Pope Benedict XVI Roundup!

With the ascendance of Joseph Ratzinger to the throne of Peter the Ratzinger Fan Club isn't quite the novelty it used to be. Nor, for that matter, is the pasttime of blogging about Benedict -- if you have not already been acquainted, I'd like to introduce Papabile, Michael S. Rose's Papa Ratzi Post and Rocco Palmo's Whispers in the Loggia (who, judging by his incredible popularity needs no introduction).

All three do a more-than-capable job of covering the "Benedict Beat." What follows from yours truly are merely some highlights that caught my eye over the past month.

• Benedict XVI, Recorded Live: His Ecumenism? It’s Right Here - L'Espresso. Sept. 1, 2005. Sandro Magister notes the Holy Father's penchant for "speaking off the cuff", even with regards to "very demanding topics. Case in point, his August 19 address to the representatives of the Protestant and Orthodox Churches:

  On that day, the journalists had received an advance copy of the written text, in various languages. And this is the text to which they referred in their reports.

  But in reality, Benedict XVI said much more. On a number of occasions he raised his eyes from the text and improvised.

  A quantitative idea of the variations can be gathered from the fact that the speech that pope Joseph Ratzinger delivered, in German, is almost twice as long as the initial written text: 2,010 words versus 1,179.

  Magister presents the complete transcript – in the English version prepared by the Vatican’s offices – of the speech that Benedict XVI addressed to the representatives of the non-Catholic Churches on the evening of August 19, in Cologne. Pay attention, as "the underlined words are the ones that the pope added off the cuff, departing from the written text," and revealing at greater length his own understanding of ecumenism and the "unity of all Christians." [NOTE: for further elaboration on the issues presented in Magister's article, I would also recommend "On the Ecumenical Situation", pp. 253-267, Pilgrim Fellowship of Faith (Ignatius Press, 2005)].

• So, World Youth Day 2005 is over, What's on the Agenda? - Zenit lays out the Pope's ambitious schedule of visitations including a visit to Israel ("I have a long list of commitments to visit foreign countries, but Israel has priority" was the Pope's response); synods, curial appointmens, canonizations . . . and, of course, books!

• On August 31, 2005, Benedict XVI paid tribute to the Solidarity union, recognizing the Polish labor movement born in the workers strikes of 1980 and which, over the course of that decade, sparked a national movement contributing to the peaceful overthrow of Communism in Poland and the eventual collapse of neighboring dictatorships in the Soviet Union. The Holy Father plans to visit Poland in 2006, according to Bishop Kazimierz Nycz.

  See also: "The Revolution Solidarity Launched" Zenit interview with Journalist Gianfranco Svidercoschi, and "Don't Waste What Solidarity Helped to Win, Says Walesa" Labor Union Founder Addresses 25th Anniversary Conference. August 31, 2005.

• Felix Colonia: More on the Epiphany of the Catechist Pope www.Chiesa August. 26, 2005. Pietro De Marco, a professor of the sociology of religion at the University of Florence, reflects on Pope Benedict's celebration of the mass at Marienfeld and the theme of World Youth Day 2005 ("We Have Come To Worship Him"):

  In the the kontakion on the nativity of Christ by the greatest of the Byzantine religious poets, Romanos the Melodist, the Child Jesus instructs the heart of his Mother on the meaning of the Kings and Magi who were asking Mary to permit them to adore her Son: "Welcome those who have welcomed me. I am in them as I am in your arms; I did not leave you, and yet I came with them."

  The kontakion proceeds: "And she opens the door and receives the company of the Magi. She opens the door who is the unopened door through which Christ alone has passed. […] She opened the door, she from whom was born the Door, a little child, God before the ages."

  The kontakion offers a profound key for the liturgical and theological event of the epiphany of Marienfeld. With the wisdom that had previously guided the inaugural Mass of his pontificate, Benedict XVI drew as much as he could from the symbolic terrain offered by sacred Cologne. Beneath the sign of the three Kings and the Epiphany . . . he proposed to the crowds the nucleus of the faith: the icon with the Mother and Child, the cross, the Eucharistic bread: "his presence in our midst."

  For readers (myself included) unfamiliar with the term, kontakion "is a form of hymn performed in the Greek Orthodox Church " (Wikipedia):

  . . . The word derives from the Greek word kontos, meaning pole, describing the way in which the words were and are unfurled on a scroll that has been wound around a pole. The word was originally used to describe an early Byzantine poetic form, whose origins date back certainly as far as the 6th century AD, and possibly earlier

• After Cologne: The Remarkable Lesson of Professor Ratzinger, by Sandro Magister. www.chiesa August 25, 2005. On April 20, his first morning as Pope, Benedict XVI said "the Eucharist will be the centre of the World Youth Day in Cologne in August.” Providing a wonderful recap of the week's events (on and off camera), Magister believes he delivered on his promise:

  From August 18-21 in Cologne, Benedict XVI did not bestow upon the crowd a mere theatrical gesture, or nothing more than a striking phrase. He led the young people to look, not at him, but always and only at the true protagonist: that Jesus whom the Magi adored in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread,” and who is now concealed in the consecrated host.

  Read on for details on the Pope's meetings with Jews at the Cologne synagogue (in which he urged "progress towards a theological evaluation of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity") and the Muslim community ("no pope had ever been so explicit and hard-hitting in facing the question of terrorism on a personal level").

• "Young People Relaunched . . . the Message of Hope" reflections of Pope Benedict on his first foreign apostolic trip to Germany, for World Youth Day. August 24, 2005:

  Dear brothers and sisters, from the heart of "old" Europe, which in the past century, unfortunately, knew horrendous conflicts and inhuman regimes, young people relaunched to the humanity of our time the message of hope that does not disappoint, because it is founded on the Word of God made flesh in Jesus Christ, dead and risen for our salvation. In Cologne, young people met and worshipped the Emmanuel, the God-with-us, in the mystery of the Eucharist and understood better that the Church is the great family through which God creates a space of communion and unity among all continents, cultures and races, a -- so to speak -- "great group of pilgrims" led by Christ, radiant star that illuminates history.

  Jesus makes himself our travel companion in the Eucharist, and, in the Eucharist -- as I said in the homily of the concluding celebration, borrowing a well-known image from physics -- effects a "nuclear fission" in the depth of the being. Only this profound explosion of goodness that overcomes evil can give life to the other transformations necessary to change the world. Let us pray therefore so that the young people of Cologne will bear with them the light of Christ, who is truth and love and will spread it everywhere. In this way we will be able to witness a springtime of hope in Germany, Europe and the whole world.

• From Cologne to the Conquest of Europe: How the Muslim Brotherhood is Challenging the Pope wwww.chiesa August 18, 2005. Sandro Magister on the Pope's August 20 meeting with "representatives of some of the Muslim communities" at the residence of the Archbishop, Benedict apparently having declined the invitation to visit inside a mosque. According to Magister "His prudence is understandable. Cologne and Munich – where Joseph Ratzinger was archbishop from 1977 to 1981 – are the cities in which the Muslim Brotherhood, which has for decades been the main ideological and organizational source of radical Islam in the world." Magister provides a history of the Brotherhood's expansion and propogation of radical Islam throughout Europe, with attention to some not exactly laudable moments in Muslic-Christian dialogue:

  One memorable occasion was the audience on October 13, 1993, held at the Vatican by John Paul II and Hassan Al Turabi of Sudan, who at the time was the leading ideologue in the world for radical Islamism, an inspirer and protector of Osama Bin Laden.

  But in more recent times, and after the shift that took place on September 11, one can recall the meeting in Doha, in Qatar, from May 27-29, 2004. On the one side were Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, the previous foreign minister for the Holy See, and Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, and on the other were the leading imam of the Al Azhar mosque in Cairo, Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, and one of the most widely followed leaders of Sunni Islam, Youssef Al Qaradawi.

  Both prior to and since this meeting, Tantawi has repeatedly justified the Palestinian suicide terrorists. As for Qaradawi, he justified such acts even outside of the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict. . . .

  For further information see The Muslim Brotherhood's Conquest of Europe, by Lorenzo Vidino (Middle East Quarterly Winter 2005).

"First 100 Days" - Further evaluations . . .

• After 100 Days, It's Clear That New Pope Is A Friend of the Jews July 15, 2005. - Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, Director of Interfaith Affairs of the Anti-Defamation League, marks the traditional "first 100 days" in B16's pontificate with a detailed look at his interactions with the Jewish people, pronouncing YES to the question: "Is he good for the Jews?"

• The first 100 days of Benedict XVI: Interview with Sandro Magister David Rutledge interviews the "Arch-Vaticanologist and Roman Insider" and Professor of Contemporary Church History at the University of Urbino, for the Australian radio program "The Religion Report." Magister discusses, among other things, liturgical reform ("to turn back to the big tradition is not, according to Josef Ratzinger, to turn back the clock. On the contrary, a new step forward for the church in fidelity with two millenniums"), Benedict's closeness to lay movements, and the place of women in the Church. [See also: The First Three Months of Benedict XVI: New Pope, New Style July 15, 2005]

• Panelists examine Pope Benedict XVI's first 100 days Tidings August 12, 2005. Beth Griffin reports on a "progressive" panel discussion by John Allen, Jr. (who said that B16 is "not looking to headhunt, but will draw the line if objective truth is at stake," yet demonstrates "a new, sincere commitment to more openness and collegiality"), William R. Burrows, managing editor of Orbis Books (noting that Papa "has a nose for smelling out genuine faith in people"), Dale T. Irvin, dean of New York Theological Seminary (noting that the early response from Evangelical Protestants was "we've finally got someone who's on our side in the culture wars" -- and John Paul II wasn't?) and Sociologist Susan A. Farrell of Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn, who complains that "women didn't get what they want in the conclave" but are sticking it out because progressives have "a long-term commitment to the faith."

