Pope Benedict Roundup!

• 12/12/09: Rowan Williams, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, described Pope Benedict's provisions for traditional Anglicans to come into union with the Catholic Church as "theologically eccentric". (Link to Fr. John Zuhlsdorf's commentary on the interview).

• 12/11/09: Pope Benedict XVI and high-ranking members or the Roman Curia met with two members of the Irish bishops’ conference t discuss the issue of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin. Dr. Denice Hanley of the Pope Benedict XVI Blog has the roundup.

• 12/10/09 The program for Benedict XVI's May 11-14 trip to Portugal has been confirmed, with visits to Lisbon, Fatima and Porto.

• 12/07/09 When there is conflict in the Church, the way to find sound doctrine, as well as serenity, is following the See of Peter, said Pope Benedict XVI, citing the example of Rupert of Deutz, a 12th-century Benedictine monk. (Click here for the full text of Benedict's homily).

• 12/5/09 - Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to the Bishops of Brazil, warning them of the "deceitful principles of liberation theology" and its "more or less visible consequences ... rebellion, division, dissent, offense, anarchy".

• "A Tale of Two Popes" - InsideCatholic's Joanna Bogle muses in anticipation of Benedict XVI's 2010 visit to England:

  [I]t's worth debunking a few papal myths -- the first being that John Paul II and Benedict XVI are men with wholly different worldviews and perspectives, who were often at variance with one another, especially on issues such as ecumenism, liturgy, and the relationship between the Church and other faiths. Not so. ...

• Pope Benedict is the target of frequent attacks by renegade Catholic theologians -- but this takes the cake: Dr Tina Beattie, Professor of Catholic Studies at Roehampton University, has attacked Pope Benedict XVI’s teaching on the family in the most revolting terms, invoking the case of Josef Fritzl, the Austrian rapist who fathered seven children by his own daughter. Yes, you read that correctly. Damien Thompson wonders: "Will anyone have the nerve to raise the subject at the next Tablet board meeting?"

• Boy's wish comes true for papal audience, by Diane Kreiger-Spivak (Chicago Post-Tribune December 4, 2009):

  Andrew lives in the same house his family has owned for 150 years, and is a member of the same church his family has attended just as long, St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, just down the highway.

  His faith, his mom says, is passionate, which is why Andrew, unlike thousands of other gravely ill children, told the Make-A-Wish Foundation that he wanted to go to Rome to visit the pope. ...

• Is Pope Benedict a secret rap lover? - "NO!", says The Catholic Herald's Anna Arco.

• "From Priest to Pontiff (First Things ) - George Cardinal Pell reviews Peter Seewald's From Priest to Pontiff:

  Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait effectively brings the pope to the wider world—mostly because its author is a journalist able to ask the questions nontheologians and nonbelievers find interesting. A communist when he first encountered the future pope, Seewald nonetheless had insight and integrity that gradually enabled him to recognize the central claims of Christianity, even when he could not accept their truth. And, as his work with then Cardinal Ratzinger on The Salt of the Earth progressed, he managed to escape the narrow constraints of the German intellectual and theological world, coming to admire his subject.

  Indeed, by his own account, the answers Seewald received “grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.” He started to read the gospels regularly and to go to Mass. Belief became a burning issue for him and he was horrified by the possibility that his questions had no answers. He has now quietly returned to the Church, acknowledging that, by Catholic criteria, only a conservative can be progressive—which is to say, only someone who keeps the treasure of faith complete and intact is able to achieve progress. ...

• Zenit reports that The Russian Orthodox Church has published a book in Italian and Russian with texts from Benedict XVI on the culture of Europe:

  This is the first time the Moscow Patriarchate is publishing a compilation of texts from a Pope. It is titled "Europe, Spiritual Homeland," and includes addresses by Joseph Ratzinger during the course of more than a decade. ...

  "This book is an event of unprecedented historic scope in the millennial history of Catholics and Russian Orthodox," explained the editor of the book, Pierluca Azzaro. "But before and above all, it is a great testimony of love of Christ and between Christians. From this love springs -- should spring -- European culture in all its manifold expressions: a living culture, imbued with an authentically creative moral energy, all together geared to the building of a good future for all."

  Sandro Magister has more, including ntroduction to: Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI, "Europa, patria spirituale," Moscow/Rome, 2009.