Something positive out of San Francisco Newspapers

The pope pays the economy some attention
Discussing the latest encyclical with social ethics Professor William O'Neill
David Ian Miller
Monday, July 13, 2009

You know you're living in interesting times when the pope decides to write about the economy.
As the Wall Street Journal pointed out on Tuesday after Pope Benedict XVI released his 44-page encyclical, titled "Caritas in Veritate" or "Charity in Truth," popes only address financial issues in encyclicals "during moments of tectonic shift" such as the Industrial Revolution (1891, Pope Leo XIII, argued for workers' rights) and the Great Depression (1931 Pope Pius XI, warning about the dangers of capitalism run amuck).

In the Catholic tradition, encyclicals are open letters written by the pope to the bishops of the church, addressing big issues ranging from dangers to the world at large or the souls of church members. Although the Vatican does an outstanding job of utilizing modern communications -- Pope Benedict XVI has a Facebook page (you can be his friend, but you can't poke him) and his Web site, pope2you.net, offers iPhone content -- videos of the pope's travels and speeches -- encyclicals remain a critical form of discourse.

Caritas in Veritate addresses very modern issues such as globalization, market economy, hedge funds, outsourcing, and alternative energy, calling for people to put aside greed and let their consciences guide them in economic and environmental decisions. Many of the ideas put forward would likely rankle conservatives, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne wrote that the encyclical "places the pope well to Obama's left on economics..."

I spoke about the encyclical with William O'Neill, a professor of social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley and a visiting professor of ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology in Nairobi, Kenya. O'Neill has worked with refugees in Tanzania and Malawi, and conducted research on human rights in South Africa and Rwanda. His writings address questions of human rights, ethics, social reconciliation, and conflict resolution. We discussed the politics of the encyclical, tensions within the church, and how the current economic crisis might reshape our world.

Let's start with your general take on the new encyclical. What were your first impressions?

I was very impressed, both with its scope and its depth. It is, I think, a remarkable document that raises very difficult questions, particularly for many Americans, partly because it speaks to the possibility of economic redistribution.

It seems that Pope Benedict is offering a much more radical set of economic prescriptions than even the most liberal Democrats in this country. Does that surprise you?

I wasn't surprised as much as I was delighted to see that so many of the fundamental themes that have been a part of the heritage of modern Catholic social teaching were articulated in such a profound and theologically grounded way. Benedict is a theologian, and you see the theological wisdom permeating the entire encyclical. But the concern of mediating the tradition to the specific problems that we are facing in light of the economic crisis and the suffering of so many of the people in our world today -- that, to me, was very heartening. I think what he is doing is taking a rich tradition and trying to apply it to novel circumstances. And I think he does that quite well.

Will the encyclical, in your opinion, actually change anything?

That's the question. How will it be received? I suspect, had this been issued prior to the economic crisis, it would have been met with a kind of constrained interest. Today, we would almost say it's prophetic, because there is a general understanding that the failures of international regulation, the crises of a globalizing economy, will require a kind of profound ethical appraisal.

This encyclical comes at a time when many of us would say business as usual is no longer acceptable. We need significant structural change rather than just making minor modifications and hoping that the great capitalist engine will continue to function. It doesn't give a precise prescription for policy. But it does give a moral perspective for thinking about global economic integration. In many ways, I think it is the beginning of a conversation, rather than the end.

What are the main themes of that conversation?

Some of the central themes are his emphasis upon a kind of integral humanism and a concern that the market must be made moral from within, that the economy is one of the most socialized activities we engage in today, and consequently our economic interdependence has to be leavened with moral solidarity.

Another theme is recognizing the need for appropriate measures, given the vast economic shifts that have occurred just within the last decade of the globalizing economy. The question is, how do we regulate the financial and capital markets in a way that will protect fundamental rights, especially for those who are least prosperous? These are concerns that go back to the gospel, and I think Benedict is trying to cultivate them in a way that could actually make a difference in terms of prevailing policies.

Do you know if encyclicals are written primarily by the pope, or are they a group effort?

Sometimes they are the product of a number of authors. I would say this encyclical bears the imprimatur of Benedict himself, to use a very papal term, just given the coherence of the text and its theological density.

This isn't the first time that he has spoken out about the lack of ethics in capitalism. In 1985, for example, he presented a paper entitled "Market Economy and Ethics" warning that the lack of ethics could cause financial markets to collapse. Is this pope particularly well-educated in financial issues?

He's certainly not an economist or a financier. But there has been a rich tradition, not only for Benedict, but really since 1891 when the first major social encyclical dealing with the massive dislocation of workers at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, a whole history of Catholic social thinking in this regard. This encyclical is the 40-year commemoration of Paul VI of Populorum Progressio, which was the first encyclical to deal with the problems of development and globalization in such detail. It emphasized not only the rights of Western workers, but the profound systematic deprivation of underdevelopment in so many parts of our world.

One of the encyclical's more controversial elements is a call for a "world political authority" to play a central role in regulating the economy. This has been interpreted by some critics as an endorsement of a new world government, though Vatican officials have taken pains to deny that was Benedict's intention. What do you make of the pope's statements on this issue?

He is certainly not calling for a new world government. I think this has to be put into context. One of the key themes in Catholic teaching for many many years is that effective participation for the common good is going to involve different levels of authority. In other words, we have a global common good, so how is that to be implemented? It would be implemented through appropriate international structures and regulations, but also through the appropriate activities of state and regional actors. One of the keys is that the state, or in this case a global authority, should never absorb the appropriate authority of so-called intermediate associations, or hosts.

So it's not a recommendation for world centralized government but an attempt to develop the kind of wise appropriate redistributive measures that would allow an economy to satisfy its moral purposes -- to provide a decent standard of living, especially for those who have been effectively marginalized by the processes of globalization. I think what he is looking for is appropriate redistributive measures that would regulate the economy rather than displace it. That's at least how I would understand it.

It is interesting that to me that the pope's thinking on issues like globalization, the economy, outsourcing, and alternative energy, are in line with liberal or progressive thinking in this country. Yet, he is very conservative on social issues like gay marriage, abortion, and stem cell research. How do you explain that dichotomy?

I think that it represents the tension within church teachings generally between personal and social morality on the one hand, and economic ethics on the other hand. Since the end of the 19th century the church social teachings have emphasized workers' rights, appropriate (wealth) redistribution measures, and the common good, while emphasizing more traditional morality relating to sexual ethics and family life. The teachings are not opposed, but they overlap. It's a matter of different emphases rather than fundamental conflict.

Do you feel the church in its recent history has done enough to address economic inequality?

I think in some ways we have been excessively lacking, and of course, I include myself in this as well. One of the problems is how Catholic teaching becomes Catholic learning. I think one of the tragedies is that we often have done very good social analysis, for instance, on the rights of workers or migrants, but we haven't done a very good job in disseminating that research, and as a result so often the church's moral teaching seems to be reduced to the popular mind largely to its views on sexuality.

What, if any, changes in your work and spiritual practice will you make in response to the teachings of this encyclical?

It will probably take a little more discernment for me to see what this would mean, to be very honest, in my own life. It does suggest to me that I haven't strayed as widely as some might think in emphasizing, for instance, the importance of global solidarity or defending the rights of migrants. The inmates at the federal women's prison where I am a chaplain are mostly migrant women. They are not non-persons. Their lives matter. That's one of the hallmarks of this encyclical, and it's something I can actually bring to my preaching in prison -- that they appear in the text, these women who in many ways are marginalized by a global economy and largely forgotten, even in our criminal justice system.

What does it mean, ultimately, to go back to Jesus' first words in Luke, to preach good news to the poor? If Catholic social teaching means anything, it's at the service of this gospel. So I take from that a sense of being heartened that my church has not forgotten the least among us, and that Benedict, who has been criticized in many ways for being excessively cautious and conservative, has taken such a prophetic view. I think that's both courageous and wise, and I really applaud him for that. Differ as I might with some of his other teachings, I really think that he has effectively spoken the gospel today for us.

Do you want to say anything more about the teachings you disagree with?

I would say here, and maybe this is going a little astray, but I think that for the American church to be prophetic, it first has to be repentant. We have to recognize our complicity in the sexual abuse crimes, for example, and that's a language that Benedict would probably not apply to the institutions of the church, but I think that to recognize the sinful structures of the church and to repent of them is a real condition for allowing the grace of the spirit to be prophetic.

For some to believe that, if we truly repent then we foreclose the possibility of prophecy, that we abdicate our moral authority, is a mistake. I think we have to recognize that the church, in its official and institutional structures, has contributed to social sin. In many ways Benedict has done this in his text by speaking with courage about an integral need to restore the human purposes to our economy. Those are noble sentiments, but I think they will be received, if we recognize that prophecy always requires a certain ability to repent.

