Pope's Address Upon Arriving to Portugal

Image Source: Getty Images

Mr President,
Distinguished Authorities,
Dear Brother Bishops,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Only now has it been possible for me to accept the kind invitations of the President and my Brother Bishops to visit this beloved and ancient Nation, which this year is celebrating the centenary of the proclamation of the Republic. As I set foot on Portuguese soil for the first time since Divine Providence called me to the See of Peter, I feel greatly honoured and I am moved to gratitude by the respectful and hospitable presence of all of you. I thank you, Mr President, for your kind words of welcome, giving voice to the sentiments and the hopes of the beloved Portuguese people. To all, whatever their faith or religion, I extend a greeting in friendship, especially to those who were unable to be here to meet me. I come as a pilgrim to Our Lady of Fatima, having received from on high the mission to strengthen my brothers as they advance along their pilgrim journey to heaven.

Since the earliest days of their nationhood, the Portuguese people have looked to the Successor of Peter for recognition of their existence as a Nation; in due course, one of my predecessors was to honour Portugal, in the person of its King, with the title "most faithful" (cf. Pius II, Bull Dum Tuam, 25 January 1460), for long and distinguished service to the cause of the Gospel. As for the event that took place 93 years ago, when heaven itself was opened over Portugal -- like a window of hope that God opens when man closes the door to him -- in order to refashion, within the human family, the bonds of fraternal solidarity based on the mutual recognition of the one Father, this was a loving design from God; it does not depend on the Pope, nor on any other ecclesial authority: "It was not the Church that imposed Fatima", as Cardinal Manuel Cerejeira of blessed memory used to say, "but it was Fatima that imposed itself on the Church."

The Virgin Mary came from heaven to remind us of Gospel truths that constitute for humanity -- so lacking in love and without hope for salvation -- the source of hope. To be sure, this hope has as its primary and radical dimension not the horizontal relation, but the vertical and transcendental one. The relationship with God is constitutive of the human being, who was created and ordered towards God; he seeks truth by means of his cognitive processes, he tends towards the good in the sphere of volition, and he is attracted by beauty in the aesthetic dimension. Consciousness is Christian to the degree to which it opens itself to the fullness of life and wisdom that we find in Jesus Christ. The visit that I am now beginning under the sign of hope is intended as a proposal of wisdom and mission.

From a wise vision of life and of the world, the just ordering of society follows. Situated within history, the Church is open to cooperating with anyone who does not marginalize or reduce to the private sphere the essential consideration of the human meaning of life. The point at issue is not an ethical confrontation between a secular and a religious system, so much as a question about the meaning that we give to our freedom. What matters is the value attributed to the problem of meaning and its implication in public life. By separating Church and State, the Republican revolution which took place 100 years ago in Portugal, opened up a new area of freedom for the Church, to which the two concordats of 1940 and 2004 would give shape, in cultural settings and ecclesial perspectives profoundly marked by rapid change. For the most part, the sufferings caused by these transformations have been faced with courage. Living amid a plurality of value systems and ethical outlooks requires a journey to the core of one’s being and to the nucleus of Christianity so as to reinforce the quality of one’s witness to the point of sanctity, and to find mission paths that lead even to the radical choice of martyrdom.

Dear Portuguese brothers and sisters, my friends, I thank you once more for your cordial welcome. May God bless those who are here and all the inhabitants of this noble and beloved Nation, which I entrust to Our Lady of Fatima, the sublime image of God’s love embracing all as children.

© Copyright 2010 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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Prayer in the Catholic Educational System

Zenit offers the following article in response to some of the comments of Cardinal Sean Brady. I have emphasized some especially key points.

Teaching prayer in Catholic schools is not an extra feature, but rather an essential part of the institutions, which children have a right to receive, said Cardinal Sean Brady.

The archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland stated this today at a conference on the theme, "Catholic Schools: Envisioning a Future," near Kilkenny. The conference was organized by the Diocese of Ossory and will end Saturday.

He invited his listeners to renew their commitment to "respecting and promoting the right of children in our schools to be led and formed in authentic worship of God in the Catholic tradition."

"This is not some optional extra," the prelate asserted. "Children and their parents have a right to expect a Catholic school to provide children with a formation in prayer and worship."

He appealed to the leaders of the educational institutions "reflect seriously and with commitment on this essential part of our shared duty of stewardship."

"A Catholic school without worship and prayer is a contradiction in terms," the cardinal said. "It is also a school which is failing in its fundamental obligation to parents and children."

