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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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VATICAN CITY, JUN 7, 2007 (VIS) - At 7 p.m. today, Solemnity of Corpus Christi, Benedict XVI celebrated Mass on the square in front of Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran, then presided at the Eucharistic procession to the Basilica of St. Mary Major.
In his homily, the Pope recalled how the Solemnity of Corpus Christi "originated in a specific historical and cultural context. It came into being with the precise aim of openly reaffirming the People of God's faith in Jesus Christ, living and truly present in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist."
Consequently, "Corpus Christi is a reprise of the mystery of Holy Thursday, almost an act of obedience to Jesus' invitation to 'proclaim from the housetops' what He passed on in secret. The Apostles received the gift of the Eucharist from the Lord in the intimacy of the Last Supper, but the gift was intended for everyone, for the whole world. This is why it is openly proclaimed and exposed, so that everyone has the chance of meeting 'Jesus Who passes.' ... This is the perpetual and living heritage that Jesus left us in the Sacrament of His Body and His Blood."
"Benedict XVI continued: "This is a mystery that is beyond our understanding, and we should not be surprised if even today many people struggle to accept the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. ... The Eucharist remains a 'sign of contradiction,' and it cannot be otherwise, because a God Who becomes flesh and sacrifices Himself for the life of the world throws human wisdom into crisis."
Yet, "for each generation of Christians the Eucharist is the indispensable nourishment that sustains them as they cross the desert of this world, made barren by ideological and economic systems that fail to promote life; ... a world dominated by the logic of power and possession rather than by the logic of service and of love; a world in which the culture of violence and death often triumph. But Jesus comes out to meet us and gives us assurances: He Himself is 'the bread of life'."
The Holy Father then went on to consider the Gospel of St. Luke and its account of the miracle of the loaves and the fishes. "It contains," he said, "an explicit invitation for each individual to make his or her own contribution. The five fish and the two loaves represent our contribution, poor but necessary, which He transforms into a gift of love for everyone. ... The Eucharist is, then, a call to sanctity and to the giving of self to others, because 'each of us is truly called, together with Jesus, to be bread broken for the life of the world'."
Benedict XVI concluded his homily be recalling that at the end of the Mass he would "symbolically carry the Lord Jesus along the streets and through the neighborhoods of Rome. Thus we will, so to speak, immerse Him in our daily lives, so that He may walk where we walk. ... We walk the paths of the world knowing He is next to us, supported by the hope of one day seeing Him face to face in the definitive meeting."
Following Mass, the Pope presided at a Eucharistic procession that passed along Rome's Via Merulana to the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Along the way, thousands of faithful prayed and sang, accompanying the Blessed Sacrament. An open vehicle transported the Sacrament in a mostrance, before which the Holy Father knelt in prayer.
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VATICAN CITY, JUN 8, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father received participants in the 18th General Assembly of the Caritas Internationalis Confederation. They were led by Cardinal Oscar Andres Rodriguez Maradiaga S.D.B., archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, whom the general assembly had elected as the new president of the group.
Speaking in English, the Pope recalled that Caritas Internationalis today numbers more than 150 national organizations and that Servant of God John Paul II conferred public and canonical legal personality upon the confederation. "This means," he said, "that your confederation does not simply work on behalf of the Church, but is truly a part of the Church, intimately engaged in the exchange of gifts that takes place on so many levels of ecclesial life. As a sign of the Holy See's support for your work, Caritas Internationalis has been granted its wish to be accompanied and guided by the Pontifical Council 'Cor Unum'."
The mission of the confederation, said Benedict XVI, is "to assist in the Church's mission to spread throughout the world the love of God. ... Charity has to be understood in the light of God Who is 'Caritas': God who loved the world so much that he gave His only Son. In this way we come to see that love finds its greatest fulfillment in the gift of self. This is what Caritas Internationalis seeks to accomplish in the world. The heart of Caritas is the sacrificial love of Christ, and every form of individual and organized charity in the Church must always find its point of reference in Him, the source of charity.
"This theological vision," he added, "has practical implications for the work of charitable organizations. ... The first is that every act of charity should be inspired by a personal experience of faith, leading to the discovery that God is Love. ... Only when charitable activity takes the form of Christ- like self-giving does it become a gesture truly worthy of the human person created in God's image and likeness."
"The second implication follows closely from the first. God's love is offered to everyone, hence the Church's charity is also universal in scope, and so it has to include a commitment to social justice."
"For this reason, the great challenges facing the world at the present time, such as globalization, human rights abuses, unjust social structures, cannot be confronted and overcome unless attention is focused on the deepest needs of the human person: the promotion of human dignity, well-being and, in the final analysis, eternal salvation."
The Holy Father concluded his address by assuring those present that "there are countless men and women whose hearts are filled with joy and gratitude for the service you render them. I wish to encourage each one of you to persevere in your special mission to spread the love of Christ, Who came so that all may have life in abundance."
