ZE070927
ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - September 27, 2007
VATICAN DOSSIER
Benedict XVI Calls Paul VI Prophetic
WORLD FEATURES
Catholics Implore Peace in Myanmar
Archbishop Ncube Still Defending Rights
In Egypt, Religious Freedom or Shariah?
Social Doctrine Compendium Has a Companion
Ukrainian University Considered Key for Church
NEWS BRIEFS
6 Nuns Excommunicated in Arkansas
Experts to Study Mary's Ecumenical Role
Ukrainian Bishops' Synod Opens in U.S.
ROME NOTES
Liturgical Dispute; St. Peter's Online
Benedict XVI Calls Paul VI Prophetic
Says He Showed How Progress Needs EthicsVATICAN CITY, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says his predecessor Pope Paul VI was prophetic because he showed the inherent contradiction in "progress" that lacks ethical and spiritual foundations.
The German Pope said this at a concert held Wednesday in honor of Paul VI on the 110th anniversary of his birth, Sept. 26, 1897.
At the end of the performance, Benedict XVI greeted those in attendance and then spoke of the "spirit of evangelical wisdom" with which Paul VI guided the Church during and after the Second Vatican Council.
The German Pontiff continued: "With prophetic intuition, he understood the hopes and fears of the men and women of that time, seeking to highlight the positive aspects and illuminate them with the light of truth and of the love of Christ.
"The love he fostered for humanity with its achievements, the marvelous discoveries, the advantages and rewards of technology and science, did not stop him from bringing to light the contradictions, errors and risks of scientific and technological progress detached from a strong reference to ethical and spiritual values."
The Holy Father said his predecessor was "prudent and courageous in guiding the Church with realism and evangelical optimism, fueled by indomitable faith."
He said that Paul VI "hoped for the coming of the 'civilization of love,' convinced that evangelical charity constitutes the indispensable element for building an authentic universal brotherhood."
“Only Christ, true God and true man, can convert the human soul and render it capable of contributing to the realization of a just and supportive society," Benedict XVI added. "Let us pray that his example and his teachings will be an encouragement and stimulus for us to love Christ and the Church more and more, enlivened by that indomitable hope that sustained Paul VI until his death."
The concert was held by the Festival Pianistico Internazionale Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, and included musical selections by Vivaldi, Bach and Mozart. Soloists included Marco Rizzi on the violin and Alexander Romanovsky on the piano.
Agostino Orizio, 85, directed the orchestra. He was a student of Michelangeli. He is also a native of Brescia, as were both Michelangeli and Paul VI, to whom he is linked by personal friendship.
Catholics Implore Peace in Myanmar
Priests Not Joining Protesters, But Offering GuidelinesYANGON, Myanmar, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Church in Myanmar continues to pray for peace amid an ongoing government crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrations that saw the participation of thousands of Buddhist monks.
Archbishop Charles Maung Bo of Rangoon, secretary-general of the Myanmar episcopal conference, told Vatican Radio, "Especially in this difficult moment all Catholics have committed themselves to prayer and offering special Masses."
The prelate added that "in line with the Code of Canon Law and the Church’s social doctrine, priests and religious are not involved in the actual protests and do not belong to any political party."
However, he affirmed, "Catholics, as citizens, are free to act according to their conscience. Priests and religious can offer appropriate guidelines."
Myanmar -- formerly known as Burma -- has attracted international attention, escalating in the last week, as government forces began to fire at protesters who took to the streets after a fuel price hike took effect Aug. 19.
The Myanmar government -- a military junta in power since 1962 -- imposed 60 days of curfew, but the protests and the crackdown continue.
Vatican Radio noted that warnings from the West to use "maximum moderation," have seemed useless.
Freedom or repression
The Vatican station spoke with Father Piero Gheddo of the Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions, an expert on the region. He said this civil movement is strong because of the involvement of the monks and the response of the citizens accompanying them.
"I think that in this situation, so trying for that population of 50 million […], the governments of the West have to apply more pressure," Father Gheddo said. "[The protest] will be a very, very positive situation if it ends in freedom. Negative if it provokes repression."
"The [junta] abolished political parties, unions, free press, associations, even nonpolitical associations," the priest said. "Those who rule in Burma, who dominate the entire situation, are only, only, only the government and whoever is with the government!
