John Paul II's beatification approved for May 1, Divine Mercy Sunday

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2011 (CNA/EWTN News).- The much-anticipated beatification of Pope John Paul II will take place on May 1, the Sunday after Easter, the Vatican announced.

The healing of a French nun with Parkinson's disease is to go down in history as the miracle that made John Paul II a "blessed." The title is given to martyrs and other Christians to whom a miracle has been officially attributed, thus bringing them one step closer to sainthood.

Pope Benedict XVI approved the decree for the beatification of his predecessor during a Jan. 14 audience with the head of the Vatican department for saints' causes, Cardinal Angelo Amato.

John Paul II's cause arrived in the current's Pope's hands for approval after doctors studied the miraculous healing of Sister Marie Simon Pierre Normand and concluded it was "scientifically unexplainable." Following approval from theologians and Church officials, Pope Benedict promulgated the decree with his signature.

The atmosphere was electric at noon in the the Holy See's Press Office with journalists from all over the world expecting news of the beatification decree.

During the rather cheerful press briefing, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi explained some of the details of the process and revealed preliminary plans for the ceremony.

In what some have called "record time," the Pope's cause was seemingly expedited through the trials to prove his sainthood. Fr. Lombardi admitted that the cause for the Pope was "facilitated" because of his "great fame of sanctity."

At Pope Benedict's bidding, norms stipulating that saints' causes begin five years after the individual's death were waived. His cause, as those of others Popes and special cases, also leapfrogged others in what is usually a "first in, first examined" process.

This being the case, no corners were cut, the Vatican spokesman assured. He insisted that "each of the legislative steps of the inquiry have been fulfilled, they have been taken with care. They have not been facilitated, rather the cause has proceeded with great attention and fidelity."

Pope John Paul II’s cause is extraordinary in the history of the Church both for the speed with which it was advanced to beatification and because it will be his immediate successor to preside over the ceremony.

The Pope's cause was brought to beatification in just over five years, rivaling that of his good friend Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta for its speed.

His beatification will be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter's Square on May 1, the first Sunday after Easter.

As Fr. Lombardi explained, the choice is full of significance for the late-Pope, who died just a day before the celebration of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005. That year, it fell on April 3.

The date changes from year-to-year, but is always the first Sunday after Easter.

"For those who followed John Paul II's pontificate, it is a special Sunday," said Fr. Lombardi.

It is a "fundamental date in his life and his encounter with the Lord," the Vatican spokesman said. He explained that it is the day the Church celebrates the apparition of Jesus to the disciples in the upper room and the institution of Confession.

The day was particularly important to the late-pontiff because it was the day in 2000 that he celebrated the canonization of St. Faustina Kowalska and declared that the Sunday after Easter should henceforth be known as "Divine Mercy Sunday."

Sister Faustina, known for promoting the Divine Mercy chaplet, which is prayed using a rosary, said that all who go to Confession and receive the Eucharist at Mass the Sunday after Easter will be given full remission of their sins.

Divine Mercy is "absolutely fundamental" to the pontificate of John Paul II.

"It's precisely the vision, we could say, of the pontificate of John Paul II that has this theme of the Divine Mercy," Fr. Lombardi said.

The staff at St. Peter's Basilica is already preparing for what is sure to be a grand occasion, drawing pilgrims from all over the globe. Workers are already cleaning the mosaics in the Chapel of St. Sebastian, just next to Michelangelo's Pietà, where the soon-to-be "blessed's" body will lie.

John Paul II's body will be taken from the crypt below and set below the chapel's altar.

Because the process came about so quickly after his death, Fr. Lombardi said that the body will not be exhumed for examination.

A marble stone bearing his name "Beatus Iovannes Paulus" will adorn the coffin.

The body will not be exposed, as others are in the basilica, "at least not for now," said Fr. Lombardi.

Blessed Pope Innocent XI's tomb, currently found below the altar in the same chapel, will be moved nearer the high altar of St. Peter's to make room for the new tenant. His body will be put under the altar located below the famous mosaic rendering Raphael's The Transfiguration.

The transfer will take place some time before the May 1 beatification, said Fr. Lombardi. He said that other logistical details have yet to be decided for the celebration.

