ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - August 27, 2008
VATICAN DOSSIER Paul's Journeys Show Need for Gospel, Says Pope Pontiff Asks for End to Violence in India Benedict XVI to Visit Mediterranean Island WORLD FEATURES Catholics Protest Priest's Murder in India Prelate: Planned Parenthood Offends Minorities UK Bishop Offers Answers to Modern Problems NEWS BRIEFS Iraq Prelate Laments Widespread Kidnappings Nuncio Brings Promise to Philippines WEDNESDAY'S AUDIENCE Paul's Biography
VATICAN DOSSIER
Paul's Journeys Show Need for Gospel, Says Pope
Continues Catechesis on Apostle of the Gentiles
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that a look at the life of St. Paul reveals the deep need we have of the Gospel.
The Pope affirmed this today during the general audience held in Paul VI Hall. He continued with the series of catecheses he began in July, for the occasion of the Pauline Jubilee Year, on the life and teachings of the Apostle of the Gentiles.
"Because we will dedicate next Wednesday to the extraordinary event that occurred on the road to Damascus, Paul's conversion, an essential change in his life that followed from his meeting with Christ, today we will pause briefly on the whole of his life," the Holy Father explained.
The Pontiff began by discussing scholarly theories regarding the year of Paul's birth, generally estimated to be around the year 8 A.D.
"In fact, the celebration of the Pauline Year we are observing follows this chronology. [The year] 2008 was chosen thinking of his birth more or less in the year 8," he said. "In any case, [Paul] was born in Tarsus in Cilicia. […] A Jew of the Diaspora, he spoke Greek although having a name of Latin origin, derived by assonance from the Hebrew original Saul/Saulos, and he held Roman citizenship.
"Paul seems to be situated, therefore, on the border of the various cultures -- Roman, Greek, Hebrew -- and perhaps also because of this, was disposed to fruitful universal openness, to a mediation between cultures, to a true universality."
Paul also learned manual work, Benedict XVI noted, recalling that the Acts of the Apostle say he was a tent maker, "to be understood probably as a laborer of coarse goat's wool or linen fibers to make mats or tents." And when Paul was 12 or 13 years old, he "left Tarsus and went to Jerusalem to be educated at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder, nephew of the great Rabbi Hillel, according to the most rigid norms of Pharisaism, acquiring a great zeal for the Mosaic Torah."
3 Journeys
Nevertheless, the Pope noted, "Paul passed into history more as a Christian, what is more, as an apostle, than as a Pharisee. His apostolic activity is subdivided traditionally on the basis of three missionary journeys, to which is added a fourth -- his journey to Rome as a prisoner. All are narrated by Luke in the Acts."
The Holy Father then recounted the extent of Paul's travels and the importance of his preaching for the early Church. He particularly noted how the apostle was key for the birth of Christianity in what would later become Europe.
"[In Troas] another important event took place: In a dream [Paul] saw a Macedonian from the other side of the sea, namely in Europe, who said, 'Come and help us,'" the Pontiff recounted. "It was the future Europe that requested the help and light of the Gospel."
The Pope said he would return in later catecheses to the theme of Paul's martyrdom. "For now," he said, "in this brief account of Paul's journeys, suffice it to take into account how he dedicated himself to the proclamation of the Gospel without sparing his energy and facing a series of grave trials, of which he has left us an account in the Second Letter to the Corinthians."
"We see a determination that is explained only by a soul truly fascinated by the light of the Gospel, enamored of Christ, a soul sustained by a profound conviction: That it is necessary to take the light of Christ to the world, to proclaim the Gospel to all," Benedict XVI continued "This I think is what stays with us from this brief account of St. Paul's journeys: to see his passion for the Gospel, and thus intuit the grandeur, the beauty, and even more, the deep need that all of us have of the Gospel.
"Let us pray so that the Lord, who made Paul see his light and hear his word, and touched his heart profoundly, make us also see his light, so that our hearts will also be touched by his word and so that we too will be able to give today's world, which thirsts for it, the light of the Gospel and the truth of Christ."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Pontiff Asks for End to Violence in India
Condemns All Attacks Against Human Life
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI asked for an immediate end to the acts of violence against Christians in India, which has caused at least nine deaths over the past three days in the eastern state of Orissa.