"I think the entire population -- almost the entire population -- is rebelling because Burma -- let us recall -- after the last postwar period, in '46-'48, when they received their independence, was the most developed country in Southeast Asia and was rich with natural resources. Today it is the last country in every way."
The last large-scale democracy demonstrations ended in the death of at least 3,000 people in 1988.
In Aid to the Church in Need's 2006 Report on the Situation of Religious Freedom in the World, Myanmar is cited among the countries with the greatest legal or de facto restriction on religious liberty.
Archbishop Ncube Still Defending Rights
Embroiled Prelate Stands Firm Against Mugabe RegimePRETORIA, South Africa, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Archbishop Pius Ncube said he will stay in Zimbabwe as a human rights advocate determined to stand against the rule of President Robert Mugabe.
Archbishop Ncube of Bulawayo, whose resignation was accepted by Benedict XVI earlier this month, is involved in a court case for allegedly committing adultery.
The archbishop has maintained his innocence and said he resigned for the sake of his brother bishops and the Church.
He visited South Africa from Sept. 19 to 20, by the invitation of the Denis Hurley Peace Institute, which wished to show support for the embroiled prelate.
During his two-day visit, Archbishop Ncube spoke with many groups, including seminarians and South African businessmen.
The peace institute reported that the archbishop commented specifically on the pain caused by the deteriorating plight of the people in Zimbabwe, especially the lack of food and water, the breakdown of the health and educational systems, the empty stores and the increasing number of desolate poor, living without hope.
He also expressed his conviction that Mugabe will win the March 2008 elections through mass intimidation, using food as a weapon, and by rigging the electoral process.
Archbishop Ncube spoke of his personal prayer life as the source of his strength and his willingness to carry on fighting.
In Egypt, Religious Freedom or Shariah?
Catholics Struggle With Conflicts in LawCAIRO, Egypt, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church says that the contradiction in the legal system embodied in the Egyptian Constitution makes life difficult for the faithful.
Patriarch Antonios Naguib explained the difficulties of the Egyptian legal situation to the Germany-based group Aid to the Church in Need.
The patriarch said that on the one hand, the constitution guarantees freedom of religion and conscience while, on the other, it enforces Islam as the state religion and makes Shariah, Islamic law, the "fundamental source of the legal system."
A grave problem for the Church in Egypt, resulting from the unclear legal situation, is difficulty in obtaining permission to build churches, he said.
Patriarch Naguib expressed the hope that things might soon change, as there are some voices calling for the equality of all citizens.
Arbitrary
In the meantime, decisions are very arbitrary and a great deal depends on the particular individual in office, he said.
Occasionally one is fortunate, encountering a person with decision-making power who attended a Catholic school -- in which case, one can generally expect a measure of good will, explained Patriarch Naguib.
This also shows the great importance of Church schools, attended by many Muslims, he added.
Generally, the favorable experience Muslims have of the Catholic Church leads them to a better understanding of and coexistence with Christians later in life, he explained.
Egypt's Catholic Copts number about 250,000, a small minority in a country of 74 million inhabitants, 94% of whom are Muslim. Most of the rest are Orthodox Copts. The Catholic Church is divided into seven dioceses and has 11 bishops and 150 priests.
Social Doctrine Compendium Has a Companion
Prelate Encourages Laypeople to Apply PrinciplesDUBLIN, Ireland, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The compendium of the Church's social doctrine is a "theological reading of the signs of the times," and a recently published companion makes its wealth more accessible, says an Irish prelate.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin, primate of Ireland, said this Wednesday at the launching of the Companion to the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, written by Father Padraig Corkery.
The Compendium was released in 2004, prepared by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
"Curiously, interest in Catholic social teaching waned with the coming of Vatican II," Archbishop Martin said. "Many were unhappy with the term doctrine, preferring social teaching or social reflection or social thought.
"There was the feeling in many places that the social teaching of the Church should be a form of social ethic which could be shared by people of various viewpoints, religious or not."
The prelate encouraged getting back to the "grass roots in the formation of laypersons […] for the 'secular nature of their Christian discipleship,' their duty 'to proclaim the Gospel with an exemplary witness of life rooted in Christ and lived in temporal realities.'"
