Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog

The "Switch", the "Enigma", and the Reality

From Mark Brumley's op-ed, "The Pope's 'switch' on condoms", in yesterday's edition of The Napa Valley Register:

Judging by the media hype, you’d think the pope just published a book about condoms. His new book, “Light of the World,” actually covers a wide range of issues raised by veteran journalist Peter Seewald: the clergy sexual abuse scandal, climate change, moral relativism, spreading the Gospel, relations among religions, the search for Christian unity, dialogue with Islam, religion in public life, the roles of faith and reason, reforms in the Church, and the second coming of Christ, to name only a few subjects.

The questions are direct, often challenging; the answers, equally direct and often perhaps surprising.

Yes, the pope talks a bit about condoms. But contrary to what has been widely reported, he doesn’t endorse their use, even in “rare cases.”

“There may be a basis in the case of some individuals,” says the pope, “as perhaps when a male prostitute uses a condom, where this can be a first step in the direction of a moralization, a first assumption of responsibility, on the way toward recovering an awareness that not everything is allowed and that one cannot do whatever one wants. But it is not really the way to deal with the evil of HIV infection. That can really lie only in a humanization of sexuality.”

So using a condom “can be a first step in the direction of moralization,” not that it is moral.

What does “a basis in the case of some individuals” mean? That condoms are morally justified?

Read the entire piece. And this from Amy Welborn's op-ed in USA Today, titled "Pope Benedict, the enigma":

There is, it seems, something for everyone in this exhaustive interview — something to annoy everyone on every side of these issues, that is as recent events clearly showed. The truth is, though, that for anyone who has been following Benedict and read any of his numerous works over many years, none of this is shocking or a surprise, and it's all quite consistent.

It only puzzles us when we insist on filtering the pope's words through our own expectations and ideologies, our own understanding of what religion and rationality and morality must be all about. We're not starting from the same page, which might explain much of the invective directed at the pope by a curious, but often oblivious, press.

The thing is, he really believes the stuff. Really. He believes that God exists and we exist because God loves us. We're free to love him back, or not. So the basic job of the church is to be Christ in the world, inviting human beings to find love and truth. To find themselves. As Benedict puts it in Light of the World, the church "communicates the light of Christ."

The pope you don't hear about

Now what confuses and even angers some Catholics is that along with this high sense of church is the acceptance of the reality — very clear throughout this interview — that human beings interact with the church at different levels of commitment. Some go to Mass every day, and others once a year. Some are saints, while others are barely hanging on. There certainly have been through history various ways to articulate God's call to humanity, some more forceful and dire, but that is not Pope Benedict's language. The way he has always expressed it is that it's not the church's role to force an individual to come closer, but rather to constantly invite. Not to impose, but to "propose" — one of Pope Benedict's favorite turns of phrase.

So in essence, he's saying some will agree, some won't. But what of "everyone else?" Contrary to popular impressions and maybe even the hopes of some Catholics, Pope Benedict doesn't see it as his job to issue blanket condemnations of that "everyone else." "We are sinners," he says. "We should try to do as much good as we can and to support and put up with each other."

That doesn't sound like "God's Rottweiler," a nickname Benedict earned as a cardinal. Nor does it sound like the words of a man too often condemned as intolerant, rigid and stuck in past centuries. In short, Pope Benedict is saying: It's not my job to either change the teaching or declare you eternally condemned for your failures in living it. That's God's job. And I'm not God.

Read it all.

Related links:

• Order the hardcover book at www.ignatius.com
• Light Of The World  - Downloadable Audio File
• Light Of The World  - Electronic Book Download
• Light Of The World  - Audio Book on CD
• Luz Del Mundo  - Spanish Edition (Paperback)
• The book's Facebook page
• The book's site, www.LightOfTheWorldBook.com
• The book's blog, "Light of the World" Official Blog

"Wonder", by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

Wonder: Tuesday of the First Week of Advent | Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. | From Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting | Ignatius Insight

Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting is a collection of Advent reflections (for each day of the season) by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C. (1921-2006), who was for forty years the abbess of the Poor Clare Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Roswell, New Mexico.

Here is the reflection for the first Tuesday of Advent, from the just released audio version of the book, read by Karen Savage.

Listen to mp3 audio file (5:41):

---

Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting 

by Mother Mary Francis, P.C.C.

