ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - July 17, 2008
WORLD YOUTH DAY Pope Arrives by Boat to World Youth Day Pope Warns Against Ignoring Creator's Plan Australia's Bishops Hoping for Renewal Asian Pilgrims Celebrate Faith, Culture VATICAN DOSSIER Cardinal: Priests Essential for Evangelization Foundation Allocates $2.1 Million for Latin America WORLD FEATURES Cardinal Urges Devotion to Rosary and Scapular ROME NOTES Servant of the Sick; the Michelangelo Code DOCUMENTS Benedict XVI's Welcome to Youth Clergy Congregation's Letter to Priests
WORLD YOUTH DAY
Pope Arrives by Boat to World Youth Day
Tells Pilgrims: Christ Offers Everything
By Anthony Barich and Catherine Smibert
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Two days of waiting for Benedict XVI to officially arrive at World Youth Day seemed like an eternity for young pilgrims across Sydney.
This only led to a build up of excitement, which brimmed over as the Holy Father disembarked at Barangaroo for the welcoming ceremony with the youth day pilgrims on Thursday afternoon local time.
The first glimpse of the flotilla of 13 vessels dubbed the papal "boat-a-cade" in the distance set off the chants -- "Ben-e-det-to" and "Viva il Papa" -- from approximately 500,000 youth and locals lining the shores and streets of Sydney.
Benedict XVI boarded at Rose Bay, East Sydney, where he was welcomed by aboriginal representatives, and traveled on the "Sydney 2000" Captain Cook cruise liner around the bays of the city to then arrive at Barangaroo.
After the Holy Father passed through an indigenous guard of honor on the boat, rapturous cheers emanated from all sections of the 22-hectare disused shipping port in East Darling Harbor.
Benedict XVI could not keep the smile from his face, even throughout his lengthy welcoming speech in which he reminded the crowd, and all those watching his arrival live on huge screens around the city, that whatever their weaknesses, they can build a kingdom of love when empowered by the Holy Spirit.
"In many ways the Apostles were ordinary," the Pope said. "None could claim to be the perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ, felt ashamed of their own ambition and had even denied him.
"Yet, when empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were transfixed by the truth of Christ's Gospel and inspired to proclaim it fearlessly."
Greatest story
He likened the pioneering religious and priests who came to Australia's shores -- and to other parts of the Pacific from Ireland, France, Britain, Belgium and elsewhere in Europe -- to the Apostles who, in obedience to Christ's command, set forth bearing witness to "the greatest story ever."
The Pontiff called the youth to look to the patrons of World Youth Day 2008 for inspiration, including Australian Blessed Mary MacKillop, the founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, and Blessed Peter To Rot, a martyr from what is now known as Papua New Guinea.
Benedict XVI warned against relativism, and said that there is "something sinister" which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth, fuelled by the notion that there are no absolute truths to guide their life.
He said that experiences detached from any consideration of what is good or true can lead not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, a lowering of standards, a loss of self-respect and "even to despair."
The Pope said the answer to and ultimate freedom from life's problems lies in Christ, and his Church.
"Christ offers more," the Holy Father exclaimed. "Indeed, he offers everything. Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the 'Way' which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ.
"This is the life of the Church; and the entrance to this life, to the Christian way, is baptism."
Secularism
Benedict XVI also addressed the problem he identified shortly after he announced that Australia would host the 2008 World Youth Day -- the increasingly secular nature of Australian society.
Though secularism often presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone, the Pope warned that it also imposes a worldview.
"If God is irrelevant in public life, then society will be shaped with little or no reference to the Creator," he said.
The Pontiff said that concern for nonviolence, sustainable development, justice, peace and care for the environment, while of "vital importance," cannot be disassociated from a "profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural deat.h"
He said this is a dignity that is conferred by God himself and thus inviolable.
He urged the thousands of young people to bring the message to the world that freedom is found in truth, and that this is the work of the Holy Spirit, strengthened by the sacraments of the Church.
New mission
Michael Dooley, a 28-year-old Catholic from Queensland told ZENIT that as of today's moment with the Pope, he feels a new call to mission.
"It says in the Bible that when a priest speaks they should speak as if they are words from God," says Dooley, "and I'm certain that each one of us present for his speech today were touched deeply as it came from the vicar of Christ himself."
Flags were hung over barricades and songs were sung as the final leg of the Popemobile traveled around the Opera House toward St. Mary's Cathedral, where Benedict XVI will be staying through Monday.
One group, originally from Cologne, compared the experience this time around as being "slightly more personal," due to the smaller crowds and the more "laid back and easy-going atmosphere amid the excitement, which appears typically Australian," said Henny Vias.
"It's so comforting to have the Holy Father among us," said 17-year-old Tani Watson of the United States. "It's like having the great Father who unifies us all and by his presence, shows us youth that we mean something and have worth."
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On the Net:
Full text of Pope's address: www.zenit.org/article-23238?l=english
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Pope Warns Against Ignoring Creator's Plan
Says Humanity Is Threatened by Social Wounds
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Just as there are environmental wounds in nature, there are also wounds in society that threaten the purpose for which humanity was created, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope said this today at the World Youth Day welcoming celebration at Barangaroo in Sydney on Thursday afternoon local time. The youth day celebrations will culminate Sunday with a closing Mass at Randwick Racecourse.
The Holy Father began with a reflection of the natural beauty of Australia, which "evokes a profound sense of awe."