He added, "Irish society and Irish democracy would benefit from a new generation of laypeople, prepared and capable of informing public opinion, on the contribution that can be derived from the message of Jesus to establishing values to inspire pluralistic Irish political and social life."
No recipes
Archbishop Martin explained the nature of Catholic social doctrine: "A book on Catholic social teaching is not a recipe book, or a catechism old-style with a list of ready made answers to the social and political questions of the day.
"It presents a unified corpus of principles and criteria which draw their origin from the Gospels and which are applied to the realities of the times in order to form Christians to make their own personal responsible judgments on the best manner to stimulate the ideals proposed by the Gospel in contemporary culture.
"Catholic social doctrine does not take away the risk of politics, but it aims to provide an in injection of purpose, idealism, integrity and truthfulness into the way politics is carried out."
The 62-year-old prelate continued: "The social teaching of the Church is an admirable instrument for community formation. […] As I said at the launch of the Compendium, the Compendium is too important a document to be usurped by episcopal commissions or professional Church bureaucrats.
"There is a sense in which the real 'translation' of any social encyclical or any document of the social teaching of the Church is written not by professional interpreters, but by the action of Christian laypeople in the world -- who try, day by day, to apply these principles in their life and commitment."
For his part, Father Corkery, who is also the director of postgraduate studies and a lecturer in moral theology at St. Patrick's College, Maynooth, said he hopes his Companion has two effects: to "introduce people to the richness of Catholic social teaching; and to move them toward action so that we can construct a society and local communities that live the virtue of solidarity and treasure the gift that is the human person."
Ukrainian University Considered Key for Church
Pope and Nation's First Lady Encourage Growing InitiativeCHICAGO, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Helping the Ukrainian Catholic University helps the whole Church in Ukraine, says the president of an organization founded to support the only Catholic higher-learning institution in the former Soviet Union.
John Kurey, president of the Ukrainian Catholic Education Foundation (UCEF), told ZENIT that the university is crucial for the future of the Church in Ukraine.
Kurey's Chicago-based organization, supports the Ukrainian Catholic University.
He said, "There has never been a Catholic university as important for an entire rite within the Catholic Church as the Ukrainian Catholic University [UCU] is for the Ukrainian Catholic Church."
The group was founded in 1996, by Father Borys Gudziak, a Ukrainian Catholic priest from Syracuse, New York, and the current rector of the university, and Jeffrey Wills.
The founders aimed "to support the fledgling UCU that had just been reopened in Lviv after being forcibly closed by the communists in 1944, while all of its property was summarily confiscated," Kurey explained.
Pope's perspective
Benedict XVI also noted the importance of the university earlier this year.
Upon meeting the new Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See, Tetiana Izhevska, the Holy Father said: "I would like to express my satisfaction with the law that the Ministry of Education recently passed regarding the Ukrainian Catholic University and so at the state level recognized its bachelor's degree program in theology.
"This is an especially important event in the life of the Church in Ukraine, because, with such a decision, the Ukrainian authorities recognize that theology is a university discipline."
"Great work"
On Sept. 13, Ukraine's first lady, Kateryna Yushchenko, wife of President Viktor Yushchenko, visited the university, underscoring its important work for the Church and the country, the Religious Information Service of Ukraine reported.
During her visit, Yuchchenko said: "I know how difficult it was to revive the Lviv Theological Academy and that the establishment of such a university did not come easy.
"You are doing a great work, as it is so important that our nation have access to formal study about God. Thank you for initiating this undertaking."
Yushchenko, noting the crucial role of theology as a profession in Ukraine, promised her continued support for the institution and made a contribution of $5,000.
Father Gudziak shared with Yushchenko his plans for the future by showing to her the construction plans for a modern campus on land blessed by Pope John Paul II during his visit to the country in 2001.
Vocations
"In Ukraine," Kurey remarked, "the Church is young and flourishing with vocations. This is probably in part because of the countless Ukrainian martyrs who died for the Catholic faith in the 20th century. The Ukrainian Catholic University is educating about 200 seminarians each year.
"There are also about 25 nuns who study at the university, and over 300 lay students in the university's full-time program. The part-time program has about 500 lay students.
"All of these young people are receiving an authentic Catholic education in the Eastern tradition."
6 Nuns Excommunicated in Arkansas
Members of Canadian SectLITTLE ROCK, Arkansas, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Six women religious were excommunicated in Arkansas for their involvement in the schismatic association Army of Mary, based in Quebec.