• We might recall that on April 19, 2005, Catholics for Free Choice Laid out a Schedule for the New Pope on their terms, calling for meetings between survivors of sexual abuse by the clergy, a lift on the ban condoms, establish "the Pontifical Academy on Women's Rights in the Church," a complete and unequivocal renunciation of capital punishment and "the possibility of just war by a superpower." They're still waiting.

On a lighter note . . .

• "The Pope and the Puzzling African King" (Boston Globe August 4, 2005) - Globe columnist Alex Beam speculates on the origins and meaning behind the "Moor of Freising" found on Pope Benedict XVI's coat of arms. According to the Vatican website "this is the ancient emblem of the Diocese of Freising, founded in the eighth century." There are many theories as to its origin, but I thought it funny how the Globe couldn't help but indulge in the most incendiary of suggestions:

  . . . There are two other possible identities for the unknown Moor. He could be St. Maurice, a Roman commander from Africa whose Christian soldiers refused to sacrifice to the pagan gods after an important victory, and were themselves massacred. . . . And there is a more grisly possibility. At the time of the Crusades, some Christian kings displayed a severed Moor's head on their flags or crests to symbolize victories over their Islamic enemies. It is conceivable that the king, known as the ''Moor of Freising," evolved from such an image, although the figure shown on Benedict's coat of arms is wearing a collar and has suffered no violence.

  The Boston Globe's provocative speculations are rivaled by the hyperventilating rant of Michael Cain @ Daily Catholic (comical, if it weren't so disturbing), for whom Benedict's choice of insignia "breaks with tradition" and reveals his capitulation to the Islamic horde:

  As for his personal symbols, evidently the rooster-like Aztecan head bust is, in actuality a "Moor of Freising" - in other words a royalty from Ethiopia - caput ethiopicum. Yeah, it's caput alright! Moor as in Muslims? The very Moors St. Anthony of Padua wanted to convert? Racially politically correct? Who knows.

  According to the Vatican website, "Italian heraldry . . . usually depicts the Moor wearing a white band around his head instead of a crown, indicating a slave who has been freed; whereas in German heraldry the Moor is shown wearing a crown."

  Among the more benign possibilities are the proposals that the depiction may be that of Saint Maurice, a Roman-Egyptian martyr, Saint Zeno, frequently shown as a Moor, Saint Sigismund, often confused historically with Saint Maurice, or Saint Corbinian, founder of the Diocese of Freising, mistakely thought to have been a Moor.

  So, liberated slave, Ethiopian royalty, severed head . . . or Catholic saint?

• If Pope Benedict has the trads fuming about a "break with tradition", wait until they see what he has in store for the Mass. (As Prof. Bainbridge says, "This is just wrong in so many ways . . .")

Meeting the Holy Father

• Some people have confuse me with this guy because we share the same name. Regretfully, I've yet to have the pleasure of meeting the Holy Father in person. Hence, it is always a delight to hear from members of the RatzingerFanClub (or, rather, the Pope Benedict Fan Club who have the opportunity. Agnes Santos (from California) writes:

  I thought I’d update you on my trip to Europe. My mother and I were in Rome, 8 Aug through 12. The most amazing thing happened, we attended the Papal audience on the 10th and we were lucky enough to be able to shake the Holy Father’s hand. My mom was even able to kiss his ring. It was at the Pope Paul VI hall in the Vatican and since we had aisle seats, the Pope shook hands with the people on the center aisle. . . .

  By the way, at the Papal audience, the Pope spoke in 6 languages. I would say English is one of his weaker languages although he’s very fluent but his German accent is very heavy. I am enclosing the pictures taken by the official photographer. I’m the one in the pink shirt and my mother is beside me.

  A very happy photo indeed! -- Thanks again, Agnes. If you have a photo from Rome you'd like to share, contact me at webmaster "at" ratzingerfanclub "dot" com.

Pope Benedict XVI - World Youth Day - Cologne, 2005

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The Official Website | EWTN Coverage | Weekly Schedule | Vatican Radio

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This post will be updated daily with new material over the course of this week. Likewise, check out Amy Welborn who has all the goods, including links to all those live-blogging the events. - Christopher

Addresses of Pope Benedict XVI during WYD '05 / Visit to Cologne Farewell ceremony at the International Airport of Cologne/Bonn, August 21, 2005. Meeting with German Bishops in the Piussaal (Pius Hall) of the Seminary of Cologne, August 21, 2005. Vigil with youth at Marienfeld area August 20, 2005. Meeting with representatives of Muslim Communities, at the Archbishopric of Cologne August 20, 2005. Ecumenical meeting at the Archbishopric of Cologne August 19, 2005. Meeting with seminarians at the Church of St Pantaleon in Cologne August 19, 2005. Visit to the Synagogue of Cologne August 19, 2005. Visit to the Cathedral of Cologne August 18, 2005. [Address to Youth] Papal Welcoming Ceremony on the Poller Rheinwiesen bank in Cologne August 18, 2005. Welcome ceremony at the International Airport of Cologne/Bonn, after being greeted by German President Horst Köhler. August 18, 2005.

• His Holiness Benedict XVI speaks to Vatican Radio about his next visit to Köln for the 20th WYD August 12, 2005 [transcript - translation from German by Cristina Badde]:

  " Holy Father, can you tell me what you would like to transmit to the youth of the world? What is the main issue you would like to "bring about"?

  Yes – I would like to show them how beautiful it is to be Christian, because the widespread idea which continues to exist is that Christianity is composed of laws and bans which one has to keep and, hence, is something toilsome and burdensome – that one is freer without such a burden. I want to make clear that it not a burden to be carried by a great love and realization, but it is like having wings. It is wonderful to be a Christian with this knowledge that it gives us a great breadth, a large community: As Christians we are never alone – in the sense that God is always with us, but also in the sense that we are always standing together in a large community, a community for The Way, that we have a project for the future - and in this way a Being which is worth believing in. This is the joy of being a Christian and is the beauty of believing.

  Read the whole thing. (Thanks, Rocco Palmo @ Whispers in the Loggia).

• Catholic World News has PB16's daily schedule for August 18-21. Also, here is the 90-page Handbook for WYD 2005, courtesy of Aristotle the Recovering Choir Director, who will be attending the festivities.

• For the traditionalist-minded of my readers, here is some liturgical eye-candy from the Juventutem website -- first photographs from World Youth Day 2005. As Brian from the new blog The New Liturgical Movement says: "Look at the traditionalist pilgrims' Cologne schedule [.pdf format] . . . and then tell me you're not just a touch jealous."

• According to AsiaNews, Benedict XVI has expressed the hope that WYD will become a "starting point for the re-evangelization of Europe." He's got a good audience to work with:

  . . . Participation in the six digits is expected when young Catholics gather for the 20th World Youth Day (WYD) on August 16-21 in Cologne, Germany. The event will culminate with the presence of the Pope.

  Some 400,000 young participants have already officially registered inspired by this year’s theme: "We have come to worship Him". Organisers expect that number to be twice as much on the days of the main events and reach a million on August 21 when Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Eucharist in Marienfeld, Mary’s Field, 17 km west of Cologne. Overall, about 1.2 million people are expected to come. . . .

  And for those who can't make it, please note:

  On this occasion, the Pope has granted the plenary indulgence to all those who will present in Cologne. For all those who cannot but who will pray for the young people, he has granted the partial indulgence.

  Please keep the Holy Father and all those attending in your prayers, that they may carry that same enthusiasm for Christ, the Pope and his Church to their homes, families and schools in the days following the event.

• John Allen Jr's "Word from Rome" is, of course, a must-read for weekly coverage of Pope Benedict's pontificate. This particular segment lays out the background and expectations for World Youth Day in Cologne, Germany:

  World Youth Day is the largest regular gathering of Catholics in the world, and therefore offers the pope a critically important opportunity to exercise his "bully pulpit." Any event that involves a million people will draw media attention, and the theatre of a high papal Mass offers the global press irresistible imagery. All of this means that when Benedict XVI speaks in Cologne, the world will be listening in a way it generally doesn’t to papal addresses. (Some 4,000 journalists are already accredited for the event). It’s an "at-bat" for the pope as a global communicator, and whether he strikes out or knocks it out of the park will make a difference in the Catholic Church’s capacity to "evangelize," meaning to spread its message.

  As well as the Holy Father's relationship to Lutheranism, another topic of marked interest as he encounters Germany's Catholic population (which, host to such organizations as Call to Action, harbor the rebellious spirit of their Protestant brethren):

  As a German theologian, and a convinced Augustinian, Joseph Ratzinger has long admired the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther. In 1965, commenting on the document Gaudium et Spes from the final session of the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Ratzinger criticized the text for relying too much on the optimism of French Jesuit Teilhard de Chardin, and not enough on Luther’s consciousness of the Cross and of sin. (Note that Ratzinger was complaining that a Catholic document neglected the father of the Protestant Reformation; that alone says something about his ecumenical attitudes).

  Also covered is the Holy Father's relationship with the Jewish people (he will visit the Cologne synagogue for a prayer service on Friday, August 19) as well as Muslims (he is scheduled to meet Muslim leaders the following day at the archbishop's palace).

