Pope Francis

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https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-emeritus-benedict-and-cardinal-sarah-collaborate

Jan. 12, 2020
Pope Benedict Co-Authors New Book With Cardinal Sarah on the Priesthood

The book, entitled From the Depths of Our Heart, addresses the ‘dark time’ the Catholic priesthood is enduring because of Church scandals and ‘the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy.’
Edward Pentin

VATICAN CITY — Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has taken the surprising and historic step of co-authoring his first book since his resignation almost seven years ago — and by asking in it that Pope Francis not allow the ordination of married men to the priesthood in the Latin Church.

The 175-page book, entitled Des Profondeurs de nos cœurs (From the Depths of Our Hearts) and written with Cardinal Robert Sarah, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, discusses the spiritual challenges confronting today’s priests, and draws attention to the danger of ordaining married men as priests, which they see as placing the Church’s future in jeopardy.

The work, consisting of two separate texts by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah who jointly co-signed an introduction and conclusion, also aims to be a “homage to the priests of the whole world.”

Consisting of four chapters and a foreword by Cardinal Sarah’s biographer Nicolas Diat, it will be published in French on Jan. 15, with Ignatius Press publishing an English edition on Feb. 20 (available for pre-order starting Jan. 13).
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/a-contribution-on-priestly-celibacy-in-filial-obedience-to-pope.html

Editorial
A contribution on priestly celibacy in filial obedience to the Pope
13 January 2020, 13:27

A book by the Pope emeritus and the Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship addresses a theme on which Pope Francis has expressed himself several times.
Andrea Tornielli

A book on the priesthood that bears the signatures of Pope emeritus Joseph Ratzinger and of Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, will be released in France on 15 January. The pre-publication material provided by Le Figaro shows that with their contribution, the authors are entering into the debate on celibacy and the possibility of ordaining married men as priests. Ratzinger and Sarah — who describe themselves as two Bishops “in filial obedience to Pope Francis” who “are seeking the truth” in “a spirit of love for the unity of the Church” — defend the discipline of celibacy and put forth the reasons that they feel counsel against changing it. The question of celibacy occupies 175 pages of the volume, with two texts — one from the Pope emeritus and the other from the Cardinal — together with an introduction and a conclusion signed by both.
 
Finally, it is significant that Pope Francis, while thanking the media, also asked a favour of them at the same time: “that in their dissemination of the Final Document, they would focus above all on the diagnosis which is the more significant part, the part in which the Synod truly expressed itself best: cultural diagnosis, social diagnosis, pastoral diagnosis and ecological diagnosis”. The Pope then invited them not to fall into the danger of focusing on “which party won and which one lost” when looking at what was decided concerning disciplinary issues.

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https://zenit.org/articles/id-rather-give-my-life-than-change-the-law-on-celibacy-pope-francis-citing-paul-vi/

‘I’d Rather Give My Life than Change the Law on Celibacy,’ Pope Francis Citing Paul VI

Vatican Restates Pope Francis’ View Against Optional Celibacy In Response to Benedict XVI & Cardinal Sarah’s New Book on Priestly Celibacy
January 13, 2020 15:53  Deborah Castellano Lubov

‘I would rather give my life than change the law on celibacy.’ Pope Francis, in citing St. Pope Paul VI’s famous words, has expressed clearly where he stands…

The Vatican gave this reminder of the Pope’s words on the return flight from his Apostolic Trip to Panama for the occasion of World Youth Day, in the statement issued today, Jan. 13, by Matteo Bruni, Director of the Holy See Press Office, in response to the new book by Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI  and Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, on priestly celibacy.
 
The Director of the Holy See Press Office’s statement in response to the book follows:

Answering questions from journalists, the Director of the Holy See Press Office, Matteo Bruni, stated the following:

The position of the Holy Father on celibacy is known. In the course of his conversation with journalists on his return from Panama, Pope Francis said: “A phrase from Saint Paul VI comes to mind: ‘I prefer to give my life before changing the law of celibacy'”. And he added: “Personally I think celibacy is a gift for the Church. I don’t agree to allow optional celibacy, no. Only a few possibilities would remain in the most remote locations – I think of the Pacific Islands … […] when there is pastoral need, there, the pastor must think of the faithful “.

