Pope Benedict Roundup!

[Note: There was a lot of topics to cover from our last roundup in June 2007; if some are omitted, it is either due to a lapse on my part or -- as in the case of Benedict XVI's letter to Chinese Catholics -- a wish to make it the subject of an individual post. Enjoy.]

• On June 16, Pope Benedict XVI received Beatitude Chrysostomos II, Archbishop of New Justiniana and Cyprus. From the Vatican website, the English translations of Benedict and Chrysostomos II's addresses to each other and their common declaration.

• On June 17, Pope Benedict XVI visited Assisi on the anniversary of the conversion of St. Francis. From the Vatican website, links to translations of all five addresses, along with a photo gallery.

  In his homily during the Mass celebrated outside the Basilica of St. Francis, Pope Benedict recalls the interfaith / ecumenical gatherings initiated by his predecessor, and adds his own perspective on the interreligious dialogue:

  . . . I cannot forget in today's context the initiative of John Paul II, my Predecessor of holy memory, who in 1986 wanted to gather here at a Prayer Meeting for Peace representatives of the Christian denominations and of the different world religions.

  It was a prophetic intuition and a moment of grace, as I said a few months ago in my Letter to the Bishop of this Town on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of that event. The choice of celebrating the meeting at Assisi was prompted precisely by the witness of Francis as a man of peace to whom so many people, even from other cultural and religious positions, look with sympathy.

  At the same time, the light of the "Poverello" on that initiative was a guarantee of Christian authenticity, since his life and message are so visibly based on Christ's choice to reject a priori any temptation of religious indifferentism which would have nothing to do with authentic interreligious dialogue.

  The "spirit of Assisi", which has continued to spread throughout the world since that event, counters the spirit of violence and the abuse of religion as a pretext for violence. Assisi tells us that faithfulness to one's own religious conviction, and especially faithfulness to the Crucified and Risen Christ, is not expressed in violence and intolerance but in sincere respect for the other, in dialogue, in a proclamation that appeals to freedom and reason and in the commitment to peace and reconciliation.

  The failure to combine acceptance, dialogue and respect for all with the certainty of faith which every Christian, like the Saint of Assisi, is bound to foster, proclaiming Christ as the Way, the Truth and the Life of man (cf. Jn 14: 6), the one Saviour of the World, can be neither an evangelical nor a Franciscan attitude.

  (Via Carl Olson, who also recommends on this subject Fr. Schall's commentary on "The Spirit of Assisi: On Praying With Other Religions" (Ignatius Insight October 16, 2006).

• On June 24, Pope Benedict gave the closing address to participants of the European Meeting of University Professors in Rome. Touching on themes from his Regensburg address, he pointed to several issues worthy of reflection: 1) "the need for a comprehensive study of the crisis of modernity" - countering the "false dichotomy" between theism and authentic humanism, divine law and human freedom. "The anthropocentrism which characterizes modernity can never be detached from an acknowledgment of the full truth about man, which includes his transcendent vocation"; 2) "the broadening of our understanding of rationality" - beyond the confinement of the "purely empirical," fostering a cooperation between faith and reason; 3) the contributions of Christianity to humanism -- "The question of man, and thus of modernity, challenges the Church to devise effective ways of proclaiming to contemporary culture the 'realism' of her faith in the saving work of Christ":

  Knowledge can never be limited to the purely intellectual realm; it also includes a renewed ability to look at things in a way free of prejudices and preconceptions, and to allow ourselves to be "amazed" by reality, whose truth can be discovered by uniting understanding with love. Only the God who has a human face, revealed in Jesus Christ, can prevent us from truncating reality at the very moment when it demands ever new and more complex levels of understanding. The Church is conscious of her responsibility to offer this contribution to contemporary culture.

  Some amazing photography of Benedict's visit to Assisi, taken by Benodette @ The Benedict Forum.

• In June, Pope Benedict also visited the Vatican Library and Secret Archives, reminding the employees of their vocation:

  The Pontiff told the staff that on his 70th birthday, he asked Pope John Paul II for permission to "dedicate myself to study and research the interesting documents and finds you safeguard so carefully, real masterpieces that help us to follow the story of humanity and of Christianity."

  "In his providential designs, the Lord had other plans for me," Benedict XVI said, "and here I am today among you not as a passionate student of ancient texts, but as a pastor called to encourage the faithful to work together for the salvation of the world, each one carrying out God's will where he has placed them."

  At the end of his visit, the Pope exhorted the staff to consider their work "as a true mission to be carried out with passion and patience, gentleness and in the spirit of faith […] aware that the Gospel message is passed on through your coherent Christian testimony."

  Here is the full text of Benedict's address to the staff of the Vatican Library.

  According to Zenit, The Vatican Library was founded in 1450 by Pope Nicholas V and houses 1,600,000 ancient and modern books; 8,300 printed documents, including 65 parchments; 150,000 manuscript codes and archive papers; 300,000 coins and medals; and some 20,000 works of art.

• Benedict XVI has re-established that a two-thirds majority will always be required for the election of a Pope. The Holy Father decreed the norm in a June 11 "motu proprio" written in Latin. It was published today by L'Osservatore Romano and is effective immediately. (Zenit News June 26, 2007).

• On June 28, speaking at vespers celebration held at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, Pope Benedict celebrated the Solemnity of Saints Peter & Paul:

  [F]rom the outset, Christian tradition has considered Peter and Paul to have been inseparable, even if each had a different mission to accomplish.

  Peter professed his faith in Christ first; Paul obtained as a gift the ability to deepen its riches. Peter founded the first community of Christians who came from the Chosen People; Paul became the Apostle to the Gentiles. With different charisms they worked for one and the same cause: the building of Christ's Church.

  and dedicated the Jubilee year of June 2008-June 2009 to Paul the Apostle in celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of the saint's birth. From Zenit, here is Father Sassi, superior general of the Society of St. Paul, on the question: "What would St. Paul do if he were alive today?"

• July 7th, Pope Benedict issued the long-anticipated motu proprio Summorum Pontificum, announcing new norms that will allow the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope John XXIII in 1962 to be used as an extraordinary form of the liturgical celebration. In an interview with Zenit, the Wanderer's Father John Zuhlsdorf provides an analysis of the document and its implications.

  A further list of recommended resources and links to discussion can be found here; for ongoing chronicles of the reaction to the document, see SummorumPontificum.net.

• On July 15th, Pope Benedict expressed his gratitude to God (and his hosts) for being able to enjoy the mountains of Northern Italy, where he vacationed until the 21st. Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office, confirmed that Benedict XVI was chiefly occupied with working on the second volume of Jesus of Nazareth.

  At a July 18 press conference, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone elaborated on the Pope's vacation habits:

  "The Pope is playing the piano a lot but he is also working. He has a great capacity to write a lot. He is writing the second part of his book, 'Jesus of Nazareth,' and a new encyclical with a social theme -- I don't know when it will be published -- and other things.

  "He is a volcano of creativity. He is working on things like the message for World Youth Day 2008 and other things 'in pectore.' And he is drawing out and elaborating further themes he has already written about."

  And in the Italian daily Il Giornale, Benedict's secretary Msgr. George Ganswein decribed the glowing reception given to the Pope by the residents of the Veneto region:

  The Holy Father, "was surprised, even overwhelmed" by "so much affection, kindness and love," from the people he encountered on his vacation, but "he has learned this affectionate language very well," Monsignor Georg Gänswein told the Italian daily Il Giornale.

  "At the beginning, I have shared this observation," Monsignor Gänswein said. "Afterward, I have been able to see how the Pope has learned this affectionate language very well, responding with simple and humble, but very eloquent, gestures.

  "And the people immediately realize that the Pope is not looking for applause and does not want to call attention to himself, but instead, only wants to guide the faithful to Christ. This is the authentic objective of the Pope's reactions. And the hearts of the people have understood this very well."

• Benedict devoted his July 22 Angelus to the spectre of war, issuing a renewed plea for peace among nations:

  If men lived in peace with God and with each other, the earth would truly resemble a "paradise." Unfortunately, sin ruined this divine project, generating divisions and bringing death into the world. This is why men cede to the temptations of the evil one and make war against each other. The result is that in this stupendous "garden" that is the world, there open up circles of hell.

  War, with the mourning and destruction it brings, has always been rightly considered a calamity that contrasts with God's plan. He created everything for existence and, in particular, wants to make a family of the human race. . . .

  Benedict recalled the letter of his predecessor, Benedict XV's "Nota Alle Potenze Belligeranti" (Note to the Warring Powers), calling for an end to the "useless bloodbath" of the First World War.

  Benedict XV's "Nota" did not limit itself to condemning war; it indicated, at a juridical level, the ways to construct an equitable and durable peace: the moral force of law, balanced and regulated disarmament, arbitration in disputes, freedom on the seas, the reciprocal remission of war debts, the restitution of occupied territories, fair negotiations to resolve problems.