During his audience with Cardinal Amato, Pope Benedict also approved two miracles attributed to other figures, recognized the martyrdom of five religious sisters from Bosnia/Herzogovina, and certified that "heroic virtue" was found in the lives of five other candidates for sainthood.

One of the five who were seen to have exhibited extraordinary virtue in their lives is Fr. Nelson Baker of Buffalo, New York. He spent much of his 95 years of life in service to orphaned children.

In an interview with Vatican Radio, the prefect of the Vatican's office for the causes of saints said that all "are fascinating figures whose fame of saintliness is widespread in their countries of origin and who always constitute very current examples in their evangelical testimony."

During the briefing, Fr. Lombardi also noted their significance. "Sainthood in the Church is numerous," he said, "it's just that there some great protagonists."

Pope Benedict invites Catholics to bring light to the world

Rome, Italy, Dec 12, 2010 (CNA/EWTN News).- The "silent light of the truth, of the goodness of God" leads to true change in the world, said the Pope at Mass on Dec. 12.

Benedict XVI traveled outside Vatican walls for Mass at St. Maximilian Kolbe parish in an outer suburb of Rome.

In his homily the Pope recalled John the Baptist's expectation that the Son of God would bring about dramatic change in the world. The baptist sent disciples to ask Christ if he is the one who came to bring about radical change or if they should continue to wait for another.

Benedict XVI said Christ gives a response to John the Baptist's question by saying, "Look at what I have done. I have not made a bloody revolution, I have not changed the world with force, but I have lit many lights that make ... a great path of light in the millennia."

"So many" false prophets, ideologues and dictators have said that it was they themselves and not Christ who have brought change to the world, the Pope explained.

He admitted that they have succeeded in changing the world through empires, dictatorships and totalitarian rule. But, he added, "today we know that all that has remained of these great promises is great emptiness and great destruction.”

St. Kolbe, the parish's patron saint, showed this "light" in his life, said the Pope. He offered his life to guards in the place of a father of a family who was to be killed in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz.

In doing so, he "encouraged others to give themselves, to be close to the suffering, to the oppressed," said Pope Benedict XVI.

St. Kolbe was declared a martyr of charity when he was recognized as a saint in 1982 by Pope John Paul II.

Pope Benedict added that other Christians such as St. Damian of Molokai who worked with lepers and Mother Teresa of Calcutta who assisted the poor lived in a similar way.

In looking to these figures, it continues to be seen that it is not "violent revolutions or "great promises" that change the world, rather it is "the silent light of the truth, of the goodness of God" that does so,” he continued.

The Pope then invited everyone to bring light to the world, to pray to become a light for others. He asked that Christians live Advent daily in all aspects of life by being ever more open to God in order to "have light amidst so many shadows, so many daily fatigues."

The Pope closed by urging fidelity in marriage, communion in parishes between families of all backgrounds, and greater involvement of young people in the life of parishes.

Benedict XVI calls for patience in preparation for Christ's coming

Rome, Italy, Dec 12, 2010 (CNA).- Advent calls man to strengthen the virtue of patience as he relies on Scripture to "make firm" his heart for the coming of the Lord, said the Pope at Sunday's Angelus.

More than 2,000 children were part of the large crowd present to pray the Angelus with the Pope at noon on Dec. 12. They had come especially to have Benedict XVI bless the baby Jesus statues from their family nativity scenes.

The Pontiff greeted them in particular as they waved handkerchiefs up towards his window and many cheered from their strollers or atop the shoulders of parents.

The Pope focused his message before the prayer on patience, as spoken of in the day's reading from the Letter of St. James.

"Be patient, brothers and sisters, until the coming of the Lord," the reading began.

This virtue is more important than ever today in a world in which it is "less popular," where change and the capacity to adapt to change are exalted, said the Pope.

"Without taking anything from these aspects, which are also qualities of man," he taught, "Advent calls us to strengthen that interior persistence, that resistence of the soul that permits us to not despair ... but rather to wait for it, to prepare the coming with hard-working confidence."

St. James spoke of the patience of farmers who await the autumn and spring rains and called people to "make firm" their hearts for the coming of the Lord.

This comparison to farmers is a "very expressive" one, said the Pope, as the farmer is "the model of a mentality that unites faith and reason equally." He does his work using his knowledge of the laws of nature but also entrusts the fundamental elements of his work to God's providence.

