Cool: Benedict XVI surfs the web and uses email!

Or should I say, totally cool:

The president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, shared this week that the Holy Father has an appreciation for new developments in technology and is comfortable surfing the internet and using email.

During an interview with the program “Studio Aperto” on the Italia 1 TV network, Archbishop Celli added, while the Pope doesn't have a personal email address, he “sends his own personal emails. He does! He has great appreciation for new technology.”

The archbishop explained that while the Pope “cannot respond to the millions of messages that arrive in his inbox,” he is committed to “offering his prayers for all who write to him.”

“The internet is an excellent means of communication,” he continued. “We are seeking to be present where the people are, especially the youth.” (CNA)

I wonder if the Pope reads AmP?!

To my knowledge, we still don't have a picture of Pope Benedict using a computer.

John Paul II preferred Dell laptops (with some papal customization, of course):

Totally 1337.

Pope's prayer intentions for November

I always like starting a new month of blogging with the Pope's prayer intentions, which for November are:

"That all the men and women in the world, especially those who have responsibilities in the field of politics and economics, may never fail in their commitment to safeguard creation".

His mission intention is: "That believers in the different religions, through the testimony of their lives and fraternal dialogue, may clearly demonstrate that the name of God is a bearer of peace".

Video: Spider bugs Pope

I'm trying to figure out why this video has over 225k views....



So - it's a spider on the pope. Okay...?

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for September

Are....

Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention for September is: "That the word of God may be better known, welcomed and lived as the source of freedom and joy".

His mission intention is: "That Christians in Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar, who often meet with great difficulties, may not be discouraged from announcing the Gospel to their brothers, trusting in the strength of the Holy Spirit".

Amen.

Cool: Pope Benedict gets a record deal

I guess it wasn't enough to be a best-selling author:

An album of music and prayers by Pope Benedict will join new releases from the likes of Jay-Z and reality TV contestant Susan Boyle in stores at the end of the year.

Geffen Records, which is owned by Universal Music Group, announced the project on Friday, saying the as-yet-untitled album will be released Nov. 30.

The album features the pontiff singing one prayer and reciting seven others, in different languages. The vocals originate from broadcasts on Vatican Radio, which owns the rights to them. (CBCNews.ca)

Now that's a papist stocking-stuffer.

Pope: "My own guardian angel did not prevent my injury, certainly following superior orders"

Pope Benedict reflected today on the lessons he could learn from his recent tumble - and about the agency of his guardian angel. 

It's not hard to imagine the grin on his face that must have accompanied these words:

Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday that his "guardian angel" let him down when he fell and broke his wrist earlier this month, but that the angel was clearly acting "on superior orders."

The pope thanked law enforcement officials for being "like angels," as he prepared to depart Les Combes, the Alpine resort where he tripped and injured his wrist 10 days ago while on vacation.

"Unfortunately, my own guardian angel did not prevent my injury, certainly following superior orders," Benedict said.

"Perhaps the Lord wanted to teach me more patience and humility, give me more time for prayer and meditation," the pope added.

Benedict leaves Les Combes, near the French border, later Wednesday to spend the rest of the summer in Castel Gandolfo, a papal retreat near Rome. (AP)

We should keep the pope in our close prayers. It's no fun to have a sprained wrist at 82.

Pope Benedict fractures wrist - prayers asked

New York Times:

Pope Benedict XVI fractured his right wrist in a fall Friday morning while on vacation in northern Italy, the Vatican said.

In a statement, the Vatican said that the pope had slipped in his room in the chalet where he is staying in the mountainous Valle d’Aosta region, but was well enough to eat breakfast and celebrate Mass before being taken by car to the local hospital.

“It’s nothing serious,” the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said in a telephone interview . He said that the pope’s wrist had been “immobilized.”

Doctors operated on the pope’s wrist for about 20 minutes, Reuters reported, and he will have to wear a cast for about a month.

Whispers has several updates, including that the Holy Father has been released from the hospital. 

I thought this was admirable:

Italian news footage shows pope walked inside hospital emergency room with his aides.

Pope insisted he get no special treatment at hospital. He waited his turn for X-ray, operating room.

Well, he's first in line for my prayers today.

Recap: Obama's meeting with the Pope

Plenty of encouraging signs here, let's go through them.

First, the official Vatican take:

In the course of their cordial exchanges the conversation turned first of all to questions which are in the interests of all and which constitute a great challenge for the future of every nation and for the true progress of peoples, such as the defence and promotion of life and the right to abide by one’s conscience.

Reference was also made to immigration with particular attention to the matter of reuniting families.

The meeting focused as well upon matters of international politics, especially in light of the outcome of the G8 Summit. The conversation also dealt with the peace process in the Middle East, on which there was general agreement, and with other regional situations. Certain current issues were then considered, such as dialogue between cultures and religions, the global economic crisis and its ethical implications, food security, development aid especially for Africa and Latin America, and the problem of drug trafficking. Finally, the importance of educating young people everywhere in the value of tolerance was highlighted. (source)

Conscience clauses and life issues front-and-center. Good, good. These are, of course, the areas of greatest disagreement so they deserve to be given especial attention, in addition to their objective importance.

Hilary White, LSN's Rome Correspondent, gives us some more useful tidbits:

Pope Benedict gave US President Barack Obama a surprise gift of the Vatican bioethics document "Dignitatis Personae," and discussed the ethics of abortion and embryo research in their first meeting in Rome this afternoon.

... At the end of the meeting, Pope Benedict told the president, "A blessing on all your work and also for you." The president responded, "Thank you very much. We look forward to a very strong relationship."

... The Vatican has made unusual accommodations for the visit, scheduling it in the late afternoon before Obama proceeds to a visit to Africa and allowing extensive live video coverage. The tradition-conscious Vatican normally schedules such meetings for midday.

Now how about Obama's response? Here also there are some encouraging signs:

"Oh, what we discussed earlier," said Obama, referring to their closed-door discussions. "I will have some reading to do on the plane."

Obama was given the instruction to help him better understand the church's position on bioethics, Msgr. Georg Ganswein, papal secretary, told journalists in the pool covering the visit.

Also:

Father Lombardi said he spoke with the pope after the meeting and the pope "seemed extremely satisfied with how the meeting went."

He said the pope found Obama to be "attentive and ready to listen."

"The president explicitly expressed his commitment to reducing the numbers of abortions and to listen to the church's concerns on moral issues," he said.

Note: reducing abortions. period. none of this deception "reduce the need for abortions" language.

Most of these important details are also being picked up by the mainstream coverage.

Now ... we wait and see. Obama has made promises to the pope about reducing the number of abortions, about listening to the Church's moral teaching, and about having a strong relationship with the Vatican. 

I pray that he holds fast to these promises.

Prepare for the Obama-Benedict meeting spin

As this post goes live, Barack Obama will be meeting for the first time with Pope Benedict XVI.

I will be shocked shocked if the mainstream interpretation of this meeting does not include such conclusions as a) the meeting was an unmitigated success involving two enlightened individuals b) the meetings was a validation of Obama's presidency and major parts of his agenda and c) the meeting was a refutation/dismissal of the widespread criticism Obama has received from dozens upon dozens of Catholic bishops and hundreds of thousands of American Catholics.

Of course it is none of these things. It is a meeting of the most powerful man in the world with a Pope who is charged with safeguarding the universal Church.

Surprises may happen, of course, remember how well the Vatican handled the visit of House Speaker (and convenience Catholic) Nancy Pelosi? Obama's visit to the Holy Father will take place on the pope's home turf.

The early word from the Obama administration is hardly encouraging. Instead, it's more of the same. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, himself a Catholic, said yesterday: "The President often refers to the fundamental belief that each person is endowed with dignity." 

I'm sorry but I almost want to stop reading there because, of course, Barack Obama totally ignores the teaching of the Church that unborn children also are endowed with dignity. It's like someone claiming as common ground "we all agree not to shoot people between 2pm and 12pm", and then shooting them precisely at 1:59PM. Such a person can't claim to be against shooting.

Anyway, we'll see.

Also of note: Dan Gilgoff wrote a piece yesterday "How Meeting the Pope Can Change Obama's Rocky Catholic Narrative". 

I think it's analysis is superficial. The substantive and fundamental disagreements between Obama and Pope Benedict won't be solved with a single meeting. There is also an inability to grasp that what American bishops do is not what the Pope is charged to do, when it comes to relating to the American President. 

The fact that the pope and American bishops may treat Obama in different ways does not show that they hold different opinions about him, but that they have diverse ways of dealings with the problematic he presents.

Even on the international stage, I hardly think the pope has any cause to be impressed with Obama's track record so far. The President, after all, has quickly seen to the federal funding of international "reproductive health" initiatives, which basically equal contraception and abortion - both soundly condemned by the pope in his most recent encyclical.

Also, President Obama has managed to side with the dictator in both significant conflicts currently taking place in troubled counties (Iran and Honduras). This is hardly the tactic that the pope would probably consider appropriate when he speaks about how a just government should serve as oppose to exploit the common good of its citizens.

And climate change? Please. The current Cap & Trade bill being introduced in the Senate is widely-agreed to have almost zero impact on the global environment, and will instead only leverage more taxes on average Americans, reducing the possibility of their human development. And an economically weaker America has diminished potential to do good in the world.

I could go on, but hopefully my point is coming across. I fail to see what the Pope and President Obama have in common, save good words. Only Pope Benedict's words are true and he follows up on them through action.

Picture: Obama's gift to Pope Benedict - St. John Neumann's stole

In about an hour Barack Obama will present this gift to Pope Benedict XVI:

The Philly Enquirer:

The owners of the DiCocco Family St. Jude Shop are getting to be experts at this. When there's a presentation for the pope, call the store in Havertown.

Twice in the last 15 months, the store owners have been tapped for their Benedict XVI know-how.

The first time, they helped supply a specially made chair the pope used during a U.S. visit. This time, they assisted the White House in finding a gift for him.

That present will be given to Benedict as part of President Obama's visit to the Vatican tomorrow.

The box will contain a stole that had been draped around the enshrined body of St. John Neumann in Philadelphia for nearly 20 years.

AmP reader John clarifies:

I suppose the headline isn't wrong, but I wouldn't describe this as "St. John Neumann's stole" since he didn't wear it while he was alive. As I understand it, his body was first displayed in the '60s when the cause for his canonization was underway. When the shrine was renovated in the late '80s, they dressed it in modern, polyester, Gothic-style vestments. Last year, Cardinal Rigali had them replaced with silk Roman-style vestments like the saint would have worn when he was alive. I guess the stole the president is giving to the Holy Father is classified as a third-class relic, which ain't nothin', but it struck me as odd. Still, I guess it's better than the box-set of DVDs he gave the British PM (which couldn't even be watched on the other side of the pond).

I wonder what other gifts Obama has brought for the Holy Father?

You can find out more about the stole here at the Redemptorists website.

Fr. Z., I might add, is none too impressed.

During a recent trip to Baltimore I actually visited one of the parishes St. John Neumann pastored. Very cool. It's a small (Catholic) world.

Survey: Reactions and commentary to Caritas in Veritate

Yesterday, a minute after the embargo was lifted, I made available the full text of Caritas in Veritate.

24 hours later, it's time to survey the Catholic commentary:

• An economist friend of mine published in Pew Sitter: "'Curse of the Mad Scientists' created the chaos described in Pope Benedict’s encyclical on economics, says UDM economics professor"
• For more (excellent) economic commentary from a Catholic perspective, see the multiple contributions made available by those affiliated with the Acton Institute here. They do this for a living.
• Sandro Magister publishes an anthology of what he considers to be the most important passages (My own quote pulls are accessible via this link and then scrolling down the page)
• The Catholic Thing has a symposium with contributions from Michael Novak, James Schall, SJ, Joseph Wood and Rob Royal
• Dan Gilgoff I think misses the hierarchy of truths proposed by Pope Benedict when he claims that "Pope Benedict's Encyclical Is a Boost for Catholic Progressives"
• In a similar vein, David Gibson claims "The Pope Is a Liberal. Who knew?" Problem is, for many "liberals", that amounts to abandoning or subordinating life issues. Sorry, I know that doesn't work.
• Deal Hudson, representing the other end of the spectrum, claims the encyclical "tightens up the Church's social teaching"
• LifeSiteNews, meanwhile, in addition to Paragraph 28 (which I mentioned), points out the strong pro-life points made in Paragraph 44.

