Pope Benedict Roundup!

• 06-26-12. Pope Benedict named U.S. Archbishop J. Augustine Di Noia to fill a newly created post of vice president of the Pontifical Commission "Ecclesia Dei.":

  The appointment of a high-ranking prelate to this position is a sign of the Holy Father’s pastoral solicitude for traditionalist Catholics in communion with the Holy See and his strong desire for the reconciliation of those traditionalist communities not in union with the See of Peter. ...

  As a respected Dominican theologian, Archbishop Di Noia has devoted much attention to these doctrinal issues, as well as to the priority of the hermeneutic of continuity and reform in the right interpretation of Vatican Council II - a critically important area in the dialogue between the Holy See and the Priestly Fraternity. Under the guidance of Cardinal Levada, with the assistance of Msgr. Guido Pozzo, secretary of the Pontifical Commission, this dialogue has been ongoing over the past three years.

  Related
  • In an interview with the National Catholic Register, the native New Yorker, secretary for the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, discusses his new role and the challenges he expects.
  • "A new chapter in the Society of St. Pius X saga" Interview with La Stampa ("The Vatican Insider") 7/20/12.

• 06-28-12. The Vatican approved the heroic virtues of a number of Catholics, among them Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, the first step in the advancement of the cause to declare him a saint. Among those Catholics likewise honored with decrees were "the first prelate of Opus Dei, the Canadian and Irish-American founders of two orders of religious women, a priest murdered by the Sicilian Mafia, and 154 martyrs killed during the Spanish Civil War."

  Archbishop Fulton Sheen was a universally popular evangelist, radio/TV personality, writer and missionary. He is most known for his television series, “Life is Worth Living” which had a viewing audience of over 30 million people. To learn more about his cause for canonization, visit The Archbishop Fulton John Sheen Foundation.

• 07-02-12. Pope Benedict has appointed (and elevated to the dignity of Archbishop) Bishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller of Regensberg, Germany, successor to Cardinal William Levada (whose resignation for reason of age was accepted by the Holy Father).

  Salt + Light introduces us to the new Prefect:

  Archishop Mueller is, like Pope Benedict, a scholar. He received his doctorate in theology from Freiburg University. His thesis was directed by now-Cardinal Karl Lehmann. After his ordination to the priesthood he spent four years working in parish and teaching high school.

  He returned to University for post-doctoral studies, also directed by Cardinal Lehmann. According to the Diocese of Regensburg, his academic research focuses on ecumenism, modern age theology, the Christian understanding of revelation, theological hermeneutics, and ecclesiology. He taught the Ludwig –MaximilianUniversityinMunichuntil his appointment as bishop of Regensburgin 2002. Archbishop Mueller has authored more than 400 works. Perhaps the best known is “Catholic Dogmatics: for the Study and Practice of Theology” He also co-authored a book called “On the Side of the Poor” with Dominican Father Gustavo Gutierrez.

  His ties to Pope Benedict go back to 1998 when he began serving on the International Theological Commission, which was led by then-Cardinal Ratzinger. In 2008 Mueller helped establish the Pope Benedict XVI institute, which is publishing a complete collection of words by Joseph Ratzinger/ Pope Benedict XVI, at the pope’s request.

  Also, from National Catholic Reporter's John Allen Jr:

  The pope’s new doctrinal czar has a profile in Germany as a staunch defender of Catholic orthodoxy, yet not an ideologue. Among other things, Müller has a strong friendship with Peruvian liberation theologian Gustavo Guttierez.

  Müller clearly enjoys the pope’s confidence.

  Aside from the fact that Müller is the bishop of the pope’s home diocese, where Benedict’s brother Geörg still resides, he’s also the editor of Benedict’s “Opera Omnia,” a comprehensive collection of all the pope’s theological writings.

  Related

  • On July 25th, L'Osservatore Romano published an interview with Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Müller (via Zenit, with the English translation).
  • A roundup of varied German reactions to Müller's appointment (Hans Kung isn't happy -- which, if you think about it, may be a positive indication).

• 07-05-12. Pope Benedict reaffirmed his trust in the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and defended him against a barrage of "unjust criticism" in the Italian media. According to Catholic News Service:

  ... The Vatican has had to face a number of challenges recently, including leaks of confidential correspondence to the pope and the Secretariat of State; the arrest of the pope's personal assistant in connection to the leaks; and the ouster of the Vatican bank's president, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, for neglecting his duties amid worsening management problems.

• 07-09-12. Pope Benedict made a private visit to the "Ad Gentes Centre" of the Missionaries of the Divine Word, located in the village of Nemi, close to his summer residence of Castel Gandolfo.

  It was in the building (then called the International Centre of the Society of the Divine Word) that young Joseph Ratzinger, a periti (theological advisor) to the Council, took up residence with other theologians, collaborating in a re-drafting of the Council's decree on missionary activity. Describing his time there as "a wonderful memory, perhaps my fondest memory of the entire council," the Pope reflected on the past (Vatican Information Service):

  Benedict XVI's meeting with the 150 participants of the Society of the Divine Word's general chapter as well as members of the community's mother house in Rome was very warm. The Holy Father recalled that the order's superior general at the time was Fr. Johannes Schutte. "He had suffered greatly in China where he was convicted and expelled from the country. He was full of missionary zeal, of the need to bring a new impetus to the missionary spirit and I was alongside him. I was a very young and not very important theologian;I didn't know why they had invited me but, for me, it was a great gift".

  "Fulton Sheen was also there, fascinating us with his afternoon speeches, and Father Congar, and the great missionaries of Leuven. It was a spiritual enrichment for me, a great gift. The decree was not very controversial. There was this controversy, which I have never really understood, between the schools of Leuven and Munster: was the main scope of the mission the 'implantatio Ecclesiae' or the 'Evangelii' announcement? But everything converged in the one spirit of the need to bring the light of the Word of God, the light of God's love, to the world and to give new joy to this proclamation".

  "Thus in those days was born a good and beautiful decree that was accepted almost unanimously by all the Council Fathers. It was complemented very well for me by 'Lumen Gentium' because in it we find a Trinitarian ecclesiology that begins, above all, from the classical idea of the 'bonum diffusivum sui', the good that carries with it the need to communicate, to give itself, a good that cannot be locked within itself. The good, this same good, is essentially 'communicatio'. This is already apparent in the Trinitarian mystery, as God is in Himself, and is spread throughout salvation history and in our need to give others the good that we have received".

• 07-16-12. On July 16th, Benedict XVI sent a message to Bishop Jesús Garcia Burillo of Avila, Spain, to mark the 450th anniversary of the beginning of the Carmelite Reform and the founding of the Carmelite convent of St. Joseph in Avila. The full text of the Pope's message can be read here. (Zenit)

• 07-27-12. Following the retirement (due to age) of Archbishop George Niederauer, Pope Benedict has appointed Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland as the archbishop of San Francisco. Rocco Palmo (Whispers in the Loggia) describes it as the most courageously bold -- or stunningly brazen -- American appointment in the seven-year reign of Pope Benedict XVI:

  After a half-century of occupants accused by conservatives of soft-pedaling church teaching in favor of a more conciliatory approach toward constituencies ranging from gays and lesbians to Nancy Pelosi -- a group of prelates among which even the recently-retired lead guardian of church doctrine, Cardinal William Levada, was not exempt from stinging criticism -- the move delivers the long-desired "Holy Grail" of the American Catholic Right firmly into the faction's hands, in the form of a prelate already known widely both for his forcefulness and a stringent doctrinal cred almost unequaled among his confreres on the national bench.

  For liberal Catholics, meanwhile, the appointment is likely to be received as something akin to the city's Great Earthquake of 1906, or even more apocalyptic events.

• 07-27-12. Benedict XVI received in audience the Commission of Cardinals investigating the leak of Vatican documents (popularly referred to as the "Vatileaks" scandal):

  "Yesterday morning 26 July, the Holy Father received in audience the Commission of Cardinals which is undertaking the administrative investigation into the leaking of reserved information: Cardinal Julian Herranz, Cardinal Jozef Tomko and Cardinal Salvatore De Giorgi. The cardinals were accompanied by Fr. Luigi Martignani O.F.M. Cap., secretary of the Commission; Examining Magistrate Piero Antonio Bonnet, and Promoter of Justice Nicola Picardi of the Tribunal of Vatican City State", according to a communique released this morning by the Holy See Press Office.

