maandag 28 september 2009
Pope warns against attempts to marginalize Christianity from public life
Prague, Czech Republic, Sep 27, 2009 (CNA).-
During a meeting held this Sunday afternoon at the Archdiocese of Prague, Pope Benedict XVI warned members of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in the Czech Republic that in a country where about half the population claim to be “non-believers,” there is a risk that Christianity will be marginalized from public life.
“Europe continues to undergo many changes. It is hard to believe that only two decades have passed since the collapse of former regimes gave way to a difficult but productive transition towards more participatory political structures,” said the Pope at the beginning of his address.
“During this period,” he continued, “Christians joined together with others of good will in helping to rebuild a just political order, and they continue to engage in dialogue today in order to pave new ways towards mutual understanding, cooperation for peace and the advancement of the common good.”
“Attempts to marginalize the influence of Christianity upon public life, sometimes under the pretext that its teachings are detrimental to the well-being of society, are emerging in new forms,” the Holy Father warned, saying that this phenomenon “gives us pause to reflect.”
“We may ask ourselves: what does the Gospel have to say to the Czech Republic and indeed all of Europe today in a period marked by proliferating world views?”“Christianity,” Pope Benedict explained, “has much to offer on the practical and ethical level, for the Gospel never ceases to inspire men and women to place themselves at the service of their brothers and sisters. Few would dispute this. Yet those who fix their gaze upon Jesus of Nazareth with eyes of faith know that God offers a deeper reality which is nonetheless inseparable from the ‘economy’ of charity at work in this world: He offers salvation.”
The Holy Father said that Christians must take confidence “in knowing that the Church’s proclamation of salvation in Christ Jesus is ever ancient and ever new, steeped in the wisdom of the past and brimming with hope for the future.”
“As Europe listens to the story of Christianity, she hears her own. Her notions of justice, freedom and social responsibility, together with the cultural and legal institutions established to preserve these ideas and hand them on to future generations, are shaped by her Christian inheritance. Indeed, her memory of the past animates her aspirations for the future,” he added.
Pope Benedict then said that Christians today must open themselves to present realities and affirm “all that is good in society.” They “must have the courage to invite men and women to the radical conversion that ensues upon an encounter with Christ and ushers in a new life of grace.”
“Dear friends, let us ask the Lord to implant within us a spirit of courage to share the timeless saving truths which have shaped, and will continue to shape, the social and cultural progress of this continent,” he concluded.
Priests from 75 countries on international retreat at Cure of Ars shrine
Ars, France, (CNA).-
More than 1,200 priests from 75 countries are participating in an international retreat September 27 to October 6 in the hometown of St. Jean Marie Vianney at the Shrine of Ars as part of the Year for Priests.
The theme for the retreat is, “The joy of being a priest: Consecrated for the salvation of the world.” According to Bishop Guy Bagnard of Belley-Ars, the theme expresses “the positive nature of the meeting and the happiness that priests experience” in their vocation.
The shrine’s rector, Fr. Jean Philippe Nault, said, “The Cure of Ars is truly a great brother. Because of his testimony and his life, this saint resonates powerfully in the hearts of priests.”
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna will give his reflections during the retreat, and the daily Masses will be celebrated at the Church of Our Lady of Mercy by the prefect for the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Claudio Hummes, Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois of Paris, Cardinal Sean Patrick O’Malley of Boston and Cardinal Philippe Barbarin of Lyon.
L’Osservatore Romano noted that the homilies and talks will be translated into eight languages.
Holy See Gives Keys for Authentic Development
GENEVA, Switzerland, (Zenit.org).- The centrality of the human person, an appropriate environment, justice and equality are the fundamental elements for promoting authentic integral development, according to the Holy See.
Archbishop Silvano Tomasi, the Holy See’s permanent observer at the U.N. offices in Geneva, affirmed this in his Sept. 22 address to the 12th session of the Human Rights Council.
The prelate first noted that the present financial crisis “shows national economies' level of global interdependence" and the danger of “compromising the efforts of the international community to reach the millennium development goals and many countries' other development objectives."