"It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story -- light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures," he added, "all of which are 'good' in God’s eyes."
"At the heart of the marvel of creation," the Pontiff affirmed, "are you and I, the human family 'crowned with glory and honor.'"
The Pontiff said that just as there are "scars" that mark the earth -- "erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption" -- there are also "wounds indicating that something is amiss" in our social environment.
"Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created," he said.
Benedict XVI gave as examples alcohol and drug abuse, violence, and sexual degradation, which are "often presented through television and the Internet as entertainment."
Relativism
The Pope continued, "There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives.
"Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made 'experience' all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair."
Life, the Holy Father said, is not random: "Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose!"
He said we have freedom and we make choices so that we can "search for the true, the good and the beautiful."
"It is in this -- in truth, in goodness, and in beauty -- that we find happiness and joy," the Pontiff said. "Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.
"Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life."
Secularism
"There are many today who claim that God should be left on the sidelines," Benedict XVI continued, "and that religion and faith, while fine for individuals, should either be excluded from the public forum altogether or included only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals."
"This secularist vision seeks to explain human life and shape society with little or no reference to the Creator," he said. "It presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes a worldview.
"If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image, and debate and policy concerning the public good will be driven more by consequences than by principles grounded in truth."
The Pope said that experience proves that "turning our back on the Creator’s plan provokes a disorder which has inevitable repercussions on the rest of the created order."
"When God is eclipsed," he explained, "our ability to recognize the natural order, purpose, and the 'good' begins to wane. What was ostensibly promoted as human ingenuity soon manifests itself as folly, greed and selfish exploitation."
Dignity
The Pontiff asked, "Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity -- as image of the Creator -- and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise?"
"And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies," he continued. "How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space -- the womb -- has become a place of unutterable violence?"
"God’s creation is one and it is good," said Benedict XVI.
"Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises," he continued.
"Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life," the Pontiff affirmed, "where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion."
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Australia's Bishops Hoping for Renewal
Greet Pope at Welcoming Ceremony With Youth
By Catherine Smibert
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Sydney is hopeful that Benedict XVI's visit to the country for World Youth Day will spark a renewal in the Church there.
Speaking today at the Pope's welcoming ceremony with pilgrims at Barangaroo in Sydney, Cardinal George Pell assured the Pontiff that many Australians are enthusiastic about his visit, and not just Catholics, "but friends from the length and breadth of our continent and especially from the other Christian communities."
In the midst of the joyful tone of the event, the cardinal reminded the young pilgrims of the reality of the Church in Australia, indicating the need to convert some Catholics: "Australian Catholics have generally been strong supporters of the Pope -- unfortunately, not always -- but generally they have been, and we rejoice in this.
Cardinal Pell likened Benedict XVI's arrival to when Archbishop Patrick Francis Moran, the first archbishop of Sydney, arrived to the city in 1884.
The cardinal recounted that steamers carrying thousands of Catholics, decked with banners and flowers, left Circular Quay to accompany Archbishop Moran's ship, the Liguria, arriving from Europe.
Cardinal Pell noted that Archbishop Moran in his first homily explained that in Australia he had found "the same piety, the same love for religion, the same generosity and spirit of sacrifice" that marked "the old Church at home" in Europe.
"Holy Father," said Cardinal Pell, "we hope you can arrive at the same conclusion during your time with us."
Significant event
Archbishop Philip Wilson of Adelaide, president of the Australian episcopal conference, said at the welcoming ceremony in Barangaroo that he was optimistic that the Benedict XVI's visit will bring lasting blessings on the youth and church in Australia and the world, reminding them that this was the case after the visits from the last two Pontiff's.
"Against this magnificent backdrop of Sydney Harbor we thank you for coming such a long distance to Australia to lead us in the wonderful celebrations of World Youth Day," he said. "It is a most significant occasion for us."
He recounted that this is the fourth papal visit in the history of the nation: "The two visits of your beloved predecessor, Pope John Paul II, and the 1970 visit of Pope Paul VI, remain etched in our hearts and minds and we consider it a true blessing that we are now able to welcome you to the Great South Land of the Holy Spirit, as this continent was first named, the land under the Southern Cross."
"We renew our faith and commitment to Christ and the Church," Archbishop Wilson continued. "Looking out at this wonderful sight, of the youth of the world, drawn together in faith and love, we are filled with hope -- the true Christian hope that you have spoken about so beautifully in your encyclical 'Spe Salvi.'
"Your presence with us over these coming days, reinforces our hope as we all seek personally to encounter Jesus Christ in ever deeper and truer ways."
"We are a young nation," the archbishop added, "inhabiting a land where the ancient culture of our aboriginal people has given a spiritual dimension to all the features we see. Your arrival here today marks a special day in the history of this nation and we pray that the events of the coming days will bring forth abundant blessings upon us all, especially our young people gathered here and upon all the youth of the world, and on all the Church, and upon our cherished Australian nation."
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Asian Pilgrims Celebrate Faith, Culture
10,000 Gather at Olympic Park
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- More than 10,000 World Youth Day pilgrims from Asia gathered Wednesday for a concert at Olympic Park for the Fifth Asian Youth Gathering.
The event organized by the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences included music, testimonies and prayers in English, Mandarin and Cantonese. The gathering was titled www.sgen.asianyouth, which is not an Internet address, but shorthand for Witnessing Worldwide. Spirit Generation. Asian Youth.
