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VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2007 (VIS) - At midday today, the Pope received participants in the plenary assembly of the International Union of Superiors General, a body that represents 794 families of female religious on five continents. The plenary is being held over these days and has as its theme: "Challenged to weave a new spirituality which generates hope and life for all."

The Holy Father indicated how all superiors general must "animate and promote ... a mystical and prophetic form of consecrated life, one strongly committed to realizing the Kingdom of God. These are the 'strings' with which the Lord moves you to 'weave' today the living fabric of a productive service to the Church and an eloquent evangelical testimony that is 'ever old and ever new' because it remains faithful to the radical nature of the Gospel and is courageously incarnated in contemporary life, especially where the greatest human and spiritual poverty exists."

"Only from this union with God," the Holy Father said, "does the 'prophetic' role of your mission arise and find nourishment," a mission "that consists in announcing the kingdom of heaven, so indispensable for all times and all societies."

Benedict XVI encouraged the religious not to give in "to the temptation to abandon your intimacy with your celestial Spouse, letting yourselves be excessively drawn by the interests and problems of daily life. The Founders of your institutes managed to become 'prophetic pioneers' in the Church because, ... following Jesus' example, they strove to communicate with concrete words and gestures the love of God through total giving of self, always maintaining their gaze and hearts fixed upon Him."

"May your primary concern be to help your consoeurs to seek ... Christ and to put themselves generously at the service of the Gospel. Do not lose heart and dedicate every possible effort to the human, cultural and spiritual formation of the people entrusted to your care, that they may be capable of responding to modern cultural and social challenges. Be the first to set the example in shunning comforts, luxuries and convenience to accomplish your mission."

The Holy Father also called upon the religious "to share the wealth of your charisms with those who are committed to the one mission of the Church, which is to build the Kingdom. To this end, establish serene and cordial collaboration with priests, the lay faithful and especially families, in order to meet the suffering, needs, material poverty, and above all the spiritual poverty of so many of our contemporaries. Cultivate, moreover, sincere communion and close collaboration with bishops, who are primarily responsible for evangelization in the particular Churches."

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"Serving Christ Is First of All a Question of Love"

PAVIA, Italy, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of Benedict XVI's April 22 homily at the basilica which houses St. Augustine's tomb.

* * *

PASTORAL VISIT TO VIGEVANO AND PAVIA (ITALY)
CELEBRATION OF VESPERS
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

Basilica of St Pietro in Ciel d'Oro, Pavia
Third Sunday of Easter, 22 April 2007

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

With this final event, my Visit to Pavia acquires the form of a pilgrimage. This is the form in which I had conceived of it from the outset, desiring to come here to venerate the mortal remains of St Augustine, to express both the homage of the whole Catholic Church to one of her greatest "fathers" and my personal devotion and gratitude to the one who played such an important part in my life as a theologian and a Pastor, but, I would say, even more as a man and a priest.

I renew with affection my greeting to Bishop Giovanni Giudici and I offer a special greeting to Fr Robert Francis Prevost, Prior General of the Augustinians, to the Father Provincial and to the entire Augustinian community. I greet you all with joy, dear priests, men and women religious, consecrated lay people and seminarians.

Providence has deigned that my journey acquire the character of a true and proper Pastoral Visit, and therefore, in this pause for prayer here at the tomb of the Doctor gratiae, I would like to identify a significant message for the Church's progress. This message comes to us from the encounter of the Word of God and the personal experience of the great Bishop of Hippo.

We have listened to the short biblical Reading for Second Vespers of the Third Sunday of Easter (Heb 10:12-14). The Letter to the Hebrews has set us before Christ, the eternal High Priest, exalted to the Father's glory after offering himself as the one perfect sacrifice of the New Covenant in which the work of Redemption was accomplished.

St Augustine fixed his gaze on this mystery and in it he found the Truth he was so ardently seeking. Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word, the Sacrificed and Risen Lamb, is the Face of God-Love for every human being on his journey along the paths of time towards eternity.