The diocesan newspaper The Arkansas Catholic said that it is believed to be the first time anyone in the Diocese of Little Rock has been formally excommunicated.
"It is a painfully historic moment in this Church," Monsignor Gaston Hebert, the diocesan administrator, said Wednesday at a press conference in Little Rock.
The Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith issued a declaration of excommunication Sept. 12 for those associated with the Community of the Lady of All Nations. The association's founder, Marie-Paul Giguere, says she believes that she is the reincarnation of the Virgin Mary.
The Vatican's doctrinal congregation said in the statement that the group's "particular teachings are false and its activities are not able to be frequented nor supported by Catholics."
Of the 10 religious sisters of the Monastery of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge in Hot Springs, eight are members of the Army of Mary.
After receiving the Vatican's declaration regarding the Army of Mary, Monsignor Hebert invited the women religious to reconsider their membership in the organization.
He returned to the monastery Wednesday and accepted the decision of six of them to leave full communion with the Church. The monsignor said two of the eight members are living in a nursing home and could not "knowingly and deliberately" choose to remain with the Army of Mary.
The remaining two sisters, who had never been associated with the schismatic group, will be moving to another convent, the diocesan administrator said.
He added that the women religious, who own their convent, will remain on the premises, although it will no longer be recognized by the diocese, nor should it receive the financial support of the laity.
Church officials removed the Eucharist from the monastery Tuesday night.
"They will no longer have any sacraments," Monsignor Hebert said. Although those excommunicated cannot receive Communion, they are encouraged to attend Mass, he said.
The order of Our Lady of Charity and Refuge began in France in 1641. Its convent in Hot Springs was founded in 1908 by five French-Canadian sisters.
Experts to Study Mary's Ecumenical Role
ROME, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- We must research ways of speaking about Mary that favor dialogue among Christians, says a leading Mariologist.Marianist Father Silvano Maggiani, president of the Pontifical Marianum Theological Faculty, said this to ZENIT when speaking about the 16th International Mariological Symposium, to be held Oct. 2-5 in Rome. Its theme is "Mary in Ecumenical Dialogue in the West."
The gathering includes study sessions in light of Mariology documents from the Dombes Group, an association of Catholic and Protestant theologians committed to spiritual ecumenism.
Father Maggiani said that the symposium was organized "with the intention to consider the problems in accepting existing research in Catholic circles; which paths are left to take in Mariological-Marian research and teaching; what new horizons we must follow in the research […] of speaking about Mary in a way that favors dialogue among Christians."
The "René Laurentin - Pro Ancilla Domini" prize will be awarded to Conventual Franciscan Father Stanislaw Celestyn Napiórkowski, retired dean of the University of Lublin, and a well-known ecumenist and Mariologist.
The sessions will be presided over by Monsignor Angelo Zani, undersecretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education.
Ukrainian Bishops' Synod Opens in U.S.
DOYLESTOWN, Pennsylvania, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The first synod of the Ukrainian Catholic Church to be held in the Western Hemisphere convened Wednesday near Philadelphia.The meeting of bishops and clergy, lead by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, major archbishop of Kiev-Halyc, is being held at the Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa until Oct. 6. The prelates are focusing on topics such as evangelization, priestly formation and youth ministry.
The opening day was spent in prayer on retreat, and will be followed by several days of meetings and deliberation.
The schedule also includes a trip to Washington, D.C., where an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America will be conferred upon Cardinal Husar.
The attendees will also visit the John Paul II Cultural Center, the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, and celebrate the Divine Liturgy at the Ukrainian Catholic National Shrine of the Holy Family.
Liturgical Dispute; St. Peter's Online
Letter on 1962 Missal Causes SkirmishBy Elizabeth Lev
ROME, SEPT. 27, 2007 (Zenit.org).- After the sunny skies of August, storm clouds appeared this week in Rome as Benedict XVI's apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum" came into effect Sept. 14.
For those who have been sleeping under a liturgical rock this summer, the July 7 papal document, issued "motu proprio" (on his own initiative), gave all Catholic priests much broader permission to celebrate the liturgy according to the 1962 Roman Missal, and the faithful the right to request this form of the liturgy.