• See also: Cologne Jews prepare for Pope, by Yossi Lempkowicz. European Jewish Press. August 10, 2005.

• Nice photo page from Vatican Radio. Got photos from Cologne? -- Send them to 105live@vatiradio.va

• One of the perks of his profession -- my brother Jamie is "attending World Youth Day in Cologne, through a fortunate series of coincidences, which happened to make it a more or less business related trip." Having Vienna in Three Hours, he's now blogging his first day in Cologne -- check it out at AdLimina.Blogspot.com.

• Good blogging from Tim Drake. Who better to cover World Youth Day than the author of Young and Catholic: The Face Of Tomorrow's Church?

• Fr. Willy Raymond of Hollywood, CA will be audio-podcasting at Couragio ("a pilgrim's journal for WYD 2005"). He "will be travelling with a party that includes Jim Caviezel and his wife Kerri and Clarence Gilyard and his wife Elena and their three children; Rachel, Paul and Max.

  . . . We are sponsoring a major English language event at World Youth Day on Friday, August 19, at the UTL Arena in Dusseldorf from 2 PM to 6 PM. We will welcome Jim and Kerri Caviezel to address the assembly, then we will screen the film "The Passion of the Christ". (Thanks go to Mel Gibson for donating a copy of the film for this event. Finally, we will pray the five Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary in five different languages. Clarence Gilyard will also speak, he is best known for his role on "Walker Texas Ranger."

• Kishore Jayabalan notes the significance of Cologne in "Becoming Adults in Christ: Benedict and World Youth Day" Acton Commentary. August 17, 2005.

  The late University of Chicago Professor Allan Bloom noted the absolute relativism among university students in The Closing of the American Mind (1987), and how this relativism is believed to be a moral postulate of the free society, rather than a theoretical insight. “The danger they have been taught to fear from absolutism in not error but intolerance. Relativism is necessary for openness, and this is the virtue, the only virtue, which all primary education for more than fifty years has dedicated itself to inculcating,” wrote Bloom.

  As an antidote to relativism, Pope Benedict proposes an adult faith, one “deeply rooted in friendship with Christ,” making “truth in love”. Young people need to be taught and shown that there is such a thing as knowable objective truth. They need to learn how freedom and moral responsibility work together and lead to a virtuous life. A society that does not recognize truth cannot defend itself when challenged, as Europe currently is, and World Youth Day is the perfect setting for this message.

  The choice of Cologne for the 20th WYD was not Benedict’s; it now appears providential. Besides serving as a homecoming for a German Pope, Cologne boasts an awe-inspiring Gothic cathedral, a university that hosted Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas and Duns Scotus as teachers, and a Carmelite convent that housed St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, also known as Edith Stein, the Jewish philosopher who converted to Catholicism and died in Auschwitz. If there is a place to show how the Christian faith shaped Europe and formed heroic persons even in its darkest hours, this is it.

• Cologne Day 2 - My brother speaks highly of the Legionairies of Christ and their evangelization efforts:

  . . . The Legionaires never cease to amaze me. They managed to secure a hotel about one block from the Cathedral, a prime spot for young people. They are running a 'coffeeshop' with live internet access and dirt-cheap food available for any pilgrims who stop by. An hourly mass and six confession stations (in about 20 languages) run twelve hours a day. Live bands and intermittent vocation speakers exchange places on the stage. Books and flyers from Legionaires and Regnum Christi criss-cross the room. The kids come in droves. Hundreds every hour flock in and out, peppering the confession booths, chattering up the priests (why is it that the Legionaire priests are the best-looking priests around?), and crowding in for masses. No site at WYD is as successful. They blatantly promote priestly vocations, parade their priests around, and push (literally) the kids into confession booths, and the kids respond en masse. No one else is pushing confessions. The Legionaires are there. I am incredibly grateful, because spiritual renewal is impossible without penance: I know that, and the Legionaires know that. . . . I caught a confession with a Legionaire who barely spoke English (no worries, a fantastic confessor!). We left both utterly amazed by what the Legionaires had put together. No fuss. Just substance.

  

• Pope Benedict XVI is IN DA HOUSE!:

  COLOGNE, Germany (AFP) 8/18/05 - An emotional Pope Benedict XVI arrived in his native Germany sparking a rapturous ovation from a welcoming party of young pilgrims at the start of the first foreign visit of his pontificate. . . .

  "With deep joy I find myself for the first time after my election to the Chair of Peter in my beloved homeland, in Germany," Benedict said in a speech after being officially welcomed by President Horst Koehler.

• Plenty of photos of World Youth Day and the arrival of Pope Benedict via YahooNews. (I've got EWTN's coverage taping as we speak).

• Amy Welborn notes the difficulties w. transportation and crowd-control -- A German recipe for sardines -- and takes account of the mixed reports by the press:

  in between stories of mob scenes, I also read stories of young people being challenged in the catechesis given by bishops, of appreciating the opportunities for Adoration and Reconciliation. So we'll hope and pray, that in the end, for these young people, the good experiences outweigh the difficulties.

  And is WYD for everyone? Is it heaven on earth? Of course not. When you get half a million youth together, you have a riot of mixed motives, of raging hormones, conflicting personalities and intensity. Take your local youth group or religious ed class and multiply by hundreds of thousands. I do think you'd find a higher proportion of seriously engaged youth at WYD, simply because of the trouble it takes to make the trip, but at the same time, there's probably a good party vibe going on - in the context of exhaustion and discomfort.

• Reporting from Cologne, Germany, John Allen Jr. posts the first of a series of daily reports from World Youth Day, including this bit of trivia:

  A bit of trivia: Why is this event called "World Youth Day" even though it's almost a week long?

  The answer is that the idea for World Youth Day was born in 1983, when John Paul II invited youth from around the world to join him in Rome on Palm Sunday. The first event staged under the title of "World Youth Day" was in 1986, again on Palm Sunday. As the event evolved, it rapidly outgrew its original one-day program, but by that stage the name had stuck.

  One other note: In Vatican argot, "youth" refers to anyone between the ages of 16 and 30. Hence "World Youth Day" is not designed for young children, who for the most part are discouraged from attending. Official communiqués from the German organizers warn that anyone under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, or, in lieu of that, the sponsoring diocese, parish or organization's group leaders must assume full responsibility. Special forms have to be filled out for minors who wish to come.

  EWTN had some great footage of past World Youth Day events this morning, wonderful moments of John Paul II capturing his sense of humor -- moments which bring a tear to the eye. Perhaps he is even now smiling and watching, as his successor carries on his tradition, visiting with the future generation of our Church.

• "We have seen the Peace of Christ, and it is glorious in our eyes" - The blog Excessive Catholicism has some great photos of the Pope's trip on the Rhine along with commentary.
• The Real United Nations - Tim Jones (posting to Jimmy Akin):

  It struck me while watching coverage of World Youth Day in Cologne that, as you look out over the vast crowd with flags flying from virtually every country on Earth, you are seeing the real United Nations. The Catholic church is truly catholic.

  For the most part the United Nations that we all know from the newspapers is a group of mutually suspicious, grudging, scheming members united mainly in their desire to get a larger piece of the pie. They are united in the same way that hyenas are united around a carcass.

  By contrast World Youth Day shows us a gathering of people who come together spontaneously, joyfully, with no greater desire than to demonstrate their love for Christ by showing love for one another. It is easy to sense, even through the satellite feed, that they are united in their love for their Papa and the One he represents.

  

• Tim Drake on the final Mass at Marienfeld:

  Despite the over-produced music that smacked of "look at what we can do" rather than "let's reflect on the mystery of God," the Mass was an incredible experience - hearing so many youth responding in each of their languages. It was also incredible how the giant crowd went from chants and songs to absolute silence after Mass had started.

  The homily was quite clear and continued to expand upon the theme that Pope Benedict started last night - that of adoration. It focused very pointedly on the Eucharist and the youth responded with cheers on several occasions.

  The loudest cheers came after he said that "free time is empty if God is not present," and after he said that religion, when pushed too far, "becomes like a consumer product. People choose what they like, and some are even able to make a profit from it."

  (Tim's live-blogging throughout the course of WYD has been nothing short of incredible, with on the spot reporting and many photographs. As one of many who could not make it, I offer my gratitude).

• One Million Reasons Benedict XVI Is Winning - from John Heard aka. DreadNought, celebrating the official announcement that World Youth Day 2008 Will Be In Sydney.

• Amy Welborn posts some of her favorite news photos from World Youth Day.

• A story that's already been passed on by Amy Welborn, Tim Drake and Rocco Palmo, but as the latter remarks, "it's so good it deserves a repeat" -- this from the WYD website on the papal lunch with 10 lucky youth:

  Twelve young people who have been involved in the preparations for World Youth Day for quite some time now -- most of whom had interrupted their studies to do so -- were invited to eat lunch with the Pope in the seminary in Cologne on Friday. The symbolism of the occasion was not lost on the young people: just as Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples, so the Pope wanted to spend some time with them, talk to them, and celebrate with them.

  Omelette was on the menu for the young people, and trout for the Pope. But the Holy Father declined the offer because he felt it would be too complicated to eat fish and speak at the same time. So Benedict XVI was served an omelette and nothing stood in the way of communication; not even the variety of languages spoken by the diners, because on top of everything else, the Pope proved to be an excellent interpreter.