The Apostle John writes in a passage that can be considered parallel to the one just proclaimed in the Letter to the Hebrews: "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the expiation for our sins" (I Jn 4:10). Here is the heart of the Gospel, the central nucleus of Christianity. The light of this love opened Augustine's eyes and led him to encounter the "beauty so old and so new" (Confessions, X, 27) in which alone the human heart finds peace.

Dear brothers and sisters, here, in front of St Augustine's tomb, I would like in spirit to present anew to the Church and to the world my first Encyclical, which contains precisely this central message of the Gospel: Deus caritas est, God is love (cf. I Jn 4:8,16). This Encyclical, especially Part One, is deeply indebted to the thought of St Augustine, who was in love with the Love of God and sang of it, meditated upon it, preached it in all his writings and above all witnessed to it in his pastoral ministry.

Following in the wake of the teachings of the Second Vatican Council and of my venerable Predecessors John XXIII, Paul VI, John Paul I and John Paul II, I am convinced that humanity today stands in need of this essential message, incarnate in Jesus Christ: God is love. Everything must start from here and everything must lead to here, every pastoral action, every theological treatise.

As St Paul said, "If I ... have not love I gain nothing" (cf. I Cor 13:3). All charisms lose their meaning and value without love, thanks to which instead, all compete to build the Mystical Body of Christ.

Here then is the message that still today St Augustine repeats to the whole Church and in particular, to this diocesan Community which preserves his relics with such veneration. Love is the soul of the Church's life and of her pastoral action. We heard it this morning in the dialogue between Jesus and Simon Peter: "Do you love me?... Tend my sheep" (cf. Jn 21:5-17).

Only those who live a personal experience of the Lord's love are able to exercise the task of guiding and accompanying others on the way of following Christ. At the school of St Augustine, I repeat this truth for you as Bishop of Rome, while as a Christian I welcome it with you with ever new joy.

Serving Christ is first of all a question of love. Dear brothers and sisters, your membership in the Church and your apostolate always shine forth through freedom from any individual interest and through adherence without reserve to Christ's love.

The young, in particular, need to receive the proclamation of freedom and joy whose secret lies in Christ. He is the truest response to the expectations of their hearts, restless because of the many questions they bear within them.

Only in him, the Word spoken for us by the Father, is found that combination of truth and love which contains the full meaning of life. Augustine lived in the first person and explored to their depths the questions that man carries in his heart, and investigated his capacity to open himself to the infinity of God.

In Augustine's footsteps, may you also be a Church that candidly proclaims the "glad tidings" of Christ, his proposal of life, his message of reconciliation and forgiveness.

I have seen that your first pastoral goal is to lead people to Christian maturity. I appreciate this priority given to personal formation because the Church is not a mere organization of group events or, on the contrary, the sum of individuals who live a private religiosity. The Church is a community of people who believe in the God of Jesus Christ and commit themselves to live in the world the commandment of love that he bequeathed to us.

Thus, she is a community where one is taught to love, and this education happens not despite but through the events of life. This is how it was for Peter, for Augustine and for all the saints. So it is for us.

Personal maturation, enlivened by ecclesial charity, also makes it possible to grow in community discernment, that is, in the ability to read and interpret the present time in the light of the Gospel in order to respond to the Lord's call. I encourage you to progress in your personal and communal witness to active love.

The service of charity, which you correctly conceive of as always linked to the proclamation of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments, calls you and at the same time drives you to be attentive to the material and spiritual needs of your brothers and sisters.

I encourage you to pursue the "high standard" of Christian living which finds in charity the bond of perfection and which must also be expressed in a lifestyle inspired by the Gospel, inevitably against the tide by the world's standards but which must always be witnessed to with humility, respect and cordiality.

Dear brothers and sisters, it was a gift to me, truly a gift, to share with you this time at St Augustine's tomb. Your presence has given my pilgrimage a more concrete sense of Church. Let us start out from here bearing in our hearts the joy of being disciples of Love.

