What do you mean self-control is something we should practice? (My emphases)

Pope Benedict XVI: condoms make Aids crisis worse

Pope Benedict XVI said that the distribution of condoms ‘aggravates’ the Aids crisis, as he embarked on his first trip to Africa.

By Nick Squires in Rome
Last Updated: 7:58PM GMT 17 Mar 2009

Pope Benedict XVI gestures from the airplane before leaving from Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport for a trip to Africa that includes stops in Cameroon and Angola Photo: AP

While en route from Rome to his first stop, Cameroon, the Pope said that the condition was “a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems.”

Speaking on board his official plane, the pontiff insisted that the Roman Catholic Church is in the forefront of the battle against Aids, advocating sexual abstinence and fidelity within marriage as a way of fighting the disease.

During the seven-day visit, which will take Benedict to Cameroon and Angola, he said he would address the continent’s “grave problems and painful wounds”.

Africa is crucial to the Vatican because of its growing number of believers. Within 15 years around a sixth of the world’s Catholics, or 230 million people, are expected to be African. The continent also produces a large proportion of the world’s Catholic priests.

But it also presents huge challenges for the Pope, including tension with Islam in some countries, competition from evangelical churches and opposition to the Church’s ban on condoms in countries where Aids is rife.

Pope Benedict, who has mostly confined his travels to Western countries during his four-year papacy, will first visit Cameroon during his week-long trip, and then Angola.

His only previous visit to Africa was to Kinshasa in 1987 when he was a cardinal.

He will appeal to rich countries which are grappling with the global financial crisis not to forget Africa’s acute needs.

An estimated 800 million Africans suffer from chronic hunger and the crisis is already affecting the level of remittances sent from abroad as African immigrants in Europe lose their jobs.

Although he will only visit two of Africa’s more than 50 countries, he hopes that his visit will “embrace the entire African continent”, he said on Sunday during his weekly blessing in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

He referred to Africa’s “ancient cultures and its difficult path of development and reconciliation, its grave problems, painful wounds and enormous potential and hopes”,

He is expected to meet African bishops, Muslim imams, politicians and women’s advocacy groups.

The six-day tour will be the 81-year-old pontiff’s 11th foreign trip.

He is scheduled to visit Israel and Jordan in May.

(from The Telegraph)

Oh, my goodness. AIDS is not a reason to disband Church doctrine! Whatever will the Pope say next?

The Pope and Nancy Pelosi (h/t–dad)

Pope tells Pelosi: Catholics cannot back abortion

President and pontiff

Web Posted: 06/07/2008 12:57 AM CDT

By Francis X. Rocca
Religion News Service
VATICAN CITY — When President Bush pays a visit to Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican next Friday, it will be his sixth meeting with a pope, and his third meeting with Benedict in just over a year.

Never in U.S. history has a president consulted so often with the leader of the Catholic Church. Carl Anderson, a former Reagan aide who now heads the Knights of Columbus, calls it “remarkable.”

“Less than 50 years ago,” he said, “it was a question as to whether a Catholic should even be able to run for president.”

Bush has emphasized his admiration for the papacy, and in particular for Benedict, whom he has called a “very smart, loving man.” When Benedict arrived in Washington in April, Bush met him on the tarmac, the only time he has so honored any dignitary.

Less obvious is how the pope views the president. It is not only Benedict’s relatively shy personality that prevents him from being so demonstrative, but the customary reserve that his office imposes on its occupants.

“These are the kinds of cards that popes don’t show,” said Father Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center and author of “Inside the Vatican.”

Yet according to informed observers, there is reason to believe that Benedict, despite some important policy differences with the president (most notably over Iraq), feels a genuine affinity with Bush as both a man and a leader.

For the pope, part of the attraction may lie in Bush’s life story.

“I’d imagine that he has respect for the president as a man who turned his life around, had a conversion experience, stopped drinking and started living a religious life,” Reese said.

Benedict, who has warned against the increasing secularization of Europe and praised the prominent role of religion in American public life, is likely to appreciate a head of state who is “not afraid to express his faith as a Christian,” said Father Joseph Fessio, a former student of the pope who now runs Ignatius Press, Benedict’s principal English-language publisher.

In the president, the pope finds a key supporter of the Catholic Church’s positions on such controversial questions as abortion, stem-cell research and same-sex marriage. Bush’s arguments have frequently echoed Benedict’s appeals to “natural law” and even employ the terms of Catholic social doctrine (despite the fact that the president is a Methodist).