Does the Vatican have a history of repentance?

Yes, actually. Benedict wrote a rather remarkable apology to the bishops for lifting the excommunication order on Richard Williamson (a bishop who publicly stated that the Holocaust never happened). And there has been a series of papal apologies beginning with John Paul and others, for anti-Semitism in the church.

I just returned from a week-long conference at the Holocaust Memorial Museum, looking at the behavior of the churches during the Holocaust, and again, it's very sobering to see what happened there. I think of what Martin Luther King speaks of in his "Letter from Birmingham Jail," of the silence of the good, the appalling silence of the good. That is perhaps the greatest malaise for Christians. It's not our overt racism and anti-Semitism but rather the complacency of the good. And my hope is that this encyclical may in subtle ways be a subversive antidote to that tendency, that it may help us imagine our world a little differently and call us to action. If it does that, then it has achieved its purpose.

During his far-flung career in journalism, Bay Area writer and editor David Ian Miller has worked as a city hall reporter, personal finance writer, cable television executive and managing editor of a technology news site. His writing credits include Salon.com, Wired News and The New York Observer.

Faithful Catholic Commentary on Pope Benedic XVI's Caritas in Veritate
July 11, 9:11 PM · Denise Hunnell, M.D. - DC Catholic Living Examiner
. (AP Photo/Tiziana Fabi, POOL)

So many voices are rushing to comment on Pope Benedict’s latest encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. There has been a great deal of cherry picking of this portion or that portion in an attempt to score political points. However, as Pope Benedict XVI himself said in his Wednesday Audience, the aim of this document is not about technical solutions to specific problems. It is about principles.

Most important among these is human life itself, the centre of all true progress. Additionally, it speaks of the right to religious freedom as a part of human development, it warns against unbounded hope in technology alone, and it underlines the need for upright men and women – attentive to the common good – in both politics and the business world.

Still, there is a lot to unpack in this encyclical. Catholic World Report has pulled together a cohort of reliably Catholic intellectuals to offer a round table discussion of this profound document. The panel includes: J. Brian Benestad, professor of theology at the University of Scranton; Francis J. Beckwith, Professor of Philosophy and Church-State Studies, and Resident Scholar in the Institute for the Studies of Religion, Baylor University; Father Joseph Fessio, SJ, editor of Ignatius Press; Richard Garnett, professor of Law at University of Notre Dame; Thomas S. Hibbs, Distinguished Professor of Ethics & Culture and Dean of the Honors College at Baylor University; Paul Kengor, professor of political science at Grove City College; George Neumayr, editor of Catholic World Report; Joseph Pearce, writer-in-residence and associate professor of literature at Ave Maria University; Tracy Rowland, Dean of John Paul II Institute, Melbourne Australia; Fr. James V. Schall, professor of government at Georgetown University; Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president and co-founder of the Acton Institute.

The comments of this esteemed assembly are not a substitute for reading Caritas in Veritate. Rather, they offer faithfully Catholic guidance in the interpretation and application of the Holy Father’s words.

Copyright 2009 Examiner.com. All rights reserved.

Two Articles of Interest

Pope gives Obama 'unannounced' gift: Vatican document on right to life and bioethics

Vatican City, Jul 10, 2009 / 11:37 am (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI received President Barack Obama this afternoon in his private library, and after 36 minutes of private conversation, the pair emerged without providing any details about their topics of conversation. Nevertheless, the Holy See revealed that the Pope gave Obama an “unannounced gift”--a Vatican document on bioethics and the right to life.

"The G8 has been very productive, 20 billion dollars have been allocated [to poor countries]; that's something concrete," President Obama told the Pope when he asked about the summit, as photographers and journalists were ushered out of the Papal library.

The meeting between the Pope and the U.S. President started at 4:25 p.m. local time, after an unusually short meeting of ten minutes with the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

After the private conversation, and again in front of the cameras, President Obama gave the Pontiff a stole that was drapped upon the body of St. John Neumann from 1988 to 2007. The Pope instead presented the president with a mosaic portraying St. Peter's Square and the Vatican Basilica, and an autographed copy of his latest social encyclical “Caritas in Veritate.”

“I will have something to read on the plane,” President Obama joked after receiving the encyclical.

At the end of the meeting, the Pope said in English, "I pray for you and bless your work."

"I am very grateful, I hope we will have fruitful relationships," the President responded.

Despite the fact that the Vatican did not release an official statement about the nature of the meeting, the “unannounced” gift to Obama of the 2008 document "Dignitas Personae" on bioethics and the right to life, could be a signal of the nature of at least part of their conversation.
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Pope Benedict Spoke to Obama on Right to Life, Freedom of Conscience

<>By Hilary White, Rome Correspondent

ROME, July 10, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - 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.

A Vatican statement has said that in their private discussion, the pope addressed issues of "the defense and promotion of life and the right to abide by one's conscience."

At the customary exchange of gifts, Obama presented Pope Benedict with a relic - a stole that had been draped over the body of the US's most popular Catholic saints, St. John Neumann, Bishop of Philadelphia from1852 to 1860. The pope also offered the president religious medals and rosaries, as well as a copy of his latest encyclical, signed this week, "Caritas in Veritate."

A lengthy live feed video of the meeting showed a relaxed Obama greeting the pope warmly and sitting down immediately at his desk to a conversation that began with the recently concluded G-8 summit meeting in the earthquake-struck city of L'Aquila.

"Dignitatis Personae" (On the Dignity of Persons) is a 2008 instruction by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that gives the Catholic teaching on the ethics of embryonic research and reiterates Church opposition to contraception and abortion, mentioning new methods of birth control such as female condoms and the morning-after pill.

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."

According to Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi, "Obama told the pope of his commitment to reduce the number of abortions and of his attention and respect for the positions of the Catholic Church."

Barack Obama told Pope Benedict XIV it was "a great honor" to meet him in what may be one of the US President's most successful PR ventures in his presidency to date. The meeting in the pope's private office lasted forty minutes and consisted of what White House spokesmen described as "frank but constructive" private discussion on world issues.

After eight years of friendly Vatican relations between former President George W. Bush, observers have eagerly awaited this meeting. Despite differences between the Bush administration and the Vatican on the war in Iraq, the former president's relationship with the Catholic Church was strengthened by his initiatives in defence of human life.

With Obama's zealous support for legal abortion, even to the point of having opposed legislation to protect children born alive after failed abortions, it is expected that tensions with the current administration will be higher.

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 Vatican normally schedules such meetings for midday.

Encyclical links, and etc.

I found a site with several link discussing Holy Father's recently published third encyclical. You may find something of interest here. There are several other matters also listed here but it seems to be a good selection, over all, to examine.

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Pope hosts G-8 leaders' wives (clearly, Holy Father understands the influence wives's have)

VATICAN CITY - POPE Benedict XVI on Wednesday hosted the wives of world leaders who were in Italy attending the G-8 summit, the Vatican said.

Following his weekly general audience in the Vatican City, the pope received the group, which included five wives of country leaders.

Among them were Sarah Brown, the wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Margarita Calderon, wife of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, and Filippa Reinfeldt, wife of Swedish Prime Minister Frederik Reinfeldt.

Nompumelelo Ntuli Zuma, wife of South African President Jacob Zuma, and Gursharan Kaur, wife of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were also at the audience along with Margarida Barroso, wife of European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

The three-day G-8 summit started Wednesday in L'Aquila, central Italy. -- AFP

Love in Truth - Holy Father's Encyclical

Pope Benedict's encyclical on social matters was released today. Deep reading but he is so readable, I expect to eat it up. It's title is Love in Truth
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Pope Benedict appeals for less greed and more soul

In the third encyclical of his papacy, Pope Benedict has appealed to the leaders of the world's wealthier nations not to ignore the needs of the poor in the face of the global economic crisis.

Published on the eve of the L'Aguila G-8 summit scheduled to focus on the global economy, climate change and aid for developing nations, "Caritas in Veritate" (Charity in Truth) says that poorer countries should be given "an effective voice in shared decision making."

The encyclical says the "primary capital to be safeguarded and valued is man, the human person in his and her integrity."

The 82-year-old Pope Benedict used the document, which is his first encyclical on social issues, as a platform to denounce what he sees as the unjust nature of globalised capitalism, and to call for "greater social responsibility."

He urged fairer trade practices, citing outsourcing to countries where labour is cheaper, as bad business which could "weaken the company's sense of responsibility to the workers, the suppliers, the consumers, the natural environment.

