Saturday, May 30, 2009

ZE090530

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 30, 2009

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LETTERS TO THE EDITORS
Dan Brown and Artistic License
A Difficult Commencement
Kudos for Bishop Finn
Daly for President
Affirming Laity's Role

Letters to the Editors

Dan Brown and Artistic License

A response to: More to Rome Than Angels and Demons; a True Story

I thoroughly enjoy the historical approach to sacred art in Elizabeth's articles, and also appreciate her scholarly and incisive writing style. This article is no different, and applies the same criteria to a modern day issue, represented in the person of Dan Brown.

I think Elizabeth's basic question of artistic license, together with artistic responsibility, is part of the matter at hand. How cavalier can we be with history? I think an answer lies with a quote from the world famous English historian, Lord Acton: "If history cannot confer faith and virtue, it can clear away the misconceptions and misunderstandings that turn men against each other." Unfortunately, Dan Brown works in direct opposition to this philosophy and people suffer real historical consequences.

Fr. Derek Anderson
Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity
Rome, Italy

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A Difficult Commencement

A response to: Notre Dame's Mistake

I am grateful for Bishop D'Arcy. We were determined to focus on celebrating our son's graduation from Notre Dame. For the most part we did so. However, it was very painful for us during Jenkin's and Obama's speeches. Praying the rosary while sitting in the Joyce Center helped. But witnessing the cheering from so many [...] was very disturbing. How could so many actually believe what was said, knowing the first thing Obama did was to sign into law the using of our tax dollars to fund abortions in Mexico?

It was also sad how many at Notre Dame are not upset that Obama is using them to promote socialism -- by appealing to their Catholic compassion. Jesus never said helping others was to be carried out by governments using taxpayer dollars. I am disappointed the issue of socialism was not discussed along with abortion. Pray for Notre Dame and the USA.

Jean Quinn

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Kudos for Bishop Finn

A response to: Bishop Says Obama's Address Halted Dialogue

Praise God for Bishop Finn. Would that all our prelates came out so forcefully and maybe Catholics would learn just what our Church stands for. It is completely refreshing to see this bishop so vocal while so many of our bishops hide in their expensive rectories and ignore election after election what is going on in our country.

Joann Butler

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Daly for President

A response to: Notre Dame's Watershed Moment

Mary Daly has proven herself to be an exceptional Christian and Catholic leader. She conducted herself well and was a source of sober and wise reflection during this serious crisis. She put Jenkins and McBrien to shame. I nominate her for the positions of Notre Dame president and theology department chair!

Nancy Heise

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Affirming Laity's Role

A response to: Benedict XVI: Church Needs Change of Mentality

Thank you, Holy Father, for affirming lay people in our sharing in the dignity of God's People and in the responsibility of building up the Church!

Thank you, too, for affirming what it means to be Church -- not only as a community of persons but as a people called by the Father in Christ Jesus.

Especially here in the Philippines, where majority of the population is Catholic, we hope that this awakening of the laity to our unique and important role, and our embracing of it, will lead to a more vibrant Church.

Stephen Borja

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Friday, May 29, 2009

ZE090529

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 29, 2009

Thank you for helping us!

VATICAN DOSSIER
Crisis Could Turn Into "Catastrophe," Says Pope
Mongolia Noted as Example of Religious Liberty
Attacks Against Christians Trouble Pontiff
Pontiff: Church Trusts in Man's Heart, Mind

WORLD FEATURES
Making Friends With the Holy See
Cardinal Stands Up for Priestly Celibacy

NEWS BRIEFS
Christians Gather for Peace Prayer in Holy Land

DOCUMENTS
Papal Address to Envoy From India
Benedict XVI's Address to Mongolian Envoy

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Crisis Could Turn Into "Catastrophe," Says Pope

Urges Rich Nations to Increase Aid to Developing Ones

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The current economic and social crisis could lead to a "catastrophe" if richer nations don't come to the aid of poorer ones, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope said this today upon receiving the letters of credence from eight new ambassadors to the Holy See. The envoys present represented Mongolia, India, Benin, New Zealand, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Namibia and Norway.

He warned those present of the dangers of inequality, and the conflicts it sparks.

Speaking to the eight in French, the Pontiff noted that "in the midst of a worldwide social and economic crisis, it is necessary regain an awareness of the need to struggle in the most effective manner to establish true peace, with the aim of constructing a more just and prosperous world."

He said injustices "represent attacks against peace and create a grave risk of conflict," and that peace "cannot be built except by intervening firmly to eliminate the inequality engendered by unjust systems, and so allowing everyone a standard of living that enables them to live a dignified and prosperous existence."

Benedict XVI said the current economic crisis has particularly affected low-income countries. He noted such negative effects include "the tailing off of foreign investment, the fall in demand for raw materials and the tendency for international aid to diminish," as well as "the drop in remittances of emigrants, likewise victims of the recession, which also affects their host countries."

The Pontiff warned that the current crisis could become a "catastrophe," especially for poorer nations, as "desperation" leads people to undertake "individual or collective acts of violence that can further destabilize already-weakened societies."

One suggestion made by the Pope was for richer nations to increase aid to poorer ones, rather than cutting it, "so that the neediest countries are able to sustain their economies and consolidate social measures designed to protect the most needy sectors of the population."

He also launched an appeal for "greater fraternity and solidarity, and real global generosity," and for "developed countries to rediscover a sense of proportion and sobriety in their economies and lifestyles."

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Mongolia Noted as Example of Religious Liberty

Pontiff Receives Envoy From Former Communist Country

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI called Mongolia an example of religious liberty when he received the country's new ambassador to the Holy See.

The Pope said this today in a written statement he gave to Danzannorov Boldbaatar. The Pontiff received the envoy in an audience together with seven other ambassadors representing Mongolia, Benin, New Zealand, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Namibia and Norway. He addressed the eight as a group, and then gave each one a written statement that addressed concerns particular to each county.

In his address to Boldbaatar, the Holy Father noted that Mongolia's constitution, introduced in 1992, recognizes religious liberty as a "fundamental right."

"This fundamental human right, enshrined in Mongolia's Constitution and upheld by its citizens as conducive to the full development of the human person, allows them to search for the truth, engage in dialogue and fulfill their duty to worship God immune from any undue coercion," the Pontiff said.

"Peoples who practice religious tolerance have an obligation to share the wisdom of this tenet with the entire human family, so that all men and women might perceive the beauty of tranquil co-existence and have the courage to build a society that respects human dignity and acts upon the divine injunction to love one's neighbor," he added.

After the fall of Communism in the early 1990s, the first Catholic missionaries -- a Belgian and two Filipinos -- arrived to Mongolia, where few people had heard of Jesus Christ. The Holy See established diplomatic relations with the formally Communist country in 1992.

Today the Church in Mongolia consists of one apostolic prefecture in Ulan Bator. An apostolic prefecture is generally the first step toward the establishment of a diocese.

Bishop Wenceslao Padilla of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary leads the apostolic prefecture, which reports about 100 baptisms a year.

Benedict XVI assured that the Catholic community, "though still small in Mongolia, is eager to offer its assistance in fostering interreligious dialogue, promoting development, expanding educational opportunities, and furthering the noble goals that strengthen the solidarity of the human family and turn its gaze to the action of the divine in the world. While recognizing the due autonomy of the political community, the Catholic Church is compelled to cooperate with civil society in ways suitable to the circumstances of the time and place in which the two find themselves living together."

Tibetan Buddhism is the most widely practiced religion in the country. Forty percent of Mongolians say they are atheists.

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-26029?l=english

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Attacks Against Christians Trouble Pontiff

Notes Concern When Greeting India's Ambassador

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI expressed his desire that everyone should enjoy religious freedom in a message written for the new ambassador from India, where Christians were the object of a wave of violence last year in the eastern state of Orissa.

The Pope said this today in a written statement he gave to Chitra Narayanan. The Pontiff received the envoy in an audience together with seven other ambassadors representing Mongolia, Benin, New Zealand, South Africa, Burkina Faso, Namibia and Norway. He addressed the eight as a group, and then gave each one a written statement that addressed concerns particular to each county.

In his message to Narayanan, the Holy Father said that "as Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Church, I join religious and governmental leaders throughout the world who share a common desire that all members of the human family enjoy the freedom to practice religion and engage in civil life without fear of adverse repercussions on account of their beliefs."

"I therefore cannot help but express my deep concern for Christians who have suffered from outbreaks of violence in some areas within your borders," he said.

Ongoing Hindu-Christian tensions flared into a wave of violence last August after Hindu extremists in Orissa blamed the slaying of a Hindu leader on Christians. Dozens of Christians, including a priest, were killed, and more than 54,000 fled their homes. Thousands of them are still living in displacement camps.

The violence spread to more than 392 towns, where some 5,000 houses, 149 churches, and 40 schools were destroyed or burned to the ground.

Benedict XVI recognized the government's efforts "to provide the afflicted with shelter and assistance, relief and rehabilitation, as well as for the measures taken to implement criminal investigations and fair judicial processes to resolve these issues."

"I appeal to all to show respect for human dignity by rejecting hatred and renouncing violence in all its forms," he added.

The Pontiff continued: "For her part, the Catholic Church in your country will continue to play a role promoting peace, harmony and reconciliation between followers of all religions, especially through education and formation in the virtues of justice, forbearance and charity.

"Indeed, this is the inherent goal of all genuine forms of education since -- in conformity with the dignity of the human person and the call of all men and women to live in community -- they aim at cultivating moral virtues and preparing young people to embrace their social responsibilities with a refined sensibility for what is good, just and noble."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web site:

Full text: www.zenit.org/article-26030?l=english

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Pontiff: Church Trusts in Man's Heart, Mind

Says Showing This Trust Is Key Mission

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- With relativism and nihilism influencing culture, one of the Church's principal contributions should be bearing witness to trust in life and in the human person, his reason and his capacity to love, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope affirmed this Thursday when he received participants in the general assembly of the Italian episcopal conference, who were gathered in their general assembly that ended today.

Taking up a theme he has previously discussed with the Italian bishops, the Holy Father considered elements of the "educational emergency." The theme of the bishops' assembly also centered on this issue.

"At a time in which relativistic and nihilistic concepts of life exercise a powerful enticement, a time in which the very legitimacy of education is placed in doubt, the principal contribution we can make is that of bearing witness to our trust in life and in man, in his reason and in his capacity to love," he said.

"The difficulty in forming authentic Christians interweaves and melds with the difficulty of creating responsible and mature men and women," he added, according to the Vatican Information Service.

And, the Bishop of Rome contended, in order to shape a process of overall development, there needs to be at the core of educational projects "an awareness of truth and goodness, and free adherence to these values."

Moreover, there is a need not only for good curricula but also for authoritative educators, the Pontiff asserted.

"A true educator places himself in the front line and knows how to unite authority and exemplarity in the task of educating those entrusted to his care. We ourselves are aware of this, having been given the role of guides among the People of God, guides whom the Apostle Peter invites to tend God's sheep and to 'be examples to the flock," he noted.

The Pope then referred to the forthcoming Year for Priests, recalling how priestly ministry "is a service to the Church and to Christian people, requiring a profound spirituality [...] nourished by prayer and by intense personal union with the Lord, in order to be able to serve our brothers and sisters through preaching, the sacraments, orderly community life and help for the poor. All priestly ministry reveals [...] the importance of commitment to education, so that people may grow freely and responsibly as mature and conscientious Christians."

Loaning hope

Benedict XVI went on to consider the economic crisis that "has hit the global community so hard. [...] Despite the measures taken at various levels, the social effects of the crisis are still being felt, and seriously felt, especially by the weakest strata of society and by families"

The Pope mentioned the fact that collections raised at Mass next Sunday will be used for the "Loan of Hope" initiative, a program for families affected by the crisis, which he described as "an eloquent testimony of the mutual sharing of burdens, […] a moving announcement of the interior conversion generated by the Gospel and a touching expression of ecclesial communion."

Finally, the Holy Father considered a particular form of ecclesiastical charity in Italy: "intellectual" charity, of which "one significant example is the commitment to promote a widespread mentality in support of life in its every aspect and moment, with particular concern for lives marked by conditions of fragility and precariousness."

"Thus," the Pontiff concluded, "our minds return to the central theme of your assembly -- the urgent task of education -- which must be rooted in the Word of God and requires spiritual discernment, cultural and social programs, and gratuitous and united witness."

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WORLD FEATURES

Making Friends With the Holy See

Symposium Considers 25 Years of US Diplomatic Relations

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The United States is interested in keeping and developing its diplomatic relations with the Holy See for three principal reasons, according to former U.S. ambassador Mary Ann Glendon.

Glendon offered her reflections on motives for formal relations between the two entities at a daylong symposium held Thursday at the Catholic University of America. The conference marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of these relations, when President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II formalized them Jan. 10, 1984.

Glendon, who is also the president of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences and a Harvard professor, said that relations with the Holy See have come to be "especially valuable to the United States," and offered her suggestions on "why it is likely to remain so in the future."

"The first reason is simply that the Holy See's sphere of concern, like that of the United States, is worldwide," the former ambassador explained. Citing Colin Powell, she added, "Both of us think and act globally and that makes for a unique partnership."

There are "important common commitments, global commitments, enduring commitments" shared by the two states, Glendon contended. And she listed a common pledge to "human rights, especially religious freedom, to strengthening the global moral consensus against terrorism, especially against the use of religion as a pretext for violence, to fostering interreligious dialogue and to working for peace in the Middle East and other troubled areas of the world."

The professor went on to maintain that a strong link could be expected between two entities that share a "common commitment to the relief of poverty, hunger, disease among the poorest peoples of the world, and the poorest countries of the world."

"If you think about it, it is only natural that a partnership should have arisen between the country that is the world's largest and most generous donor of humanitarian aid and the Holy See, which oversees the world's largest network of health care, educational and relief agencies," she remarked.

Listening and speaking

Offering a second reason for the importance of relations with the Holy See, Glendon said that the Holy See is "regarded as what diplomats call an important listening post." This, she explained, is due to the Church's "350,000 educational, charitable aid agencies, health care agencies all over the world," and its "network of parishes, parish priests, dioceses, bishops, missionaries, religious sisters all over the world."

"This gives the Holy See access to types of information that are difficult for most countries to obtain -- information about what is really going on in the capillaries of society," she commented.

Finally, the pontifical academy president said another reason can be offered, one that is "increasingly important as our world has become more interdependent."

"In this age of rapid communications, the Holy See has come to be recognized not only as a great listening post, but as a great, important, influential communicator. It possesses a widely respected moral voice," Glendon declared. "As they say, 'When the Pope speaks the world listens.' And since that voice carries so many of the values to which the United States also is dedicated, this provides yet another reason to treasure our diplomatic relationship."

Hard to come by

Nevertheless, as attested by an address from New York's Archbishop Timothy Dolan, the fact that the United States and the Holy See share formal diplomatic relations is only thanks to literally centuries of effort, dating back to the very beginnings of the United States as a nation.

Contacts were "awkward at the start," as the United States established itself as a state, the archbishop explained. Superiors in Rome were initially concerned about the health of the Church in this new country.

The model the fledging state was developing for relations between Church and state was also unique. Archbishop Dolan noted how Benjamin Franklin responded to a request from Rome that there was no need to involve Congress in dictating who would govern the Church in the United States.

Nevertheless, there was no easy road to follow in order to establish a good relationship.

Rome wanted early on "more stable contact" with both the Church in the United States and with the government, "hopefully in the person of an apostolic delegate," the prelate said.

But, anti-Catholicism in the United States was part of the obstacle, he pointed out, as could be seen with the tour of a papal diplomat in 1853, who after mob harassment eventually had to be escorted in disguise to a departing ship in the New York harbor.

Several presidents were able to maintain contact with Rome through the figures of "personal envoys." Then finally, in 1984, Archbishop Dolan explained, a turnaround came about: "Undoubtedly the immense prestige of Pope John Paul II and the obvious influence of the Holy See in world affairs muted criticism," and President Reagan was able to formalize ties with the Holy See.

"From the Holy See's point of view, the establishment of the pontifical mission in Washington has been very successful," the prelate said. "Since the earliest days of the new Republic, due to distance, the novel political arrangement, the American penchant for freedom, and the unreliability of communication, Rome has been ever eager for stable, personal representation. […]

"The development [of] influence of the United States in world affairs made such a mission all the more important so that the exchange of ambassadors and nuncio in 1984 proved very satisfactory. And to the United States as well, even critics had to acknowledge the Holy See's impact on world events in the mid 1980s when diplomatic relations were formalized and to admit that it was probably in America's self interest to have exchanged ambassadors."

"It may have taken a while to get there," he concluded, "but it has sure been worth it."

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On the Net:

Archbishop Dolan's full account of the history of U.S.-Holy See relations and Mary Ann Glendon's address: http://digitalmedia.cua.edu//calendar/event_dsp.cfm?event=4707

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Cardinal Stands Up for Priestly Celibacy

Lima Prelate Says Notre Dame Is "Confused"

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Scandals that arise when priests fail to live celibacy are not just about priestly discipline, but rather about a failed understanding of human love, says the cardinal archbishop of Lima, Peru.

ZENIT spoke with Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani about two recent scandals regarding priestly celibacy that have attracted the attention of the American continent -- Paraguayan President Fernando Lugo who admitted he fathered a child while still a bishop, and Miami Father Alberto Cutié who converted to the Episcopalian church this week after photos of him with a woman were circulated.

"I think that we shouldn't speak just of these two cases, of celibacy, but of human love in general," Cardinal Cipriani suggested, affirming that "Deus Caritas Est" explains it well. "The Pope explains to us with great detail how this love, which begins in this movement of 'eros' becomes 'agape.'"

Noting how God defines love clearly, not just with words, but also with the sacrifice of his Son, the cardinal added that today, "in not wanting to accept suffering, the sacrifice that life brings, love is killed and what remains? Sexual possession. The capacity of suffering has been amputated because of fear, cowardice, mediocrity, because only success and pleasure are sought.

"We have killed the plant that arises from suffering, which is love, and therefore in many human relationships, family relationships, a totally material relationship arises, in which practically, the integrity of the person is not involved. When this materialism takes over human relationships, then the man and the woman become objects of a sexual experience […], this experience loses its stability, comes and goes, doesn't produce that joy of surrender because it does not come from suffering or sacrifice, and when a sickness comes or an economic problem or a fight … marriages break in the same way as these cases, like Lugo or Father Cutié, who in the moment of feeling a sacrifice greater than their strengths, break the promise they've made."

The cardinal affirmed that priests, as well as married people, are asked to live chastity.

"There is a conjugal chastity and there is chastity in celibacy," he said. "One who knows how to love and who has the experience of a healthy and stable matrimonial love knows what I'm talking about. It is the same that the Church offers to those of us who give up everything for the love of God. It is not more or less difficult, but this product of this love today is hard to find, and therefore, in a materialistic and slightly hedonistic world, it is difficult to explain celibacy, which is a treasure of the Church."

Obama's doctorate

ZENIT also asked Cardinal Cipriani what he thought of this month's turmoil over the decision by Notre Dame University to bestow an honorary doctorate on the U.S. president, despite Barack Obama's staunch support of abortion rights and other anti-life issues.

The cardinal answered that Catholic identity is not a decision of a particular university or a rector or education official, but rather is something given by the Church itself.

He explained: "What cannot be done and what is not done in any institution is to say 'this automobile is a Toyota,' if the Toyota manufacturer does not put his brand on it.

"I think there is a need for a little more clarity and authority. Clarity from those who are responsible for being able to say: 'If you don't want to be Catholic, then don't be.' But what we can't do is sell a ruined product. To think that parents and their kids go to a university that has the title of 'Catholic' and then it turns out that it teaches what is contrary to the faith. This is a confusion or an abuse. I think the Church has the duty to call things by their name."

Cardinal Cipriani said it seems a "provocation to give Catholic homage to a president who in the first 100 days has boosted abortion, gay marriage, investigations with embryonic cells, and an entire anti-life agenda. It does not seem to me that he is the most adequate person to receive recognition from the University of Notre Dame, which, by the way, has been greatly confused for some years now."

The prelate suggested that this type of controversy has been around since the beginning of the Church, with the difference that before, "those who dissented left the Church; today they stay within, and this seems to me that it requires of us, for love of the Church, a bit more firmness."

He offered the Holy Father as an example: "We see with what clarity and love for the truth Benedict XVI has returned from the Holy Land. With what joy, with what clarity he has taken up the themes that seemed difficult, from the political point of view, but he has handled them from the point of view of what a pilgrimage of peace wants, a vicar of Christ. They love him more and more. He is more and more a leader who illuminates more this world that is in darkness."

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NEWS BRIEFS

Christians Gather for Peace Prayer in Holy Land

JERUSALEM, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Christian communities of Jerusalem will gather this weekend to launch a campaign to promote prayer for reconciliation, unity and peace in the Holy Land.