Nowhere has the congruence of their thinking been clearer than at April’s welcoming ceremony at the White House, when Bush cited Benedict’s denunciation of the “dictatorship of relativism,” and the pope noted the importance of American religiosity as inspiration for abolitionism and the civil rights movement.

To which Bush replied, “Thank you, Your Holiness. Awesome speech.”

“They could pretty much have given each other’s speech,” said William McGurn, Bush’s former head speechwriter and a Catholic, who was present at the ceremony but did not write the president’s remarks.

Fessio agreed. “In terms of authentic, normative Catholic teaching, I don’t see any area in which the pope and President Bush disagree,” he said.

The most notable case of disharmony between the two leaders was over the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger opposed at least as ardently as Pope John Paul II.

“But Iraq is not a matter of Catholic social teaching,” Fessio said. “That was a prudential decision on whether or not the use of force was justified. The pope would be the first to tell you that good Catholics can disagree on that.”

Likewise, Benedict’s views on economics, taxation and government regulation — which are known to lie to the left of Bush’s — are merely his personal opinions, not doctrine that he holds as binding on the faithful, Fessio said.

In any case, it would be uncharacteristically undiplomatic of any pope to let past differences get in the way of constructive collaboration with a world superpower.

“The Vatican knows how to agree and disagree with heads of state and work with them anyway,” Reese said. “It’s got a big agenda.”

Quick Take: A New addition to my book Hall of Fame, and the first installment of Nutmeg’s online book club! This amazing story of a young Rwandan woman’s faith-filled survival of the 1994 April genocide will blow your mind and deepen your faith all at the same time.

Left to Tell: Finding God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust, by Immaculee Ilibagiza (with Steve Irwin)

“I heard the killers call my name.”

That is the first line of a harrowing, uplifting and painful autobiography of Immaculee, a young woman who was a college student home for Easter break when the horrific genocide of April 1994 began in Rwanda. She had grown up the third of four children, and the only girl, with two devoutly Catholic parents who passed their faith onto their children, as well as the belief that all people all God’s children, and worthy of respect and love. She paints vivid pictures of her brothers Aimable, Damascene (the brother she was closest to), and her younger brother Vianney. Immaculee had a happy childhood, and she excelled in her schoolwork.
She did not, initially, understand the differences between Tutsi and Hutu that would so change her life. Her first encounter with ethnicity was at the age of 10, when she attended school with older children. Her teacher had a “tribal roll call ” (16), and Immculee was dismissed from school for not knowing her ethnicity. The next day, her teacher told her stand up when he called “Tutsi.” So she did–and she sawe the horrible impact this emphasis on ethnicity would have first-hand.

As the genocide began in April of ‘94, she tries to stay at home with her family; hundreds of Tutsis came to the family’s property to ask Immaculee’s father for help. A few days later, Immaculee was sent to the home of Pastor Murinzi (57), who was friends with Immaculee’s father. While Vianney and Damascene eventually joined her, they were only permitted to stay one day. Immaculee, however, would wait out the genocide with five other women for 91 days.

How did she survive?

“I realized that my battle to survive this war would have to be fought inside of me. Everything strong and good in me–my faith, hope and courage–was vuleranble to the dark energy. If I lost my faith, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to survive. I could rely only on God to help me fight.” (80)

Taking the rosary her father had given her before she left the house, Immaculee immersed herself in prayer all day. When the Hutu killing squads surrounded the house, she prayed even harder. And she learned to pray for forgiveness for the killers.

Her profound faith left a deep impact on me. In fact, as soon as I finished the book, I began it again, but slower this timer, in order to fully absorb the profound insights she had about the nature of prayer, faith and total surrender to God. She knew that only God and His will would help her survive, and that He would give her the strength to handle whatever obstacles she would face during her incredible trials.

I was also moved to tears by the example of her brother, Damascene. (WARNING: HEre be spoilers!) Aimable was in another country, at school, during the genocide, but the rest of Immaculee’s family was separated throughout Rwanda as they struggled to survive. Immaculee writes about how Damascene was always her defender, protector, and best friend. Their bond was almost more than brother and sister–it was deeply spiritual.

When Immaculee finds out her brother was killed, she is bereft. But he had written her one last letter:

May 6, 1994
Dear [Dad, Mo, Vianney, and] Immaculee,
It has been nearly a month since we were separated, and we are all living a nightmare. Besides what the circumstances suggest, I believe that a tribe can exterminate another tribe only if it’s God’s will; maybe out lives are the price that must be paid for Rwanda’s salvation. I am only certain about one things: we will meet again–there is no doubt in my mind.
I’m going to try to get out of the country, but I don’t know if I’ll make it. If they kill me along the way, you shouldn’t worry about me; I have prayed enough…I am prepared for death. If I do manage to make it out of Rwanda, I will contact you as soon as the peace returns. Bonn will tell you everything that has happened to me…
Immaculee, I beg you to be strong> I’ve just heard that Mom, Dad, and Vianney have been killed. I will be in contact with you.
Big hugs and kisses!
Your brother, who loves you very much!