  "The Holy Father was informed about the conclusions reached by the Commission of Cardinals, and about the progress of the criminal procedures currently underway. He thanked them for the information he had received and invited the Vatican magistrates to proceed expeditiously.

  In related news:
  • Paolo Gabriele -- the Pope's butler, accused of leaking private documents, claims he did so "for love of the Church and the Pope"; and Cardinal Raymond L. Burke, prefect of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature, described the spate of leaks of confidential Vatican documents as "most grave crimes" and warned that those responsible must be discovered and "appropriately sanctioned."

In Brief

• The Ratzinger Prize in Theology -- referred to as the "Nobel of Theology" -- will be conferred for the second time Oct. 20, 2012, during the Synod of Bishops on the New Evangelization. (Zenit)
• The Pope will travel to Lebanon from Sept. 14-16, visiting Beirut/Harissa, Baabda, Bzommar, Bkerké and Charfet. See www.lbpapalvisit.com/ for details; Zenit news posts the intinerary for the September Lebanon trip.

Commentary

• Ratzinger narrates Jesus’ infancy It’s a working holiday for the Pope this summer as he puts the finishing touches to his third book on Jesus. (La Stampa's "Vatican Insider").

• As pope's vacation begins, taking stock of his work year - Francis X. Rocca (Catholic News Service) asks: "what can the 2011-12 papal "term" tell us about where Pope Benedict XVI is leading the church?"

Pope Benedict and the SSPX: Reunion Imminent?

The U.S. District of the Society of St. Pius X has asked Catholics to join in a special Novena starting May 8 (tomorrow) and ending May 16. According to the SSPX, “[t]he intention of this novena will be that the Holy Ghost may give the graces of light and strength to the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, and to the Superior General of the Society, Bishop Fellay.” The Novena consists of reciting the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus and the Memorare prayer to the Blessed Virgin. A full text of both prayers, along with a note explaining the purpose of the Novena, is available online here.

As La Stampa's Andrea Tornielli ("Vatican Insider") reports, "The week ahead is going to be crucial for relations between Rome and the Society of St. Pius X". This Wednesday, Cardinals and bishop members of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith will discuss the response to the doctrinal preamble sent last 17 April by the Fraternity’s superior, Bishop Bernard Fellay.

This is a delicate moment, particularly after the publication on the Web of the letters exchanged between Fellay and three other Lefebvrian bishops, which Vatican Insider reported on last Thursday. Fellay has been leading negotiations with the Holy See and is prepared to accept Benedict XVI’s proposal; the three bishops, however, are not.

But the words used by Mgr. Fellay in his response to his fellow brothers Tissyer de Mallerais, de Gallareta and Williamson, illustrate the decisive role Benedict XVI has played in the process. “The Pope – Fellay wrote in the confidential letter he sent in response to the criticisms – told us that the eagerness to legalise our status for the good of the Church was at the heart of his pontificate; he also said he knew it would be easier for him and for us to leave the situation as it is at the moment. The willingness he has expressed is therefore determined and fair.”

A Roundup of Recent Events

• Traditionalist leader says group could divide over unity with Rome, by Francis Rocca (Catholic News Service) 5/11/12. The leader of a breakaway group of traditionalist Catholics spoke in unusually hopeful terms about a possible reconciliation with Rome, but acknowledged significant internal resistance to such a move, which he said might lead to the group splitting apart.

• Lefebvrians: The internal battle Following the exchange of letters addressed to the leaders of the Society of St. Pius X in recent weeks, three bishops have expressed their opposition to the agreement. 05/10/2012:

  A website has reported on the letters exchanged a month ago between bishops Tissier de Mallerays, Alfonso de Gallareta, Richard Williamson and the leader of the Society of St. Pius X, Bernard Fellay. The letter which the three bishops sent Fellay on 7 April contains a final appeal asking the superior not to sign the doctrinal preamble or accept the agreement proposed by the Holy See. As readers will recall, the agreement aims to assign the Lefebvrians a personal prelature.

• Letter of the General Council of the Society of Saint Pius X Rorate Caeli 5/11/12. A translation of the internal letter sent by Bishop Bernard Fellay, Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (FSSPX /SSPX), and the other two members of the General Council, First Assistant Fr. Niklaus Pfluger and Second Assistant Fr. Alain-Marc Nély, on April 14, 2012.

• Some historical context: Abp. Lefebvre recalls his July 14, 1987, meeting with Cardinal Ratzinger. Rorate Caeli 5/13/12:

  In his long sermon, given one year after the first Assisi meeting took place (Oct. 1986), Abp. Lefebvre summarized the problem and expounded with greater detail the July 14, 1987, meeting with the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger, that he had already presented partially in other occasions, including a conference for a priestly retreat held on September 4. In this sermon, he expands and completes the general thoughts regarding negotiations and the relationship of Traditional Catholics and the Supreme Pontiff in the post-conciliar reality.

• Important: Fr. Pfluger speaks on recent developments Fr. Niklaus Pfluger, FSSPX, is the First Assistant of the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) gives account of the most recent developments.

Happy 85th Birthday, Pope Benedict XVI

“I find myself on the last stretch of my journey in life, and I don’t know what is awaiting me.”

“I know, however, that the light of God exists, that he is risen, that his light is stronger than any darkness and that God’s goodness is stronger than any evil in this world, and this helps me go forward with certainty,” he said.

Pope Benedict XVI, remarking on his 85th birthday. (Source: Catholic Herald UK).

Children dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes dance for Pope Benedict XVI during the Pontiff's 85th birthday celebrations in the Clementine Hall at the Vatican April 16, 2012. Source: Reuters

Additional Coverage

• - Edward Pentin reports on the papal celebrations as well as a new book on the Holy Father (National Catholic Register April 15, 2012):

  His birthday will be "a normal working day, he never interrupts his daily routine, but it will be a very Bavarian day," said Monsignor Georg Gaenswein, Pope Benedict's private secretary, in an interview with Gente, a weekly magazine.

  The Pope, who is now the sixth-oldest pontiff in history, returned to the Vatican April 13 after five days of rest at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo. . . .

  The Holy Father, who has shown increasing frailty and exhaustion in recent weeks, nevertheless remains in relatively good health and appears to have no serious medical ailments apart from arthrosis and pain in his right hip.

  His 88-year-old brother, Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, told a German news agency April 12 that his wish for his younger sibling on his birthday was that he “still finds enough strength to fulfill his service for the blessing of the Church” and that he “continues to stay in good health.”

  [...]

  Twenty leading Germans from the fields of politics, culture, the economy and sport have shared their opinions on the Pope in a new book,Benedikt XVI: Prominente über den Papst (Benedict XVI: Prominent Figures on the Pope). Contributors include the former Bavarian Prime Minister Edmund Stoiber, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, former German soccer star Franz Beckenbauer and alpine skier Maria Höfl-Riesch. The opinions of prominent cardinals and evangelical Christians are also included. The book was presented to the Pope on Monday.

• Bavarian band, dancers celebrate pope's birthday in apostolic palace, by Carol Glatz. Catholic News Service. April 16, 2012:

  Pope Benedict XVI celebrated his 85th birthday with guests who treated him to Bavarian "oompah" music and folk dancing in the apostolic palace.

  Bavarian bishops, minister-president of Bavaria -- Horst Seehofer, and a 150-person regional government delegation visited the pope April 16 in the Vatican's Clementine Hall.

  They were accompanied by a small Bavarian band, three female singers and 10 children who danced the skirt-swirling, shoe-stomping, thigh-slapping "Schuhplattler" before the pope.

• “The Pope’s birthday will be a family celebration” (La Stampa's "The Vatican Insider"):

  On 16 April the Pope will celebrate his 85th birthday and three days later, on 19 April, he will begin his eighth year as Peter’s successor.

  “16 April is a Monday, a normal working day and he never interrupts his daily routine. It will however be a very Bavarian day,” Mgr. Gaenswein added. ...

  Fr. Georg also revealed a few little secrets about life with the Pope, a fellow countryman: “He is a Pope who reflects on the meaning of his words. His simplicity, sincerity and courage have often been misunderstood. Perhaps because he is not afraid to call a mistake by its name. But he has always shown sensitivity and respect in his day-to-day relations with others. Including me. He has never said to me: “That’s not right: you are wrong.” Instead he says: “This could be done like this or like that.” Though the essence of these criticisms is serious, they are expressed in a delicate and seraphic manner.”

