ZENIT
The World Seen From Rome
Daily dispatch - June 25, 2009
ZENIT's fundraising campaign for 2009 has ended!
Many checks are still in the mail, so the final result of the campaign isn't available yet. We will let you know the final tally.
We would like to thank each and every one of our readers who have sent their donations -- and their prayers.
All this helps us in our effort to carry on our work.
You can see the 2009 ZENIT's donation map: http://www.zenit.org/donations/english/info/map
You can always send donations at: http://www.zenit.org/english/donation.html
Many thanks from the entire ZENIT team!
VATICAN DOSSIER Pope: Charity Is the Best Strategy 34 Archbishops to Receive Pallium Orthodox Delegation to Visit Rome Peter Brings "Pence" to the Poor WORLD FEATURES Obama Sacks Bioethicists From Bush Years Gaza Frustrated Over Israeli Embargo NEWS BRIEFS Catholic Word Getting Out in Pakistan Don Bosco House Opens in Thailand WORDS MADE FLESH A Unity Transcending All Differences ROME NOTES Dimming the Pauline Spotlight; Jubilee Fruits DOCUMENTS Pope's Homily at Launch of Year for Priests
VATICAN DOSSIER
Pope: Charity Is the Best Strategy
Addresses Aid Agencies for Eastern Churches
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI is underlining charity as the source, standard and strategy of all organizations that serve the Church.
The Pope affirmed this today in an audience with some 70 members of the Assembly of Societies for Aid to Eastern Churches (ROACO), who are meeting in Rome this week.
The Pontiff referred to St. Paul's discussion of charity in his letter to the Corinthians, and emphasized that this is the greatest virtue for followers of Christ.
"Charity is the fertile source of all forms of service to the Church," he stated, "it is their measure, their method and the means by which they are verified."
The Holy Father acknowledged that the members' desire to live in charity, by making themselves "available to the Bishop of Rome" through the Congregation for Eastern Churches.
In this way, he said, "you will be able to continue, even to augment, that movement of charity which, by papal mandate, the congregation supervises so that, in a disciplined and equitable way, the Holy Land and other eastern regions may receive the spiritual and material support necessary for ordinary ecclesial life and for special needs."
In the group's gathering, which took place this week in Rome, participants discussed the situation in the Holy Land and the state of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria.
Witness
Benedict XVI recalled his recent visit to the Holy Land, affirming that there were many moments of grace in which he was able to encourage the Catholic communities there to persevere in giving witness, "a testimony full of fidelity, celebration and at times a great suffering."
He added, "I was also able to remind the Christians of that region of their ecumenical and interreligious responsibility, in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council."
The Pope stated, "I renew my prayer and my appeal for no more war, no more violence, no more injustice."
He continued: "I wish to assure you that the Universal Church remains at the side of all our brothers and sisters who reside in the Holy Land.
"This concern is reflected in a special way in the annual Holy Land collection. I therefore exhort your ROACO agencies to continue their charitable activities with zeal and with fidelity to the Successor of Peter."
The Pope underlined the need to help the Eastern Churches in this economic crisis, paying particular attention to the refugees, the immigrants and the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.
He also highlighted the need for educating the People of God, "especially now that we have just begun the priestly year."
In this Year for Priests, which began June 19, the Pontiff appealed to his listeners to pray for priests and "to give maximum attention to caring for clergy and supporting seminaries."
On the feast of the Sacred Heart, when he inaugurated the year, he said that he "entrusted all the priests of the world to the Heart of Christ and of Mary Immaculate, with a special thought for those who, in both East and West are experiencing moments of difficulty and trial."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
34 Archbishops to Receive Pallium
5 US Prelates to Get Unity Sign
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI will bestow the pallium on the 34 metropolitan archbishops named in the last year, including five from the United States, two from Canada and one from the United Kingdom.
The ceremony will take place in St. Peter's Basilica on Monday, feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
The pallium, worn by the Pope and archbishops, symbolizes the lost sheep that is found again, carried on the shoulders of the Good Shepherd, and the Lamb crucified for the salvation of humanity. It also symbolizes, in part, the Pope's concession of authority and communion to heads of major local Churches.
Ten of the archbishops hail from North America:
-- Allen Vigneron of Detroit, Michigan
-- Timothy Dolan of New York
-- Robert Carlson of St. Louis, Missouri
-- George Lucas of Omaha, Nebraska
-- Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, Louisiana
-- Pierre-André Fournier of Rimouski, Quebec
-- John Michael Miller of Vancouver, British Columbia
-- Domingo Díaz Martínez of Tulancingo, Mexico
-- Víctor Sánchez Espinosa of Puebla de Los Angeles, Mexico
-- Carlos Aguiar Retes of Tlalnepantla, Mexico.
Seven of the archbishops are from South America:
-- Ismael Rueda Sierra of Bucaramanga, Colombia
-- Manuel Felipe Díaz Sánchez of Calabozo, Venezuela
-- José Luis Escobar Alas of San Salvador, El Salvador
-- Sérgio da Rocha of Teresina, Brazil
-- Maurício Grotto de Camargo of Botucatu, Brazil
-- Gil Antônio Moreira of Juiz de Fora, Brazil
-- Orani João Tempesta of San Sebastián do Río de Janeiro, Brazil.
