Pope Benny speaks on Pope Gregory the Great

GREGORY THE GREAT: A MAN OF GOD AT THE SERVICE OF OTHERS

VATICAN CITY, 28 MAY 2008 (VIS) - In his general audience today, held in St. Peter's Square, the Pope turned his attention to St. Gregory the Great, who was Bishop of Rome from 590 to 604 and whom "tradition deemed worthy of the title of 'Magnus', the Great".

Gregory, said the Holy Father, "truly was a great Pope and a great Doctor of the Church". He was born in Rome in 540 to a rich and noble family, which stood out "for its attachment to the Christian faith and for its service to the Apostolic See".

Benedict XVI recalled how Gregory first entered upon an administrative career, becoming prefect of Rome in 572. "However such a life cannot have satisfied him for shortly afterwards he decided to abandon all public office and withdraw to his house on the 'Clivius Scauri', beginning life as a monk". In this way "he acquired a profound knowledge of Holy Scripture and of the Fathers of the Church, which he later used in his own works".

Gregory's skills and experience caused Pope Pelagius II to appoint him as deacon and send him as ambassador to Constantinople "to help surmount the last vestiges of the Monophysite controversy and, above all, to obtain the emperor's support in the struggle to counteract the pressure of the Lombards". A few years later, "he was called back to Rome by the Pope who made him his secretary". When Pelagius II died, Gregory succeeded him in the See of St. Peter. It was the year 590.

A large number of documents have been conserved from Gregory's pontificate, said the Pope, "thanks to the 'Registro' which includes around 800 of his letters. ... Among the problems afflicting Italy and Rome at that time, was one of particular weight in both civil and ecclesial life: the question of the Lombards". Gregory established "fraternal relations with them, with a view to a future peace founded on mutual respect and the serene coexistence of Italians, Greeks and Lombards".

Negotiations with the Lombard king, Agilulf "led to a truce which lasted for nearly three years (598-601), after which it proved possible to stipulate a more stable armistice in 603", said the Holy Father. "This positive result was possible also thanks to the contacts which the Pope had, in the meantime, established with Queen Theodelinda, a Bavarian and a Catholic. ... Little by little Theodelinda managed to lead the king to Catholicism, thus preparing the way for peace". The "beautiful" story of this queen, said the Pope, "demonstrates the importance of women in the history of the Church".

"Pope Gregory was also active in the field of social work. With the income of the considerable patrimony which the See of Rome possessed in Italy, especially in Sicily, he bought and distributed grain, helped those in need, assisted poverty-stricken priests, monks and nuns, paid the ransom of citizens who had fallen prisoner to the Lombards, and bought armistices and truces".

"Gregory", the Pope explained, "undertook these intense activities despite poor health which often forced him to keep his bed for days on end. ... Notwithstanding the difficult conditions in which he had to work, he managed, thanks to the holiness of his life and his abundant humanity, to conquer the trust of the faithful, achieving what, for his own time and for the future, were truly grand results".

"He was a man immersed in God. The desire for God was perpetually alive in the depths of his soul and precisely for this reason he always remained close to others, to the needs of the people of his time. At a time of disaster - a desperate time - he managed to create peace and bring hope. This man of God shows us", Benedict XVI concluded, "where the true sources of peace are, where true hope comes from, and thus he is also a guide for us today".

On Corpus Christi

From Pope Benedict's Angelus on Sunday, May 25. The Pictures are from the Corpus Christi procession on Thursday, May 22. Traditionally, the solmemnity of CC is celebrated on the Thursday following Holy Trinity Sunday. The logic is that it mirrors Maudy Thursday, the Solemnity of the Last Supper of our Lord, celebrated on Thursday of Holy Week. Today, most Episcopal Conferences allow the Solemnity to be moved to the Sunday after Most Holy Trinity Sunday.

VATICAN CITY, 25 MAY 2008 (VIS) - The Feast of the Eucharist, as celebrated at Corpus Christi, was the theme of remarks that Benedict XVI addressed to faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, before praying the Angelus today.

"The Lord and Creator of all things became a 'grain of wheat' to be sown in our land, in the furrows of our history", said the Pope. "He became bread in order to be .... shared; ... He became our food in order to give us life, His own divine life".

"The Eucharist is a school of charity and solidarity", he went on. "Those who nourish themselves on the bread of Christ cannot remain indifferent before people who, even in our own time, are without daily bread. Many parents have great difficulty in feeding themselves and their children. It is an ever more serious problem which the international community struggles to resolve. The Church not only prays to 'give us this day our daily bread' but, following the example of her Lord, seeks in all ways 'to multiply the five loaves and the two fish', through countless initiatives of human promotion and participation so that no-one may lack what they need to live".

"May the Feast of Corpus Christi be an occasion to increase this authentic concern for our brothers and sisters, especially the poor", said Benedict XVI and he concluded by calling upon the Virgin Mary "from whom the Son of God drew flesh and blood", to intercede to this end.

US Bishops give voice to poor in climate change debate

Friday 23 May 2008

The US bishops are again emphasising that the developed world has to help change the fact that those who contribute least to climate change are those who suffer most from it.

Bishop Thomas Wenski, chairman of the bishops' Committee on International Justice and Peace, said this Wednesday at a press briefing that gathered sponsors of Senate climate change legislation and interreligious leaders.

The bishop noted that the themes of creation and climate change are central to Benedict XVI's pontificate. Along those lines, he said that US. bishops "insist that responding to climate change raises fundamental questions of morality and justice, fairness and shared sacrifice. As bishops, we lead a Church, not an interest group. We are not 'the environmental movement at prayer.'

"We have called for principled, constructive, realistic and civil discussion on climate change."

Bishop Wenski said the debate is moving forward.

"As Catholic bishops," he clarified, "we are not here to endorse the many details of this or any other legislation, but we welcome and support their leadership in lifting up and seriously addressing how climate change will disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable in our country and around the world."

Citing previous testimony from the bishops, he added: "The real 'inconvenient truth' is that those who contribute least to climate change will be affected the most and have the least capacity to cope or escape. The poor and vulnerable are most likely to pay the price of inaction or unwise actions. We know from our everyday experience their lives, homes, children and work are most at risk.'

"As religious leaders we make a plea for strong, bipartisan action on climate change that reflects the old-fashioned virtue of prudence and a genuine commitment to the common good. Protecting God's creation and 'the least of these' requires urgent, wise and bold action. We join our religious partners in working to advance this essential moral, national and global priority."