• A Rare Pope: With a Sense of Humor, by Andrea Monda. (Chiesa, April 16, 2012):

  I have not made a careful check, but I am willing to bet that if one were to analyze word frequency in the texts of Benedict XVI, the word used most often would be "joy."

Pope Benedict Roundup!

The most newsworthy event of the past month in the pontificate of Benedict XVI was his apostolic visit to Mexico and Cuba (March 23-29, 2012), including a pope's meeting with Fidel Castro. You can read all about the historic visit here, at our special blog exclusively devoted to the historic visit.

And -- this being Holy Week in the life of the Church -- National Catholic Register's Edward Pentin takes a look at Pope Benedict XVI's events and Masses leading up to Easter.

In Other News

• 02/07/12 - “Benedict XVI is expected to deliver the Apostolic Exhortation of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East, held in October 2011, next September in Lebanon.” - This is according to a statement by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mgr. Fouad Twal, who was quoted by SIR. Benedict XVI had been invited to Lebanon by the President of the Lebanese Council, Najib Mikati, who was received in audience on 28 November 2011. (La Stampa "The Vatican Insider")

• 02/24/12 - The Pope will soon have his “own” Twitter account, which he will use to communicate with people, about the Sunday Angelus prayer and his most important speeches (La Stampa "The Vatican Insider"):

  It must be stressed that these messages will not be written by the Pope himself but the content will need to receive his approval before it is posted.

  Fr. Lombardi clarified that: “Benedict XVI is not on Twitter yet,” but confirmed that “the decision to open a Twitter account to spread his ideas has been taken, but the methods for doing this are still being evaluated.”

  (The Pope's account is currently being used to distribute the Pope's thoughts on Lent -- check it out here).

• 03/10/12 - Vatican ridicules report of plot to kill the pope, by John Allen Jr. (National Catholic Reporter):

  In response to a report today about a secret letter from a former high-ranking Vatican cardinal warning of a plot to kill Pope Benedict XVI within the year, a Vatican spokesperson today said it consists of “ravings which in no way should be taken seriously,” and is “so incredible as to defy comment.”

  The report, carried by the Italian paper Il Fatto Quotidiano, is based on a letter allegedly penned by Colombian Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, 82, who served from 1996 to 2006 as the Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Clergy.

  In the letter, which carries the date of Dec. 30, 2011, Castrillón supposedly relays information provided by Cardinal Paolo Romeo of Palermo in Sicily, regarding a plot to kill Benedict XVI within twelve months. The letter also speculates that Benedict's successor would be Italian Cardinal Angelo Scola of Milan. ... [More].

• 03/29/12 - After this journey, the rumour about the Pope’s resignation is silenced (La Stampa "The Vatican Insider"):

  “I am old but can still do my job”. The pope uttered these words during the meeting with Fidel in front of the cameras and this statement will put to rest the rumours which have been spreading for months about his possible resignation when he turns 85 (which will be soon) or at the end of the Year of The Faith in 2013. But the truth is that he means to carry on despite old age.

Commentary

• According to Dawn Eden, author of My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints (due May 2012), Benedict’s ‘theology of saints’ offers a way to spiritual healing for abuse victims (Catholic News Agency, 2/21/12):

  Pope Benedict, speaking of how the Church should address the suffering caused by clergy abuse, emphasizes the need to promote “hope born of God’s love and fidelity”; such hope brings us “the vision of a world reconciled and renewed in Christ Jesus, our Savior.” To make that vision present, he often draws from the saints’ experiences, most powerfully in his encyclical Spe Salvi, “Saved in Hope,” where he writes, “The saints were able to make the great journey of human existence in the way that Christ had done before them, because they were brimming with great hope.”

• From Zenit, an interview with Michael Roy, the secretary general of Caritas Internationalis -- "The Pope's Charity" (3/27/12). Caritas Internationalis (CI) embraces 162 national Caritas, which in turn coordinate the diocesan Caritas, thus reaching parishes and institutions at the local level. In this interview the secretary general of Caritas Internationalis explains the work of the organization.

• "The Pope Is One of Us" - Fr. Franesco Indelicato, a pries of the Parish of Saint John the Baptist of La Salle, at Torrino, in the southern periphery of Rome, reflects on the recent visitation by the Holy Father.

• Benedict XVI and the Irrelevance of “Relevance”, by Dr. Samuel Gregg. (Crisis Magazine, 3/8/12) -- responding to the assertions that the Holy Catholic Church is losing its geopolitical "relevance", as recently marked by the Irish government's 2011 decision to close its embassy to the Holy See

  . . . Indeed, many of Benedict’s writings are charged with content which shatters the post-Enlightenment half-truths about the nature of freedom, equality, and progress that sharply constrict modern Western political thinking. But Benedict’s entire life as a priest, theologian, bishop, senior curial official and pope also reflects his core conviction that the Church’s primary focus is not first-and-foremost “the world,” let alone politics.

  Rather, Benedict’s view has always been that the Church’s main responsibility is to come to know better — and then make known — the Person of Jesus Christ. Why? Because like any orthodox Christian, he believes that herein is found the summit and fullness of Truth and meaning for every human being. Moreover, Benedict insists the only way we can fully comprehend Christ is through His Church – the ecclesia of the saints, living and dead.

In the publishing world ...

On March 1st, Ignatius Press published the English edition of Georg Ratzinger's My Brother, the Pope. From the publisher:

It wasn't always the case that Msgr. Georg Ratzinger lived in the shadow of his younger brother, Joseph. Georg was an accomplished musician, who for over 30 years directed the Regensburger Domspatzchor, the world-famous boys choir of the Regensburg cathedral. Brother Joseph was a brilliant young professor, but mostly known in German academic circles.

Now Georg writes about the close friendship that has united these two brothers for more than 80 years. This book is a unique window on an extraordinary family that lived through the difficult period of National Socialism in Germany. Those interested in knowing more about the early life of Benedict XVI will not be disappointed. They will also learn of the admirable character and inspiring example of the parents, and see how the Catholic faith can shape not just a family, but an entire culture-in this case, that of Bavaria.

Georg's reminiscences are detailed, intimate, and warm. And while they begin with the earliest years of the Ratzinger family, they continue right up to the present day.

• The Ratzinger Family Secret, by Rogert Rauhut. (National Catholic Register March 16, 2012). Interview with German journalist Michael Hesemann on his series of interviews with the Pope's brother.

• A Family Lesson From the Ratzingers: Micael Hesemann Speaks of Compiling Georg's Testimony in "My Brother, The Pope" (Zenit, February 27, 2012). Speaking with Monsignor Georg Ratzinger revealed to Michael Hesemann two critical convictions: There is a family secret that explains something of the impressive trajectory lived by the two Ratzinger sons; and divine providence laid the foundations for Joseph's path to the See of Peter before he was even born.

• Excerpt From My Brother the Pope: "Of Course, He Was Still the Same Old Joseph, and He Still Is Today" (Zenit, February 24, 2012).

Pope Benedict XVI in Mexico and Cuba

From the Pope Benedict XVI Fan Club, a special blog dedicated to exclusive roundups of news and commentary on Pope Benedict's Apostolic Journey to Mexico and Cuba March 23-29, 2012.

Pope Benedict Roundup!

In the News

• 11/09/11 - At the end of a general audience, a delegation from Natz-Schabs (Naz-Siaves), located in the Italian province of Bolzano, conferred honorary citizenship upon the Pope. Noting that the town was birthplace to his great-grandmother, Elisabeth Maria Tauber, and his grandmother, Maria Tauber-Peintner, Benedict XVI then reminisced about the stories told him by his mother. Zenit News has the full text.

• 11/17/11 - The Vatican secretariat of state is seeking legal protection for the Pope's image after an advertising campaign in Italy made use of a fake photograph of Benedict XVI:

  According to a statement from the Vatican today, "The Secretariat of State has authorized its lawyers to initiate actions, in Italy and elsewhere, to prevent the circulation, via the mass media and in other ways, of a photomontage used in a Benetton advertising campaign in which the Holy Father appears in a way considered to be harmful, not only to the dignity of the Pope and the Catholic Church, but also to the sensibility of believers."

  The ad campaign portrays various world leaders kissing on the mouth those who are or could be perceived as their enemies. The image portrayed as Benedict XVI is kissing the image of Imam Ahmed el-Tayyeb of Cairo's Al-Azhar mosque. The mosque also protested the ad, calling it irresponsible.

  According to the National Catholic Reporter, Hours after the Vatican condemned the advertisement, the Italian fashion house Benetton withdrew the photo.

