Patriarch of the West

Francis has revived the title renounced by Benedict XVI.

Requiescat in pace

Former Pope Benedict XVI is seriously ill

Pope Francis has asked for prayers for his 95 year old predecessor, stating that he is "very sick." The Vatican has acknowledged the former Pope's health has deteriorated sharply in recent hours.

Update- A statement from the Vatican Thursday morning reported that Benedict rested well last night and that he is both conscious and lucid. His condition is described as grave, but stable at the present time. 

Rumblings from Rome

Pope Benedict XVI

Maybe I am reading more into this than I should.  But there has been the sound of distant thunder in the Roman Church, and it seems to be emanating from Rome.  When Benedict XVI was elected to the Papacy there was a collective groan heard from one end of the globe to the other as liberal Catholics reacted with shock, anger and more than a touch of fear at the prospect of the Panzer Kardinal taking his seat on the throne of Peter.  On the other hand conservative and all but the most radical Trad Catholics reacted with general approval.  He was their man.  And if there was one thing that both the conservatives and liberals were sure of, it was that the new Pope was going to clean house.

Except that he didn't.

To the dismay of the Catholic right (and the relief of the left) Benedict's reign could be characterized thus far as a moderately conservative one.  The mass purges of liberal bishops and theologians did not occur. Nor did he repudiate Vatican II.  And while he issued a document freeing the ancient liturgy of the Latin Church he has done little to suppress the reformed liturgy cooked up in the wake of the council, deeply distressing Catholic Traditionalists.

Indeed his pontificate thus far has been mostly focused on theological issues with his often very deep sermons and lectures, which he delights in giving to everyone from Cardinal Archbishops to the remarkably large crowds that appear at his Wednesday audiences.  To the extent he has addressed the highly polarized divide within the Roman Church between liberals and conservatives, he has emphasized a "hermeneutic of continuity," arguing that both sides have misrepresented the Second Vatican Council as a rupture with the Church's past teachings.

But of late there have been some interesting signs that after six years on the job he may be flexing some pontifical muscles long unused.  Consider just a few recent events...

• The Pope is becoming increasingly comfortable bypassing local episcopal synods and issuing decrees that he thinks are important to the church as a whole.  I.E.. the erection of an Ordinariate for High Church Anglicans who want to convert en mass, without so much as a "by your leave" to the Catholic bishops of England and Scotland (not so affectionately known in some quarters as the "magic circle").  And then there are the decrees freeing the old mass and lifting the excommunications from the  bishops of the SSPX which were widely opposed.
• The Holy See just vetoed the choice of keynote speaker at a conference for Caritas International, a major umbrella group for Roman Catholic charities.  The proposed speaker was considered soft on more than a few doctrinal issues.  Rome is making it clear they will ensure that the group has a properly Catholic identity before granting it canonical recognition.
• Within the last six months the Pope has sacked at least three bishops for serious deviations from church doctrine and or discipline.  Note; these were not passed off as "early retirements."  They were fired by the Pope and Rome wanted everyone to know it.  I can not remember any instance in my lifetime where such a thing has happened.
• Rorate Caeli now reports that the Pope has suppressed a 500 year old monastery for among other things "grave liturgical abuses."

It is always dicey trying to read too much into the motives of the Holy See.  And it is possible that a lot of this could just be coincidence.  But I doubt it.  An educated guess is that Benedict has grown tired of all the abuses that have been going on and is making some selective examples in an effort to curb at least the worst offenders.  It is also possible that he is becoming more cognizant of his age, and his mortality.  While no rumors concerning his health have reached my ears or inbox, when you are in your 80's its hard not consider how much time you have left and what you want to accomplish before God calls you into retirement.

But while no rumors about the Pope's health have reached me, I can say that posts and comments in the more liberal corners of Catholic blogdom suggests that they are sitting up and taking notice of the Roman thunder.  Some are wondering if this is the beginning of the long feared counter-revolution.

Time will tell.

Pope Benedict XVI names 24 new Cardinals

Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday named 24 new cardinals, adding fresh blood to the institution that will one day elect his successor and raising the chances that more of the electors of the next pope would be Italian.

The group, which will be installed next month, includes two Americans: Archbishop Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C. an expert in doctrine who delivered a prayer at President Barack Obama’s inauguration but has also opposed some of the administration’s social policies; and Archbishop Raymond Burke, the prefect of the Vatican’s supreme court, who has been vocal in his criticism of the Democratic Party’s support of abortion rights.

Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York, who commands a post traditionally held by a cardinal, was not among those named, which experts said was because his predecessor, Cardinal Edward Egan, is not yet 80, and so is still eligible to vote for the next pope as a member of the College of Cardinals.