According to the organizers, the meeting highlighted the richness of Asian heritage through cultural presentations from the participating countries. The first Asian Youth Gathering was held at the World Youth Day in Paris in 1997.
The occasion was quite a spectacle, with thousands of young people -- many dressed in their native costume -- waving banners and flags of their various countries of origin.
"To be here in Sydney helps us to see that, in the world, Catholics -- though coming from very different countries -- truly have only one faith and one Church," said young Pun Ming Chi, 22, seminarian from Hong Kong, told the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano.
Hong Kong, he said, is a multi-cultural reality, where respect for Catholics -- who in any case are a small minority -- does exist and where liberty is guaranteed. "But certainly this experience, which I am living in Australian land, will give me further strength to live the faith in my country," he added.
Hopes for China
Asked what he hopes for, he replied smiling: "That sooner or later a World Youth Day might be organized in Beijing. For us Catholics, it would be an occasion to celebrate our faith freely, united to other young Catholics of the rest of the continent and of the whole world."
Among those taking part in the celebration were many Asians residing in Australia. In Sydney alone, it is estimated that Asians constitute 3% of the population.
Especially significant is the presence of 1,500 young Vietnamese in Sydney. The community mobilized for the youth event to offer hospitality to the 2,000 Vietnamese who came to World Youth Day. Not only were the young pilgrims welcomed, but they were also given financial aid.
The Philippines has provided the largest number of pilgrims from Asia, with 2,500, while 700 have come from Indonesia and 260 from Japan.
World Youth Day organizers have not released information on the number of pilgrims from China.
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VATICAN DOSSIER
Cardinal: Priests Essential for Evangelization
Prefect of Clergy Congregation Says Church Counts on Them
VATICAN CITY, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- The Church counts on the energy and work of its priests to fulfil its urgent evangelizing mission, says the prefect of the Congregation for Clergy.
Cardinal Cláudio Hummes wrote this in a letter to priests sent Tuesday, ahead of the Aug. 4 feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars.
"The Church knows today that there is an urgent mission, not only 'ad gentes,' but also to those Christians living in areas and regions where the Christian faith has been preached and established for centuries and where ecclesial communities already exist," began the cardinal. "Within this flock, the mission, or the missionary evangelization, has as its target those who are baptized but who, for different circumstances, have not been evangelized sufficiently, or those who have lost their initial fervour and fallen away.
"The postmodern culture of contemporary society -- a relativist, secular, and agnostic culture -- exerts a strong erosive action on the religious faith of many people."
The 73-year-old cardinal reminded the priests that the "Church is missionary by its very nature."
"The Church knows that it cannot remain inert or limit itself to receiving and evangelizing those who are seeking the faith in its churches and communities. It is also necessary to rise up and go to where people and families dwell, live and work," the prefect explains. "We must go to everyone: companies, organizations, institutions and different fields of human society.
"In this mission, all members of the ecclesial community are called: pastors, religious and laity."
Driving force
Cardinal Hummes acknowledged the special role of priests: "The Church recognizes that priests are the great driving force behind daily life in local communities. When priests move, the Church moves. If this were not so, it would be very difficult to achieve the Church’s mission."
"You are the great richness, the energy, the pastoral and missionary inspiration in the midst of the Christian faithful," he writes. "Without your crucial decision to 'put out into the deep' for fish [...] as the Lord himself calls us, little or nothing will happen in the urgent mission, either 'ad gentes' or in the territories that have previously been evangelized."
"The Church is certain that it can count on you," continued the cardinal, "because it knows and explicitly recognizes that the overwhelming majority of priests -- despite our weaknesses and human limitations -- are worthy priests, giving their life daily to the Kingdom of God and loving Jesus Christ and the people entrusted to them. These are the priests who are sanctifying themselves in their daily ministry and who are persevering until the harvest of the Lord."
He said the Church "rejoices in and is proud of the immense majority of its priests, who are good and exceedingly worthy of praise."
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Foundation Allocates $2.1 Million for Latin America
GUADALAJARA, Mexico, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- A Vatican foundation allocated more than $2.1 million to the integral development of minority communities in Latin America.
The 207 projects to be funded were selected during a meeting of the administrative council of the "Populorum Progressio" Foundation, held in Guadalajara, Mexico, which ended Saturday.
A communiqué issued by the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum" reported that 230 projects in 17 countries were studied during the meeting.
The Populorum Progressio Foundation, established in conjunction with the celebrations for the fifth centenary of the evangelization of the American continent, aims at the advancement of the most marginalized populations in Latin American and Caribbean societies. Much of its work is with indigenous, mestizo or African-American communities.
Pope John Paul II established the foundation, naming it after Paul VI's 1967 social encyclical.
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WORLD FEATURES
Cardinal Urges Devotion to Rosary and Scapular
Archbishop of Lima Puts Evangelization in Mary
LIMA, Peru, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Peruvian Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani invited Lima's faithful to take the rosary and the Carmelite scapular to all homes in the context of the city's Great Mission.
The archbishop of Lima said this Wednesday as he presided at Mass on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in the convent of the Discalced Carmelites in Barrios Altos, on the outskirts of Lima.
The Archdiocese of Lima launched the Great Mission last April in keeping with the Continental Mission convoked by Benedict XVI in May 2006 at the shrine of Aparecida, Brazil, on opening the 5th General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopate.
Cardinal Cipriani reminded the faithful that "we have all come to this shrine to renew our dedication to the Virgin. We want to say to our Mother: Do not leave us, we need your fortitude, affection, purity, guidance and consolation."
