ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - August 22, 2008
VATICAN DOSSIER Benedict XVI Finds Guide in Elder Brother Pope Urges Fanning Even the Smallest Flames Pontiff Offers Monetary Support to Georgia Envoy Named for Centenary of Lithuania Apparitions WORLD FEATURES US Bishops: Doctors Have Right to Say No to Abortion Catholic-Muslim Group Aiding Philippine Peace INTERVIEW Faith and Politics: Better Together SPIRITUALITY Who Do You Say I Am? DOCUMENTS Pope's Q-and-A With Clergy of Bressanone (Part 5) Papal Visit to Birthplace of St. Joseph Freinademetz
VATICAN DOSSIER
Benedict XVI Finds Guide in Elder Brother
Monsignor Ratzinger Made Citizen of Castel Gandolfo
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says his elder brother is still a guide for him, just as he was before his election to the papacy.
The Pope spoke about Monsignor Georg Ratzinger on Thursday, in a celebration to bestow honorary citizenship of Castel Gandolfo on the elder Ratzinger.
The title was given in recognition of Monsignor Ratzinger's contribution to sacred music, particularly during his 30-year tenure as the director of the Regensburg Cathedral Choir.
"From the beginning of my life my brother has always been not only a companion to me but also a guide worthy of trust," the Holy Father said. "He has been a point of orientation and reference with the clarity and the determination of his decisions.
"He has always shown me the path to take, also in difficult situations."
Georg Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn on Jan. 15, 1924, three years before Joseph. He began to play organ pieces in the local church as early as age 11.
The Ratzinger brothers had a sister, Maria, who died in 1991.
Cathedral music
As director of the Regensburg Choir -- a position Monsignor Ratzinger was given in 1964 -- the elder brother conducted hundreds of concerts around the world and did numerous recordings for various record companies. His music focused primarily on works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Heinrich Schutz and Felix Mendelssohn.
The Pontiff recalled the years his brother directed the choir, years when he also lived in Regensburg and taught theology.
"The good music of the cathedral, Sunday after Sunday, was a support, a consolation, a profound joy for me and a reflection of God's beauty," the Holy Father said.
"My brother has mentioned the fact that we have arrived at the last stage of our life, old age," he continued. "The days of life are reduced progressively. […] But also in this stage my brother helps me to accept with serenity, humility and courage the burden of each day. I thank him."
Benedict XVI also thanked the municipality of Castel Gandolfo, saying the gesture of bestowing honorary citizenship on his brother, "is also gratifying for me."
For his part, Monsignor Ratzinger, 85, after expressing his gratitude, said that music promotes the positive values of the human being, creating unity, communion and joy.
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Pope Urges Fanning Even the Smallest Flames
Considers Sacraments and Non-practicing Youth
BRESSANONE, Italy, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is encouraging pastors to fan the smallest of flames of faith in children who approach the sacraments, even when parents don't help the youth form a friendship with Jesus.
The Pope affirmed this Aug. 6 when he met with priests, deacons and seminarians of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone and answered in German six questions they asked him. The Holy Father was on vacation in the Dolomites, where he stayed at the major seminary of Bressanone.
A parish priest and theology teacher, Father Paolo Rizzi, asked the Holy Father what to do about children and youth who approach the sacraments of first Communion and confirmation without a habit of participation in Sunday Mass.
Father Rizzi described his own evolution in thought on the matter, progressing from a more restrictive view to a reconsideration of the best pastoral approach.
The Pontiff began by saying that he had no infallible answer, and that he, too, had undergone a similar evolution in thought.
"When I was younger I was rather severe. I said: The sacraments are sacraments of faith, and where faith does not exist, where the practice of faith does not exist, the sacrament cannot be conferred either," he explained.
Benedict XVI went on to say that during his years as archbishop of Munich, in discussions with parish priests, and with the passing of time: "I too, with time, came to realize that we must follow, rather, the example of the Lord, who was very open even with people on the margins of Israel of that time. He was a Lord of mercy, too open -- according to many official authorities -- with sinners, welcoming them or letting them invite him to their dinners, drawing them to him in his communion."
