Without God we risk our own destruction, writes Benedict XVI

Rome, Italy, Dec 11, 2009 / (CNA).-

Pope Benedict officially congratulated the Italian bishops’ conference for hosting this week’s “Conference on God.” He outlined the importance of such initiatives for keeping God within “man’s horizons,” because without Him “humanity loses its orientation and risks committing steps towards its own destruction.”

The conference was kicked off with a letter that the Holy Father wrote to the president of the Italian bishops' conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco. In his message, the Pope praised the work of the episcopal conference and its cultural project committee in organizing this meeting of the minds “that confronts one of the great themes that has always fascinated and exposed the human spirit.”

“The question of God is central also for our age,” said the Pope, describing it as an era “in which we often tend to reduce man to just one dimension, the ‘horizontal,’ considering openness to the Transcendent irrelevant to his or her life.”

“The relationship with God … is essential for the path of humanity, the Church and each Christian has the duty to make God present in this world, to seek to open to men the access to God.”

In a way, wrote the Pope, the Conference on God seeks to “show the various routes that lead to the affirmation of the truth about the existence of God.” But that’s not the only thing this open debate serves for, continued the Holy Father, saying it also sheds light on the “essential importance that God has for us, for the hope that illuminates our path, for the salvation that waits for us after death.”

Pope Benedict also pointed out that mankind cannot forget history. “The experience of the past, also not far from us, teaches that when God disappears from the horizon of man, humanity loses its direction and risks making steps towards its own destruction.

“Faith in God opens man up to the horizon of a certain hope,” on which we can rely, so as to “abandon ourselves with trust into the hands of the Love that sustains the world.”

The conference is an initiative organized and promoted by the “Cultural Project Committee” headed by Cardinal Camillo Ruini. It has gathered believers and non-Christians from a wide variety of backgrounds to ensure that the “God debate” is present in an increasingly secular society.

At the opening of the conference on Thursday, Cardinal Bagnasco thanked the Pope for his words of support and added that the three-day gathering would be “moved by the typically human and profoundly Christian demand to seek the Truth.”

This, he continued, might sound “vane or illusory” to the non-Catholic, but the process of seeking Truth “demands an open investigation, in all areas, on the profound significance of living and functioning.”

And this search, said Cardinal Bagnasco, is one of the elements that most “distinguishes man from animal or machine.”

Pope meets with Irish bishops, plans measures to respond to abuse

Vatican City, Dec 11, 2009 / (CNA).-

Pope Benedict XVI and high-ranking members or the Roman Curia met with two members of the Irish bishops’ conference in the papal library on Friday to listen to their concerns and discuss the issue of sexual abuse in the Archdiocese of Dublin. The Pope was admittedly “deeply disturbed and distressed” by the contents of the Murphy Report released on Nov. 29 and expressed his commitment to investigating the matter further.

Cardinal Sean Brady of Armagh, Northern Ireland, and Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin met for 90 minutes with Vatican representatives, including Secretaries of State Tarcisio Cardinal Bertone, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, and Archbishop Dominique Mamberti. Also present were Cardinal Levada, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, Cardinal Re, Cardinal Ballestrero, Cardinals Wells and the Irish Nuncio.

In a press communiqué delivered to the press by Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Holy Father responded that he “wishes once more to express his profound regret at the actions of some members of the clergy who have betrayed their solemn promises to God, as well as the trust placed in them by the victims and their families, and by society at large.”

The meeting with the Pontiff comes two days after the Irish bishops’ conference issued a public apology for the abuse committed by some members of the Irish Catholic clergy over the last three decades. In part, their statement said, “This should never have happened and must never be allowed to happen again. We humbly ask for forgiveness.”

Benedict XVI also said that “he shares the outrage, betrayal and shame felt by so many of the faithful in Ireland, and he is united with them in prayer at this difficult time in the life of the Church.”

The Pontiff provided his assurance that the Church will continue in its efforts to discover “how these shameful events came to pass and how best to develop effective and secure strategies to prevent any recurrence.”

“The Holy See,” added the Pope, “takes very seriously the central issues raised by the Report including questions concerning the governance of local Church leaders with ultimate responsibility for the pastoral care of children.”

A pastoral letter to the Irish faithful will be forthcoming “in which he will clearly indicate the initiatives that are to be taken in response to the situation.”

In closing, Benedict XVI encouraged “all those who have dedicated their lives in generous service to children to persevere in their good works in imitation of Christ the Good Shepherd.”

Progress in relations between Holy See and Vietnam

Relations progress as Vietnamese president meets with Pope

Vatican City, Dec 11, 2009 / (CNA).-

Pope Benedict XVI met with the President of Vietnam, Nguyen Minh Triet, this morning at the Apostolic Palace in a much awaited encounter. Although it appears that the two countries have not yet decided to establish full diplomatic relations, the Vatican called it "a significant stage in the progress of bilateral relations with Vietnam."

President Triet and a group of at least 12 other delegates from his administration were in attendance for the morning audience. The occasion took place in what was described as a ‘friendly’ atmosphere and lasted for around 40 minutes, incidentally the same amount of time the Pope dedicated to the U.S. President on his visit earlier this year.

Members of the press who witnessed the audience described the atmosphere in particular as “striking” and “almost festive” and said the Pope talked to the delegation “right up to the door” on their way out.

The meeting of the two world leaders was especially meaningful because it showed another solid step towards renewing what were at one time mostly stable relations. Relations with the Holy See were ruptured in 1975 following the unification of North and South Vietnam, at which time there were acts of aggression against the Church, including the expulsion of the Pope's respresentative.

The warm reception on both sides could be considered another reason to celebrate for Vietnamese Catholics, who have just celebrated 350 years of evangelization in their country and the 50th anniversary of the episcopal conference.

There was hope from Catholics in the communist country that this visit had been arranged to announce even stronger formal diplomatic ties, thus producing greater religious freedom in the country and even possibly paving the way for a papal visit at some point in their jubilee year.

Nevertheless, prior to the visit, Catholics throughout Vietnam continued to face persecution for demanding the return of church properties that were seized during the 1975 Communist Revolution.

Monsignor Pierre Nguyen Van Nhon, Bishop of Dalat, and president of the Vietnamese bishops' conference explained to Fides news agency on Wednesday, "For us, this encounter is a sign of reciprocal respect, that will allow for a very useful exchange. The communication serves for a mutual understanding that will open up new promises and hopes for Vietnam and for the Catholic Church."