The One True Church

First Things, the journal for which the great, late Fr. Richard John Neuhaus was editor, has published an article he wrote for the magazine just before he died. I have just read it, and it is a wonderful commentary on ecumenism and the nature of the Church, and a Catholic understanding of the One True Church. Here is an excerpt:

 

My church is better than your church. It sounds like the stuff of schoolboy quarrels on the playground: My dad can beat your dad! Yet, sad to say, that is how many Christians have understood recent statements on Catholic ecclesiology. In 2000 the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document called Dominus Iesus and then, in 2007, reiterated its main points in "Responses to Some Questions Regarding Certain Aspects of the Doctrine on the Church."

The gist of these is that, with important qualifications related to Eastern Orthodoxy, non-Catholic churches are not to be called "Church" in the proper sense of the term but are better described as "ecclesial communities." This was widely decried by many non-Catholic (and some Catholic) theologians as a departure from, if not reversal of, the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It was, we were told, a body blow to ecumenism, the quest for visible unity among Christians.

I have on occasion offered this proposition: "The Catholic Church is the Church of Jesus Christ most fully and rightly ordered through time." Some of my critics have questioned whether that is adequate. To say that it is the most fully and rightly ordered, they contend, implies or at least invites the inference that other communities are also the Church of Jesus Christ, albeit not so fully and rightly ordered.

To think more fully about this, we need to clarify what the Catholic Church claims for herself and what she does, and does not, acknowledge with respect to other Christian communities. My own thoughts are occasioned by two essays I read recently: one by Avery Cardinal Dulles in a volume called Vatican II: Renewal Within Tradition and the other by Christopher J. Molloy, an essay titled "Subsistit In: Nonexclusive Identity or Full Identity?" that appeared in The Thomist.

Before we can get anywhere with this discussion, two stipulations must be firmly in place. The first is that we are not engaged in a rivalry between our side and some other side. Some years ago, when William F. Buckley heard that a prominent Protestant had entered into full communion with the Catholic Church, he exclaimed: "This is great news. It's like the Yankees stealing the star pitcher from the Red Sox." That is an understandable tribal response, but it takes us back to the squabbling of boys on the playground. Questions of great theological moment are at stake. In these matters, Catholic and non-Catholic alike should have as their one concern the question of what Christ intended, and still intends, for his one Church—it being understood by all that, in the deepest meaning of the term, there can finally be only one Church, since the Church is the Body of Christ, of which Christ is the head, and there is only one Christ.

Read the full article here

Be Wary of Mass Disruptions

It appears that in the upcoming weeks there is a group planning on using Sunday worship services as a means of bringing up political issues relating to gay marriage and the like. Their hope is to challenge Church teaching on homosexuality by first wearing either lapel buttons or tee-shirts, and hope that this allows them to open up a dialog at the worship service, whether it be a Mass or other Christian service. They are going to be trained on how to reply to biblical objections and so forth. Anyway, after the fiasco of a few months ago in San Francisco it's important that the Church be vigilant so that the Eucharist is not profaned, so that people to not subvert the true purpose of the Mass and turn it into a political action event. Please pass on this information to anyone you know who will be vigilant in protecting the Eucharist. Here is the advertisement that was posted on a Catholic Livejournal community:

Between May 17 and June 28, 2009, groups of LGBT and allied people around the country will attend worship services at a church of their choice - a church that is not welcoming and affirming of openly LGBT members and guests. Each group will wear a lapel button that reads "gay? fine by me." For less formal churches we also have a t-shirt with this message. The lapel button (or t-shirt) serves as a conversation starter - opening dialogue with people in the church about faith, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

When that visible act of courage is paired with adequate training, then transforming hearts and minds becomes a bona fide possibility. That's why we've designed a three-part teleconference course and a resource webpage that covers the essentials of Nonviolent communication, Media talking points, and What both the Bible and science really say about homosexuality. Training teleconferences will be held on April 19, April 26, and May 3 at 4pm CST. To register for the trainings go to http://www.soulforce.org/moodle/login/index.php and enter your information.

We hope you will consider organizing a Sundays of Solidarity project in your area. It simply involves choosing a church in your area that could benefit from an SOS visit, using your contact list to recruit others to join you, attending the teleconference training sessions, and then organizing your group to take action on one of the Sundays between May 17 and June 28, 2009. To purchase a lapel button or t-shirt, please visit http://finebyme.org/sos.html.

http://www.queersunited.blogspot.com

Draw me after you

The Christian concept of freedom is something very different from what modern man conceives freedom to be. We too often mistake freedom for license, thinking that freedom simply means being able to do whatever we want. This is not what is meant by Christian freedom at all, though. When St. Paul writes, "For freedom Christ has set us free" (Gal 5:1) he means something very different from license. If not, how could he not be contradicting himself when he says that when we are set free from sin we become slaves of God (Rom 6:22)? It is because the freedom which Christ achieved for us and which is available to us by grace through faith is the freedom to be righteous – which is to say, the freedom to be what we were created to be. Augustine writes in his Enchiridion, "For he is freely in bondage who does with pleasure the will of the master. Accordingly, he who is the servant of sin is free to sin. And hence he will not be free to do right, until, being freed from sin, he shall begin to be the servant of righteousness. And this is true liberty, for he has pleasure in the righteous deed; and it is at the same time a holy bondage, for he is obedient to the will of God" (Enchiridion, XXX, 1). This freedom to do what is right is only achieved in us by the redemption of Christ, which all of creation eagerly anticipates, and the hope of which is our very salvation (cf. Rom 8:23).

I often struggle with the concept of freedom because the truth is I very rarely feel free to do what is right. What I have to remember always is that the redemption of Christ frees me to do what it is right, but it does not force me. I am able to be righteous by the grace of God through my faith in Jesus Christ, but that choice still remains with me. I must use the grace given to me and choose to grow in holiness. I must seek always to be sanctified through the Holy Spirit, knowing that salvation is not completed in an instant of my acceptance of Christ, but rather that salvation is always ongoing, so that I must always "work out my own salvation in fear and trembling" (Phil 2:12). Until Christ returns and "the new Jerusalem comes down from God out of heaven" (Rev 3:12), sin will always be an option for me to choose, and the more I choose it, the more I become enslaved to it once again. Thus we have the Sacraments, strengthening us in our freedom to choose righteousness.

One thing I have recently learned about myself is that if I am ever to be victorious over sin – or rather, if I am ever to live fully in Christ's victory over sin – I must first be willing to admit how much I love my sin. I do. I love sin. To say anything else would be a lie. It is part of the disorder of my human condition. This is what lust ultimately is, a disordered desire, and I am full of many disordered desires. In those desires I grow attached to that which harms me, to those actions in my life which draw me away from God. These attachments are strong, and the bondage to sin, the love of sin, is difficult indeed to overcome. It is for this reason that St. John of the Cross recommends such a drastic medicine for those beginners seeking to become holy, when he writes:

Endeavor to be inclined always:

not to the easiest, but to the most difficult

not to the most delightful, but to the most distasteful;

not to the most gratifying, but to the less pleasant;

not to what means rest for you, but to hard work;

not to the consoling, but to the unconsoling;

not to the most, but to the least;

not to the highest and most precious, but to the lowest and most despised;

not to wanting something, but to wanting nothing.

Do not go about looking for the best of temporal things, but for the worst, and, for Christ, desire to enter into complete nakedness, emptiness, and poverty in everything in the world (Ascent of Mount Carmel, I.13.6).

St. John here is not encouraging some sort of joyless existence or some sort of masochistic view of mortification, but rather he is recognizing the effect of the momentum of the will towards sin when we are in fact in bondage to sin. The sort of extreme measures he exhorts here are means of reversing the momentum, emptying the soul of its disordered attachments to worldly pleasures and thus being freed to receive the true riches of beatitude that God has in store for us, even here in this life now. But I can never get to the point that I see this path as being necessary until I admit how much I love my sin. For in admitting how much I love it, I am recognizing the strength of its power over me, and thus I am able to invite the full power of God into my heart to liberate me and continuously draw me towards Him – this being the true freedom for which Christ died and was raised.

My prayer during these last two weeks of Lent is that I will in fact learn how much I love my sin, and that I will turn that disordered love over to God so that He will order me properly towards Him, that He will draw me after Him and bring me into His chambers (cf. Song 1:4), united to Him in love. This is the freedom that I seek.