(152)

The chapter continues with the account of Damascene’s death. After reading it, my first thought was–this young man was a Saint. His life and death should be up for Canonization in Rome. For men like him are certainly in Heaven.

Immaculee’s strength, faith and determination are astounding. This book deepened my faith and demonstrates how we can surrender to God’s will in even the most difficult circumstances. Immaculee and her family are an inspiration to all of us.

From JP The Great’s General Audience on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2001 (h/t: Amy)

I cannot begin this audience without expressing my profound sorrow at the terrorist attacks which yesterday brought death and destruction to America, causing thousands of victims and injuring countless people. To the President of the United States and to all American citizens I express my heartfelt sorrow. In the face of such unspeakable horror we cannot but be deeply disturbed. I add my voice to all the voices raised in these hours to express indignant condemnation, and I strongly reiterate that the ways of violence will never lead to genuine solutions to humanity’s problems.

Yesterday was a dark day in the history of humanity, a terrible affront to human dignity. After receiving the news, I followed with intense concern the developing situation, with heartfelt prayers to the Lord. How is it possible to commit acts of such savage cruelty? The human heart has depths from which schemes of unheard-of ferocity sometimes emerge, capable of destroying in a moment the normal daily life of a people. But faith comes to our aid at these times when words seem to fail. Christ’s word is the only one that can give a response to the questions which trouble our spirit. Even if the forces of darkness appear to prevail, those who believe in God know that evil and death do not have the final say. Christian hope is based on this truth; at this time our prayerful trust draws strength from it.

With deeply felt sympathy I address myself to the beloved people of the United States in this moment of distress and consternation, when the courage of so many men and women of good will is being sorely tested. In a special way I reach out to the families of the dead and the injured, and assure them of my spiritual closeness. I entrust to the mercy of the Most High the helpless victims of this tragedy, for whom I offered Mass this morning, invoking upon them eternal rest. May God give courage to the survivors; may he sustain the rescue-workers and the many volunteers who are presently making an enormous effort to cope with such an immense emergency. I ask you, dear brothers and sisters, to join me in prayer for them. Let us beg the Lord that the spiral of hatred and violence will not prevail. May the Blessed Virgin, Mother of Mercy, fill the hearts of all with wise thoughts and peaceful intentions.

 

Today, my heartfelt sympathy is with the American people, subjected yesterday to inhuman terrorist attacks which have taken the lives of thousands of innocent human beings and caused unspeakable sorrow in the hearts of all men and women of good will. Yesterday was indeed a dark day in our history, an appalling offence against peace, a terrible assault against human dignity.

I invite you all to join me in commending the victims of this shocking tragedy to Almighty God’ s eternal love. Let us implore his comfort upon the injured, the families involved, all who are doing their utmost to rescue survivors and help those affected.

I ask God to grant the American people the strength and courage they need at this time of sorrow and trial.

The Holy Father: 

Brothers and Sisters, in great dismay, before the horror of destructive violence, but strong in the faith that has always guided our fathers, we turn to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, salvation of his people, and with the confidence of children, pray that He will come to our aid in these days of mourning and innocent suffering.

Cantor: 

Dominum deprecemur:  Te rogamus, audi nos.

1. For the Churches of the East and the West, and in particular for the Church in the United States of America so that, though humbled by loss and mourning, yet inspired by the Mother of the Lord, strong woman beside the cross of her Son, they may foster the will for reconciliation, peace, and the building of the civilization of love.

2. For all those who bear the name of Christian, so that, in the midst of many persons who are tempted to hatred and doubt, they will be witnesses to the presence of God in history and the victory of Christ over death.

3. For the leaders of nations, so that they will not allow themselves to be guided by hatred and the spirit of retaliation, but may do everything possible to prevent new hatred and death, by bringing forth works of peace.

4. For those who are weeping in sorrow over the loss of relatives and friends, that in this hour of suffering they will not be overcome by sadness, despair and vengeance, but continue to have faith in the victory of good over evil, of life over death.

5. For those suffering and wounded by the terrorist acts, that they may return to stability and health and, appreciating the gift of life, may generously foster the will to contribute to the well being of every human being.

