CNA Daily News - Vatican

Our 'amen' expresses trust in Christ, Pope teaches

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:44:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 30, 2012 / 12:44 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- When Christians say “amen,” they are expressing their trust in the loving promise of God manifested in Jesus Christ, Pope Benedict said during his General Audience on Wednesday.

“The Spirit, poured forth into our hearts, leads us to the Father, constantly making present God’s 'Yes' to us in Christ and in turn enabling us to say our 'Yes' – Amen! – to God,” the Pope told tens of thousands of pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on May 30.

“Our use of the word 'Amen,' rooted in the ancient liturgical prayer of Israel and then taken up by the early Church, expresses our firm faith in God’s word and our hope in his promises.”

Pope Benedict's remarks continued his catechesis on Christian prayer with a particular focus in recent weeks upon the interior life of St. Paul. This week the Pope explored the Apostle’s Second Letter to the Corinthians where he writes;

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”

This promise of comfort is not an exemption from suffering, said the Pope, but a plea not to let ourselves “be overcome by tribulations and difficulties.”

“We are invited to experience every situation in unity with Christ, who takes all the suffering and sin of the world upon himself in order to bring light, hope and redemption.”

Either by providence or planning, Pope Benedict seemed to touch upon with his own present suffering following the recent prosecution of his personal butler for stealing confidential documents.

“Our life and our Christian journey are often marked by difficulty, misunderstandings and pain,” he said, adding that “in a faithful relationship with the Lord, in constant daily prayer, we are able to feel the consolation that comes from God.”

The source of this strength, he explained, is a relationship of mutual love between God and man. This is the thrust of St. Paul's proposition to the Christians in Corinth – that the incarnation of Jesus Christ “is God’s 'Yes' to mankind and the fulfillment of all his promises” and that “through Jesus we say our 'Amen,' to the glory of God.”

“For Paul, prayer is above all God’s gift, grounded in his faithful love which was fully revealed in the sending of his Son and the gift of the Holy Spirit,” observed the Pope.

Sadly, however, this faithful love of God is not always returned by man. Despite this, said the Pope, the “entire history of salvation is a progressive revelation of this fidelity of God’s, despite our own infidelity and our constant denials.”

The difference between human and divine love, he explained, is that when we are “faced with conflict in human relationships, often even within the family, we tend not to persevere in gratuitous love, which requires commitment and sacrifice.”

God on the other hand “never loses patience with us and, in his immense mercy, precedes us always and comes out to meet us.”

It is important, therefore, for humans to “enter into Christ’s 'yes' by following God’s will.” In this way we will be like St. Paul in being able to affirm that “it is not we who live, but Christ himself who lives in us,” Pope Benedict said.

The “amen” of our personal and community prayer “will embrace and transform all of our lives.”

Pope is saddened by 'Vatileaks' case but trusts God

Wed, 30 May 2012 10:25:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 30, 2012 / 10:25 am (CNA/EWTN News).- In a rare statement after today's general audience, Pope Benedict XVI said that while he is distressed by the “Vatileaks” case, the Church will not lack God's help for the trials it encounters.

The series of events has included the arrest and prosecution of his butler for stealing and passing on to the press sensitive papal documents and the ongoing police hunt to find any accomplices.

“The events which have occurred during these days regarding the Curia and my collaborators have caused sadness in my heart, but they have never clouded a firm certainty that despite human weakness, difficulties and trials, the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit and the Lord will never be lacking in his help to sustain it in its journey,” the Pope said May 30.

In an unusual step, the Pope read a prepared statement at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square.

Paolo Gabriele, 46, was charged on May 26, with the “aggravated theft” of confidential Vatican documents found in his apartment. His arrest followed several months of so-called “Vatileaks” in which numerous confidential documents about the internal workings of the Vatican were passed on to the Italian media.

In recent days the same media outlets have speculated that Gabriele is only a minor figure in a much larger conspiracy that includes a member of the Sacred College of Cardinals. They have also theorized that the leaks are aimed at dislodging the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone.

