New Encyclical 'Caritatis in Veritate' just a week away?

• In preview of new encyclical, Benedict reprises 'dictatorship of relativism' speech, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter June 29, 2009.
• Italian newspaper reveals key paragraphs from Pope's upcoming social encyclical Catholic News Agency. June 28, 2009.

Pope Benedict Roundup!

Perhaps the two most significant events thus far this year for Pope Benedict XVI were his apostolic journey to Cameroon and Angola, Africa.

The pope's visit to Africa was a momentous occasion, but received precious little coverage by the mainstream media, apart from the fact that he might have mentioned something about condoms, and AIDS. As Martyn Drakard of MercatorNet exclaimed: "The international media has a woeful ignorance of Africa," and wonders: "Why don't they listen to someone who knows?":

As he flew from Rome to Cameroon for his first African trip, Benedict XVI held a press conference. He spoke of many things relevant to Africa: the credit crisis, its ethical dimension, its social welfare dimension; solidarity between the developed and developing world; corruption; the vibrancy of the faith and energy of the people; how he hopes to implement Catholic social teaching; and a forthcoming Synod of African Bishops. He even rebutted suggestions that he was “lonely” in the Vatican.

Yet what did the media pick up? That the Pope is opposed to condoms as a solution to Africa’s supposedly overwhelming problem: AIDS. And, in fact, he was right to say that condoms are only making the problem worse.

That pretty much set the tenor for the trip, as far as the [Western] media was concerned. As National Catholic Reporter's John Allen Jr. remarked:

"I don't think I've ever covered a papal trip where the gap between internal and external perceptions has been as vast as over these three days. It's almost as if the pope has made two separate visits to Cameroon: the one reported internationally and the one Africans actually experienced.

* * *

The Pope's visit to the Holy Land (Jordan and Israel, to be precise) received greater attention given its location and current events in the Middle East. On May 20th, during his general audience in St. Peter's Square, the Pope reflected on the various stages and sites of his pilgrimage:

... Throughout my visit I wished to be a pilgrim of peace, reminding Jews, Christians and Muslims alike of our commitment, as believers in the one God, to promote respect, reconciliation and cooperation in the service of peace. In Jerusalem, "the city of peace" sacred to the followers of the three great monotheistic traditions, this was the message I brought to the holy places, and particularly to the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock. One of the most solemn moments was the commemoration of the victims of the Shoah at Yad Vashem. My visit to the local Churches culminated in the Masses celebrated in Amman, Jerusalem, Bethlehem and Nazareth. My pilgrimage ended in prayer on Calvary and before the Holy Sepulchre -- the empty tomb -- which continues to radiate a message of hope for individuals and for the whole human family.

For extensive coverage and commentary, do see Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel and the Holy Land.

* * *

On June 21st, Pope Benedict made a pastoral visit to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Graces in San Giovanni Rotondo, where the body of Saint Padre Pio has been on display for 40 years. Teresa Polk (Blog by the Sea) provides a helpful roundup of resources on the Pope's visit, from the Vatican and elsewhere.

Pope Benedict XVI prays in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City May 15, 2009. In the final act of worship of his visit, Benedict preached a message of hope for all mankind at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City. Source: Reuters May 2009

Continuing on with our Roundup

• In April, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated a low-key [82nd] birthday with his brother at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo. (Catholic News Service):

  The pope, who turned 82 April 16, had a very informal "family celebration" that included a visit by a small group of top Vatican officials, the Vatican's spokesman, Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, told reporters.

  The officials, including the secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, visited the pope in the morning to offer their birthday wishes.

  The pope then had a private lunch with his brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, who turned 85 early this year

  From Ignatius Press: The Pope's Childhood, In His Own Words. Excerpt from Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium (Ignatius Press, 1997).

• The expected publication date of Pope Benedict's third encyclical, "Veritas in Caritate", is June 29, feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. For further coverage and commentary, see this roundup by Carl Olson (Insight Scoop).

• Public Reason and the Truth of Christianity: The Teachings of Pope Benedict XVI - an essay by Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and the director of the Cardinal Van Thuân International Observatory, on the teachings of Benedict XVI on the role of reason and Christianity in the public square.

• The Pope Versus the Vatican Standpoint Magazine April 2009. George Weigel analyzes Benedict's working relationship with "an ineffectual Curia, whose gaffes undercut the papal message and erode its authority." "He dies in tears" Amy Welborn (Via Media) offers some thoughts on Ratzinger's Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life, which she has been reading.

• We are lucky this Pope is 'ecclesiastically incorrect', says Dr. Alcuin Reid (The Catholic Herald UK May 22, 2009).

• Vian’s Choice Delia Gallagher interviews Gian Maria Vian, director of L’Osservatore Romano -- in which he clarifies the role the Pope takes in influencing the content of the only newspaper of the Holy See:

  GIANI: I decide the editorial line of the paper, which I evaluate together with the heads of the paper’s departments: Vatican, international, cultural, and religious news.

  GALLAGHER: So the pope does not intervene directly?

  VIAN: The first request of the pope was: more room for international news, more attention to the Eastern Christians — Catholics such as the Maronites and the Melkites, but also the Orthodox churches — and more space for women.

  GALLAGHER: What did the pope mean by “more space for women”?

  VIAN: The pope wishes to highlight as much as possible the role of women in the Church and in the Roman Curia. Ssome even said that he had wanted a woman as director of L’Osservatore Romano, which has always been directed by lay people.

  I interpreted his request of more space for women as indicating both a desire to increase the number of women working at the paper — about a quarter of our staff are women — and I hired the first full-time woman journalist in the history of the paper, as well as giving more space to stories and issues about women. On bioethical issues, particularly abortion, I prefer that we have a woman write the story.

• Off the radar: Pope's teaching ministry finds little echo in media John Thavis (Catholic News Service):

  News coverage of Pope Benedict XVI tends to leap from big event to big event, so perhaps it's no surprise that after his Holy Land pilgrimage last month the German pontiff has fallen off the mainstream media radar. ...

  The pattern of media attention -- or lack of it -- has led some Vatican officials to privately lament what they see as a paradox of Pope Benedict's pontificate: the pope's primary focus and greatest talent is teaching, they say, but it's the kind of teaching that rarely breaks into the news cycle.

Pope Benedict XVI kisses an infant as he leaves his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, June 10, 2009. Source: Associated Press

On a lighter note

• Pope on Facebook in attempt to woo young believers, by Phillip Puella (Reuters) May 22, 2009:

  You won’t get an email saying Pope Benedict added you as a friend and you can’t “poke” him or write on his wall, but the Vatican is still keen to use the networking site Facebook to woo young people back to church.

  A new Vatican website, www.pope2you.net, has gone live, offering an application called “The pope meets you on Facebook,” and another allowing the faithful to see the Pope’s speeches and messages on their iPhones or iPods.

• The Pope is a fan of Spitfire Ale, according to celebrity priest Father Michael Seed:

  [Brewer] Shepherd Neame pointed out that the Pope’s choice was unexpected as Spitfire’s famous tongue-in-cheek, Dad’s Army-style wartime humour advertising includes slogans such as ‘No Fokker Comes Close’ and ‘Goering, Goering, Gone’.

  Spitfire brand manager Charlie Holland added: "The Pope is not the first German to down a Spitfire but certainly the most famous.

  "We are delighted that His Holiness enjoys the unique taste of Spitfire, and we would encourage him to sample another of our fine Kentish ales – and try a Bishops Finger."

Anticipating Pope Benedict XVI's new social encyclical, "Caritas in Veritate" - to be released this summer (?)

Sandro Magister devotes his latest column to the papal encyclical on economics and Catholic social doctrine, "Caritas in veritate" ("Charity in Truth"):

It is expected to be signed by the pope on June 29, and released at the beginning of summer. It underwent various revisions, all of which left Benedict XVI dissatisfied until the last one.

Unlike the encyclical on hope, written by the pope himself from the first line to the last, and unlike the encyclical on charity, the first half of which was also written entirely by the pope, many minds and many hands have worked on "Caritas in Veritate." But in any case, Benedict XVI will leave his mark on it, already visible in the words of the title, which indissolubly link charity and truth.

