"...hope drawn from the saving work of Jesus Christ"

The United Nations remains a privileged setting in which the Church is committed to contributing her experience "of humanity", developed over the centuries among peoples of every race and culture, and placing it at the disposal of all members of the international community. This experience and activity, directed towards attaining freedom for every believer, seeks also to increase the protection given to the rights of the person. Those rights are grounded and shaped by the transcendent nature of the person, which permits men and women to pursue their journey of faith and their search for God in this world.

In my recent Encyclical, Spe Salvi, I indicated that "every generation has the task of engaging anew in the arduous search for the right way to order human affairs" (no. 25). For Christians, this task is motivated by the hope drawn from the saving work of Jesus Christ. That is why the Church is happy to be associated with the activity of this distinguished Organization, charged with the responsibility of promoting peace and good will throughout the earth.

Benedict XVI
Address to the General Assembly of the United Nations
April 18, 2008

Salvation comes from the Jews

My dear friends,

I extend special greetings of peace to the Jewish community in the United States and throughout the world as you prepare to celebrate the annual feast of Pesah. My visit to this country has coincided with this feast, allowing me to meet with you personally and to assure you of my prayers as you recall the signs and wonders God performed in liberating his chosen people. Motivated by our common spiritual heritage, I am pleased to entrust to you this message as a testimony to our hope centered on the Almighty and his mercy.

* * *

To the Jewish community on the Feast of Pesah

My visit to the United States offers me the occasion to extend a warm and heartfelt greeting to my Jewish brothers and sisters in this country and throughout the world. A greeting that is all the more spiritually intense because the great feast of Pesah is approaching. "This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever" (Exodus 12: 14). While the Christian celebration of Easter differs in many ways from your celebration of Pesah, we understand and experience it in continuation with the biblical narrative of the mighty works which the Lord accomplished for his people.

At this time of your most solemn celebration, I feel particularly close, precisely because of what Nostra Aetate calls Christians to remember always: that the Church "received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles" (Nostra Aetate, 4). In addressing myself to you I wish to re-affirm the Second Vatican Council's teaching on Catholic-Jewish relations and reiterate the Church's commitment to the dialogue that in the past forty years has fundamentally changed our relationship for the better.

Because of that growth in trust and friendship, Christians and Jews can rejoice together in the deep spiritual ethos of the Passover, a memorial (zikkarôn) of freedom and redemption. Each year, when we listen to the Passover story we return to that blessed night of liberation. This holy time of the year should be a call to both our communities to pursue justice, mercy, solidarity with the stranger in the land, with the widow and orphan, as Moses commanded: "But you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this" (Deuteronomy 24: 18).

At the Passover Sèder you recall the holy patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and the holy women of Israel, Sarah, Rebecca, Rachael and Leah, the beginning of the long line of sons and daughters of the Covenant. With the passing of time the Covenant assumes an ever more universal value, as the promise made to Abraham takes form: "I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing... All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you" (Genesis 12: 2-3). Indeed, according to the prophet Isaiah, the hope of redemption extends to the whole of humanity: "Many peoples will come and say: 'Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths'" (Isaiah 2: 3). Within this eschatological horizon is offered a real prospect of universal brotherhood on the path of justice and peace, preparing the way of the Lord (cf. Isaiah 62: 10).

Christians and Jews share this hope; we are in fact, as the prophets say, "prisoners of hope" (Zachariah 9: 12). This bond permits us Christians to celebrate alongside you, though in our own way, the Passover of Christ's death and resurrection, which we see as inseparable from your own, for Jesus himself said: "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4: 22). Our Easter and your Pesah, while distinct and different, unite us in our common hope centered on God and his mercy. They urge us to cooperate with each other and with all men and women of goodwill to make this a better world for all as we await the fulfillment of God's promises.

With respect and friendship, I therefore ask the Jewish community to accept my Pesah greeting in a spirit of openness to the real possibilities of cooperation which we see before us as we contemplate the urgent needs of our world, and as we look with compassion upon the sufferings of millions of our brothers and sisters everywhere. Naturally, our shared hope for peace in the world embraces the Middle East and the Holy Land in particular. May the memory of God's mercies, which Jews and Christians celebrate at this festive time, inspire all those responsible for the future of that region-where the events surrounding God's revelation actually took place-to new efforts, and especially to new attitudes and a new purification of hearts!

In my heart I repeat with you the psalm of the paschal Hallel (Psalm 118: 1-4), invoking abundant divine blessings upon you: "O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his steadfast love endures forever. Let Israel say, 'His steadfast love endures forever.' . . . Let those who fear the Lord say, 'His steadfast love endures forever'."

From the Vatican, 14 April 2008

Benedict XVI
Message to the Jewish Community - Delivered in Washington
April 17, 2008

We propose Jesus of Nazareth

Spiritual leaders have a special duty, and we might say competence, to place the deeper questions at the forefront of human consciousness, to reawaken mankind to the mystery of human existence, and to make space in a frenetic world for reflection and prayer.

Confronted with these deeper questions concerning the origin and destiny of mankind, Christianity proposes Jesus of Nazareth. He, we believe, is the eternal Logos who became flesh in order to reconcile man to God and reveal the underlying reason of all things. It is he whom we bring to the forum of interreligious dialogue. The ardent desire to follow in his footsteps spurs Christians to open their minds and hearts in dialogue.

Benedict XVI
Address to representatives of other religions
April 17, 2008

Academic freedom cannot justify positions that contradict the faith

...the contemporary "crisis of truth" is rooted in a "crisis of faith". Only through faith can we freely give our assent to God's testimony and acknowledge him as the transcendent guarantor of the truth he reveals. ... Freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in - a participation in Being itself. Hence authentic freedom can never be attained by turning away from God. Such a choice would ultimately disregard the very truth we need in order to understand ourselves. A particular responsibility therefore for each of you, and your colleagues, is to evoke among the young the desire for the act of faith, encouraging them to commit themselves to the ecclesial life that follows from this belief. It is here that freedom reaches the certainty of truth. In choosing to live by that truth, we embrace the fullness of the life of faith which is given to us in the Church.

...Catholic identity is not dependent upon statistics. Neither can it be equated simply with orthodoxy of course content. It demands and inspires much more: namely that each and every aspect of your learning communities reverberates within the ecclesial life of faith. Only in faith can truth become incarnate and reason truly human, capable of directing the will along the path of freedom (cf. Spe Salvi, 23).

