocese of Venice, holds the firm conviction
that the “preferences” heretofore reserved only for John Paul II will soon be addressed to
Benedict XVI as well.

Do you think that Papa Wojtyla’s ability with respect to his media approach would be difficult
to emulate?
He had an exceptional talent in that respect. And the man who succeeded him has a hard road
to go precisely in view of the inevitable comparisons. But let us also consider that with John Paul,
we are talking of almost 30 years as Pope and of an image that was consciously projected through TV
and newspapers. However, there is an aspect of Papa Ratzinger that must be underscored, because
it seems to be one of his winning weapons for conquering the faithful. I refer to his ability
to attract the sympathies of the new generations. He succeeds in transmitting the word of God
by (emotionally) moving his listeners. The youth who saw him in Cologne have said that his very
shyness and his refinement mark him as exceptional, that he has a nobility which expresses itself
in humble terms, despite the fact that he is one of the most cultured persons in the world.
And so “immediate” in his use of words! In any case, even Benedict XVI is destined to be known
as a communicator. Let us give him time.

But there is a part of the Church which still shows a deep aversion for everything that
has to do with the world of information.
As a newspaper editor, I can only be against such an attitude, but I can understand that
it could be the consequence of the customary behavior of many media workers, namely, a desire
to project their own constructed microcosm (of the Church), something artificial and definitely
far from reality. However, it is impossible to pretend that our age is not steeped in communications
and to ignore the role of mass media. Just think that even Papa Luciani (John Paul I) once said
that if St. Paul had lived in our day, he would have been offered a job at NBC. TV, radio
and newspapers can be extraordinary instruments to spread the Gospel.

Among the faithful who are more or less aware of the relations between religion and the press,
it seems that they choose to live the teachings of the Church following their own radical
individualism.
It’s a philosophy of life that is part of contemporary society. And it is expressed not only
in their relations with the Church but also with the state. For example, many who claim to be
honest citizens also turn out to be tax evaders. It’s the same thing with religion. There are
those who will accept some teachings of the Church, while they will ignore others. They do not
understand that the ethical model offered by the Church is not a prison but (a structure that)
allows a person to live his individual freedom better.

Do you really think Joseph Ratzinger is one of the great gifts that the Holy Spirit
has made these days to the Church?
This Pope – who is strong and gentle, intransigent and merciful, who listens without
being deflected, and who admonishes without shrinking back – seems to me, after so many
prophets who have been proclaimed but who have been found lacking, to be truly a sign
from the Holy Spirit (sent) to confirm all of our brothers in the faith. I am looking at
the text of the homily he gave at the opening of the 11th Synod of Bishops on October 2, 2005.
Luigi Accatoli of Corriere della Sera was right when he wrote that on that day,
we heard once again the Ratzinger of April 18, 2005, in the last homily he gave as Cardinal,
the one that has become famous as the homily on the “dictatorship of relativism.” It was
an authentic shock for so many so-called “Christians for dialog” (by which they really mean
surrender) who, assuming for themselves the Kantian “impossibility of metaphysics”,
have arrived at “a God made in their own image and resemblance.” And who, as Ratzinger said,
“hold themselves and their own wishes as the ultimate standard.”

It is apparent that his implacable gentleness is not based on some vague spirituality,
not in proclaiming “the wrath of God”, not even in a generic return to values, but on
the fact that God himself, in the Person of his Son, suffered for us. The Logos, God’s logic,
is Christ nailed to the Cross, dying and then resurrected.

It was from such radical (in the sense of root) premises, basic to the Christian faith,
that Ratzinger in his meditations for Good Friday (April 2005) could denounce – to general
disconcertation – the “filth in the Church” (theological as much as moral).

The words may have been said gently, but they have an extraordinary hardness,
something that has not been heard for quite some time from a leading prelate, words of
admonition, words of penitence, words of conversion, of invitation to mend one’s ways…

Perhaps Benedict XVI - while reaffirming that “God will not fail; in the end He will win”,
but forced to witness the silent apostasy within Christianity – hears the words of Christ
rumble over his people: “But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

---------------------------------------------------------------

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/01/2006 4.18]

Once in a while, I check out politically conservative bloggers like Michelle Malkin
and Hugh Hewitt, both of whom are also best-selling authors. Serendipitously, Mr. Hewitt's
January 6 blog provides the transcript of a radio interview he had the previous day with
Father Joseph Fessio, in which the latter talks about the Ratzinger Schuelerkreise
annual reunion held for the first time in Castel Gandolfo last September, also the first
reunion with their mentor as Pope. We learned from 1 or 2 accounts by European members
of this privileged "student circle" that the Pope wanted, among other things, a discussion
of Islam and the problems that Islamist extremism poses to the world today. Father Fessio
talks about that....
--------------------------------------------------------------
Benedict XVI on Islam and the West
by Hugh Hewitt

Yesterday I interviewed Father Joseph Fessio, Provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida,
and student and friend of Benedict XVI. (Father Fessio is also the founder of Ignatius Press.)
The entire interview should be read, and the transcript is here -
www.radioblogger.com/#001282
but the most fascinating part concerned a gathering at Castle Gandolfo with the Pope and
his students this past September, where the subject was Islam:

[Note: For some reason, Hewitt omitted the following excerpt in which Father Fessio had first
mentioned being in Castel Gandolfo for a Schuelerkreise reunion:

JF: ...I was in Rome, actually Castel Gandolfo, the Pope's summer residence, in September
of 2005. His former students met with him, and the topic of our meeting was the Islamic concept
of God, and its consequences for a secular society. And we had two people there who gave talks,
one of them extraordinary, a man named Kalil Safir Kalil(?), who is an Egyptian born Coptic
Catholic, Lebanese Jesuit priest who runs an Islamic-Christian center in Lebanon, and he's got
a book called Ciento Domande Su Islam, 100 Questions On Islam. He knows it inside and out.

And he quotes key Islamic leaders saying the following: "Because of your religious
tolerance in Europe, we will overtake you. We will be coming into Europe. Because of our
religious beliefs, we will conquer you." I mean, there should be no doubt about it.
They're intent, and I don't blame them for this. They believe they got the true religion.
They are going to overcome here. They've been trying to do it for...since the 600's.]

HH: ...Let's go back to this meeting, because I'm fascinated by this. And to the extent
that you can, obviously, without violating confidence, who was there? And how did it unfold?
And what was the idea behind it?

JF: Well, Joseph Ratzinger as professor was very, very popular, and had many, many graduate students.
And as part of the graduate program, you'd have these seminars called Hauptseminare, major seminars,
or Proseminaren, and there'd be eight or ten or twelve of us graduate students with
Cardinal Ratzinger. Then, he was Father Ratzinger leading it. And they were so rich,
so fruitful, that when he became archbishop of Munich in 1977, the students decided that
they would want to try and continue some kind of regular meeting to discuss theological
issues. And he was very happy to do that. So from that point on, every year, we have met
for a weekend, usually at a monastery. We'll pray together, we'll read scripture together,
we'll do fellowship together, we will study together, we will eat together, and have
a couple of presentations from scholars on a particular topic, and we'll discuss it.
They've always been very, very enriching and very beautiful. And so, we had planned
last year, in 2004, that in 2005, we would discuss Islam. And it was all agreed upon.
We had two people picked out to come. When he was elected Pope, we figured well, it's going
to be all off now. But he said no, no. He said I'm Pope, but I want to keep my relationships
with my friends in the past, and I want to continue this. That's why we had it again.