“There has been a multitude of speculation boosted by some of the media which is wholly gratuitous and goes well beyond the facts, giving an image of the Holy See which is not true to reality,” the Pope said in response to the media conjecture.

Paolo Gabriele is an Italian father of three who has worked in the Papal Household under both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. He is one of very few individuals who have daily access to the Pope. Within the close-knit family atmosphere of the Papal Apartments, Gabriele is affectionately nicknamed “Paoletto” or “little Paul.”

In his statement today, Pope Benedict moved to calm the situation.

“I wish, therefore, to renew my trust in and my encouragement of my closest collaborators and all those who with faith, a spirit of sacrifice and in silence, day by day assist me in carrying out my ministry,” he said.

Meanwhile, the hunt continues for those responsible for the leaks. That task has been given to both the Vatican police and a special commission of three cardinals chaired by Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz.

Pope meets Costa Rican president, discusses defense of life

Tue, 29 May 2012 12:03:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 29, 2012 / 12:03 pm (CNA).- Pope Benedict XVI met with President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica at the Vatican, discussing a number of issues including the task of defending human life from the moment of conception.

The May 28 discussion came as Costa Rica faces continued pressure from the Inter-American Human Rights Court to legalize in vitro fertilization.

The cordial talk between the two leaders on Monday focused on the excellent relationship between the Holy See and Costa Rica.

Both the Pope Benedict and President Chinchilla expressed their desire to strengthen relations through an accord that respects the identity of the country and the autonomy and collaboration that exists between civil and church officials.

The two also discussed the contributions made by the Church through its educational, social and charitable works in the country.

The audience took place one month after the courts in Costa Rica lifted an injunction against Radio Fides over its airing of spots defending human life and criticizing in vitro fertilization as a violation of human dignity.

At the conclusion of her meeting with the Pope, President Chinchilla met with Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and the Secretary for Relations with States, Archbishop Dominique Mamberti.

Pope suffering but serene as Vatileaks investigation continues

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:06:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 28, 2012 / 09:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict is “suffering” but serene, despite the prosecution of his butler for stealing sensitive papal documents and the continuing police hunt to find any accomplices.

“He is aware of the delicate situation that the Roman curia is going through, but he is keeping up his serenity with great faith and moral superiority as you saw in yesterday’s celebrations,” papal spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said May 28.

Paolo Gabriele is still in custody after being charged on Saturday, May 26 with the “aggravated theft” of confidential Vatican documents found in his apartment.

The 46-year-old Italian, a father of three, has worked in the Papal Household under both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. He is one of very few individuals who have daily access to the Pope.

In a statement issued May 28, Gabriele’s attorney said his client would offer “the most comprehensive collaboration” in all subsequent legal proceedings. He also said that the Pope’s butler had been “very peaceful and tranquil” during their recent discussions.

Fr. Lombardi confirmed that the Vatican’s chief prosecutor, Nicola Picardi, has now completed the first phase of the investigation into Gabriele’s activities, which resulted in the decision to bring charges.

Vatican magistrate Piero Antonio Bonnet will now carry out a second phase of the investigation to decide whether those charges should be tried in court or dropped.

While the criminal investigation continues, Fr. Lombardi played down speculation in the Italian media that Vatican police are about to swoop in on a wider network of conspirators, of which Gabriele is only a junior member.

“The notion that an Italian Cardinal is being investigated is completely false,” said Fr. Lombardi. “I also categorically deny that a woman is being questioned in this case.”

The Vatican spokesman also added that it seemed both “exaggerated” and “unfounded” to ascribe recent events to power struggles within the Vatican.

The arrest of Gabriele followed several months of so-called “Vatileaks” in which numerous confidential documents about the internal workings of the Vatican were passed on to the Italian media.

Earlier this month, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi released a new book entitled “Sua Santita” (His Holiness), which contained a series of leaked letters addressed personally to Pope Benedict XVI. The author claimed to have more than one source of information from inside the Vatican.

In April, Pope Benedict responded to the spate of leaks by establishing a special commission of three cardinals, chaired by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, to investigate their source.