In this context Archbishop Tomasi stressed the importance of creating a list of criteria for the right to development and of operative secondary criteria that are based on three components: “development centered on the human person, an environment that is hospitable to him [and] justice and equality in the social sphere.”
The objective, in fact, is “an integral development centered on the human being that implies the indivisibility and the interdependence of all human rights, as well as the relevance not only of the results of development, but also of the process of realizing development and its sustainability,” without forgetting “the ethical and spiritual dimensions of the person," he said.
According to the archbishop, a general agreement on these criteria could represent “a fundamental step” in the direction of “a systematic consideration of the human person, of his rights and his dignity in the elaboration of a politics of development at every level.”
In the process of development, the representative of the Holy See continued, the human person is not only the recipient of help, but also “the true protagonist.”
States, for their part, have the duty to create, “individually and collectively,” an environment adapted to the realization of development, Archbishop Tomasi affirmed. Because of this, states “are called to remove the obstacles to development that are caused by violations of human rights” just as the international community must “support the process of development, above all in poor countries.”
Subsidiarity and solidarity
In this perspective, Archbishop Tomasi explained, a relevant role is assumed by the principle of subsidiarity, which should be considered as the compliment to solidarity.
If in fact solidarity refers to the “mobilization of financial and human resources for development,” he said, subsidiarity “helps to identify the most appropriate level for decision making and intervention.”
“The principle of subsidiarity can therefore be considered a transversal criterion for the creation of an environment that promotes the right to development,” the prelate said, emphasizing how this concept “permits the participation of beneficiaries of aid in the process of development through the responsible use of their freedom and their talents.”
Archbishop Tomasi then noted how the Holy See’s delegation supports the adoption of criteria of social justice and equality “which implicate moral imperatives that move [us] to action in defense of human rights and for the equal distribution of the benefits of development."
In respect to these rights he mentioned access to food, shelter, education, medical assistance and employment.
With this purpose he called for the promotion of action to “identify operative criteria for the right to development and to engage in dialogue regarding the reduction of poverty, debt remission [and] the transfer of technologies.”
“We believe," the archbishop concluded, "that this work is laying a foundation that will allow states and the international community to work to concretely reduce economic and social disparities that are too often caused by violations of human dignity and human rights."
Humanity Will Always Seek Truth, Affirms Pope
And Truth Is What Makes Universities Accountable
PRAGUE, Czech Republic, (Zenit.org).- The yearning for freedom and truth cannot be stamped out of the human spirit, according to Benedict XVI.
The Pope reflected on man's longing for truth when he addressed today in Prague representatives from the world of academia and culture.
"I address you as one who has been a professor, solicitous of the right to academic freedom and the responsibility for the authentic use of reason, and is now the Pope who, in his role as Shepherd, is recognized as a voice for the ethical reasoning of humanity," he said.
The Holy Father considered during his discourse the dynamic of reason and faith.
He said: "While some argue that the questions raised by religion, faith and ethics have no place within the purview of collective reason, that view is by no means axiomatic.
"The freedom that underlies the exercise of reason -- be it in a university or in the Church -- has a purpose: It is directed to the pursuit of truth. [...]
"Indeed, man’s thirst for knowledge prompts every generation to broaden the concept of reason and to drink at the wellsprings of faith."
The Pontiff noted how classical wisdom, "assimilated and placed at the service of the Gospel" was brought to central Europe by the first Christian missionaries. And, he continued, this same spirit led Pope Clement VI to establish there a university in 1347, which continues to "make an important contribution to wider European academic, religious and cultural circles."
Authority
It is the authority of truth, Benedict XVI continued, to which universities must be accountable. And this is what gives meaning to their autonomy.
"Nevertheless," he continued, "that autonomy can be thwarted in a variety of ways."
The Holy Father recalled how the "great formative tradition" was "systematically subverted by the reductive ideology of materialism, the repression of religion and the suppression of the human spirit."