I haven't dipped into the mainstream commentaries yet - I'm almost afraid to - but give it another 24hrs, and I'll include them as well. That's about how long it takes to separate wheat from chaff these days.

Text: Caritas in Veritate on what true humanism looks like

Pope Benedict's third encyclical is a mammoth work which will take some time to digest, but here is a fifth (and final) paragraph I'd like to highlight, where he talks about what true humanism looks like:

78. .... Paul VI recalled in Populorum Progressio that man cannot bring about his own progress unaided, because by himself he cannot establish an authentic humanism. Only if we are aware of our calling, as individuals and as a community, to be part of God's family as his sons and daughters, will we be able to generate a new vision and muster new energy in the service of a truly integral humanism. The greatest service to development, then, is a Christian humanism that enkindles charity and takes its lead from truth, accepting both as a lasting gift from God. Openness to God makes us open towards our brothers and sisters and towards an understanding of life as a joyful task to be accomplished in a spirit of solidarity. On the other hand, ideological rejection of God and an atheism of indifference, oblivious to the Creator and at risk of becoming equally oblivious to human values, constitute some of the chief obstacles to development today. A humanism which excludes God is an inhuman humanism. Only a humanism open to the Absolute can guide us in the promotion and building of forms of social and civic life — structures, institutions, culture and ethos — without exposing us to the risk of becoming ensnared by the fashions of the moment.

Text: Caritas in Veritate on the teaching of Humanae Vitae

Pope Benedict's third encyclical is a mammoth work which will take some time to digest, but here is a fourth important paragraph I'd like to highlight, revealing Pope Benedict's summary of Paul VI's Humanae Vitae:

15. Two further documents by Paul VI without any direct link to social doctrine — the Encyclical Humanae Vitae (25 July 1968) and the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (8 December 1975) — are highly important for delineating the fully human meaning of the development that the Church proposes. It is therefore helpful to consider these texts too in relation to Populorum Progressio.

The Encyclical Humanae Vitae emphasizes both the unitive and the procreative meaning of sexuality, thereby locating at the foundation of society the married couple, man and woman, who accept one another mutually, in distinction and in complementarity: a couple, therefore, that is open to life. This is not a question of purely individual morality: Humanae Vitae indicates the strong links between life ethics and social ethics, ushering in a new area of magisterial teaching that has gradually been articulated in a series of documents, most recently John Paul II's Encyclical Evangelium Vitae.

Text: Caritas in Veritate on 'urgent need of a true world political authority'

Pope Benedict's third encyclical is a mammoth work which will take some time to digest, but here is a third important paragraph I'd like to highlight, one that is sure to generate some vigorous debate back-and-forth:

67. In the face of the unrelenting growth of global interdependence, there is a strongly felt need, even in the midst of a global recession, for a reform of the United Nations Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real teeth. One also senses the urgent need to find innovative ways of implementing the principle of the responsibility to protect and of giving poorer nations an effective voice in shared decision-making. This seems necessary in order to arrive at a political, juridical and economic order which can increase and give direction to international cooperation for the development of all peoples in solidarity. To manage the global economy; to revive economies hit by the crisis; to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis and the greater imbalances that would result; to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace; to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration: for all this, there is urgent need of a true world political authority, as my predecessor Blessed John XXIII indicated some years ago. Such an authority would need to be regulated by law, to observe consistently the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity, to seek to establish the common good, and to make a commitment to securing authentic integral human development inspired by the values of charity in truth. Furthermore, such an authority would need to be universally recognized and to be vested with the effective power to ensure security for all, regard for justice, and respect for rights. Obviously it would have to have the authority to ensure compliance with its decisions from all parties, and also with the coordinated measures adopted in various international forums. Without this, despite the great progress accomplished in various sectors, international law would risk being conditioned by the balance of power among the strongest nations. The integral development of peoples and international cooperation require the establishment of a greater degree of international ordering, marked by subsidiarity, for the management of globalization. They also require the construction of a social order that at last conforms to the moral order, to the interconnection between moral and social spheres, and to the link between politics and the economic and civil spheres, as envisaged by the Charter of the United Nations.

Text: Caritas in Veritate on 'Population and Marriage'

Pope Benedict's third encyclical is a mammoth work which will take some time to digest, but here is a second important paragraph I'd like to highlight, Pope Benedict on Population and Marriage:

44. The notion of rights and duties in development must also take account of the problems associated with population growth. This is a very important aspect of authentic development, since it concerns the inalienable values of life and the family. To consider population increase as the primary cause of underdevelopment is mistaken, even from an economic point of view. Suffice it to consider, on the one hand, the significant reduction in infant mortality and the rise in average life expectancy found in economically developed countries, and on the other hand, the signs of crisis observable in societies that are registering an alarming decline in their birth rate. Due attention must obviously be given to responsible procreation, which among other things has a positive contribution to make to integral human development. The Church, in her concern for man's authentic development, urges him to have full respect for human values in the exercise of his sexuality. It cannot be reduced merely to pleasure or entertainment, nor can sex education be reduced to technical instruction aimed solely at protecting the interested parties from possible disease or the “risk” of procreation. This would be to impoverish and disregard the deeper meaning of sexuality, a meaning which needs to be acknowledged and responsibly appropriated not only by individuals but also by the community. It is irresponsible to view sexuality merely as a source of pleasure, and likewise to regulate it through strategies of mandatory birth control. In either case materialistic ideas and policies are at work, and individuals are ultimately subjected to various forms of violence. Against such policies, there is a need to defend the primary competence of the family in the area of sexuality,111 as opposed to the State and its restrictive policies, and to ensure that parents are suitably prepared to undertake their responsibilities.

Morally responsible openness to life represents a rich social and economic resource. Populous nations have been able to emerge from poverty thanks not least to the size of their population and the talents of their people. On the other hand, formerly prosperous nations are presently passing through a phase of uncertainty and in some cases decline, precisely because of their falling birth rates; this has become a crucial problem for highly affluent societies. The decline in births, falling at times beneath the so-called “replacement level”, also puts a strain on social welfare systems, increases their cost, eats into savings and hence the financial resources needed for investment, reduces the availability of qualified labourers, and narrows the “brain pool” upon which nations can draw for their needs. Furthermore, smaller and at times miniscule families run the risk of impoverishing social relations, and failing to ensure effective forms of solidarity. These situations are symptomatic of scant confidence in the future and moral weariness. It is thus becoming a social and even economic necessity once more to hold up to future generations the beauty of marriage and the family, and the fact that these institutions correspond to the deepest needs and dignity of the person. In view of this, States are called to enact policies promoting the centrality and the integrity of the family founded on marriage between a man and a woman, the primary vital cell of society, and to assume responsibility for its economic and fiscal needs, while respecting its essentially relational character.

Text: Caritas in Veritate on 'Respect for Life'

Pope Benedict's third encyclical is a mammoth work which will take some time to digest, but here is one important paragraph I'd like to highlight, Pope Benedict on beginning-of-life issues in our age:

28. One of the most striking aspects of development in the present day is the important question of respect for life, which cannot in any way be detached from questions concerning the development of peoples. It is an aspect which has acquired increasing prominence in recent times, obliging us to broaden our concept of poverty and underdevelopment to include questions connected with the acceptance of life, especially in cases where it is impeded in a variety of ways.

Not only does the situation of poverty still provoke high rates of infant mortality in many regions, but some parts of the world still experience practices of demographic control, on the part of governments that often promote contraception and even go so far as to impose abortion. In economically developed countries, legislation contrary to life is very widespread, and it has already shaped moral attitudes and praxis, contributing to the spread of an anti-birth mentality; frequent attempts are made to export this mentality to other States as if it were a form of cultural progress.

Some non-governmental Organizations work actively to spread abortion, at times promoting the practice of sterilization in poor countries, in some cases not even informing the women concerned. Moreover, there is reason to suspect that development aid is sometimes linked to specific health-care policies which de facto involve the imposition of strong birth control measures. Further grounds for concern are laws permitting euthanasia as well as pressure from lobby groups, nationally and internationally, in favour of its juridical recognition.

Openness to life is at the centre of true development. When a society moves towards the denial or suppression of life, it ends up no longer finding the necessary motivation and energy to strive for man's true good. If personal and social sensitivity towards the acceptance of a new life is lost, then other forms of acceptance that are valuable for society also wither away.67 The acceptance of life strengthens moral fibre and makes people capable of mutual help. By cultivating openness to life, wealthy peoples can better understand the needs of poor ones, they can avoid employing huge economic and intellectual resources to satisfy the selfish desires of their own citizens, and instead, they can promote virtuous action within the perspective of production that is morally sound and marked by solidarity, respecting the fundamental right to life of every people and every individual.

Full Text: Caritas in Veritate

Here is a word file with the full text of Pope Benedict's third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate:

caritasinveritate.doc

A brief table of contents:

• Introduction (Paragraphs 1-9)
• Chapter 1: The Message of Populorum Progressio (Paragraphs 10-20)
• Chapter 2: Human Development In Our Time (Paragraphs 21-33)
• Chapter 3: Fraternity, Economic Development and Civil Society (Paragraphs 34-42)
• Chapter 4: The Development of Peoples, Rights and Duties, The Environment (Paragraphs 43-52)
• Chapter 5: The Cooperation of the Human Family (Paragraphs 53-67)
• Chapter 6: The Development of Peoples and Technology (Paragraphs 68-77)
• Conclusion (Paragraphs 78-79)

update: Read the Vatican's own short summary of the encyclical here.

Tomorrow at 6am EST: Text of Caritas in Veritate, Pope Benedict's 3rd encyclical

Tomorrow at 12PM Rome-time (6AM EST) the embargo will be lifted on Pope Benedict's third encyclical letter:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

CARITAS IN VERITATE

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS

THE LAY FAITHFUL

AND ALL PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL

ON INTEGRAL HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

IN CHARITY AND TRUTH

Once the embargo is lifted I will post the full text as a Microsoft word document here on AmP. So check back then.

Photo: Five new American Archbishops

Sometimes it's simply impossible to keep up on all the news. One of the stories that slipped through my fingers this week was the donation by Pope Benedict of palliums to *five* new American archbishops yesterday. CNS has a report.

From Left: Archbishops Timothy Dolan of New York, Gregory Aymond of New Orleans, Robert Carlson of St Louis, George Lucas of Omaha, and Allen Vigneron of Detroit.

I wonder if five is a record for a single year?

Ph/t: Whispers, which also has extensive coverage

Photo credit: Joanna Molloy of the New York Daily News

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for May

Here they are:

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for May is: "That the laity and the Christian communities may be responsible promoters of priestly and religious vocations".

His mission intention is: "That the recently founded Catholic Churches, grateful to the Lord for the gift of faith, may be ready to share in the universal mission of the Church, offering their availability to preach the Gospel throughout the world".

Time to get on our knees! :)

Happy 82nd Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI!

Hoist a Bavarian Pint today!

The Holy Father will today celebrate his 82nd birthday in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo a few kilometres south of Rome where he is enjoying a brief period of rest following the ceremonies of Holy Week.

Holy See Press Office Director Fr. Federico Lombardi S.J. yesterday commented the circumstance by expressing the hope that the Holy Father "may long continue to carry out his ministry, ... helping the men and women of today to find God".

"The focus of his concern", Fr. Lombardi continued his remarks, "is to bring mankind to God and God to mankind, through a great personal love for Christ. ... Despite the critical attitude it is necessary to adopt towards so many negative aspects of today's culture and mentality, in the final analysis the principle message [the Church] wishes to communicate is a message of love, a message for the good of mankind and of the human person; that is, their reconciliation with God and with all the other men and women who live on this earth".

Joseph Aloysius Ratzinger, the name with which Benedict XVI was baptised, was born on 16 April 1927 in Marktl am Inn, Germany. (VIS)

Next up - April 19th - the fourth anniversary of his election as our 265th Pontiff!

Ad Multos Annos!

Perfect for Easter: "What Christians Believe" by Pope Benedict

Credo for Today by Pope Benedict XVI. This strikes me as a perfect Easter present, especially to folks coming into the Church or being confirmed. And it's available for pre-order on Amazon a few days before.

