More about the Pope's Shoes

Pope visits Italy's "Shoe City", gets 15,001 pairs
Reuters - Sat Apr 21, 2007

Pope Benedict got 15,001 pairs of shoes on Saturday. During a visit to this northern city known as Italy's shoe capital, a local consortium gave one pair for himself and 15,000 more pairs for the needy around the world.

The Pope was given red loafers designed and manufactured by the Moreschi firm and made from kangaroo hide.

Those destined for the poor include boots and other types of footwear. Local industrialists are due to send them directly to charities chosen by the Vatican.

Pope Benedict last year made headlines in the fashion media after reports that some of his shoes were designed and donated by top Italian fashion houses such as Prada but the Vatican has never confirmed this.

The Pope's footwear, usually red or burgundy, is called the "shoes of the fisherman" since popes are the successors of St Peter the Apostle, who was a fisherman.

Shoe manufacturing is a vital part of Vigevano's economy. It boasts a shoe museum illustrating the centuries of shoe making in the area, which began in small shops in the 16th century and grew to industrial scale in the 19th century.

You can bet I'll be doing some book
shopping on May 15th!!

Pope's Book A Hit On First Day

"Pope Benedict XVI's new book sold more than 50,000 copies on its first day on sale Monday - the pontiff's 80th birthday - said the Italian publisher Rizzoli, which has decided on another printing. Rizzoli said yesterday the new edition would bring the printing to 420,000 copies. The 448-page book was published in German, Italian and Polish. An English-language edition is due on May 15 and translations are planned for 16 other languages."

from The Guardian (UK)

80th birthday bash - Huge crowd in attendance at St. Peter's Square as Pope Benedict gives thanks for 'not brief' life

Pope Benedict XVI is driven through the crowd at the end of his birthday Mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican Sunday. AP Angelo Carconi

By FRANCES D’EMILIO, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict gave thanks for his 80 years of life dedicated to the church with a special Sunday Mass, a celebration tinged with nostalgia which drew a huge crowd to St. Peter’s Square.

The Vatican had invited rank-and-file faithful to the late-morning Mass on the steps of St. Peter’s Basilica to help the pontiff celebrate both his 80th birthday today and the anniversary of his April 19, 2005, election to the pontificate.

Joseph Ratzinger, who would take the name of Benedict as pontiff, was born April 16, 1927, in Marktl Am Inn, a riverside town in the Bavaria region of Germany.

Thousands of pilgrims from Bavaria attended the Mass, and German echoed in the ancient alleys leading to the Vatican as groups streamed to the square. Some of his fellow countrymen and women wore traditional dress, including feather-trimmed hats; others waved German flags.

Benedict told the crowd they were joining him in a reflection of his “not brief” life.

Acknowledging their participation, the pope said he was extending, “my most sincere thanks, from the depth of my heart, to the entire church, which, like a true family, especially in these days, surrounds me with its affection.”

Benedict’s reserved, almost shy style, came through in his homily. In contrast to his late predecessor, John Paul II, who would often speak informally of his youth in Poland, Benedict sounded almost apologetic that he was striking a personal note, however brief, in a religious service.

“The liturgy should not serve to talk about one’s ego, of one’s self,” Benedict said.

He thanked his late sister, Maria, and his retired choirmaster brother, Georg, for being steadfastly close to him.

“I give thanks in a special way because, from the first day, I was able to enter and grow in the great community of believers” in God, Benedict said. He noted that he was born at Easter time, when Christians celebrate in joy their belief in Christ’s resurrection.

Benedict appears to carry his years well. He walks briskly, stands through long public ceremonies, and his first book written as pontiff goes on sale today.

Right after Benedict’s election as pope, his brother expressed worry about the toll that the burdens of the papacy might take on his brother’s health. But Benedict’s stamina seems to be holding up despite his rigorous schedule.

On Wednesday, he will receive U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the Vatican, and next weekend he will make an overnight pilgrimage to northern Italy. In early May, he will travel to Brazil, where the traditionally strong Catholic Church is losing some faithful to Protestant evangelical churches.

While there are no indications that Benedict suffers from any serious or chronic medical problems, there have been ailments in the past – including a 1991 hemorrhagic stroke.

Among the pope’s birthday presents was a Gospel holder decorated with gold and precious stones from Munich-Freising Cardinal Friedrich Wetter and a more secular gift – 80 bottles of specially brewed Bavarian dark beer and an equal number of steins, carried in the luggage of another bishop from the diocese on a train filled with German pilgrims.

The pope smiled as he gazed across the sea of faithful gathered under brilliant sunshine.

Yellow and white are the official Vatican colors, and yellow pansies were lined up in perfect order across the basilica’s steps. Clusters of yellow daffodils brightened the gray cobblestones elsewhere in the square.

The future pope spent most of his earlier years studying and teaching theology in Germany and later trying to ensure that Catholics kept to doctrinal correctness in two decades as a top aide to John Paul II.

In his first two years as pope, Benedict has waged a vigorous church campaign against same-sex marriage, abortion and euthanasia. He has cracked down on church clerics whose writings were found not to correctly reflect Vatican teaching. Benedict also has called for the use of more Latin in the church, including some prayers by the faithful.

---

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Faith, Reason, Evolution, and Creation

Pope Benedict 'believes in evolution'

Pope Benedict has aired his views on evolution fo the first time - and says he partially believes Darwin's theories.

