Pope Benedict XVI

Thursday, June 01, 2006

News Vatican Information Services 06/01/2006

SUMMARY:

- Month of May: Pope Thanks Mary for Her Protection
- Nourish Christian People with the Food of Truth
- Vatican Museums: a Witness to Unchanging Divine Beauty
- Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for June
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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MONTH OF MAY: POPE THANKS MARY FOR HER PROTECTION

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - At 8 p.m. yesterday, the traditional procession marking the end of the month of May wound its way from the Church of St. Stephen of the Abyssinians - located near the apse of the Vatican Basilica - to the Grotto of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens. Hundreds of people participated in the ceremony, which was presided by Archbishop Angelo Comastri, His Holiness' vicar general for Vatican City State.

Benedict XVI arrived at the Grotto at 9 p.m. and, before imparting his apostolic blessing, delivered a brief address.

The Pope first recalled how this year the month of May was "characterized by the arrival of the image of the Virgin of Fatima in St. Peter's Square on the 25th anniversary of the assassination attempt against the beloved John Paul II, and also by my apostolic trip ... to Poland, where I was able to visit the places dear to my great predecessor."

At the Shrine of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, he said, "I understood how much our celestial Protectress accompanies her children's journey, and does not disregard supplications addressed to her with humility and faith. Once again, together with you, I wish to thank her for having accompanied me during my visit to the dear land of Poland. I also wish to express my gratitude to Mary for her support in my daily service to the Church. I know I can rely on her help in all situations, indeed I know that she, with maternal intuition, meets all her children's needs and intervenes effectively in their support."

Benedict XVI then highlighted how in the Virgin Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth - which the Church celebrates today as the Feast of the Visitation of Mary - "the hidden protagonist is Jesus. Mary carried Him in her womb as in a sacred tabernacle. ... Wherever Mary goes, there is Jesus."

"May true Marian devotion never obscure or diminish faith and love for Jesus Christ, our Savior, the only mediator between God and man. ... Let us, then, entrust ourselves to her with filial devotion."

The Pope concluded his address by asking the faithful to pray especially for the forthcoming vigil in St. Peter's Square on Saturday, June 3, when he will meet with new lay movements and communities "those promising groups that have blossomed in the Church following Vatican Council II."
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NOURISH CHRISTIAN PEOPLE WITH THE FOOD OF TRUTH

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received participants in the third meeting of the 11th ordinary council of the Secretariat General of the Synod of Bishops. They, under the leadership of Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, are gathering and organizing the proposals that emerged from the last synod, held in October 2005 on the theme, "The Eucharist: source and summit of the life and mission of the Church."

"Today's meeting," the Holy Father told them, "is an appropriate occasion to emphasize once more the importance of charity in the activities of the pastors of the Church. ... Nourishing the Lord's flock is a ministry of watchful love that calls for total dedication, complete commitment of energy and, if necessary, the sacrifice of life. The Eucharist is, above all, the source and the hidden permanent impulse of our mission."

He went on: "In his ecclesial existence, the bishop represents the image of Christ Who nourishes us with His flesh and His blood. From the Eucharist, the pastor draws the strength to exercise that special pastoral charity which consists in dispensing the food of truth to Christian people."

"The truth of Love cannot be silenced, because it is the very essence of God. Preaching it from the rooftops is not just 'amoris officium' but a vital message for mankind in all times. The truth of evangelical love concerns all men, and all of man, and compels the pastor to proclaim it without fear or reticence, never yielding to the conditioning of the world."

The Pope concluded his brief remarks be reminding bishops that, "in a time such as our own, characterized by the growing phenomenon of globalization, it becomes ever more necessary to bring the truth of Christ and His Gospel of salvation to everyone vigorously and clearly. There are innumerable areas in which to proclaim and lovingly bear witness to the truth: so many people are hungry and cannot be left to languish without sustenance."
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VATICAN MUSEUMS: A WITNESS TO UNCHANGING DIVINE BEAUTY

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - This morning in the Vatican, the Holy Father received the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums on the occasion of their pilgrimage to Rome for the five-hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Vatican Museums. The Patrons of the Arts is an American association founded in 1983, that contributes to financing the restoration and maintenance of the works of art in the Vatican Museums.