• Come, Lord Jesus -- Electronic Book Download
• Come, Lord Jesus -- Downloadable Audio File

These Advent reflections by the abbess of a Poor Clare monastery, an accomplished spiritual writer, focus our attention on the coming of Jesus into our lives. There is a double movement to this coming; both our active preparation to be ready for him and our patient waiting for the Lord to arrive in his own good time. There is also an art to this simultaneous preparation and waiting, and no one knows better than the beloved Mother Mary Francis how to encourage us in our attempts to master this art.

New: "The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible (NT)"

Now available to order from Ignatius Press:

The Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible: New Testament

This brilliantly-recorded audio Bible of the Ignatius Bible (RSV-CE) - New Testament is a deeply inspiring, spiritually - and artistically-rich production that is endorsed with an Imprimatur from the Vatican and includes a foreword by Pope Benedict XVI. Voiced by internationally-renowned actors including Neal McDonough, Kristen Bell, Sean Astin, Michael York, Blair Underwood, Malcolm McDowell, Stacy Keach, Brian Cox, Julia Ormond, John Rhys-Davies and many more, The Truth & Life Audio New Testament is a first-of-its-kind dramatized audio Bible of the RSV-CE translation.

In addition to the star-studded cast for the many voices in the New Testament, this dramatized recording includes beautiful music and many wonderful sound effects to make the Scriptures come alive, helping the listener to feel that he is witnessing personally the life-changing words and events of salvation 2,000 years ago.

From Chicago to Hollywood to New York and beyond . . . over 70 actors, 20 audio engineers in 10 studios over 3 continents contributed to the creation of this unique audio New Testament. More than 100 media development experts and 10,000 production hours were needed to complete this very ambitious project. Every Catholic who loves the Word of God should own a copy of this astounding production of the complete RSV-CE New Testament.

Plus Bonus CD: Renowned biblical teacher and Holy Land expert Stephen Ray explains St. John's Gospel in an exciting, inspirational presentation that will ignite your love for the Bible.

"The Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible is entirely faithful to the text of the Holy Scriptures. The manner in which the text is performed, beautifully assists the listener in understanding the meaning of the divinely inspired words within their context. The background music and sound effects helps the listener to imagine the setting of each particular text of the Holy Bible. I am happy to give my wholehearted endorsement to this audio New Testament."
- Most Reverend Raymond L. Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura of the Holy See

George Weigel on EWTN's "The World Over"

George Weigel, who wrote the Foreword to Light Of The World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times, joins host Raymond Arroyo on EWTN's "The World Over" (Nov. 25, 2010); the segment begins at the 06:00 mark:

Read Weigel's Foreword:

"Pope Benedict has always been remarkably candid and never beats around a bush."

From an NRO interview with Fr. Thomas D. Williams, conducted by Kathryn Jean Lopez:

Q. You’ve written a book on conscience. Is there a lesson about just that in what the pope has to say?

A: The pope cares deeply about right and wrong. He welcomes any opportunity to bear witness to the truth and to stir up debate about important issues. He understands that as successor to St. Peter, this is part of his mission. He believes firmly that the Church’s teaching about morality and yes, this includes contraception, is a truth that doesn’t shackle human beings but liberates them. God’s law is ultimately a blueprint for the thoroughly good, fulfilling life we are all created for.

Q. Still, is this some kind of first step in the Church changing its position on condoms in some kind of dramatic way? Can it? Even a friendly commentator in the Washington Post called what the pope said a “trial balloon.”

A: I think from what we have already said it is clear that the Church is not reconsidering her stance on the evil of contraception. Moreover, the popes have made it clear that the matter isn’t up for discussion. Rather, the current debate allows the Church to clarify why she is opposed to the use of contraception in marriage, and why, in cases such as prostitution, it is a moot point. Since most Catholics don’t understand why contraception is wrong on the first place, this whole debate will furnish an especially helpful opportunity for moral education on a broad scale.

Q. By getting so out of sorts about condoms, is the media missing out on the pope’s message?

A: Undoubtedly. The pope himself said as much in his recent book. Condoms will never be the answer to preventing HIV-AIDS in Africa (or anywhere else) and those countries that have relied most on condoms to stem their aids epidemics have suffered a much higher rate of new cases of aids that countries that have adopted a more thoroughgoing approach to the problem.

Read the entire interview.

Peter Seewald, the "pope whisperer"?

From an article, "The pope whisperer" (Nov. 27, 2010), in The Irish Times (ht: New Advent):

Colleagues in Seewald’s native Germany pounced on his remark as proof of their growing suspicion that the man they once viewed as one of their own had gone over to the other side. Had he?

