Benedict XVI: The Church is One and Holy

Church is ‘rich and vital organism’ in its unity, remarks Pope at Angelus

Vatican City, Jan 24, 2010 / (CNA).-

Citing the reading in Sunday's liturgy from First Corinthians, Pope Benedict XVI used St. Paul's comparison of the Church to the body in his words before the Angelus. He then expressed his hope for continued progress among believers on the occasion of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

In describing the Church in its unity as a body under the "head" of Christ, Pope Benedict explained that the Apostle Paul aimed to "communicate the idea of unity in the multiplicity of the charisms, which are the gifts of the Holy Spirit."

"Thanks to these the Church presents itself as a rich and vital organism, not uniform, fruit of the only Spirit that guides all to a profound unity, assuming diversity without abolishing it and realizing a harmonious whole."

The Pope mentioned that he wished to emphasize the role of the Church in maintaining the "presence of the risen Lord" during the current Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. He said, "It's really in Christ and the Spirit that the Church is one and holy, it is an intimate communion that transcends human capacity and sustains it."

"We will invoke from God the gift of the full unity of all disciples of Christ and, in particular, according to the theme of this year, we will renew the commitment to being joint witnesses to the crucified and risen Lord.

Benedict XVI reiterated the sentiment that he has expressed so often, that "The communion of Christians... makes the announcement of the Gospel more credible and effective, as affirms Jesus himself praying to the Father on the eve of his death, 'that they may all be one... that the world may believe’."

The Holy Father finished the address with a prayer for the intercession of Mary to achieve continued progress in the communion of Christians in order to "transmit the beauty of being one in the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will conclude Monday, January 25, coinciding with the feast of the conversion of St. Paul. The Pope and members of the various other Churches ecclesial communities in Rome will join together for Vespers in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-walls.

Benedict XVI remembers life of St. Francis de Sales

Vatican City, Jan 24, 2010 / (CNA).-

Speaking before today’s Angelus, Pope Benedict recalled the life of St. Francis de Sales. "He dedicated himself with great yield to preaching and spiritual formation of the faithful, teaching that the call to sainthood is for all people and everyone has a place in the Church.”

Due to St. Francis de Sales' evangelization, it is estimated that 72,000 people were converted to the Catholic faith in his native France. He was known for his gentleness and humility, penchant for preaching and great dedication to the Church.

On Saturday, in light of the celebration of the saint's feast day, the Pope released his Message for the World Day for Social Communications in which he emphasized the need for today's clergy to make use of modern technology and especially to be a presence for truth and wisdom online. The Pontiff remarked that it "will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a 'soul' to the fabric of communications that makes up the 'Web.' "

On Sunday, the Church celebrates the feast day of this priest who is the patron of journalists and Catholic press.

Benedict XVI: New Technologies Are a Resource for the Faith

Holy Father encourages online priestly ministry

Vatican City, Jan 23, 2010 / (CNA).-

In his message for the 44th World Day for Social Communications, Pope Benedict calls for priests to "make astute use" of available technology in becoming a presence as community leaders on the web. However, he urges them to remain "less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart."

The 2010 World Day for Social Communications will take place on May 16 under the theme "The Priest and Pastoral Ministry in a Digital World: New Media at the Service of the Word." The Holy Father’s message was released today.

The aim of this year's message is to draw attention to the possibilities for priestly ministry offered within the "important and sensitive pastoral area of digital communications."

For every priest, states the Holy Father in the message, fulfilling the fundamental priority of building up God's communion "necessarily involves using new communications technologies."

"Priests stand at the threshold of a new era: as new technologies create deeper forms of relationship across greater distances, they are called to respond pastorally by putting the media ever more effectively at the service of the Word."

Pope Benedict emphasizes that "broad new vistas for dialogue, evangelization and catechesis" can be opened up in cyberspace with the presence of priests, living out their traditional role as community leaders in the world of digital communication.

With proper formation on how to use these technologies appropriately and competently, "shaped by sound theological insights and reflecting a strong priestly spirituality grounded in constant dialogue with the Lord" priests have the opportunity to "introduce people to the life of the Church and help our contemporaries to discover the face of Christ."

"Yet," cautions the Holy Father, "priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ."

With their wisdom and preparation, he continues, priests' presence online "will not only enliven their pastoral outreach, but also will give a 'soul' to the fabric of communications that makes up the 'Web’."

"A pastoral presence in the world of digital communications, precisely because it brings us into contact with the followers of other religions, non-believers and people of every culture, requires sensitivity to those who do not believe, the disheartened and those who have a deep, unarticulated desire for enduring truth and the absolute."

The Pope reiterates the essential quality of the priest's spiritual life and solid grounding in faith to his ministry through new technologies at the end of the message, saying that he "must always bear in mind that the ultimate fruitfulness of their ministry comes from Christ himself, encountered and listened to in prayer; proclaimed in preaching and lived witness; and known, loved and celebrated in the sacraments, especially the Holy Eucharist and Reconciliation."

The message ends with a renewed invitation to the clergy, "to make astute use of the unique possibilities offered by modern communications. May the Lord make all of you enthusiastic heralds of the Gospel in the new "agorà" (gathering place) which the current media are opening up."