World body with "real teeth"
Furthermore, the pontiff stressed the need for a reform of the United Nations and economic and financial institutions in order to lend some "real teeth" to the idea of a family of nations.
He said there was an urgent need to establish a true world political authority in order to "manage the global economy, revive economies hit by the crisis, to avoid any deterioration of the present crisis."

Such a body, he wrote could work "to bring about integral and timely disarmament, food security and peace, to guarantee the protection of the environment and to regulate migration´."
The 144-page letter sharply criticised "badly managed and largely speculative financial dealing," and said the world was now in the thick of a greed-induced depression.

Yet for all of the ills the global economic crisis has visited on millions of people across the world, Pope Benedict said it also offered an opportunity to "replan our journey, set ourselves new rules, and to discover new forms of commitment."

Message applauded by German bishops
The encyclical, which the Pope began writing in 2007 but held off publishing in order to reflect the current economic climate, has been welcomed by German bishops.

Speaking in the southern city of Freiburg on Tuesday, the chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Robert Zollitsch, described the encyclical as a "great piece of work", which embodies the basic conditions for humane and dignified development.

He said Pope Benedict had made a significant contribution to the current debate on globalisation and justice, and added that the timing of the publication highlighted "the urgency of the issue".
Zollitsch praised the pontiff for appealing to industrialized nations to implement good ethical practises and encouraging individuals to see themselves as contributors to the current global developments rather than victims thereof.

"Everyone needs to have a rethink," he said.

Pope holds back key morality statement to hit G8
Richard Owen in Rome and Ruth Gledhill, Religion Correspondent

The Pope has held back publication of a key statement on markets and morality in an attempt to force the issue onto the G8 agenda.

Pope Benedict XVI signed the document today but the text, which focuses on globalisation, poverty and the financial crisis and is one of the most important to come out of the Holy See in the past decade, will be published 48 hours before the meeting of world leaders at L'Aquila in Italy - a week-long delay.

Caritas in veritate, Love or charity in truth, will outline the ethical values that the faithful must "tirelessly defend" to ensure "true freedom and solidarity", the Pope said recently. He said that the global downturn demonstrated the need to "rethink economic and financial paradigms that have been dominant in recent years."

The encyclical - the most authoritative document a Pope can issue - analyses the destructive effect on society of the pursuit of commercial or private interests without "social responsibility" or "conscience and honesty". It proposes an international agreement on globalisation based on "the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity" and "the values of charity and truth".

The Pope has been working on the encyclical for two years, but delayed it in order to bring it up to date and reflect the global economic crisis. Its publication has been further delayed by translation problems into Latin, according to the Italian newspaper la Repubblica.

Although Pope Benedict has encouraged a return to Latin in the liturgy, there is a dwindling number of experts able to find Latin equivalents for terms such as "market value" and "tax haven".

Benedict has written two previous encyclicals in his four years as Pope, Deus caritas est (God is Love) in 2006 and Spe salvi (Saved by Hope) in 2007.

Role of bishop of Rome key to Catholic-Orthodox progress, pope says
By Cindy WoodenCatholic News ServiceVATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A common understanding of the role the bishop of Rome played in the united Christianity of the first millennium is essential for resolving the question of the primacy of the pope in a united church, Pope Benedict XVI said.

The pope met June 27 with Orthodox Metropolitan Emmanuel of France, Bishop Athenagoras of Sinope, who serves as the assistant metropolitan of Belgium, and Deacon Ioakim Billis of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.

The three Greek Orthodox represented Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople at the evening prayer service closing the year of St. Paul June 28 and at the pope's Mass for the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul June 29.

Meeting the delegation privately before the festivities began, the pope said the year of St. Paul was a year "of prayer, of reflection and of exchanging gestures of communion between Rome and Constantinople."

The pope said the joint activities were the best way to honor St. Paul, who urged Christians "'to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace,' teaching us that there is 'only one body and one spirit.'

"The participation of the Orthodox delegation in the late-June liturgies "reminds us of our common commitment to the search for full communion," Pope Benedict said.

"You already know this, but I am pleased to confirm today that the Catholic Church intends to contribute in every way to making it possible to re-establish full communion in response to Christ's will for his disciples," he said.

Pope Benedict said the international Catholic-Orthodox dialogue commission would meet in October in Cyprus "to face a theme crucial for relations between the East and West, that is the 'role of the bishop of Rome in the communion of the church in the first millennium.'

"Ecumenical experts believe agreement on how the pope, the bishop of Rome, exercised his ministry before Christianity split into East and West is essential for discovering the way the papacy could be exercised in the church if Catholics and Orthodox successfully reunite.

"I want the participants in the Catholic-Orthodox dialogue to know that my prayers accompany them and that this dialogue has the complete support of the Catholic Church," Pope Benedict told the Orthodox delegation.

"With all my heart, I hope that the misunderstandings and tensions encountered by the Orthodox delegates during the last plenary session of the commission have been overcome in fraternal love so that this dialogue will be more broadly representative of Orthodoxy," the pope said.

At the last plenary gathering, held in Italy in 2007, the Russian Orthodox delegation walked out to protest the presence of a delegation from the Estonian Orthodox Church, recognized as autonomous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople but not by the Russian Orthodox Church.

Pope: Basilica bones belong to apostle St. Paul
Scientific tests prove bones are those of the apostle St. Paul, pope says Vatican tomb also holds "traces of a precious linen cloth" Tests were carried out by inserting probe into small opening in sarcophagus

ROME, Italy (CNN) -- Scientific tests prove bones housed in the Basilica of St. Paul in Rome are those of the apostle St. Paul himself, according to Pope Benedict XVI.

"Tiny fragments of bone" in the sarcophagus were subjected to carbon dating, showing they "belong to someone who lived in the first or second century," the pope said in a homily carried on Italian television.

"This seems to confirm the unanimous and undisputed tradition that these are the mortal remains of the Apostle St. Paul," Benedict said in Sunday's announcement.

The tomb also holds "traces of a precious linen cloth, purple in color and laminated with pure gold, and a blue colored textile with linen filaments," the pope said.

The tests were carried out by inserting a probe into a small opening in the sarcophagus, "which had not been opened for many centuries," the pontiff said. The probe "also revealed the presence of grains of red incense and traces of protein and limestone."

Separately, archaeologists have uncovered an image of St. Paul which could be "could be considered the oldest icon of the apostle known to date," the Vatican's official newspaper reported Sunday.

The painting, in the St. Tecla Catacomb, is "among the oldest and best-defined figures from ancient Christianity," according to the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, L'Osservatore Romano reported.

St. Paul is one of the most significant figures in Christianity. Originally a persecutor of early Christians, he became a follower of Jesus after seeing a vision on the road to Damascus, according to Christian tradition.

"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" the vision of Jesus asks Paul, using the apostle's birth name, in the Acts of the Apostles.

Saul then took the name Paul and became a missionary. His letters, or epistles, to early Christian communities around the Mediterranean form a significant portion of the New Testament.

Paul was beheaded by Roman authorities some time between 65 and 67 A.D., according to the Catholic Church.

He was buried a few miles away, and when the Roman Empire stopped persecuting Christians some 250 years later, the Emperor Constantine had a basilica built over his grave.

It currently lies under a marble tombstone bearing the Latin inscription PAULO APOSTOLO MART (Apostle Paul, martyr), according to the Web site of the basilica. A papal altar stands over the tombstone, which is visible through a window-like opening, the Web site says.

Monday marks the end of a year of celebration in honor of the 2,000th anniversary of St. Paul's birth. It also happens to be the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul.

Pope: It is a Childish Faith to Oppose the Church Teaching on Life and Family

By John-Henry Westen

ROME, June 29, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Closing the Year of St. Paul yesterday evening, Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the writings of the famed convert to Christianity. With reference to Paul's letter to the Ephesians (4:14), the Pope explained what Paul meant by his statement that Christians should not remain "children at the mercy of the waves, transported here and there by every wind of doctrine."

"Paul wants the Christian faith have a 'responsible', an 'adult faith," said the Holy Father. "The word 'adult faith' has in recent decades become a popular slogan. It is often used to refer to the attitude of those who no longer adhere to the Church and her pastors, but choose for themselves what they want to believe and not believe - a kind of do-it-yourself faith."

Benedict XVI continued: "Speaking against the Magisterium of the Church is presented as courageous. In reality, however, it does not take courage for this, since you can always be sure of audience applause."

"Rather it takes courage to adhere to the faith of the Church, even if it contradicts the 'scheme' of the contemporary world," said the Pope. "It is this non-conformism of the faith that Paul calls an 'adult faith.'"