What a Philadelphia Year

I used to always say that being a Philadelphia sports fan was all the proof I needed that Purgatory was real. I still believe that, of course, but this year has been quite amazing. The Phillies winning it all, the Eagles going to the NFC Championship team, the Flyers and Sixers making the playoffs and their fates still to be determined, and now, of course, the most exciting of all for me, my Villanova Wildcats are in the Final Four, and have as good a chance as anyone of winning it all. The challenge will be daunting, because North Carolina is really, really good. But I'll tell you this, Villanova is the team that no one wants to play right now. This team is really something special, and I know several of the players personally and can vouch for the fact that they are really great guys. Seeing them win would just be unbelievable. Getting through this week and having to wait for Saturday – well, once again, Purgatory it is!

LET’S GO NOVA!!!!!

FINAL FOUR BABY!!!!!!!

WOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

In case you hadn't heard....

Archbishop Burke on Abortion and Holy Communion

ETA: I want to put this at the beginning of the post just to make sure it's seen. Please see statement from Archbishop Burke regarding his being mislead by Terry regarding the nature and intent of the interview. I deplore the tactics used by Randall Terry, but the Archbishop still provides a fine articulation of the application of Canon 915 and so it's still worth listening to.

Archbishop Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura, was recently interviewed regarding Canon 915, which states: "Those who have been excommunicated or interdicted after the imposition or declaration of the penalty and others obstinately persevering in manifest grave sin are not to be admitted to holy communion." Archbishop Burke has made it abundantly clear that support for legalized abortion by Catholic legislators and actions taken to advance or maintain its legal status is one form of persevering in manifest grave sin. While many enemies of life or of the Church like to pretend that this is somehow a politicizing of the Eucharist, in fact it is a simple matter of Canon Law, applied both for the care of the soul of the one persisting in grave sin and also for the sanctity of the Eucharist. While not all bishops have been as courageous as Archishops Burke, Chaput, Martino, and others, there is no wiggle room on the issue, as Canon Law is perfectly clear and leaves no room for doubt.

Here is a video of the interview, followed by a transcript of same:

Part I

 

Part II

 

March 25, 2009 - Washington, DC - Following is the transcript of Randall Terry's interview with His Excellency, Archbishop Burke, Prefect, Apostolic Signatura on March 2, regarding Canon 915 and the withholding of communion from Catholic politicians that support abortion. The actual video footage of this interview was shown earlier today at a press conference at the National Press Club, in Washington DC. More information can be found at www.humbleplea.com


Mr. Terry: Your Excellency, it's a delight to be with you. Thank you so much. 

Archbishop Raymond Burke: Pleased to have you come, and to visit with you. 


Mr. Terry: For the umpteenth time, I and the others are asking, under Canon 915 what should or should not be done? 

Archbishop Burke: The Canon is completely clear, it is not subject in my judgment to any other interpretations. When someone is publicly and obstinately in grave sin we may not administer Holy Communion to the person. And that, basically, for two reasons: number one, to prevent the person himself or herself from committing a sacrilege, and secondly, to protect the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist. In other words, to approach, to receive our Lord in Holy Communion, when one insists on remaining in grave sin, is such a violation of the sanctity of the Holy Eucharist, so that Communion must not be given to people who are publicly, obstinately, in grave sin. 


Mr. Terry: And so does that apply to politicians of any party that are saying: "Yes, it's okay to abort children" –to kill children? 

Archbishop Burke: Yes, for someone who in any way contributes in an active way to the murder of innocent defenseless infants in the womb—children in the womb—from the very inception of human life, this is the greatest of sins. And such a person, until he or she has reformed his or her life, should not approach to receive Holy Communion. 


Mr. Terry: And if they do approach, the person who is administering Holy Communion should say, "No."? 

Archbishop Burke: Right. In fact, the Canon puts the burden upon the minister of Holy Communion whether it's the ordinary minister which would be a bishop, a priest, a deacon—or an extraordinary minister—it doesn't make any difference. It says they're not to be admitted to receive Holy Communion. Normally speaking, in my experience, when I have spoken with, for instance, Catholic politicians who have insisted on supporting pro-abortion legislation and told them they should not approach any more to receive Holy Communion, in my experience they don't. Now, where Bishops have not applied the Canon, often times it's said that this will cause some kind of disorder at the time of distribution of Holy Communion. That's not verified. It's not using Holy Communion to make a statement at all, it's simply respecting this most sacred gift we have - namely, the Body and Blood of Christ—which can only be received when one has repented of his sins. And I would also make the point—and I believe that it is true that on the contrary - those public figures—Catholics—who are consistently promoting pro-abortion legislation and policies—use reception of Holy Communion to try to justify what they are doing; in other words, to present themselves as devout Catholics, when in fact they are sinning against the most fundamental teaching of the moral law. [Thou shall not murder.] 


Mr. Terry: When the election was approaching, Bishop Martino said he would not serve Communion to Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Biden. There were a handful of other bishops who made similar statements, for which the laity and the faithful were rejoicing. 

But the deafening silence from so many other Bishops—and also the bishops who stepped up such as in Washington D.C., Virginia, others …Massachusetts…[and] said that we will serve communion—was so painful for us. What word of encouragement would you give, first to the laity on our struggle to bring orthodoxy back, and then to your brother bishops and priests? 

Archbishop Burke: I think simply to say: reflect upon this norm of the Church's discipline—Canon 915—which is one of the most important canons to safeguard the greatest treasure that we have in this life, namely, the communion that we have with our Lord Jesus Christ, and His true body and His true blood; and to, in every way work so that also public witness is given to the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist. And so I would encourage the faithful when they are scandalized by the giving of Holy Communion to persons are publicly and obstinately in sin, that they go to their pastors, whether it's their parish priest or to their bishop, to insist that this scandal stop. Because, it is weakening the faith of everyone. It's giving the impression that it must be morally correct to support procured abortion, in at least in some circumstances, if not also generally. So they need to insist that their parish priest and the bishops, and for the rest…to my brother bishops and brother priests…simply to say: the service of the Church in the world today has to begin first and foremost with the protection of the life of those who are the most defenseless and the most innocent, namely the unborn, and certainly has to extend also to those who are gravely ill, or burdened with serious illness, who have special needs; and also now more and more their lives are being threatened by a culture of death which sadly has infected our nation. So I would just urge my brother bishops and my brother priests to see as the most fundamental witness and service which they can give in leading also the faithful in their pastoral care is the apostolate of the respect for human life. 


Mr. Terry: The election of Obama sent shock waves around the world concerning the right to life of babies because of his commitment to pursue FOCA, to try to force hospitals - Catholic hospitals - into giving the morning after pill, other things – [the repeal of the] Mexico City policy. From your vantage point here in the Vatican, what kind of fruit around the world is this poison that's percolating in America producing? 

Archbishop Burke: There is no question, and I certainly see it here, living now here in Europe, and Italy, and also with the kind of communication within all of Europe that Barack Obama—President Obama—is a charismatic figure. And there was a great deal of—especially through the media—a great deal of publicity and so forth regarding the "hope," the word that he used so much, that he offered—not only for the United States— and for the world. And so you can be certain that the whole world, and especially the English speaking world—which let us recall, is a great part of the world—is following very carefully and attentively what this man is doing—this world leader—which he is. And therefore, it becomes more incumbent upon us then ever, also in our responsibility for the scandal and the harm being done, not only in our own nation which is in itself— which we think about 50 million since the Roe v. Wade decision, 50 million unborn infants murdered—but also to consider the effect that our nation is having on the whole world in this culture of death. 

America has the call to lead—to use its influence in the way that will give glory to God and will serve the common good in its most essential element: and that is by turning around this culture of death, and especially protecting the right to life of the unborn. So our responsibility is even greater than just for our own nation - which is in itself such a weighty matter. But we have to see how this is also having, adding a tremendous influence in the English speaking world, but also in the whole world, because of the charismatic nature of our present President. But in any case, no matter who is the President of the United States, here is a world leader with a tremendous capacity to promote the common good, but at the same time sadly, who could—by promoting and implementing anti-life legislation measures—could be an agent of death. 


Mr. Terry: If I was a Catholic in another country, I would be watching the news unfold in America hearing the silence of so many Catholics, the debate over communion, and it might have the effect of me just saying, "Well, we have abortion here, they've got it there, let's just all learn to live with it and go on about our business." 

Archbishop Burke: Well, I think this is precisely the effect that it has had. The communications today are instantaneous. The whole world knows that a very high percentage of Catholics in fact voted for this very anti-life candidate and so they watch this very carefully, and what the world needs to see now is a strong witness on the part of all Catholics and we can't be content with the fact that some 55% - or whatever it is - who for whatever reason, supported this anti-life program. They have to see now that Catholics in the United States are alive and faithful and that they are going to work to protect human life, and above all, to let the President of the United States know that this is the number one issue. 