After delivering his weekly catechesis today in Paul VI Hall, the Pope said he "learned with deep sadness" the wave of violence against Christians, which intensified over the weekend after Hindu political leader Swami Laxmananada Saraswati and several of his companions were killed.
Christians are being blamed for killing the Hindu leader, although authorities suspect communist rebels are responsible.
The eastern Indian state of Orissa has long been plagued by Christian-Hindu violence, as Christian missionaries work with poor tribal peoples of the region and Hindus accuse them of forcing or bribing conversions.
Saraswati, a leader of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad or World Hindu Council, was active in the campaign to stop villagers from converting to Christianity or to win them back.
The Pontiff called the murder of the Hindu leader "deplorable," while noting the violence that has erupted in the wake of the killing: "Some persons have been killed and others injured. Worship centers, church property and private houses have also been destroyed."
"While I firmly condemn all attacks against human life, the sacredness of which demands the respect of all, I express my spiritual closeness and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in the faith so hardly tried.
"I implore the Lord to accompany and support them in this time of suffering and give them the strength to continue in the service of love in favor of all."
Benedict XVI also asked "religious leaders and civil authorities to work together to restore among the members of the various communities the peaceful coexistence and harmony which have always been the distinguishing mark of the Indian society."
Victims
The violence began Monday morning when Hindu extremists set fire to an orphanage, a 21-year-old laywoman who taught computer classes critically injuring the priest.
Four people were killed later that day, including two who were burned alive when their thatched huts were set on fire.
A Christian man was killed in his home in Kandhamal, and three others were victims of fires.
Sister Meena of the Bubaneshwar Social Center was raped by groups of Hindu extremists before the building she worked in was set on fire, reported AsiaNews.
Some of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta's sisters were also attacked; a few were pelted with stones and one was seriously injured. And a hospital for the elderly, run by the Missionaries of Charity, was destroyed for the second time, the news agency reported.
Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told government authorities today that a total of nine people have been killed in the attacks, reported the Associated Press. He added that the situation was "under control."
The episcopal conference of India is meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday to urge him to hold an independent inquiry. "We will also ask the prime minister for payment of immediate compensation to victims and their rehabilitation," spokesman Father Babu Joseph said.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, the archbishop of Bombay, announced that all Catholic schools across India will be closed Friday as a sign of solidarity with the Christians in Orissa and a protest against the attacks.
The episcopal conference of India has also declared Sept. 7 to be a day of prayer for missionaries in the context of the brutal murder of Father Thomas Pandippally, who was slain Aug. 16 in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh.
Only 2.3% of India's 1.1 billion citizens are Christians in the majority Muslim nation.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Benedict XVI to Visit Mediterranean Island
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will become the third Pope to visit Sardinia, an Italian island in the Mediterranean Sea.
The Holy See published today the program of the papal visit to Cagliari, Sardinia, scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 7.
The one-day visit will include a meeting with young people in the capital's Yenne square.
The principal event will be a Mass in the Shrine of Our Lady of Bonaria, marking the conclusion of the centenary of the proclamation of the Virgin of Bonaria as patroness of Sardinia. The Holy Father will also pray the midday Angelus at the shrine.
Subsequently, he will go to the regional seminary, where he will dine with Sardinian bishops. In the afternoon, before his meeting with young people, Benedict XVI will visit Cagliari's cathedral, where he will be awaited by seminarians and professors of the island's Pontifical Faculty of Theology.
After his meeting with young people, the Pontiff will return by plane to Rome.
This will be Benedict XVI's first trip to Sardinia, and the third time a Pope visits the island. Pope Paul VI visited Sardinia in 1970, and Pope John Paul II in 1985.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
WORLD FEATURES
Catholics Protest Priest's Murder in India
Cleric Was Brutally Beaten, Stabbed 18 Times
By Karna Swanson
HYDERABAD, India, AUG. 26, 2008, (
Zenit.org).- More than 2,000 Christians gathered in Hyderabad to protest the death of Father Thomas Pandippally, who was brutally murdered earlier this month as he headed home after saying Mass.