Peter Seewald was born in Bochum but grew up in the Bavarian city of Passau, steeped in the region’s conservative Catholic atmosphere. By the age of 18 he had gone from altar boy to Marxist, writing for a left-wing paper and distributing communist pamphlets in his spare time.

In 1981 he joined Der Spiegel magazine and later moved to Stern, by which time his own religious beliefs were, he thought, a distant memory.

It was in this frame of mind that he accepted the assignment that would change his life: to interview Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger in the Vatican for the magazine of the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

By 1981, after leaving Munich, where he had been the city’s archbishop, Ratzinger had risen to prominence – some would say notoriety – in the Vatican as the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Seewald said later that none of the clippings he read on “God’s Rottweiler” prepared him for the “clever, pious and modest” man he met in 1996. That interview was the first of many hours of conversation and, said Seewald, the start of a 15-year process that saw him return to the church of his childhood.

Along the way came two book-length interviews with Ratzinger: “Salt of the Earth” and “God and the World”. In the intervening years Seewald opened a shop in Munich selling products from monasteries around the world, but closed it again without success.

All the while, he said, he was on a journey back to his faith, one that last summer led him back to Ratzinger, by then Pope Benedict XVI, the first German pope in nearly 500 years.

The pope agreed to meet him in the last week of July in Castel Gandolfo, at the papal summer residence, for six consecutive days of conversation, an hour at a time. The published transcript reveals an interesting shift in their relationship.

Read the entire piece.  Other books by Peter Seewald published by Ignatius Press: Salt of the Earth, God and the World, and Benedict XVI: An Intimate Portrait. For much more news about Light of the World and related issues, visit the "Light of the World" blog.

"A World Existing Independently From Us": On the Pope and the Scientific Method

"A World Existing Independently From Us": On the Pope and the Scientific Method | Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. | Ignatius Insight | November 29, 2010

"For her part, the Church is convinced that scientific activity ultimately benefits from the recognition of man's spiritual dimension and his quest for ultimate answers that allow for the acknowledgement of a world existing independently from us, which we do not fully understand and which we can only comprehend in so far as we grasp its inherent logic."
— Pope Benedict XVI, Address to Pontifical Academy of Sciences, October 28, 2010 (L'Osservatore Romano, English, November 3, 2010).

I.

The great worry of the culture of disbelief and death that we call the modern world is over the fact that Catholicism and science are quite compatible and necessary to each other. It is a quietly obvious fact that the principal promoter of reason in its fullest sense in the modern world is the papacy, but not necessarily "Catholic" academia. This view that they are compatible is well spelled out by Robert Spitzer, S.J., in his remarkably clear book, New Proofs for the Existence of God: Contributions of Contemporary Physics and Philosophy (Eerdmans, 2010).

In some basic sense, the modern world was built on the assumption of such incompatibility. Science and religion, it was claimed, were opponents to each other. One had to get rid of one if the other was to reign. Hostility, not dialogue, was the norm. We thus wanted a world in which we were guided by "scientific reason," not (supposedly) blind faith. Science was assumed to make belief in a transcendent God impossible or absurd. After all, no telescope or astronaut ever encountered God out there in space and time. Where else could He be?

Other things closer to home were also at work. If we could rid ourselves of any "First Cause," or especially any "Intelligent Cause," we would be left a world that could provide no standards of what it is to be human. The human being would not be already human on the basis of something that he did not himself create. His moral life would not be seen against a background of natural law or natural ends. Minus these inconvenient limitations, as he saw it, modern man could do what he wanted. The only exceptions were the ecologists who did not like the fact that man did much of anything with the earth. Freedom, in any case, would not mean conforming oneself to intelligible standards designed for man's own good, but making what he wanted to do to accomplish his self-given law.

Read the entire essay...

Two for the First Sunday of Advent

Advent: A Time for Humility and Preparation | A Scriptural Reflection on the First Sunday of Advent | November 28, 2010 | Carl E. Olson

Readings:
• Isa. 2:1-5
• Psa. 122: 1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
• Rom. 13:11-14
• Matt. 24:37-44

Many years ago, while still an Evangelical, I asked one of my Bible college professors: “What do you think the Second Coming will be like? Will it occur in our lifetime?” He was one of the few professors who apparently didn’t believe in the “Rapture”—the common Fundamentalist belief in a secret, silent “snatching up” of Christians to heaven prior to a time of tribulation and distinct from the Second Coming.

