ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - March 22, 2009
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POPE IN AFRICA Pope Says God's Love Triumphs Over War and Sin Pontiff Asks World to Support Africa's Development Pope Highlights Women's Mission to Defend Humanity Pope Prays for 2 Young Angolan Stampede Victims Spokesman Says Benedict XVI Gives Africa Hope VATICAN DOSSIER Preacher Says Spirit Gives New Capacity to Love ANALYSIS A Question of Life or Death ANGELUS On the Close of the Papal Visit to Africa DOCUMENTS AT ZENIT WEB PAGE Lenten Sermon DOCUMENTS Benedict XVI's Homily at Mass in Cimangola Pope's Address to Movements on Promotion of Women
POPE IN AFRICA
Pope Says God's Love Triumphs Over War and Sin
Celebrates Mass With 1 Million People
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is calling Angolans and all Africans to acknowledge the presence of God within them, and to bring his love and forgiveness to all people around them.
The Pope said this today in a homily at a Mass in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda. The Eucharistic Celebration was presided by the Pontiff with bishops of the IMBISA (Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa), and was attended by one million people.
He noted the suffering experienced by the Angolan people as a result of war, and the consequent destruction of "families, whole communities, the fruit of men's labor, the hopes which guide and sustain their lives and work!"
He added that "this experience is all too familiar to Africa as a whole: the destructive power of civil strife, the descent into a maelstrom of hatred and revenge, the squandering of the efforts of generations of good people."
"When God's word -- a word meant to build up individuals, communities and the whole human family -- is neglected," the Holy Father explained, "and when God's law is ridiculed, despised, laughed at, the result can only be destruction and injustice: the abasement of our common humanity and the betrayal of our vocation to be sons and daughters of a merciful Father, brothers and sisters of his beloved Son."
He affirmed, "God is calling us to acknowledge the power of his presence within us," to take as our own "the gift of his love and forgiveness, and to become messengers of that merciful love within our families and communities, at school and in the workplace, in every sector of social and political life."
Conversion
Benedict XVI affirmed: "The Gospel teaches us that reconciliation, true reconciliation, can only be the fruit of conversion, a change of heart, a new way of thinking.
"It teaches us that only the power of God's love can change our hearts and make us triumph over the power of sin and division."
He added, "Only God can make all things new!"
"It is to preach this message of forgiveness, hope and new life in Christ that I have come to Africa," emphasized the Pope.
He appealed to Africans of every nation to pray "that every Christian on this great continent will experience the healing touch of God's merciful love, and that the Church in Africa will become for all, through the witness borne by its sons and daughters, a place of true reconciliation."
"You have received power from the Holy Spirit to be the builders of a better tomorrow for your beloved country," he stated.
The Pontiff continued: "On the day of your baptism you received the light of Christ. Be faithful to that gift!
"Be confident that the Gospel can affirm, purify and ennoble the profound human values present in your native culture and traditions: your strong families, your deep religious sense, your joyful celebration of the gift of life, your appreciation of the wisdom of the elderly and the aspirations of the young."
He challenged his listeners to be grateful for the faith they received, and to live up to their great legacy. "Realize that the Church, in Angola and throughout Africa," he affirmed, "is meant to be a sign before the world of that unity to which the whole human family is called, through faith in Christ the Redeemer."
He exhorted his audience: "Radiate the light of faith, hope and love in your families and communities! Be witnesses of the holy truth that sets men and women free!
"You know from bitter experience that, in comparison with the sudden, destructive fury of evil, the work of rebuilding is painfully slow and arduous.
"Living by the truth takes time, effort and perseverance: it has to begin in our own hearts, in the small daily sacrifices required if we are to be faithful to God's law, in the little acts by which we demonstrate that we love our neighbors, all our neighbors, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, and by our readiness to work with them to build together on foundations that will endure."
Youth
The Holy Father addressed a special message to young people, saying, "you are the hope of your country's future, the promise of a better tomorrow!"
He continued: "Begin today to grow in your friendship with Jesus, who is the way, and the truth and the life: a friendship nurtured and deepened by humble and persevering prayer.
"Seek his will for you by listening to his word daily, and by allowing his law to shape your lives and your relationships.
"In this way you will become wise and generous prophets of God's saving love. Become evangelizers of your own peers, leading them by your own example to an appreciation of the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and the hope of a future shaped by the values of God's Kingdom."
In this way, you will build something destined to endure, and leave to future generations a lasting inheritance of reconciliation, justice and peace. Amen.
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25448?l=english
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Pontiff Asks World to Support Africa's Development
Urges Catholics to Be Leaven of Hope on Continent
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is closing his pastoral visit asking Africans to be peacemakers and bearers of hope to their neighbors, and asking other nations to support this continent's efforts.
The Pope said this today before leading the Angelus at Cimangola field, on the outskirts of Luanda, where he had just celebrated a Mass with one million people.
"In this Angelus prayer," he noted, "we recall Mary's complete 'yes' to the will of God."