Archbishop Marampudi Joji of Hyderabad led the protest rally Tuesday, attended by priests, religious sisters and brothers, and lay faithful.
Father Thomas Pandippally, 38, was killed late Aug. 16 as he rode alone on a motorcycle to Yellareddy, a village in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, after having said Mass in Burigida.
The attackers ambushed the Carmelite of Mary Immaculate. He was found dead the next morning, little less than a mile from his motorcycle, with his hands and legs broken, 18 stab wounds inflicted on his body and his eyes gouged out.
Archbishop Joji stated at the protest that the authorities have yet to arrest those responsible for the killing. Other speakers urged the public to denounce violence and promote religious freedom, while voicing resentment over the murders of Christians in Andhra Pradesh.
Father Sony Sebastian Palathra, a Carmelite of Mary Immaculate who studied for three years in the seminary alongside Father Pandippally, told ZENIT he was "upset" and "shocked" to hear of the murder.
He said the murdered priest was "so quiet, holy and committed to the work of the Lord and service of the poor. His motto in life was, 'To wipe the tears of the poor.'"
Martyr
Father Jose Panthaplamthottiyil, prior general of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, said in a letter written Aug. 20, the day of Father Pandippally's funeral, that the congregation had "lost a young, holy, dynamic, dedicated, talented and committed priest ... one of the promising jewels of our congregation."
"However," continued the prior general, "we have also gained a true martyr in heaven."
"The history of the Church tells us that it was always through the blood of martyrs that the message of Jesus spread to the four corners of the earth," he said. "The shedding of the blood of Father Thomas in the name of Jesus will not be in vain. It will bring manifold blessings on the local Church as well as on every one of us."
Father Jose Panthaplamthottiyil announced that the episcopal conference of India has declared Sept. 7 to be a day of prayer for missionaries "in the context of the death of Father Thomas Pandippally."
The protest in Hyderabad took place as a wave of violence against Christians spread over the neighboring state of Orissa. The Christians are being blamed for the murder of a Hindu political leader Swami Laxmananada Saraswati. Some 11 people have been killed over three days of attacks.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Prelate: Planned Parenthood Offends Minorities
Archbishop Says Clinic Destroying Future of Community
DENVER, Colorado, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- A new Planned Parenthood clinic in a minority neighborhood of Denver should be taken as an offense, affirmed the archbishop of the city.
Archbishop Charles Chaput said this at a prayer vigil and march at the site of Planned Parenthood's new clinic in a primarily Latino and African-American suburb of Denver.
The archbishop was joined by a niece of Martin Luther King, Jr., Alveda King; Reverend Willard Johnson, pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church; and Denver's Auxiliary Bishop James Conley.
"Here in America, and especially here tonight, we need to remember two basic truths," Archbishop Chaput said.
"Here's the first truth," he said. "Society has an obligation -- and Christians have a Gospel duty -- to provide adequate and compassionate support for unwed and abandoned mothers; women facing unintended pregnancies; and women struggling with the aftermath of an abortion. It's not enough to talk about 'pro-life politics.' The label 'pro-life' demands that we work to ensure social policies that will protect young woman and families, and help them generously in their need. […]
"Here's the second truth. Killing an unborn child is never the right answer to a woman's or society's problems. Acts of violence create a culture of violence -- and abortion is the most intimate form of violence there is. It wounds the woman, it kills the unborn child and it poisons the roots of justice and charity that bind us all into one human family."
Subtracting lives
The archbishop said the location of the Planned Parenthood clinic should be considered an offense.
"Planned Parenthood is the largest single provider of abortion and family suppression services in the United States," he explained. "This facility in this minority neighborhood should offend every African-American and Latino family, and all of us, because every child lost to abortion here subtracts one more life, one more universe of possibilities and talent, from the future of this community. […] The business of Planned Parenthood is the prevention of the future -- and business is good, and very profitable, at the expense of this community."
The vigil and march gathered about 3,000 participants.
When King addressed the group, she affirmed that abortion is not a partisan issue and that she would not vote for the Democratic presidential candidate unless he changes his views on abortion before November.