The sacraments are sacraments of faith, the Pope affirmed, and "when first Communion is no more than a great lunch with beautiful clothes and beautiful gifts, it can no longer be a sacrament of faith."
"Yet, on the other hand," he added, "if we can still see a little flame of desire for communion in the faith, a desire even in these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems to me that it is right to be rather broad-minded."
Reaching parents
The Holy Father said that children must be taught in catechism that first Communion requires "a continuity of friendship with Jesus, a journey with Jesus."
But, he lamented: "I know that children often have the intention and desire to go to Sunday Mass but their parents do not make this desire possible.
"If we see that children want it, that they have the desire to go, this seems to me almost a sacrament of desire, the 'will' to participate in Sunday Mass. In this sense, we naturally must do our best in the context of preparation for the sacraments to reach the parents as well, and thus to -- let us say -- awaken in them too a sensitivity to the process in which their child is involved."
The Pope said parents' "social desire" to have their kids participate in a first Communion celebration should be extended into a religious one: "to make a journey with Jesus possible."
The Bishop of Rome added that the catechesis of children is an opportunity that must be availed of to reach parents.
"[The parents] themselves can relearn the faith from the children and understand that this great solemnity is only meaningful, true and authentic if it is celebrated in the context of a journey with Jesus, in the context of a life of faith," he said. "Thus, one should endeavor to convince parents, through their children, of the need for a preparatory journey that is expressed in participation in the mysteries and that begins to make these mysteries loved. […]
"The moment when we are convinced the heart is touched -- it has felt a little of Jesus' love, it has felt a little the desire to move along these lines and in this direction -- that is the moment when, it seems to me, we can say that we have made a true catechesis. The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus' love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time."
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Pontiff Offers Monetary Support to Georgia
Bishop Says Orthodox Edified by Pope's Concern
By Chiara Santomiero
TBILISI, Georgia, AUG. 22, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI directed $120,000 to Caritas Georgia to help the humanitarian relief effort in the wake of the tiny nation's conflict with neighboring Russia.
The money and an accompanying note were sent to Bishop Giuseppe Pasotto, apostolic administrator of Caucaso. The Pope's message expressed his hope that the contribution would give weight to the appeals he made during the Angelus addresses of Aug. 10 and 17.
Bishop Pasotta said that the Holy Father's mention of Georgia twice during the Angelus addresses have impressed the citizens of the nation.
"In a country of primarily Orthodox religion, [the fact that] the head of the Catholic Church should be concerned in such a determined way about the ongoing conflict, and that he keeps the Georgian people in his heart and prays for them, has caused a great impression," the prelate affirmed.
He added that the situation of the refugees -- which he numbered between 80,000 and 90,000 -- is dire, but that it was "lovely" to see families reaching out to those who "arrived suddenly, and who didn't even have a mattress to lie on."
Even after the ceasefire, Bishop Pasotta continued, "there still is tension. [People] cannot understand why, despite the agreements, everything is blocked and no one can go wherever he wishes."
Russia withdrew what may have been the last of its troops just today, exactly two weeks after they had arrived on their neighbor's soil in retaliation for a Georgian attack in the separatist territory of South Ossetia.
Meanwhile, Caritas has been assisting the humanitarian relief effort since almost the very beginning of the conflict Aug 7.
"Both the Georgian government and the Orthodox patriarchate have requested aid from the Catholic Church and we are doing everything possible, with a great spirit of collaboration," Bishop Pasotta affirmed.
Christian leaders, and Jewish and Muslim communities, have joined in an appeal for more humanitarian relief.
"There have been beautiful moments of encounter," the bishop said. "In situations such as this, it is important to feel united beyond differences of faith."
Nevertheless, the prelate hoped that aid would be ongoing.
"Now there is no lack of international aid, but the precarious situation threatens to last a long time. It is already said that the schools won't open because they are all occupied by refugees," he added. "It will be necessary to rebuild the houses and to see that everyone receives aid and that no one in need is forgotten. After seven or eight months, will Georgia be remembered?"