Regarding the way in which this topic fits into the more general work of the recent Synod on the Pan-Amazon region and its evangelization, during the final session the Holy Father said: “I was very pleased that we did not fall prisoners of these selective groups who of the Synod want to see only what has been decided on this or that other intra-ecclesiastical point, and deny the body of the Synod which are the diagnoses we have made in the four dimensions. “(Pastoral, cultural, social and ecological) .

As many media try to illustrate a difference between Francis and Benedict on the matter, the Vatican reminds how Francis has said that priestly celibacy is not optional.

Moreover, in the light of the upcoming Apostolic Exhortation following the Synod on the Amazon, expected perhaps as early as next month, the Vatican reiterated how the Synod–according to the Pope–is not to be reduced to one or two issues, but in the four aforementioned dimensions.

Hmmm...
http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-says-no-then-maybe-to-married-clergy#.XhxwI_38EmM.twitter
Jan. 29, 2019
Pope Francis Says ‘No’ Then ‘Maybe’ to Married Priests
On the papal plane back from Panama, the Holy Father said he is personally opposed, but then recommended the radical ideas of a missionary bishop who supports ordaining untrained older married men of proven virtue.
Edward Pentin

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-01/book-pope-emeritus-priestly-celibacy-statement-ganswein.html

The book on priestly celibacy: a clarification by Archbishop Gänswein
14 January 2020, 14:08

 
Archbishop Georg Gänswein, Prefect of the Papal Household and Personal Secretary of the Pope Emeritus has issued a statement to the KNA and Ansa news agencies, regarding the book on priestly celibacy, carrying the signatures of Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah, to be published tomorrow in France,

 "I can confirm that this morning, at the indication of the Pope emeritus, I asked Cardinal Robert Sarah to contact the publishers of the book requesting them to remove the name of Benedict XVI as co-author of the book itself, and also to remove his name from the introduction and conclusions".

"The Pope emeritus in fact knew the Cardinal was preparing a book”, Archbishop Gänswein added, “and had sent a short text of his on the priesthood”, authorizing the Cardinal to use it as he wished. But the Pope emeritus “had not approved any project for a co- signed book, nor had he seen and authorized the cover. It was a misunderstanding, without questioning the good faith of Cardinal Sarah".

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archbishop-ganswein-benedict-xvi-wrote-text-but-did-not-agree-to-be-books-co-author-52484

Archbishop Ganswein: Benedict XVI wrote text, but did not agree to be book's co-author
By Hannah Brockhaus

Vatican City, Jan 14, 2020 / 05:58 am (CNA).- Archbishop Georg Ganswein, the private secretary of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, said Tuesday the former pontiff was not informed he would be presented as co-author of a new book on priestly celibacy and that Benedict has asked for his name and photo to be removed from the cover.

According to the German-language news agency KNA, Ganswein said Jan. 14 that he had called Cardinal Robert Sarah that morning, at Benedict’s request, to ask the book’s publisher to remove the signature of the pope emeritus from the introduction and conclusion, because he had not co-authored them.

Ganswein said that the chapter in the main part of the book is, however, “100 percent Benedict,” according to KNA. “It was a misunderstanding - without questioning Cardinal Sarah’s good intentions,” Ganswein said.

The book, “From the Depths of Our Hearts,” is to be released in the United States in February, and will consist of chapters written individually by Benedict and Sarah, as well as an introduction and conclusion reportedly credited jointly to them in the French edition, although the text has not yet been published. Its French release is scheduled for Jan. 15.

Ganswein said that Benedict wrote the text on priestly celibacy included in the book during the summer of 2019, that he freely gave it to Cardinal Sarah at his request, and that he knew it would appear in a book. He said the pope emeritus was not informed of the plan for the actual form and layout, according to KNA.

Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Vatican’s liturgy office, sent a tweet in the early afternoon in Rome Jan. 14 saying future editions of the book will list him alone as author with a contribution by Benedict XVI, “however, the full text remains absolutely unchanged.”

Approximately two hours prior, Sarah had tweeted a communique claiming Benedict was sent a “complete manuscript” of the book on November 19, comprised of the cover, the common introduction and conclusion, and their individual texts, which would seem to be at odds with Ganswein's statement.

In the same statement, Sarah said Benedict sent a message November 25 agreeing for the manuscript to be published in the form proposed.

Cardinal Sarah then retweeted the same communique later in the afternoon, stating that "This press release remains my one and only version of the development of the facts."