Meanwhile, the opening ceremonies of the Democratic National Convention were under way in Denver. The draft of the 2008 Democratic National Platform states: "The Democratic Party strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade and a woman’s right to choose a safe and legal abortion, regardless of ability to pay, and we oppose any and all efforts to weaken or undermine that right."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
UK Bishop Offers Answers to Modern Problems
Reflects on Church's Mission and Catholics' Responsibilities
LANCASTER, England, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Answers to the great questions facing modern times can be found in the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, affirms the bishop of Lancaster.
Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue released today another installment in the diocese's "Fit for Mission" project, this time dedicating the document to a study of the Church.
"As I have reflected on the great issues facing this generation in the life of the Church, I have become more and more convinced that the answers are to be found through a prayerful, faithful and creative engagement with the Deposit of Faith presented in the documents of the Second Vatican Council and its great summary, the Catechism of the Catholic Church," the bishop wrote in the preface. "The vision of 'Fit for Mission? Church' is the vision of the Second Vatican Council.
"However, the questions and challenges that the Council Fathers saw in embryo, we now face in full force, such as the challenge of secular humanism, the question of moral values in a scientific-technological culture, and the increasing tensions caused by reason sundered from faith."
The document, which Bishop O'Donoghue said he wrote for "all Catholics who love the Church and care deeply about the future of Catholicism in our country," offers reflection questions and suggestions for action after each section.
"I know that many of you share my sense of pressing responsibility to foster and promote an authentic Catholic identity, resisting the pressures to compromise, even abandon, the truths of our faith," the bishop reflected.
Vatican II
"Fit for Mission? Church" offers reflections ranging from analyses of key Vatican II constitutions to a look at the social situation in which Catholics live today.
One of the bishop's preliminary proposals is that the faithful might experience being "gathered by Christ," but do not make the corresponding step of accepting that they are also "sent by him."
"The majority of our energy and charisms as the people of God are focused on being gathered through the sacraments," Bishop O'Donoghue said. "Lay liturgical ministries are well developed in most parishes, though there are exceptions. There is a good deal of collaboration between most clergy and laity in service of the liturgy.
"Though we are strengthened and healed by the Lord through his word and sacraments, the majority of us are not responding to Our Lord’s call to go out on his mission of hope. In particular, mission in the parishes with families and young people are undeveloped or underdeveloped, with a few exceptions."
Basing himself on Vatican II and key elements of ecclesiology, the bishop then offers a vision of what the Church is supposed to be and how the daily lives of Catholics should be shaped by their faith.
Urgent problems
The last section, based on "Gaudium et Spes," offers concrete suggestions, ranging from social participation to authentic living of Catholic marriages.
"Part Two of 'Gaudium et Spes' goes on to identify five urgent problems that caused major anxiety in the 1960s," the bishop noted. "Forty years on, I believe the same five areas cause equal anxiety among most people: marriage and the family; culture; social-economic life; political life; war and peace.
"Just as the Council Fathers before me, I want to encourage you all to attempt to read the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel, the Council and human experience."
Finally, Bishop O'Donoghue concluded by expressing his hope that Catholics can come to value the great gift that is the Church.
"There are some things in life which are so important that to dissent from them is to lose the whole meaning of life," he said. "I have written this document in the hope that through our far-reaching 'Fit for Mission?' review in the Diocese of Lancaster we may realize with joy the great gift with which we have been entrusted.
"When we all hold true to the beauty and truth of the Church established by Jesus, for the glory of the Father, in the living presence of the Holy Spirit, then the true glory of God’s Church will shine out for all to see.
"Our Church will be as intended, a creative and liberating force that takes us out into the world and which releases the world from the ‘pains of creation’ to realize its full potential."
--- --- ---
On the Net:
"Fit for Mission? Church":
www.catholicchurch.org.uk/index.php/ccb/catholic_church/media_centre2/local_news/bishop_of_lancaster_releases_fit_for_mission_church
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
NEWS BRIEFS
Iraq Prelate Laments Widespread Kidnappings
Says Problem Receives Too Little Media Attention
BAGHDAD, Iraq, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Iraq has a problem beside suicide bombings and political instability, and it receives too little media attention, affirmed an archbishop in Baghdad: There is a growing wave of kidnappings.