The first prayer event will take place Saturday evening in Jerusalem at the Syrian Orthodox Church of St Mark. It will be held in Aramaic and presided over by Archbishop Mar Swerios Malki Mourad, the Syrian Orthodox patriarchal vicar for Jerusalem.

The campaign is titled "Extraordinary Prayer of all Churches for Reconciliation, Unity and Peace, Beginning in and Proceeding From Jerusalem."

"All Christian communities of Jerusalem and all Christians everywhere in the world are invited to take part in this great intercessory prayer to the Father for our time," a statement on the event's Web site notes.

The campaign intends to host a prayer event once a month in various Churches, but encourages all Churches in the world to dedicate an hour each Saturday to praying for peace in the Holy Land.

"For the Christian, the division of the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ, profoundly conditions the general lack of peace," the organizers explain. "The Mother Church of Jerusalem calls, therefore, the whole Church to an extraordinary action of prayer for the grace of reconciliation, unity and peace, beginning in the Holy City."

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On the Net:

For more information: www.prayerreconciliationunitypeace.info/en/home

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DOCUMENTS

Papal Address to Envoy From India

"Subsidiarity Both Presupposes and Fosters Individual Responsibility"

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave in writing today to Chitra Narayanan, the new ambassador from India to the Holy See.

* * *

Madam Ambassador,

I am pleased to welcome you today and to accept the Letters accrediting you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of India to the Holy See. Thanking you for the kind words which you have addressed to me in your own name and on behalf of the Government, I would ask to reciprocate my own respectful greetings to Her Excellency, Mrs Pratibha Patil, President of the Republic, and to the re-elected Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr Manmohan Singh, assuring them of my prayers for their well-being and for that of all the people of India.

India is a land fertile with ancient wisdom. Her people, representing many different religions and cultures, are sensitive to the need for self-awareness, integrity and harmonious coexistence with one's neighbor for overall personal and social well-being. The immense variety within your borders opens a range of possibilities for dialogue between philosophies and religious traditions intent upon probing life's deepest questions. Cultivating this dialogue not only enriches your own Nation but serves as an example to others throughout Asia and indeed throughout the world.

Notwithstanding the financial hardships currently facing the entire global community, India has made remarkable economic strides in recent years. Other nations have drawn inspiration from the diligence, human ingenuity and foresight which have contributed to your country's growth. Increased prosperity calls for heightened vigilance to ensure that the poor are protected from being exploited by the unbridled mechanisms of the economy which often tend to profit only an elite few. Hence the motive for your Country's ambitious rural jobs program which was designed to help the disadvantaged -- especially the rural poor -- to earn a subsistent wage by participating in building projects and other cooperative initiatives. Programs such as this show that labor is never a mere commodity but a specifically human activity. They must therefore be implemented in a way that upholds human dignity and repudiates any temptation to favoritism, corruption or fraud.

The principle of subsidiarity is of particular value in this regard. A society that allows subordinate organizations to perform their proper activities encourages citizens to take an active part in building up the common good, placing themselves at the service of others and committing themselves to resolving differences justly and peacefully. Subsidiarity both presupposes and fosters individual responsibility, enjoining all members of society to seek the good of others as their own. While bureaucratic structures are necessary, it must always be kept in mind that the various levels of governance -- national, regional, and local -- are oriented towards the service of citizens, as they themselves are administered by citizens.

Democratic systems of governance must be kept in check by broad social participation. Having recently completed an important round of national elections, India has shown the world that this key democratic process is not only possible, but can be conducted in an atmosphere of civility and peace. As the newly elected face the challenges ahead of them, I am confident that the same spirit of patient cooperation will prevail, sustaining them in their weighty responsibility of drafting laws and deliberating social policy. May they be ready to subordinate special interests, placing them within the wider context of the common good which is an essential and indispensable goal of political authority (cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 409).

Madam Ambassador, as Chief Shepherd of the Catholic Church, I join religious and governmental leaders throughout the world who share a common desire that all members of the human family enjoy the freedom to practice religion and engage in civil life without fear of adverse repercussions on account of their beliefs. I therefore cannot help but express my deep concern for Christians who have suffered from outbreaks of violence in some areas within your borders. Today I have the opportunity to express my appreciation for your Country's efforts to provide the afflicted with shelter and assistance, relief and rehabilitation, as well as for the measures taken to implement criminal investigations and fair judicial processes to resolve these issues. I appeal to all to show respect for human dignity by rejecting hatred and renouncing violence in all its forms.

For her part, the Catholic Church in your Country will continue to play a role promoting peace, harmony and reconciliation between followers of all religions, especially through education and formation in the virtues of justice, forbearance and charity. Indeed, this is the inherent goal of all genuine forms of education since -- in conformity with the dignity of the human person and the call of all men and women to live in community -- they aim at cultivating moral virtues and preparing young people to embrace their social responsibilities with a refined sensibility for what is good, just and noble.

Madam Ambassador, as you assume your responsibilities within the diplomatic community accredited to the Holy See, I offer you my good wishes for the successful fulfillment of your high mission. I assure you that the various offices and departments of the Roman Curia will always be ready to assist you. Upon yourself and upon the beloved people of India I invoke abundant divine blessings.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Benedict XVI's Address to Mongolian Envoy

"Human Well-being Cannot Be Measured Solely in Terms of Wealth"

ROME, MAY 29, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave in writing today to Danzannorov Boldbaatar, the new ambassador of Mongolia to the Holy See.

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Your Excellency,

I am pleased to extend a cordial welcome to you as you present the Credential Letters appointing you as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to the Holy See. Grateful for the warm greeting which you have conveyed to me on behalf of your President, Mr. Nambaryn Enkhbayar, I reciprocate with my own best wishes for his health and well-being. I assure him and all the citizens of Mongolia of my prayers as they continue to promote peace and social harmony at home and abroad.

I am grateful, Mr. Ambassador, that the cooperative spirit which has marked the diplomatic ties between Mongolia and the Holy See has yielded much fruit. An explicit and mutual recognition of the benefits to be gained through diplomatic relations paved the way for the establishment of the Apostolic Prefecture of Ulaanbaatar, thus making it possible to coordinate more effectively the pastoral care of Catholics in Mongolia and to give a new impetus to their charitable activities for the good of all your fellow citizens. A particular sign of this fruitful collaboration was the dedication of Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral in July of 2002, which took place on the auspicious occasion of the 10th Anniversary of diplomatic ties between Mongolia and the Holy See. I wish to voice personally my deep gratitude for all that your Government and the local civil authorities did to make this historic event possible. Not only did it help to build a sense of unity between the Catholic faithful in your land and their fellow believers throughout the world, it also bore clear witness to Mongolia's long-standing respect for religious freedom. This fundamental human right, enshrined in Mongolia's Constitution and upheld by its citizens as conducive to the full development of the human person, allows them to search for the truth, engage in dialogue and fulfill their duty to worship God immune from any undue coercion.

The opportunity for adherents of different religions to speak and listen to one another has a vital role in strengthening the human family. You have referred to the bold initiative of Chinggis Khan in the 13th century to invite Muslims, Christians, Buddhists and Daoists to live together on the steppes of Mongolia: a gesture that continues to find expression in the openness of the Mongolian people, who treasure the religious customs passed down from generation to generation, and who show a profound respect for traditions other than their own. This religious earnestness was especially evident as Mongolia emerged from years of oppression under a totalitarian regime. In this time of greater peace and stability, I heartily encourage forums that facilitate the amicable exchange of ideas about religion and how it contributes to the good of civil society. Peoples who practice religious tolerance have an obligation to share the wisdom of this tenet with the entire human family, so that all men and women might perceive the beauty of tranquil co-existence and have the courage to build a society that respects human dignity and acts upon the divine injunction to love one's neighbor (cf. Mk 12:32).

Your Excellency, this spirit of fraternal cooperation will serve Mongolia well as she strives to achieve goals for development in the years ahead. As you have noted, foremost among these is the reduction of poverty and unemployment. These objectives are placed within the framework of the overall economic growth and equitable distribution of goods your country wishes to sustain in the long-term future. The values of fairness and trust in the marketplace upheld by the Mongolian people provide a sure foundation to meet these goals. Criteria for designing programmes to this end must reflect social as well as commutative justice (cf. Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 303); they must take into account the objective value of work rendered, the dignity of the subjects who perform it, the varying needs of citizens, and the merit that justly corresponds to the quality of work done (cf. Centesimus Annus, 35).

Mongolia is a country which acknowledges that human well-being cannot be measured solely in terms of wealth. Educational achievement -- of which literary and artistic accomplishments are reliable indicators -- is also an essential feature of a flourishing society. I am appreciative that your country has singled out the need to expand educational opportunities for the betterment of all its people. Systems of instruction must not, of course, neglect the technological formation that enables students to acquire and maintain gainful employment in this age of rapid globalization and technological progress. At the same time, an integral education attends to man as a whole rather than simply his ability to produce. In particular, the young deserve a comprehensive intellectual and spiritual formation that opens their eyes to the dignity of every human person and inspires them to hone the virtues necessary to place themselves at the service of all mankind. I therefore encourage the initiatives undertaken by your Government to increase access to education and to buttress it with a clear view of what is genuinely good for human beings.

For its part, the Catholic community, though still small in Mongolia, is eager to offer its assistance in fostering interreligious dialogue, promoting development, expanding educational opportunities, and furthering the noble goals that strengthen the solidarity of the human family and turn its gaze to the action of the divine in the world. While recognizing the due autonomy of the political community, the Catholic Church is compelled to cooperate with civil society in ways suitable to the circumstances of the time and place in which the two find themselves living together.

I therefore thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for the kind assurance of Mongolia's desire to build upon the accomplishments that have sprung from the diplomatic relations forged between your nation and the Holy See. As you begin your mission, I assure you that the various offices of the Roman Curia are ready to assist you in the fulfillment of your duties, and I invoke the abundant blessings of Almighty God upon you, the members of your family and all the citizens of Mongolia.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Thursday, May 28, 2009

ZE090528

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The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 28, 2009

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VATICAN DOSSIER
Benedict XVI: Church Needs Change of Mentality
Program Released for Pope's Trip to Padre Pio Tomb
Vatican Radio Sells Advertising Time

WORLD FEATURES
Hispanic Tapped as US Envoy to Vatican
Bishops Weigh in on California Gay Marriage Ban
Opus Dei Welcomes 30 New Priests

NEWS BRIEFS
Orthodox Priest Says Faith Is Not Dead in Russia

IN FOCUS
Notre Dame's Watershed Moment

ROME NOTES
Tuning in to the Spirit; Clearly Catholic

VATICAN DOSSIER

Benedict XVI: Church Needs Change of Mentality

Calls on Laity to Recognize Pastoral Responsibility

ROME, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Laypeople are not merely the clergy's collaborators, but rather share in the responsibility of the Church's ministry, says Benedict XVI.

The Pope called on the laity to become more aware of their role when he inaugurated Tuesday an ecclesial conference for the Diocese of Rome on "Church Membership and Pastoral Co-responsibility." The conference is under way through Friday.

"There should be a renewed becoming aware of our being Church and of the pastoral co-responsibility that, in the name of Christ, all of us are called to carry out," the Holy Father said. This co-responsibility should advance "respect for vocations and for the functions of consecrated persons and laypeople," he added.

The Pontiff acknowledged that this requires a "change of mentality," especially regarding laypeople, shifting from "considering themselves collaborators of the clergy to recognizing themselves truly as 'co-responsible' for the being and action of the Church, favoring the consolidation of a mature and committed laity."

The Bishop of Rome suggested that "there is still a tendency to unilaterally identify the Church with the hierarchy, forgetting the common responsibility, the common mission" of all the baptized.

"Up to what point is the pastoral responsibility of everyone, especially the laity, recognized and encouraged," he asked.

Referring to laypeople committed in the service of the Church, the Pope said there should not be "a lessening of the awareness that they are 'Church,' because Christ, the eternal Word of the Father, convokes them and makes them his People."

Benedict XVI thus asked priests to transmit to laypeople a "sense of belonging to the parish community" and the importance of unity. He further encouraged that laypeople draw close to sacred Scripture, through means such as lectio divina, and carry out missionary activity, in first place through living out charity.

The Holy Father contended that preparations for the Jubilee Year 2000 in Rome helped "the ecclesial community to enhance awareness that the command to evangelize is not just for a few, but for all the baptized."

That's how the Church has lived for generations, he added, while "so many baptized" have "dedicated their lives to educating young generations in the faith, to care for the sick and to help the poor."

"This mission is entrusted to us today, in different situations, in a city in which many baptized have lost the way of the Church and those who are not Christians do not know the beauty of our faith," the Pope stated.

On the other hand, he cautioned against a tendency to see the People of God from a "purely sociological" point of view "with an almost exclusively horizontal perspective that excludes the vertical reference to God."

The Pontiff looked at the distinction between "People of God" and "Body of Christ," affirming that both concepts "are complementary and together form the New Testament concept of the Church."

He explained: "While 'People of God' expresses the continuity of the history of the Church, 'Body of Christ' expresses the universality inaugurated on the cross and with the resurrection of the Lord."

"In Christ, we become really the People of God," which, he affirmed, means everyone, "from the Pope to the last child."

"The Church, therefore, is not the result of a sum of individuals, but a unity among those who are nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of Life," the Pontiff noted.

And the Church "grows and develops," he affirmed. "The future of Christianity and the Church of Rome is also the commitment and the testimony of each one of us."

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Program Released for Pope's Trip to Padre Pio Tomb

ROME, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Capuchins of San Giovanni Rotondo have announced the schedule for Benedict XVI's June 21 trip to the tomb of St. Pio of Pietrelcina, popularly known as Padre Pio.

The Pope will arrive that Sunday by helicopter at 9:15 a.m., and take the popemobile through the city until arriving to the Our Lady of Grace Sanctuary.

There, representatives of the community of Capuchin Friars Minor will welcome him, and he will have a time of adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. The Holy Father will also visit the first cell of the monastery, where Padre Pio died in 1968.

Then, the Pontiff will go to the crypt to pray before the tomb of the saint. There he will be accompanied only by Capuchins. He will light two candles before the tomb, symbolizing his apostolic visit and that of Pope John Paul II.

Benedict XVI will vest for Mass in the sacristy there and be transferred by popemobile to the Plaza of the Church of San Pio de Pietrelcina, where he will preside over a 10:15 Eucharistic celebration. After Mass, he will pray the midday Angelus in the same place.

At 4:45 p.m., the Holy Father will meet with directors, employees and patients of the hospital established by Padre Pio, the Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza the "Home to Relieve Suffering."

Afterward, the Pope will return to the Church of San Pio de Pietrelcina, where he will meet with priests, religious and youth.

The Pontiff will return to Rome by helicopter, arriving to the Vatican at 7:30.

Padre Pio was canonized in 2002 by Pope John Paul II.

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Vatican Radio Sells Advertising Time

Italian Energy Company Enel Is 1st Customer

VATICAN CITY, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- For the first time in 80 years, Vatican Radio has decided to transmit advertisements.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, announced this development Tuesday in a press conference.

The openness of the radio station to advertising "is not a novelty," he explained, and the goals of the station remain the same: to spread the message of the Pope and the magisterium, and report their activities.

Most of the commercials will be transmitted over the 105 FM channel in Rome, which is also available over the Internet, known as "One-O-Five Live."

The first company to advertise on the channel is Enel, an Italian energy provider that serves some 49 million power and gas customers in 22 countries.

The organization's chairman, Pietro Gnudi, appeared at the press conference and explained that Vatican Radio's international character is what motivated the company to advertise with them.

He acknowledged that it is an honor to advertise his company on the station, and noted the shared values between the Vatican and Enel, an organization that seeks more than the financial gain of its investors.

Bishop Renato Boccardo, secretary of the Governor's Office for Vatican City State, expressed hope about the possibilities implied by this initiative. He also reported that the Vatican has an agreement with Enel for the restoration of the Bernini colonnade in St. Peter's Square.

Father Lombardi explained that in the past the radio station has been dependent on the Vatican for funding, but that the advertising program is expected to help cover its costs in the future.

He stated that the annual budget of the station, which transmits its programs in 45 languages, is around €20 million [$28.9 million], and that the commercials will bring in an estimated €100,000 to €200,000 [$139,000 to $279,000] in the first six months.

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On the Net:

Vatican Radio: http://www.radiovaticana.org/inglese/enindex.html

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WORLD FEATURES

Hispanic Tapped as US Envoy to Vatican

Obama Names Theologian Miguel Díaz

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- President Barack Obama nominated a Cuban-born theologian as ambassador of the United States to the Holy See, the White House announced Wednesday.

Miguel Díaz, 45, is a professor of theology at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota. In 2008, he served on the National Catholic Advisory Council for the presidential campaign of Senator Barack Obama.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, Díaz will become the first Hispanic to serve in that post. He will also succeed Harvard law professor Mary Ann Glendon, who ended her term as ambassador in January.

The announcement came on the eve of Catholic University of America's daylong symposium that marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of full diplomatic ties between the United States and the Holy See.

At that symposium, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, apostolic nuncio to the United States, told the Catholic News Service that Díaz is "an excellent choice because he knows very well the United States and because of his background in the Catholic Church."

Latin Americans "should be very proud," he added.

In a statement released by St. John's University, Díaz said he is "very honored, grateful and humbled that President Obama has nominated me to serve as ambassador to the Holy See. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, I will continue the work of my predecessors and build upon 25 years of formal diplomatic relations with the Holy See. I wish to be a bridge between our nation and the Holy See."

Díaz was born in Havana, Cuba, the son of a waiter and data-entry operator. He earned his bachelor's degree from St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Florida, and received his master's and doctorate in theology from the University of Notre Dame.

He is the author of "On Being Human: U.S. Hispanic and Rahnerian Perspectives" (Orbis Books, 2001), for which he received the Hispanic Theological Initiative’s 2002 Book of the Year award from Princeton Seminary.

In 2006, he served as president of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. In 2008, Díaz was elected to the Board of the Catholic Theological Society of America.

"As a theologian and educator, Díaz embodies in his scholarship and commitments a profound respect for human dignity and a passion for justice," said a statement from the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. "A Catholic layman, Díaz and his family are devoted participants in the life of the Church.

"As a professional association of Hispanic theologians we are encouraged by President Obama’s historic nomination of a Latino Catholic to this office. This nomination affirms the important contribution that Hispanics are making as part of the fabric of our nation."

He is married to theology professor Marian Díaz, and they have four children.

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Bishops Weigh in on California Gay Marriage Ban

Affirm State's Responsibility to Protect Family Structure

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops' conference lauded the California Supreme Court's decision to uphold the voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage.

In a statement released Wednesday, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Defense of Marriage, reported the bishops' satisfaction with the decision.

He stated, "The court has thus respected the eminently reasonable decision of the California electorate to retain the perennial definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman."

The archbishop explained: "This respects the uniqueness of the marital relationship and its service to the common good by respecting the value of procreation and the good of children as well as the unique complementarity of man and woman.

"Advancing the truth and beauty of marriage enhances, rather than diminishes, the intrinsic dignity of every human person."

In 2000, Californians voted to keep marriage between a man and a woman. But last May, the state's high court overturned that vote and approved same-sex marriage. Some 18,000 gay couples were quick to take advantage of the new prerogative.

California's citizens rallied to put the issue to vote again in November. With slightly more than a 52% majority, same-sex marriage was again made illegal in California, this time with a constitutional amendment.

That measure was known as Proposition 8 and it added to the California Constitution the following clause: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

However, activists succeeded in taking the issue back to the California Supreme Court, contending that the ban needed legislature approval before being added to the constitution.

The court's decision Tuesday upholds the ban, but does not "un-marry" the 18,000 gay couples who wed between May and November.

The bishops' statement expressed concern that the court failed to apply the marriage definition to these same-sex unions.

Truth

Archbishop Kurtz affirmed, "Attempts to change the legal definition of marriage or to create simulations of marriage, often under the guise of 'equality,' 'civil rights,' and 'anti-discrimination,' do not serve the truth."

"Such attempts," he said, "undermine the very nature of marriage and overlook the essential place of marriage and family life in society."

The prelate continued, "The state has a responsibility to protect and promote marriage as the union of one man and one woman as well as to protect and promote the intrinsic dignity of every human person, including homosexual persons."

He added that there are many ways to accomplish this, but "sacrificing marriage is not one of them."

The California bishops' conference released an additional statement in which Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton echoed the words of Archbishop Kurtz.

Quoting the natural law scholar and Princeton professor, Robert George, the prelate affirmed: "No matter what, the law will teach. It will either teach that marriage exists as a natural institution with public purposes and meanings, centered around bridging the gender divide, and bringing together one man and one woman to share their lives as husband and wife and to become father and mother to their children, or it will teach that marriage is a mere creation of the state, recognizing and condoning the private sexual choices of adults."

Dignity

"As Catholic bishops," the statement continued, "we are strongly committed to protecting the dignity and worth of every human person."