May the Virgin Mary, to whose motherly protection I entrust each one of you and your loved ones, accompany us always, while with deep affection I impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.

* * *

As he left the Basilica, the Pope greeted the faithful of Pavia, including a large number of children who were waiting for him outside:

Dear Children,

In taking leave of this marvellous City of Pavia, it is a great joy for me to be able to see the children, boys and girls and young people. You are especially close to the Lord. His love is especially for you.

Let us move forward in love for the Lord! Pray for me, and I will pray for you. Good-bye!

© Copyright 2007 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Code: ZE07050601

Date: 2007-05-06

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Interview With Father Thomas Rosica

TORONTO, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- One can know if a society is still Christian by the way it treats its most vulnerable citizens, according to the director of Salt and Light Catholic television network.

In this interview with ZENIT, Father Thomas Rosica commented on the Toronto-based network's newest documentary: "Turning the Tide: Dignity, Compassion and Euthanasia."

The documentary was released April 2, the second anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II.

Basilian Father Rosica was the national director of World Youth Day 2002 prior to founding Canada's first Catholic television network. He also lectures on sacred Scripture at the Faculty of Theology of the University of St. Michael's College in Toronto. Since July 2006 he is a member of the General Council of the Congregation of Priests of St. Basil.

Q: The name of your documentary is "Turning the Tide." How can we as a culture turn the tide away from the universal acceptance of euthanasia?

Father Rosica: We took the title of our documentary from the words of the great 19th-century American writer Harriet Beecher Stowe: "When ... everything goes against you … never give up … for that is just the place and time … that the tide will turn."

"Turning the Tide" looks at all aspects of the euthanasia and the assisted-suicide issue, from the point of view of those people who see themselves as most threatened if a law is passed allowing euthanasia.

When people today speak about a "good death," they usually refer to an attempt to control the end of one's life, even through physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.

We have a responsibility to confront these actions -- especially if we are to understand our moral obligation as caregivers for incapacitated persons, and our civic obligation to protect those who lack the capacity to express their will but are still human, still living, and still deserving of equal protection under the law.

There can be no true peace unless life is defended and promoted.

The best way to know if we are still in any way a Christian society is to see how we treat our most vulnerable people, the ones with little or no claim on public attention, the ones without beauty or strength or intelligence.

Q: What has been the role of the mainstream media in promoting euthanasia and assisted suicide?

Father Rosica: The mainstream media has caused great confusion about the topic of euthanasia and has been extremely deceptive in its portrayal of human suffering and compassion.

Most people who think that euthanasia and assisted suicide should be legal are not thinking the whole issue through. They are thinking about personal autonomy and choice.

They think about what it would be like to suddenly become incapacitated, and consider such a life as undignified or worthless. Perhaps they consider severely disabled people as having no quality of life.

Our dignity and quality of life don't come from what we can or cannot do. Dignity and quality of life are not matters of efficiency, proficiency and productivity. They come from a deeper place -- from who we are and how we relate to each other.

Q: Many view euthanasia as compassionate, as death with dignity. What does the Church say with regard to compassion, dignity and death?

Father Rosica: This issue strikes to the very core of who we are and what we believe.

Even when not motivated by the refusal to be burdened with the life of someone who is suffering, euthanasia must be called false and misguided mercy. True compassion leads to sharing another's pain, not killing the person whose suffering we cannot bear.

What is wrong with abortion, euthanasia, embryo selection and embryonic research are not the motives of those who carry them out. So often, those motives are, on the surface, compassionate: to protect a child from being unwanted, to end pain and suffering, to help a child with a life-threatening disease.

But in all these cases, the terrible truth is that it is the strong who decide the fate of the weak; human beings therefore become instruments in the hands of other human beings.

Our society today has lost sight of the sacred nature of human life. As Catholic Christians we are deeply committed to the protection of life in its earliest moments to its final moments.

The Christian notion of a good death is not as a good end, but a good transition, that requires faith, proper acceptance and readiness.

