Pope – NZ Catholic Newspaper

Pope sends message of concern about Tasmanian fire destruction

Michael Otto — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 01:41:07 +0000

HOBART — Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his sadness and concern at destruction caused by bush fires in Tasmania.
A letter to Archbishop Adrian Doyle of Hobart written on January 8 by Vatican secretary of state Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone reads:
“The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, was saddened to learn of the widespread destruction caused by the recent wild fires in Tasmania and he sends the assurance of his closeness in prayer to all those affected.
“For the many who have lost their homes and for all who are awaiting news of missing loved ones, he prays that assistance and support will be speedily forthcoming. He commends the rescue workers and firefighters to the protection of the Almighty and he invokes God’s blessing upon the people of Tasmania as a pledge of consolation and hope.”

echo $variable;

The post Pope sends message of concern about Tasmanian fire destruction appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Pope prays for Hurricane Sandy victims

Vatican City (CNS) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 03:04:15 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI expressed his concern for everyone affected by Hurricane Sandy and encouraged all those working to rebuild from the disaster.
“Conscious of the devastation caused by the hurricane which recently struck the East Coast of the United States of America, I offer my prayers for the victims and express my solidarity with all those engaged in the work of rebuilding,” he said on October 31 at the end of his weekly general audience.
Nearly 1,600 kilometres wide, Sandy’s strong gales reached to the Great Lakes on the US/Canada border. As of October 31, it caused at least 55 deaths in seven states and left more than 8.5 million homes and businesses without power from the Carolinas to Ohio.
In the Caribbean, government officials put the death toll across the islands at 69, with more than 50 in Haiti, where widespread flooding devastated parts of the already impoverished country.
After reciting the Angelus on October 28, the Pope called for prayers and concrete help for the people of Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica and the Bahamas, where, he said, the hurricane struck “with particular violence”.
During his main audience talk on October 31, the Pope underlined the importance of the Church in preserving and passing on the faith across generations and throughout history. Some 10,000 people gathered under the rain in St Peter’s Square to hear the Pope’s catechesis.
Though finding Christ is an intensely personal experience that transforms one’s own heart, mind and individual existence, “faith is given in and through the community of the Church”, the Pope said.
The Creed and one’s beliefs are not built upon a “private dialogue with Jesus”, but are the result of a dialogue and a listening that shatter individualism and open one up to God’s love and to others, he said.
“Faith comes to me given as a gift from God through a community of believers, which is the Church,” he said.
People discover through Baptism that they are not only united to Jesus, “but also to all those who walked and are walking the same path” toward holiness.
“Our faith is truly personal only if it is communal: It can be my faith only if it lives and moves in the ‘we’ of the Church, only if it is our faith, the common faith of the one Church,” the Pope said.
It is important to remember that faith is born in the Church and leads people to the Church, he said; “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as mother.”
Tradition is “an uninterrupted chain of the life of the Church, the proclamation of the Word of God and the celebration of the sacraments that reaches us” from the past, he said.
Tradition is what “gives us the guarantee that that which we believe in is the original message of Christ, preached by the Apostles”, he said.
This way, every man and woman from every generation and every continent can have access to the “immense resources” of sacred Scripture and the Faith, and “enrich themselves from the treasures of grace” given to humanity by God, the Pope said.
In fact, the Second Vatican Council’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, “Lumen Gentium,” reminded people that God doesn’t seek to make people “holy and save them merely as individuals, without bond or link between one another. Rather has it pleased him to bring men together as one people, a people which acknowledges him in truth and serves him in holiness”.
By radiating the truth of the Church, each person becomes a point of reference for others by passing on the person of Jesus and his message, Pope Benedict said.
Only by “letting oneself be guided and molded by the faith of the Church,” Christians, who despite their weakness, limits and difficulties, become “like an open window” that lets God’s light shine on the world.
Keeping one’s faith closed up inside oneself contradicts the very nature of faith, the Pope said.
“We need a Church in order to have confirmation of our faith and to experience the gifts of God: his word, the sacraments, the support of grace and the witness of love,” he said.
In a world of rampant individualism which only weakens human relations, “faith calls us to be Church, carriers of love and of the communion of God for all humanity,” he said.

echo $variable;