• As mentioned previously, plenty worth reading from John Allen, Jr., covering WYD for the National Catholic Reporter:
  • Report #1: Picking up where John Paul II left off. Posted Aug. 18, 2:35 p.m.
  • Correspondent's Notebook #1: Who attends World Youth Day?; Benedict arrives; Condolences to Taizé; WYD trivia and Americans in Cologne; Visa problems; Security issues; Comic relief. Posted Aug. 18, 2:35 p.m.
  • Report #2: Benedict acknowledges progress, challenges in Catholic-Jewish relations; Also meets with Catholic seminarians, German Protestants. Posted Aug. 19, 12:19 p.m.
  • Correspondent's Notebook #2: The pope at the synagogue; Assessing Benedict so far; The Magi pilgrims; On the papal plane; Some snags in logistics. Posted Aug. 19, 12:19 p.m.
  • Report #3: Benedict uses meeting with Muslims to condemn terrorism. Posted Aug. 20, 12:54 p.m. Updated at 4:56 p.m.
  • Correspondent's Notebook #3: Cardinal Pell sums up youth day message; Aussies prepare for 2008; Sant'Egidio community in Cologne; Contemplating WYD without a pope; Synagogue visit reaction. Posted Aug. 20, 12:54 p.m.

• Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the Jews of Cologne was a historic one -- "The Jewish community in Cologne is the oldest in Germany, with a history which stretches back 2000 years," according to Kirsten Serup-Bilfeld (Deutsche Welle August 19, 2005), providing the background for the tragic history of Jewish-Christian relations that the Church is only recently amending. Pope Benedict XVI also became First Pope to Visit a Synagogue in Germany, the other being his predecessor, John Paul II in Rome, 1986.

• While I'm at it -- a Roundup of my brother's posts from WYD:
  • Cologne Day 1 - Arrival in Cologne; attending Mass with bishops Skylstad (Spokane), Sheridan (Colorado Springs), and Zurek (San Antonio auxiliary) -- Sheridan "is a hulking beast of a man, with shoulders as broad as a gorilla and a frat boy haircut, and a glance that lets you know he could kill you in less than three seconds. But quite cordial."
  • Cologne Day 2 - passing himself off as a seminarian (to attend meeting w. B16); receiving the chalice at Mass from Msgr. Fay, General Secretary of the USCCB; admiration for the coffeeshop and vocation work run by the Legionaires of Christ ("No site at WYD is as successful. They blatantly promote priestly vocations, parade their priests around, and push (literally) the kids into confession booths, and the kids respond en masse."); visiting the Cologne Cathedral and an unusual dinner experience ("When you order food in Germany, make sure you ask the waiter whether or not the meal is served in gelatin form").
  • Cologne Day 3 - visiting various catechetical sites around the WYD area; noting the youth's creative response to Planned Parenthood poster campaign ("from the hour the pilgrims started arriving, the posters started coming down. Most pilgrims ripped selectively, crossways and upwards, to tear out the shape of a cross across the posters. Others took the whole things down. . . . By the end of the first day, nothing was left on the subways but ripped-out crosses and bare walls"); attempting to locate the tombs of Bl. Duns Scotus and St. Albert the Great and discovering the practicality of "the universal language")
  • Cologne Day 4 - strategizing to get a good view of the Pope's arrival; visiting the tomb of Duns Scotus and Albertus Magnus ("Inside the church [of San Andreas] was worlds apart from any others I had visited. The Dominicans had slapped up posters on every available space, both around the entrance and over and beside every door, indicating 'SILENCIO' in every language on earth. They pulled no punches: this was no tourist spot, but a house of prayer")
  • Cologne Day 5 - attending mass at St. Panteleon's church ("[security] me at the gates, priests only, but Fr. EJB called out that I was his personal 'sacristan' and he never went anywhere without me. 'Sacristan?'"); Benedict's visitation with the seminarians ("Please note: our Pontiff is short"); the vespers' service ("Through the vespers service [Benedict] remained stoic, looking straight ahead, his mouth whispering the psalms. But the seminarians clearly love him, and the energy was high"); hearing another's report on meeting Cardinal Francis Arinze ("Arinze had the kids rolling on the floor the whole time, mostly because he would heartily laugh at his own jokes every other sentence")
  • Cologne Day 6 - finding an English-speaking mass in Cologne (the youth having relocated to Marienfeld); admiring the stained-glass windows of the cathedral ("These windows are epics. Around one central artistic motif, entire narratives are woven, in smaller sections of the window. In one relatively small window one can 'read' the entire life of a saint"); encountering the proselytizers ("The plaza, now nearly empty of tourists, is now filled with propagandists. Fundamentalists, anti-globalization protestors, anti-war (in Iraq) peaceniks, Falun Gong agitators, and some weird guitar-strumming love cult calling itself the 'Community of the Twelve Tribes'"); visiting the Cologne City Museum ("the traditional piety of the people of Cologne also stands out"); the wretched coverage of the BBC on WYD ("They brought one religious commentator in to explain the significance of the Holy Father's visit, and he spent five minutes discussing why the Catholic Church's position on gay sex was self-contradictory").

• Heroes & Goats: WYD 2005 from Rocco Palmo (Whispers in the Loggia).

• After Cologne: The Remarkable Lesson of Professor Ratzinger, by Sandro Magister. www.chiesa August 25, 2005. On April 20, his first morning as Pope, Benedict XVI said "the Eucharist will be the centre of the World Youth Day in Cologne in August.” Providing a wonderful recap of the week's events (on and off camera), Magister believes he delivered on his promise:

  From August 18-21 in Cologne, Benedict XVI did not bestow upon the crowd a mere theatrical gesture, or nothing more than a striking phrase. He led the young people to look, not at him, but always and only at the true protagonist: that Jesus whom the Magi adored in Bethlehem, the “House of Bread,” and who is now concealed in the consecrated host.

  Read on for details on the Pope's meetings with Jews at the Cologne synagogue (in which he urged "progress towards a theological evaluation of the relationship between Judaism and Christianity") and the Muslim community ("no pope had ever been so explicit and hard-hitting in facing the question of terrorism on a personal level").

• Opus Dei Prelate on a Springtime for Church in Germany (Part 1) interview with Opus Dei, Bishop Javier Echevarría. [Part 2] August 24-25, 2005.

• "Young People Relaunched . . . the Message of Hope" reflections on his first foreign apostolic trip to Germany, for World Youth Day. August 24, 2005.
  

Pope Benedict and Father Leon Dehon

This past week we learn that Pope Benedict XVI was acclaimed by The Jewish Week by his decision to halt the "fast track beatification" of French priest Father Leon Dehon (1843-1925) due to allegations of anti-semitism, prompting a formal inquiry by the Church (Important Gesture by Pope Benedict, by James D. Besser. The Jewish Week June 17, 2005).

The beatification of Fr. Dehon by Pope John Paul II was scheduled on April 24, 2005 during the Eucharistic celebration in St. Peter’s Square. Jews took the Holy Father's move as a sign of his sensitivity to important issues in Jewish-Christian relations and that he would carry on his predecessor's commitment to fostering good relations between the Church and the Jewish people:

"This is exceedingly important," Rabbi Gary Bretton-Granatoor, interfaith director for the Anti-Defamation League, told The Jewish Week.

Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor was part of a 25-member Jewish delegation who met with the new pope last week. "This gesture is much appreciated and bodes well for the future," the rabbi said. . . .

Earlier this year, historians in France uncovered anti-Semitic writings by Father Dehon, who died in 1925, including his contention that Jews are “united in their hatred of Christ” and that the Talmud is a “manual for the bandit, the corrupter, the social destroyer.”

The hold on beatification — which was not a result of last week’s meeting with the Jewish delegation — also could point to a new Vatican sensitivity on other outstanding issues between the two communities, including the drive to elevate Pope Pius XII, the Holocaust-era pontiff, to sainthood.

“If this means they would consider slowing down the process on Pius XII until all the records are made available and analyzed, that would be a very good thing,” Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor said. “That is an issue we have raised repeatedly. We will have more opportunities to raise it again when we are there in September and October.”

Further discussion can be found, of course, at Amy Welborn's blog ("Second Thoughts" June 10, 2005), where the commentators appear divided regarding the decision, with some proposing that the priest's sentiments should be taken in light of the historical context, especially given the fact that past Christian saints have also expressed claims about the Jews that could be judged anti-semitic in content.

Others question the basic prudency of beatifying any Catholic who expresses anti-Jewish opinions following the Holocaust, especially since, in the rise of anti-semitic incidents in Europe and worldwide, they may be fuel for misinterpretation and confusion regarding the Church's relationship with the Jewish people. Sandra Meisel muses:

The newspaper account says that this cause had been closed on account of the candidate's anti-Semitism in 1952. His attitudes were well known in France. So who saw fit to revive the cause and why? To catch the rising wave of European anti-Semitism? And why would the late Pope approve this, given his warm feelings toward Jews? Was information witheld?

Yes, we'd had anti-Semitic saints in the past, including St. Louis IX and St. John Capistrano. One would think this would be an easy call, post-Holocaust, but the Church recently ignored anti-Semitic elements in Anna Catharina Emmerich -- who made the blood libel -- and beatified her. We should be most grateful that this cause was stopped in time.

I don't see how one can impute deceptive motives on the part of Dehon's supporters in making their case for beatification. After reading about his life and vocation on the website of The Priests of the Sacred Heart, you see there is much one can admire: his devotion to Christ in prayer and veneration of the Eucharist, his solidarity with the poor and working class, his recognition of the "inalienable dignity" of every human being by virtue of their God-given soul ("whether in the body of a worker at the bottom of a dark coal mine, or in the body of a well-fed financier living in the lap of luxury").