"In this appointment we have every year in the shrine, on the solemnity of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, we come to fulfill our promises. Here I am, Mother! I give you my life, my marriage, my priesthood, my youth. I give them to you with all the pain, anticipation and hope. I trust in you," continued the 64-year-old cardinal.
Teach others
He urged the faithful to "take on one hand, the holy rosary, and on the other, the scapular of the Virgin of Carmel," and to spread the devotion to others.
"People must be taught to pray the rosary," he said. "It must be given to them and prayed in families, in streets, in schools, in hospitals and in churches. Mary wants this. Explain to people what the promise to Mary consists of; put the scapular on them, take it to all homes."
"Lima's Great Mission is in Mary's hands; our conversion is in Mary's hands; peace in the world is in her hands; the unity of the family, the protection of life, young people are in Mary's hands," Cardinal Cipriani said. "Therefore, we must come with those two great Marian instruments: the rosary and the scapular, you will see how people will change."
Cardinal Cipriani also encouraged the faithful to approach Mary, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with confidence and to undertake with her the Way of the Cross: "Do not forget that Mary's great secret was to be beside the Lord on the Cross. Do not be afraid when you think you cannot; love the Cross.
"She, Our Lady of Carmel, will give you the strength. It costs to be good. To love God means to stop sinning, to be faithful in marriage is an effort and struggle."
Cardinal Cipriani prayed to Our Lady of Mount Carmel for the world's priests. "Mother of priests, take care of them and make them saints. May abundant vocations come, they are needed, to be able to take Jesus to all hearts."
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ROME NOTES
Servant of the Sick; the Michelangelo Code
St. Camillus de Lellis Honored
ROME, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Now that the Holy Father has been transported Down Under with a mighty gust of jet engine, in orphaned Rome the summer doldrums are setting in.
A final few flashes of excitement light up the month, including the delightful “Festa dei Noantri,” the holiday celebrating the singular identity of the residents of the Trastevere district, when the statue of the Madonna of Mount Carmel is paraded by the local churches and then taken for boat ride along the Tiber.
A chain of parties commemorate, among others, the national independence days of the United States, Canada, Columbia, Peru, Egypt and France (July seems to be a popular month for declaring independence).
But a quiet celebration surprised both Romans and tourists as a flurry of activity surrounded the tiny church of St. Mary Magdalene, one block from the Pantheon.
Locals and visitors alike were learning about the extraordinary life of St. Camillus de Lellis who lived at the church until his death on July 14, 1614.
Camillus de Lellis was born in 1550 in the nearby town of Chieti, the son of a mercenary soldier. With one of the more inauspicious stories of saintly origins, Camillus was a gambling addict, a soldier-of-fortune and a twice-failed Franciscan.
As with many others, the Eternal City helped St. Camillus find his path.
Afflicted with foot abscesses, Camillus found his way to the Hospital of St. James for the Incurables, now hidden in the back streets of Rome’s chicest neighborhood. In return for treatment for his feet, he offered to help care for the sick and dying in the hospital.
Here, Camillus found the cure for his spiritual illness in giving himself to others. The man who could not join an order wound up founding one. The Ministers of the Infirm, as they were called, would become one of the most familiar sights in Rome and later the world.
In the annex to the Church of the Magdalene is the residence of the “Camillans,” as they are called locally. For his feast day, all are welcome to climb the stairs to the former chapter hall and view the history of the order and its saints.
At the end of the hall, a tiny room, the quarters of Camillus, has been transformed into a chapel. It was hard for me to find a place among all the people kneeling before the Blessed Sacrament and the relic of St. Camillus’ heart, which had been placed next to the Lord.
Two stunning oil paintings lined the entire length of the chapel. Painted with the photographic vividness of late 18-century art by Matteo Toni, they allow visitors to witness the last moments of the saint’s life.
The first represents the viaticum, or last Holy Communion of Father Camillus, given to him lovingly by a cardinal. Camillus raises his head toward the Eucharist, his body weak, but his spirit still strong in his yearning to be with God.
The second canvas captures the moment of the saint’s death. From the doorway of the chapel, it seems that several Camillans are gathering around the feet of the saint. A Franciscan and another religious appear from the direction of the altar to converge on the body of Camillus.
The saint seems peacefully asleep -- almost smiling -- witness to a good and peaceful death in hope of heaven.
From the scenes of Camillus’ passage into heaven, and his personal objects displayed in a case outside the door, one steps into a larger room filled with objects recounting the Camillans and Rome.
St. Camillus’ followers took a fourth vow: to serve the sick even if their own lives were at risk. Many times the Ministers of the Infirm kept this vow as they forayed into areas of the city struck by plague or cholera or, as was immortalized in art and history, carrying the sick out of the hospital when the flooding Tiber threatened to submerge the building.
The Bull of Clement VIII in 1594 that approved the order, the lists of those nursed during epidemics, the stories and relics of Camillans who have begun the road to sainthood, and the portraits of the 57 superior generals of the order recount the long history of the order and the Eternal city.
One striking document was issued by General Stahel during the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1943. It declared that the house of the Ministers of the Infirm would be exempt from search and seizure by the invading soldiers.
Amid all festivities of national identity and self-governance, the feast of St. Camillus stood out as a gentle nod to all those who have come to Rome and were given the grace to find themselves and their purpose in life.