He continued: "Through Mary's obedience of faith, the Son of God came into the world to bring us forgiveness, salvation and life in abundance.
"By becoming a man like us in all things but sin, Christ taught us the dignity and worth of each member of the human family."
The Pontiff affirmed: "Our prayer rises today from Angola, from Africa, and embraces the whole world.
"May the men and women from throughout the world who join us in our prayer, turn their eyes to Africa, to this great Continent so filled with hope, yet so thirsty for justice, for peace, for a sound and integral development that can ensure a future of progress and peace for its people."
Leaven
He urged his listeners, "Inspired by faith in God and trust in Christ's promises, may the Catholics of this Continent become ever more fully a leaven of evangelical hope for all people of good will who love Africa, who are committed to the material and spiritual advancement of its children, and the spread of freedom, prosperity, justice and solidarity in the pursuit of the common good."
The Holy Father added, "May the Holy Mother of God, who points us to her Son, our brother, remind Christians everywhere of our duty to love our neighbor, to be peacemakers, to be the first to forgive those who have sinned against us, even as we have been forgiven."
"Here in Southern Africa," he said, "let us ask our Lady in a particular way to intercede for peace, the conversion of hearts, and an end to the conflict in the neighboring Great Lakes region."
Benedict XVI concluded, "May her Son, the Prince of Peace, bring healing to the suffering, consolation to those who mourn, and strength to all who carry forward the difficult process of dialogue, negotiation and the cessation of violence."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25450?l=english
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Pope Highlights Women's Mission to Defend Humanity
Underlines Family's Need for Both Parents, Couple's Need for Church
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming the role of women in the Church and society, and is appealing to them to defend the family and to protect cultural and religious values.
The Pope said this today to representatives of Catholic movements at a meeting in Santo António Parish of Luanda on the topic of the promotion of women.
He underlined Mary's role in the Gospel story of the wedding at Cana, noting that "her maternal mediation thus made possible the 'good wine,' prefiguring a new covenant between divine omnipotence and the poor but receptive human heart."
The Pontiff extended a special greeting to all women, "to whom God has entrusted the wellsprings of life," saying, "I invite you to live and to put your trust in life, because the living God has put his trust in you!"
He called on his listeners to be aware of the "adverse conditions to which many women have been -- and continue to be -- subjected, paying particular attention to ways in which the behavior and attitudes of men, who at times show a lack of sensitivity and responsibility, may be to blame."
He added, "This forms no part of God's plan."
God's plan, he noted, in creating woman, was to fashion "for the man the helper he still lacked," and to endow "this helper in a privileged way by incorporating the order of love, which had seemed under-represented in creation."
The Holy Father explained, "In fact, gazing upon the captivating charm that radiates from woman due to the inner grace God has given her, the heart of man is enlightened and he sees himself reflected in her."
Complementary
He exhorted his audience to "recognize, affirm and defend the equal dignity of man and woman" because "they are both persons, utterly unique among all the living beings found in the world."
Benedict XVI affirmed: "Man and woman are both called to live in profound communion through a reciprocal recognition of one another and the mutual gift of themselves, working together for the common good through the complementary aspects of masculinity and femininity.
"Who today can fail to recognize the need to make more room for the 'reasons of the heart?'
"In a world like ours, dominated by technology, we feel the need for this feminine complementarity, so that the human race can live in the world without completely losing its humanity."
Drawing on the examples of two women, Teresa Gomes and Maria Bonino, he observed that in harsh and difficult situations, "it is almost always women who manage to preserve human dignity, to defend the family and to protect cultural and religious values."
Mothers and fathers
The Pope emphasized that "the presence of a mother within the family is so important for the stability and growth of this fundamental cell of society, that it should be recognized, commended and supported in every possible way." He added, "For the same reason, society must hold husbands and fathers accountable for their responsibilities towards their families."
He pointed out, however, "that no human couple, alone and on its own strength, can adequately offer children love and a genuine understanding of life."
There needs to be a higher and more trustworthy authority than parents alone can offer, he affirmed, "which God, through his Son Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, has established within human history, namely the Church."
The Pontiff continued: "We find at work here the eternal and indestructible love which guarantees to each of us that our life will always have meaning, even if we do not know what the future will bring.
"For this reason, the building up of every Christian family takes place within the larger family, the Church, which sustains the domestic family and holds it close to her heart, giving it the assurance that it is protected, now and in the future, by the 'yes' of the Creator."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25445?l=english
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Pope Prays for 2 Young Angolan Stampede Victims
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is grieving with families of the two girls who died Saturday when crushed by a stampede of people trying to see the Pope at the Dos Coqueiros Stadium in Luanda.
The Pope offered prayers for the victims and their families today at the beginning of the Mass with more than one million people in the Cimangola field outside Luanda.
The Pontiff said: "We trust that Jesus embraces them in his kingdom. I express my solidarity with their families and friends, and my deep sorrow because this has happened when they went to see me."