Fr. Lombardi confirmed that cardinals are continuing their work in parallel with the ongoing police investigation.

Reasons for dismissal of Vatican Bank boss emerge

Mon, 28 May 2012 10:05:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 28, 2012 / 10:05 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican Bank’s president was dismissed for failing to carry out “basic duties,” giving people inaccurate information about the institution and “progressively erratic personal behavior,” according to board member Carl Anderson.

“What happened is source of great disappointment,” he told the Italian newspaper La Stampa on May 27. Anderson, who leads the international fraternal organization the Knights of Columbus, said the board “had come to have great expectations for this new management.”

Ettore Gotti Tedeschi was removed as president of the Vatican Bank May 24, following a no confidence vote by the other four board members. The 67-year-old Italian served as the head of the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion, since 2009.

As committee secretary, it fell to Anderson to write an explanatory note to Gotti Tedeschi who, in the words of the memo, had “abandoned the premises of the Institute without notice and without waiting to receive notice as to the results of the no confidence vote.”

Anderson’s memo outlined the nine key reasons for Gotti Tedeschi’s removal, which included his “failure to carry out basic duties,” “abandoning and failing to attend meetings,” the “dissemination of inaccurate information regarding the Institute,” “polarizing the Institute and alienating personnel,” and “progressively erratic personal behavior.”

The bank boss was also accused of failing to provide an explanation “for the dissemination of documents last known to be in the President’s possession.” Anderson stressed, however, this charge was unrelated to the recent arrest of the Pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, on suspicion of stealing and leaking sensitive internal Vatican documents to the press.

“That the dismissal of the president should happen at the same time as the arrest of the pope’s butler is just a coincidence, nothing more,” Anderson told La Stampa.

“The board meets approximately every three months and the problem of the vote of confidence on Gotti Tedeschi was on the agenda for a long time.”

The sacking of Gotti Tedeschi comes only weeks before the Council of Europe is expected to decide on the Vatican’s bid to be placed on the organization’s “White List” of countries that adhere to the highest standards of financial transparency.

“Whoever thinks that current events at the IOR may be an obstacle in the effort to achieve transparency is terribly wrong, because we are acting in the very name of transparency and were not pressured by the Curia in any way,” Anderson said.

Gotti Tedeschi has yet to give his side of the story, claiming on May 25 that he was “torn between the anxiety to explain the truth and not wanting to disturb the Holy Father.”

The Vatican is now seeking a new candidate to succeed Gotti Tedeschi. In the interim, the presidency will be assumed by the bank’s vice president Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz.

Vatican conference to examine 'language of the body' in marriage

Sun, 27 May 2012 17:15:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 27, 2012 / 05:15 pm (CNA).- This coming September an international colloquium in Vatican City will consider how men and women become "one flesh" in marriage, and examine the "language of the body" from Christian perspectives.

"What type of union is the conjugal union, which comes about when a man and a woman become 'one flesh'?" asks the conference announcement.

The Vatican City-based Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family is hosting the Sept. 20-21 colloquium, titled "'One flesh: the Language of the Body and the Conjugal Union."

The colloquium's title draws from Pope Benedict XVI's May 13, 2011 address to the institute in which he reflected on the creation of Adam and Eve.

"The flesh received from God is required to make possible the union of love between man and woman and transmit life," he said. "Before the Fall the bodies of Adam and Eve appear in perfect harmony. There is a language in them that they did not create, an eros rooted in their nature which invites them to receive one another reciprocally from the Creator, so as to be able to give themselves."

The conference will examine and deepen the understanding of the "one flesh" union in both its "biblical and patristic richness" and in theological reflection.

The conference announcement said it is necessary to distinguish the conjugal union from "substitutes" in a society that has lost the sense of what it means to become "one flesh."

This union "consummates love," unites the persons "in a unique way" and opens "a fruitful journey towards the total unity of life."

Colloquium topics include marital intercourse as an "interpersonal" union, the "one flesh" union and the Creator, and how fruitfulness relates to the "one flesh" of marriage. Speakers will consider the topic from theological and psychological perspectives as well as from the perspective of canon law.