As people of faith, he said, "we should particularly cherish" the "right of a child to know and to love God."

The whole truth

"Children also have a right to know God's love for them," Cardinal Brady added.

He continued: "They have a right to receive the truth and life which God offers them in the Sacred Scriptures, in the sacraments and in prayer.

"If we really believe that Jesus Christ reveals the whole truth about the human person, then children have a right to receive that truth.

"If we really believe that the message of Jesus Christ is the key to a better world and the source of our eternal hope, then children have a right to be part of a school community in which Jesus and his message are lived, respected and promoted."

Image Source: Fr Seward at St. Gregory the Great School (Oxford)

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How is the New Commandment "New"?

In the Old Testament, God already gave the commandment to love, so what makes Christ's "new commandment" something new?

Benedict XVI answered this question today in Turin where he celebrated Mass this morning during a one-day trip to the city.

"What is new is precisely this 'loving as Jesus loved,'" he explained. "The Old Testament did not give any model of love but only formulated the precept to love. Jesus, however, gave himself to us as model and source of love. This is a love without limits, universal, able to transform all the negative circumstances and all the obstacles into occasions for progress in love. [...]

"Giving us the new commandment, Jesus asks us to live his own love, which is the truly credible, eloquent and efficacious sign that announces to the world the Kingdom of God."

Source: Zenit

Image Source: AP Photos. Pope Benedict XVI, white figure at center on stage, prays in front of the Holy Shroud in Turin's cathedral, Italy, Sunday, May 2, 2010. Benedict XVI prayed before the Shroud of Turin, believed to be Christ's burial cloth.

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Solemn High Mass for the Feast of St. George

Solemn High Mass for the Feast of St. George at St. Mary's Church, Chislehurst, 23 April, 2010. Celebrant is Fr. Charles Briggs, (Parish Priest, Chislehurst) Deacon is Fr. Tim Finigan (Parish Priest, Blackfen) and Sub-Deacon is Fr. Christopher Basden (Parish Priest, Clapham Park.).

The background music (used with permission) is Mass I from Chants of the Ordinary, Volume I, by Cantus Angeli, directed by Nick Gale. Copies of the CD can be obtained from Gregorian Chant.

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May 1st Events at the Institute of Christ the King - Chicago, IL

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Bishop Thomas Wenski Named Archbishop of Miami

Benedict XVI appointed Bishop Thomas Wenski of Orlando, Florida, as archbishop of Miami yesterday, April 20, 2010. Archbishop Wenski, 59, succeeds Archbishop John Favalora, 74, who resigned as he will reach the age limit this year. Does anyone know of Bishop Wenski's position on the Traditional Latin Mass and issues concerning Traditional Catholic Doctrine?

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5th Anniversary of the Election of Pope Benedict XVI

V. Oremus pro pontifice nostro Benedicto.

R. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Deus, omnium fidelium pastor et rector, famulum tuum Benedictum, quem pastorem Ecclesiae tuae praeesse voluisti, propitius respice: da ei, quaesumus, verbo et exemplo, quibus praeest, proficere: ut ad vitam, una cum grege sibi credito, perveniat sempiternam. Per Christum, Dominum nostrum. Amen.

V. Let us pray for Benedict our pope.

R. The Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies.

O God, Shepherd and Ruler of all Thy faithful people, look mercifully upon Thy servant Benedict, whom Thou hast chosen as shepherd to preside over Thy Church. Grant him, we beseech Thee, that by his word and example, he may edify those over whom he hath charge, so that together with the flock committed to him, may he attain everlasting life. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Prayer is from the Roman Missal.  Attached to the versicle and response is a partial indulgence.]


Today we recall the fifth anniversary of the election of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to the Seat of the Vicar of Christ.

Our Holy Father has shown us that through his pontificate, the Sacred Traditions of our Holy Faith are being rightfully restored to their former glory. Let's look at some example of restoration by Pope Benedict XVI.

In August 2006, Pope Benedict XVI abolished the Christmas concert featuring "pop" music established by Pope John Paul II. In January 2007, he called on the Vatican Courts to tighten up the annulment criteria, as annulments have exponentially increased following Vatican II.

Pope Benedict XVI has further restored the use of the Pascal Mozetta in the Octave of Easter 2008.

Examine the vestments used by the Holy Father at the 3rd Anniversary Mass of John Paul II's death in 2008 (below). At this Mass the Holy Father has discontinued using the staff of Pope John Paul II featured a bent Christ on the Cross, aesthetically unpleasant, and replaced it with a new beautiful pastoral staff (ferula).