Eight are from Europe:
-- Vincent Nichols of Westminster, England
-- Andrzej Dziega of Szczecin-Kamien, Poland
-- Carlos Osoro Sierra of Valencia, Spain
-- Braulio Rodríguez Plaza of Toledo, Spain
-- Giuseppe Betori of Florence, Italy
-- Salvatore Pappalardo of Syracuse, Italy
-- Domenico Umberto D'Ambrosio of Lecce, Italy.
-- Mieczyslaw Mokrzycki of the Latin Archdiocese of Lviv, Ukraine.
Six are from Africa:
-- Philippe Ouédraogo of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
-- Ghaleb Moussa Abdalla Bader of Algiers, Algeria
-- Joseph Yapo Aké of Gagnoa, Ivory Coast
-- Paul Mandla Khumalo of Pretoria, South Africa
-- Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani, Congo
-- Philip Naameh of Tamale, Ghana.
Finally, three are from Asia:
-- Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovithavanij of Bangkok, Thailand
-- Albert Malcolm Ranjith Patabendige Don of Colombo, Sri Lanka
-- Anicetus Bongsu Antonius Sinaga of Medan, Indonesia.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Orthodox Delegation to Visit Rome
Will Attend Closing of Pauline Year
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I will send a delegation to Rome to celebrate the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul with Benedict XVI, and to close the Year of St. Paul.
The visit reciprocates the habitual exchange of delegations for the respective patronal feasts in which the patriarch of Constantinople sends a delegation to Rome on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and St. Paul, and the Pope sends a delegation to Istanbul, Turkey, on Nov. 30, the feast of St. Andrew.
In November 2006, Benedict XVI led the delegation himself, and last June Bartholomew I led the Orthodox delegation to Rome, which coincided with the opening of the Pauline Jubilee Year.
The patriarch's delegation will be let by Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, director of the Office of the Orthodox Church Before the European Union.
The delegation will participate in vespers June 28, presided over by Benedict XVI at St. Paul Outside the Walls, which will also mark the end of the Year of St. Paul.
On Monday, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the delegation will participate in the Mass celebrated by the Pope in St. Peter's, during which the Holy Father will bestow the pallium on the 34 archbishops who have been named this year.
Also on the agenda are meetings with the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and a private audience with Benedict XVI.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Peter Brings "Pence" to the Poor
Annual Collection to Aid Poorest in Economic Crisis
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- This Sunday, many parishes worldwide will participate in the Pope's charity campaign through the Peter's Pence collection, which will distribute aid to those most in need during this economic recession.
The collection traditionally takes place on the Sunday nearest the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, which this year falls on Monday, or on another day as designated by the local ordinary.
The money collected on this day will not fund the Holy See, but will be exclusively dedicated to aid the poorest local Churches.
The Peter's Pence collection includes contributions from institutes of consecrated life, societies of apostolic life and foundations, as well as donations from individual lay people.
In 2007, this collection gathered almost $80 million, and in the previous year, over $100 million.
The United States was the biggest donor, giving some 28% of the total. It was followed by Italy (13%), Germany (6%), Spain (4%), France (3.7%), Ireland (3%), Brazil (2%) and Korea (1.6%).
One donor, who wished to remain anonymous, gave a donation of $14,309,400.
This assistance was given to regions affected by natural disasters such as hurricanes and floods, or people afflicted by violence.
For example, Benedict XVI gave a donation through the Pontifical Council Cor Unum to the people of Gaza after the post-Christmas violence and bombing.
The Peter's Pence collection has also aided the Nazareth Boys Town in Mbare, Rwanda, which give a home to orphans who are frequently victims of the genocide and civil war.
Some of the funds were allocated to aid farmers and indigenous people in Latin America through the Populorum Progressio Foundation, and another portion went to support development projects in sub-Saharan Africa through the John Paul II Foundation for the Sahel.
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Peter's Pence:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/obolo_spietro/documents/index_en.htm
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
WORLD FEATURES
Obama Sacks Bioethicists From Bush Years
Wants More Policy, Less Philosophy
WASHINGTON, D.C., JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- U.S. President Barack Obama gave an early termination notice to bioethicists picked by his predecessor for an advisory board.
According to a New York Times report from last week, Obama wants the committee to focus more on "practical policy," rather than discussion of issues.
He thus ended the bioethicists' terms a few months early (they were originally to serve in the position until September), and will appoint new members to the board.
According to ethicist E. Christian Brugger, the "push to get practical in bioethical discourse is a bad sign."
Writing for the Culture of Life Foundation, Brugger said this shift "signals a turn away from urgent questions such as whether human embryos deserve full moral respect or whether 'human dignity' means that all persons, even the disabled and dying, possess equal value."
"It turns discourse from the question of 'should' to the question of 'how,'" he lamented.
Brugger contended that the chief virtue of the Bush appointees was "a willingness and ability to formulate and struggle with ethical questions."