6. For our brothers and sisters who met death in the folly of violence, that they find sure joy and life everlasting in the peace of the Lord, that their death may not be in vain but become a leaven bringing forth a season of brotherhood and collaboration among peoples.

The Holy Father: 

O Lord Jesus, remember our deceased and suffering brothers before your Father.
Remember us also, as we begin to pray with your words:  Pater noster…

O Almighty and merciful God,
you cannot be understood by one who sows discord, you cannot be accepted by one who loves violence:  look upon our painful human condition tried by cruel acts of terror and death, comfort your children and open our hearts to hope, so that our time may again know days of serenity and peace.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

From Amy today:

No Amnesty
Consequences for Amnesty International’s move to abortion support:

Abortion has driven a wedge between the Catholic Church and an organization that began as an ally.

Amnesty International (AI) was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a British convert to Catholicism. But today, as a result of Amnesty International’s recent decision to promote abortion rights, Church leaders say that Catholics should withdraw all financial support from the London-based human-rights organization.

“I believe that, if in fact Amnesty International persists in this course of action, individuals and Catholic organizations must withdraw their support, because, in deciding to promote abortion rights, AI has betrayed its mission,” Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, said in an e-mail interview.

The abortion policy has already cost Amnesty International the support of one long-time Catholic backer: Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan.

Said Father Berrigan, “One cannot support an organization financially or even individually that is contravening something very serious in our ethic.”

Such a reaction from a human rights activist doesn’t surprise Cardinal Martino. Amnesty International “has betrayed all of its faithful supporters throughout the years,” he said, “both individuals and organizations, who have trusted AI for its integral mission of promoting and protecting human rights.”

snip

Father Berrigan said he first became acquainted with Amnesty’s work in the 1960s, when the newly formed group launched a campaign on behalf of Archbishop Josef Beran of Prague, who was imprisoned by Czechoslovakia’s Communist government after he spoke out against government abuses.

“I was very moved with the international activity on behalf of powerless people,” Father Berrigan said. And, he added, no one is more powerless than unborn children in the womb who are at risk of being killed by abortion.

Father Berrigan emphatically agreed with Cardinal Martino’s statement that individual Catholics and Catholic organizations should withdraw all support for Amnesty International if it doesn’t reverse its decision to advocate for abortion rights.

“I’ve supported over the years Amnesty’s take on prisoners of conscience around the world, and have been a member of Amnesty,” he said. “And I was quite shaken by this change.”

Much more in the article, including statements from an AI senior staffer and Austin Ruse of  the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute

From USA Today: (and it quotes my cousin!!)

  Bush awarded Pope John Paul II the Medal of Freedom. The president will meet Pope Benedict XVI for the first time Saturday.

Benedict, Bush both benefit from meeting

USA TODAY/GALLUP POLL

How much attention should President Bush pay to Pope Benedict XVI’s ideas and pronouncements about policy?

Moderate amount: 46%

Not much: 21%

A great deal: 18%

None at all: 11%

No opinion: 4%

Source: USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken June 1-3 of 496 adults nationwide. Margin of error +/-5 percentage points.

By David Jackson, USA TODAY
ROSTOCK, Germany — When Al Smith lost the 1928 presidential race, he was attacked for being Roman Catholic and therefore too close to the pope.
Today, U.S. presidents and the leader of the Catholic Church enjoy a working relationship that has spanned decades.

President Bush had his fourth papal audience on Saturday and his first with Pope Benedict XVI. Bush will tie a meeting record set by presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, who both met four times with Pope John Paul II.

Bush told a group of European journalists last week that he was looking forward to meeting with Benedict, calling him a “a good thinker and a smart man. I’ll be in a listening mode.

“Sometimes I’m not poetic enough to describe what it’s like to be in the presence of the Holy Father,” Bush said. “It is a moving experience.”

Americans generally like the idea of presidents conferring with popes. About seven in 10 say Bush should pay more attention or the same amount to Benedict as he does to other world leaders, according to a recent USA TODAY/Gallup Poll. Only 27% say the pope should receive less attention.

While American political history includes a thread of anti-Catholicism, church observers and political analysts say the meetings between the president and the pontiff offer something for both.

The president represents “the one great superpower and all that signifies,” said Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. “The pope speaks from a worldwide perspective of faith, spirituality and conscience.”

Matthew Wilson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, said “a sense of approval from the Vatican” can only help a president on the international stage. Closer to home, he said, the White House “has seen good relations with the Vatican as part of (its) domestic effort to woo Catholic voters, particularly conservative Catholic voters.”