According to the SCJ's vocation website, there are approximately "130 SCJ priests and brothers living and working within the United States [and] about 2300 SCJ priests and brothers world-wide," seeking to be "prophets of love and servants of reconciliation" in carrying out a variety of ministries in the world (including, for example, a ministry to the Native Americans from South Dakota to Wisconsin, Mississippi, Illinois, Florida and Texas).

In their defense, it is completely understandable that they would harbor a particular affection for the life and vision of their founder, and wish to see him recognized as a saint. Pope John Paul II also recognized the worth of their charism in his address to the Priests of he Sacred Heart of Jesus (Dehonian Fathers) on June 10, 2003:

This year is the 125th anniversary of religious life of Venerable Léon Dehon. You have wished to commemorate it with a special Dehonian Year that ends on 28 June, the day when you will be commemorating his first religious profession. He himself recognized it as the day on which your Congregation came into being. I hope that this will be an incentive to you to go back to your origins with that "creative fidelity" (cf., Vita Conscrata, n. 37) which will keep intact your charism, distinguished by constant contemplation of the Heart of Christ, conscious participation in his reparative sacrifice and zealous dedication to spreading the Kingdom of the Lord in souls and in society, since it is precisely the rejection of God's love which is the root cause of the evils in the world (cf. Constitutions, n. 4).

However, one must recognize the fact that whatever qualities are good and worthy of admiration in Fr. Dehon, his perception of the Jews in those statements attribute to him are indeed hateful and indefensible, justly meriting condemnation by the Church. And for that reason I concur with those questioning the prudency of such a beatification and the consequent decision of the Holy Father in calling for a formal investigation of the matter. To quote Lee Podles (on Amy's blog):

The poison of anti-Semitism has to be purged from the Church. The beatification of a recent figure who made such anti-Semitic statements would hinder this necessary purification. Can you imagine the legitimate furor if a German Pope canonized an anti-Semite, making excuses for the remarks?

* * *

According to the same article in the Jewish Week, the meeting of the Jewish delegation and Pope Benedict led some participants to speculate on the prospects of a more theologically-oriented dialogue between Jews and Christians:

"He’s a different person," [director of the Commission on Interreligious Affairs of Reform Judaism Mark] Pelavin said of Pope Benedict. "He's a theologian by training and practice. That will color the dialogue. I think it will be more theological in nature. There will be a greater exploration of the idea of the Jews’ covenant with God, and how that relates to Catholic covenantal thinking. Those are things that will have an impact not so much in the political arena but in the teachings the Church uses."

Rabbi Bretton-Granatoor said the meeting suggested Catholic-Jewish relations are poised to jump to a new level.

"After 40 years, the time has come for us to engage in mature theological dialogue," he said. "It’s time for us to recognize that we have very different ways of looking at texts; basic concepts like covenant and mission mean different things. This meeting signaled that it’s time to start unpacking those issues. We have to learn to celebrate our differences, not try to sweep them away."

Several participants commented on Pope Benedict’s demeanor at the meeting.

"At the beginning he seemed as taciturn and as sharp in his bearing as I would have expected," said one. "But as soon as we were finished with the formalities and he stepped down to greet each of us individually, the warmth and kindness were unmistakable."

Related Links:

• "Jewish leaders say pope's past cause for optimism, not concern", by Cindy Wooden. (Catholic News Service June 13, 2005)

• Pope Benedict XVI and the Jews Against The Grain April 26, 2005. An examination of Pope Benedict's views on the Jewish people and Christian-Jewish relations with references to his many writings on the topic, both as a Catholic theologian as well as in his former capacity as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.

Pope Benedict XVI Roundup!

• The usual line of criticism is that it's The Church that's preoccupied with sex, or "the pelvic issues." Not so, according to John Allen Jr.:
  Earlier this week, headlines in the American press reported that Pope Benedict XVI had attacked gay marriage. Though the statement fell into the "Dog Bites Man" category of utterly predictable news, it nevertheless illustrates how any pronouncement by an official of the Catholic church on a sexual topic will draw attention.

  One point perhaps worth noting: In his 48,978 words of teaching as of June 9, Benedict XVI had used the word "sex" exactly once, while the word "Africa," mostly in the context of an appeal for attention to the problems of Africa, appeared 11 times. It's no mystery which has been given greater prominence in the international press. . . .

  From the news coverage, one could get the impression that Pope Benedict's statement was primarily "about" gay marriage, since that's all that was quoted. In fact, the line above was one sentence in a 3,000-word speech delivered at a convention on the family for the diocese of Rome. The broader theme was the Christian concept of the family.

• At audience, pope speaks on mobile phone, dons fire chief's helmet, by Cindy Wooden. (Catholic News Service June 15, 2005):
  A middle-aged man in a wheelchair, who was among dozens of people led up to the pope at the end of the audience, handed Pope Benedict a mobile phone and asked him to talk. The pope did so. . . .

  [Italian News Agency] ANSA later interviewed the cell phone owner, Emilio Testa, and the 44-year-old nun with cancer, Sister Maria Cristina, a member of the Sisters of St. John the Baptist in Angri, Italy.

  "When I heard his voice I could not believe it was Pope Ratzinger," the nun said. "I thought it was a dream, but instead it was real.

  "He asked me how I was, he told me to stay calm and that he would pray for me," she said. "The most surprising thing was that he remembered my name. He kept calling me Sister Maria Cristina, almost like we already knew each other."

  Testa told ANSA: "I knew how badly Sister Maria Cristina wanted to see the pope, but her health would not permit it. So when I saw the pontiff, I did not think twice. I got close, kissed his hand and, without pausing, asked him to pray for Sister Maria Cristina and perhaps say hello to her on the phone.

  "The pontiff immediately said 'yes,' took my cell phone and, smiling, began to speak to her," Testa said.

  "When it was all over, I started bawling like a baby. I realized that something extraordinary had just happened," he said. "I was happy because I knew that with that call Sister Maria Cristina's heart filled with joy."

• In Search of Freedom; Against Reason Fallen Ill and Religion Abused, on the 60th anniversary of the Allied landing in Normandy. It was initially published in the German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and was translated from the German by Jeffrey Craig Miller. Logos Vol. 4, Issue 2 (Spring 2005). The Holy Father addresses on a number of pertinent issues: "the breakdown of the sustaining power of law" and the rise of terrorism ("in order that force in the defense of law and right shall not be itself do wrong, it must subject itself to stringent measures. It must pay heed to the causes of terror, which so often has its source in standing injustice"); the relationship of Islam and the West ("what is it, the West? And what is Islam? Both are multi-layered worlds with great internal differences - worlds that, in many ways, also intersect. In this respect, the crude antithesis West-Islam, does not apply"), political order ("Christian belief - following in the way of Jesus - has negated the idea of political theocracy. It has - to express it in modern terms - produced the worldliness of states, wherein Christians along with the adherents of other convictions live together in peace"). As usual, a very provocative essay and one worth discussing at length. I'll probably return to it in a later post but wanted to note it for the benefit of my readers.

• Benedict XVI less conservative, more pastoral than expected: New pontiff warms to papacy, by Ann Rodgers. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. June 13, 2005.

• A friend noted recently in his email:
  Apropos of the compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in an interview in the April 2003 issue of 30 Giorni magazine, the then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, said that in some circles "there is a certain opposition to any attempt to 'crystallize' a doctrine in words, in the name of flexibility."

  "The post-conciliar catechetical movement accentuated the anthropological aspect of the question and believed that, if a catechism is too doctrinal, it would be an impediment to the necessary dialogue with the man of today," the future Benedict XVI noted.

  "We are convinced of the contrary," he said. "To dialogue well, it is necessary to know what we must talk about. It is necessary to know the essence of our faith. For this reason, today a catechism is more necessary than ever."

  As a veteran fighter of the liberal catechetical establishment in Australia, to hear words like that are music to one's ears. For so long the conventional wisdom here has been "Don't teach the kids doctrine, but good Christian living". Yeah, but orthopraxis proceeds from orthodoxy. How wonderful that the man who uttered the highlighted words is now the pope, and shared our concerns.

• A new book by Cardinal Ratzinger entitled The Europe of Benedict: In the Crisis of Cultures was published this past week in Italy, according to Catholic World News ("Pope's new book affirms Europe's Christian roots" June 22, 2005). The book was introduced in Rome on June 21, at a press conference chaired by Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar for the Rome diocese, who discussed the themes of the book:
  Cardinal Ruini, in introducing the book, told reporters that Pope discussed "the fundamental points of European culture in relation to Christianity," adding that the faith remains a dominant formative influence on European society.

  The ties between Europe and the faith, the cardinal continued, "today are at risk of being broken, not by accident" but through the influence of an aggressive secularism. Cardinal Ruini spoke of an ideology which believes that "God does not exist, or at least doees not have to be accepted, and thus no reference to Him can be made in public life."

  The Italian prelate added that in the book, Pope Benedict/Cardinal Ratzinger appeals to lay Catholics to combat the spread of that ideology, and to "orient their lives as if God exists.

  The three speeches contained in the Pope's new book are "What it Means to Believe," delivered in 1992 at Bassano del Grappa, Italy; a talk on "The Right to Life in Europe," delivered at a pro-life conference in 1997; and a speech on "The Crisis of Cultures," delivered on April 1 of this year-- the eve of the death of Pope John Paul II at Subiacco, where St. Benedict founded his first monastery in the 6th century, as Cardinal Ratzinger received the "St. Benedict for Europe" prize.

