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Friday, February 15, 2013

POPE / Election : More details on papal resignation, conclave

More details on papal resignation, conclave

CWN - February 14, 2013

Father Federico Lombardi, the director of the Vatican press office, held a briefing for reporters on February 14, providing more information about plans for the retirement of Pope Benedict and the election of his successor. He revealed:

  • Archbishop Georg Ganswein, who has served for years as the private secretary to Benedict XVI, will continue to live with the Pontiff after his retirement. However the archbishop, who was recently appointed as prefect of the pontifical household, will continue to serve in that role as well. The new Pontiff could, if he wished, select a replacement.
  • The Vatican will continue to provide security for the former Pontiff in his retirement. His household will still be served by members of the Memores Domini lay movement.
  • Pope Benedict did suffer a minor injury to his head during his trip to Mexico last year. (This announcement was a confirmation of rumors that had circulated among Vatican-watchers for some time. It followed the disclosure a day earlier that the Pontiff had surgery to replace the battery in his pacemaker—again a confirmation of rumors.) However the injury was not serious, Father Lombardi said. It did not affect the Pope's schedule during that foreign trip, and was not a factor in his decision to resign.
  • The world's cardinals will gather in Rome on March 1, the day after the Pope's resignation becomes effective, to begin discussions on the future needs of the Church. All cardinals—including those who are over 80 and ineligible to vote in a papal election—can join in these discussions. Among other things, these early meetings will set a date for the conclave.
  • Barring a death in the College of Cardinals, there will be 117 cardinal-electors eligible to vote in the papal conclave. There are currently 118 cardinal-electors, but one—Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, the retired Major Archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, will celebrate his 80th birthday on February 26, and thus become ineligible to participate in the conclave. Two other cardinals could turn 80 before the conclave begins sometime in mid-March, but the rules of the conclave stipulate that a cardinal becomes ineligible only if he turns 80 before the papacy becomes vacant. Thus Cardinal Walter Kasper, the former president of the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity, who will be 80 on March 5; and Cardinal Severino Poletto, former Archbishop of Turin, whose 80th birthday is on March 18, will be eligible to vote.


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Thursday, February 14, 2013

LENT / Farewell : Emotional tribute to Pope Benedict at final public Mass

Emotional tribute to Pope Benedict at final public Mass

CWN - February 13, 2013

Pope Benedict XVI was greeted by thunderous applause from a packed congregation in St. Peter's basilica on February 13, Ash Wednesday, as he presided at Mass in public for the final time before his resignation takes effect on February 28.
The Eucharistic liturgy for Ash Wednesday, originally scheduled to take place in the basilica of Santa Sabina, had been moved to the Vatican basilica to accommodate the large crowd that was anticipated after the Pope's surprise resignation announcement. The nave of St. Peter's was indeed packed with worshippers as the Pope arrived.
Several of the bishops concelebrating the Mass doffed their miters to the Pope in a rare display of affection, and some were clearly on the verge of tears. Obviously moved by the warm welcome, Pope Benedict eventually persuaded the congregation to stop the applause. "Thank you," he said simply. "Now let's turn to prayer."
In his homily the Pope said that the prayer and penance of the Lenten season should be not only personal but communal. He said that "each person must be aware that the penitential journey cannot be faced alone, but together with many brothers and sisters in the Church."
The Pope called particular attention to the words of Jesus recorded in St. Matthew's Gospel, that when we pray and do penance without calling attention to ourselves, "your Father who sees everything in secret will reward you." The Pope said: "Our witness will always be more effective the less we seek our own glory and the more we are aware that the reward of the righteous is God Himself."






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Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Pope to retire to monastery after resignation

Pope to retire to monastery after resignation

CWN - February 11, 2013

Pope Benedict plans to retire to a former cloistered monastery within the Vatican, the director of the Vatican press office has disclosed.