He noted that their conclusions sometimes differed from the Catholic view, but that "the commission in general took seriously the kind of people we become as a result of asking the questions. It knew that scientific advancement doesn’t always translate into good moral options."
Bush appointed the council in 2001. U.S. presidents since Jimmy Carter have had a bioethics advisory council, but their leanings depend on the personal outlooks of the president.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Gaza Frustrated Over Israeli Embargo
Patriarch Warns Ban Will Feed Extremism
ROME, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem is reporting frustration of the people in the Gaza Strip over an Israeli embargo that is preventing them from receiving reconstruction materials.
Archbishop Fouad Twal stated this in an interview with Aid to the Church in Need while in Rome for a meeting with organizations working in the Holy Land.
The prelate stated that months after the violence and bombing that took place after Christmas, the people of Gaza still have not been able to rebuild.
Israel banned the supply of cement, glass, iron and other building supplies, he explained, which has had a "disastrous impact."
The archbishop noted that tens of thousands lost their homes and businesses in the 22 days of conflict, which destroyed some 22,000 buildings amounting to $1.9 billion of damage.
He reported: "The impact of this on the people is terrible. They are so tired. They just want to live in peace.
"Besides all the frustration they feel, they have no confidence in anybody."
The prelate affirmed that Israel put the ban in place out of fear that armaments would be smuggled in by Hamas, an Islamic paramilitary movement.
Suffering
The archbishop continued: "The Israeli authorities think that making the people suffer will weaken Hamas but it's completely the opposite.
"Hamas are able to get the materials through secret tunnels [linking Gaza to Egypt]. It's the people who suffer."
He affirmed that this "makes people less likely to support Mahmoud Abbas," president of the Palestinian National Authority, and other moderates, and "more likely to support extremists like Hamas."
The prelate described his impressions of recent visits to Gaza, in which he saw "donkeys acting as taxis" pulling people in carts or carrying supplies through the bombed streets.
At least, he said, aid agencies have been allowed to send food, clothing, blankets and medicine to the people.
"We are very grateful for all the help from people in West," he affirmed. "What they have done is so important to help get the people through these very sad times."
Archbishop Twal asserted that what the people want most of all is peace, to "live like normal people." He asked for prayers, stating, "We don't need any more martyrs."
Impact
The violence has impacted the young people in a particular way, he said, and many of them need trauma relief but are unable to get help.
The conflict left some 1,300 from Gaza dead, a third of which were children.
The prelate expressed the certainty that the Israeli authorities "are well aware of what is going on in Gaza," and that if they "continue to follow this policy they will never win peace."
He continued: "As long as they rely on armies and intimidation and don't follow the international laws, they will never win any kind of real peace.
"What is needed instead is to break down the walls of hatred inside people's hearts and help them to find other ways to solve their differences."
Benedict XVI's May pilgrimage to the Holy Land was a sign of hope, the archbishop affirmed.
He also lauded U.S. President Barack Obama's June 4 statement in Cairo, Egypt about the need to recognize Palestine as a state in its own right.
The prelate added, however, that Obama's words about a "two-state solution in the Holy Land" were unclear.
He continued: "What type of state does he mean? That needs to be clarified before we can go very much further."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
NEWS BRIEFS
Catholic Word Getting Out in Pakistan
Priests Use Cable, Internet for TV Channels
LAHORE, Pakistan, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Catholic communicators have found their way around Pakistani unwillingness to give airspace to the Church, taking advantage of cable and Internet to broadcast their message.
The first Catholic TV channels in Pakistan are bringing "good results in little time," according to Archbishop Lawrence Saldanha of Lahore, president of the Pakistani episcopal conference's National Center for Social Communications.
Catholic TV is founded and directed by Capuchin Father Morris Jalal from his parish in Lahore. Archbishop Saldanha told UCANews that "although this communication initiative has limited resources, it is a good way to reach not only the faithful, but the public at large."
Father Jalal considers his foundation a way to "help construct and reinforce a peaceful and tolerant society."
Programming includes Christian movies, documentaries on parish activities, talk shows, religious music, Sunday Mass and the rosary; it is estimated that the channel reaches some 8,000 Catholic families.
The Archdiocese of Karachi also launched a Catholic channel via internet this year: Good News TV. It is directed by Father Arthur Charles, who has plans to expand to radio and satellite TV.
"The Church should use the means of communication to spread the Gospel, as well as to educate and form youth," Father Charles told the Fides news agency. "In today's world, communication is incessant: We are bombarded by television, text messages, emails. … In this global village there should be a strong Catholic presence that announces the Word of God."
Father Charles lauded the efforts being made by Benedict XVI to use technology to spread Christ's message, noting, for example, the Vatican channel on YouTube.
"I have felt in perfect harmony with the Pope's message for the World Day of Social Communications," the priest stated, "when he affirms that digital technologies are a gift for humanity that can be useful for spreading solidarity and understanding among people and populations."
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
Don Bosco House Opens in Thailand
CHIANG MAI, Thailand, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- The Salesian congregation is announcing the opening of a new school where boys in Thailand will be educated according to the pedagogy of St. John Bosco.
Bishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana of Chiang Mai, where the Don Bosco home is located, was present to inaugurate the institution last Sunday.
The home aims to train teenagers from the hill tribes and various ethnic groups of the region, and educate them in a three-year career program that will enable them to later support themselves and their families.
Under the direction of the Salesians, they will also be offered ethical and spiritual guidance, and in particular cases, vocational training.
The Salesian press release noted that the boys will be educated in the principles of loving kindness, reason, and the standard of ordinary Christian living according to St. John Bosco's "preventive system of pedagogy."
The school is opening with 70 teenagers studying for a professional certificate and 7 receiving vocational preparation. The center has the capacity for 80 adolescents in career training and 20 in the vocational program.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
WORDS MADE FLESH
A Unity Transcending All Differences
Biblical Reflection for Sts. Peter and Paul
By Father Thomas Rosica, CSB
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Given the significance of the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, and the formal conclusion of the Year of St. Paul, I am offering a special reflection for the June 29 feast.
Peter's journey was from the weakness of denial to the rock of fidelity. He gave us the ultimate witness of the cross. Paul's pilgrimage was from the blindness of persecution to the fire of proclamation. He made the Word of God come alive for the nations.
To be with Peter means to preserve the unity of the Christian Church. To speak with Paul is to proclaim the pure Word of God.
The passion of both was to proclaim the Gospel of Christ. Their commitment was to create a place for everyone in Christ's Church. Their loyalty to Christ was valid to death. Peter and Paul are for us a strong foundation; they are pillars of our Church.
The crucial question
Today's Gospel story (Matthew 16:13-19) is about affirmation, identity and purpose. Jesus and his disciples entered the area of Caesarea Philippi in the process of a long journey from their familiar surroundings. Caesarea Philippi, built by Philip, was a garrison town for the Roman army, full of all the architecture, imagery, and lifestyles of Greco-Roman urban civilization. It was a foreign place to the apostles who were more familiar with towns and the lakeside.
Sexuality and violence ran rampant in this religious shrine town known for its worship of the Greek god Pan. In this center of power, sophistication and rampant pagan worship, Jesus turns to his disciples and asks what people are saying about him. How do they see his work? Who is he in their minds? Probably taken aback by the question, the disciples dredge their memories for overheard remarks, snatches of shared conversation, opinions circulating in the fishing towns of the lake area. Jesus himself is aware of some of the stories about him. He knows only too well the attitude of his own town of Nazareth, and the memory probably hurts him deeply.
The disciples list a whole series of labels that people have applied to Jesus. And these names reveal the different expectations held about him. Some thought of him as fiery Elijah, working toward a real confrontation with the powers that be. Others considered him more like the long-suffering Jeremiah, concentrating more on the inner journey, the private side of life. Above all, the question asked of the disciples echoes through time as the classic point of decision for every Christian.
Everyone must at some point experience what happened at Caesarea Philippi and answer Jesus' provocative question, "You, who do you say I am?" What do we perceive to be our responsibilities and commitments following upon our own declaration of faith in Jesus?
Lightning strikes
In the year 35 AD, Saul appears as a self-righteous young Pharisee, almost fanatically anti-Christian. We read in Acts 7 that he was present, although not taking part, at the stoning of Stephen, the first martyr. It was very soon afterward that Paul experienced the revelation that transformed his entire life.
On the road to the Syrian city of Damascus, where he was going to continue his persecutions against the Christians, he was struck blind. Paul accepted eagerly the commission to preach the Gospel of Christ, but like many another called to a great task, he felt his unworthiness and withdrew from the world to spend three years in "Arabia" in meditation and prayer before beginning his mission.
His extensive travels by land and sea are recounted in his letters in the New Testament. Paul himself tells us he was stoned, scourged three times, shipwrecked three times, endured hunger and thirst, sleepless nights, perils and hardships; besides these physical trials, he suffered many disappointments and almost constant anxieties over the weak and widely scattered communities of Christians.
Legendary farewell
According to the ancient tradition, on the morning of June 29, Peter and Paul were taken from their common cell at Rome's Mamertine prison and separated. Peter was taken to Nero's Circus where he was crucified upside down, while Paul was taken east of Rome to the area now known as Tre Fontane. Artists through the ages have dwelt on their goodbye, often depicting the last embrace between the two friends.
The Golden Legend records their parting words:
Paul to Peter: "Peace be with you, foundation stone of the churches and shepherd of the sheep and lambs of Christ!"
And Peter to Paul: "Go in peace, preacher of virtuous living, mediator and leader of the salvation of the righteous!"
The connection between the two saints is also evident in their respective basilicas. Emperor Constantine built the first six Christian churches in Rome from 313 to 328, and among them were St. Peter's Basilica and St. Paul's Outside the Walls.
Five of the churches face east, as was common in orienting churches at the time. St. Paul's faces west, so that across the city, both basilicas watch over the sheep and lambs of Rome.