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Envoy Named for Centenary of Lithuania Apparitions
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI named the archbishop of Cologne, Germany, to be his special envoy at the 400th anniversary of the apparitions of the Virgin Mary in Lithuania.
The Holy See announced Thursday the appointment of Cardinal Joachim Meisner for the Sept. 13-14 event in Siluva.
Mary appeared in Siluva in 1608 to non-Catholics. Little shepherds saw what they described as a beautiful woman, dressed in white and blue, with a baby in her arms, enveloped in gentle splendor. The Lady wept bitterly and suddenly disappeared.
Subsequently, the Virgin, again weeping, appeared to a crowd that had formed at the site where the children indicated. The town's Calvinist pastor was among the group.
An icon of the Virgin that had belonged to the village's former Catholic church was found in the place of the apparitions. The icon had remained hidden for almost 100 years.
In the wake of those events, and after several miraculous cures, this apparition brought Lithuania to return to the faith after 80 years of Calvinism.
The event was recognized by a papal decree published by Pius VI on Aug. 17, 1775. Siluva is now Lithuania's most important Marian shrine.
The Pope will be in France during the festivities, marking another anniversary of Marian apparitions: the 150th anniversary of the Virgin's appearances at Lourdes.
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WORLD FEATURES
US Bishops: Doctors Have Right to Say No to Abortion
Support Protection for Conscientious Objectors
WASHINGTON, D.C. AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- A U.S. bishops' aide welcomed a draft of federal regulations aimed to beef up existing legislation protecting health care providers' right to conscientiously object to participating in abortions.
Secretary Michael Leavitt of the Department of Health and Human Services released the regulations Thursday for a 30-day public comment period.
Deirdre McQuade, a spokeswoman for the bishops on life issues, welcomed the proposed regulations as a way to protect medical personnel from being coerced to violate their consciences in federally funded programs.
"Doctors, nurses and other medical personnel face pressure to participate in abortion -- a practice that many find abhorrent in good conscience," McQuade said. "The enforcement of federal laws designed to protect their freedom of conscience is long overdue."
The regulations would make federal funding dependent on an organization's willingness not to discriminate against health care professionals who object to participating in abortions.
"This is not just about Catholic health care," McQuade continued. "Catholics do not stand alone in opposition to the deliberate destruction of nascent human life. All health care providers should be free to serve their patients without violating their most deeply held moral and religious convictions on the value of life."
"Organizations calling themselves 'pro-choice' are actually pro-coercion in seeking to deny the freedom of doctors and nurses," the spokeswoman affirmed. "Don't doctors have the right to choose not to participate?
"Over the coming 30 days of public comment, the bishops urge the pro-life American public to thank Secretary Leavitt and encourage HHS to implement the strongest possible regulations."
The proposed regulations were leaked to the press earlier this summer, prompting Cardinal Justin Rigali, chair of the bishops' Committee for Pro-Life Activities, to write members of Congress urging them to support the measures.
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On the Net:
The regulations and instructions on making comments:
www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/08/20080821reg.pdfCardinal Rigali's letter:
www.usccb.org/prolife/rigali-conscience071808.pdf
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Catholic-Muslim Group Aiding Philippine Peace
After 40-Year Conflict in Mindanao Escalates
By Inmaculada Álvarez
MANILA, Philippines, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- A panel of bishops and prominent Muslims are appealing to both the Philippine government and the leaders of the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front to cease hostilities in the resource-rich Mindanao region.
The 12,000-strong separatist Islamic group has been fighting for greater autonomy in the region for some four decades. This month, the conflict escalated after the Supreme Court temporarily halted the signing of a breakthrough peace agreement with the group. On Thursday, the government said they would not sign the deal and more people were killed over night.
According to Amnesty International, civilians in the region are forming militia groups, and since the Supreme Court ruling, units from the MILF have occupied farms and homes and displaced another 150,000 people. Meanwhile, the government has asked for the arrest of several of the group's commanders.
In the midst of this, an appeal Wednesday signed by Archbishop Fernando Capalla of Davao and Hamid Barra, a representative of the League of the Ulemas of the Philippines, urged peace.