Father Federico Lombardi told reporters that immediately after his resignation on February 28, the Pope will spend some time at the papal summer residence in Castel Gandalfo, while renovations are done on the monastery. Once settled into his new quarters, Father Lombardi said that the former Pope would like to continue his theological studies.

Father Lombardi admitted that he has been taken by surprise by the Pope's February 11 announcement, but observed that Pope Benedict's prior comments on the possibility of a papal resignation were consistent with his ultimate decision to resign. In a book-length interview with journalist Peter Seewald in July 2010, which was later published as Light of the World, the Pope said that a Pontiff should step down if and when he became physically unable to carry out his duties.

"Personally," Lombardi concluded, "I received the announcement of the Pope's resignation with great admiration, for its great valour, for the Holy Father's freedom of spirit and great concern for the responsibility of his ministry."

In related news:

  • Msgr. Georg Ratzinger, the Pontiff's older brother, said that Benedict XVI had been thinking about resignation for some months. "His age is weighing on him," Msgr. Ratzinger said.

  • Speaking in his capacity as Dean of the College of Cardinals, Cardinal Angelo Sodano told the Pontiff that other cardinals had heard his surprise announcement "with a sense of loss and almost disbelief." But he acknowledged that the Pope's resignation showed "the great affection that you have always had for God's Holy Church," and assured him that the cardinals "are closer than ever to you." Cardinal Sodano told the Pontiff that "the stars always continue to shine and so will the star of your pontificate always shine among us."


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'Still a while, our Holy Father' - Transalpine Redemptorists

Still a while, our Holy Father.

As for millions of others in the world today,
the day stopped still even before midday.
Thoughts focused on the lovable person of our Holy Father.
It was like hearing of his sudden death.

With sorrow and acceptance dueling with each other;
with the grace of his pontificate fast approaching its close,
I found consolation in knowing that we obeyed
when he called us back to unity with him.

Our Congregation's consolation
is that we listened to his Motu proprio of 7 July 2007.
We may have been the only SSPX group that committed itself to action,
by returning to the heart of the Church in response to his request,
but in what concerns his person:
that we responded to his invitation, is our chief consolation
at this time, when he is leaving us.

Without his appeal to us and the grace that went with it
~the voice of Christ speaking through Benedict ~
without that call to life,
we would be in spiritual misery today.
If only all had answered!
We were not a great catch for the Fisher of Souls
we were but some little fish in the net of his pastoral charity;
just a few strays that heard the Shepherd's voice:
and he carried us on his shoulders!


He carried us on his shoulders!

Thank you Holy Father for all that you did for us;
Our Fisherman, our Shepherd, our Father
you have a great place in our hearts.

Soon then, our beloved Benedict will leave us.
The retired Pope retires to the monastic mountain
to pray for us as yet another Moses.
Have we lost?

Humanly we sorrow;
supernaturally we gain.

It is God's Will.
In His Will is our peace.

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POPE: Letter of renunciation of Petrine ministry

The Abdication of the Holy Father



The Holy Father
took everybody by surprise when he announced his abdication today:

Dear Brothers, I have convoked you to this Consistory, not only for the three canonizations, but also to communicate to you a decision of great importance for the life of the Church. After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry. I am well aware that this ministry, due to its essential spiritual nature, must be carried out not only with words and deeds, but no less with prayer and suffering. However, in today's world, subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of Saint Peter and proclaim the Gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.
For this reason, 
and well aware of the seriousness of this act, 
with full freedom I declare 
that I renounce the ministry of Bishop of Rome, Successor of Saint Peter, 
entrusted to me by the Cardinals on 19 April 2005, 
in such a way, that as from 28 February 2013, at 20:00 hours, 
the See of Rome, the See of Saint Peter, will be vacant 
and a Conclave to elect the new Supreme Pontiff 
will have to be convoked by those whose competence it is.