• 11/17/11 - Benedict XVI was selected to receive a Polish honor recognizing his contribution in the fields of theology and culture". According to Zenit News, the award was granted to Benedict XVI in the context of the bicentenary of the University of Wroclaw. (Pope John Paul II was the first recipient of the prize in 2003).

• 11/26/11 - Johannes Christian Sundermann, a lawyer from Unna in North Rhine Westphalia, has filed a complaint against Pope Benedikt XVI for not wearing a seat belt in his "Popemobile" during his last trip to Germany. The pope allegedly broke the law during his visit to Freiburg at the end of September as part of his tour of Germany. (Source: "The Local: Germany's News in English"; HTP Curt Jester).

• 11/30/11 - Benedict XVI addressed a group of people working to the end the death penalty, expressing his hopes that their efforts will succeed:

  "I express my hope that your deliberations will encourage the political and legislative initiatives being promoted in a growing number of countries to eliminate the death penalty and to continue the substantive progress made in conforming penal law both to the human dignity of prisoners and the effective maintenance of public order."

• 12/06/11 - This past December, Benedict XVI used a tablet computer to switch on the lights of the world's biggest Christmas tree. The "tree" is made up of an arrangement of 700 colored lights on the side of Mount Ingino. It is a tradition at the site since 1981. (Zenit)

• 12/16/11 - News that Benedict XVI is set to appoint Hildegard of Bingen as a Doctor of the Church in October of 2012. RomeReports has the details.

• 01/0/12 - The Pope, at the end of the Angelus announced the list of 22 cardinals -- including 18 under 80 years of age (La Stampa "Vatican Insider").

Anticipating Benedict's Visit to Mexico and Cuba

• On November 10, it was announced that Benedict XVI is studying the possibility of a trip to Mexico and Cuba in the spring of 2012, "the nuncios in Mexico and Cuba have been instructed to inform the highest civil and religious authorities that the Pope is examining concrete plans to visit those states, in response to invitations he has received." (Zenit)

• In a message for Thursday's feast of the Immaculate Conception, the bishops of Cuba laid out an evangelization plan for the upcoming jubilee in celebration of the island's patron, extending a welcome to the Holy Father. According to Zenit:

  The bishops outlined steps that they propose to their country's Catholics for the Marian Jubilee Year, which will commemorate the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the image of the Virgin of Charity, patroness of Cuba. The year runs from Jan. 7, 2012, to Jan. 5, 2013.

• On December 12th, Benedict confirmed his travel plans to Cuba and Mexico during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica honoring Mexico's patron saint, the Virgin of Guadalupe:

  In his homily, Benedict said it was his responsibility as pope to help confirm the faith in such an important Catholic stronghold. He said he hoped the region would continue to create new missionaries who would help build a society "rooted in the development of the common good, the triumph of love and the spread of justice."

  "With these wishes, and supported by the help of divine providence, I intend to make an apostolic trip before Easter to Mexico and Cuba," he said as applause erupted in St. Peter's Basilica. He said it was a "precious time to evangelize with a solid faith, a lively hope and ardent charity."

• December 15th - Zenit features a two part interview on "The Cuba That Will Welcome Benedict XVI" Part I; Part II, interviewing Cardinal Jaime Lucas Ortega y Alamino, archbishop of Havana, Cuba, on what the Holy Father should expect to find

• On January 6, 2012, The Vatican confirmed the dates and locations of of the Pope's visit to Cuba and Mexico: The March 23-28 trip will be centered in Leon, Mexico, and in Santiago and Havana, Cuba, and will include the feast of the Annunciation. (Zenit).

• The "Vatican Insider" reports that the Vatican and the Cuban government are working towards a face-to-face meeting between Benedict XVI and the now-sick and elderly leader, Fidel Castro. "The unknowns surrounding the meeting are largely related to Fidel’s health, which justifies the secrecy maintained around the project so far."

• Cuba and its patron saint await Pope Benedict (Reuters):

  The Virgin of Charity of El Cobre is a gold-clothed, doll-like figurine which, according to Cuban legend, three fishermen found floating in a bay as Spain colonized the region with the sword and the cross.

  She is Cuba's patron saint and Pope Benedict will visit her in the eastern city of Santiago de Cuba on March 26 to mark the 400th anniversary of her discovery.

Commentary

• Back in October 2011, concerns were raised when Pope Benedict XVI was pulled down the aisle of St. Peter’s basilica on a rolling platform before he celebrated Mass -- the same platform used by Pope John Paul II in his later years. Similar to his predecessor, provoking observations from the press on how "tired, weak and worn out" the Pope appeared and even speculations of retirement. Fr. Federico Lombardi at the time dismissed concerns, asserting that no medical condition prompted the decision to use the moving platform in St. Peter's; "the sole purpose is to ease the effort of the Holy Father, to reduce the fatigue."

  On November 9, 2011, Andrea Tornielli (La Stampa's "Vatican Insider") makes he claim that "Pope Benedict suffers from arthrosis, a degenerative condition in the joints of his legs ... [making] it painful for the Pope to walk long distances." Phil Lawler of Catholic Culture comments on the peculiar silence of the Vatican:

  A degenerative joint condition can be quite painful. But it is not a life-threatening condition. Nor is there any shame involved. We all know that age is taking its toll on the Pope’s physical condition, and aching joints are a common complaint among men of his years. There is abundant evidence that the Holy Father can no longer walk without difficulty. Eyewitnesses notice that his stride is labored; his right leg seems gimpy. In past years he vacationed in the Italian Alps, where he could take long walks; this year he opted instead for a few quiet weeks at Castel Gandolfo, where he could relax, play the piano, and stay off his feet.

  So why not tell the whole truth?

• The Pope’s Life of Jesus - Anglican Bishop and biblical scholar N.T. Wright reviews Pope Benedict's Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection. (Times Literary Supplement December 14, 2011).

• The perils of a 'part-time pope' John Allen Jr. reviews Joseph Ratzinger: Crisis of a Papacy, a critical review of Benedict's pontificate by a veteran Italian journalist and commentator Marco Politi:

  I've known Politi for two decades, covering Vatican happenings with him and reading his stuff. Whatever one makes of his big-picture perspective, he's an astute observer, and there's always something to learn from what he has to say. (Proof that Politi is taken seriously in the Vatican is that Gian Maria Vian, editor of L'Osservatore Romano, was among the panelists at a Nov. 16 presentation of the book in Rome -- even though Vian said he came as a "devil's advocate" to argue that the book "shouldn't be canonized.")

  Politi's core thesis is expressed in the provocative assertion that Benedict XVI is a "part-time pope."

  As Politi sees it, Benedict dips in to running the church or acting as a global leader only when circumstances require it. His passion, however, is focused on his private theological studies and his own writings.

• Benedict’s Christocentrism: Realities of a Primary Order, by Elizabeth Scalia. (First Things "On the Square" December 20, 2011):

  Pope Benedict has served Christ and the Church for very nearly his whole life, and it seems that even in the infancy of his ministry he was called to deliver a clear and unambiguous message against relativism, which he many decades later famously (and rightly) referred to as a “dictatorship.”

  Perhaps the Holy Spirit understands more than those worrying about a “governance gap” that while we watch governments and nations founder and fail in the fogs of their own contrived and faulty gospels, the pope we need right now is the one who will keep reminding us that there is only one truth, and one constant reality.

• Pope Benedict's 'State of the World' address - summary and detailed analysis from Catholic World News of Pope Benedict's annual address to the Vatican's diplomatic corps, noting with respect to the varied reactions from the press that Reuters "devoted most of its analysis to the question of same-sex marriage: a topic that the Pope did not mention." (Here is the full text of the Pope's address to the diplomatic corps of the Holy See).