It affirmed: "We endorse the intent of law to provide equal protection for all. However, such purpose does not have to trump the natural and traditional definition of marriage between a man and a woman.

"The law has found other ways to regulate civil unions without destroying the traditional understanding of marriage.

"We believe -- as do the majority of Californians -- that marriage between a man and a woman is foundational to our culture and crucial for human perpetuity."

Ron Prentice, executive committee chairman of the coalition ProtectMarriage.com, explained that although this court decision is a victory for all supporters of Proposition 8, the work is not done.

He stated, "We will now turn our attention to public education and outreach so that citizens come to better understand and appreciate the many benefits that traditional marriage provides for society and our families."

"The institution of marriage as we have always understood it has served California and our broader society since the nation was founded," Prentice affirmed.

He added, "We look forward to working with young people, churches, ethnic communities and all of California with an ongoing discussion about the benefits of traditional marriage."

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Opus Dei Welcomes 30 New Priests

Newly Ordained Come From 12 Countries

ROME, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Opus Dei welcomed 30 more priests to its personal prelature Saturday, ordained by their prelate, Bishop Javier Echavarría, who encouraged them to guide the faithful on the path of eternal life.

The newly ordained come from 12 nations, including China, the Ivory Coast, Kenya and Brazil.

"Starting today, conformed to Christ the Head of the Church, they will be able to carry out the priestly ministry: preaching the Word of God with authority, administering the sacraments, above all the sacrament of penance and the Eucharist, and guiding the Christian people along the paths of eternal life," the bishop said in his homily.

Noting the common call to holiness shared by all the faithful, Bishop Echavarría added that "it is undeniable that priests are particularly obliged to be holy." Citing the founder of Opus Dei, St. Josemaría Escrivá, the prelate added, "I remind you that 'the priestly vocation brings with it the need for sanctity. This sanctity is not just any sanctity, a common sanctity, nor is it even an excellent sanctity. It is a matter of heroic sanctity.'"

Bishop Echavarría also referred to the upcoming Year for Priests, convoked by Benedict XVI from June 19 of this year through June 19, 2010.

"The Holy Father […] has wanted to make the Christian people aware of the need for many holy priests," he said. "We are all asked to offer prayers and mortifications for the sanctity of priests during these months."

Ready to serve

Some of the newly ordained offered their testimony for the Opus Dei Web site, explaining how they discovered their call to the priesthood.

Father Sebastián Ramos Mejía, 35, of Argentina, said he realized while working in a school that he wanted to be a priest, so as to be able to offer spiritual assistance to the students.

"All of us need a person who helps us, encourages us, opens horizons for us, makes us see that God trusts in us more than we trust in ourselves," Father Ramos Mejía said. "Now as a priest, this idea motivates me a lot and offers me consolation. To know that if I put forth a little effort and seek the grace of God, I am going to be able to overcome the difficulties that come up and transmit this idea to many people."

Father Abdoulaye Sissoko of the Ivory Coast recounted his story, coming from a family with a Muslim father and a Catholic mother. He said he wants to live his priestly ministry with "24-hour-a-day, 365-days-a-year availability, to serve souls with the sacraments of the Eucharist and confession."

The new priest recalled Benedict XVI's visit in March to his continent, saying "that the Pope has encouraged Africans to make our continent progress." Father Sissoko affirmed that he wants to work "helping my brothers to love Africa, but above all to love God more."

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On the Net:

Complete text of homily and testimonies from eight of the newly ordained: www.opusdei.us/art.php?p=33924

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NEWS BRIEFS

Orthodox Priest Says Faith Is Not Dead in Russia

PAMPLONA, Spain, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Moscow Patriarchate's secretary for ecumenical relations is affirming that relations between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church in Russia are progressing, and that it is an important step for evangelizing the world.

In an address at the University of Navarra in Spain, Father Igor Vyzhanov stated that the two Churches "seem to understand each other better now than before."

His conference titled "Relations Between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church: The Current Situation" noted signs of the Churches' collaboration.

The priest affirmed a shared responsibility of Orthodox and Catholics to "renew the Christian roots of Europe" and to preach the message of Christ to the world.

He explained the challenges of the Orthodox Church in the task of evangelization, faced to Russia's history of enforced atheism.

Nonetheless, Father Vyzhanov said, "the Russian people did not lose their faith," although the communist regime tried to take it away.

He added that in the communist era, "the faith was hidden, not dead, and after the changes in our country many people converted to the faith."

Now, the priest added, the principal challenge is to help people deepen in this faith, a project in which there is a "great future" for collaboration with the Catholic Church.

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IN FOCUS

Notre Dame's Watershed Moment

University Continues to Struggle With Catholic Identity

By Genevieve Pollock

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- While the debate over Notre Dame's Catholic identity is nothing new, the recent controversy surrounding its decision to honor President Barack Obama may be a watershed moment for the university.

Father John Jenkins, the university's president, put the issue front and center when he invited Obama, a staunch defender of abortion rights, to give the May 17 commencement address. The university also bestowed on him an honorary law degree.

The gesture drew national and international media attention as some 80 bishops and more than 367,000 Catholics voiced disagreement with Father Jenkins, saying he was compromising the school's Catholic identity. They said he disregarded the 2004 guidelines from the U.S. bishops that state: "Catholic institutions should not honor those who act in defiance of our fundamental moral principles" with "awards, honors, or platforms which would suggest support for their actions."

The university's leadership didn't budge, and Obama was greeted on campus with a standing ovation at commencement. Hecklers were shouted down while students chanted, "Yes, we can." Forty seniors -- out of a graduating class of more than 2,900 -- boycotted the ceremony.

Such a reaction might seem to indicate there is only a small remnant of faith left on campus.

But according to senior Mary Daly, president of the Notre Dame Right to Life group and chief editor of the Irish Rover, a campus newspaper, that's not exactly the case.

Daly told ZENIT that the admissions office reports that 80%-85% of every incoming class is Catholic.

She also noted a "strong subculture within the student body of earnest Catholics: people who are making sincere efforts to grow in their faith and to discern and live out God's will in their lives."

She described Notre Dame as a place that has "adoration five days a week on campus, Mass in all the dormitory chapels at least four times a week, and priests in every dorm."

Faith

Thus, Daly said, "if you are serious about your Catholic faith and want to grow in your personal relationship with Christ, this is an excellent place to do so," though, she acknowledged, you have to be willing to "challenge yourself."

Christina Holmstrom, a 2008 graduate and a campus ministry intern, affirmed to ZENIT that "faith is not only a commonality for much of Notre Dame's population, but it is also a source of challenge and strength."

She reported a "number of students taking part in regular service opportunities through the Center for Social Concerns, student-led faith-based groups, Bible studies and liturgies."

Holmstrom also noted the "hundreds" of graduates who "take their Notre Dame education and apply it to domestic and international volunteer programs, ministry work, teaching, medicine, their careers and their families," as the "greatest testament to the influence of faith on this campus."

At Notre Dame, she said, faith "finds its source and summit in the Eucharist and active participation in the Church and is lived out in a life of service to others."

Paolo Carozza, a law professor at Notre Dame and the faculty advisor to the Communion and Liberation student organization, affirmed: "If faith at Notre Dame remains for us a matter of words, of discourse, of ethics, or of projects, then the university will never correspond to the immensity of what our hearts desire from it.

"Faith has to become an experience, a life."

Identity

The professor added that this happens on campus "all the time." This lived faith is something to "nourish for the life of the Church and for the world," he said, "because it is the only thing, ultimately, capable of generating and sustaining a Catholic university."

Without it, Carozza stated, nothing can keep Notre Dame from "being just like any other institution."

Notre Dame's identity in relation to other institutions, however, is part of the dilemma. The Cardinal Newman Society, in its 2007 publication of "The Newman Guide to Catholic Colleges," wrote the epilogue on Notre Dame, which it describes as being in a "complex" situation.

The guide analyzed a wide spectrum of Catholic colleges: those that "have fallen victim to secularization and have chosen to minimize their Catholic identity," others that are "struggling to determine their direction," and the institutions that live their Catholic mission in "exemplary" ways.

In the spectrum, Notre Dame falls into a category all its own, with a strong academic reputation and overall renown, as well as a "vibrant spiritual life that comes at a time when most large Catholic universities have become increasingly more secularized."

Despite these positive aspects, the Newman society notes issues that "prevent us from recommending Notre Dame." The guide particularly notes the school's debate about "academic freedom," which encompasses the history of performances of the Vagina Monologues, programs supporting a homosexual lifestyle, and faculty members speaking out against Church teaching.

It states that for students to thrive at this school, they need a good Catholic formation, and the "exercise of caution in their course selections and social life."

Truth

As a student, Daly acknowledged that the university lacks resources for "students to actually learn about their Catholic faith."

The senior said: "We need to know what the teachings are, how the doctrine was arrived at, and how sometimes standing up for truth requires us to be somewhat counter-cultural.

"I think students at Notre Dame are interested in their religion and are looking for truth."

What we need from the university, she said, on top of all the beautiful buildings and shrines, is the truth.

Daly reported that every student is required to take two theology classes and two philosophy courses, but most do not receive "very high quality" courses in these subject areas.

She explained that often the introductory course instructors will "give their interpretation" on matters of faith.

Although we "cannot inhibit freedom of speech," she said, "it can be very misleading and disadvantageous to those students" who are not already educated in Catholic theology and philosophy to be presented with personal opinions of instructors.

The Newman guide reports that Catholic professors number around 53% of the total faculty, but noted that Father Jenkins launched an initiative to strengthen the hiring of Catholic faculty.

As well, due to his actions, this year marked the first time in eight years that the Vagina Monologues student production was canceled. Steps such as these are inspiring hope for Notre Dame's future as a Catholic university.

Carozza expressed this hope, noting that "one can see here all sorts of signs that Christ is present in the life of the university as a university."

He noted that this is "evident in relationships among faculty and students, in classrooms, and in research programs."

Carozza acknowledged some "extremely weighty and difficult challenges" in reaching this ideal, including the "dualism between faith and reason that pervades universities and modern life generally."

The professor also noted the difficulty in "understanding and accepting that communion with the Church is not a limitation or restriction on the nature of the university but the opposite -- it is a condition of freedom and a safeguard of reason."

He concluded that these "weaknesses begin in our own hearts, in our personal incapacity, and that is the first place where they need to be met."

Franciscan Father John Coughlin, Notre Dame law professor, echoed this hopeful vision, stating to ZENIT that "prayer is the key to the challenges ahead at our beloved Notre Dame."

There is no "magic plan or program," he said, but the hope for the university lies in "humble prayer to the Sacred Heart and pro-life action based on the reality of people struggling to be saints."

"Hope is a theological virtue," the priest said, that "stems from humble prayer" and "must also be based in reality."

"The fact that there are so many excellent Catholic professors and students" is "the reality upon which I base my hope for a lively Catholic faith at the university," he affirmed.

Father Coughlin added, "We can be the yeast in the dough that becomes the Bread of Life."

Daly, who helped organize a 3,000-strong rally on graduation day to support Notre Dame's pro-life, Catholic identity, affirmed that "there is great support for Notre Dame to do something profound, sincere and real to commit itself to the pro-life cause, and by default to fidelity to the Church."

"Notre Dame needs to celebrate its Catholic identity," she stated. "In an age when diversity is so highly valued, Notre Dame should flaunt its uniqueness as a Catholic institution and refuse to fall in step with other 'prestigious' universities."

The senior asserted, "What makes Notre Dame special is its commitment to the 'pursuit and sharing of the truth for the sake of itself.'

It "needs to return to the basics of what it means to be Catholic, and what it means to be a Catholic university," Daly said.

She added some suggestions for enhancing the school's Catholic identity: "increase the presence of Catholic faculty on campus, make a public statement that confirms they will never participate in embryonic stem cell research, appoint a pro-life ombudsperson, [and] host leaders from the Church at the university so that they can teach young Catholics how they should act in a modern society."

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ROME NOTES

Tuning in to the Spirit; Clearly Catholic

Contributions to Culture From the Faithful and Devoted

By Elizabeth Lev

ROME, MAY 28, 2009 (Zenit.org).- How do you awaken a weary, frightened following to the urgings of the Holy Spirit? Some 1,967 year ago, God used the sound of rushing wind and tongues of flame. This Pentecost Sunday, Pope Benedict XVI will try Haydn and Bernini.

May 31 will mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn, the Austrian composer known for his role in forming the modern symphony, as well as his extraordinary body of sacred music. To celebrate this great Catholic composer, Pope Benedict’s Pentecost liturgy will use a Haydn orchestral Mass setting sung by the Cologne Cathedral Choir.

Joseph Haydn, born in Rohrau, Austria, spent the first 30 years of his career working for the noble Esterhàzy family, where he produced a multitude of compositions from chamber music to symphonies, perfecting his style all the while.

Haydn’s close contacts with the other brilliant musicians of the time enriched his own considerable gifts. Friends with Mozart and a former teacher of Beethoven, Joseph Haydn was also commissioned to take over writing the oratorio of "Creation" from Handel. The result is one of the most celebrated and beloved pieces of music today.

Haydn was born into a Catholic family and remained profoundly devout his whole life. When stumped in writing he always turned to the rosary, and he opened each composition with "in nomine Domini" (in the name of the Lord) and ended with "Laus Deo" (praise be to God).

During the 77 years of his life, Haydn produced 14 Masses, one Stabat Mater, two Te Deums, and 34 other sacred pieces -- a treasure trove for the Church. Undoubtedly Pope Benedict, a pianist himself, also appreciates Haydn for his development of the piano sonata.

The majesty of Haydn’s music will be complemented on Sunday by Bernini’s Baroque decoration in the apse of St. Peter. Although working a century and a half earlier, Bernini too, attempted to capture the splendor of the Holy Spirit in the Altar of the Chair. The oval window, radiant with golden light, frames the Holy Spirit -- represented as a dove -- as gilded cherubim and seraphim seem to pour forth from this opening in the heavens.

The fortunate faithful attending the papal Mass will gaze at Bernini’s spectacular vision while engulfed by the glorious music of Haydn. A treat for the eyes, ears and soul.

* * *

Choosing to see

You may have heard of the so-called Duck Test, coined by Indiana poet J. Whitcomb Riley. It goes like this: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. This bit of common sense wisdom however, seems to be lost on most modern day interpreters of Michelangelo. According to the most recent “scholarship,” Michelangelo's Catholic words, works and piety were actually just camouflage for a secret Protestant, Kabbalist and/or homosexual agenda. Go figure.

Of course none of these conspiracy theories are ever sustained by actual documentation regarding Michelangelo’s personal or devotional practices, but are drawn out from overactive imaginations. A proliferation of books and articles simply look at his painting, pick a theory and make any facts fit, discarding the rest. This has become par for the course in art history, but what got me going was the abstract of an academic dissertation of all things, propounding these same old Dan Brown-type theories.

The target of this "scholarly" treatise is Michelangelo’s "Last Judgment," painted on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel from 1534 to 1541, and discerned by the author as a crypto-Protestant work. To back up this notion, the researcher draws on bits and pieces of material from gender studies and gnosticism, but let’s look at three elements that indicate that this fresco is precisely what it appears to be: a superlative example of Catholic painting.

1) The artist and his space.

Those who attempt to see Michelangelo as an adherent to some underground religion of dissent, overlook his spiritual practices. While Michelangelo can only tenuously be tied to any kind of Protestant sect, he is known to have been a third order Franciscan.

He also participated in the visit to the seven churches to receive the indulgence during the years he was painting the Last Judgment. But Michelangelo’s devotion to the Catholic Church is perhaps best witnessed by his agreement to complete the Basilica of St. Peter for, in his own words, “the glory of God, the honor of St. Peter and the salvation of his own soul."

The Sistine Chapel itself was the space where Pope Paul III, busily assembling the Council of Trent, prayed with his court, the most theologically brilliant men in Europe. These theologians and philosophers formed the front lines of response to Luther, and were very savvy about art to boot. Painting a subversive crypto-Protestant treatise in the Chapel would have been like asking for an appointment with the Inquisition.

2) Mary, saints and intercession.

Michelangelo’s painting contains 391 figures, about a third of them acting as intercessors. The enormous figures of the saints, particularly martyrs, surround Christ in the heavens. Michelangelo’s emphasis on identifying the martyrs recalls that the Roman Church claims the martyrs as part of her tradition. In this period the ancient sites of the martyrs’ deaths and burials would be restored and redecorated.

Michelangelo also paints unidentified men and women helping the newly resurrected souls upward. The idea of people in heaven assisting others is a quintessentially Catholic notion.

But Mary is the pivotal image in the work. Michelangelo's Jesus seems terrifyingly distant, with his hand raised and his head turned away. But Mary, nestled at Christ’s side, turns toward the resurrected souls. Mary is painted next to Christ’s scar from the lance. That wound, spilling blood and water, brought forth the Church. Mary, like Eve stepping from the rib of Adam, represents the Church born of Christ’s sacrifice. In turn, Mary (the Church, bride of Christ) is the conduit to Jesus and his salvation. As if to underscore the importance of Marian devotion, Michelangelo painted a few feet down from Mary, a husband and wife being dragged to heaven by their rosary.

3) Heroic virtue and cooperation.

Michelangelo broke with an age-old tradition of painting saints in heaven with long pastel dresses and big golden halos by representing his martyrs with enormous nude bodies. Drawn from the classical Greek tradition, the use of nudity denotes a hero, one who is gifted with tremendous courage and nobility, celebrated for his great exploits and favored by the gods. For Michelangelo, steeped in ancient culture, what better fulfillment of the Greek hero than the Christian saint?

The powerful bodies painted by Michelangelo render the idea of grand deeds and sacrifices made for Christ by these saints now gifted with glorious forms after the bodily resurrection. The men and women, who cooperate in God’s grace and live a life of “heroic virtue,” are those worthy of these glorious bodies in the afterlife. The size, grandeur and nudity of these figures can only represent an active participation in Christ’s redemptive sacrifice.

Painted in a Catholic space, by a Catholic artist for a Catholic audience, the "Last Judgment" is very much a Catholic painting.

What makes these spurious interpretations most wearisome is that while Michelangelo was painting this work, Protestant iconoclast riots were breaking out in Northern Europe. In the 1520s, artwork had been destroyed in Basel, Wittenberg, Zurich and Strasburg. This iconoclast fervor would have had no use for Michelangelo’s art, but today some Protestants would like to claim Michelangelo nonetheless.

Furthermore, the First Commandment’s prohibition on images had prevented a rich tradition of Jewish figurative art from blossoming up through the Renaissance. Why would Michelangelo gravitate to a kabbalistic religion that denied his very raison d’etre?

Let’s face it: Catholics, with their 2,000-year fascination with the Word made Flesh, refined through their spirited defense of images necessitated by the Reformation, have made great art part of their spiritual tradition. But even more remarkable than its aesthetic appeal, is its universality. Everyone can find a reflection of him or herself in the art of the Catholic Church. So at the end of the day, or should I say end of days, these false interpretations are merely water off a duck’s back.

* * *

Elizabeth Lev teaches Christian art and architecture at Duquesne University’s Italian campus and University of St. Thomas’ Catholic studies program. She can be reached at lizlev@zenit.org.

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Wednesday, May 27, 2009

ZE090527

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ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 27, 2009

VATICAN DOSSIER
Love for Work Is a Good Sign, Says Pope
The Church Is Proud of Its Priests, Says Cardinal

WORLD FEATURES
Priest Dies on Last Day of Sri Lankan War

NEWS BRIEFS
World's Oldest Student Is Baptized at 90
Bishop Named for Allentown
Holy Year to Celebrate Apostle James

WORDS MADE FLESH
Set Free the Gifts of the Spirit

WEDNESDAY'S AUDIENCE
On Theodore the Studite

DOCUMENTS
Letter for Year for Priests

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Love for Work Is a Good Sign, Says Pope

Notes St. Theodore's Teaching: Diligence Linked to Fervor

VATICAN CITY, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Love for work and diligence in one's tasks are indicators of fervor in the spiritual life, according to the saint that Benedict XVI spoke of today at the general audience.

Addressing some 15,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, the Pope continued his series of catechesis on writers and figures from the Church of the Middle Ages, focusing today on St. Theodore the Studite (759-826).

Theodore's main contributions to Church history, the Holy Father suggested, were his efforts to resist the second iconoclast persecution and his reform of monasticism.

Regarding the first theme, he noted that St. Theodore "had understood that the issue of the veneration of icons implicated the very truth of the Incarnation."

"Theodore compares the eternal internal relations of the Trinity, in which the existence of each divine Person does not destroy unity, with the relation between the two natures of Christ, which do not compromise in him the unique Person of the Logos," the Pontiff explained. "And he argues: To abolish the veneration of the icons of Christ would mean cancelling his very redemptive work, since in assuming human nature, the invisible Word has appeared in visible human flesh, and in this way has sanctified the entire visible cosmos.