The previous day, on January 13, Sarah tweeted a series of letters from Benedict XVI, that seemed to affirm that the pope emeritus wrote the chapter attributed to him and authorized its publication. The letters also seemed to indicate that Sarah had edited the text provided by Benedict, with the pope emeritus’s full approval.
 

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https://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/pope-emeritus-benedict-and-cardinal-sarah-collaborate

Jan. 12, 2020
Pope Benedict Co-Authors New Book With Cardinal Sarah on the Priesthood

UPDATED: The book, entitled From the Depths of Our Hearts, addresses the ‘dark time’ the Catholic priesthood is enduring because of Church scandals and ‘the constant questioning of their consecrated celibacy.’
Edward Pentin
 
The French publisher Fayard had initially presented the book as having been co-authored by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah when news of it broke Jan. 12.

But after what Benedict's secretary Archbishop Georg Gänswein called a "misunderstanding" over the cover, byline and sections of the book, the principal author was changed by mutual agreement from "Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah" to "Cardinal Robert Sarah with a contribution by Benedict XVI."

Benedict's signature was also removed from the introduction and conclusion but the full text remained "absolutely unchanged," Cardinal Sarah said in a Jan. 14 tweet.

However, Ignatius Press, which is publishing the English edition of the book, issued a Jan. 14 statement standing by the book being co-authored. “The text we received indicates the two authors are Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah,” the publishing house said, adding that it also considered the introduction and conclusion co-authored by them, as well.

Consisting of four chapters  and a forward by the Guinean cardinal's biographer Nicolas Diat, the book will be published in French on Jan. 15, with Ignatius Press publishing an English edition on Feb. 20 (available for pre-order now).
 

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RNS Press Release Service

https://religionnews.com/2020/01/14/statement-from-ignatius-press-on-from-the-depths-of-our-hearts/

Statement from Ignatius Press on From the Depths of Our Hearts
January 14, 2020
RNS Press Release Distribution Service

SAN FRANCISCO — In light of recent developments with respect to the Ignatius Press title “FROM THE DEPTHS OF OUR HEARTS,” Mark Brumley, President of Ignatius Press, issues the following statement:

“Ignatius Press published the text as we received it from the French publisher Fayard. Fayard is the publisher with whom we have collaborated on three other Cardinal Sarah titles. The text we received indicates the two authors are Benedict XVI and Cardinal Sarah. That text also indicates that Benedict XVI co-authored an introduction and a conclusion with Cardinal Sarah, as well as his own chapter on the priesthood, wherein he describes how his exchanges with Cardinal Sarah gave him the strength to complete what would have gone unfinished.

Given that, according to Benedict XVI’s correspondence and Cardinal Sarah’s statement, the two men collaborated on this book for several months, that none of the essays have appeared elsewhere, and that a joint work as defined by the Chicago Manual of Style is ‘a work prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contribution be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole,’ Ignatius Press considers this a coauthored publication.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-01/pope-francis-santa-marta-authority-coherence-authority-witness.html

Pope at Mass: authority is not in commanding but in consistent witness
14 January 2020, 13:48

Pope Francis speaks about the harm done by “inconsistent" Christians and “schizophrenic” pastors who do not bear witness and thus distance themselves from the Lord's way of doing things, from His authentic “authority”. He made the point in his homily at Mass, Friday morning, at the Casa Santa Marta.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis based his homily on the day’s Gospel where St. Mark notes that “Jesus taught as one having authority”. As Jesus preaches in the synagogue, the evangelist focuses on the reaction among the people to His way of acting with “authority”, unlike that of the scribes. The Pope thus explains the difference that exists between “having authority” or the “inner authority” of Jesus and the authority of the scribes who exercise it but “without having it”. Despite being experts in teaching the law and listened to by the people, they were not credible.

Jesus’ authority

The Pope said that the authority of the Lord is one of “lordship” with which He moved about, taught, healed and heard the people. This lordship that came from within, demonstrates the consistency between His teaching and His actions. The Pope said it is this consistency, this testimony that gives authority to a person. Hence, authority is seen in constancy and testimony.

