The Transfiguration shows that Jesus alone guides us, Pope Benedict teaches

Vatican City, Feb 28, 2010 / (CNA).-

Before the Angelus on the second Sunday of Lent, the Holy Father spoke about the Transfiguration. He explained that through the lessons in Sunday's readings we are taught that Jesus alone guides us.

Speaking from his apartment window high above St. Peter's Square, Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that while Luke does not refer to the occasion specifically as a "transfiguration," he describes the events and notes the changes in Jesus and the radiance of his garments. At the event, Moses and Elijah accompanied Jesus as symbols of the Law and the Prophets.

Peter, James and John fought off sleep during the event, which the pontiff said exhibited their lack of comprehension. But when they woke, Moses and Elijah parted from Jesus' side and were covered by a cloud while Peter spoke.

This cloud "reveals the glory of God," said the Holy Father, adding this had also happened to the Hebrew pilgrims in the desert.

"The eyes can no longer see, but the ears can hear the voice that comes from the cloud: 'This is my beloved son. Listen to him!'"

At this point in the Gospel, noted the Holy Father, everything returned to normal and the three apostles found themselves before Jesus alone.

"Jesus is alone before his Father, while he prays, but, at the same time, 'Jesus alone' is everything that is given to the disciples and to the Church of all time: and that which must be enough on the path," said Pope Benedict.

"He is the only voice to listen to, the only one to follow," said the Pope, "he that, going up towards Jerusalem, will give his life and one day 'will transfigure our lowly body to conform with his glorified body.'"

The pontiff explained that in Peter's words, "Master, it is good that we are here," is seen a similarity to our own desire for consolation from the Lord. But, he added, "the Transfiguration reminds us that the joys spread by God through our lives are not starting points, but lights that He gives us in the earthly pilgrimage, so that 'Jesus alone' might be our Law and his Word might be the criterion that guides our existence."

The Holy Father closed his words before the Angelus inviting all people to meditate on the Gospel. He also expressed his wish that all "in this Year for Priests Pastors are truly penetrated by the Word of God," knowing it and loving it so it might guide their lives and form their thought.

After the Angelus the Holy Father remembered the victims of violence in Iraq and called for authorities to protect religious minorities in the country. He also prayed for "relief from suffering” and courage for those hit by an earthquake in Chile on Saturday.

Pope Benedict prays for Chilean earthquake victims

Vatican City, Feb 28, 2010 /(CNA).-

After the Angelus on Sunday, the Holy Father directed his words to the population of Chile and victims of its massive earthquake. He prayed that quake victims receive relief and courage from God.

"My thought also goes to Chile and to the population hit by the earthquake," Pope Benedict XVI said.

Chile was hit by an 8.8 magnitude earthquake very early on Saturday morning, at a strength 500 times that of the January earthquake in Haiti, ABC News reports. At least 214 deaths have been confirmed and the government estimates millions of people are without homes.

"I pray for the victims and am spiritually close to the people tested by such a grave calamity; for these I implore from God relief from the suffering and courage in this adversity," the Holy Father said at St. Peter’s Square.

He assured victims of the support of the Church, adding "I'm sure that there will be no lack of solidarity of many, especially ecclesial organizations."

Family unity essential to child formation, says Cardinal Antonelli

Vatican City, Feb 26, 2010 / (CNA).-

Speaking to a group of Catholic business people from Italy in Rome this week, Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, highlighted the importance of a united family for raising children. He also touched on issues that affect the family today.

Under the theme of "Family and Business, Vital Cells of Society," Cardinal Antonelli spoke about the effects of the composition of the family on the future of children. The Vatican's L'Osservatore Romano reported that Cardinal Antonelli put particular emphasis on the effects of a missing father figure on children.

The president of the Council for the Family cited statistics from the U.S., which he said illustrate a trend in many parts of the Western world. Ninety percent of homeless people, 72 percent of adolescent suicides, 60 percent of rapists and 85 percent of youth in jail grew up without a father present, he said.