A text from St. John Chrysostom is very appropriate at the end of the year dedicated to St. Paul. It comes from his final homily on St. Paul's Letter to the Romans. After expressing his ardent desire to visit St. Paul's tomb in Rome and see there even the dust of St. Paul's body, St. John Chrysostom exclaims:
"Who could grant me now this to throw myself around the body of Paul and be riveted to his tomb and to see the dust of that body which completed what was lacking in Christ's afflictions; which bore the marks (of Christ) and sowed the Gospel everywhere ... the dust of that mouth through which Christ spoke. [...]
"Nor is it that mouth only, but I wish I could see the dust of Paul's heart too, which one should rightly call the heart of the world, the fountain of countless blessings and the very element of our life. [...] A heart which was so large as to take in entire cities and peoples and nations [...] which became higher than the heavens, wider than the whole world, brighter than the sun's beam, warmer than the fire, stronger than the adamant; letting rivers flow from it, [...] which was deemed to love Christ like no one else ever did.
"I wish I could see the dust of Paul's hands, hands in chains, through the imposition of which the Spirit was given, through which this divine letter (to the Romans) was written.
"I wish I could see the dust of those eyes which were rightly blinded and recovered their sight again for the salvation of the world; which were counted worthy to see Christ in the body; which saw earthly things, yet saw them not; which saw the things that are not seen; which knew no sleep, and were watchful even at midnight. [...]
"I wish I could also see the dust of those feet, Paul's feet, which run through the world and were not tired, which were bound in stocks when the prison shook, which went through parts populated and uninhabited, which walked on so many journeys. [...]
"I wish I could see the tomb where the weapons of righteousness lay, the weapons of light, the limbs of Paul, which now are alive but in life were made dead (to sin), [...] which were in Christ's limbs, clothed in Christ, bound in the Spirit, riveted to the fear of God, bearing the marks of Christ" (St. John Chrysostom, "Homily 32 on the Epistle to the Romans," Migne, "Patrologia Graeca" 60, 678-80).
Built this Church
As ordinary men, Peter and Paul might have avoided each other from time to time. Peter was a fisherman from the Sea of Galilee and Paul a Greek-educated intellectual. But Jesus brought them together as a sign for his Church in which the entire spectrum of humanity would find a new place to call home. Together they worked to build the Church. Together they witnessed to Christ. Together they suffered the death of their Lord, death at murderous hands. Paul died by the sword and Peter was crucified head-down. They had a unity that transcended all differences. They teach us about the depth of Christian commitment. For Peter and Paul, insight into Jesus' true identity brought new demands and responsibilities.
In proclaiming this Year of St. Paul which now comes to a close, Benedict XVI invited each Catholic to hold up a mirror to his or her life and to ask, "Am I as determined and as energetic about spreading the Catholic faith as St. Paul was?" "Is spreading the faith both by example and by my conversations with friends, colleagues and acquaintances even a concern for me?" "What do I perceive to be my responsibilities following upon my own declaration of faith in Jesus?"
[The readings for the solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul are Acts 12:1-11; 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 17-18; and Matthew 16:13-19]
* * *
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.
--- --- ---
On the Net:
Salt and Light:
www.saltandlighttv.org
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
ROME NOTES
Dimming the Pauline Spotlight; Jubilee Fruits
What's to Come of the Apostle to the Gentiles?
By Elizabeth Lev
ROME, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- This, the last week of the Year of St. Paul, has seen a flurry of activity as the Holy See prepares to dim the spotlight on the Doctor of the Gentiles. But the question remains, will St. Paul fade to black?
Several of the events surrounding these closing ceremonies are intended to continue the momentum of this grace-filled year. A major art exhibit in the Vatican Museums will continue to draw the faithful, while the Holy See has sent seven envoys to the great nations that hosted St. Paul before his martyrdom in the Eternal City, to emphasize the desire for unity among these peoples of Paul.
The chosen members of the College of the Cardinals have already departed for their destinations: Jerusalem, Malta, Turkey, Greece, Syria and Lebanon, all of which are well known on the world stage, but the little island of Cyprus deserves a special moment of limelight to reflect its important role in the history of Christianity.
The Acts of the Apostles tells us that Paul (at that time still known as Saul) and Barnabas left Antioch for Cyprus in about 45-47 A.D. and began preaching in the synagogues of Salamis on the eastern side of the island.
Despite trials and challenges, one of St. Paul’s first great success stories unfolded on this island. Overcoming the machinations of a local sorcerer, Elymas, Paul converted Roman Proconsul Sergius Paulus to Christianity. As a result, Cyprus became the first territory in the empire to be governed by a Christian.
The site of this watershed event in the history of the Church was on the western side of the island, in the city of Paphos, already world renowned as the first home of the goddess Aphrodite.
Born of the Mediterranean waves, Aphrodite was gently wafted to the shores of Cyprus, and alighting in Paphos, she brought love and beauty to mankind. St. Paul perfected Aphrodite’s gift by revealing Christ’s model of love and incarnational beauty to the Mediterranean gateway of Cyprus.