...the Church never tires of upholding the essential moral categories of right and wrong, without which hope could only wither, giving way to cold pragmatic calculations of utility which render the person little more than a pawn on some ideological chess-board.
...
...any appeal to the principle of academic freedom in order to justify positions that contradict the faith and the teaching of the Church would obstruct or even betray the university's identity and mission; a mission at the heart of the Church's munus docendi and not somehow autonomous or independent of it.

Benedict XVI
Address to Educators at the Catholic University of America
April 17, 2008

"Many of the baptized...embrace attitudes contrary to the truth"

I pray ... that this significant anniversary in the life of the Church in the United States, and the presence of the Successor of Peter in your midst, will be an occasion for all Catholics to reaffirm their unity in the apostolic faith, to offer their contemporaries a convincing account of the hope which inspires them (cf. 1 Pet 3:15), and to be renewed in missionary zeal for the extension of God's Kingdom.

The world needs this witness! Who can deny that the present moment is a crossroads, not only for the Church in America but also for society as a whole? It is a time of great promise, as we see the human family in many ways drawing closer together and becoming ever more interdependent. Yet at the same time we see clear signs of a disturbing breakdown in the very foundations of society: signs of alienation, anger and polarization on the part of many of our contemporaries; increased violence; a weakening of the moral sense; a coarsening of social relations; and a growing forgetfulness of God. The Church, too, sees signs of immense promise in her many strong parishes and vital movements, in the enthusiasm for the faith shown by so many young people, in the number of those who each year embrace the Catholic faith, and in a greater interest in prayer and catechesis. At the same time she senses, often painfully, the presence of division and polarization in her midst, as well as the troubling realization that many of the baptized, rather than acting as a spiritual leaven in the world, are inclined to embrace attitudes contrary to the truth of the Gospel.

Benedict XVI
Homily - Washington, DC (Full text)
April 17, 2008

Address to the Bishops of the United States: A warning to those who "pick and choose"

Read entire Speech,
and answers to three questions posed by the Bishops.

In the answer to the First Question, the most poignant remarks, which include concepts very dear to the Pope's mind:

Perhaps America's brand of secularism poses a particular problem: it allows for professing belief in God, and respects the public role of religion and the Churches, but at the same time it can subtly reduce religious belief to a lowest common denominator. Faith becomes a passive acceptance that certain things "out there" are true, but without practical relevance for everyday life. The result is a growing separation of faith from life: living "as if God did not exist"[etsi Deus non daretur].

This is aggravated by an individualistic and eclectic approach to faith and religion: far from a Catholic approach to "thinking with the Church"[sentire cum Ecclesia], each person believes he or she has a right to pick and choose, maintaining external social bonds but without an integral, interior conversion to the law of Christ. Consequently, rather than being transformed and renewed in mind, Christians are easily tempted to conform themselves to the spirit of this age (cf. Rom 12:3). We have seen this emerge in an acute way in the scandal given by Catholics who promote an alleged right to abortion.
...
The "dictatorship of relativism", in the end, is nothing less than a threat to genuine human freedom, which only matures in generosity and fidelity to the truth.

Much more, of course, could be said on this subject: let me conclude, though, by saying that I believe that the Church in America, at this point in her history, is faced with the challenge of recapturing the Catholic vision of reality and presenting it, in an engaging and imaginative way, to a society which markets any number of recipes for human fulfillment.

Joint Statement of the United States and Holy See

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
April 16, 2008

His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush met today in the Oval Office of the White House.

President Bush, on behalf of all Americans, welcomed the Holy Father, wished him a happy birthday, and thanked him for the spiritual and moral guidance, which he offers to the whole human family. The President wished the Pope every success in his Apostolic Journey and in his address at the United Nations, and expressed appreciation for the Pope's upcoming visit to "Ground Zero" in New York.

During their meeting, the Holy Father and the President discussed a number of topics of common interest to the Holy See and the United States of America, including moral and religious considerations to which both parties are committed: the respect of the dignity of the human person; the defense and promotion of life, matrimony and the family; the education of future generations; human rights and religious freedom; sustainable development and the struggle against poverty and pandemics, especially in Africa. In regard to the latter, the Holy Father welcomed the United States' substantial financial contributions in this area. The two reaffirmed their total rejection of terrorism as well as the manipulation of religion to justify immoral and violent acts against innocents. They further touched on the need to confront terrorism with appropriate means that respect the human person and his or her rights.

The Holy Father and the President devoted considerable time in their discussions to the Middle East, in particular resolving the Israel-Palestinian conflict in line with the vision of two states living side-by-side in peace and security, their mutual support for the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon, and their common concern for the situation in Iraq and particularly the precarious state of Christian communities there and elsewhere in the region. The Holy Father and the President expressed hope for an end to violence and for a prompt and comprehensive solution to the crises which afflict the region.

The Holy Father and the President also considered the situation in Latin America with reference, among other matters, to immigrants, and the need for a coordinated policy regarding immigration, especially their humane treatment and the well being of their families.

Cardinal Cipriani of Lima: "I have forbidden [the distribution of] particles in the hands"

In an interview to Italian religious news website Petrus, the Archbishop of Lima, Peru, Cardinal Cipriani Thorne, had a very interesting answer to one of the questions:

We turn then to the manner of administering Communion...

[Cipriani Thorne] "Even in this case, the 'laxity' of many priests has ridiculed the value of the Eucharist in the eyes of Catholics. I personally believe that the best way to administer Communion is on the tongue, so much so that in my Diocese I have forbidden [vietato] particles in the hands. In the Masses with an enormous attendance [of faithful], we have found in the past lost particles on the floor of the church."

God bless America!

Mr. President, Thank you for your gracious words of welcome on behalf of the people of the United States of America. I deeply appreciate your invitation to visit this great country. My visit coincides with an important moment in the life of the Catholic community in America: the celebration of the two-hundredth anniversary of the elevation of the country’s first Diocese – Baltimore – to a metropolitan Archdiocese, and the establishment of the Sees of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville. Yet I am happy to be here as a guest of all Americans. I come as a friend, a preacher of the Gospel and one with great respect for this vast pluralistic society. America’s Catholics have made, and continue to make, an excellent contribution to the life of their country. As I begin my visit, I trust that my presence will be a source of renewal and hope for the Church in the United States, and strengthen the resolve of Catholics to contribute ever more responsibly to the life of this nation, of which they are proud to be citizens.