Professor David Crawford of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute in Washington, D.C. will speak on the topic "The 'one flesh' in time: mutual promotion of the spouses."

Colloquium sessions will have simultaneous translation into English, Italian and French.

Online registration is available through the Vatican City John Paul II institute's website at http://www.istitutogp2.it

Pope sets date to declare two new Church Doctors

Sun, 27 May 2012 10:34:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 27, 2012 / 10:34 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has announced that he will declare St. Hildegard of Bingen and St. John of Avila as Doctors of the Church on Oct. 7 2012 at the beginning of this year’s Synod of Bishops in Rome.

“These two great witnesses of the faith lived in very different historical periods and came from different cultural backgrounds,” said the Pope in his Regina Coeli address May 27.

“But the sanctity of life and depth of teaching makes them perpetually present: the grace of the Holy Spirit, in fact, projected them into that experience of penetrating understanding of divine revelation and intelligent dialogue with the world that constitutes the horizon of permanent life and action of the Church.”

The title of "Doctor of the Church" is bestowed upon a saint whose writings are deemed to be of universal importance to the Church. The Pope must also declare the individual to be of “eminent learning” and “great sanctity.” Other Doctors of the Church include St. Augustine, St. John Chryosostom, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Catherine of Siena.

St. John of Avila was a 16th century Spanish priest, mystic, preacher and scholar. Pope Benedict announced his intention to name him a Doctor of the Church at World Youth Day in Madrid last August but had not set a specific date for doing so.

St. Hildegard was a 12th century German nun, writer, composer, philosopher and mystic, as well as an abbess and founder of several monasteries. This month Pope Benedict formally added her to the Church’s roster of saints, extending her liturgical feast throughout the world.

“Especially in light of the project of the new evangelization, to which the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be dedicated, and on the vigil of the Year of Faith, these two figures of saints and doctors are of considerable importance and relevance,” said Pope Benedict.

The papal declaration came on the Feast of Pentecost which marks the conclusion of Eastertide and recalls the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles after the Ascension of Christ.

“Jesus, risen and ascended into heaven, sends His Spirit to the Church, so that all Christians can share in His divine life and become His effective witness in the world,” said the Pope.

He then prayed the Eastertide midday Marian prayer along with thousands of pilgrims gathered in St Peter’s Square before imparting his apostolic blessing.

Vatican Bank boss fired over alleged mismanagement

Fri, 25 May 2012 10:17:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 25, 2012 / 10:17 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The President of the Vatican Bank, Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, has been fired from his post following a vote of no-confidence by the bank's supervisory board.

“Over time this area had generated increasing worries among the members of the board and, despite repeated efforts to communicate these concerns to Professor Gotti Tedeschi, President of the Works of Religion, the situation deteriorated further,” read a communiqué issued by the Vatican May 25.

“Following discussion of the issues, the board members voted unanimously in favor of a motion expressing no confidence in the president for not having carried out various responsibilities of primary importance regarding his office.”

The exact nature of the alleged failures was not detailed in the communiqué.

“I am torn between the anxiety to explain the truth and not wanting to disturb the Holy Father,” Gotti Tedeschi told Italian news agency ANSA on May 25 following his departure.

“My love for the Pope also prevails above the defense of my reputation so cravenly called into question.”

Gotti Tedeschi, 67, had been head of the Vatican Bank, also known as the Institute for Works of Religion, since 2009. His appointment was widely seen as attempt by the Vatican to become more transparent in its financial dealings.

In July, the Council of Europe is expected to decide on the bid by the Vatican to be placed on the organization’s “White List” of countries adhering to their strict code of financial ethics.

Those efforts seemed to take a setback in 2010 when the Italian authorities temporarily seized $30 million from the Vatican Bank. It was alleged the bank had not complied with Italian laws requiring the disclosure of information about account holders and beneficiaries.

In response the Vatican created a Financial Information Authority in 2011 to scrutinize and police the financial and commercial dealings of all Vatican agencies, including the Vatican Bank.