"Patience and constancy are precisely the synthesis between human commitment to and reliance on God," said the Pope.

And, Scripture, he said, is unfailing in making man's heart firm because "while everything passes and changes, the Word of the Lord does not."

He called Scripture a "compass" and an "anchor" that can be used to regain orientation when one feels lost or uncertain.

Prophets have found joy and strength in the Word, announcing "the true hope, that which does not disappoint because it is founded on the faithfulness of God." Men often find themselves on "mistaken paths" when choosing to seek out their own paths to happiness, he said.

"Every Christian," concluded the Pope, "by virtue of Baptism, has received the prophetic dignity: may every person rediscover and feed it, with regular listening to the divine Word."

After the Angelus, Benedict XVI asked the children to say a prayer for him and his intentions as they place the baby Jesus in the manger or grotto this Christmas.

Pope Benedict advocates right sexuality, not condom use, in fight against HIV

Vatican City, Nov 20, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Excerpts of Pope Benedict XVI’s new book are already causing a stir. Though some media reports claim he offers a change in papal teaching about condom use, Pope Benedict in fact says that a humanized sexuality, not condoms, is the right response to HIV.

The Nov. 21 edition of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano (LOR) will release excerpts of the pontiff’s book "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times.”

The book contains the Pope's responses to questions from Peter Seewald, a German reporter who spoke with him over a week last summer about the most sensitive and important questions in Church life today.

The themes treated in the book are edgy and the reception of the Pope's words is likely to be varied, but his answers offer a unique look into his teachings and his perspective on the Church and the world.

In the excerpts offered in LOR, just two brief paragraphs provide the Pope's response to a question on sexuality in the world today. He says that concentrating on the use of the condom only serves to trivialize sexuality.

This trivialization leads many people to no longer see sex as an expression of love, but as a self-administered drug. The fight against the banalization of sexuality is part of a great effort to change this view to a more positive one.

According to one much-commented excerpt printed in L'Osservatore Romano, the Pope concedes that there can be single cases in which the use of a condom may be justified.

He uses the example of prostitutes who might use prophylactics as a first step toward moralization, that is, becoming moral. In such a case, condom use might be their first act of responsibility to redevelop their consciousness of the fact that not everything is permitted and that one cannot do everything one wants.

While secular outlets such as Time Magazine characterized this remark as “a stunning turnaround” for the Church, Pope Benedict goes on to explain that this is not the true and proper way to defeat HIV. Instead what is necessary is the humanization of sexuality.

Elsewhere in the excerpts from the forthcoming book, the pontiff speaks of the footprint of Judaism, Islam and Christianity in the modern world.

He also expresses his shock at the extent of the sexual abuse of minors in the Church and the evident wish of mass media to discredit the Church for these abuses rather than purely to investigate the truth.

He warns that true tolerance can fall victim to current misunderstandings of the concept. He also speaks of the destruction of families, young people and society due to drug consumption.

Another controversy Pope Benedict addresses is whether the ordination of women to the Catholic priesthood is possible.

In brief, Pope Benedict says that it is not a question of responding to the wishes of the people, but a question of whether the Church has the power to ordain women. Repeating the words of John Paul II from a 1994 document on the priesthood, he said the Church "has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women.”

He explains that following Christ's establishment of Church leadership on the foundation of the original 12 male apostles is a question of obedience. It is perhaps one of the most difficult aspects to obey, he explains, but this is what makes it important.

The Church is not an arbitrary regime, he comments, and the priesthood is supposed to be a form of service and not domination. Even though it might be difficult, the Church follows the Lord's will and cannot be molded to the wishes of individuals.

The function of women in the Church is too significant to speak of discrimination, says the Pope, who notes the importance of historic figures such as Mary, Monica and Mother Teresa.

Women are so important, he says, that in many ways they define the face of the Church more than men.

Elsewhere in the excerpts, Pope Benedict describes himself as a beggar who relies on his friendship with the Lord, Mary and the saints to live his vocation. His life without Christian joy would be unsupportable, he declares.

British, Welsh bishops announce plans to receive ex-Anglicans into the Church

Westminster, England, Nov 19, 2010 / (CNA).-

Five Anglican bishops who announced earlier this month that they are quitting the Church of England, will be the first to join a new “personal ordinariate” established by the bishops of England and Wales this coming January.