Magister mentions a Catholic scholar by the name of Ernst-Wolfgang Böckenförde, of the same generation as the Pope, and whose thought the latter employed (as Cardinal Ratzinger) in a January 19, 2004 discussion in Munich with the philosopher Jürgen Habermas on the theme "Ethics, religion, and the liberal state."

According to Magister:

In a pivotal 1967 essay, he presented what was later called the "Böckenförde paradox": the thesis according to which "the secularized liberal state lives by presuppositions that it cannot guarantee."

[...]

in an article for "Süddeutsche Zeitung," also published in Italy in May by the journal of the Sacred Heart fathers in Bologna, "Il Regno" – and presented in its entirety further below – Böckenförde applied his "paradox" to capitalism as well, but in much more devastating terms.

In his judgment, the principles on which the capitalist economic system is founded can no longer stand. Its current collapse is definitive, and has revealed the inhuman foundations of this system. The economy must therefore be rebuilt from the ground up, not on principles of egoism, but of solidarity. It is up to the states, and European countries in the first place, to take control of the economy. And it is up to the Church, with its social doctrine, to accept the testimony of Marx, who saw correctly.

Understandably, Böckenförde's recommendation for a revival of Karl Marx was met with much incredulity and disdain (which Magister provides in detail), noting: "after the publication of "Caritas in Veritate," it will therefore be interesting how Böckenförde comments on it."

* * *

There is much speculation as to the contents of the encyclical. (Via Wikipedia), "In what seems to have been an unintentional release of marketing materials, some basic themes were announced by Ignatius Press ... The announcement was removed from the publishers website approximately one month later". The announcement read:

Pope Benedict's third encyclical, Love in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), applies the themes of his first two encyclicals -love and hope (God Is Love, Saved in Hope) – to the world's major social issues. Drawing on moral truths open, in principle, to everyone (the natural law) as well as on the teachings of the gospel (revelation), Pope Benedict addresses Catholics and non-Catholics alike, challenging us all to recognize and then to confront the social evils of our day. The first part of the encyclical examines the dynamic teaching of Benedict's predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. [...] In the second part Benedict surveys the social issues that confront the human race today-assaults on the dignity of the human person such as the attack on human life, poverty, issues of war and peace, terrorism, globalization, and environmental concerns.

In a visit with the newly appointed Lithuanian ambassador to the Vatican in November 2008, Pope Benedict provided a glimpse into the encyclical's message:

Since love of God leads to participation in the justice and generosity of God toward others, the practice of Christianity leads naturally to solidarity with one's fellow citizens and indeed with the whole of the human family. It leads to a determination to serve the common good and to take responsibility for the weaker members of society, and it curbs the desire to amass wealth for oneself alone. Our society needs to rise above the allure of material goods and to focus instead upon values that truly promote the good of the human person.

Later, in a March 2009 question-and-answer session with parish priests and clergy in the Diocese of Rome, the Pope responded to the petition of Father Giampiero Ialongo, for "the courage to denounce an economic and financial system that is unjust at its roots" and "an authoritative word, a free word, which will help Christians ... to administer the goods that God has given, and that he has given for all and not only for a few, with evangelical wisdom and responsibility":

As you know, for a long time we have been preparing an encyclical on these issues. And on this long path I see how difficult it is to speak competently, because if the economic reality is not addressed competently, one cannot be credible. And, on the other hand, we must speak with a great ethical consciousness, created and inspired by a conscience forged by the Gospel. In the end, it is about human avarice as sin or, as the Letter to the Colossians says, of avarice as idolatry. We must denounce that idolatry that is opposed to the true God and that falsifies the image of God through another god, "mammon."

[...] Because egoism, the root of avarice, consists in loving myself more than anything else and of loving the world in reference to myself. It happens in all of us. It is the obscuring of reason, which can be very learned, with extremely beautiful scientific arguments but which, nevertheless, can be confused by false premises. [...] Without the light of faith, which penetrates the darkness of original sin, reason cannot go forward. But it is faith, precisely, that then runs into the resistance of our will. It does not want to see the way, which would be a path of self-denial and of correction of one's own will in favor of the other, not of oneself.

[W]hat is needed is the reasonable and reasoned denunciation of the errors, not with great moral statements, but rather with concrete reasons that prove to be understandable in today's economic world. [...] To realize that these great objectives of macro-science are not realized in micro-science — the macroeconomics in the microeconomics — without the conversion of hearts. If there are no just men, there is no justice either […] Justice cannot be created in the world only with good economic models, even if these are necessary. Justice is only brought about if there are just men. And there are no just men without the humble, daily endeavor of converting hearts, and of creating justice in hearts.

The encyclical was initially intended to be published on the occasion of the forty year anniversary of Paul VI's Populorum Progressio (1967); since then release dates have been announced and subsequently withdrawn four times.

Related

• Awaiting Benedict XVI's 3rd Encyclical: Comments of Bishop Giampaolo Crepaldi, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace February 1, 2009.
• Econ encyclical 'more on ethics than structure', by John Allen Jr. (National Catholic Reporter) March 5, 2009.
• Pope Benedict's Critique of Capitalism Against The Grain September 27, 2007 - an investigation of Cardinal Ratzinger's thought on the subject as indicated in his address to the Latin American Bishop's Council (CELAM) in May 2007; and his essay on "Market Economy and Ethics", published in English under the title “Church and economy: Responsibility for the future of the world economy,” Communio 13 (Fall 1986): 199-204.

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer at Monte Cassino

O God, our Father,
inexhaustible font of life and peace,
welcome into your merciful embrace
those who fell in the war that raged here,
those who fell in every war that has bloodied the earth.
Grant that they may rejoice in the light that does not fade,
that they glimpsed and desired in faith
during their earthly pilgrimage.
You, who in Jesus Christ, your Son,
offered to suffering humanity
the greatest testimony of your love,
and who through his Cross redeemed the world
from the dominion of sin and death,
grant to those who are still suffering
because of fratricidal war
the power of invincible hope,
the courage of daily acts of peace,
the active confidence in the civilization of love.

Pour forth your Holy Spirit, the Paraclete,
upon the men of our time,
so that they may understand that peace
is more precious than any corruptible treasure,
and may tirelessly work all together
to prepare for new generations
a world where justice and peace reign.
Father, good and merciful,
make us your sons and daughters in Christ,
perseverant builders of peace
and untiring servants of life,
the inestimable gift of your love.

Amen.

translation of the prayer recited by Benedict XVI today in a private visit to the Polish military cemetery of Monte Cassino.

Happy 82nd Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI!

On April 16, 1927 (Holy Saturday), Joseph Ratzinger was born in Marktl am Inn, and is baptized the same day.

Reflecting on this experience in his memoirs (Milestones, p. 8), he says:

To be the first person baptized with the new water was seen as a significant act of Providence. I have always been filled with thanksgiving for having had my life immersed in this way in the Easter Mystery . . . the more I reflect on it, the more this seems fitting for the nature of our human life: we are still waiting for Easter; we are not yet standing in the full light but walking toward it full of trust.

Triduum

As we enter into the Holy Triduum, I'd like to invite a reading of Pope Benedict's catechesis given during yesterday's general audience, appropriately deemed by Sandro Magister "A Handbook for Holy Week":

Dear brothers and sisters, Holy Week, which for us Christians is the most important week of the year, offers us the opportunity to be immersed in the central events of Redemption, to relive the Paschal Mystery, the great mystery of the faith. Beginning tomorrow afternoon, with the Mass "In Coena Domini," the solemn liturgical rites will help us to meditate in a more lively manner on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of the Lord in the days of the Holy Paschal Triduum, fulcrum of the entire liturgical year. May divine grace open our hearts to comprehend the inestimable gift that salvation is, obtained for us by Christ's sacrifice. [Read the rest]

• Way of the Cross at the Collosseum led by Pope Benedict XVI.
• The homilies of Pope Benedict XVI for Holy Week 2009 will be made available here, on the Vatican website.

Pope Benedict's Visit to Israel and the Holy Land

Given the momentous nature of this particular visit, we're pleased to announce that the Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club's official coverage will be carried out at Pope Benedict's Visit to Israel and the Holy Land -- a new blog established exclusively for this task.

Preparing for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Israel

[Crossposted to Catholic Friends of Israel].

