New papal decree clarifies role of deacons and result of defections on marriage

Denver, Colo., Dec 15, 2009 / (CNA).- This morning the Vatican published a Motu Proprio from Pope Benedict called “Omnium in Mentem” and dated October 26. According to J.D. Flynn, a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese of Denver, the new document clarifies the nature of a deacon's orders and the impact of defections from Catholicism on the validity of a marriage.

“Omnium in Mentum,” roughly translated as “Everything in Mind,” deals with two unrelated topics, a fact that caused Flynn to observe that it's probably easier to publish one Motu Propio than two.

Writing in an explanatory note for the Motu Proprio, Archbishop Francesco Coccopalmerio, president of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, commented on the modified canons (1008, 1009, 1086, 1117 and 1124). These variations, he said, "concern two separate questions: adapting the text of the canons that define the ministerial function of deacons … and suppressing a subordinate clause in three canons concerning marriage, which experience has shown to be inappropriate."

The first issue addressed by the Motu Propio is the role of the diaconate.

Part of the current canon “describes sacred orders as participating in the headship of Christ,” Flynn explained. “The Motu Proprio clarifies that priests and bishops participate in the headship of Christ 'in persona Christi,' whereas deacons serve the Church, the people of God, through the ministry, services, or 'diaconias' of liturgy, word, and charity.” Thus, Flynn said, the document emphasizes that there is a “clear distinction between the diaconate and the presbyterate.”

“The distinction is between the deacon who acts “in imago Dei” and the priest who acts 'in persona Christi,'” Flynn explained.

What this means in layman's terms is that “we see the diaconate as a unique ministry unto itself and not simply a step along the way to the priesthood,” he added.

The second item considered by the Motu Propio is an obscure clause regarding a dispensation in canon law.

The reason for this allowance under the 1983 Code of Canon Law was to attempt to support the institution of marriage, even for Catholics who had renounced the Faith, Flynn said. Catholics who defect from the faith, or formally renounce it, must do so by writing a letter to their bishop stating their defection.

The only consequence of a defection prior to “Omnium in Mentem” was that the defector would subsequently be able to “get married validly without observing canonical form,” noted Flynn. This would mean that a defecting Catholic could validly be married in a civil ceremony, for example, without a dispensation.

“This Motu Proprio eliminates the impact of defections on marriage and requires that defectors follow canonical form for marriage,” he stated.

Stressing that “this idea that you can defect from the church by formal act for the purposes of marital validity has always been a sort of anomaly to our theology,” Flynn explained that the document abolished the anomaly.

He also noted that, “in the United States, we get very, very few defections by formal act.”

“What this really is, is an affirmation of our theology. Theologically we understand that what makes us Catholic is our Baptism or our reception in to the Church. Whether we want to be Catholic is not germane to the question of whether we are Catholic. Whether we follow the teachings of the Church or not is not germane to the question of whether or not we are Catholic. The thing that the church says is that all Catholics are bound to the teachings of the Catholic Church.”

Thus, at the theological level, the document establishes “that the Church does not participate in a congregational ecclesiology,” said Flynn. “Our ecclesiology is sacramental.”

Pope Benedict XVI and Italian bishops condemn attack on Berlusconi

Vatican City, Dec 15, 2009 / (CNA).-

Pope Benedict XVI and the Bishops’ Conference of Italy have spoken out against the assault of the Prime Minister of Italy, Silvio Berlusconi, who was struck in the face Sunday following a rally in Milan. Italy's leader suffered two broken teeth, a minor nose fracture and cuts on his face following the attack.

According to the BBC, a man hit Belusconi in the face with a souvenir-sized replica of the city's cathedral.

In a telegram sent to Berlusconi signed by Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Holy Father expressed his “paternal closeness” and hopes for a “quick recovery.”

The Italian bishops said the attack was “an episode of singular and abominable gravity. As we express our sincere closeness to Minister Berlusconi, we hope for a more serene and respectful cultural climate for our country so that the good of everyone will be realized in society and in political life.”

The director of the Holy See’s Press Office, Father Federico Lombardi, said the attack was “a very grave and worrisome act that manifests the real risk of violence when words are translated into actions.

“All violence must be firmly condemned immediately by all political parties and all levels of society.”

The secret of joy is found in the Nativity, Pope says at Angelus

Vatican City, Dec 13, 2009 / CNA).-

Saying he shared the “secret joy” of his audience, Pope Benedict dedicated his Angelus address to the blessing of the "Bambinelli," the baby Jesus figurines to be used in family, school and parish Nativity scenes all over Rome.

The central message of the liturgy on the Third Sunday of Advent was the apostle Paul´s invitation to the Philippians: "Rejoice in the Lord always. I say again: rejoice the Lord is near!"

Pope Benedict XVI spoke on a cool, rain-sprinkled afternoon in Rome.

"The Mother Church," he explained before the Angelus, "while she accompanies us towards the holy feast of Christmas, helps us rediscover the meaning and the delight of Christian joy, so different from that of the world."

The Pope noted that so many families, teachers and catechists come to St. Peter's Square to have their baby Jesus figurines blessed. He remarked that he is filled with great joy at their presence and interest in keeping alive the tradition. He also said it is necessary to “try to live in the everyday reality of what Christ's Nativity represents, which is the love of Christ, his humility and his poverty.

The blessing of the Bambinelli, he added, “reminds us that the Nativity is a school of life, where we can learn the secret of true joy. This doesn't consist of having many things, but in feeling loved by the Lord, in making ourselves a gift to others and in loving ourselves."

Pope Benedict alluded to the Holy Family, who didn't seem to be “a very fortunate family” but were still "filled with intimate joy because they loved and helped each other and most have all they were sure that their story is the work of God, Who is made present in little Jesus."

The shepherds would have also been joyful in seeing the Lord despite their meager conditions, the Pontiff explained, because in the infant Jesus they would have recognized, with the help of their faith, "the sign of God's promise coming true for all men who love Him."

True joy, he said, consists in its feeling that our personal and communal existence is fulfilled by “a great mystery, the mystery of the love of God."

"To rejoice we need not only things, but also love and truth, we need a God that is near, that warms our heart and responds to our profound expectations. This God is manifested in Jesus, born of the Virgin Mary."

"Thus," concluded the Holy Father, "that 'Bambinello' that we put in the stable or the cave is the center of everything, the heart of the world."

After the Angelus, the Pope invited the faithful and pilgrims to pray with him for the four priests killed in Africa last week, so that the Lord “may take them into His House, console those that cry for their loss and bring, with His coming, reconciliation and peace."

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."