HH: And the other speaker, who would that have been?
JF: That was another Jesuit,
actually, from Germany, Father Christian Troll, who is an expert on Islam in Europe.

HH: And what were the natures of their presentations? That it is an ominous time for
Christendom, because it simply cannot keep pace, either with population or with zeal,
compared to the reach of Islam?
JF: Let me divide my answer into two parts, and you can interrupt me at any time,
because I realize it's your show. I'm taking all the time.

HH: Oh, no. I'm fascinated.
JF: But as background, I want to say without exaggeration, and without trying to become
histrionic here, I see the trends...I've seen them for years, in Europe, of depopulation
as you've mentioned. And their immigration is coming from the South, which is mainly Islamic.
And there are, I think there are 98 Islamic countries in the world, and 97 of them do not have
religious freedom. The only one that does is Mali, where Timbuktu is, you know. It's in
a desert, so you can hardly count it. Sorry about any Malians who are listening to this program.

And that's what's going to happen to Europe. Once there's an Islamic majority, it is going
to not...it's going to eliminate religious freedom. However...and therefore, Western
civilization as we know it. However, in the United States, we also are not having children.
There's abortion. There's contraception. There's the ideal of a one or two child family.
But where is our immigration coming from? From Ecuador, from Mexico, from Cuba,
from Guatemala. And these people are Christians.

And so, I believe without being... you know, having hubris as an American, I believe
that Christians in the United States are the ones who will be able to save not just
Christianity, but Western civilization, if we maintain our fidelity to the scriptures,
our fidelity to Christ, our fidelity to family life, and our fidelity to fertility and
fruitfulness in marriage.

So I believe we are in a world historical century, which is going to depend upon
the strength of Christianity in these United States. I say I think that's...I may
raise my voice. I may get excited. I might waive a Bible or something like that, but
I believe this is the hard fact, unless God...He could always...He's in charge.
He could perform a miracle. He could do something we can't possibly have foreseen.
But I see that as what's happening. Now, that's part one. The second part is shorter.

The main presentation by this Father Troll was very interesting. He based it on
a Pakistani Muslim scholar named Rashan, who was at the University of Chicago for
many years, and Rashan's position was that Islam can enter into dialogue with modernity,
but only if it radically reinterprets the Koran, and takes the specific legislation of the Koran,
like cutting off your hand if you're a thief, or being able to have four wives, or whatever,
and takes the principles behind those specific pieces of legislation for the 7th Century
of Arabia, and now applies them, and modifies them, for a new society which women are now
respected for their full dignity, where democracy's important, religious freedom's important,
and so on. And if Islam does that, then it will be able to enter into real dialogue and
live together with other religions and other kinds of cultures.

HH: Is he an optimist about that happening?
JF: He is, but interesting, Hugh, you know, all the seminars I recall with Joseph Ratzinger,
Father Ratzinger, he'd always let the students speak. He'd wait until the end, and he would
intervene. This is the first time I recall where he made an immediate statement. And I'm
still struck by it, how powerful it was.

HH: We only have thirty seconds, Father Fessio.

JF: Oh, I can't do it.

HH: Then I want to come back after the break. ....

---

HH: Father Fessio, before the break, you were telling us that after the presentation
at Castel Gandolfo by two scholars of Islam this summer with Benedict in attendance,
as well as his former students, for the first time in your memory, the Pope did not allow
his students to first comment and reserve comment, but in fact, went first. Why, and
what did he say?
JF: Well, the thesis that was proposed by this scholar was that Islam can enter into
the modern world if the Koran is reinterpreted by taking the specific legislation, and
going back to the principles, and then adapting it to our times, especially with
the dignity that we ascribe to women, which has come through Christianity, of course.

And immediately, the Holy Father, in his beautiful calm but clear way, said well,
there's a fundamental problem with that, because he said in the Islamic tradition,
God has given His word to Mohammed, but it's an eternal word. It's not Mohammed's word.
It's there for eternity the way it is. There's no possibility of adapting it or interpreting it.

Whereas in Christianity, and Judaism, the dynamism's completely different that God has worked
through His creatures. And so, it is not just the word of God, it's the word of Isaiah,
not just the word of God, but the word of Mark. He's used His human creatures, and inspired
them to speak His word to the world, and therefore by establishing a Church in which
he gives authority to His followers to carry on the tradition and interpret it, there's
an inner logic to the Christian Bible, which permits it and requires it to be adapted
and applied to new situations.

I was...I mean, Hugh, I wish I could say it as clearly and as beautifully as he did...
but his seeing that distinction when the Koran, which is seen as something dropped out
of Heaven, which cannot be adapted or applied, even, and the Bible, which is a word
of God that comes through a human community, it was stunning.

HH: And so, is it fair to describe him as a pessimist about the prospect of modernity
truly engaging Islam in the way modernity has engaged Christianity?
JF: Well, the other way around.

HH: Yes. I meant that.
JF: Yeah, that Christianity can engage modernity just like it did...the Jews did Egypt,
or Christians did to Greece, because we can take what's good there, and we can elevate it
through the revelation of Christ in the Bible. But Islam is stuck. It's stuck with a text
that cannot be adapted, or even be interpreted properly.

HH: And so the Pope is a pessimist about that changing, because it would require
a radical reinterpretation of what the Koran is?
JF: Yeah, which is, it's impossible, because it's against the very nature of the Koran,
as it's understood by Muslims.

HH: And so, even the dialectic that was the Reformation is not possible within Islam?
JF: No. And then a second thing which he did not say, but which I would have said,
I might have said at the time, is that...and this is from a Catholic point of view,
there's no one to interpret the Koran officially. the Catholic Church has an official interpretor,
which is the Holy Father with the bishops.

HH: Right. Well, let me ask you then. If, in fact, that reformation within Islam
is not possible in the eyes of the Pope, and the demographics do not change, as they are
unlikely to change in Europe, the last time Christendom went under the waves, so to speak,
in Europe, there were the monasteries, beseiged as they were by the barbarians, sacked as
they were by the Vikings, they endured.
JF: Yeah.

HH: That doesn't happen in modernity, because of the technology of oppression.
And you've just noted the reluctance of Islam to accept religious pluralism, or
to embrace it and celebrate it.
JF: Yes.

