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2007/04/16 - www.asianews.it - by Maria Anikina

In his message for t Benedict XVI’s 80th birthday, Patriarch Alexi II praises the pontiff’s defence of Christian values, “the solid base on which collaboration between the Russian Orthodox and Catholic Church can be built. Msgr. Kondrusiewicz underscores the Pope’s theological depth and the clarity of his positions, who is “seriously” committed to ecumenical dialogue. In Rome Catholics and Orthodox prayed “for the Pope and Christian unity”.

Click here for news story at asianews.it . 

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Courtesy CWNews.com - Remarks of President Bush and Archbishop Wuerl at the annual Catholic Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C., on Friday, April 13, 2007.

 Excerpt of Remarks by President Bush:

Renewing the promise of America begins with upholding the dignity of human life. (Applause.) In our day, there is a temptation to manipulate life in ways that do not respect the humanity of the person. When that happens, the most vulnerable among us can be valued for their utility to others -- instead of their own inherent worth. We must continue to work for a culture of life -- where the strong protect the weak, and where we recognize in every human life the image of our Creator. (Applause.)

Renewing the promise of America requires good citizens who look out for their neighbors. One of the reasons that I am such a strong believer in the power of our faith-based institutions is that they add something the government never can, and that is love. (Applause.) Pope Benedict the 16th put it this way in his first letter as Pope: "There is no ordering of the state so just that it can eliminate the need for a service of love." In parishes and neighborhoods across our nation, Catholics take this call to heart -- and that is why we find so many of you leading America's armies of compassion. You are changing America one heart, one soul at a time, and I thank you. (Applause.)

Renewing the promise of America also includes ensuring a sound education for every single child. America's Catholic schools play a vital role in our nation. The schools were built by poor immigrants, they were staffed by legions of dedicated nuns, brothers, and priests -- and they have given millions of Americans the knowledge and character they need to succeed in life. Today, these schools are also serving thousands of non-Catholic children in some of nation's poorest neighborhoods. I appreciate the tremendous sacrifices that many dioceses are making to keep their inner-city schools going. I am worried that too many of these schools are closing -- and our nation needs to do something about it. (Applause.) 

Excerpt of Remarks by Archbishop Wuerl:

The development of American political thought from the time of the Mayflower Compact resulted eventually in a composite political philosophy which guided the colonists at the time of the Revolution. It is found in a multiplicity of sources such as the Bible, sermons, classics in philosophical literature, platform addresses, newspaper discussions, pamphlets, official pronouncements and directives, resolutions of colonial assemblies, colonial charters and constitutions.

Out of all of these many threads, there is woven one common principle that is formative of the American political experience. The belief in the binding character of moral law is fundamental to any understanding of American thought. Government must be guided by foundational moral principles. All human government must be limited.

The intimate relation of the law of nature to God’s law was stated in terms of identity by John Barnard in his Massachusetts election sermon of 1734 where he stated: “This voice of nature is the voice of God.”

The understanding of God’s law at work and discernable through our rational nature also finds resonance in the Catechism of the Catholic Church which speaks not only of the foundational nature of the natural moral law but describes the commandments themselves as privileged expressions of the natural law. 

Apr. 16, 2007 - Links to Full Remarks

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ROME, APRIL 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Here is the synopsis of Benedict XVI's book "Jesus of Nazareth," released by the Italian publisher Rizzoli, which has handled worldwide sale of the rights to the work.

The Italian edition will be in bookstores Monday, and the English-language edition will be made available May 15 by Doubleday in North America, and by Bloomsbury in the United Kingdom.

* * *

The Pope's Path to Jesus
A personal meditation, not an exercise of the magisterium

This book is the first part of a work, the writing of which, as its author states, was preceded by a "long gestation" (Page xi). It reflects Joseph Ratzinger's personal search for the "face of the Lord" and is not intended to be a document forming part of the magisterium (Page xxiii).

"Everyone is free, then, to contradict me," the Pontiff stresses in the foreword (Page xxiv). The main purpose of the work is "to help foster [in the reader] the growth of a living re¬lationship" with Jesus Christ (Page xxiv). In an expected second volume the Pope hopes "also to be able to include the chapter on the [infancy] narratives" con¬cerning the birth of Jesus and to consider the mystery of his passion, death and resurrection.