The Pontiff said science had narrowed the way life's origins are understood and said Christians should take a broader approach to the question.

However, he did not adopt a strictly scientific view of the origins if life, believing instead that God created life through evolution.

He said he "would not depend on faith alone to explain the whole picture".

As well as praising scientific progress, the Pope's views, published in a new book 'Schoepfung unt Evolution' (Creation and Evolution), did not endorse the creationist, or 'intelligent design' view of life's origins.

Those arguments, proposed mostly by conservative Protestants and derided by scientists, have stoked recurring battles over the teaching of evolution in the US. Some European Christians and Turkish Muslims have recently echoed these views.
Pope Benedict, a former theology professor, is quoted in the book as saying: "Science has opened up large dimensions of reason...and thus brought us new insights.
"But in the joy at the extent of its discoveries, it tends to take away from us dimensions of reason that we still need.

"Its results lead to questions that go beyond its methodical canon and cannot be answered within it."

"The issue is reclaiming a dimension of reason we have lost," he said, adding that the evolution debate was actually about "the great fundamental questions of philosophy - where man and the world came from and where they are going."

Speculation about Pope Benedict's views on evolution have been rife ever since a former student and close advisor, Vienna Cardinal Christoph Schoenborn, published an article in 2005 that seemed to align the Church with the 'intelligent design' view.
Intelligent design argues that some forms of life are too complex to have evolved randomly, as Charles Darwin proposed in his 1859 book The Origin of Species.
It says a higher intelligence must have done this but does not name it as God.
Scientists denounce this as a disguised form of creationism, the view that God created the world just as the Bible says.

US courts have ruled both creationism and Intelligent Design are religious views that cannot be taught in public school science classes there.

In the book, Benedict defended what is known as 'theistic evolution', the view held by Roman Catholic, Orthodox and mainline Protestant churches, that God created life through evolution and religion and science need not clash over this.

"I would not depend on faith alone to explain the whole picture," he remarked during the discussion held at the papal summer palace in Castel Gandolfo outside Rome.
He also denied using a 'God-of-the-gaps' argument that sees divine intervention whenever science cannot explain something.

"It's not as if I wanted to stuff the dear God into these gaps - he is too great to fit into such gaps," he said in the book that publisher Sankt Ulrich Verlag in Augsburg said would later be translated into other languages.

Schoenborn, who published his own book on evolution last month, has said he and the German-born Pontiff addressed these issues now because many scientists use Darwin's theory to argue the random nature of evolution negated any role for God.
That is a philosophical or ideological conclusion not supported by facts, they say, because science cannot prove who or what originally created the universe and life in it.

"Both popular and scientific texts about evolution often say that 'nature' or 'evolution' has done this or that," Benedict said in the book which included lectures from theologian Schoenborn, two philosophers and a chemistry professor.
"Just who is this 'nature' or 'evolution' as (an active) subject? It doesn't exist at all!" the Pope said.

Benedict argued that evolution had a rationality that the theory of purely random selection could not explain.

"The process itself is rational despite the mistakes and confusion as it goes through a narrow corridor choosing a few positive mutations and using low probability," he said.

"This...inevitably leads to a question that goes beyond science...where did this rationality come from?"

Answering his own question, he said it came from the "creative reason" of God.

More about Faith and Reason and Evolution and Creation

Evolution can't be proven: Pope Benedict
Associated Press Wed. Apr. 11 2007

BERLIN — Benedict XVI, in his first extended reflections on evolution published as pope, says that Darwin's theory cannot be finally proven and that science has unnecessarily narrowed humanity's view of creation.

In a new book, "Creation and Evolution," published Wednesday in German, the pope praised progress gained by science, but cautioned that evolution raises philosophical questions science alone cannot answer.

"The question is not to either make a decision for a creationism that fundamentally excludes science, or for an evolutionary theory that covers over its own gaps and does not want to see the questions that reach beyond the methodological possibilities of natural science," the pope said.
He stopped short of endorsing intelligent design, but said scientific and philosophical reason must work together in a way that does not exclude faith.

"I find it important to underline that the theory of evolution implies questions that must be assigned to philosophy and which themselves lead beyond the realms of science," the pope was quoted as saying in the book, which records a meeting with fellow theologians the pope has known for years.

In the book, Benedict reflected on a 1996 comment of his predecessor, John Paul II, who said that Charles Darwin's theories on evolution were sound, as long as they took into account that creation was the work of God, and that Darwin's theory of evolution was "more than a hypothesis."

"The pope (John Paul) had his reasons for saying this," Benedict said. "But it is also true that the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory."

Benedict added that the immense time span that evolution covers made it impossible to conduct experiments in a controlled environment to finally verify or disprove the theory.
"We cannot haul 10,000 generations into the laboratory," he said.

Evolution has come under fire in recent years by proponents -- mostly conservative Protestants -- of "intelligent design," who believe that living organisms are so complex they must have been created by a higher force rather than evolving from more primitive forms.

The book, which was released by the Sankt Ulrich publishing house, includes reflections of the pope and others who attended a meeting of theological scholars at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo in early September.

The pope's remarks were consistent with one of his most important themes, that faith and reason are interdependent.

"Science has opened up large dimensions of reason ... and thus brought us new insights," the pope wrote. "But in the joy at the extent of its discoveries, it tends to take away from us dimensions of reason that we still need.