Upcoming Books

	Joseph Ratzinger: Fundamental Speeches from Five Decades Ignatius Press (March 2012) While a professor of theology and throughout his rise in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, Joseph Ratzinger again and again delivered important speeches over the course of five decades at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria (1963-2004). The broad spectrum of topics from the primacy of the papacy to the moral foundations of western society demonstrated not only his breadth of knowledge but also his prescience, for these issues remain important for both the Church and modern man. The fundamental speeches in this volume are arranged thematically. And before each one is a brief introduction written by Dr. Florian Schuller, the director of the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in Munich, who also contributed the foreword.
	Holy Men and Women Of the Middle Ages and Beyond Ignatius Press (March 2012) While a professor of theology and throughout his rise in the Roman Catholic hierarchy, Joseph Ratzinger again and again delivered important speeches over the course of five decades at the Catholic Academy of Bavaria (1963-2004). The broad spectrum of topics from the primacy of the papacy to the moral foundations of western society demonstrated not only his breadth of knowledge but also his prescience, for these issues remain important for both the Church and modern man. The fundamental speeches in this volume are arranged thematically. And before each one is a brief introduction written by Dr. Florian Schuller, the director of the Catholic Academy of Bavaria in Munich, who also contributed the foreword.
	My Brother, the Pope Ignatius Press (March 2012) It wasn't always the case that Msgr. Georg Ratzinger lived in the shadow of his younger brother, Joseph. Georg was an accomplished musician, who for over 30 years directed the Regensburger Domspatzchor, the world-famous boys choir of the Regensburg cathedral. Brother Joseph was a brilliant young professor, but mostly known in German academic circles. Now Georg writes about the close friendship that has united these two brothers for more than 80 years. This book is a unique window on an extraordinary family that lived through the difficult period of National Socialism in Germany. Those interested in knowing more about the early life of Benedict XVI will not be disappointed. They will also learn of the admirable character and inspiring example of the parents, and see how the Catholic faith can shape not just a family, but an entire culture-in this case, that of Bavaria. Georg's reminiscences are detailed, intimate, and warm. And while they begin with the earliest years of the Ratzinger family, they continue right up to the present day.
	Benedict XVI's Reform: The Liturgy Between Innovation and Tradition Ignatius Press (April 2012) When Benedict XVI reestablished the celebration of the older Latin Mass, voices of protest rose up from many sides. The widespread fear was-and is-that the Pope had revealed himself as the reactionary defender of tradition that many have accused him of being since he was the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the former Holy Office. Defenders of Benedict XVI have responded to these objections by explaining that the use of the Tridentine Rite is not a "step backward" to pre-Vatican II times, but rather a step forward. Now the Church can see what the older rite offered in terms of beauty, reverence, and meaning and perhaps desire more of those elements in the ordinary form of the Mass. A professor of theology and liturgy, the author of this book explains the motives behind the Pope's decision to allow two forms of the Mass. He does this by turning to the Pope's own theological and liturgical writings, but he also draws from his experiences on various Church commissions and in offices of the Roman Curia.

Pope Benedict XVI - Apostolic Journey to Benin (November 18-20, 2011)

From the Vatican

• Program
• Africae Munus: Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on the Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace (November 19, 2011)

Pope Benedict waves at the crowd as he arrives in his Popemobile to celebrate a mass at the Stade de l'Amitie (Friendship Stadium) in Benin's economic capital Cotonou November 20, 2011. Source: Reuters

Addresses of the Holy Father

• Meeting of His Holiness Benedict XVI with journalists during the flight to Benin (Papal Flight, 18 November 2011)
• Welcome Ceremony at Cardinal Bernardin Gantin International Airport of Cotonou (November 18, 2011)
• Visit to the Cathedral of Cotonou (November 18, 2011)
• Meeting with Government members, representatives of the Institutions of the Republic, Diplomatic Corps and representatives of the major religions gathered in the Presidential Palace of Cotonou (November 19, 2011)
• Meeting with priests, seminarians, men and women religious and lay faithful gathered in the Courtyard of St Gall Seminary (Ouidah, 19 November 2011)
• Visit at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of Mary of Ouidah and signing of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation (November 19, 2011)
• Meeting with children at St. Rita Parish in Cotonou (November 19, 2011)
• Meeting with the Bishops of Benin at the Apostolic Nunciature of Cotonou (November 19, 2011)
• Holy Mass at the "Stade de l’amitié" of Cotonou (November 20, 2011)
• Consignment of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation to the Bishops of Africa at the "Stade de l’amitié" of Cotonou (November 20, 2011)
• Recitation of the Angelus Domini (Cotonou, 20 November 2011)
• Farewell ceremony at Cardinal Bernardin Gantin International Airport (Cotonou, 20 November 2011)

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a mass at the 'Friendship Stadium' in Cotonou on November 20, 2011. Source: Getty Images

Commentary

Veteran papal journalist John Allen Jr. (National Catholic Reporter) accompanied the Pope -- and blogged the papal journey:

• From rumba to voodoo, subtext abounds on pope’s Africa trip 11/17/11.
  For anyone seeking an off-beat lens through which to see the journey, there’s almost an embarrassment of riches. From witchcraft to voodoo, from funky rumba music to politically incorrect comic books, subtext abounds – and that’s even without any new papal commentary on condoms, which was the sideshow that dominated Benedict’s last outing to Africa in 2009."
• Don't surrender to laws of market, pope says 11/18/11.
  On the heels of a controversial Vatican document blasting free-market ideologies and calling for a global authority to regulate the economy, Benedict XVI today warned the continent of Africa against an “unconditional surrender to the law of the market or that of finance,” in a speech opening his second African journey as pope.
• The political nerve of Catholicism in Africa 11/18/11.
  A core motive for Benedict XVI’s trip to Benin this weekend is to honor the late Cardinal Bernardin Gantin, yet it's actually another former Archbishop of Cotonou whose memory may be most helpful in grasping one key feature of African Catholicism: Its brazen disregard of Western notions of church/state separation.
• From a Eurocentric pope, a remarkably African message 11/19/11.
  If one were to survey African Catholic leaders about their most pressing social challenges, responses would likely focus on their struggles against corruption and religious intolerance. As it happens, those were precisely the two themes raised today by Pope Benedict XVI, in a highly anticipated speech to government and religious leaders at Benin’s Presidential Palace.
• In voodoo capital, Benedict blasts 'occultism and evil spirits' 11/19/11.
  In a West African city widely regarded as the spiritual capital of voodoo, Benedict XVI today urged Catholics to resist a “syncretism which deceives” and to uphold a Christian faith that “liberates from occultism” and “vanquishes evil spirits.”
• On AIDS, Benedict avoids the ‘C’ word 11/19/11.
  Heading into Pope Benedict XVI’s Nov. 18-20 trip to Benin, one bit of drama was whether this African outing, like the last one two years ago, would be engulfed by controversy over the pope’s stance on condoms and AIDS. That now seems unlikely, for a simple reason: The “C” word has not passed from the pope’s lips.
• Benedict’s Africa plan: Stay spiritual, and stay Catholic 11/19/11.
  Pope Benedict XVI came to Africa this weekend primarily to deliver his conclusions from a 2009 Synod of Bishops for Africa, representing a papal game plan for the faith in the region of its most explosive growth. He chose an evocative setting – the city of Ouidah on Benin’s Atlantic coast, a onetime slave port known as the spiritual capital of the Vodun religion, referred to in the West as voodoo.
• The lonely liberation theology of Benedict XVI 11/20/11.
  Anyone just tuning in now to Pope Benedict XVI, who doesn’t know much about him but somehow caught wind of his Nov. 18-20 trip to Benin, could be forgiven a bit of confusion about exactly what the pope came here to say about the political role of Catholicism in Africa. Understanding that a unique form of ‘liberation theology’ circulates in the pope’s intellectual and spiritual bloodstream can, perhaps, help make sense of things.
• Hard questions about Pope Benedict in Africa 11/23/11.
  It may seem counterintuitive that an 84-year-old German intellectual should be the Western leader most enthusiastic about Africa, yet it actually makes all the sense in the world. Spiritually speaking, Africa is a superpower -- both the world's largest manufacturer and consumer of religion. For a pope who has spent a lifetime lamenting the "death of God" in Europe, Africa can't help but seem an oasis of vibrant faith. Africans seemed to return the sentiment.

Pope Benedict and Assisi III

On April 2, 2011, the Holy See's press office announced the details of Pope Benedict's 2011 visit to Assissi to preside over an ecumenical and interreligious gathering in a day of dialogue and prayer for peace::

On 1 January 2011, after the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI announced that he wished to commemorate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the historic meeting that took place in Assisi on 27 October 1986, at the wish of the Venerable Servant of God John Paul II. On the day of the anniversary, 27 October this year, the Holy Father intends to hold a ‘Day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world’, making a pilgrimage to the home of St. Francis and inviting fellow Christians from different denominations, representatives of the world’s religious traditions and, in some sense, all men and women of good will, to join him once again on this journey.