"Turning the Tide" proposes that true compassion is the best way to handle human suffering.

Q: Do laws prohibiting euthanasia have a place in a free society? Is the right to die a human right?

Father Rosica: Currently in Canada, euthanasia is considered murder and the law provides for a maximum of 14 years in prison for cases of assisted suicide.

In June 2005, Francine Lalonde, a Bloc Québecois member of the Canadian House of Commons, introduced Bill C-407 that would change the Canadian criminal code and legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide in Canada.

The bill had some initial problems and was not passed, but Lalonde, re-elected in 2006, has promised to reintroduce her bill.

The notion that euthanasia and assisted suicide could be a reality for us in Canada should come as a wake-up call to all Canadians, not just because of the notion that all life is sacred from conception to natural death, but simply because of whom such a law would affect most, the most vulnerable.

This includes the chronically ill, who are a strain on the health care system; the elderly who have been abandoned and who have no one to speak on their behalf and who feel they may be a burden to others; and the disabled who have to fight every day to maintain their own integrity and dignity.

If we look at how the system has gone in the Netherlands, Belgium and in the state of Oregon in the United States, we can see that legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide will not be the solution.

Consider the following statistics:

In 1984, in the Netherlands, euthanasia was declared legal when certain conditions were met.

Even though about 2,400 cases of euthanasia and assisted suicide are reported each year, the Dutch government conducted a study in 1991 that found that there were up to 12,000 cases that year.

Of these, about half the patients did not request or consent to being killed. One of the doctors explained that it would have been "rude" to discuss the matter with the patients, as they all "knew that their conditions were incurable."

Belgium legalized euthanasia in 2002. That year, 204 people were reported to have been killed. In 2006, 444 people were reported to have been killed. In 2005, the Belgian government acknowledged that approximately half of all euthanasia deaths are not reported.

In Oregon, physician-assisted suicide was legalized in 1997. In 1998, there were 16 reported assisted suicide deaths. In 2005, there were 36.

In view of what has happened in other countries, it is time to turn the tide before all Canadians have to start fighting for our lives.

Q: What can the world learn from the way Pope John Paul II lived his death?

Father Rosica: John Paul II showed us true dignity in the face of death.

Rather than hide his infirmities, as most public figures do, he let the whole world see what he went through in the final phase of his life.

Before the cameras, John Paul II taught that although science can ease discomfort, palliative care should not be used as a cloak to hide the fact of dying.

As the curtain was about to fall, nothing made him waver, even the debilitating sickness hidden under the glazed Parkinsonian mask, and ultimately his inability to speak and move.

Pope John Paul has become a living "argument" for the appeal to respect the most frail and vulnerable, who he upheld during his pontificate.

Who can say his life was not fruitful, when his body was able to climb snow-capped summits or vacation on Strawberry Island in Lake Simcoe in 2002, during World Youth Day in Canada?

Who didn't feel the paradoxical influence of his presence, when his voice was muted?

In our youth-obsessed culture, Pope John Paul II reminded us that aging and suffering are a natural part of being human.

Where the old and infirm are so easily put in homes and forgotten, the Pope was a powerful reminder that the sick, the handicapped and the dying have great value.

John Paul II taught us how to live, to suffer and to die. May he watch over us now and strengthen us as we turn the tide in our time.

Code: ZE07050611

Date: 2007-05-06

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SYDNEY, Australia, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- More than 1,000 groups representing more than 65,000 pilgrims have already registered for World Youth Day. The largest number is from the United States.

Registration opened just 50 days ago for the July 15-20, 2008, event, and organizers say they are delighted with the response.

"Eventually, we're expecting around 200,000 people to formally register and up to 500,000 to attend at least one event during the week," said Danny Casey, chief operating officer for the youth day.

After the United States, the largest number of pilgrims is so far coming from Australia, followed by Canada, Germany and the Philippines. All of those nations are previous hosts of World Youth Days.