Mr. Terry: There are many Catholics who believed that to vote for Obama - knowing his promises to extend child-killing even further - that to knowingly vote for him under those circumstances was a type of cooperation with moral evil. It was cooperating with evil. Do you concur with that and if so, why? 

Archbishop Burke: Well, the fact of the matter is, it is a form of cooperation, because by voting we put a person in office. And people say, "What does my vote matter?" Well, your vote is either a vote to put someone in office who will do what is right and just, or someone who won't. And so if you, knowing that abortion is a grave crime against human life – is the killing of an innocent, defenseless human life - and you vote for the candidate who says that he intends to make that more available – that practice of infanticide - you bear a responsibility. That is, you have cooperated in the election of this person into office, there's no question about it. 


Mr. Terry: Archbishop, thank you for your time. Do you have any closing comments or exhortations? 

Archbishop Burke: President Obama uses this word "hope" in a way that for us is very disturbing. We need to have hope, the hope that is founded in Jesus Christ, alive for us in the Church; Jesus Christ who gave His life for everyone without exception, and with a particular love for the suffering and for those who are the most defenseless. And so we have to be filled with hope and give ourselves more than ever to His work, to His mission of protecting human life, and so I ask God to bless you very much in what you are doing to advance the cause of life. 


Mr. Terry: Thank you, Your Excellency; long life to you. 

And some further clarification from Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger when he was prefect of the CDF

Personal update, short on details

These next few days and weeks are going to be very exciting for me, and I continue to be blessed greatly by the Lord. I ask for your prayers, just so that Satan does not derail me as he has in the past, and that things will all work out according to God's plan, and that my heart may always be malleable to His will. Thank you.

 

Psalm 25

 

1 <A Psalm of David.> To thee, O LORD, I lift up my soul.

2 O my God, in thee I trust, let me not be put to shame; let not my enemies exult over me.

3 Yea, let none that wait for thee be put to shame; let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4 Make me to know thy ways, O LORD; teach me thy paths.

5 Lead me in thy truth, and teach me, for thou art the God of my salvation; for thee I wait all the day long.

6 Be mindful of thy mercy, O LORD, and of thy steadfast love, for they have been from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth, or my transgressions; according to thy steadfast love remember me, for thy goodness' sake, O LORD!

8 Good and upright is the LORD; therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

9 He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way.

10 All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11 For thy name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

12 Who is the man that fears the LORD? Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13 He himself shall abide in prosperity, and his children shall possess the land.

14 The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.

15 My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

16 Turn thou to me, and be gracious to me; for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 Relieve the troubles of my heart, and bring me out of my distresses.

18 Consider my affliction and my trouble, and forgive all my sins.

19 Consider how many are my foes, and with what violent hatred they hate me.

20 Oh guard my life, and deliver me; let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in thee.

21 May integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for thee.

22 Redeem Israel, O God, out of all his troubles.

NOVA NATION IN THE HOUSE!!!!

Sweet 16 Baby!!! Let's go Nova!!!! Duke is going down, baby!!!!


Okay, now here is the music, and here are the lyrics. So everyone sing it with me now:


"V" for Villanova
"V" for Victory
"B" for Blue and "Double-U" for White
For the Blue and White, we will fight, fight, fight, fight!
Fight! for VILLANOVA! Fight for Victory!
VILLANOVA lead the way
With a capital "V" for Victory!
VIL-LA-NO-VA! V-I-L-L-A-N-O-V-A
"V" for Vic-to-ry! V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!!
(repeat)


GO NOVA!!!!!

Solemnity of the Annunciation

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord. This feast day gives me the opportunity to discuss one of my favorite devotional pictures, Our Lady of the Millenium:

 

I don't know much by way of background on this picture, and I'm not certain exactly what the artist has intended to portray, exactly, but for me I have always regarded this as an interpretation of the Annunciation. The Blessed Virgin is deep in prayer, and below her prayerful hands we see a ball of light in the area of her womb. This has always for me represented Our Lord being first conceived in her immaculate womb. This picture has always directed me towards the kind of prayer life I wish for myself, towards the sort of union with God's will that I hope someday to attain.

There are a few inferences that we may draw from Scripture about Mary's relationship with God and about her prayer life. We can be certain that she was a woman of deep prayer, as so often she is portrayed as pondering the mysteries of God in her heart. We know that she was always ready to do God's will and to serve God in love, even when she could not understand how things could actually be as God said they would. We know that she trusted deeply in God's promises, not only to her personally, as evidenced by her overcoming whatever fear she may have had about being young, single, and pregnant yet still going to visit her kinswoman Elizabeth, but also His promises to Israel, being fulfilled finally through her, as she exclaimed in the first proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, found in her Magnificat. It was Mary who first proclaimed that God was fulfilling His promise to have mercy on those who fear Him in every generation, to show the strength of His arm and scatter the proud in their conceit, to cast down the mighty from their thrones, and lift up the lowly, to fill the hungry with good things, and send the rich away empty, to come to the help of His servant Israel for He has remembered His promise of mercy, a promise that would be the sending of His own beloved Son. It is on this day, this Feast of the Annunciation, that God announced to Mary, and through Mary to Israel, and through Israel to the world, exactly how this promise would be fulfilled.

What was asked of Mary was certainly something great, something greater than could have ever been envisioned before this. While many Christians disagree with the Catholic doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, the beauty of this teaching is that it tells us that no matter how great a task God asks of us, He never leaves us short of the grace necessary to fulfill it. Mary could only fulfill her unique vocation to become the Theotokos, the very Mother of God, because she received the grace necessary from God to do so, because she was perfected in grace. The angel's greeting that she is the favored one is not an exaltation of Mary, but rather a promise to Mary that God will be with her as she fulfills His will, that in her unique role in the economy of salvation she will never be alone, but rather will always be strengthened in God.

So we look to Mary more than anything as the example to be imitated for how to cooperate with God's grace in carrying out His will. We look to her for hope, knowing that what God has done for her – namely, provide her with everything she needs to do His will, and to bless her abundantly because of her willingness to do whatever He asks – so too will He do for us. We look to Mary for Good Counsel, hearing her tell us to do whatever Christ tells us, hearing her tell us to say as she did, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word" (Luke 1:68). In Mary, we hear the angel speak to us as he did to her, "For with God nothing will be impossible" (Luke 1:37).

In one of my favorite Marian prayers, invoking her intercession under the title Our Mother of Good Counsel, Mary is referred to as the first and most faithful of the disciples of Jesus. That is what she means for all Christians, that in imitating her we imitate perfect discipleship, perfect surrender, perfect love of God and love of neighbor, perfect prayer, so that through our imitation of her we may find ourselves perfectly united to Christ, her Son. And in imitating her in prayer and in love, like her, Christ to will be conceived in us, and like her, we too will proclaim the Gospel of Salvation through Jesus Christ, Our Lord.

Final Compendium of all of the Holy Father’s Addresses During Papal Visit to Africa

The Holy Father today wrapped up his first papal visit to Africa, visiting Cameroon and Angola. Here is a compendium of all the major addresses he delivered while there:

 

• On the promotion of women – the need for feminine complementarity
  
• Homily at the Mass at Cimangola – God's love, friendship with Christ
  
• Address to the Youth of Angola – Embracing and transforming the future
  
• Homily at Sao Paolo Church – the need to preach the Gospel of Christ; takes on the superstitions and occult practices especially


• Farewell Message to Cameroon – Final exhortation to hope
  
• Greeting to People of Angola – An address to the president of Angola and the civil and military leaders
  
• Address to Angola's Politicians – Exhortation for politicians to embrace the hope that is Africa's destiny
  
• Address to Bishops – The vibrancy of the faith of the people


• Address to Cameroon's Bishops – a powerful call to the need for evangelization
  
• Vespers Reflection on the Vigil of St. Joseph – "To Be a Father Means Above All to Be at the Service of Life and Growth"
  
• Address to Special Council for Africa – Africa's Vocation is to Know Christ
  
• Pontiff's Words at Cardinal Paul-Émile Léger Centre – Christ is close to those who suffer
  
• Pope's Address to Muslim Leaders – Faith and Reason Mutually Reinforce One Another
  
• Homily on Solemnity of St. Joseph – Beautiful exhortation on virtue of hope
  

Pope Benedict’s Address to Movements on Promotion of Women

Pope's Address to Movements on Promotion of Women

"We Feel the Need for This Feminine Complementarity"

LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today to members of Catholic movements at a meeting on the promotion of women in Santo António Parish of Luanda.