"Icons, sanctified by liturgical blessing and the prayer of the faithful, unite us with the Person of Christ, with his saints, and through them, with the heavenly Father, and they give witness to an entrance into the divine reality of our visible and material cosmos."

Showing the way

Benedict XVI considered Theodore's teachings on poverty, chastity and obedience and the value of monks living these virtues in a radical way as an invitation for laypeople to also live them in following Christ.

He then focused on "another important virtue" for the saint: "'philergia,' that is, love for work."

The Holy Father explained that Theodore saw love for work as "a criterion to prove the quality of personal devotion."

"One who is fervent in material commitments, who works assiduously, [Theodore] maintains, is the same in the spiritual realm," the Pontiff said. "In this regard, he does not allow that with the pretext of prayer and contemplation, the monk dispenses with work, including manual work, which in reality is, according to him and to the monastic tradition, the means to encounter God."

The Bishop of Rome noted how St. Theodore went so far as to speak of work as a type of "'liturgy,' even of a type of Mass through which the monastic life converts into angelical life."

He added: "And precisely in this way the world of work is humanized and man, through work, becomes more himself, closer to God. A consequence of this singular vision deserves to be considered: Precisely because it is the fruit of a form of 'liturgy,' the riches that come from common work should not serve the comfort of the monks, but should be destined for the help of the poor. In this, all of us can see the need for the fruit of work to be a good for everyone."

Benedict XVI ended his discourse with a review of the principal elements of Theodore's spiritual doctrine, including "love for the incarnated Lord […]. Fidelity to baptism and commitment to live in the communion of the Body of Christ, understood also as communion of Christians among themselves. Spirit of poverty, of sobriety, of renunciation; chastity, self-control, humility and obedience against the primacy of one's own will, which destroys the social fabric and the peace of souls. Love for material and spiritual work. Spiritual friendship born in the purification of one's conscience, of one's soul, of one's life."

"Let us try to follow these teachings that truly show us the path of the true life," he concluded.

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The Church Is Proud of Its Priests, Says Cardinal

Calls on Dioceses to Celebrate Year for Ordained Ministers

VATICAN CITY, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The prefect for the Congregation for Clergy is urging the local churches to plan events to celebrate and show appreciation for priests.

Cardinal Cláudio Hummes affirmed this in a letter released today for the Year of Priests, which will be inaugurated June 19, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests.

Benedict XVI announced this year as a celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé of Ars.

The cardinal noted that this year should be "both positive and forward looking," a time for the Church to say to its priests, "but also to all the faithful and to wider society by means of the mass media, that it is proud of its priests, loves them, honors them, admires them and that it recognizes with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life."

He affirmed that priests are important "not only for what they do but also for who they are."

"Sadly," the prefect said, "it is true that at the present time some priests have been shown to have been involved in gravely problematic and unfortunate situations."

However, he noted, it is important to remember that these pertain to a "very small portion of the clergy."

Sacred ministry

The cardinal continued: "The overwhelming majority of priests are people of great personal integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry; men of prayer and of pastoral charity, who invest their entire existence in the fulfillment of their vocation and mission, often through great personal sacrifice, but always with an authentic love towards Jesus Christ, the Church and the people, in solidarity with the poor and the suffering.

"It is for this reason that the Church is proud of her priests wherever they may be found."

He expressed the hope that this year will be a time of "intense appreciation of the priestly identity" and of the "extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society."

To this end, he called for reflection on the priesthood through study opportunities, days of recollection, spiritual exercises, conferences and seminars, research and publications.

The prefect affirmed that this year must be "a year of prayer by priests, with priests and for priests, a year for the renewal of the spirituality of the presbyterate and of each priest."

At the heart of this priestly spirituality, he said, is the Eucharist.

Cardinal Hummes called for attention to the material sustenance of clergy "since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world."

Celebration

He also encouraged the Catholic community to "pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honor to their priests."

May it be an opportunity, he said, "to develop the communion and friendship between priests and the communities entrusted to their care."

The prefect urged the local churches and dioceses to establish a program for the year "at the earliest opportunity" and to plan a "notable event" for its inauguration.

He invited the churches to join the Pope on June 19 "to participate in the opening of the year, ideally by some particular liturgical act and festivity."

The cardinal added an invitation to "those who are able" to come to Rome for the inauguration, "to manifest their own participation in this happy initiative of the Pope."

--- --- ---

On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://zenit.org/article-26008?l=english

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WORLD FEATURES

Priest Dies on Last Day of Sri Lankan War

Archbishop Warns that Battle Is Not Over

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- One of the seven priests who remained with trapped Sri Lankan refugees through the end of the fighting between government forces and separatists rebels, died on the battle's last day, and was buried Tuesday.

Father Mariampillai Sarathjeevan, 41, opted to stay with the people trapped in the "safe zone" until the May 18 end of the civil war between Sri Lanka's military and the rebel Tamil Tigers, despite the danger as the conflict moved into the zone.

He died as the battle ended, struck by a heart attack as he left the war zone with the last refugees, reported a press release on the Web site of the Archdiocese of Colombo.

The Tamil priest, a missionary oblate of Mary Immaculate, was a pastor in Kilinochchi and had been with the civilians since the start of the combat. The report stated that he died on the road due to exhaustion from the months of deprivation, constant air strikes and bombing.

He was taken to a hospital in Vavuniya, where many of the war's 280,000 refugees have made their temporary home.

During the priest's funeral in Colombo, a letter by his friend, Father David Manuelpillai, was read in tribute to his memory.

The letter affirmed: "Following the footsteps of the Lord and master, Our Lord Jesus Christ, he said, 'I will not leave my people.' These words of determination and commitment from a person with six years of priesthood are exemplary.

"What helped him withstand all the tribulations in his life was his constant communion with God.

"In the final days that led to his demise, he expressed his concern about not being able to celebrate mass as he had to spend a few days in the bunker without food and drink. Ultimately, when he was able to come out of the terrible circumstances, he could not bear to witness the agony of his people and his heart failed."

Not finished

Archbishop Oswald Gomis, at the conclusion of the conflict, stated, "We are indeed very happy that the war is ended and that the government's security forces have been able to release all the innocent civilians who were trapped in battle."

He added, "We could say that we have won the battle, but the war is not ended."

The prelate explained that this war will end "only on the day that we grow in nationhood realizing that we are all one people in one country with equal right."

"We have to realize the fact that we are a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural community," he affirmed, and as such "we are now left with the great task of nation-building, forgetting our ethnic, political and religious differences."

Archbishop Gomis called for a "political formula that will inspire confidence and promote a sense of belonging among the minority groups in the country."

He continued: "We have to leave the sad and bitter memories of the past three decades and look positively and optimistically towards the future in hope.

"All of us have to share the blame for our division and forgive each other. We should have the humility and wisdom to learn from the sad experiences of that past."

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NEWS BRIEFS

World's Oldest Student Is Baptized at 90

Embraced Christianity After Learning to Read Bible

NAIROBI, Kenya, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The world-record-breaking oldest primary school student, a Kenyan great-grandfather, was baptized after he learned to read the Bible.

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge, the Guinness World Record holder for being the oldest person to enter primary school at age 84, was baptized Sunday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kariobangi, east of Nairobi, Ecumenical News International reported Monday.

Now 90 years old, Maruge chose the baptismal name "Stephen" as he stated, "I commit my life to God, from now until the end."

"I decided to be baptized after reading the Bible," he explained.

In a wheelchair due to stomach cancer, the new Catholic added: "I read the Bible and came across the name Stephen. This is a name for those who have endured hardships like me."

Father Paulino Mondo, Holy Trinity pastor, affirmed that the schooling helped Maruge to read and understand the Bible, and pass all his catechism tests.

Maruge enrolled in school due to the government's introduction of free primary education in 2003. Two of his 30 grandchildren attend the same school.

He addressed the U.N. Millennium Development Summit in Sep. 2005 in New York on the importance of free primary education.

Maruge continued schooling despite being forced to a refugee camp due to post-election violence in 2008, and later relocation to a senior citizen retirement home.

The Kenyan's story will be told in a Hollywood-produced film, titled "The First Grader," which is currently being produced.

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Bishop Named for Allentown

St. Paul and Minneapolis Receives Auxiliary

ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Monsignor John Barres, 48, as bishop of Allentown, and accepted the resignation of Bishop Edward Cullen, 76, who resigned for reasons of age.

John Barres was born in Larchmont, New York, to parents who were both protestant ministers. The two converted to Catholicism five years before their son was born. Barres was baptized in 1960 by then Bishop Fulton Sheen.

He was ordained to the priesthood in 1989, and has most recently been serving as the chancellor of the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware.

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia issued a statement welcoming Bishop-designate Barres to the Philadelphia province, which includes all the dioceses of Pennsylvania.

The cardinal stated: "I am confident that he will be warmly welcomed by the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese of Allentown as their new shepherd. I assure him of my fraternal solidarity and prayerful support as he prepares for his ordination as a bishop on July 30."

The Diocese of Allentown has some 277,000 Catholics served by 279 priests, 105 permanent deacons and 450 religious.

"Honored and humbled"

Benedict XVI named Father Lee Piché as an auxiliary for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, thus filling the vacancy left last year when Bishop Richard Pates was named to lead the Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa.

The bishop-designate has served for little less than a year as the moderator of the Curia and vicar general for the Archbishop John Nienstedt of St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop-designate Piché said: "I am honored and humbled by the Holy Father's confidence in me.

"This is a great archdiocese, with many blessed and talented individuals, parishes, and institutions, and with some significant challenges, too. I am grateful to God for calling me to serve in this way.

"Since receiving this news, I have been praying that God will strengthen me to be faithful in the ministry of bishop."

Archbishop Nienstedt commented, "I have been praying everyday, sometimes several times a day, for a good and holy assistant and my prayers have been answered."

He added: "Bishop-[designate] Piché is one of the most respected priests in the archdiocese. He has been a successful pastor of several large parishes and has served with distinction as moderator of the Curia and vicar general. I look forward to ministering with him in meeting the pastoral needs of this great and vibrant archdiocese."

Lee Piché was born in Minneapolis in 1958, the eldest of seven children. He was ordained a priest in 1984.

He will be installed as bishop June 29.

The archdiocese has some 852,000 Catholics, with 484 priests, 217 permanent deacons and 1,142 religious.

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Holy Year to Celebrate Apostle James

SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA, Spain, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Santiago de Compostela has officially announced the 2010 "Jacobeo" Holy Year, which is celebrated each year that the feast of the Apostle James the Greater falls on Sunday.

St. James (in Spanish, Santiago) is the patron of Spain. His feastday is July 25. The feast falls on a Sunday 14 times every century, giving rise to 14 holy years. Next year's celebration will be the second Jacobeo Holy Year of the third millennium.

Archbishop Julián Barrio in a press conference Monday invited the faithful of Spain, all of Europe and of other continents to "make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle [James] to confess faith in the Risen Christ and to receive the abundance of divine mercy as a manifestation of the love of God for each person."

The prelate also presented a pastoral letter titled, "Pilgrims of Faith and Witnesses of the Risen Christ." The letter will serve as a type of itinerary for pilgrims to Santiago. It focuses on the experience of the disciples on the road to Emmaus.

Tradition holds that the Apostle James evangelized Spain and his tomb is in Santiago de Compostela.

One of the principal events of the year will be a pilgrimage with the World Youth Day cross in August. World Youth Day will be held in Madrid, Spain, in 2011.

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WORDS MADE FLESH

Set Free the Gifts of the Spirit

Biblical Reflection for Solemnity of Pentecost

By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB

TORONTO, Canada, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Christian theology of the Holy Spirit is rooted in Judaism. The term Spirit translates the Hebrew word (ruah) and even in the pronunciation of it we detect God's wind and breath. The wind of God, the breath of God, the presence of God are all ways of referring to God's presence.

The expression "Holy Spirit" was used only seven times in the Old Testament, whereas the terms "Spirit of God" or "Spirit of the Lord" occurs 67 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. In the very first line of the book of Genesis 1:1, God's Spirit was gently hovering over the primordial waters waiting for the opportune moment of drawing order from that chaos.

Jesus, himself, uses the sensory image of the wind in the mysterious, nocturnal conversation with Nicodemus when he talks about the Spirit as the wind that blows where it wills [cf. John 3]. This, then, is the Spirit's first function in the Scriptures: to be the mysterious presence of God in history, not reducible to human or earthly logic.

The second function of the Spirit in the Old Testament is that of putting things in order. The Genesis creation account [Chapter 1] reveals a descending Spirit upon this formless world and its descent produces the miracle of creation, the transformation of chaos into cosmos, of disorder, into order, of anonymity into community.

The third function of the Spirit in the Old Testament is life-giver. In Genesis 2:7, we read: "The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the Spirit, the breath of life and man became a living being. As a result of this divine breath, the human creature is transformed into a living being, no longer to be simply a creature but a partner made in the image and likeness of God, with whom and to whom God speaks and confides responsibility for the world."

The fourth function of the Holy Spirit is guide. We read in Isaiah 11: "The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord." The fear of the Lord is not something that terrorizes people but could be understood as our ability to say "wow," "awesome" before God's handiwork and God's creation.

The fifth function of the Spirit is healer, articulated so powerfully in the prophecy of Ezekiel 36:26-27 -- "I will give you a new heart and place a new spirit within you, I will put my spirit within you and make you live by my statutes, careful to observe my decrees." The Spirit enters, recreates, restores to health and vanquishes sin.

The sixth function of the Holy Spirit is the universal principle. We read in Joel 3:1-2: "I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, your sons and your daughters shall prophecy, even upon the men-servants and the maid-servants, in those days I will pour out my spirit." The day will come when all humanity will be truly possessed by the spirit and that day will coincide with the eagerly awaited Messianic age of which the prophets speak. It was this principle that captivated Jesus'activity and ministry in a remarkable way.

The seventh function of the Holy Spirit takes place on the feast of Pentecost when the disciples were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. The coming of the Holy Spirit signals the start of a world-wide mission for Christians beyond their geographic boundaries of Israel, first from Israel to Rome, and then from Rome then to the ends of the earth. It is a mission that overcomes human obstacles and has the Spirit as its driving force.

The Catholic Experience

The Holy Spirit makes the Christian experience truly Catholic and universal, open to all human experience. To be Catholic is to be universal and open to the world. Not only to Canada, North America Europe or Asia, or a certain familiar part of the world or segment of society, but it must be open to all, to every single person. The mind of Christ is not intended to be a selective mentality for a few but the perspective from which the whole world will be renewed and redeemed. An insight like this, the universal scope of salvation did not however come easily and without much pain and confusion.

In fact, the whole of the New Testament can be understood precisely as the emergence of the Catholic, the universal, in Christian life. Christianity, had it not moved from where it was particular and small would have just been a small modification of the Jewish experience, a subset of Jewish piety that was still focused in and around Jerusalem and the restoration of a literal kingdom of Israel. The first two generations of Christians discovered that Christianity could not be just that. Because they had received the Holy Spirit, which is the universal principle, the Holy Spirit opened peoples' eyes to the universal import of the Christian truth and through the encounter with non-Jews who received the Holy Spirit.

The artists of the Middle Ages often contrasted the Tower of Babel with the "Tower" of the Upper Room. Babel symbolizes the divisions of people caused by sin. Pentecost stands for a hope that such separations are not a tragic necessity. The babbling mob of Babel compares poorly with the heartfelt unity of the Pentecost crowd. Babel was a mob. Pentecost was a community. A people without God lost the ability to communicate. A people suffused with the Spirit spoke heart to heart.

At Pentecost the full meaning of Jesus'life and message is poured into our hearts by the Spirit alive in the community. The New Testament seems to say that - for a fleeting moment - the nations of the earth paused from their customary strife and experienced a community caused by God. The brief and shining hour of Pentecost remains to charm and encourage us to this day.

World Youth Day

One of the finest teachings on the Holy Spirit in recent times took place last July during the great vigil at World Youth Day 2008 in Sydney, Australia. [] The Saturday evening prayer vigil at the Randwick Racecourse on July 19 began in darkness, gradually illuminated by torches borne by dancers on the podium, representing the opening to the Holy Spirit.

"Tonight we focus our attention on how to become witnesses," Benedict XVI told the young people in his address. "You are already well aware that our Christian witness is offered to a world which in many ways is fragile. The unity of God's creation is weakened by wounds that run particularly deep when social relations break apart, or when the human spirit is all but crushed through the exploitation and abuse of persons. Indeed, society today is being fragmented by a way of thinking that is inherently shortsighted, because it disregards the full horizon of truth, the truth about God and about us. By its nature, relativism fails to see the whole picture. It ignores the very principles which enable us to live and flourish in unity, order and harmony".

Yet, the Pope went on, "such attempts to construct unity in fact undermine it. To separate the Holy Spirit from Christ present in the Church's institutional structure would compromise the unity of the Christian community, which is precisely the Spirit's gift! [...] Unfortunately the temptation to 'go it alone' persists. Some today portray their local community as somehow separate from the so-called institutional Church, by speaking of the former as flexible and open to the Spirit and the latter as rigid and devoid of the Spirit."

"Let us invoke the Holy Spirit: He is the artisan of God's works," the Pope concluded. "Let His gifts shape you! Just as the Church travels the same journey with all humanity, so too you are called to exercise the Spirit's gifts amidst the ups and downs of your daily life. Let your faith mature through your studies, work, sport, music and art. Let it be sustained by prayer and nurtured by the Sacraments. [...] In the end, life is not about accumulation. It is much more than success. To be truly alive is to be transformed from within, open to the energy of God's love. In accepting the power of the Holy Spirit you too can transform your families, communities and nations. Set free the gifts! Let wisdom, courage, awe and reverence be the marks of greatness!"

Come Holy Spirit!

We read in the gospels "the one whom the Father will send will teach us everything and remind us of all that Jesus has said to us" [John 14:26]. This act of reminding and recalling is stated very clearly in the Catechism of The Catholic Church, [No. 1099] "The Holy Spirit is the Church's living memory." On this great feast and birth of the Church, let us pray for the gift of memory, and for the courage to move from the empowering mystery of the Upper Room to the reality of daily life.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful
And kindle in us the fire of your Love!

Lord, send us your Spirit,
And renew the face of the earth...
The face of our Church, the face of our communities,
Our own faces, our own hearts. Amen.

[The readings for the solemnity of Pentecost are Acts 2:1-11; 1 Corinthians 12:3b-7, 12-13 or Galatians 5:16-25; and John 20:19-23 or John 15:26-27; 16:12-15]

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Basilian Father Thomas Rosica, chief executive officer of the Salt and Light Catholic Media Foundation and Television Network in Canada, is a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Social Communications. He can be reached at: rosica@saltandlighttv.org.

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On the Net:

Salt and Light Web site: www.saltandlighttv.org

Pentecost: www.saltandlighttv.org/prog_slprog_snl_presents_easter_video6.html

Pentecost on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cx1E9jZ5chM

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Wednesday's Audience

On Theodore the Studite

"An Important Virtue … Is Love for Work"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience in St. Peter's Square, part of a catechetical series he is giving about great writers of the Church in the Middle Ages.

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Dear brothers and sisters:

The saint that we find today, St. Theodore the Studite, brings us to a period that from the religious and political point of view was rather turbulent. St. Theodore was born in the year 759 to a noble and pious family. His mother, Teoctista, and an uncle, Plato, abbot of the monastery of Sakkudion in Bithynia, are venerated as saints. It was precisely his uncle who guided him toward the monastic life, which he embraced at the age of 22. He was ordained a priest by the patriarch Tarasios, but afterward he broke communion with him because of the weakness he showed in the case of the adulterous marriage of Emperor Constantine VI. The consequence was Theodore's exile to Thessalonica in the year 796. Reconciliation with the imperial authority came about the next year under Empress Irene, whose benevolence brought Theodore and Plato to be transferred to the urban monastery of Studios, together with the majority of the community of the monks of Sakkudion, to avoid the invasions of the Saracens. In this way began the important "studite reform."

The personal life of Theodore, nevertheless, continued to be very hectic. With his characteristic energy, he became the leader of the resistance to the iconoclasm of Leo V the Armenian, who opposed once again the existence of images and icons in the Church. The procession of icons, organized by the monks of Studios, brought about the reaction of the police. Between 815 and 821, Theodore was flogged, jailed and exiled in various parts of Asia Minor. In the end, he was able to return to Constantinople, but not to his monastery. Thus he established himself with his monks on the other side of the Bosphorus.

He died, it seems, on Pringipos on Nov. 11, 826, the day on which he is remembered in the Byzantine calendar. Theodore is distinguished in Church history for being one of the great reformers of monastic life and also as a defender of sacred images during the second iconoclast phase, together with the patriarch of Constantinople, St. Nicephorus.