It's on my reading list.

Funny Foto: LOL Pope

Sent to me by AmP reader Paul.

Pope Benedict XVI creates new diocese in the Philippines

Yep, the pope can do this sort of thing:

Pope Benedict XVI has created a new diocese in the Philippines and named its bishop.

An article posted on CBCP Web site said the Pope elevated the Prelature of Libmanan in Camarines Sur and appointed Fr. Jose Rojas, 52, as its bishop.

... The Libmanan diocese has nearly 500,000 Catholics. It has 27 parishes and 51 priests.

Following the Pope’s order, the Philippine Catholic Church now has a total of 16 archdioceses, 52 dioceses, seven apostolic vicariates, five territorial prelatures, and one military ordinariate.

Cool - it's wonderful seeing the Church grow. The successor to Peter lives!

Reminder: Pope Benedict travels to Africa tomorrow (+ video)

Wow, this snuck up on me! Tempus fugit!

Here is the pope's schedule of activities. He asked for prayers this Sunday at his weekly Angelus:

I will do my best to stay up on the texts, photos and videos that will accompany his Apostolic Journey.

Praise for Pope Benedict's letter about SSPX

Canon Lawyer Ed Peters:

One can hardly praise a pope without sounding a bit presumptuous, but here goes: the 10 March 2009 letter of Benedict XVI on the SSPX excommunications remission is a fine document.

The pope's letter acknowledges that the excommunication remissions came as a surprise to all and were issued without adequate contemporaneous explanations. As a result, even friends of the pope were ill-prepared to defend his actions in the court of human opinion (and yes, the court of human opinion matters, as evidenced by the pope's letter itself). Church enemies had a field day amid the confusion, but since that's what enemies do anyway, there's not much more to be said about them. [More.]

Advance text of the Pope's letter and coverage here.

In letter, pope responds to criticisms over Lefebvrite decision

John Thavis at Catholic News Service:

Pope Benedict XVI has written a letter to the world's bishops defending his decision to lift the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops and expressing regret that it gave rise to misunderstandings and polemics, according to Italian newspapers.

The pope said the controversy over Bishop Richard Williamson's statements denying the extent of the Holocaust was "a misadventure that was for me unforeseeable" and acknowledged that the Vatican should have paid more attention to information easily available on the Internet, the reports said.

The pope said he was particularly saddened at the reaction of some Catholics who seemed willing to believe he was changing direction on Catholic-Jewish relations and were ready to "strike at me with hostility."

... As for the Society of St. Pius X, he said the church cannot ignore a community of believers that has 491 priests, 215 seminarians and thousands of faithful.

Rorate Caeli is on the story big time, including what they claim is a complete text in German.

update 2 - NLM has what appears to be the final full-version of the ENGLISH-LANGUAGE text (which includes four more paragraphs) {ph/t: Gregor}.

The Catholic Traveler is giving away a trip to Europe!

Can't wait for spring to arrive?

Haven't seen the pope in a few months? (yeah - I wish!)

The Catholic Traveler is giving away a free trip to Europe, allowing you to choose any one of their 2009/2010 pilgrimages.

Even better: you can enter up to three times!

Hey, that's cool. papist cool.

Go check it out!

Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for March

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for March is: "That the role of women may be more appreciated and used to good advantage in every country in the world".

His mission intention is: "That, in the light of the Letter addressed to them by Pope Benedict XVI, the bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay faithful of the Catholic Church in the Popular Republic of China may commit themselves to being the sign and instrument of unity, communion and peace".

Two excellent prayer intentions, although I'm sure Papa Benny wasn't waiting around for my approval.

Update: Holocaust-denier Bp. Williams apologizes for comments

Zenit:

Bishop Richard Williamson, formerly excommunicated member of the Society of St. Pius X, apologized today for statements in which he denied the extent of the Holocaust.

In a statement published on his return to London on Wednesday after being expelled by the government of Argentina, the prelate explained that "the Holy Father and my superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay, have requested that I reconsider the remarks I made on Swedish television four months ago, because their consequences have been so heavy."

... Bishop Williamson continued, "Observing these consequences I can truthfully say that I regret having made such remarks, and that if I had known beforehand the full harm and hurt to which they would give rise, especially to the Church, but also to survivors and relatives of victims of injustice under the Third Reich, I would not have made them."

The prelate said that on Swedish television he only gave the "opinion [...] of a non-historian," a perspective "formed 20 years ago on the basis of evidence then available, and rarely expressed in public since."

However, he recognized, "the events of recent weeks and the advice of senior members of the Society of St. Pius X have persuaded me of my responsibility for much distress caused."

He added, "To all souls that took honest scandal from what I said, before God I apologize."

AP video of a reporter trying to confront Bp. Williams as he left Buenos Aires:

Related links:

• Reuters: Holocaust-denying bishop makes apology
• CNS: Bishop Williamson says he regrets remarks denying Holocaust
• CNA: Bishop Williamson expresses ‘regret’ for Holocaust comments’ effects
• NYT: Bishop Apologizes for Statements on the Holocaust

Pope Benedict & the SSPX - a substantive contribution

Finally something more than the holocaust angle, discussed at the Ratzinger Fan Club blog.

Weighty reading.

All spiritual bouquets are not created equal

Lest yesterday's post leave doubt in people's minds - I have no problem with offering spiritual bouquets.

This one, for instance, for Pope Benedict XVI, "amid the anti-Catholic sentiment in the media of today" is just fine by me.

Confirmed: no pope photo-op for pelosi

It must have been a switch for her.

Joseph Lawler's reporting for the American Spectator blog confirms that "at the Vatican's request, no photos of Pelosi's Wednesday [meeting] with Pope Benedict XVI will be released."

Instead, she got a very public, internationally-circulated talking-to. That's a double message, if you ask me.

Today: Pelosi meets the Pope

Associated Press photo, taken during Pope Benedict's visit to Washington DC last year:

I'm not prone to hyperbole, but when I see this photo, the first thing I think of is "Kiss of Judas."
Nancy Pelosi, in her record of public service, has continually worked against the common good of humanity as proclaimed and defended by the Catholic Church. She is a vigorous supporter of abortion on demand, and has even claimed that her activity in this regard is a defensible action in light of Church teaching. She touts her Catholic credentials (especially around election time), yet shows no desire to ever act on her Catholic convictions (presuming she has a clue what those are). If you need to read more, I've written scores of posts about her.

What does she want out of her meeting with Pope Benedict? Street credit. She wants the photo-op to wave in front of her conscientious Catholic questioners, to say "see, the pope doesn't have a problem with me - why do you?"And you know what? She'll probably get what she wants. Evil often does.

Deal Hudson makes two suggestions to salvage this:

• Benedict XVI should use the opportunity of the visit to make a strong public statement about the attack on unborn life being waged by the new Congress and the new administration.
• Pelosi's ordinary, Archbishop Niederhauer of San Francisco, should issue a public statement strongly critical of Pelosi as a Catholic politician. He should include a statement that if she presents herself for communion he will deny it to her.

The Anchoress says: "Truthfully, there is no down side to this meeting." But I have to disagree: clearly, while grace can make good things come of it, you can't get around the reality that for many Catholics who are unsure about these issues, they will take Pope Benedict's obligation to meet with a U.S. representative as a tacit support for her radical dissenting views on the protection due human life, etc. Again, if the pope doesn't think it's important (so they will falsely conclude), why should I? Even political writers are aware of what is at stake with this meeting.

Pewsitter.com has an online petition (~2,000 signatures, currently) asking for communion to be withheld from Pelosi which they explain here. Their goal is 1 million signatures. It's a bit of an 11th hour solution.

Let's pray for Pope Benedict today, and for Nancy Pelosi, and for the children in the balance.

update: full update on what happened today ... here.

Vatican to receive briefing on Pelosi record prior to papal meeting

Pelosi is not denying that she rushed to pass this massive stimulus bill because she had to catch a plane for her europian tour - a tour that includes a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

No doubt she's looking for a quick photo-op with her Pontiff to convince her voters back home that everything is "okay" with her "identity Catholicism".

Some people, however, have a different plan in mind (underlining mine):

Fr. Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International (HLI), told LifeSiteNews.com that HLI will be briefing the Vatican "so they are aware of her dismal record on life issues.

"It is our hope that the Holy Father will not grant the floundering Speaker of the House what she surely wants and expects, a quick and valuable photo-op, but will rather give her a stern lecture on contraception and abortion and let her know that her eternal salvation is in danger," said Fr. Euteneuer.

"Further, this would be the perfect opportunity to formally excommunicate the Speaker, as she has done everything a public official possibly can to declare her lack of communion with the Holy Father and the Roman Catholic Church on every conceivable issue." (Kathleen Gilbert of LifeSiteNews)

To be clear, I don't think Pelosi is going to get excommunicated. It is, however, the perfect time for the pope to sit down with her and have that chat she so obviously needs to have about the teachings of the Church. You know, that chat she promised her Archbishop she would have him with him 162 days ago. So, no time for her Archbishop, but plenty of time to tour Europe?

Talk about a woman with dysfunctional priorities.

John Haldane says "Time for 'God's Rottweiler' to show his bark – and his bite"

John Haldane, Professor of Philosophy at the University of St Andrews and Consultor to the Pontifical Council for Culture in the Scotsman:

[Pope Benedict is] a gentle man and not at all the strict and harsh disciplinarian suggested by the tabloid title "God's Rottweiler". In view of recent events, however, it may be that some barking and biting are now called for.

...it has been revealed that the founder of another traditionalist Catholic movement, the Legionnaries of Christ, fathered at least one child by a girl of 15 when he was 68. Marcial Maciel had long been the subject of accusations of sexual predation, but his movement produced hundreds of priests and he found favour with John Paul II.

I've come across these rumors that the woman Maciel impregnated was 15 at the time she became pregnant. Currently, however, I do not find them credible and have strong private evidence that she was not a minor. Once again, however, the Legion's secrecy makes it impossible to definitively dismiss these rumors, so in all likilihood they will continue to spread.

Anyway, Haldane continues:

... [Maciel's] movement, however, was not reformed. Benedict had acted, but the Vatican had not followed through, and members of the Legionnaries behaved as if it were business as usual. So, again, the charge arises: did the Vatican not care or did it not know. Either way, its failure imperils Pope Benedict's project of reform, renewal, and restoration.

Yes - the current situation is a wound to the universal Church that does not promise to heal itself.

An update on the SSPX situation

I blogged extensively on this controversy here. Today, two signs of hope:

• {SSPX is coming around...} Commonweal: Has the purge begun?:

"Not only has the SSPX started removing questionable texts on Jews from their websites, but word is now that clergy who refuse to adopt a new line are also getting the boot. Rorate Caeli cites Italian sources reporting that Father Floriano Abrahamowicz, the SSPX priest responsible for Northeast Italy, was expelled today.

This could get ugly. But it certainly seems to signal that the schismatic Traditionalists of the SSPX may be getting serious about “cleaning” up their act. Could Williamson’s “recantation” be next? And what would Pope Benedict XVI do then?"

{Of problems to have, dealing with a contrite Williamson doesn't strike me as a particularly bad one.}

• {The Vatican is getting it ...} Catholic Culture: Vatican spokesman admits publicity gaffes:

"... Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, conceded that the Holy See has not handle public relations effectively ... [he said] “I think we still have to create a communications culture inside the Curia, where each dicastery communicates by itself, not necessarily thinking of going through the press room or issuing an explanatory note when the issue is complex.”

The director of the Holy See Press Office took aim at Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos and others who were involved in the decision to lift the SSPX bishops’ excommunications. “They didn't take the views of the other bishops enough into account,” he said. “One thing that's certain is that the pope didn't know [about Bishop Williamson’s denial of the Holocaust’s extent]. If someone should have known, it was Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos.”

{This is some sign, at least, that those responsible for communicating the pope's message realize that the current modus operandi isn't working. Let's hope the lessons learned from this debacle sink in - deeply.}

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for February

Only 28 short days to fit them in!