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More Vatican Secrets "Revealed"
I suppose it was inevitable. After Dan Brown cashed in by selling out Jesus -- with Mary Magdalene and Leonardo da Vinci thrown in for good measure -- it was only a matter of time that some enterprising author would turn his attention to Michelangelo. But this book, unlike "The Da Vinci Code," doesn't even have the decency to acknowledge it is fiction.
"The Sistine Secrets: Michelangelo's Forbidden Messages at the Heart of the Vatican," by Rabbi Benjamin Blech and tour guide Roy Doliner, purports to reveal how Michelangelo embedded hidden messages of Kabalistic thought and anti-papal sentiment while painting in the Sistine Chapel.
The book is a "Michelangelo Code" of sorts, but like Dan Brown's novel, it offers no documentary evidence and nary a footnote to back up its claims.
As someone who has led many a tour in the Sistine Chapel, the first thing that struck me about the book was how the claims of Blech and Doliner revolve around the most frequently asked questions by visitors to the chapel.
Why is there so much Old Testament imagery in a Christian chapel, many query as they see the cycle of Moses on the walls and Genesis, painted by Michelangelo across the ceiling.
The authors declare that Michelangelo changed his original commission from the Twelve Apostles requested by Pope Julius II to the Genesis cycle out of a secret sympathy for Jews. But Pope Sixtus IV, the uncle of Julius, had already hired the finest painters in Florence 25 years earlier to decorate the lower panels with the stories of Moses paralleling the life of Christ.
As art historians and theologians know, the point of these images was to represent the seamless flow from the Old Testament to the New Testament, the fulfillment of God's covenant with man through the coming of Christ. As a consecrated chapel where the Pope would celebrate the Eucharist some 40 times a year, the theme of God's plan for man's salvation starting from the origins of our need to be saved was an apt choice for the ceiling.
But for Michelangelo, the subject of Genesis offered the possibility of accomplishing a feat never done before: Painting a narrative 60 feet off the ground and making it readable from the floor through his unique sculptural painting.
Doliner and Blech insist that Michelangelo learned about Kabala, a form of Jewish Gnosticism, in the garden of Lorenzo de Medici in Florence, when at 15 the young artist went to study sculpture there.
They hypothesize that Pico della Mirandola was the origin of Michelangelo's interest in Kabala.
Pico, a philosopher and humanist, had formed a syncretistic theory of all ancient thought from Plato to the Arab writings of Averroes to Kabala and the Bible. Like Thomas Aquinas' "Sententiae," Pico dreamed of defending his thesis before an international congress of scholars, but many of his theses were condemned as heretical and ultimately Pico retired to Florence.
Pico, at the time Michelangelo met him, was closely tied to Giacomo Savonarola, the famed Florentine Dominican preacher. By then Pico had already recanted his heterodox theories.
The authors overlook that Michelangelo was a third order Franciscan, like his hero Dante, as well as the fact that while Michelangelo never mentioned Pico, he often recalled the sermons of Savonarola throughout his life.
But what they conspicuously neglect is that Michelangelo was taking a hammer and chisel into his hands for the very first time and embarking on the greatest love affair of his life, with the art of sculpture. Michelangelo's messages would not be interesting to us if his art were not so powerful, and that richness of his works comes from the ceaseless practice of his art. We honor him today for his extraordinary talent, which he knew was God-given.
So how do Doliner and Blech turn him into a propagandist with crypto-Jewish sentiments and an anti-papal agenda?
Drawing on Dr. Frank Meshberger's 1990 article in the Journal of American Medicine, where he proposed that the cape of God in the creation of Man was shaped like a cross-section of the human brain, the authors seize on the idea, speculating that it is the right side of the brain, which according to Kabala contains secret God-given knowledge.
Even if Meshberger's theory were correct, one would only have to look at the Gospel of John 1:1, "In the beginning there was the Word," a source with which Michelangelo was certainly more familiar, to find the idea of God as Logos.
Many tourists over the years have wondered why God, in the creation of the sun and moon, is so prominently featured from the back.
In the hands of these authors, the tired old tour guide joke that this was the origin of the term "mooning," becomes the basis of their anti-papal theory. They claim that Michelangelo made God "moon" the Pope, because he was so angry about having to paint the chapel instead of work on the sculptural commission he had been promised.
From here they extrapolate that Michelangelo was disgusted with the corruption of the papal court, as well as the Church's treatment of the Jews and added figures making other obscene gestures at the Pope. Besides the fact that these other gestures are nowhere to be seen, it is ironic that two writers purporting to be familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures missed the most obvious scriptural reference to God's "back parts," when Moses in Exodus 33 asks to see God's glory and is denied because no one can see God's face and live.
God, to show his favor of Moses, allows him to look upon His "back parts." The Christian understanding of this event is that in the Old Testament man cannot see God, but with the Word made flesh, everyone could finally look upon God's face.
This theological point, which justifies Christian art, explains why Christians have a visual culture and why Michelangelo could dare to paint God.
The reason why Doliner and Blech have a chapel to study is because the people who gathered in that space and the man who painted it believed that God descended among men as Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh, and in that space during the Mass, we could relive the encounter with the living God.
Ultimately, the authors claim that Michelangelo, gainfully employed and greatly respected within the Vatican walls, was betraying the trust placed in by the Pope and theologians of the court, to advertise his own interests on the walls of the Sistine Chapel.