The Day will take as its theme: ‘Pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace’. Every human being is ultimately a pilgrim in search of truth and goodness. Believers too are constantly journeying towards God: hence the possibility, indeed the necessity, of speaking and entering into dialogue with everyone, believers and unbelievers alike, without sacrificing one’s own identity or indulging in forms of syncretism. To the extent that the pilgrimage of truth is authentically lived, it opens the path to dialogue with the other, it excludes no-one and it commits everyone to be a builder of fraternity and peace. These are the elements that the Holy Father wishes to place at the centre of reflection.

Invited to this event were "representatives of Christian communities and of the principal religious traditions" as well as professed agnostics "from the world of culture and science -- people who, while not professing to be religious, regard themselves as seekers of the truth and are conscious of a shared responsibility for the cause of justice and peace in this world of ours”.

The intinerary was a simple one. On October 27th, Pope Benedict and fellow delegates would board a train from Rome -- upon arrival in Assisi, they would make their way to the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, "where the previous meetings will be recalled and the theme of the Day will be explored in greater depth. Leaders of some of the delegations present will make speeches and the Holy Father will likewise deliver an address". This in turn would be followed by a simple lunch and "a moment of silence for individual reflection and prayer", a "pilgrimage" to the Basilica of Saint Francis (also, again, "in silence"), and culminating in "a solemn renewal of the joint commitment to peace".

Reactions and Commentary

"Traditionalist" Catholics were (expectedly, and we should acknowledge, justifiably) wary of the Pope's call for yet another ecumenical/interreligious event at Assisi. Although Pope John Paul II had insisted that what would take place was not a manifestation of religious syncretism (representatives of the world's religions would not "come to pray together" but "to come together to pray"), the visutal images and impressions of the 1986 event provided much fodder for criticisms of such gatherings, unheard of in "pre-conciliar" times.

As recollected by Cardinal Oddi in 30 Giorni ["30 Days"] magazine:

... On that day, I went as the Pontifical Legate for the Basilica of St Francis, and I saw true profanations in some places of prayer. I saw Buddhists dancing around the altar, on which they had put Buddha in the place of Christ, and they were burning incense to the Buddha and venerating it. A Benedictine protested – he was thrown out by the police. I did not protest, but my heart was scandalized. Confusion was apparent on the faces of the Catholics who were attending the ceremony. I thought: if at this moment the Buddhists were to distribute bread consecrated to Buddha, these people would be capable of agreeing to eat it, perhaps with a greater devotion than when they receive the Host.

In fact, it was the first gathering of Assisi that, together with John Paul II's visit to the synagogue of Rome, reportedly prompted Archbishop Lefebvre to consecrete bishops and issue a furious denunciation of the "modernist and liberal religion of modern and conciliar Rome" (December 2, 1986):

The public sin against the one, true God, against the Incarnate Word, and His Church, makes us shudder with horror. John Paul II encourages the false religions to pray to their false gods—an immeasurable, unprecedented scandal.

See "Assisi Revisited" (The Remnant February 15, 1987 - republished) for a characteristicaly traditionalist critique of the events of Assissi, 1986. A compilation of traditionalist criticisms of Assisi (I-III) is available at the SSPX website.

Responding to the criticism, Fr John Hunwicke suggested that the Holy Father's traditionalist critics "wait it out":

Considering Papa Ratzinger's subtlety and his views on the necessarily coherent, non-self-contradictory, nature of the Tradition and of the Magisterium, I can't help feeling that his intention to have the meeting in that particular place may have, as one its purposes, a resolution of the worrying ambiguities in the original event.

Can't we wait and see what actually happens? If all is done with propriety, then presumambly the Holy Father is saying 'This is what the true contextualised meaning of these occasions is; so let nobody in the future claim that the rough edges in the original format afford precedents for syncretism.'

So, how did it turn out?

From the Vatican, the booklet for the celebration and the addresses of the Holy Father:

• Address of the Holy Father (Assisi, October 27, 2011)
• Farewell address by the Holy Father (Saint Francis Square, October 27, 2011)
• To the delegations taking part in the meeting for peace in Assisi (October 28, 2011)

The Pope and "the Agnostics"

Of particular interest and discussion was Pope Benedict's focus on agnostics (as distinguished from "militant atheists") in his address at Assisi. Here is the relevant excerpts:

The absence of God leads to the decline of man and of humanity. But where is God? Do we know him, and can we show him anew to humanity, in order to build true peace? Let us first briefly summarize our considerations thus far. I said that there is a way of understanding and using religion so that it becomes a source of violence, while the rightly lived relationship of man to God is a force for peace. In this context I referred to the need for dialogue and I spoke of the constant need for purification of lived religion. On the other hand I said that the denial of God corrupts man, robs him of his criteria and leads him to violence.

In addition to the two phenomena of religion and anti-religion, a further basic orientation is found in the growing world of agnosticism: people to whom the gift of faith has not been given, but who are nevertheless on the lookout for truth, searching for God. Such people do not simply assert: “There is no God”. They suffer from his absence and yet are inwardly making their way towards him, inasmuch as they seek truth and goodness. They are “pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace”. They ask questions of both sides. They take away from militant atheists the false certainty by which these claim to know that there is no God and they invite them to leave polemics aside and to become seekers who do not give up hope in the existence of truth and in the possibility and necessity of living by it. But they also challenge the followers of religions not to consider God as their own property, as if he belonged to them, in such a way that they feel vindicated in using force against others. These people are seeking the truth, they are seeking the true God, whose image is frequently concealed in the religions because of the ways in which they are often practised. Their inability to find God is partly the responsibility of believers with a limited or even falsified image of God. So all their struggling and questioning is in part an appeal to believers to purify their faith, so that God, the true God, becomes accessible. Therefore I have consciously invited delegates of this third group to our meeting in Assisi, which does not simply bring together representatives of religious institutions. Rather it is a case of being together on a journey towards truth, a case of taking a decisive stand for human dignity and a case of common engagement for peace against every form of destructive force. Finally I would like to assure you that the Catholic Church will not let up in her fight against violence, in her commitment for peace in the world. We are animated by the common desire to be “pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace”.

Some were able to appreciate the Holy Father's words (see Michael Potemra (and related commentators) at National Review). Others were not too keen (ex. mixed reception from readers of the "traditionalist" blog Rorate Caeli, with one observing that the vast majority of "agnostics" in this day and age "are simply too worldly to be bothered to find out more about God, or are too averse to the idea of "absolute truth" to want to concede the truth of Christianity, or indeed of any religious system that claims to be true."

It is noted that this is not the first time the Pope has praised agnostics. During the papal mass at Freiburg Airport in September (apostolic visit to Germany), the Pope stated:

“Agnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God, those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of our sin, are closer to the Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is 'routine' and who regard the Church merely as an institution, without letting their hearts be touched by faith.”

Additional Addresses (La Stampa's "The Vatican Insider")

• Address of Rowan Williams, The Archbishop of Canterbury at Assisi III October 27, 2011.
• Address of Rabbi David Rosen at Assisi III. Rosen is Director of Interfaith Affairs for the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and honorary Advisor on Interfaith Relations to the Chief Rabbinate of Israel.
• A summary of the speeches made by representatives of the various religions, during the pilgrimage to Assisi - Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace; Bartholomew I, the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople; Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury; Olav Fykse Tveit, Secretary General of the Ecumenical Council of Churches; Rabbi David Rosen; Wande Abimola, spokesman for the Ifu and Youruba religion; Ja-Seung, a Korean Buddhist, Julia Kristeva, a philosopher of language, and Great Mufti of Tajikistan, Muskaram Abdukadirov, as Muslim representative.

Pope Benedict XVI prays in front of the crypt of Saint Francis at the end of the meeting 'Pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace ' a day of reflection, dialogue and prayer for peace and justice in the world at the Saint Francis Basilica on October 27, 2011 in Assisi, Italy. Source: Getty Images

Additional Coverage and Commentary

• From Sandro Magister, a personal letter of Pope Benedict XVI -- responding to concerns about Assisi expressed by longtime friend and Luthern pastor Peter Beyerhaus:

  "I understand very well," the pope writes, "your concern about participating in the encounter of Assisi. But this commemoration would have been celebrated in any case, and, in the end, it seemed to me the best thing to go there personally, in order to try to determine the overall direction. Nonetheless, I will do everything I can to make a syncretistic or relativistic interpretation of the event impossible, and to make it clear that I will always believe and confess what I had called the Church's attention to with 'Dominus Iesus'."