* * *

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

"They have no more wine," said Mary, begging Jesus to intervene so that the wedding-feast could continue, as was only right and fitting: "As long as the wedding guests have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast" (Mk 2:19). The Mother of Jesus turns to the servants and implores them: "Do whatever he tells you" (cf. Jn 2:1-5). Her maternal mediation thus made possible the "good wine," prefiguring a new covenant between divine omnipotence and the poor but receptive human heart. This, in fact, had already happened in the past when -- as we heard in the first reading -- "all the people answered together and said: 'all that the Lord has spoken, we will do'" (Ex 19:8).

These same words well up in the hearts of all gathered here today in Saint Anthony's Church: a building which we owe to the commendable missionary efforts of the Capuchin Friars Minor, who wanted to provide a new Tent for the Ark of the Covenant, the sign of God's presence among his pilgrim people. To them, to those who work alongside them, and to all who benefit from their spiritual and social assistance, the Pope imparts his blessing with warm words of encouragement. I greet with affection all those present: Bishops, priests, religious men and women, and particularly the lay faithful who consciously embrace the duties of Christian commitment and witness that flow from the Sacrament of Baptism and also -- in the case of spouses -- from the Sacrament of Marriage. Moreover, given the main purpose of our gathering today, I extend greetings of great affection and hope to all women, to whom God has entrusted the wellsprings of life: I invite you to live and to put your trust in life, because the living God has put his trust in you! With gratitude in my heart I also greet the leaders and facilitators of ecclesial movements that have made the promotion of Angolan women a priority. I thank Archbishop José de Queirós Alves and your representatives for their kind words and for drawing attention to the aspirations and hopes of so many of the silent heroines among the women of this beloved nation.

I call everyone to an effective awareness of the adverse conditions to which many women have been -- and continue to be -- subjected, paying particular attention to ways in which the behavior and attitudes of men, who at times show a lack of sensitivity and responsibility, may be to blame. This forms no part of God's plan. In the Scripture reading, we heard that the entire people cried out together: "all that the Lord has spoken, we will do!" Sacred Scripture tells us that the divine Creator, looking upon all he had made, saw that something was missing: everything would have been fine if man had not been alone! How could one man by himself constitute the image and likeness of God who is one and three, God who is communion? "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gen 2:18). God went to work again, fashioning for the man the helper he still lacked, and endowing this helper in a privileged way by incorporating the order of love, which had seemed under-represented in creation.

As you know, my dear friends, this order of love belongs to the intimate life of God himself, the Trinitarian life, the Holy Spirit being the personal hypostasis of love. As my predecessor Pope John Paul II once wrote, "in God's eternal plan, woman is the one in whom the order of love in the created world of persons takes first root" (Mulieris Dignitatem, 29). In fact, gazing upon the captivating charm that radiates from woman due to the inner grace God has given her, the heart of man is enlightened and he sees himself reflected in her: "This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh" (Gen 2:23). Woman is another "I" who shares in the same human nature. We must therefore recognize, affirm and defend the equal dignity of man and woman: they are both persons, utterly unique among all the living beings found in the world.

Man and woman are both called to live in profound communion through a reciprocal recognition of one another and the mutual gift of themselves, working together for the common good through the complementary aspects of masculinity and femininity. Who today can fail to recognize the need to make more room for the "reasons of the heart"? In a world like ours, dominated by technology, we feel the need for this feminine complementarity, so that the human race can live in the world without completely losing its humanity. Think of all the places afflicted by great poverty or devastated by war, and of all the tragic situations resulting from migrations, forced or otherwise. It is almost always women who manage to preserve human dignity, to defend the family and to protect cultural and religious values.

Dear brothers and sisters, history records almost exclusively the accomplishments of men, when in fact much of it is due to the determined, unrelenting and charitable action of women. Of all the many extraordinary women, allow me to mention two in particular: Teresa Gomes and Maria Bonino. The first, an Angolan, died in 2004 in the city of Sumbe after a happily married life in which she gave birth to seven children; she was a woman of unswerving Christian faith and exemplary apostolic zeal. This was particularly evident during the years 1975 and 1976 when fierce ideological and political propaganda invaded the parish of Our Lady of Grace of Porto Amboim, almost forcing the doors of the church to close. Teresa then became the leader of the faithful who refused to bend under pressure. Teresa offered support, courageously protecting the parish structures and trying every possible means to restore the celebration of Mass. Her love for the Church made her indefatigable in the work of evangelization, under the direction of the priests.

Maria Bonino was an Italian pediatrician who offered her expertise as a volunteer in several missions throughout this beloved African continent. She became the head of the pediatric ward in the provincial hospital at Uíje during the last two years of her life. Caring for the daily needs of thousands of children who were patients there, Maria paid the ultimate price for her service by sacrificing her life during the terrible epidemic of Marburg Hemorrhagic Fever, to which she herself succumbed. She was transferred to Luanda for treatment, but she died and was laid to rest here on 24 March 2005 -- the day after tomorrow is her fourth anniversary. Church and society have been -- and continue to be -- enormously enriched by the presence and virtues of women, and in a particular way by consecrated religious who, relying on the Lord's grace, have placed themselves at the service of others.

Dear Angolans, since the dignity of women is equal to that of men, no one today should doubt that women have "a full right to become actively involved in all areas of public life, and this right must be affirmed and guaranteed, also, where necessary, through appropriate legislation. This acknowledgment of the public role of women should not however detract from their unique role within the family. Here their contribution to the welfare and progress of society, even if its importance is not sufficiently appreciated, is truly incalculable" (Message for the 1995 World Day of Peace, 9). Moreover, a woman's personal sense of dignity is not primarily the result of juridically defined rights, but rather the direct consequence of the material and spiritual care she receives in the bosom of the family. The presence of a mother within the family is so important for the stability and growth of this fundamental cell of society, that it should be recognized, commended and supported in every possible way. For the same reason, society must hold husbands and fathers accountable for their responsibilities towards their families.

Dear families, you have undoubtedly noticed that no human couple, alone and on its own strength, can adequately offer children love and a genuine understanding of life. In fact, in order to say to someone, "your life is good even though you don't know what the future will bring", there needs to be a higher and more trustworthy authority than parents alone can offer. Christians know that this higher authority has been given to the larger family which God, through his Son Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, has established within human history, namely the Church. We find at work here the eternal and indestructible love which guarantees to each of us that our life will always have meaning, even if we do not know what the future will bring. For this reason, the building up of every Christian family takes place within the larger family, the Church, which sustains the domestic family and holds it close to her heart, giving it the assurance that it is protected, now and in the future, by the "yes" of the Creator.

"They have no more wine" -- Mary says to Jesus. Dear women of Angola, accept Mary as your advocate with the Lord. This is precisely how we see her at the wedding-feast of Cana: a tender woman, full of motherly care and courage, a woman who recognizes the needs of others and, wanting to help, places those needs before the Lord. If we stay close to her, we can all -- men and women alike -- recover that sense of serenity and deep trust that makes us feel blessed by God and undaunted in our struggle for life. May Our Lady of Muxima be the guiding star of your lives. May she keep all of you united in the great family of God. Amen.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pope Benedict XVI’s Homily at Mass in Cimangola

Benedict XVI's Homily at Mass in Cimangola

"Begin Today to Grow in Your Friendship With Jesus"

LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 22, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily Benedict XVI gave today to at a Mass he presided over with bishops of the IMBISA (Interregional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa), held in Cimangola, on the outskirts of Luanda.

* * *

Dear Cardinals,
Brother Bishops and Priests,
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

"God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life" (Jn 3:16). These words fill us with joy and hope, as we await the fulfillment of God's promises! Today it is my particular joy, as the Successor of the Apostle Peter, to celebrate this Mass with you, my brothers and sisters in Christ from throughout Angola, São Tomé and Príncipe, and so many other countries. With great affection in the Lord I greet the Catholic communities from Luanda, Bengo, Cabinda, Benguela, Huambo, Huìla, Kuàndo Kubàngo, Kunène, North Kwanza, South Kwanza, North Lunda, South Lunda, Malanje, Namibe, Moxico, Uíje and Zàire.