HH: And so what happens in Europe?
JF: Well, Hugh, I've got one of the very few things that I've said, which I'm proud of,
because it's become kind of almost a slogan to some, is that home schools are
the monasteries of the new dark ages. That is...and you non-Catholic Christians have
a lot more of them than we Catholics do, but we've got a lot. And I think that is
where families are having children. They're passing on the faith to their children.
They're giving them wisdom and the knowledge of our culture. And we have an advantage
here, because the homosexuals, and the pro-abortionists, and the pro-contraception people,
are not having children by definition...
---------------------------------------------------------------

Towards the end of the interview, they talk about the next Schuelerkreise reunion:

HH: And will you folks be gathering again next September?
JF: He said we would, yeah.
HH: Do you have the subject matter down yet?
JF: ...well, there's two or three themes being discussed, and I proposed we take religion
and science , which of course, would be very critical.
HH: Oh, very good.
JF: You know, Cardinal Schoenborn wrote an article in the New York Times in June...
HH: Right.
JF: ...that was criticized...you know, the whole intelligent design debate.
HH: Oh, that would be fascinating. I hope you'll come back and brief us on that.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 08/01/2006 5.10]

I've excerpted the other parts of the Hewitt-Fessio interview
(see above) relating to Pope Benedict:
--------------------------------------------------------------

HH: Explain what the Pope has been saying since he assumed the throne of St. Peter.
JF: Well first of all, the very first thing was a 22 minute talk in Latin on April 20th,
which is amazing he did that… But he's been clear what his papacy is supposed to do.

And number one was fidelity to Jesus Christ, that we must serve Jesus. He's our Lord.
He's our master. Everything else is secondary, which was beautiful for him to say that.

Secondly, he wants to work in conjunction with, with the prayers and support,
of all his fellow bishops and cardinals.

Thirdly, he wants to help the Catholic Church go into the future by understanding properly
the Second Vatican Council…

…He said the very first thing we have to do, and make sure we do well, is to praise
and worship and adore the Lord in a proper way. If we do that, then everything else
will follow from that… our work with the poor, our evangelization, our attempt
to find greater unity with our fellow Christians. All that… is going to flow from our
fidelity to worshipping the Lord properly. So that's his plan.

But he took the name Benedict. And you know, Benedict was
really the father of Europe
after the fall of the Roman Empire. It was the Benedictine monasteries that had given
themselves entirely to meditation, prayer, service to the Lord, reading His word,
contemplating it, and offering him proper sacrifice - this was what actually formed
Christendom in Europe. And I think he's hoping to have a renewal of that spirit.

…Unlike John Paul II, who spoke of a new springtime, and a new evangelization, and seemed
to talk sometimes as if there was going to be a tremendous transformation of the world,
including Europe, Benedict XVI, even before he was Pope, has talked about the remnant,
the fact that we as Christians, if we are truly faithful to Christ and His word,
we're going to be a minority, and a minority which is becoming more and more marginalized,
and even oppressed.

So I don't think Benedict XVI is thinking that we're going to have a new Christendom,
in which Christian principles permeate all of society… His vision is that we must
be faithful to Christ, and He will support us and strengthen us, (but) we can't predict
what our role will be in society. But it's probably going to be as a minority.

HH: …The spiritual leader of the 200 million plus orthodox Christians said Thursday
that he is eager to meet with Pope Benedict XVI, sometime in the coming year.
Bartholomew I said he was looking forward to healing the long-standing rift between
Rome and the orthodox Churches. Is it necessary for Christendom, in all of its
various manifestations to sort of rally together, as opposed to continually divide?
JF: Well, that's what Jesus wants – that we will all be one, as He and the Father are one.
Well, we're not very near that now. But at least we can respect each other and have good
arguments with each other, and try and come to the same unity of love and faithfulness
to Christ. That's important.

But the orthodox Churches is a whole story in itself. There's 14 Patriarchates. They've been
trying to have a pan-orthodox synod for more than forty years (but) they can't get
the 14 Patriarchates together… much less have a union with Rome, or with all of Christianity.

HH: ……Father Fessio, I want to return to a couple just practical Church-related
questions about Benedict...He has not named any cardinals. Any reason why?
JF: Well, normally that takes place in February, at a consistory. And you know,
John Paul II expanded the number of cardinals quite a bit. There's supposed to be 120
maximum, who are under 80. And it went beyond that. And it wouldn't surprise me if
the Holy Father waits and kind of lets the number dwindle a bit, although you never know.
He might appoint some more.
HH: There are also some key vacancies, according to George Weigel, in the
United States….
JF: Well, I think the archbishop of Washington, D.C, is resigning as of this July.
The bishop of Birmingham, Alabama, has retired. That's an important seat. It's very small,
but that's where Mother Angelica is, where the Eternal Television Network is, which is
from the Catholic point of view, it's the largest media operation in the world.
HH: Oh. And so, obviously, she must answer to the discipline of that bishop?
JF: Yes.
HH: And so that will be a very important appointment.
JF: That's a very important appointment.
HH: Is Benedict aware of that sort of thing?
JF: He definitely is.
…..
HH: …What about the house theologian that he named?
JF: Well, yeah, that's an interesting post, but you ask yourself why does John Paul II,
or even more, Benedict XVI, need a house theologian?
HH: Right.
JF: I mean, Benedict XVI is probably the premier theologian of Christianity, I would say.
Not just the Catholic Church. I mean, the man has a brilliance and a love of the Lord,
and a depth which I think is unsurpassed.
HH: Now this is a funny question… but I'll ask it anyway… The succession of Benedict
to John Paul II... This is really an unfolding of God's plan, in my eyes, because it's
the perfect succession, isn't it?…
JF: It is, isn't it?… John Paul II was a tremendous person on the world stage.
Great enthusiasm and tremendous ability to let people see that to be Christian, you can
be intelligent, you can be joyful, you can be energetic. I mean, it's great to have
a world figure like that, who so beautifully represents the best of Christian virtues.
And of course, he chose Joseph Ratzinger to be his most close associate in the affairs
of the Church. And so they worked together, they had a common view, they had
a common mind on things. And now, he's succeeded by his very close friend, who is
quite different from him in personality. And I would say that John Paul II was more
of a philosopher, whereas Benedict XVI is more of a theologian. But there's a continuity
there, and at the same time, there's a difference....

Here is an assessment of Benedict so far, published 1/1/06, by a correspondent for a Malta news agency
who seems to have his opinions shaped by the British Catholic publication Tablet (along the lines of
the American liberal National Catholic Reporter):
----------------------------------------------------------------
Ratzinger:
After the Super Pope, a modest one
By James Debono

When puffs of white smoked announced the election of Cardinal Ratzinger, progressives in the
Catholic Church were dumbfounded. Despite the election of the man known as God’s rottweiler,
the moniker bestowed upon him for silencing progressive theologians and for his rigid
interpretation of doctrine,
some of them did see the silver lining.

The advent of a sober papacy was welcomed by those who felt uncomfortable with the “orgy of
superlatives” that had marked the last days of Pope John Paul II’s papacy. This time, German
Joseph Ratzinger was seen as a more modest choice. “With Ratzinger we will not have a super pope.
He is not such a person. His style is more modest than that of Pope John Paul II,” Dominican friar
Gwann Scerri, the general co-promoter of Justice and Peace in the Dominican Order, had told MaltaToday
two days after Ratzinger’s election.