They appealed to both sides to seek an immediate truce, including pulling back troops, handing over hostages, and restoring order in the region of the southern Philippines.
The Catholic and Muslim leaders also called for urgent assistance to those displaced by the conflict, "with special attention to the poor, the sick, babies and young children." They also asked media to avoid publishing information that might be interpreted by combatants as a provocation.
In another joint communiqué, published Thursday by the news service of the Philippine episcopal conference, the Catholic and Muslim representatives of Mindanao condemned the violence in the Northern Lanao area, and the "unnecessary loss of human lives and properties."
"The incidents of armed conflict and violence in Northern Lanao have saddened us profoundly as religious leaders of Christian and Muslim communities," they wrote.
The religious leaders condemned the acts of violence and expressed their "profound sympathy" with the victims, while calling for justice "for those responsible for these crimes."
"At this time in which too many feelings of anger, fear, hatred and confusion are mixed, we appeal to our Muslim and Christian communities to remain calm and faithful to their call as creatures of the almighty and merciful God," added the statement.
The bishops and ulemas of Mindanao promised to do everything possible to "promote peace" in their respective local communities.
Mediation
Meanwhile Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of Cagayan de Oro, president of the episcopal conference's Commission for Interreligious Dialogue, told L'Osservatore Romano that the role of the Catholic-Muslim panel is key in the pursuit of peace.
He noted that in recent days, the Philippine media has even speculated on the possible mediation of the panel in the conflict.
Without confirming that possibility, Archbishop Ledesma said that the group, though not political, "will do everything possible, within its realm, to arrive as soon as possible at an agreement that ensures a lasting peace in the country."
"What the conference can do is to contribute to the establishment between the two sides of a climate of mutual trust," helping to "focus better on the topics of coexistence and dialogue between Christians and Muslims," he affirmed.
He also cautioned against using the pretext of peace to provoke a separation between the Christian and Muslim populations, in an area where both have coexisted peacefully.
"The members of the conference of bishops and ulemas have been engaging for a long time in programs of interreligious dialogue and social service both for Christians as well as Muslims," Archbishop Ledesma said. "As so many religious and lay volunteers of both creeds are already doing, [both sides] must live and work together in mutual respect of their beliefs, traditions and peculiarities."
According to the 65-year-old prelate, the members of the Catholic-Muslim panel "not only have moral qualities and a solid knowledge of the reciprocal religious spheres," but are the ones "who know best the real needs of their faithful."
The prelate added that the Catholic Church of the Philippines "has always gone to the aid of the poor without distinction of creeds."
"In this charitable action," he added, "[the Church] has always been helped in Mindanao by a number -- at first small but ever more numerous -- of Muslim religious leaders and lay volunteers, who are conscious of the role of religions in society."
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INTERVIEW
Faith and Politics: Better Together
Interview With Archbishop Charles Chaput
By Karna Swanson
DENVER, Colorado, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Not only does religion have a place in the public square, a democracy needs the input of religious morals and convictions to remain healthy and strong, says the archbishop of Denver.
Taking religion out of play, adds Archbishop Charles Chaput, author of "
Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life," is the fastest way to destroy a democracy.
In this interview with ZENIT, Archbishop Chaput talks about the ideas put forth in his book on Catholics and politics, and comments on what he thinks are the important issues facing voters this November.
Q: Catholicism in the public square in the United States has had a long and complicated journey, and you say that Catholics have a lot to offer the political process, but that more often than not they keep their beliefs and convictions separate from their political actions. Why is that?
Archbishop Chaput: Catholics have always been a minority in the United States, and prejudice against Catholics in this country has always been real, even before the founding. Sometimes the bias has been indirect and genteel. Just as often it has taken more vulgar forms of economic and political discrimination, and media bigotry. Either way, prejudice always fuels the appetite of a minority to fit in, to achieve and to assimilate, and American Catholics have done that extraordinarily well -- in fact, too well.
In the name of being good citizens, a lot of Catholics have bought into a very mistaken idea of the “separation of Church and state.” American Catholics have always supported the principle of keeping religious and civil authority distinct.