On March 26, 2009, the Vatican released the Pope's itinerary for his 12th international trip, which will take place May 8-15. As reported earlier, the visit will re-trace the steps of Pope John Paul II's historic visit, howbeit with an additional day allowing for more interreligious and ecumenical meetings.

We will be providing regular roundups of news, commentary and coverage of the papal visit. As expected, most of the stories over the past weeks have to do with the basic logistics of the trip.

• The Israel Foreign Ministry has decided that "In accordance with rules of hospitality and dignity," Israel will not prevent Pope Benedict XVI from wearing his pectoral cross when he visits the Western Wall. (The Boston Pilot March 22, 2009).

• Haaretz reports that Israel will invest NIS 5.7 million in hosting an event conducted by Pope Benedict during his visit to Israel in May:

  will conduct a large mass on Mount Precipice, the Nazareth site where Jesus is said to have leapt to avoid an angry mob. The ceremony is expected to draw some 35,000 worshippers.

• The Pope will return home using Israel’s national airline carrier, El Al Airlines. (Focus on Travel News, March 29, 2009).

• Jewish citizens are concerned that security measures might interrupt prayer at the Western Wall (Ynetnews.com):

  Gabi Sheinin, one of the Quarter's residents, stated: "Just like the visit of a chief rabbi at the Vatican doesn't cause the Vatican to shut down, we expect the same approach when the pope visits a place holy to the Jewish people."

• The John Paul II Foundation will sponsor a marathon linking the cities of Jerusalem and Rome between April 23 and May 27, thus coinciding with Pope Benedict XVI’s May 8-15 visit to Israel. (Catholic News Agency March 27, 2009).

Pope Benedict XVI's Apostolic Journey to Cameroon and Angola, Africa

Writing from Uganda, Martyn Drakard of MercatorNet exclaims "The international media has a woeful ignorance of Africa," and wonders: "Why don't they listen to someone who knows? -- Such was evident from the media's coverage of Benedict's visit in Africa:

As he flew from Rome to Cameroon for his first African trip, Benedict XVI held a press conference. He spoke of many things relevant to Africa: the credit crisis, its ethical dimension, its social welfare dimension; solidarity between the developed and developing world; corruption; the vibrancy of the faith and energy of the people; how he hopes to implement Catholic social teaching; and a forthcoming Synod of African Bishops. He even rebutted suggestions that he was “lonely” in the Vatican.

Yet what did the media pick up? That the Pope is opposed to condoms as a solution to Africa’s supposedly overwhelming problem: AIDS. And, in fact, he was right to say that condoms are only making the problem worse.

National Catholic Reporter's John Allen Jr. agrees:

"I don't think I've ever covered a papal trip where the gap between internal and external perceptions has been as vast as over these three days. It's almost as if the pope has made two separate visits to Cameroon: the one reported internationally and the one Africans actually experienced.

So for those whose only (or chief) impression of the Pope's visit to Africa by way of the mainstream media was that he said something about condoms, what follows is an ongoing compilation of news, coverage and commentary on what really happened.

From the Vatican Website

• Program
• Missal for the Apostolic Journey
• "Instrumentum Laboris" – The Church in Africa in service to reconciliation, justice and peace - Working document of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

Spoken Words & Addresses of Pope Benedict XVI (Added as available from the Vatican)

• Welcome ceremony at Nsimalen International Airport of Yaoundé (March 17, 2009)
• Meeting with the Bishops of Cameroon at Christ-Roi Church in Tsinga, Yaoundé (March 18, 2009)
• Celebration of Vespers at the Basilica Marie Reine des Apôtres in Mvolyé, Yaoundé - Address of the Holy Father (March 18, 2009)
• Meeting with representatives of the Muslim Community of Cameroon at the Apostolic Nunciature of Yaoundé (March 19, 2009)
• Homily during the Holy Mass on the occasion of the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris of the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops at Amadou Ahidjo Stadium, Yaoundé (March 19, 2009)
• Publication of the Instrumentum Laboris - Words of Benedict XVI (March 19, 2009)
• Meeting with the world of suffering people at Card. Paul Emile Léger Centre - CNRH of Yaoundé (March 19, 2009)
• Meeting with the members of the Special Council for Africa of the Synod of Bishops at the Apostolic Nunciature of Yaoundé (March 19, 2009)
• Farewell ceremony at Nsimalen International Airport of Yaoundé (March 20, 2009)
• Welcome ceremony at 4 de Fevereiro International Airport of Luanda (March 20, 2009)
• Meeting with the political and civil authorities and the Diplomatic Corps at the Presidential Palace in Luanda (March 20, 2009)
• Meeting with the Bishops of Angola and São Tomé at the Chapel of the Apostolic Nunciature in Luanda (March 20, 2009)
• Homily during the Holy Mass celebrated with the Bishops, priests, religious people, ecclesial movements and catechists of Angola and São Tomé at São Paolo Church in Luanda (March 21, 2009)
• Meeting with youth at Dos Coqueiros Stadium of Luanda (March 21, 2009)
• Homily during the Holy Mass with the Bishops of I.M.B.I.S.A. (Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa) at Cimangola Square in Luanda (March 22, 2009)
• Recitation of the Angelus Domini at Cimangola Square in Luanda (March 22, 2009)
• Meeting with Catholic Movements for the Promotion of Women at Santo António Parish of Luanda (March 22, 2009)
• Farewell ceremony at 4 de Fevereiro International Airport of Luanda (March 23, 2009)

Vatican Radio

• 3-19-09: Vatican Responds to Concerns over Fight against Aids
• 3-19-09: Homily of Pope Benedict XVI Mass in Yaoundé Stadium
• 3-19-09: Yaounde Mass After meeting with Muslim leaders in Cameroon, Pope Benedict celebrated Mass in an open air stadium where he presented the working document for the next Synod of Bishops on Africa.
• 3-20-09: Reflections on the Synod for Africa Interview with Missionary priest Giulio Albanese, who works in Africa and accompanied Benedict on his visit.
• 3-20-09: Taking the African Synod Home Interview with Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and the President of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops’ Conference, on the importance of the Pope's visit.
• 3-21-09: Pope Celebrates Mass with Religious in Angolan Capital, Luanda Report on Benedict's Mass with the clergy and religious of Angola in the Church of St. Paul in Luanda.
• 3-22-09: Pope Benedict XVI Says Mass for a Million African Faithful in Angola
• 3-22-09: Fr Lombardi SJ Comments on Youth Tragedy, Sunday Mass The Director of the Holy See's Press Office, Jesuit Fr Federico Lombardi, responds to the news of the tragic deaths of two young people at the Youth meeting on Saturday evening, and shares his impressions of Pope Benedict's homily on Laetare Sunday.
• 3-23-09: Leaders of Church in Africa Reflect on Pope Benedict XVI's Visit Interview with Bishop Joseph Befe Ateba of Kribi diocese in Cameroon.

I will be making my first apostolic visit to Africa from Tuesday, March 17, to Monday, March 23. I will travel to Cameroon and to its capital, Yaoundé, to deliver the "instrumentum laboris" for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in October here in the Vatican. From there I will travel to Luanda, the capital of Angola, a country that, after a long civil war, has found peace again and is now called to rebuild itself in justice.

With this visit I intend to embrace the whole African continent: its thousands of differences and profound religious soul; its ancient cultures and its toilsome road to development and reconciliation; its grave problems, its painful wounds and its enormous possibilities and hopes. I intend to confirm the African Catholics in faith, to encourage the Christians in their ecumenical commitment, and bring to all the announcement of peace that the Lord has entrusted to his Church. [...]

Yes, dear brothers and sisters! I depart for African with the awareness of having nothing else to propose and give to those whom I will meet if not Christ and the Good News of his cross, mystery of supreme love, of divine love that defeats all human resistance and in the end makes forgiveness and love of enemies possible. This is the grace of the Gospel that is capable of transforming the world; this is the grace that can renew Africa, because it generates an irresistible power of peace and of deep and radical reconciliation. The Church does not pursue economic, social and political objectives; the Church proclaims Christ, certain that the Gospel can touch the hearts of all and transform them, renewing persons and society from within. -- Excerpted from Pope Benedict XVI's mid-day Angelus March 15, 2009.

Resources

• EWTN: Pope Benedict XVI's Papal Visit to Africa Live coverage via the Eternal Word Television Network.
• Apostolic Journeys of Pope Benedict XVI (Currently: Africa--Cameroon, Angola) - Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club Forum.