Dear Brothers, I thank you most sincerely for all the love and work with which you have supported me in my ministry and I ask pardon for all my defects. And now, let us entrust the Holy Church to the care of Our Supreme Pastor, Our Lord Jesus Christ, and implore his holy Mother Mary, so that she may assist the Cardinal Fathers with her maternal solicitude, in electing a new Supreme Pontiff. With regard to myself, I wish to also devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer.

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POPE's Retirement : Very Interesting Insight From Scott Hahn

Very Interesting Insight From Scott Hahn


From Dr. Scott Hahn's facebook page:

Back on April 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI did something rather striking, but which went largely unnoticed.

He stopped off in Aquila, Italy, and visited the tomb of an obscure medieval Pope named St. Celestine V (1215-1296). After a brief prayer, he left his pallium, the symbol of his own episcopal authority as Bishop of Rome, on top of Celestine's tomb!

Fifteen months later, on July 4, 2010, Benedict went out of his way again, this time to visit and pray in the cathedral of Sulmona, near Rome, before the relics of this same saint, Celestine V.

Few people, however, noticed at the time.

Only now, we may be gaining a better understanding of what it meant. These actions were probably more than pious acts. More likely, they were profound and symbolic gestures of a very personal nature, which conveyed a message that a Pope can hardly deliver any other way.

In the year 1294, this man (Fr. Pietro Angelerio), known by all as a devout [hermit] and holy priest, was elected Pope, somewhat against his will, shortly before his 80th birthday (Ratzinger was 78 when he was elected Pope in 2005). Just five months later, after issuing a formal decree allowing popes to resign (or abdicate, like other rulers), Pope Celestine V exercised that right. And now Pope Benedict XVI has chosen to follow in the footsteps of this venerable model.
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Monday, February 11, 2013

POPE: Burdens of Aging Lead Pope to Resign

02/11/2013 12:18 PM

Benedict Bows Out

Burdens of Aging Lead Pope to Resign

In a surprise development, the Vatican confirmed Monday that Pope Benedict XVI will step down later this month. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed her 'utmost respect' for his decision and described the Catholic leader as "one of the most important religious thinkers of our time."

The Vatican on Monday confirmed reports published by respected Italian media that Pope Benedict XVI of Germany would step down from his position on Feb. 28.
In a statement, the pope, who is 85 years old, said his old age was his reason for resigning from the papacy. "After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," he wrote in a statement. Pope Benedict also said he was "well aware of the seriousness of this act."
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel thanked Pope Benedict XVI for his work as the head of the church and said she had the "utmost respect" for his decision to step down. Benedict XVI, she said, "is and remains one of the most important religious thinkers of our time." If he is too weak to fulfil his duties, she added, one must respect that. "In an era in which people are living ever longer, many people can understand how the pope is having to deal with the burdens of aging," the chancellor said. She also honored the pope for reaching out a hand to Jews and Muslims and supporting a dialogue between the Catholic Church and those religions. Merkel also described an address given by the Pope in 2011 to the German parliament as one of the great moments of his papacy.