Events proved the Dominican friar right. Pope Benedict XVI spent the first months of his
pontificate modestly and quietly, reminding those with memories long enough not of his immediate
predecessor, but of Pope Paul VI. His visit to Germany was the first international set piece of
his pontificate, an occasion he was bound to use to set the mood for what comes after. By this
test, his closeness to his predecessor – undoubtedly one of the reasons he was elected – had not
tempted him into imitation.

According to Catholic journal the Tablet, “Benedict’s modest and understated public style might
almost be seen as a deliberate repudiation of the personality cult that was increasingly associated
with Pope John Paul II.”

Fr Gwann Scerri had also anticipated that by becoming Benedict XVI, Ratzinger would change.
“He will change – if he does not extend a hand to everyone, who would hear him?”

In fact as Pope, Ratzinger has so far done almost nothing controversial. In September
he even hosted dissident Catholic theologian Hans Küng in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo,
a clear sign that the new Pope is open to intellectual dialogue with his critics.

Those who rejoiced or feared that the papacy had shifted to the right with his election have so far
seen very little to confirm their judgement. Benedict is showing his more conservative side
by highlighting the spiritual perils facing Europe through secularism and relativism, which
greatly exercised him before his election.

He has also been engaged in the fight against the legalisation of de facto unions. This is an area,
however, where he is not making much headway as various European countries like Spain have
proceeded to recognise gay unions.

His critics have warned him not to embark on a crusade against the old continent: “A relativist and
secular continent it may be, but Europe is enjoying an unprecedented period without war
between its nations, is a laboratory for a unique experiment in international co-operation through
the European Union, and is a place where human rights are enshrined as never before,” a Tablet
leader (editorial) read in the aftermath of his election.

Lacking the aura of a super pope, but armed with intellectual prowess, Benedict XVI can stand out
as an interlocutor rather than an imposing political giant. Surely he has already managed to gain
the respect of Cuban communist leader Fidel Castro, who has invited the Pope to the Caribbean
island, and who told Cardinal Bertone that he had recognised in the new Pope “the face of an angel,
the face of a very good person.”

jdebono@mediatoday.com.mt

By Crispian Balmer

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict performed the first baptisms of his pontificate on Sunday, using the occasion to launch an impassioned denunciation of irresponsible sex and a "culture of death" that he said pervaded the modern world.

Pope Benedict, abandoning his prepared sermon, compared the wild excesses of the ancient Roman empire to 21st century society and urged people to rediscover their faith.

"In our times we need to say 'no' to the largely dominant culture of death," Benedict said during his improvised homily in the frescoed Sistine Chapel where he was elected Pope last April.

"(There is) an anti-culture demonstrated by the flight to drugs, by the flight from reality, by illusions, by false happiness ... displayed in sexuality which has become pure pleasure devoid of responsibility," he added.

Benedict did not spell out what he meant by a "culture of death", but the phrase was a rallying cry of his predecessor John Paul who regularly used the term to define abortion and artificial birth control.

With Michelangelo's dramatic depiction of the Last Judgment as a backdrop, Benedict attacked the "thing-ification of mankind", suggesting that people had become little more than objects to be traded, picked up and discarded at will.

He singled out ancient Rome's Colosseum amphitheatre and the gardens of the emperor Nero, where Christians were once martyred, as a "real perversion of joy and a perversion of the sense of life."

"The anti-culture of death was a love of lies and of deceit. It was an abuse of the body as a commodity and as a product. Even in our times there is this culture and we must say 'No' to it," he said.

It was the first time since he became Pope that Benedict has ignored the prepared text of his homily, sent to the media beforehand, and instead spoken at length off the cuff.

The official speech focused on the significance of baptism, which marks the admission of a person into the community of Christians.

Benedict was following in John Paul's footsteps by performing baptisms in the Sistine Chapel on the day when Roman Catholics remember Christ's own baptism in the river Jordan.

"This is a 'yes' to Christ, a 'yes' to the victors of death, a 'yes' to life," Benedict said before carefully pouring water on the heads of the babies - 5 girls and 5 boys.

John Paul baptised almost 1,400 infants during his 26-year reign, but was forced to miss the Sistine Chapel ceremony in the last two years of his pontificate because of ill-health.

MORE ON BENEDICT AND ISLAM

From Asia Times Online. The author of this article incorporates the items on this subject that Teresa has posted above and adds his own comments, which presents a very frightening picture of the future, especially for Europe and the Vatican. It's really a subject we all need to look at closely.


When even the pope has to whisper
By Spengler

Islam is the unexploded bomb of global politics. US foreign policy - the only foreign policy there is, for the United States is the only superpower - proceeds from the hope that a modern and democratic Islam will emerge from the ruins of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Through democratic institutions, Washington believes, the long-marginalized Shi'ites will adapt to religious pluralism. Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's Islam, fixed in amber since the High Middle Ages, will metamorphose into something like American mainline Protestantism.

Alas, the available facts suggest that the opposite result will ensue: more freedom equals more fundamentalism. Not the secular Shi'ite parties but the pro-Iranian religious parties dominate the Iraqi polls. In Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood quadrupled its vote despite heavy-handed measures to intimidate its supporters; Hamas threatens to displace Fatah in the Palestinian elections this month; Hezbollah has become the strongest electoral as well as military force in Lebanon; and, most important of all, Mahmud Ahmadinejad crushed a more pragmatic opponent in last June's Iranian presidential elections.

Islam was founded as a theocracy, such that the Western innovation of church-state separation remains alien to its culture. Is it possible for Islam to reform? A negative answer implies that Ahmadinejad's January 5 call for world domination falls within the Islamic mainstream. He told an audience of religious students, "We must believe in the fact that Islam is not confined to geographical borders, ethnic groups and nations. It's a universal ideology that leads the world to justice. We don't shy away from declaring that Islam is ready to rule the world. We must prepare ourselves to rule the world." The previous day, the London Guardian leaked a European intelligence report detailing Iran's efforts to acquire technology required to build nuclear weapons. A very few writers, including this one, have rejected the possibility of Islamic reformation, to the stony contempt of universally accepted opinion.

Now Pope Benedict XVI has let it be known that he does not believe Islam can reform. This we learn from the transcript of a January 5 US radio interview with one of Benedict's students and friends, Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, the provost of Ave Maria University in Naples, Florida, posted on the Asia Times Online forum by a sharp-eyed reader. For the pope to refute the fundamental premise of US policy is news of inestimable strategic importance, yet a Google News scan reveals that not a single media outlet has taken notice of what Fessio told interviewer Hugh Hewitt last week. No matter: still and small as Benedict's voice might be, it carries further than earthquake and whirlwind.

Fessio described a private seminar on the subject of Islam last year at Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer residence:

"The main presentation by this Father [Christian] Troll was very interesting. He based it on a Pakistani Muslim scholar [named] Rashan, who was at the University of Chicago for many years, and Rashan's position was Islam can enter into dialogue with modernity, but only if it radically reinterprets the Koran, and takes the specific legislation of the Koran, like cutting off your hand if you're a thief, or being able to have four wives, or whatever, and takes the principles behind those specific pieces of legislation for the 7th century of Arabia, and now applies them, and modifies them, for a new society [in] which women are now respected for their full dignity, where democracy's important, religious freedom's important, and so on. And if Islam does that, then it will be able to enter into real dialogue and live together with other religions and other kinds of cultures.