Upon departing from the island, the Apostle would leave behind his old name of Saul, and take on his new identity as Paul.
Cyprus has long been contested by many different parties, even to the present day. Ancient times saw Cyprus claimed by the Byzantine emperors, Arabs, crusaders, Venetians and Ottoman Turks, but the strong bond to Christianity, part of Paul’s legacy, has marked the island over the years.
Queen Charlotte of Cyprus was forced to abdicate in 1463 in favor of her scheming half brother. She escaped to Rome where she died and was buried in St. Peter’s Basilica. Today, her tomb faces that of Pope John Paul II in the crypt.
Ottoman conquest brought the island under Turkish rule in 1570, but an 1872 census showed that the population remained high in Christians: 100,000 to 44,000 Muslims. This small but significant island has long been proof that the seeds St. Paul sowed in the Mediterranean were both hardy and lasting, and as this year draws to a close, they show no signs of waning.
* * *
Worthy alliance
At the same time Cardinal Renato Martino left for Cyprus carrying Rome’s message of unity, a special envoy from Cyprus was unveiled in Rome. The
icon of St. Nicholas tis Ste’gis was put on display this Wednesday after a long and loving restoration in the expert studios of Rome.
The large, 203 centimeters x 158 centimeters (80 inches x 62 inches), image painted in tempera on wood panel represents St. Nicholas, a particularly beloved saint of both the Eastern and Western Church, flanked by scenes from his life.
It was painted in the late 13th century for the church of St. Nichloas tis Ste’gis in the town Kakopetria, about halfway between the Cypriot capital of Nicosia and the town of Paphos. Today it is kept in the Byzantine Museum of Kakopetria.
The icon was brought to Rome for the delicate restoration after atmospheric elements had damaged the paint, insects had weakened the wood, and vandalism had scraped away the faces of the donors of the panel featured at the feet of the saint.
The alliance between Rome and Cyprus to save this work of sacred art closely mirrors the strong artistic collaboration between the Cypriots and Romans in the Middle Ages.
The panel is painted on a surface primed not only with plaster and linen, but also with a piece of pergamum, or animal skin, fixed to the wood by animal glue. This special technique, developed in Cyprus, helped to preserve the work and was passed onto Italian artists in the Medieval era.
St. Nicholas stands about 6 feet tall, inside a gilt frame of embossed lilies, a common symbol in western art. The precious pigments, lapis lazuli, gold and silver are characteristic of icons, but were regularly exported to Rome. Above his head, Jesus hands St. Nicholas the Gospel while Mary proffers the pallium, the insignia of his office as bishop conferred on him by Christ and the Church.
Side panels recount his life and miracles, but the inclusion of Nicholas’ gift of dowries to poor girls and the resurrection of three murdered priests, reveals a Latin, as well as Eastern influence in the iconography.
The donors are believed to be a noble Latin family, judging by the imperial eagle on the armor of the figure on the right. This work, executed in the years of Western lordship of the island, recount the fruitful collaboration of the Cypriot artists and the Latin patriots to making beautiful images together for the greater glory of God.
The icon will be on display until July 27, 2009, in the National Museum of Piazza Venezia, Tuesdays through Sundays from 8:30 to 7:00.
* * *
Eternal friendship
The Vatican Museums, magnet for Christians and non-Christians alike, has decided to keep the Pauline fires burning beyond the closing of the Year of St. Paul. Today, the Museums inaugurated a new exhibit titled “St. Paul in the Vatican: The Words and Image of the Apostles of the People in the Pontifical Collections,” which will continue until Sept. 27, 2009.
Housed in the Pio Christian Museum, this exhibit draws together over 120 works from various parts of the papal collections; some come from the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, while other objects were loaned by pontifical universities or the Vatican Library.
Rare manuscripts and ancient images reconstruct both the historical figure of Paul as well as the legacy of his letters across both centuries and continents.
The first section explores the recent and ancient discoveries around the tomb of the Apostle at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. A model of the old church built by Theodosius in the fifth century and the cast of the famous stone slab, placed on the grave of Paul and inscribed with the words, “Paul, Apostle, Martyr” testify to the antiquity of the tradition of Paul’s burial site.
A spectacular sarcophagus from 350 A.D., called the
“Dogmatic Sarcophagus” , richly carved with the first image of the Trinity in the world, and found buried next to the tomb of the Apostle, confirms the prestige of Paul’s tomb.
Almost 30 objects explore the development of the iconography of Paul. Vivid watercolors by Monsignor Joseph Wilpert of images from the Roman catacombs, as well as stone sarcophagi reliefs, illustrate how the visage and history of St. Paul were first diffused through the highly visual culture of the Greco-Roman world.
The loveliest artifacts from this section are the gold glass medallions, precious souvenirs for the early pilgrims, with the faces of Peter and Paul etched in gold leaf between the sheets of glass. This iconography of the new Romulus and Remus, co-founders of the new Christian Rome, took off immediately.