The stampede, which injured 40 people, happened after the stadium's opening for the Pope's meeting with more than 30,000 youth. The news of the deaths was unknown until the after the meeting.
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Spokesman Says Benedict XVI Gives Africa Hope
Notes Pope's Sadness Over Death of Angolan Girls
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Pope gives Africa hope, the Vatican spokesman explained as he made an initial assessment of Benedict XVI's visit to Cameroon and Angola in an interview with Vatican Radio.
Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, commented on the Mass celebrated by the Pope today in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda, in which more than one million people participated.
He reported: "It was a powerful homily. This homily was addressed to the Angolan people and also to all of southern Africa, because all of the bishops of IMBISA [the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa] were present."
The spokesman noted that the Pope "returned with strong emphasis to the gloom, the problems, especially war, but the [he] also opened a great deal to hope."
The Holy Father, the priest continued, "spoke of the values of African culture, of the values that Christianity can bring to Africa to build a Christian life, a Church with specific characteristics: this value of love of life, the sensibility of the family."
"These are all aspects on which the Church too can work in depth to be truly African," he said.
Mourning
The Pontiff also appeared deeply moved by the deaths yesterday of two young girls, who were trampled in the rush to enter Coqueiros Stadium in Luanda, Father Lombardi observed.
He said: "It is true. It is a terribly sad thing that casts a shadow of sadness over yesterday's great celebration. The event, as far as we understand, happened before the meeting, in the rush through the entrances to the stadium."
The priest reported: "In fact, the Pope and his entourage were only informed of this event late in the evening. So, the Pope went through the whole gathering without knowing that this had happened. Then they were told in the evening. The information was a little confused."
He continued: "This morning then it was definitively confirmed and the Pope wanted to show his deep pain at the beginning of Mass with some touching words about the eternal life of the two young girls, but also about his participation in the sorrow of the families, the friends, which was strongly felt because the girls had come precisely to see the Holy Father."
"In the afternoon Cardinal Bertone, in the Holy Father's name, went to the hospital where the two girls' bodies and other wounded people are, to show the Pope's nearness," the spokesman said.
The Holy Father's message was especially directed to the youth, he observed, because "in a few years they will be the ones who will have responsibility for the country and the continent and so the duty is theirs; if they have had adequate formation, if they have chosen the right ideals, the common good instead of personal interests and so on [...] then there will truly be great hope for Africa."
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VATICAN DOSSIER
Preacher Says Spirit Gives New Capacity to Love
Father Cantalamessa Delivers 2nd Lenten Sermon
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Holy Spirit is the new law, working through charity in our hearts to enable us to be faithful to our love for God, says the preacher of the Pontifical Household.
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa said this Friday in his second Lenten sermon for 2009, given to the Curia at the Vatican. The theme of the sermon was " The Law of the Spirit That Gives Life: The Holy Spirit, the New Law of Christians."
Pentecost, he pointed out, was not a new feast for the Jews, who celebrated the gift of the law on Mount Sinai and the covenant, but Jesus came to enrich the day with a new meaning.
The preacher asked, "What is meant by the fact that the Holy Spirit descends on the Church on the very day when Israel commemorated the gift of the law and the covenant?"
He answered that the Spirit descends on the apostles on the day of Pentecost "to point out that he is the new law, the spiritual law that seals the new and eternal covenant and that consecrates the royal and priestly people that are the Church."
Thus, he noted, the "law of the Spirit" is "the law that he inscribes in hearts on Pentecost."
Divine strength
Father Cantalamessa explained: "If it was enough to just proclaim the new will of God through the Gospel, it wouldn't explain what need there was for Jesus to die and the Holy Spirit to come.
"But the apostles themselves demonstrated that it was not enough; even though they heard everything, for example that we need to turn the cheek to those who strike us, during the passion they did not have the strength to follow any of Jesus' commandments."
He affirmed that this "new law that is the Spirit" works through love. He added, "This love is the love with which God loves us and by which, at the same time, we are made capable of loving him and our neighbor [...]; it is a new capacity for love."
The Holy Spirit, noted the preacher, "specifically love, is a 'law,' a 'commandment'" that "creates a dynamism within the Christian which bring him to do everything God wants, spontaneously, without even needing to think about it, because he has made God's will his own and he loves everything that God loves."
Love, he said, "cannot substitute the law," but it observes" it and fulfills it. "In fact," he added, "it is the only force that makes it be observed."
The priest continued: "If it is in fact true that love takes care of the law, it is also true that the law take care of love. In different ways the law is at the service of love and defends it."
He explained: "The man that loves, the more intensely he loves, the more he can see the dangers that his love is in; it is danger that does not come from others but from within himself.
"If fact, he knows well that he is changeable and that tomorrow, alas, he could grow tired and not love anymore.
"And since now that he is in love he sees clearly what an irreparable loss this would be, he guards against it by 'tying himself' to love with the law. In this way he anchors his act of love, which happens in time, to eternity."