Read the rest here.

Damian Thompson: Rome puts its foot down

Monsignor Guido Marini, Papal Master of Ceremonies, confirms in an interview with Scotland’s Herald newspaper today that during his visit to Britain Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate the Prefaces and Canons of all his Masses in Latin, “to emphasise the universality of the faith and the continuity of the Church”.

The Canon (Eucharistic Prayer) is the heart of the Mass, during which the priest consecrates and elevates the Host. There can be little doubt that Marini has put his foot down. Having already stopped liturgical philistines from subjecting the Pope to various musical horrors, he is now sending a clear – and, one suspects, deeply unwelcome – message to English, Welsh and Scottish bishops who actively discourage the celebration of Mass in Latin.

There’s particular fury among the diehard modernisers of Scotland, I gather, who have waged a sneaky battle to banish traditional worship from the Bellahouston Mass. They are now reduced to quibbling about the number of candles on the Glasgow altar, protesting at the Pope’s wish for six or seven on the grounds that… actually, I don’t know. Too Popish, perhaps?

Read the rest here.

In an open letter George Weigel rebukes Hans Küng

Dr. Küng:

A decade and a half ago, a former colleague of yours among the younger progressive theologians at Vatican II told me of a friendly warning he had given you at the beginning of the Council’s second session. As this distinguished biblical scholar and proponent of Christian-Jewish reconciliation remembered those heady days, you had taken to driving around Rome in a fire-engine red Mercedes convertible, which your friend presumed had been one fruit of the commercial success of your book, The Council: Reform and Reunion.

This automotive display struck your colleague as imprudent and unnecessarily self-advertising, given that some of your more adventurous opinions, and your talent for what would later be called the sound-bite, were already raising eyebrows and hackles in the Roman Curia. So, as the story was told me, your friend called you aside one day and said, using a French term you both understood, “Hans, you are becoming too evident.”

As the man who single-handedly invented a new global personality-type—the dissident theologian as international media star—you were not, I take it, overly distressed by your friend’s warning. In 1963, you were already determined to cut a singular path for yourself, and you were media-savvy enough to know that a world press obsessed with the man-bites-dog story of the dissenting priest-theologian would give you a megaphone for your views. You were, I take it, unhappy with the late John Paul II for trying to dismantle that story-line by removing your ecclesiastical mandate to teach as a professor of Catholic theology; your subsequent, snarling put-down of Karol Wojtyla’s alleged intellectual inferiority in one volume of your memoirs ranked, until recently, as the low-point of a polemical career in which you have become most evident as a man who can concede little intelligence, decency, or good will in his opponents.

Read the rest here.

The Better Pope?

...But there’s another story to be told about John Paul II and his besieged successor. The last pope was a great man, but he was also a weak administrator, a poor delegator, and sometimes a dreadful judge of character.

The church’s dilatory response to the sex abuse scandals was a testament to these weaknesses. So was John Paul’s friendship with the Rev. Marcial Maciel Degollado, the founder of the Legionaries of Christ. The last pope loved him and defended him. But we know now that Father Maciel was a sexually voracious sociopath. And thanks to a recent exposé by The National Catholic Reporter’s Jason Berry, we know the secret of Maciel’s Vatican success: He was an extraordinary fund-raiser, and those funds often flowed to members of John Paul’s inner circle.

Only one churchman comes out of Berry’s story looking good: Joseph Ratzinger. Berry recounts how Ratzinger lectured to a group of Legionary priests, and was subsequently handed an envelope of money “for his charitable use.” The cardinal “was tough as nails in a very cordial way,” a witness said, and turned the money down.

This isn’t an isolated case. In the 1990s, it was Ratzinger who pushed for a full investigation of Hans Hermann Groer, the Vienna cardinal accused of pedophilia, only to have his efforts blocked in the Vatican. It was Ratzinger who persuaded John Paul, in 2001, to centralize the church’s haphazard system for handling sex abuse allegations in his office. It was Ratzinger who re-opened the long-dormant investigation into Maciel’s conduct in 2004, just days after John Paul II had honored the Legionaries in a Vatican ceremony. It was Ratzinger, as Pope Benedict, who banished Maciel to a monastery and ordered a comprehensive inquiry into his order.

So the high-flying John Paul let scandals spread beneath his feet, and the uncharismatic Ratzinger was left to clean them up. This pattern extends to other fraught issues that the last pope tended to avoid — the debasement of the Catholic liturgy, or the rise of Islam in once-Christian Europe. And it extends to the caliber of the church’s bishops, where Benedict’s appointments are widely viewed as an improvement over the choices John Paul made. It isn’t a coincidence that some of the most forthright ecclesiastical responses to the abuse scandal have come from friends and protégés of the current pope.