Archbishop Jean Sleiman, who ministers to Iraq's small Latin-rite Catholic community, told Aid to the Church in Need that a steady stream of families and friends of kidnapped people appeal to him for help. He said he has urged the government to stop the problem, and affirmed that Christians feel particularly at risk.
Archbishop Sleiman said there are "countless" reports of missing people, though he contended that the media and government are relatively silent on the issue.
"We have more problems, especially kidnapping," the prelate said. "The media ignores this matter. […] It is important to ask the government to pay attention to these issues and not only the general political situation."
Archbishop Sleiman suggested that money is the main motive for the kidnappings, but that religious extremism is also often an important factor, especially in the abduction of Christians.
The archbishop recounted that last Tuesday, he met a Christian man whose brother-in-law and son had been kidnapped and found dead a month later.
That meeting came barely 24 hours after he received a visit from a woman who begged for money for her 19-year-old daughter, kidnapped with a ransom request of $20,000.
The archbishop said: "It is not only Christians who are targeted but other groups. And yet the Christians feel the injustice of the situation very keenly because they have never played any part in the conflict within the country."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Nuncio Brings Promise to Philippines
Offers Hope for Peace in Conflict-Plagued Mindanao
CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Though many developed nations are warning against travel to the conflict-plagued region of Mindanao, the apostolic nuncio is visiting the island and seen as raising the level of confidence about the promise of peace.
Archbishop Edward Adams arrived in Cagayan de Oro on Tuesday, invited by the pastor of that Church, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma.
Archbishop Ledesma told CBCPnews that the "visit of the papal nuncio is a good sign; he is giving confidence on the peace and order in Mindanao."
Fighting with the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front in the resource-rich Mindanao region has escalated this month after a breakthrough peace agreement fell through.
Amnesty International reported last week that civilians in the region were forming militia groups, and units from the MILF had occupied farms and homes and displaced another 150,000 people. The 12,000-strong separatist Islamic group has been fighting for greater autonomy in the region for some four decades.
Nevertheless, the nuncio is carrying on with celebrations marking the diamond jubilee of the archdiocese. He will lead the Pontifical Mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral on Thursday in celebration of the feast of St. Augustine, the patron of the archdiocese.
"We have so many events that we have to be grateful for," said Jesuit Father Calvin Poulin, chaplain at Xavier University-Cagayan de Oro, during a short program to welcome the nuncio. "We have received precious gifts, especially in this time in life with some foreign countries giving advisories not to visit Mindanao."
The nuncio also visited a poor community in Macabalan, and attended the opening of a traveling photo exhibit showcasing the history of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Wednesday's Audience
Paul's Biography
"He Dedicated Himself to the Proclamation of the Gospel"
VATICAN CITY, AUG. 27, 2008 (
Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered during today's general audience in Paul VI Hall.
The Holy Father continued today the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the figure and thought of St. Paul.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In the last catechesis before the holidays -- two months ago, at the beginning of July -- I began a new series of topics on the occasion of the Pauline Year, reflecting on the way St. Paul lived. Today I would like to take up again and continue the reflection on the Apostle of the Gentiles, proposing a brief biography of him.
Because we will dedicate next Wednesday to the extraordinary event that occurred on the road to Damascus, Paul's conversion, an essential change in his life that followed from his meeting with Christ, today we will pause briefly on the whole of his life.
We have the biographical extreme points of Paul's life respectively in the Letter to Philemon, in which he declares himself "old" (Philemon 9: "presbytes"), and in the Acts of the Apostles, which at the moment of Stephen's stoning describe him as "young" (7:58: "neanias"). The two designations are evidently generic, but, according to ancient computations, a man around 30 years old was described as "young," while "old" was said when a man reached around 60.
In absolute terms, the date of Paul's birth depends to a great extent on the dating of the Letter to Philemon. Traditionally, its writing is dated during his Roman imprisonment, in the mid 60s. Hence, Paul would have been born in the year 8; he would have been more or less 60 years old, while at the moment of Stephen's stoning he was 30. This must be the correct chronology. In fact, the celebration of the Pauline Year we are observing follows this chronology. 2008 was chosen thinking of his birth more or less in the year 8.