"Its results lead to questions that go beyond its methodical canon and cannot be answered within it," he said

Text of Pope Benedict's Easter speech

By The Associated PressSun Apr 8, 4:54 PM ET

The Vatican's official English-language translation of Pope Benedict XVI's "Urbi et Orbi" Easter Day address, delivered in Italian from the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica.

___

Dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world,

Men and women of good will!

Christ is risen! Peace to you! Today we celebrate the great mystery, the foundation of Christian faith and hope: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, has risen from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We listen today with renewed emotion to the announcement proclaimed by the angels on the dawn of the first day after the Sabbath, to Mary of Magdala and to the women at the sepulcher: "Why do you search among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, he is risen!" (Luke 24:5-6)

It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of these women at that moment: feelings of sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true. But the tomb was open and empty: the body was no longer there. Peter and John, having been informed of this by the women, ran to the sepulcher and found that they were right. The faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross. At his arrest, his condemnation and death, they were dispersed. Now they are together again, perplexed and bewildered. But the Risen One himself comes in response to their thirst for greater certainty. This encounter was not a dream or an illusion or a subjective imagination; it was a real experience, even if unexpected, and all the more striking for that reason. "Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you!" (John 20:19)

At these words their faith, which was almost spent within them, was rekindled. The Apostles told Thomas who had been absent from that first extraordinary encounter: Yes, the Lord has fulfilled all that he foretold; he is truly risen and we have seen and touched him! Thomas however remained doubtful and perplexed. When Jesus came for a second time, eight days later in the Upper Room, he said to him: "Put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing!" The Apostles response is a moving profession of faith: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27-28)

"My Lord and my God!" We too renew that profession of faith of Thomas. I have chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because humanity today expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ; it needs to encounter him and to know him as true God and true man. If we can recognize in this Apostle the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for us. This faith, handed down through the centuries by the successors of the Apostles, continues on because the Risen Lord dies no more. He lives in the Church and guides it firmly toward the fulfillment of his eternal design of salvation.

We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting him risen. His faith was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.

"By his wounds you have been healed" (1 Peter 2:24). This is the message Peter addressed to the early converts. Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas' faith, being a sign of Jesus apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: "My Lord and my God!" Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith.

How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking. My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world. I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence, which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons. I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa. In Darfur and in the neighboring countries there is a catastrophic, and sadly to say underestimated, humanitarian situation. In Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the violence and looting of the past weeks raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of the country. In Somalia the renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms. Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the Bishops of that country in a recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward.

Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere, too, peace is sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability; in the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the paralysis of the country's political institutions threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy. Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression of my spiritual closeness.

Dear brothers and sisters, through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope. In fact, by his rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace. He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love. He has left us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. "Even as I have loved you he said to his disciples before his death so you must also love one another" (cf. John 13:34).

Brothers and sisters in faith, who are listening to me from every part of the world, Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future. As we say with Thomas: "My Lord and my God!" May we hear again in our hearts the beautiful yet demanding words of the Lord: "If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him" (John 12:26). United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers (cf. 1 John 3:16), let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that do not fear pain, the joy of the Resurrection. May Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift. Happy Easter to you all.

___

Copyright Vatican Publishing House

THINKING BLOGGER AWARD


I am stunned. I have been nominated AGAIN for a Thinking Blog Award, this time for my Benedict Notes. It is Autrice who did the deed. This particular blog is more for me than anyone else. I leave it open for any who might find their way here.

A few days ago my primary blog was nominated and for any who find their way here, I invite you to there. I'm taking a short break right now as I have things on my mind that need attention.

I found this short article interesting because of my son's trip to east Russia a few years ago. The relationship between the Roman church and Orthodox church was very toxic. It was reassuring to see this.

A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Talks with Pope possible after rifts with Vatican healed -
Alexy II MOSCOW. April 3 (Interfax)

Orthodox believers and Catholics share many positions and a meeting with Pope Benedict XVI in the future should not be ruled out, Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia said.

"I have not lost hope that relations between our churches will improve. I welcome Pope Benedict's statements about the desire to promote relations with the Orthodox Church made on any occasions following his election as head of the Roman Catholic Church," Alexy II said in an interview published by the Izvestia newspaper on Thursday. We have a common position "on many problems facing the world today. We can and must speak jointly to the world about Christian values. But prior to this, we must resolve problems that exist between us. This, I hope, will open the door to a meeting between the leaders of the two
churches," he said.

A meeting with the late Pope John Paul II was due to be held in 1997 in Graz, Austria, at which a joint statement was to be signed "condemning proselytism and rejecting the Uniate church as a way towards the churches' unification." "The Catholic side's abrupt renunciation of these provisions made the meeting senseless," Alexy II said.

Pope's aide blasts media coverage of church
Sat Mar 31, 10:39 AM ET

A top aide to Pope Benedict has blasted the media for highlighting the Vatican's views on sex while maintaining a "deafening silence" about charity work done by thousands of Catholic organizations around the world.

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who as secretary of state is effectively the Vatican's prime minister, also accused the media of deliberately misinterpreting the Pope's speeches, especially his Regensburg address last September which angered Muslims.

"We face an extremely grave problem. The church's messages are subject to a type of manipulation and falsification by some western media," Bertone said in an interview with Le Figaro Magazine published in Paris on Saturday.

"I see a fixation by some journalists on moral topics, such as abortion and homosexual unions, which are certainly important issues but absolutely do not constitute the thinking and work of the church," he said.