The post Pope prays for Hurricane Sandy victims appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Vatican says it is willing to be patient with SSPX in reconciliation bid

Vatican City (CNS) — Tue, 30 Oct 2012 02:37:09 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — “Patience, serenity, perseverance and trust are needed” as the Vatican continues talks aimed at full reconciliation with the traditionalist Society of St Pius X, said a statement from the Vatican commission overseeing the discussions.
The Pontifical Commission “Ecclesia Dei,” in a statement released on October 27, said the leadership of the SSPX had requested “additional time for reflection and study” before responding to Pope Benedict XVI’s latest efforts to reintegrate them into the Church.
“A culminating point along this difficult path” was reached June 13 when the commission gave the SSPX a final “doctrinal declaration together with a proposal for the canonical normalisation of its status within the Catholic Church”, the statement said.
The Vatican initially presented what it described as a “doctrinal preamble” to SSPX leaders in September, 2011. While it never released the text, the Vatican had said it outlined “some doctrinal principles and criteria for the interpretation of Catholic doctrine necessary to guarantee fidelity” to the formal teaching of the Church, including the teaching of the Second Vatican Council.
The SSPX gave the Vatican its response in April. The Vatican, in turn, gave the SSPX the doctrinal declaration to sign in June and also presented a proposal to establish for SSPX members a “personal prelature”, which is a church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries. Currently, the Church’s only personal prelature is Opus Dei.
The Vatican said that “after 30 years of separation, it is understandable that time is needed to absorb the significance of these recent developments”.
The statement called the efforts a “dramatic manifestation” of the Pope’s ministry “to foster and preserve the unity of the Church by realising the long hoped-for reconciliation”.
Just three days before the Vatican statement was published, the SSPX announced it had ousted British Bishop Richard Williamson, one of the four bishops ordained by SSPX founder Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre without papal approval in 1988.
Bishop Williamson opposed the reconciliation talks with the Vatican and had caused great embarrassment for the German-born Pope Benedict. On the same day in 2009 that the Vatican announced Pope Benedict had lifted the excommunication of Bishop Williamson and three other of the society’s bishops, a Swedish television station aired an interview with Bishop Williamson in which he denied the extent of the Nazi Holocaust of the Jews.
In a statement emailed to subscribers of his newsletter on October 27, Bishop Williamson said many people thought his presence in the SSPX was “the single biggest obstacle” to the SSPX’s reconciliation with Rome.
While he said he didn’t know if his expulsion was a condition set by the Vatican, “it certainly favours” the reconciliation talks.
“Archbishop Lefebvre founded the SSPX to resist the (Second Vatican) Council’s destruction of the Catholic faith by its 16 documents, and of the practice of that faith by the new Mass above all,” he wrote. “To undo a thing’s nature is to undo the thing,” he said, explaining why he opposed the talks with Rome.

echo $variable;

The post Vatican says it is willing to be patient with SSPX in reconciliation bid appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Ignorance of faith risks creating cafeteria Catholics, Pope warns