From the dawn of the Republic, America’s quest for freedom has been guided by the conviction that the principles governing political and social life are intimately linked to a moral order based on the dominion of God the Creator. The framers of this nation’s founding documents drew upon this conviction when they proclaimed the “self-evident truth” that all men are created equal and endowed with inalienable rights grounded in the laws of nature and of nature’s God. The course of American history demonstrates the difficulties, the struggles, and the great intellectual and moral resolve which were demanded to shape a society which faithfully embodied these noble principles. In that process, which forged the soul of the nation, religious beliefs were a constant inspiration and driving force, as for example in the struggle against slavery and in the civil rights movement. In our time too, particularly in moments of crisis, Americans continue to find their strength in a commitment to this patrimony of shared ideals and aspirations.

In the next few days, I look forward to meeting not only with America’s Catholic community, but with other Christian communities and representatives of the many religious traditions present in this country. Historically, not only Catholics, but all believers have found here the freedom to worship God in accordance with the dictates of their conscience, while at the same time being accepted as part of a commonwealth in which each individual and group can make its voice heard. As the nation faces the increasingly complex political and ethical issues of our time, I am confident that the American people will find in their religious beliefs a precious source of insight and an inspiration to pursue reasoned, responsible and respectful dialogue in the effort to build a more humane and free society.

Freedom is not only a gift, but also a summons to personal responsibility. Americans know this from experience – almost every town in this country has its monuments honoring those who sacrificed their lives in defense of freedom, both at home and abroad. The preservation of freedom calls for the cultivation of virtue, self-discipline, sacrifice for the common good and a sense of responsibility towards the less fortunate. It also demands the courage to engage in civic life and to bring one’s deepest beliefs and values to reasoned public debate. In a word, freedom is ever new. It is a challenge held out to each generation, and it must constantly be won over for the cause of good (cf. Spe Salvi, 24). Few have understood this as clearly as the late Pope John Paul II. In reflecting on the spiritual victory of freedom over totalitarianism in his native Poland and in eastern Europe, he reminded us that history shows, time and again, that “in a world without truth, freedom loses its foundation”, and a democracy without values can lose its very soul (cf. Centesimus Annus, 46). Those prophetic words in some sense echo the conviction of President Washington, expressed in his Farewell Address, that religion and morality represent “indispensable supports” of political prosperity.

The Church, for her part, wishes to contribute to building a world ever more worthy of the human person, created in the image and likeness of God (cf. Gen 1:26-27). She is convinced that faith sheds new light on all things, and that the Gospel reveals the noble vocation and sublime destiny of every man and woman (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10). Faith also gives us the strength to respond to our high calling, and the hope that inspires us to work for an ever more just and fraternal society. Democracy can only flourish, as your founding fathers realized, when political leaders and those whom they represent are guided by truth and bring the wisdom born of firm moral principle to decisions affecting the life and future of the nation.

For well over a century, the United States of America has played an important role in the international community. On Friday, God willing, I will have the honor of addressing the United Nations Organization, where I hope to encourage the efforts under way to make that institution an ever more effective voice for the legitimate aspirations of all the world’s peoples. On this, the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the need for global solidarity is as urgent as ever, if all people are to live in a way worthy of their dignity – as brothers and sisters dwelling in the same house and around that table which God’s bounty has set for all his children. America has traditionally shown herself generous in meeting immediate human needs, fostering development and offering relief to the victims of natural catastrophes. I am confident that this concern for the greater human family will continue to find expression in support for the patient efforts of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts and promote progress. In this way, coming generations will be able to live in a world where truth, freedom and justice can flourish – a world where the God-given dignity and rights of every man, woman and child are cherished, protected and effectively advanced.

Mr. President, dear friends: as I begin my visit to the United States, I express once more my gratitude for your invitation, my joy to be in your midst, and my fervent prayers that Almighty God will confirm this nation and its people in the ways of justice, prosperity and peace. God bless America!

Pope Benedict XVI
Address in the White House
April 16, 2008

America and Established Religion

The most interesting answer of the Holy Father in the impromptu press conference which took place during his Rome-Washington flight was in response to a question by Andrea Tornielli:

[Tornielli:] Your Holiness, when welcoming the new Ambassador of the United States to the Holy See, you remembered positively the public role of religion in the United States. Do you think that, from this perspective, the US is a model for secularized Europe? Do you not believe that there is the risk of using religion and the name of God to justify a policy or a war? [sic]

[Pope Benedict:] "We certainly cannot simply copy the USA in Europe. We have our history. But we must all learn from one another. What I find fascinating in the USA is that it began with a positive concept of secularism. Because this new people was made up of communities and persons who had escaped the State religions and wished to have a lay, secular State, which opens the doors to all confessions, to all forms of religious exercise. It was thus a willingly secular State, it was really contrary to a State Church, but secular truly for love of religion, of its authenticity, which can be lived only freely. And thus we find this fusion of a willingly and honestly secular State, but really for a religious will, to grant authenticity to religion. And we know that A.[lexis] de Tocqueville, studying America, saw that the secular institutions depend on a de facto moral consensus which exists among the citizens. This seems to me a fundamental and positive model to be considered also in Europe; in the meantime, 200 years have passed, with so many developments. Now, there is even in the US an attack of a new Secularism, a new completely different Secularism, and, therefore, new problems. [As] Immigration and the ideal of the WASP. Therefore, the situation has become complex, differentiated with history. But the fundamental model seems to me, even today, worthy of being acknowledged."

The Pope is not incorrect in his historical view of the matter. It is perhaps enough to remember that, in the most Catholic of the Colonies, Maryland, Catholic subjects, who for nearly a century had been persecuted by the clergy and members of the Established Church (the"Church of England"), enthusiastically supported Independence from the British Crown for good reason.

3:55 PM EST: Peter is in America

And you thought hardline Communism was dead

Apparently, this hydra continues to sprout new heads. Was it not Mao who said: "political power grows out of the barrel of a gun"?

And it is rather telling that the secular media's reporting on this event assumes that the Maoists will rule in a peaceful and democratic manner.

As an Asian, I say: do not underestimate this development. Hardline communism continues to flourish in the most unlikely places. Sometimes it even flourishes inside "Catholic" communities addicted to liberation theology.