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for February is: "That the pastors of the Church may always be docile to the action of the Holy Spirit in their teaching and in their service to God's people". {The Holy Spirit always seeks to bring about the unity of the One Church of Christ. Let's pray for this intention especially! - AmP}

His mission intention is: "That the Church in Africa may find adequate ways and means to promote reconciliation, justice and peace efficaciously, according to the indications of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops". {A prayer intention to prepare hearts for his upcoming visit to that continent in March - AmP}

Raw video: Pope Benedict Presented With a Lion Cub

Since Wednesday's Papist Picture of the Day from this meeting of Pope and Lion proved so popular, I figured you would like to see the raw video which captures the entire encounter:

Papa Benny obviously knows his way around cats (just look at the way he pets the lion cub) ... but at the same time, I can understand his wariness! Still, what a brave Papa.

Rumor: 400k Anglicans to be received back into the Church?

This is technically "blog fodder", but believable hear-say, and if true, incredibly significant:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith is reportedly recommending that the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) be offered the status of personal prelature. The Traditional Anglican Communion is a group of approximately 400,000 Anglican’s that have broken away from the Anglican Communion seeking to preserve their Anglo-Catholic traditions. They formerly requested entry into the Catholic Church in 2007. These reports are emanating from an Australian Catholic weekly called The Record. {American Catholic}

Catholic Online posts a qualification to its initial report:

Catholic Online promised to up date our readers on this extraordinary story. So, we now pass this on: The National Catholic Register cites a "Vatican Source" as saying that "nothing's been decided" by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Reports abound that the Congregation has recommended the creation of a personal prelature as the vehicle through which to receive the members of the Traditional Anglican Communion into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The Register contends that an official at the Congregation spoke with their correspondent Edward Pentin today saying,“It’s something that has appeared on the blogosphere and then been reiterated, but the truth is nothing’s been decided.” We set forth our original story below believing that the sources reporting this exciting news and the history of the dialogue support its accuracy.

This move strikes me as entirely likely, and seems to fit within the general framework of what Pope Benedict has been doing to reach out to other communities who are "all-but-Catholic" (that "all-but" remaining an important destinction, of course). A revealing paragraph from the Register piece:

An announcement could be made soon after Easter this year. It is understood that Pope Benedict XVI, who has taken a personal interest in the matter, has linked the issue to the year of St Paul, the greatest missionary in the history of the Church. The Basilica of St Paul outside the Walls could feature prominently in such an announcement for its traditional and historical links to Anglicanism.

Excellent observations from American Catholic contributor Tito Edwards:

If this information is accurate, this is an incredible turn of events coming from the Vatican. First the motu proprio freeing the Tridentine Mass, the overtures to S.S.P.X., and now granting the Traditional Anglican Communion the status of a personal prelature, which only Opus Dei occupies thus far. With the Catholic Church change occurs over centuries, but with the Venerable Pope Benedict XVI he has dramatically altered the landscape of the Catholic Church within three short years.

What does this mean for traditionalists (High Anglicans) in the Canterbury based Anglican Communion? Possibly protection from heterodoxical bishops by entering the Catholic Church as a personal prelature or simply entering the Traditional Anglican Communion. This is going to create shockwaves all the way to Canterbury and the rest of the Anglican Communion throughout the world. It will definitely make the prelates of England and Wales cringe in fear to the thought of hundred’s of thousands of Anglicans entering their realm and bolstering the numbers of faithful and dedicated Catholics. It will also certainly create havoc for Katherine Jefferts Schori and her bishops in keeping The Episcopal Communion together here in the United States.

Regular AmP readers know that I tend to not quote at length unless I find everything being said valuable.

Breaking: Pope lifts excommunications of Lefebvrite bishops

CNS:

Pope Benedict XVI has lifted the excommunication of four bishops ordained against papal orders in 1988 by the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre. The move was considered a major concession to the archbishop's traditionalist followers.

The Vatican said the decree removing the excommunication, signed Jan. 21 and made public three days later, marked an important step toward full communion with the Society of St. Pius X, founded by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1970.

It said some questions remain unresolved with the society, including its future status and that of its priests, and that these issues would be the subject of further talks.

The entire CNS article is worth the read. See also:

• CNA: Pope Benedict lifts excommunication of Bishops ordained by Lefebvre
• UK Telegraph: Bishop Fellay salutes 'benevolent and courageous' Pope Benedict
• UK Holy Smoke blog: Pope Benedict is taking a huge risk in lifting the SSPX excommunications
• Associated Press

Thoughts?

update: an initial reaction from an informed canonical source.

Vatican 2.0: Pope Benedict gets his own YouTube channel!

As reported earlier:

Puffs of smoke, speeches in Latin and multipage encyclicals have all been used by the Vatican to communicate with the faithful. Now the pope is trying to broaden his audience by joining the wannabe musicians, college pranksters and water-skiing squirrels on YouTube.

In his inaugural YouTube foray Friday, Pope Benedict XVI welcomed viewers to this "great family that knows no borders" and said he hoped they would "feel involved in this great dialogue of truth."

"Today is a day that writes a new page in history for the Holy See," Vatican Radio said in describing the launch of the site, http://youtube.com/vatican (AP)

Let's see if we can embed the channel:

If not, enjoy this video (the most popular on the channel right now):

I'm *so* excited about this initiative! But they need to enable embedding at some point....

Rumor: Pope Benedict to visit Holy Land in May 2009

Exciting news if it turns out to be true:

Israeli president Shimon Peres has extended an invitation to Pope Benedict XVI to visit Israel in 2009 and he is considering the offer, according to the Vatican’s spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi.

Speaking to the press on Thursday in Rome, Fr. Lombardi reacted to an article in the Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz that stated that Pope Benedict has indeed accepted an offer to visit the Holy Land in the second week of May, 2009.

While not denying that discussions are under way, Fr. Lombardi did not confirm the specifics. "I can confirm that contacts exist at a diplomatic level between the Holy See and Israel to study the possibility of a trip by the Pope to the Holy Land next year," he said.

The article in Ha’aretz also claimed that the Pope will visit the Palestinian territories by stopping in Bethlehem. (CNA)

If the trip accomplishes one thing, I hope it finally puts to rest this common misconception:

"[The trip] would help to ease recent tensions between Catholics and Jews over the role of wartime Pope Pius XII, who some Jews have accused of turning a blind eye to the Holocaust." (Reuters)

You can expect the Pius XII controversy to be front-and-center during the news coverage of the Holy Father's visit. Good. Maybe the Church can finally, publicly defend herself against the false charges.

But I won't be holding my breath.

How many books does Pope Benedict own?

Answer? 20,000!

Aside from being a prolific author himself, Pope Benedict XVI loves books. After he was elected Pope in 2005, renovations were undertaken to the papal residence to accommodate his personal library of 20,000 books.

So it’s especially fitting that the Vatican opened a new bookstore this week dedicated to the Holy Father. Along with books, the new store offers both a stamp and a medal collection, including a new stamp printed for the occasion of the opening, Zenit reported. (NCRegister.com)

wow.

Breaking: President-elect Obama phoned pope yesterday

CNS:

"U.S. President-elect Barack Obama telephoned Pope Benedict XVI to thank the pope for his message of congratulations on his election victory.

The Vatican spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, confirmed to Catholic News Service Nov. 12 that the president-elect telephoned the pope Nov. 11 "to thank the pope for his telegram, his congratulations" on winning the U.S. presidential election.

Further details about the call were not known, Father Lombardi said."

[photo credit: U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on the phone Nov. 6, returning calls to world leaders. (CNS photo/Obama Campaign/handout via Reuters)]

Revealed: Pope John Paul II was stabbed in 1982

A revelation in a new documentary film which includes interviews with the late Pontiff's secretary Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz:

The late Pope John Paul was wounded by a knife-wielding priest in 1982, a year after he was shot in St Peter's Square, but the injury was kept secret, his former top aide says in a documentary film.

On May 12, 1982, the pope was visiting the shrine city of Fatima in Portugal to give thanks for surviving a first assassination attempt a year earlier on May 13, 1981, when he was shot in St Peter's Square by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca.

A crazed ultra-conservative Spanish priest, Juan Fernandez Krohn, lunged at the pope with a dagger and was knocked to the ground by police and arrested. The fact that the knife actually reached the pope and cut him was not known until now.

"I can now reveal that the Holy Father was wounded. When we got back to the room (in the Fatima sanctuary complex) there was blood," Dziwisz says in the documentary.

The pope carried on with the trip without disclosing his wound.

Krohn was arrested and served several years in a Portuguese prison before being expelled from the country. (Reuters)

This story is a good reminder that we should pray for the safety of Pope Benedict, and be thankful for the many times dangers to their person have been narrowly averted in the past.

Pope Benedict asked to begin blogging at Synod

I kid you not:

The Synod of Bishops on the Bible heard an unusual suggestion Tuesday morning when a Hong Kong observer asked Pope Benedict to start up his own daily blog on Scripture.

Agnes Kam Leng Lam, president of the Catholic Biblical Association of Hong Kong, said people need to experience Scripture in small but significant doses.

“To put it in a nutshell, I’d like to suggest to you Holy Father to start a multi-language blog to shepherd today’s world by scriptural verses, daily verses,” she said on the synod floor. The pope’s blog should include simple reflections that relate Scripture to real-life situations, she said.

Lam included advice that’s probably good for any blogger: “Remember, brief texts, Holy Father, and plentiful images, and this will be very attractive to the young generation and to today’s people.”

The talk apparently provoked a positive reaction and some laughter, but the pope, who was presiding over the Oct. 5-26 assembly, didn’t say whether he’d be blogging anytime soon. (CNS Blog)

I agree with how Pope Benedict handled this. He definitely should wait to announce his blog until he has at least decided on a template and platform. After all, that's just common practice.

Pope Benedict's blog would not be the first time a Pontiff has taken an active role on the web. Many will remember that Pope John Paul II was often known to lurk on Catholic forums (photographic evidence).

(/joking.)

update: The Curt Jester has a hilarious follow-up to this story, complete with his "photographic evidence."

Pope Benedict addresses financial crisis, provides clarification

To set our Monday morning in a little better perspective:

Opening today's first session of the Synod on the Word, the Pope saw fit to throw in a word on the global financial crisis, whose effects have buffeted European markets in recent days.

"We now see in the collapse of the great banks: money disappears, turns to nothing," B16 said in an impromptu meditation at the day's start. "And all these things, which seem like the true reality on which we can count, are realities of a second order."

"One who builds his life on these realities, on objects, success, on everything that's visible, builds on sand," the pontiff added, referring to options of sand or rock cited by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. "Only the Word of God is the foundation of every reality, fixed as the heavens and more than the heavens, is the reality."

"So we must change our concept of realism," he continued. "The realist is the one who recognizes in the Word of God, this reality apparently so weak, the foundation of everything. The realist is the one who builds his life on this foundation that remains permanently." - Whispers translation

God's stock never falls.

Related: Pope says world financial system 'built on sand'

Picture: Pope Benedict Waving to Dominicans

Fr. Benedict Croell, OP: "Our Holy Father passing by in front of the Angelicum waving to the Dominicans on his way to a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napalitano at Palazzo del Quiranale."

This seemed like an appropriate picture to accompany my admission that homework for the Dominicans has taken the place of blogging this weekend. Monday is a new day so check back then!

Pope Benedict's October Prayer Intentions

From the Vatican bulletino:

Pope Benedict XVI's general prayer intention for October is: "That the Synod of Bishops may help the pastors and theologians, the catechists and promoters who are engaged in the service of the Word of God to courageously transmit the truth of faith in communion with the entire Church".

His mission intention is: "That in this month dedicated to the missions, through the promotional activities of the Pontifical Missionary Works and other organisms, every Christian community may feel the need to participate in the Church's universal mission with prayer, sacrifice and concrete help".

More on this month's Synod of Bishops here.

Flash: Benedict enacts significant papal liturgies shake-up

Pope Benedict often displays a tact in the way he makes significant changes that allows him to escape the radar of even close observers. Case in point today (underlining mine):

Pope Benedict XVI has made a low profile but significant move in the direction of liturgical reform by completely changing his liturgical consultants.

A hardly noticed brief note from the Vatican Press Office on Sept. 24 {link} announced the appointment of new consultants for the Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff. It did not mention, however, the importance of the new appointees.