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On ZENIT's Web page:
Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25442?l=english
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ANALYSIS
A Question of Life or Death
Church-State Conflicts in the United States
By Father John Flynn, LC
ROME, MARCH 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The election of President Barack Obama in the United States was preceded by an acrimonious debate over whether Catholics could support who some regarded as an anti-life candidate, but whom others defended as being essentially pro-life.
Political campaigns aside, the first weeks of the new administration are revealing a worrying anti-life pattern. Shortly after taking office, Obama repealed an executive order that denied federal government funds to organizations that promote abortion overseas, reported the New York Times on Jan. 24.
The so-called Mexico City policy came into force in 1984 when President Ronald Reagan imposed the ban. President Bill Clinton lifted it a couple of days after taking office in 1993, and then President George W. Bush restored it after he took office in 2001.
Subsequently the nomination of Governor Kathleen Sebelius as head the Department of Health and Human Services raised a storm of controversy. Sebelius, a Catholic, was requested to abstain from presenting herself from receiving Communion last year by Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City due to her support for abortion, reported the KansasCity.com site on May 9, last year.
In his March 6 column for the weekly Catholic newspaper, the Leaven, Archbishop Naumann said that, while recognizing the positive contributions of Sebelius, she "has been an outspoken advocate for legalized abortion."
This was followed by the decision to allow federal funding of research involving embryonic stem cells. Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the U.S. episcopal conference's Committee on Pro-Life Activities, called Obama's executive order on embryonic stem cell research "a sad victory of politics over science and ethics," noted a press release March 9.
Then, on March 18, the news service LifeNews.com reported that the Obama administration is set to send a $50 million check to the United Nations Population Fund. The U.N. body has been accused in the past of supporting the repressive measures of Chinese family planning officials.
Consistent
Often perplexity is expressed at the Catholic Church's supposed stubbornness when it comes to life issues. Critics would not surprised, however, if they bothered to study a bit of Church history.
This is what Dennis Di Mauro points out in his recent book, "A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn," (Wipf and Stock).
In the book's introduction Di Mauro, secretary of the National Pro-Life Religious Council and president of Northern Virginia Lutherans for Life, asserts that Christianity has been, is now, and will be in the future, a pro-life religion.
The first chapters of the book examine the Biblical passages that reveal a pro-life message. Di Mauro then turns to the testimony of the early Fathers of the Church. From the very start of the Church, in writings such as the late first-century Didache, abortion was regarded as immoral.
Apologists, such as the second-century Athenagorus, or the author of the second or third-century Epistle to Diogenetus, also clearly regarded the life in the womb as human, Di Mauro explains.
The Epistle states: "They [Christians] marry as do all others; they beget children, but they do not destroy their offspring."
At the end of the second century Tertullian, in defending Christianity against accusations of infant sacrifice, replied saying that for Christians homicide has been forbidden and that it is not permitted to destroy what has been conceived in the womb. Tertullian also believed that a child received its soul at the moment of conception, Di Mauro notes.
By the fourth century, the book explains, the councils of the Church began to proscribe punishments for those who procured abortions. In fact, transgressors were only re-admitted to the Church on their deathbeds.
In 305 the Synod of Elvira, in Spain, condemned abortion and proscribed excommunication for those who procured abortions.
Culture of Life
Coming forward to the contemporary world the importance of these matters for the Church was well-explained in a book recently published by William Brennan, a professor at the St. Louis University School of Social Science.
In "John Paul II: Confronting the Language Empowering the Culture of Death," (Sapientia Press) he summarized the response of the Pontiff in confronting the frequent attacks on human life.
John Paul II, observed Brennan, placed a great deal of importance on culture, as opposed to politics or economics, as the driving force of history. He also rejected the idea of cultural relativism, and instead anchored culture in human nature.
Brennan noted that the escalating culture of death is the antithesis of what John Paul II considered to be a central ingredient of culture, that is the flourishing of a life of a people.
"According to the mindset intrinsic to the death culture, death itself becomes a way of life imposed on an expanding number of individuals and groups considered expendable," Brennan added.
The Catholic Church regards acts against life as so serious because they are considered intrinsically evil, Brennan explained, citing John Paul II's encyclical, the Gospel of Life.
Another problem highlighted by John Paul II in analyzing the dangers of the culture of death is the consequent damage to the formation of our conscience. Through the use of euphemisms and the obfuscation of the moral reality of the acts committed our moral sensibilities are dulled and the conscience becomes blind or indifferent to the evil being carried out.
This observation led Brennan to comment on the importance John Paul II placed on language in a culture. The success of the culture of death in no small part depends on corrupting language to dehumanize the victims.
Euphemisms
Brennan cited John Paul II who in the encyclical the Gospel of Life said that we need to call things by their proper name and have the courage to look the truth in the eye, not yielding to the temptation of self-deceit.