The relationship of Peter and Paul is further analyzed in the exhibit by looking at the wealth of images of St. Paul found at the tomb of St. Peter. From the 15th-century ciborium from the Basilica by Paolo Romano showing the beheading of Paul, to the image of Paul on the bronze doors still gracing the church, these works highlight the friendship and unity between the Apostle to the Gentiles and the Prince of the Apostles.
The final section looks at the testimony of the written word. The oldest Christian inscription, the Epitaph of Albercius from the end of the second century, describes the pilgrimage of Bishop of Hieropolis, who used the letters of Paul "as my guide." Printed versions of the Bible spanning the illuminated manuscripts of Charles the Bald in the ninth century to the most modern version from the Italian bishops' conference bear witness to the legacy of the written words of St. Paul.
Martin Luther’s German translation of the Bible sits by Thomas Aquinas’ commentaries, and Slav, Copt, Arab, Spanish, Chinese and Armenian Gospels illustrate the universality of the letters of St. Paul.
Paul, debtor “to the Greeks and to the barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise" (Romans 1:14), complements the Museums perfectly. The art of the pontifical collection draws people from all backgrounds and faiths, while the exhibit allows Paul to preach again as he once did in the Agora in Athens and the synagogues of Cyprus. The greatest fruit of the Pauline year will be if people continue to listen.
* * *
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.
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
DOCUMENTS
Pope's Homily at Launch of Year for Priests
"The Heart of God Throbs With Compassion"
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 25, 2009 (
Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered last Friday at vespers inaugurating the Year for Priests. The year began June 19, the solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and it coincides with the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, known as the Curé d'Ars.
* * *
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In a little while, we shall be singing in the Antiphon to the Magnificat: "The Lord has welcomed us in his Heart Suscepit nos Dominus in sinum et cor suum". God's heart, considered to be the organ of his will, is mentioned 26 times in the Old Testament.
Man is judged according to God's Heart. Because of the pain his heart feels at the sins of man, God decides on the flood, but is subsequently moved by human weakness and forgives.
Then there is an Old Testament passage in which the subject of God's Heart is expressed with absolute clarity: it is in chapter 11 of the Book of the Prophet Hosea in which the first verses describe the dimension of the love with which the Lord turned to Israel at the dawn of its history: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son" (Hos 11: 1). Israel, in fact, responds to God's tireless favour with indifference and even outright ingratitude.
"The more I called them", the Lord is forced to admit, "the more they went from me" (v. 2). Nonetheless he never abandons Israel to the hands of the enemy because "my heart", the Creator of the universe observes, "recoils within me, my compassion grows warm and tender" (v. 8).
The Heart of God throbs with compassion! On today's Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus the Church offers us this mystery for contemplation, the mystery of the Heart of a God who feels compassion and pours forth all his love upon humanity. It is a mysterious love, which in the texts of the New Testament is revealed to us as God's immeasurable love for the human being. He does not give in to ingratitude or to rejection by the People he has chosen; on the contrary, with infinite mercy he sends his Only-Begotten Son into the world to take upon himself the burden of love immolated so that by defeating the powers of evil and death he could restore the dignity of being God's children to human beings, enslaved by sin.
All this comes about at a high price: the Only-Begotten Son of the Father is sacrificed on the Cross, "having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end" (cf. Jn 13: 1).
A symbol of this love which goes beyond death is his side, pierced by a spear. In this regard, the Apostle John, an eye-witness, says: "one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water" (cf. Jn 19: 34).
Dear brothers and sisters, thank you because, in response to my invitation, you have come in large numbers to this celebration with which we begin the Year for Priests. I greet the Cardinals and Bishops, in particular the Cardinal Prefect and the Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy with their collaborators, and the Bishop of Ars. I greet the priests and seminarians of the various seminaries and colleges of Rome; the men and women religious and all the faithful.
I address a special greeting to H.B. Ignace Youssef Younan, Patriarch of Antioch for Syrians, who has come to Rome to meet me and to acknowledge publicly the "ecclesiastica communio" which I have granted him.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us pause together to contemplate the pierced Heart of the Crucified One. We have heard again, just now, in the brief Reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Ephesians, that "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ... and raised us up with him, and made us sit with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2: 4-6). To be in Jesus Christ, is to be already seated in heaven.
The essential nucleus of Christianity is expressed in the Heart of Jesus; in Christ the whole of the revolutionary newness of the Gospel was revealed and given to us: the Love that saves us and already makes us live in God's eternity.
The Evangelist John writes: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" (3: 16). His divine Heart therefore calls to our hearts, inviting us to come out of ourselves, to abandon our human certainties to trust in him and, following his example, to make of ourselves a gift of love without reserve.
If it is true that Jesus' invitation to "abide in my love" (cf. Jn 15: 9) is addressed to every baptized person, on the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the Day for priestly sanctification, this invitation resounds more powerfully for we priests, particularly this evening at the solemn inauguration of the Year for Priests, which I wanted to be celebrated on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the Holy Curé d'Ars.
One of his beautiful and moving sayings, cited in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, immediately springs to my mind: "The Priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus" (n. 1589).
How is it possible not to remember with emotion that the gift of our priestly ministry flowed directly from this Heart? How can we forget that we priests were consecrated to serve humbly and authoritatively the common priesthood of the faithful?