******************************************************

Maoists poised to take control in Nepal

By Somini Sengupta
Published: April 14, 2008

KATMANDU, Nepal: Barely two years out of the jungle, former Maoist guerrillas were poised on Monday to lead Nepal's new government, as initial election results signaled that voters had chosen to remove most of their veteran politicians from office and seek a radical break with the past.

Of the 178 directly elected seats for which results had been tallied, the Maoists had picked up 101 in the voting on Thursday, the Election Commission announced, according to Reuters. Far behind were the Nepali Congress, with 30 seats, and the Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), or UML, with 24.

In addition to a total of 240 directly elected seats in the new, 601-member Constituent Assembly, there are 335 indirectly elected seats, designed to give women and marginalized castes and ethnic groups a greater voice in the government. The other 26 seats are appointive.
The partial results of last week's voting point toward a Maoist landslide, which would defy predictions, though the final tally, which could take weeks, could tilt the election differently, or at least reduce the Maoists' margin significantly.

The results will bear mightily on Nepal's future: The new assembly will rewrite the country's constitution and govern the country while it is doing so.

Under Nepal's unusual election laws, Prachanda, the Maoist leader, was allowed to run in two election districts, both of which he won. Madhav Kumar Nepal, the leader of the other leftist party, UML, lost both his races and resigned as party president.

Another party new to electoral politics, an ethnic Madhesi party from the southern plains, which also emerged from armed rebellion demanding greater autonomy, picked up 15 seats.

Prachanda pledged on Sunday to work with the other parties. It is not clear whether winning control of the government would embolden his party to push its most radical demands, like integrating its former fighters into the security forces, or whether the task of governance, in which the Maoists have little experience, would make them "sober up," in the words of a diplomat.

Assessing the early results of the election, a newspaper columnist, C. K. Lal, said: "The Nepali people are saying they are fed up with the way things are going. The good part would be if the Maoists can use their majority to usher in changes through consensus. The bad part would be if Maoists thought they could go the way they wish because they have a majority."

Tempering their original revolutionary stridency, the Maoists, as politicians, have said in recent months that they have no intention of hindering private investment or nationalizing property. Their principal goal has been to oust the 240-year-old Hindu monarchy.

It is unknown to what extent voters chose the Maoists out of genuine conviction, intimidation or a sense that former guerrillas are safer in Parliament than outside.

In any event, the victors in these elections, particularly if they are the new faces of the Maoists will inherit large expectations, particularly in a young, desperately poor country that had not had elections in nine years. Energy will be among the first challenges: The Katmandu valley suffers from up to eight hours of electricity cuts a day.

"For the Maoists it will be an awful lot of pressure to govern," said another diplomat who, under normal diplomatic protocol, could not publicly comment on an election. "There will be pressure to deliver, be relatively pro-poor and deliver a peace dividend to the countryside. That is pretty hard in Nepal."

AsiaNews. It reports on this development here:

04/14/2008 15:44

NEPAL‘Maoist Republic’ on its way

by Kalpit Parajuli

The Elections Commission confirms Maoist party’s landslide victory. Its leaders call upon the international community to trust them as they get ready to abolish the monarchy.

Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – Against all expectations the Communist Party Nepal-Maoist (CPN-M) is heading for a landslide win and will likely to lead the country’s first republican government. CPN-M leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal (see photo), known under his nom de guerre Prachanda (the terrible), said that Nepal was ready to be a “Maoist Republic.”

So far the Elections Commission has announced that the Maoists have won 61 seats out of the 108 already decided, but the counting process in other polling stations indicates a similar trend in favour of the ‘Reds’.

Given the situation Prachanda acknowledged that the “international community may have some doubts about us. But we are committed to competitive politics and will maintain cordial relations with all, especially with our close neighbours China and India”.

Baburam Bhattarai, the CMN-M second-in-command, added that “[e]verybody must accept that we, being the largest political party, have the right to lead the government.” He also said his party won because it “targeted the underprivileged, marginalised section of society, including women. We empowered those groups of society and were successful to secure such results.” For him the first item on the new government’s agenda will be the monarchy.

The Crown’s hold on the country began collapsing in 1996 when its corruption and wealth in one of the poorest countries in Asia sparked the Communist rebellion in which some 13,000 people died over ten years.

In 2001 then King Birendra and the members of his immediate family were slaughtered in the Royal Palace at the hands of his son, who then committed suicide.

His successor Gyanendra (whom some believe inspired the massacre) intensified efforts to gain absolute power. He succeed in 2005, only to lose it a year later as a result of street protests, which forced him to negotiate with the Maoists.

With the new government his role will be eliminated and the 238-year-old monarchy will come to an end.

Benedict XVI and the United States

America: the Moderate Way

In the 19th century under Pius IX, the clash between the Church's faith and a radical liberalism and the natural sciences, which also claimed to embrace with their knowledge the whole of reality to its limit, stubbornly proposing to make the "hypothesis of God" superfluous, had elicited from the Church a bitter and radical condemnation of this spirit of the modern age. Thus, it seemed that there was no longer any milieu open to a positive and fruitful understanding, and the rejection by those who felt they were the representatives of the modern era was also drastic.

In the meantime, however, the modern age had also experienced developments. People came to realize that the American Revolution was offering a model of a modern State that differed from the theoretical model with radical tendencies that had emerged during the second phase of the French Revolution.

(Christmas Address to the Roman Curia, December 22, 2005 - "The Epoch-Making Speech")

America: example of uniting people of good will

From the dawn of the Republic, America has been ... a nation which values the role of religious belief in ensuring a vibrant and ethically sound democratic order. Your nation's example of uniting people of good will, regardless of race, nationality or creed, in a shared vision and a disciplined pursuit of the common good has encouraged many younger nations in their efforts to create a harmonious, free and just social order.

...

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose sixtieth anniversary we celebrate this year, was the product of a world-wide recognition that a just global order can only be based on the acknowledgment and defense of the inviolable dignity and rights of every man and woman. This recognition, in turn, must motivate every decision affecting the future of the human family and all its members. I am confident that your country, established on the self-evident truth that the Creator has endowed each human being with certain inalienable rights, will continue to find in the principles of the common moral law, enshrined in its founding documents, a sure guide for exercising its leadership within the international community.