Therefore, John Paul II insisted that we need to know the truth about the human person and to proclaim that truth without tiring.
A large part of the book by Brennan is dedicated to describing the manipulation of language by the culture of death, and to then looking at how John Paul II in his writings and speeches provided an alternative vision, based on a truthful vision of the human person.
Those defending abortion often employ such terms as the "removal of tissue or cell masses." Or phrases such as "embryonic reduction."
Abortionists, Brennan said citing a variety of documents, even go so far as to portray pregnancy as an illness or defend abortion as the removal of a sort of parasite.
The manipulation of language is particularly prevalent when it comes to the debate over embryonic stem cells, Brennan observed. A combination of dehumanizing the human lives is involved, plus a rhetoric of unbounded hope is used to justify the destruction of human embryos.
Another tactic of the culture of death is to hide behind an appeal to compassion, or to the need to respect the conscience of the person involved. This requires, however, Brennan noted, detaching conscience from God and objective morality.
"No medical solution could be truly compassionate which would violate the natural law and stand in opposition to the revealed truth of the word of God," said John Paul II in an address to anaesthesiologists on Oct. 10, 1988, in a passage cited by Brennan.
In a nihilistic climate that places relative values on human life John Paul II responded with a message that insisted on the value of every human being, concluded Brennan. That challenge of proclaiming the truth about the human person remains a pressing task in the face of current pressures to dehumanize innocent lives.
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ANGELUS
On the Close of the Papal Visit to Africa
"Become Ever More Fully a Leaven of Evangelical Hope"
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today before leading the Angelus at Cimangola field, on the outskirts of Luanda. He led the Marian prayer after a Mass he presided over with bishops of the IMBISA (Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa).
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At the conclusion of our Eucharistic celebration, as my Pastoral Visit to Africa comes to its close, let us now turn to Mary, the Mother of the Redeemer, to implore her loving intercession upon us, our families, and our world.
In this Angelus prayer, we recall Mary's complete "yes" to the will of God. Through Mary's obedience of faith, the Son of God came into the world to bring us forgiveness, salvation and life in abundance. By becoming a man like us in all things but sin, Christ taught us the dignity and worth of each member of the human family. He died for our sins, to gather us together into God's family.
Our prayer rises today from Angola, from Africa, and embraces the whole world. May the men and women from throughout the world who join us in our prayer, turn their eyes to Africa, to this great Continent so filled with hope, yet so thirsty for justice, for peace, for a sound and integral development that can ensure a future of progress and peace for its people.
Today I commend to your prayers the work of preparation for the coming Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, scheduled to meet in October. Inspired by faith in God and trust in Christ's promises, may the Catholics of this Continent become ever more fully a leaven of evangelical hope for all people of good will who love Africa, who are committed to the material and spiritual advancement of its children, and the spread of freedom, prosperity, justice and solidarity in the pursuit of the common good.
May Mary, Queen of Peace, continue to guide Angola's people in the task of national reconciliation following the devastating and inhuman experience of the civil war. May her prayers obtain for all Angolans the grace of authentic forgiveness, respect for others, and cooperation which alone can carry forward the immense work of rebuilding. May the Holy Mother of God, who points us to her Son, our brother, remind Christians everywhere of our duty to love our neighbor, to be peacemakers, to be the first to forgive those who have sinned against us, even as we have been forgiven.
Here in Southern Africa, let us ask our Lady in a particular way to intercede for peace, the conversion of hearts, and an end to the conflict in the neighboring Great Lakes region. May her Son, the Prince of Peace, bring healing to the suffering, consolation to those who mourn, and strength to all who carry forward the difficult process of dialogue, negotiation and the cessation of violence.
With this confidence, then, we now turn to Mary, our Mother, and, in reciting this Angelus prayer, let us pray for the peace and salvation of the whole human family.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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DOCUMENTS at ZENIT Web Page
Lenten Sermon
VATICAN CITY, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- A translation of the second Lenten sermon for 2009 of Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher of the Pontifical Household, which he gave Friday at the Vatican in the presence of the Curia, is available on ZENIT's Web page.
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Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25442?l=english
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DOCUMENTS
Benedict XVI's Homily at Mass in Cimangola
"Begin Today to Grow in Your Friendship With Jesus"
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the homily Benedict XVI gave today to at a Mass he presided over with bishops of the IMBISA (Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa), held in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda.
* * *
Dear Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). These words fill us with joy and hope, as we await the fulfillment of God's promises! Today it is my particular joy, as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, to celebrate this Mass with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ from throughout Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, and so many other countries. With great affection in the Lord I greet the Catholic communities from Luanda, Bengo, Cabinda, Benguela, Huambo, Huìla, Kuàndo Kubàngo, Kunène, North Kwanza, South Kwanza, North Lunda, South Lunda, Malanje, Namibe, Moxico, Uíje and Zàire.