The Holy Father gave two examples of an 'adult faith'. First, "to commit to the inviolability of human life from the very beginning, thus radically opposing the principle of violence, in defense of the most defenseless humans." And second, "to recognize marriage between a man and a woman for life as a law of the Creator, restored again by Christ."

For Paul, said Benedict XVI, "following the prevailing winds and currents of the day is childish."

More about Archbishop Designate DiNoia

Priest who is new doctrinal chief praised as 'incredible theologian'
By Dennis Sadowski - Catholic News Service
Tuesday, 16 June 2009

Colleagues of Archbishop-designate J. Augustine DiNoia said they were pleased with his new appointment at the Vatican, calling him an "incredible theologian" and a man with a "brilliant mind" who can engage others in liturgical and theological discussions.

Archbishop-Designate DiNoia Pope Benedict XVI named the U.S.-born Dominican an archbishop and the next secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments June 16. He has worked at the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2002.Archbishop-designate DiNoia, known for his expertise in liturgical and doctrinal affairs, was praised for his knowledge as well as his warm personality.

News of the Vatican announcement spread quickly in the Dominican order's St. Joseph province, based in New York, to which Archbishop-designate DiNoia belongs.Dominican Father Brian Mulcahy, provincial vicar, said he and his fellow Dominicans were "absolutely thrilled" by the appointment.

"We see it as not just an honor for us, but for the order as a whole," said Father Mulcahy, who studied systematic theology under the archbishop-designate at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington.

Father Mulcahy, who worked at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 1992 to 1994, described his former professor as a man with a brilliant mind who engaged his students "with great ease and great love" in the "theological patrimony of the church."

"When he is on, he is one of the finest teachers of the Catholic faith that one would ever want to meet," he told Catholic News Service in a telephone interview. "As a preacher, a teacher of the faith, he is almost without parallel.

"Father Pius Pietrzyk, parochial vicar at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Zanesville, Ohio, said he had heard rumors in recent weeks that his fellow Dominican would be named to the secretary's position and become an archbishop.

"We've all known that Father DiNoia, because of his work with Cardinal Ratzinger and now Pope Benedict, was a very trusted adviser to him and a good and faithful servant in the congregation. It was no surprise that he was named secretary," he said.

Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the appointment of Archbishop-designate DiNoia is a "matter of pride" for the U.S. church and the Dominican order.

Noting that the archbishop-designate formerly worked in the Secretariat for Doctrine at the USCCB, Cardinal George said in a statement that the bishops are grateful that the Dominican is bringing his talents to the Vatican for the benefit of the church around the world.

Archbishop-designate DiNoia left his position at the bishops' conference to become undersecretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 2002, where he worked under then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict.

Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of Paterson, N.J., chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Divine Worship, welcomed the appointment and said in a statement that the new secretary's experience in serving the church both in the U.S. and at the Vatican "more than adequately prepares him for his new work.

"His expertise also will help in the months ahead as the church prepares to implement the third edition of the Roman Missal, Bishop Serratelli said.

The U.S. bishops are expected to vote on the remaining sections of the missal, which will contain new English translations of the prayers in Mass and other formal liturgies, at their June and November meetings. Afterward, the Vatican congregation where Archbishop-designate DiNoia will become secretary must give "recognitio," or confirmation, of the final translation as well.

Archbishop-designate DiNoia will assume his new responsibilities after his episcopal ordination July 11 at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington

Pope Benedict appoints American priest to oversee liturgy

Pope Benedict appoints American priest to oversee liturgy

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Anti-catholicism once again rears its ugly head
I ran across this article and it's an important one to share.

Here it is: Michael Coren: Anti-papal hypocrisy spreads faster than AIDS
by NP Editor Michael Coren, Full Comment

The attacks upon the Roman Catholic Church in the last two weeks following the Pope’s comments about the dangers of condom use in Africa in the attempt to prevent AIDS have been an extraordinary lesson in applied ignorance and the survival of prejudice. Talk-radio hosts who have long callously and naively blamed Africans for all of Africa’s sufferings suddenly become champions of the continent. Doctors and academics who have shown no previous concern for the plight of Africa are instantly transformed into experts and partisans. It is enough to make one weep. The weeping, however, should be for Africa rather than a bunch of anti-Catholic hypocrites.

Some context first. AIDS had smashed its way through Africa for almost two generations before many people in Europe or North America had even heard of it. It was killing poor black people many miles away and nobody matters less to the wealthy whites than poor blacks many miles away. It was only when the disease was brought into the male homosexual community of the United States that the likes of Elizabeth Taylor became so emotional on television and numerous actors, politicians and public figures made AIDS one of the most fashionable causes in modern times.

Indeed, AIDS is a fascinating case-study in itself in that, while politicized statistics and agenda-driven activists try to tell us otherwise, AIDS in the West is still largely a concern for gay men and intravenous drug-users. Remember the dramatic announcement from Canadian health officials that the AIDS rate had doubled in the mainstream community in one particular area? It had. From one person to two. But it is the suffering itself rather than the nature of the sufferer that should motivate us. Problem is, this philosophy was not applied when it was Africans rather than Californians in need.

That, at least, was the attitude of the Western elites — the very people now condemning the Roman Catholic Church. Yet it was the Church that was in Africa caring for people with AIDS when Hollywood and the Western media were more concerned with puppies and kittens. Even today, almost half of all Africans with AIDS are nursed by people working for the Roman Catholic Church. A Church, by the way, that has also called for all African debt to be forgiven and for a radical redistribution of wealth from north to south.

None of this is mentioned when Pope Benedict is attacked for his condemnation of the condom fetish. If we read the man’s statements, however, what we see is a sophisticated deconstruction of Western double-standards and a thoughtful critique of the failed attempt to control AIDS.

First, it’s not working. In countries where condoms are state-distributed, free and ubiquitous AIDS has not been controlled and is often spreading. Second, even where AIDS is less of an issue, such as in North America, the increased availability and use of condoms has coincided with an annual increase in STDs and so-called unwanted pregnancies. Third, one failure of a condom to work — and the failure rate is significant if not overwhelming — is not a mere mistake but a death sentence. Fourth, condoms enable promiscuity rather than encourage abstinence. And sexual activity is about more than mere intercourse; a cut finger or a small body wound can allow infection to occur.

Fifth, how dare we treat black people as if they were children. They are capable of self-control and all over Africa, most successfully but not exclusively in Uganda, there are elaborate, empathetic and extraordinarily successful abstinence programs that emphasize humanity rather than lust — a philosophy that runs directly contrary to the sexual gratification cult so favoured by some of the people in the West now so apoplectic at Pope Benedict’s comments.

Of course, there is more to this anti-papal neurosis than television comedians making jokes about celibate clergy and commentators assuming that they know far more about reality than a priest who has worked in an African city slum for forty years. Conventional wisdom has it that Africa has a population problem and that Africans can become “more civilized” if they have fewer children. It’s an organized and sometimes quite sinister campaign. Africa is, if anything, underpopulated and the problems of the continent have far more to do with Western greed, colonization, resources exploitation and arms sales than with family size. The Church has spoken out on these issues for decades and was, for example, one of the leading voices at the United Nations that persuaded the multinational pharmaceutical companies to make their anti-AIDS drugs generic and thus affordable in the Third World.

Paradox and lack of understanding rules the day. We applaud an obscenely wealthy American actress when she takes a black baby from Africa, but forget that the Hollywood values she epitomizes encourage loveless sex and treating one another as sexual objects rather than distinct individuals — the precise phenomenon that encourages the spread of AIDS. More than this, the solution to children living in poverty in Africa is not to remove the children but to remove the poverty. But there is never a camera crew around for that sort of thing.

It appears these days to be open season on Pope Benedict XVI. In that he leads an organization that is supposed to be a mirror held up to the world to reflect society’s failures and absurdities, the man must be doing a great deal right.

National Post

Michael Coren is an author and broadcaster.

Things of Interest

Pope plans 'Year for Priests' to restore clear sense of priestly mission

In proclaiming a special Year for Priests, Pope Benedict XVI has the goal of "rebuilding in the priest a strong spiritual identity, faithful to his original mission," writes Sandro Magister of Espresso. The noted Vatican-watcher says that Pope Benedict sees an urgent need to cleanse the priesthood from corruption and to restore a clear model for 21st-century ministry. Espresso calls attention to-- and reprints-- an unusually blunt speech by Archbishop Jean-Louis Brugues, the secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, detailing serious problems in the training of young priests.

Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.

A Special Year to Get Priests Back in Shape (Espresso)

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Pope's new encyclical will focus on economy
The Associated Press June 13, 2009
VATICAN CITY — Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday his new encyclical on the economy and labor issues will focus on ways to make globalization more careful to the needs of the poor amid the worldwide financial crisis.