The cardinal also listed a number of other negative effects on children whose parents don't remain together. These children are particularly susceptible, he stated, citing statistics that show these kids suffer from double the average number of pyschological, scholastic, social and work problems.

Among the major causes of this situation is the fact that both parents work outside of the home, he observed. "The self-realization sought by the woman in a job, in a career, in social success has as a cost the renouncement of the marriage and children."

Cardinal Antonelli expressed his concern for additional complications brought on by the ideology that says one can personally choose his or her gender, regardless of their biological sex. He also warned that the assertion of a "right" to gay marriage and the adoption of children by homosexual couples would lead to complications.

The traditional family, he said, is even being considered oppressive injustice, and matrimony and maternity are viewed as things from which a woman must liberate herself.

The population debate was also touched on by Cardinal Antonelli, who called for market reform and demographic equilibrium through responsible procreation as alternatives to methods such as abortion and contraception that are meant to decrease fertility, reduce population and increase economic wealth.

In countries that are deemed to be overpopulated, he offered that ethically honest and natural methods can be used to limit the birth rate. But, in countries where population is aging due to a lack of fertility, he said that there must be a re-evaluation of paternity and maternity, assisted by economic support.

To start a family, he stated, "you need reasonable economic security," and this climate should be provided for through "mechanisms of protection."

JPII beatification process nearly complete, reveals personal secretary

La Paz, Bolivia, Feb 23, 2010 / (CNA).-

Archbishop of Krakow, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, who was John Paul II’s personal secretary for 40 years, told participants at a Colombian conference that the late-Pope's beatification process “is practically finished.”

In Colombia, where Cardinal Dziwisz traveled to participate in a conference on the legacy of John Paul II, the cardinal remarked that the beatification process of the pilgrim Pope “is practically finished.”

“In order for the beatification to take place, it is important that the Church recognizes a miracle in which he has interceded. There is a case that is currently being investigated and it is of the miraculous healing of a French nun suffering from Parkinson’s.”

Regarding the date of the beatification, the cardinal said, “It is not known, but his tomb is visited by thousands who thank him for favors.”

“Not only do Christians want to see him made a saint, but Jews and Muslims as well.”

Speaking later of the affection and fervor of the people towards John Paul II, Cardinal Dziwisz said, “He changed the world from the political and religious points of view; he taught that the solution to problems lies in solidarity and in love. He overcame all the thresholds. His teachings should be applied today to help this world in crisis.”

Responding to those who criticized the short length of JPII's cause for canonization, the Polish cardinal admitted it has been a speedy process, “but one cannot say it has been done poorly. It has been an effective time for delving deeper into the legacy he left. The same ones who criticized him because they did not like his moral positions are the same who are criticizing him now.”

Addressing the claim that John Paul II whipped himself and slept on the floor, the Archbishop of Krakow said, “I cannot confirm it or deny it. He was a man of great spirituality, his principal characteristic was having a spirit of prayer and contemplation. In many convents today the practice of penance through flagellation exists, and it has given us other great saints such as St. John of the Cross and St. Theresa.”

Speaking to his Colombian audience, Cardinal Dziwisz added that Pope John Paul II “always said that Latin America is the continent of hope. He loved Colombia and had many friends here, cardinals and priests, because the presence of Colombia in Rome has always been significant.”

Also during his Colombia visit, in an interview with the Colombian daily, “El Tiempo,” the cardinal shared John Paul II's requests and actions just before he died.

After saying that the late-Pope "died like a holy man," the cardinal added that JPII "said goodbye to his colleagues, to Cardinal Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI), even to the housekeepers. He asked that the entire Gospel of St. John be read to him and thus he prepared to go.

“There was an incredible peace.”

Lent: a season of penance and conversion

Lent provides time to renew fight against temptation teaches Benedict XVI

Vatican City, Feb 21, 2010 / (CNA).-

Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the significance of Lent in his words before the Angelus on Sunday at the Vatican. Today’s Gospel, he said, illustrates how Lent provides time for "a long retreat" in which we can rebuild in order to face the temptations of the devil.