In a special way, I greet my brother Bishops, the members of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, assembled around this altar of the Lord's sacrifice. I thank the President of CEAST, Archbishop Damião Franklin, for his kind words of welcome, and, in the person of their Pastors, I greet all the faithful in the nations of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.
Today's first reading has a particular resonance for God's people in Angola. It is a message of hope addressed to the Chosen People in the land of their Exile, a summons to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord's Temple. Its vivid description of the destruction and ruin caused by war echoes the personal experience of so many people in this country amid the terrible ravages of the civil war. How true it is that war can "destroy everything of value" (cf. 2 Chr 36:19): families, whole communities, the fruit of men's labor, the hopes which guide and sustain their lives and work! This experience is all too familiar to Africa as a whole: the destructive power of civil strife, the descent into a maelstrom of hatred and revenge, the squandering of the efforts of generations of good people. When God's word -- a word meant to build up individuals, communities and the whole human family -- is neglected, and when God's law is "ridiculed, despised, laughed at" (ibid., v. 16), the result can only be destruction and injustice: the abasement of our common humanity and the betrayal of our vocation to be sons and daughters of a merciful Father, brothers and sisters of his beloved Son.
So let us draw comfort from the consoling words which we have heard in the first reading! The call to return and rebuild God's Temple has a particular meaning for each of us. Saint Paul, the two thousandth anniversary of whose birth we celebrate this year, tells us that "we are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor 6:16). God dwells, we know, in the hearts of all who put their faith in Christ, who are reborn in Baptism and are made temples of the Holy Spirit. Even now, in the unity of the Body of Christ which is the Church, God is calling us to acknowledge the power of his presence within us, to reappropriate the gift of his love and forgiveness, and to become messengers of that merciful love within our families and communities, at school and in the workplace, in every sector of social and political life.
Here in Angola, this Sunday has been set aside as a day of prayer and sacrifice for national reconciliation. The Gospel teaches us that reconciliation, true reconciliation, can only be the fruit of conversion, a change of heart, a new way of thinking. It teaches us that only the power of God's love can change our hearts and make us triumph over the power of sin and division. When we were "dead through our sins" (Eph 2:5), his love and mercy brought us reconciliation and new life in Christ. This is the heart of the Apostle Paul's teaching, and it is important for us to remind ourselves: only God's grace can create a new heart in us! Only his love can change our "hearts of stone" (cf. Ezek 11:19) and enable us to build up, rather than tear down. Only God can make all things new!
It is to preach this message of forgiveness, hope and new life in Christ that I have come to Africa. Three days ago, in Yaoundé, I had the joy of promulgating the Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, which will be devoted to the theme: The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. I ask you today, in union with all our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, to pray for this intention: that every Christian on this great continent will experience the healing touch of God's merciful love, and that the Church in Africa will become "for all, through the witness borne by its sons and daughters, a place of true reconciliation" (Ecclesia in Africa, 79).
Dear friends, this is the message that the Pope is bringing to you and your children. You have received power from the Holy Spirit to be the builders of a better tomorrow for your beloved country. In Baptism you were given the Spirit in order to be heralds of God's Kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace (cf. Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King). On the day of your Baptism you received the light of Christ. Be faithful to that gift! Be confident that the Gospel can affirm, purify and ennoble the profound human values present in your native culture and traditions: your strong families, your deep religious sense, your joyful celebration of the gift of life, your appreciation of the wisdom of the elderly and the aspirations of the young. Be grateful, then, for the light of Christ! Be grateful for those who brought it, the generations of missionaries who contributed -- and continue to contribute -- so much to this country's human and spiritual development. Be grateful for the witness of so many Christian parents, teachers, catechists, priests and religious, who made personal sacrifices in order to pass this precious treasure down to you! And take up the challenge which this great legacy sets before you. Realize that the Church, in Angola and throughout Africa, is meant to be a sign before the world of that unity to which the whole human family is called, through faith in Christ the Redeemer.
The words which Jesus speaks in today's Gospel are quite striking: He tells us that God's sentence has already been pronounced upon this world (cf. Jn 3:19ff). The light has already come into the world. Yet men preferred the darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil. How much darkness there is in so many parts of our world! Tragically, the clouds of evil have also overshadowed Africa, including this beloved nation of Angola. We think of the evil of war, the murderous fruits of tribalism and ethnic rivalry, the greed which corrupts men's hearts, enslaves the poor, and robs future generations of the resources they need to create a more equitable and just society -- a society truly and authentically African in its genius and values. And what of that insidious spirit of selfishness which closes individuals in upon themselves, breaks up families, and, by supplanting the great ideals of generosity and self-sacrifice, inevitably leads to hedonism, the escape into false utopias through drug use, sexual irresponsibility, the weakening of the marriage bond and the break-up of families, and the pressure to destroy innocent human life through abortion?