Hypocritical and schizophrenic pastors

On the contrary, the Pope pointed out, the scribes were not consistent, which is why Jesus admonished the people to “do what they say but not what they do”. Jesus also did not miss an opportunity to reproach the scribes because “with this attitude”, the Pope said, they had fallen into a “pastoral schizophrenia”, saying one thing and doing something else. At times, in the Gospels, Jesus sometimes puts them in a corner, does not give them any answers or just describes them.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/even-if-church-is-persecuted-and-chained-it-never-tires-of-welc.html

Pope at Audience: Even if Church is persecuted, it never tires of welcoming
15 January 2020, 10:56

Pope Francis, concluding his catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles tells pilgrims that even if the Church is persecuted and chained, it never tires of welcoming with a motherly heart.
By Vatican News

Joining pilgrims in the Paul VI hall on Wednesday, Pope Francis concluded his catechesis on the Acts of the Apostles with the last missionary stage of Saint Paul; his journey to Rome.

The Pope told those gathered for the weekly General Audience that “Paul's journey, which was one with that of the Gospel, is proof that man's journeys, if lived in faith, can become a space of transit for God's salvation,… capable of transforming situations and opening up new paths.”
 
https://zenit.org/articles/general-audience-full-text-pope-focuses-on-end-of-pauls-journey/
General Audience Full Text: Pope Focuses on End of Paul’s Journey
January 15, 2020 15:24  Virginia Forrester

Video at the link below--
Pope Francis - General Audience 2020-01-15
https://www.youtube.com/user/vatican

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2020-01/pope-appoints-woman-undersecretary-in-secretariat-of-state.html

Pope appoints woman under-secretary in Vatican Secretariat of State
15 January 2020, 11:15

Pope Francis appoints Dr Francesca Di Giovanni as under-secretary in the Section for Relations with States. She will be coordinating the multilateral sector.
Vatican News

Pope Francis has appointed Dr Francesca Di Giovanni, currently an official of the Secretariat of State, as under-secretary for the Section for Relations with States. She will be responsible for the multilateral sector. Born in Palermo in 1953, Dr Di Giovanni has worked in the Secretariat for 27 years and holds a law degree. After completing practicum as a notary, she worked in the juridical-administrative area at the International Centre of the Work of Mary (Focolare Movement). On 15 September 1993 she began work as an official in the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State. Di Giovanni has served in the multilateral sector, especially in the areas of migrants and refugees, international humanitarian law, communications, private international law, the status of women, intellectual property, and tourism.

With the appointment of Dr Di Giovanni, the Section for Relations with States has two under-secretaries: Di Giovanni will work alongside Monsignor Mirosław Wachowski, who will continue to work primarily in the area of bilateral diplomacy.
 

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https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/synod-relator-advises-bishops-on-presenting-amazon-apostolic-exhortation-90254

Synod relator advises bishops on presenting Amazon apostolic exhortation

Vatican City, Jan 15, 2020 / 11:52 am (CNA).- Cardinal Claudio Hummes, the relator general of the Amazon synod, sent a letter Monday to some ordinaries indicating that the apostolic exhortation on the synod should be promulgated this month or the next.

“The draft is currently being reviewed and corrected and then needs to be translated. Pope Francis hopes to promulgate it by the end of this month or in early February,” Cardinal Hummes, who is also president of the Pan Amazonic Church Network, wrote in a Jan. 13 letter.

Among the works of REPAM is “protection for the 137 ‘contactless tribes’ of the Amazon and affirmation of their right to live undisturbed.”

Cardinal Hummes said in his letter that Francis is preparing the exhortation “to present the New Paths for the Church and for an Integral Ecology as developed with the guidance of the Holy Spirit” during the Amazon synod.

According to Cardinal Hummes, the exhortation “is keenly awaited and will attract great interest and many different responses.”

The cardinal added that the pope wants ordinaries to receive the text “before it is published and before the world press starts to comment on it, and join him in presenting the Exhortation and making it accessible to the faithful, to fellow believers and all people of good will, and to the media, the academic world, and others in positions of authority and influence.”
 
Cardinal Hummes asked that the letter be kept confidential, and not shared with the media.
“Please do respect the guidelines,” he added.

The letter was published Jan. 14 by LifeSiteNews in English, and by Aldo Maria Valli in Italian.

CNA understands the letter to have been sent to “concerned bishops” around the world. It was not sent to all ordinaries.

Cardinal Hummes concluded his letter “with the sincere hope that his letter has been helpful.”