In a special way, I greet my brother Bishops, the members of the Inter-Regional Meeting of Bishops of Southern Africa, assembled around this altar of the Lord's sacrifice. I thank the President of CEAST, Archbishop Damião Franklin, for his kind words of welcome, and, in the person of their Pastors, I greet all the faithful in the nations of Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

Today's first reading has a particular resonance for God's people in Angola. It is a message of hope addressed to the Chosen People in the land of their Exile, a summons to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the Lord's Temple. Its vivid description of the destruction and ruin caused by war echoes the personal experience of so many people in this country amid the terrible ravages of the civil war. How true it is that war can "destroy everything of value" (cf. 2 Chr 36:19): families, whole communities, the fruit of men's labor, the hopes which guide and sustain their lives and work! This experience is all too familiar to Africa as a whole: the destructive power of civil strife, the descent into a maelstrom of hatred and revenge, the squandering of the efforts of generations of good people. When God's word -- a word meant to build up individuals, communities and the whole human family -- is neglected, and when God's law is "ridiculed, despised, laughed at" (ibid., v. 16), the result can only be destruction and injustice: the abasement of our common humanity and the betrayal of our vocation to be sons and daughters of a merciful Father, brothers and sisters of his beloved Son.

So let us draw comfort from the consoling words which we have heard in the first reading! The call to return and rebuild God's Temple has a particular meaning for each of us. Saint Paul, the two thousandth anniversary of whose birth we celebrate this year, tells us that "we are the temple of the living God" (2 Cor 6:16). God dwells, we know, in the hearts of all who put their faith in Christ, who are reborn in Baptism and are made temples of the Holy Spirit. Even now, in the unity of the Body of Christ which is the Church, God is calling us to acknowledge the power of his presence within us, to reappropriate the gift of his love and forgiveness, and to become messengers of that merciful love within our families and communities, at school and in the workplace, in every sector of social and political life.

Here in Angola, this Sunday has been set aside as a day of prayer and sacrifice for national reconciliation. The Gospel teaches us that reconciliation, true reconciliation, can only be the fruit of conversion, a change of heart, a new way of thinking. It teaches us that only the power of God's love can change our hearts and make us triumph over the power of sin and division. When we were "dead through our sins" (Eph 2:5), his love and mercy brought us reconciliation and new life in Christ. This is the heart of the Apostle Paul's teaching, and it is important for us to remind ourselves: only God's grace can create a new heart in us! Only his love can change our "hearts of stone" (cf. Ezek 11:19) and enable us to build up, rather than tear down. Only God can make all things new!

It is to preach this message of forgiveness, hope and new life in Christ that I have come to Africa. Three days ago, in Yaoundé, I had the joy of promulgating the Instrumentum Laboris for the Second Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops, which will be devoted to the theme: The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace. I ask you today, in union with all our brothers and sisters throughout Africa, to pray for this intention: that every Christian on this great continent will experience the healing touch of God's merciful love, and that the Church in Africa will become "for all, through the witness borne by its sons and daughters, a place of true reconciliation" (Ecclesia in Africa, 79).

Dear friends, this is the message that the Pope is bringing to you and your children. You have received power from the Holy Spirit to be the builders of a better tomorrow for your beloved country. In Baptism you were given the Spirit in order to be heralds of God's Kingdom of truth and life, of holiness and grace, of justice, love and peace (cf. Roman Missal, Preface of Christ the King). On the day of your Baptism you received the light of Christ. Be faithful to that gift! Be confident that the Gospel can affirm, purify and ennoble the profound human values present in your native culture and traditions: your strong families, your deep religious sense, your joyful celebration of the gift of life, your appreciation of the wisdom of the elderly and the aspirations of the young. Be grateful, then, for the light of Christ! Be grateful for those who brought it, the generations of missionaries who contributed -- and continue to contribute -- so much to this country's human and spiritual development. Be grateful for the witness of so many Christian parents, teachers, catechists, priests and religious, who made personal sacrifices in order to pass this precious treasure down to you! And take up the challenge which this great legacy sets before you. Realize that the Church, in Angola and throughout Africa, is meant to be a sign before the world of that unity to which the whole human family is called, through faith in Christ the Redeemer.

The words which Jesus speaks in today's Gospel are quite striking: He tells us that God's sentence has already been pronounced upon this world (cf. Jn 3:19ff). The light has already come into the world. Yet men preferred the darkness to the light, because their deeds were evil. How much darkness there is in so many parts of our world! Tragically, the clouds of evil have also overshadowed Africa, including this beloved nation of Angola. We think of the evil of war, the murderous fruits of tribalism and ethnic rivalry, the greed which corrupts men's hearts, enslaves the poor, and robs future generations of the resources they need to create a more equitable and just society -- a society truly and authentically African in its genius and values. And what of that insidious spirit of selfishness which closes individuals in upon themselves, breaks up families, and, by supplanting the great ideals of generosity and self-sacrifice, inevitably leads to hedonism, the escape into false utopias through drug use, sexual irresponsibility, the weakening of the marriage bond and the break-up of families, and the pressure to destroy innocent human life through abortion?

Yet the word of God is a word of unbounded hope. "God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son ... so that through him, the world might be saved" (Jn 3:16-17). God does not give up on us! He continues to lift our eyes to a future of hope, and he promises us the strength to accomplish it. As Saint Paul tells us in today's second reading, God created us in Christ Jesus "to live the good life", a life of good deeds, in accordance with his will (cf. Eph 2:10). He gave us his commandments, not as a burden, but as a source of freedom: the freedom to become men and women of wisdom, teachers of justice and peace, people who believe in others and seek their authentic good. God created us to live in the light, and to be light for the world around us! This is what Jesus tells us in today's Gospel: "The man who lives by the truth comes out into the light, so that it may be plainly seen that what he does is done in God" (Jn 3:21).

"Live", then, "by the truth!" Radiate the light of faith, hope and love in your families and communities! Be witnesses of the holy truth that sets men and women free! You know from bitter experience that, in comparison with the sudden, destructive fury of evil, the work of rebuilding is painfully slow and arduous. Living by the truth takes time, effort and perseverance: it has to begin in our own hearts, in the small daily sacrifices required if we are to be faithful to God's law, in the little acts by which we demonstrate that we love our neighbors, all our neighbors, regardless of race, ethnicity or language, and by our readiness to work with them to build together on foundations that will endure. Let your parishes become communities where the light of God's truth and the power of Christ's reconciling love are not only celebrated, but proclaimed in concrete works of charity. And do not be afraid! Even if it means being a "sign of contradiction" (Lk 2:34) in the face of hardened attitudes and a mentality that sees others as a means to be used, rather than as brothers and sisters to be loved, cherished and helped along the path of freedom, life and hope.

Let me close by addressing a special word to the young people of Angola, and to all young people throughout Africa. Dear young friends: you are the hope of your country's future, the promise of a better tomorrow! Begin today to grow in your friendship with Jesus, who is "the way, and the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6): a friendship nurtured and deepened by humble and persevering prayer. Seek his will for you by listening to his word daily, and by allowing his law to shape your lives and your relationships. In this way you will become wise and generous prophets of God's saving love. Become evangelizers of your own peers, leading them by your own example to an appreciation of the beauty and truth of the Gospel, and the hope of a future shaped by the values of God's Kingdom. The Church needs your witness! Do not be afraid to respond generously to God's call, whether it be to serve him as a priest or a religious, as a Christian parent, or in the many forms of service to others which the Church sets before you.

Dear brothers and sisters! At the end of today's first reading, Cyrus, King of Persia, inspired by God, calls the Chosen People to return to their beloved land and to rebuild the Temple of the Lord. May his words be a summons to all God's People in Angola and throughout Southern Africa: Arise! Ponde-vos a caminho! (cf. 2 Chr 36:23) Look to the future with hope, trust in God's promises, and live in his truth. In this way, you will build something destined to endure, and leave to future generations a lasting inheritance of reconciliation, justice and peace. Amen.

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The Pope was right about condoms

John Adams once famously said that facts are stubborn things. Those with an agenda towards promoting a "liberating" (read: enslaving) perception of human sexuality would like us to believe that the primary means of eliminating the scourge of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa is through the greater availability and use of condoms. Condoms, they tell us, are going to stop the spread of AIDS. It's science, right? Condoms are double-dipped in latex, thus sealing off the possibility of the HIV virus from spreading from an infected person to a non-infected person. Thus with a condom one need not worry about having sex with an infected partner, because they are practicing "safe sex" and are protected from their partner's disease. But again, facts are stubborn things. And what do the facts tell us? The facts tell us that in sub-Saharan Africa where condom availability and usage has increased, HIV prevalence has increased as well, often dramatically. The facts also tell us that when changes in sexual behavior have been observed, either in a greater practicing of abstinence, monogamy, or in simply reducing the number of one's sexual partners, this change has been accompanied by a significant reduction in HIV prevalence. These are simply facts.