Yet the word of God is a word of unbounded hope. "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son ... so that through him, the world might be saved" (Jn 3:16-17). God does not give up on us! He continues to lift our eyes to a future of hope, and he promises us the strength to accomplish it. As Saint Paul tells us in today's second reading, God created us in Christ Jesus "to live the good life", a life of good deeds, in accordance with his will (cf. Eph 2:10). He gave us his commandments, not as a burden, but as a source of freedom: the freedom to become men and women of wisdom, teachers of justice and peace, people who believe in others and seek their authentic good. God created us to live in the light, and to be light for the world around us! This is what Jesus tells us in today's Gospel: "The man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God" (Jn 3:21).
"Live", then, "by the truth!" Radiate the light of faith, hope and love in your families and communities! Be witnesses of the holy truth that sets men and women free! You know from bitter experience that, in comparison with the sudden, destructive fury of evil, the work of rebuilding is painfully slow and arduous. Living by the truth takes time, effort and perseverance: it has to begin in our own hearts, in the small daily sacrifices required if we are to be faithful to God's law, in the little acts by which we demonstrate that we love our neighbors, all our neighbors, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, and by our readiness to work with them to build together on foundations that will endure. Let your parishes become communities where the light of God's truth and the power of Christ's reconciling love are not only celebrated, but proclaimed in concrete works of charity. And do not be afraid! Even if it means being a "sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34) in the face of hardened attitudes and a mentality that sees others as a means to be used, rather than as brothers and sisters to be loved, cherished and helped along the path of freedom, life and hope.
Let me close by addressing a special word to the young people of Angola, and to all young people throughout Africa. Dear young friends: you are the hope of your country's future, the promise of a better tomorrow! Begin today to grow in your friendship with Jesus, who is "the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6): a friendship nurtured and deepened by humble and persevering prayer. Seek his will for you by listening to his word daily, and by allowing his law to shape your lives and your relationships. In this way you will become wise and generous prophets of God's saving love. Become evangelizers of your own peers, leading them by your own example to an appreciation of the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and the hope of a future shaped by the values of God's Kingdom. The Church needs your witness! Do not be afraid to respond generously to God's call, whether it be to serve him as a priest or a religious, as a Christian parent, or in the many forms of service to others which the Church sets before you.
Dear brothers and sisters! At the end of today's first reading, Cyrus, King of Persia, inspired by God, calls the Chosen People to return to their beloved land and to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. May his words be a summons to all God's People in Angola and throughout Southern Africa: Arise! Ponde-vos a caminho! (cf. 2 Chr 36:23) Look to the future with hope, trust in God's promises, and live in his truth. In this way, you will build something destined to endure, and leave to future generations a lasting inheritance of reconciliation, justice and peace. Amen.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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Pope's Address to Movements on Promotion of Women
"We Feel the Need for This Feminine Complementarity"
LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today to members of Catholic movements at a meeting on the promotion of women in Santo António Parish of Luanda.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
"They have no more wine," said Mary, begging Jesus to intervene so that the wedding-feast could continue, as was only right and fitting: "As long as the wedding guests have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast" (Mk 2:19). The Mother of Jesus turns to the servants and implores them: "Do whatever he tells you" (cf. Jn 2:1-5). Her maternal mediation thus made possible the "good wine," prefiguring a new covenant between divine omnipotence and the poor but receptive human heart. This, in fact, had already happened in the past when -- as we heard in the first reading -- "all the people answered together and said: 'all that the Lord has spoken, we will do'" (Ex 19:8).
These same words well up in the hearts of all gathered here today in Saint Anthony's Church: a building which we owe to the commendable missionary efforts of the Capuchin Friars Minor, who wanted to provide a new Tent for the Ark of the Covenant, the sign of God's presence among his pilgrim people. To them, to those who work alongside them, and to all who benefit from their spiritual and social assistance, the Pope imparts his blessing with warm words of encouragement. I greet with affection all those present: Bishops, priests, religious men and women, and particularly the lay faithful who consciously embrace the duties of Christian commitment and witness that flow from the Sacrament of Baptism and also -- in the case of spouses -- from the Sacrament of Marriage. Moreover, given the main purpose of our gathering today, I extend greetings of great affection and hope to all women, to whom God has entrusted the wellsprings of life: I invite you to live and to put your trust in life, because the living God has put his trust in you! With gratitude in my heart I also greet the leaders and facilitators of ecclesial movements that have made the promotion of Angolan women a priority. I thank Archbishop José de Queirós Alves and your representatives for their kind words and for drawing attention to the aspirations and hopes of so many of the silent heroines among the women of this beloved nation.
I call everyone to an effective awareness of the adverse conditions to which many women have been -- and continue to be -- subjected, paying particular attention to ways in which the behavior and attitudes of men, who at times show a lack of sensitivity and responsibility, may be to blame. This forms no part of God's plan. In the Scripture reading, we heard that the entire people cried out together: "all that the Lord has spoken, we will do!" Sacred Scripture tells us that the divine Creator, looking upon all he had made, saw that something was missing: everything would have been fine if man had not been alone! How could one man by himself constitute the image and likeness of God who is one and three, God who is communion? "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). God went to work again, fashioning for the man the helper he still lacked, and endowing this helper in a privileged way by incorporating the order of love, which had seemed under-represented in creation.