... Also relevant to the appointments is the fact that all former consultants, appointed when Archbishop Piero Marini led the office of Liturgical Celebrations, have been dismissed since their appointments were not renewed. (CNA)

Did you see that? All former consultants - gone. And the new set of consultants are heavy-hitters.

Wow.

Pope Benedict in France: Weekend Edition

I'm on the fly today, but here's where I would start reading:

• Whispers has plentiful coverage
• John Allen is also posting up a storm
• AP: Huge crowd turns out for pope's visit to Paris
• AP: Pope in Paris condemns love of money, power
• Images are being now added to this AP photostream

And remember, the essential links:

• The apostolic journey's info page on the Vatican Website
• The apostolic journey's day-by-day program of activities
• EWTN's live internet TV streams and schedule of coverage

Tweet.

Pope Benedict goes to France, and to Lourdes

Longtime readers of AmP will know that it first carved a small nitch for itself in the Catholic blogosphere by providing complete coverage of Pope Benedict's journies (most extensively during his U.S. visit).

While the range of topics that AmP follows has diversified since then, papal trip coverage remains a core mission of this little enterprise, by which it strives to help communicate our Holy Father's teaching and witness beyond the geography of his journey to the worldwide audience he is always courting and addressing.

He may be in france, but he is talking to all of us.

While personal commitments are nearing an all-time high for me (preparing for next week's talk especially), I will strive to include the most important details from the pope's upcoming visit this weekend. Stay tuned!

Essential links:

• The apostolic journey's info page on the Vatican Website
• The apostolic journey's day-by-day program of activities
• EWTN's live internet TV streams and schedule of coverage

Previous AmP posts:

• Regensburg Part II - Benedict to address "Crisis of Faith" in France
• French gay groups under surveillance ahead of papal visit
• A preview of Pope Benedict's five essential points about Mary

Catholic coverage:

• CNA: Pope sends message to France as he prepares to visit
• CNA: Youth to have rally with Pope Benedict in France
• CNS: Trip Preview - Pope wants to encourage a revival in France
• John Allen: Benedict hopes to tap the 'creative minority' of French Catholics
• CNA: Archbishop of Paris says papal visit will show France the Pope ‘knows how to listen’
• NLM: Papal MC Explains Changes in Papal Liturgy to French

Mainstream coverage:

• Time Mag: The Pope's Purpose in France
• Associated Press: Pope to visit French city of Lourdes as pilgrim
• Reuters: Most French view Pope positively
• WSJ: Pope, During Visit to France, Will Try To Bridge Gap Between Faith, Reason
• AP: 9,200 security agents for pope's France visit
• Reuters: Pope to find unlikely ally in France's Sarkozy
  

Looks like all they need is the pope!

Pope Benedict at Ground Zero

"Although the pope spent only half an hour at the site, he listened to each person and had a word of comfort for each of them. When he blessed the ground with holy water -- turning toward each direction of the compass -- he hallowed the only place some of them know as their loved ones' burial ground." (Apr 20, 2008)

Italian comic insults Pope, faces jail

Never underestimate the hatred people can muster against the pope:

"An Italian comic who said Pope Benedict would be punished in hell for the church's treatment of homosexuals could be tried for dishonouring him, a jailable crime under a 1929 treaty with the Vatican, judicial sources said.

Sabina Guzzanti, one of Italy's most pungent political satirists, made the remarks before a cheering crowd of thousands gathered at Rome's Piazza Navona in July.

Her explicit comments were widely published by Italian media and posted on the Internet.

The church, at the time, expressed its "profound displeasure with the offensive words about the Holy Father". (Times of Malta)

I think we can all agree that this comedian's words were offensive and false. If I had to state an opinion, however, I do not think one should be jailed for saying such things.

I think these individuals should, however, be firmly answered in the public forum, not along the lines of "oh my, we're so offended" but rather with an argument such as "think about what you are saying" ... and then listing the qualities of this Pope that make her comments so mindless in comparison.

In other words, shame these people, don't jail them. Sending them to jail makes them look like a sort of brave martyr for free speech, shaming them with the truth makes them look exactly like what they are - idiots.

"Pope Benedict prays for tornado victims in Poland"

I can't remember a pope praying for tornado victims before:

During the weekly audience for pilgrims in his summer residence at Castel Gandolfo on Wednesday, Pope Benedict addressed the Polish victims of the hurricanes and tornados that devastated large areas of Poland last week.

"Last week, Poland saw hurricanes and tornados at a scale unheard of in that part of the world. There were fatalities and injuries. Many lost their entire life savings as a result. I want to offer my spiritual closeness and prayers to every one who was affected by the elements in any way,” the Pope spoke to the Polish pilgrims in their native language.

Poland experienced extremely strong winds and tornados on Friday evening, with roofs ripped off farmhouses and barns and cars destroyed in the southern and central parts of the country, killing at least four. (Polish Radio)

Let's join our prayers with his.

I still really want to see a tornado someday (from a safe distance, of course).

"Pope’s prayer intentions for August released"

Without further eloquence:

The Vatican's Press Office released the Holy Father's prayer intentions for the month of August today.

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for is: "That the human family may know how to respect God's design for the world and thus become ever more aware of the great gift of God which Creation represents for us."

His mission intention is: "That the answer of the entire people of God to the common vocation to sanctity and mission may be promoted and fostered, with careful discernment of the charisms and a constant commitment to spiritual and cultural formation." (CNA)

"Pope's vacation writing project remains a mystery"

I though the papal spokesperson was supposed to dispel and abate rumors, not encourage them!

The director of the Vatican press office has told reporters that during his current vacation in Bressanone, Italy, Pope Benedict XVI might be drafting a new book, an encyclical-- or something entirely different.

The papal spokesman, Father Federico Lombardi, had earlier told journalists that the Holy Father would spend some of his vacation time on a writing project. He pointed out that there are two projects known to be on the Pope's active agenda: a second volume of his work on Jesus Christ and an encyclical devoted to Catholic social teaching.

However, Father Lombardi observed that the Pope could have other ideas. He reminded reporters of the Pope's summer surprise last year, "when we were all expecting the social encyclical after his vacation in Cadore and instead he wrote Spe salvi.” Spe Salvi, the Pope's second encyclical, was devoted to the theological virtue of hope. (CWNews)

Reporter #1: "Is it true the pope intends to excommunicate John Kerry?"

Lombardi: "Absolutely false! ... or ... IS IT?! *mystery eyes* Ahem - next question?"

Reporter #2: "Does the Pope have any major announcements scheduled for August?"

Lombardi: "None whatsoever. But keep in mind, last time I said that he announced the Motu Proprio!"

(*sheesh!*)

Pope's June prayer intention: "beautifully benedict"

At least, that's how I'd describe it:

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for June is: "That all Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ, in order to be able to communicate the strength of His love to every person they meet."

Pope Benedict to get his own TV show?

The rumor:

The Italian tabloid Chi reports that Pope Benedict XVI is considering a television program in which he would discuss the Bible.

The Chi story-- which the Vatican has not confirmed-- indicates that the Pontiff would appear on a program aired by Italy's national public-service broadcaster, Rai Uno, beginning in October of this year. (CWNews)

I'd hate to get into a ratings battle with the pope.

The Pope's Visit: Satirical and Serious commentary

On the funny side, today's article by the Onion (a satirical newspaper):

In an unprecedented breach of national security, Pope Benedict XVI, leader of the international organization known as "the Roman Catholic Church," has infiltrated the highest levels of the U.S. government and devised a wide-ranging plan to destroy the entire country.

... "We normally do not allow anyone to view top secret documents, but with the miter and the robe and everything, it was difficult to say no," said one Department of Energy official, who allowed Benedict to view plans for a proposed warhead delivery system, and detailed maps of the nation's nuclear power plants. "He said he wanted to bless the documents, which he did. Unfortunately, we now believe that the ring he wears is a miniaturized digital camera." (More)

On the substantive side, Donald Devine talks about the "Internationalist Pope":

Was Lou Dobbs right that “the pope is blasting our society; here he is, I guess, in many ways insulting our country, talking about the need to be welcoming, taking up the issue of illegal immigration without any comparison to the rest of the world?” Congressman Tom Tancredo criticized him too. Are conservatives right to be concerned about Benedict XVI’s “welcoming internationalism”?

... While he may have criticized the U.N.’s ruling body, it is clear Benedict thinks collective rather than nation-state action alone is necessary to promote a just world order. On the other hand, he also said that “Every State has the primary duty to protect its own population from grave and sustained violations of human rights, as well as from the consequences of humanitarian crises, whether natural or man-made.” So the nation-state comes first but “If States are unable to guarantee such protection, the international community must intervene with the juridical means provided in the United Nations Charter and in other international instruments.” (More)

There, hopefully that strikes a nice balance.

What Pope Benedict is up to, from May - August

The Vatican released his official schedule of events (reproduced by CNA):

May:

• Saturday 3: Recitation of the Rosary at 6 p.m. in the Roman basilica of St. Mary Major.
• Sunday 11: Pentecost Sunday. Mass at 10 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica.
• Saturday 17 and Sunday 18: Pastoral visit to Savona and Genoa, Italy.
• Thursday 22: Solemnity of Corpus Christi. Mass at 7 p.m. in the basilica of St. John Lateran, followed by a procession to the basilica of St. Mary Major for Eucharistic blessing.

June:

• Saturday 14 and Sunday 15: Pastoral visit to Santa Maria di Leuca and Brindisi, Italy.
• Saturday 28: At 6 p.m. in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, First Vespers for the solemn opening of the Pauline Year.
• Sunday 29: Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles. Mass at 9:30 a.m. in the Vatican Basilica. Blessing and imposition of the pallium on metropolitan archbishops.

July:

• Saturday 12 to Monday 21: Apostolic trip to Australia for World Youth Day in Sydney.

August:

• Friday 15: Solemnity of the Assumption, Mass at 8 a.m. in the parish church of St. Thomas of Villanova in Castelgandolfo.

It's never to early too plan your summer vacation around seeing the pope!

Pictures: The Best Photos of Pope Benedict XVI

Flickr User Christus Vincit has done us a service - the best photos of Pope Benedict XVI.

A sample:

.... an endless supply of Papist Pictures of the Day! ;-)

Lombardi describes rumors about pope's health as "baseless" and "paradoxical"

Via Zenit:

Rumors suggesting that Benedict XVI's health is failing are "baseless," confirmed the Vatican.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, said this in statements to the press after the French newspaper Le Figaro published an article Saturday that raised questions regarding the Pontiff's health. The report also speculated on future successors to the papacy.

The spokesman said the article's assertions, published less than one week after the Pontiff ended his five-day apostolic trip to the United States, were "paradoxical.”

“Benedict XVI is well and it is paradoxical that doubts about his health are being manufactured precisely after his return from his demanding trip [to the U.S.], during which his schedule was not lightened in any way, and given the obvious joy with which the Pope responded to the welcome he received,” he said.

Exactly, if anything, Pope Benedict appears to have gained energy and vigour since becoming Pontiff. He was positively spry during some events. I was exhausted trying to keep up with everything he was doing during those five days. Like Pope John Paul II, he appeared to draw energy from his loving audience and the importance of his mission (the grace attached to the office of Peter's successor, I'm sure, helps as well).

At the same time, however, I think the Vatican significantly damaged its credibility on the issue of the pope's health during the many declining years of Pope John Paul II. During which, despite obvious signs to the contrary, the press office often claimed that he was in good health. Do I think they hide this pope's health issues? No. But a few extra prayers sure couldn't hurt in any case.

Flash: Pope Still Catholic

Drudge headlined this story "POPE: Divorce, abortion an offence to God...", but I think mine is more succinct.

Pope Benedict attributes "supernatural qualities" to Pope John Paul II

The reporting from United Press International on Catholic topics sometimes feels like a mix between a comic book, the instruction manual to a computer game, and a celebrity tabloid.

I'm exaggerating a bit, of course, but see what you think:

"Speculation regarding the sainthood of the Pope John Paul II escalated Wednesday as Pope Benedict XVI attributed the late pontiff with "supernatural qualities."

I somehow doubt that the level of speculation has "escalated" the last 24 hours. It is good to hear, though, that John Paul II had "supernatural qualities." I hope one of them was X-ray vision.