Before going into a brief statistical analysis I want to first look at what exactly the pope said, so that I can demonstrate why it is that he was right. In an interview with reporters on the plane while traveling to his first papal trip to Africa, the pope was asked the following question: "Holy Father among the many evils that affect Africa there is also the particular problem of the spread of AIDS. The position of the Catholic Church for fighting this evil is frequently considered unrealistic and ineffective." To which the Holy Father responded:

I would say the opposite. It is my belief that the most effective presence on the front in the battle against HIV/AIDS is precisely the Catholic Church and her institutions. I think of the Community of Sant' Egidio, which does so much, visibly and invisibly to fight AIDS, of the Camillians, of all the nuns that are at the service of the sick. 

I would say that this problem of AIDS cannot be overcome with advertising slogans. If the soul is lacking, if Africans do not help one another, the scourge cannot be resolved by distributing condoms; quite the contrary, we risk worsening the problem. The solution can only come through a twofold commitment: firstly, the humanization of sexuality, in other words a spiritual and human renewal bringing a new way of behaving towards one another; and secondly, true friendship, above all with those who are suffering, a readiness - even through personal sacrifice - to be present with those who suffer. And these are the factors that help and bring visible progress. 

Therefore, I would say that our double effort is to renew the human person internally, to give spiritual and human strength to a way of behaving that is just towards our own body and the other person's body; and this capacity of suffering with those who suffer, to remain present in trying situations. 

I believe that this is the first response [to AIDS] and that this is what the Church does, and thus, she offers a great and important contribution. And we are grateful to those that do this.

A few comments need to be made here. First, in the press and among world leaders, the only part of this comment which was addressed, and subsequently viciously attacked, was the comment specific to condom usage, where the Holy Father said that without a commitment by Africans to helping one another, a mere distribution of condoms risks making the scourge of AIDS worse. The coverage in the press of course totally missed the first half of that statement, where the Holy Father talked about the need for Africans to help one another. In fact, this goes to the heart of his entire message in the course of his visit to Africa. The scourge of AIDS is one that presents many fronts on which the battle must be fought. It requires people willing to aid those who are suffering, the sick and the dying. On this front there is simply no one engaging the battle more courageously than the Catholic Church.

The battle must also engage the violence and oppression of women that contributes so mightily to the scourge of AIDS. Again on this front the Church is at the front lines. As the Holy Father said in his address to the president, civil and military leaders in Angola: " Particularly disturbing is the crushing yoke of discrimination that women and girls so often endure, not to mention the unspeakable practice of sexual violence and exploitation which causes such humiliation and trauma." This oppression and the sexual violence and exploitation must be addressed on its own merit and because of the injustice it represents of itself; but it is also intrinsically connected to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and that connection must be recognized.

One last point must be addressed regarding the Holy Father's comments about condoms. Contrary to what many in the media would like us to believe, the Holy Father here made no assertion of Catholic doctrine regarding condoms. Nowhere did Pope Benedict say, "Condoms are opposed to the divine will of God and therefore must be shunned in all instances." Despite the irrational hysteria of those quick to attack the Church and the pope, nowhere did he say that those who use condoms are condemned to hell. In fact, the Church has never made such a statement anywhere, ever, despite the vicious lies that our enemies (even those within who bear the name of Christian or Catholic) would like us to believe. No such comments were made, and not even the slightest hint of such a statement can be found in anything he has said during the entire course of his African journey. It is true that the distribution and promotion of condoms is never going to be part of the Church's contribution to the fight against HIV/AIDS, but there are plenty of organizations taking up that front, and as we will see in the statistical analysis I am about to provide, there is absolutely no dearth of condoms available.

What the Holy Father did say, however, and this is where those who actually care about the scourge of HIV need to listen to his wisdom and the truth which he speaks, is that if condoms are the primary focus of our fight against HIV/AIDS, it is a fight that will always be lost. The fight will never be won by focusing primarily on condom usage and distribution. We must be willing to address seriously the need to change sexual behavior, to help the people understand the absolute need for monogamy (one thing you will note in the Holy Father's statements is that he actually never even pushed for abstinence, rather for monogamy, which all statistics show is terribly important in the fight against HIV/AIDS), and until we can address the violence and oppression of women, until all of these unhealthy and dehumanizing behaviors are addressed, the distribution of condoms will never be affective, and in fact risk making the situation worse.

Finally, let's look at some statistics. The following come from Harvard University's AIDS Prevention Research Project, part of the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies:

• In Kenya, in young persons, ages 15-24, in 1998 56% of men reported having sex in the past year. In 2003, that number dropped to 41% among men, and went from 32 to 21% among women. In people ages 15-49, young men reporting multiple partners in the past year dropped from 30% in 1998 to 17% in 2003, and 4% to 2% among women. During that same time, condom use changed only perceptibly, from 44 to 47% among men, and 16 to 24% among women. HIV prevalence during that same time period dropped from 13% to 8%.
  
• In 1991 there were less than 1,000,000 condoms sold in Botswana, and HIV/AIDS prevalence was at between 4-6% (about 4% rural, 6% urban). By 2001, condom sales had more than tripled in the country, and HIV prevalence skyrocketed to 35/45% rural/urban.
  
• In Cameroon, in 1990 condom sales were again, less than 1,000,000 in that year, and HIV prevalence in pregnant women was around 1%. By 2001, condom sales skyrocketed to about 15,000,000 per year, and the HIV prevalence in pregnant women jumped from 8/10% rural/urban.
  
• In a recent interview, Edward C. Green, the director of the AIDS Prevention Research project, mentioned what is known as the risk compensation effect, which says that when people participate in risk-reduction technology, such as condoms, they also tend to compensate by participating in increasingly more risky behavior. This bears out statistically in a study conducted in Uganda in 2001, where an increase in condom sales and usage coincided with an increase in people (especially men) reporting sexual activity with multiple partners.
  
• In 2003 a report from UNAIDS stated: "No definite examples yet of generalized [African] epidemics that have been turned back by prevention programs based primarily on condom promotion."
  
• In Cote d'Ivoire a study was conducted between 1998 and 2005, demonstrating these points yet again. Among young men between the ages of 15-24, the percentage reporting sexual activity with multiple partners in the past year dropped from 49 to 32%; among men ages 15-49 the drop was from 42% to 30%. Condom usage during that time period stayed basically the same, from 50 to 51%. HIV prevalence dropped from 10% to 7%.
  

This last statistic raises another interesting point. While the drop in HIV prevalence was not staggering, it was nonetheless significant to get it to just below 7%. But perhaps more telling, there are many who like to argue that it is useless and perhaps even offensive to think that we can expect to convince people to change their sexual behavior. Yet these statistics tell a very different story, that people are accepting the need for monogamy, and that people are actually practicing abstinence when they are educated as to its benefits and value. And this is an area where the Church can truly make a difference, because she alone is offering a truly humanized view of sexuality which embraces selflessness, sacrifice, and true love. And as the statistics demonstrate, this change in sexual behavior is essential to the fight against HIV/AIDS, and in fact far more so than a reliance upon condom distribution.

Again, this is not to say that condoms to not have a place in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and it is important for all those hysterically accusing the Holy Father to recognize that he said no such thing. But what must be recognized by anyone who truly cares about this scourge is that condoms can never play the primary role in the fight, and if we continue down that path we will continue signing the death certificate of so many millions of people every single year. The Western way in addressing any number of world problems has for too long been to throw money at it and hope it will go away. It's the same way we fight poverty. We give money to charity and make sure we send people lots of food. Let's face it, giving up money isn't a sacrifice for most of us. What we fail to realize is that this attitude, far from helping the problem, exacerbates it and seals people in their poverty. The same is true in our fight against HIV/AIDS. If we continue to rely primarily on throwing money/condoms at the situation, if that is our primary means of attacking this scourge, and if we shirk from the responsibility of helping people realize the importance of changing sexual behavior, and recognizing that this is the most important component in the fight against AIDS, then HIV/AIDS will remain the scourge that it is, and will have any hope of improving. So the West is free to carry on with our ignorance and our arrogance, but let us be known that if we do, the blood will be on our hands.

Who will go to them to proclaim Christ?

Yesterday was the Holy Father's second day in Angola, the second phase of his first papal visit to Africa. In his homily at the Sao Paulo church he spoke openly about the need to evangelize and to bring Christ directly to people who are so starving for it, and how we must not allow ourselves to fall prey to the relativism of today that says, "Oh just let people have their truth, and we have ours." Here is what he said:

Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of God, to offer the Risen Christ to your fellow citizens. So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers. Who can go to them to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers (cf. Ephesians 1:19-23; 6:10-12)? Someone may object: "Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours. Let us all try to live in peace, leaving everyone as they are, so they can best be themselves." But if we are convinced and have come to experience that without Christ life lacks something, that something real -- indeed, the most real thing of all -- is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life. Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us say to them, in the words of the Israelite people: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us." Let us enable human poverty to encounter divine mercy. The Lord makes us his friends, he entrusts himself to us, he gives us his Body in the Eucharist, he entrusts his Church to us. And so we ought truly to be his friends, to be one in mind with him, to desire what he desires and to reject what he does not desire. Jesus himself said: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14). Let this, then, be our common commitment: together to do his holy will: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). Let us embrace his will, like St. Paul: "Preaching the Gospel [...] is a necessity laid upon me; woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16).