"Why this deafening silence?" he asked. "We have to say the press does not write much about the social and charity work of thousands of Catholic organizations around the world."
Bertone said journalists had twisted the Pope's Regensburg address -- in which he quoted a Byzantine emperor linking Muslims and violence -- into a speech on Islam rather than the discussion on the role God played in society.

"Pope Benedict's thoughts were neatly blacked out," he said. "Commentators who take phrases out of context in a misleading extrapolation are exercising their trade dishonestly."
He said the German-born Pontiff had made clear in Regensburg that he wanted "a healthy confrontation" with Islam and that several Muslim thinkers had welcomed his invitation to dialogue.

Bertone has been one of the church's harshest critics of Dan Brown's popular novel The Da Vinci Code. In the interview he also took aim at "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," a new film claiming that archaeologists have found the tomb of Jesus and his family and indications that Mary Magdelene, one of his followers in the gospels, was his wife.

According to the Bible, Jesus never married and rose bodily from the dead after his crucifixion.
"This is a strategy against the church and the divine figure of Christ," he said. "These campaigns try to sap the faith of Christian people and the trust the faithful have in the church."

The apocryphal gospels used as sources for popular books and films were not new discoveries but well-known books written a century or two after the original gospels, he said.

"Authors who try to sow confusion between these two different sources profit from religious ignorance," he said.

From Reuters News Services

Pope criticises EU for excluding God
By Philip PullellaSat Mar 24, 3:18 PM ET

Pope Benedict strongly criticized the European Union on Saturday for excluding a mention of God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.
In a toughly-worded speech to European bishops, Benedict said Europe was committing a form of "apostasy of itself" and was thus doubting its own identity.

The Pope, who like his predecessor John Paul often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the "very soul" of the continent.

"If on the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the governments of the union want to get closer to their citizens, how can they exclude an element as essential to the identity of Europe as Christianity, in which the vast majority of its people continue to identify," he said.
"Does not this unique form of apostasy of itself, even before God, lead it (Europe) to doubt its very identity?"

Apostasy is a total desertion of or departure from one's religion.

One of the Pope's compatriots, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to relaunch the EU constitution and last month made a plea for the bloc to include references to Christian roots.
Plans to include such a reference in the original EU treaty, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, were blocked by French President Jacques Chirac.

Merkel, as holder of the EU's rotating presidency, is now in the process of reviving the constitution. Comments from Merkel, the daughter of a pastor, have encouraged religious leaders around Europe to redouble efforts to modify the constitution.

Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said he had pushed for inclusion of Catholic roots in the document but that the main task ahead for Catholics was to carry on a dialogue with religions like Islam and Judaism.

But in another sign of disagreement between Europe's leaders, the conservative European People's Party included religious roots in its anniversary declaration, in contrast to the general EU declaration to be adopted on Sunday.

"Europe's Judeo-Christian roots and common cultural heritage, as well as the classic and humanist history of Europe and the achievements of the period of enlightenment, are the foundation of our political family," said the statement, adopted at a meeting attended by Merkel and other EU leaders.

Pope Benedict warned the bloc was headed up a slippery slope of indifference and said it could not deny its "historical, cultural and moral identity" that Christianity helped forge.

"A community that builds itself without respecting the true dignity of the human being, forgetting that each person is created in the image of God, ends up doing good for no one," he said.


Pope: Europe losing faith in its future
By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press WriterSat Mar 24, 2:58 PM ET

Europe appears to be losing faith in its own future, Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday, warning against "dangerous individualism" on a continent where many people are having fewer children.
"One must unfortunately note that Europe seems to be going down a road which could lead it to take its leave from history," the pontiff told bishops in Rome for ceremonies to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, a major step toward the creation of today's European Union.

Benedict said he was concerned about Europe's "demographic profile" — though he did not describe the trends that have alarmed the continent for decades.

In countries like Italy, where many married couples have one or no children, the population is expected to shrink dramatically in a generation or two unless fertility rates quickly increase.
Benedict expressed concern that Europe's population trends, "besides putting economic growth at risk, can also cause enormous difficulties for social cohesion, and, above all, favor dangerous individualism, careless about the consequences for the future."

"You could almost think that the European continent is in fact losing faith in its own future," Benedict said.

A recent Eurostat survey showed Poland's fertility rate to be the lowest in the EU, at 1.23 children per woman.

Sociologists and economists blame the economy, particularly the unemployment rate — at 14.9 percent the highest in the EU. Worried about losing their jobs, many women in Poland put off having children, often until it is too late.

Earlier this month, Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski proposed a new program of tax exemptions and support for working mothers in the hope of encouraging births and ensuring that Poles "continue as a nation."

Italy's fertility rate steadily plunged to a low of 1.25 children per women of childbearing age in 2001, with the last few years seeing a small turnaround, mainly due to births to immigrants.
Italian experts cite Italian's desire for an easier lifestyle, but they also blame shortages of day care centers, expensive housing and a sluggish job market which sees many Italians living at home until well into their 30s as reasons for the country's relatively few children.

Antonio Golini, an Italian demographer, told The Associated Press recently that unless the retirement age is raised, Italy will have more people drawing pensions than it will have workers in 2050.

Spain also has a low fertility rate, while France, with family friendly policies such as cheap day care and generous parental leave, has experienced a baby boom.

France had more babies in 2006 than in any year in the last quarter-century, capping a decade of rising fertility that has bucked Europe's graying trend. Its fertility rate in 2006 was 2.0 children per woman.

