Pope Benedict XVI: December 2006 Archives

Pope Benedict XVI on the Family

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The Cardinal Van Thuan Observatory is a vital information center on the Church's social doctrine. Here they have compiled Pope every address Pope Benedict gave in 2006 on the family.

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Impromptu

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Many in Catholic Blogland (myself included) have noted that Pope Benedict loves to speak "off the cuff" either by departing from his prepared texts or (when he has the opportunity) by opening the floor up to questions. The quality of these impromptu remarks reveals a lot about not only the Holy Father's vast breadth and depth of knowledge, but also (especially in the Q and A sessions) his pastoral concern for those entrusted to him.

One such instance occurred this summer when Pope Benedict met with the priests of the diocese of Albano while vacationing nearby. He took questions from the priests, and the Vatican was kind enough to release the texts of his responses. Zenit has published these questions and answers on their website.

Question 1: On problems of priestly life
Question 2: On integrated pastoral care
Question 3: On the liturgy
Question 4: On the family
Question 5: On youth

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The Liturgical Riot Act

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Father Z has an interesting take on yesterday''s homily by Bartholomew I blogged below.

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The Pope in Turkey

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The next few posts will be the texts of some of the various addresses by Pope Benedict XVI as well as Patriarch Bartholomew I during the pope's visit to Turkey.

In addition here is a link of some pictures from the celebration of the ancient Orthodox liturgy for the feast of St. Andrew early yesterday.

All this and lots more from the website of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and from Zenit news service

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Papal Homily at Marian House in Ephesus

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Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In this Eucharistic celebration we praise the Lord for Mary's divine motherhood, a mystery solemnly confessed and proclaimed in Ephesus at the Ecumenical Council of 431. To this place, so dear to the Christian community, my venerable predecessors the Servants of God Paul VI and John Paul II came as pilgrims; the latter visited this Shrine on 30 November 1979, just over a year after the beginning of his Pontificate. Another of my Predecessors was in this country not as Pope, but as the Papal Representative, from January 1935 to December 1944, Blessed John XXIII, Angelo Roncalli, whose memory still enkindles great devotion and affection. He very much esteemed and admired the Turkish people. Here I would like to quote an entry in his Journal of a Soul: "I love the Turks; I appreciate the natural qualities of these people who have their own place reserved in the march of civilization" (pp. 233-4). He also left to the Church and the world the legacy of his Christian optimism, rooted in deep faith and constant union with God. In that same spirit, I turn to this nation and, in a special way, to the "little flock" of Christ living in its midst, in order to offer a word of encouragement and to manifest the affection of the whole Church. With great love I greet all of you here present, the faithful of Izmir, Mersin, Iskenderun and Antakia, and others from different parts of the world, as well as those who could not take part in this celebration but are spiritually united with us. I greet in particular Archbishop Ruggero Franceschini of Izmir, Archbishop Giuseppe Bernardini, Archbishop emeritus of Izmir, Bishop Luigi Padovese, the priests and the religious. Thank you for your presence, your witness and your service to the Church in this blessed land where, at its very beginnings, the Christian community experienced great growth, a fact reflected in the numerous pilgrimages made to Turkey to this day.

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This Divine Liturgy celebrated on the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle, Patron Saint of the Church of Constantinople, brings us back to the early Church, to the age of the Apostles. The Gospels of Mark and Matthew relate how Jesus called the two brothers, Simon, whom Jesus calls Cephas or Peter, and Andrew: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” (Mt 4:19, Mk 1:17). The Fourth Gospel also presents Andrew as the first to be called, “ho protoklitos”, as he is known in the Byzantine tradition. It is Andrew who then brings his brother Simon to Jesus (cf. Jn 1:40f.).

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With the grace of God, Your Holiness, we have been blessed to enter the joy of the Kingdom, to "see the true light and receive the heavenly Spirit." Every celebration of the Divine Liturgy is a powerful and inspiring con-celebration of heaven and of history. Every Divine Liturgy is both an anamnesis of the past and an anticipation of the Kingdom. We are convinced that during this Divine Liturgy, we have once again been transferred spiritually in three directions: toward the kingdom of heaven where the angels celebrate; toward the celebration of the liturgy through the centuries; and toward the heavenly kingdom to come.

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“This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

(Ps 117:24)

This fraternal encounter which brings us together, Pope Benedict XVI of Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, is God’s work, and in a certain sense his gift. We give thanks to the Author of all that is good, who allows us once again, in prayer and in dialogue, to express the joy we feel as brothers and to renew our commitment to move towards full communion. This commitment comes from the Lord’s will and from our responsibility as Pastors in the Church of Christ. May our meeting be a sign and an encouragement to us to share the same sentiments and the same attitudes of fraternity, cooperation and communion in charity and truth. The Holy Spirit will help us to prepare the great day of the re-establishment of full unity, whenever and however God wills it. Then we shall truly be able to rejoice and be glad.

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About this Archive

This page is a archive of entries in the Pope Benedict XVI category from December 2006.

Pope Benedict XVI: November 2006 is the previous archive.

Pope Benedict XVI: January 2007 is the next archive.

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