As you know, my dear friends, this order of love belongs to the intimate life of God himself, the Trinitarian life, the Holy Spirit being the personal hypostasis of love. As my predecessor Pope John Paul II once wrote, "in God's eternal plan, woman is the one in whom the order of love in the created world of persons takes first root" (Mulieris Dignitatem, 29). In fact, gazing upon the captivating charm that radiates from woman due to the inner grace God has given her, the heart of man is enlightened and he sees himself reflected in her: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen 2:23). Woman is another "I" who shares in the same human nature. We must therefore recognize, affirm and defend the equal dignity of man and woman: they are both persons, utterly unique among all the living beings found in the world.
Man and woman are both called to live in profound communion through a reciprocal recognition of one another and the mutual gift of themselves, working together for the common good through the complementary aspects of masculinity and femininity. Who today can fail to recognize the need to make more room for the "reasons of the heart"? In a world like ours, dominated by technology, we feel the need for this feminine complementarity, so that the human race can live in the world without completely losing its humanity. Think of all the places afflicted by great poverty or devastated by war, and of all the tragic situations resulting from migrations, forced or otherwise. It is almost always women who manage to preserve human dignity, to defend the family and to protect cultural and religious values.
Dear brothers and sisters, history records almost exclusively the accomplishments of men, when in fact much of it is due to the determined, unrelenting and charitable action of women. Of all the many extraordinary women, allow me to mention two in particular: Teresa Gomes and Maria Bonino. The first, an Angolan, died in 2004 in the city of Sumbe after a happily married life in which she gave birth to seven children; she was a woman of unswerving Christian faith and exemplary apostolic zeal. This was particularly evident during the years 1975 and 1976 when fierce ideological and political propaganda invaded the parish of Our Lady of Grace of Porto Amboim, almost forcing the doors of the church to close. Teresa then became the leader of the faithful who refused to bend under pressure. Teresa offered support, courageously protecting the parish structures and trying every possible means to restore the celebration of Mass. Her love for the Church made her indefatigable in the work of evangelization, under the direction of the priests.
Maria Bonino was an Italian pediatrician who offered her expertise as a volunteer in several missions throughout this beloved African continent. She became the head of the pediatric ward in the provincial hospital at Uíje during the last two years of her life. Caring for the daily needs of thousands of children who were patients there, Maria paid the ultimate price for her service by sacrificing her life during the terrible epidemic of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever, to which she herself succumbed. She was transferred to Luanda for treatment, but she died and was laid to rest here on 24 March 2005 -- the day after tomorrow is her fourth anniversary. Church and society have been -- and continue to be -- enormously enriched by the presence and virtues of women, and in a particular way by consecrated religious who, relying on the Lord's grace, have placed themselves at the service of others.
Dear Angolans, since the dignity of women is equal to that of men, no one today should doubt that women have "a full right to become actively involved in all areas of public life, and this right must be affirmed and guaranteed, also, where necessary, through appropriate legislation. This acknowledgment of the public role of women should not however detract from their unique role within the family. Here their contribution to the welfare and progress of society, even if its importance is not sufficiently appreciated, is truly incalculable" (Message for the 1995 World Day of Peace, 9). Moreover, a woman's personal sense of dignity is not primarily the result of juridically defined rights, but rather the direct consequence of the material and spiritual care she receives in the bosom of the family. The presence of a mother within the family is so important for the stability and growth of this fundamental cell of society, that it should be recognized, commended and supported in every possible way. For the same reason, society must hold husbands and fathers accountable for their responsibilities towards their families.
Dear families, you have undoubtedly noticed that no human couple, alone and on its own strength, can adequately offer children love and a genuine understanding of life. In fact, in order to say to someone, "your life is good even though you don't know what the future will bring", there needs to be a higher and more trustworthy authority than parents alone can offer. Christians know that this higher authority has been given to the larger family which God, through his Son Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, has established within human history, namely the Church. We find at work here the eternal and indestructible love which guarantees to each of us that our life will always have meaning, even if we do not know what the future will bring. For this reason, the building up of every Christian family takes place within the larger family, the Church, which sustains the domestic family and holds it close to her heart, giving it the assurance that it is protected, now and in the future, by the "yes" of the Creator.
"They have no more wine" -- Mary says to Jesus. Dear women of Angola, accept Mary as your advocate with the Lord. This is precisely how we see her at the wedding-feast of Cana: a tender woman, full of motherly care and courage, a woman who recognizes the needs of others and, wanting to help, places those needs before the Lord. If we stay close to her, we can all -- men and women alike -- recover that sense of serenity and deep trust that makes us feel blessed by God and undaunted in our struggle for life. May Our Lady of Muxima be the guiding star of your lives. May she keep all of you united in the great family of God. Amen.
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
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