In any case, he was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (cf Acts 22:3). The city was the administrative headquarters of the region and in 51 B.C. It had as proconsul none other than Marcus Tullius Cicero, while 10 years later, in 41, Tarsus was the site of the first meeting between Mark Anthony and Cleopatra.
A Jew of the Diaspora, he spoke Greek although having a name of Latin origin, derived by assonance from the Hebrew original Saul/Saulos, and he held Roman citizenship (cf. Acts 22:25-28). Paul seems to be situated, therefore, on the border of the various cultures -- Roman, Greek, Hebrew -- and perhaps also because of this was disposed to fruitful universal openness, to a mediation between cultures, to a true universality.
He also learned manual work, perhaps from his father, consisting of the work of "tent maker" (cf. Acts 18:3: skenopoios), to be understood probably as laborer of coarse goat's wool or linen fibers to make mats or tents (cf. Acts 20:33-35). Toward the year 12-13, the age in which a Jewish boy becomes "bar mitzvah" (son of the precept), Paul left Tarsus and went to Jerusalem to be educated at the feet of Rabbi Gamaliel the Elder, nephew of the great Rabbi Hillel, according to the most rigid norms of Pharisaism and acquiring a great zeal for the Mosaic Torah (cf Galatians 1:14; Philippians 3:5-6; Acts 22:3; 23:6; 26:5).
On the basis of this profound orthodoxy that he learned in the school of Hillel in Jerusalem, he saw in the new movement of Jesus of Nazareth a risk, a menace for Jewish identity, for the fathers' true orthodoxy. This explains the fact that he had fiercely "persecuted the Church of God," as he admitted three times in his Letters (1 Corinthians 15:9; Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6). Even if it is not easy to imagine specifically in what this persecution consisted of, his had, in any case, an attitude of intolerance.
It is here that the event of Damascus is situated, to which we will return in the next catechesis. It is certain that, from that moment on, his life changed and he became a tireless Apostle of the Gospel. In fact, Paul passed into history more as a Christian, what is more, as an Apostle, than as a Pharisee. His apostolic activity is subdivided traditionally on the basis of three missionary journeys, to which is added a fourth -- his journey to Rome as a prisoner. All are narrated by Luke in the Acts. In regard to the three missionary journeys, however, it is necessary to distinguish the first from the other two.
For the first, in fact (cf. Acts 13-14), Paul did not have direct responsibility, as it was entrusted instead to the Cypriot Barnabas. Together they departed from Antioch on the Oronte, sent by that Church (cf. Acts 13:1-3), and later, having set sail from the port of Seleucia on the Syrian coast, they traversed the island of Cyprus from Salamis to Paphos; from here they reached the southern coasts of Anatolia, today's Turkey, and stopped at the city of Attalia, Perga of Pamphilia, Antioch of Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra and Derbe, from which they returned to the point of departure.
Thus was born the Church of the people, the Church of the pagans. In the meantime, above all in Jerusalem, a harsh discussion arose as to what point these Christians from paganism were obliged to participate in the life and laws of Israel -- all the observances and prescriptions that separated Israel from the rest of the world -- to be truly participants of the promises of the prophets and to enter effectively into Israel's the heritage.
To resolve this fundamental problem for the birth of the future Church, Paul met in Jerusalem with the so-called Council of the Apostles, to resolve this problem on which the effective birth of the universal Church depended. It was decided not to impose on converted pagans the observance of the Mosaic Law (cf. Acts 15:6-30); that is, they were not obliged to observe the norms of Judaism. The only need was to belong to Christ, to live with Christ and according to his words. Thus, being of Christ, they were also of Abraham, of God and participants of all the promises.
After this decisive event, Paul left Barnabas, chose Silas and began his second missionary journey (cf Acts 15:36-18, 22). Going beyond Syria and Cilicia, he again saw the city of Lystra, where he took with him Timothy -- a very important figure of the nascent Church, son of a Jewess and a pagan -- and had him circumcised, he went across central Anatolia and reached the city of Troas on the northern coast of the Aegean Sea. And here another important event took place: In a dream he saw a Macedonian from the other side of the sea, namely in Europe, who said, "Come and help us!"