  The Holy See's proposal was oriented toward the future of Europe and of the world, according to a project that was Christian in inspiration but able to be shared by all because it was founded on the law of nations. It is the same program that the Servants of God Paul VI and John Paul II followed in their memorable speeches at the United Nations, repeating in the name of the Church: "No more war!"

• On July 24, 2007, Pope Benedict took part in another question-and-answer session with priests from the dioceses of Belluno-Feltre and Treviso, Italy.

  The questions were on topics including the education and Catholic formation of youth, the priest shortage, divorce and remarriage, immigration into Europe, evangelism, burdens facing priests and educators, sports, and the Vatican II Council.

  The Vatican has the English translation of the exchanges. Teresa Polk (Blog by the Sea) links to some earlier translations from the PapaRatzinger Forum. The tenth question was made the subject of a column by Sandro Magister: All Against All: The Postconciliar Period Recounted by Ratzinger, Theologian and Pope, responding to a priest who expressed his disappointment that so many hopes and dreams by those who participated in the Second Vatican Council had been dashed.

In Other News . . .

• Benedict XVI is moving the Church away from religion, in the modern sense of the term, and toward a deeper understanding of Christianity, according to Augustinian scholar John Peter Kenney, professor of Religious Studies at St. Michael's College, in Vermont. Zenit interviewed Kenney on the Augustinian influences in Benedict's pontificate (Zenit News, June 19, 2007):

  Religion is a category of modernity, usually understood to mean either individually authenticated spiritual experiences or else a particular type of collective ideology based on socially defined values.

  To think of Christianity in such terms is to drift toward the relativism that Pope Benedict has so famously decried. Hence Benedict XVI has insisted that personal spiritual experiences can only become meaningful within the shared context of a lived theology. And the collective life of the Church is far more than a form of social or political association. Christianity is not an ideology.

  These modern representations of religion can constitute a reduction of Christianity to psychological, sociological and political categories and can result in a denial of its claims to transcendent truth.

  Benedict XVI has a masterful grasp of all these reductionist tendencies and he has pushed back hard in order to restore recognition of the richness and depth of Christianity.

• Dr D. Vincent Twomey, SVD, congratulates his former doctoral supervisor on his election to the papacy. Courtesy: Fotografiafelici

  Zenit interviews Father Twomey, retired professor of moral theology at the Pontifical University of St. Patrick's College, in Maynooth, and author of Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age:

  Q: What do you think are the most defining characteristics of the writings of Joseph Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI?

  Father Twomey: The most defining formal characteristics of his writings are originality, clarity and a superb literary style that is not easy to render in translation.

  Ratzinger is more than a world-class scholar and academic: He is an original thinker.

  He has the Midas touch, in the positive sense that whatever he touches, he turns to gold, in other words, whatever subject he examines, he has something new and exciting to say about it, be it the dogmas of the Church or a mosaic in an ancient Roman church or bioethics. And he writes with amazing clarity.

  With regard to his style, Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne is reported as commenting that Ratzinger is the Mozart of theology -- he writes masterpieces effortlessly.

  With regard to its content, as Ratzinger once said himself, "God is the real central theme of my endeavors."

  There is hardly an area of theology -- dogma, moral, political life, bioethics, liturgy, exegesis, music, art -- that he has not examined in-depth. And everything he examines, he does so from God's viewpoint, as it were, namely trying to discover what light revelation -- Scripture and Tradition -- can shine on a particular issue.

  Twomey also addressed Ratzinger's "courage to be imperfect," as indicated by the unfinished state of his published works:

  Basic to his whole attitude to life and to theology is the assumption that only God is perfect, that human effort is always imperfect. . . .

  We cannot know everything, least of all God and his design for man. I have described his writings as "fragmentary." Most of his writings are unfinished -- like his classic book, "Introduction to Christianity," and, more recently, his "Jesus of Nazareth." And yet he has the courage to publish them in their unfinished state.

  This attitude gave Joseph Ratzinger that inner calm and detachment which the world is now experiencing in Benedict XVI. But it also is, perhaps, the secret of his gentle humor and wit.

  On Father Twomey's long friendship with and appreciation of the Holy Father, see also:
  • The Courage to be Imperfect The Word May 30, 2005.
  • The Theological Genius of Joseph Ratzinger | An Interview with Fr. D. Vincent Twomey Carl Olson, Ignatius Insight
  • Blast from the past: Fr. Twomey wrote a pretty critical review of John Allen Jr.'s The Vatican Enforcer in the October 2001 Homiletic & Pastoral Review, taking Allen to task for being tendentious, uncritical, and altogether too favorable to hostile witnesses (like Hans Kung). Following the election of Benedict XVI, Allen made something of a turnaround -- even going so far as to "recant", accepting another priest's criticism of his biography.

• For Benedict, environmental movement promises recovery of natural law tradition, by John Allen, Jr. Daily Journal, National Catholic Reporter July 27, 2007:

  One could say that summer 2007 is when the Vatican decided to go green. First came an announcement in June that more than 1,000 photovoltaic panels will be installed atop the Paul VI Audience Hall, allowing the building to utilize solar energy for light, heating and cooling. A month later, the Vatican became the first state in Europe to go completely carbon-neutral, signing an agreement with a Hungarian firm to reforest a sufficiently large swath of Hungary's Bükk National Park to offset its annual CO2 emissions.

  To some, these may seem curiously cutting edge moves from a pope whose recent decisions to revive the pre-Vatican II Mass and to reaffirm claims that Catholicism is the lone true church have cemented his reputation as the ultimate "retro" figure. He sometimes brings to mind the famous quip that rolling back the clock is a perfectly reasonable thing to do if it's keeping bad time.

  So what gives?

• Benedict’s Gifts and ‘Gaffes’ National Catholic Register August 12-18, 2007 Issue:

  The media is a double-edged sword: It can lift you up, and it can knock you down. Last year, headlines and commentators expressed surprise at the gifts the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI had brought to the Church. Now, their praise has been replaced by finger-pointing at the “gaffes” of the same Holy Father.

  The problem: There’s not that much difference between those gifts and those gaffes. . . .

• Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth is one of the best-selling books in France. In the current list published by the magazine L'Express, the book is at No. 5. It was released on June 7 and has remained on the bestsellerlist for 7 weeks.

• "Miracles are very hard to come by in Britain" - or so says Pope Benedict, to English prime minister Tony Blair during their meeting this past June. American Papist has the details.

• Gift or Gaffe?: Why Bush Gave Benedict a Walking Stick, by Wayne Laugesen. National Catholic Register June 24-30, 2007 Issue -- on the carved walking stick that President Bush presented the Pope on the occasion of his first visit, inscribed with the Ten Commandments. The gift was regarded as a laughingstock by liberal critics; the Register tells a different story:

  The stick was designed and carved by Roosevelt Wilkerson, a man who lived on the streets of Dallas with his wife until Susan Nowlin, a good friend of George and Laura Bush, discovered his craft and began helping him sell the carvings, known as Moses Sticks. [...]

  The first stick Nowlin bought was given to her pastor. Subsequently, she gave a stick to then-Gov. Bush because she knew he cared about the homeless and the poor — and the Ten Commandments. Greeting Nowlin for a luncheon at the governor’s mansion, Laura Bush told her that Gov. Bush considered his Moses Stick “the greatest gift ever.” [...]

  In preparing for the Vatican visit, Bush contacted Nowlin about acquiring a stick so the White House protocol office could review it as a possible gift for Pope Benedict XVI. Wilkerson and his wife haven’t been homeless for most of the past 10 years because of the Moses Sticks, but Nowlin says it hasn’t been easy. Sometimes, sales have been slow.

  “I needed to sell at least seven sticks a month, if they were to stay off the street,” Nowlin said. “When orders were slow, Roosevelt and I would pray. We would just pray and pray and pray and the orders would come in.”

  As a result of the president’s gift to the Pope, Nowlin said she and Wilkerson can’t keep up. She has raised the price of the sticks to $100, but says she could probably charge $1,000 or more and still have a backlog of orders.

  The Register reports that the Holy Father did not appear at all phased by the President's gift of a walking stick, nor is down-home Texan manner of referring to him as "Sir." Neither should we, I suppose.

• The Ratzinger Effect: more money, more pilgrims – and lots more Latin July 7, 2007:

  Cardinal Sergio Sebastiani, head of economic affairs at the Holy See, said that the “remarkable increase” in both donations and numbers of pilgrims showed that there was “a symbiosis, a mutual sympathy between this Pope and Christian people everywhere”.

  Presenting the Holy See’s annual budget yesterday, Cardinal Sebastiani noted that not only had it closed last year with a surplus of €2.4 million, partly thanks to diocesan donations, there had also been a “huge jump” in “Peter’s Pence”, the annual church collections given directly to the Pope to use for charity, from $60 million (£30 million) in 2005 to $102 million. “The days when people talked of papal bankruptcy are past,” said Marco Tosatti, Vatican correspondent of La Stampa. . . .