It is primarily, therefore, a pastoral book. But it is also the work of a rigorous theologian, who justifies his assertions based on exhaustive knowledge of sacred texts and critical literature. He underlines the indispen¬sability of a historical-critical method for serious exegesis, but also highlights its limits: "Admittedly, to believe that, as man, he [Jesus] truly was God exceeds the scope of the historical method" (Page xxiii).

And yet, "Without an¬choring in God, the person of Jesus remains shadowy, unreal, and unexplainable" (Schnackenburg, "Freundschaft mit Jesus," Page 322). In confirming this conclu¬sion of a notable Roman Catholic representative of historical-critical exegesis, the Pope states that his book "sees Jesus in light of his communion with the Father" (Page xiv).

In addition, based on "reading the individual texts of the Bible in the context of the whole" -- a reading that "does not contradict historical-critical interpretation, but carries it forward in an organic way toward becoming theology in the proper sense" (Page xix) -- the author presents "the Jesus of the Gospels as the real, 'historical' Jesus," underlining "that this figure is much more logical and, historically speaking, much more intelligible than the reconstructions we have been presented with in the last decades" (Page xxii).

For Benedict XVI, one finds in the Scriptures the compelling elements to be able to assert that the historical personage, Jesus Christ, is also the Son of God who came to Earth to save humanity. In page after page, he exam¬ines these one by one, guiding and challenging the reader -- the believer but also the nonbeliever -- by way of an enthralling intellectual adventure.

Grounding his core premise on the fact of the intimate unity between the Old and the New Testament, and drawing on the Christological herme¬neutics that see in Jesus Christ the key to the entire Bible, Benedict XVI presents the Jesus of the Gospels as the "new Moses" who fulfills Israel's an¬cient expectations (Page 1). This new Moses must lead the people of God to true and definitive freedom. He does so in a sequence of actions that, how¬ever, always allow God's plan to be anticipated in its entirety.

The Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan is "an acceptance of death for the sins of humanity, and the voice that calls out, 'This is my beloved Son,' over the baptismal waters is an antici¬patory reference to the Resurrection" (Page 18). Jesus' immersion in the waters of the River Jordan is a symbol of his death and of his descent into hell -- a reality present, however, throughout his life.

To save humanity "He must recapitulate the whole of history from its beginnings" (Page 26), he must conquer the principal temptations that, in various forms, threaten men in all ages and, transforming them into obedience, reopen the road toward God (Chapter 2), toward the true Promised Land, which is the "Kingdom of God" (Page 44). This term, which can be interpreted in its Christological, mystical or even ecclesiastical dimension, ultimately means "the divine lordship, God's do¬minion over the world and over history, [which] transcends the moment, indeed transcends and reaches beyond the whole of history. And yet it is at the same time something belonging absolutely to the present" (Page 57). Indeed, through Jesus' presence and activity "God has here and now entered actively into history in a wholly new way." In Jesus "God ... draws near to us ... rules in a divine way, without worldly power, rules through the love that reaches 'to the end'" (Pages 60-61; John 13:1).

The theme of the "Kingdom of God" (Chapter 3), which pervades the whole of Jesus' preaching, is developed in further depth in the reflection on the "Sermon on the Mount" (Chapter 4). In the Sermon Jesus clearly appears as the "new Moses" who brings the new Torah or, rather, returns to Moses' Torah and, activating the intrinsic rhythms of its structure, fulfills it (Page 65).

The Sermon on the Mount, in which the beatitudes are the cardi¬nal points of the law and, at one and the same time, a self-portrait of Jesus, demonstrates that this law is not just the result of a "face-to-face" talk with God but embodies the plenitude that comes from the intimate union of Jesus with the Father (Page 66). Jesus is the Son of God, the Word of God in person. "Jesus understands himself as the Torah" (Page 110). "This is the point that demands a decision [...] and consequently this is the point that leads to the Cross and the Resurrection" (Page 63).

The exodus toward the true "Promised Land," toward true freedom, requires the sequel of Christ. The believer has to enter the same communion of the Son with the Father. Only in this way can Man "fulfill" himself, because his innermost nature is oriented toward the relationship with God. This means that a fundamental element of his life is talking to God and listening to God. Because of this, Benedict XVI dedicates an entire chapter to prayer, explaining the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus himself taught us (Chapter 5).

Man's profound contact with God the Father through Jesus in the Holy Spirit gathers them together in the "we and us" of a new family that, via the choice of the Twelve Disciples, recalls the origins of Israel (the twelve Patri¬archs) and, at the same time, opens the vision toward the new Jerusalem (Revelation 21:9-14) -- the ultimate destination of the whole story -- of the new Exodus under the guidance of the "new Moses."