Read the rest here.

I could (and do) disagree with some of this article. But in general I would call it the first reasonably fair piece I have seen in the Times on this tragic subject. +Benedict was not, and is not perfect. He made mistakes. But unlike so many others the mistakes in his case were exceptions and not the rule. And unlike so many others he seems to have grasped the great danger to his church fairly early on and tried to attack it.

John Paul II was without doubt a great Pope who did much and whose personal sanctity has been much spoken of. But great leaders and even saints are sometimes not appreciated as such during their lifetime. More than a few have been reviled and suffered false and unfair accusations. With the passage of time I think history will be much kinder to +Benedict XVI than some now expect. He may indeed, as the author suggests, be remembered as the better Pope.

The Pope in the dock?

The anti-Catholic wingnuts are coming out of the woodwork now. Read this over at Alice's blog.

Scandal in German Catholic Church is causing angst in Rome

BERLIN — A widening child sexual abuse inquiry in Europe has landed at the doorstep of Pope Benedict XVI, as a senior church official acknowledged Friday that a German archdiocese made “serious mistakes” in handling an abuse case while the pope served as its archbishop.

The archdiocese said that a priest accused of molesting boys was given therapy in 1980 and later allowed to resume pastoral duties, before committing further abuses and being prosecuted. Pope Benedict, who at the time headed the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, approved the priest’s transfer for therapy. A subordinate took full responsibility for allowing the priest to later resume pastoral work, the archdiocese said in a statement.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said he had no comment beyond the statement by the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, which he said showed the “nonresponsibility” of the pope in the matter.

Read the rest here.

Rome welcomes Anglo-Catholics into communion

Today's announcement in Rome can not be realistically described as a surprise. It has been rumored and predicted to a large degree all over the internet and in print for months and even years (including on this blog). However, this in no way detracts from its significance. What the Holy See did today was the equivalent of dropping an ecumenical bomb.

The exact mechanics of all this are still not clear but should be coming out in the near future. Some things are clear however, more clear indeed than they have been for years. Clarity has been established on a number of subjects.

1. Rome has run out of patience with the Anglican Communion. The old dream of Anglican Catholic corporate reunion is now dead. Any bloviating from Rowan Williams notwithstanding this is an earthquake that spells the end of the Anglican Catholic dialogue as it has been run for decades. No this does NOT mean Rome will no longer talk to the Anglican Communion. They will certainly do so. Just as they talk to Jews, Mohammedans and Buddhists. But the goal is no longer reunion. It will simply be mutual tolerance.

2. Conservative Anglo-Catholics now have a refuge from the lunacy in the Anglican Communion. This means the internal politics in that communion are now going to have to take into account the new reality. On which note I find it curious that the CofE made what some saw as the almost inexplicable decision within the last week or so to postpone the ordination of women bishops and reconsider the protections which they were going to offer to those who could not in conscience accept ministry from female clergy. Coincidence? We think not.

3. Likewise this is going to have effects and ramifications within the so called Anglican Continuum. It is no secret that the Anglo-Catholic component of the recently founded ACNA has been profoundly uncomfortable being in communion with female clergy and having a primate who supports W/O. Many of these have been in discussions with Met. +Jonah of the Orthodox Church in America. This will add a new element to that already complicated scene.

4. The Roman Catholic Church is going to feel the effects of this as well. The TAC by its own (possibly inflated) estimate has around a half million members. That is more than many of the sui juris uniate Eastern churches in communion with Rome. While Rome has been very careful to avoid referring to this new arrangement as a separate church within the broader Papal communion, it looks like it is going to come very close to that in fact, if perhaps not name.

The potential absorption over the coming years of in excess of 500,000 High Church Anglicans is likely to have broad implications in everything from church discipline on clerical celibacy to liturgy. The Anglicans have a long history of a married clergy. How that is going to work out remains to be seen. They (the High Church wing) also have a liturgical tradition that at least since the disaster of the post Vatican II era is frankly more Catholic than anything Rome has seen in decades. I can not believe that Pope +Benedict, a renowned theologian who has written extensively on the important connection between liturgy and faith, did not have this in mind when preparing his invitation to traditional Anglo-Catholics.

I suspect that the only people who will be as unhappy as Rowan Williams over this will be many of the Roman Catholic bishops and 60's era guitar and folk Mass types, especially in English speaking countries.