It is so powerful to see the great pastor of the Church speak so directly about the need to evangelize. We in the West it seems have long ago chosen comfort over persecution, and would prefer to silently worship God without extending ourselves lovingly to others by offering the truth for which all of humanity starves. In particular when we see such harmful superstitions – or worse, demonic influence – we must be bold and seek the grace and the courage to preach the liberation that only comes from Christ. The human heart is created with a deep desire for love, and the human soul is created with a deep desire for truth, and it is only in Christ that we see that truth and love are originally identical, and thus that only Christ satisfies these two most fundamental desires of our humanity. St. Paul tells us that, For freedom Christ set us free (Gal 5:1), and what is this freedom if not the freedom to know and to love God? A great blessing man could not conceive.

So let us be courageous, let us be bold – let us be willing to be uncomfortable! In a society that dogmatizes relativism and tells us that we must simply accept that everyone has their truth, let us remember that there is but one truth, and that is Christ, and that if we are to truly love our neighbor we must find ways to bring Christ to them. There are many different ways to share the Gospel, and each person has their own talents, and each person we encounter may respond differently to different ways, but we must always strive to find a way to connect with our sister or brother in the heart, and help them open up to the truth of God's love, the truth of Jesus Christ.

Pope Benedict XVI’s Address to the Youth in Angola

Papal Address to Youth at Dos Coqueiros Stadium

"The Power to Shape the Future Is Within You"

LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address Benedict XVI gave today at a meeting with youth at Dos Coqueiros Stadium in Luanda.

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Dear Friends,

You have come here in great numbers to be with the Successor of Peter, and you represent so many other young people who are one with us in spirit. You have come to join me in proclaiming openly the joy of our faith in Jesus Christ, and in renewing your commitment to be his faithful disciples in our time. A meeting much like this took place here in Luanda on June 7, 1992 with our beloved Pope John Paul II. Today another Pope stands before you: with a different appearance, but with the same love in his heart, and he embraces all of you in Jesus Christ, who is "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Heb 13:8).

First of all I want to thank you for this celebration which you have planned for me, for the festive atmosphere which you yourselves generate, for your presence and for your joy. I cordially greet my brother Bishops and priests and all those who are engaged in youth ministry. I likewise greet with gratitude all who have prepared this event, especially the Bishops' Commission for Young People and Vocations, and its President, Bishop Kanda Almeida, whom I thank for his warm words of welcome. I greet all the young people present, Catholics and others, who are looking for an answer to their questions and difficulties. Some of these have been expressed by your representatives, and I have listened to them with gratitude and appreciation. The embrace I exchanged with them is, naturally, an embrace which I offer to all of you.

Meeting young people is good for everyone! You may have your share of difficulties, but you are filled with great hope, great enthusiasm and a great desire to make a new beginning. My young friends, you hold within yourselves the power to shape the future. I encourage you to look to that future through the eyes of the Apostle John. Saint John tells us: "I saw a new Heaven and a new earth ... and I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of Heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband; and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold the dwelling of God is with men'" (Rev 21:1-3). Dear young people, God makes all the difference. His special presence among us begins with his easy intimacy with the first couple in the garden of Eden; it continues with the divine glory which shone forth from the Tent of Meeting in the midst of the People of Israel during their journey through the desert, and it culminates in the incarnation of the Son of God who became inseparably one with humanity in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself traversed the desert of our humanity and, passing beyond death, he rose from the dead and now draws all humanity with himself towards God. Jesus is no longer confined to a particular place and time. His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, flows forth from him, enters our hearts and thus joins us to him, and with him to the Father -- to the God who is one and three.

Yes, my friends! God makes all the difference ... and more! God changes us; he makes us new! This is what he has promised: "Behold, I make all things new" (Rev 21:5). It is true! The Apostle Paul tells us: "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled himself to us" (2 Cor 5:17-18). In ascending to Heaven and entering eternity, Jesus Christ has become the Lord of all ages. So he can walk with us as a friend in the present, carrying in his hand the book of our days. In his hand he also holds the past, the foundation and source of our life. He also carefully holds the future, allowing us to catch a glimpse of the most beautiful dawn we will ever see: the dawn that radiates from him, the dawn of the Resurrection. God is the future of a new humanity, which is anticipated in his Church. When you have a chance, take time to read the Church's history. You will find that the Church does not grow old with the passing of the years. Rather, she grows younger, for she is journeying towards her Lord, day by day drawing nearer to the one true fountain overflowing with youthfulness, rebirth, the power of life.

Dear young people, the future is God. As we have just heard, "he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more; neither shall there be mourning, nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away" (Rev 21:4). At present though, and even in our midst, I see some of the many thousands of young Angolans who have been maimed or disabled as a result of the war and the landmines. I think of the countless tears that have been shed for the loss of your relatives and friends. It is not hard to imagine the dark clouds that still veil the horizon of your fondest hopes and dreams. In your hearts I see doubt, a doubt which you have expressed to me today. You are saying: "Here is what we have. There is no visible sign of the things you are talking about! The promise is backed by God's word -- and we believe it -- but when will God arise and renew all things?" Jesus' answer is the one he gave to his disciples: "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?" (Jn 14:1-2). But you persist, dear young people: "Yes! But when will this happen?" The Apostles asked Jesus a similar question, and his answer was: "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses ... to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:7-8). See how Jesus does not leave us without an answer; he tells us one thing very clearly: renewal starts from within; you will receive a power from on high. The power to shape the future is within you.

It is within you, but how? Just as life exists within a seed. That is how Jesus explained it at a critical juncture in his ministry. The beginning of his ministry was accompanied by great enthusiasm. People saw the sick healed, demons cast out, the Gospel proclaimed, but otherwise the world had not changed: the Romans remained in power and everyday life continued to be hard, despite those miracles and those beautiful words. People's enthusiasm was waning so much that even some of his disciples had left the Master (cf. Jn 6:66) who preached but did not change the world. Everyone was asking: deep down, what value does this message have? What has this prophet of God brought us? It was then that Jesus spoke about the sower who sows in the field of the world, and he explained that the seed is his word (Mk 4:3-20) and his miracles of healing. These are so few in comparison to the immense needs and demands of everyday life. And yet, deep within the seed, the future is already present, since the seed contains tomorrow's bread, tomorrow's life. The seed seems almost nothing. But it is the presence of the future, the promise already present. When it falls on good soil, it produces fruit, thirty, sixty and even a hundredfold.

My dear friends, you are a seed which God has sown in the world, a seed that contains power from on high, the power of the Holy Spirit. And yet, the only way to pass from the promise of life to actually bearing fruit is to give your lives in love, to die for love. Jesus himself said: "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" (Jn 12:24-25). This is what Jesus said, and this is how he acted. His crucifixion seems like complete failure, but it is not! Jesus, in the power of "the eternal Spirit, offered himself without blemish to God" (Heb 9:14). Thus, once he fell to the earth, he could bear fruit in every time and place. In your midst you have the new Bread, the Bread of future life, the Most Holy Eucharist, which nourishes us and pours out the life of the Trinity into the hearts of all people.

Dear young people, as seeds filled with the power of the same eternal Spirit, sprout up before the warmth of the Eucharist, in which the Lord's testament is fulfilled: he gives himself to us and we respond by giving ourselves to others, for love of him. This is the way that leads to life; it can be followed only by maintaining a constant dialogue with the Lord and among yourselves. The dominant societal culture is not helping you to live by Jesus' word or to practise the self-giving to which he calls you in accordance with the Father's plan. Yet, dear friends, you have the power within you, just as it was in Jesus when he said: "the Father who dwells in me does his works... he who believes in me, will also do the works that I do; and he will do greater works than these, because I go to the Father" (Jn 14:10,12). So do not be afraid to make definitive decisions. You do not lack generosity -- that I know! But the idea of risking a lifelong commitment, whether in marriage or in a life of special consecration, can be daunting. You might think: "The world is in constant flux and life is full of possibilities. Can I make a life-long commitment now, without knowing what unforeseen events lie in store for me? By making a definitive decision, would I not be risking my freedom and tying my own hands?" These are the doubts you feel, and today's individualistic and hedonist culture aggravates them. Yet when young people avoid decisions, there is a risk of never attaining to full maturity!