• FromRorate-Caeli, a list of those in attendance at Assisi III:

  • "From the Eastern Churches, 17 delegations";
  • "From the Western Churches and ecclesial communities, 13 delegations will be present";
  • From Jewish Organizations: delegations of the "International Committee on Interreligious Consultation", "of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel", the "Chief Rabbi of Rome";
  • "4 personalities in representation of the Traditional Religions of Africa, America, and India";
  • "18 people" of "religions related to the Indian subcontinent";
  • "67 Buddhists";
  • the "President of the Confucianism Association", "the President of the Tao Association", "2 Shinto delegations from Japan", representatives of "the New Religions of Japan";
  • "48 Muslims" from "Arab countries and the Middle East, and from Western nations", including "a representative of the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", and "5 personalities, accompanied by other 7 Muslim representatives" from "Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Indonesia;
  • And also 4 invited guests of the Pontifical Council for Culture, including a member of the Austrian Communist Party.

  From the "Vatican Insider" (La Stampa), A more detailed list of attendees by name (including Mahatma Ghandi’s grandson), noting that "for the first time ever, leaders of world religions will be meeting at the tomb of St. Francis" to pay personal tribute to the saint.

  According to Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, the presence of atheists (and/or presumably "agnostics") at Assissi was at the specific request of the Holy Father ("Vatican Insider" 10/15/2011):

  "It was an idea of ??Benedict XVI's", says the cardinal of Milan, "and he himself presented it during a meeting with some cardinals in sight of the preparations for Assisi. " In doing so, explains Ravasi, "Ratzinger shows that he holds in great esteem an ancient teaching of Christian theology: man is made of natural and supernatural. The supernatural does not remove or destroy nature, but perfects it. It sets itself, that is, an additional element, but does not eliminate human nature. So the invitation of the Pope's attempt to reassert the importance of the relationship between faith and reason."

  The four atheists who participate in Assisi are the French philosopher and psychoanalyst Julia Kristeva (who will speak before Benedict XVI), the Italian thinker philosophy professor at UCLA in Los Angeles Bodei Remo, the British philosopher Anthony Grayling, which established the New College of Letters and Philosophy, London, and Mexico's Guillermo Hurtado, founder of the second period of the history and philosophy magazine Dianoia. The day before the meeting in Assisi, October 26, the four will participate in a panel discussion in the main hall of the Rectorate of Roma 3 University.

Pope Benedict XVI and Archbiscop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (in red) pray with other religious leaders in front of the cript of Saint Francis. Source: Getty Images

• Austen Ivereigh (America comments on "The hidden history of the Assisi gatherings". The impression is given that "these gatherings have been entirely the initiatives of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, and that little has happened between the three gatherings of 1986, 2002 and today's." Not so:

  What it missed out is that every year since 1987, the Community of Sant'Egidio -- which played a major role, along with Focolare and Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, in preparing Assisi I -- has held an annual prayer for peace in a different city"in the spirit of Assisi" and following a similar format (speeches, prayers, common pledge of peace), intended to develop a "spiritual humanism of peace".

  The 1986 gathering was originally designed as a one-off event, with no plans to repeat it or continue it in any way. The fact that it has become embedded in the life of the Church is down to Sant'Egidio's annual gatherings and Focolare's conferences "in the spirit of Assisi".

  That experience has been heavily drawn on to prepare today's event. What is billed as the great innovation of Assisi III, for example, the inclusion of nonbelievers, has happened for years at the annual Sant'Egidio gatherings.

• Taking his cue from Assissi, Paul Bhatti, Pakistani PM’s Special Councillor for Minority Affairs (and also a Catholic), has announced interreligious Congress in Islamabad, in early 2012:

  The meeting will be on the theme of harmony and peaceful coexistence and we will be inviting guests of international renown. It will send a message of peace to the entire nation.”

  The Councillor intends to commit “to interreligious dialogue, on a National and international level, with the aim of improving conditions for religious minorities in Pakistan. All people of goodwill will need to be called, to unite together for the common good of the nation.”

• The concerns and complaints of Assissi's critics were validated by at least one instance of abuse, where inside the Basilica of Saint Francis in Assisi, an African pagan priest sang a prayer to the pagan deity of Olokun. Fr. John Zuhlsdorf remarks:

  When something is consecrated, it should be used for sacred purposes or at least purposes that are not contrary to the Faith. Was that African holy man doing something contrary to our Faith? I can’t say for sure, because I don’t know enough about what that fellow actually sang. I don’t understand that language. But it sure looks like he did. My immediate impression was not good. At the very least, the choice to have that in a consecrated church shows little regard on the part of the organizers for the appearance of things. It was also wrong to be so insensitive to the Catholic sensibilities of members of our Holy Church.

  I am trying to imagine what St. Francis, who as tough as nails when it came to the faith and nobody’s fool, would have said about that chant in a consecrated church.

  For pity’s sake, couldn’t the organizers have learned from the mistakes made at Assisi I, back in the day?

  In any event, I don’t think this is worth freaking out over. No doubt some people will say that this was Pope Benedict’s fault, as if he made out the schedule and took that fellow up to the microphone himself. I doubt any of the organizers intended to do anything contrary to the Catholic Faith, but I am irritated that these people seem not to be able to learn from the past.

• Finally, John Allen Jr. draws attention to the man "behind the scenes" at Assissi III, "papal contender" Peter Cardinal Turkson of Ghana:

  Rome saw a striking coincidence this week, which could be either simple luck or a sign of things to come. There were two big-ticket Vatican news flashes, Monday's note on reform of the international economy and Thursday's summit of religious leaders in Assisi. In both cases, the same Vatican official was a prime mover: Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

  Turkson, still young in church terms at 63, was the chief organizer of the Assisi gathering, just as he was the top signatory on the document blasting "neo-liberal" ideologies and calling for a "true world political authority" to regulate the economy. During Vatican press conferences to present both, Turkson was the star attraction each time.

  Can anyone say, papabile?

  Before getting over-heated, however, three cautions are in order ... [Read the rest]

Pope Benedict Roundup!

October 27th, 20011, marked the gathering of Pope Benedict XVI and representatives of the world's religions in an interreligious "prayer for peace" in the town of Assisi. The Benedict Blog will provide a roundup of coverage of this event in a separate post.

News

• An olive tree more than 200 years old grown near Nazareth was sent as a gift from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Pope Benedict XVI. (The Forward 10/24/11).

• Pope Benedict has named Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, 70, to be the new nuncio to the United States. Catholic News Service has the profile (10/19/11).

• Pope Benedict XVI announced a special "Year of Faith" to help Catholics appreciate the gift of faith, deepen their relationship with God and strengthen their commitment to sharing faith with others (Catholic News Service 10/18/11):

  The pope said the observance would begin Oct. 11, 2012 -- the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Council -- and conclude Nov. 24, 2013 -- the feast of Christ the King.

  The Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon recycled an old smear, referring to Pope Benedict as a "nazi" during a film festival in New York (10/15/11), prompting Abraham H. Foxman, director of the The Anti-Defamation League and Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights to join in condemnation of the slander.

• During his September 28th general audience, Benedict XVI reflected on his recent apostolic trip to Germany, defining it as "a great feast of the faith" during which he had seen "how it is God Who gives our lives their deepest meaning, their true fullness". From The Benedict Blog, a roundup of the Holy Father's apostolic journey to Germany).

"Ratzinger Fan!" -- A man wearing a Kosovo 'Dardanian' flag holds a poster reading 'We thank Vatican, we thank Germany' (Wir danken dem Vatikan, wir danken Deutschland) as he attends a mass held by German-born Pope Benedict XVI on the grounds of the airport in Freiburg, southern Germany, on September 25, 2011, on the last day of the Pontiff's first state visit to his native Germany. Source: Getty Images

• Zenit news marks two Papal firsts in 2011:

  A papal first happened on May 21: the Bishop of Rome conversed via satellite with the crew of the International Space Station, on the occasion of the space shuttle Endeavour's last mission.

  That was followed by another novelty: the first papal tweet. Benedict XVI launched the Vatican's new news portal on June 28, eve of the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul.

• During his visit to Ancona, Benedict XVI had lunch with 16 workers who had been laid off from their positions at the local Fincantieri shipbuilding company (9/12/11). The pope was presented with two cakes, one with the symbol of the Christian fish and the other with the papal seal. [Video from RomeReports].