Theodore had understood that the issue of the veneration of icons implicated the very truth of the Incarnation. In his three books, Antirretikoi (Refutations), Theodore compares the eternal internal relations of the Trinity, in which the existence of each divine Person does not destroy unity, with the relation between the two natures of Christ, which do not compromise in him the unique Person of the Logos. And he argues: To abolish the veneration of the icons of Christ would mean cancelling his very redemptive work, since in assuming human nature, the invisible Word has appeared in visible human flesh, and in this way has sanctified the entire visible cosmos. Icons, sanctified by liturgical blessing and the prayer of the faithful, unite us with the Person of Christ, with his saints, and through them, with the heavenly Father, and they give witness to an entrance into the divine reality of our visible and material cosmos.

Theodore and his monks, witnesses of courage in the times of the iconoclast persecutions, are inseparably united to the reform of the cenobitic life in the Byzantine world. Their importance asserts itself even because of an exterior circumstance: their number. While the monasteries of the epoch did not exceed 30 or 40 monks, through the "Life of Theodore," we know that there were more than 1,000 Studite monks. Theodore himself informs us that in his monastery there were some 300 monks; we see, therefore, the enthusiasm for the faith that sprung up in the context of this man truly informed and formed by the same faith. However, more than the number, the new spirit that the founder imprinted on the cenobitic life showed itself to be influential. In his writing, he insists on the urgency of a conscious return to the teaching of the fathers, above all to St. Basil, first legislator of the monastic life, and to St. Dorotheos of Gaza, a famous spiritual father of the Palestinian desert. The characteristic contribution of Theodore consists in his insistence on the necessity of order and submission on the part of the monks. During the persecutions, the monks had dispersed, accustoming themselves to living according to each one's personal judgment. When it was possible to reconstruct common life, it was necessary to deeply commit himself to again make of the monastery an authentic living community, an authentic family, or as he said, an authentic "Body of Christ." In a community like this, the reality of the Church as a whole is concretely fulfilled.

Another of Theodore's deep conviction is this: With respect to laypeople, monks take on the commitment of observing Christian duties with greater rigor and intensity. That's why they make a special profession, which belongs to the hagiasmata (consecrations), and which is almost a "new baptism," and is symbolized by the taking of the habit. With respect to laypeople, the commitment of poverty, chastity and obedience is characteristic of monks. Addressing the monks, Theodore speaks in a concrete way, occasionally almost picturesque, of poverty, but in the following of Christ this is from the beginning an essential element of monasticism and indicates as well a path for us. Renunciation of private poverty, freedom from material things, as well as sobriety and simplicity, are only valid in their radical form for monks, but the spirit of this renunciation is the same for everyone. In fact, we should not depend on material property; we should learn detachment, simplicity, austerity and sobriety. In this way, a solidary society can grow and the great problem of poverty in this world can be overcome. Therefore, in this sense, the radical sign of the poor monks indicates essentially a path also for us.

When he illustrates the temptations against chastity, Theodore does not hide his personal experiences and shows the path of interior fight to find self-control and in this way, respect for one's own body and the body of others as a temple of God.

But the principal renunciations are for him those demanded by obedience, since each one of the monks has his way of living, and integration in the great community of 300 monks truly implies a new form of life, which he classifies as the "martyrdom of submission." Also in this, the monks give an example, since after original sin, the tendency for man is to do one's own will, the first principle is the life of the world, and everything else remains submitted to the personal will. But in this way, if each one only follows himself, the social fabric cannot work. Only in learning to integrate oneself in common freedom, sharing and submitting to it, learning legality, that is, submission and obedience to the rules of the common good and the common life, can a society be healed, as well as the "I" of the pride of putting oneself in the center of the world. In this way, St. Theodore helps his monks with keen introspection, and certainly us as well, to understand the true life, to resist the temptation of putting one's own will as the supreme rule of life and to conserve a true personal identity, which is always an identity together with others, as well as peace of heart.

For Theodore the Studite, an important virtue, together with obedience and humility, is philergia, that is, love for work, which he sees as a criterion to prove the quality of personal devotion. One who is fervent in material commitments, who works assiduously, he maintains, is the same in the spiritual realm. In this regard, he does not allow that with the pretext of prayer and contemplation, the monk dispenses with work, including manual work, which in reality is, according to him and to the monastic tradition, the means to encounter God.

Theodore is not afraid to speak of work as the "sacrifice of the monk," of his "liturgy," even of a type of Mass through which the monastic life converts into angelical life. And precisely in this way the world of work is humanized and man, through work, becomes more himself, closer to God. A consequence of this singular vision deserves to be considered: Precisely because it is the fruit of a form of "liturgy," the riches that come from common work should not serve the comfort of the monks, but should be destined for the help of the poor. In this, all of us can see the need for the fruit of work to be a good for everyone. Obviously the work of the "studites" was not only manual: They had great importance in the religious-cultural development of the Byzantine culture as calligraphers, painters, poets, educators of youth, teachers in schools, librarians.

If indeed he carried out an enormous exterior activity, Theodore did not allow himself to be distracted from what he considered intimately linked to his function as superior: to be the spiritual father of his monks. He knew the decisive influence had in his life by both his good mother and his holy uncle, Plato, whom he classified with the significant title of "father." Because of this, he gave spiritual direction to the monks. Each day, his biographer says, after night prayers, he placed himself before the iconostasis to listen to the confidences of everyone. He gave spiritual advice as well to many people who were not from the monastery. The "Spiritual Testament" and the "Letters" highlight his open and affectionate manner, and show how from his paternity arose true spiritual friendships within the monastery and outside of it.

The Rule, known with the name of Hypotyposis, codified after Theodore's death, was adopted with some modification in Mount Athos, when in the year 962, St. Athanasius the Athonite founded there the Great Lavra, and in the Rus of Kiev, when at the beginning of the second millennium, St. Theodosius introduced it in the Lavra of the Caves. Understood in its genuine significance, the Rule becomes something exceedingly relevant. Today numerous currents arise that threaten the unity of the common faith and lead toward a type of dangerous spiritual individualism and spiritual pride. It is necessary to commit oneself in its defense and to make grow the perfect unity of the Body of Christ, in which can be integrated in harmony the peace of order and sincere personal relationships in the Spirit.

Perhaps it is useful to take up at the end some of the principal elements of the spiritual doctrine of Theodore. Love for the incarnated Lord and for his visibility in the liturgy and in icons. Fidelity to baptism and commitment to live in the communion of the Body of Christ, understood also as communion of Christians among themselves. Spirit of poverty, of sobriety, of renunciation; chastity, self-control, humility and obedience against the primacy of one's own will, which destroys the social fabric and the peace of souls. Love for material and spiritual work. Spiritual friendship born in the purification of one's conscience, of one's soul, of one's life. Let us try to follow these teachings that truly show us the path of the true life.

[Translation by ZENIT]

[At the end of the audience, the Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In English, he said:]

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Today's catechesis on the life and teaching of Saint Theodore the Studite places us at the heart of the medieval Byzantine period. Born in 759 to a noble and pious family, Theodore entered the monastery at the age of twenty-two. He vigorously opposed the iconoclastic movement since, he argued, abolishing images of Christ entails a rejection of his work of redemption. Theodore also initiated a thorough reform of the disciplinary, administrative and spiritual aspects of monastic life. A particularly important virtue according to Theodore is philergia - the love of work - since diligence in material tasks indicates fervour in one's spiritual duties. He even described work as a type of "liturgy", asserting that the riches mined from it must be used to help the poor. The Studite's Rule holds particular relevance for us today because it highlights the unity of faith and the need to resist the danger of spiritual individualism. May we heed Theodore's summons to nurture the unity of the Body of Christ through well-ordered lives and by cultivating harmonious relationships with one another in the Holy Spirit.

I warmly greet all the English-speaking pilgrims. In a special way, I welcome members of the Schola Cantorum of Assumption Seminary in San Antonio, Texas; seminarians and priests from Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, Michigan; and members of the Order of Knights of Saint John from Nigeria. God bless all of you!

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DOCUMENTS

Letter for Year for Priests

"A Year of Prayer by Priests, With Priests and for Priests"

VATICAN CITY, MAY 27, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the letter Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, wrote ahead of the Year for Priests, which will begin June 19.

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Dear Priests,

The Year for Priests, announced by our beloved Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the death of the saintly Curé of Ars, St. John Mary Vianney, is drawing near. It will be inaugurated by the Holy Father on the 19th June, the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctification of Priests. The announcement of the Year for Priests has been very warmly received, especially amongst priests themselves. Everyone wants to commit themselves with determination, sincerity and fervor so that it may be a year amply celebrated in the whole world -- in the Dioceses, parishes and in every local community -- with the warm participation of our Catholic people who undoubtedly love their priests and want to see them happy, holy and joyous in their daily apostolic labors.

It must be a year that is both positive and forward looking in which the Church says to her priests above all, but also to all the Faithful and to wider society by means of the mass media, that she is proud of her priests, loves them, honors them, admires them and that she recognizes with gratitude their pastoral work and the witness of the their life. Truthfully priests are important not only for what they do but also for who they are. Sadly, it is true that at the present time some priest have been shown to have been involved in gravely problematic and unfortunate situations. It is necessary to investigate these matters, pursue judicial processes and impose penalties accordingly. However, it is also important to keep in mind that these pertain to a very small portion of the clergy. The overwhelming majority of priests are people of great personal integrity, dedicated to the sacred ministry; men of prayer and of pastoral charity, who invest their entire existence in the fulfillment of their vocation and mission, often through great personal sacrifice, but always with an authentic love towards Jesus Christ, the Church and the people, in solidarity with the poor and the suffering. It is for this reason that the Church is proud of her priests wherever they may be found.

May this year be an occasion for a period of intense appreciation of the priestly identity, of the theology of the Catholic priesthood, and of the extraordinary meaning of the vocation and mission of priests within the Church and in society. This will require opportunities for study, days of recollection, spiritual exercises reflecting on the Priesthood, conferences and theological seminars in our ecclesiastical faculties, scientific research and respective publications.

The Holy Father, in announcing the Year in his allocution on the 16th March last to the Congregation for the Clergy during its Plenary Assembly, said that with this special year it is intended “to encourage priests in this striving for spiritual perfection on which, above all, the effectiveness of their ministry depends”. For this reason it must be, in a very special way, a year of prayer by priests, with priests and for priests, a year for the renewal of the spirituality of the presbyterate and of each priest. The Eucharist is, in this perspective, at the heart of priestly spirituality. Thus Eucharistic adoration for the sanctification of priests and the spiritual motherhood of religious women, consecrated and lay women towards priests, as previously proposed some time ago by the Congregation for the Clergy, could be further developed and would certainly bear the fruit of sanctification.

May it also be a year in which the concrete circumstances and the material sustenance of the clergy will be considered, since they live, at times, in situations of great poverty and hardship in many parts of the world.

May it be a year as well of religious and of public celebration which will bring the people -- the local Catholic community -- to pray, to reflect, to celebrate, and justly to give honor to their priests. In the ecclesial community a celebration is a very cordial event which expresses and nourishes Christian joy, a joy which springs from the certainty that God loves us and celebrates with us. May it therefore be an opportunity to develop the communion and friendship between priests and the communities entrusted to their care.

Many other aspects and initiatives could be mentioned that could enrich the Year for Priests, but here the faithful ingenuity of the local churches is called for. Thus, it would be good for every Dioceses and each parish and local community to establish, at the earliest opportunity, an effective program for this special year. Clearly it would be important to begin the Year with some notable event. The local Churches are invited on the 19th June next, the same day on which the Holy Father will inaugurate the Year for Priests in Rome, to participate in the opening of the Year, ideally by some particular liturgical act and festivity. Let those who are able most surely come to Rome for the inauguration, to manifest their own participation in this happy initiative of the Pope.

God will undoubtedly bless with great love this undertaking; and the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of the Clergy, will pray for each of you, dear priests.

Cardinal Cláudio Hummes
Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo
Prefect, Congregation for the Clergy

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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

ZE090526

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 26, 2009

VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope Greets Oldest Living Noble Prize Winner
Archbishop Celli Named to Vatican TV Board

WORLD FEATURES
Galileo Anniversary Ignites Faith-Science Dialogue
181 Friars Arrive in Order's Hometown
Togo Set to Repeal Capital Punishment

NEWS BRIEFS
Aid Agency Reports Record Donations
St. Therese Relics to Visit England and Wales
California Court Upholds Ban Protecting Marriage

LITURGY
Pre-recorded Masses

CLASSIFIED ADS
Reduce Electricity Use and COST with Solar and Wind

VATICAN DOSSIER

Pope Greets Oldest Living Noble Prize Winner

VATICAN CITY, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI received in audience Monday the oldest living Nobel Prize winner.

Rita Levi-Montalcini, who turned 100 years old in April, won the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1986. She received it together with colleague Stanley Cohen for their discovery of nerve growth factor.

The Vatican press office reported the audience, but gave no details of the visit.

The scientist is a native of Turin, Italy. During World War II she accepted an invitation to study at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. She remained at the university for 30 years, becoming a full professor in 1958.

In 2001, she was named a senator with life tenure in the Italian Senate.

That same year she founded the Levi-Montalcini Foundation, which aims to give educational opportunities to African women. The project began in Ethiopia, and has since spread to 10 countries.

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Archbishop Celli Named to Vatican TV Board

VATICAN CITY, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI appointed Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, as president of the management board of the Vatican Television Center.

The archbishop succeeds Italian journalist Emilio Rossi, who died in December at 85.

The director of the Vatican Television Center is Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, who is also the director of the Vatican press office and Vatican Radio.

The appointment of Archbishop Celli reinforces Benedict XVI's efforts to promote teamwork among the various communication arms of the Vatican.

Created in 1983 by Pope John Paul II, the Vatican Television Center aims to contribute to spreading the universal message of the Gospel by using television to document the Pope's pastoral ministry and the activities of the Apostolic See.

The main services offered by CTV are the following: live broadcasts, production, archiving, and daily assistance to other broadcasters.

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WORLD FEATURES

Galileo Anniversary Ignites Faith-Science Dialogue

Vatican Joins in Year of Astronomy Conference

By Carmen Elena Villa

FLORENCE, Italy, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- There is a fundamental dialogue between faith and reason, and an international conference on Galileo can serve to prove it, according to the archbishop of Florence.

Archbishop Giuseppe Betori affirmed this in speaking of the conference under way in his archdiocese on "The Galileo Affair: A Historical, Philosophical and Theological Re-examination."

The event was inaugurated today at the Basilica of the Holy Cross, where Galileo is buried. It is an initiative of the Jesuits' Niels Stensen Foundation, and is part of the celebrations for the International Year of Astronomy sponsored by UNESCO.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano was at the inauguration. The conference will feature 33 speakers and has brought together 18 institutions, including the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Academy of Science, and the Vatican Observatory.

Archbishop Betori spoke about Galileo and the Church. He asserted that the case has been read for centuries as a "tragic and reciprocal lack of understanding," reported L'Osservatore Romano.

The prelate said he wants the Year of Astronomy to "re-establish and present again in a creative way the fundamental dialogue that exists between faith and reason, from the perspective of a permanent collaboration between the Church and institutions of scientific investigation, economic development and social promotion."

"Faith does not grow with the rejection of rationality but rather integrates itself in a more ample horizon of rationality," Archbishop Betori added.

When reason is separated from faith, he continued, the risk arises "of being reduced to a calculation and an exclusive evaluation of conflicting interests." In this way, it "often is unaware of or remains blind to the vital questions, fundamental values and dramatic human situations."

According to the archbishop, the Galileo conference has "not only a high cultural and symbolic value, but also shows that there are conditions for a constructive sharing of responsibilities, in the awareness of respective roles and tasks."

The event ends May 30 in Florence, in the last home where Galileo lived.

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On the Net:

The Galileo Affair: www.galileo2009.org/en/index.php

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181 Friars Arrive in Order's Hometown

Franciscans Begin 187th General Chapter

ASSISI, Italy, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Franciscan friars are in Assisi for the order's 187th general chapter as they celebrate 800 years since St. Francis founded the group.

In representation of 15,000 religious working in more than 110 nations, 181 friars (152 delegates and 29 support personnel including translators and assistants) arrived this week for the start of the month-long meeting. The chapter ends June 20.

The Franciscans are considering the theme "Verbum Domini nuntiantes in universo mundo" (Announcing the Gospel of the Lord all over the world).

The friars processed together into a Mass on Sunday, during which the current minister-general, Father José Rodríguez Carballo, highlighted the need to announce the Gospel with the force of St. Paul and the directness of St. Francis, even where this causes problems and suffering.

"Go out, friars minor, the Spirit of the Lord continues telling us today, not as owners of the truth, but as humble servants, and what you have received freely, give freely," he said in the homily. "Go out and announce to those you find along the way and in the plazas of the cities, their condition as sons and daughters of the same Father, your brothers. Go and evangelize in collaboration with laypeople, men and women, young and old."

Father Rodríguez Carballo acknowledged, "Certainly there will be no lack of difficulties but it is the Lord who says: 'Take courage. Do not be afraid.'"

During the second week of the chapter, a new minister-general will be elected by absolute majority, in the presence of the pontifical delegate, Cardinal José Saraiva Martins. The third and fourth weeks will involve discussions on orientations for the order for the next six years.

Speaking the message

In a May 22 press conference in Rome to present the general chapter, Father Rodríguez Carballo emphasized "missionary challenges," particularly inculturation and a renewal of the language of evangelization: "more humble, more wise and less pompous," and accompanied by a coherent life testimony.

He mentioned the efforts of evangelization made by the order not only in parishes, but also in some 800 educational institutions run by the Franciscans.

The minister-general noted that St. Francis was "above all a believer," even though many times he is portrayed as "a social and political revolutionary. Francis was a revolutionary of the Gospel."

At the end of the press conference, Father Rodríguez Carballo presented the commemorative medal struck for the 800th anniversary of the Franciscans (1209-2009).

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Togo Set to Repeal Capital Punishment

Congress Promotes Abolishing Death Penalty

ROME, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Togo will soon be the latest country to abolish the death penalty, its minister of justice affirmed at a congress on capital punishment in Rome.

The announcement was made Monday at the IV International Congress of Justice Ministers on Monday, hosted by the Community Sant'Egidio and attended by ministers, government officials and policy advisers from around the world.

The congress was titled "From the Moratorium to the Abolition of Capital Punishment: No Justice Without Life."

A press release from the community reported that Kokou Biossey Koné, Togo's justice minister, affirmed that the West African country's decision to abolish the death penalty came about due to the friendship that unites his country with Sant'Egidio.

Although Togo proposed the abolishment last December, the legislation is set to pass this week.

Koné said the Sant'Egidio community had been in close contact with the government about this decision for over a few years.

Progress

Representatives from 23 countries took part in the congress in Rome, which brought together parties on both sides of the issue of capital punishment.

The community's president, Marco Impagliazzo, affirmed that this congress shows that the abolition of the death penalty represents a "new moral level" that will be even more difficult to ignore in the international scope.

He noted that these congresses have helped many countries understand the necessary steps in order to move from maintaining capital punishment to abolishing it.

At the beginning of the 20th century only three countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Today, they are 93.

Impagliazzo noted that Europe is the "first continent in the world without the death penalty. Today, no country can join the European Union if the death penalty is not abolished from its legal system."

In Africa, he said that progress is being made, "where more and more countries are abolishing the death penalty." He noted the abolishment of capital punishment in Rwanda, Gabon, Burundi and Togo.

The Sant'Egidio president said that the majority of Asian countries maintain the death penalty, as well as most states in the United States.

Impagliazzo added, however, the progress being made in the United States, noting that New Mexico abolished capital punishment in March.

New Jersey abolished the death penalty two years ago, and similar laws are under discussion in Nebraska, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Montana.

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NEWS BRIEFS

Aid Agency Reports Record Donations

KOENIGSTEIN, Germany, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Despite the worldwide economic recession, Aid to the Church in Need reported record donations over the past year in their recently published annual report.

A press release from the agency stated today that the donations from 18 different countries of Europe, North and South America and Australia, equaled over €82 million [$115 million], a 3% increase from the previous year.

This money was used for 5,020 projects in 137 countries, including the construction or renovation of churches, religious houses, seminaries, parish houses and centers.

The agency supported 14,739 seminarians, which amounts to almost one in eight of all seminarians worldwide.

Families were supported through the distribution of 1.1 million children's Bibles, and 365,000 catechism booklets.

The agency helped the Catholic ministries in the African earthquake stricken regions of Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. It also aided the Church in Sudan and Zimbabwe.

In the Middle East, assistance was given to the Christian minority suffering from persecution.

The agency also provided funds to aid the Church in Cuba, Colombia, Haiti, Brazil, China, Vietnam and Burma.

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St. Therese Relics to Visit England and Wales

LONDON, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- England and Wales are preparing for this autumn's arrival of the relics of St. Thérèse of Lisieux.

A press release from the bishops' conference announced today that "excitement is growing" faced to the upcoming tour of the relics through the country, which will take place from Sep. 16 to Oct. 16.