His response was simple and memorable: “All I know is that people were surprised at Christ’s first coming, and I’m certain that many will be surprised at His second coming.”

I’ve always remembered that brief but wise answer because it reflected two very Biblical qualities relating to the mystery of the coming of Jesus Christ: humility and expectation. Growing up immersed in the “left behind” theology, I was convinced the “Rapture” would take place before I was a teenager. Then before I was twenty. Then before I was twenty-five. I was taught that the Cold War was a sign that Jesus would return in the 1970s. Or in the 1980s. And then that the first Persian Gulf War indicated the Lord’s return in the 1990s.

Eventually I became frustrated with the reactionary and often arrogant attitude accompanying such thinking. In the course of journeying toward the Catholic Church, I began to better appreciate what Scripture teaches about the coming of the Son of Man, which we hear about in today’s Gospel reading. This passage from Matthew 24, along with the parallel passage of Luke 17:26-37, is where the description “left behind” comes from, drawn from Jesus’ mini parables about how one man or woman “will be taken, and one will be left.”

Many adherents of the “left behind” theology insist the one who is taken away will be raptured to heaven, while the one who is left will face the terrors of a great tribulation. Yet the context provided by Jesus—the “days of Noah”—strongly suggests the complete opposite: those who are taken away are the ones who will be judged, while those who are left will be saved. After all, Jesus states earlier that “the one who perseveres to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13). In the immediate first-century context, Jesus’ words point first to the coming destruction of Jerusalem (cf., Matt. 24:1-2), which makes perfect sense of His later declaration, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place” (Matt. 24:34).

Yet Jesus also connects the dramatic and traumatic events of A.D. 70, when the Temple in Jerusalem was completely destroyed by the Romans, to the coming of the Son of Man—that is, His second coming. Jesus’ prophetic words about them not only reveal something about the future, but declare something about who He is: the Savior, Judge, and Lord. He repeatedly emphasizes the need to be spiritually awake and expectant. Those who were carried away in the days of Noah were “corrupt and full of lawlessness” (Gen 6:11); they had no interest in God or His saving work. They were deep in spiritual slumber and sloth. One of the reoccurring themes of Matthew 24 and 25 is simply, “Be awake!” You must be prepared, says the Lord, “for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” The same urgent message is heard in today’s Epistle reading, in which Paul exhorts the Christians at Rome “to awake from sleep” for “the day is at hand.”

Advent reminds us that the day is at hand. That day was two thousand years ago, when God broke into human history with His utterance of the Incarnate Word. That day is now, as we prepare to celebrate His birth, especially when we receive His body, blood, soul, and divinity at Holy Communion. That day is coming, like a thief, when the Son of Man will close the doors of history and throw open the gates of eternity. Let us not be shocked and surprised, but awake and prepared.

(This "Opening the Word" column originally appeared in the December 2, 2007, edition of Our Sunday Visitor newspaper.)


The Hopeful Tension of Advent Expectation | Carl E. Olson

Advent is all about coming to a particular place and time.

The word "advent" comes from a Latin word meaning "to come to," used in ancient Rome to describe the arrival of the emperor. During Advent, guided by the liturgy, we look back to when God came into the world at the Incarnation. We also look forward in time to the Parousia, the final coming of the God-man when He will judge the living and the dead, and the world as we know it will pass away. And, in between these two cosmic events, we come face-to-face with ourselves, examining our hearts and preparing them for the celebration of the great feast of Christmas (cf. CCC 524).

Recently, in preparing a talk on the Eucharist as the eschatological sacrament, I was struck by a passage from Pope John Paul II’s encyclical, Ecclesia de Eucharistia ("On the Eucharist in Its Relationship to the Church").

Describing the relationship between the Eucharist and the blessed hope of the Parousia of Jesus Christ, the Holy Father wrote, "The Eucharist is a straining towards the goal, a foretaste of the fullness of joy promised by Christ (cf. Jn. 15:11); it is in some way the anticipation of heaven, the ‘pledge of future glory’" (par. 18). He then stated, "The eschatological tension kindled by the Eucharist expresses and reinforces our communion with the Church in heaven" (par. 19).

Chances are you haven’t heard the phrase "eschatological tension" used too often, whether at the water cooler or even at Mass. But when we consider what it means to be a follower of Christ and a member of the pilgrim Church, we recognize that we do live with and in tension. That tension exists because we live in temporal history between the "already accomplished"—the Incarnation—and the "yet to be completed"—the Parousia and fullness of the Kingdom. While yet on earth, we live with the knowledge that we are meant for heaven. We understand that we are spiritual and material. We know that we are sinful and saved. We recognize that we are dying and graced with eternal life.