"And immediately the holy father, in his beautiful calm but clear way, said, well, there's a fundamental problem with that because, he said, in the Islamic tradition, God has given His word to Mohammed, but it's an eternal word. It's not Mohammed's word. It's there for eternity the way it is. There's no possibility of adapting it or interpreting it, whereas in Christianity, and Judaism, the dynamism's completely different, that God has worked through his creatures. And so it is not just the word of God, it's the word of Isaiah, not just the word of God, but the word of Mark. He's used his human creatures, and inspired them to speak his word to the world, and therefore by establishing a church in which he gives authority to his followers to carry on the tradition and interpret it, there's an inner logic to the Christian Bible, which permits it and requires it to be adapted and applied to new situations."

The interviewer then asked Fessio, "And so the pope is a pessimist about that changing, because it would require a radical reinterpretation of what the Koran is?" Fessio replied, "Yeah, which is it's impossible, because it's against the very nature of the Koran, as it's understood by Muslims."

That is precisely what I argued in an essay titled You say you want a reformation? on August 5, 2003:

"Hebrew and Christian scripture claim to be the report of human encounters with God. After the Torah is read each Saturday in synagogues, the congregation intones that the text stems from "the mouth of God by the hand of Moses", a leader whose flaws kept him from entering the Promised Land. The Jewish rabbis, moreover, postulated the existence of an unwritten Revelation whose interpretation permits considerable flexibility with the text. Christianity's Gospels, by the same token, are the reports of human evangelists.

"The Archangel Gabriel, by contrast, dictated the Koran to Mohammed, according to Islamic doctrine. That sets a dauntingly high threshold for textual critics. How does one criticize the word of God without rejecting its divine character? In that respect the Koran resembles the "Golden Tablets" of the Angel Moroni purported found by the Mormon leader Joseph Smith more than it does the Jewish or Christian bibles."

I claim no originality whatever in this matter, for I simply follow the leading Muslim authorities, who are unanimous that Islam is in no need of reform. The immutable character of Islamic revelation makes the subject of Koranic criticism into a minefield. It is universally known among scholars that alternative texts of the Koran have been discovered in various archeological sites - something of an embarrassment for the Archangel Gabriel - but the subject has disappeared from the media. When Newsweek in 2004 published a brief mention of the work of the pseudonymous German philologist Christoph Luxenberg, the government of Pakistan seized the entire print run. Luxenberg became famous for re-translating the Koran to read that martyrs would receive raisins in Paradise rather than virgins. One finds nearly 12,000 Google references to Luxenberg but not a single hit on Google News. The subject, once so passionately debated in editorial columns, has vanished from the media in their entirety.

It is dangerous to publish anything that Muslims might interpret as blasphemy, as Jyllands-Posten, Denmark's largest newspaper, discovered when it published 12 cartoons of Mohammed, some portraying the Prophet in violent acts. Muslim protests and threats caused two of the cartoonists to go into hiding. After Arab foreign ministers condemned Denmark for refusing to act against the newspaper, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen offered a near-apology in his New Year's address.

Strange as it may seem, the pope must whisper when he wants to state agreement with conventional Muslim opinion, namely that the Koranic prophecy is fixed for all time such that Islam cannot reform itself. If Islam cannot change, then a likely outcome will be civilizational war, something too horrific for US leaders to contemplate. What Benedict XVI thinks about the likelihood of civilizational war I do not know. Two elements of context, though, set in relief his reported comments concerning Islam's incapacity to reform.

The first is that Benedict's comments regarding the nature of Muslim revelation are deliberate and informed, for his primary focus as a theologian has been the subject of revelation. In his 1953 doctoral thesis, biographer George Weigel reports, Joseph Ratzinger, the future pope,

"... following Bonaventure, argued that revelation is "an act in which God shows himself"; revelation cannot be reduced to the propositions that result from God's self-disclosure, as certain forms of neo-scholasticism tended to do. Revelation, in other words, has a subjective or personal dimension, in that there is no "revelation" without someone to receive it. As Ratzinger would later put it, "where there is no one to perceive 'revelation', no re-vel-ation has occurred, because no veil has been removed."

The Judeo-Christian view of revelation, as summarized above by Father Fessio, expresses the mutual love between Revealer and recipient of revelation, a concept alien to Islam.

A second element of context is Benedict's admiration for the US separation of church and state. In an essay published in this month's issue of First Things, Benedict makes the remarkable (for a pope) statement that the US model is what the early church really had in mind. He proceeds from the famous argument of Pope Gelasius I (492-496) that "because of human weakness (pride!), they have separated the two offices" of king and priest. Neither the state church model of Northern Europe nor the secular model of France, Italy and Spain has sufficed, Benedict observes. But he continues:

"Situated between the two [failed] models is the model of the United States of America. Formed on the basis of free churches, it adopts a separation between church and state. Above and beyond the single denominations, it is characterized by a Protestant Christian consensus that is not defined in denominational terms but rather in association with its sense of a special religious mission toward the rest of the world. The religious sphere thus acquires a significant weight in public affairs and emerges as a pre-political and supra-political force with the potential to have a decisive impact on political life."

It is useless to bemoan the fact that Americans do not understand what they are until a European comes along and explains it to them; that has been true since Alexis de Tocqueville. It is most promising that a European, indeed one who speaks with the authority of the throne of St Peter, has explained the difference between the Christian foundation of the US political system and theocratic Islam - even if the explanation came in the form of a stage whisper. I expect this to have profound consequences.

Later in the same essay, Benedict takes up a theme I have addressed over the years, namely the moral cause of Europe's demographic implosion (see Why Europe chooses extinction, April 8, 2003), writing:

"Europe is infected by a strange lack of desire for the future. Children, our future, are perceived as a threat to the present, as though they were taking something away from our lives. Children are seen - at least by some people - as a liability rather than as a source of hope. Here it is obligatory to compare today's situation with the decline of the Roman Empire."

My investigation of the causes of Europe's present decline was inspired by comments of then-cardinal Ratzinger in a book-length interview with the German journalist Peter Seewald published in 1996 as The Salt of the Earth. Nothing is really new in Benedict's present formulation except, perhaps, his sense of urgency as the hour grows late and the moment of truth approaches. In the cited essay, Benedict excoriates the pessimism of Oswald Spengler, who claimed to have discovered a deterministic pattern of rise and fall of civilizations. Instead, he argues that "the fate of a society always depends upon its creative minorities", and that "Christians should look upon themselves as just such a creative minority".

I agree with the pope, not with my namesake. My choice of nom de guerre is ironic rather than semiotic. The fact that the West still has such a leader as Benedict XVI in itself is cause for optimism. It might be too late for Europe, but it is not too late for the United States, and that is where the pope's mustard seeds may fall on fertile ground.