A rate of 2.1 children per woman is considered the minimum necessary to keep a population from shrinking.

Good Works and Faith Are Found Everywhere.

Don King Does a Very Good Thing

Don King in Front Row for Pope
By DANIELA PETROFFThe Associated Press
Wednesday, March 21, 2007; 11:28 AM

VATICAN CITY -- Don King got a front row seat at Pope Benedict XVI's general audience Wednesday. The usually flamboyant boxing promoter, wearing a blue suit with his preferred high hair style primly flattened for the papal event, gave the pope a green-and-gold boxing belt and a handwritten letter asking for prayers for people ranging from President Bush to the world's sick and aged.

"I was thrilled to be there. It was a deep spiritual experience," King told The Associated Press after the two-hour open-air audience in St. Peter's Square.

In Rome to discuss possible boxing matches in Italy, King had expressed his wish to meet with the pope.

"Faith is the thing that carries us through," the 75-year-old King said as he walked through St. Peter's Square, waving Italian and Vatican flags and signing autographs.

Don King Productions spokesman Alan Hopper said the Vatican visit was arranged through a boxer King represents _ Italian super welterweight champion Luca Messi, whose brother Alessandro is a Catholic priest.

King was seated in the front row of a special section on the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. He was able to hand the pope the gift and the letter as Benedict drove slowly by in an open jeep at the end of the audience.

King, who spent four years in prison for manslaughter, had hoped for a personal meeting with Benedict. Very few nonchurch people, however, receive private time with the pope during his Wednesday audiences.

Before arriving in Rome, King toured Messi's hometown, Bergamo. During the visit to the northern Italian city, King began a fundraising campaign to restore the city's church of St. Mary Major, which includes frescoed paintings on the walls of a pre-existing church buried underneath.

Gospel rehabilitating Judas is published in Rome

British novelist Jeffrey Archer and Vatican theologist Francis Maloney on Tuesday launched a book defending Judas' betrayal of Jesus at a papal institution in Rome.

"The Gospel According to Judas" claims the disciple acted over concern that Jesus' failure to chase the Romans out of Jerusalem would lead to the destruction of the Jewish people.

Its publication follows last year's discovery of an ancient Coptic manuscript known as the Gospel of Judas, which maintains that Jesus actually asked his disciple to betray him.

It was launched at the Vatican-funded Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome two days before its worldwide distribution on Thursday.

The institute's rector, Father Stephen Pisano, was quoted by the Ansa agency as saying he hoped the book would encourage more people to read the Bible.

The book has been written from the point of view of Judas' son, Benjamin Iscariot. As well as describing the betrayal, it rejects claims the disciple later killed himself.

Archer, a successful novelist who was a conservative party lawmaker before being jailed for four years for perjury in 2001, said in January that the book was "a gospel, not a short story and not a novel".

Australian scholar Maloney is an expert on Christian texts and a member of the Vatican's International Theological Commission, where he rubbed shoulders with Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI.

FASCINATING

DON KING IN RING WITH POPE

March 14, 2007 -- WE hope someone is videotaping when high-haired boxing promoter Don King has an audience with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on March 21.

King, who wore a floor-length white mink coat to President Ronald Reagan's first inauguration, is a larger-than-life character who started out in Cleveland, Ohio, as a numbers racketeer who was accused of killing two men. The first incident was deemed self-defense, but the second was manslaughter - which got King four years in prison.

"I am standing in the need of prayer," King told Page Six yesterday from Paris. "I'm going to ask the pontiff to pray for all of us. He has a direct line to the man who sits high, looks low and keeps his eye on the sparrow." That "man" would be Jesus, King informed us.

While King is a Baptist, not a Roman Catholic, the ecumenical entrepreneur doesn't believe there should be any quibbling between denominations. "The thing is, we're all going before the man on high on Judgment Day."

Quoting Isaiah, King said, "Let justice roll down like water, and righteousness flow like a mighty stream."

The papal meeting came about through Luca Messi, a super-middleweight King put in a big fight in Chicago two years ago. Unfortunately, Messi lost. "I'm going to try and help him again," King vowed. But Messi has a brother who is a priest and who agreed to set up an audience with the pope.

King is in Paris promoting Saturday's sold-out rematch of last year's dramatic slugfest at Madison Square Garden between O'Neil Bell and Jean-Marc Mormeck. Then, King will be honored at a festival in Bergamo, Italy, the Messi brothers' hometown, before his pilgrimage to Rome.

King, who often wears crazy clothes and waves Old Glory, owns three large, diamond-encrusted crucifixes - "for the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." But asked what he'll wear to his meeting with Benedict XVI, King humbly replied, "I'll see what the protocol is."

The bombastic orator seems prepared to play second fiddle to His Holiness and pay every respect to the Vicar of Christ. "I am going to ask the pontiff for world peace. I will be prepared to kiss his ring."

Pope Benedict XVI Honors Gary Krupp of New York for Work With Pave the Way Foundation

As a gesture of gratitude in recognition of his dedicated and tireless efforts on behalf of Catholic-Jewish and Vatican-Israeli relations, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has bestowed the rank of Knight Commander with a Silver Star of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great upon Mr. Gary Krupp of New York.

Vatican City State (PRWeb) February 25, 2007 -- As a gesture of gratitude in recognition of his dedicated and tireless efforts on behalf of Catholic-Jewish and Vatican-Israeli relations, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has bestowed the rank of Knight Commander with a Silver Star of the Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great upon Mr. Gary Krupp of New York.

