Category: Pope Benedict XVI

Looking at Benedict through another lens –truth

The picture one is getting in the press today of Pope Benedict is that of an out-of-touch old man in 3000 miles away. Somehow from what is commonly known and personally experienced of Benedict XVI, I don’t quite think the editors of the NY Times and other press agencies have it right, much less some scheming lawyers trying to make as much money off the sexual abuse crisis. I sometimes wonder if the newspapers and legal profession comprehend reality as it is presented or if fiction is the only genre worth digesting in their diets.

Bishop William Lori offers another view of the Pope, and he outlines some interesting facts of the clergy sex abuse industry and what the Church actually did in an article titled, “The Holy Father I Know.”

Pope Benedict’s monthly prayer intention: April 2010

April 2010.jpgJesus told us to ask His Father for that which we need because we radically depend on Him. We are bold to bring to God the Father, in the name of Jesus, under the power of the Holy Spirit, the following needs that Pope Benedict named for the Church:

 

The general intention

 

That every tendency to fundamentalism and extremism may be countered by constant respect, by tolerance and by dialogue among all believers.

 

The missionary intention

 

That Christians persecuted for the sake of the Gospel may persevere, sustained by the Holy Spirit, in faithfully witnessing to the love of God for the entire human race.

Prayer for Pope Benedict

B16 Eastertide.jpgGiven the recent problems for the Church in Germany, not to mention the USA, Netherlands, England and Ireland, I think we should offer a daily prayer for the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI. Confidently we can say that the current events weigh heavy on his heart; accusations and verifiable incidents of sexual and physical abuse by clergy is a dreadful experience to live through, especially if the problems are rampant in the Church, particularly with a brother being in the middle of controversy. Plus, Benedict turns 83 on April 16 and begins his 5th year as Pontiff on April 19. The prayer below use Psalm 40:3 for its content; there is a partial indulgence* attached the prayers.


V. Let us pray for our Sovereign Pontiff, Benedict.
R. The Lord
preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver
him not up to the will of his enemies.

O
God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy
servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church.
Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify hose
over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may
he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory be.

*The indulgence is given to those who in a spirit of filial devotion devoutly recite any duly approved prayer (as in above) for the Pope.

The Pope’s liturgical “style”

Mass23.jpgHave you ever thought of Pope Benedict XVI’s liturgical “style”? Or have you asked yourself, “What does Pope Benedict think about the sacred Liturgy?” Or have you asked yourself, “Do I know what the meaning of Catholic Liturgy is for the Church? Good. I want you to ask these questions because I want to encourage you to read some good things on the Liturgy and not the crap you generally find in the NCR or America Magazine. You can read longer works of Ratzinger’s like A New Song for the Lord, The Feast of Faith, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Looking Again at the Question of the Liturgy with Cardinal Ratzinger, God and the World (Ch. 17), among others.

BUT for a short piece on the subject you may be interested in reading the article by John Allen, “Liturgist: Pope aims to “propose’ practices,” where he speaks with the Pope’s Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Guido Marini. Plus, there’s the “Q&A with Msgr. Guido Marini, papal liturgist.”

Pope Benedict’s monthly prayer intentions: March 2010

March 2010.jpgUnited in prayer to God the Father, we ask Him to hear the pope’s prayers for this month, especially,

 

The general intention

 

That the world economy may be managed according to the principles of justice and equity, taking account of the real needs of peoples, especially the poorest.

 

The missionary intention

 

That the Churches in Africa may be signs and instruments of reconciliation and justice in every part of that continent.

Sickness & suffering can become a school of hope, Pope says on the 18th World Day of the Sick

On the 18th World Day of the Sick observed each year on the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes the Pope Benedict sends to the world a message. The Pope draws my attention, and perhaps yours, to the fact that Jesus tells us to do what He has done: be an instrument of healing by allowing divine grace to actually work. To “go and do likewise” is the reason why priests reconcile sinners, strengthen the sick through the sacrament of the sick, to “go and do likewise” is why Sr Mary Ellen Genova visits the sick weekly bring the Gospel and the Eucharist to those who can’t come to church, to “go and do likewise” is why Fr Jordan Kelly and the NY Dominican Friars have a healthcare ministry at 4 of the world’s prestigious hospitals, to “go and do likewise” is doing what Jesus did when we had the anointing of the sick for breast cancer survivors on the feast of Saint Agatha on February 5th, and to “go and do likewise” is why Fr Thomas Berg and the Westchester Institute works on healthcare ethics. There is no end to what we do in order to follow Christ more closely, focusing not on ourselves but on God the Father asking for the grace to deal directly with illness and suffering in a graced-filled manner.

 I extracted three paragraphs from the 2010 message for our consideration here today. The points emphasized are what I think the crucial elements of the papal message to be used for prayer and consideration.

At the end of the parable, Jesus said: “Go and do likewise” (Lk 10: 37). With these words he is also addressing us. Jesus exhorts us to bend over the physical and mental wounds of so many of our brothers and sisters whom we meet on the highways of the world. He helps us to understand that with God’s grace, accepted and lived out in our daily life, the experience of sickness and suffering can become a school of hope. In truth, as I said in the Encyclical Spe salvi, “It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed,
but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love” (n. 37).