Another quote:

Beatification is a phase on the way to full sainthood. Full sainthood requires evidence of a variety of theological qualifications, including evidence of miracles.

Yes, it's true: John Paul II is quickly on his way to reaching Full Sainthood. All saint-trainees begin at Level 1 Sainthood. St. Theresa of Avila was a Level 4 Saint. John Paul II is rumored to be at least a Level 5 Full Saint. Jesus was an unheard of Level 10 Full Divinity.

Okay, I think I've about run this joke into the ground. Besides, ANSA provided the reporting anyway.

Bishop Thomas John Rodi of Biloxi goes Mobile (Alabama, that is.)

Bishop Thomas John Rodi of the diocese of Biloxi has been named the Archbishop of the archdiocese of Mobile, Alabama. From the Vatican's bollettino:

"[Today the Holy Father] Appointed Bishop Thomas John Rodi of Biloxi, U.S.A., as metropolitan archbishop of Mobile (area 59,467, population 1,680,384, Catholics 67,351, priests 127, permanent deacons 62, religious 179), U.S.A. The archbishop-elect was born in New Orleans, U.S.A. in 1949, he was ordained a priest in 1978 and consecrated a bishop in 2001. He succeeds Archbishop Oscar Hugh Lipscomb, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit."

Archbishop designate Rodi is a graduate of Georgetown, and has a degree in law from Tulane. He received his licentiate in canon law at Catholic University of America and taught canon law at Notre Dame seminary. Once again an extensively-educated and canonically-trained prelate gets the nod.

More coverage here from Whispers.

The Mobile Archdiocesan website has a nice welcome graphic on their homepage as well as these links:

• Press Release
• Biography
• Archbishop Lipscomb's Letter
• Archbishop Designate Rodi's Letter
• What Next?: "Archbishop Designate Rodi's installation ceremony will be held Friday, June 6th at 3:00 in the afternoon at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception."

A couple cool little details:

Archbishop-Emeritus Lipscomb and Archbishop-Designate Rodi will celebrate today’s 12:10 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.

Archbishop [Designate] Rodi’s first name, Thomas, is now included in the prayer of the Eucharistic Canon at Masses celebrated within this diocese.

Major props to the Archdiocese of Mobile for a prompt, informative web presentation of the announcement.

Just as an aside, perhaps someone can help me out: why exactly is a diocese with less than 70k Catholics an archdiocese? No offense to the fine people of Mobile, but I just wonder how that works.

Secondly, it's very interesting to note that Abp-d. Rodi will continue to administer his old diocese of Biloxi by "decision of the Holy Father". The priest shortage has caused many dioceses to have a single priest ministering to multiple parishes, but I wonder here if we are seeing the first instance of a bishop administering multiple dioceses. Or this could just be a temporary, one-time thing. Either way, I'd like to see this decision discussed a bit.

The Pope's April Prayer Intentions

Pope Benedict's general prayer intention for April is: "That Christians, even in the difficult and complex situations of present-day society, may not tire of proclaiming with their lives that Christ's resurrection is the source of peace and of hope".

His mission intention is: "That the future priests of the young Churches may be constantly more formed culturally and spiritually to evangelise their nations and the whole world".

Report: Pope Benedict will attend several "unofficial" events during U.S. visit

The source for this report is the Washington Times.

Take note:

Pope Benedict XVI has two schedules for his upcoming U.S. visit: A jampacked list of official events and an unofficial schedule of evening meetings, including a huge birthday party at the Italian Embassy starring world-famous tenor Placido Domingo.

Not a sure thing in this case, but maybe:

The splashy April 16 party — in celebration of the pope turning 81 — is sponsored by all eight former and current U.S. ambassadors to the Vatican. Several hundred people are invited.

The pope — who will meet that afternoon with U.S. Catholic bishops at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Northeast, is not expected to make the party's 6:30 p.m. kickoff time.

In fact, he's not even been officially invited, said Thomas P. Melady, ambassador to the Vatican from 1989 to 1993. But the papal nunciature on Massachusetts Avenue Northwest — where the pope will be spending the night — has been notified of the event in case he wishes to drop by. The embassy is on Whitehaven Street, within walking distance of the nunciature.

Talk about the best party in town:

"It's really not in his tradition to attend parties," explained Mr. Melady, now senior diplomat in residence at the World Institute of Politics. "His happiest days were when he was a young priest and teaching at the seminary."

But just in case, Mr. Domingo will be singing some of Benedict's favorite songs. He, along with mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, will also be performing the following day during the Nationals Stadium Mass.

Several hundred people, including a wide range of local Catholics and Vice President Dick Cheney, have been invited. Many are hoping Benedict will show.

The closest thing to a confirmation:

[Raymond Flynn, ambassador to the Vatican during the Clinton administration] said there will be several off-the-record gatherings with the pope during his six days in the country.

That's the way it always is when the pope comes," he said. "There are private conversations and discussions with people here. I think they want to keep those meetings as private as they possibly can. They [the Vatican] will release an official schedule, but they'll leave a lot out."

Inquiries around the Catholic community seemed to bear this out. Robert George, a leading Catholic scholar at Princeton University, implied he'd be meeting privately with the pope in Washington but refused to divulge details.

The Rev. Dennis McManus, a consultant with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said Benedict has "a full evening at the nunciature" planned for him after an April 17 meeting with interfaith leaders at the John Paul II Center near the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. He also would not divulge details.

This report seems plausible to me, if for no other reason than it explains the long periods of "down time" scheduled into the pope's visit, where he only has one brief official appearance.

Nonetheless, we should keep in mind that Pope Benedict is turning 81 during his visit, and that he does not keep to the same extreme schedule of events that his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, would pull off during his early years as pontiff. I seem to remember Rocco Palmo saying in a recent TV interview that Pope Benedict has been ordered to take a three-hour nap/break each day of his visit.

Darn, now I have to figure a way to get an invite to these events as well.

Pope Benedict in the USA - 16 days to go

Your exhaustive, frequently-updated weekend report:

"The tickets are coming! The tickets are coming!"

"The archdiocese [of Washington DC] is saying all those 45,000+ bar-coded Nationals Stadium tickets for the April 17 Mass have arrived and are now being sorted at their office. Parishes should be getting them sometime next week." - Washington Times

"The archdiocese has set up a wait list site. Gibbs said that so far they have received 1,000 requests at the site for 3,000 tickets."- Washington Post

It wouldn't hurt to put yourself on the wait list.

Concern about the Washington DC Papal Mass liturgy

"Brace yourself for the Pope's mass in DC, says Jeffrey Tucker (The new Liturgical Movement March 28, 2008), responding to the Washingtion Diocese' announcement regarding its selection of music ("Music for Pope Benedict XVI’s Mass at Nationals Park will reflect Archdiocese’s diversity"). Tucker prounounces the list --"it includes mostly Gospel numbers, some rock/blues thrown in ("Jesus is Here Right Now"), together with the "Mass of Creation" Sanctus and Amen" -- "as skimpy as it is troubling." - Benedict in America

"Operatic tenor Placido Domingo will perform at a Mass to be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI at Nationals Park on April 17...Four choirs totaling 570 members from across the Archdiocese of Washington will perform at the Mass, singing in 10 languages." - Associated Press

Okay, I don't have a concern with Placido Domingo performing before the Mass, but he's certainly not the first person who comes to mind when I think of "the United States welcoming the Pope." More like, "The last of the three tenors reprises his frequent role at Vatian Christmas concerts." Please, let's move on.

"15-Year-Old To Participate In Papal Mass: Elizabeth, 15, of Montgomery County has been selected to be a gift bearer in the offertory procession when Pope Benedict comes to Washington and holds mass." - WJZ Baltimore, which includes video of the report

Lucky kid!

Media Offerings for the Papal Visit

SIRIUS Satellite Radio has announced that three Catholic channels will provide coverage for Pope Benedict XVI’s April visit to the United States. In addition to coverage from the Catholic Channel, one channel will rebroadcast highlights of the Pope’s trip while another will broadcast historical speeches from past pontiffs. - CNA

The Knights of Columbus will sponsor a nationally-broadcast television discussion program previewing Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States on Sunday, April 13. The show – entitled A Journey of Hope – features a panel of experts. The half hour show will air on CBS stations in the four largest U.S. markets and will also air nationally on the Fox Business Channel at 5:30 p.m. In addition, the program will air on a variety of Catholic television outlets, including EWTN, the Catholic Cable Network, and local and regional Catholic cable channels. - Rhode Island Catholic

Plenty of good offerings.

The Wider Context

"N.Y. bishop ready for pope's U.S. visit" - Monterey County Herald

"Public Less Likely to See Pope in DC: "His visit reflects the times we live in," said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington. "There has to be a little higher level of security, unfortunately." - Associated Press

Nevertheless, the story describes the huge demand and desire to see the Pope, in person or through media.

The Pope's Press Treatment

"In preparation for Benedict's arrival, the discerning reader (or reporter) might want to understand WHY the Church teaches what it does...Observe the extent to which the author focuses on the grievances of "progressives" against the orthodox ("traditional") Church, with precious little attempt to understand and explain exactly WHY the Church takes the positions that it does." - Benedict in America

"The interview questions in this interview, from the Boston Globe, reads like every tired cliche that's ever been written about Pope Benedict and the Church. In its title, it describes Pope Benedict as a "more complex pope." It uses language- specifically "liberal" and "conservative" - which is not correct in explaining the Church. Not surprisingly, it also engages in the "WOCHA mantra." Thankfully, it's salvaged by the intelligent responses of Francesco Cesareo, president of Assumption College." - Pope2008

"If what you know of Pope Benedict XVI is the hard-line doctrinal decrees of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, he may surprise you on his first visit to the United States next month. So says the Rev. Robert Sirico, who has met Benedict and seen his pastoral side closer than many." - MLive

Is the pope Catholic? That used to be a sarcastic way of saying, could anything be more obvious? Is fire hot? Is water wet? Now, however, that nothing in the world is obvious, when Pope Benedict XVI arrives in the United States on April 15 there will surely be voices in the media apparently disconcerted to discover that, yes, the pope is Catholic. - New York Times

The New York Times piece I found to be particularly illuminating. Consider the final lines:

Of course, part of the problem in getting a fix on Benedict is simply the feebleness of accepted categories for understanding any serious religious leaders — and hence the impulse to deal with them as celebrities or politicians. Of all the words he speaks during his trip here, the ones that will probably go least examined are no doubt the ones he treasures most, the words of the Mass.

But the pope is not just another spiritual guide or priest. He has enormous institutional powers and responsibilities. To what extent does Benedict conceive of his papacy as a work of prayer and teaching? To what extent does he conceive of it as a renewal of structures and institutions? How does he see those aspects interacting?

His trip to the United States will presumably provide some clues. But they will be missed if it is greeted and framed with all the ready-made reflexes.

For a prime example of someone completely missing what the pope is about, see this article in WaPo.

And that's where the news currently stands, with updates to follow over the course of the weekend....

update 1:

"'Popemobile to be used during N.Y. visit: A spokesman for the Archdiocese of New York said the pope will use the specially designed bulletproof vehicle to get around the city during his three-day stay, the New York Daily News reported. The itinerary of his public appearances includes a special mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral." - UPI

"Patrick Baker & Sons Inc., of Southington, is supplying candles, vestments and other items for the pope's Masses in New York. "It is an honor," said Michael Baker, a salesman at the business's 1650 West St. location. "It is a highlight in my career" to supply goods for the event." - Record-Journal

"New York Youth Prepare to Meet Pope: Youth in New York are preparing for Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States in just over two weeks time. Twenty thousand young people from different parts of the country will hold a vigil in New York on the occasion of the Holy Father’s visit. Dominican Father Gabriel Gillen is a priest of the St. Catherine of Siena parish in New York City. He says that the Pope’s visit will draw even more young people into an authentic experience of God." - Vatican Radio

The Diocese of Buffalo, NY has posted a "Welcome Holy Father" video on YouTube.

update 2:

"Trivial Pursuit about Papal Travel in America: By way of background to Benedict XVI’s April 15-20 visit to the United States, the following are some “Trivial Pursuit”-style nuggets about papal travel in America." - John Allen

update 3:

"The pope gets a guide for his U.S. tour: When Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal trip to the United States in April, he will be guided by a seasoned Vatican ambassador who sees the visit as an opportunity to introduce a little-known pope to a complex set of audiences: American Catholics, Americans in general and global opinion leaders.