He asked for prayers that God the Father would “dispose the People of God in the Amazon and throughout the world to receive it with faith and hope, intelligently and effectively.”

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Update:  the Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah book, From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church 

https://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/unpacking-the-benedict-cardinal-sarah-book-fiasco
Jan. 14, 2020
Unpacking the Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah Book Fiasco

The book’s rollout caused a backlash against Benedict appearing as co-author of the book, even though it appears the Pope Emeritus had given at least tacit prior approval for the full manuscript.
Edward Pentin

VATICAN CITY — The controversy regarding the book on the priesthood and priestly celibacy with parts penned by Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah has produced plenty of heat but not much light.

So what are the hard facts, as far as we know? Perhaps the first place to look is precisely what Cardinal Sarah and Benedict had previously agreed upon concerning the book entitled From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.

Beginning with Cardinal Sarah’s statement, published Jan. 14, we learn that:
 
https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2020/01/a-call-to-arms
A Call to Arms
by Matthew Schmitz
1 . 13 . 20

As soon as it was announced that Benedict XVI and Cardinal Robert Sarah had published a book defending priestly celibacy, they were accused of attacking Pope Francis. On its face, it was a strange charge. Pope Francis has himself defended the norm of celibacy, while wondering whether widened exceptions are possible. And far from criticizing Francis, Benedict and Sarah write “in a spirit of filial obedience, to Pope Francis.”

But in today’s Church, any clear affirmation of orthodoxy is interpreted as a challenge to the authority of Pope Francis. This is a sobering fact, of which Benedict and Sarah are well aware. “We want to remain aloof from everything that could harm the unity of the Church,” they write in the introduction to From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis in the Catholic Church (galleys of the English edition were obtained by First Things). “Personal quarrels, political maneuvering, power plays, ideological manipulations and critiques full of bitterness play the game of the devil—the divider, the father of lies.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-01/pope-at-mass-the-little-prayer-that-moves-god.html

Pope at Mass: the little prayer that moves God
16 January 2020, 12:27

During the homily at Mass Thursday morning at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis says that Jesus is close to us, “His compassion will take upon itself our problems, our sins, our interior diseases”.
By Vatican News

The day’s Gospel tells how a leper approached Jesus, saying “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean”. In his homily, Pope Francis said that the leper’s request is a simple prayer, “an act of confidence” — but at the same time, “a true challenge”. It is plea that comes from the depths of his heart, which also reveals something about Jesus and His compassion for us. Jesus, the Pope said, suffers “with and for us”, He takes the suffering of others upon Himself, comforting them and healing them in the name the love of the Father.

A true challenge

Reflecting on the “simple” story of the healing of the leper, Pope Francis said that the phrase, “If you will…” is a prayer that “gets God’s attention”. “It is a challenge”, he said, “but also an act of confidence: I know that He can do it, and so I entrust myself to Him”.
 

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https://www.archstl.org/pope-speaks-to-abp-carlson-other-us-bishops-about-prolife-issues-transgender-ideology-4872

Pope speaks to Abp. Carlson, other U.S. bishops about pro-life issues, transgender ideology
Bishops from Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa met with the pope on their 'ad limina' visit
Submitted January 16, 2020 | 1:57 PM

VATICAN CITY — Protecting human life is the “preeminent” social and political issue, Pope Francis said, and he asked the head of the U.S. bishops’ Committee for Pro-Life Activities to convey his support to the pro-life community.

Archbishop Robert J. Carlson said it was “beautiful” when the pope explained why life was the number one, most important issue, “because if you’re not alive, you can’t do anything else.”

Archbishop Carlson said they also talked about the importance of supporting pregnant women and making sure they have the resources they need to support that life.
Pope Francis “certainly talked about abortion as a preeminent issue,” Archbishop Carlson said, “at the same time he said there’s another significant issue and that would be ‘transgender’ — where we are trying to make all human beings the same, it makes no difference, you can be whoever you want to be.”

The pope, he said, brought the issue up as an example of “another significant issue in our day.”
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope-francis/mass-casa-santa-marta/2020-01/pope-francis-mass-santa-marta-healing-forgiveness.html

Pope at Mass: essence of life is our relationship with God
17 January 2020, 14:39

The diseases of the soul need to healed and the medicine is to ask for forgiveness. Basing himself on the miracle of the healing of the paralytic by Jesus, Pope Francis made this point in his homily at Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.
By Robin Gomes

Pope Francis delivered a homily based on Jesus’ miraculous healing of the paralytic in St. Mark’s Gospel.  Unable to approach Jesus in the packed house in Capernaum, the four men lowered the paralytic on a mat from the roof. 