For now, I am prepared to suspend my generally hostile sentiments towards uniatism. Since the Anglican Communion jumped off a theological cliff several decades ago when they started ordaining women, and appear to still be in free fall, I believe the Pope acted correctly from a Roman Catholic perspective. It is obvious to anyone with more than 2 brain cells firing off at the same time that the Anglican Communion is lost to the catholic tradition and thus no hope of corporate reunion can be rationally entertained. In the final analysis this is the requiem for the dream of Pope Paul VI and Archbishop Ramsey of a full blown Anglo-Catholic reunion.

Memory Eternal.

Some kind words from the Roman Bloggosphere

Rocco Palmo, a well known Catholic blogger, has posted the text of Pope Benedict XVI's unusually personal (and frankly moving) letter of condolence to the Holy Synod of the Russian Church on the death of Patriarch Alexei. He also has written a really nice article about the election of Metropolitan Jonah as the new Primate of the OCA. I reccomend both.

Pope Benedict XVI on interfaith diaglogue

...In comments from the letter that appeared on Sunday in Corriere della Sera, Italy’s leading daily, the pope said the book “explained with great clarity” that “an inter-religious dialogue in the strict sense of the word is not possible.” In theological terms, he added, “a true dialogue is not possible without putting one’s faith in parentheses.”

But Benedict added that “intercultural dialogue which deepens the cultural consequences of basic religious ideas” was important. He called for confronting “in a public forum the cultural consequences of basic religious decisions.”

You just know he is gonna take all kinds of heat for this. Which brings to mind the old axiom that the most offensive word in the English language is "truth."

Read the entire article here.

Address of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch BARTHOLOMEW to the XIIth Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church

THE WORD OF GOD
IN THE LIFE AND MISSION OF THE CHURCH

Your Holiness,
Synodal Fathers,

It is at once humbling and inspiring to be graciously invited by Your Holiness to address the XIIth Ordinary General Assembly of this auspicious Synod of Bishops, an historical meeting of Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church from throughout the world, gathered in one place to meditate on “the Word of God” and deliberate on the experience and expression of this Word “in the Life and Mission of the Church.”

This gracious invitation of Your Holiness to our Modesty is a gesture full of meaning and significance - we dare say an historic event in itself. For it is the first time in history that an Ecumenical Patriarch is offered the opportunity to address a Synod of the Bishops of the Roman Catholic Church, and thus be part of the life of this sister Church at such a high level. We regard this as a manifestation of the work of the Holy Spirit leading our Churches to a closer and deeper relationship with each other, an important step towards the restoration of our full communion.

It is well known that the Orthodox Church attaches to the Synodical system fundamental ecclesiological importance. Together with primacy synodality constitutes the backbone of the Church’s government and organisation. As our Joint International Commission on the Theological Dialogue between our Churches expressed it in the Ravenna document, this interdependence between synodality and primacy runs through all the levels of the Church’s life: local, regional and universal. Therefore, in having today the privilege to address Your Synod our hopes are raised that the day will come when our two Churches will fully converge on the role of primacy and synodality in the Church’s life, to which our common Theological Commission is devoting its study at the present time.

The theme to which this episcopal synod devotes its work is of crucial significance not only for the Roman Catholic Church but also for all those who are called to witness to Christ in our time. Mission and evangelization remain a permanent duty of the Church at all times and places; indeed they form part of the Church’s nature, since she is called “Apostolic” both in the sense of her faithfulness to the original teaching of the Apostles and in that of proclaiming the Word of God in every cultural context everytime. The Church needs, therefore, to rediscover the Word of God in every generation and make it heard with a renewed vigour and persuation also in our contemporary world, which deep in its heart thirsts for God’s message of peace, hope and charity.

This duty of evangelization would have been, of course, greatly enhanced and strengthened, if all Christians were in a position to perform it with one voice and as a fully united Church. In his prayer to the Father little before His passion our Lord has made it clear that the unity of the Church is unbreakably related with her mission “so that the world may believe” (John 17, 21). It is, therefore, most appropriate that this Synod has opened its doors to ecumenical fraternal delegates so that we may all become aware of our common duty of evangelization as well as of the difficulties and problems of its realization in today’s world.

This Synod has undoubtedly been studying the subject of the Word of God in depth and in all its aspects, theological as well as practical and pastoral. In our modest address to you we shall limit ourselves to sharing with you some thoughts on the theme of your meeting, drawing from the way the Orthodox tradition has approached it throughout the centuries and in the Greek patristic teaching, in particular. More concretely we should like to concentrate on three aspects of the subject, namely: on hearing and speaking the Word of God through the Holy Scriptures; on seeing God’s Word in nature and above all in the beauty of the icons; and finally on touching and sharing God’s Word in the communion of saints and the sacramental life of the Church. For all these are, we think, crucial in the life and mission of the Church.