"In 1989, however, the world witnessed in dramatic ways the overthrow of a failed totalitarian ideology and the triumph of the human spirit," he said. "The yearning for freedom and truth is inalienably part of our common humanity."
The Pontiff asserted that this yearning can "never be eliminated," and, he said, if this longing is denied, it is "at humanity's own peril."
Thus, Benedict XVI explained, both faith and reason seek to respond to the human yearning for freedom and truth, "both on the level of disciplined reflection and on the level of a sound praxis."
Pontiff: Gospel Is Not an Ideology
Says Christians Are Obliged to Remind Europe of Roots
PRAGUE, (Zenit.org).- The Gospel is not an ideology, but rather, illuminates the dignity of the human person generation after generation, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope affirmed this today in an ecumenical meeting held in the context of his three-day apostolic journey to the Czech Republic. He returns to Rome on Monday.
The Holy Father told the representatives of Christian religions that "as Europe listens to the story of Christianity, she hears her own."
"Her notions of justice, freedom and social responsibility, together with the cultural and legal institutions established to preserve these ideas and hand them on to future generations, are shaped by her Christian inheritance," he said. "Indeed, her memory of the past animates her aspirations for the future."
Spreading the faith
The Pontiff went on to reflect on the testimony of the saints, saying they show how commitment to spreading the Gospel is founded on the "conviction that Christians should not cower in fear of the world but rather confidently share the treasury of truths entrusted to them."
And Christians today, 20 years after the fall of communism, "must have the courage to invite men and women to the radical conversion that ensues upon an encounter with Christ and ushers in a new life of grace," he continued.
Benedict XVI said that in this perspective "we understand more clearly why Christians are obliged to join others in reminding Europe of her roots."
"It is not because these roots have long since withered," the Pope affirmed. "On the contrary! It is because they continue -- in subtle but nonetheless fruitful ways -- to supply the continent with the spiritual and moral sustenance that allows her to enter into meaningful dialogue with people from other cultures and religions.
"Precisely because the Gospel is not an ideology, it does not presume to lock evolving socio-political realities into rigid schemas. Rather, it transcends the vicissitudes of this world and casts new light on the dignity of the human person in every age."
The Holy Father concluded by asking his listeners at the ecumenical gathering to pray that God would "implant within us a spirit of courage to share the timeless saving truths which have shaped, and will continue to shape, the social and cultural progress of this continent."
Pope: Don't Pass the Buck on Climate Issue
Addresses UN Summit With Video Message
(Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says neither the poor nor future generations should pay the price for current waste of shared resources, and he urged governments to take responsibility for the environment.
The Pope gave this exhortation in a video message taken from a general audience by which he addressed the U.N. summit on climate change this week.
The Tuesday meeting was a lead-up to this December's event in Copenhagen.
"The Earth is indeed a precious gift of the Creator who, in designing its intrinsic order, has given us guidelines that assist us as stewards of his creation," the Holy Father affirmed.
He said that the Church considers protecting the environment to be an issue "intimately linked" with integral human development.
The Pontiff added that "the natural environment is given by God to everyone, and so our use of it entails a personal responsibility towards humanity as a whole, particularly towards the poor and towards future generations."
Right signals
Benedict XVI affirmed that it is important for the international community and governments to "send the right signals" and counter harmful ways of treating the environment.
"The economic and social costs of using up shared resources must be recognized with transparency and borne by those who incur them, and not by other peoples or future generations," he said.
The Bishop of Rome also affirmed that it "is essential that the current model of global development be transformed through a greater, and shared, acceptance of responsibility for creation: This is demanded not only by environmental factors, but also by the scandal of hunger and human misery."
Ready to change
According to a summary from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the day-long summit brought assurance that the Copenhagen meeting should ensure five points: "Enhanced action to assist the most vulnerable and the poorest to adapt to the impacts of climate change; ambitious emission reduction targets for industrialized countries;
"nationally-appropriate mitigation actions by developing countries with the necessary support; significantly scaled-up financial and technological resources; and an equitable governance structure.