Code: ZE07050602

Date: 2007-05-06

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Pope's Presence Will Deepen Communion, Prelate Says

APARECIDA, Brazil, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- When Benedict XVI travels to Brazil this week, his primary mission will be confirming believers in their faith in Christ, says the archbishop of Aparecida.

Archbishop Raymundo Damasceno Assis told ZENIT: "The Holy Father is coming to deepen the communion between the bishops and the Successor of Peter. And also to deepen the communion between our bishops' conferences and the universal Church."

The Pope will open the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean next Sunday.

"The efficacy of the mission and work of the Church depends on the communion of the Church itself -- a communion that is moved by the Holy Spirit in the diversity of the gifts and charisms that he distributes in his Church," Archbishop Damasceno added.

The May 13-31 conference is set to highlight three issues: discipleship, mission and life.

A pro-life theme

The archbishop said, "When we speak about life we are not only talking about spiritual life, the supernatural life of grace lived in communion with the Holy Trinity, but we are also speaking about life in the natural sense, human [life]."

"This life," he added, "which is a gift from God, must be welcomed, respected and defended from its beginning to its natural end."

According to Archbishop Damasceno, a dignified life "presupposes everything that a person has a right to for a worthy life, such as education, work, health, a home and a just wage."

The prelate explained that the conference will outline the pastoral work and evangelization that needs to be done in the upcoming years.

"All bishops' conferences, after the general conference, will try to apply what they have learned to the directives for evangelization," he said. "The results from the conference have a strong influence in the concrete life of the Church on our continent."

The 70-year-old prelate explained: "We are gathering together as bishops of Latin America because we have the same problems and challenges. And that is why the answers are the same.

"We must be attentive and open to the will of God, to that which he wants to say through his Church that will gather together in Aparecida.

"The Church wants to be attentive to what God wants to say today to Latin America and to respond to the challenges before us."

Code: ZE07050604

Date: 2007-05-06

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Vatican Seminar Debates Climate Issues

By Father John Flynn

ROME, MAY 6, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The worlds of science and faith had a chance to meet during a seminar held in the Vatican on the subject of climate change. On April 26-27 the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace hosted a gathering of scientists, politicians, theologians and bishops on the theme "Climate Change and Development."

Cardinal Renato Martino, the council's president, opened the proceedings by reading a telegram from Benedict XVI, signed by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state. The Pontiff thanked the participants for coming together to discuss climate change. The short message then went on to mention the importance of the principle of social doctrine of the universal destiny of goods, and the need to adopt a lifestyle and way of producing and consuming that respects creation and sustainable development.

In his opening address Cardinal Martino explained that the purpose of the seminar was above all a listening exercise to gather information in order to help the Church in formulating an ethical and pastoral response to the matter of climate change.

In reference to some of the theological issues involved, Cardinal Martino commented that the first chapters of the Bible demonstrate that the reality created by God exists for the use of mankind. "The dominion of man over creation, nevertheless, does not have to be a despotic dominion and domination; on the contrary, he has to 'cultivate and take care of' the goods created by God," he observed.

The scientific angle

The first day was dedicated to the scientific aspects of climate. Laurent Stefanini, French ambassador for the environment, spoke of the historical background of climate change. He also gave a run-down of some of the meetings held in recent years on the issue.

The British environment minister, David Miliband, stressed the urgency of acting on climate change. He also augured that the Vatican would lend its weight to the campaign on issue, just as it has been active in matters related to economic development for poorer nations.

An overview of the data and projections regarding climate was given by Stefan Rahmstorf, from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany. He defended the accuracy of the reports published by the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Some of the other speakers questioned the validity of these reports, or whether climate change will be disastrous. Italian physicist and president of the World Federation of Scientists, Antonino Zichichi, drew attention to problems with the mathematical models used to predict climate change.

"There is a need to do more work, with a lot more rigor, to better the models being used," he argued in a 60-page written paper that accompanied his speech to the seminar.