Vatican City (CNS) — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 23:05:15 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Ignorance of the faith puts Christians at risk of following a “do-it-yourself” religion, Pope Benedict XVI said.
People need to become more familiar with the creed because it is there that the “Christian moral life is planted and . . . . one finds its foundation and justification,” the Pope said on October 17 at his weekly general audience.
Before an estimated 20,000 people gathered in St Peter’s Square, the Pope began a new series of audience talks to accompany the Year of Faith, which marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council.
He said he hopes the series of instructional talks, which is expected to run until November 24, 2013, will help people “strengthen or rediscover the joy of faith and realize that it isn’t something foreign to or separate from everyday life, but is its soul”.
Pope Benedict said the widespread and dominant nature of today’s secularism, individualism and relativism means that even Christians are not completely “immune from these dangers”.
Some of the negative effects include faith being lived “passively or in private, a refusal to learn about the faith, and the rift between faith and life”, he said.
“Often Christians don’t even know the central core of their own Catholic faith — the Creed — thereby leaving room for a certain syncretism and religious relativism,” he said. Without a clear idea of the faith’s fundamental truths and the uniquely salvific nature of Christianity, “the risk of constructing a so-called ‘do-it-yourself’ religion is not remote today”.
“Where do we find the essential formula of the faith? Where do we find the truths that have been faithfully handed down and make up the light of our daily life,” he asked.
He said the answer is the Creed, or profession of faith, which needs to be better understood, reflected upon and integrated into one’s life.
Christians need to “discover the profound link between the truths we profess in the Creed and our daily life” so that these truths are allowed to transform the “deserts of modern-day life”.
The Christian faith is not a belief in an idea or just an outlook on life, he said, but a relationship with the living person of Christ who transforms lives.
That is why having faith in God isn’t merely an intellectual activity, but something that “truly changes everything in us and for us; it clearly reveals our future destiny, the truth of our vocation within history, the meaning of life and the pleasure of being pilgrims heading toward the heavenly home.”
Pope Benedict said faith doesn’t take anything away from one’s life, rather it is what renders life more just and humane.
Current cultural changes “often show many forms of barbarity, which hide under the guise of victories won by civilisation,” he said. However, “wherever there is domination, possessiveness, exploitation, treating others as a commodity”, and arrogance, humankind is “impoverished, degraded and disfigured”.
Faith shows that humanity won’t find its full realisation unless the human person “is animated by the love that comes from God”, he said. The gift of faith then finds expression in “relationships full of love, compassion, care and selfless service toward others”.
The Pope also marked International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, observed on October 17, to promote greater awareness of poverty and destitution worldwide.
The Pope encouraged those working to end poverty to “preserve the dignity and rights of everyone who is condemned to be subjected to the scourge of poverty”.

echo $variable;

The post Ignorance of faith risks creating cafeteria Catholics, Pope warns appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Vatican acts to protect Pope Benedict’s privacy

Michael Otto — Fri, 25 May 2012 03:00:44 +0000

VATICAN CITY (Zenit) — The Vatican is trying to protect the Pope’s right to privacy after more Holy See documents and private correspondence between the Pope and his collaborators have been published.
“The fresh publication of Holy See documents and of private documents of the Holy Father no longer appears as a questionable — although obviously defamatory — journalistic initiative, but clearly assumes the characteristics of a criminal act,” a statement from the Vatican press office asserted on May 21.
On Saturday, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi released a book titled His Holiness, which publicises confidential correspondence to and from the Holy Father and his personal secretary.
This was an added affront, after a previous series of leaked documents, which led the Pontiff in April to establish a commission of cardinals to investigate the issue.
“The Holy Father and a number of his collaborators, as well as the senders of messages addressed to him, have had their individual rights to privacy and freedom of correspondence violated,” the Vatican said in a statement.
“The Holy See will continue to investigate the various aspects of these violations of the privacy and dignity of the Holy Father — both as an individual and as the supreme authority of the Church and of Vatican City State — and will take the steps necessary to ensure that those responsible for the theft, handling and release of secret information, and the commercial use of private documentation, illegitimately acquired and held, answer to justice for their acts.
“To this end it will, if necessary, request international collaboration.”

echo $variable;

The post Vatican acts to protect Pope Benedict’s privacy appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Holy Father encourages young people to seek peace

Michael Otto — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 04:36:48 +0000

LEON, Mexico (Zenit) — On March 24, thousands of young people gathered to hear the words of Pope Benedict XVI in Leon’s Plaza de la Paz.
“You have a very special place in the Pope’s heart,” he told them, speaking from the balcony of the house of Count Rul.
Benedict XVI expressed his closeness to all the children of Mexico, especially those who suffer, or who have been victims of violence, or are lacking food.
“I am grateful for this encounter of faith, and for the festive and joyful presence expressed in song,” the Pope said as he thanked them for the songs they had sung for him, Caminos de Guanajuato and Cielito lindo.
“Today we are full of jubilation, and this is important. God wants us to be happy always. He knows us and he loves us. If we allow the love of Christ to change our heart, then we can change the world. This is the secret of authentic happiness,” he said.
“This place where we stand today has a name that expresses the yearning present in the heart of each and every person: ‘la paz’, (Peace),” he said.
“This is a gift which comes from on high. ‘Peace be with you’ (John 20:21),” the Pope explained. “These are the words of the Risen Lord. We hear them during each Mass, and today they resound anew in this place, with the hope that each one of you will be transformed, becoming a sower and messenger of that peace for which Christ offered his life.”
He urged them to be close to Jesus, “as the best of friends”.
“He will never tire of speaking to those who always love and who do good,” the Pontiff told the young people.
The Pope told them that each one of them was a gift of God to Mexico. “Your family, the Church, your school and those who have responsibility in society must work together to ensure that you receive a better world as your inheritance, without jealousies and divisions,” he said.
The Holy Father then invited everyone to protect and care for children, “so that nothing may extinguish their smile, but that they may live in peace and look to the future with confidence”.
Benedict XVI concluded by saying he wished he had more time to spend with them, but that while he now had to leave, they could remain united in prayer. “So I invite you to pray continually, even in your homes; in this way, you will experience the happiness of speaking about God with your families.
“Pray for everyone, and also for me,” he asked. “I will pray for all of you, so that Mexico may be a place in which everyone can live in serenity and harmony.”