  Record numbers attend Benedict’s weekly audiences, and seven million people a year now visit St Peter’s, a rise of 20 per cent. Similar increases are recorded for pilgrimages to Catholic shrines at Assisi, Lourdes, Fatima in Portugal and Madonna di Guadalupe in Mexico. “This is a Ratzinger phenomenon,” reported La Repubblica.

• Bonaventure & Benedict July 15, 2007. dotCommonweal [blog]:

  Today, tucked into the celebration of "the weekly Easter," the Dies Domini, the Church also commemorates, with the entire Franciscan family, St. Bonaventure, theologian and pastor.

  In 1959 the young professor, Joseph Ratzinger, published a significant study: The Theology of History in St. Bonaventure. This second thesis, or Habilitationschrift, is required for the aspirant to hold a chair in a German university.

  In his 1969 "Foreword to the American Edition," Ratzinger writes of his findings . . . READ MORE

• "A Day in the Life of the Pope" - stills from a documentary, with shots from inside the rather modest Papal apartment, study and chapel. (Courtesy of the The Pope Benedict XVI Forum).

• Interview with Msgr. Georg Gaenswein Sueddeutsche Zeitung July 26, 2007 (kindly translated from German by Gerald Augustinus of Closed Cafeteria ). The interviewer, Peter Seewald, is the co-author of several book-length interviews with Cardinal Ratzinger - Salt of the Earth and God and the World. On the state of the Pope's health:

  PS: When he was a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger wanted to retire, stating he was exhausted.

  MG: With his election as Pope something happened that he neither strived for nor wanted. But I am convinced that, as he by and by surrendered to God's will, the grace of the office in his person and his actions has shown effect and still is. . . .

  On his own service to the Holy Father:

  PS: The son of a blacksmith from a 450 people village in the Black Forest who now travels with the Holy Father in a helicopter and shares the concerns of the global Church (Weltkirche) - does one ask oneself: Why me? What does God want from me?

  MG: I asked myself this very question, and not just once. It is a task that you cannot plan. In promising the Holy Father fidelity and obedience, I tried to answer that question. In that, I see a message from God, to face this task without reservations.

  On the unfortunate caricatures of him by the tabloids and the ogling of adoring fans:

  PS: You're probably the first Papal secretary in history that's also in the spotlight next to the Pontifex: People Magazine swoons over the "Sunnyboy in the cassock", the Swiss Weltwoche calls you the "most handsome man in a soutane". Donatella Versace dedicated a fashion line to you. Does this image as a "ladykiller" (ie someone who looks like one) bother you ?

  MG: It didn't make me blush, but it irritated me a bit. It doesn't hurt and it was flattering, and it's no sin. I'd never been confronted like this with my "shell". Then I noticed that it was largely an expression of sympathy - a bonus, not a malus; I can handle that well. But, I don't want that people don't just look at me but also acknowledge the substance.

  It's a lengthy (and, as it progresses, substantial) interview, so read on.

  Also, from Benodette @ Benedict Forum, translation of another interview with Msgr. Ganswein in Suedkurier.de:

  . . . [Jesus of Nazareth] is enjoying a great success in Germany too. Have you read it already?

  Yes, for the second time. It is a spiritual legacy of a man who has grappled with Jesus throughout his whole life as a priest, as a professor, as archbishop and Cardinal Prefect, and now as Pope. He draws upon the sum of his life, and sets down a confession [of faith]. Readers will be much encouraged and strengthened in their faith by this book.

  The Regensburg speech was the speech with the greatest worldwide echo. Some Muslims reacted indignantly. Since this experience do you look at the papal speeches beforehand?

  Naturally, the Pope takes reactions to his speeches into account, and ponders, separates the wheat from the chaff. But he doesn’t let himself be hemmed in, because someone doesn’t agree with this or that statement or heavily criticizes it. Many who remain silent, who do not announce themselves with public bluster, are grateful for his clear, trailblazing words.

  Are other departments of the Catholic Curia involved with papal pronouncements?

  The Pope usually writes speeches, homilies and lengthy texts himself. When necessary, individual components are provided or suggestions are compiled. But he is the architect of the text. . . .

• From the Benedict Forum, news of a German biography of Benedict's brother, Georg Ratzinger:

  A biography of Monsignor Georg Ratzinger is to be published later this month by Herder-Verlag. The author is 56 year old journalist Anton Zuber who lives near Heilbronn.

  Oberpfalznetz -The Pope will be given the book by his brother on 16 August at Castelgandolfo. It will be generally available on 25 August. The book is titles Georg Ratzinger and the Regensburg Domspatzen. The book will concentrate on Georg Ratzinger’s life as a musician. The book has 256 pages and will be sold at 19.90 Euro.

  From the German wires:

  German news wires - People have always had an interest in those who are close to a Pope. Stanislaw Dziwisz, now Cardinal Archbishop of Krakow, has published a book about his years with Pope John Paul II which reveals something of how close their relationship was.

  Never before, however, has a book been dedicated to the life of a Pope’s brother. Today, at Castelgandolfo, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger presented the first copy of his biography to his bother the Pope. Written by the journalist Anton Zuber, and published by Herder, the book is focused on his years as Master of the Regensburg Domspatzen, which achieved world-wide celebrity under his leadership between 1964 and 1994.

  Anton Zuber spent many hours in conversation with Georg Ratzinger for the biography. The book also covers Monsignor Ratzinger’s shocked reaction to the result of the conclave, his childhood and youth, his career as a musician, his time in the war (he was wounded in Italy), his captivity as a POW, his ordination and his first Mass. He also speaks of his small brother, with whom he and his sister Maria would play, their respect for their industrious mother and firm but fair father. He recalled the tale of his brother’s tears over a teddy bear which disappeared from the shop window across the street, only to turn up under their Christmas tree.

• Pope set to declare income tax evasion 'socially unjust', by Richard Owen. Times [UK] August 11, 2007:

  Pope Benedict XVI is working on a doctrinal pronouncement that will condemn tax evasion as “socially unjust”, according to Vatican sources.

  In his second encyclical – the most authoritative statement a pope can issue – the pontiff will denounce the use of “tax havens” and offshore bank accounts by wealthy individuals, since this reduces tax revenues for the benefit of society as a whole.

  It will focus on humanity’s social and economic problems in an era of globalisation. Pope Benedict intends to argue for a world trade and economic system “regulated in such a way as to avoid further injustice and discrimination”, Ignazio Ingrao, a Vatican watcher, said yesterday.

  The encyclical, drafted during his recent holiday in the mountains of northern Italy, takes its cue from Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples), issued 40 years ago. In it the pontiff focused on “those peoples who are striving to escape from hunger, misery, endemic diseases and ignorance and are looking for a wider share in the benefits of civilisation”. He called on the West to promote an equitable world economic system based on social justice rather than profit.

  Adds Rick Garnett (Mirror of Justice): "I hope this document attends carefully to the non-trivial challenge of defining 'tax evasion.'" At this point, we can only speculate.

On a Lighter Note . . .

• For the Papist Who Has Everything . . .. A Bobble-Head Benedict. It has to be seen to be believed.

• Pope Outed as Catholic (Parody is Therapy July 13, 2007):

  A Vatican document published with the Pope's blessing has created a firestorm of controversy and has outed the Pope as a believing Catholic.

  Apparently he thinks the Catholic Church is the true Church and considers the sacraments real and are what they signify.

• Papist Picture of the Day @ American Papist: "Little did Timmy know, but his most memorable night of working at the McDonald's drive-through window was about to begin!"