The Pope thanked the association for its "continuing interest, which is motivated not only by a sense of stewardship for the incomparable cultural patrimony of the Vatican Museums, but also by a generous commitment to the Church's evangelizing mission."

He continued: "In every age Christians have sought to give expression to faith's vision of the beauty and order of God's creation, the nobility of our vocation as men and women made in His image and likeness, and the promise of a cosmos redeemed and transfigured by the grace of Christ. The artistic treasures which surround us are not simply impressive monuments of a distant past. Rather, for the hundreds of thousands of visitors who contemplate them year after year, they stand as a perennial witness to the Church's unchanging faith in the Triune God who, in the memorable phrase of St. Augustine, is Himself 'Beauty ever ancient, ever new'."

"May your support of the Vatican Museums," he concluded, "bear abundant spiritual fruits in your own lives and advance the Church's mission of bringing all people to the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, 'the image of the invisible God,' in Whose Eternal Spirit all creation is reconciled, restored and renewed."
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HOLY FATHER'S PRAYER INTENTIONS FOR JUNE

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father's general prayer intention for June is: "That Christian families may lovingly welcome every child who comes into existence and surround the sick and the aged, who need care and assistance, with affection."

His mission intention is: "That pastors and the Christian faithful may consider inter-religious dialogue and the work of acculturation of the Gospel as a daily service to promote the cause of the evangelization of peoples."
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AUDIENCES

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in separate audiences:

- Archbishop Alfred Clifton Hughes of New Orleans, U.S.A.

- Archbishop Antoine Hamid Mourany, emeritus of Damascus of the Maronites.

- Daniel Perez del Castillo, ambassador of Uruguay on his farewell visit.
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, JUN 1, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father appointed:

- Fr. Jerome Beau of the clergy of the archdiocese of Paris, France, rector of the archdiocesan seminary, and Fr. Jean-Yves Nahmias of the clergy of the archdiocese of Paris, vicar general, as auxiliaries of the archdiocese of Paris (area 105, population 2,221,000, Catholics 1,554,700, priests 1,286, permanent deacons 93, religious 3,557). Bishop-elect Beau was born in Paris in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1984. Bishop-elect Nahmias was born in Saint-Mande, France in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1989.

- Fr. Bernard Unabali, vicar general of the diocese of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, as auxiliary of the same diocese (area 11,230, population 185,000, Catholics 148,900, priests 26, religious 63). The bishop-elect was born in Bolioko, Papua New Guinea in 1957 and ordained a priest in 1985.
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V.I.S. -Vatican Information Service.

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

News Vatican Information Services 05/31/2006

SUMMARY:

- Benedict XVI Recalls His Apostolic Trip to Poland
- Ecclesial Movements: Builders of a Better World
- Other Pontifical Acts

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BENEDICT XVI RECALLS HIS APOSTOLIC TRIP TO POLAND

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2006 (VIS) - Benedict XVI dedicated this morning's general audience to a special catechesis on his recently-concluded journey to Poland, "revisiting," together with the 35,000 faithful in St. Peter's Square, the various stages of his apostolic trip.

"My pilgrimage began under the sign of the priesthood," he said recalling his meeting with clergy in Warsaw. "It continued with an expression of ecumenical solicitude in the Lutheran church of the Most Holy Trinity. On that occasion I reiterated my firm intention to consider the restoration of full visible unity among Christian as a priority of my ministry."

The Holy Father then went on to refer to "the solemn Eucharistic celebration" in Pilsudski Square, a place, he said, "that has now acquired a symbolic value, having hosted many historic events," including Masses celebrated by John Paul II, the funeral of Cardinal Wyszynski, and "mourning ceremonies in the days following the death of my predecessor."

The Pope also mentioned his visits to the shrines "that marked the life of the priest and bishop, Karol Wojtyla:" Czestochowa, Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, and Divine Mercy.

"I will never forget the visit to the famous Marian Shrine of Jasna Gora at Czestochowa, ... heart of the Polish nation," he said, "where I again presented the faith as a fundamental attitude of the spirit that involves the entire person. ... From the Virgin of Sorrows at the Shrine of Kalwaria ... I asked support for the faith of the ecclesial community in moments of trial and difficulty. The visit to the Shrine of Divine Mercy ... gave me the opportunity to highlight how Divine Mercy illuminates the mystery of man. In the nearby convent, ... St. Faustina Kowalska received a message of faith for humanity, echoed and interpreted by John Paul II."