It was the future Europe that requested the help and light of the Gospel. Spurred on by this vision, he entered Europe, sailing from Macedonia and thus entering Europe. Disembarking in Neapolis, he arrived in Philippi, where he founded an admirable Christian community. Then he went to Thessalonica, and left the latter because of difficulties caused by the Jews, traveled to Beroea, and then continued to Athens.
In this capital of ancient Greek culture he preached to pagans and Greeks, first in the Agora and then in the Areopagus. And the speech in the Areopagus, referred to in the Acts of the Apostles, was a model of how to translate the Gospel into Greek culture, and of how to make the Greeks understand that this God of Christians and Jews, was not a God who was foreign to their culture, but the unknown God awaited by them, the true answer to the most profound questions of their culture.
After Athens he arrived in Corinth, where he stayed for a year and a half. And here we have a very certain chronological event, the most certain of his whole biography, because during this first stay in Corinth he had to appear before the governor of the senatorial province of Achaia, Proconsul Gallione, on accusations of illegal worship.
Regarding Gallione, there is an ancient inscription found in Delphi where it is said that he was proconsul of Corinth between the years 51 and 53. Hence, here we have an absolute certain fact. Paul's stay in Corinth took place in those years. Hence we may suppose that he arrived more or less in the year 50 and stayed until the year 52. Then, from Corinth, passing through Cencre, the city's eastern port, he went to Palestine reaching Caesarea Maritima, and from there he left for Jerusalem to return later to Antioch on the Oronte.
The third missionary journey (cf. Acts 18:23-21:16) began as usual in Antioch, which had become the point of origin of the Church of the pagans, of the mission to the pagans, and was also the place where the term "Christians" was born. Here for the first time, St. Luke tells us, Jesus' followers were called "Christians."
From there Paul went directly to Ephesus, capital of the province of Asia, where he stayed for two years, carrying out a ministry that had fruitful returns for the region. From Ephesus, Paul wrote the Letters to the Thessalonians and Corinthians. The population of the city, however, was incited against him by the local silversmiths, who saw their income diminish given the decline of the worship of Artemis -- the temple dedicated to her in Ephesus, the Artemysion, was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Because of this he had to flee to the north. Having crossed Macedonia once more, he went down again to Greece, probably to Corinth, staying there for three months and writing the famous Letter to the Romans.
From here he retraced his steps: Passing back through Macedonia, he sailed to Troy, and then, briefly visiting the islands of Miletus, Chios, Samos, he reached Miletus where he gave an important address to the elders of the Church of Ephesus, sketching a portrait of the true pastor of the Church (cf. Acts 20).
From here he set sail for Tyre, from where he reached Caesarea Maritima to go once again to Jerusalem. Here he was arrested because of a misunderstanding: Some Jews had mistaken other Jews of Greek origin for pagans, introduced by Paul in the Temple area reserved only for the Israelites. The planned sentence to death was avoided by the intervention of the Roman tribune guarding the area of the Temple (cf. Acts 21:27-36). This occurred while the imperial Procurator Anthony Felicius was in Judea. After spending a period in prison -- whose duration is debatable -- Paul, being a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar -- who at the time was Nero -- and the subsequent Procurator Porcio Festo sent him to Rome under military custody.
The journey to Rome touched the Mediterranean islands of Crete and Malta, and then the cities of Syracuse, Rhegium and Puteoli. The Christians of Rome went to meet him on the Via Appia at the Appia Forum (70 kilometers south of the capital) and others at the Three Taverns (40 kilometers).
In Rome he met with delegates of the Jewish community, to whom he confided that it was for "the hope of Israel" that he endured his chains (cf. Acts 28:20). However, Luke's account ends with the mention of two years in Rome under house arrest, without reference either to a sentence of Caesar (Nero), or even less so to the death of the accused.