The document will outline the goals and values that the faithful must "tirelessly defend" to ensure "true freedom and solidarity" among humans, Benedict said in a speech.

He said the global downturn shows the need to "rethink economic and financial paradigms that have been dominant in the last years."

Benedict has frequently spoken out on the crisis, urging leaders to ensure the world's poor don't end up bearing the brunt of the downturn even though they are not responsible for it.
The encyclical is expected to be released June 29.

Benedict has been working on "Caritas in veritate" (Charity in Truth) since 2007 but recently said he had held back on issuing it so that he could update it to reflect the global economic crisis.

An encyclical is the most authoritative document a pope can issue. Benedict has written two in his four years as pope: "God is Love" in 2006 and "Saved by Hope" in 2007.

Pope says science too narrow to explain creation
PARIS (Reuters) -

Pope Benedict, elaborating his views on evolution for the first time as Pontiff, says science has narrowed the way life’s origins are understood and Christians should take a broader approach to the question.

The Pope also says the Darwinist theory of evolution is not completely provable because mutations over hundreds of thousands of years cannot be reproduced in a laboratory.
But Benedict, whose remarks were published on Wednesday in Germany in the book "Schoepfung und Evolution" (Creation and Evolution), praised scientific progress and did not endorse creationist or "intelligent design" views about life’s origins.

Those arguments, proposed mostly by conservative Protestants and derided by scientists, have stoked.....continued below recurring battles over the teaching of evolution in the United States. Some European Christians and Turkish Muslims have recently echoed these views.

"Science has opened up large dimensions of reason ... and thus brought us new insights," Benedict, a former theology professor, said at the closed-door seminar with his former doctoral students last September that the book documents.

"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.

"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."

NOT BY FAITH ALONE

Speculation about 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" (ID) 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. U.S. courts have ruled both creationism and ID 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.

AGAINST ATHEISM

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

Pope Benedict XVI teaches on 'true authority'

Pope Benedict XVI teaches on 'true authority'

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Humans Have Love in Their Genes, Says Pope

Reflects That All Creation Is Marked by Trinity

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 7, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Each person carries an imprint of the Trinity and its tendency toward love in his genetic material, affirms Benedict XVI.The Pope said this today before praying the midday Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square, in which he offered a reflection on the Trinity "as it was made know to us by Jesus."

Christ revealed that "God is love 'not in the unity of a single person, but in the Trinity of a single substance,'” the Holy Father said, quoting the preface.

"The Trinity is Creator and merciful Father; Only Begotten Son, eternal Wisdom incarnate, dead and risen for us; it is finally the Holy Spirit, who moves everything, cosmos and history, toward the final recapitulation," the Pontiff explained.

"Three Persons who are one God because the Father is love, the Son is love, the Spirit is love. God is love and only love, most pure, infinite and eternal love."

"The Trinity does not live in a splendid solitude," he added, "but is rather inexhaustible font of life that unceasingly gives itself and communicates itself."

Benedict XVI said one could get a sense of the Trinity simply by observing nature from the most elementary cellular levels to the planets, stars and galaxies.

"The 'name' of the Most Holy Trinity is in a certain way impressed upon everything that exists, because everything that exists, down to the least particle, is a being in relation, and thus God-relation shines forth, ultimately creative Love shines forth," he said.

"All comes from love, tends toward love, and is moved by love, naturally, according to different grades of consciousness and freedom," the Pope affirmed.

"Every being," he continued, "by the very fact of existing and by the 'fabric' of which it is made, refers to a transcendent Principle, to eternal and infinite Life that gives itself, in a word: to Love." Benedict XVI affirmed that there is proof that human beings are made in the image of the Trinity, because "only love makes us happy, because we live in relation, and we live to love and be loved."

"Using an analogy suggested by biology," he concluded, "we could say the human 'genome' is profoundly imprinted with the Trinity, of God-Love.”

Pope grants congregation power to more easily laicize some priests
By Cindy Wooden

Pope Benedict XVI has granted the Congregation for Clergy new powers to dismiss from the priesthood and release from the obligation of celibacy priests who are living with women, who have abandoned their ministry for more than five years or who have engaged in seriously scandalous behavior.

The new powers do not apply to cases involving the sexual abuse of minors by a priest; those cases continue to be subject to special rules and procedures overseen by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The new faculties were announced by Cardinal Claudio Hummes, prefect of the clergy congregation, in an April 18 letter to the world's bishops. Catholic News Service obtained a copy of the letter in early June.

Cardinal Hummes told CNS June 3 that the new, quicker administrative procedure for dismissing priests was prompted by "many situations where canon law did not seem adequate for meeting new problems."

As an example, the cardinal said the 1983 Code of Canon Law made no provision for a bishop to initiate a process to laicize a priest who had abandoned his ministry.

Usually when a priest leaves the ministry of his own accord, he informs his bishop and sooner or later will request a formal dispensation from the obligation of celibacy, the cardinal said.

But others "leave, they marry (in a civil ceremony), they have children. In these cases, the bishops did not have a way to proceed because it was up to the person who left," he said."

But if the one who left is not interested (in regularizing his situation), the good of the church and the good of the priest who left is that he be dispensed so that he would be in a correct situation, especially if he has children," the cardinal said.

Cardinal Hummes said a priest's "children have the right to have a father who is in a correct situation in the eyes of God and with his own conscience. So helping these people is one of the reasons there are new procedures. In these cases, the initiative begins with the bishop."

The cardinal said he did not have statistics on how many priests have abandoned their ministry without seeking laicization, but it was a problem bishops have raised with the congregation.

Cardinal Hummes' letter to the world's bishops said that while the church teaches that properly performed sacraments are valid whether or not the priest officiating is living in a situation of holiness, the discipline of the Latin-rite Catholic Church is to insist that priests strive for moral perfection and to imitate Christ, who was chaste."

The church, being the spouse of Jesus Christ, wishes to be loved in the total and exclusive manner with which Jesus Christ loved her as her head and spouse. Priestly celibacy is, therefore, the gift of oneself in and with Christ to his church, and expresses the service of the priest to the church in and with the Lord," the cardinal wrote."

The vast majority of priests live out their priestly identity daily with serenity and exercise faithfully their proper ministry," he wrote, but when situations of scandal arise a bishop must be able to act quickly and firmly.

The cardinal's letter dealt separately with the situation of priests who simply abandoned their ministry for "a period of more than five consecutive years." It also addressed the more serious cases of those priests who have attempted or contracted a civil marriage, are having a consensual sexual relationship with a woman or have violated another church or moral law in a way that caused serious scandal."

Situations of grave lack of discipline on the part of some clergy have occurred in which the attempts to resolve the problems by the pastoral and canonical means foreseen in the Code of Canon Law are shown to be insufficient or unsuitable to repair scandal, to restore justice or to reform the offender," the letter said.

In every case, however, Cardinal Hummes' letter insisted that the local bishop carry out a careful investigation of the facts and, when the evidence confirms wrongdoing, "he should proceed formally to correct or admonish the accused."

"Yet when this does not suffice to repair the scandal, restore justice and bring about the rehabilitation of the person, the bishop should proceed with the imposition of penalties," the letter said, outlining the obligatory steps to be taken.

At every stage of the process, the cardinal told CNS: "The right of a priest to defend himself is sacred, including in these cases. The right to defend oneself is internationally recognized and always preserved."

Prior to Pope Benedict's approval of the new norms Jan. 30, bishops seeking to dismiss a priest for abandoning the ministry or attempting marriage had to initiate a formal juridical trial against the person.

In the interview, Cardinal Hummes said that although the procedures have been streamlined, "each case will be reviewed individually, including with the aim of ensuring that the rights of the person interested were protected."

Copyright (c) 2009 Catholic News Service

Church and Benedict XVI confronting heart of secular world

Madrid, Spain, Jun 1, 2009
Archbishop Francisco Gil Hellin of Burgos, Spain said last week that it has become increasingly evident that both the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict XVI are confronting the “center of the secular world, made up of significant elements of the European Union, the United Nations, and more recently, the United States.”

“This center has shown itself incapable of accepting anything that is not part of its own values. And thus, despite scientific proof, the Pope has been irrationally criticized in the name of reason, and the faith and morals of the Catholic Church have been treated irrationally,” the archbishop said in his weekly reflection.

Archbishop Gil Hellin warned his audience that, “The world runs the risk of embracing a new dictatorship: the dictatorship of relativism.”

He went on to analyze the recent attacks against the Pope for his statements about condom use. “If the Pope’s comments were off the mark there would be some justification. But what the Pope said is shared by the international scientific community, Catholic or not. What we are facing is a secularism that is increasingly more radical, which gives no value to Christian ethics or is willing to include Christianity when it comes to finding solutions to the very serious problems that are affecting our society.”