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06/07/2007 13:18
by Louis Sako, Archbishop of Kirkuk
Kirkuk (AsiaNews) - Christians will not be saved by closing them up in a ghetto. Quite the contrary. The plan for an autonomous Assyrian zone in Iraq, advanced by politicized circles in the country and abroad, only risks worsening the situation. Furthermore, there is considerable resistance to the so-called “Nineveh Plains project,” among authoritative figures in the Vatican. On the eve of the meeting between the Pope and U.S. President George W. Bush, a prominent figure in the Chaldean Church, the Archbishop of Kirkuk, Monsignor Louis Sako, explains in the following article the roots of the Assyrian utopia, as well as the risks that it entails, and sets out the way to deal, in a united fashion, with the problem of Christian persecution.
Click here to read story at AsiaNews.it (a new window will open).
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VATICAN CITY, JULY 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI processed with the Eucharist through the streets of Rome as an offering "of peace and love" for men and women in their daily lives.
The Pope led the traditional Corpus Christi procession this evening. He mentioned the intention of his offering at the Mass he celebrated at St. John Lateran.
During the procession, the Holy Father knelt before the Host exposed in a large monstrance. A white flatbed truck drove the Eucharist and the Pope through the streets, ending at the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where Benedict XVI gave Benediction.
Faithful who accompanied the procession carried a candle, symbolizing faith in Christ's real presence in the Eucharist.
Benedict XVI said that the Eucharist passing by, "between houses and through the streets of our city," is "for those who live in them an offering of joy, of eternal life, of peace and of love."
In his homily, the Holy Father said he wanted to put Christ "in the midst of our daily lives, so that he walks where we walk, so that he lives where we live."
"We go through the streets of the world knowing that he is at our side, supported by the hope of one day being able to see him with our faces unveiled in that definitive encounter," he continued.
Benedict XVI explained: "For every Christian generation, the Eucharist is indispensable food that sustains us as we cross the desert of this world, dried by ideological and economic systems that do not promote life, but repress it.
"A world in which the logic of power and possession dominates, instead of the logic of service and love; a world in which the culture of violence and death often triumphs.
"Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts and asks to come in not just for one day, but for forever."
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STAMFORD, Connecticut, JUNE 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The underground Catholic bishop of Zheng Ding, in Hebei province, has been arrested again, reports a U.S.-based watchdog agency.
The Cardinal Kung Foundation reported that Bishop Jia Zhiguo, 73, was arrested Tuesday morning (Beijing time) by the public security bureau.
"We do not know why the bishop was taken away, nor do we know where he is," reported the agency.
An expert speaking to AsiaNews suggested that Bishop Jia's arrest could be linked to the imminent publication of Benedict XVI's letter to China's Catholics.
According to AsiaNews, the prelate is routinely abducted on the eve of important feasts, such as Christmas, Epiphany, Easter, Pentecost and the Assumption. The government does this to prevent underground Christian celebrations.
Bishop Jia has been arrested at least nine times since 2004.
He was ordained bishop in 1980, and has spent almost all his episcopal ministry under house arrest and some 20 years in prison. He keeps around 100 disabled orphans in his home, covering expenses himself.
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2007-06-07
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Journalist Saved More Than 100 Jews
VATICAN CITY, JUNE 7, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI commemorated the 100th anniversary of the birth of an Italian Catholic who was murdered by Nazis after saving the lives of numerous Jews.
The Pope said that Odoardo Focherini is "an unforgettable model of a virtuous Christian husband whose example continues to speak to the Church today," in a message sent to the Diocese of Carpi through Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.
Focherini died in the concentration camp of Hersbruck on Dec. 27, 1944. The papal message commemorates the anniversary of his birth, June 6, 1907.
The Holy Father "wishes that this significant occasion serve to remember the luminous message and the courageous witness to the Gospel of a generous layman who, imitating Christ, gave himself unceasingly for the salvation of his brethren," the message said.
Biography
Focherini was the manager of the newspaper L'Avvenire d'Italia. He was married and had seven children.
In 1942, the director of the newspaper asked him to help some Polish Jews that had come to Italy on a Red Cross train, and had been sent to Bologna by Archbishop Pietro Boetto of Genoa.
Focherini thus began an intense campaign in favor of Jews. He organized a network to expatriate Jews to Switzerland and thus saved the lives of at least 105 people.
On March 11, 1944, Focherini visited Enrico Donati at Ramazzini Hospital in Carpi to plan the latter's escape to Switzerland using the network. After the visit, Focherini was arrested.
He had just one interrogation, and was accused of writing a letter in which he stated that he was helping Jews “not for money, but out of pure Christian charity.”
He was sent to a concentration camp where he died nine months later at the age of 37.
Because of his network, which endured two years, the Union of Jewish Communities in Italy awarded him a golden medal in 1955. And Yad Vashem proclaimed him Righteous Among the Nations in 1969.
His cause for canonization began in 1996.
He will be remembered on Saturday at a Mass in Carpi. Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, will attend.
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