In recent months, however, the Vatican has again been dogged by allegations of fraud following the leak of sensitive internal documents to the Italian press.

Gotti Tedeschi has had a long career in finance, having previously served as the head of Italian operations for Banco Santander, the largest private bank in Europe. He is also a former professor of financial ethics at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan.

Following his departure the board of the Vatican Bank said it is now “now looking ahead to the search for a new and distinguished president” who can help the bank “regain effective and wider relations between the institute and the financial community based on the shared respect of accepted international banking standards.”

That search will begin today with a meeting of the Commission of Cardinals. In the interim, the presidency will be assumed by the bank’s vice-president Ronaldo Hermann Schmitz.

Police arrest suspect in 'Vatileaks' case

Fri, 25 May 2012 09:22:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 25, 2012 / 09:22 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A person suspected of leaking sensitive internal Vatican documents has been arrested and is currently being detained “in a secure room” by the Vatican police.

“The investigation initiated by the Gendarmerie under instructions received by the Commission of Cardinals and under the direction of the Promoter of Justice, has identified a person in possession of confidential documents,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi told the media May 25.

Italian media reports are naming the Pope's butler, Paolo Gabriele, as the person being held by police. Gabriele's position would have allowed him access to the Pope's quarters and a search of his apartment has allegedly revealed a cache of confidential documents.

The arrest follows several months of so-called “Vatileaks” in which numerous documents about the internal workings of the Vatican were passed on to the Italian media.

Last week, Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi released a new book entitled “Sua Santita” (His Holiness), which contained a series of leaked letters addressed personally to Pope Benedict.

In it he gives his mole the codename “Maria,” although he also claims to have more than one source of information inside the Vatican.

Earlier this year the same journalist also revealed confidential correspondence sent to Pope Benedict by the current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

In those letters, Archbishop Vigano pleaded to remain in his previous post as Secretary of the Vatican City’s government. He also claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign by those aggrieved at his reforms of the Vatican’s purchasing procedures.

In response to the spate of leaks, Pope Benedict established in April a special commission of three cardinals, chaired by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, to investigate their source.

Cardinal Herranz told CNA on the evening of May 24 that the leaks were “confusing souls and also giving the Church and the Holy See a completely unfair image.”

The case of the suspect arrested today is being dealt with by the Vatican’s Promoter of Justice, Nicola Picardi, who is the chief prosecutor for the Vatican City State.

It is unclear at present whether any potential prosecution would be dealt with by Vatican or Italian courts. The 1929 Lateran Treaty between the two states does make provision for crimes within the Vatican City State to be dealt with through the Italian legal system, with the Vatican picking up the cost for any trial or imprisonment.

Updated at 12:18 p.m. MST. Adds media reports about Pope's butler being the suspect.

Pope blesses world-traveling cross honoring Christ's resurrection

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:28:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 24, 2012 / 12:28 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Before his Wednesday General Audience this week, Pope Benedict blessed a large wooden cross that will travel to the capitals of the world marking the 2000th anniversary of Christ’s Resurrection in 2033.

The cross measures 13 feet tall and serves as a “sign of gratitude to God,” Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano reported on May 23.

The cross has already visited the Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Island, France, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The initiative was started by a group of Ukrainian faithful from the city of Leopoli.

In Rome, the cross visited the Basilicas of St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls.

L'Osservatore Romano also pointed out that the initiative is of “great ecumenical value,” like that of Father Vladimiro Timoshenko, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Church in Russia, who presented the Pope with an icon of St. Olaf for his blessing. The image will be placed in the church to replace an ancient icon that was destroyed.

In addition to other initiatives related to sports that were presented to the Pope, a group of pilgrims also presented him with relics of Blessed Giuseppe Toniolo and Blessed Clemente Vismara.

Vatican publishes guidelines on apparitions, private revelations

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:13:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 24, 2012 / 12:13 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has published guidelines to help the Church worldwide handle claims of private revelations and apparitions.