"The image of Benedict XVI is not only not well known, but it is badly known," said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, who as apostolic nuncio is the Vatican's top diplomat in the United States." - International Herald Tribune

(some slight editing has been made to the original material above - thank you, sharp readers!)

Still need a papal ticket? Buy Papa Benny a "Jewish Pizza"!

Apparently these local Jewish confections are a sure way to win Pope Benedict's eternal gratitude:

A famous kosher Italian bakery has an important local patron: Pope Benedict XVI.

Wilma Limentani, the owner of the Boccione bakery in Rome's ancient ghetto, said she recently received a letter of thanks from the Vatican revealing the pope's love for her biscotti and an almond-and-raisin confection dubbed "Jewish pizza."

One of the pope's doctors -- a Jew who stopped by the 453-year-old bakery en route to administering a routine checkup of the pontiff -- introduced the pastries to Benedict.

"Since then he looks forward to each visit by his Jewish doctor or by acquaintances who pass through our neighborhood," Limentani said in Wednesday's Yediot Achronot. (JTA)

Wow, this is almost as effective an ecumenical outreach as drinking protestant beer.

John Thavis, a CNS reporter stationed in Rome, visited the shop to see if the reports were true:

I wandered into Rome’s Jewish ghetto neighborhood because I read an intriguing little report about Pope Benedict’s favorite bakery.

The tiny Limentani pastry shop has long been a favorite of mine. I go for the same reason most people go: their “Jewish pizza,” a type of miniature fruit cake packed with almonds, raisins and other stuff I’ve never identified. It looks terrible and tastes great.

I asked the senior woman behind the counter about the report that the pope had their sweets delivered to his table. Through a series of phrases and gestures, she let me know that it was somewhere between maybe and probably true.

And just in case anyone was worrying:

... the kosher bakery does not use saturated animal fats, [so] Benedict is free to indulge his sweet tooth without fearing for his cholesterol. (source.)

I wonder if they travel well? Hmm.... I wonder if they ship oversees to Catholic bloggers well?

For those of you lucky enough to be in Rome, the address of Pasticceria Limentani is "Via del Portico d’Ottavia 1" and the phone number is 066878637. Hey, It's never too late to earn my eternal gratitude. ;-)

Here's a map should you choose to accept this mission:

View Larger Map

You'll have to figure out the currency exchange rate yourself.

Pope trip: Getting to Know the Pope

Sister Mary Ann Walsh at the USCCB blog:

One of the best things to come from Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the United States will be that people will get to know him.There’s a lack of awareness of who he is for three reasons: He follows Pope John Paul II, who revolutionized the papacy. Before his election, the papacy had basically been a stay-at-home job. When John Paul with his fine stage presence set out globe-trotting, he captured the world’s imagination. With telecommunications, John Paul took the office public as no one before him. His is a hard act to follow.

Pope Benedict’s 24 years in his previous job typecast him. He was prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the church’s faith and morals watchdog. He was arbiter of what was acceptable for theologians to write and teach. His statements were heard worldwide and often drew controversy. When he spoke of revealed truth, he was painted as a man wedded to the past. Despite his kindly nature, he was typecast as stern. Many made up their mind about him even before his election.

He is a scholar and introvert, not given to encourage a cult of the papacy around himself. He comes from the world of academia and of scholarship, where study, writing and thought are prized.

Those who know him think many Americans will come to appreciate him when he journeys across the Atlantic. A recent survey reports he has an 80 percent approval rate. It will be even higher after his visit. [More.]

Sister also points out a very revealing fact: prior to Cardinal Ratzinger's elevation to the papacy, he made it clear that he had no intention of crossing the Atlantic again or even going outside Europe - "doctor's orders."

Now, years later, as Pope Benedict XVI, in addition to numerous pastoral visits within Italy, a pilgrimage to Austria and World Youth Day in Germany, he has travelled to Turkey, undertaken a lengthy visit to Brazil, is now coming to the United States, and will be in Australia this summer for a second World Youth Day. Even a future apostolic journey to China is not outside the realm of possibility!

The pope is coming to us at a great personal expense to himself, out of love for Christ and his Church, and you.

The least we can do is attentively listen to what he has to say.

Sister Mary Ann Walsh, by the way, recently became one of my very favorite people for completely refuting Joe Feuerhard's recent "screed" against the Catholic Bishops. She's very good and knows her stuff.

Did the Holy See "emphasize" the pope's baptism of a Muslim convert, or not?

The L'Osservatore Romano is trying to claim the Holy See has not emphasized the conversion:

The official Vatican daily, L’Osservatore Romano, has rejected claims in some media reports that the Holy See has “emphasized” the baptism of Magdi Allam, the Muslim convert and associate director of the Italian daily Corriere Della Sera who entered the Church during the Easter Vigil Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI. (CNA)

To point out an awkward truth, look at today's bulletino, published by the Vatican press office itself:

SUMMARY: 19 - 26 MARCH

• - Easter Triduum and Appeal for the Situation in Tibet
• - Holy Thursday: Chrism Mass and the Lord's Supper Mass
• - Good Friday: Lord's Passion, Way of the Cross at Colosseum
• - Egyptian Muslim Journalist Baptised by the Pope
• - Easter Saturday: Christ's Departure Is a New Return
• - Easter Sunday: the Resurrection Is an Event of Love
• - Missionary Martyrs and the Struggle against Tuberculosis
• - Telegram for the Death of Cardinal Suarez Rivera
• - Christ Gives Us the Certainty of Our Own Resurrection
• - Other Pontifical Acts

Yes, look at the fourth story: "Egyptian Muslim Journalist Baptised by the Pope".

In the text of this story it says:

"The catechumens who will receive Baptism tonight come from Italy, Cameroon, China, the United States and Peru. Among them is Magdi Allam, a well-known journalist of Egyptian origin, vice-director 'ad personam' of the Italian newspaper 'Corriere della Sera'.

He is the only named convert in the article. And the only convert to receive a bulletino headline.

Now, whether he is named because he is "well-known" or because he is Muslim, that is a separate question. Frankly, I'd imagine he is well-known for being an outspoken Muslim individual.

My first post on this story, blogged the day-of, already has a vigorous debate taking place.

Noted: New Legionary of Christ Director Meets With Pope

Their meeting took place on the 15th of this month, but I didn't notice it until now:

In a private audience with Benedict XVI, the general director of the Legionaries of Christ renewed the congregation's loyalty to the Pope at the start of a new stage in its history, following the Jan. 30 death of the founder.

The Pope received in audience Legionary of Christ Father Álvaro Corcuera on Saturday.

According to the congregation, in the meeting the general director wanted to assure the Holy Father of the group's "unconditional loyalty to the Pope" in what he called a "new stage in their history."

Father Marcial Maciel, the founder of the congregation and the apostolic movement Regnum Christi, which is associated with the Legion of Christ, died Jan. 30 at age 87.

According to the Regnum Christi Web page, "The Holy Father, with fatherly kindness, assured Father Corcuera that he continues closely accompanying the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi with his prayers. He then granted all of its members his apostolic blessing, especially the thousands of young people and families who will participate in evangelization missions across the world during Holy Week." (Zenit)

"Unconditional loyalty." A "new stage" in the LoC history. Good signs. Why we need good signs.

The picture above is from their previous meeting in June 2006. More about it, in Fr. Corcuera's own words, on the Regnum Christi website. The RC report on this 2008 meeting is here. Happy Pope photo alert:

Photos: A Rainy Easter in St. Peter's Square

Selected from the photostream:






[sources: AP Photo/Pier Paolo Cito; AP Photo/Andrew Medichini; AFP/Pool/Alessandra Tarantino]

Reuters: "Vatican, Muslims prepare historic meeting with Pope"

Noted:

Muslim representatives and Vatican officials begin talks this week that they hope will lead to an unprecedented Catholic-Islamic meeting.

Five representatives from each side will meet on Tuesday for two days in Rome to work out the details of a larger meeting that will include Pope Benedict later this year.

Catholic-Muslim relations nosedived in 2006 after Benedict delivered a lecture in Regensburg, Germany, that was taken by Muslims to imply that Islam was violent and irrational.

Nosedived?

Pic: Cutest Future Pope Ever

This one wins:

Many more on the latest AmP Flickr album.

In the Mailbox: Questions and Answers of Pope Benedict XVI

What a great idea. Our Sunday Visitor asked Michael Dubruiel to edit together the answers that Pope Benedict has given to a variety of interesting questions during his pontificate (and Fr. Z helped with the translations).

From the publisher: "Discover the Pope's insightful, personable, and refreshingly accessible responses to the questions we all want to ask. Live audiences of children, clergy, young adults, and others gain unprecedented access to ask the Pope about everything from divorce and remarriage to the Mass, consumerism, relativism, sacraments, Scripture, music, sex, vocations, and more."

Since many questions in the book originate from children, youth and young priests, this strikes me as an excellent book to give, perhaps as a confirmation or late baptism present, or as an "entry into seminary" gift.

It also provides an easy general introduction to the pope's thought and his winning pastoral style.

I've had the chance to read many of the Holy Father's speeches shortly after he delivered them, and I look forward to revisiting these texts at leisure now that I won't have to hunt them down individually.

Photos: Ash Wednesday procession of Pope Benedict XVI

Truly awesome:

[credit: AP Photo/Plinio Lepri: "Pope Benedict XVI, center, flanked by unidentified prelates and accompanied by a line of Cardinals at left and right, leads an Ash Wednesday procession to the fifth-century Basilica of St. Sabina to mark the start of the Lenten season in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008. The Lenten season, which stresses prayer, fasting and other sacrifice, leads to Good Friday, when faithful commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus." - And of course, Easter]

Pope Benedict Receives "Holy Grail" of Gifts: Beer.

Of course, it took an Anglican to have enough guts (and circumspection) to go through with the idea. Shame on us papists for not thinking of it first!

It could have been the moment the world was waiting for - the Holy Grail being hand-delivered to the Pope.

But that is exactly what the Archbishop of York did when he made his historic visit to Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican.

Dr John Sentamu took the Pontiff some quintessentially Yorkshire gifts - including a bottle of Holy Grail beer and Black Sheep Ale from the Black Sheep Brewery.

The Archbishop also presented the Pope with an illustrated history of York Minster, and a cut-glass beer tankard from the Minster. He said the gifts were chosen to reflect the Pope's appreciation of Bavarian beer. - UK York Press

The UK Daily Mail adds more:

Following their 15-minute chat in the Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura, believed to be the burial place of St Paul, Sentamu said: "I told the brewery I was meeting the Pope and they made a special brew for him. I heard he'd been given some Black Sheep ale and liked it. So I brought that and the Holy Grail."

The gifts pleased the Pope, who is Bavarian by birth and prefers beer to wine and water.

"I was very impressed by the Pope," Sentamu said. "He cares about human beings. He is such a deep theologian, it drives him to compassion. He is not a starchy person, but people look at his writings, they are very precise, and think he is like that ... but he is very warm."

... no doubt. In case you were wondering, "The Archbishop of York is the second-highest-ranking prelate in the Church of England, second only to the Archbishop of Canterbury", says CNA.

I'm guessing this must have been a nice change of pace from the usual dignitary gift exchange.

Pope Benedict, of course, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was no stranger to the suds:

In fact, not only is there an (unofficial) German Papst-Bier ("Pope Beer"), there is an (official) blessing for beer in the Roman Rite of Blessings .... prost!

This episode got me thinking that it would be nice to have a one-stop web source for all the captured images of Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict enjoying the lesser-known fruit of human hands....: Voila!

(Submissions welcome. While you must be over 21 to drink in the U.S., all ages can enjoy the photos.)

And finally, while we're ostensibly on the topics of beer and ecumenical dialogue, I submit for your consideration the following Facebook group: "Evangelicals and Catholics [Drinking] Together"

I'm a member.

"This is a very good custom" Pope says of Jesuit vow renewal

Zenit:

During the audience Father Nicolás handed an envelope to the Holy Father in which he renewed in writing his obedience to the Pope, fulfilling a Jesuit tradition for newly elected superiors-general of the Society.