Thanks a lot, Benefan, for the new Spengler column. I have been hoping for a new one from him about Benedict since he published a series of unusually interesting columns about him last April. Although he often comes across with the pessimism of his historian namesake (and is passionately critical of US foreign policy), he does comment from a broad and literate cultural perspective,
which is not very common these days among so-called opinion makers. In addition to which, he expresses himself
very well indeed. That said, I am pleasantly surprised at the way he concludes this column:

---

The fact that the West still has such a leader as Benedict XVI in itself is cause for optimism. It might be too late for Europe, but it is not too late for the United States, and that is where the pope's mustard seeds may fall on fertile ground.

---

His column should be read along with the article my Mark Steyr and a wide-ranging interview with Fr. James Schall - both of whom discourse on various aspects of the Damocles's sword that is about to drop on Western civilization as we know it- pertinent excerpts of (and links to) which I have posted in ODDS AND ENDS.

Benedict XVI, as Joseph Ratzinger, has been among the pioneers in sounding the alarm for the Western world, and has done so for the past 2 decades at least, but the leaders of government who are in position to start doing something about the very real crisis of Western civilization have been deaf and short-sighted, alas!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 09/01/2006 19.33]

As expected, Sandro Magister is the first to come out with an appreciation of Pope Benedict's
New Year message to the diplomatic corps.
www.chiesa.espressonline.it/dettaglio.jsp?id=44579&eng=y
One commentator has referred to this as the Pope's "state-of-the-world" address:
----------------------------------------------------------------

Finally, the Truth
What the Pope Said to the Diplomatic Corps

In his first address to the ambassadors to the Holy See, Benedict XVI recalled where
true peace comes from: “To all those responsible of Nations I wish to state: if you do not
fear truth, you need not fear freedom!”

by Sandro Magister


ROMA, January 10, 2006 – Speaking yesterday in the Sala Regia of the Vatican palace to the
representatives of the 174 states that have diplomatic ties with the Vatican, Benedict XVI
repeated the key points of the previous geopolitical message he wrote, for the new year of 2006,
the World Day for Peace.

The truth was at the center of this message, beginning with the title: “In Truth, Peace.”

And again, pope Joseph Ratzinger pegged to the truth his speech to the diplomatic corps at
the beginning of the year.

Justice, freedom, forgiveness – the three elements that embody peace among men and nations –
all derive from what Benedict XVI called “the commitment to truth.”

“Those who are committed to truth cannot fail to reject the law of might, which is based on
a lie and has so frequently marked human history, nationally and internationally, with tragedy.
The lie often parades itself as truth, but in reality it is always selective and tendentious,
selfishly designed to manipulate people, and finally subject them. Political systems of
the past, but not only the past, offer a bitter illustration of this. Set against this, there is
truth and truthfulness, which lead to encounter with the other, to recognition and understanding.”

It is the search for truth – the pope said – that brings recognition to diversity and
equality. And it therefore permits the realization of these according to justice.

Benedict XVI applied this criterion to the Holy Land:

“There, the State of Israel has to be able to exist peacefully in conformity with the norms
Of international law; there, equally, the Palestinian people has to be able to develop
serenely its own democratic institutions for a free and prosperous future.”

The pope interpreted other phenomena in the light of the truth, including the “clash of
civilizations” – which he recognizes as a real risk – and Islamist terrorism:

“In today’s global context, attention has rightly been drawn to the danger of a clash of
civilizations. The danger is made more acute by organized terrorism, which has already
spread over the whole planet. Its causes are many and complex, not least those to do with
political ideology, combined with aberrant religious ideas. Terrorism does not hesitate
to strike defenceless people, without discrimination, or to impose inhuman blackmail,
causing panic among entire populations, in order to force political leaders to support
the designs of the terrorists. No situation can justify such criminal activity, which covers
the perpetrators with infamy, and it is all the more deplorable when it hides behind religion,
thereby bringing the pure truth of God down to the level of the terrorists’ own blindness and
moral perversion.”

But Benedict XVI did not take a pessimistic outlook on this. Instead, he recalled the
fruitfulness of the mutual enrichment of civilizations, including Muslim civilization:

“In past centuries, cultural exchanges between Judaism and Hellenism, between the Roman
world, the Germanic world and the Slav world, and also between the Arabic world and the
European world, have enriched culture and have favoured sciences and civilizations.
So it should be again today, and to an even greater extent.”

The pope directed his most detailed criticism against the absence of religious liberty
in some states, “even among those who can boast centuries-old cultural traditions,” seemingly
a reference to China, among others.

“Truth can only be attained in freedom. This is the case with all truth, as is clear from
the history of science; but it is eminently the case with those truths in which man himself,
man as such, is at stake, the truths of the spirit, the truths about good and evil, about
the great goals and horizons of life, about our relationship with God. These truths cannot
be attained without profound consequences for the way we live our lives. And once freely
appropriated, they demand in turn an ample sphere of freedom if they are to be lived out in
a way befitting every dimension of human life.”

Furthermore, Benedict XVI responded to an objection aimed against religion, including
Catholicism, above all by proponents of secular Western thought. It is the objection
according to which the religions, by appealing to “differing convictions about the truth,”
are, by their very nature, sources of discord and war.

That this has taken place in the course of history “is undeniably true,” the pope
acknowledged. And “where the Catholic Church herself is concerned, in so far as serious
mistakes were made in the past by some of her members and by her institutions, she
condemns those mistakes and she has not hesitated to ask for forgiveness. This is required
by the commitment to truth.”

But the thesis that Benedict XVI upheld is contrary to this: “the commitment to truth
opens the way to forgiveness and reconciliation.” And he listed a series of places in need of
such peace. One of these is Iraq: “the cradle of great civilizations, which in these
past years has suffered daily from violent acts of terrorism,” with an unequivocal
identification of what, for the pope, is the true enemy in that country.

And at the conclusion of his address, Benedict XVI placed at the center the truth
“the Church always draws life from,” Jesus Christ:

“In the Birth of Christ, the Church sees the Psalmist’s prophecy fulfilled: ‘Mercy
and faithfulness will meet; justice and peace will embrace; truth will spring up from
the earth and justice will look down from heaven’ (Ps 85:10-11). In his commentary on
these inspired words, the great Church father Augustine, expressing the faith of the
whole Church, exclaimed: ‘Truth has indeed sprung up from the earth: Christ, who said of
himself: I am the Truth, has been born of the Virgin’ (Sermo 185). The Church always draws
life from this truth, but at this stage in the liturgical year she finds it a source of
special light and joy. And in the light of this truth, may these words of mine stand
for you, who represent most of the world’s nations, as an expression of conviction
and hope: in truth, peace!”

[The full text of the Pope's speech in English translation is posted in HOMILIES, MESSAGES, DISCOURSES

P.S. There is an interesting sidebar on Sandro Magister that I am posting in PEOPLE AROUND THE POPE!

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 10/01/2006 16.07]

From Yahoo...

VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI met Wednesday with 30 children who survived the 2004 school hostage siege in Beslan, Russia, greeting them and posing for a photo with them.

The children, all wearing blue baseball caps, attended the pope's 90-minute public audience in the Vatican's audience hall as part of a weeklong visit to Italy.