• Finally, congratulations to The American Papist for his recognition as a resource on Benedict XVI by the New York Times. (The Benedict Blog / Benedict XVI Fan Club was selected as well):
  

New Books by Pope Benedict XVI / Joseph Ratzinger

As Pope Benedict XVI
The Apostles (Our Sunday Visitor, July 2007): In this fascinating and inspirational journey with the friends of Jesus, Pope Benedict XVI demonstrates a profound, unbreakable continuity--built upon the foundation of the Apostles and alive in the succession of the Apostles---by which Christ is present today in His people and His church. Let Pope Benedict be your guide as the distance of centuries is overcome and he reveals the impact of Christ s vision through the calling and works of the Apostles. Ignite your faith with this timeless connection between Jesus, His Apostles, the Church, and you.
Amy Welborn has edited an adult "study guide" to OSV's The Apostles: a compilation Benedict's Wednesday General Audiences: A master catechist, the Holy Father's inspirational words about the chosen disciples of Jesus are as clear as though he were sitting down and explaining it to you personally. Because the book naturally lends itself to adult study, a study guide has been developed. There are twelve sessions, each with questions for study and questions for reflection, as well as opening and closing prayers. It is available for purchase online at a modest fee, or you can download The Apostles study guide for free directly from Our Sunday Visitor's website. [.pdf format]
An Invitation to Faith: An a to Z Primer on the Thought of Pope Benedict XVI Edited by Jean-michel Coulet. Ignatius Press (July 31, 2007). From the publisher: With strong words, Benedict XVI invites us to place God at the center of our lives. Thus, this book is a selection of key words from the teachings of the Holy Father since he began his Pontificate, presented in alphabetical order. Each key word leads to an inspiring and insightful meditation from the Pope on various important spiritual themes and topics. Benedict XVI invites us in these words to become daily actors in the real revolution that comes from God and is called Love. This volume is a handy little primer on the thought of the beloved Pontiff in which the reader can pick out any key word or topic form the alphabetical order of meditations throughout the book to meditate and focus on.
Jesus, the Apostles and the Early Church Ignatius Press (November 2007).: Based on Pope Benedict XVI's weekly teaching on the relationship between Christ and the Church, this book tells the drama of Jesus' first disciples -- his Apostles and their associates -- and how they spread Jesus' message throughout the ancient world. Far from distorting the truth about Jesus of Nazareth, insists Pope Benedict, the early disciples remained faithful to it, even at the cost of their lives. Beginning with the Twelve as the foundation of Jesus' re-establishment of the Holy People of God, Pope Benedict examines the story of the early followers of Christ. He draws on Scripture and early tradition to consider such important figures as Peter, Andrew, James and John, and even Judas Iscariot. Benedict moves beyond the original Twelve to discuss Paul of Tarsus, the persecutor of Christianity who became one of Jesus' greatest disciples. Also considered are Stephen, the first Christian martyr, Barnabas, Timothy, Titus, the wife and husband "team" of Priscilla and Aquila, and such key women figures as Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and Phoebe.
The Blessing of Christmas: Meditations for the Season Ignatius Press (October 31, 2007): This lovely little book, profusely illustrated, is ideal for the Christmas and Advent season with its inspiring, profound, yet popular meditations on the blessings of the season by the current Pope. Taken from his sermons as well as his writings, these beautiful meditations by the acclaimed spiritual teacher, writer and now Pontiff, give his usual fresh insights into the deeper meaning of this most wondrous event, and show the Pope to be a man who knows how to address both the mind and the heart.
As Joseph Ratzinger [One beneficial thing (among many) about Benedict XVI being the pope -- we can expect new editions of his works as Cardinal Ratzinger, some of which are currently out of print.]
New Outpourings of the Spirit, by Joseph Ratzinger. Ignatius Press (October 2007): The volume consists of two fundamental texts by Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, on the ecclesial movements and new communities within the Church since the Second Vatican Council. These writings are particularly meaningful with regard to the intense spiritual journey which the ecclesial movements and the new communities are experiencing in view of their meeting with Pope Benedict XVI on Pentecost 2006. These writings are a precious guide for the entire Church, leaders and laity alike, who are invited to welcome the new "outpourings of the Spirit". The first part of the book presents in an articulate and exhaustive way the theological vision of the Pope on these ecclesial movements and the new communities. It is his talk titled Church Movements and their Place in Theology which he gave at the beginning of the World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements in Rome in Ma, 1998. It combines extraordinary theological depth with a warm pastoral tone. The second part of the book is very different from the first, but complements the first part. It contains the dialogue of Cardinal Ratzinger with a large group of Bishops from all continents, convened together for a seminar on the topic, The Ecclesial Movements in the Pastoral Concern of the Bishops held in Rome in 1999.This dialogue format was very favorably received by the Bishops, and it is quite wide-ranging, touching on topics such as the relation between the old and the new charisms, the institutional dimension and the charismatic dimension of the Church, and the Church's mission in a non-Christian society and more.
Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life [2nd Edition] by Joseph Ratzinger. Catholic University of America Press; 2 edition (October 7, 2007): Originally published in English in 1988, Joseph Ratzinger's Eschatology remains internationally recognized as a leading text on the "last things"--heaven and hell, purgatory and judgment, death and the immortality of the soul. This highly anticipated second edition includes a new preface by Joseph Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI and a supplement to the bibliography by theologian Peter A. Casarella. Eschatology presents a balanced perspective of the doctrine at the center of Christian belief--the Church's faith in eternal life. Recognizing the task of contemporary eschatology as "to marry perspectives, so that person and community, present and future, are seen in their unity," Joseph Ratzinger brings together recent emphasis on the theology of hope for the future with the more traditional elements of the doctrine. His book has proven to be as timeless as it is timely.
Seek That Which Is Above: Meditations Through the Year [Reprint] Ignatius Press (September 30, 2007): In this beautifully illustrated book, Cardinal Ratzinger gives us meditations on various Liturgical Seasons and Feasts throughout the year, as well as other interesting spiritual and secular themes. These profound and inspiring thoughts bring his broad theological experience as well as his wide literary interests to his people. Here is a shepherd nourishing spiritually the faithful addressed to his care. Themes the Cardinal covers include Advent, Candlemas, Mardi Gras, Easter, Corpus Christi, Marian Devotion, Vacation & Rest, Peace and Creation.
Ratzinger / Benedict Scholarship
Joseph Ratzinger - Life in the Church and Living Theology: Fundamentals of Ecclesiology by Maximilian Heinrich Heim. (Ignatius Press, October 2007). 500pp. This is a major work on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, by a highly regarded German theologian, priest and writer. Since his election to the Papacy, Ratzinger's theology, and in particular his ecclesiology (theology of the Church), has been in the limelight of theological and ecumenical discussions. This important work studies in detail Ratzinger's ecclesiology in the light of Vatican II, against the ongoing debate about what Vatican II really meant to say about the life of the Church, its liturgy, its worship, its doctrine, its pastoral mission, and more. Has his theology of the Church changed since Vatican II, or has it continued to develop consistently? Is the Catholic Church one church among many churches? Is she the object of hope or a historical reality? Ratzinger the theologian figures centrally in this investigation, not as the former Prefect for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, but as a thinker and as a writer.
Expected in 2008 Ratzinger's Faith, by Tracey Rowland. Oxford University Press (March 6, 2008): general introduction to the theology of Pope Benedict XVI, including his approach to issues in moral and political theology, ecclesiology, liturgy, interpretations of the of the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and the theology of history. Tracey Rowland also addresses the question of Pope Benedict's place in the constellation of contemporary Catholic theologians. It has become a commonplace observation that Pope Benedict has been influenced by the thought of St Augustine, in contrast to many of his predecessors in the papacy who were much more strongly influenced by St Thomas Aquinas. Rowland therefore asks in what way Benedict is an Augustinian, and how this marked difference in theological perspective may play out in the coming years. Her book includes an extensive thematic bibliography, which will be valuable for students. Dean and Associate Professor of Political Philosophy and Continental Theology of the John Paul II Institute, Melbourne, Australia, and Member of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham.

Pope Benedict Recognizes 100th Anniversary of Scouting

On July 5, 2007, Pope Benedict recognized the 100th anniversary of Scouting:

"For one century, through play, action, adventure, contact with nature, life as a team and in service to others, you offer an integral formation to anyone who joins the Scouts," said the Holy Father in his letter written in French.

He continued: "Inspired by the Gospels, scouting is not only a place for authentic human growth, but also a place of strong Christian values and true moral and spiritual growth, as with any authentic way of holiness.

"The sense of responsibility that permeates Scout education leads to a life of charity and the desire to serve one's neighbor, in the image of Christ the servant, based on the grace offered by Christ, in a special way through the sacraments of the Eucharist and forgiveness."

The Pontiff encouraged the brotherhood of the Scouts, "which is a part of its original ideal and makes up, above all for young generations -- a witness of that which is the body of Christ, within which, according to the image of St. Paul, all are called to fulfill a mission wherever they are, to rejoice in another's progress and to support their brothers in times of difficulty."

The full text of the papal letter on Scouting can be found here.

Scouting is a worldwide youth movement founded by Lord Robert Baden-Powell, Lieutenant General in the British Army. (Here is an interview with Lord Powell on the origins of Scouting Listener magazine, 1937).

According to the Boy Scouts of America on Scouting for Catholic Youth:

[the Catholic Church] is one of the most extensive users of the BSA program. There are more than 330,000 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, and Venturers in more than 9,600 packs, troops, and crews under Catholic auspices, and an equal number of youth members in other Scouting units. Scouting is used in about one-third of the parishes in the United States.

Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI

Following is a round-up of news and reviews and commentary on the Pope's new book. Consider this the 'anchor' post for this topic, meaning that if I run across any more pertinent links they will be updated here. -- Christopher

• Last month, Zenit News Service reported Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth has sold more than 1.5 million copies, the statistic referring to the Italian, Slovenian, Greek, Polish and various English editions. According to Zenit "There are 42 editors worldwide who have agreements to publish "Jesus of Nazareth," and 30 translations are in the works."

