dinsdag 31 mei 2011
Pope upholds primacy of Gregorian chant
Vatican City, May 31, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
Pope Benedict XVI has reminded church musicians of the primacy of Gregorian chant in the Mass, describing it “as the supreme model of sacred music.”
The Pope set out his views in a letter for the 100th anniversary of the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music. The letter was read at the institute on May 26 and made public on May 31.
He praised Gregorian chant as being “of huge value to the great ecclesial heritage of universal sacred music.” But Pope Benedict also noted that sometimes it was erroneously “considered an expression of an idea corresponding to a past, gone and to be forgotten, because it limited the freedom and creativity of the individual and the community.” This was a view he wanted to counter.
“We always have to ask again: who is the true subject of the Liturgy? The answer is simple: the Church. It is the individual or group that celebrates the liturgy, but it is primarily God's action through the Church, which has its own history, its rich tradition and creativity.”
Gregorian chant, often referred to as plainchant, is named after the 6th century Pope Gregory the Great. He both simplified and cataloged the sacred music of the Church used throughout the year. It’s been the normative music of sacred liturgy ever since.
The present Pope stressed that there’s no tension between tradition and genuine progress in the development of sacred music.
“The liturgy, and therefore sacred music, lives in a correct and consistent relationship between healthy traditio and rightful progressio, always keeping in mind that these two concepts - that the Council Fathers clearly emphasized - complement each other because the tradition is a living reality and, therefore, it includes in itself the principle of development and progress.”
Music is a topic of particular interest to the Pope. He’s a great lover of classical music in general with a special fondness for Mozart and Bach. He’s also an avid pianist who has an upright piano in his Vatican apartment.
Pope Benedict noted in his letter that all his musical conclusions are mandated by the Second Vatican Council’s constitution on the sacred liturgy, “Sacrosanctum Concillium.”
maandag 30 mei 2011
Crisis of 'indifference' shows need for New Evangelization, Pope says
Vatican City, May 30, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
“The crisis we are living through,” he said, “carries with it signs of the exclusion of God from people's lives, a general indifference to the Christian faith, and even the intention of marginalizing it from public life.”
The Pope made his remarks on May 30 to members of the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, as they prepare for their upcoming synod in 2012. During the meeting, which will take place Oct. 7-28 next year, bishops and other participants from around the world will discuss the late Pope John Paul II's vision of proposing the Christian faith in new ways.
Pope Benedict explained that “the term 'new evangelization' recalls the need of a new way of evangelizing, especially for those who live in a situation like today's where the development of secularization has left deep marks on even traditionally Christian countries.”
He noted that “proclaiming Jesus Christ, the sole Savior of the world, is more complex today than in the past, but our task continues to be the same as at the beginning of our history. The mission hasn't changed, just as the enthusiasm and courage that motivated the apostles and first disciples should not change.”
The Church's message, he said, “needs to be renewed today in order to convince modern persons, who are often distracted and insensitive. That is why the new evangelization must find the ways to make the proclamation of salvation more effective, the salvation without with life is contradictory and lacking in what is essential.”
Pope Benedict observed a growing “phenomenon” of people in modern society “who wish to belong to the Church but who are strongly determined by a vision of life that is opposed to the faith is often seen.”
“It is important to make them understand that being Christian is not a type of outfit that one wears in private or on special occasions, but something living and totalizing, capable of taking all that is good in modernity.”
He emphasized that the entire Christian community “is called to revive the missionary spirit in order to offer the new message that persons of our times are hoping for.”
The “lifestyle of believers needs real credibility, as much more convincing as the more dramatic is the condition of the persons to whom it is addressed.”
Pope Benedict expressed his desire to council members that they outline “a plan to help the entire Church and the particular different Churches in the commitment of the new evangelization; a plan whereby the urgency of a renewed evangelization takes charge of formation, particularly that of the new generations, and is united to the proposal of concrete signs capable of making the Church's response in this particular moment clear.”
Pope Benedict backs changes at Caritas
Vatican City, May 27, 2011 / (CNA/EWTN News).-
Pope Benedict XVI has given his backing to the reorganization of the international Catholic charity Caritas, which will see the organization work more closely under Vatican guidance in a bid to enhance its Catholic identity.
“Since Caritas Internationalis has a universal profile and is canonically a public juridical person, the Holy See is also responsible for following its activity and exercising oversight to ensure that its humanitarian and charitable activity, and the content of its documents, are completely in accord with the Apostolic See and the Church’s Magisterium,” the Pope told representatives of the organization at an audience in the Vatican May 27.
This week has seen 165 national affiliates of Caritas gather in Rome for the organizations general assembly. It’s been a week of turbulence and change.
In his opening address to the Caritas general assembly on May 22, Cardinal Robert Sarah of the Pontifical Council Cor Unum – the Vatican body responsible for Caritas – hinted at concerns over the charity’s lack of Catholic identity. Interestingly, four of Cardinal Sarah’s key concerns were almost identically echoed by the Pope today.
Just as Cardinal Sarah said in his opening address for the charity’s general assembly, Pope Benedict stated today that “Caritas Internationalis differs from other social agencies in that it is ecclesial; it shares in the mission of the Church.”
“This is what the Popes have always wanted and this is what your General Assembly is called forcefully to re-affirm,” the Pope said May 27.
The way Caritas carries out its work is different from humanitarian or philanthropic organizations, the Pope continued. “For us Christians, God himself is the source of charity; and charity is understood not merely as generic benevolence but as self-giving, even to the sacrifice of one’s life for others in imitation of the example of Jesus Christ.”
Pope Benedict built upon the importance of Caritas having a “transcendent foundation” that appreciates man’s eternal destiny, saying that without that solid mooring charities “risk falling prey to harmful ideologies.”
In May 22 remarks to CNA, Cardinal Sarah said that "the future will be very brilliant" for Caritas if it follows "the indication given by Pope Benedict XVI in 'Deus Caritas Est.'"
This was also the pole star for Caritas action offered by the Pope today. “In my first Encyclical, ‘Deus Caritas Est’, I reaffirmed how critical the witness of charity is for the Church in our day. Through such witness, seen in the daily lives of her members, the Church reaches out to millions of persons and makes it possible for them to recognize and sense the love of God, who is always close to every man and woman in need.”
Yesterday Caritas elected the 56-year-old Frenchman, Michel Roy, as its new general secretary. He follows in the footsteps of Lesley-Anne Knight, who was prevented from running for re-appointment to her post by the Vatican earlier this year. Meanwhile, the charity’s governance is also being revamped to give Vatican officials more control over its work.
Roy will now serve alongside Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga from Honduras who was re-elected for a second term as Caritas International’s president.
Caritas International is a confederate of 165 relief and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.