Photos

• Benedict in Cameroon @ DayLife.com.
• Benedict in Angola @ DayLife.com.

Coverage and Commentary

African Press

• 3-10-09: Cameroon: Vatican - Africans Mobilise For Pope's Visit (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-10-09: Interview with Father Godfrey Igwebuike Onah, Vice Rector, Urbaniana Pontifical University, Vatican City Tche Irene Morikang. (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-13-09: 500,000 faithful expected to attend Pope mass (Angola Press)
• 3-13-09: Angola: Bishop Considers Pope's Visit Incomparable Interview with Angolan Bishop, Filomeno Vieira Dias.
• 3-14-09: Roman Catholic Church in Lesotho ready for Pope XVI’s visit in Africa (African Press Agency)
• 3-17-09: Cameroon: Vatican - Cameroon Has Its Embassy, by Tche Irene Morikang (On the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Vatican). (AllAfrica.com); see also AllAfrica's interview with H.E. Antoine Zanga, Ambassador of Cameroon to The Vatican, as he highlights the impact of the Pope's visit on the bilateral relations between the two countries.
• 3-17-09: Mgr José Luis Redrado - «The Holy Father Will Bring Spiritual Support to the Sick» Interview with Mgr José Luis Redrado, Secretary for the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, Vatican City. (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-17-09: Mgr Nikola Eterovic - «Africa is Very Important to the Church» Interview with Mgr Nikola Eterovic, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops at The Vatican. (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-17-09: These Africans Who Grease the Roman Curia - A few Africans are well into the administration of The Vatican, by Tche Irene Morikang. (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-18-09: Africa: Pope Condemns Africa's Vices, by Lukong Pius Nyuylime. "The Holy See was received in total ecstasy yesterday at Nsimalen at the start of his maiden visit to Africa." (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-20-09: Angola: Local Painter Rejoices Over Pope's Visit (AllAfrica.com)
• 3-22-09: Angola, São Tomé dioceses give gifts to Pope (Angola Press Agency)
• 3-24-09: Cameroon: Christian Re-awakening, by Richard Kwang Kometa (AllAfrica.com)

Pope Benedict XVI listens to Marie-Madelaine Avouzoa, 12, (seated) whose legs were amputated at the knees and who lost her fingertips after a blood transfusion for malaria infected her limbs, at the Center for the Rehabilitation of the Handicapped, in Cameroon's capital Yaounde, March 19, 2009. Photo Credit: REUTERS

Zenit News Service

• 3-15-09: Pope to Bring Good News to Africa
• 3-16-09: Cardinal: Papal Visit to Foster Solidarity With Africa: Predicts Positive Spiritual And Human Results, by Jesus Colina. [Interview with Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, president of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum].
• 3-16-09: Cameroon Awaits Papal Visit Interview With the President of the episcopal conference of Cameroon Archbishop Simon-Victor Tonyé Bakot of Yaoundé.
• 3-17-09: Pope Welcomed by Cameroon Muslims and Protestants: Imam Says Papal Visit is a Blessing
• 3-17-09: Providing Cameroon's Street Children With Hope: Spanish Priest Heads Up Outreach Center, by Nieves San Martin
• 3-17-09: Cameroon: a Fragile But Stable Democracy: Young Republic Is 1st Stop on Papal Visit to Africa, by Nieves San Martin
• 3-17-09: Pontiff Offers Riches of God's Kingdom to Africa: Says Church Gives Hope in Time of Hardship
• 3-18-09: Pope Urges Bishops to Evangelize Their Communities, Encourages Episcopal Cooperation to Meet Modern Challenges
• 3-18-09: Benedict XVI Makes Appeal for Solidarity With Africa: Highlights Work of Church in Fighting AIDS
• 3-18-09: Cameroon President Assures Pope of Cooperation: Says Pontiff's Visit Is Antidote to "Afro-pessimism"
• 3-19-09: Media Reports on Condoms Seen as Superficial: President of Catholic Medical Federation Offers Clarification
• 3-19-09: Pontiff Tells Muslims Religion Must Unveil Reason: Encourages Cooperation in Building Civilization of Love
• 3-20-09: Pontiff Urges Cameroon to Seize the Moment: Assures People Visit Will Remain Deeply Etched in Memory
• 3-20-09: Benedict XVI Speaks for Impoverished Angolans: Underlines Reason and Faith, Not Law of Strongest
• 3-20-09: Papal Visit Seen As Blessing for Angola Interview with Sister Marlene Wildner, national director of Caritas-Angola.
• 3-20-09: Pope to Africa: Be Agents of Your Own Development; Says It's Time for Africa to Be Continent of Hope
• 3-21-09: Angola Has High Expectations of the Papal Visit Interview with Italian Missionary Father Luigi De Liberali.
• 3-22-09: Pope Prays for 2 Young Angolan Stampede Victims
• 3-23-09: Pope Urges Africans to Build Peace and Solidarity: Exhorts Politicians to Care for Poor, Common Good of All
• 3-24-09: Father Lombardi: Pope Gave Africa Message of "Great Hope"
• 3-24-09: Benedict XVI Reflects on Africa Trip; Says He Was Impressed by Joy, Devotion
• 3-29-09: Africa's Joy, Reverence Impresses Pontiff: Reflects on Recent Trip to Cameroon, Angola | Translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered today before praying the midday Angelus, reflecting on his visit to Africa.
• 3-29-09: African Students Defend Benedict XVI: Protest Biased Media Coverage of Africa Trip
• 4-01-09: Pope Recalls Trip to Cameroon and Angola: Makes Balance During General Audience

Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by a Cameroonian nun upon his arrival at the airport in Yaounde March 17, 2009. Photo Credit: REUTERS

Catholic News Service

• See: Catholic News Service: Africa [Comprehensive coverage]
• 2-20-09: Since '94, Africa has seen tremendous changes, but some issues remain, by Bronwen Dachs.
• 3-16-09: Pope says trip to Africa will focus on continent's hopes, challenges
• 3-17-09: Pope, on plane, says church can help Africa address its problems
• 3-17-09: In Africa, pope says Gospel is answer to continent's problems
• 3-17-09: Pope's condom comments latest chapter in sensitive church discussion
• 3-18-09: In Cameroon, pope asks bishops to lead new evangelization efforts
• 3-19-09: Pope encourages Christian-Muslim efforts to defend African values
• 3-19-09: In Africa, pope warns of erosion of values, 'tyranny of materialism'
• 3-19-09: Pope outlines his view of African synod's main themes
• 3-19-09: Congolese bishops describe complex conflicts in northern Congo
• 3-20-09: In Angola, pope encourages postwar spiritual and material recovery
• 3-20-09: Pope appeals for African families, condemns promotion of abortion
• 3-20-09: Cameroonian Pygmies give pope send-off, gift of a turtle
• 3-22-09: Pope asks church in Africa to resist 'clouds of evil' on continent
• 3-22-09: Pope pleads for women's equality in Africa, praises 'silent heroines'
• 3-23-09: In Africa, pope challenges attitudes, cultural trends

A boy holds up a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI outside the Amadou Ahidjo stadium, where the Pope gave mass in Yaounde on March 19, 2009. Photo Credit: AFP / GETTY

Catholic News Agency

• 3-09-09: New stamp to commemorate papal voyage to Africa
• 3-18-09: Catholic Church in Africa ‘best hope’ for peace, charity says
• 3-19-09: Pope encourages Muslims to promote ‘genuine religion’
• 3-19-09: Archbishop explains working document for African Synod

CONDOMS! CONDOMS! CONDOMS!

• Flash! Vatican opposes birth control GetReligion.org.
• Pope's condom message resonates with many, by John Allen, Jr. (National Catholic Reporter)
• Media Reports on Condoms Seen as Superficial: President of Catholic Medical Federation Offers Clarification Zenit News Service.
• From Saint Peter’s Square to Harvard Square: Media coverage of papal comments on AIDS in Africa is March madness, by Kathryn Jean Lopez. National Review
• HIV Researcher, a Self-described Liberal, Defends Pope's Recent Condom/AIDS Statement Ken Shepherd, NewsBusters.org.
• AIDS Worker Says Africans Don't Need Condoms: Web Site Documents Catholic Approach to Pandemic, by Genevieve Pollock. Zenit News Service. March 25, 2009.
• Cameroon Bishops' Statement on AIDS: "The Holy Father Has Put Man at the Center of His Concern" Translation of the statement of the episcopal conference of Cameroon on the negative media response to Benedict XVI comments on the role of condoms in the fight against AIDS. Zenit News Service. March 26, 2009.
• The Pope, Africa and AIDs: Interview With Vatican Spokesman Father Lombardi, by Edward Petin. April 2, 2009.