(Speech to the new Ambassador of the United States, February 29, 2008)

America and Religion

The American people's historic appreciation of the role of religion in shaping public discourse and in shedding light on the inherent moral dimension of social issues - a role at times contested in the name of a straitened understanding of political life and public discourse - is reflected in the efforts of so many of your fellow-citizens and government leaders to ensure legal protection for God's gift of life from conception to natural death, and the safeguarding of the institution of marriage, acknowledged as a stable union between a man and a woman, and that of the family.

(Address to the new Ambassador of the United States, February 29, 2008)

American generosity

The American people have long been distinguished for their generous charitable outreach to the disadvantaged and the needy on every continent. In a world of increasing globalization, I am confident that your nation will continue to demonstrate a leadership based on unwavering commitment to the values of freedom, integrity and self-determination, while cooperating with the various international instances which work to build genuine consensus and to develop a unified course of action in confronting issues critical to the future of the whole human family.

(Address to the new Ambassador of the United States, November 12, 2005)

Motu Proprio wars in the Roman Curia Ranjith off to Sri Lanka?

The Italian daily Italia Oggi included yesterday this interesting report:

Curie e Curiali: Ranjith goes, but he could return

by Andrea Bevilacqua

The probable, if by now not yet certain, nomination of Archbishop Angelo Amato, number two of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (that which was once headed by Cardinal Ratzinger, and today by Cardinal William Levada), as new Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments at the position of Cardinal Francis Arinze, has considerably angered the one who is today the number two of this same congregation guided by Arinze: Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith. The latter, called a couple of years ago to Divine Worship with the promise to afterwards replace Arinze at the helm of the dicastery, having been almost certainly bypassed by Amato in the prestigious position of Prefect of one of the nine Vatican Congregations (the position also foresees the Cardinalatial birretta), seems to have asked Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone to leave the Roman Curia and return to his homeland (Sri Lanka), to become Archbishop of an important diocese and thus, afterwards, a Cardinal. All [of these events], if predictions are confirmed, should take place when the Pope returns from the United States ... .
...

Ranjith probably pays [the price] for having exposed himself with great emphasis (interviews, declarations, publication of articles) in favor of the papal Motu Proprio "Summorum Pontificum", with which the Mass in Latin according to the ancient rite revised by Pope John XXIII in 1962 was liberalized. It seems that, due to his repeated interventions, part of the Roman Curia may have explicitly asked Bertone, by way of a letter, that he should not become Prefect of a Congregation with such delicate tasks.And Bertone, [after] the due calculations were made, seems to have endorsed the signers of the letter. Signers who, two years ago, when Ranjith was nominated Secretary of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, did not accept well his arrival and the subsequent removal of Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino [previous Secretary] to the diocese of Assisi. The tally, however, must still be closed by Benedict XVI.

Ranjith was one of his first nominations once he became Pope. When Ranjith, a few years before, was displaced by Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, where he was Adjunct Secretary, Ratzinger (who was then Prefect of the former Holy Office) did not take it well, so much so that, once he became the Pontiff, promptly wished to show his own affection and esteem for Ranjith by calling him back to Rome and putting him in Sorrentino's place. Today, the pressures against Ranjith in the Roman Curia are not small. Bertone seems to have surrendered. Benedict XVI is not so predictable as to do the same.

Editorial Note: The pressures against Archbishop Ranjith are extremely strong within the Roman Curia, as first reported last month. There is no doubt of the Pontiff's great love for him: Ranjith was chosen to replace Bugninist Archbishop Domenico Sorrentino (Benedict's first bold removal of a Curial name) months before Bertone himself was named. The hatred towards Ranjith is strong in Italian circles in the Curia: his immaculate honesty doomed him in Propaganda Fide during the Wojtyla pontificate; now, his bold defense of Papal prerogatives embodied in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum increases the hatred for him. We hope and pray Pope Benedict does not surrender to the intense movement led by the wolves in the Curia against Archbishop Ranjith.

Interestingly enough, there is only one Archdiocese in Sri Lanka, the Archdiocese of Colombo - whose current Archbishop, who is not a Cardinal, turned 75 a few months ago... There has been only one Cardinal at the helm of that Archdiocese in its entire history.

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Transcript: Papa Ratzinger Blog

Vatican approval coming slowly for the Neocatechumenal Way

Vatican, Apr. 11, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Bishop Josef Clemens, has said that a definitive approval of the statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way will take some time, the online Italian news agency Petrus reports.

The Catholic lay movement’s statutes were approved on an ad experimentum basis, for a period of five years, six years ago. But questions about the Neocatechumenal Way-- and particularly the group's liturgical practices-- have persisted, slowing the progress toward full acceptance. The Petrus report indicates that are also questions about how fully the Neocatechumenal Way has adhered to the norms issued in December 2005 by the Congregation for Divine Worship to correct liturgical abuses by members of the lay movement.

The "Way" has supporters as well as critics within the hierarchy. The Petrus article recounts that last month, 170 bishops and nine cardinals from Europe visited the Neocatechumenal Way’s Domus Galilaeae in the Holy Land.

The Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way were approved on an ad experimentum basis for five years in June 2002. The five year period expired last July, 2007. Meanwhile, the group has been busy expanding, with a Neocatechumenal Redemptoris Mater seminary for the Melkite Catholics set to be instituted this year.

The last paragraph of the report alludes to a mass meeting of cardinals and bishops last March 24 - 29 at the Neocatechumenal Way's Domus Galilaeae International Center on the Mount of Beatitudes. In that meeting -- which included Christoph Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna and which received the greetings and blessings of Pope Benedict XVI through Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone -- the Neocatechumenal Way was praised as "an answer of the Holy Spirit" to the secularization of Europe. Zenit's report on that meeting can be found here.

Short videos of Neocatechumenal "liturgies" here and here. The Internet is not exactly lacking in proof of Neocatechumenal liturgical abuses. Cathcon has a few more.

A video of the Neocatechumenal celebration of Passover 2008 (!) at a basilica in the Philippines can be found here.

With an estimated one million members in 20,000 communities and with 73 Redemptoris Mater seminaries that have produced some 1,200 priests, in addition to thousands of priests and religious who are affiliated with or who serve it, the Neocatechumenal Way is by far the largest of the "new movements" in the Catholic Church.