This might have passed unnoticed except for a few keen Vatican watchers, but a commotion among the Italian bishops regarding the document had every journalist in Italy focused on Rome.
The Italian episcopal conference met Sept. 16-19 and immediately brought up the question of implementing the apostolic letter. Of the 30 Italian bishops in the assembly, a small number took the opportunity to criticize the document, claiming that the ecclesiology in the old missal was "incompatible" with the new rite.
The Holy Father accompanied the papal document with a letter to the bishops on how to implement the document in which he states: "There is no contradiction between the two editions of the Roman Missal. In the history of the liturgy there is growth and progress, but no rupture.
"What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful."
Perhaps these few dissenters had not opened their mail recently.
The same bishops then requested that the conference as a body prepare an "interpretive document" regarding the implementation of the letter in an "Italian" sense. "Italian" in this context would mean a restricted application.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the heroic former head of the Italian bishops' conference, who rallied the bishops to oppose the gay marriage bill in Italy and the referendum on embryo testing, rose to the occasion.
Together with the present leader of the conference, Archbishop Angelo Bagnasco, and several other bishops, he insisted that the papal document is not to be interpreted but applied.
While objections were being raised in the CEI, an open rebellion erupted in the shadow of Vesuvius. Bishop Raffaele Nogara of Caserta, known in Italy as the "ecumenical bishop" for his openness toward the Islamic communities in his diocese, abruptly canceled a Tridentine Mass days before it was scheduled to be celebrated in the Parish of Sant'Anna.
Bishop Nogara was quoted in Italian newspapers as saying that he canceled the Mass so as "not to set a precedent," and that he wanted to encourage his diocese to pray correctly, as "babbling in Latin serves no purpose."
One wonders what the fuss is about. The "Novus Ordo," the Latin name for the rite established by Paul VI in 1969, is not being supplanted, nor is this a return to a liturgical "stone age." Michelangelo, Bernini and Mozart made art, churches and music for this rite -- can it really be all that bad?
Far from a rollback to pre-Vatican II times, Benedict XVI has sought to fully implement the teachings of the Second Vatican Council. It was, after all, the Vatican II document regarding the sacred liturgy that states: "Particular law remaining in force, the use of the Latin language is to be preserved in the Latin rites. But since the use of the mother tongue, whether in the Mass … or other parts of the liturgy, frequently may be of great advantage to the people, the limits of its employment may be extended" ("Sacrosanctum Concilium," No. 36).
On the bright side, many people, from cardinals down to faithful on the street, are excited about the openness to the old missal. Cardinal George Pell, archbishop of Sydney, Australia, was recently quoted in ZENIT as being in full agreement with the Holy Father.
On the other side of the globe, Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh, North Carolina, wrote a beautiful letter to his diocese, noting, "Both the 'Forma ordinaria' and the 'Forma extraordinaria' of the Mass have been the source of holiness for countless saints throughout history."
"Summorum Pontificum" is a popular subject in Rome. Reflections in the cafes or piazzas have been overwhelmingly positive with the faithful eager and alive to the possibility of rediscovering the mystery and majesty of the Eucharist through the Tridentine rite.
In this as in many other areas, Benedict XVI has proved to be more "liberal" than people would have thought, expanding the Church's offerings so that the faithful can worship God in manifold ways.
* * *
Basilica Expert
Sometime when you get to be friends with people, you forget about the important work they do. In this respect, I have been neglectful in writing about one the finest sources of information on St. Peter's Basilica, the Web site stpetersbasilica.org.
Alan Howard founded this Web site in 2000 as a nonprofit, no advertising, information site for the Vatican basilica. Although he lives in the United States, he does extensive research and visits Rome regularly to enhance his own photo archive of St. Peter's.
It finally occurred to me that an interview might be in order.
Alan thinks of this as his Catholic apostolate. "There are scores of Web pages on St. Peter's, but the idea here was to do something more definitive, more comprehensive. The site now has hundreds of pages and thousands of photos, but it's really just a beginning, as St. Peter's is virtually inexhaustible."
Alan has a family, a busy life and a day job, but he was inspired to take on this other task. "Like so many people that walk through St. Peter's, I was deeply impressed with the beauty and history that I encountered, and inspired to learn more. After reading the guidebooks, I developed a hunger for more than just names and dates. I kept touring St. Peter's and learning something new each time."