Archbishop Gil Hellin alerted people to the way that “radical secularism has been incubating in Europe during the last few decades. But it has become especially acute since the fall of the Berlin Wall.” “The United States had maintained itself more or less outside this reality. This is explains why the Pope saw in it a more hopeful and less hostile secularism.”

“In fact, although not quite as strongly as in Europe, secular forces have become more emboldened in the United States, seeking to marginalize the church and label her teachings on marriage and life as outdated, if not fanatical,” the archbishop said.

He also argued that “hostility towards the Church has also grown in the media.” As an example, the archbishop stated that “key U.N. officials from some European nations and the international media with connections in the United States and Great Britain rapidly assumed that Benedict XVI was wrong about condoms.”

From Catholic News Agency

Opinion piece - Alberto Cutié

I have been following, with growing dismay, the story of Fr. Albert Cutié of Miami, Florida. In brief – he was a very public and popular Roman Catholic priest who lived a secret life with a woman now pregnant by him. In a matter of just a very few days, he broke from his vows of priesthood and joined the Episcopal church where he will no doubt eventually marry and perhaps regain a measure of his public life as an activist and now Episcopal priest.

These few words cannot begin to explain the pain this has caused so many. He has broken marriage vows as surely as anyone who has broken faith with a spouse. And, being a priest, whether right or not, he is held to a higher standard. We weak humans are expected to fall and pick ourselves up again. Clerics of any stripe, because of their vows and their position of moral authority, can’t avoid this higher standard. When they fall, they fall harder and usually leave a lot of damage in their wake.

Non-Catholics don’t necessarily understand that taking priestly vows is a sacrament no different from marriage. To receive a dispensation from vows is no easy process and nor should it be. The process of pursuing an annulment of marriage vows or a dispensation from priestly vows is a process imposed to encourage deep and meaningful reflection. This discernment is meant to get us to the why and the truth that underlies our actions. Fr. Cutié’s actions have circumvented this process. He has “. . . separated himself from communion with the Roman Catholic Church by professing erroneous faith and morals, and refusing submission to the Holy Father” (attribution to John C. Favalora, Archbishop of Miami). By his own actions, he has removed himself from any licit sacramental activities within the Church. He may continue to say Mass but it will not be a valid Mass that meets the Roman Catholic’s duty of weekly Mass attendance. He also cannot licitly officiate at any Roman Catholic marriage ceremony.

Like the Biblical reference of faith and works and how one cannot stand without the other, Fr. Cutié’s good works can in no way justify his actions when he turns his back on his vows and abandons his spiritual connection to his parishioners and to his followers. Like a betrayed spouse, most of them probably did not see it coming. "He has caused grave scandal to the Church, caused great harm to the diocese and priests of Miami and has led to division within the ecumenical community and the community at large" (Favalora) . But most grievous, in my opinion, is that he has caused great harm and confusion to his parishioners and followers and has no doubt taken some of them with him in his defection.

So what should Fr. Cutié have done that would have avoided the very public scandal he has created? I can only believe, at this point, that long ago, despite his own self-absolving words, Fr. Cutié became a victim of his own position and power to influence. Once that happened, once he fell into the sin of great pride, he became blinded to the darkness that lay beneath all the alluring temptations that followed. In addition, once he fell into a romantic relationship, he should have heeded the klaxon of warning bells and gone to see his Bishop. Sadly, it took two more years and a pregnancy to accomplish would ethical behavior could not.

Cutié did finally meet with his Bishop early in May to ask for a leave of absence from the exercise of the priesthood, which was granted. There was no public imposition of ecclasiacal penalty and Fr. Cutié’s private road to discernment would have started there. Scandal would have been avoided. Any final decision would have left him free to live a secular life and one of grace as well.

But he chose not to do that. His pride made it impossible for him to be patient and pursue his dark night of the soul privately. He had a public position he did not want to lose. He had a woman and child in waiting. And, he had another church waiting with publicly opened arms to receive him. And, about THAT.

It is no secret, thanks to the media, that many Episcopal priests, married and not, for doctrinal reasons have joined the Roman Catholic Church and sought ordination. It has always been the Church’s policy to not cause scandal for itself or others. Therefore, these defections have not been publicly discussed. It is then, all the more galling that the Episcopal Archdiocese of Miami did not afford the Catholic community of Miami the same courtesy and respect. Their very public acceptance of Fr. Cutié into their membership is a public slap that will set back ecumenical cooperation for years to come in that region.

My personal belief is that long after Fr. Cutié is gone and out of the spotlight that he loved more than he loved God, there will be good people, clerical and secular, in Miami who will continue to accomplish good works and with great faith. The spiritual brain of Miami will rewire itself and heal itself. The greatest gift we can give these workers in the fields of the Lord is prayerful support. And while we are at it, we must not forget that great Parable of the Prodigal Son and with forgiveness and mercy, also pray for Alberto Cutié’s salvation and return home.

Some things just scream to be read. This is one of them.

Pope of your dreams
Max Lindeman - Phoenix Catholic Examiner

My right-leaning Protestant friends have just about had it with Pope Benedict. As though mourning a son who's dropped out of firefighting school, they wail that he showed such promise early on, when he declared homosexuality to be intrinsically disordered. Sure, he was always a little soft on the Mexicans, they admit, but they were prepared to give him a pass. Being a foreigner himself, he probably didn't know any better. But ever since he failed to dispatch the Swiss Guard to drive President Obama from the Notre Dame podium, he's been out of their prayers for good.

That's right: the same people who long ago dismissed John McCain as a RINO, or Republican In Name Only, are prepared to write off His Holiness as a SPINO, a Supreme Pontiff In Name Only.
"They should have picked that other black guy," one friend told me, referring to Nigerian-born Francis Cardinal Arinze, a papabile at the 2005 conclave. "He could have gone all Larry Elder on him."

It may come as a surprise that non-Catholics should ever have invested such high hopes in any pope, but some have done just that. Thanks to his stances against abortion and Communism, John Paul II won a great many fans among the American Right. With his own reputation as a doctrinal hardliner, Benedict inherited that good will without contest. Baptists and non-denominational Christians may have rejected them both as Christ's vicar on earth, but they accepted them as spokesmen for the cause, a pair of Rush Limbaughs in slippers.

But now these new fans feel betrayed. They haven't left the papacy; the papacy has left them. It's easy to understand their frustration. For anyone who came by his ideas of leadership observing American politicians and pundits, the pope's role and style must look pretty strange. In the name of inter-denominational understanding, I've prepared this quick primer on papal protocol. Hopefully, it will placate Benedict's critics to the point where they'll call off the hunt for his birth certificate.

Popes don't do snark
Oh, they can, all right. When serving as papal nuncio in France, the future Pope John XXIII once remarked that whenever a woman showed cleavage at an important ecclesiastical function, people looked not at her, but at him, to gauge his reaction. But few have used snark as a rhetorical weapon of first resort. When Stalin sneered, "How many divisions does the pope have?" Pius XII could have sneered back, "Being pope is just like being general secretary of the Communist Party -- except a pope has real responsibilities!" Only he didn't.

Popes don't make personal enemies
Actually, this rule emerged only after a long, grinding process of trial and error. Certain popes have jumped at the chance to go bare-knuckle with anyone -- layman or cleric, living or dead -- who got on their nerves. Sometimes it went well, as when John I of England tapped out against Innocent III, and became a papal vassal. Sometimes it went badly, as when Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, having completed his penance at Canossa, raised an army to depose Gregory VII, the pope who had assigned it to him. But after Garibaldi's troops captured Rome and annexed the Papal States, the fix was in: future popes would have to be kinder and gentler than their predecessors, whether they liked it or not.

For popes, a little flip-flopping is a good thing
In January of this year, Pope Benedict lifted a twenty-year-old excommunication ban on four conservative clerics who had been ordained bishops without Vatican permission. Great, the world thought. Nothing like a big tent. Then it emerged that one of the bishops, British-born Nelson Williamson, a man of great faith but apparently very little reason, denied both that the Nazis had gassed Jews during World War Two, and that Muslims had attacked the Twin Towers on 9/11. Following protests from the German, Austrian and Israeli governments, the pope announced he would not permit Williamson to assume his episcopal responsibilities until he repudiated his controversial views. The about-face went over well, with no talk of Benedict alienating the base for the sake of the Euroweenies, or of Williamson ending up under the bus.