John Allen Jr., National Catholic Reporter

• 3-13-09: Five reasons the papal trip to Africa is important
• 3-13-09: Benedict needs to show that he 'gets' Africa
• 3-13-09: Cameroon journalist warns of ‘cheap political points’ from pope’s visit Interview with Charly Ndi Chia, editor-in-chief of The Post.
• 3-14-09: 'Africa in miniature,' warts and all, awaits Benedict: Cameroon 'a great place to dip his toes into Africa'

"I don't think I've ever covered a papal trip where the gap between internal and external perceptions has been as vast as over these three days. It's almost as if the pope has made two separate visits to Cameroon: the one reported internationally and the one Africans actually experienced.

In the U.S. and many other parts of the world, coverage has been "all condoms, all the time," triggered by comments from Benedict aboard the papal plane to the effect that condoms aren't the right way to fight AIDS. In Africa, meanwhile, the trip has been a hit, beginning with Benedict's dramatic insistence that Christians must never be silent in the face of "corruption and abuses of power," and extending through a remarkable meeting with African Muslims in which the pope said more clearly and succinctly what he wanted to say three years ago in his infamous Regensburg address, and without the gratuitous quotation from a Byzantine emperor." (Excerpted from Benedict in Cameroon a tale of two trips National Catholic Reporter March 20, 2009.

• 3-17-09: Pope addresses corruption, conflict in Africa: Western media reports condom quote, Africa hears different message
• 3-18-09: Pope's condom message resonates with many
• 3-18-09: Pope demands halt to sexual, financial scandals: Bishops must have greater oversight of priests and religious, Benedict says
• 3-19-09: Pope to Muslims: 'Religion rejects all violence': Cameroon's Christian-Muslim harmony alternative to the 'clash of civilizations'
• 3-19-09: Imam speaks of Christian-Muslim peace When Pope Benedict XVI met 22 Muslim leaders from across Cameroon this morning, Sheikh Ibrahim Moussa, the Imam of Yaoundè’s Grand Mosque, spoke for the Islamic delegation. That speech was written by Moussa’s highly regarded deputy imam, Sheikh Mohama Oussani Waziri, who sat down with NCR afterwards to discuss the meeting with the pope.
• 3-19-09: Pope: African Catholics can transform society
• 3-20-09: Accent on 'peace, fraternity' sets tone for Angola: Little 'church-speak,' Benedict focuses on Africa's political and social realities
• 3-21-09: Condemned by pope, witchcraft a reality in Africa: African converts often keep one foot in traditional spirituality
• 3-22-09: Pope extols women's rights in Africa
• 3-23-09: A quick pulse of women religious in Africa Interview with Sr. Anastasie Bekono of the Servants of the Holy Heart of Mary, Cameroon.

Pope Benedict XVI is presented with a flower during his visit in Luanda, Angola, Saturday, March 21, 2009. Photo Credit: L'Osservatore Romano

Additional Press / Media

• 3-10-09: Street stalls demolished for pope's visit, by Tansa Musa. (Reuters)
• 3-15-09: Catholics hope Pope can win ground in Angola, by Henrique Almeida. (Reuters)
• 3-17-09: Pope to raise issue of human rights in Africa, by Jennifer Gold. (Christianity Today)
• 3-18-09: Pope: transforming African society with the Gospel (AsiaNews.it)
• 3-19-09: Pope to meet with Muslims, Mass in stadium, by Victor L. Stimpson (Associated Press)
• 3-19-09: Angolans set to embrace Pope Benedict (BBC News)
• 3-20-09: African turtle hitches ride on pope's plane (Reuters)
• 3-21-09: Pope Tells Clergy in Angola to Work Against Belief in Witchcraft (New York Times)
• 3-22-09: Two girls die in stampede to see Pope (Telegraph UK)
• 3-23-09: Critics: Thousands evicted from Angola church land, by Michelle Faul. (Associated Press) - More than 2,000 families have been evicted since Angolan authorities began returning land to the church that had been seized by the former Marxist state.

Blogs

• Potpourri of Popery, Swoon In Cameroon Edition Wheat & Weeds
• Pope Benedict XVI's Journey to Cameroon and Angola Blog by the Sea

Anticipating Pope Benedict XVI's trip to Israel and the Holy Land

Pope Benedict's visit to the Holy Land is scheduled for May 8-15, 2009. We'll be providing roundups of news, commentary and coverage of his visit, with increasing frequency as we draw nearer to the trip.

• We start things off with some good news: The row that ensued between Jewish leaders and the Vatican after the latter lifted the excommunication of a bishop who denied the extent of the Holocaust, is over -- or so declared Shear-Yashuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, in comments to the press, following a meeting between the Pope, a delegation from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations With the Jews.
  

  "This was not just another meeting," said Rabbi Cohen:

  "This was a special experience, a turning point, the end of a crisis. We could not have expected a warmer reception."

  "I Am Preparing to Visit the Holy Land As a Pilgrim" - The full address of Benedict XVI upon receiving a delegation from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and of the Holy See Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews.

• On March 10th, Archbishop Antonio Franco, apostolic nuncio in Israel held a press conference was held in Jerusalem to present the schedule for Benedict XVI's trip to the Holy Land:

  the most important moments of the trip will be three public Masses, one in Jerusalem, another in Bethlehem and the final one in Nazareth.

  The Pope will spend May 11-12 in Jerusalem, the 13th he will go to Bethlehem and the 14th to Nazareth.

  The Mass in Nazareth is expected to draw the largest crowd, given its coincidence with the conclusion of a Year of the Family. The Holy Father will bless a cornerstone for a new international center dedicated to support the family.

  The Bishop of Rome will also have some key moments of prayer in the Holy Land: the first in the Upper Room and the last in the Holy Sepulcher.

  Meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian Authority presidents are scheduled, as are meetings with Jewish and Muslim leaders in respective holy places of both creeds, and a visit to the Holocaust memorial, the Yad Vashem.

• Israeli President Shimon Peres has welcomed Pope Benedict’s decision to visit Israel:

  "I am delighted that His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has responded positively and accepted my invitation to visit the Holy Land," he said. "The Pope will be a most honored guest, welcomed and respected by people from all walks of life. His visit will be a moving and important event bringing the spirit of peace and hope. Welcome to Israel."

  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas also welcomed the visit:

  Abbas said the hopes the visit will be the start of a lasting good, and a sign of love and peace in the land of peace.

  Abbas ordered formation of a higher committee to be headed by Palestinian Minister of Local Governance Ziad Al-Bandak to prepare for the Pope’s historic visit.

• Richard Owen of The Times highlights the fact that, if the trip goes according to plan, Pope Benedict XVI is set to become the first head of the Roman Catholic Church to enter a mosque in Jerusalem:

  Monsignor Antonio Franco, the papal nuncio in Israel, said it had been agreed "in principle" that the pontiff would visit the seventh century Dome of the Rock, one of the holiest sites in Islam, together with the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. It contains a rock on which the Prophet Muhammed is said to have left his footprint as he ascended to heaven on a "night journey" accompanied by the archangel Gabriel.

• The Israeli Tourism Ministry has already begun its preparations for the papal visit, with funds distributed towards renovations and preparations at Christian sites in Israel, including Qasr el-Yahud, the Good Samaritan site, the Cenacle (site of the Last Supper), the Jesus Trail and more.

• In an interview with Vatican Radio this week, Custodian of the Holy Land Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa said that news of the papal visit is "very encouraging and will help us to hold our heads high and soar a bit higher than we’ve been able to until now."