Nobody wants a theocracy, and much of the media hand-wringing about the specter of “Christian fundamentalism” is really just a particularly offensive scare tactic. The Church doesn’t presume to run the state. We also don’t want the state interfering with our religious beliefs and practices -- which, candidly, is a much bigger problem today.
Separating Church and state does not mean separating faith and political issues. Real pluralism requires a healthy conflict of ideas. In fact, the best way to kill a democracy is for people to remove their religious and moral convictions from their political decision-making. If people really believe something, they’ll always act on it as a matter of conscience. Otherwise they’re just lying to themselves. So the idea of forcing religion out of public policy debates is not only unwise, it’s anti-democratic.
Q: A chapter of the book was dedicated to St. Thomas More. In the same chapter you mention John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic president of the United States. What is the fundamental difference between these two Catholic political leaders?
Archbishop Chaput: As I say in the book, we should be wary of drawing too close a parallel between More’s situation and the problems facing American public officials. But More and his friend John Fisher stay so vivid in our memories for a reason. They kept their integrity at the cost of everything they had, including their lives. They put God before Caesar.
As for Kennedy, we need to remember the context of his 1960 campaign. Kennedy had plenty of talent and courage, but he also had to overcome 200 years of ingrained Protestant suspicion.
Unfortunately, in easing those Protestant fears, he created a new and very flawed Catholic model of separating public service from private conviction. He was acting in good will, and of course he couldn’t see the future -- but he did a great deal of damage. Over the past 40 years, his example has guided every Catholic public official who is “personally opposed” to some grave evil, but won’t do anything about it. We’re still suffering the effects.
Q: You also note that the new media culture has created a new environment for public debate in which a "serious marketplace of ideas" is replaced by sound bites. How can faithful Catholic politicians operate in this environment?
Archbishop Chaput: There’s no easy answer to that. American Catholics need to take a much more critical attitude toward the mass media, including the news industry. Many very good people work in journalism, for example. But the picture of reality reported by the news media is always colored by at least three things: the technology of the medium, the need to make a profit and the bias of the organization.
What we see and hear in political reporting is often a dumbed-down version of the facts. Individual citizens need to be alert to how the media shape public appetites and mold our opinions. And Catholic political officials need to learn how to use the media -- honestly, of course -- and not be used by them.
Q: Did you hope the book, which was published months ahead of the presidential elections in the United States, would impact the election process in some way?
Archbishop Chaput: Actually, I finished the text in July last year and made final revisions last November. I wanted the book to appear in March this year to put some space between it and the campaign season. But the publisher makes those decisions.
It’s not my intention, in the book or anywhere else, to tell people how to vote. I don’t endorse candidates, I don’t use code language to get people to like or dislike any political party. That’s not the job of a pastor.
People need to vote their conscience. But “conscience” doesn’t miraculously appear out of nothing; it’s not a matter of personal opinion or private preference. Conscience is always grounded in truth bigger than ourselves. People who claim to be Catholic need to be honest with themselves and with the believing community. They need to really act “Catholic” in private and in public, and that includes the way they make their political choices. And it’s very much the job of a pastor to teach Catholics their faith and to encourage them to apply it.
Q: In this election year there seems to be more talk of "wider" social issues that Catholics should consider when voting. How do you see this trend? And what do you see as the biggest issues facing Catholic voters this November?
Archbishop Chaput: The moral witness of the Church doesn’t change, whether it’s an election year or not. We face a lot of very important issues this fall: the economy, immigration reform, the war in Iraq. These are urgent and compelling, but they can’t be used as an excuse to ignore the unborn child.
No matter how much we want to cover it over with talk about “wider social issues,” the abortion struggle remains the foundational social issue of our time. There’s no way of wriggling around the profits, the brutality and the injustice of abortion with pious language or theatrical gestures. Abortion is legalized homicide. It has to stop. Every other right depends on the right to life.
Q: The book is written mainly for a U.S. audience as it directly speaks of the Church in the United States. What could an international audience take away from the book?
Archbishop Chaput: All Catholics, wherever they live, whatever their country, need to remember that we’re citizens of heaven first. That’s our home. We serve our nation in this world best by living our Catholic faith fully and authentically, and bringing our Catholic witness for human dignity vigorously into our nation’s political life.