Ours is an indispensable mission, for the Church and for the world, which demands full fidelity to Christ and in unceasing union with him this to remain in his love means that we must constantly strive for holiness, this union, as did St John Mary Vianney.
In the Letter I addressed to you for this special Jubilee Year, dear brother priests, I wanted to highlight certain qualifying aspects of our ministry, with references to the example and teaching of the Holy Curé d'Ars, model and protector of all of us, priests, and especially parish priests.
May my Letter be a help and encouragement to you in making this Year a favourable opportunity to grow in intimacy with Jesus, who counts on us, his ministers, to spread and to consolidate his Kingdom, to radiate his love, his truth.
Therefore, "in the footsteps of the Curé of Ars", my Letter concluded, "let yourselves be enthralled by him. In this way you too will be, for the world in our time, heralds of hope, reconciliation and peace!" (L'Osservatore Romano, English edition, see p. 5).
To let oneself be totally won over by Christ! This was the purpose of the whole life of St Paul to whom we have devoted our attention during the Pauline Year which is now drawing to a close; this was the goal of the entire ministry of the Holy Curé d'Ars, whom we shall invoke in particular during the Year for Priests; may it also be the principal objective for each one of us.
In order to be ministers at the service of the Gospel, study and a careful and continuing pastoral and theological formation is of course useful and necessary, but that "knowledge of love" which can only be learned in a "heart to heart" with Christ is even more necessary. Indeed, it is he who calls us to break the Bread of his love, to forgive sins and to guide the flock in his name. For this very reason we must never distance ourselves from the source of Love which is his Heart that was pierced on the Cross.
Only in this way will we be able to cooperate effectively in the mysterious "plan of the Father" that consists in "making Christ the Heart of the world"! This plan is brought about in history, as Jesus gradually becomes the Heart of human hearts, starting with those who are called to be closest to him: priests, precisely.
We are reminded of this ongoing commitment by the "priestly promises" that we made on the day of our Ordination and which we renew every year, on Holy Thursday, during the Chrism Mass. Even our shortcomings, our limitations and our weaknesses must lead us back to the Heart of Jesus.
Indeed, if it is true that sinners, in contemplating him, must learn from him the necessary "sorrow for sins" that leads them back to the Father, it is even more so for holy ministers. How can we forget, in this regard, that nothing makes the Church, the Body of Christ, suffer more than the sins of her pastors, especially the sins of those who are transformed into "a thief and a robber" of the sheep (Jn 10: 1 ff.), or who deviates from the Church through their own private doctrines, or who ensnare the Church in sin and death?
Dear priests, the call to conversion and recourse to Divine Mercy also applies to us, and we must likewise humbly address a heartfelt and ceaseless invocation to the Heart of Jesus to keep us from the terrible risk of harming those whom we are bound to save.
I have just had the opportunity to venerate in the Choir Chapel the relic of the Holy Curé D'Ars: his heart. It was a heart that blazed with divine love, that was moved at the thought of the priest's dignity and spoke to the faithful in touching and sublime tones, affirming that "After God, the priest is everything! ... Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is" (cf. Letter, Year for Priests, p. 3).
Dear Brothers, let us cultivate this same emotion in order to carry out our ministry with generosity and dedication, or to preserve in our souls a true "fear of God": the fear of being able to deprive of so much good, through our negligence or fault, those souls entrusted to us, or God forbid of harming them.
The Church needs holy priests; ministers who can help the faithful to experience the merciful love of the Lord and who are his convinced witnesses.
In the Eucharistic Adoration that will follow the celebration of Vespers, let us ask the Lord to set the heart of every priest on fire with that "pastoral charity" which can enable him to assimilate his personal "I" into that Jesus the High Priest, so that he may be able to imitate Jesus in the most complete self-giving.
May the Virgin Mary, whose Immaculate Heart we shall contemplate with living faith tomorrow, obtain this grace for us. The Holy Curé d'Ars had a filial devotion to her, so profound that in 1836, in anticipation of the proclamation of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception, he consecrated his parish to Mary, "conceived without sin".
He kept up the practice of frequently renewing this offering of his parish to the Blessed Virgin, teaching the faithful that "to be heard it was enough to address her", for the simple reason that she "desires above all else to see us happy".
May the Blessed Virgin, our Mother, accompany us during the Year for Priests which we are beginning to day, so that we are able to be sound and enlightened guides for the faithful whom the Lord entrusts to our pastoral care. Amen!
© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana
email this article | print this article | comment this article
top
ZENIT is an International News Agency. For reprint permission:
http://www.zenit.org/english/permissions.html Visit our web page at
http://www.zenit.org To subscribe or unsubscribe:
http://www.zenit.org/english/subscribe.html To give a ZENIT gift subscription:
http://www.zenit.org/english/gift.html To make a donation to support ZENIT:
http://www.zenit.org/english/donation.html SEND US YOUR NEWS.
Please send press releases using:
http://www.zenit.org/english/news.html Copyright, Innovative Media, Inc.