June 17: Return of Traditional Mass to Notre Dame Cathedral

From the blog of the Sainte Cécile schola of the parish of Saint-Eugène - Sainte-Cécile in Paris:

Our parish continues its Marian pilgrimage in Paris: After the Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in the Rue du Bac and Our Lady of Victory, we will sing a Mass in the extraordinary form of the rite in our cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris, June 17 2008!

Tip: Le Forum Catholique

Bossuet Week:"I came not to seek the Just"

In the whole teaching of the Gospels there is nothing more touching than God's gentle and loving way of treating His reconciled enemies, that is, converted sinners. He is not satisfied with blotting out our stains and washing away our filth; to His infinite goodness it is but a little thing that our sins should do us no harm. He would have them actually profit us. He draws out of them such benefits for our soul that we even feel constrained to bless our very transgressions, and to cry with the Church: "O Felix culpa!" [Blessing of the Paschal Candle, Easter Vigil]

His grace seems to struggle with our sins for the upper hand, and Saint Paul says that it even pleases Him to make grace abound more where sin has abounded. In fact, He receives penitent sinners back with so much love that innocence itself might almost be said to have cause for complaint or at least for some jealousy at the sight of it. The extreme gentleness with which He treats them, if their regret for sin be but real, appears to do away with all further need for regret. Let but one sheep stray from His side, and it seems to become dearer to Him than all the others who remained constant; like the father in the parable, His heart melts over His returned prodigal rather than over the elder, faithful brother.

We seem, indeed, at first sight to have ground for saying that the penitent sinner has the advantage over the just who have not sinned; that restored virtue may triumph over innocence preserved. Nevertheless, it is not so. We may never doubt that innocence is a privileged state - and if there were no other reason for maintaining this it would be enough to remember that Jesus Christ chose that state for Himself.

Observe the terms in which the great Apostle declares His Divine Master's innocence: "Talis decebat ut esset nobis pontifex": "It was fitting that we should have a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens, Who needeth not to offer sacrifices for His own sins" [Hebrews, vii, 26], but, being holiness itself, expiates sin. Must not the Son of God, then, have dearly loved the innocence that He took for His own lot?

No, His tender feelings for converted sinners does not place them above holy souls that have never been stained by sin. Only, just as we feel the blessing of health most keenly on recovering from a long illness, though we would far rather have been spared the illness and kept our strength unbroken; or, again, as a lovely mild day in the midst of a hard winter is peculiarly enjoyed from its unexpectedness, yet it is by no means so pleasurable as a long mild season would have been.

So, humanly speaking, we may understand how Our Lord lavishes tenderness on freshly converted sinners, who are His latest conquest; yet, He nevertheless has a more ardent love for His early friends, the Just. ...

Though Jesus Christ, as Son of God, may take pleasure in seeing at His feet a sinner who has returned to the right path, yet, being Himself essential Sanctity, He must love the innocence that has never strayed with a stronger love. For as it is nearer to His own infinite holiness and more perfectly imitates it, He cannot help honoring it by closer familiarity. Whatever favor the tears of a penitent may find in His eyes, they can never equal the pure charm of a holiness ever-faithful to Him.

But when God becomes man to save us from our sins He, as our Savior, comes to seek the guilty: for them He lives, because to them He was sent. How does He Himself describe the object of His mission? "Non veni vocari iustos" ("I came not to seek the Just"), that is to say : "Though they may be the most noble and worthy of My friendship, My commission does not extend to them. As Savior, I am to seek the lost; as Physician, the sick; as Redeemer, those who are captive." Hence it is that He loves only the society of such as these because to them alone He was sent into the world.

The angels, who never fell, may approach Him as Son of God: that is the prerogative of innocence; but, in His quality of Savior, He gives the preference to sinners.

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Premier Sermon pour la Fête de la Nativité de la Sainte Vierge
1659/1660 - Hôpital Géneral de Paris

Orthodox Church of Cyprus to take legal action against Turkey

Ruined Greek Orthodox churches in the Turkish section of Cyprus

Church of Cyprus to take legal action against Turkey
2008-04-10 12:15:28

Nicosia, Apr 8 - The Church of Cyprus has decided to take legal action against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) for the destruction of Cyprus’ religious heritage in the Turkish occupied areas of the island.

Archbishop of the Church of Cyprus Chrysostomos II has said that the decision “is final” and added that the legal advisors of the Cypriot Church are ready to proceed with the case.“

We have already assigned the case to our lawyers and we are in the process of registering all properties of the Church of Cyprus all over the island with the Land Registry”, he said.

Since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus about 550 churches have been desecrated and 15,000-20,000 icons are missing, believed to be stolen or sold on the black market.

Some Orthodox Churches situated in the Turkish occupied areas of Cyprus have been converted to mosques, military camps, barns, mortuaries or silos.

40 years ago... A very influential real estate deal

Exactly 40 years ago, on April 11, 1968, a Swiss entrepreneur, Alphonse Pedroni, was visiting the hamlet of Ecône, in the Valais. In a local café, he overheard a loud customer boasting of his future job: demolishing the chapel at the large Ecône estate which belonged to one of the great religious houses in Europe, the Great Saint Bernard - whose main house is located in the nearby border with Italy.

Pedroni soon learned that the estate was up for sale - in fact, the contract which would transfer ownership to a non-religious entity was almost signed. Shocked with the possibility that the great buildings of the estate could soon lose their religious significance, Pedroni contacted his brother, Marcel, and three acquaintances: Gratien Rausis, Guy Genoud, and Roger Lovey, Attorney-General (Procureur-général) of the Bas-Valais region - and cousin of the provost of the Great Saint Bernard.

By April 19, the group of friends had convinced the Chapter of the Great Saint Bernard to sell them the Ecône estate, at the price of 410,000 Swiss Francs, with a 150,000 down payment. The ownership would be transferred on May 31, 1968 - the day after half a million violent protesters crossed Paris in one of the most disturbing days of that troublesome year.

Soon came the time to choose the religious group which should guard the religious nature of the estate. In the following year, after nearly granting the use of the property to a group of women religious, the Pedroni brothers, Rausis, Lovey, and Genoud had a meeting with the former Archbishop of Dakar, a Frenchman called Marcel Lefebvre, who had resigned from his position as Superior-General of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in October 1968. They would soon choose to grant him the use of their property, with the agreement of Bishop Nestor Adam, of the local Diocese of Sion...