Subsequent traditions speak of a liberation, which would have favored a missionary journey to Spain or an eventual short trip to the East, specifically to Crete, Ephesus and Nicopolis in Epirus. Always on a hypothetical basis, a new arrest is conjectured and a second imprisonment in Rome -- from where he would have written the three so-called pastoral letters, namely the two to Timothy and the one to Titus, with a second trial, that turned out to be unfavorable to him. However, a series of reasons induce many scholars of St. Paul to end the Apostle's biography with Luke's account in the Acts.
We will turn to his martyrdom later on in the cycle of these catecheses. For now, in this brief account of Paul's journeys, suffice it to take into account how he dedicated himself to the proclamation of the Gospel without sparing his energy and facing a series of grave trials, of which he has left us an account in the second Letter to the Corinthians (cf 11:21-28).
Of the rest, he writes: "I do it all for the sake of the Gospel" (1Corinthians 9:23), exercising with absolute generosity what he calls his "anxiety for all the Churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28). We see a determination that is explained only by a soul truly fascinated by the light of the Gospel, enamored of Christ, a soul sustained by a profound conviction: That it is necessary to take the light of Christ to the world, to proclaim the Gospel to all.
This I think is what stays with us from this brief account of St. Paul's journeys: to see his passion for the Gospel, and thus intuit the grandeur, the beauty, and even more, the deep need that all of us have of the Gospel. Let us pray so that the Lord, who made Paul see his light and hear his word and touched his heart profoundly, make us also see his light, so that our hearts will also be touched by his word and so that we too will be able to give today's world, which thirsts for it, the light of the Gospel and the truth of Christ.
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Today's catechesis presents the life of Saint Paul, the great missionary whom the Church honors in a special way this year. Born a Jew in Tarsus, he received the Hebrew name "Saul" and was trained as a "tent maker" (cf. Acts 18:3). Around the age of twelve he departed for Jerusalem to begin instruction in the strict Pharisaic tradition which instilled in him a great zeal for the Mosaic Law. On the basis of this training, Paul viewed the Christian movement as a threat to orthodox Judaism. He thus fiercely "persecuted the Church of God" (1 Corinthians 19:6; Galatians 1:13; Philippians 3:6) until a dramatic encounter on the road to Damascus radically changed his life. He subsequently undertook three missionary journeys, preaching Christ in Anatolia, Syria, Cilicia, Macedonia, Achaia, and throughout the Mediterranean. After his arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem, Paul exercised his right as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to the Emperor. Though Luke makes no reference to Nero's decision, he tells us that Paul spent two years under house arrest in Rome (cf. Acts 28:30), after which -- according to tradition -- he suffered a martyr's death. Paul spared no energy and endured many trials in his "anxiety for all the Churches" (2 Corinthians 11:28). Indeed, he wrote: "I do everything for the sake of the Gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:23). May we strive to emulate him by doing the same.
I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors present at today's Audience, including the Augustinian Spinellian Lay Associates from Malta, and also the groups from Scotland, Ireland, Denmark, Dominica and the United States of America. May your pilgrimage renew your love for the Lord and his Church, after the example of the Apostle Saint Paul. May God bless you all!
[The Pope then made the following appeal for the situation in India]
I have learned with deep sadness the news about the violence against the Christian communities in the Indian State of Orissa, which erupted following the deplorable murder of the Hindu leader Swami Lakshmananda Saraswati. Some persons have been killed and others injured. Worship centers, church property and private houses have also been destroyed.
While I firmly condemn all attacks against human life, the sacredness of which demands the respect of all, I express my spiritual closeness and solidarity to the brothers and sisters in the faith so tried. I implore the Lord to accompany and support them in this time of suffering and give them the strength to continue in the service of love in favor of all.
I ask the religious leaders and civil authorities to work together to restore among the members of the various communities the peaceful coexistence and harmony which have always been the distinguishing mark of the Indian society
© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
ZENIT is an International News Agency. For reprint permission:
http://www.zenit.org/english/permissions.html Visit our web page at
http://www.zenit.org To subscribe or unsubscribe:
http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe.html To give a ZENIT gift subscription:
http://www.zenit.org/english/gift.html To make a donation to support ZENIT:
http://www.zenit.org/english/donation.html SEND US YOUR NEWS.
Please send press releases using:
http://www.zenit.org/english/news.html Copyright, Innovative Media, Inc.