We need to stop being embarrassed to speak and work for the truth. We can be disciples, or we can be cowards. In today’s world, there’s no room for anything else. We need to choose.
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On the Net:
"Render Unto Caesar":
www.archden.org/RenderUntoCaesar
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SPIRITUALITY
Who Do You Say I Am?
Gospel Commentary for 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
By Father Raniero Cantalamessa, OFM Cap
ROME, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- There is a practice in today’s culture and society that can help us toward understanding this Sunday’s Gospel: opinion polls.
These are conducted everywhere, especially in the political and commercial spheres. One day Jesus also wanted to do an opinion poll, but, as we shall see, for a different purpose. He did it not for political reasons, but for educational ones.
Having arrived in Caesarea Philippi, that is, in the northernmost region of Israel, and taking a little rest alone with the apostles, Jesus asks them, point blank, “Who do people say that the son of man is?”
It seems that the apostles were not expecting to be asked more than to report what people were saying of him. They answered: "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
But Jesus was not interested in measuring his popularity or in looking for an index of how well he was regarded by the people. His purpose was entirely different. So he immediately followed his first question with a second: “Who do you say that I am?"
This second, unexpected question catches them completely off guard. There is silence and they stand looking at each other. In the Greek it makes it clear that all of the apostles together responded to the first question and that only one person, namely, Simon Peter, responded to the second question: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Between the two responses there is a leap over an abyss, a “conversion.” To answer the first question it was only necessary to look around, to have listened to people’s opinions. But to answer the second question, it was necessary to look inside, to listen to a completely different voice, a voice that was not of flesh and blood but of the Father in heaven. Peter was enlightened from on high.
It is the first clear recognition of the true identity of Jesus of Nazareth in the Gospels. The first public act of faith in Christ in history! Think about the wake that a big ship makes in the sea. It widens as the ship goes forward until it is lost on the horizon. But it begins at a single point, which is the ship itself. Faith in Jesus Christ is like this. It is as a wake that widens as it moves through history, and travels to “the very ends of the earth.” But it starts at a single point. And this point is Peter’s act of faith. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!”
Jesus uses another image, which implies stability rather than movement. It is a vertical instead of a horizontal image. It is that of a rock: “You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church.”
Jesus changes his name -- as often happens in the Bible when someone receives an important mission -- from Simon to Cephas, or Peter -- “rock.” The true rock, the “cornerstone” is, and remains, Jesus himself. But once he has risen and ascended into heaven, this “cornerstone,” though present and active, is invisible. It is necessary for a sign to represent him, a sign that makes Christ, who is the “unshakeable foundation,” visible and efficacious in history. And this sign is Peter and, after him, his vicar, the Pope, successor of Peter, as head of the college of apostles.
But let us return to the idea of polling. Jesus' poll, as we saw, has two parts, which have two distinct questions. First, “Who do people say that I am?” And second, “Who do you say that I am?”
Jesus does not seem to value very much what the people think of him. He wants to know what his disciples think of him. He immediately asks them to speak for themselves. He does not let them hide behind the opinions of others. He wants them to speak of their own opinions. Almost the identical situation repeats itself today.
Today as well “people,” “public opinion,” has its ideas about Jesus. Jesus is in vogue. Just look at what is going on in the world of literature and entertainment. A year does not go by in which there does not appear a novel or a film with its own distorted and sacriligious vision of Christ. Dan Brown’s “Da Vinci Code” has been the most well-known one of late and has produced many imitators.
Then there are those who are middle-of-the-road, like the people of Jesus’ time, who believe Jesus to be “one of the prophets.” He is regarded as a fascinating person and placed alongside Socrates, Gandhi and Tolstoy. I am sure that Jesus does not scorn these responses to him, because the Bible says of him that he does not “quench the smoldering wick and does not break the bruised reed,” that is, he appreciates every honest effort on the part of man.
But, the truth be told, this view of Jesus does not seem quite right even from a human point of view. Neither Gandhi nor Tolstoy ever said: “I am the way, the truth and the life,” or “Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worth of me.”
