Maria, ster van de evangelisatie

Seminarians and priests speak about their vocation experiences as Christ followers

The first wave of disobedience among the clergy was a century ago. Rome reacted with a crackdown, and it all finished with a little schism. Cardinal Brandmüller (photo) is proposing that the same thing be done today, against the new rebels

Pope Benedict XVI received the bishops of Angola and Sao Tomé on Saturday, who are here in Rome for their ad limina visits. In greeting the bishops, the Holy Father recalled his March, 2009 visit to Luanda, during which he said he was able to celebrate Jesus Christ in the midst of a people who never tire of seeking to love and serve with generosity and joy. Pope Benedict also used the occasion to explain that his recent decision to proclaim the Year of Faith from October 2012 to November 2013, was so that the whole Church might demonstrate to all a more beautiful and credible face, that the face of the Lord might show through the Church more clearly.

VATICAN CITY, 15 SEP 2011 (VIS) - Today in Castelgandolfo the Holy Father received a group of newly consecrated bishops who are currently participating in a meeting organised by the Congregation for Bishops. For the last ten years the congregation has been inviting new bishops to make a pilgrimage to the tomb of St. Peter in order to reflect on the main responsibilities of episcopal ministry.

"You are invited", the Pope told the group "to renew your profession of faith and your trusting adherence to Jesus Christ over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles, showing the same impulse of love as Peter himself and strengthening your ties of communion with his Successor and with your brother bishops".

In this context Benedict XVI explained that "the bishop ... is not alone, he is part of that 'corpus episcoporum' which, joining us to Christ, has been handed down from the Apostles' time to our own". He encouraged the prelates to live every day in episcopal fraternity, working in communion with the Pope and their brother bishops, while "seeking to cultivate friendship with them and with your priests".

In the host diocese, Madrid, and in dioceses all across Spain today, the official final period of preparation for the upcoming World Youth Day got under way with Masses, catecheses and Eucharistic adoration among the many elements available to the faithful. 

Here in Rome, the Major Penitentiary of Holy Church issued a decree of indulgence for those who will take part in World Youth Day events.

On Saturday the Holy See issued a statement regarding the illegitimate Episcopal ordination that took place in Shantou mainland China on Thursday. In the statement the Vatican states the priest in question, Reverend Joseph Huang Bingzhang, has incurred the sanction of excommunication, having been ordained without papal mandate. Furthermore, the Holy See expresses its appreciation to all the priests, religious and lay faithful “who have defended their pastors, accompanying them by their prayers at this difficult time and sharing in their deep suffering”

Pope Benedict XVI on Pentecost Sunday entrusted the cause of peace in the world to the intercession of those who gave their lives for Christ in concentration camps. The Holy Father was speaking to the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square this Sunday morning, the feast of Pentecost, after the recitation of the Regina Caeli from the window of his study. The Pope especially recalled the witness borne by the young priest and martyr Alois Andritzki, who was killed by the Nazis in 1943 in the Dachau concentration camp, and who is to be declared Blessed Monday in Dresden, Germany.

Illegitimate episcopal ordination thwarted in extremis. Thanks to the resistance of the faithful and to vigorous protests from Rome. An interview with the new Vatican strategist on China, Archbishop Hon.

Pope Benedict XVI met with the latest group of Bishops from the Philippines on Thursday who have come to Rome on their ad limina visits. The Philippines in one of only two predominantly Catholic nations in Asia, and has by far the largest number of Catholics in the region. In his remarks, he spoke about the need for the ongoing catecheses and formation of the laity, and the importance of interreligious dialogue. He also spoke about the need for the bishops to care for the priests.

Says "Times Have Changed" Since 1970 Request for Theological Study

LISBON, Portugal, FEB. 9, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Cardinal Walter Kasper, the retired president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, said that "times have changed" since 1970, when he requested a study to look into the need for obligatory priestly celibacy, and that he he never advocated its abolition.