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More information in the April/May 2008 issue of Le Rocher.
Tip: Le Forum Catholique

Bossuet Week: The greatest sacrifice of the Mother of God

The Blessed Virgin had three most perfect possessions. She had her high dignity; her wondrous purity of body and soul; and her motherhood of Jesus Christ: she had for her own Son Him in Whom St. Paul says "it hath well pleased the Father that all fullness should dwell". In her, then, we have a creature greatly distinguished beyond her kind; but we find that her deep humility strips her in a sense of all these wonderful privileges.

Though raised far above others by her dignity as Mother of God, she lives a life of obscure service as one of the common herd; though separated from all by her immaculate purity, she mixes in the society of sinners, and purifies herself as they do. But she does more than this: from Calvary, she even loses her well-beloved Son. And she does not merely lose Him by seeing Him die a cruel death, but by His ceasing, in a certain sense, to be her Son at all and by His substituting another for Himself: "Woman," He says to her, "behold thy son!"

Be sure that Our Saviour did not speak in this way to His Mother without reason. He would not appear not to know her would not call her Woman instead of Mother if there were no deep mystery hidden beneath His action; and the reason of it may be found in the state of abject humiliation in which Our Lord then was, and which He willed that His holy Mother should share with Him by the closest possible imitation. We must remember, here, that Jesus had a God for His Father, and Mary a God for her Son. At the moment we are speaking of, the Saviour had lost His Father, as a father, and called upon Him only as His God. Mary, then, must lose her Son, to correspond with this supreme sacrifice; and hence He addresses her now as "woman," and not as "mother ". Further, which is the deepest humiliation of all, He gives her another son; as though henceforth He would cease to be hers, and meant to break the bond of their sacred union.

Saint Paulinus gives as Christ's reason for this act that whereas, so long as He lived His mortal life on earth, He had paid every possible honor and service that a Son could pay to His Mother, and had been her constant consolation and support, now that He was on the eve of entering into His glory He assumed an attitude more suited to the dignity of God; and, therefore, gave up the natural duties of filial love to another. Thus was Mary left with Saint John for her son in the place of Jesus, Who had Himself instituted the exchange. She humbly accepted the humiliating decree, and took the disciple instead of the Master, the son of Zebedee instead of the Son of God (as Saint Bernard says) to her maternal heart; and so she lived for many years on earth, only thinking in her humility that she deserved not to be the Mother of God.

But if Mary was thus perfectly stripped of everything, that her humiliation in this world might bear a close likeness to her Divine Son's, she was to have all back in full, and more than full, measure; her humility was not only to "have nothing," but to "possess all things". Because she made herself the servant of others she is to be raised to a throne; because she purified herself being all pure as though a sinner, she is to be the advocate of sinners, and their refuge next after Christ - Refugium peccatorum -, and, because she gave up her Son and patiently and humbly bore His apparent desertion of her, that beloved Son will now enter once more into His filial rights which He had ceded to John but for a time and will present her before the whole heavenly court as His Mother.

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Premier Sermon pour la Fête de l'Assomption de la Sainte Vierge

Text of the video-message of Pope Benedict XVI to the Catholic Faithful of the United States:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in the United States of America,

The grace and peace of God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you! In just a few days from now, I shall begin my apostolic visit to your beloved country. Before setting off, I would like to offer you a heartfelt greeting and an invitation to prayer. As you know, I shall only be able to visit two cities: Washington and New York. The intention behind my visit, though, is to reach out spiritually to all Catholics in the United States. At the same time, I earnestly hope that my presence among you will be seen as a fraternal gesture towards every ecclesial community, and a sign of friendship for members of other religious traditions and all men and women of good will. The risen Lord entrusted the Apostles and the Church with his Gospel of love and peace, and his intention in doing so was that the message should be passed on to all peoples.

At this point I should like to add some words of thanks, because I am conscious that many people have been working hard for a long time, both in Church circles and in the public services, to prepare for my journey. I am especially grateful to all who have been praying for the success of the visit, since prayer is the most important element of all. Dear friends, I say this because I am convinced that without the power of prayer, without that intimate union with the Lord, our human endeavours would achieve very little. Indeed this is what our faith teaches us. It is God who saves us, he saves the world, and all of history. He is the Shepherd of his people. I am coming, sent by Jesus Christ, to bring you his word of life.

Together with your Bishops, I have chosen as the theme of my journey three simple but essential words: "Christ our hope". Following in the footsteps of my venerable predecessors, Paul VI and John Paul II, I shall come to United States of America as Pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition. Yes, Christ is the face of God present among us. Through him, our lives reach fullness, and together, both as individuals and peoples, we can become a family united by fraternal love, according to the eternal plan of God the Father. I know how deeply rooted this Gospel message is in your country. I am coming to share it with you, in a series of celebrations and gatherings. I shall also bring the message of Christian hope to the great Assembly of the United Nations, to the representatives of all the peoples of the world. Indeed, the world has greater need of hope than ever: hope for peace, for justice, and for freedom, but this hope can never be fulfilled without obedience to the law of God, which Christ brought to fulfilment in the commandment to love one another. Do to others as you would have them do to you, and avoid doing what you would not want them to do. This "golden rule" is given in the Bible, but it is valid for all people, including non-believers. It is the law written on the human heart; on this we can all agree, so that when we come to address other matters we can do so in a positive and constructive manner for the entire human community.
Dirijo un cordial saludo a los católicos de lengua española y les manifiesto mi cercanía espiritual, en particular a los jóvenes, a los enfermos, a los ancianos y a los que pasan por dificultades o se sienten más necesitados. Les expreso mi vivo deseo de poder estar pronto con Ustedes en esa querida Nación. Mientras tanto, les aliento a orar intensamente por los frutos pastorales de mi inminente Viaje Apostólico y a mantener en alto la llama de la esperanza en Cristo Resucitado.

Dear brothers and sisters, dear friends in the United States, I am very much looking forward to being with you. I want you to know that, even if my itinerary is short, with just a few engagements, my heart is close to all of you, especially to the sick, the weak, and the lonely. I thank you once again for your prayerful support of my mission. I reach out to every one of you with affection, and I invoke upon you the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Que la Virgen María les acompañe y proteja. Que Dios les bendiga.

May God bless you all.

Bossuet Week:Christ, the High Priest, offers Himself for us in peace

On the week of the anniversary of the death (April 12) of one of the greatest of all orators, Bossuet, excerpts of his sermons.