Archbishop Robert Zollitsch, chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, the governing body of the Catholic Church in Germany, also issued a statement describing Benedict's move as a "major humanitarian and religious gesture." "We German bishops thank the Holy Father for his services on the throne of St. Peter and are filled with great respect and admiration for his decision." Zollitsch said he had been "deeply moved" by news of the resignation. "We will miss him," he said.
'Missed Opportunities'?
It wasn't only praise that Benedict drew in his home country, however. Indeed, he has been a lightning rod of controversy here several times during his term. Volker Beck, the parliamentary secretary of the Green Party, described his papacy as one of "missed opportunities." Beck, who is openly gay, accused the pope of pushing his church back in time and criticized Benedict XVI for lifting the ex-communication of the "anti-Semitic oriented" Society of St. Pius X. "We expect a successor who is concious of his responsibility when addressing Jews, Muslims, homosexuals and woman and who unites rather than divides societies," Beck said.
And German theologian Hans Küng, perhaps the world's best-known critic of Benedict XVI, said he had "respect" for the pope's decision to step down. He said the move was "understandable for many reason." But he also expressed his hope that "Ratzinger would not seek to influence the selection of his successor." Küng said Benedict XVI had appointed so many conservative cardinals during his time in office that it would be difficult to pinpoint a person who could "lead the church out of its complex crisis."
A short time ago, Benedict XVI had indicated that he could imagine stepping down at some point for health reasons. "He wanted to spare us the kind of pitiless and inhuman spectacle that we experienced with John Paul II," said Italian philosopher and politician Marcello Pera, a long-time friend of the German pope and a member of the Silvio Berlusconi's Popolo della Libertà (PdL) party.
The pope's own brother, Georg Ratzinger, told German news agency DPA that "his age is weighing on him. At this age my brother wants more rest."
'We're the Pope'
The fact that the current pope originates from Germany has been a source of considerable pride for many Germans since Benedict XVI, born Joseph Ratzinger, was appointed in April 2005. After his selection as the church's 265th leader, the tabloid daily Bild famously ran the words "Wir sind Papst!," or "We're the pope," on its front cover. Ratzinger was born in 1927 in the Bavarian city of Marktl am Inn. British tabloids, for their part, preferred to focus on Ratzinger's membership in the Hitler Youth during World War II. Ratzinger was forced to join upon turning 14 in 1941.
Benedict is the first pope to resign since Celestine V., who voluntarily abdicated the papacy just months after he became the leader of the Catholic Church in 1294.
After leaving the Catholic Church's highest position, Benedict said he wished to "devotedly serve the Holy Church of God in the future through a life dedicated to prayer." Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said Monday that the pope would move to a cloister within the Vatican after he leaves office. During a transition period, he is to live in the papal summer residence of Castel Gandolfo near Rome.
Lombardi said the Catholic Church wants to name a successor to Benedict XVI by Easter. He said the conclave that will select the next pope could begin its work 15 to 20 days after Benedicts abdication.
dsl -- with wires