In his preface to the new publication, prefect Cardinal William J. Levada voiced his “firm hope” that the norms will aid Church leaders “in their difficult task” of discerning apparitions, revelations and “extraordinary phenomena of presumed supernatural origin.”

The norms were drawn-up for internal use in 1978 under Pope Paul VI, and, until now, have never been officially published or translated from Latin.

Yet with many unofficial versions in circulation, however, Cardinal Levada said he believed that “now opportune to publish these Norms, providing translations in the principle languages.”

The decision to publish the guidelines comes as a special commission established by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith moves into its third year investigating alleged apparitions by Our Lady in the town of Medjugorje in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Since 1981, it has become a popular site of pilgrimage due to reports of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to six local Catholics.

The committee of bishops, theologians and other experts was convened in March 2010 at the request of Medjugorje’s local bishop and under the chairmanship of the former Vicar General of the Diocese of Rome, Cardinal Camillo Ruini.

The newly published guidelines set out a three-stage process by which a legitimate church authority can come to a decision regarding claims of apparitions or revelations.

First, the claim should be initially judged “according to positive and negative criteria.” This investigation can include an assessment of the “personal qualities” of any alleged seers as to their “psychological equilibrium, honesty and rectitude of moral life, sincerity and habitual docility towards ecclesiastical authority, the capacity to return to a normal regimen of a life of faith, etc.”

Any potentially authentic revelation must also be of “true theological and spiritual doctrine and immune from error,” and should be producing a “healthy devotion and abundant and constant spiritual fruit” such as a “spirit of prayer, conversion, testimonies of charity, etc.”

Second, if the local church authorities come to a favorable initial conclusion they can permit some form of public devotion while continuing “overseeing this with great prudence.”

Third, a final judgment can then be passed “in light of time passed and of experience” with special regard to “the fecundity of spiritual fruit generated from this new devotion.”

Cardinal Levada made clear in his preface to the guidelines that, unlike public revelation, Catholics are not bound to accept the veracity or content of any private revelation, not even those officially approved by church authorities.

Ecclesiastical approval “essentially means that its message contains nothing contrary to faith and morals.” He added, however, that private revelations can have a “certain prophetic character” and can also “introduce new emphases, give rise to new forms of piety, or deepen older ones.”

Absentee dads hinder children’s understanding of God, Pope says

Wed, 23 May 2012 11:42:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 23, 2012 / 11:42 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Dads who are absent from their family make it more difficult for their children to understand God as a loving father, Pope Benedict XVI said on May 23.

“Perhaps modern man does not perceive the beauty, grandeur and profound consolation contained in the word ‘father’ with which we can turn to God in prayer, because the father figure is often not sufficiently present in today’s world, and is often not a sufficiently positive presence in everyday life,” the Pope said in his weekly general audience address.

He underscored that the “the problem of a father not present in the life of the child is a big problem of our time” because it can become difficult for those children “to understand in its depth what it means to us that God is Father.”

In the U.S., over one-third of all children live apart from their biological father.

The Pope delivered his remarks to over 20,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square. His reflections, which today focused on two passages from St. Paul on the Holy Spirit enabling people to call upon God with the intimate term ‘Abba,’ continued his series on the role of prayer in the story of salvation.

In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul wrote that “As proof that you are children, God sent the spirit of his son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’” St. Paul also wrote to the Romans, “you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received a spirit of adoption, through which we cry, ‘Abba, Father!’”

Pope Benedict noted that the familial Aramaic word “Abba” is also used by Jesus “even at the most dramatic moment of his earthly life,” thus demonstrating that he “never lost faith in the Father and always invoked him with the intimacy of a beloved son.”

Similarly, through baptism, every Christian also becomes a beloved son or daughter of God, “sharing by adoption in the eternal sonship of Jesus.”

In the selected passages, the Pope explained, St. Paul also demonstrates that “Christian prayer is never unidirectional, from us to God.” Instead, it is “an expression of a reciprocal relationship in which it is always God who acts first.”