Several activities will surround the tour, including films about St. Thérèse's life, talks about her mission and activities for children.

The Catholic Agency to Support Evangelization has produced videos to "promote the evangelistic potential of the tour."

The event organizer, Monsignor Keith Barltrop, said: "The heart of St. Thérèse's message is, in her own words, that God 'burns with the desire to come into your heart.'

"The aim of all the preparation that is going on up and down the country is that the visit of her relics, which one Irish bishop described graphically as 'the remains of a burnt-out love for God,' will help open our hearts to that love."

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On the Net:

Information on relics tour: www.catholicrelics.co.uk

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California Court Upholds Ban Protecting Marriage

Decision Seen as Respect for Voter Rights

SAN FRANCISCO, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The California Supreme Court upheld today a voter-enacted ban on same-sex marriage, a decision being welcomed as respect for voter rights.

The possibility of same-sex marriage in California has been going back-and-forth, particularly in the last year.

Today's decision was welcomed as "the culmination of years of hard work to preserve marriage in California," according to a statement released by Andrew Pugno, general counsel of ProtectMarriage.com.

Pugno said that "hundreds of thousands of volunteers worked diligently to uphold the institution of marriage."

He explained: "Twice, voters have decided that marriage in California should be only between a man and a woman. We are extremely pleased that the Supreme Court has acknowledged the right of voters to define marriage in the California Constitution. The voters have decided this issue and their views should be respected."

In 2000, Californians voted to keep marriage between a man and a woman. But last May, the state's high court overturned that vote and approved same-sex marriage. Some 18,000 gay couples were quick to take advantage of the new prerogative.

Then California citizens rallied support to put the issue to vote again in November. With slightly more than a 52% majority, same-sex marriage was again made illegal in California.

That measure was known as Proposition 8 and it added to the California Constitution the following clause: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California."

However, activists succeeded in taking the issue back to the California Supreme Court, contending that the ban needed legislature approval before being added to the constitution.

The court's decision today upholds the ban, but does not "un-marry" the 18,000 gay couples who wed between May and November.

There are now five states in the United States that allow same-sex marriage: Iowa, Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

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LITURGY

Pre-recorded Masses

And More on "Dry" Liturgy

ROME, MAY 26, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Q: I am a priest and have been wondering for some time about the validity/liceity of Masses I've celebrated for my diocesan television station. I celebrated specific Masses, including Christmas and Divine Mercy Sunday, well in advance of the actual dates. I believe these are valid, but are they licit? -- J.R., Queens borough, New York

A: We dealt fairly amply with the question of televised masses and related questions in our columns of Jan. 18 and Feb. 1, 2005.

In this column, while illustrating the different norms issued by the U.S. bishops' conference we touched on the question of pre-recorded Masses:

"The least satisfactory solution, to be avoided if possible, is the pre-recorded telecast.  "Viewers must be informed that it is pre-recorded and has certain limitations such as having been celebrated outside the liturgical day or season. The guidelines give as an example the 'taping of "Christmas morning Mass" on Monday of the fourth week of Advent.'

"Other disadvantages are that the Mass usually must take place in a studio and not in a community that regularly gathers for worship. Editing may include inappropriate special effects, or shorten some elements which are not convenient for worship. Editing may even make the priest and ministers appear to be actors.  "However, if no alternative is available, this Mass should be taped on the closest possible date to the day of transmission and only one liturgy may be taped with the same group on any one day.  "Also, the full liturgy should be recorded and editors should not eliminate any elements of the Mass (the Gloria or a reading) due to time constraints."

With this in mind we can say that if these norms are respected, then the pre-recorded Mass is both valid and licit, albeit it is not the ideal situation.

The complete guidelines can be found online at the U.S. bishops' conference Web site: http://www.usccb.org/liturgy/current/tv.shtml.

* * *

Follow-up: "So Very Dry" Liturgy

Pursuant to our May 12 column on "dry liturgy" we received a couple of interesting comments.

One reader wrote: "Whereas I agree with you for the most part, I believe we must get past the rubrics and spend time celebrating the liturgy properly, with enthusiasm. In my priesthood of 42 years, anyone who shows enthusiasm, is a good homilist, and celebrates with joy and happiness gets dissed by other priests because people are going to a different parish. I have always felt that if a priest sees his congregation dwindling in favor of another parish, he ought to go over and find out what that parish is doing and perhaps learn from them. You can follow all the rules and rubrics and have a meaningful celebration of the liturgy. Good music, good homily, prayerful presiding will turn a dry liturgy into a true celebration of God's gifts to us. Unfortunately, jealousy reigns."

While it is true that human limitations such as jealousy can also be present, I agree with our reader on persisting in celebrating the liturgy with faithful enthusiasm. In the end the effort will bear fruit where it matters most, the salvation of souls. To paraphrase an expression of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta: "If in doing what is right people say you are working for egotistical motives or seeking personal adulation, don't worry; do what is right anyway."

Another priest correspondent, writing from India, commented on the original letter: "The question of 'So Very Dry Liturgy' I found very disappointing/disturbing. I do not know whether that is the questioner's personal experience or that he is quoting from hearsay. I am also an Indian priest but working in Nepal. And I have traveled through many parts of India and have known many dioceses and missionaries and am in touch with many areas of the Indian Church on a regular basis. And my own personal experience has been quite contrary to what the questioner writes. On occasions I have heard from non-Catholics who attend our liturgy that they find it deep and much more meaningful than theirs, except maybe for the singing and 'entertainment' part.

"Of late I am afraid some think -- maybe with the influence of the mass media -- that liturgy has to be entertaining, and occasionally we do find some priests attempting comical things to make it 'more interesting.' Once, even someone came to complain to me that one of the priests asked the gathering of the youth, 'Would you like to have a short and enjoyable Mass or a boring and dry long Mass?'

"I was so surprised that a priest was able to say such things to youngsters and also that he had different categories of Masses in store for them. Unless we have it clear within ourselves that the liturgy and especially the Eucharist is not an entertainment program but worship -- 'source and summit of our Christian life' -- I think these types of questions are natural. And I fully agree with you that what is lacking in such areas (if it is true as the questioner says) is proper catechesis, and [hence a need to] develop true and authentic devotion at the sacraments. In many parts of India there are very many prayer groups, charismatic and others, where spontaneity finds its proper application. And I find it very difficult to accept that fidelity to liturgical norms makes it 'dry.'"

I am grateful for this comment. While I have not yet had the privilege of visiting India, my work in Rome brings me into frequent contact with Indian priests, seminarians and laypeople of various Catholic rites. Every time I attend one of their liturgies I perceive an enthusiasm and degree of participation that is anything but "dry" but rather reverent and fervent.

* * *  

Readers may send questions to liturgy@zenit.org. Please put the word "Liturgy" in the subject field. The text should include your initials, your city and your state, province or country. Father McNamara can only answer a small selection of the great number of questions that arrive.

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Monday, May 25, 2009

ZE090525

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 25, 2009

VATICAN DOSSIER
Benedict XVI Calls Priests to Be Saints

WORLD FEATURES
Nepal Church Bomb Kills 2, Injures 8
Bishop: Health Care Begins With R-E-S-P-E-C-T
What Americans Want in a Supreme Court Pick

NEWS BRIEFS
Catholic Reaction to Recession: Bishops Give Guide
Irish Bishops Asking How, Why Abuse Became Endemic
East Timor Resisting Legalized Abortion

FORUM
Notre Dame's Eucharistic Instinct

CLASSIFIED ADS
Reduce Electricity Use with Solar and Wind

VATICAN DOSSIER

Benedict XVI Calls Priests to Be Saints

Urges Spiritual Strength in Dialogue with Modern World

VATICAN CITY, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Vatican diplomats should have spiritual strength in order to dialogue with the modern world while safeguarding their Christian and priestly identity, Benedict XVI told members of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy.

The Pope stated this Saturday in an audience with students of the academy, led by its president, Archbishop Beniamino Stella, a Vatican communiqué reported. The academy is responsible for training candidates for the Holy See diplomatic service.

The Pontiff affirmed that the students' upcoming service in various apostolic nunciatures may "be considered as a specific priestly vocation, a pastoral ministry that involves a particular approach to the world and to its often highly complex social and political problems."

He continued, "The dialogue with the modern world that is asked of you, as well as your contact with people and the institutions they represent, require an inner strength and a spiritual firmness capable of safeguarding -- indeed of giving ever more prominence to -- your Christian and priestly identity."

The Holy Father explained that this is necessary so as to avoid "the negative effects of the worldly mentality" and to keep from being "attracted or contaminated by an overly earthly logic."

"In moments of darkness and inner difficulty," he said, "turn your gaze to Christ."

Benedict XVI added, "Always remember that it is vital and fundamental for the priestly ministry, however practiced, to maintain a personal bond with Christ; he wants us as his 'friends,' friends who seek intimacy with him, who follow his teaching and who undertake to make him known and loved by everyone."

"The Lord wants us to be saints," he affirmed, "in other words, entirely his, not concerned with building a career that is interesting and comfortable in human terms, not seeking success and the praise of others, but entirely dedicated to the good of souls, ready to do our duty unto the end, aware of being 'useful servants' and happy to offer our poor contribution to the spreading of the Gospel."

Prayer

The Pope urged the priests to be "men of intense prayer who cultivate a communion of love and life with the Lord."

He continued: "Without this solid spiritual base, how would it be possible to continue our ministry? Those who work in the Lord's vineyard in this way know that what is achieved with dedication, with sacrifice and for love, is never lost."

The Pontiff spoke about the Year for Priests, which will begin June 19, as a "valuable occasion to renew and strengthen your generous response to the Lord's call, in order to intensify your relationship with him."

"Use this opportunity to the utmost," he said, "so as to be priests in accordance with the dictates of Christ's heart, like St. Jean Marie Vianney, Cure of Ars," whose 150th anniversary of death we are preparing to celebrate.

The diplomats fulfill various roles for the Holy See, including the fostering of relationships with the various heads of states.

They also assist in the process of naming bishops, participating in the selection of candidates to be proposed to the Holy Father.

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WORLD FEATURES

Nepal Church Bomb Kills 2, Injures 8

Interreligious Peace Rally Set for May 31

KATHMANDU, Nepal, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- A bomb explosion in the middle of a Mass in a Kathmandu Catholic Church killed two parishioners and injured eight others.

The explosion took place Saturday morning in Assumption Catholic Church, reported UCA News, where some 300 parishioners were gathered.

Josh Niraula, a parishioner, noted: "The blast was so powerful that it literally sent people flying. We were just 15 minutes into the Mass."

Father Silas Bogati, the director of Caritas in Nepal and the priest who was celebrating the Mass, stated: "We could never imagine that someone could carry out such a cowardly act and kill and injure so many people.

"The Catholic Church in Nepal has always done good things for society. We have never hurt the feelings of any group or community."

On the contrary, he said, "we been having good religious harmony and some extremist group is trying to disturb this."

Bishop Anthony Sharma, the apostolic vicar of Nepal, confirmed that the Church has no enemies. He said, "We pray for those who died, their families, the injured and the perpetrators of the crime."

Celeste Joseph, a 15-year-old student, and Deepa Patrick, a woman in her late 20s who was visiting the city, were killed in the explosion.

Sunil Shrestha, another parishioner, reported: "The scene was horrific. Smoke engulfed the church as people ran helter-skelter. The injured were lying on the floor in pools of blood and I could hear women and children crying and shouting for help."

Threats

Amid the church debris were pamphlets belonging to an obscure Hindu group called the "Nepal Defense Army," which led the police to believe that the group took responsibility for the attack.

The group was also blamed for the murder of Salesian Father John Prakash Moyalan in eastern Nepal last year.

Father Bogati said, "We had received threats over the phone from this group about six months ago," but "we took them lightly."

The deputy inspector general of police, Arjun Jung Sahi, noted that the explosives were planted inside a pressure cooker, and left in a bag in the middle of the church.

Kedar Singh Bhandari, a police superintendent, assured the public that a search for the criminals is under way.

Unity

Shortly after the incident, the Catholics were joined by Hindu, Muslim and Protestant leaders who came to show solidarity the victims.

Damodar Gautam, president of the Nepal chapter of the World Hindu Federation, Hindu leader Keshav Chaulagain, and Muslim leader Nazarul Hussain condemned the attack.

Over 30 protestant pastors met with Bishop Sharma and other Catholic priests, and decided to organize a nationwide peace rally on May 31.

Father Bogati explained: "We are holding prayers to show our solidarity and religious tolerance. We are also planning an all religious group rally this Sunday.

"The attack has created psychological fear among Christians. Some armed groups are trying to disturb religious harmony in Nepal but they will never be successful."

The country's prime minister, Madhav Kumar Nepal, joined other politicians and religious leaders to participate in a prayer service for the victims on Sunday, the day after the explosion.

Kumar, who was inaugurated today in his position, condemned the attack and set up an inquiry to bring the criminals to justice as one of his first acts in office. The defense army issued demands for the restoration of Nepal's Hindu monarchy, overthrown last year.

Caritas reported that there has been little history of religious conflict in Nepal, where over 80% of the 30 million people are Hindu, while 10% are Buddhist and 4.2% are Muslim. There are some 10,000 Catholics in the country, around 0.5% of the population.

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Bishop: Health Care Begins With R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Offers 8 Principles For Reform Legislation

WASHINGTON, D.C, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- As a U.S. Senate committee is discussing the future of health care in the country, the nation's bishops are reminding the legislators that respect for life needs to be the foundation for any reform.

Bishop William F. Murphy, chairman of the bishops' Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, said this in a statement sent last week to a U.S. Senate committee discussion on “Expanding Health Care Coverage.”

The bishop of Rockville Centre, New York, expressed his hope that the discussion would bring about "true reform to the nation’s health care system," and offered eight principles that could serve as a framework for reform.

"The Catholic bishops of the United States have been and continue to be consistent advocates for comprehensive health care reform leading to accessible and affordable health care for all," he said, recalling the 2007 document "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship."

"In a nation with the resources we have," he added, "health care should be such that all our citizens receive the kind of health care that provides for the needs of all in a coherent and consistent way."

While noting that the dignity of life is foundational to any health care reform, Bishop Murphy recalled that it is also "a critical component of the Catholic Church’s ministry."

"The Church provides health care, purchases health care and picks up the pieces of a failing health care system," he explained. "The Catholic community encounters and serves the sick and uninsured in our emergency rooms, shelters and on the doorsteps of our parishes.

"One-out-of-six patients is cared for in Catholic hospitals. We bring strong convictions and everyday experience to the issue of health care."

Life

Bishop Murphy stated that abortion and other "procedures or technologies that attack or undermine the sanctity and dignity of life" should not be included "as part of a national health care benefit." He added that "no health care reform plan should compel us or others to pay for or participate in the destruction of human life."

Nonetheless, he continued, "decent health care is not a privilege, but a basic human right and a requirement to protect the life and dignity of every person. All people need and should have access to comprehensive, quality health care that they can afford, and this should not depend on their stage of life, where or whether they or their parents work, how much they earn, or where they live or where they come from."

The prelate then offered eight principles for framing health care reform: respect for life, priority concern for the poor, access for all, comprehensive benefits, pluralism, quality, cost controls and equitable financing.

"Health care is a social good," Bishop Murphy concluded. "And accessible and affordable health care for all benefits both individuals and the society as a whole.

"The moral measure of any health care reform proposal is whether it offers affordable and accessible health care to all, beginning with those most in need. This can be a matter of life or death, of dignity or deprivation."

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What Americans Want in a Supreme Court Pick

Polls Show US Opposition to Abortion

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- It's almost a guarantee that Barack Obama will seek a pro-abortion judge to fill a vacant spot on the Supreme Court, but polls show that a presidential pro-choice pick will go against the views of most Americans.

The Supreme Knight of the Knights of Columbus, ZENIT columnist Carl Anderson, considered how polls are showing that Americans are no longer supporters of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

"That's not a controversial statement; it's simply true," Anderson said, in consideration of three polls that have showed Americans are not in favor of abortion to the extent that the Roe decision has been interpreted to allow.

The opinions of the American people on abortion should have particular importance right now, the Supreme Knight suggested, given that Obama and the Senate are considering a replacement for David Souter, the Supreme Court justice who announced his retirement May 1.

The president "will be pressured by a vocal minority to pick someone who passes a pro-Roe litmus test," Anderson said. "Politically and legally -- let alone ethically -- that is not the right move."

The nine Supreme Court justices sit for life; Obama's nominee is expected to be announced this week.

Plenty of consensus

Anderson noted that Roe vs. Wade has been interpreted to allow abortion without restriction. This, he said, "is at odds with the overwhelming majority of Americans according to several recent public opinion polls."

"And in light of this," he continued, "as the president and Senate consider an appointment to the Supreme Court, they should not waste the chance to embrace a growing American consensus by moving away from the absolutist position of Roe and its increasingly few adherents."

Citing a Pew poll and a Gallup poll, Anderson explained that there is "far more consensus on the issue [of abortion] than the political rhetoric would lead us to believe."

According to the Pew survey released April 30, only 18% favored legalized abortion "in all cases." Twenty-eight percent said it should be legal in "most cases"; that same percentage said the opposite: that abortion should be "illegal in most cases," and 16% said it should be illegal in all cases.

A Gallup poll released May 15 showed that a majority of Americans call themselves "pro-life." That survey found that more Americans believe abortion should always be illegal than those who believe the opposite: 22% of Americans believe abortion should be legal in any circumstance, but 23% believe it should be illegal in every circumstance. A majority, 53%, believe it should be legal "only under certain circumstances."

"Though the debate has been framed in terms of an all or nothing issue, the fact is -- as these polls show -- Americans by a more than 3:1 margin, want to move away from Roe and want some restrictions on abortion," Anderson explained.

Down to detail

The Supreme Knight went on to consider a poll conducted by his own organization last October, which offered more detail in its evaluation of the American stance on abortion.

According to that survey, only 8% of Americans agreed with abortion "any time during a pregnancy,” and another 8% supported abortion during the first six months of pregnancy. But 84% of Americans wanted more significant restrictions. Almost one quarter of U.S. citizens, 24%, wanted abortion limited to the first three months.

The greatest number, 32%, wanted to limit abortion to cases of rape, incest or saving the life of the mother, while another 15% wanted to limit abortion only to saving the life of the mother. Finally, 13% said abortion "should never be permitted."

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NEWS BRIEFS

Catholic Reaction to Recession: Bishops Give Guide

WASHINGTON, D.C., MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- What does the Catholic Church affirm about the free market?

The answer to this and other questions about Catholic social teaching is part of a quiz found on a new Web site from the U.S. episcopal conference. The site aims to offer tools to parishes for leading the faithful in their response to the economic crisis.

Catholic Teaching on Economic Life (www.usccb.org/jphd/economiclife) features a 10-point handout on a Christian framework for economic life. It has statements from Benedict XVI, stories of how groups have successfully responded to the crisis, and podcasts and videos,

Bishop William Murphy of Rockville Centre, New York, chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee of Domestic Social Justice and Human Development, outlined a central theme of the site in a letter to the nation’s leaders: "This crisis involves far more than just economic or technical matters, but has enormous human impact and clear ethical dimensions which should be at the center of debate and decisions on how to move forward.

"Families are losing their homes. Retirement savings are at risk. People are losing jobs and benefits. Economic arrangements, structures and remedies should have as a fundamental purpose safeguarding human life and dignity."

John Carr, the executive director of the committee, said the site aims to educate Catholics so they can understand the economic crisis in light of Church teaching.

"One of the central themes of this teaching is that the dignity of the human person always comes first," Carr said. "This is a message of hope in tough economic times."

--- --- ---

On the Net:

Bishops' site on economic life: www.usccb.org/jphd/economiclife

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Irish Bishops Asking How, Why Abuse Became Endemic

MAYNOOTH, Ireland, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Irish bishops are promising to "carefully reflect" on how and why an environment of abuse was able to root itself in Catholic-run schools for decades in Ireland.

The Standing Committee of the Irish episcopal conference met today in Maynooth. According to a subsequent statement, the committee welcomed the report published last week about child abuse dating back to the 1930s in schools run by religious orders, "as a significant step in establishing the truth and enabling the voices of survivors of abuse to be heard."

"We apologize to those so cruelly abused during their childhood while in Catholic-run industrial and reformatory schools," the bishops said. "This abuse is all the greater because it was perpetrated by those called to care in the name of Jesus Christ."

The prelates said that a response to the report could not "be confined to a single statement."

And they affirmed that to "properly address past failures, and to safeguard children today, the whole Church needs to analyze how and why such an abusive environment was allowed to develop and become endemic."

The committee members emphasized that a response now "must support survivors of abuse and promote a civilization of love for children so that they can receive the best possible care and protection."

"We will carefully reflect on the report and discuss its findings and recommendations more fully at the June General Meeting of Bishops," the statement concluded. "We will work closely with religious congregations and institutes in addressing the needs of survivors of abuse and in the healing process. We will continue to promote a safe, effective and accountable environment for children in cooperation with the National Office for Safeguarding Children in the Catholic Church and with all the relevant statutory agencies."