Bush won 52% of the Catholic vote in 2004, according to media exit polls, and beat Sen. John Kerry, who is Catholic.

Bush’s meeting with Benedict touched on the Iraq war, which the Vatican has long opposed. John Paul dispatched a cardinal to the White House in 2003 to plead against the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, and echoed his opposition to the war when he met with Bush in 2004. John Paul also opposed the Persian Gulf War.

The president’s other meetings with John Paul touched on politically sensitive issues such as embryonic stem cell research and charges of clergy sex abuse.

In his Easter message this year, Benedict bemoaned that “nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees.”

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former archbishop of Washington, D.C., said, “War and peace are always on the mind of the Holy Father.”

Benedict, who became pope in April 2005, has had his share of controversy. His suggestion of a link between violence and Islam in September 2006 sparked a protest throughout the Muslim world, though Benedict sought to clarify his remarks on a visit to Turkey a few months later.

And while traveling to Brazil earlier this year, Benedict said politicians risked excommunication if they supported abortion laws.

The Rev. Thomas Reese, a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University, said the meeting between Bush and the pontiff was a “photo op.” Still, he said, it “allows for an exchange of information and views” on a wide range of issues.

“The Vatican has been called one of the great listening posts of diplomacy,” Reese said. “Let’s hope the administration listens.”

Some historical facts about presidents and popes, according to the Rev. James Garneau, who lectured on the topic at Catholic University:

•Woodrow Wilson was the first president to meet with a pope, Benedict XV in 1919. A president did not have a papal audience again until 1959, when John XXIII received Dwight Eisenhower. That began a tradition that has included every president since.

•John F. Kennedy, the first Catholic elected to the White House, ignored anti-Catholic sentiment to visit Pope Paul VI in 1963. They discussed the civil rights movement.

•Reagan, who nodded off during his first meeting with John Paul II, formed an anti-communist pact with the pontiff whose native Poland was temporarily behind the Iron Curtain.

July 23, 2001 at Castel Gandolfo, the papal retreat Stem cell research The pope asked Bush not to support federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells. The meeting occurred months before Bush approved limited federal support of such research using existing stem cell lines. Bush vowed Thursday he’ll veto a research bill passed by Congress because it would destroy human embryos. He vetoed the measure once before, in 2006.  “Experience is already showing how a tragic coarsening of conscience accompanies the assault on innocent human life in the womb.” —Pope John Paul II One example he cited: “Proposals for the creation for research purposes of human embryos, destined to destruction in the process.”

May 28, 2002 at the Vatican Clergy sexual abuse of children Bush was in Rome for a NATO conference. At the time, several priests in the USA were under investigation for molesting children. Church leaders were accused of covering up the problem. Bush and the pope met privately, and there were no statements afterward — the only time that happened in their encounters. “I will tell him that I am concerned about the Catholic Church in America. I am concerned about its standing, and I say that because the Catholic Church is an incredibly important institution in our country.” —President Bush, before the meeting

June 4, 2004 at the Vatican  The Iraq war  On his way to a 60th anniversary commemoration of the Normandy landings, Bush visited the pope to give him a U.S. Medal of Freedom. The pope and the Vatican were outspoken against the war in Iraq and violence in the Middle East. Later that year, Bush won a second term, even though the Iraq war brought down his approval ratings.  “Mr. President, your visit to Rome takes place at a moment of great concern for the continuing situation of grave unrest in the Middle East, both in Iraq and in the Holy Land. You are very familiar with the unequivocal position of the Holy See in this regard.” —Pope John Paul II

Day One: Transcript of News Conference aboard the Papal Plane

By John L Allen Jr Daily

Created May 9 2007 – 13:31

Shortly after 11:00 am Rome time, roughly two hours into his flight to São Paulo, Brazil, Pope Benedict XVI came back to the press compartment of the papal plane for a brief news conference. The pope was flanked by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State, who did not speak. The pope offered an opening statement, then took a total of 11 questions from reporters, including queries about the excommunication of pro-choice politicians, liberation theology, and the beatification of the late Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador. The questions had not been submitted in advance, and the pope’s replies were extemporaneous. From start to finish, the exchange lasted about 26 minutes. The following is a rush transcript of the exchange. Most questions were posed in Italian, and Benedict gave all of his replies in Italian; the following is therefore an NCR translation.