The Second Ecumenical Vatican Council had already recalled the Church’s important task of caring for human suffering. In the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium we read that “Christ was sent by the Father “to bring good news to the poor… to heal the contrite of heart’ (Lk 4: 18), “to seek and to save what was lost’ (Lk 19: 10)…. Similarly, the Church encompasses with her love all those who are afflicted by human misery and she recognizes in those who are poor and who suffer, the image of her poor and suffering Founder. She does all in her power to relieve their need and in them she strives to serve Christ” (n. 8). The ecclesial community’s humanitarian and spiritual
action for the sick and the suffering has been expressed down the centuries in many forms and health-care structures, also of an institutional character. I would like here to recall those directly managed by the dioceses and those born from the generosity of various religious Institutes. It is a precious “patrimony” that corresponds with the fact that “love… needs to be organized if it is to be an ordered service to the community” (Encyclical Deus caritas est, n. 20). The creation of the Pontifical Council for Health-Care Workers 25 years ago complies with the Church’s solicitude for the world of health care. And I am anxious to add that at this moment in history and culture we are feeling even more acutely the need for an attentive and far-reaching ecclesial presence beside the sick, as well as a presence in society that can effectively pass on the Gospel values that safeguard human life in all its phases, from its conception to its natural end.

bp anointing the sick.jpg

In this Year for Priests, my thoughts turn in particular to you, dear priests, “ministers of the sick”, signs and instruments of Christ’s compassion who must reach out to every person marked by suffering. I ask you, dear presbyters, to spare no effort in giving them care and comfort. Time spent beside those who are put to the test may bear fruits of grace for all the other dimensions of pastoral care. Lastly I address you, dear sick people and I ask you to pray and to offer your suffering up for priests, so that they may continue to be faithful to their vocation and that their ministry may be rich in spiritual fruits for the benefit of the whole Church.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

Saint Richard Pampuri, pray for us.

Pope Benedict to Visit Cyprus: what are the preparations?

In early June, Pope
Benedict XVI travesl to Cyprus, the third largest island in the Mediterranean
and a mixed group of religions. He’s making a pastoral visit where he will give
the Middle East bishops the Instrumentum laboris (the working document focusing
the meeting) of the Synod of Bishops on the Eastern Churches due to be held
next October in the Vatican. This is yet another example of the Pope reaching out to the local Catholic churches and to the Orthodox Christians, Muslims and political leaders. It is hard for me to say this is a strategic visit but it certainly opens the mind that there are significant reasons in the pope’s mind as to why Cyprus and not another mixed culture. A good reason may be that he’s been to the Holy Land already and that neither Lebanon, Egypt nor Syria are willing to host the pope. At any rate, Cyprus is a logical choice because of the confluence of faith and reason.

For those who don’t know, Cyprus has a small
Catholic community of the Maronite and Latin Churches. The Latin Church is
governed by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, His Beatitude, Archbishop Fouad
Twal, and for centuries have been assisted by the Franciscan friars of the
Custody of the Holy Land. Giampiero Sandionigi’s interview with Franciscan Father
Umberto Barato, a parish priest in Nicosia and Vicar General for Cyprus of the
Latin Patriarchate follows in brief.

Father Barato, the Pope receives
invitations from many governments and episcopates but cannot accept them all.
How do you explain his decision to come to Cyprus, an island with, after all, a
fairly small Catholic community? 

I don’t know how many invitations the Pope
receives and from how many countries. I only know that he decided to accept the
invitation of the Orthodox Archbishop of Cyprus, Chrysostomos II, and the
President Dimitri Christofias. There had been a precedent and perhaps that also
counted: John Paul II had wanted to visit the island but, due to questions of
time and the Pope’s poor health, he never made the journey. It is true that the
Catholic community in Cyprus is small, but I do not think that this is a
contra-indication. However that may be, I believe that Benedict XVI decided to
make the visit prior to the Synod on the Middle East. In addition, he will also
have thought about the political and religious situation of the island. It’s
not that the Pope can solve the problem of the division of Cyprus or tell the
leaders what they should do, but his presence can give courage and a positive
impulse to relations between the two sides.

When the trip was announced, some
people imagined that it would have particular consequences on ecumenical
dialogue at a European, or even global, level. What do you think about this?
What are the daily relations between Catholics and Orthodox like in Cyprus, and
with the Turkish Muslim minority?

It’s natural that people think like that.
Going to a country with an Orthodox majority, it is obvious that some people
think that the meeting between the Pope and the leaders of the local Church can
be ecumenical in character, that it is like a step ahead in the encounter,
understanding and reciprocal acceptance. However, I do not believe that it can
go further. I expect that after the visit, relations between the Catholic and Orthodox
Churches in Cyprus will become even closer. They are already excellent and at a
level that I do not believe can be found elsewhere in parts of the world where
the two Churches coexist. I’ll pass over the minor difficulties that sometimes
we come up against. In general, these are the fruit of ignorance or prejudice
fuelled by the long separation and reciprocal non-recognition between the two
sides. The positive fact is that the Catholic Church in Cyprus is accepted,
recognized and esteemed for its work of apostolate and education. There are
already some forms of collaboration, but the Pope’s visit will certainly be a
privileged occasion for the bonds to become even closer. With the Muslims, on
the contrary, we have no relations.