The bishops unveiled their plans for the new ordinariate, or jurisdiction, in a Nov. 19 statement.

They said that Pope Benedict XVI will formally establish the ordinariate and name a bishop to lead it in early January 2011.

Pope Benedict invited Anglicans to join the Church last year under special provisions that would enable them to retain their own forms of worship and their tradition of permitting married priests.

In their announcement, the English and Welsh bishops said the new procedures for accepting Anglican converts have been worked out over the past year in cooperation with the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Under the timetable they laid out, the three former Anglican bishops who are not retired will be ordained to serve as priests in the new ordinariate. The other two bishops, who are retired, will be ordained by Lent 2011.

“This will enable them, together with the ordinary and the other former Anglican Bishops, to assist with the preparation and reception of former Anglican clergy and their faithful into full communion with the Catholic Church during Holy Week,” the bishops said.

In addition, the statement envisions that Anglican clergy who have decided to convert will begin “a period of intense formation for ordination as Catholic priests.”

At the same time, individual Anglicans and congregations together with their pastors will be enrolled as candidates for the ordinariate.

It is likely, the bishops said, that they will be received into the Church and confirmed either during Holy Week, at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday or during the Easter Vigil.

“The period of formation for the faithful and their pastors will continue to Pentecost,” according to the statement. “Until then, these communities will be cared for sacramentally by local clergy as arranged by the diocesan bishop and the ordinary.”

Also around Pentecost, those former Anglican priests whose petitions for ordination have been accepted by the Vatican’s doctrine office will be ordained as Catholic priests.

Former Anglican Bishop John Broadhurst, one of the five who announced his resignation from the Church of England on Nov. 7, said he was “pleased” with the plans announced by the English and Welsh bishops.

The bishops said they were seeking to bring former Anglicans into “full ecclesial communion with the Catholic Church within the ordinariate.” They said they recognize “that the clergy and faithful who are on that journey of faith will bring their own spiritual treasures which will further enrich the spiritual life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales.”

While they acknowledged that there may be “practical difficulties in the months ahead,” the Catholic bishops pledged to “do all they can to ensure that there is effective and close collaboration with the ordinariate both at diocesan and parish levels.”

Pope tells new cardinals to be ready to sacrifice their lives

Vatican City, Nov 20, 2010 / (CNA/EWTN News).-

Pope Benedict welcomed the newest cardinals Nov. 20 with a call to service and sacrifice, even if it means spilling their blood.

Two Americans, Donald W. Wuerl and Raymond L. Burke, are among the 24 new cardinals the Pope "created" on Nov. 20. Others come from a variety of countries, from Ecuador to Zambia, while 10 are Italians.

The warm reception they received inside St. Peter's Basilica contrasted with the cool morning in Rome, which was drenched by the steady rain of a late fall thunderstorm.

As the soon-to-be members of the Cardinal's College processed to the high altar they were met with cheers, applause and even an airhorn which was quickly silenced by Vatican security.

Flags from many nations waved to greet them, including many from Sri Lanka and the Congo, to welcome their countrymen in the group.

The extremely festive initial atmosphere was punctuated by eruptions of applause at the Pope's announcement, one-by-one, of the names of each candidate.

The Congo's Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kinshasa and Germany's Reinhard Marx of Munich and Freising, the youngest in the group at 57 years old, received enormous ovations.

The basilica quickly took on a solemn and prayerful spirit, as the reading of the Scriptures began. The readings were laden with meaning for the guests of honor.

The first was an excerpt from the First Letter of Peter in which he called Christians to always be ready to bear witness to the reason for their hope so that "those who defame your good conduct in Christ may themselves be put to shame.

A passage from the Gospel of St. Mark recounted Jesus' teaching to his closest disciples that he who strives to be first will be last. Jesus told them, "whoever wishes to be great among you will be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you will be the slave of all.

"For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

The Pope picked up on the theme in his homily. He said.that Christ's teaching of service indicated a new path for Christian communites and a new way of exercising authority.

Christ thus taught that the fulfillment of the work entrusted to one by God "is the path of the humble gift of oneself up to the sacrifice of life, the path of the Passion, the path of the Cross," explained Pope Benedict XVI.