  Catholic News reports that "shortly after his election, the Pope assigned all the rights to his works to the Vatican publishing house, Libreria Editrice Vaticana" -- I'm curious as to how this affects the Pope's relationship with Ignatius Press, which was the authorized translator / publisher of the Holy Father's books in English?

• On the subject of books, Zenit News Service interviewed Ave Maria University's Father Matthew Lamb, discussing Joseph Ratzinger's "Primer on Ecclesiology": Called to Communion -- Part I ; Part 2. June 23/24, 2005.

• Finally, for all the clubbers out there, Jamie McMorrin gives us Pope Benedict XVI: The Dance Mix - "a re-mix of the announcement from that glorious day when our Holy Father ascended the throne of Peter." =)

Pope Benedict XVI Roundup!

• The Promise of Benedict XVI, by Timothy George. The Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, thinks that:
  "John Paul II will long be remembered as the greatest pope since the Reformation. His successor, Benedict XVI, may well turn out to be the harbinger of a new reformation. . . .

  I am not predicting that Benedict XVI will follow suit and preside over a new council, Vatican III. But I do believe his pontificate will be one of great moment for the Christian church, not least for evangelicals.

  George offers five reasons why "evangelical Protestants, and orthodox believers of all persuasions, should be pleased at the election of Pope Benedict XVI." Take a look.

• "I Don't Think Benedict XVI's 'Program' Is to Combat Relativism" Zenit interviews Journalist Andrea Tornielli of Il Giornale. May 22, 2005:
  Just as I avoid the caricature that certain progressive environments have made of Ratzinger over the past 20 years, I also try to be on guard against a certain error: to think that he will be a Pope on the basis of what Cardinal Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, was and said.

  I don't think that Benedict XVI's "program" is to combat relativism. I believe, instead, that he will seek to proclaim and witness the simplicity, purity and beauty of faith in Jesus Christ.

  The antidote to relativism is not a program, it is not a theory, it is not and can never be an invective or a denunciation. An invective, a denunciation, however, were more useful vis-à-vis communism. No, the antidote is in a people, even small in number, that lives the faith and witnesses the fullness of life.

• In his latest Word from Rome, John Allen Jr. assesses the first 45 days of Pope Benedict XVI's pontificate:
  The pope has been more critical in describing negative trends in the broader culture. Yet so far, the overwhelming tone of his teaching has been positive, rather than the condemnation of error. Benedict XVI may prove to be less censorious than many had expected.

  Second, it's interesting to note that despite Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger's frequent criticism of what he described as hasty or excessive reforms following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), Vatican II is by far the most-cited source in Pope Benedict's teaching other than his immediate predecessor, John Paul II. So far, the pope has explicitly cited Vatican II fifteen times. That seems a signal that Benedict, who was a peritus, or theological expert, at Vatican II, intends to align himself with the council, at least as he understands and interprets it.

  After presenting five "big ideas" that have distinguished themselves in the Holy Father's words to date, Allen turns to Benedict "as governor," as "collegial pope," and thoughts on his style of leadership. An interesting development from one who had formerly portrayed the Pope as "The Vatican's Enforcer."

• Pope Catholic - Media Shocked! - Jeff Miller aka. The Curt Jester critiques the media response to an address by Pope Benedict XVI, in which he reiterated basic Catholic teaching on a number of moral issues. The MSM (Mainstream Media) took it as a revelation that the Pope is not as cute and cuddly as they had hoped for.

  Further commentary on condemnation of "pseudo-marriages" by Dave Morrison (Sed Contra).

• Last Saturday the Holy Father celebrated the 28th anniversary of his episcopal ordination:
  Father Joseph Ratzinger, a member of the International Theological Commission, was appointed archbishop of Munich and Freising by Pope Paul VI on March 24, 1977, and received episcopal ordination from the hands of Bishop Josef Stangl of Wuerzburg the following May 28.

  Father Ratzinger, who had just celebrated his 50th birthday, became the first diocesan priest in 80 years to assume the pastoral governance of the large Bavarian archdiocese. Paul VI elevated him to cardinal just a month later, on June 27.

  In his autobiography "Milestones: Memoirs 1927-1977" (Ignatius Press, 1999), Cardinal Ratzinger recalled the date of his episcopal consecration as "an extraordinarily beautiful day," "a radiant day at the beginning of summer, on the vigil of Pentecost of 1977."

• "The Sacrament of Unity" translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave today in Italian during the closing Mass of the 24th Italian National Eucharistic Congress, in the esplanade of Marisabella. Zenit. May 29, 2005. According to Zenit News Service, "the Eucharistic congress, which has gathered representatives of all the ecclesial entities of Italy, opened with the theme "We Cannot Live Without Sunday." The theme is taken from the words expressed by the 49 martyrs of Abitene, a city of the Roman province of Proconsular Africa, today's Tunis, in the year 303, during the persecution of the emperor Diocletian."

• Oswald Sobrino @ Catholic Analysis on "Ratzinger on Eucharist and Parousia":
  "Parousia" is the Greek New Testament term meaning "presence" that is used to refer to the Second Coming of Christ. In a popular EWTN video series by Scott Hahn and Mike Aquilina, Hahn speaks of the Eucharist as an experience of the parousia, both in the sense that Christ comes in the Eucharist and in the sense of looking forward to Christ coming again at the end of the age. Hahn notes in the video series that the ancient Christian Aramaic prayer "maranatha" is both a plea of "Come, Lord Jesus" and a proclamation that the Lord Jesus has already come.

  Well, back in 1977, theologian Joseph Ratzinger, as he embarked on his career as a bishop, made the very same observation . . .

  [UPDATE: Ratzinger, Parousia and the Eucharist - a continuation of the previous post].

• Writing on the pernicious effect of relativism on Christian missions, one encounters this little display of what I believe is the Holy Father's sense of humor:
  The dogma of relativism has, however, yet another effect: Christian universalism, which is carried out concretely in mission, is no longer the obligatory handling on of a good meant for everyone, that is, of truth and love; with this presupposition, mission becomes the mere presumptuous attitude of a culture that imagines itself to be superior, that tramples upon a whole multitude of religious cultures in the most shameful fashion, thus, it is held, depriving these people of what is best: their own heritage. Thence comes the imperative: Give us back our religions, as the right ways for the various peoples to come to God and God to them; where these religions still exist, do not touch them! Is this demand appropriate? It is at any rate there that the good sense, or nonsense, of the dogma of relativism in the sphere of cultures and religions must be demonstrated.

  At least, in the face of such demands, one ought to look carefully at each religion to see whether its restoration would really be desirable. When we think, for instance, of how on the occasion of the most recent rebuilding of the main Aztec temple, in the year 1487, "at the very lowest estimate, twenty thousand people" bled to death, "over four days, on the alters of Tenochtitlan" (the capital city of the Aztecs, in the upper Mexico valley) as human sacrifices to the sun god, it would be difficult for us to encourage this restoration of religion. . . . To the earth gods and the vegetation gods, the Aztecs offered "men and women, who were for the most part flayed alive"; to the gods of rain, who were thought of as being like dwarfs, they offered up little children, who were drowned in springs, in water holes, and in certain parts of the Lake of Tetzcoco. There were rituals, a part of which was the slaughter of human beings. All of this derived, as W. Krickeberg has established, not from some inborn "inclination to bloodthirstiness", but from a fanatical belief in the duty of men to provide in this fashion for the continuation of the world. This, of course, is an extreme instance, but it nonetheless shows that one cannot simply see in any and every religion the way for God to come to man and man to God.

  From Truth & Tolerance: Christian Belief and World Religions pp. 73-75 (Ignatius, 2004). According to Ratzinger, differing variants of the lecture from which this was excerpted was read at the Salzberg Higher Education week in 1992, at a meeting of the CDF with the Asian Bishops Conference in 1993, and at an educational function in Sassari (Sardinia). I must say I'm curious whether the above passage made it into the lecture? =)

John Allen Jr.'s Turnabout

A stirring edition of "Word from Rome" by the National Catholic Reporter's John Allen, Jr., contains his reflections on the election of Pope Benedict XVI, the funeral of Pope John Paul II, as well as the following personal confession:

Six years ago, I wrote a biography of the man who is now pope titled Cardinal Ratzinger: The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith. In the intervening period, I have learned a few things about the universal Catholic church and how things look from different perspectives. If I were to write the book again today, I'm sure it would be more balanced, better informed, and less prone to veer off into judgment ahead of sober analysis.

This, I want to stress, is not a Johnny-come-lately conclusion motivated by the fact that the subject of the book has now become the pope. In a lecture delivered at the Catholic University of America as part of the Common Ground series, on June 25, 2004, I said the following about the book:

"My 'conversion' to dialogue originated in a sort of 'bottoming out.' It came with the publication of my biography of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, issued by Continuum in 2000 and titled The Vatican's Enforcer of the Faith. The first major review appeared in Commonweal, authored by another of my distinguished predecessors in this lecture series, Fr. Joseph Komonchak. It was not, let me be candid, a positive review. Fr. Komonchak pointed out a number of shortcomings and a few errors, but the line that truly stung came when he accused me of "Manichean journalism." He meant that I was locked in a dualistic mentality in which Ratzinger was consistently wrong and his critics consistently right. I was initially crushed, then furious. I re-read the book with Fr. Komonchak's criticism in mind, however, and reached the sobering conclusion that he was correct. The book - which I modestly believe is not without its merits - is nevertheless too often written in a "good guys and bad guys" style that vilifies the cardinal. It took Fr. Komonchak pointing this out, publicly and bluntly, for me to ask myself, 'Is this the kind of journalist I want to be'? My answer was no, and I hope that in the years since I have come to appreciate more of those shades of gray that Fr. Komonchak rightly insists are always part of the story.