The Standing Committee has 12 members and meets to plan the subsequent plenary meeting of the episcopal conference.

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East Timor Resisting Legalized Abortion

UN Committee Calls Current Policies "Discriminatory"

NEW YORK, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The predominantly Catholic nation of East Timor is under pressure from the United Nations for its laws that penalize abortion, even in the case of rape and incest.

The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute reported last week that East Timor's policies are being scrutinized by the U.N. committee responsible for overseeing compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which will meet for its 44th session in July.

The country's new penal code, which will take effect at the beginning of June, continues to penalize the practice of abortion, though it adds an exception for cases where the mother's health is in jeopardy.

A report from East Timor to the committee states that abortion is a "sensitive issue" in the country, "especially given the traumatic events of recent years" when a 24-year Indonesian occupation enforced family planning programs that were "widely resented" by the people.

The report notes that in the Timorese culture, contraception is generally unpopular, as both men and women see it as "fueling promiscuity and sexually-transmitted diseases while decreasing the number of children."

The Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute stated that despite general support in East Timor for the continued criminalization of abortion, several non-governmental organizations such as the Alola Foundation and Rede Feto, with the support of the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Children's Fund, have been lobbying for more liberalized abortion laws.

It also reports that under the guise of promoting "gender equality," the U.N. committee is pushing for the "modification of customs and practices" regarded by them as "discriminatory."

Additionally, the U.N. body responds with opposition or indifference to Timor's reference to their long-standing customs, distrust of foreign influence, and the "reproductive rights" abuses suffered by Timorese women under Indonesia's rule.

The Timorese report states that the nation values gender distinctions as they help to protect the integrity of the family, as well as the well-being of women.

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FORUM

Notre Dame's Eucharistic Instinct

Father Kevin Russeau's Homily at Prayerful Protest

SOUTH BEND, Indiana, MAY 25, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the text of the homily given May 17 by Father Kevin Russeau at the Mass on the South Quad of the University of Notre Dame's campus, hosted by the student coalition ND Response.

The coalition organized the Mass and other events to prayerfully protest the university's decision to confer an honorary law degree to President Barack Obama at its commencement, and to witness to the Catholic identity of Notre Dame and its foundationally pro-life mission.

* * *

Good morning. My name is Fr. Kevin Russeau. I am a Holy Cross priest and I live and work here at the University of Notre Dame. I want to extend a warm welcome to my brother priests -- some of whom have traveled far -- some who join us from campus -- and I especially wish to welcome all of you gathered this morning. On behalf of all the students, faculty, and staff who have worked to organize this weekend’s demonstrations, I want to welcome you here to South Quad this morning for Mass and thank you for choosing to gather in prayer with us.

There is an instinct that is cultivated here at Notre Dame. When I was in the seminary it was told to us on several occasions that Notre Dame was once known as the Eucharistic campus since Mass is so frequently celebrated here and celebrated regularly in so many places. As a priest I have witnessed what I think is an instinct for the
Eucharist.

When a student learns that a loved one is sick, be it a parent, sibling, friend or acquaintance, a group of students get together and have a priest offer Mass for their recovery.

When a couple becomes engaged on campus, friends gather again around the Eucharist to celebrate and wish the couple well.

In tragedies, which will always be too frequent, the community comes together to celebrate the Eucharist -- the
Eucharist brings consolation and healing to the community.

And when religious are ordained priests each year, we celebrate Masses of thanksgiving within our campus community grateful for God’s blessings.

It seems especially appropriate that in our time, a time of uncertainty, debate, confusion, and mixed emotion, that we should gather again around the table of the Lord to be nourished by his word and with his sacrament.

Much ink has been spilled regarding the controversy of this commencement weekend. There has been local and national coverage. The news and blog pages continue show images, interviews, and footage from campus and each network seems to have its own spin. One story that I don’t hear enough about though, is the response of the student body. In the face of this controversy, I have witnessed countless students who have given me inspiration. Students who instinctively know to approach God in prayer about their trials, students who reach out to others in attempts to offer care, students who have demonstrated to me an ability to listen and obey the scripture we proclaim this day.

Jesus seems to make life easy for us when he summarizes what it is that God expects. He tells us clearly “love one another as I love you.” This is the will of the Father: that you love. Jesus’ love was constant throughout his ministry. Jesus’ love healed the sick, proclaimed the good news, and spent time with the Father in prayer. Jesus’ love cast out demons, raised the dead, and multiplied the loaves and fish! Jesus’ love cleansed the temple of the money changers, washed the feet of his disciples, and forgave sins. All of his ministry and, indeed all of Jesus’ life was an expression of love for humankind.

I often tell couples who are preparing for marriage that love is an exciting emotion to experience and an amusing one to watch! Though often reduced to physical expressions by our media, love is actually a great gift that was extended to us by God and love is also a vocation that we are called to share. The Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, my religious community, tell us that our vows are meant to be an act of love to the God who first loved us! They remind us that God has loved us first -- and that we are called to respond with love in return.

The kind of love that Jesus is actually speaking of today is not limited to his great miracles or sermons. Rather, it is a love that suffered scourging and a crown of thorns -- his love bore a heavy cross and public humiliation -- Jesus’ love included abandonment and betrayal. Jesus’ love for us experienced death so that we might have new life. So this message is not so easy when we look at it more closely, for the summary of God’s expectations for us to love as he loved, is to love in a way that is sacrificial. To love with a love that is deeper than a relationship and more demanding than romance - to love even when it is difficult.

Sacrificial loves comes in a variety of forms. It is expressed with patience and understanding. It is lived out when we put the needs of others before those of our own. Sacrificing is the love that doesn’t count the cost -- but extends the care. Sacrificing is the love that goes the extra mile. Our society encourages us to overcome sacrifice and to take care of ourselves. Jesus tells us today to not be scandalized by the word sacrifice: it is the love that he shared for us and the love we are called to share for him and each other.

What has been inspiring for me these past couple of months, with all the trials and challenges that have confronted the family of Notre Dame, is that our student body had an instinct -- an instinct to come to the altar of the Lord to ask for guidance and strength. I can’t tell you the number of rosaries and Masses and prayer meetings that have been intentional responses to what many feel is a concession to the culture of death. Students, family, friends, alumni, and many of you, have spent hours in adoration looking for the proper response. The students that I have come to know here on campus have reminded me that in all things we must respond with love. And to respond with love in hard times, we must ask our Lord for grace.

We are here today to bear witness and to love. We have gathered today to give voice to the most vulnerable. I don’t know what the cost of your sacrificial love will be anymore than I know the cost of the love I hope to share. But in times of confusion and sadness as well as those times of joy and celebration, perhaps it is our instinct which prompts us to come to the Lord in the sacrament of the Eucharist to be nourished and strengthen in our vocation.

May God bless us this day and bless all who work for the culture of life.

[Text courtesy of www.ndresponse.com]

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Sunday, May 24, 2009

ZE090524

ZENIT

The World Seen From Rome

Daily dispatch - May 24, 2009

VATICAN DOSSIER
Pontiff Calls for Solution to Unemployment Crisis
Benedict XVI Recalls Chinese Catholics in Prayer
Pope Offers Compendium of Chinese Catholics Letter
Aide Notes Danger of Wasting Time with Technology

ANALYSIS
Changing Face of Motherhood: Who's Giving Birth?

REGINA CAELI
On St. Benedict's Example and the Church in China

DOCUMENTS
Benedict XVI's Homily at Miranda Plaza in Cassino
Papal Address After Vespers at Monte Cassino
Pope's Prayer at Monte Cassino Polish Cemetery

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VATICAN DOSSIER

Pontiff Calls for Solution to Unemployment Crisis

Inaugurates House of Charity for Homeless Immigrants

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is calling for solutions to the unemployment crisis, for the creation of jobs to help and protect families who are facing critical economic situations.

The Pope stated this today in his homily during a Mass celebrated in Cassino's Miranda Plaza, the square that will be renamed after him, in the town east of the Monte Cassino Abbey.

The Pontiff spent the day visiting the monastery founded by his patron, St. Benedict, the cradle of the Benedictine order.

He called on his listeners to "reinvigorate" their "faith in the real presence of Jesus," because "without him we cannot do anything of value in our life or apostolate."

The Holy Father explained the purpose of his visit, to "encourage you constantly to build, found and rebuild" the diocesan community on Christ, following the example of St. Benedict, who recommended in his Rule to "put nothing before Christ."

He underlined the saint's call to "keep our hearts fixed on Christ and put nothing before him," by the evangelical program found in the Benedictine motto: "ora et labora et lege" -- "prayer, work, culture."

"Prayer," the Pope said, "to which grave peals of the bell of St. Benedict calls the monks every morning, is the silent path that leads us directly to the heart of God; it is the breath of the soul that gives us peace again in the storms of life."

Critical situation

Speaking next about work, he noted that "humanizing the world of work is typical of the soul of monasticism."

Benedict XVI continued: "I know how critical the situation of many workers is. I express my solidarity with those who live in a troubling precariousness, with those workers who are on unemployment assistance and those who have been laid off."

He called on "the entrepreneurs and those who are able, to seek, with everyone's help, valid solutions to the employment crisis, creating new places of work to safeguard families."

The Pontiff added: "In this respect, how can we not recall that today the family has an urgent need to be better protected, since it is gravely threatened in its very institutional roots?

"I think also of the young people who have difficulty finding a dignified job that allows them to build a family.

"To them I would like to say: Do not be discouraged, dear friends, the Church will not abandon you!"

He recalled the more than 25 young people from the diocese who participated in World Youth Day in Sydney, and urged them to use that "extraordinary spiritual experience" to be leaven among their friends, and to "be the new missionaries in this land of St. Benedict!"

Addressing the world of culture, the third part of Benedictine spirituality, the Holy Father noted the testimony archived by the Monte Cassino monastery, that "European culture has been constituted by the search for God and availability to listen to him."

"In today's cultural effort aimed at creating a new humanism," he said, "faithful to the Benedictine tradition you rightly intend to stress attention to the fragility, weakness of man, to disabled persons and immigrants."

Benedict XVI expressed his gratitude for the possibility of "inaugurating the 'House of Charity,'" for homeless immigrants, "where a culture attentive to life will be built with deeds." The project is being carried out in a former hospital under the sponsorship of the abbot of Monte Cassino.

He encouraged his listeners to live the spirit of St. Benedict, to "proclaim that in your life no one and nothing must take Jesus away from the first place; the mission to build, in Christ's name, a new humanity to teach hospitality and help of the weakest."

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25983?l=english

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Benedict XVI Recalls Chinese Catholics in Prayer

Calls for Peace at World War II Polish Cemetery

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is affirming his support for the Catholics in China and is calling them to renewed fidelity to Christ and communion with the Successor of Peter.

The Pope stated this today in an address before praying the midday Regina Caeli with the crowd gathered in the Miranda Plaza -- renamed the Benedict XVI Plaza -- in Cassino, the town east of the Monte Cassino Abbey.

The Pontiff spent the day visiting the monastery founded by his patron, St. Benedict, the cradle of the Benedictine order.

He spoke about the saint's example in living peace, "the paschal gift par excellence."

The Holy Father continued, "As you know, in my recent trip to the Holy Land, I went as a pilgrim of peace, and today -- in this land marked by the Benedictine charism -- I have the opportunity to emphasize, once again, that peace is in the first place a gift of God, and therefore its power is in prayer."

He affirmed that only by learning, "with the grace of Christ, to combat and defeat the evil within ourselves and in relationships with others, can we become authentic builders of peace and civil progress."

"May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, help all Christians, in their different vocations and situations in life, to be witnesses of that peace that Christ gave us and left us as a demanding mission to realize everywhere," said Benedict XVI.

Unity and peace

He recalled the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians, celebrated in the liturgy on this date, March 24, and venerated "with great devotion at the shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai"

The Pope added: "We celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Church in China. My thoughts turn to all the people of China.

"In particular I greet the Catholics of China with great affection and I exhort them to renew on this day their communion of faith in Christ and of fidelity to the Successor of Peter.

"May our common prayer obtain an effusion of gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that unity of all Christians, the catholicity and the universality of the Church always will be deeper and more visible."

The Pontiff greeted the Polish people, and spoke about his plan to visit the Polish cemetery of Monte Cassino commemorating the World War II battle later that afternoon.

"In this place," he said, "where so many lost their lives in the battles that were fought during the Second World War, we pray especially for the souls of the fallen, commending them to God's infinite mercy, and we pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world."

"Through the intercession of St. Benedict," the Holy Father affirmed, "we ask God that, in prayer and work, we will discover the new dimensions of freedom, and that peace endures in Europe and in the whole world."

After praying the Regina Caeli, the Pope departed for the abbey of Monte Cassino, stopping en route to visit the "House of Charity" for homeless immigrants.

At the abbey, he met with abbots and abbesses from the Benedictine order around the world, as well as a large number of monks and nuns. He celebrated Vespers with the community, and addressed those present.

The Pontiff then left the monastery, and made a private visit to the Polish military cemetery. He read a prayer for the fallen of all wars and all nations, after which he left by helicopter for Rome.

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On ZENIT's Web page:

Full text: http://www.zenit.org/article-25985?l=english

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Pope Offers Compendium of Chinese Catholics Letter

VATICAN CITY, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Two years after the publication of a letter to Chinese Catholics, Benedict XVI has approved a compendium on the document, which was released today.

The Vatican press office announced the release of the compendium that summarizes the 2007 letter sent to the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the People's Republic of China.

The letter offers guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, the communiqué reported, in order to "help Chinese Catholics discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, [...] wants from them."

The press release reports that the letter, on the second anniversary of its publication, has "given rise not only to study sessions exploring its content but also to many pastoral initiatives."

It added that the letter "is becoming a reliable point of reference for the resolution of the various problems that the Catholic community is having to address on both the doctrinal level and the practical, disciplinary level."

The compendium gives the content of the letter in a question and answer format, to facilitate a deeper understanding of the Pope's "thought on some particularly delicate points."

The document will be offered on the Vatican Web site in Chinese -- simplified and traditional characters -- and English.

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Aide Notes Danger of Wasting Time with Technology

Discusses Pope's Message for World Day of Social Communication

VATICAN CITY, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The Church's challenge in the era of Facebook and Twitter consists in presenting the profound message of Jesus without being sidetracked by technology's superficial aspects, says the Vatican spokesperson.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, affirmed this today on the most recent episode of his weekly television program "Octava Dies."

In his remarks the priest referred to the "very beautiful message of the Pope for the World Day of Social Communications this year" that "touches a strategic and crucial point in the reality of the world of communication in rapid development: 'New technologies, new relations; Promoting a culture of respect, of dialogue, of friendship.'"

"Benedict XVI -- or better, BXVI, as he is often called in this particular world -- is first of all addressing young people, the so-called 'digital generation,'" Father Lombardi explained, "challenging them to live their human and spiritual growth and commitment also in the communicative dimension of the new technologies, which has such a big place in the course of their days."

He added, "Here too, in fact, the Christian faith must be 'inculturated,' present as a proclamation and lifestyle and style of relationships."

"But it is not easy," the spokesperson added. "The dangers of limiting oneself to play, of wasting time, of flight from reality and remaining on the surface of things, are there."

He continued: "For his part BXVI, when he speaks to young people, for example at the World Youth Days, insists on wanting to communicate solid, consistent and articulated content to them, which demands a commitment to be assimilated before it can be translated into life.

"So transmitting the substantial through the virtual is a wonderful challenge. Will we succeed with our young people? Will we succeed in accompanying them in this adventure?"

"Let us hope so," the priest affirmed.

He added, "But we must not be victims of the fascination with the extraordinary technological successes, we must continue to distinguish possibilities and limits, and at the same time continue to seek in profundity that solid soil of the vital relationship with God and others, [a place] to really build a culture of respect, of dialogue and of friendship."

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ANALYSIS

Changing Face of Motherhood: Who's Giving Birth?

Children Pay Consequences for Decline in Marriage

By Father John Flynn, LC

ROME, May 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- The number of children born outside a stable married life continues to rise. Northern European countries have the highest levels of births to single women, but the United States is catching up.

The latest figures come from a report published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

According to the May Data Brief issued by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, births to unmarried women totaled 1,714,643 in 2007, 26% more than in 2002. As a result in 2007 nearly 4 in 10 births in the U.S. were to unmarried women.

Contrary to the traditional concerns about adolescent single mothers, the report noted that the rise in birth rates was concentrated in women in their 20s or older, while declining or changing little for unmarried teenagers. In fact, teenagers accounted for just 23% of non-marital births in 2007, down steeply from 50% in 1970.

Thus, while no less than 86% of teenage births are non-marital, older women are catching up. For women aged 20-24, 60% of births were to singles, and nearly one-third of births to women 25-29 were non-marital in 2007. Overall, in 2007, 45% of births in the 20s age bracket were to unmarried women.

The higher number of single mothers in the older age groups is a recent change, according to the CDC.

For women over 30, about one in six births were to singles in 2007, much higher than the proportion in 1970: 1 in 12.

Births outside marriage are typically low for the youngest teens and for women over 35, and are highest for women in their early twenties, the report observed.

Racial background also influences the percentages of single mothers. Births outside marriage are highest for Hispanic women followed by black women. Rates for non-Hispanic white and Asian or Pacific Islander women are much lower.

European trends

The proportions in the United States are considerably higher than in some industrialized countries. For example, 30% or less of recent births were to unmarried women in Germany, Spain, Canada, Italy, and Japan.

Other European countries, however, have higher proportions of single mothers. The latest information from the Eurostat, the official statistical body for the European Union, is also for 2007.

It shows that Denmark, for example, had 46.1% of live births occurring outside marriage. France was even higher, at 51.69%, as was Sweden, at 54.76%. Iceland had the highest proportion, at 63.77%.

Meanwhile, in Britain, marriage continues to weaken. The latest data revealed that marriage rates are at their lowest since they were first calculated in 1862, reported the Times newspaper, Feb. 13.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2007 showed that only one in 50 single women marries each year, and only one in 43 single men. The information relates just to England and Wales.

There were 231,450 marriages in 2007, a decline of 3.3% compared to the previous year. The number of marriages has fallen by a quarter since 1991, according to the ONS.

The average age at first marriage continued to be high. In 2007 it reached 31.9 years for men and 29.8 for women, compared with 31.8 and 29.7 respectively, the year before.

No church bells

The number of couples getting married in religious ceremonies has gone down as well. There were 77,490 religious weddings in England and Wales in 2007. That number means church weddings have halved since the early 1980s.

A couple of months later, another report from the ONS gave more details on family life. According to a report published Apr. 16 by the Telegraph newspaper, the percentage of households comprising the traditional nuclear family -- a couple with children -- fell from 52% to 36% in the period between 1971 and 2008.

The number of adults living alone has gone from 6% to 12% in the same period, due to a combination of divorce and marrying at a later age.

Overall, around 1.6 million children were being brought up by an unmarried couple in 2008, a sharp rise on the figure of 1 million a decade previously.

The decline of marriage and the traditional family continues as research confirms that children are best off when raised in a stable married environment.

A March 11 report by the Canadian Institute of Marriage and Family looked at the differences between children brought up in married homes and those raised by cohabiting couples.

Frank Jones, a research fellow at the institute, analyzed data from Statistics Canada's National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth.

He found that that teens who as children had parents who cohabited are more likely than teens of married parents to: smoke; sell drugs; engage in sexual intercourse; have a lower age of sexual initiation; have poor relationships with their mom and dad; and have parents who do not get along.

Marriage advantages

"Marriage benefits children in ways that living together does not," Jones commented. "Public policy should acknowledge the social good that healthy marriage delivers."

One of the reasons that children fare better when raised by a married couple is the greater degree of stability in the household. Married parents are more than twice as likely to stay together compared to those who are unwed, reported the British newspaper the Daily Mail, Oct. 18.

The information came from the Millennium Cohort Study, a survey of more than 15,000 children born in the first two years of this decade.

The study found that 23% of children of cohabiting parents had suffered the breakup of their families before they reached the age of 5. By contrast only one in 10 children of married parents saw them divorce or separate before reaching 5 years of age.

In spite of the clear evidence in favor of marriage, government policy in many countries fails to support married couples sufficiently.

Fiscal penalties

Civitas, an English study group, published a report in January showing that married couples are thousands of pounds worse off than single parents when it comes to taxes and benefits.

In the report "Individualists Who Co-Operate," Civitas also pointed out that the welfare system financially rewards single mothers if they live separately from their partner. The fiscal disadvantage of forming a single household or getting married is especially marked for those on a lower income.

In what Civitas termed "a triumph of romance over economics," many couples choose to live together in spite of the loss of welfare benefits. Clearly, the study pointed out, without these powerful economic incentives favoring living apart, there would be a greater number of couples coming together.