Therefore, whenever we address the Father in prayer, even silently or privately, we are never alone, since “we are within the great prayer of the Church, we are part of a great symphony which the Christian community in all places and times raises to God,” he said.

It is this “prayer guided by the Spirit” that causes Christians to cry out “Abba! Father!” both “with Christ and in Christ,” Pope Benedict taught.

“It makes us part of the great mosaic of the family of God, in which everyone has an important place and role, profoundly united to all things.”

The Pope concluded his address by suggesting to pilgrims that they should “learn to appreciate the beauty of being friends, or rather children, of God,” and to invoke God the Father in prayer “with the confidence and trust of a child addressing his parents who love him.”

He then led those present in the sung recitation Our Father in Latin before imparting his apostolic blessing.

Pope Benedict thanks God for 'dark nights' in his life

Tue, 22 May 2012 17:14:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 22, 2012 / 05:14 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Benedict XVI has revealed to his closest collaborators in the Sacred College of Cardinals how the “dark nights” of his life have brought him closer to Christ.

“In this moment my words can only be a word of thanks; firstly gratitude to the Lord for giving me so many years; years with many days of joy, wonderful times, but also dark nights,” he said May 21.

“But in retrospect one realizes that even the nights were necessary and good, a cause for thanksgiving.”

Pope Benedict made his unscripted remarks at a private lunch at the Vatican with several dozen cardinals. The gathering was held to mark the 7th anniversary of his pontificate and also his 85th birthday. The comments were only officially released to the media May 22.

During lunch, the Pope told the cardinals that “we see how evil wants to dominate in the world and that it is necessary to enter into the fight against evil.”

He added that although the term “the Church Militant” is deemed “a bit out of fashion” these days, it is actually the phrase that best “possesses the truth.”

This evil, he said, manifests itself in many obvious ways through “different forms of violence” but, more subtly, it can also be found “masquerading as goodness, and thus destroying the moral foundations of society.”

Pope Benedict reminded the cardinals of St. Augustine’s maxim that “all of history is a struggle between two loves.” Either we love of ourselves and have contempt for God or we love God and have contempt for ourselves in martyrdom.

“We are in this fight and in this struggle it is very important to have friends,” he told them before thanking them personally for their friendship over the past seven years.

“Thank you for the communion of joys and sorrows. Let us go forward,” said the Pope, reminding them of the Christ’s promise “Courage, I have overcome the world.”

“We are in the Lord’s team, therefore in the winning team,” he concluded before proposing a toast.

Yesterday’s remarks are in keeping with several recent comments by the Pope in which he has alluded to the difficulties he has faced during his pontificate.

Earlier this month he used a Wednesday General Audience to thank people for their prayers and support since he election as Successor of Peter in 2005.

“From the first moment of my election as the Successor of St. Peter, I have always felt supported by the prayers of you all, by the prayer of the Church, especially by your prayers at moments of greatest difficulty, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart,” he told pilgrims in St. Peters Square May 9.

“Unanimous and constant prayer is a precious instrument in overcoming all of the trials that may arise in the path of life, because it is our being deeply united with God that allows us to also be deeply united to others,” the Pope said, before thanking everyone again.

Holy See eyes legal action over continued 'Vatileaks'

Mon, 21 May 2012 13:42:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 21, 2012 / 01:42 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The Vatican says it considers the continued leaking of confidential documents, including private correspondence belonging to Pope Benedict XVI, a “criminal act” that it will seek to bring to justice.

“The latest publication of documents of the Holy See and private documents of the Holy Father can no longer be considered a questionable – and objectively defamatory – journalistic initiative, but clearly assumes the character of a criminal act,” said Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi, in a statement issued to the media May 19.

“The Holy Father, but also several of his collaborators and the senders of messages directed to him, have seen their rights to personal privacy and freedom of correspondence violated,” he stated.

The Vatican statement follows the publication of a new book containing a series of leaked letter addressed personally to Pope Benedict XVI. “Sua Santita” (His Holiness) is the work of the Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi.