The conferral of the Silver Star marks the second time Krupp has been honored by the Supreme Pontiff, having been previously invested as a Knights Commander in the same order by the late Pope John Paul II. Gary and his wife Meredith founded Pave the Way Foundation, a nonprofit charity dedicated to the promotion of peace and understanding between religions through cultural, technological and education exchanges.

His Eminence Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican Secretary of State, presented Mr. Krupp with the honor in Rome, following the presentation of the Bodmer Papyrus to Pope Benedict XVI, as a gift given to the Vatican Library through the initiative of Pave the Way Foundation. Also present for the conferral were His Eminence Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, Archivist of the Holy Roman Church, and His Excellency Bishop Raffaele Farina, SBD Prefect of the Vatican Library.

Mr. Krupp holds the distinction of being the only Jewish man in history to be invested as a Knights Commander of St. Gregory with a Silver Star and to also be invested as an Officer Brother in the Order of St. John, an honor he received by consent of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in 2005.

About Pave the Way Foundation: PTWF is dedicated to achieving peace by bridging "the intellectual gap," promoting tolerance and understanding, by enhancing relations between religions through cultural, technological and intellectual gestures. The Foundation has a simple yet monumental vision: To enable all the world's religions to mutually realize that extremism, politics and personal agendas must not be allowed to poison the true benevolent message common to all faiths. Bigotry and hatred must be abolished by the faithful embracing their similarities and savoring their differences.

Sorry folks but I just could not resist posting this. Too funny.

KFC turns to the pope for help promoting new fish product

Not only is KFC now selling fish, but the fast-food giant wants Pope Benedict XVI to give his seal of approval to the company's new pollack filet in time for Lent.

"People can enjoy the flavor of the new Fish Snacker any day of the week, but we believe it will be especially popular on Fridays," James O'Reilly, the company's top marketer says in a press release. "It's perfect for an on-the-go lunch or any time of the day when you need a quick snack but don't want to sacrifice taste."

It's not every day that a major corporation uses the spirtual leader of some 1 billion people to get attention for a new product.

"The company has turned to Pope Benedict XVI, beseeching him to bestow his Papal blessing for this innovative new menu item," the press release says. "Vatican officials confirmed they received KFC's request, and the company is hopeful to get the Pope's blessing this Lenten season."

All of the Gospels for the past few weeks have followed this theme of living a life of Christ-like love towards one another, of answering evil with good.

Pope says enemy-love and nonviolence are central to Christ's message -19/02/07

Loving enemies is central to the way of Jesus, and Christian non-violence is not a tactical choice, it is a "a personal way of being" based on God’s alternative strength – that was the message of Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Rome on Sunday 18 February 2007.

Before reciting the Angelus prayer, the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics talked about the teaching of Jesus on love of enemies.

"What is the meaning of these words of his?" the Pope asked. "Why does Jesus ask us to love our enemies, that is, a love that surpasses human capacity?"

He continued: "In reality, the suggestion of Christ is realistic because it takes into account that there is too much violence, too much injustice in the world and therefore the situation cannot be overcome unless it is countered by more love and more goodness.

"This 'more' comes from God: it is [God’s] mercy, which became flesh in Jesus and alone can 'turn the balance' of the world away from evil towards good, starting from that small and decisive 'world' that is the heart of [humanity]."

Pope Benedict added: "this Gospel page is rightly considered to be the Magna Carta of Christian non-violence, which consists not of giving in to evil - according to a false interpretation of 'turning the other cheek' - but in responding to evil with good, thus breaking the chains of injustice."

Christian non-violence is not merely tactical behaviour but "the attitude of one who is so convinced of the love and strength of God that [she] is not afraid to face evil armed with just the weapons of love and truth."

The Pope concluded: "Loving one's enemy constitutes the nucleus of the "Christian revolution" which changes the world "without making any noise about it."

US Methodist theologian Walter Wink is among those who have pointed out that ‘turning the other cheek’ is not about giving in – but in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day was a challenge to an oppressor, who would demean himself by striking with the left hand.

From Ekklasia

Jordanian King Invites Pope to Amman
Sunday, February 11, 2007

King Abdullah II of Jordan has invited Catholic Pope Benedict XVI for an official visit to the Hashemite kingdom, according to a statement by the royal court.

“The invitation was extended to His Holiness by Queen Rania who met with the pope at the Vatican on Friday,” said the statement by the royal court.

During her visit to Italy, the Jordanian queen conveyed Jordan’s encouragement for the Catholic spiritual leader to become more involved in “efforts for re-establishment of durable, just and comprehensive peace in the region.”

From IsrealiNationalNew.com

CROSS-POST FROM INTERIOR DIALOGUES


After reading Deus Caritas Est (Pope Benedict's first encyclical) I dove into the secular book Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi. At the same time, my thoughts were directed on what I hoped I would be led to do for the children of Afghanistan. Superficially, these three things would not seem to have anything to do with each other. But I find them linked together in a very logical way. In Deus Caritas Est Holy Father instructs us on the true meaning of love and the unity found in the joint perfection of eros, agape, and philia. This perfect union exalts the physical and spiritual body of man.