With Jesus you cannot not be middle-of-the-road. Either he is what he claims to be, or he is not a great man, but rather a great lunatic lifted up by history. There are no half-measures. There are buildings and structures made of steel -- I believe that the Eiffel Tower in Paris is one -- made in such a way that if you touch a certain point or remove a certain element, everything will come down. The edifice of the Christian faith is like this, and this neuralgic point is the divinity of Jesus Christ.
But let us leave aside the responses of the people and consider the nonbelievers. Believing in the divinity of Christ is not enough; you must also bear witness to it. Whoever knows him and does not bear witness to this faith, indeed even hides it, is more responsible before God that those who do not have this faith.
In a scene in Paul Claudel’s play “The Humiliated Father,” a Jewish girl, beautiful but blind, alluding to the double meaning of light, asks her Christian friend: “You who see, what use have you made of the light?” It is a question that is asked of all of us who claim to be believers.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
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Father Raniero Cantalamessa is the Pontifical Household preacher. The readings for this Sunday are Isaiah 22:19-23; Romans 11:33-36; Matthew 16:13-20.
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DOCUMENTS
Pope's Q-and-A With Clergy of Bressanone (Part 5)
"Bring the Flame of Jesus' Love"
BRESSANONE, Italy, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the last part of a translation of the question-and-answer session Benedict XVI held Aug. 6 with the priests, deacons and seminarians of the Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone. The Holy Father was on vacation in the Dolomites, where he stayed at the major seminary of Bressanone.
The previous questions and answers appeared this week.
* * *
Father Paolo Rizzi, parish priest and lecturer in theology at the Higher Institute for Religious Sciences: Holy Father, I am parish priest and lecturer in theology at the Higher Institute for Religious Sciences. We would like to hear your pastoral opinion about the situation concerning the sacraments of first Communion and confirmation.
Always more often the children, boys and girls, who receive these sacraments prepare themselves with commitment to the catechetical meetings but do not take part in the Sunday Eucharist, and then one wonders: What is the point of all this? At times we might feel like saying: "Then just stay at home."
Instead, we continue as always to accept them, believing that in any case it is better not to extinguish the wick of the little flickering flame. We think, that is, that in any case, the gift of the Spirit can have an effect beyond what we can see, and that in an epoch of transition like this one it is more prudent not to make drastic decisions.
More generally, 35 years ago I thought that we were beginning to be a little flock, a minority community, more or less everywhere in Europe; that we should therefore administer the sacraments only to those who are truly committed to Christian life. Then, partly because of the style of John Paul II's pontificate, I thought things through again. If it is possible to make predictions for the future, what do you think? What pastoral approaches can you suggest to us? Thank you.
Benedict XVI: Well, I cannot give an infallible answer here, I can only seek to respond according to what I see. I must say that I took a similar route to yours.
When I was younger I was rather severe. I said: The sacraments are sacraments of faith, and where faith does not exist, where the practice of faith does not exist, the sacrament cannot be conferred either.
And then I always used to talk to my parish priest when I was archbishop of Munich: Here too there were two factions, one severe and one broad-minded. Then I too, with time, came to realize that we must follow, rather, the example of the Lord, who was very open even with people on the margins of Israel of that time. He was a Lord of mercy, too open -- according to many official authorities -- with sinners, welcoming them or letting them invite him to their dinners, drawing them to him in his communion.
Therefore I would say substantially that the sacraments are naturally sacraments of faith: When there is no element of faith, when first Communion is no more than a great lunch with beautiful clothes and beautiful gifts, it can no longer be a sacrament of faith.
Yet, on the other hand, if we can still see a little flame of desire for communion in the faith, a desire even in these children who want to enter into communion with Jesus, it seems to me that it is right to be rather broad-minded.
Naturally, of course, one purpose of our catechesis must be to make children understand that Communion, first Communion, is not a "fixed" event, but requires a continuity of friendship with Jesus, a journey with Jesus. I know that children often have the intention and desire to go to Sunday Mass but their parents do not make this desire possible.