The consequences of higher carbon dioxide levels was addressed by Craig Idso, head of the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change, based in Arizona, United States.

He argued that increased carbon dioxide would stimulate plant life, both increasing agricultural productivity and strengthening plants to resist the adverse consequences of higher temperatures.

The political aspects of the debate were also examined. Among the speakers on this issue was Argentina's ambassador for international environmental issues, Raúl Estada Oyuela. Opening his remarks Estrada was critical of some of the views expressed during the opportunities for discussion in the seminar that had called for limiting economic growth to avoid ecological damage. He also defended the international agreements on climate matters and called on richer nations to take the brunt of the costs in addressing the problem.

Theology and ecology

The second day of the seminar saw a number of addresses on the theological and pastoral aspects of climate and ecology. E. Calvin Beisner, of the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance, located in Virginia, United States, offered an interpretation of some Biblical texts. Using a more literal exegetical method, that did not meet with a favorable reaction among many of the seminar's participants, he called for greater confidence in God's providence regarding possible ecological problems.

Auxiliary Bishop Bernd Uhl of Freiburg, Germany, spoke about Catholic social teaching as related to climate issues. One of the points he raised was the need to talk of creation, rather than environment. Creation, he continued, embodies value and reminds us of God. "Without a belief in God's creation, there is a danger that nature or the earth will be made into a god," he warned.

Elias Crisostomo Abramides, head of the climate change program for the World Council of Churches, urged greater responsibility in caring for creation. He was also critical of what he termed the "destructive over-consumption" in developed nations.

Bishop Christopher Toohey of Wilcannia-Forbes in New South Wales, Australia, and in charge of ecological matters for the Australian episcopal conference, addressed some of the pastoral issues.

In orienting people over ecological questions it is important to keep in mind, Bishop Toohey, explained, that we move people's hearts, not just their minds. We need to remind all of the wonder and beauty of God's creation. Moreover, action in the area of climate must be accompanied by a deep contemplation and awareness of the divine presence and richness of the Church's teachings.

Our vocation as stewards of creation is not just something accidental, but stems "from the reality of God and the truth about ourselves," Bishop Toohey stated. He also urged the seminar's participants to look upon the concern over environmental issues as an opportunity to evangelize.

A complex discussion

Prefacing his remarks with the qualification that he was not expressing an official position by the Church or the pontifical council he heads, in his concluding address Cardinal Martino noted that the term most used during the proceedings was "complex." In reference to disagreements among some of the participants, he thanked all for their contributions, that in their variety allowed a lively debate over the issues.

Cardinal Martino stated that: "Nature is for man, and man is for God." Therefore, we must avoid both the error of making nature an absolute, and also the mistake of reducing it to a mere instrument.

Developing this idea Cardinal Martino argued that the human person has an "unarguable superiority" over creation and, by virtue of possessing an immortal soul, cannot be put on the same level as other living beings. Likewise, it is a mistake to consider the human presence as disturbing the natural ecological equilibrium.

At the same time we have the responsibility of conserving and developing nature within the framework of the principle of the universal destiny of goods, and of a concern for the welfare of the poor.

Cardinal Martino also warned of the danger of "modern forms of idolatry of nature that lose sight of man." Referring to debates in past years over demographic concerns he noted the danger of policies that seek to limit population, with a view to saving the environment, by using abortion and sterilization.

The Church has a "realistic" view of matters, the cardinal continued, with confidence in the human capacity to find solutions to problems -- a capacity that proves wrong the frequent forecasts of catastrophe.

Concluding his address, Cardinal Martino pointed out that the issue of ecology is above all an ethical one. Pope John Paul II, he noted, used the term "human ecology," meaning that we must respect nature not only in natural ways, but also by means of a upright moral life. At its roots the ecological problem is both anthropological and theological.

The way we relate to nature in fact depends on how we relate to other persons, and how we relate to God. Useful orientations to guide Christians in a complex debate.

Code: ZE07050629

Date: 2007-05-06