In read Nafisi's book, we see how society can be perverted and destroyed through acts of violent hatred aimed indiscriminately against anyone, any institution, any group that disagrees with the prevailing religious fanaticism. But just as oppression wins and destroys a social order, we also see the triumph of a human spirit and her struggle to live as freely as she can within a society that oppresses. That she has to leave her home eventually in order to survive is her personal sadness.However, that loss gave us her book and the information it contains touched me at a time in my life when an expanding definition of love led me to thoughts of charitable acts and how this might fit into my future. Benedict's encyclical (Pt II:37) says "A personal relationship with God and an abandonment to His will can prevent man from being demeaned and saves him from falling prey to the teachings of fanaticism and terrorism." This simple truth brought me to the third seemingly unrelated point - the cold children of Afghanistan.

Again, it is Benedict who points us in the right direction telling us the "we are able to do acts of charity because the Lord has enabled us to do so."(DCE Pt. II:35) We are not responsible for saving the world but because of love we ARE required to do what we can and leave the rest to God. So when I read of the cold children of Ghor, it just seemed like the most natural thing i the world to send out a call for help. The response has been so gratifying. Nine boxes of warm clothes went to the children. It was a simple act of Collection, Send/Receive, and Disburse. No red tape, just a simple act of charity supported by a few warmhearted women. Blessed Mother Theresa said "Do Small things with great love" and that is what we have done.

So you see, for me, there is a clear connection between Benedict, Nafisi, and the children. It's about love, faith, hope, and charity. The greatest of these is love and you cannot have love without loving God and keeping faith, hope and charity in your heart AND in your acts.

I'm reading this right now. Rich, dense, lucid, and powerful writing. I'll be discussing it later at my "Interior Dialogues" blogsite.

Pope Benedict XVI's discourse on human and divine love is turning out to be a publishing hit.
ANSA said the 72-page document, titled Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love) -- has been reprinted three times in German and three times in Spanish, and has sold almost 1.5 million copies in Italian.

The news service said it is one of the most commercially successful doctrinal tracts ever written by a pope.

The encyclical, the first major piece of writing by the new pope, said the true nature of love between men and women needs to be clarified. The pope said erotic love can lead to degradation unless it is united with a spiritual love, ANSA reported.

Secularists of Islamic Societies Gather for Unprecedented Summit- Monday, March 5, 2007
Monday January 29 2007 16:42:14 PM BDT

Contact: Austin DaceyPhone: (212) 265-2877, ext. 11; (917) 664-3855E-mail: info@secularislam.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Secularists of Islamic Societies Gather for Unprecedented Summit
Leading Dissidents to Launch Movement for Reason, Pluralism, and Freedom of Conscience
New York, N.Y.(January 26, 2007)—

From Pope Benedict XVI to the Harvard historian Bernard Lewis, people are asking, What went wrong? How did Middle Eastern cultures transform from the openness and intellectual ferment of the medieval period to the closed theocrat societies of today? Where are the secular voices of the Muslim world?

Until now, they have been largely stifled and silenced. Now, bold critics of orthodoxy are calling for sweeping reforms from inside Muslim societies. With the intent of catalyzing a global movement for reason, humanist values, and freedom of conscience, delegates from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Bangladesh will assemble March 4-5 in St. Petersburg, Florida for an unprecedented Secular Islam Summit.

According the chair of the meeting, the rationalist critic of Islam and acclaimed author Ibn Warraq, “What we need now is an Age of Enlightenment in the Islamic world, of the Islamic mind-set or worldview. Without critical examination of Islam, it will remain unassailed in its dogmatic, fanatical, medieval fortress; ossified, totalitarian and intolerant. It will continue to stifle thought, human rights, individuality; originality and truth.”

Said one summit delegate, Irshad Manji, author of The Trouble with Islam Today, “This summit is proof positive that reform-minded Muslims are creating a movement. We no longer exist in isolation. Those who hate our message of free thought in Islam will keep trying to pick us off individually, but collectively we're not going anywhere except forward.”

The historic Summit, to be held at the Hilton St. Petersburg, will set in motion the generation of new practical strategies from the world’s leading thinkers and activists in an ongoing cross-cultural forum. At issue will be secularist interpretations of Islam, the importance of expanding Koranic criticism, the state of freedom of expression in Muslim societies, educational reform and the urgent need for a paradigm shift in Islamic philosophy.

Speakers include Mona Abousenna, Magdi Allam, Shaker al-Nabulsi, Nonie Darwish, Afshin Ellian, Fatemolla, Tawfik Hamid, Shahriar Kabir, Nibras Kazimi, Irshad Manji, Walid Phares, Amir Taheri, Mourad Wahba, Ibn Warraq, and others.

To promote emerging solutions, the delegates will craft a statement of values and principles expressing the call for a new Enlightenment in Islamic culture. The statement will be released in English, Arabic, Farsi and Bengali to the world media at a press conference at 2 p.m. Monday, March 5, 2007 at the Summit, after which participants will take questions.“

The Secular Islam Summit hopes to encourage a new global movement for reason, science, and secular values within Islamic societies,” said Summit organizer Banafsheh Zand-Bonazzi, an Iranian-American activist.

The Summit is sponsored by the Center for Inquiry-Transnational, a secularist think tank.
For more information, call Austin Dacey at (212) 265-2877, ext. 11; (917) 664-3855; or e-mail info@secularism.org.