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Friday, February 8, 2013

German cardinal was misled on effects of 'morning-after pill,' top doctor charges

German cardinal was misled on effects of 'morning-after pill,' top doctor charges

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CWN - February 08, 2013

Public comments by Cardinal Joachim Meisner of Cologne were manipulated in stories that the German cardinal was approving the use of the "morning-after pill" in Catholic hospitals, according to the president of the World Federation of Catholic Medical Associations.

Dr. Jose Maria Simon Castellvi told EWTN News that Cardinal Meisner was misinformed about the effects of the "morning-after pill." The cardinal had said that use of the pill was permissible in rape cases, since the pill was designed to prevent conception rather than cause abortion. But in fact, Dr. Simon said, "the morning-after pill works as an anti-implantation product in 70% of the cases where the woman is fertile." By preventing implantation in the womb, the drug causes the destruction of the human embryo: an early abortion.

The German bishops are scheduled to discuss the use of the "morning-after pill" in Catholic hospitals at their regular meeting later this month.


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ORDINARIATE: CDF Archbishop Müller - US ordinariate brings gifts to the Church

Archbishop Müller: US ordinariate brings gifts to the Church
By Adelaide Darling
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Archbishop Gerhard Müller, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Photo courtesy of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Houston, Texas, Feb 8, 2013 / 02:03 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican's doctrine chief called on Anglican communities that have entered the U.S. Catholic Church to have courage in bringing their patrimony into the larger Catholic community.
"Be courageous pioneers of communion, placing the diversity of your gifts at the service of the universal Church," Archbishop Gerhard Müller said on Feb. 2. "The distinctiveness of your traditions and manner of prayer and worship are no obstacle to true unity in the Church."
The archbishop, who is the Prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, spoke at St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, Texas, during a symposium on the mission of the U.S. ordinariate.
Erected Jan. 1, 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI, the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter is a special diocese-like structure that allows entire Anglican communities to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church while retaining certain elements of the liturgy and other customs.
The Holy Father had authorized the creation of ordinariates for Anglican communities seeking to enter the Catholic Church in his 2009 apostolic constitution, "Anglicanorum Coetibus."
There are currently two other ordinariates for former Anglicans: the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, which covers England and Wales and the Australia-based Ordinariate of Our Lady of the Southern Cross.
In his talk, Archbishop Müller said that the ordinariates serve Christ's "vision of unity."
"It can certainly be said that, in creating this new structure, the Holy Father was responding to a movement of the Holy Spirit," he said. "It is the Spirit that draws the disciples of the Lord together, fashioning them into the ecclesial Body of Christ."
Archbishop Müller explained that the communion of the Catholic Church "flows from the communion of the Blessed Trinity," and its unity is not based on uniformity.
"Uniformity tends toward the elimination of those who do not conform or comply," he said. "Conversely, another way the world tries to achieve oneness is by simply overlooking or ignoring the differences that do exist, even to the point of allowing contradictory claims to truth."
But because the Church finds its unity in God, he noted, diversity in liturgical expressions, in some governance structures and in parish culture "does not threaten ecclesial communion."
"The overarching structure which holds together these expressions is the faith of the Church, ever ancient and ever new, and expressed eloquently in the Catechism of the Catholic Church," the archbishop continued.
Therefore, he said, the ordinariates' preservation of "distinctive Anglican liturgical and spiritual patrimony" is "a hallmark of their parochial life" and "a contribution to the vitality of the Catholic Church."
Archbishop Müller told the ordinariate leadership that they have the "delicate but all-important task" of preserving their communities' integrity while integrating them into "the larger Catholic community."
He stressed the need to foster a "culture of communion" with the bishops, the local dioceses and parishes, the Catholic faithful and "those still separated from the Church," an important task that requires "wisdom, humility, and a firmness of intention to avoid divisiveness."
The archbishop said that ordinariate communities will face "scrutiny" both from interested members of the Anglican Communion and from Catholics who "will want to know that you are here to stay, strengthening our ecclesial cohesion rather than setting yourselves apart as another divisive grouping within the Church."
He noted that members of the ordinariate have displayed "great courage" in entering full communion with the Catholic Church, and he continued them to continue exercising such courage. 
At the same time, he warned against taking a "defensive or contentious" position towards Catholic Church authority, saying that "unity is easily undermined by a culture of suspicion."
"The openness of the wider Catholic community to the rich Anglican patrimony which you bring will be encouraged when they experience in your communities the joyful and peaceful embrace of our common faith," the archbishop said.
"In a world marked by division and discord, a culture of communion can be an especially eloquent witness to the truth of our faith and in fidelity to our Lord's prayer 'that they might be one.'"
Archbishop Müller also noted that the Holy Father has been heavily involved in the ordinariate, assuring its members that they "are very much in his thoughts and prayers."
Other featured speakers at the symposium were Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl of Washington, D.C., who had served as the Vatican delegate for establishing the ordinariate, and Monsignor Steve Lopes, an official at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Msgr. Jeffrey N. Steenson, who leads the ordinariate, also spoke, and Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston welcomed the attendees.
Tags: Ordinariate, Anglicans, Archbishop Muller
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Vietnamese priest, human-rights advocate, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Vietnamese priest, human-rights advocate, nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

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CWN - February 07, 2013

An imprisoned Vietnamese Catholic priest has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by two members of the US Congress.

Reps. Chris Smith and Zoe Lofgren nominated Father Nguyen Van Ly, together with the Buddist leader Thich Quang Do, for the 2013 Nobel prize. Both Vietnamese religious leaders have been prominent advocates of human rights.

Father Ly, who has been an outspoken critic of Vietnamese government oppression since the 1970s, was sentenced to an 8-year prison term in 2007 for his public criticism of the Vietnamese regime. He has suffered several strokes, which have left him partially paralyzed. Father Ly was briefly released in 2011 for treatment of a brain tumor, then returned to prison.


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