The Pope drew attention to the first words of Jesus: “Your sins are forgiven.”  Jesus later orders him to get up, take up his mat and go home.   Jesus, a man of God, the Pope
said, heals but He is not a medicine man.  He teaches but is more than a teacher and in this episode, He focuses on what is essential.

The Pope said that physical health is a gift that we must preserve but the Lord teaches us that we must also preserve the health of the heart, spiritual health. 
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/pope-president-democratic-republic-congo-bilateral-relations.html

Pope receives DRC President, discusses Bilateral Relations
17 January 2020, 16:29

Pope Francis receives the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Vatican and expresses satisfaction for the ratification of the Framework Agreement between the two States.
By Linda Bordoni

Pope Francis on Friday received in audience Félix Antoine Tshilombo Tshisekedi, President of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

According to a Holy See Press Office statement, during the cordial discussions, the two leaders expressed satisfaction for the good bilateral relations between the DRC and the Vatican, and for the recent ratification of the Framework Agreement between the two nations.  Matters of mutual interest were reportedly discussed, including the Catholic Church’s contribution to the democratic process and its promotion of the common good and integral development of the nation, especially in the fields of education and healthcare.

The Pope and the President also focused on the situation in the eastern provinces of the African nation where the population is suffering because of a continuing armed conflict and the spread of the Ebola virus.

Finally, talks centered on the urgent need for collaboration and cooperation at national and international level in order to protect human dignity and to promote civil coexistence, starting with the tens of thousands of refugees and displaced persons who are facing a grave humanitarian crisis.
 

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https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2020-01/pope-to-finnish-ecumenical-delegation-standing-together.html

Pope to Finnish Ecumenical Delegation: standing together as baptized Christians
17 January 2020, 11:25

Pope Francis receives an ecumenical delegation from Finland, and recalls the importance of hospitality as part of our shared witness of faith in daily life.
By Vatican News

Meeting in the Vatican with an ecumenical delegation from Finland on Friday, Pope Francis spoke about the importance of journeying in communion of faith “so as to encourage one another and to strengthen one another in Christian discipleship”.

The Feast of Saint Henrik

The group was in Rome as part of a customary ecumenical pilgrimage celebrating the feast of Saint Henrik, believed to have been an English-born Bishop of Uppsala who was martyred in the mid-12th century. He is venerated by Catholics and Lutherans, as well as several Protestant Churches and the Anglican Community.

Baptism and bearing common burdens

Reminding those present of how this past Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus, Pope Francis recalled our own baptism. “A Christian is someone who can give thanks for his or her baptism, and this gratitude unites us within the community of all the baptized”, he said.

The Pope also referred to the Report of the Catholic-Lutheran dialogue group for Sweden and Finland, entitled Justification in the Life of the Church, which observes that “as members of one and the same mystical body of Christ, Christians are bound to one another and must bear one another’s burdens”.
 

[grace-land]

Update:  the Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah book, From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/no-misunderstanding-cardinal-sarah-meets-with-pope-emeritus-35914
'No misunderstanding': Cardinal Sarah meets with pope emeritus

Vatican City, Jan 17, 2020 / 03:00 pm (CNA).- Cardinal Robert Sarah has met with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to discuss the controversy following around their recently-published book "From the Depths of Our Hearts,” and insisted that there is no ill feeling between the two.

The book, presented as a co-authored work by the two, is subtitled “Priesthood, Celibacy, and the Crisis of the Catholic Church.” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s contributions have been the subject of controversy since the book was announced on Sunday, and conflicting statements on the extent of the pope emeritus’s involvement in the project have been released over the last week.

Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, issued a series of statements via Twitter on Friday, saying that his meeting with the former pope went well.

“Because of the incessant, nauseating and deceptive controversies that have never stopped since the beginning of the week, concerning the book From the Depths of Our Hearts, I met Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI this evening,” said Sarah.

The tweets were published in French and signed “-RS.”

“With Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, we have seen how there is no misunderstanding between us,” said Sarah. “I came out very happy, full of peace and courage from this beautiful interview.”