After Ratzinger's election as Benedict XVI was announced, I had hoped to have the opportunity to write a new preface for the book contextualizing some of the views it expresses. Unfortunately, the publisher in the United States, for reasons that I suppose are fairly obvious, had already begun reprinting the book without consulting me. Hence it is probably already appearing in bookstores, without any new material from me.

I can't do anything about that, although the British publishers were kind enough to ask me to write a new preface, which I have already done, so at least the damage will be limited in the U.K.

What is under my control, however, is a new book for Doubleday (a Random House imprint), which I hope will be a more balanced and mature account of both Ratzinger's views and the politics that made him pope. It has been in the works for some time and I hope it will be worthy of the enormity of the story, and the trust of those who elect to read it.

I was among those to recieve a copy of John Allen Jr.'s biography, in exchange for the opportunity to try my hand at writing a book review. Despite it's obvious liberal bias (which I took for granted, given his working for the National Catholic (Dis)torter), I was rather gentle in my response. In retrospect, I think the reason I didn't come down so hard was that, even in his introduction, I could detect a change of tone in the author, a softening towards the Cardinal that would take his more liberal readers by suprise:

Allen's judgements about Ratzinger's character are not what one would expect coming from a 'progressive' Catholic journalist for the National Catholic Reporter: Allen believes Ratzinger "is not the vengeful, power-obsessed old man who lurks like a bogyman in the imaginations of the Catholic left". On the several occasions Allen has met Ratzinger, he has found him to be "charming, with a shy personal style and an active wit", possessing "a calm, peaceful spirit and the remarkable ability to listen". With regard to Ratzinger's thought, Allen finds that his "arguments are more than ex post facto rationalizations for exercises of authority" and speaks of "a deep, logical consistency to [his] vision". Indeed, Allen is so impressed with Ratzinger that he exclaims "in the unlikely event I ever had access to Ratzinger as a personal confesser, I would not hesitate to open my heart to him, so convinced I am of the clarity of his insight, his integrity, and his commitment to the priesthood" -- sentiments which might be denounced as treasonous or dismissed as insane by some on the Catholic left. . . .

And so the man comes around.

I'm very pleased to hear this, as I am sure many of his readers. I look forward to reading his new book on our Holy Father.

Pope Benedict XVI and the Jews

With great affection I also greet all those who have been reborn in the sacrament of Baptism but are not yet in full communion with us; and you, my brothers and sisters of the Jewish people, to whom we are joined by a great shared spiritual heritage, one rooted in God's irrevocable promises.

Pope Benedict XVI, Inaugural Mass Homily April 24, 2005.

* * *While the harpies of the press and disgruntled remnants of heterodox factions are doing their best to fan the flames of controversy over the Cardinal's brief stint in the Hitler Youth -- rather a non-issue after a careful review of the facts -- a few people have actually raised the genuine inquiry: what does Cardinal Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, actually think about the Jewish people?

Over the course of his life, as a Catholic theologian as well as in his formal capacity as Prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, the Holy Father has written on the Church's relationship to the Jewish people. Following is, to the best of my memory, an overview of the 'highlights'. (To those for whom much of this is a recap of earlier discussions, my apologies).

'Interreligious Dialogue and Jewish-Christian Relations' (1998)

Interreligious Dialogue and Jewish-Christian Relations Communio 25, no. 1 (1998): 29-41. [.pdf format]; HTML Version. Produced for a session of the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, Paris, this essay was published in Communio and was republished in Many Religions, One Covenant. The piece is chiefly devoted to the matter of interreligious dialogue and various approaches to the world's religions -- such as the sublimination of theistic religions into a transcendental, mystical model; the pragmatic approach, which prioritizes orthopracy over dogma and "interminable wrangling over truth" -- pointing out their strengths and deficiencies. In the latter part of the essay, Cardinal Ratzinger notes that beyond the superficial opposition of the "Old" to "New" Testament, "the primal fact is that through Christ Israel's Bible came to the non-Jews and became their Bible," bringing Jews and Gentiles together. Furthermore:

"Even if Israel cannot join Christians in seeing Jesus as the Son of God,it is not altogether impossible for Israel to recognize him as the servant of God who brings the light of his God to the nations." The converse is also true: even if Christians wish that Israel might one day recognize Christ as the Son of God and that the fissure that still divides them might thereby be closed, they ought to acknowledge the decree of God, who has obviously entrusted Israel with a distinctive mission in the "time of the Gentiles." The Fathers define this mission in the following way: the Jews must remain as the first proprietors of Holy Scripture with respect to us, in order to establish a testimony to the world. But what is the tenor of this testimony? . . . I think we could say that two things are essential to Israel's faith. The first is the Torah, commitment to God's will, and thus the establishment of his dominion, his kingdom, in this world. The second is the prospect of hope, the expectation of the Messiah -- the expectation, indeed, the certainty, that God himself will enter into this history and create justice, which we can only approximate very imperfectly. The three dimensions of time are thus connected: obedience to God's will bears on an already spoken word that now exists in history and at each new moment has to be made present again in obedience. This obedience, which makes present a bit of God's justice in time, is oriented toward a future when God will gather up the fragments of time and usher them as a whole into his justice.

Christianity does not give up this basic configuration. The trinity of faith, hope, and love corresponds in a certain respect to the three dimensions of time: the obedience of faith takes the word that comes from eternity and is spoken in history and transforms it into love, into presence, and in this way opens the door to hope. It is characteristic of the Christian faith that all three dimensions are contained and sustained in the figure of Christ, who also introduces them into eternity. In him, time and eternity exist together, and the infinite gulf between God and man is bridged. For Christ is the one who came to us without therefore ceasing to be with the Father; he is present in the believing community, and yet at the same time is still the one who is coming. The Church too awaits the Messiah. She already knows him, yet he has still to reveal his glory. Obedience and promise belong together for the Christian faith, too. For Christians, Christ is the present Sinai, the living Torah that lays its obligations on us, that bindingly commands us, but that in so doing draws us into the broad space of love and its inexhaustible possibilities. In this way, Christ guarantees hope in the God who does not let history sink into a meaningless past, but rather sustains it and brings it to its goal. It likewise follows from this that the figure of Christ simultaneously unites and divides Israel and the Church: it is not in our power to overcome this division, but it keeps us together on the way to what is coming and for this reason must not become an enmity.

"Reconciling Gospel & Torah: The Catechism" (1994)

"Reconciling Gospel & Torah: The Catechism". This essay was originally written for a Jewish-Christian encounter in Jerusalem in February 1994 and was republished in various forms, including the first section of Many Religions, One Covenant. Ratzinger asks the question: "Can Christian faith, left in its inner power and dignity, not only tolerate Judaism but accept it in its historic mission? Or can it not? Can there be true reconciliation without abandoning the faith, or is reconciliation tied to such abandonment?" -- framing his answer in light of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which teaches:

The mission of Jesus consists in leading the histories of the nations in the community of the history of Abraham, in the history of Israel. His mission is unification, reconciliation, as the Letter to the Ephesians (2:18-22) will then present it. The history of Israel should become the history of all, Abraham's sonship become extended to the 'many.' This course of events has two aspects to it: The nations can enter into the community of the promises of Israel in entering into the community of the one God who now becomes and must become the way of all because there is only one God and because his will is therefore truth for all. Conversely, this means that all nations, without the abolishment of the special mission of Israel, become brothers and receivers of the promises of the chosen people; they become people of God with Israel through adherence to the will of God and through acceptance of the Davidic kingdom.

During the course of this essay Ratzinger takes a stand against the "superficial polemics" of anti-Jewish biblical hermeneutics, objecting to "crass contrasts [which] have become a cliché in modern and liberal descriptions where Pharisees and priests are portrayed as the representatives of a hardened legalism, as representatives of the eternal law of the establishment presided over by religious and political authorities who hinder freedom and live from the oppression of others."

"Where the conflict between Jesus and the Judaism of his time is presented in a superficial, polemical way," says Ratzinger, "a concept of liberation is derived which can understand the Torah only as a slavery to external rites and observances." Such an antinomian portrayal of Jesus are in no way part of the Catechism, whose presentation of Judaism is derived from St. Matthew and presents "a deep unity between the good news of Jesus and the message of Sinai."

Citing paragraph # 1968 of the Catechism, Ratzinger goes on to say:

his view of a deep unity between the good news of Jesus and the message of Sinai is again summarized in the reference to a statement of the New Testament which is not only common to the synoptic tradition but also has a central character in the Johannine and Pauline writings: The whole law, including the prophets, depends on the twofold yet one commandment of love of God and love of neighbor (Catechism, 1970; Mt. 7:20; 22:34-40; Mk. 12:38-43; Lk. 10:25-28; Jn. 13:34; Rom. 13:8-10). For the nations, being assumed into the children of Abraham is concretely realized in entering into the will of God, in which moral commandment and profession of the oneness of God are indivisible, as this becomes clear especially in St. Mark's version of this tradition in which the double commandment is expressly linked to the "Sch'ma Israel," to the yes to the one and only God. Man's way is prescribed for him he is to measure himself according to the standard of God and according to his own human perfection. At the same time, the ontological depth of these statements comes to the fore. By saying yes to the double commandment man lives up to the call of his nature to be the image of God that was willed by the Creator and is realized as such in loving with the love of God.