In addition to this tradition for those leading the order, obedience to the Pope in missionary matters is the fourth vow that all Jesuits make alongside the traditional three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.

"The Pope opened the envelope right away and read the vows," reported the Jesuits. Then he said, "This is a very good custom."

Hint, hint.

CWNews: "Pope celebrates Mass ad orientem, speaks on Baptism"

A yearly favorite of mine:

Pope Benedict XVI baptized 13 infants, the children of Vatican employees, in keeping with a Vatican tradition on the feast of the Baptism of Christ.

he Holy Father used the ad orientem posture, facing in the same direction as the congregation, using the magnificent altar of the Sistine Chapel rather than portable altar that had been set up in previous years. This provoked widespread comment, with many journalists reporting that the Pope had revived an old liturgical tradition. (In fact, the ad orientem posture was never abolished.)

[More from CWNews.]

This choice of the Holy Father has subsequently generated a huge amount of comment around St. Blogs.

Try this link (which searches only Catholic blogs) to get started on the reactions if you are interested.

New report offers confirmation that Pope dissolved secret Legion vows

Rorate Caeli translates an excerpt from an article published yesterday in Mexican newspaper La Jornada:

"The derogation of the secret vows of the Legionaries"

The Pope has derogated the private vows of the Legionaries of Christ, precisely those which were used by the superiors of this religious congregation to protect themselves from possible complaints. The sources of news agencies indicate that these are "parallel measures" to the disciplinary penalty imposed on Marcial Maciel for sexual abuses in 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI had personally asked for the repeal of the private vows professed by the seminarians and priests of the Legionaries of Christ. These were oaths, related to the internal life of the order, which assured its secrecy and impermeability: the first [oath of "charity"] prevented any kind of criticism of superiors and their decisions by members, while the second [oath of "humility"] forbade the religious men from aspiring to positions within it.

{Read the entire report (in Spanish).}

I covered this story last month: Did the Pope dissolve two private vows in the Legionaries of Christ?

Ph/t: Amy.

Notice: Curia all-stars to release document on Evangelization and Catechesis

CNA reports on what probably will be a very important document:

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), headed by Cardinal William Joseph Levada, is about to release an important document on evangelization and catechesis, Vatican sources told CNA this week.

According to the Vatican sources, the document, which could be made public this Advent, “can be regarded as an application of the principles of the document “Dominus Iesus” to the way evangelization is transmitted and catechesis is taught within the Catholic Church.”

In “Dominus Iesus” the CDF, then under the leadership of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, clearly established the differences between the Catholic Church and other religions including other Christian denominations. “Dominus Iesus” states that only the Catholic Church possesses the fullness of the Christian faith.

According to sources consulted by CNA, the new document on evangelization will stress the need to make the person of Jesus Christ, in his role as God incarnated to bring the full revelation of God’s plans through the Catholic Church, the corner stone and center of every program of evangelization and catechesis.

The intention of the document, according to the source, is “to bring back the centrality of Jesus to the programs aimed at transmitting the faith to future generations, since several of these programs are centered on feelings or confused ideas about the teachings of the Church on the nature of Jesus.”

The doctrinal note will be released next Friday (the 14th). A quick look at the presenters reveals an impressive "who's who" list of top-flight Curia heads:

• Cardinal William Joseph Levada, Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith
• Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation of the Evangelizations of Peoples
• Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect ... of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments
• Monsignor Angelo Amato, Secretary for the Congregation of the Faith

Wow. Levada, Dias, Arinze and Amato in the same room. That's like a mini-conclave right there.

Amy has the scoop:

You might remember that the one of the more recent documents of a similar nature, one which concerned the nature of the Church was released in July without a press conference - perhaps because no one thought that anyone could really care much about this short document from the CDF .. .they were wrong, because it got quite a bit of press - even in the secular media - and I think the failure to introduce the document in a press conference might have inadvertantly encouraged some of the misrepresentations that ran amuk. Of course, misrepresentation of a Church document is bound to run amuk no matter what, but it is interesting to me that this one gets a high-level intro to the world. Very high level.

Let's add some more context:

Dominus Iesus was quintessential Ratzinger, and the document Amy mentions ("Responses to some questions regarding certain aspects of the docrine of the church") reaffirmed and applied that teaching in Pope Benedict's pontificate, in much the same way as the CDF's "Responses to Certain Questions of the USCCB concerning artificial nutrition and hydration" provided a low-level doctrinal backup to the precedent enunciated by Pope John Paul II in his 2004 speech on the same topic to an international congress.

In other words, if recent history is any lesson, Pope Benedict prefers to use official CDF responses to clarify and promulgate particular doctrinal matters with force. This is, of course, exactly as it should be. Count on the ex-head of CDF to understand and employ that. So stay tuned.

update: more details from John Thravis at the CNS News Hub:

Perhaps most interesting is that they’re having a press conference at all. When the doctrinal congregation issued two documents earlier this year — one on the Catholic Church as the one true church, the other on nutrition and hydration issues — no one was there to answer reporters’ questions. Church officials later complained that media reports on the documents were not always accurate. This time around, the Vatican is being more proactive.

The new document is said to be about 18 pages long, and will be released in six languages, including English. All three cardinals at the press conference are English-speaking, but if the usual Vatican format is followed, they’ll be giving their speeches and answering most questions in Italian. When in Rome…

Spe Salvi: Pope calls for Living Hope "daily" through prayer

I finished reading Pope Benedict's encyclical letter Spe Salvi last night. One of the themes that the pope often underscores is that hope must inspire us in our daily life.

I've provided the instances where the term "daily" is used by Pope Benedict in the encyclical to describe how the Christian person lives hope, namely, in their daily routine, efforts and life:

"Faith draws the future into the present [and] This explanation is further strengthened and related to daily life if we consider verse 34 of the tenth chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews, which is linked by vocabulary and content to this definition of hope-filled faith..." (#7-8)

"To live for [Christ] means allowing oneself to be drawn into his being for others. For Augustine this meant a totally new life. He once described his daily life in the following terms..." (#28-29)

"... our daily efforts in pursuing our own lives and in working for the world's future either tire us or turn into fanaticism, unless we are enlightened by the radiance of the great hope that cannot be destroyed even by small-scale failures or by a breakdown in matters of historic importance." (#35)

[A quotation from Vietnamese martyr Paul Le-Bao-Tinh:] "...I, Paul, in chains for the name of Christ, wish to relate to you the trials besetting me daily, in order that you may be inflamed with love for God and join with me in his praises, for his mercy is for ever." (#37)

"From the earliest times, the prospect of the Judgement has influenced Christians in their daily living as a criterion by which to order their present life, as a summons to their conscience, and at the same time as hope in God's justice." (#41)

"This looking ahead has given Christianity its importance for the present moment. In the arrangement of Christian sacred buildings, which were intended to make visible the historic and cosmic breadth of faith in Christ, it became customary to depict the Lord returning as a king—the symbol of hope—at the east end; while the west wall normally portrayed the Last Judgement as a symbol of our responsibility for our lives—a scene which followed and accompanied the faithful as they went out to resume their daily routine." (#41)

Pope Benedict's reflection on this topic finds its fullest expression and application in Paragraph #40, which completes Section II ("Action and suffering as settings for learning hope").

Keeping in mind what the Pope has already said about the importance of living hope "daily", see how he takes this truth and provides a practical way of expressing it, living it, in prayer:

"I would like to add here another brief comment with some relevance for everyday living.

There used to be a form of devotion—perhaps less practised today but quite widespread not long ago—that included the idea of “offering up” the minor daily hardships that continually strike at us like irritating “jabs”, thereby giving them a meaning.

Of course, there were some exaggerations and perhaps unhealthy applications of this devotion, but we need to ask ourselves whether there may not after all have been something essential and helpful contained within it. What does it mean to offer something up?

Those who did so were convinced that they could insert these little annoyances into Christ's great “com-passion” so that they somehow became part of the treasury of compassion so greatly needed by the human race.

In this way, even the small inconveniences of daily life could acquire meaning and contribute to the economy of good and of human love. Maybe we should consider whether it might be judicious to revive this practice ourselves." (#40)

The most famous example of this popular devotion (that I know about) is the Apostleship of Prayer. You can learn more about it briefly at Wikipedia, the Catholic Encyclopedia, or at their own website.

The text of the traditional prayer:

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of this day in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world. I offer them for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sin, and the reunion of all Christians. I offer them for the intentions of our bishops and of all Apostles of Prayer, and in particular for those recommended by our Holy Father this month.

A shorter version, known commonly as the "morning offering":

O Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I offer You my prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day for all the intentions of Your Sacred Heart, in union with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, in reparation for my sins, for the intentions of all our associates, and in particular for the intentions of our Holy Father for this month.

You can learn more about this prayer, and others like it, at this page.

I would propose that this Advent, at the beginning of the Church new year, as people of hope we should heed Pope Benedict's advice and resolve to continue or begin the fruitful practice of praying a morning offering daily.

Photos: New Mercedes-Benz Popemobile debuts

An early Christmas present from Mercedes-Benz to our beloved Pontiff:

Stuttgart/Rom -- Dec 05, 2007 -- In future, Pope Benedict XVI will present himself to the 40,000 or so pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in a shining white, open-top Mercedes-Benz G-Class during his public audiences on Wednesdays. The new "Popemobile" was created over a two-year development period in close consultation with the Vatican, and has now been personally handed over to the Holy Father.

This open official car, which the Head of the Catholic Church requested for use during fine weather, was developed by Mercedes-Benz on the basis of the G 500. It is equipped with a folding windscreen and hand-rails, and like its predecessors it is painted in the Vaticanmystic white finish. The interior is likewise white, and is accessed via steps lined in red at the rear. The Pope holds his audiences in a standing position, so that he is easily visible to all his flock.

The Holy Father is continuing a long tradition with the new Popemobile from Mercedes-Benz. Pope Pius XI was the first to receive a Mercedes-Benz as an official car in 1930 - a Nürburg 460 Pullman limousine. Over the following decades Mercedes-Benz regularly provided the Vaticanwith automobiles which had been specially converted for the use of the Holy Father.

Today the Pope has several Mercedes-Benz cars at his disposal. In addition to the new G 500 Cabriolet, the fleet currently includes M and S-Class models with special protection. - Daimler

I'm wondering if a plexiglass top can be added for his U.S. visit, or if that's a different car entirely? (update from the comments:

"The Plexiglass Popemobile that he uses in international visits are in fact two: a main one and a second reserve unit. The model is an adapted Mercedes-Benz ML 430, WITH backseat for him and two more persons and air-conditioning inside the "cage" as well as a special lighting setting. The standard dictates that they will arrive about a week before His Holiness himself arrives in the US." - Rafael Cresci)

update: and just to prove the extent of the formidable AmericanPapist photo archives:

"Mercedes has long been a standby for the envied position of Popemobile manufacturer ever since Pope Pius XI rode in a Nurburg 460 Pullman limousine (pictured above) in 1930." - MotorTrend

Now I wonder if Mercedes-Benz would be up for donating a car to the AmericanPapist next....

Zenit: Benedict XVI Sums Up "Spe Salvi"

Before the heavy-hitting analysis comes out:

The world needs God, otherwise it remains without hope, said Benedict XVI when he summarized the central message of his encyclical "Spe Salvi."

The Pope said this today before reciting the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square. He also spoke on the meaning of Advent, which begins today.

Advent, the Holy Father said, "is the propitious time to reawaken in our hearts the expectation of him 'who is, who was and who is coming.'"

The Pontiff regarded the First Sunday of Advent as "a most appropriate day to offer to the whole Church and all men of good will my second encyclical, which I wanted to dedicate to the theme of Christian hope." - Zenit

Full text of "Spe Salvi", Encyclical Letter of Pope Benedict XVI

The full text of the encyclical Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope) has been released on the Vatican website:

ENCYCLICAL LETTER

SPE SALVI

OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF

BENEDICT XVI

TO THE BISHOPS

PRIESTS AND DEACONS

MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS

AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL

ON CHRISTIAN HOPE

• In case the Vatican website is slow, I've created a word document of the text and uploaded it here. CNA has published the text here. Zenit here (and PDF here). Reuters has published the excerpts it likes