In so doing, we seek to draw on a rich Patristic tradition, dating to the early third century and expounding a doctrine of five spiritual senses. For listening to God’s Word, beholding God’s Word, and touching God’s Word are all spiritual ways of perceiving the unique divine mystery. Based on Proverbs 2.5 about “the divine faculty of perception (αἴσθησις),” Origen of Alexandria claims:
This sense unfolds as sight for contemplation of immaterial forms, hearing for discernment of voices, taste for savoring the living bread, smell for sweet spiritual fragrance, and touch for handling the Word of God, which is grasped by every faculty of the soul.
The spiritual senses are variously described as “five senses of the soul,” as “divine” or “inner faculties,” and even as “faculties of the heart” or “mind.” This doctrine inspired the theology of the Cappadocians (especially Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa) as much as it did the theology of the Desert Fathers (especially Evagrius of Pontus and Macarius the Great).

1.Hearing and Speaking the Word through Scripture

At each celebration of the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, the presiding celebrant at the Eucharist entreats “that we may be made worthy to hear the Holy Gospel.” For “hearing, beholding and handling the Word of life” (1 Jn 1.1) are not first and foremost our entitlement or birthright as human beings; they are our privilege and gift as children of the living God. The Christian Church is, above all, a scriptural Church. Although methods of interpretation may have varied from Church Father to Church Father, from “school” to “school,” and from East to West, nevertheless, Scripture was always received as a living reality and not a dead book.

In the context of a living faith, then, Scripture is the living testimony of a lived history about the relationship of a living God with a living people. The Spirit, “who spoke through the prophets” (Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed), spoke in order to be heard and take effect. It is primarily an oral and direct communication intended for human beneficiaries. The scriptural text is, therefore, derivative and secondary; the scriptural text always serves the spoken word. It is not conveyed mechanically, but communicated from generation to generation as a living word. Through the Prophet Isaiah, the Lord vows:
As rain and snow descend from heaven, watering the earth … so shall my word go from mouth to mouth, accomplishing that which I purpose. (55.10-11)

Moreover, as St. John Chrysostom explains, the divine Word demonstrates profound considerateness (συγκατάβασις) for the personal diversity and cultural contexts of those hearing and receiving. Adaptation of the divine Word to the specific personal readiness and the particular cultural context defines the missionary dimension of the Church, which is called to transform the world through the Word. In silence as in declaration, in prayer as in action, the divine Word addresses the whole world, “preaching to all nations” (Mt 28.19) without either privilege or prejudice to race, culture, gender and class. When we carry out that divine commission, we are assured: “Behold, I am with you always.” (Mt 28.20) We are called to speak the divine Word in all languages, “becoming all things to all people, that [we] might by all means save some.” (1 Cor. 9.22)

As disciples of God’s Word, then, it is today more imperative than ever that we provide a unique perspective – beyond the social, political, or economic – on the need to eradicate poverty, to provide balance in a global world, to combat fundamentalism or racism, and to develop religious tolerance in a world of conflict. In responding to the needs of the world’s poor, vulnerable and marginalized, the Church can prove a defining marker of the space and character of the global community. While the theological language of religion and spirituality differs from the technical vocabulary of economics and politics, the barriers that at first glance appear to separate religious concerns (such as sin, salvation, and spirituality) from pragmatic interests (such as commerce, trade, and politics) are not impenetrable, crumbling before the manifold challenges of social justice and globalization.

Whether dealing with environment or peace, poverty or hunger, education or healthcare, there is today a heightened sense of common concern and common responsibility, which is felt with particular acuteness by people of faith as well as by those whose outlook is expressly secular. Our engagement with such issues does not of course in any way undermine or abolish differences between various disciplines or disagreements with those who look at the world in different ways. Yet the growing signs of a common commitment for the well-being of humanity and the life of the world are encouraging. It is an encounter of individuals and institutions that bodes well for our world. And it is an involvement that highlights the supreme vocation and mission of the disciples and adherents of God’s Word to transcend political or religious differences in order to transform the entire visible world for the glory of the invisible God.

2.Seeing the Word of God – The Beauty of Icons and Nature

Nowhere is the invisible rendered more visible than in the beauty of iconography and the wonder of creation. In the words of the champion of sacred images, St. John of Damascus: “As maker of heaven and earth, God the Word was Himself the first to paint and portray icons.” Every stroke of an iconographer’s paintbrush – like every word of a theological definition, every musical note chanted in psalmody, and every carved stone of a tiny chapel or magnificent cathedral – articulates the divine Word in creation, which praises God in every living being and every living thing. (cf. Ps. 150.6)

In affirming sacred images, the Seventh Ecumenical Council of Nicaea was not concerned with religious art; it was the continuation and confirmation of earlier definitions about the fullness of the humanity of God’s Word. Icons are a visible reminder of our heavenly vocation; they are invitations to rise beyond our trivial concerns and menial reductions of the world. They encourage us to seek the extraordinary in the very ordinary, to be filled with the same wonder that characterized the divine marvel in Genesis: “God saw everything that He made; and, indeed, it was very good.” (Gn. 1.30-31) The Greek (Septuagint) word for “goodness” is ά, which implies – etymologically and symbolically – a sense of “calling.” Icons underline the Church’s fundamental mission to recognize that all people and all things are created and called to be “good” and “beautiful.”