I say to you: Take courage! Dare to make definitive decisions, because in reality these are the only decisions which do not destroy your freedom, but guide it in the right direction, enabling you to move forward and attain something worthwhile in life. There is no doubt about it: life is worthwhile only if you take courage and are ready for adventure, if you trust in the Lord who will never abandon you. Young people of Angola, unleash the power of the Holy Spirit within you, the power from on high! Trusting in this power, like Jesus, risk taking a leap and making a definitive decision. Give life a chance! In this way islands, oases and great stretches of Christian culture will spring up in your midst, and bring to light that "holy city coming down out of Heaven, from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband". This is the life worthy of being lived, and I commend it to you from my heart. May God bless the young people of Angola!

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Pope Benedict XVI in Angola – Homily at São Paolo Church

Benedict XVI's Homily at Angola's São Paolo Church

"Let Us Make Haste to Know the Lord"

LUANDA, Angola, MARCH 21, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is the homily Benedict XVI gave today at a Mass with bishops, priests, religious, ecclesial movements and catechists of Angola and São Tomé at São Paolo Church in Luanda.

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Beloved laborers in the Lord's vineyard,

As we have just heard, the children of Israel said to one another, "let us make haste to know the Lord." They encouraged one another with these words amid their many tribulations. These misfortunes had overtaken them -- the Prophet explains -- because they lived without knowledge of God; their hearts were poor in love. The only physician capable of healing them was the Lord. Indeed, he himself, as a good physician, opened their wounds so that the sore might heal. And the people made up their mind: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us" (Hosea 6:1). Thus human poverty was to intersect with divine mercy, which desires only to embrace the poor.

We see this in the Gospel passage that we have just heard: "Two men went up into the temple to pray"; the one "went down to his house justified rather than the other" (Luke 18:10, 14). The latter had paraded all his merits before God, virtually making God his debtor. Deep down, he felt no need for God, even though he thanked him for letting him become so perfect, "not like this tax collector." And yet it was the tax collector who went down to his house justified. Conscious of his sins, and so not even lifting his head -- although in his trust he is completely turned towards Heaven -- he awaits everything from the Lord: "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13). He knocks on the door of mercy, which then opens and justifies him, for, as Jesus concludes: "everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).

St. Paul, the patron saint of the city of Luanda and of this splendid church built some fifty years ago, speaks to us from personal experience about this God who is rich in mercy. I wanted to highlight the second millennium of the birth of St. Paul by celebrating the present Pauline Year, so that we can learn from him how to know Jesus Christ more fully. This is the testimony which Paul has bequeathed to us: "The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. And I am the foremost of sinners; but I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience for an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life" (1 Timothy 1:15-16). In the course of the centuries, the number of people touched by grace has continually grown. You and I are among them. Let us give thanks to God because he has called us to be part of this age-long procession and thus to advance towards the future. In the footsteps of all Jesus' followers, let us join them in following Christ himself and thus enter into the Light.

Dear brothers and sisters, I feel great joy to be here today with you, my fellow-workers in the Lord's vineyard, where you labor daily to prepare the wine of divine mercy and to pour it out as balm on the wounds of your people who have suffered so many tribulations. Archbishop Gabriel Mbilingi has spoken of your hopes and your struggles in his gracious words of welcome. With a heart full of gratitude and hope I greet you all -- women and men devoted to the cause of Jesus Christ -- those of you who are here and the many others whom you represent: bishops, priests, consecrated men and women, seminarians, catechists, leaders of the many different movements and associations present in this beloved Church of God. I would also like to mention the contemplative women religious, an unseen but extremely fruitful presence for our common journey. Finally, let me offer a particular greeting to the Salesian community and the faithful of this parish of St. Paul; they have welcomed us to their church, without hesitating to yield the place which is usually theirs in the liturgical assembly. I know that they are gathered in the field next door, and I hope, at the end of this Eucharist, to see them and give them my blessing, but even now I say to them: "Many thanks! May God raise up in you, and through you, many apostles modeled on your patron."

The decisive event in Paul's life was his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus: Christ appeared to him as a dazzling light, he spoke to him and he won him over. The Apostle saw the Risen Jesus; and in him he beheld the full stature of humanity. As a result Paul experienced an inversion of perspective; he now saw everything in the light of this perfect stature of humanity in Christ: what had earlier seemed essential and fundamental, he now considered nothing more than "refuse"; no longer "gain" but loss, for now the only thing that mattered was life in Christ (cf. Philippians 3:7-8). Far from being merely a stage in Paul's personal growth, this was a death to himself and a resurrection in Christ: one form of life died in him, and a new form was born, with the Risen Christ.

My brothers and sisters, "let us make haste to know the Lord", the Risen One! As you know, Jesus, perfect man, is also our true God. In him, God became visible to our eyes, to give us a share in his divine life. With him a new dimension of being, of life, has come about, a dimension which integrates matter and through which a new world arises. But this qualitative leap in universal history which Jesus brought about in our place and for our sake -- how is it communicated to human beings, how does it permeate their life and raise it on high? It comes to each of us through faith and Baptism. This sacrament is truly death and resurrection, transformation and new life, so much so that the baptized person can say together with Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). I live, but no longer I. In a certain way, my identity has been taken away and made part of an even greater identity; I still have my personal identity, but now it is changed and open to others as a result of my becoming part of Another: in Christ I find myself living on a new plane. What then has happened to us? Paul gives us the answer: You have become one in Christ Jesus (cf. Galatians 3:28).

Through this process of our "christification" by the working and grace of God's Spirit, the gestation of the Body of Christ in history is gradually being accomplished in us. At this moment I would like to go back in thought five centuries, to the years following 1506, when, in these lands, then visited by the Portuguese, the first sub-Saharan Christian kingdom was established, thanks to the faith and determination of the king, Dom Alphonsus I Mbemba-a-Nzinga, who reigned from 1506 until his death in 1543. The kingdom remained officially Catholic from the sixteenth century until the eighteenth, with its own ambassador in Rome. You see how two quite different ethnic groups -- the Bantu and the Portuguese -- were able to find in the Christian religion common ground for understanding, and committed themselves to ensuring that this understanding would be long-lasting, and that differences -- which undoubtedly existed, and great ones at that -- would not divide the two kingdoms! For Baptism enables all believers to be one in Christ.

Today it is up to you, brothers and sisters, following in the footsteps of those heroic and holy heralds of God, to offer the Risen Christ to your fellow citizens. So many of them are living in fear of spirits, of malign and threatening powers. In their bewilderment they end up even condemning street children and the elderly as alleged sorcerers. Who can go to them to proclaim that Christ has triumphed over death and all those occult powers (cf. Ephesians 1:19-23; 6:10-12)? Someone may object: "Why not leave them in peace? They have their truth, and we have ours. Let us all try to live in peace, leaving everyone as they are, so they can best be themselves." But if we are convinced and have come to experience that without Christ life lacks something, that something real -- indeed, the most real thing of all -- is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life. Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life.

Dear brothers and sisters, let us say to them, in the words of the Israelite people: "Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn, that he may heal us." Let us enable human poverty to encounter divine mercy. The Lord makes us his friends, he entrusts himself to us, he gives us his Body in the Eucharist, he entrusts his Church to us. And so we ought truly to be his friends, to be one in mind with him, to desire what he desires and to reject what he does not desire. Jesus himself said: "You are my friends if you do what I command you" (John 15:14). Let this, then, be our common commitment: together to do his holy will: "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation" (Mark 16:15). Let us embrace his will, like St. Paul: "Preaching the Gospel [...] is a necessity laid upon me; woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!" (1 Corinthians 9:16).

© Copyright 2009 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

Reproductive Health

"How bitter the irony of those who promote abortion as a form of "maternal" healthcare! How disconcerting the claim that the termination of life is a matter of reproductive health."

--Pope Benedict XVI, in an address to the president, civil and military leaders of Angola.

Round-Up of Today’s Papal Addresses in Africa

Today began the second phase of the Holy Father's first papal visit to Africa, as he departed Cameroon and arrived in Angola. Here is a round-up of his various addresses:

 

• Farewell Message to Cameroon – Final exhortation to hope
  
• Greeting to People of Angola – An address to the president of Angola and the civil and military leaders
  
• Address to Angola's Politicians – Exhortation for politicians to embrace the hope that is Africa's destiny
  
• Address to Bishops – The vibrancy of the faith of the people