In the third part of this essay, Cardinal Ratzinger discusses Jesus' encounter with the Jewish authorities, exploring the mysterious way in which he fundamentally reinterprets and transforms the Torah, opening up the covenant to the Gentiles in a process which culminated in his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead. I won't go into further details, but suffice to say it's a good read. According to the Cardinal, Jesus' death on the cross

cannot simply be viewed as an accident which actually could have been avoided nor as the sin of Israel with which Israel becomes eternally stained in contrast to the pagans for whom the cross signifies redemption. In the New Testament there are not two effects of the cross: a damning one and a saving one, but only a single effect, which is saving and reconciling.

I expect that Christian and Jewish readers will be sharply divided in their reactions to this portion -- the former intrigued by Ratzinger's line of thought; the latter finding themselves in disagreement. Nevertheless, it is my hope that Jewish readers will at the very least appreciate the Cardinal's rebuke of anti-Judaism and his reminder that: "Jesus did not act as a liberal reformer recommending and himself presenting a more understanding interpretation of the law. In Jesus' exchange with the Jewish authorities of his time, we are not dealing with a confrontation between a liberal reformer and an ossified traditionalist hierarchy. Such a view, though common, fundamentally misunderstands the conflict of the New Testament and does justice neither to Jesus nor to Israel."

The Cardinal closes with a reiteration of the Catechism's rejection of the charge of deicide and collective Jewish guilt, teaching that "Jesus' violent death was not the result of chance in an unfortunate coincidence of circumstances, but is part of the mystery of God's plan" (599) and that "All sinners were the authors of Christ's passion."

. . . the blood of Jesus speaks another - a better and stronger - language than the blood of Abel, than the blood of all those killed unjustly in the world. It does not cry for punishment but is itself atonement, reconciliation. Already as a child - even though I naturally knew nothing of all things the catechism summarizes - I could not understand how some people wanted to derive a condemnation of Jews from the death of Jesus because the following thought had penetrated my soul as something profoundly consoling: Jesus' blood raises no calls for retaliation but calls all to reconciliation. It has become, as the "Letter to the Hebrews" shows, itself a permanent Day of Atonement of God.

'Reconciling Gospel & Torah' is an interesting essay -- one which I found to be conciliatory in spirit and refreshing in its rebuke of "superficial polemics" against the Jews and caricatures of the Jewish law which are found in liberal theology as well as some traditionalist camps.

Dominus Iesus (August, 2000)

Dominus Iesus, or "Declaration on the unicity and salvific universality of Jesus Christ and the Church" was chiefly intended as a corrective measure to theological excesses and erroneous positions adopted in the course of ecumenical/interreligious dialogue, as well as were found in theologies of "religious pluralism." As such, it was not really intended to address the issue of the Church's relationship with the Jewish people. Nevertheless, some Jews did take offense at its reiteration of standard Christian doctrine concerning the centrality of Christ and his Church in the salvation of mankind, their protests bolstered in part by the press, enough to warrant commentary by Cardinal Kasper, President of the Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, who offered both an apology for any misunderstanding that might have occured as well as a defense of Cardinal Ratzinger and the intent of the document:

Some Jewish readers tend to think that the Church's attitude towards Jews and Judaism is a sub-category of its attitude towards world religions in general. Yet, such a presumption is a mistake, and so is the presumption that [Dominus Iesus] represents "a backward step in a concerted attempt to overturn the [in this case Catholic-Jewish] dialogue of recent decades" . . .

[Dominus Iesus] does not affect Catholic-Jewish relations in a negative way. Because of its purpose, it does not deal with the question of the theology of Catholic-Jewish relations, proclaimed by Nostra Aetate, and of subsequent Church teaching. What the document tries to "correct" is another category, namely the attempts by some Christian theologians to find a kind of "universal theology" of interreligious relations, which, in some cases, has led to indifferentism, relativism and syncretism. Against such theories we, as Jews and Christians, are on the same side, sitting in the same boat; we have to fight, to argue and to bear witness together. Our common self-understanding is at stake.

Rabbi David Berger of the Rabbinical Council for America, on the other hand, took issue with Cardinal Kasper's interpretation that Jews "are entirely excluded from the purview of its controversial assertions," and offered his own qualified support of the "supercessionism" of Cardinal Ratzinger (On Dominus Iesus and the Jews May 1, 2001 -- further commentary: "To Evangelize - Or Not to Evangelize?" Against the Grain March 21, 2005).

The Heritage of Abraham: The Gift of Christmas (December, 2000)

The Heritage of Abraham: The Gift of Christmas, published in L'Osservatore Romano December 29, 2000, is one of my favorite writings by our Holy Father on the Jewish people -- in that it clearly demonstrates his alignment with the thought of his close friend and predecessor, Pope John Paul II, and the Second Vatican Council, in speaking of a "new vision of Jewish-Christian relations":

We know that every act of giving birth is difficult. Certainly, from the very beginning, relations between the infant Church and Israel were often marked by conflict. The Church was considered by her own mother to be a degenerate daughter, while Christians considered their mother to be blind and obstinate. Down through the history of Christianity, already-strained relations deteriorated further, even giving birth in many cases to anti-Jewish attitudes, which throughout history have led to deplorable acts of violence. Even if the most recent, loathsome experience of the Shoah was perpetrated in the name of an anti-Christian ideology, which tried to strike the Christian faith at its Abrahamic roots in the people of Israel, it cannot be denied that a certain insufficient resistance to this atrocity on the part of Christians can be explained by an inherited anti-Judaism present in the hearts of not a few Christians.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this latest tragedy that a new vision of the relationship between the Church and Israel has been born: a sincere willingness to overcome every kind of anti-Judaism, and to initiate a constructive dialogue based on knowledge of each other, and on reconciliation. If such a dialogue is to be fruitful, it must begin with a prayer to our God, first of all that he might grant to us Christians a greater esteem and love for that people, the people of Israel, to whom belong "the adoption as sons, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs are the patriarchs, and from them comes Christ according to the flesh, he who is over all, God, blessed forever. Amen" (Romans 9:4-5), and this not only in the past, but still today, "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29). In the same way, let us pray that he may grant also to the children of Israel a deeper knowledge of Jesus of Nazareth, who is their son, and the gift they have made to us. Since we are both awaiting the final redemption, let us pray that the paths we follow may converge.

The Jewish People & Their Sacred Scriptures (May, 2001)

The Jewish People and Their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible was published by the Pontifical Biblical Commission on May 4, 2001. In the wake of the Shoah, it dealt with the pertient questions of whether Christians "can still claim in good conscience to be the legitimate heirs of Israel's Bible . . . and propose a Christian interpretation of the Bible," also addressing the issue of scriptural passages in the New Testament deemed "anti-semitic". Although the document reaffirmed the unity of the Old & New Testaments and Christian reading of the Jewish scriptures, it did include a positive treatment of the Jews, as indicated in Cardinal Ratzinger's proposal that:

what ought to emerge now is a new respect for the Jewish interpretation of the Old Testament. On this subject, the Document says two things. First it declares that "the Jewish reading of the Bible is a possible one, in continuity with the Jewish Scriptures of the Second Temple period, a reading analogous to the Christian reading, which developed in parallel fashion" (no. 22). It adds that Christians can learn a great deal from a Jewish exegesis practised for more than 2000 years; in return, Christians may hope that Jews can profit from Christian exegetical research (ibid.). I think this analysis will prove useful for the pursuit of Judeo-Christian dialogue, as well as for the interior formation of Christian consciousness.

Likewise, the document caused something of a stir in the Jewish press by its recognition that:

What has already been accomplished in Christ must yet be accomplished in us and in the world. The definitive fulfilment will be at the end with the resurrection of the dead, a new heaven and a new earth. Jewish messianic expectation is not in vain. It can become for us Christians a powerful stimulant to keep alive the eschatological dimension of our faith. Like them, we too live in expectation. The difference is that for us the One who is to come will have the traits of the Jesus who has already come and is already present and active among us. (paragraph 5.)

See also:

• The Wait Is Over: Jews' Messiah Now Kosher, by Eric J. Greenberg. The Jewish Week January 25, 2002. Containing certain excesses of interpretation of the notable passage by Eugene Fisher, ecumenical director for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.
  
• Rome Has Spoken: A New Catholic Approach to Judaism, by Donald Senior, C.P. President of the Catholic Theological Union at Chicago and appointed by Pope John Paul II to the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Commonweal January 31, 2003 / Volume CXXX, Number 2.
• Selected Important Quotations with Comments by Philip A. Cunningham. Boston College Center for Christian-Jewish Learning.

* * *

This will not be last we have heard from Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, on the subject of our elder brothers and sisters in the faith. We can rest assured that, contrary to the fear-mongering accusations of some critics, as well as honest concerns of others, our Holy Father will carry on the friendship between the Church and Israel that was maintained to such an excellent degree by Pope John Paul II.

Further reading:

• Pope Benedict XVI, Child of Abraham, by Rabbi David Rosen. International Director of Interreligious Affairs of the American Jewish Committee. Beliefnet.com.
• Pope reaches out to Jews, promising to foster dialogue (AFP) April 21, 2005. Catholic.org.
• The Big Thing: Jews have a lot in common with Pope Benedict XVI, by David Klinghoffer. National Review Online. April 20, 2005.
• How Future Pope Won the Respect of Jewish Leaders, by Meghan Cline. New York Sun April 22, 2005.