• Pope's new book addresses key concerns for this pontificate: Christ is key" - John Allen Jr. notes with amusement the varied attempts by the press to make sense of the Pope's book:

  . . . The first wave of stories focused on comments in the book about Africa and capitalism, even though they amount to asides in a 448-page treatise on the Gospels. Other stories styled the book as a rebuke to The Da Vinci Code. (That red herring was encouraged by an indirect allusion to Dan Brown's potboiler from Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna in a Vatican news conference.) Still others seemed charmed by the fact that the pope wrote that because his book is not a magisterial act, "everyone is free to contradict me." Beyond those angles, there was little interest in follow-up, in large part because a pope discussing Jesus strikes most people as the ultimate in "dog bites man" developments -- that is, the most normal thing in the world.

  By the time anyone had actually read all 448 pages of Jesus of Nazareth, the moment for further analysis had already passed. Passed, that is, everywhere but here, where papal analysis never goes out of fashion. . . .

  and comes to his own conclusions about the Pope's motivation:

  What seems clear is that the motive for the book is also emerging as the core doctrinal concern of this pontificate: Christology. Put in a nutshell, Benedict's thesis in Jesus of Nazareth is that there can be no humane social order or true moral progress apart from a right relationship with God; try as it might, a world organized etsi Deus non daretur, "as if God does not exist," will be dysfunctional and ultimately inhumane. Jesus Christ, Benedict insists, is "the sign of God for human beings." Presenting humanity with the proper teaching about Jesus is, therefore, according to Benedict, the highest form of public service the church has to offer.

• A Portrait of Faith, by Lisa Miller. Newsweek May 21, 2007. With Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict XVI fights back against 'the dictatorship of relativism' by showing the world his vision of the definitive truth of Christ. (Most amusing sentence: "Liberal Catholics worry that, in spite of assurances to the contrary, Benedict is writing an 'official' biography, and they have cause for concern.")

• Theme of papal book may also be hallmark of his papacy, panelists say, by Nancy Frazier O'Brien (Catholic News Service), covering a panel discussion with Bishop William E. Lori of Bridgeport, Conn., and Vatican analysts George Weigel and John Allen, at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington on May 15, 2007.

• From Michael Dubriel (Annunciations):

  A few months ago someone asked me what book I would recommend that they give to their adult children who no longer practiced the faith, without hesitation I named this book as the one. At the time I had only read some excerpts available online from Germany and Italy. It was an act of faith then, now that I have the book I know that my recommendation was justified.

• "A Pope’s Love of Writing", by Fr. Raymond J. de Souza. National Post, (Canada) May 17, 2007.

• Jesus of Nazareth: Review by Jeff Miller aka. The Curt Jester May 18, 2007: ". . . The chapter on the Our Father prayer is worth the price of the book alone. This is not just an academic exegesis of the Our Father prayer line-by-line, but a deep meditation into this prayer. Often we can repeat a prayer so often that it looses its freshness and his meditation on this prayer can shock us back into reality of what the prayer that Jesus gave us really means and indicates."

• Over at Catholic Analysis, Oswald Sobrino is periodically blogging a series of commenaries on Jesus of Nazareth.

• From the UK Times, a Jesus of Nazareth - Review by Geza Vermes The Times (London). May 19, 2007.

  See also: Response to Geza Vermes by Carl Olson @ Ignatius Insight; Mark Brumley on The Goodness and Divinity of Jesus and another Response to Geza Vermes by MetaCatholic.

• Benedict XVI on Jesus (Review), by Fr. Joseph O'Leary. Spirit of Vatican II May 25, 2007.

• Reading Benedict on Jesus, by Lawrence S. Cunningham (Commonweal) May 25, 2007:

  I have just finished reading and it is with some trepidation that I post this message since the blogosphere is cluttered with reactions. It is not my intention to review the work but let me say that I did think it is a powerful book. Those who think it only a work of devotion are mistaken as are those who think his approach to the scriptures is retrograde or those who hail it as the greatest thing since the Summa. . . .

• My Argument with the Pope, by Rabbi Jacob Neusner. Jerusalem Post May 29, 2007:

  In the Middle Ages rabbis were forced to engage with priests in disputations in the presence of kings and cardinals on which is the true religion, Judaism or Christianity. The outcome was predetermined. Christians won; they had the swords.

  But in the post-WW II era, disputations gave way to the conviction that the two religions say the same thing and the differences between them are dismissed as trivial. Now a new kind of disputation has begun, in which the truth of the two religions is subject to debate. That marks a return to the old disputations, with their intense seriousness about religious truth and their willingness to ask tough questions and engage with the answers.

  My book, A Rabbi Talks with Jesus, was one such contemporary exercise of disputation, and now, in 2007, the pope in his new book Jesus of Nazareth in detail has met the challenge point-by-point. Just imagine my amazement when I heard that a Christian reply is fully exposed in Pope Benedict XVI's reply to A Rabbi Talks with Jesus in his Jesus of Nazareth Chapter Four, on the sermon on the Mount. . . .

  In 1993, then-Cardinal Ratzinger heralded Neusner's book as "by far the most important book for the Jewish-Christian dialogue in the last decade.". Time magazine recently profiled Rabbi Neusner (The Pope's Favorite Rabbi, by David Van Biema. May 24, 2007).

• Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI, by Joel Gillespie. June 12, 2007:

  Every so often a book comes along that deeply moves and inspires me as a person, and as a Christian. I can never know when this will happen. Many books disappoint, and many surprise.

  I am right in the middle of one of those amazing books. It is “Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration” by Joseph Ratzinger, otherwise known as Pope Benedict XVI.

  OK, I am an evangelical Protestant pastor. How can I speak such of a book by the Roman Catholic Pope of all people? . . .

• Christ First, Last and Always, by George Weigel. "The Catholic Difference" June 13, 2007:

  Time and again, whether he's writing about the temptations, the parables, the Lord's Prayer, or the miracles of Jesus' public ministry, Pope Benedict's method of reading the Gospels puts the edge back on stories and messages often dulled by familiarity. Reading the New Testament through the eyes of Joseph Ratzinger in Jesus of Nazareth thus becomes a way to read the Gospels afresh -- and to be reminded that, whether the New York Times thinks it's "news" or not, the proclamation of Jesus Christ is what the Church is for.

• Franz Michel Willam, the Theologian the Pope Has Rescued from Oblivion, by Sandro Magister. www.Chiesa. - Author in 1932 of a famous life of Christ, he had been forgotten by everyone. Benedict XVI cites him in "Jesus of Nazareth," and an Austrian scholar explains why. (Based on unpublished correspondence between the two).

• The Face of God: What Benedict's Jesus Offers, by Peter Steinfels. Commonweal August 17, 2007 / Volume CXXXIV, Number 14.

• God Made Visible: On the Foreword to Benedict XVI's Jesus of Nazareth, by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. Ignatius Insight June 18, 2007.

• "God Is The Issue" | The Temptation in the Desert and the Kingdoms of This World, by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. Ignatius Insight June 29, 2007.

• Related: The Pope's Jesus: Gerd Lüdemann and Benedict XVI - Review of Das Jesusbild des Papstes: Über Joseph Ratzingers kühnen Umgang mit den Quellen (Springe: zu Klampen Verlag, 2007), 157 pp.:

  Just months after Benedict XVI released Jesus of Nazareth, the New Testament scholar Gerd Lüdemann has produced this spirited book-length critique of “the Pope’s Jesus.” Lüdemann writes both as a post-Christian who is deeply sceptical about the claims of church doctrine, and as a rigorous advocate of the historical-critical method. A central contrast between Benedict and Lüdemann thus lies in their respective attitudes towards the biblical texts: while Benedict approaches the texts with basic trust and theological commitment, Lüdemann insists that it is “a blind alley” to privilege these texts and to assume that they are historically or theologically trustworthy (p. 23). . . .

  (See also: Ben Myers on Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth August 10, 2007).

• Further reflections on Jesus of Nazareth - remarks from Ignatius Press' authors Roy Schoeman (author of Salvation is from the Jews) and Dr. Regis Martin, professor of Systematic Theology at Franciscan University of Steubenville.

• Jesus of Nazareth - review by Craig Blomberg, Ph.D. Distinguished Professor of New Testament Denver Evangelical Seminary:

  There are plenty of places where one might quibble with this or that minor point of exegesis. But they pale in comparison with the number of pages on end where the reviewer finds himself underlining, agreeing with, and including exclamation points, thank you's, and even smiling faces in the margins of his copy of the book. I am indebted to our graduate, Jon Haley, long-time church worker in Spain, for first calling this book to my attention and suggesting that it was worthy of review. Evangelical readers can derive considerable encouragement from the pope's positions and devotional inspiration from his applications.