It is perhaps not surprising that this idea occurred to co-author Roy Doliner, who despite a lack of any formal education in art history or theology has been able to earn a living giving tours at the Vatican Museums. He hangs his own agenda on isolated images from the chapel without any consideration of the chapel's meaning and function as a whole.
The book is redolent with anti-papal sentiment, despite lip service paid elsewhere by Blech to Pope John Paul II and the "good Pope John XXIII."
According to these authors, the Pope, his court and the endless stream of theologians, historians, saints and philosophers who have meditated on the chapel, were blind to this "code"; only the wisdom of Doliner and Blech could see to the mind and heart of Michelangelo. Gnosticism at its best.
In the end, Doliner and Blech's interpretation of the chapel mirrors others that see the chapel as a sort of Protestant manifesto, and is only slightly more plausible than another recent theory that the chapel contains encrypted messages from aliens.
Gender studies, psychologists, gay activists and thousands of others have seen themselves reflected in the ceiling and have co-opted Michelangelo for their own agendas over the years.
Bottom line: If everyone can find him or herself reflected in the ceiling of the chapel, it makes Michelangelo pretty universal. And isn't that the definition of Catholic?
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Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University’s Rome campus. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.
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DOCUMENTS
Benedict XVI's Welcome to Youth
"Christ Offers More! Indeed He Offers Everything!"
SYDNEY, Australia, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today at Barangaroo East Darling Harbor in Sydney at the welcoming celebration of World Youth Day, under way through Sunday.
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Dear Young People,
What a delight it is to greet you here at Barangaroo, on the shores of the magnificent Sydney harbour, with its famous bridge and Opera House. Many of you are local, from the outback or the dynamic multicultural communities of Australian cities. Others of you have come from the scattered islands of Oceania, and others still from Asia, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. Some of you, indeed, have come from as far as I have, Europe! Wherever we are from, we are here at last in Sydney. And together we stand in our world as God’s family, disciples of Christ, empowered by his Spirit to be witnesses of his love and truth for everyone!
I wish firstly to thank the Aboriginal Elders who welcomed me prior to my boarding the boat at Rose Bay. I am deeply moved to stand on your land, knowing the suffering and injustices it has borne, but aware too of the healing and hope that are now at work, rightly bringing pride to all Australian citizens. To the young indigenous - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders - and the Tokelauans, I express my thanks for your stirring welcome. Through you, I send heartfelt greetings to your peoples.
Cardinal Pell, Cardinal Ryłko, Archbishop Wilson, I thank you for your warm words of welcome. I know that your sentiments resonate in the hearts of the young gathered here this evening, and so I thank you all. Standing before me I see a vibrant image of the universal Church. The variety of nations and cultures from which you hail shows that indeed Christ’s Good News is for everyone; it has reached the ends of the earth. Yet I know too that a good number of you are still seeking a spiritual homeland. Some of you, most welcome among us, are not Catholic or Christian. Others of you perhaps hover at the edge of parish and Church life. To you I wish to offer encouragement: step forward into Christ’s loving embrace; recognize the Church as your home. No one need remain on the outside, for from the day of Pentecost the Church has been one and universal.
This evening I wish also to include those who are not present among us. I am thinking especially of the sick or
mentally ill, young people in prison, those struggling on the margins of our societies, and those who for whatever reason feel alienated from the Church. To them I say: Jesus is close to you! Feel his healing embrace, his compassion and mercy!
Almost two thousand years ago, the Apostles, gathered in the upper room together with Mary and some faithful women, were filled with the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 1:14; 2:4). At that extraordinary moment, which gave birth to the Church, the confusion and fear that had gripped Christ’s disciples were transformed into a vigorous conviction and sense of purpose.
They felt impelled to speak of their encounter with the risen Jesus whom they had come to call affectionately, the Lord. In many ways, the Apostles were ordinary. None could claim to be the perfect disciple. They failed to recognize Christ (cf. Lk 24:13-32), felt ashamed of their own ambition (cf. Lk 22:24-27), and had even denied him (cf. Lk 22:54-62). Yet, when empowered by the Holy Spirit, they were transfixed by the truth of Christ’s Gospel and inspired to proclaim it fearlessly.
Emboldened, they exclaimed: repent, be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:37-38)! Grounded in the Apostles’ teaching, in fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and prayer (cf. Acts 2:42), the young Christian community moved forward to oppose the perversity in the culture around them (cf. Acts 2:40), to care for one another (cf. Acts 2:44-47), to defend their belief in Jesus in the face of hostility (cf Acts 4:33), and to heal the sick (cf. Acts 5:12-16). And in obedience to Christ’s own command, they set forth, bearing witness to the greatest story ever: that God has become one of us, that the divine has entered human history in order to transform it, and that we are called to immerse ourselves in Christ’s saving love which triumphs over evil and death. Saint Paul, in his famous speech to the Areopagus, introduced the message in this way: “God gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone … so that all nations might seek God and, by feeling
their way towards him, succeed in finding him. In fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17: 25-28).
And ever since, men and women have set out to tell the same story, witnessing to Christ’s truth and love, and
contributing to the Church’s mission. Today, we think of those pioneering Priests, Sisters and Brothers who came to these shores, and to other parts of the Pacific, from Ireland, France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. The great majority were young - some still in their late teens - and when they bade farewell to their parents, brothers and sisters, and friends, they knew they were unlikely ever to return home. Their whole lives were a selfless Christian witness. They became the humble but tenacious builders of so much of the social and spiritual heritage which still today brings goodness, compassion and purpose to these nations. And they went on to inspire another generation. We think immediately of the faith which sustained Blessed Mary MacKillop in her sheer determination to educate especially the poor, and Blessed Peter To Rot in his steadfast resolution that community leadership must always include the Gospel. Think also of your own grandparents and parents, your first teachers in faith. They too have made countless sacrifices of time and energy, out of love for you.