Indeed, icons remind us of another way of seeing things, another way of experiencing realities, another way of resolving conflicts. We are asked to assume what the hymnology of Easter Sunday calls “another way of living.” For we have behaved arrogantly and dismissively toward the natural creation. We have refused to behold God’s Word in the oceans of our planet, in the trees of our continents, and in the animals of our earth. We have denied our very own nature, which calls us to stoop low enough to hear God’s Word in creation if we wish to “become participants of divine nature.” (2 Pet 1.4) How could we ignore the wider implications of the divine Word assuming flesh? Why do we fail to perceive created nature as the extended Body of Christ?

Eastern Christian theologians always emphasized the cosmic proportions of divine incarnation. The incarnate Word is intrinsic to creation, which came to be through divine utterance. St. Maximus the Confessor insists on the presence of God’s Word in all things (cf. Col. 3.11); the divine Logos stands at the center of the world, mysteriously revealing its original principle and ultimate purpose (cf. 1 Pet 1.20). This mystery is described by St. Athanasius of Alexandria:
As the Logos [he writes], he is not contained by anything and yet contains everything; He is in everything and yet outside of everything … the first-born of the whole world in its every aspect.
The entire world is a prologue to the Gospel of John. And when the Church fails to recognize the broader, cosmic dimensions of God’s Word, narrowing its concerns to purely spiritual matters, then it neglects its mission to implore God for the transformation – always and everywhere, “in all places of His dominion” – of the whole polluted cosmos. It is no wonder that on Easter Sunday, as the Paschal celebration reaches its climax, Orthodox Christians sing:
Now everything is filled with divine light: heaven and earth, and all things beneath the earth. So let all creation rejoice.
All genuine “deep ecology” is, therefore, inextricably linked with deep theology:
“Even a stone,” writes Basil the Great, “bears the mark of God’s Word. This is true of an ant, a bee and a mosquito, the smallest of creatures. For He spread the wide heavens and laid the immense seas; and He created the tiny hollow shaft of the bee’s sting.”
Recalling our minuteness in God’s wide and wonderful creation only underlines our central role in God’s plan for the salvation of the whole world.

3.Touching and Sharing the Word of God – The Communion of Saints and the Sacraments of Life

The Word of God persistently “moves outside of Himself in ecstasy” (Dionysius the Areopagite), passionately seeking to “dwell in us” (Jn 1.14), that the world may have life in abundance. (Jn 10.10) God’s compassionate mercy is poured and shared “so as to multiply the objects of His beneficence.” (Gregory the Theologian) God assumes all that is ours, “in every respect being tested as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4.15), in order to offer us all that is God’s and render us gods by grace. “Though rich, He becomes poor that we might become rich,” writes the great Apostle Paul (2 Cor. 8.9), to whom this year is so aptly dedicated. This is the Word of God; gratitude and glory are due to Him.

The word of God receives His full embodiment in creation, above all in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. It is there that the Word becomes flesh and allows us not simply to hear or see Him but to touch Him with our own hands, as St. John declares (I John 1,1) and make Him part of our own body and blood (σύσσωμοι καί σύναιμοι) in the words of St. John Chrysostom.

In the Holy Eucharist the Word heard is at the same time seen and shared (κοινωνία). It is not accidental that in the early eucharistic documents, such as the book of Revelation and the Didache, the Eucharist was associated with prophesy, and the presiding bishops were regarded as successors of the prophets (e.g. Martyrion Polycarpi). The Eucharist was already by St. Paul (I Cor. 11) described as “proclamation” of Christ’s death and Second Coming. As the purpose of Scripture is essentially the proclamation of the Kingdom and the announcement of eschatological realities, the Eucharist is a foretaste of the Kingdom, and in this sense the proclamation of the Word par excellence. In the Eucharist Word and Sacrament become one reality. The Word ceases to be “words” and becomes a Person, embodying in Himself all human beings and all creation.
Within the life of the Church, the unfathomable self-emptying (κένωσις) and generous sharing(κοινωνία) of the divine Logos is reflected in the lives of the saints as the tangible experience and human expression of God’s Word in our community. In this way, the Word of God becomes the Body of Christ, crucified and glorified at the same time. As a result, the saint has an organic relationship with heaven and earth, with God and all of creation. In ascetic struggle, the saint reconciles the Word and the world. Through repentance and purification, the saint is filled – as Abba Isaac the Syrian insists – with compassion for all creatures, which is the ultimate humility and perfection.