Pope Benedict weighs in on the the remission of the excommunication of the SSPX Bishops

• Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre March 10, 2009:

  The remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated in 1988 by Archbishop Lefebvre without a mandate of the Holy See has for many reasons caused, both within and beyond the Catholic Church, a discussion more heated than any we have seen for a long time. Many Bishops felt perplexed by an event which came about unexpectedly and was difficult to view positively in the light of the issues and tasks facing the Church today. Even though many Bishops and members of the faithful were disposed in principle to take a positive view of the Pope’s concern for reconciliation, the question remained whether such a gesture was fitting in view of the genuinely urgent demands of the life of faith in our time. Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. I therefore feel obliged to offer you, dear Brothers, a word of clarification, which ought to help you understand the concerns which led me and the competent offices of the Holy See to take this step. In this way I hope to contribute to peace in the Church. ...

• Commentary on the Letter by Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, Head of the Press Office of the Holy See March 12, 2009:

  The “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre” is definitely an unusual document and deserves all our attention. Never before in his Pontificate has Benedict XVI expressed himself in such a personal manner and intensity on a controversial subject. There isn’t the slightest doubt: this Letter bears his mark, from beginning to end. ...

• Communiqué of Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, in response to Pope Benedict's letter.

Responses

• Benedict’s Vatican II Hermeneutic, by Edward T. Oakes, S.J. First Things "On The Square" March 13, 2009.

Coverage

• The Pope Speaks His Mind. A Cardinal Explains Him, by Sandro Magister. (Chiesa): "In the letter in which he defended lifting the excommunication from the Lefebvrists, Benedict XVI has confirmed the indispensable aims of his pontificate. Cardinal Ruini has analyzed these one by one. Here's what they are, and why."

Pope Benedict, the SSPX, and the dispute over Religious Freedom and Church-State Relations

Note: This post will be continually updated with further news and commentary as events develop.

Statements & Developments

• 01-24-09: Decree of the Congregation for Bishops Card. Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops:

  ... His Holiness Benedict XVI - paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open matters, so as to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin - decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.

  With this act, it is desired to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also intended to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to vanquish the scandal of division.

  It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.

• 01-26-09: Roundup of responses from various sources to the repealing of the excommunications, courtesy of Rorate Caeli.

• 01-28-09: Remarks of Pope Benedict XVI on the remission of the excommunications on the SSPX hierarchy, followed by an expression of solidarity with the Jewish people:

  ... Precisely in the accomplishment of this service of unity, which qualifies, in a specific way, my ministry as Successor of Peter, I decided, a few days ago, to grant the remission of the excommunication in which the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, without pontifical mandate, had incurred. I fulfilled this act of fatherly mercy because those prelates repeatedly manifested to me their deep suffering for the situation in which they found themselves. I hope that this gesture of mine will be followed by the solicitous effort by them to accomplish the ulterior steps necessary to accomplish full communion with the Church, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope and of the Second Vatican Council.

  While I renew with affection the expression of my full and unquestionable solidarity with our brothers receivers of the First Covenant, I hope that the memory of the Shoah leads mankind to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man. May the Shoah be for all a warning against forgetfulness, against denial or reductionism, because the violence against a single human being is violence against all. No man is an island, a famous poet writes. The Shoah particularly teaches, both old an the new generations, that only the tiresome path of listening and dialogue, of love and of forgiveness lead the peoples, the cultures, and the religions of the world to the hoped-for goal of fraternity and peace in truth. May violence never again crush the dignity of man!

• 01-28-09: Superior General of the SSPX: Bishop Williamson forbidden to speak on political or historical matters January 27, 2009:

  We view this matter with great concern, as this exorbitance has caused severe damage to our religious mission. We apologize to the Holy Father and to all people of good will for the trouble it has caused.

  It must remain clear that those comments do not reflect in any way the attitude of our community. That is why I have forbidden Bishop Williamson to issue any public opinion on any political or historical matter until further notice.

• 01-28-09: Note of the District Superior for Germany of the SSPX:

  The banalization of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime and of its horror are unacceptable for us.

  The persecution and murder of an incalculable number of Jews under the Third Reich touches us painfully and they also violate the Christian commandment of love for neighbor which does not distinguish ethnicities.

  I must apologize for this behavior and dissociate myself from such a view.

  Such dissociation is also necessary for us because the father of Archbishop Lefebvre died in a KZ [concentration camp] and because numerous Catholic priests lost their lives in Hitler's concentration camps.

• 01-29-09: Interview granted by the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, to French Catholic Magazine Monde & Vie.

• 01-30-09: Letter of apology to Pope Benedict XVI from Bishop Bernard Williamson:

  Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

  For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:

  "Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

  Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

• Interview with Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission published today in Italian national daily Corriere della Sera.

• Note of the Secretariat of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone L'Osservatore Romano, February 5, 2009:

  ... The positions of Mons. Williamson on the Shoah are absolutely unacceptable and firmly rejected by the Holy Father, as he himself remarked on the past January 28, when, referring to that brutal genocide, he reaffirmed his full and unquestionable solidarity with our Brethren, receivers of the First Covenant, and affirmed that the memory of that terrible genocide must lead "mankind to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man", adding that the Shoah remains "for all a warning against forgetfulness, against denial or reductionism, because the violence against a single human being is violence against all".

  Bishop Williamson, for an admission to episcopal functions in the Church, will also have to distance himself, in an absolutely unequivocal and public manner, from his positions regarding the Shoah, unknown to the Holy Father in the moment of the remission of the excommunication.

  The Holy Father asks to be joined by the prayers of all the faithful, so that the Lord may enlighten the path of the Church. May the effort of the Pastors and of all the faithful increase in support of the delicate and burdensome mission of the Successor of Apostle Peter as "custodian of unity" in the Church.

• Italian District of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) has announced the expulsion of Father Floriano Abrahamowicz, the priest responsible for Northeast Italy. Rorate Caeli February 6, 2009.

• Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos in the eye of the storm interview granted by the director of the Holy See Press Office and head of Radio Vaticana, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, to French daily La Croix. February 5, 2009.

• Williamson "was removed from his charge as head of the seminary" of Nuestra Señora Corredentora of La Reja (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina) - confirmed by Father Christian Bouchacourt to Argentinian daily La Nación. February 9, 2009.

• Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre (March 10, 2009):

  Even though many Bishops and members of the faithful were disposed in principle to take a positive view of the Pope’s concern for reconciliation, the question remained whether such a gesture was fitting in view of the genuinely urgent demands of the life of faith in our time. Some groups, on the other hand, openly accused the Pope of wanting to turn back the clock to before the Council: as a result, an avalanche of protests was unleashed, whose bitterness laid bare wounds deeper than those of the present moment. I therefore feel obliged to offer you, dear Brothers, a word of clarification, which ought to help you understand the concerns which led me and the competent offices of the Holy See to take this step. In this way I hope to contribute to peace in the Church. ...

• Commentary on the Letter by Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, Head of the Press Office of the Holy See March 12, 2009:

  The “Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church concerning the remission of the excommunication of the four Bishops consecrated by Archbishop Lefebvre” is definitely an unusual document and deserves all our attention. Never before in his Pontificate has Benedict XVI expressed himself in such a personal manner and intensity on a controversial subject. There isn’t the slightest doubt: this Letter bears his mark, from beginning to end. ...

• Communiqué of Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X, in response to Pope Benedict's letter.

Further Resources, Commentary and Discussion

• Q-and-A Explains Standing of 4 Lefebvrite Bishops explanation prepared by the episcopal conference of England and Wales on the lifting of the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X.
• Lefebvre Group Step Hailed as Unity Week Success: Spokesman Reflects on Lifting of Excommunication Remarks of Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office. Zenit News January 25, 2009.
• With Lefebvrists, It's Just the Beginning: Ecclesia Dei Member Considers Lifting of Excommunication Remarks of Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, archbishop of Bordeux. Zenit News January 27, 2009.
• Rome’s Reconciliation: Did the Pope heal, or deepen, the Lefebvrist schism?, by George Weigel. Newsweek January 26, 2009.
• Misconceptions: What the “lifting” of the SSPX excom’s means for people, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (What Does The Prayer Really Say?)
• "Your Move" and Lefebvre Part II, by Amy Welborn. Charlotte Was Both
• No More Excommunication for the Lefebvrists. But Peace Is Still Far Off, by Sandro Magister. Chiesa. January 28, 2009.
• Lefebvre movement: long, troubled history with Judaism, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter January 26, 2009.
• The Lefebvrite case: What was the Vatican thinking?, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter January 30, 2009.
• The Jewish Reaction to the Pope's Welcoming Back Holocaust Denying Bishop: Disproportionate! Rabbi Irwin Kula. Huffington Post February 2, 2009.
• "The SSPX bishops should resign": The Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller about the prohibition of the Holocaust denier, Williamson in his diocese, and what he wants from the Society of St Pius X ZEIT ONLINE. February 3, 2009. [Translated by Catholic Church Conservation].
• "Enough", by Paul Zummo (CrankyCon). February 3, 2009.
• Double Disaster at the Vatican: Of Governance, and of Communication, by Sandro Magister. Chiesa. February 4, 2009.