Britain is particularly unfavorable to married couples, the report continued. It cited data from a 2006 survey of industrialized nations, showing that a single income married couple with children in the UK paid 40% more tax compared to other countries.

"The importance of the family for the life and well-being of society entails a particular responsibility for society to support and strengthen marriage and the family," the Catechism of the Catholic Church observes in No. 2210. A responsibility often neglected today, to the cost of society itself and to countless families.

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REGINA CAELI

On St. Benedict's Example and the Church in China

"Cultivate an Authentic Prayer Life to Assure the Social Progress of Peace"

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today before praying the midday Regina Caeli in the Miranda Plaza of Cassino, the Italian town he is visiting today.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Every time we celebrate Holy Mass, we hear echo in our heart the words that Jesus left with his disciples at the Last Supper as a precious gift: "Peace I leave you, my peace I give you" (John 14:27). How much the Christian community and the whole of humanity need to taste completely the riches and the power of Christ's peace! St. Benedict was a great witness, because he welcomed it in his existence and fructified it in works of authentic cultural and spiritual renewal. "Pax" ("Peace") is posted as a motto at the entrance to the Abbey of Monte Cassino and every other Benedictine monastery: the monastic community in fact is called to live according to this peace, which is the paschal gift par excellence. As you know, in my recent trip to the Holy Land, I went as a pilgrim of peace, and today -- in this land marked by the Benedictine charism -- I have the opportunity to emphasize, once again, that peace is in the first place a gift of God, and therefore its power is in prayer.

It is a gift given, however, to human care. Even the energy that is needed to actualize it is drawn from prayer. So, it is essential to cultivate an authentic prayer life to assure the social progress of peace. Once again the history of monasticism teaches us that a great growth in civilization is prepared by daily listening to the Word of God, which moves believers to a personal and communal effort in the struggle against egoism and injustice. Only in learning, with the grace of Christ, to combat and defeat the evil within ourselves and in relationships with others, can we become authentic builders of peace and civil progress. May the Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, help all Christians, in their different vocations and situations in life, to be witnesses of that peace that Christ gave us and left us as a demanding mission to realize everywhere.

Today, March 24, liturgical memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians -- who is venerated with great devotion at the shrine of Sheshan in Shanghai -- we celebrate the Day of Prayer for the Church in China. My thoughts turn to all the people of China. In particular I greet the Catholics of China with great affection and I exhort them to renew on this day their communion of faith in Christ and of fidelity to the Successor of Peter. May our common prayer obtain an effusion of gifts of the Holy Spirit, so that unity of all Christians, the catholicity and the universality of the Church always will be deeper and more visible.

[The Pope greeted the pilgrims in various languages. In English, he said:]

I greet the English-speaking pilgrims who have come here today to Monte Cassino. From the heights of this mountain we contemplate with joy our risen and ascended Lord, who has taken his seat in heaven at the right hand of the Father. Where he has gone, we hope to follow. In this place, where so many lost their lives in the battles that were fought during the Second World War, we pray especially for the souls of the fallen, commending them to God's infinite mercy, and we pray for an end to the wars that continue to afflict our world. May God pour out his blessings upon all of you and upon your loved ones at home.

[In Polish, he said:]

A cordial greeting to the Polish people. This afternoon I will go to the Polish cemetery to honor the memory of all the soldiers and of different nations that gave valorous testimony and lost their life here. Through the intercession of St. Benedict we ask God that, in prayer and work, we will discover the new dimensions of freedom, and that peace endures in Europe and in the whole world. May God bless you!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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DOCUMENTS

Benedict XVI's Homily at Miranda Plaza in Cassino

"The Ascension Invites Us to a Profound Communion with Jesus"

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave today during a Mass in the Miranda Plaza of Cassino, the town where he is making a pastoral visit today.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

"You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8). With these words Jesus bids farewell to the Apostles, as we heard in the first reading. Immediately afterward the sacred author adds that "as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). Today we are solemnly celebrating the mystery of the Ascension. But what does the Bible and the liturgy intend to communicate to us in saying that Jesus "was lifted up"? We will not understand the meaning of this expression from a single text, nor from one book of the New Testament, but in carefully listening to the whole of Sacred Scripture. The use of the verb "to lift" is in effect Old Testament in origin and it referred to an installation in royalty. Christ's ascension thus means, in the first place, the installation of the crucified and risen Son of Man in God's royal dominion over the world.

There is a deeper meaning, however, that is not immediately graspable. The passage from the Acts of the Apostles says first that Jesus was "lifted up" (1:9), and afterward it adds that "he was assumed" (1:11). The event is not described as a voyage up above, but rather as an action of God's power, which introduces Jesus into the space of nearness to the divine. The presence in the clouds that "took him from their sight" (1:9) recalls a very ancient image of Old Testament theology and inserts the Ascension into the history of God with Israel, from the clouds of Sinai and above the tent of the covenant, to the luminous clouds on the mountain of the Transfiguration. Presenting the Lord wreathed in clouds definitively evokes the same mystery expressed in the symbolism of "sitting at the right hand of God." In Christ ascended into heaven, man has entered in a new and unheard of way into the intimacy of God; man now finds space in God forever. "Heaven" does not indicate a place beyond the stars but something more bold and sublime: it indicates Christ himself, the divine Person that completely and forever takes on humanity, he in whom God and man are united forever. And we draw near to heaven, indeed, we enter into heaven, to the extent that we draw near to Jesus and enter into communion with him. For this reason, today's Solemnity of the Ascension invites us to a profound communion with Jesus dead and risen, invisibly present in the life of each of us.

In this perspective we understand why the evangelist Luke says that, after the Ascension, the disciples returned to Jerusalem "full of joy" (24:52). They are joyful because what happened was not a separation: in fact now they had the certainty that the crucified and risen Christ was alive, and in him the gates of eternal life were opened forever. In other words, the Ascension did not begin Christ's temporary absence from the world but inaugurated instead the new, definitive and insuppressible form of his presence, by virtue of his participation in the royal power of God. It will belong to them, to the disciples, emboldened by the power of the Holy Spirit, to make his presence felt with their witness, preaching and missionary commitment. The Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord should fill us also with serenity and enthusiasm like the Apostles, who returned from the Mount of Olives "full of joy." Like them, we too, accepting the invitation of the two men "dressed in white garments," must not stay looking up at the sky, but, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we must go everywhere and proclaim the salvific message of the death and resurrection of Christ. His own words -- with which the Gospel according Matthew concludes: "And behold I am with you all days until the end of the world" (Matthew 28:19) -- accompany and comfort us.

Dear brothers and sisters, the historical character of the mystery of the resurrection and ascension of Christ helps us to recognize and to understand the transcendent and eschatological condition of the Church, which was not born and does not live to take the place of the Lord who has "disappeared" but which finds its reason for being in his mission and in the invisible presence of Jesus working with the power of his Spirit. In other words, we could say that the Church does not carry out the function of preparing for the return of an "absent" Jesus, but, on the contrary, lives and works to proclaim his "glorious presence" in an historical and existential manner. Since the day of the Ascension, every Christian community advances in its earthly journey toward the fulfillment of the messianic promises, fed by the Word of God and nourished by Body and Blood of its Lord. This is the condition of the Church -- the Second Vatican Council says -- as she "presses forward amid the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God, announcing the cross and death of the Lord until he comes" (Lumen Gentium, 8).

Brothers and sisters of this dear diocesan community, today's solemnity calls on us to reinvigorate our faith in the real presence of Jesus; without him we cannot do anything of value in our life or apostolate. It is he, as the Apostle Paul recalls in the second reading, who "made some apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ," that is, the Church. And he does this so that "we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature to manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ" (Ephesians 4:11-13, 14). My visit today is situated in this context. As your pastor noted, the purpose of this visit is to encourage you constantly to "build, found and rebuild" your diocesan community on Christ. How? St. Benedict himself points the way, recommending in his Rule to put nothing before Christ: "Christo nihil omnino praeponere" (LXII, 11).

This is why I thank God for the good that your community is accomplishing under the leadership of your pastor, Father Abbot Dom Pietro Vittorelli, whom I greet with affection and thank for the kind words that he spoke to me on behalf of everyone. Together with him, I greet the monastic community, the bishops, the priests and the men and women religious who are present. I greet the civil and military authorities, in the first place the mayor, to whom I am grateful for the speech with which he welcomed me in here in Piazza Miranda, which will afterwards bear my name. I greet the catechists, the pastoral workers, the young people and those who in various ways are overseeing the spreading of the Gospel in this land rich with history, which experienced moments of great suffering during the Second World War. The many cemeteries that surround your resort city are a silent witness of this. Among these, I think particularly of the Polish, German and Commonwealth cemeteries. Finally I extend my greeting to all the citizens of Cassino and the nearby towns: to each, especially to the sick and suffering, I assure my affection and my prayer.

Dear brothers and sisters, we hear St. Benedict's call echo in this celebration of ours, to keep our hearts fixed on Christ and put nothing before him. This does not distract us but on the contrary moves us even more to commit ourselves to the building up of a society where solidarity is expressed in concrete signs. But how? Benedictine spirituality, which you know well, proposes an evangelical program synthesized in the motto: "ora et labora et lege" -- "prayer, work, culture." First of all prayer, which is the most beautiful legacy that St. Benedict left the monks, but also to your local Church: to your clergy -- most of whom were formed in the diocesan seminary, for centuries housed in the Abbey of Monte Cassino itself -- to the seminarians, to the many who were educated in the Benedictine schools and recreation programs and in your parishes, to all of you who live in this land. Looking up from every village and district of the diocese, you can all admire that constant reminder of heaven that is the monastery of Monte Cassino, to which you climb every year in the procession on the eve of Pentecost. Prayer -- to which grave peals of the bell of St. Benedict calls the monks every morning -- is the silent path that leads us directly to the heart of God; it is the breath of the soul that gives us peace again in the storms of life. Furthermore, in the school of St. Benedict, the monks always cultivated a special love for the Word of God in the "lectio divina," which has become the common patrimony of many today. I know that your diocesan Church, following the instructions of the Italian Bishops' conference, takes great care in studying the Bible, and indeed has begun a course of study of the Sacred Scriptures, dedicating this year to the evangelist Mark and continuing over the next four years will conclude, please God, with a diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land. May attentive listening to the divine Word nourish your prayer and make you prophets of truth and love in a joint commitment to evangelization and human promotion.

The other hinge of Benedictine spirituality is work. Humanizing the world of work is typical of the soul of monasticism, and this is also the effort of your community that seeks to be at the side of the many workers in the great industry present in Cassino and the enterprises linked to it. I know how critical the situation of many workers is. I express my solidarity with those who live in a troubling precariousness, with those workers who on unemployment assistance and those who have been laid off. May the wound of unemployment that afflicts this area lead those who are responsible for the "res publica," the entrepreneurs and those who are able, to seek, with everyone's help, valid solutions to the employment crisis, creating new places of work to safeguard families. In this respect, how can we not recall that today the family has an urgent need to be better protected, since it is gravely threatened in its very institutional roots? I think also of the young people who have difficulty finding a dignified job that allows them to build a family. To them I would like to say: Do not be discouraged, dear friends, the Church will not abandon you! I know that more than 25 young people from your diocese participated in last year's World Youth Day in Sydney: treasuring that extraordinary spiritual experience, may you be evangelical leaven among your friends and peers; with the power of the Holy Spirit, be the new missionaries in this land of St. Benedict!

Attention to the world of culture and education also belongs to your tradition. The celebrated archive and library of Monte Cassino contain innumerable testimonies of the commitment of men and women who meditated on and researched ways of improving the spiritual and material life of man. In your abbey one can touch with one's hands the "quaerere Deum," the fact that European culture has been constituted by the search for God and availability to listen to him. And this is important for our time as well. I know that you are working with this very spirit at the university and in the schools, so that you become workers of knowledge, research, passion for the future of new generations. I also know that in preparation for my visit you recently held a conference on the theme of education to solicit in everyone the lively determination to transmit to the young people the values of our human and Christian patrimony that we cannot renounce. In today's cultural effort aimed at creating a new humanism, faithful to the Benedictine tradition you rightly intend to stress attention to the fragility, weakness of man, to disabled persons and immigrants. And I am grateful that you have given me the possibility today of inaugurating the "House of Charity," where a culture attentive to life will be built with deeds.

Dear brothers and sisters! It is not hard to see in your community, this portion of the Church that lives around Monte Cassino, is heir and repository of the mission, impregnated by the spirit of St. Benedict, to proclaim that in your life no one and nothing must take Jesus away from the first place; the mission to build, in Christ's name, a new humanity to teach hospitality and help of the weakest. May your patriarch help and accompany you, with St. Scholastica his sister; may your holy patrons, and above all Mary, Mother of the Church and Star of our hope, protect you. Amen!

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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Papal Address After Vespers at Monte Cassino

"St. Benedict Invites Every Person that Climbs This Mount to Seek Peace"

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today after the celebration of Vespers with the Benedictine community in the abbey of Monte Cassino.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters of the great Benedictine Family!

Almost at the end of my visit today, I am particularly pleased to pause in this sacred place, in this abbey, four times destroyed and rebuilt, the last time after the bombings of World War II, 65 years ago. "Succiso virescit" [in defeat we are strengthened]: the words of its new coat of arms represent well its history. Monte Cassino, just as the secular oak tree planted by St. Benedict, was "pruned" by the violence of war, but has risen more vigorous. More than once I also have had the opportunity to enjoy the hospitality of the monks, and in this abbey I spent many unforgettable hours of quiet and prayer. This evening we entered singing "Laudes Regiae" together to celebrate the Vespers of the Solemnity of the Ascension of Jesus. To each of you I express the joy of sharing this moment of prayer, greeting everyone with affection, grateful for the welcome that you have reserved for me and those who accompany me in this apostolic pilgrimage.

In particular, I greet Abbot Dom Vittorelli Peter, who has made himself the spokesman of your common sentiments. I extend my greetings to the abbots, the abbesses, and to the Benedictine communities present here. Today the liturgy invites us to contemplate the mystery of the Ascension of the Lord. In the brief reading taken from the first letter of Peter, we were urged to fix our gaze on our Redeemer, who died "once and for all for sins" in order to lead us back to God, at whose right hand he sits "after having ascended to heaven and having obtained sovereignty over the angels and the principalities and the powers" (cf. 1 Pt 3, 18.22). "Raised on high" and made invisible to the eyes of his disciples, Jesus has not however abandoned them, but was: in fact, "put to death in the body, but made to live in the spirit" (1 Pt 3:18). He is now present in a new way, inside the believers, and in him salvation is offered to every human being without distinction of people, language, or culture. The first letter of Peter contains specific references to the fundamental Christological events of the Christian faith. The Apostle's intention is to highlight the universal scope of salvation in Christ. A similar desire we find in St. Paul, of whom we are celebrating the two thousandth anniversary of his birth, who to the community of Corinth, writes: "He (Christ) died for all, so that those who live, live no longer for themselves but for him, who has died and is risen for them." (2 Cor 5, 15).

To live no longer for themselves but for Christ: this is what gives full meaning to the lives of those that let themselves be conquered by him. The human and spiritual journey of St. Benedict attests to this clearly, he who, leaving all things behind, dedicated himself to the faithful following of Jesus. Embodying in his own life the reality of the Gospel, he has become the founder of a vast movement of spiritual and cultural renaissance in the West. I would now like to refer to an extraordinary event of his life, which the biographer St. Gregory the Great relates, and with which you are certainly well acquainted. One could almost say that the holy patriarch was "lifted up" in an indescribable mystical experience. On the night of October 29 of the year 540 -- reads the biography -- and, facing the window, "with his eyes fixed on the stars he recollected himself in divine contemplation, the saint felt that his heart was inflamed ... For him, the star filled firmament was like the embroidered curtain that revealed the Holy of Holies. At one point, he felt his soul felt itself carried to the other side of the veil, to contemplate the revealed face of him who dwells in inaccessible light" (cf. AI Schuster, History of Saint Benedict and his time, Ed Abbey Viboldone, Milan, 1965, p. 11 et seq.). Of course, similar to what happened to Paul after his heavenly rapture, St. Benedict, following this extraordinary spiritual experience, also found it necessary to start a new life. If the vision was transient, the effects were lasting, his very character -- the biographers say -- was changed, his appearance always remained calm and his behavior angelic, and even while he was living on earth, he understood that in his heart he was already in heaven.

St. Benedict received this gift of God not to satisfy his intellectual curiosity, but rather because the charism with which God had endowed him had the ability to reproduce in the monastery the very life of heaven and reestablish the harmony of creation through contemplation and work. Rightly, therefore, the Church venerates him as an "eminent teacher of the monastic life" and "doctor of spiritual wisdom in the love of prayer and work; shining guide of people in the light of the Gospel" who, "raised to heaven by a luminous road" teaches people of all ages to seek God and the eternal riches prepared by him (cf. Preface of the Holy in the monastery to the MR, 1980, 153).

Yes, Benedict was a shining example of holiness and pointed the monks to Christ as their only great ideal; he was a master of civility, who proposed a balanced and adequate vision of the demands of God and of the final ends of man; he also always kept well in mind the needs and the reasons of the heart, in order to teach and inspire a genuine and constant brotherhood, so that in the complexity of social relationships the unity of spirit capable of always building and maintaining peace was never lost sight of. It is not by chance that the word Pax [peace] is the word that welcomes pilgrims and visitors at the gates of the abbey, rebuilt after the terrible disaster of the Second World War, which stands as a silent reminder to reject all forms of violence in order to build peace: in families, within communities, between peoples and all of humanity. St. Benedict invites every person that climbs this mount to seek peace and follow it: "inquire pacem et sequere eam" [seek peace and follow it.] (Ps. 33,14-15) (Rule, Prologue, 17).

By its example, monasteries have become, over the centuries, centers of fervent dialogue, encounter and beneficial union of diverse peoples, unified by the evangelical culture of peace. The monks have known how to teach by word and example the art of peace, implementing in a concrete way the three "ties" that Benedict identifies as necessary to maintain the unity of the Spirit among men: the cross, which is the very law of Christ, the book which is culture, and the plow, which indicates work, the lordship over matter and time. Thanks to the activity of the monastery, articulated in the three-fold daily commitments of prayer, study and work, entire populations of Europe have experienced a genuine redemption and a beneficial moral, spiritual and cultural development, learning in the spirit of continuity with the past, of concrete action for the common good, and of openness to God and the transcendent aspect of the world. We pray that Europe always exploit this wealth of principles and Christian ideals, which constitutes an immense cultural and spiritual wealth.

This is possible but only if the constant teaching of St. Benedict is embraced, the "quaerere Deum," to seek God, as the fundamental commitment of man. Human beings cannot achieve full self-realization or ever be truly happy without God. It is your special responsibility, dear monks, to be living examples of this interior and profound relationship with him, implementing without compromise the program that your founder summarized in the "nihil amori Christi praeponere" [put nothing before the love of Christ.] (Rule 4.21). In this holiness consists, a valid proposal for every Christian, more than ever in our time, in which the need to anchor life and history to solid spiritual principles is felt. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, your vocation is as timely as ever, and your mission as monks is indispensable.

From this place, where his mortal remains rest, the patron saint of Europe continues to urge everyone to continue his work of evangelization and human promotion. I encourage you in the first place, dear brethren, to remain faithful to the spirit of your origins and to be authentic interpreters of this program of social and spiritual rebirth. The Lord grants you this gift, through the intercession of your holy founder, of his holy sister St. Scholastica, and of the saints of your order. And may the heavenly Mother of the Lord, who today we invoke as "Help of Christians," watch over you and protect this abbey and all your monasteries, as well as the diocesan community that lives around Monte Cassino. Amen!

[Translation by ZENIT]

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Pope's Prayer at Monte Cassino Polish Cemetery

"Peace Is More Precious than any Corruptible Treasure"

CASSINO, Italy, MAY 24, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the prayer recited by Benedict XVI today in a private visit to the Polish military cemetery of Monte Cassino.

* * *

O God, our Father,
inexhaustible font of life and peace,
welcome into your merciful embrace
those who fell in the war that raged here,
those who fell in every war that has bloodied the earth.
Grant that they may rejoice in the light that does not fade,
that they glimpsed and desired in faith
during their earthly pilgrimage.
You, who in Jesus Christ, your Son,
offered to suffering humanity
the greatest testimony of your love,
and who through his Cross redeemed the world
from the dominion of sin and death,
grant to those who are still suffering
because of fratricidal war
the power of invincible hope,
the courage of daily acts of peace,
the active confidence in the civilization of love.
Pour forth your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
upon the men of our time,
so that they may understand that peace
is more precious than any corruptible treasure,
and may tirelessly work all together
to prepare for new generations
a world where justice and peace reign.
Father, good and merciful,
make us your sons and daughters in Christ,
perseverant builders of peace
and untiring servants of life,
the inestimable gift of your love.

Amen.

[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]

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