Pope Benedict XVI, Opening Remarks
Good morning aboard this plane! We’re now above the Sahara, on our way to the Continent of Hope. I’m going with great joy, with great hope, to this meeting with Latin America.
We have various important moments, first in Sao Paulo, the meeting with the youth, and then this canonization in Sao Paulo. It’s the first saint born in Brazil, and it seems to me also an important expression of the content of this trip. It’s a Franciscan saint who made real in Brazil the Franciscan charism. He is known as a saint of reconciliation and of peace. This too seems to me an important sign, a personality who knew how to create peace, and therefore also human social coherence.
Then, the visit to the Farm of Hope is also important, a place where the forces of healing which are contained in the faith become clear, to open the horizons of life. All these problems of drugs and so on are born with an absence of hope in the future. A faith which opens to the future also knows how to heal, and this force seems to me important – the force to heal, to give hope, to provide a horizon of the future, is very important.
Finally, the primary aim of this trip is the meeting with the bishops of CELAM, which is the fifth continental conference of the bishops of Latin America, which in and of itself has a content that is predominantly religious – to give life in Christ, and to make ourselves disciples of Christ.
We know that everyone wants to have life, but life is not complete if it does not have content, if it lacks a sense or an orientation about where to go. In this sense, even if the meeting in the first place responds to the religious mission of the church, it also creates the conditions for necessary solutions to the great social and political problems of Latin America. As such, the church does not practice politics, we respect the secular nature of the state. But we offer conditions in which a healthy politics, and solutions to social problems, can mature.
Thus, we want to promote Christians who are conscious of the gift of the faith, the joy of the faith, who know God and who therefore also know the ‘why’ of our life. In this way, they’ll be capable of being witnesses of Christ, and they’ll learn both the necessary personal virtues as well as social virtues, the sense of legality that is essential for the formation of society. We know the problems of Latin America, and we want to mobilize the capacity of the church, its moral strength and its religious resources, to respond to the specific mission of the church and to our universal responsibility to the human person as such, and to society as such.

First Question (from O Globo in Brazil):
Holiness, what can the church do with regard to the problem of violence, which in Brazil today has massive proportions?

Pope Benedict XVI:
Whoever has faith in Christ, whoever has faith in this God who is reconciliation and who, with the Cross, gave us the strongest possible sign against violence, is not violent and helps others to overcome violence. Thus, the best thing we can do is to educate people in faith in Christ, to learn the message of the person of Christ, to be people of faith who automatically resist violence, and who mobilize the force of the faith against violence.

Second Question (from Mexico):
Your Holiness, in Brazil there’s a proposal for a referendum on the subject of abortion. Two weeks, Mexico City decriminalized abortion. What can the church do about this tendency, to ensure that it does not extend to other Latin American countries? As you know, the church has been accused of interference in Mexico. Do you support the position of the Mexican bishops that legislators who approve these laws are excommunicated?

Pope Benedict XVI:
Well, there’s a great struggle of the church on behalf of life. You know that Pope John Paul II made this struggle a fundamental point of his entire pontificate. He wrote a great encyclical on “The Gift of Life.” Naturally, we go forward with this message. Life is a gift, life is not a threat. This seems to me important.
The roots of this legislation lie, in the first place, in a certain egoism, and on the other hand, also in doubt about life as a gift, about the beauty of life, as well as doubt about the future. The church responds to these doubts, above all by saying, ‘Life is beautiful. It’s not something doubtful, but it’s a gift. Even in difficult circumstances, a human life is a gift. Therefore, we have to recreate this awareness of the beauty of the gift of life.’
Regarding doubt about the future, obviously there are many threats in the world, but faith gives us the certainty that God is always more powerful in the reality of history. Thus, we can give life to new human beings with trust, and with the knowledge that faith guarantees the beauty of life. In the future, we can resist this egoism and these fears which stand at the roots of this legislation.

Third Question (from Brazilian television):
Your Holiness, you have spoken often about relativism in Europe, about poverty in Africa, and also the problems of the Middle East. But what’s missing a little bit is a reference to Latin America. Is this because it’s not a real concern for you, or will you say something specific about it?

Pope Benedict XVI:
No, I love Latin America very much. I’ve visited Latin America many times, I have many friends there. I know that it has great problems, but on the other hand I also know the great human resources of this continent.
Of course, recently the problems of the Middle East have been dominant, in the Holy land and Iraq and so on, which gives it a kind of immediate priority. Also, the suffering of Africa is enormous, as we know. But, I don’t think about Latin America any less. I love Latin America.
This is the largest Catholic continent, and therefore in a sense it’s the largest responsibility of the pope. For that reason, I’m happy that finally the moment has arrived when I can be in Latin America, to confirm the commitment of Paul VI and John Paul II and to continue in the same direction.
Naturally, I take to heart in a special way that the largest Catholic continent should also be an exemplary continent, where the great human problems can be resolved and where we work together with the bishops, with priests, religious and laity, so that this great Catholic continent will also be a continent of life and, really, of hope. For me, this is a primordial responsibility.