Today, a meditation on the tranquility of Christ, the High Priest, as He offers His Sacrifice of His own Self:

On the eve of His death,... Our Lord sweats, trembles and shudders at the terrible vision of His torture that rises before Him; but when His heavy troubles have actually come upon Him, He seems to be another man, to whom torments are indifferent. He talks quietly to the happy thief; He looks upon and recognizes all those of His own people who are at the foot of the Cross, speaks to them, and comforts them; and, at last, seeing that He has accomplished all He had to do, and carried out the Will of His Father in every particular, He gives up His Soul to Him in such a peaceful, free and deliberate manner that there can be no doubt of its being His own act. It is just as He had said: "No man taketh it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself!"

... [T]he reason probably is that the scheme of our redemption was necessarily a work of strength and weakness combined. Christ wished to show by His fears that, like us, He felt trouble keenly; while by His firmness He had to prove that He could perfectly master His feelings and make them yield to His Fathers Will. Such is the reason of our Redeemer's attitude at this supreme moment, given by Saint John Chrysostom; and doubtless it is a solid one. Yet other reasons too may be found; and I venture to suggest one (...).

I think we may believe that one most probable cause of Our Lord's peace on Calvary, when the Mount of Olives had witnessed His agony, was the fact that the Cross on Mount Calvary found Him in the very act of His Sacrifice, and there is no action in the world that should be performed in so calm a spirit as this one. Those who let their thoughts wander here and there without restraint, according as curiosity or inclination suggest, while present at the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, cannot have the least idea of what Sacrifice means.

Sacrifice is an act by which we offer our homage to God; and who does not know that any act of respect demands a quiet and collected demeanor? It is the very nature of respect to require this, God sees into the depth of all hearts, and holds us to be wanting in due respect for His majesty when our souls are uncontrolled and distracted in His presence. How important, then, that the High Priest who actually offers the sacrifice should do so with a perfectly calm mind! The oil with which Aaron is anointed, that symbol of peace poured so abundantly over his head, is in fact intended to warn him of the peace that he should attain to in his own mind and heart
by banishing every distracting thought and feeling.

Hence it was, we cannot doubt, that Our Divine Pontiff Jesus Christ showed Himself so perfectly calm in His death-agony. If He had appeared troubled on Mount Olivet, it was, says St. Augustine, a voluntary anguish that He suffered, for only by his own will could it affect Him, and for this reason: He was then, in His own eyes, simply the victim, and He willed to behave as a victim. Therefore He adopted, if we may be allowed to say so, the very actions and posture of a victim which was being dragged, terrified and shuddering, to the altar.

But on the Cross it is quite otherwise. He it now at the altar, as Priest; and from the moment that His innocent hands have been raised to present Himself as our victim to the Wrath of Heaven, He is exercising His priestly function, and He will allow no more fear to be seen lest it should imply any repugnance for the sacrifice. His Divine Will, to which all His emotions are subject, prevents the peace of His Soul from being troubled and represses all outward sign of anguish; and thus we are made to understand that our most merciful High Priest offers Himself for us quite freely and from pure love of our salvation. According to St. Augustine, again, " He dies as gently as we might go to sleep".

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Sermon sur la Compassion de la Sainte Vierge

Thou shalt not bear false witness

From The Jewish Chronicle:

The Pope’s British envoy is to visit West London Reform Synagogue on Shabbat amid what its rabbi calls the “most acute crisis” in Jewish-Catholic relations in the past 20 years.

Rabbi Mark Winer will publicly bring up the controversy sparked by the Pope’s endorsement of a Good Friday prayer which openly calls for the conversion of the Jews.
...
In the draft of an address to be delivered tomorrow [yesterday, April 5], Rabbi Winer says that “expressions of Jewish anger” over the prayer “have reached a level I do not recall in my lifetime of dialogue, as a rabbi, with the Catholic Church. Rabbinical bodies in some countries have forbidden their rabbis from participating in dialogue with representatives of the Holy See. Antisemitic riots and incidents have occurred in more than a few places.”

Really? "Antisemitic riots and incidents"? Where? When? There have been many Antisemitic (and Anti-Christian) "riots" in the past few months - but all related to another Monotheistic faith...

Isn't Rabbi Winer ashamed of lying so openly? Rabbi Winer: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob can see you!

The continuing eradication of Christianity in Iraq

Sad news from an AFP report today:

Orthodox priest murdered in downtown Baghdad

BAGHDAD, April 5, 2008 (AFP) - An Orthodox Christian priest was killed by unknown assassins on Saturday in the heart of Baghdad according to Iraqi security sources.

Several unidentified armed men traveling in a car opened fire on the priest as he left his home in the central district of Karrada, said the sources who requested anonymity.

The priest died instantly. The incident took place around 12:00 local time (9:00 GMT) and the assailants escaped according to the same source.

The body of the victim was evacuated to the Ibn Nafis hospital, one of the main hospitals in the capital.

Adel Yousef was a priest of the Syriac Orthodox Church. He served in the parish of St. Peter in the district of Karrada.

The Christians of Iraq are regularly targets of violence, kidnappings, killings and church bombings committed by insurgents, Sunnis as well as Shiites. They are accused of supporting the "invading crusaders."

The Chaldeans, Eastern Rite Catholics, are one of the oldest Christian churches make up the main Christian community in the country.

The Chaldean archbishop of Mosul, Bishop Rahou Faraj, was abducted in late February by unknown assailants and his body was found in mid-March.

Two priests in the diocese of Mosul had been abducted and held for nine days in October 2007, and June 2007 a priest and three deacons were shot in front of a church in the same city, capital of the province of Nineveh, which has become a stronghold of Al Qaeda in Iraq.

The fate of two other members of the Chaldean Church who were abducted in Baghdad in August and November 2006, remains unknown.

In January, car bombings had targeted both the Chaldean cathedral and another Orthodox church in Kirkuk (northern Iraq) which resulted in no injuries but caused considerable damage to the property. In Mosul bomb attacks against Christian churches and buildings have yielded four wounded.

Prior to the invasion of March 2003, the Christian community in Iraq had approximately 800,000 members - about 3% of the population which has a large Muslim majority.

Since that time many members of this community have fled the country or migrated to Iraqi Kurdistan (north).

(Translated by Mornac)