• "Jesus of Nazareth" Gets a Special Reviewer: The Vicar of the Man Who Wrote It, by Sandro Magister [on Cardinal Ruini's review of Jesus of Nazareth]. December 14, 2007.

Pope Benedict Roundup

Pope Benedict in the News

During his May 23, 2007 general audience, Pope Benedict reflected on the highlights of his trip to Brazil, recalling especially his "meeting with the young people, hope not only of the future, but a vital force for the Church and society of today," the canonization of Friar Anthony of St Anne Galvãoand, the first native-born Saint of Brazil, and the culmination of the visit, "the inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Conferences in the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida." In his general audience, Benedict also took the opportunity to correct the record on colonization of Latin America". John Allen, Jr. reports:

In apparent response to criticism of his May 13 speech in Brazil in which the pope asserted Christianity was not an “imposition of a foreign culture” on indigenous peoples of the New World, Benedict XVI today acknowledged “the shadows that accompanied the evangelization of the Latin American continent.”

The pope said “the sufferings and the injustices inflicted by the colonizers on the indigenous populations, who often saw their fundamental human rights trampled upon,” cannot be forgotten.

Last Sunday, in an address to the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Aparecida, Brazil, for their Fifth General Conference, Benedict argued that Christianity was not imposed upon native peoples, but rather it was the fulfillment to which their religious experience pointed.

“The Utopia of going back to breathe life into the pre-Columbian religions, separating them from Christ and from the universal Church, would not be a step forward,” Benedict said in Aparecida.”Indeed, it would be a step back. In reality, it would be a retreat towards a stage in history anchored in the past.”

Afterwards, spokespersons for indigenous groups complained that the pope appeared to be denying the troubled history of European colonization. . . .

Benedict clarified his position on the subject as follows:

Certainly, the memory of a glorious past cannot ignore the shadows that accompany the work of evangelization of the Latin American Continent: it is not possible, in fact, to forget the suffering and the injustice inflicted by colonizers on the indigenous populations, whose fundamental human rights were often trampled upon.

But the obligation to recall such unjustifiable crimes - crimes, however, already condemned at the time by missionaries like Bartolomé de Las Casas and by theologians like Francisco de Vitoria of the University of Salamanca - must not prevent noting with gratitude the wonderful works accomplished by divine grace among those populations in the course of these centuries.

The Gospel has thus become on the Continent the supporting element of a dynamic synthesis which, with various facets and according to the different nations, nonetheless expresses the identity of the Latin American People.

Today, in the age of globalization, this Catholic identity is still present as the most adequate response, provided that it is animated by a serious spiritual formation and by the principles of the social doctrine of the Church.

• On April 27, the Vatican confirmed that Pope Benedict will visit the United Nations:

  Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, said that the Holy Father has accepted the invitation that was extended to him by Ban Ki-moon, the UN secretary-general, who met with the Pope at the Vatican on April 18.

  For now "there is no date or program" for the Pope's trip, Father Lombardi said.

• On May 29th, 2007, Pope Benedict stressed the call to evangelization to which all Christians are beckoned, urging that every baptized person must become active in the Church's missionary activity:

  This appeal was made in the Pope's message for the 81st World Mission Day, which will be celebrated on Oct. 21 with the theme: "All the Churches for All the World."

  In the text, the Holy Father "invites local Churches on all continents to a joint awareness of the urgent need to relaunch missionary activity to meet the many grave challenges of our time." [. . .]

  "Faced with an increasingly secularized culture, which seems to be penetrating Western societies more and more, in light of the crisis of the family, the lack of vocations and a progressively aging clergy," the Pope explained, these ancient Churches "run the risk of closing in on themselves, of looking to the future with reduced hope and of lessening their missionary efforts."

  "Yet this is precisely the moment to open trustingly to the providence of God, who never abandons his people and who, through the power of the Holy Spirit, guides them towards the accomplishment of his eternal plan of salvation," the Holy Father said.

• Continuing his reflections on the early fathers of the Christian Church, Pope Benedict turned his attention to the teachings of Tertullian:

  He started the use of theology in Latin. His work brought decisive benefits which it would be unforgivable to underestimate. His influence covered different areas: linguistically, from the use of language and the recovery of classical culture, to singling out a common "Christian soul" in the world and in the formulation of new proposals of human coexistence. . . .

  His apologetic writings are above all the most famous. They manifest two key intentions: to refute the grave accusations that pagans directed against the new religion; and, more propositional and missionary, to proclaim the Gospel message in dialogue with the culture of the time.

  His writings are important as they also show the practical trends in the Christian community regarding Mary Most Holy, the Sacraments of the Eucharist, Matrimony and Reconciliation, Petrine primacy, prayer.... In a special way, in those times of persecution when Christians seemed to be a lost minority, the Apologist exhorted them to hope, which in his treatises is not simply a virtue in itself, but something that involves every aspect of Christian existence. . . .

  In his famous affirmation according to which our soul "is naturally Christian" (Apologeticus 17: 6), Tertullian evokes the perennial continuity between authentic human values and Christian ones. Also in his other reflection borrowed directly from the Gospel, according to which "the Christian cannot hate, not even his enemies" (cf. Apologeticus 37), is found the unavoidable moral resolve, the choice of faith which proposes "non-violence" as the rule of life. Indeed, no one can escape the dramatic aptness of this teaching, also in light of the heated debate on religions.

• In an interview with the Catholic newspaper Avvenire, Vatican Secretary of State Cardianal Tarcisio Bertone addressed some controversial issues that occupied the press during Benedict XVI's trip to Brazil Zenit News Service. June 4, 2007:

  Cardinal Bertone: There is nothing scandalous in the fact that the Pontiff's press conference was transcribed in a slightly different version from the original. Even the texts of the Wednesday audiences are sometimes published after an accurate revision.

  The Catechism of the Catholic Church, too, in its definitive edition, the "editio typica" of 1997, differs in many points from the first edition published in 1992. Those who read the recent document on limbo of the International Theological Commission can see that the "editio typica" of an encyclical -- in this instance, Pope John Paul II's "Evangelium Vitae" -- presents a different and more precise formulation on a certain point than the version that was originally published.

  Q: What can you say about the excommunication of legislators who have approved abortion?

  Cardinal Bertone: It seems clear to me that the Pope recalled that it is the responsibility of individual bishops to decide whether and when to excommunicate, that it is a penalty foreseen in the Code of Canon Law, and in this case it is a matter of "ferendae sententiae" [a non-automatic excommunication].

  Q: And in regard to the beatification of Archbishop Oscar Romero? Why does the published text not mention the fact that the Pope said he has no doubts that Archbishop Romero merits beatification?

  Cardinal Bertone: It is evident that the Pope wants to be very respectful of the work of the Congregation for Saints' Causes, the prefect of which was also present on the Pope's flight.

  Q: After this experience, do you think it is likely that there will be other press conferences with the Pope?

  Cardinal Bertone: That is for the Pope to decide. But everyone knows that Cardinal Ratzinger never had any fear of the press and he always kindly offered answers to journalists who stopped him on the street.

• On June 6, 2007, A man leaped over security barricades after the general audience and briefly held on to the popemobile before security guards restrained him.:

  he Pope, in fact, did not seem to notice the activity, as everything happened behind his back as he greeted the people.

  The Vatican later clarified that the 27-year-old man, of German nationality, suffers from a mental disability and was not trying to harm the Holy Father, but just wanted to attract attention.

  The episode lasted only a few seconds, . . .

  The offender was hospitalized at the Vatican's request to "undergo mandatory treatment in a specialized and protected center."

  Liveleak has video footage of the incident, and Father Z has a good post on the new security problems faced by Pope Benedict's popularity (Things are Hopping in Rome What Does Prayer Really Say June 6, 2007). See also Cool under pressure: Papal guards handle many pilgrims discreetly, by John Thavis. Catholic News Service. June 7, 2007, on the variety of papal security from Italian police agents to the Vatican's Swiss Guard to Vatican gendarme corps and even sharpshooters positioned from Vatican rooftops. As one might expect, "the biggest problem facing the pope's 'guardian angels' is distinguishing a real threat from a pilgrim's overexuberance."

Excerpts

• Introduction: "The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia" translation of the Pope's introduction to Cardinal Bertone's book "The Last Fatima Visionary: My Meetings With Sister Lucia" (Rai Eri/Rizzoli). The book was written in collaboration with Giuseppe De Carli.

Writings and Commentary about Pope Benedict XVI

• His Own Pope Yet?, by David Gibson. New York Times April 23, 2007:

  By and large, the pontiff’s approach has worked. Liberal Catholics were so relieved that Benedict was not issuing daily bulls of excommunication that they took a kind word as a hopeful omen. Indeed, the loudest complaints about Benedict’s record have come from his erstwhile allies on the right who are miffed that he has not cracked down hard and fast on those they consider dissenters.

