A sort of “anarchist utopianism,” as one inspired in the Middle Ages by Joachim of Fiore, crept into Vatican II, but “the wise helmsman of the ship of Christ defended, on the one hand the novelty of the Church and, at the same time, the uniqueness and continuity of the Church, which is always a Church of sinners, and always a place of grace”.”Benedict XVI stated this today, at the general audience…

Benedict XVI: “I am deeply close to the people affected by the recent earthquake in Turkey and their families. To each I assure my prayers as I ask the international community to contribute promptly and generously to relief efforts.My condolences go also to the victims of the atrocious violence, that has stained Nigeria with blood and has not spared even defenseless children. Once again I repeat w…

On September 11th in the Apostolic Palace of Castelgandolfo Benedict XVI received in audience Ricardo Martinelli Berrocal, president of the Republic of Panama.The cordial discussions provided an opportunity for a fruitful exchange of opinions on questions concerning the current international and regional situation.Attention also focused on certain aspects of the situation in Panama, in particular…

The priestly vocation is a very precious gift from God, especially a world that tends to exclude Him. This is what Benedict XVI recalled in his speech to the 500 participants in a recent congress promoted by the Congregation for the Clergy.There is great need for priests who speak of God to the world and who present the world to God; the Pope said, men not subject to ephemeral cultural fashions, b…

It is necessary to return to the confessional, noted Benedict XVI, speaking to the participants in the Apostolic Penitentiary’s course of formation. The hedonistic and materialistic cultural context is causing a loss of the sense of sin and of the sense of good and evil. Priests, with the example of the holy Cure d’Ars, must guide the faithful courageously, be dedicated to hearing confessions, and…

On this Third Sunday of Lent, Benedict XVI invited all to conversion. The occasion for this invitation by the Pope was a visit to the Roman parish of St. John of the Cross. The young community, founded in 1989, and strongly rooted in the Word of God have spent the last twelve years of parish life in temporary premises. Today, with the construction of a new complex complete, the community welcomed…

Misfortune, and tragic events must not arouse curiosity in us or a search for someone responsible, instead they represent opportunities to reflect, to overcome the illusion of being able to live without God.” These were Pope Benedict xvis words, at his Sunday Angelus, were he expressed his closeness to those in France who have been affected by recent flooding. In this third Sunday of Lent, the Pop…

There is no just ordering of the state that eliminates the service of charity. Whoever wants to eliminate charity is preparing to eliminate man. ” This was stressed today by Pope Benedict XVI when he spoke to the volunteers of the Italian Civil Protection Department. The Pope drew a parallel between the Good Samaritan and the organization. He said the role of protection is two-fold: one must “prot…

Priests are ministers of the new covenant between God and humanity, through Christ and through Grace. Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa, reiterated this in his first Lenten sermon this morning in the Redemptoris Mater Chapel of the Apostolic Palace, in the presence of the Pope and the Curia. In every human religion or religious philosophy – Father Cantalamessa noted – man begins by saying what…

The bishops are primarily responsible for evangelization, noted Pope Benedict XVI in his address to the Ugandan bishops’ conference at the end of their Ad Limina visit. The Pope urged the bishops to teach the faithful the importance and indissolubility of Christian marriage and to resist the temptations and illusions of hedonistic and materialistic culture. Christians should commit themselves to t…