Last month, Pope Benedict established a special commission of three cardinals, chaired by the Spanish Cardinal Julian Herranz, to investigate the source of the internal leaks.

“The Holy See will continue to explore the different implications of these acts of violation of the privacy and dignity of the Holy Father -- as a person and as the supreme authority of the Church and Vatican City State,” Fr. Lombardi said.

He promised that the Vatican will “take appropriate steps so that the authors of the theft, those who received stolen property and those who disclosed confidential information ... answer for their acts before the law.” If necessary, the Vatican said it will request "international collaboration."

The Vatican scored a victory in the courts last week when the Italian clothing firm Benetton backed down and apologized for using an image of Pope Benedict XVI in a 2011 advertising campaign. The company had doctored a photograph to depict the Pope kissing a Muslim imam.

Journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi is no stranger to run-ins with the Vatican.

Earlier this year he also revealed confidential correspondence sent to Pope Benedict by the current Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano. In those letters, Archbishop Vigano pleaded to remain in his previous post as Secretary of the Vatican City’s government. He also claimed to be the victim of a smear campaign by those aggrieved at his reforms of the Vatican’s purchasing procedures.

Other recent Vatican leaks have centered on the Holy See’s financial body, the Institute of Works of Religion, which is currently attempting to reform its procedures to comply with international regulatory norms.

Pope says Jesus' Ascension confirmed promise of heaven

Sun, 20 May 2012 11:50:00 -0600

Vatican City, May 20, 2012 / 11:50 am (CNA/EWTN News).- The Ascension of Jesus should remind Christians of the promise of Heaven and the power of earthly prayer, Pope Benedict XVI said at the Regina Coeli prayer on Sunday.

When he ascended into heaven, Jesus “did not separate himself from our condition, in fact, in his humanity, he took mankind with him in the intimacy of the Father, and so has revealed the final destination of our earthly pilgrimage,” the Pope told pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square on May 20.

“Just as he came down from heaven for us, and for us suffered and died on the cross, so for us he rose again and ascended to God, who therefore is no longer distant, but ‘Our God,’ ‘Our Father.’”

The Pope spoke to several thousand people who gathered to hear his midday Sunday address, followed by recitation of the Regina Coeli prayer.

He noted that in many countries the feast of the Ascension – which occurs 40 days after the Resurrection – is celebrated today, rather than on Thursday.

“The Ascension of Our Lord marks the fulfillment of salvation which began with the Incarnation,” the Pope explained. It is “the ultimate act of our deliverance from the yoke of sin.”

“Not only is the immortality of the soul proclaimed, but also that of the flesh,” he said, quoting Pope St. Leo the Great. “Today, in fact, not only are we confirmed possessors of paradise, but in Christ we also penetrated the heights of heaven.”

The Ascension also tells us that when we pray, “our humanity is brought to the heights of God, so every time we pray, the earth joins with Heaven.”

“And like burning incense, its fragrant smoke reaches on high,” the Pope said of prayer, adding that “when we raise our fervent and trusting prayer in Christ to the Lord, it crosses the heavens and reaches the Throne of God, it is heard by Him and answered.

“Let us beseech the Virgin Mary to help us contemplate the heavenly things, which the Lord promises us, and become more credible witnesses of divine life.”

After the Marian prayer, Pope Benedict issued a series of greetings and appeals.

The Pope asked people to pray for the Church in China, “that they may announce with humility and joy the Risen Christ, be faithful to his Church and the Successor of Peter and live their daily life in a manner consistent with the faith we profess.”

Also on the pontiff’s mind was a bomb attack that hit at a high school in the southern Italian town of Brindisi on Saturday. The blast seriously injured several students and took the life of a 16-year-old girl named Melissa. Pope Benedict described the attack as “cowardly” and asked everyone to pray for the victims of the “brutal violence,” especially for Melissa and her family.

Finally, he offered his “affectionate thoughts” and said he is “spiritually close” to the victims of a 6.0 earthquake that hit northeastern Italy at around 4:00 a.m. on Sunday morning. The quake killed at least four people and caused millions in damage to historic buildings.