Fourth Question (from La Repubblica, Italy):
Thank you, your Holiness. In your speech upon arrival, you say that the church forms Christians, provides moral indications, so that people will make free decisions in conscience. Do you agree with the excommunication given to legislators in Mexico City on the question of abortion?

Pope Benedict XVI:
Yes, this excommunication is not something arbitrary, but it’s part of the Code [of Canon Law]. It’s based simply on the principle that the killing of an innocent human child is incompatible with going in communion with the Body of Christ. Thus, [the bishops] didn’t do anything new, anything surprising or arbitrary. In that light, they simply announced publicly what is contained in the law of the church, and the law of the church is based upon the doctrine and the faith of the church, which expresses our appreciation for life, that human individuality, human personality, is present from the first moment [of life].

Fifth Question (from Alex Springer Verlag, Germany):
Do you feel adequately supported by the German people? (The question was asked in German)

Pope Benedict XVI:
I’ll respond in Italian. He asked if I feel sufficiently supported by the Germans, and if I feel any nostalgia for Germany. Yes, I feel sufficiently supported. Of course, it’s normal that in a country that’s mixed Protestant/Catholic, and where there are many non-baptized persons, not everyone is going to agree with the pope. This is totally normal. But I’ve also felt a great support even from non-Catholic people in Germany. This support is beautiful, and it helps me. I love my country, but I also love Rome, and now I’m a citizen of the world. Thus, I’m at home everywhere. My country is close to my heart, like all the others.

Sixth Question (from RAI Television, Italy):
In your book Jesus of Nazareth, you referred to a dramatic crisis of faith. In Latin America, maybe what we see is not so much a crisis of faith as a landslide. Liberation theology was substituted by the theology of the Protestant sects, which promise a paradise of faith at a good price. The Catholic Church is losing faithful. How can the church stem this tide, this hemorrhage of Catholic faithful?

Pope Benedict XVI:
This is our common concern precisely in this fifth General Conference of CELAM. We want to find convincing responses. This success of the sects shows, in the first place, that there’s a thirst for God, a thirst for religion. People want to be close to God, and they seek his closeness. Naturally, they also hope for and expect solutions to their daily problems of life. We from the Catholic Church have to accept the responsibility in this fifth general conference of making the church more missionary, more dynamic in offering responses to the thirst for God. We have to be aware that all people, and especially the poor, want to have God close to them. We also must be aware that together with this response to the thirst for God, we also have to help people find the conditions for a just life, both micro-economically, in very concrete situations as they sects do, as well as macro-economically, thinking about all the exigencies of justice.

Seventh Question (from the National Catholic Reporter, United States):
Your Holiness, good morning. There are still many exponents of liberation theology in Brazil. Will you be offering a message specifically for them?

Pope Benedict XVI:
I would say that changes in the political situation have also profoundly changed the situation facing the theology of liberation. By now, it’s evident that these facile forms of millenarianism, which promised, on the basis of an imminent revolution, to produce the complete conditions for a just life, were mistaken. Today, everybody knows this.
Now, the question is exactly how the church should be present in the struggle for the necessary reforms, in the struggle for just conditions of life. On this point, naturally, theologians are divided, like sociologists and political scientists.
We, with our instructions from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, sought to help to give the pope the data for the work of discernment The idea was to liberate ourselves from false forms of millenarianism, also from a mistaken confusion between the church and the political process, between faith and politics.
We wanted to demonstrate the specific mission of the church, which is precisely to respond to the thirst for God, and thus, on the one hand, also to educate people in both personal and social virtues, which are conditions for a sense of legality, and on the other hand to indicate the guidelines for a just kind of politics – a politics which we don’t create ourselves, but for which we must indicate the great principles and determining values. We can also create the human, social and psychological conditions in which such a politics can grow.
Thus, there’s space for legitimate debate over how to do this, over what’s the best way to make the social doctrine of the church effective. In this sense, some liberation theologians are pursuing this avenue, others take other positions. For example, there’s the question of indigenous persons, but obviously we can’t enter into all these details.
In any case, the meaning of the intervention of the magisterium was not to destroy the commitment to justice, but to guide it down the right paths, including the proper distinction between political responsibility and ecclesial responsibility.

Eighth Question (from Colombia):
We know that you’ve been to Colombia twice as a cardinal, and we know that it remains close to your heart. We want to know what you think about how we can go forward, especially facing this situation of internal conflict.