Nancy Pelosi gets schooled by Pope Benedict XVI

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi became the highest-ranking Democrat to meet with the pope since the election of President Barack Obama.

Unfortunately, their 15-minute private meeting did not turn out to be the photo-op she had desired.

Following the meeting, the U.S. Speaker of the House released a statement highlighting the positive aspects of the meeting but ignoring the Pope’s correction of her support for legal abortion:

“It is with great joy that my husband, Paul, and I met with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, today. In our conversation, I had the opportunity to praise the Church’s leadership in fighting poverty, hunger, and global warming, as well as the Holy Father’s dedication to religious freedom and his upcoming trip and message to Israel. I was proud to show His Holiness a photograph of my family’s papal visit in the 1950s, as well as a recent picture of our children and grandchildren.”

In contrast, here is the statement released by the Holy See:

Following the General Audience, the Holy Father briefly greeted Mrs. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, together with her entourage. His Holiness took the opportunity to speak of the requirements of the natural moral law and the Church’s consistent teaching on the dignity of human life from conception until natural death, which enjoin all Catholics, and especially legislators, jurists, and those responsible for the common good of society, to work in cooperation with all men and women of good will in creating a just system of laws capable of protecting human life at all stages of development.

George Weigel is prompted to wonder: "Were they at the same meeting? or even in the same city?":

Charity requires that one concede the possibility that genuine piety was a part of Pelosi’s (rather boorish, and certainly irregular) insistence on being given a private moment with the pope during her current taxpayer-funded junket to Rome. But her office’s statement on today’s meeting makes it clear something else was afoot: that Pelosi, who shamelessly trumpets her “ardent” Catholicism while leading congressional Democrats in a continuing assault on what the Catholic Church regards as the inalienable human rights of the unborn, was trying to recruit Benedict XVI (“Joseph Ratzinger, D., Bavaria”?) to Team Nancy.

His Holiness wasn’t buying it.

And as the National Catholic Reporter's Vaticanist John Allen Jr. observes, "Seen through the lens of Vatican diplomacy, this combination of public welcome and after-the-fact rebuke covered all the bases":

Pope Benedict XVI’s much-awaited encounter this morning with U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, perhaps the most prominent pro-choice Catholic in America, amounted to a classic Vatican “both/and” exercise, striving to balance the demands of external diplomacy and internal church discipline.

By meeting Pelosi, Benedict signaled that he wants lines of communication to remain open with the new American leadership, even if the Vatican has deep differences with its policies on the “life issues.” The Holy See is a sovereign state with diplomatic relations with 177 states around the world, which, among other things, means the pope can’t always act like the head of a special interest group.

Yet by issuing an unusual public statement after the session with Pelosi -- which insisted that all Catholics, including legislators, are obliged to work for the defense of human life from conception to natural death -- the pope also made clear there will no let-up in the pressure on pro-choice Catholic politicians to change their ways. [...]

Not only was it unusual to issue a statement after a meeting with an official who’s not a head of state, routine Vatican declarations after diplomatic meetings also generally sum up the range of issues discussed rather than concentrating on a particular point.

In that sense, the statement can only be read as a rejection of Pelosi’s statements last summer, and, in general, of her argument that it’s acceptable for Catholics in public life to take a pro-choice position.

In August of 2004, Nancy Pelosi attempted a botched "Catholic" defense of her pro-choice position on abortion, provoking public corrections by individual Catholic bishops nationwide and a formal rebuttal from Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities, and Bishop William E. Lori, chairman of the U.S. Bishops’ Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Related

• Visiting Pope, Pelosi Hears a Call to Protect Life , by Rachel Donadio. New York Times February 18, 2009.
• This just in: A fictional account of what may have happened during the Speaker's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI (National Review)

Pope Benedict XVI meets with Jewish delegation from the United States, confirms intention to visit to Israel and the Holy Land

Benedict XVI's preparations for his trip to the Holy Land are under way, as he himself confirmed today in a meeting with a Jewish delegation from the United States (Zenit News, February 14, 2009):

According to sources from both Jerusalem and Rome, the Holy Father's first pilgrimage to Israel and the surrounding region will take place during the second week of May.

He confirmed his intention to make the visit, despite doubts cast on the plan by the conflict in Gaza and the scandal caused by Lefebvrite Bishop Richard Williamson.

Rabbi Arthur Schneier of New York told the Pontiff, "The promised land awaits your arrival."

And noting that his guests were scheduled to visit the Holy Land after their time in Italy, Benedict XVI said: "I too am preparing to visit Israel, a land which is holy for Christians as well as Jews, since the roots of our faith are to be found there.

"Indeed, the Church draws its sustenance from the root of that good olive tree, the people of Israel, onto which have been grafted the wild olive branches of the Gentiles. From the earliest days of Christianity, our identity and every aspect of our life and worship have been intimately bound up with the ancient religion of our fathers in faith."

Pope Benedict XVI and Cardinal Walter Kasper (centre L), pose during an audience with a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations at the Vatican. Photo credit: Reuters

Click here for the full text of Pope Benedict XVI's address to the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations -- in which the Holy Father recalled his meeting the Jewish community at Cologne (making history as the first Pope to visit a synagogue in Germany), in August 2005; his visit to the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau in May 2006, his meeting with Rabbi Schneier and congregation of the Park East Synagogue in New York during his 2008 visit to the United States.

Chiefly, Pope Benedict recalled the importance of recognizing the Shoah (alluding to the recent controversy involving SSPX Bishop Richard Williamson):

The two-thousand-year history of the relationship between Judaism and the Church has passed through many different phases, some of them painful to recall. Now that we are able to meet in a spirit of reconciliation, we must not allow past difficulties to hold us back from extending to one another the hand of friendship. Indeed, what family is there that has not been troubled by tensions of one kind or another? The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration "Nostra Aetate" marked a milestone in the journey towards reconciliation, and clearly outlined the principles that have governed the Church’s approach to Christian-Jewish relations ever since.

The Church is profoundly and irrevocably committed to reject all anti-Semitism and to continue to build good and lasting relations between our two communities. If there is one particular image which encapsulates this commitment, it is the moment when my beloved predecessor Pope John Paul II stood at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, pleading for God’s forgiveness after all the injustice that the Jewish people have had to suffer. I now make his prayer my own: "God of our fathers, you chose Abraham and his descendants to bring your Name to the Nations: we are deeply saddened by the behaviour of those who in the course of history have caused these children of yours to suffer, and asking your forgiveness we wish to commit ourselves to genuine brotherhood with the people of the Covenant" (26 March 2000).

The hatred and contempt for men, women and children that was manifested in the Shoah was a crime against God and against humanity. This should be clear to everyone, especially to those standing in the tradition of the Holy Scriptures, according to which every human being is created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26-27). It is beyond question that any denial or minimization of this terrible crime is intolerable and altogether unacceptable. Recently, in a public audience, I reaffirmed that the Shoah must be "a warning for all against forgetfulness, denial or reductionism, because violence committed against one single human being is violence against all" (January 28, 2009).

This terrible chapter in our history must never be forgotten. Remembrance – it is rightly said – is "memoria futuri", a warning to us for the future, and a summons to strive for reconciliation. To remember is to do everything in our power to prevent any recurrence of such a catastrophe within the human family by building bridges of lasting friendship. It is my fervent prayer that the memory of this appalling crime will strengthen our determination to heal the wounds that for too long have sullied relations between Christians and Jews. It is my heartfelt desire that the friendship we now enjoy will grow ever stronger, so that the Church’s irrevocable commitment to respectful and harmonious relations with the people of the Covenant will bear fruit in abundance.