It is a valid message for the entire Church and especially for her leaders, he said.

"It is not the logic of dominion, of power according to human criteria, but the logic of bowing to wash feet, the logic of service, the logic of the Cross that is at the foundation of every exercise of authority."

He then directed his words to the 24 cardinals-to-be. "(T)he mission, to which God has called you today and that qualifies you for an ecclesial service even more laden with responsibility requires an always greater will to assume the style of the Son of God, who came among us as He who serves."

Each man took on this responsibility as he swore fidelity and obedience to the Pope and his successors.

The Pope also reminded each new cardinal that the dignity of the office is symbolized by the color red, "signifying that you are ready to act with fortitude, even to the point of spilling your blood for the increase of the Christian faith, for peace and harmony among the people of God, for freedom and the spread of the Holy Roman Catholic Church."

At these words, the Pope received them one-by-one, placing the "berretta," the traditional three-cornered red hat, upon each of their heads. The second in line, Patriarch Antonios Naguib of Alexandria, Egypt of the Copts, was the lone man who did not receive the traditional hat. He instead received a special modification of the long black headdress traditional to the leader of the Copts.

And, as each received his new title and an embrace from the Pope, the faithful once again filled the basilica with cheers of joy for the new "princes of the Church."

Converting Anglican bishop says papal action changed the landscape

Richborough, England, Nov 14, 2010 / (CNA).-

The Anglican Bishop of Richborough told his flock that he plans to become Catholic because Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution “completely changed the landscape” for Anglo-Catholics and he now believes that he must lead the way to union with the Universal Church.

Bishop Keith Newton of Richborough, England said in a pastoral letter to priests and people in the Richborough area that he will resign as bishop as of Dec. 31. He will not conduct any public episcopal services. This “difficult” decision followed much thought and prayer, he remarked.

“I will, in due course, be received into full communion with the Catholic Church and join the Ordinariate when one is erected in England, which I hope will happen early next year.”

Pope Benedict established the proposed Anglican Ordinariate, a special jurisdiction within the Catholic Church, in his apostolic constitution “Anglicanorum Coetibus.”

Bishop Newton explained that although the issue of the ordination of women as Anglican bishops has been an important factor in his decision, it is “not the most significant.”

Noting the “surprise” of the Pope’s action on Anglican-Catholic relations, he said that most Anglicans have prayed for union with the Catholic Church. However, this union has seemed less likely because of “the new difficulties concerning the ordination of women and other doctrinal and moral issues affecting the Anglican Communion.”

“Although we must still pray for sacramental and ecclesial unity between our Churches that now seems a much more distant hope,” Bishop Newton said. The ordinariates provide an opportunity for “visible unity” and Anglicans are able to retain “what is best in our own tradition which will enrich the Universal Church.”

“I hope you will understand that I am not taking this step in faith for negative reasons about problems in the Church of England but for positive reasons in response to our Lord’s prayer the night before he died the ‘they may all be one’,” the bishop continued.

While expressing sympathy with the position that Anglicans with traditional views need leadership at a “vital” time, he rejected the example of a leader who should “stay to the bitter end like the captain of a sinking ship.” Rather, he noted the scriptural image of the shepherd, who must lead his flock from the front rather than follow it from behind.

“This is what I hope I am doing. I am leading the way and I hope and pray that many of you will follow me in the months and the years ahead,” he explained.

Bishop Newton acknowledged those who want to remain in the Church of England, but he said he could not continue to be their bishop “with any integrity” and cannot provide the episcopal leadership they deserve.

“You need a new Bishop of Richborough who has the same vision as you have and one for whom a solution in the Church of England is a priority. My priority is union with the Universal Church,” he added.

He said he has enjoyed being Bishop of Richborough for more than eight years and is grateful for the support he has received from so many Anglican priests and laity. The bishop asked forgiveness from those he has disappointed and sought continued prayers for himself and his wife.

Bishop Newton is one of three active Anglican bishops who are joining the Catholic Church. These so-called “flying bishops” have been serving Anglicans in different areas who do not accept the ordination of women to the priesthood and other changes in the Anglican Church.

Two retired Anglican bishops are also entering full communion with Rome.