Peace between faith and reason, in Lebanon and Gaza, says Pope

Once more Benedict XVI calls for a dialogue between faith and reason to avoid today’s cultural “schizophrenia” and conflict with non Western cultures. He makes a special appeal for an end to violence in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. He releases two white doves, symbol of peace, with Azione Cattolica youth, telling them: “You are the true messengers of peace.” He mentions World Day of Leprosy.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The Pope made an appeal today against violence in Lebanon and Gaza, for leprosy patients on World Day of Leprosy, but above all to scientists and men and women of culture “not to be afraid” of the dialogue between faith and reason so that we can avoid the risk of “schizophrenia”, irrationality, and the conflict with cultures in the south of the world.

To talk again about the issue of “faith and reason”, which he so skilfully addressed in Regensburg, the Holy Father used as his starting point today’s saint, the philosopher and theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas, “a compelling model of harmony between reason and faith, dimensions of the human spirit, that are fully realised in their meeting and dialogue.”

“The relationship between faith and reason,” the Pope stressed, “represents a great challenge to the Western world’s prevailing culture and for this reason, the beloved John Paul II devoted an encyclical to the issue titled just that: Fides et ratio – Faith and Reason. I, too, recently took up the issue in my address at Regensburg University.”

The problem is that today man often reduces himself “to think only about material and experimental objects and shuts himself off from the main questions about life, himself and God” and therefore “becomes poorer”. Benedict XVI calls this situation, “schizophrenia”.

“In reality,” he said,” modern scientific development brings innumerable positive effects and this must be acknowledged. At the same time however, we must admit that the tendency to consider true only what can be demonstrated experimentally represents a limitation of human reason and causes a terrible schizophrenia in which rationalism, materialism, hyper-technology and unrestrained instinctiveness” live side by side.

From this comes the Pope’s appeal to “rediscover in new ways human rationality that is open to the light of the divine Logos and its perfect revelation Jesus Christ, Son of God made man. When the Christian faith is true it does not mortify freedom and human reason. If so, why then should faith and reason fear each other when meeting and engaging in dialogue can enable them to express what is best in each other? Faith supposes reason and perfects it, and reason, enlightened by faith finds the strength to rise to the knowledge of God and spiritual reality. Human reason loses nothing by opening up to the contents of faith; on the contrary, the latter need its free and conscious adherence.”

Referring to Saint Thomas Aquinas, who in the 13th century was able to achieve a synthesis of Christian, Islamic and Jewish cultures, Benedict XVI noted that by rediscovering reason open to faith it is possible to engage in dialogue with non European cultures which view with concern and fear the atheistic culture of the West.

“With far-sighted wisdom,” the Pontiff explained, “Saint Thomas Aquinas was able to fruitfully relate to the Arab and Jewish ideas of his time so much so that he can always be considered a relevant teacher of dialogue between cultures and religions. He was able to achieve that admirable Christian synthesis between reason and faith which represents a precious heritage upon which Western civilization can draw and which can be used effectively to engage in dialogue the other great cultural and religious traditions of the East and the South of the world.”

The Pope ended saying: “Let us pray that Christians, especially those that operate in the world of academe and culture, can express the reasonableness of their faith and bear witness to it in a dialogue inspired by love. Let us ask the Lord for this gift by the intercession of Saint Thomas Aquinas and especially of Mary, Seat of Wisdom.”

Following the Angelus prayer Benedict XVI made an appeal for peace in Lebanon and an end to violence on the Gaza Strip.

“In the last few days,” the Pope said, “violence has caused blood to be shed in Lebanon. It is unacceptable to go down that path to back one’s own political goals. I feel a profound sorrow for that dear people. I know the Lebanese may be tempted to give up hope feeling disoriented by what is happening. I agree with what His Beatitude Card Nasrallah Pierre Sfeir said about the fratricidal clashes. I join him and other religious leaders, calling for God’s help so that all the Lebanese without distinction may work together to make their homeland a truly common home, overcoming the selfish attitudes that prevent them from really taking care of their country (cf Apostolic Exhortation A New Hope for Lebanon, n. 94). To the Christians of Lebanon, I repeat the exhortation that they promote a real dialogue between the various communities and call upon Our Lady of Lebanon to protect one and all.”

“Furthermore, I hope that violence in the Gaza Strip ends soon. To its entire population I wish to express my spiritual closeness and assure them of my prayers so that the will to work together for the common good may prevail upon everyone, that they may choose peaceful ways to settle differences and reduce tensions”.

The Pope also made another appeal, one for the World Day of Leprosy which is observed today.
“I would like to greet assuring a special mention in the prayer to all those who suffer from this disease,” Benedict XVI said. “I wish them recovery or, in any case, proper treatment in conditions of dignity. I encourage health care workers and volunteers who help them to continue [in their work] as well as all those who in different ways have joined the struggle to overcome what is not only an illness but also a social evil. In the footsteps of Christ many men and women have done all in their power in this noble cause, people like Raoul Follereau and the Blessed Damien de Veuster, the apostle of lepers in Molokai”.

At the end of his appeals and multilingual greetings, the Pope spoke to the 5,000 youth from Rome’s Azione Cattolica (Catholic Action) who, along with Card Camillo Ruini, ended their “Peace Caravan” in St Peter’s Square. Traditionally, they dedicate the month of January to the theme of peace. With two youths each on his side the Pope released to white doves, symbol of peace.

“You are the true messengers of peace,” the Pontiff said. “With the wings of goodness and faith, you bring everywhere the joy that comes from being the children of the same Father who is in Heaven and of living together like brothers.”

He added then: “We want to be like the doves of peace for all, for Lebanon, the Gaza Strip, everywhere.”
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