After the audience, the children headed into the private meeting with the pope. After their time with Benedict, which included a group photo, the children toured the famed Vatican gardens.

Italy's civil defense department, which had sent rescuers to Beslan during the hostage crisis, brought the children to Italy for a weeklong trip, which also included visits to the Colosseum, a soccer match in Milan and a trip to Venice.

The children survived the three-day September 2004 assault on the Beslan school, in which 331 people, 186 of them children, were killed by terrorists demanding that Russian troops withdraw from the nearby republic of Chechnya.

A first photo, from Reuters, thanks to Beatrice in the French section -

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 11/01/2006 16.16]

A SAD PHOTO

I wonder if anyone has done any "grief counseling" with those children. The only person in the photo who is smiling is Papa. Even the adults look pretty grim, which is very different from what most photos with Papa look like. Usually everyone is beaming.

MORE SPECULATION ON THE ENCYCLICAL
From Catholic World News

Pope's 1st encyclical due January 25?

Rome, Jan. 11 (CWNews.com) - The first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) will be published on January 25, reports the Italian weekly Famiglia Cristiana.

The Vatican has not yet announced a date for the appearance of the encyclical, and several previous reports-- such as one story predicting that the Pope's letter would be released on January 6-- have already proven inaccurate. But Famiglia Cristiana lends extra weight to its report by promising readers that the full text of the encyclical will be printed in the magazine on January 25. Famiglia Cristiana offers a toll-free number for Italian pastors to call if they wish to order bulk deliveries of that special edition.

The encyclical, entitled Deus Caritas Est ("God Is Love"), was officially signed by Pope Benedict on Christmas day. Two days earlier the director of the Vatican press office, Joaquin Navarro-Valls, had told reporters that the document would be released in January. He did not specify a date, except to say that it would be after the feast of the Epiphany, which was observed in Italy on January 6.

Some Vatican-watchers remain uncertain about the publication date predicted by Famiglia Cristiana. The Pontifical Council Cor Unum will be holding a seminar January 23 and 24, to discuss the charitable work of the Church. Since that is a theme of the encyclical-- and since Pope Benedict reportedly asked for detailed information from Cor Unum as he drafted the document-- it might seem appropriate to have copies of the papal letter on hand during the seminar. That would require an earlier publication date.

On the other hand, some informed sources report that the Secretariat of State, which is charged with the responsibility for publishing the papal document, has encountered problems with the translation. Those problems could explain the delay in producing the encyclical, which was originally drafted in German, then translated into an official Latin version, to be subsequently rendered into several other languages in time for the release date.

If Pope Benedict XVI follows the pattern set by Pope John Paul II (bio - news), the publication of the encyclical will be accompanied by a news conference at the Vatican, which would be announced several days in advance. Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, the president of Cor Unum, would be a likely candidate to help introduce the encyclical, perhaps along with the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop William Levada.

Deus Caritas Est is reportedly a document of about 40 pages. By tradition a papal encyclical takes its title from the first words of the text; thus it appears that the Pope begins with a quote from the Epistle of St. John (4:8). The document is said to be a deeply theological meditation on the centrality of Christ, divine love and human love; but the text also speaks at length about the concrete expression of love in charitable action.

PAPA'S ENGAGING STYLE

From Catholic News Service

Pope ad-libs, tosses texts to communicate, engage crowds

By John Thavis
Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- As he develops his own style of communicating, Pope Benedict XVI has found a way to engage crowds and unsettle his aides: ad-libbing.

Increasingly, the pope has been putting down his prepared text -- or sometimes just tossing it altogether -- in favor of extemporaneous remarks.

What his audiences find amazing is how easily the 78-year-old pope can stand and deliver an impromptu talk or sermon that ranges over Scripture, patristic writings, social ethics and pastoral policies.

"He's using a fluid form of speaking to deliver a content that is very pastoral. It's on a high level, but you can see that his audience follows it," said Joaquin Navarro-Valls, Vatican spokesman.

When the pope presided over a Mass in the Sistine Chapel to baptize 10 infants in early January, he was supposed to deliver a sermon presumably prepared by his staff. The text, released to journalists ahead of time, was nothing special. Maybe that's why the pope pitched it.

Instead, he stood beneath Michelangelo's fresco of the "Last Judgment," looked out at the small congregation of parents and relatives, and began, "Just what happens in baptism?" Then he extemporized on the topic for 16 minutes -- twice the length of his planned homily.

The Vatican press office, meanwhile, sent out an urgent disclaimer telling reporters to ignore the prepared text.

The pope did the same thing when he visited a Rome parish in late December, preferring to wing it through a sermon on the Annunciation and its significance in salvation history.

He began by examining Scripture and the account of the angel's first words to Mary. The Gospel originally used the Greek word "Kaire," which contains an element of rejoicing that is missing from the "Hail, Mary" translations in other languages.

He connected Mary's reaction with feelings of joy and fear people sometimes feel toward God. Nowadays, fear and apprehension seem to prevail, he said.

"If we look around the modern world, where God is absent, we have to say that it is dominated by fear and uncertainty: Is it good to be a human being or not? Is it good to be alive?" he said.

As one longtime Vatican observer commented, "Even in his spontaneous talks, the flow of argument and the citing of sources is impressive. It's as if he can reference 2,000 years of Christian thought in his head."

At his weekly general audience, the pope now regularly punctuates his prepared remarks with explanatory asides. The off-the-cuff comments are typically more direct and succinct than the written reflections.

At the Jan. 11 audience, for example, after mentioning the third-century theologian Origen -- probably just a name to most of the pilgrims in the audience hall -- the pope gave an impromptu lesson on his thought. Origen, he said, believed the fundamental difference between man and animals is that man is able to know his Creator.

"It's important in our time that we don't forget God, amid all the other knowledge we've acquired," he added. That knowledge can be problematic, even dangerous, without an awareness of God, he said.

There are some kinds of texts the pope doesn't change much. When he addressed the diplomatic corps at the Vatican Jan. 9, he read every word of a speech drafted in large part by experts at the Vatican Secretariat of State.

In fact, except for a few slight changes in nuance, the pope's "state of the world" address sounded almost exactly like those given by Pope John Paul II to the same audience in recent years.

When he's talking to the common faithful, the pope is much more likely to take some verbal detours. Like a good teacher, he seems determined to get his message across.

"It's pastoral, and it's intelligible," said Navarro-Valls.

yes,thats Papa Ratzi! so brilliant and intelligent

---

On the other hand, some informed sources report that the Secretariat of State, which is
charged with the responsibility for publishing the papal document, has encountered problems
with the translation. Those problems could explain the delay in producing the encyclical, which
was originally drafted in German, then translated into an official Latin version, to be
subsequently rendered into several other languages in time for the release date.

---

The problem with speculative stories is that they tend to report statements made by
earlier speculative stories which are not necessarily fact! I believe Joaquin Navarro-Valls
gave the explanation for the delay in one of his news conferences before the New Year -
that the Vatican wished the encyclical to be released after the Pope's holiday schedule -
during which he would be making many important messages - so that all his messages
could be properly heard and appreciated, i.e., without having to compete with
a first encyclical, which, regardless of how it will be judged, is a historic document for
any Pope.

