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Photo: Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I embrace.
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Pope and Secretary-General Discuss World Peace
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 18, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Ban Ki-moon has officially invited Benedict XVI to visit the United Nations, after a meeting between the two leaders in Rome.
The Vatican press office reported that the Pope and the U.N. secretary-general met today, and Ban extended the invitation, but details of when the visit could take place were not given.
According to the Vatican statement, the Holy Father and Ban "have discussed themes of common interest, for example, the restoration of trust in multilateral relations and the strengthening of dialogue between cultures, not failing to mention the international situations that merit particular attention."
The statement further noted that during the meeting, which lasted some 20 minutes, mention was made of "the contribution that the Catholic Church and the Holy See can make -- maintaining its identity and with the means proper to it -- to the action of the United Nations in resolving current conflicts and reaching understanding between nations."
The Vatican asserted that the visit of Ban is a sign of the Holy See's appreciation of "the central role carried out by the organization in maintaining peace in the world and promoting the development of peoples."
At the same time, the statement added, the secretary-general "has wanted to visit the Holy Father in the course of his first visits to Africa, Europe and the Middle East, shortly after taking on his new post last Jan. 1, so as to officially invite [the Pope] to visit the see of the United Nations."
Following the audience with Benedict XVI, Ban met with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Vatican secretary of state, who was accompanied by the secretary for relations with states, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.
Code: ZE07041810
Date: 2007-04-18
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18.04.2007, [11:04] // Pope Benedict XVI //www.risu.org.ua
Kyiv – In his birthday greetings, Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), wished Pope Benedict XVI on the occasion of his 80th birthday good health, high spirits, and God’s help in his high ministry to the church. pravoslavye.org.ua posted the news on 16 April 2007.
The text of the greeting reads: “The Pontificate of Your Holiness gives grounds to hope for more constructive relations and a fruitful dialogue between the Holy See and the Orthodox church, necessary for the spread of Christian values in the modern world, which needs the strengthening of traditional spiritual bases.”
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Condolences of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America for the Virginia Tech University Family
New York, NY - In response to the unfathomed tragedy and senseless loss of life at Virginia Tech University on Monday, April 16, 2007, Archbishop Demetrios of America has offered the fervent prayers and deepest sympathy of the Greek Orthodox faithful in America.
In a letter yesterday to Dr. Charles W. Steger, President of Virginia Tech University, Archbishop Demetrios wrote,
“This horrific incident has shattered our thoughts and hearts while we are still journeying in the period which celebrates our Lord’s victory over death and His granting to us eternal life and salvation. May the ‘Father of mercies and God of all comfort’ (2 Corinthians 1:3-4) give you, your faculty, the students and their parents the strength today and the days ahead to bear the heavy burden of this enormous loss. God promises to be with us always in times of grief and unbearable pain, even in the shadow of death.
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Baghdad, Apr. 18, 2007 (AsiaNews via CWNews.com) - Iraqi Christians are facing new threats, with Islamic groups threatening to destroy churches unless crosses are removed, the AsiaNews service reports.
In Baghdad the Chaldean Catholic church of Sts. Peter and Paul received a blunt warning: "Get rid of the cross or we will burn your churches." Bishop Shlemnon Warduni told AsiaNews, "in the last 2 months many churches have been forced to remove their crosses from their domes," while in one case Islamic militants climbed the church roof to destroy the cross themselves.
Christians in some sections have been warned not to wear a cross, and advised to convert to Islam or face violence. The situation is "unsustainable," Bishop Warduni reports, and the pressure upon Christians to leave the country is still growing.
[For a more detailed report see the AsiaNews web site.]
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VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2007 (VIS) - Given below is the text of a telegram sent yesterday afternoon by Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B., in the Pope's name, to Bishop Francis Xavier DiLorenzo of Richmond, U.S.A., for the killing of 32 people in a shooting incident at a technical institute in Virginia, U.S.A.
"Deeply saddened by news of the shooting at Virginia Tech, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI has asked me to convey the assurance of his heartfelt prayers for the victims, their families and for the entire school community. In the aftermath of this senseless tragedy he asks God our Father to console all those who mourn and to grant them that spiritual strength which triumphs over violence by the power of forgiveness, hope and reconciling love."
TGR/MASSACRE:VIRGINIA/DILORENZOVIS 070418 (140)
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VATICAN CITY, APR 18, 2007 (VIS) - In the general audience, held this morning in St. Peter's Square, Benedict XVI returned to his series of catecheses on the Fathers of the Church, focussing on the figure of St. Clement of Alexandria.
The Pope indicated that Clement was born in the mid second century, probably in Athens, whence "the great interest for philosophy which would make him one of the flag-bearers of dialogue between faith and reason in Christian tradition." He later moved to Alexandria, but abandoned the city during the persecution of 202-203 and died in Cappadocia in 215.
His most important work is a trilogy that has provided "effective accompaniment to the spiritual maturation of Christians," said the Pope. The first part is "an exhortation addressed to those beginning the journey of faith" in which "the Logos Jesus Christ exhorts mankind to start decisively down the road of Truth." In the second part of the trilogy "Jesus Christ becomes a pedagogue, in other words educator of those who, by virtue of Baptism, have already become children of God." In the third part, Christ is "the Master Who presents the most profound teachings."
In this way "the Clementine catechesis provides a step-by-step accompaniment to the progress of catechumens and of baptized so that, with the two 'wings' of faith and reason, they may attain an intimate knowledge of the Truth that is Jesus Christ. ... Only this knowledge of the Person Who is truth, is 'true gnosis.' "
"Clement returns to the doctrine which holds that man's ultimate goal is to become like God. This is possible thanks to the connatural similarity with Him that man received at the moment of the creation, and by which he is already ... the image of God. This connatural similarity makes it possible to know the divine realities, to which man adheres primarily through faith." Then, "through the practice of virtue, he can develop to the point of contemplating God."
"Two virtues adorn the heart of the 'true gnostic,' ... freedom from the passions," and love "which ensures intimate union with God." Thus "the ethical ideal of ancient philosophy, in other words freedom from the passions, is redefined by Clement and conjugated with love in the constant process of assimilation to God ".
In this way Clement "creates the second great opportunity for dialogue between the Christian message and Greek philosophy. ... For him, the Greek philosophical tradition, almost like the Law for the Jews, is an area of 'revelation', both being paths leading to the Logos."
This Father of the Church, the Pope concluded, "can serve as an example to Christians, to catechists and to theologians of our time" whom John Paul II urged in his Encyclical "Fides et Ratio" to " recover and express to the full the metaphysical dimension of truth in order to enter into a demanding critical dialogue with (...) contemporary philosophical thought".
AG/CLEMENT ALEXANDRIA/...VIS 070418 (530)