Pope Benedict, The SSPX and the Repeal of the Excommunications

Note: This post will be continually updated with further news and commentary as events develop.

Statements & Developments

• 01-24-09: Decree of the Congregation for Bishops Card. Giovanni Battista Re, Prefect of the Congregation for Bishops:

  ... His Holiness Benedict XVI - paternally sensitive to the spiritual unease manifested by the interested party due to the sanction of excommunication and trusting in the effort expressed by them in the aforementioned letter of not sparing any effort to deepen the necessary discussions with the Authority of the Holy See in the still open matters, so as to achieve shortly a full and satisfactory solution of the problem posed in the origin - decided to reconsider the canonical situation of Bishops Bernard Fellay, Bernard Tissier de Mallerais, Richard Williamson, and Alfonso de Galarreta, arisen with their episcopal consecration.

  With this act, it is desired to consolidate the reciprocal relations of confidence and to intensify and grant stability to the relationship of the Fraternity of Saint Pius X with this Apostolic See. This gift of peace, at the end of the Christmas celebrations, is also intended to be a sign to promote unity in the charity of the universal Church and to try to vanquish the scandal of division.

  It is hoped that this step be followed by the prompt accomplishment of full communion with the Church of the entire Fraternity of Saint Pius X, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope with the proof of visible unity.

• 01-26-09: Roundup of responses from various sources to the repealing of the excommunications, courtesy of Rorate Caeli.

• 01-28-09: Remarks of Pope Benedict XVI on the remission of the excommunications on the SSPX hierarchy, followed by an expression of solidarity with the Jewish people:

  ... Precisely in the accomplishment of this service of unity, which qualifies, in a specific way, my ministry as Successor of Peter, I decided, a few days ago, to grant the remission of the excommunication in which the four bishops ordained by Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, without pontifical mandate, had incurred. I fulfilled this act of fatherly mercy because those prelates repeatedly manifested to me their deep suffering for the situation in which they found themselves. I hope that this gesture of mine will be followed by the solicitous effort by them to accomplish the ulterior steps necessary to accomplish full communion with the Church, thus testifying true fidelity and true recognition of the Magisterium and of the authority of the Pope and of the Second Vatican Council.

  While I renew with affection the expression of my full and unquestionable solidarity with our brothers receivers of the First Covenant, I hope that the memory of the Shoah leads mankind to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man. May the Shoah be for all a warning against forgetfulness, against denial or reductionism, because the violence against a single human being is violence against all. No man is an island, a famous poet writes. The Shoah particularly teaches, both old an the new generations, that only the tiresome path of listening and dialogue, of love and of forgiveness lead the peoples, the cultures, and the religions of the world to the hoped-for goal of fraternity and peace in truth. May violence never again crush the dignity of man!

• 01-28-09: Superior General of the SSPX: Bishop Williamson forbidden to speak on political or historical matters January 27, 2009:

  We view this matter with great concern, as this exorbitance has caused severe damage to our religious mission. We apologize to the Holy Father and to all people of good will for the trouble it has caused.

  It must remain clear that those comments do not reflect in any way the attitude of our community. That is why I have forbidden Bishop Williamson to issue any public opinion on any political or historical matter until further notice.

• 01-28-09: Note of the District Superior for Germany of the SSPX:

  The banalization of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazi regime and of its horror are unacceptable for us.

  The persecution and murder of an incalculable number of Jews under the Third Reich touches us painfully and they also violate the Christian commandment of love for neighbor which does not distinguish ethnicities.

  I must apologize for this behavior and dissociate myself from such a view.

  Such dissociation is also necessary for us because the father of Archbishop Lefebvre died in a KZ [concentration camp] and because numerous Catholic priests lost their lives in Hitler's concentration camps.

• 01-29-09: Interview granted by the Superior General of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX), Bishop Bernard Fellay, to French Catholic Magazine Monde & Vie.

• 01-30-09: Letter of apology to Pope Benedict XVI from Bishop Bernard Williamson:

  Amidst this tremendous media storm stirred up by imprudent remarks of mine on Swedish television, I beg of you to accept, only as is properly respectful, my sincere regrets for having caused to yourself and to the Holy Father so much unnecessary distress and problems.

  For me, all that matters is the Truth Incarnate, and the interests of His one true Church, through which alone we can save our souls and give eternal glory, in our little way, to Almighty God. So I have only one comment, from the prophet Jonas, I, 12:

  "Take me up and throw me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you; for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you."

  Please also accept, and convey to the Holy Father, my sincere personal thanks for the document signed last Wednesday and made public on Saturday. Most humbly I will offer a Mass for both of you.

• Interview with Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, president of the Ecclesia Dei Commission published today in Italian national daily Corriere della Sera.

• Note of the Secretariat of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone L'Osservatore Romano, February 5, 2009:

  ... The positions of Mons. Williamson on the Shoah are absolutely unacceptable and firmly rejected by the Holy Father, as he himself remarked on the past January 28, when, referring to that brutal genocide, he reaffirmed his full and unquestionable solidarity with our Brethren, receivers of the First Covenant, and affirmed that the memory of that terrible genocide must lead "mankind to reflect on the unpredictable power of evil when it conquers the heart of man", adding that the Shoah remains "for all a warning against forgetfulness, against denial or reductionism, because the violence against a single human being is violence against all".

  Bishop Williamson, for an admission to episcopal functions in the Church, will also have to distance himself, in an absolutely unequivocal and public manner, from his positions regarding the Shoah, unknown to the Holy Father in the moment of the remission of the excommunication.

  The Holy Father asks to be joined by the prayers of all the faithful, so that the Lord may enlighten the path of the Church. May the effort of the Pastors and of all the faithful increase in support of the delicate and burdensome mission of the Successor of Apostle Peter as "custodian of unity" in the Church.

• Italian District of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (FSSPX / SSPX) has announced the expulsion of Father Floriano Abrahamowicz, the priest responsible for Northeast Italy. Rorate Caeli February 6, 2009.

• Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos in the eye of the storm interview granted by the director of the Holy See Press Office and head of Radio Vaticana, Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, to French daily La Croix. February 5, 2009.

• Williamson "was removed from his charge as head of the seminary" of Nuestra Señora Corredentora of La Reja (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina) - confirmed by Father Christian Bouchacourt to Argentinian daily La Nación. February 9, 2009.

Further Resources, Commentary and Discussion

• Q-and-A Explains Standing of 4 Lefebvrite Bishops explanation prepared by the episcopal conference of England and Wales on the lifting of the excommunication of four bishops of the Society of St. Pius X.
• Lefebvre Group Step Hailed as Unity Week Success: Spokesman Reflects on Lifting of Excommunication Remarks of Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office. Zenit News January 25, 2009.
• With Lefebvrists, It's Just the Beginning: Ecclesia Dei Member Considers Lifting of Excommunication Remarks of Cardinal Jean-Pierre Ricard, archbishop of Bordeux. Zenit News January 27, 2009.
• Rome’s Reconciliation: Did the Pope heal, or deepen, the Lefebvrist schism?, by George Weigel. Newsweek January 26, 2009.
• Misconceptions: What the “lifting” of the SSPX excom’s means for people, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (What Does The Prayer Really Say?)
• "Your Move" and Lefebvre Part II, by Amy Welborn. Charlotte Was Both
• No More Excommunication for the Lefebvrists. But Peace Is Still Far Off, by Sandro Magister. Chiesa. January 28, 2009.
• Lefebvre movement: long, troubled history with Judaism, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter January 26, 2009.
• The Lefebvrite case: What was the Vatican thinking?, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter January 30, 2009.
• The Jewish Reaction to the Pope's Welcoming Back Holocaust Denying Bishop: Disproportionate! Rabbi Irwin Kula. Huffington Post February 2, 2009.
• "The SSPX bishops should resign": The Regensburg Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller about the prohibition of the Holocaust denier, Williamson in his diocese, and what he wants from the Society of St Pius X ZEIT ONLINE. February 3, 2009. [Translated by Catholic Church Conservation].
• "Enough", by Paul Zummo (CrankyCon). February 3, 2009.
• Double Disaster at the Vatican: Of Governance, and of Communication, by Sandro Magister. Chiesa. February 4, 2009.