This is why the saint loves with warmth and spaciousness that are both unconditional and irresistible. In the saints, we know God’s very Word, since – as St. Gregory Palamas claims – “God and His saints share the same glory and splendor.” In the gentle presence of a saint, we learn how theology and action coincide. In the compassionate love of the saint, we experience God as “our father” and God’s mercy as “steadfastly enduring.” (Ps. 135, LXX) The saint is consumed with the fire of God’s love. This is why the saint imparts grace and cannot tolerate the slightest manipulation or exploitation in society or in nature. The saint simply does what is “proper and right” (Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom), always dignifying humanity and honoring creation. “His words have the force of actions and his silence the power of speech.” (St. Ignatius of Antioch)

And within the communion of saints, each of us is called to “become like fire” (Sayings of the Desert Fathers), to touch the world with the mystical force of God’s Word, so that – as the extended Body of Christ – the world, too, might say: “Someone touched me!” (cf. Mt 9.20) Evil is only eradicated by holiness, not by harshness. And holiness introduces into society a seed that heals and transforms. Imbued with the life of the sacraments and the purity of prayer, we are able to enter the innermost mystery of God’s Word. It is like the tectonic plates of the earth’s crust: the deepest layers need only shift a few millimeters to shatter the world’s surface. Yet for this spiritual revolution to occur, we must experience radical metanoia – a conversion of attitudes, habits and practices – for ways that we have misused or abused God’s Word, God’s gifts and God’s creation.

Such a conversion is, of course, impossible without divine grace; it is not achieved simply through greater effort or human willpower. “For mortals, it is impossible; but for God all things are possible.” (Mt 19.26) Spiritual change occurs when our bodies and souls are grafted onto the living Word of God, when our cells contain the life-giving blood-flow of the sacraments, when we are open to sharing all things with all people. As St. John Chrysostom reminds us, the sacrament of “our neighbor” cannot be isolated from the sacrament of “the altar.” Sadly, we have ignored the vocation and obligation to share. Social injustice and inequality, global poverty and war, ecological pollution and degradation result from our inability or unwillingness to share. If we claim to retain the sacrament of the altar, we cannot forgo or forget the sacrament of the neighbor – a fundamental condition for realizing God’s Word in the world within the life and mission of the Church.

Beloved Brothers in Christ,

We have explored the patristic teaching of the spiritual senses, discerning the power of hearing and speaking God’s Word in Scripture, of seeing God’s Word in icons and nature, as well as of touching and sharing God’s Word in the saints and sacraments. Yet, in order to remain true to the life and mission of the Church, we must personally be changed by this Word. The Church must resemble the mother, who is both sustained by and nourishes through the food she eats. Anything that does not feed and nourish everyone cannot sustain us either. When the world does not share the joy of Christ’s Resurrection, this is an indictment of our own integrity and commitment to the living Word of God. Prior to the celebration of each Divine Liturgy, Orthodox Christians pray that this Word will be “broken and consumed, distributed and shared” in communion. And “we know that we have passed from death to life when we love our brothers” and sisters (1 Jn 3.14).

The challenge before us is the discernment of God’s Word in the face of evil, the transfiguration of every last detail and speck of this world in the light of Resurrection. The victory is already present in the depths of the Church, whenever we experience the grace of reconciliation and communion. As we struggle – in ourselves and in our world – to recognize the power of the Cross, we begin to appreciate how every act of justice, every spark of beauty, every word of truth can gradually wear away the crust of evil. However, beyond our own frail efforts, we have the assurance of the Spirit, who “helps us in our weakness” (Rom. 8.26) and stands beside us as advocate and “comforter” (Jn 14-6), penetrating all things and “transforming us – as St. Symeon the New Theologian says – into everything that the Word of God says about the heavenly kingdom: pearl, grain of mustard seed, leaven, water, fire, bread, life and mystical wedding chamber.” Such is the power and grace of the Holy Spirit, whom we invoke as we conclude our address, extending to Your Holiness our gratitude and to each of you our blessings:
Heavenly King, Comforter, Spirit of Truth
present everywhere and filling all things;
treasury of goodness and giver of life:
Come, and abide in us.
And cleanse us from every impurity;
and save our souls.
For you are good and love humankind.
Amen!

Source

Quote of the day...