• On September 20th, 2011, Pope Benedict personally conveyed birthday greetings to Spanish Cistercian Sister Teresita, who turned 104. (9/20/11):

  Sister Teresita has spent 85 years in the cloister, more than anyone else known to history. She expressed her desire to meet the Holy Father shortly before his Madrid journey, and the apostolic nuncio in Spain, Archbishop Renzo Fratini, shortly thereafter confirmed that it would be possible. ... [Read the rest]

• New files uncovered in September revealed that Cardinal Ratzinger was under surveillance by East-German Stasi, who considered him a fierce foe:

  The GDR secret service viewed Professor Ratzinger as "conservative, reactionary and authoritarian," Erice writes, and contended that John Paul II had appointed the then-Cardinal Ratzinger as organizer for "counter-revolutionary development in Poland." More Stasi notes reveal they considered him as "one of the fiercest opponents of communism"; they believed he supported nuclear deterrence between the East and West military blocs, and that he considered pacifism "unrealistic."

  (Zenit News has the full and detailed report).

• In mid-September (16th-18th), the Catholic faithful of the United Kingdom reflected on the Pope's historical visit. Zenit News interviewed Clare Ward, the Home Mission Advisor for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, on the festivities that took place as well as inspiring stories of the papal visit.

• 75 being the normal age of retirement within the Catholic Church, Pope Benedict will begin the search for the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, replacing the American Cardinal William Levada. "Benedict XVI has a special connection to this position, where he served for 24 years before being elected pope." RomeReports has the story.

• "The Pope's Day" - Andrea Tornielli ("The Vatican Insider") walks us through a typical day in the life of the Holy Father:

  A day at the Vatican for Pope Benedict XVI begins shortly after six o'clock, when the Pope gets up. Around 6:50 a.m. Ratzinger leaves his room and crosses the twenty meters that separate his room from the chapel. When he enters the chapel, the Pope stops to pray briefly, placing his glasses on the altar, then goes into the small sacristy to don the robes. At that moment the two secretaries, the German Gänswein Georg and the Maltese Alfred Xuereb, are ready to celebrate mass. ... more]

• By way of Sandro Magister, news that almost a million euro obtained in 2010 from the sale of pontifical blessings by Pope Benedict XVI has been given to seven thousand needy families.

• Ignatius Press' Carl Olson brings to our attention that Father Maximilian Heim, a 50-year-old professor of fundamental and dogmatic theology as well as Abbot of Heiligenkreuz [Holy Cross] Monastery in Bavaria, was among the three winners for the Ratzinger Prize for their excellence in theological studies awarded in June 2011:

  He is the author of Joseph Ratzinger—Kirchliche Existenz und existentielle Theologie (2005), translated into English by Michael J. Miller and published by Ignatius Press as Joseph Ratzinger: Life in the Church and Living Theology—Fundamentals of Ecclesiology with Reference to "Lumen Gentium" (2007). The book was awarded the Cardinal Innitzer Prize in Vienna, and the Johann-Kaspar Zeuss Prize in Kronach, Germany.

• "Ratzinger's Circle", by Gianni Valente, on the Holy Father's annual seminar with his former students. La Stampa "Vatican Insider" August 24, 2011:

  It is by now a regular appointment in Ratzinger’s annual agenda. Between the end of August and the first days of September, Benedict XVI interrupts, for a few hours, the fast and methodic pace of his commitments, whether ordinary or extraordinary, to meet with the more or less aged members of his Schülerkreis, the circle of his former pupils, who over the Sixties and Seventies prepared their theses for their Ph.D. in theology or studied to achieve their qualification as University teachers under the guide of Professor Joseph Ratzinger. ... [more]

  See also: "Ratzinger, Teilhard and the New Evangelization" (8/28/11) - According to Valente, the subject of this year's seminar ("the new evangelization") will be the focus of the next Synod of Bishops in 2012.

Commentary

• The Church may be less powerful but Ratzinger is not letting go of his authority - Daniele Menozzi, a church historian at Pisa's Scuola Normale Superiore, reflects on Benedict XVI's appeal for a more spiritual ecclesiastic community. (La Stampa "The Vatican Insider" 10/5/11).

• "No Small Matter": Fr. Schall on what the Pope said in Germany, by Fr. James V. Schall. Ignatius Insight October 26, 2011:

  [W]hat is especially remarkable about Benedict XVI is the ease and care with which he can illuminate overall things in brief discourses.

  As an example, I want to comment on the address the Holy Father gave to representatives of the Evangelical Church of Germany. He was in the Augustinian Convent in Erfurt, where Martin Luther was ordained and where he lived from 1505-1511. Probably better than any of his predecessors, this Pope knows Luther. In general, the Pope stressed what Catholics and Lutherans have in common, not what divided them, the cause of so much strife. We are at a stage in history where we can look at the past much more calmly, but only if we will. ...

• Covering the Pope: a guide for journalists Milo Yiannopoulos sheds some light on the arcane world of Catholicism, for the benefit of befuddled mainstream reporters. (Catholic Herald 9/26/11). "We hope that by sharing these best practice guidelines, we can help reporters to uphold the tradition of fair and balanced reporting on Catholic issues for which the British press is rightly famed. Here, then, are our top tips for success."

• Benedict and Mozart on True Happiness | Monsignor Daniel B. Gallagher | September 23, 2011 | Ignatius Insight:

  Delivered on the eve of a highly touted visit to the United Kingdom last year, most of the world failed to notice a short speech Pope Benedict XVI gave following a performance of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Requiem at Castel Gandolfo. The Pontiff hailed the piece as an "elevated expression of genuine Christian faith" in which "everything is in perfect harmony; every note, every musical phrase is just so and cannot be otherwise."

• Ratzinger's Favorite Bach Cantata - it is the one for the last Sunday of the Lutheran liturgical year, centered on the parable of the wise and foolish virgins. All the details of a personal memory of Pope Benedict, on the eve of his next voyage to Germany, by Sandro Magister (Chiesa 9/5/11).

• Sixty Years a Priest | On the 60th Anniversary of Pope Benedict XVI's Ordination, by Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Ignatius Insight August 16, 2011.

• Pope Benedict's Guide to Youth Ministry, by Amy Welborn. (HeadlineBistro August 24th, 2011). "Anyone interested in the question of how to minister to young Catholics might want to set aside – just for a few minutes – all the expert advice you've bought and paid for over the years and watch and listen to what the Holy Father said during his time with these millions of young people [At World Youth Day 2011]. No charge."

• Benedict XVI on Europe's Future , by George Weigel. First Things' "On The Square". August 10, 2011. "In remarks to Croatia’s religious, political, business, and cultural leaders in Zagreb’s National Theater, the Pope refined into six digestible propositions the case he has been making about religion-and-society ever since his election to the papacy in 2005 ..."

In the publishing world ...

• Painting the Pope | An Interview with Ann Kissane Engelhart | Ignatius Insight | August 30, 2011:

  Ann Kissane Engelhart (personal website: www.annkissaneengelhart.com) is a watercolorist based in Long Island whose paintings have been featured in the Empire State Building, St. Francis Hospital, the DeMatties Center, Brooklyn College and Wagner College and in private collections. She has won numerous awards, she has exhibited in galleries on Long Island and New York, and her illustrations have been published in a variety of magazines and periodicals.

  She illustrated the children's book, Friendship with Jesus: Pope Benedict XVI Talks to Children on Their First Holy Communion, which features Benedict XVI's answers to questions put to him by children in Rome; the book is edited by popular author and blogger Amy Welborn. Ann recently spoke with Ignatius Insight about her artwork, illustrating Friendship With Jesus, and meeting Pope Benedict XVI. ...

• The Libreria Editrice Vaticana has released a small anthology of texts by Benedict XVI on interreligious dialogue titled "Pensieri sul Dialogo Interreligioso" (Thoughts on Interreligious Dialogue). The 64-page publication, edited by Lucio Coco, brings together some 60 texts of the Pope’s teaching on the topic of dialogue. (Zenit 9/21/11).
• "Mein Bruder Der Papst". On September 13, 2011, Georg Ratzinger presented his book, My Brother, The Pope. He says in the book that his younger sibling never changed as he climbed the ecclesiastical ladder to the Vatican. [HT: Carlos Echevarria, Caput Mundi].

On a humorous note ...

• Hans Kung will be disappointed to learn that Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has dismissed reports published by an Italian newspaper that Pope Benedict XVI plans to resign from the papacy in 2012 (Catholic News Agency 9/27/11).

• Pope Benedict is reportedly "astounded" by how much he has written, responding to an exhibition of his work by the publisher Herder and the Vatican Publishing House in September.