  But the Catholic right ought to have more patience, just as the Catholic left — and everyone else — might want to pay closer attention. The reality is that during these two years, even as he has preached the boundless grace of Christian charity, Benedict has also made it clear that divine love does not allow for compromise on matters of truth as the pope sees it, and that he will not brook anything that smacks of change in church teachings or traditions. Nor is he a caretaker pope who is willing to stand pat.

  Commonweal's J. Peter Nixon disputes Gibson's conclusion that "Benedict is a more conservative pope than his public image suggests".

• Charity and Justice in the Relations among People and Nations: The Encyclical Deus Caritas Est of Pope Benedict XVI, by J. Augustine Di Noia, O.P. Undersecretary, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Address to the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences / XIII Plenary Session 27 April 2007.

• The Pope and the Pop Star", by Sean Curnyn. First Things "On The Square" May 10, 2007:

  On Saturday, September 27, 1997, during the Twenty-third Eucharistic Congress and as part of pope John Paul II’s pastoral visit to Bologna, there took place an outdoor event attended by some 300,000 people, featuring musical performances by Bob Dylan, in addition to certain Italian pop-musicians. As recounted in his recent book of memoirs, John Paul II, My Beloved Predecessor, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger had serious misgivings about having the pope literally and figuratively share a platform with these popular musicians, and with Bob Dylan in particular. . . .

• Papal youth appeal is about the message as well as the man, by Colleen Carroll Campbell. May 17, 2007:

  . . . it was the sort of pointed, politically incorrect address that makes many pundits cringe. American and European newspaper journalists covering the event reminded their readers that young people may applaud Benedict, but they do not actually pay attention to what he says. The proof in nearly every report was the same: an obligatory quote from a teenage critic who disagrees with Benedict about condom distribution or pre-marital sex.

  Benedict's critics have plenty of company. But it seems odd that journalists attending papal youth rallies that attract tens of thousands of cheering young people regularly quote only disgruntled teenagers in their reports. If the pope is a bore and young people find his message irrelevant, why do so many of them flock to hear it? . . .

  Benedict has won that admiration not in spite of his message but because of it. While many leaders today regard the young as bundles of hormones incapable of sacrifice or self-restraint, Benedict views them as souls longing for goodness and God. He tells them that the restlessness they feel — the persistent longing that no amount of money, power, or pleasure can seem to satisfy — is not a curse. It is a reminder that they were created for more than the consumption of goods and satisfaction of appetites. You were created for love, Benedict tells them, the kind of love that finds its fulfillment in service to others.

  Benedict's message is as demanding as John Paul's was, and many young people struggle to put it into practice. Yet they are listening.

• The Pope on Conscience, Reason Washington Times May 20, 2007. A brief review of On Conscience and The Dialectics of Secularization: On Reason and Religion (with Jurgen Habermas).

• The Pope's Communications Paradox, by John Allen Jr. National Catholic Reporter May 27, 2007:

  This post-Brazil contretemps offers the latest confirmation that as a public figure, Benedict XVI has two qualities which often work at cross-purposes.

  Benedict XVI hadn't even stepped off the papal plane at Rome's Ciampino airport on Monday, ending his May 9-13 Brazilian swing, when controversy from the trip caught up with him. Spokespersons for Brazil's indigenous populations were incensed by comments the pope made in Aparecida late Sunday afternoon, asserting that the arrival of Christianity did not amount to "the imposition of a foreign culture" upon the native peoples of the New World. To the natives, that seemed a nasty bit of historical revisionism.

  On the one hand, Benedict is an exceptionally lucid communicator. He's a gifted logician, so his conclusions flow naturally from his premises. Moreover, he's able to synthesize complex ideas in easy-to-understand formula, so you don't need a degree in theology to get his point. Yet Benedict can also be remarkably tone-deaf to how his pronouncements may sound to people who don't share his intellectual and cultural premises. . . .

• “The Best Hypothesis”: The Humble Proposal of the Church of Ratzinger and Ruini, by Sandro Magister. www.Chiesa May 21, 2007. "The same day on which, in Sao Paolo, Brazil, Benedict XVI addressed the key discourse of his trip to the bishops of that nation, in Italy his cardinal vicar Camillo Ruini was laying down the guidelines for a positive encounter of Christianity with the dominant traits of contemporary culture. The day was May 11. And the two discourses, by the pope and by his vicar, in spite of their great geographic distance were in reality very close."

• Papal patience causes chafing among some Vatican bureaucrats, media", by John Thavis. Catholic News Service. June 11, 2007:

  VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- More than two years into his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has proven to be a very patient decision-maker -- so patient that even some of his Vatican bureaucrats are chafing a little.

  "There are all these decisions that you thought were already made, and then nothing happens," one Roman Curia official said in early June.

  The examples abound:

  -- The pope's letter to Chinese Catholics, announced in January, has yet to appear.

  -- The papal document widening use of the Tridentine Mass, reportedly ready since last fall, is still awaiting publication.

  -- A consistory to name new cardinals, expected in June by most Vatican officials, has apparently been put off until the fall.

  -- A slew of key appointments, including the replacement of several Roman Curia heads who are past retirement age, keep getting deferred.

  -- The streamlining of Vatican communications agencies, rumored to have been one of the pope's priorities following his election in 2005, still has not happened.

  Why are things taking so long? The main reason, according to those inside the Curia, is that the pope believes some of these questions call for consultation and fine-tuning, rather than snap decisions.

• The Courage To Be Imperfect - Excerpt from Pope Benedict XVI: The Conscience of Our Age (A Theological Portrait) Ignatius Insight:

  . . . While at Tubingen, one student asked another to identify the difference between Professor Ratzinger and another equally famous theologian. The reply was: Ratzinger also finds time to play the piano. He is as open to beauty as he is to truth. He lives outside himself. He is not preoccupied with his own self. Put simply, he does not take himself too seriously.

  The other anecdote is personal. Once he asked me gently about the progress of my thesis. It was about time, as I had been working on it for some seven years. I told him that I thought there was still some work to be done. He turned to me with those piercing but kindly eyes, saying with a smile: "Nur Mut zur Lücke" (Have the courage to leave some gaps). In other words, be courageous enough to be imperfect.

  On reflection, this is one of the keys to Ratzinger's character (and also to his theology; in particular his theology of politics): his acceptance that everything we do is imperfect, that all knowledge is limited, no matter how brilliant or well read one may be. It never bothered him that in a course of lectures he rarely covered the actual content of the course. His most famous book, Introduction to Christianity, is incomplete. [8] Ratzinger knows in his heart and soul that God alone is perfect and that all human attempts at perfection (such as political utopias) end in disaster.

  The only perfection open to us is that advocated by Jesus in the Gospel: "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48), he who "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust" (Mt 5:45). Love of God and love of neighbor: that is the secret of Pope Benedict XVI, and that will be the core of his universal teaching.

• Forthcoming: The Apostles (Our Sunday Visitor, August 2007). A compilation of Benedict's general audiences' talks on the apostles.

Scholarly Articles

• The subject of the Volume 2, 2006 issue of Letter and Spirit is "The Authority of Mystery: The Word of God and the People of God", in which Dr. Scott Hahn has an article on The Authority of Mystery: The Biblical Theology of Pope Benedict XVI." (See link for ordering info).

• Via Carl Olson @ Insight Scoop): The May/June 2007 issue of Saint Austin Review (StAR) focuses on "The Spirit of the Liturgy," and features articles by several Ignatius Press authors, including Fr. Thomas M. Kocik, author of The Reform of the Reform?, Fr. Uwe Michael Lang, author of Turning Towards the Lord, Alcuin Reid, author of The Organic Development of the Liturgy, and, of course, Joseph Pearce, who is co-editor of StAR with Robert Asch.

  Two of the articles are available for download, including "A Juggler on a Tightrope: Benedict XVI and the 'Tridentine' Question", by Fr. Kocik. [.pdf format].

Pope Benedict in Brazil

From the Vatican:

• Apostolic Journey to Brazil on the occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops' Conferences (May 9-14, 2007) - Official Program, Intinerary and Addresses from the Vatican.