echo $variable;

The post Holy Father encourages young people to seek peace appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Pope urges world leaders to act for the environment

Vatican City (CNS) — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 03:07:02 +0000

by JOHN THAVIS
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Benedict XVI urged international leaders to reach a credible agreement on climate change, keeping in mind the needs of the poor and of future generations.
The Pope made the remarks at his noon blessing at the Vatican on November 27, the day before officials from 194 countries were to begin meeting in Durban, South Africa, to discuss the next steps in reducing greenhouse gases and stopping global temperatures from rising.
“I hope that all members of the international community can agree on a responsible, credible and supportive response to this worrisome and complex phenomenon, keeping in mind the needs of the poorest populations and of future generations,” the Pope said.
The meeting, which runs until December 9, is the latest in a series to consider follow-up action to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which obligated industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by a specific amount. The Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012.
The goal of the talks organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is to cut greenhouse gases by 50 per cent by 2050 and prevent temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Honduran Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, president of Caritas Internationalis, was leading a 20-person Caritas delegation to the Durban talks to press for an agreement on behalf of poor countries that have been severely impacted by climate change.
Before leaving for Durban, Cardinal Rodriguez took several thousand young Italian members of a Franciscan environmental group to the Vatican for a lively encounter with the Pope.
The Pope told them that the Church’s teaching on the environment follows from the principle that men and women are collaborators with God and his creation. “In fact, it is by now evident that there is no good future for humanity or for the earth unless we educate everyone towards a style of life that is more responsible toward the created world,” he said.
He said education towards environmental responsibility must begin in families and schools and must reflect the Church’s teaching that respect for the human being — in all stages of life — goes hand in hand with respect for nature.
In a pastoral letter, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference asked people to urge South Africa’s government, which is chairing the Durban meeting, to support resolutions “based not on immediate economic needs only, but on the survival needs of future generations”.
The bishops also called on people “to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by using your own properties productively to grow trees that will absorb carbon dioxide, to grow vegetables and crops organically to reduce the use of chemical-based fertilisers, and to share the food thus grown with the hungry and malnourished”.

echo $variable;

The post Pope urges world leaders to act for the environment appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Doubts and farce in papal conclave

Nevil Gibson — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 04:32:40 +0000

by NEVIL GIBSON The secular entertainment industry has a paradoxical view of the Vatican, the pope and the Church in general. On one side it has long exploited religion and the faith of billions in popular films that go back to the industry’s origins. At their best these are uplifting and enlightening. Indeed, in 1995

The post Doubts and farce in papal conclave appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Guardian angels protect us, Pope says

Vatican City (CNS) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 04:13:46 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Guardian angels exist to protect every human life from its beginning to end, Pope Benedict XVI said. “The Lord is always near and active in human history, and he also accompanies us with the unique presence of his angels, which the Church today venerates,” he said on the feast of the

The post Guardian angels protect us, Pope says appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.

Papal liturgist endorses ‘reform of the reform’ of the liturgy

Vatican City (CNS) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 12:00:00 +0000

VATICAN CITY (CNS) The Pope’s chief liturgist, Msgr Guido Marini, has endorsed calls in the Church for a "reform of the reform" of Catholic liturgy. "For some years now, several voices have been heard within church circles talking about the necessity of a new liturgical renewal," Msgr. Marini said. A fresh renewal movement would be

The post Papal liturgist endorses ‘reform of the reform’ of the liturgy appeared first on NZ Catholic Newspaper.