(Reuters/Alessandro Bianchi)

Notice in the above image Pope Benedict XVI is using a papal asteriscus, an item that, in addition to practical applications, symbolizes the Star of Bethlehem. He has restored it to use in the Papal Liturgy at times.

On the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul 2008, Pope Benedict XVI introduced a different Papal Pallium, establishing better continuity with the past than with the Pallium that became used during the pontificate of John Paul II. "This is the development of the Latin form of the pallium used up to John Paul II," explains the Master of Papal Liturgical Celebrations, Monsignor Guido Marini.

Former Pallium

Restored Pallium

In 2009, the mosaic depicting Pope Benedict XVI in the line of papal portraits in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls has been changed to reflect this shift in the Papal Pallium.(Above Images from St. Paul Outside the Walls by Pope Benedict Forum user "Benodette".)

And remember that in January 2008, His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the Baptism of the Lord ad orientem in the Sistine Chapel.

Believed to be Associated Press (AP)

In January 2009, His Holiness wore a fiddleback chausible on the Feast of the Epiphany. This was another return back to prior Traditions. Pope Benedict XVI again shows his desire for a restoration of the Sacred Liturgy. And while vestments may seem unimportant, continuity with the past and symbolism is highly important. Each vestment has its own vesting prayer, and each particular garment holds symbolic importance (e.g. the maniple symbolizes Christ at the Pillar of Flagellation, the cincture symbols the rope by which Our Lord was bound and dragged in the streets, et cetera).

Therefore, the exteriors again are an expression of the interior. And, in the past 40 years we have lost not only the interior aspects of the Faith (e.g. lack of knowledge of integral Catholic beliefs such as Transubstantiation, etc) and a decrease in devotion but also exterior aspects of the Faith (e.g. vestments, proper Sacred Liturgy, Rosaries, etc). Coincidence or has the loss of exteriors contributed to the loss of interior Faith?

Image Sources: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

And of substantial importance, Holy Communion is to be given only to those kneeling henceforth, when Pope Benedict XVI distributes Holy Communion. EWTN reports, "To receive Communion from Pope Benedict at Papal Liturgies one will have to receive on the tongue," which is a fantastic affirmation of the Real Presence of our Lord. And as the Body and Blood of Jesus, nothing is of higher value than the Most Holy Eucharist.

St. Thomas Aquinas: "Out of reverence towards this Sacrament, nothing touches it but when it is consecrated" - Summa, Pt III Q, Q2 Art. 3

Also from Wikipedia, "Each year a papal tiara is placed on the head of the famous bronze statue of Saint Peter in St. Peter's Basilica from the vigil of the Feast of the Cathedra of Saint Peter on February 22 until the Feast of Saints Peter and Paul on June 29. Although this custom was not observed in 2006, it was reintroduced in 2007."

Finally in this example, compare the below progression of photos of the Urbi et Orbi addresses given on Christmas Day by Pope Benedict XVI.

2005, Source: MSNBC

2006, Source: REUTERS/Osservatore Romano/Handout

2007, Source: CNS photo/L'Osservatore Romano via Reuters

2008, Source: REUTERS/Osservatore Romano

The photos are from 2005 - 2008, and there is a progression in these photos. Tradition is being restored.


For a list of numerous articles on the events in the Pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, please see the following post: Pope Benedict XVI (permanently linked in the sidebar).

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800th Anniversary of Royal Maundy Service at Derby Cathedral

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83rd Birthday of Pope Benedict XVI

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 16, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI turned 83 today, spending his birthday with normal activities punctuated by numerous congratulatory messages from around the world.

Italian President Giorgio Napolitano sent the Pope a message expressing his "deep esteem for your elevated magisterium."

In the Vatican, the Holy Father doesn't celebrate his birthday, but rather his name day, the feast of St. Joseph.

Image Source: Pope Benedict XVI says Holy Mass at the Granaries in Floriana in Valletta April 18, 2010. (Reuters)

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Cause for the Canonization of 17 Laotian Martyrs Moves Forward

The beatification process for 17 martyrs who died in Laos between 1954 and 1970 is moving forward. The diocesan phase for 15 of the martyrs concluded in France; two others are already in the Roman phase.

The martyrs were religious and lay missionaries: five French women religious and an Italian member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; five members of the Paris Society for Foreign Missions and five Laotians (a priest and four laymen, including a catechist of the Hmong ethnic group).

Source: Zenit

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