Popes can lack the common touch
This point can be overstated. If the Pew Research Institute ever bothered to poll Catholics on such things, we'd probably learn that John Paul II's guitar playing boosted his numbers, just as John XXIII's country-boy roots boosted his. But deep down, all Catholics are elitists. We understand that our leaders will have attended school for at least twenty years, speak four or more languages (including a couple of dead ones), and appear publicly in gold-embroidered dresses. If they spend their spare time chopping down the trees around Castel Gandolfo, great.
If not, we love them anyway.

Really, I get it. The desire to see one's own tastes and values reflected in high places is natural. Each of has a pope of his dreams. Mine would beatify Mickey Mantle, or at least Thurman Munson. To those whose ideal pontiff would tell the crowds at St. Peter's to go in peace and watch Gran Torino, I say, pray on it. And have someone check the voting machines at the next conclave.

Pave The Way Foundation Praises Pope

Says Criticism Comes From Groups With "Opposing Agendas"
NEW YORK, MAY 20, 2009 (Zenit.org).-

An organization that promotes interreligious dialogue is praising Benedict XVI for the "courage and strength" he demonstrated during his trip to the Holy Land earlier this month.

Gary Krupp, president of the he New York-based Pave the Way Foundation, sent a letter to the Pope this week in which he expressed his "sincere and heartfelt gratitude [...] for initiating and completing your most successful pilgrimage to the Holy Land."

The president, himself a Jew, lamented much of the criticism that was aimed at the Pontiff, explaining that it came from people or institutions "with opposing agendas."

"In a region separated by political, religious and cultural differences, walking a thin line to carry the message of God's peace to all who seek it requires enormous courage and strength," said Krupp.

"It is only those who try to walk in everyone's shoes that succeed in truly understanding the needs, the fears, and who can empathize with the pain of all of the people in the region," he said.

"Unfortunately, there are those with opposing agendas who are quick to criticize and undermine your valiant efforts in the name of peace. Mindful of this, please gain strength from the voices of those who spoke to you in song upon your arrival in Israel, and from the appreciation of those who see through the critics and the hostility and negativity of some commentators."

Krupp added, "May God grant you the strength to continue your pontificate for many years to come, and rich blessings of success in your endeavor to bring God's peace to our troubled world."

THANK you, Rabbi Bergman

Rabbi Aaron Bergman: Faith and Policy
Pope disappoints by being honest to Middle East foes

A phrase that I always hated as a kid and like even less now is "Wait until your father gets home." It implied that a parent was a potentially threatening figure. It causes the parent to feel unnecessarily authoritarian. And it creates pressure to fix relationships or situations that may not be fixable, causing disappointment and resentment.

Pope Benedict XVI was placed in one of those "Wait until your father gets home" moments when he recently visited the Middle East. It was a no-win situation for the pope -- a title that means father -- but he did better than most could have expected given the volatility of the region and the impossible expectations placed upon him.

Pope Benedict had two challenges. He is primarily an academic by vocation, one of the church's great scholars and theoreticians. Academics, though, tend not to be great diplomats, nor do they tend to inspire great passion. They are measured and careful with their words, and see many sides of an issue.

Benedict's other challenges is that he is the successor to Pope John Paul II, one of the most beloved popes in history by Catholics and non-Catholics alike. John Paul was one of the bravest religious leaders of the 20th century. He became pope at a much younger age than Benedict, showed vigor uncommon in most clerics and a true papa.

So Benedict was guaranteed to leave everyone unsatisfied.

I actually take this as an accomplishment. Every side in the Middle East said Benedict took someone else's side, not theirs. This speaks to Benedict's honesty. He could have been a hero by pandering to a particular audience. Instead, he chose a much more difficult path.

Everyone was waiting to hear key phrases or terms, and were angered when they did not hear them. If you read the transcripts of the pope's comments on the Vatican Web site, you will be surprised by his depth of thought and passion.

I will only speak for my own community, some of whom feel Benedict did not emphasize the bond between the Jewish community and the church as much as they remember John Paul II doing. Here are Benedict's words to the chief rabbis of Israel:

"Today I have the opportunity to repeat that the Catholic Church is irrevocably committed to the path chosen at the Second Vatican Council for a genuine and lasting reconciliation between Christians and Jews. As the 'Declaration Nostra Aetate' makes clear, the church continues to value the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews and desires an ever deeper mutual understanding and respect through biblical and theological studies as well as fraternal dialogues."

This is actually as clear a statement as one could ask for.

I hope Pope Benedict always feels at home at the birthplace of the church as he does at the Vatican, and that his next visit is to a region of peace and fellowship, not a place that is "waiting for father to get home."

Rabbi Aaron Bergman is rabbi of Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills. E-mail comments to letters@detnews.com

Oh PUL-EEZE, Carla. You let your faith lapse LONG before Holy Father's trip.
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Carla Bruni has issued a scathing attack on Pope Benedict XVI saying that she has allowed her Catholic faith to lapse because of his approach to contraception in Africa.

By Henry Samuel in Paris
Last Updated: 6:26PM BST 18 May 2009

Carla Bruni has criticised Catholic teachings Photo: AFP
France's First Lady said that the Church's teachings had left her feeling "profoundly secular".

She departed from her post's traditional religious neutrality to accuse the Pope of "damaging" countries like Africa with his stance on birth control.

The Italian-born former supermodel risked angering believers in France and beyond by declaring that the Pontiff's proclamations showed that the Church needed to "evolve".

In March, the Pope sparked controversy while on an Africa tour by saying that the AIDs pandemic which has crippled the continent "can't be resolved with the distribution of condoms; on the contrary, there is the risk of increasing the problem".

Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy said: "I was born Catholic, I was baptised, but in my life I feel profoundly secular.

"I find that the controversy coming from the Pope's message – albeit distorted by the media – is very damaging.

"In Africa it's often Church people who look after sick people. It's astonishing to see the difference between the theory and the reality.

"I think the Church should evolve on this issue. It presents the condom as a contraceptive which, incidentally, it forbids, although it is the only existing protection," she told Femme Actuelle, the women's magazine.

The comments will cause Mr Sarkozy embarrassment in a country where, despite the separation of Church and State, a majority of the population was born Catholic.

André Roux, a constitutional historian said: "It's unprecedented for a first lady to criticise the Pope. Charles de Gaulle's wife was very Catholic and would never had taken up position, remaining very discreet. The same was true of Bernadette Chirac, who never gave her opinion on religion or international affairs.

"Even Danielle Mitterrand, the wife of François Mitterrand who was not a believer and aired her political views, never attacked the Pope.

"In my view, there is a certain obligation to keep counsel when one is the wife of a head of state, such comments are not opportune. Given her public position the effects of her comments risk carrying more weight than just the personal views of Carla Bruni."

Mr Sarkozy wrote in a 2005 book The Republic, Religions and Hope: "I acknowledge myself as a member of the Catholic Church", even if his religious practice was "periodic".

When he visited the Pope in Rome shortly after his election in 2007, he left his then girlfriend Miss Bruni – a single, unmarried mother – in Paris to avoid embarrassment.

After becoming Mr Sarkozy's third wife last year Mrs Bruni-Sarkozy has campaigned against the spread of Aids in Africa. The Pope's stance against the use of contraceptives in Africa was roundly criticised in France – including by many Catholics. Some 43 per cent of them wanted the Pontiff to step down, according to one poll.

OPINION
Criticizing Pope Benedict's Yad Vashem speech misses the point
By Anna Ekstrom

These are strange, almost Kafkaesque times in Europe: Many find it more offensive to call someone an anti-Semite than to act like one and the Shoah has been drafted as a tool of anti-Semitic conspiracy theorists. Iranian President Ahmadinejad's latest Hitlerian speech got semi-positive reviews in parts of European mainstream press, some of which said he was "sort of right."

A critical mind is one of the most important assets for moral and physical survival - but there are times when one's verbal battles must be chosen with more than usual care. This is certainly true of the pope, whose words in the Holy Land are being scrutinized under a microscope, much

The pontiff's speech at Yad Vashem on Monday was philosophical. It is true that he did not make apologies for historic crimes in his speech. But he did something else, something urgent: He reminded the world that anti-Semitism is still rearing its ugly head, and he committed the Catholic Church to combating it worldwide - today and tomorrow.

In his speech, Benedict departed from the notion or concept of the name. In Latin, "nomen" means both 'name' and 'word of substance.' According to the Bible, the word preceded matter. The Book of Genesis describes God as a creative author. And the name was so important that Adam's first task as keeper of Eden was to name the creatures. Faith aside, this imagery is pertinent. We know what results from the reverse of naming. The boy in Imre Kertesz's novel "Man Without a Fate" was defined by others as a Jew.