Sarah encouraged people to read and reflect on the book, and thanked his editor and his publisher, “for the thoroughness, probity, seriousness, and professionalism which they have shown,” and added “excellent reading to all!”

The book contains a chapter credited to Benedict, a chapter credited to Sarah, and an introduction and conclusion, which have been attributed to the two men jointly.
 
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/cardinal-mueller-benedict-xvi-could-not-keep-silent-because-he-saw-the-danger
Cardinal Müller: Benedict XVI could not keep silent because he saw the ‘danger’
‘The Catholic priesthood is at stake.’
Fri Jan 17, 2020 - 6:59 am EST

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Update:  the Benedict XVI-Cardinal Sarah book, From the Depths of Our Hearts: Priesthood, Celibacy and the Crisis of the Catholic Church

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/benedict-xvi-sarahs-book-what-if-the-real-issue-is-the-lack-of-institutional-thinking-4108
January 16, 2020
Benedict XVI – Sarah’s book: What if the real issue is the lack of institutional thinking?
By Andrea Gagliarducci

The draft of the Curia reform, Praedicate Evangelium, does not even mention the office of the Pope emeritus. It is as if Benedict XVI’s 2013 renunciation were unique in history: a “one-off” and never to happen again. Recent high-stakes polemics surrounding not only the person, but the position of the Pope emeritus, have made it clear that  establishing something like an “office” of Pope emeritus could be critical. It would prevent confusion. It would even give more freedom to the reigning Pope.

The issue of the Pope emeritus came crashing into the fore of public discussion because of the book on priestly celibacy by Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for the Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments. The book also has a contribution by Benedict XVI.

The publication of a text by Benedict XVI on celibacy just ahead of the release of the post-Synodal exhortation from Pope Francis, following the special assembly of the synod of bishops for the Amazon, was read as a statement against Pope Francis, who is said to be willing allow the ordination of married men to the priesthood. The attacks targeted Cardinal Sarah because he allegedly used Benedict XVI’s text in a way different than what agreed with Pope emeritus.

Cardinal Sarah defended himself. He published the correspondence he had with Benedict XVI before the publication. The letters show that Benedict XVI was aware of the book and agreed with publishing his text. Benedict XVI’s entourage asked anyway to change the book’s cover, so that the Pope emeritus would appear in subsequent editions as  a contributor, not as co-author.

Ignatius Press, the publisher of the book in English, has said it will consider any request to change the cover and other attributions, but has not received any official indication. According to their criteria, the book is co-authored by Cardinal Sarah and Benedict XVI.

We can only wonder what phone calls and conversations there have been between piazza Pia, headquarters of the Vatican Dicastery of Communication; the monastery Mater Ecclesiae, where Benedict XVI lives; and Casa Santa Marta, where Pope Francis lives.

In any case, the Vatican’s communication strategy appeared aimed at getting rid of any possible contraposition between “the two Popes” and, at the same time safeguarding Benedict XVI’s work. It was a particularly tricky needle to thread.

Benedict XVI feels free to write and publish for two reasons:

The first reason is that he actually acts as Pope emeritus. He does not feel bound to the Petrine office, so he has reverted to his former self, asProfessor Ratzinger. NB. Not Cardinal Ratzinger. Professor Ratzinger.
 
The second reason is that Pope Francis gave Benedict XVI permission to be active in public life. In one of his first interviews, given to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera, Pope Francis stressed:
 

[grace-land]

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2020/01/open-source-vatican-wartime-archives-ready-for-new-batch-of-scholars/

Open source: Vatican wartime archives ready for new batch of scholars
Carol Glatz  Jan 19, 2020
CATHOLIC NEWS SERVICE

VATICAN CITY - After decades of anticipation, the Vatican archives are ready to welcome, starting March 2, scores of scholars wishing to study documents related to the wartime pontificate of Pope Pius XII.

All 85 researchers who have requested access have been given the green light to come and sift through all the materials from the period of 1939 to 1958, Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Apostolic Archives, told Catholic News Service Jan. 13.

Coming from at least a dozen countries, the first wave of researchers includes 10 experts from the United States, including two from the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. The museum has been working with the Vatican archives for more than a decade, Pagano said, ever since Pope Benedict XVI authorized the early opening of materials pertaining to the pre-World War II pontificate of Pope Pius XI.