Addresses by Pope Benedict XVI

• Welcome ceremony at the International Airport of São Paulo/Guarulhos - Address. May 9, 2007.
• Greeting and blessing from the balcony of the Monastery of São Bento in São Paulo. May 9, 2007.
• Meeting with the youth at "Paulo Machado de Carvalho" municipal Stadium in Pacaembu, São Paulo - Address May 10, 2007.
• Holy Mass and canonization of Blessed Frei Galvão at Campo de Marte in São Paulo - Homily May 11, 2007.
• Meeting and Celebration of Vespers with the Bishops of Brazil in the Catedral da Sé in São Paulo - Address May 11, 2007.
• Meeting with the community of Poor Clares at the church of the Fazenda da Esperança in Guaratinguetá - Greeting May 12, 2007.
• Meeting with the community living in the Fazenda da Esperança in Guaratinguetá - Address May 12, 2007.
• Recitation of the Holy Rosary and meeting with Priests, Men Religious, Women Religious, Seminarians and Deacons at the Basilica of the Shrine of Aparecida - Address May 12, 2007.
• Holy Mass for the inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean in the square in front of the Shrine of Aparecida - Homily May 13, 2007.
• Recitation of the Regina Cæli
• Inaugural session of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean at the Conference Hall of the Shrine of Aparecida - Address May 13, 2007.
• Farewell ceremony at the International Airport of São Paulo/Guarulhos - Address

General Coverage

• Brazil Welcomes a Very Different Pope, by Jeff Israely. Time May 12, 2007.
• Photo Gallery: Pope Benedict Visits Brazil Time
• No Love Affair for the Pope in Brazil, by Jeff Israely. May 12, 2007 -

Daily Coverage by John Allen Jr.

• Day Five: Christ, not ideology, creates a ‘continent of hope,’ pope says May 13, 2007.
• Day Four: Facing dramatic losses, Benedict says: ‘It’s worth it to stay Catholic!’ May 12, 2007.
• Day Four: Benedict issues dramatic warning to drug dealers, but his real message is Christ May 12, 2007.
• Day Three: Pope calls Brazil's bishops to order May 11, 2007.
• Day Three: Benedict holds up a model of authentic liberation theology May 11, 2007.
• Day Two: Benedict strikes softer tone May 10, 2007.
• Day Two: Hopelessness, not Pentecostalism, as Brazil's mega-trend in religion May 10, 2007.
• Day One: Confusion on communion for pro-choice politicians nothing new May 9, 2007.
• Day One: The Love/Hate Relationship between Benedict and Liberation Theology May 9, 2007.
• Day One: Transcript of News Conference aboard the Papal Plane May 9, 2007.
• Day One: Benedict’s ‘now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t’ hard line on pro-choice politicians May 9, 2007.

Canonization of Father Antonio Galvao

• Amid Burst of Fervor, Pope Canonizes a Brazilian New York Times May 12, 2007:

  “We Brazilians love to venerate the saints, like St. Anthony and St. George, but until now they’ve all been foreigners,” said Bernardo Leite Alves, a 39-year-old bus driver who said he often drove with an image of St. Sebastian on his windshield. As for Friar Galvão, he said, “This is a saint who is really truly ours, born and bred here, who looks like us and has a name like ours.”

  Friar Galvão was born in 1739 about 100 miles northeast of here, in Guaratinguetá, which Benedict will visit Saturday, and died here 83 years later. During his lifetime, the city council designated him a “man of peace and charity,” and he earned a reputation for defending the poor, which stimulated popular pilgrimages to his tomb and the use of “Friar Galvão’s pills,” slips of paper with religious phrases that are said by his devotees to have healing powers.

  Among the three miracles for which he is credited is the 1999 birth of a boy to a woman who had suffered three miscarriages and then used such “pills” after becoming pregnant again and praying for his help. The woman, Sandra Grossi de Almeida, attended the canonization Mass.

  “The significance of Friar Galvão’s example lies in his willingness to be of service to the people whenever he was asked,” Benedict said Friday. “He was renowned as a counselor, he was a bringer of peace to souls and families and a dispenser of charity, especially toward the poor and the sick. He was greatly sought out as a confessor, because he was zealous, wise and prudent.”

• Pope Canonizes First Brazilian Saint, by Victor L. Simpson. APNews. May 11, 2007:

  The canonization makes Galvao the first native-born saint from the world's largest Roman Catholic country, home to more than 120 million of the planet's 1.1 billion Catholics.

  "A New Saint" - Compilation of photo coverage of the canonization by Argent by the Tiber May 12, 2007.

  "Do you realize how big this is?" asked Herminia Fernandes, who joined the multitude that jammed an airfield for the open-air Mass. "It's huge, this pope is visiting Brazil for the first time and at the same time he is giving us a saint. It's a blessing."

• Profile: Saint Antonio Galvao BBC News.

• Pope canonizes Brazilian friar renowned for charity, healings, by John Thavis. Catholic News Service. May 11, 2007.

A Bit of Confusion en Route to Brazil

• Vatican tones down papal remarks on pro-abortion Catholic politicians Catholic News Service. May 10, 2007:

  SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI's comments on excommunication for pro-abortion Catholic politicians touched on huge and sensitive issues -- so sensitive that the Vatican issued a toned-down version of his remarks the following day.

  Speaking with journalists on the plane taking him to Brazil May 9, the pope left the impression that he agreed with those invoking excommunication for Catholic legislators in Mexico City who had voted in April to legalize abortion.

  When reporters pressed the pope on whether he supported the excommunication of the Mexican deputies, he answered: "Yes, this excommunication was not something arbitrary, but is foreseen by the Code (of Canon Law). It is simply part of church law that the killing of an innocent baby is incompatible with being in communion with the body of Christ."

  Referring to Mexican bishops, the pope continued: "Therefore, they did not do anything new, surprising or arbitrary. They only underlined publicly what is foreseen in (canon) law, a law based on the church's doctrine and faith, on our appreciation for life and for human individuality from the first moment."

  On May 10, the Vatican press office released the official transcript of the pope's 25-minute session with reporters. The pope's opening "yes" to the direct question about excommunication had disappeared, and so had the references to Mexican bishops.

• As Pope Heads to Brazil, Abortion Debate Heats Up, by Larry Rohter. New York Times May 9, 2007.

• Day One: Benedict’s ‘now-you-see-it, now-you-don’t’ hard line on pro-choice politicians May 9, 2007:

  During a news conference aboard the papal plane from Rome to São Paulo today, Benedict XVI appeared to significantly tighten the screws on pro-choice Catholic politicians, saying, in effect, that legislators who support pro-abortion measures should be considered excommunicated under church law.

  It was the first time a pope directly asserted that by virtue of voting in favor of a measure expanding abortion rights, a politician excommunicates him or herself.

  Vatican efforts to soften this hard line, however, were quick in coming.

• Day Two: Mexican cardinal says pope repeated bishops' line on abortion, by John Allen, Jr. National Catholic Reporter May 10, 2007:

  Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera of Mexico City, the place where recent debates over communion for pro-choice Catholic politicians formed the background to Benedict XVI’s Wednesday comments aboard the papal plane, said today that the pope “only repeated what we bishops already had said.”

• Confusion on communion for pro-choice politicians nothing new May 9, 2007

  "Confusion created today on the papal plane – after Pope Benedict XVI appeared to say that politicians who vote in favor of abortion rights should be considered excommunicated, only to have Vatican officials back away from that interpretation – is nothing new. Attempts to discern the mind of Joseph Ratzinger on this question have long been complicated. . . .

  Allen revisits the then-Cardinal's July 2004 letter to Cardinal McCarrick, Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion — General Principles, addressing the issues raised in party by the presence of professed 'pro-choice Catholic' candidates of the 2004 U.S. presidential elections. As Allen observes, "for the last three years, both sides in the communion controversy have cited Ratzinger in favor of diametrically opposed positions." Allen concludes:

  Carefully studying the various statements that are now on the record, perhaps the best summary of Benedict XVI’s position can be phrased as follows.

  In the abstract, Benedict clearly seems to feel that a Catholic politician who knowingly and consistently supports legislation that expands access to abortion is in violation of church teaching, and thus should not receive communion. Moreover, the pope seems prepared to support bishops who apply this principle to specific cases; that was the premise of his answer to this morning’s question about the Mexican bishops. (Even though Cardinal Norberto Rivera has said he has no intention of excommunicating anyone.)

  Whether Benedict is ready to impose this position on bishops convinced of the wisdom of a different pastoral course in other cases, however, is the $64,000 question. His July 9 letter to McCarrick, endorsing the stance of the U.S. bishops, indicates that at least so far, he’s not ready to take that step.

  That may not be a fully satisfying position for anyone, but it seems the best summation of the pope’s thinking based on the available evidence.

• Must-Read: A primer for those who prefer knowing to opining, by Edward Peters. In the Light of the Law May 7, 2007:

  In the vortex swirling around the pope's comments on the canonical consequences for supporting pro-abortion legislation (including what the pope said, or meant to say, or should have said), it might be good to set out calmly and simply some canons that directly impact on this situation. Strictly speaking, there are only two, but in light of comments I've heard or read, we apparently need to explicitate a third canon even though it only repeats sound personal moral theology and does not direct ecclesiastical responses to this kind of behavior. . . .

  See also Ed Peter's critique of Time magazine's interview with Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and specifically the Cardinal's answers to questions concerning pro-abortion Catholic politicians. (Via Domenico Bettinelli).

• Italian coverage of the Pope’s “excommunication” answer, by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf (What Does Prayer Really Say? May 10, 20007).