The Holy Father outlined Luke's Gospel account in which Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit, walked out into the desert where he was tempted by the devil over the course of 40 days.

The temptations were not just an "incident" along the path, said the Pope, but "the consequence of Jesus' decision to follow the mission entrusted to him by the Father.”

"Christ came to the world to free us from sin and from the ambiguous attraction of planning our lives apart from God." The Pope added, that he didn't do it with "sonorous proclamations, but by fighting first hand against the Tempter, up to the Cross."

"This example is valid for everyone," the Pope observed, "the world improves starting with ourselves, changing, with the grace of God, that which isn't going right in our lives."

Referring back to the Gospel, Pope Benedict pointed out that when Jesus fights Satan's temptations to material needs, power and pride using Sacred Scripture, "He puts the only true criteria, obedience to the will of God, before human criteria."

"This is also a fundamental teaching for us," reflected the Holy Father, "if we carry in our minds and hearts the Word of God, (and) this enters into our lives, we can repel every type of trick from the Tempter.

"Lent," he concluded, "is like a long retreat, during which to reenter into ourselves and listen to the voice of God, to defeat the temptation of the Evil One."

We can use this time of "spiritual competition," to "live together with Jesus, not with pride or presumption, rather using the weapons of faith, prayer, listening to the Word of God and penance."

"In this way we can arrive to celebrate Easter in truth, ready to renew the promises of our Baptism."

The Holy Father will begin Lenten spiritual exercises in the Vatican "Redemptoris Mater" chapel with a series of meditations offered by Salesian Fr. Enrico dal Covolo on "Lessons from God and The Church on the Priestly Vocation" beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing until Saturday, Feb. 27.

Universal Church sees increase in seminarians, reports Pontifical Yearbook

Vatican City, Feb 20, 2010 / (CNA).-

The number of Catholics worldwide rose by 19 million from 2007 to 2008 according to the Vatican almanac presented to the Pope on Saturday morning. The 2010 "Annuario Pontifico," or Pontifical Yearbook, which offers a variety of other statistics concerning religious and lay faithful in the Universal Church, also reports an increase in seminarians.

The 2010 Pontifical Yearbook was presented to the Holy Father on Saturday morning by Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Archbishop Fernando Filoni. It was edited under the direction of Msgr. Vittorio Formenti, who is in charge of the Central Office of Church Statistics, and Professor Enrico Nenna.

The "Annuario Pontifico" details the administrative actions of Pope Benedict during the year 2009, including his creation of nine new episcopal sees and a prelature, a new diocese and the appointments of 169 new bishops.

Besides statistics from 2009, it also offers information valid up to 2008 on the 2,945 ecclesiastic districts in the Catholic Church all over the globe, including the statistic that there are now 1.166 billion baptized Catholics in the world, comprising 17.4 percent of all people.

The yearbook also documents changes in the numbers of religious among the five continents recognized by the Holy See. North and South America are considered as one continent and Antarctica is not taken into account.

The total number of bishops around the world in 2008 was 5,002, which marked a 1.13 percent overall increase, with the only decrease coming in Oceania. The number of priests in the world rose from 405,178 in the year 2000 to 409,166 in 2008. Just over 47 percent of the priests serve in Europe, compared to 30 percent in America, 13.2 in Asia, 8.7 in Africa and 1.2 in Oceania.

As a point of reference, in the year 2000, European clergy figured in at 51.5 percent of world numbers.

The number of consecrated religious decreased from 801,185 in the year 2000 to 739,067 in 2008, with there being 17.6 percent fewer in Europe, a drop of 12.9 percent in America and 14.9 percent in Oceania, while the number in Africa and Asia have risen by double digit percentages points.

There was an increase in seminarians in the Catholic Church from 115,919 in 2007 to 117,024 in 2008, in which Africa, Asia and Oceania enjoyed increases while Europe's numbers dropped by 4.3 percent and America's figures remained nearly the same.

The 2010 Pontifical Yearbook is published by the Vatican Press and will soon be on sale.