The Pope also mentioned "other symbolic shrines" of his journey: Wadowice, birthplace of John Paul II, where lie "the roots of his robust faith, his sensitive and open humanity, his love for beauty and truth, his devotion to the Virgin, his love for the Church, and above all his vocation to sanctity;" and Wawel cathedral "where he celebrated his first Mass."

Referring to his meeting with young people in Krakow's Blonie Park, the Holy Father quoted a phrase his predecessor used to like to repeat: "Stand firm in your faith." This, he added, "is the duty I left to the beloved children of Poland, encouraging them to persevere in their faithfulness to Christ and to the Church, that Europe and the world may not lack their evangelical witness. All Christians must feel the commitment to bear such witness, so as to ensure that humanity in the third millennium may never again know horrors similar to those ... of the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau."

In places such as those, the Holy Father went on, "the only response is the Cross of Christ: the Love that descended to the abyss of evil in order to save man at his very roots, where his freedom can rebel against God."

"He concluded: "May modern man never forget Auschwitz or the other 'factories of death' in which the Nazi regime sought to eliminate God and take His place. May he not be tempted to racial hatred, which is the origin of the worst forms of anti-Semitism. May he go back to recognizing that God is Father of all, and calls us all in Christ to build together a world of justice, truth and peace.

At the conclusion of his general audience the Holy Father said: "My thoughts go out to the beloved nation of East Timor, wracked by tension and violence which has caused victims and destruction. As I encourage the local Church and Catholic organizations to continue, together with other international organizations, their efforts to help those displaced, I invite you all to pray to the Most Holy Virgin that with her maternal protection she may sustain the efforts of the people working for the pacification of souls and the return of normality."
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ECCLESIAL MOVEMENTS: BUILDERS OF A BETTER WORLD

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2006 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the Pope to participants in the 2nd World Meeting of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities which is taking place in Rocca di Papa, south of Rome, from May 31 to June 2 on the theme: "the beauty of being a Christian and the joy of communicating this."

Referring to the theme of the meeting, Benedict XVI affirms in his Message: "Over the course of the centuries, Christianity was communicated and spread thanks to the novelty of the lives of individuals and communities who were capable of providing an incisive witness of love, unity and happiness. This was the force that 'mobilized' so many people over the generations. ... Today also, Christ continues to make so many people's hearts ring with that decisive 'come and follow Me,' which can decide their destiny."

The Holy Father calls on the ecclesial movements "always to be schools of communion. ... Carry the light of Christ into all the social and cultural environments in which you live. ... Illuminate the darkness of a world confused by the contradictory messages of ideologies. ... How much evil in the lives of men and nations can be produced by thirst for power, possession and pleasure! Bring to this troubled world the witness of the freedom with which Christ set us free."

"Where charity is expressed as a passion for the life and destiny of others, radiating into the affections ... and becoming a force for creating a more just social order, there we build a civilization capable of facing up to the advance of barbarism. Be builders of a better world, according to the 'ordo amoris' in which the beauty of human life is expressed."

The Pope highlights how ecclesial movements and new communities form part of "the living structure of the Church. She thanks you for your missionary commitment, for your increasing formative efforts among Christian families, and for the promotion of vocations to the priestly ministry and to consecrated life."

The Church also thanks you, the Holy Father's Message concludes: "for the willingness you show in welcoming the operational guidelines, not only of Peter's Successor, but also of bishops in the various local Churches who, together with the Pope, are the custodians of truth and charity in unity. I trust in your ready obedience. ... The movements must face all problems with sentiments of profound communion, in a spirit of adherence to legitimate pastors."
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OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

VATICAN CITY, MAY 31, 2006 (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Idiofa, Democratic Republic of the Congo, presented by Bishop Louis Mbwol-Mpasi O.M.I., upon having reached the age limit.

- Appointed Fr. Mario Marquez O.F.M. Cap., pastor of the "Rainha da Paz" cathedral of the Military Ordinariate of Brazil, as auxiliary of the archdiocese of Vitoria (area 7,234, population 3,018,000, Catholics 1,890,000, priests 85, religious 184), Brazil. The bishop-elect was born in Lucerna, Brazil in 1952 and ordained a priest in 1980.
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