Supported by your parish priests and teachers, they have the task, not always easy but greatly satisfying, of guiding you towards all that is good and true, through their own witness - their teaching and living of our Christian faith.
Today, it is my turn. For some of us, it might seem like we have come to the end of the world! For people of your age, however, any flight is an exciting prospect. But for me, this one was somewhat daunting! Yet the views afforded of our planet from the air were truly wondrous. The sparkle of the Mediterranean, the grandeur of the north African desert, the lushness of Asia’s forestation, the vastness of the Pacific Ocean, the horizon upon which the sun rose and set, and the majestic splendour of Australia’s natural beauty which I have been able to enjoy these last couple of days; these all evoke a profound sense of awe. It is as though one catches glimpses of the Genesis creation story - light and darkness, the sun and the moon, the waters, the earth, and living creatures; all of which are “good” in God’s eyes (cf. Gen 1:1 - 2:4). Immersed in such beauty, who could not echo the words of the Psalmist in praise of the Creator: “how majestic is your name in all the earth?” (Ps 8:1).
And there is more – something hardly perceivable from the sky – men and women, made in nothing less than God’s own image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26). At the heart of the marvel of creation are you and I, the human family “crowned with glory and honour” (Ps 8:5). How astounding! With the Psalmist we whisper: “what is man that you are mindful of him?” (Ps 8:4). And drawn into silence, into a spirit of thanksgiving, into the power of holiness, we ponder. What do we discover? Perhaps reluctantly we come to acknowledge that there are also scars which mark the surface of our earth: erosion, deforestation, the squandering of the world’s mineral and ocean resources in order to fuel an insatiable consumption. Some of you come from island nations whose very existence is threatened by rising water levels; others from nations suffering the effects of devastating drought. God’s wondrous creation is sometimes experienced as almost hostile to its stewards, even something dangerous. How can what is “good” appear so threatening?
And there is more. What of man, the apex of God’s creation? Every day we encounter the genius of human achievement. From advances in medical sciences and the wise application of technology, to the creativity reflected in the arts, the quality and enjoyment of people’s lives in many ways are steadily rising. Among yourselves there is a readiness to take up the plentiful opportunities offered to you. Some of you excel in studies, sport, music, or dance and drama, others of you have a keen sense of social justice and ethics, and many of you take up service and voluntary work. All of us, young and old, have those moments when the innate goodness of the human person - perhaps glimpsed in the gesture of a little child or an adult’s readiness to forgive - fills us with profound joy and gratitude.
Yet such moments do not last. So again, we ponder. And we discover that not only the natural but also the social environment – the habitat we fashion for ourselves – has its scars; wounds indicating that something is amiss. Here too, in our personal lives and in our communities, we can encounter a hostility, something dangerous; a poison which threatens to corrode what is good, reshape who we are, and distort the purpose for which we have been created. Examples abound, as you yourselves know. Among the more prevalent are alcohol and drug abuse, and the exaltation of violence and sexual degradation, often presented through television and the internet as entertainment. I ask myself, could anyone standing face to face with people who actually do suffer violence and sexual exploitation “explain” that these tragedies, portrayed in virtual form, are considered merely “entertainment”?
There is also something sinister which stems from the fact that freedom and tolerance are so often separated from truth. This is fuelled by the notion, widely held today, that there are no absolute truths to guide our lives. Relativism, by indiscriminately giving value to practically everything, has made “experience” all-important. Yet, experiences, detached from any consideration of what is good or true, can lead, not to genuine freedom, but to moral or intellectual confusion, to a lowering of standards, to a loss of self-respect, and even to despair.
Dear friends, life is not governed by chance; it is not random. Your very existence has been willed by God, blessed and given a purpose (cf. Gen 1:28)! Life is not just a succession of events or experiences, helpful though many of them are.
It is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. Do not be fooled by those who see you as just another consumer in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth.
Christ offers more! Indeed he offers everything! Only he who is the Truth can be the Way and hence also the Life. Thus the “way” which the Apostles brought to the ends of the earth is life in Christ. This is the life of the Church. And the entrance to this life, to the Christian way, is Baptism.
This evening I wish therefore to recall briefly something of our understanding of Baptism before tomorrow
considering the Holy Spirit. On the day of your Baptism, God drew you into his holiness (cf. 2 Pet 1:4). You were adopted as a son or daughter of the Father. You were incorporated into Christ. You were made a dwelling place of his Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19). Baptism is neither an achievement, nor a reward. It is a grace; it is God’s work. Indeed, towards the conclusion of your Baptism, the priest turned to your parents and those gathered and, calling you by your name said: “you have become a new creation” (Rite of Baptism, 99).
Dear friends, in your homes, schools and universities, in your places of work and recreation, remember that you
are a new creation! Not only do you stand before the Creator in awe, rejoicing at his works, you also realize that the sure foundation of humanity’s solidarity lies in the common origin of every person, the high-point of God’s creative design for the world. As Christians you stand in this world knowing that God has a human face - Jesus Christ - the “way” who satisfies all human yearning, and the “life” to which we are called to bear witness, walking always in his light (cf. ibid., 100).