Pope Benedict XVI:
Naturally, I’m not an oracle that automatically has the right answer. I think the bishops are working hard to find responses. I can only confirm the fundamental line of the bishops, which is that of a strong education in the faith, which is the best guarantee against the growth of violence. Education in conscience is essential to exit from this situation.
Naturally, economic situations are also involved. Small farmers, for example, depend upon a market that can do great damage, and they live from one moment to the next. To resolve these various economic, political and ideological intersections, we can only go forward with great determination, based on a decision for the faith, which implies a sense of legality, and implies love and responsibility for others.
To me, it seems that education in the faith is the most secure illumination, also for slowly resolving these very concrete problems.

Ninth Question (from I. Media in France):
Your Holiness, we’re arriving in the continent of Archbishop Oscar Romero. Many people are talking about the process for his beatification. Can you tell us where we’re at? Is he ready for beatification? How do you see this figure?

Pope Benedict XVI:
I don’t have the latest information from the competent congregation. I know there are many cases moving through the process. I know that the cause [of Romero] is going forward very well. Bishop Paglia of Terni has written a very important biography, which clarifies many points that had been in question. [Romero] was certainly a great witness to the faith. He was a man of great Christian virtue, who was committed to peace and against the dictatorship. He was killed during the moment of consecration, therefore it was a truly incredible death, a testimony to the faith.
The problem is that some political factions wanted to claim Romero for themselves, like a banner, unjustly. As [Paglia] spotlights very well, the figure [of Romero] himself liberates us from these unjust attempts.
That Romero as a person merits beatification, I have no doubt. But we have to look at the context, and I’m waiting for what the congregation says to me.

Tenth Question (from Brazil):
What’s your understanding of cultural formation in Brazil and its relationship to politics? (The question was asked in Portugese)

Pope Benedict XVI:
I’m not sufficiently well informed to answer in depth, and I don’t want to get into politics. As far as my personal approach to Brazil, it’s the largest country of Latin America, which stretches from the Amazon all the way to Argentina, it includes so many indigenous cultures. I heard that more than 80 languages are spoken, and so on. It also has a strong presence of African-Americans, African-Brazilians. It’s fascinating to see how this people was formed, also how the Catholic faith was formed here over the course of time, with many difficulties. We know that at the end of the 18th century, the church was persecuted by liberal forces. In my own outlook, it’s important to follow these Catholic-Christians peoples of Latin America. I’m not a specialist, but that it’s here where an important part, a fundamental part, of the future of the Catholic Church will be decided, seems evident to me. I want to deepen even more my awareness of this world.

Tenth Question (from Catholic radio in Portugal):
Your Holiness, good morning. I’m from Portugal. The Portuguese are following and praying for this trip, which coincides with May 13, the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of Fatima. Do you want to offer us a word about this coincidence, also for the Portuguese people?

Pope Benedict XVI:
Yes, for me it’s really a sign of providence that my visit to Aparecida, the great Marian sanctuary of Brazil, coincides with the 90th anniversary of the apparitions of the Madonna of Fatima. In this way, we see that the same Mother, this Mother of God and Mother of the church, Our Mother, is present to the various continents, that she shows herself to be a mother to the various continents, always in the same way but with a closeness for every people. To me, this is quiet beautiful. It’s always the Mother of God, always Mary, and yet in a certain sense she’s ‘inculturated,’ with her specific face wherever she is – in Aparecida, in Fatima, in Lourdes, in all the countries of the earth. Thus, she reveals herself as a mother who is close to everyone, and everyone can come close to one another through her maternal love. This connection which the Madonna creates among the continents, among the cultures, because she’s close to every culture and yet she unites them all, seems important to me – this specificity of the cultures, all of which have their riches, yet leading to communion in the one family of God.

Eleventh Question (from Brazil):
Many Brazilians don’t necessarily want to hear the message of the church. What can you do about that? (The question was asked in Portuguese)

Pope Benedict XVI:
This is not a specific problem of Brazil. In every part of the world, there are lots of people who don’t want to listen. We hope that at least, they hear, so that if they hear, they will also be able to respond. We also seek to convince those who don’t necessarily want to hear us. Naturally, even Our Lord wasn’t able to succeed in getting everyone to listen. We don’t expect that in any given moment we’ll be able to persuade everyone. But, I’ll try, with the help of my collaborators, to speak to Brazil in this moment with the hope that many people want to listen, and that many can be convinced that this is the path to take. Of course, I’ll leave open, at the level of detail, the possibility for many different options and different opinions.