With Jesus, the Twelve Disciples "have to pass from outward to inward communion with Jesus," so as then to be able to testify to his oneness with the Father and "become Jesus' envoys ¬-- 'apostles,' no less -- who bring his message to the world" (Page 172). Albeit in its extremely variegated composition, the new family of Jesus, the Church of all ages, finds in him its unifying core and the will to live the universal character of his teaching (Chapter 6).

To make his message easier to understand and indeed to incorporate that message into daily living, Jesus uses the form of the parable. He comports the substance of what he intends to communicate -- ultimately he is always talking about his mystery -- attuned to the listener's comprehension using the bridge of imagery grounded in realities very familiar and accessible to that listener. Alongside this human aspect, however, there is an exquisitely theological explanation of the parables' sense, which Joseph Ratzinger high¬lights in an analysis of rare depth. He then comments more specifically on three parables, via which he illustrates the endless resources of Jesus' message and its perennial actuality (Chapter 7).

The next chapter also centers round the images used by Jesus to explain his mystery: They are the great images of John's Gospel. Before analyzing them, the Pope presents a very interesting summary of the various results of scientific research into who the apostle John was. With this, as also in his explanation of the images, he opens up new horizons for the reader that re¬veal Jesus with ever-increasing clarity as the "Word of God" (Page 317), who became man for our salvation as the "Son of God" (Page 304), coming to redirect humanity toward unity with the Father -- the reality personified by Moses (Chapter 8).

This vision is further expanded in the last two chapters. "The account of the Transfiguration of Jesus [...] interprets Peter's confession and takes it deeper, while at the same time connecting it with the mystery of Jesus' death and resurrection" (Pages 287-¬288). Both events -- the transfiguration and the confession -- are decisive moments for the earthly Jesus as they are for his disciples.

The true mission of the Messiah of God and the destiny of those who want to follow him are now definitively established. Both events become comprehensible to their full extent only if based on an organic view of the Old and New Testament. Jesus, the living Son of God, is the Messiah awaited by Israel who, through the scandal of the Cross, leads humanity into the "Kingdom of God" (Page 317) and to ultimate freedom (Chapter 9).

The Pope's book ends with an in-depth analysis of the titles that, according to the Gospels, Jesus used for himself (Chapter 10). Once again it becomes evident that only through reading the Scriptures as a united whole is one able to reveal the meaning of the three terms "Son of Man," "Son," and "I Am." This latter term is the mysterious name with which God re¬vealed himself to Moses in the burning bush. This name now allows it to be seen that Jesus is that same God. In all three titles "Jesus at once conceals and reveals the mystery of his person. [...] All three of these terms demonstrate how deeply rooted he is in the Word of God, Israel's Bible, the Old Testament. And yet all these terms receive their full meaning only in him -- it is as if they had been waiting for him" (Page 354).

Together with the man of faith, who seeks to explain the divine mystery above all to himself; together with the extremely refined theologian, who ranges effortlessly from the results of modern doctrinal analyses to those of their ancient precursors, the book also reveals the pastor, who truly succeeds in his attempt "to help foster [in the reader] the growth of a living relationship" with Jesus Christ (Page xxiv), almost irresistibly drawing him into his own personal friendship with the Lord.

In this perspective the Pontiff is not afraid to denounce a world that, by excluding God and clinging only to visible and tangible realities, risks destroying itself in a self-centered quest for purely material well-being -- becoming deaf to the real call to the human being to become, through the Son, a son of God, and thereby to reach true freedom in the "Promised Land" of the "Kingdom of God."

* * *

The page numbers refer to the U.S. edition of the book, which will be published by Doubleday.

Code: ZE07041510

Date: 2007-04-15

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WASHINGTON, D.C., APRIL 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A strong nation is one that prays, President George Bush said to nearly 1,600 people attending the 4th Annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast.

Addressing the event, held Friday in Washington, Bush said that the true strength of a nation "lies in the hearts" of its men and women.

The president also spoke of the continued effort for a culture of life: "Renewing the promise of America begins with upholding the dignity of human life.

"We must continue to work for a culture of life -- where the strong protect the weak, and where we recognize in every human life the image of our Creator."

Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C., gave the keynote address on "Christianity and Our National Identity."

Tracing the political foundations of the United States from Mayflower Compact in 1620 to the Constitution in 1787, the archbishop said "this theme is repeated over and over again. We are a free people who recognize the sovereignty of God and God's law in our personal and societal life."