I know I have complained about the customary "slowness" of the Vatican Press Office itself
in issuing official translations of the Pope's homilies and messages, but does anyone really
think that a German, who is also polyglot - and who has dealt for decades now with translation
questions regarding his many books and articles - would stand for any undue delay by translators
of his first encyclical? He expresses himself so clearly and directly that I cannot imagine
the translators having any nagging and gnawing questions over how to translate a word or a phrase.
If they had any doubts, all they had to do was ask him!

As for the publication date, I would give credence to Famiglia Cristiana, which is published
by Edizioni San Paolo, Joseph Ratzinger's principal publisher in Italy before he became Pope,
and which also published the Italian version of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic
Church. It would not otherwise commit itself to giving out a free copy of the encyclical with
their Jan. 25 issue. (The Italian news item I read said clearly the encyclical would be
"distributed with the magazine", i.e., as a separate item, and not within the magazine itself.)

When I first saw the photo of Papa with the children from Beslan I was so pleased. But now I do see that the children look sad and bewildered. Yet I am certain that the private visit with Papa and the walks in the beautiful Vatican Gardens must have helped them all. I do hope and pray that they will go home renewed spiritually and able to face their lives........they had such an evil experience.

On a happier note - today's audience was spellbinding, with Papa speaking without notes, several choirs singing for him and a general air of HAPPINESS.
Papa, you are blessed by God - Deo vere Benedictus!
Love, Love and more Love!
Mary x

Translated excerpt from czech section of Radio Vaticana:
On audience with Holy father were presented 29 children from town Beslan, who survived terroristic assault to their school in September 2004.
340 persons were killed (from that 200 children) and 900 persons were wounded.
One child express his feelings:

Q: "Do you pope? What do you know anout him?"
Child: "I don't know lot about him."
Q: "Did you see Rome? What did you enjoy on the city?"
Child: "Closseum and historical downtown."

How do children bear up to several days spent in the middle of Beslan tragedy, which remain in their remembrances?

Marta Di Gennaro, worker of italian civil guard, answers:

"These children don't speak anything about the tragedy and terrible remembrances. We know that they are deeply soul-hurted, because we had the possibility to observe them from the first day after tragedy until this trip to the Italy. We have visited the often and seen them as they live over the times of pain and we know their sufferings. We are happy they are happy here in Italy.

The latest from the Italian media about the encyclical:

Benedict XVI himself may speak about his first encyclical before its expected official
presentation (at a news conference by the Vatican Press Office).

The Pope will address a conference promoted by Cor Unum [the papal commission
on charity] and Caritas [the international Catholic aid organization] on January 20-21.
The conference theme is charity, whose theoretical and practical aspects will be
discussed in the encyclical entitled “God is love”.

The magazine Famiglia Cristiana announced today it is publishing the encyclical,
to be distributed with its January 25 issue, of which it is printing a million copies
instead of the usual 600,000. The special issue will cost an additional one Euro.
There was no comment from the Vatican Press Office.

Thanks for the story, Maklara. Zenit's account of the Pope's meeting with the children
from Beslan adds a few more details.
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Pope Meets 29 Young Survivors of Beslan Massacre



VATICAN CITY, JAN. 11, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI met with 29 children from the Russian
school of Beslan who survived the 2004 siege by Chechen rebels that left more than 300 dead.

Today's meeting, which lasted a few minutes, took place at the end of the general audience,
in a room near the main auditorium of Paul VI Hall.

The brief meeting was enough "for the Pope to be moved," reported the Italian ANSA agency,
citing an eyewitness.

The Holy Father patted the children who witnessed the terrorist violence. He had photographs
taken with them, and, thanks to the help of an interpreter, asked them their names.

The youngsters are in Italy for a few days, thanks to the hospitality given them by
the Italian Civil Protection Service, which has been in contact with them since the tragedy.

"These children have suffered a most violent trauma," Benedict XVI said to those who are
acting as hosts for the children. "We must help them to be able to forget the tragedy so that
they will be witnesses of peace for the future of humanity."

The children were students at the Beslan school which was seized in 2004 by an armed
Chechen group. Gunmen kept them hostage, together with their teachers and parents, for
several days until the Russian security forces intervened.

The standoff ended after an explosion in the school triggered a firefight between security
forces and hostage-takers, leaving 331 people, including 186 children, dead. Thirty-one
hostage takers also died in the violence.

[Modificato da TERESA BENEDETTA 12/01/2006 2.54]

NEOCATECHUMENAL FAMILIES: SPREAD THE GOSPEL OF LIFE

VATICAN CITY, JAN 12, 2006 (VIS) - Today in the Vatican, Benedict XVI received a group
from the Neocatechumenal Way, including 200 families who will soon depart on evangelizing
missions in various countries, especially in Latin America.

These "mission families" came into being in 1986 in response to a call from John Paul II
to undertake new evangelization. Participants, who all belong to the Neocatechumenal Way,
offer themselves as volunteers to go to countries where the Church needs help. Their
destination is decided by the founders of the Neocatechumenal Way - the Spaniards Kiko
Arguello and Carmen Hernandez, and the Italian priest Mario Pezzi - bearing in mind
the specific requirements of each particular area, and in response to requests from
bishops who ask for "mission families" to be sent to their dioceses.

"Your task," said the Pope after greeting the group, "is part of the context of new
evangelization, ... because your apostolic activity aims to situate itself within
the bosom of the Church, in total harmony with her directives and in communion with the
particular Churches where you will go to work, fully evaluating the richness of the charisms
that the Lord has generated through the founders of the Way."

The Holy Father stressed how the families will be "humble and joyful witnesses" of Christ,
"travelling in simplicity and poverty down the roads of all the continents." He then went on
to emphasize the importance of the liturgy in evangelization: "Your long
experience can well confirm how the centrality of the mystery of Christ, celebrated in
liturgical rites, constitutes a privileged and indispensable way to build vibrant and
lasting Christian communities."

The Pope then referred to norms concerning the celebration of the Eucharist recently
emanated, specifically for the Neocatechumenal Way, by the Congregation for Divine
Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. "I am sure," he said, "that you will
attentively observe these norms, which are based on liturgical texts approved by the
Church. By faithful adherence to all Church directives, you will render your apostolate
even more effective, in harmony and full communion with the Pope and the pastors of dioceses."

"Dear families," Pope Benedict concluded, "with your own history you can testify
that the Lord does not abandon those who entrust themselves to Him. Continue to spread
the Gospel of Life. ... In a world seeking human certainties and heavenly security,
show that Christ is the solid rock upon which to build the edifice of one's own life,
and that trust placed in Him is never placed in vain."

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The VIS item understandably leads off with the Pope's words to the missionary families
about their part in the "new evangelization." However, more significant was his direct
exhortation to them to follow the recent letter sent to their movement by the Vatican
with regard to observing the Church's liturgical norms in place of some Mass practices
they have developed in the past few years.