HH Pope Benedict XVI greeting the crowds at his Wednesday audience while wearing the traditional Saturno hat.

"Christ's universal "yes" shows us with clarity how to give the right place to all the other values. We are thinking of values justly defended today, such as tolerance, liberty and dialogue. However, a tolerance that is no longer able to distinguish between good and evil would become chaotic and self-destructive. So, moreover, would a liberty that does not respect the freedom of others and does not find the common measure of our respective liberties, it would become anarchic and destroy authority. Dialogue that no longer knows what to dialogue about becomes empty chatter."

-Pope Benedict XVI during his weekly audience of June 25th 2008.

There is a new sheriff in town...

...and his name is Marini, not that Marini, the new one... Guido. And he seems to share his bosses distaste for the rock concert themed events that were the norm under the previous Pontificate. Evidence of which could be seen at the consistory for the newly named Cardinals of the Roman Church who received their traditional red birettas today from the Pope. +Benedict XVI was not wearing anything like the often plain or sometimes simply bizarre vestments foisted on his predecessor by the former Papal MC, Piero Marini (no relation to the new one).

Rather he was seen wearing both a ceremonial miter and stole dating to the reign of +Pius IX. And in a shift from the ubiquitous vanilla sede of the last several decades the Pope was seated on a gilded red throne that is believed to have been last extensively used by +Pius X. This also seems to be in keeping with a number of recent articles indicating the Pope is banishing the frequently banal and sometimes just dreadful music used in Vatican liturgical ceremonies in favor of a return to Gregorian Chant and the music of Mozart and Palestrina. Times are changing, and for once I can opine for the better.

The Pope's Revolution

Two and a half years after the name "Josephum" came booming down from the balcony of St Peter's, making liberal Catholics weep with rage, Pope Benedict XVI is revealing his programme of reform. And it is breathtakingly ambitious.

The 80-year-old Pontiff is planning a purification of the Roman liturgy in which decades of trendy innovations will be swept away. This recovery of the sacred is intended to draw Catholics closer to the Orthodox and ultimately to heal the 1,000 year Great Schism. But it is also designed to attract vast numbers of conservative Anglicans, who will be offered the protection of the Holy Father if they covert en masse.

The liberal cardinals don't like the sound of it at all.

Read the rest here.

Benedict XVI &The Spirit of Assisi

It's hard not to notice when the Pope shows up. And you can sometimes say the same when he doesn't. Last fall, Pope Benedict XVI was a notable no-show at a September ceremony to mark 20 years since John Paul II had hosted a groundbreaking gathering of world religious leaders in Assisi, Italy. Some viewed the Pope's absence as a slap to those working for inter-faith dialogue, both inside and outside the Catholic Church,. On Sunday, however, Benedict will be center stage at the most lavish, and well-attended inter-religious ceremony of his papacy, organized by the same Sant'Egidio community that helped launch Assisi. What has changed? Why is Benedict marking 21 years since "the spirit of Assisi" was uncorked, after skipping out on the 20th anniversary?

Read the rest here.
(Hat tip to T-19)

On a practical level I understand why he is doing this. But I really do wish he wouldn't. Unfortunately I have read too much about the history of Islam and the way it works to entertain any serious hope for an understanding. My feeling is that we should extend to them the same level of tolerance that they extend to Christians in predominantly Muslim countries, except for the killing them part. I do draw the line there. Beyond that I think they should stay in their part of the world until they learn to play and get along well with others.

With respect to discussions within Christendom, I think my feeling is what is the point? Protestants are Protestants and are not gong to change. The only exception might at one time have been the Anglicans but they reached a fork in the road back in the 70's. Their choice was go Catholic or Protestant. They have clearly made that choice, and they are realistically way past the point of no return. The dream of Anglican-Catholic reunion is dead (with the possible and intriguing exception of the TAC). The sooner Rome grasps this, the better for all concerned. Among Christians the only ones Rome really has any business holding serious talks with are the Orthodox.

The Christian world is fast dividing into two camps, the apostolic churches on one hand and the theological flavor of the moment groups on the other. Sorry if that offends some readers. But from the Roman / Orthodox perspective that’s really what it comes down to. I am perfectly OK with talking to other groups in order to promote improved understanding and mutual tolerance (which I do think is extremely important). But ecumenism for the sake of getting that cheap warm fuzzy is not a good idea. There has been enough dilution of truth. I have something less than zero use for groups like the NCC and the WCC. My profound albeit respectful theological disagreements with the Roman Church notwithstanding I think B-16 is the best thing to hit their side of the Tiber in a LONNNGGG time. The man calls it like he sees it. I may not agree with him all the time. But I have never failed to respect him. Truth is NOT relative.