If we see that children want it, that they have the desire to go, this seems to me almost a sacrament of desire, the "will" to participate in Sunday Mass. In this sense, we naturally must do our best in the context of preparation for the sacraments to reach the parents as well, and thus to -- let us say -- awaken in them too a sensitivity to the process in which their child is involved.
They should help their children to follow their own desire to enter into friendship with Jesus, which is a form of life, of the future. If parents want their children to be able to make their first Communion, this somewhat social desire must be extended into a religious one, to make a journey with Jesus possible.
I would say, therefore, that in the context of the catechesis of children, that work with parents is very important. And this is precisely one of the opportunities to meet with parents, making the life of faith also present to the adults, because, it seems to me, they themselves can relearn the faith from the children and understand that this great solemnity is only meaningful, true and authentic if it is celebrated in the context of a journey with Jesus, in the context of a life of faith.
Thus, one should endeavor to convince parents, through their children, of the need for a preparatory journey that is expressed in participation in the mysteries and that begins to make these mysteries loved.
I would say that this is definitely an inadequate answer, but the pedagogy of faith is always a journey and we must accept today's situations. Yet, we must also open them more to each person, so that the result is not only an external memory of things that endures but that their hearts that have truly been touched.
The moment when we are convinced the heart is touched -- it has felt a little of Jesus' love, it has felt a little the desire to move along these lines and in this direction -- that is the moment when, it seems to me, we can say that we have made a true catechesis. The proper meaning of catechesis, in fact, must be this: to bring the flame of Jesus' love, even if it is a small one, to the hearts of children, and through the children to their parents, thus reopening the places of faith of our time.
[Translation by L'Osservatore Romano]
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Papal Visit to Birthplace of St. Joseph Freinademetz
"All Cultures Are Waiting for Christ"
OIES, Italy, AUG. 22, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave Aug. 5 upon visiting the birthplace of St. Joseph Freinademetz.
Joseph Freinademetz (1852-1908) joined the Society of the Divine Word in 1878. He lived in China for 29 years and is known for his work in that country. He was canonized in 2003.
As a memento of his visit, Benedict XVI wrote in the guest book at the birthplace: "Through the intercession of St. Joseph, may the Lord grant many spiritual vocations and open China ever more to faith in Jesus Christ."
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am deeply moved by this very warm welcome that I have encountered here, and I can only say thank you with all my heart. And I thank the Lord who has given us this great Saint, St Joseph Freinademetz, who shows us the path to life and also is a sign for the Church's future. He is a very modern Saint: we know that China is becoming increasingly significant in political and economic life and also in the life of ideas. It is important that this great country open itself to the Gospel.
And St Joseph Freinademetz shows us that faith does not mean alienation for any culture, for any people, because all cultures are waiting for Christ and are not destroyed by the Lord: indeed, [in him] they reach their maturity.
St Joseph Freinademetz, as we have heard, not only wanted to live and die as a Chinese, but also wanted to be Chinese in Heaven: thus he identified in spirit with this people, in the certainty that it would open itself to faith in Jesus Christ.
Let us now pray that this great Saint may be an encouragement for all of us to live anew the life of faith in our time, to journey towards Christ because Christ alone can unite peoples, can unite cultures; and let us also pray that Christ will give numerous young people the courage to devote their lives totally to the Lord and to his Gospel.
However, I cannot say anything other than simply "thank you" to the Lord who gave us this Saint, and "thank you" to all of you for your welcome which shows me that the Church is still visibly alive today and that faith is the joy that unites us and guides us on the path of life.
My thanks to you all!
[This was followed by a prayer in Ladin, the Rhaeto-Romance dialect of the Engadine in Switzerland, the Our Father and the Benediction. The Holy Father then said:]
Thank you! May the Lord Bless you all!
[And he concluded:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters, I would simply like to say thank you for coming. I heard that some of you waited for hours: thank you for your patience and your courage. May the Lord bless you all. And naturally I cordially greet all the German-speaking people present: may God reward you all, may the Lord's Blessing be with you all. May God reward you!
[Translation by L'Osservatore Romano]
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