What opened the door to Alan's mission was "the most shocking discovery of the inconsistent presentation of the many tour guides. Some were very good and literally brought the church to life, while others seemed to have no training or regard for the facts. Eventually I resolved to create a resource for both the casual tourist to learn more, and for the tour guides to check the facts."
Interest in Alan's site has gone beyond fact checking for tour guides. When Pope John Paul II died in 2005, news agencies swamped Alan with requests for information. On April 6, 2006, the 500th anniversary of the rebuilding of St. Peter's, Vatican Radio interviewed Alan about the historic event.
This year, Alan was approached by the research staff of Sony Pictures for information regarding their upcoming movie, "Angels and Demons," based on Dan Brown's notoriously inaccurate novel.
Alan is no fan of Brown's writings, but he hopes his input will do some good. "Sometimes you can only provide the information and pray for a positive result," he remarked.
He has gathered a formidable amount of information over the years. "I've collected many of the best English books, and most of the site is from these sources. Some of the sources are out of print, and the author or publisher has given permission to place the book online."
Alan sees his work as trying to present the truth about St. Peter's. "A few years ago, there was some incorrect and irresponsible information put on the Internet about the search for St. Peter's tomb. In order to give the complete story, I received permission from the author John Evangelist Walsh to place his book, 'The Bones of St. Peter,' online."
Alan mentioned an important new source of Vatican information, the new vaticanstate.va Web site, which includes information on 10 areas of St. Peter's in five languages. In his view, "This site has new information on many areas of the Vatican, but one of the things that I love best is the webcams that allow us to watch St. Peter's around the clock. If you want, you can now watch the light go off in the Pope's apartment when he goes to bed."
So the obvious question to ask a St. Peter's expert is: Do you have a favorite monument, place or memory of the basilica? "Like every other pilgrim that comes into St. Peter's," Alan told me, "I never tire of looking at the Pietà."
But then he added, "One of my favorite things to do when visiting the Vatican basilica, is to go to confession. It's such a privilege to partake in the sacramental life of the Church. I would also advise anyone that enters St. Peter's, to put their camera and tour book away for a moment and enter the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, which is reserved only for prayer."
Alan left me with one final suggestion. "One of the best souvenirs you could ever bring back from Rome, would be to take your rosary down into the Grottoes and have the attendant place it on the tomb of John Paul II. Then you can have them blessed by Benedict XVI at his general audience."
* * *
Honoring the Saints
As one gets back into the swing of Rome and the metropolitan chaos of traffic, tourists and general disorganization seems overwhelming, an occasional flash reminds visitors and denizens alike that this is no run-of-the-mill capital city.
The feast of St. Padre Pio was celebrated with remarkable energy last Sunday. The lovely but little-known Church of San Salvatore in Lauro, by the banks of the Tiber, hosted hundreds of faithful all day long in the basilica.
St. Padre Pio was a Capuchin monk who died in 1968 at San Giovanni Rotondo and was canonized in 2002. His tireless devotion to his ministry included long hours in the confessional and longer hours in prayer. He was rewarded with the sign of the stigmata, the same wounds of the crucified Christ.
At 11 a.m. Cardinal Giovanni Canestri, retired archbishop of Genoa, celebrated the principal Mass of the morning. Choirs, relics and crowds testified to the greatness of this saint. At 6 p.m. Cardinal William Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, presided over the closing Mass of the day.
In the afternoon hours, a large crowd assembled in front of San Salvatore and began a procession through the city streets ending in Piazza Navona, one of the most famous tourist stops in the city.
Romans and visitors alike, sipping their afternoon aperitifs, were astonished to see the parade enter with candles and hymns of praise.
Who would ever expect to see a procession from Lincoln Center to Trump Tower in honor of a saint? Or through the Washington Mall for that matter? In Rome's special brand of chaos, a unique equality shines. Communists can march one day and Padre Pio the following.
What I found most moving was how Rome, with 2,000 years of Christian history embedded in our soil, and our thousands of saints and their relics, joyfully made room for her newest addition to the communion of saints.
The Eternal City welcomed Padre Pio with the same love and warmth it has held for St. Lawrence, St. Cecilia or St. Phillip Neri. "Evviva Roma" -- cheers for Rome!
* * *
Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University's Italian campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.
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