The prelate said that recent movements of public opinion lack appreciation for "the basic religious values that underpin our laws," and call for "a so-called secular frame of reference within which public policy should be articulated."

"Yet the opposite conviction has long been a cornerstone of the American experience," said Archbishop Wuerl. "It finds expression in our deep-seated conviction that we have inalienable rights from 'the Laws of Nature and Nature's God.'"

Catholic Americans

Father Richard John Neuhaus, editor in chief of First Things, spoke at the event on "Why I Am Not an American Catholic."

Father Neuhaus told ZENIT: "Since the Second Vatican Council, there has been a fevered concern about what it means to be an American Catholic.

"I suggest that is the wrong way of putting the question. Our commitment is to be not American Catholics but Catholic Americans. The adjective controls.

"Do we define being 'Catholic' to fit 'American,' or do we define 'American' by 'Catholic'?"

"Put differently," the priest explained, "are we Catholics in a peculiarly American way or Americans in a distinctively Catholic way? Of course both are true, but the accent is on the latter."

"The future of Catholic witness in American life lies with those who are clearly and vibrantly Catholic Americans," Father Neuhaus said.

The priest added: "The prayer breakfast is a most welcome development. At one level, it is a very public showing of the Catholic flag.

"More importantly, it is an occasion for encouragement and exchange among people who are excited about being Catholic Americans."

Austin Ruse, a founder of the prayer breakfast and president of Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute, told ZENIT that four years ago the even was launched because "it is always important to fly the flag of the Church in the public square, most especially in the nation's capital."

"The results have been astounding. In our first year, quite unexpectedly we got 900 people."

Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the apostolic nuncio to the United States, also attended the event, as did Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court.

Code: ZE07041528

Date: 2007-04-15

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VATICAN CITY, APRIL 15, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Be men and women of the mercy of God, Benedict XVI urged those present at the double anniversary Mass celebrated in his honor in St. Peter's Square.

Today's Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday marked the occasions of the Pontiff's 80th birthday, Monday, and the second anniversary of his election as Pope, Thursday.

In his homily, the Holy Father also remembered Pope John Paul II, recalling that the Polish Pontiff had designated the Second Sunday of Easter as Divine Mercy Sunday, and had died on the eve of the feast day in 2005.

Nearly 50,000 attended the Mass, and some 70 cardinals, archbishops, heads of the Roman Curia and priests of the Diocese of Rome concelebrated.

Benedict XVI dedicated the main part of his homily to reflect on Divine Mercy, referring back to the teachings of his predecessor John Paul II: "In the word 'mercy,' he found summarized and newly interpreted for our time the mystery of Redemption."

Witness

Benedict XVI said that the Polish Pope was a direct witness of "two dictatorial regimes," "poverty, necessity and violence" and "the power of darkness" that also threatens our times.

John Paul II also "experienced, with equal or more intensity, the presence of God that opposes all of our strength with his totally different and divine power: the power of mercy," said Benedict XVI.

He added that "it is mercy that puts limits to evil, in it is expressed the nature of all that is special in God -- his holiness, the power of truth and love."

The Pope added: "The friendship of Jesus Christ is the friendship of him who makes of us people who forgive, of him who also forgives us ... who infuses into us the awareness of the interior duty of love, of the duty to correspond to his confidence with our fidelity."

The Holy Father said that John Paul II says to us: "Have confidence in Divine Mercy! Convert yourselves day after day into men and women of the mercy of God!"

Wounded God

Commenting of the Sunday Gospel in which Christ appears to his disciples and allows Thomas to touch his wounds, the Pontiff said: "The Lord has taken his wounds with him for all eternity. He is a wounded God; who has allowed himself to be wounded out of love for us."

The Holy Father added that the wounds signify "certainty of his mercy and ... consolation."

Present at the celebration was a delegation of the Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, led by Metropolitan Ioannis Zizioulas of Pergamum.

The Pope greeted the patriarch's delegate with "fraternal affection" and expressed his desire that Catholic-Orthodox dialogue be carried out "with renewed vigor."

Benedict XVI used for the first time today a new processional cross, made in the gold workshop of the Benedictine Abby of Santo Domingo de Silos, in Burgos, Spain.

Cardinal Friedrich Wetter, retired archbishop of Munich and Freising, gave as a gift to the Holy Father the Book of the Gospels used in the Mass. It is the work of Max Faller.

Code: ZE07041504

Date: 2007-04-15

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