The task of witness is not easy. There are many today who claim that God should be left on the sidelines, and that religion and faith, while fine for individuals, should either be excluded from the public forum altogether or included only in the pursuit of limited pragmatic goals. This secularist vision seeks to explain human life and shape society with little or no reference to the Creator. It presents itself as neutral, impartial and inclusive of everyone. But in reality, like every ideology, secularism imposes a world-view. If God is irrelevant to public life, then society will be shaped in a godless image, and debate and policy concerning the public good will be driven more by consequences than by principles grounded in truth.
Yet experience shows that turning our back on the Creator’s plan provokes a disorder which has inevitable
repercussions on the rest of the created order (cf. 1990 World Day of Peace Message, 5). When God is eclipsed, our ability to recognize the natural order, purpose, and the “good” begins to wane. What was ostensibly promoted as human ingenuity soon manifests itself as folly, greed and selfish exploitation. And so we have become more and more aware of our need for humility before the delicate complexity of God’s world.
But what of our social environment? Are we equally alert to the signs of turning our back on the moral structure
with which God has endowed humanity (cf. 2007 World Day of Peace Message, 8)? Do we recognize that the innate dignity of every individual rests on his or her deepest identity - as image of the Creator - and therefore that human rights are universal, based on the natural law, and not something dependent upon negotiation or patronage, let alone compromise?
And so we are led to reflect on what place the poor and the elderly, immigrants and the voiceless, have in our societies. How can it be that domestic violence torments so many mothers and children? How can it be that the most wondrous and sacred human space – the womb – has become a place of unutterable violence?
My dear friends, God’s creation is one and it is good. The concerns for non-violence, sustainable development,
justice and peace, and care for our environment are of vital importance for humanity. They cannot, however, be understood apart from a profound reflection upon the innate dignity of every human life from conception to natural death: a dignity conferred by God himself and thus inviolable. Our world has grown weary of greed, exploitation and division, of the tedium of false idols and piecemeal responses, and the pain of false promises. Our hearts and minds are yearning for a vision of life where love endures, where gifts are shared, where unity is built, where freedom finds meaning in truth, and where identity is found in respectful communion. This is the work of the Holy Spirit! This is the hope held out by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is to bear witness to this reality that you were created anew at Baptism and strengthened through the gifts of the Spirit at Confirmation. Let this be the message that you bring from Sydney to the world!
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Clergy Congregation's Letter to Priests
"The Church Is Certain That It Can Count on You"
VATICAN CITY, JULY 17, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the letter sent Tuesday by Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, to priests on the occasion of the Aug. 4 feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars.
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Dear brother priests,
On the occasion of the August 4 feast of St. John Marie Vianney, the Curé of Ars, I greet you cordially with all my heart, and I fraternally send you this brief message.
The Church knows today that there is an urgent mission, not only “ad gentes,” but also to those Christians living in areas and regions where the Christian faith has been preached and established for centuries and where ecclesial communities already exist. Within this flock, the mission, or the missionary evangelization (Redemptoris Missio, 2), has as its target those who are baptized but who, for different circumstances, have not been evangelized sufficiently, or those who have lost their initial fervour and fallen away. The postmodern culture of contemporary society -- a relativist, secular, and agnostic culture -- exerts a strong erosive action on the religious faith of many people.
The Church is missionary by its very nature. Jesus told us that "the sower went out to sow" (Mt 13:3). The sower does not limit himself to throwing the seed out of the window, but actually leaves the house. The Church knows that it cannot remain inert or limit itself to receiving and evangelizing those who are seeking the Faith in its churches and communities. It is also necessary to rise up and go to where people and families dwell, live and work. We must go to everyone: companies, organizations, institutions and different fields of human society. In this mission, all members of the ecclesial community are called: pastors, religious and laity.
Moreover, the Church recognizes that priests are the great driving force behind daily life in local communities. When priests move, the Church moves. If this were not so, it would be very difficult to achieve the Church’s mission.
My dear brother priests, you are the great richness, the energy, the pastoral and missionary inspiration in the midst of the Christian faithful, wherever they are found in community. Without your crucial decision to "put out into the deep" for fish ("Duc in altum"), as the Lord himself calls us, little or nothing will happen in the urgent mission, either "ad gentes" or in the territories that have previously been evangelized. But the Church is certain that it can count on you, because it knows and explicitly recognizes that the overwhelming majority of priests -- despite our weaknesses and human limitations -- are worthy priests, giving their life daily to the Kingdom of God and loving Jesus Christ and the people entrusted to them. These are the priests who are sanctifying themselves in their daily ministry and who are persevering until the harvest of the Lord. Only a small minority of priests have gravely deviated from this mission, and the Church seeks to repair the harm that they have done. On the other hand, it rejoices in and is proud of the immense majority of its priests, who are good and exceedingly worthy of praise.
During this Pauline Year, and pending the Synod of Bishops on the Word of God to be held in Rome this October, we call those who are receptive to this urgent mission. May the Holy Spirit enlighten us, send us, and sustain us, so that we might go forth and proclaim once again the person of Jesus Christ, crucified and resurrected, as well as His kingdom.
I greet you again, dear brothers, remaining always at your disposal. I pray for you all, especially for those who suffer, for the sick and for the elderly.
Vatican City State, 15 July 2008
Claudio Cardinal Hummes
Emeritus Archbishop of São Paolo
Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy
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