Before then he had been a human being, an individual with a name. The drowning of the person within the collective was, and still is, a prerequisite for the reification of the human being. Once that is achieved, one ugly connotation after another can easily be linked to the word that labels a mass of nameless entities. Soon enough, you find yourself incapable of recalling that "number so-and-so" was once your neighbor Miriam.

The late pope John Paul II also understood the importance of the name, and lifted individuals out of anonymity. Among them was Edith Zierer, whom he had helped when his name was still Karol Jozef Wojtyla and he was a young priest in Poland. They reunited when he visited Yad Vashem in 2000. The young Joseph Ratzinger had quite another wartime youth experience, and he lacks his predecessor's direct link between heart and speech.

But Benedict made some noteworthy clarifications during his Middle East visit. In Jordan, he said that religion, like science, can be perverted for political purposes. The distinction is interesting. Most certainly those hungry for power are opportunistic in their choice of ideological justification; the fact that Nazism used biological theory neither means that Nazism is right nor that biology is to be condemned.

Knowledge, Benedict said, can broaden the mind and lead to tolerance when it is united with faith. The academic attitude is not uncontroversial and it is certainly no guarantee for moral action. Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel even said that it was not the scholars who tried to help his family - it was their illiterate housekeeper.

The Bishop of Rome does seem to have chosen the road of reason over that of the heart. But it would be hard to claim that he is not making a supreme effort to explore it for heart-felt causes: to promote peace within and between human beings, and to purify the meaning of vital words such as human, freedom and rights

Pope expresses respect for Islam in Jordan
By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer Victor L. Simpson, Associated Press Writer

AMMAN, Jordan – Pope Benedict XVI expressed deep respect for Islam Friday and said he hopes the Catholic Church can play a role in Mideast peace as he began his first trip to the region, where he hopes to improve frayed ties with Muslims.

The pope was met at the airport by Jordan's King Abdullah and praised the moderate Arab country as a leader in efforts to promote peace in the region and dialogue between Christians and Muslims.

The pope rankled many in the Muslim world with a 2006 speech in which he quoted a Medieval text that characterized some of the Prophet Muhammad's teachings as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith."

The pope has already said he was "deeply sorry" over the reaction to his speech and that the passage he quoted did not reflect his own opinion.

"My visit to Jordan gives me a welcome opportunity to speak of my deep respect for the Muslim community, and to pay tribute to the leadership shown by his majesty the king in promoting a better understanding of the virtues proclaimed by Islam," Benedict said shortly after landing in Amman.

But his past comments continue to fuel criticism by some Muslims.

Jordan's hard-line Muslim Brotherhood said Friday before the pope arrived that its members would boycott his visit because he did not issue a public apology ahead of time as they demanded.

Brotherhood spokesman Jamil Abu-Bakr said the absence of a public apology meant "obstacles and boundaries will remain and will overshadow any possible understanding between the pope and the Muslim world."

The Brotherhood is Jordan's largest opposition group. Although it commands a small bloc in parliament, it wields considerable sway, especially among poor Jordanians.

Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said the Vatican has made all possible clarifications, telling Associated Press Television News that "we cannot continue until the end of the world to repeat the same clarifications."

Despite the controversy, Benedict expressed hope his visit and the power of the Catholic church could help further peace efforts between Israelis and Palestinians.

"We are not a political power but a spiritual power that can contribute," Benedict told reporters on the plane before he landed in Amman.

The pope will also visit Israel and the Palestinian territories during his weeklong tour.

Jordan's king praised the pope and said the world must reject "ambitious ideologies of division."
"We welcome your commitment to dispel the misconceptions and divisions that have harmed relations between Christians and Muslims," said Abdullah.

The pope was also met at the airport by diplomats and Muslim and Christian leaders. A Jordanian army band equipped with bagpipes and drums played the Vatican and Jordanian national anthems before the pope and the king inspected the honor guard.

Abdullah Abdul-Qader, a cleric at Amman's oldest mosque, told worshippers during Friday prayers to welcome the pope's visit.

"I urge you to show respect for your fellow Christians as they receive their church leader," said Abdul-Qader at the Al-Husseini mosque.

Christians make up 3 percent of Jordan's 5.8 million people.

Benedict's three-day stay in Jordan is his first visit to an Arab country as pope. During his time in the country, Benedict is scheduled to meet with Muslim religious leaders at Amman's largest mosque — his second visit to a Muslim place of worship since becoming pope in 2005. He prayed in Istanbul's famed Blue Mosque, a gesture that helped calm the outcry over his remarks.

The pope is also expected to meet Iraqi Christians driven from their homeland by violence. About 40 young Iraqi refugees crowded into a tiny Catholic church in Amman on Friday, nervously practicing their last lesson before Benedict administers their first communion on Sunday.

"I really want to meet the pope," said Cecile Adam, an 11-year-old whose family fled Baghdad. "I think he can do something to help Iraq because Jesus gave him a good position and Jesus wants us to be happy."
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Associated Press Writers Jamal Halaby and Dale Gavlak contributed to this report.

Jordan King Breaking Precedent to Greet Pope
VATICAN CITY, MAY 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).-

The king of Jordan plans to break protocol this Friday when he receives Benedict XVI.

Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, gave a briefing Monday on the Pope's upcoming weeklong Holy Land pilgrimage.

The spokesman noted that King Abdallah II will welcome the Pontiff at the airport where he is scheduled to arrive at 2:30 p.m.. And in a particularly unusual gesture, he and Queen Rania will again accompany the Holy Father to the airport when he leaves on Monday.

Father Lombardi contended that this king is offering a noteworthy contribution to interreligious dialogue through various initiatives. He pointed to his Amman Message, encouraging the Islamic world to leave aside extremism, and the Amman Interfaith Message, directed primarily to Christians and Jews and inviting the promotion of peace and values shared among the religions.

The Vatican spokesman further noted that one of King Abdallah's advisors is Ghazi bin Muhammad, who coordinated the initiative from 138 Muslim scholars who responded to 2006 attacks against the Pope following his address in Regensburg.

It was this group who wrote "A Common Word," which eventually led to the formation of the Catholic-Muslim Forum in Rome.

Atheism has led to some of the “greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” known to mankind, the Pope said yesterday.
Richard Owen in Rome

Atheism has led to some of the “greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice” known to mankind, the Pope said yesterday.

He also said that humanity would not be saved by scientific progress or political revolution, but only in the hope offered by Christianity.

“A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope,” he said in an encyclical released yesterday, the most authoritative statement a Pope can issue to the faithful and the second of his pontificate.

In Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), Pope Benedict said that atheists argued that “a world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God”. Since there was “no God to create justice”, atheists said, Man himself was called on to establish it on Earth. This protest against God was understandable, the Pope said, but “the claim that humanity can and must do what no God actually does or is able to do is both presumptuous and intrinsically false”.

He added: “It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice: rather it is grounded in the intrinsic falsity of the claim. A world which has to create its own justice is a world without hope.”

He said that faith in progress through science was illusory. Scientific advances offered mankind “new possibilities for good”, he said, but science also “opens up appalling possibilities for evil, possibilities that did not formerly exist. We have all witnessed the way in which progress, in the wrong hands, can become and has indeed become a terrifying progress in evil”.

He also said that Christianity itself had ignored Christ’s message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all, focusing instead on individual salvation. “We must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world is not in our power,” the Pope wrote. “Only God is able to do this.”

In the 76-page document, peppered with scholarly and theological references but written in a clear, limpid style, Benedict argued that the modern world was shaped by the French Revolution of 1789 and the Russian Revolution of 1917, the latter inspired by the ideas of Karl Marx.
He praised Marx’s “acute analysis” and “precision” in describing his times. But Marx’s “fundamental error” was that he “showed precisely how to overthrow the existing order but did not say how matters should proceed thereafter”. Marxism, the Pope wrote, had left behind “a trail of appalling destruction” because it failed to realise that Man could not be “merely the product of economic conditions”.

Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, the Vatican biblical scholar who presented the document, said that it was addressed not only to Catholics but also to Protestants, Orthodox Christians and nonChristians. The Pope, who has shown increasing concern over global warming and other green issues, said that “Christian hope” also meant protecting the planet.

“We can free our life and the world from the poisons and contaminations that could destroy the present and the future. We can uncover the sources of Creation and keep them unsullied, and in this way we can make a right use of creation, which comes to us as a gift,” he said.

The Pope said that many people reject faith today, “simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive. What they desire is not eternal life at all, but this present life, for which faith in eternal life seems something of an impediment. To continue living forever – endlessly – appears more like a curse than a gift”. But he concluded that Eternity was “not an unending succession of days in the calendar” but an encounter with Christ after death which is “like plunging into an ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time, the before and after, no longer exists”.