Advent is a wonderful time to contemplate this fact and to ask ourselves if there should be more of this tension in our lives. I have to admit that I am often a bit too comfortable with being earthly, material, and sinful. I know that I sometimes shy away from looking to heaven, of becoming more Spirit-filled, and of working out my salvation with fear and trembling (cf. Phil. 2:12).

Despite my personal interest in the "end times," I prefer to ponder the quiet mysteries of the Nativity and shy away from the future, earth-shattering wonder of the Parousia, when the quiet babe of Bethlehem will be revealed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But the two cannot be separated. Without the first coming, there is no second coming; without the second coming, the first remains incomplete. The swaddling clothes must give way to brilliant robes. The donkey will step aside for the thundering white horse.

Many Christians who contemplate the end of time become obsessed with bloody scenarios and violent visions. The success of the Left Behind books indicates that some readers are looking to escape the eschatological tension, hoping to flee from the clutches of earth and the mortal life. But for Catholics, escape is not a consideration; the Cross is not optional. However, the tension of living in the present is not a reason for despair, but for hope.

John Paul II wrote, "A significant consequence of the eschatological tension inherent in the Eucharist is also the fact that it spurs us on our journey through history and plants a seed of living hope in our daily commitment to the work before us. Certainly the Christian vision leads to the expectation of ‘new heavens’ and ‘a new earth’ (Rev. 21:1), but this increases, rather than lessens, our sense of responsibility for the world today." (par. 20).

The good news is that the King didn’t just come two thousand years ago; He comes to us each time we receive Holy Communion. And He comes during Advent, preparing our hearts for Christmas. "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"

(This column originally appeared in a slightly different form in the November 24, 2003, issue of National Catholic Register.

Related Book Excerpts and Essays:

• Come, Lord Jesus! The Meaning of Advent | Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J. | A Homily for the First Sunday of Advent
• The Mystery Made Present To Us | Fr. Alfred Delp, S.J.
• The Art of Waiting | The Poor Clare Nuns | The Foreword to Come, Lord Jesus: Meditations on the Art of Waiting by Mother Mary Francis.
• "All of life is Advent": On the life and death of Alfred Delp, S.J. | Abtei St. Walburg
• Mary's Gift of Self Points the Way | Carl E. Olson | "The Blessed Mother and Advent", Part 1 of 4

The Jerusalem Post: "Light of the World" "provides a lively guide to Pope Benedict XVI’s thoughts..."

From a just published article, "New book shows Pope’s commitment to Jews and Israel", about Light of the World:

Joseph Ratzinger, the man and the Pope, replies without reticence, revealing the reflective and unpretentious traits of his personality and an unusual capacity to listen respectfully.

He makes no attempt to hide the uncertainties and errors behind the series of crises that have marked his papacy, optimistically transforming them into a learning process from which he believes the Church will benefit.

Interspersed throughout the book – amidst talk about his world vision, self-doubts about his public role, ecology, God, good and evil, original sin, the contradictions of modernity and contemporary atheism, sex, bioethics, AIDS, condoms, abuse scandals, mission, ecumenism and interreligious relations – Benedict XVI speaks extensively on issues related to Israel and the Jewish world, confirming his unwavering personal commitment to both. He also explains the reasons for his conviction that Pius XII was “one of the great righteous men,” but without advocating further moves toward proclaiming him a saint.

Ratzinger holds true to his belief in the “intrinsic unity of the Old and the New Covenant, the two parts of the Holy Scripture,” an awareness he says he acquired “since the very first day” of his early theological studies. He first made his theological views on Judaism public in 1990, when as the cardinal in charge of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he was interviewed in “Jews and Judaism in the Universal Catechism,” a piece published simultaneously in Studi Cattolici (in Italian) and Midstream (in English).

He says, “We can read the New Testament only together with what preceded it, otherwise, we would completely fail to understand it.”

Read the entire piece.

Related links:

• Order the hardcover book at www.ignatius.com
• Light Of The World  - Downloadable Audio File
• Light Of The World  - Electronic Book Download
• Light Of The World  - Audio Book on CD
• Luz Del Mundo  - Spanish Edition (Paperback)
• The book's Facebook page
• The book's site, www.LightOfTheWorldBook.com
• The book's blog, "Light of the World" Official Blog

An "oldie" but "goody" (as well as "timely" and "on point")

Since these topics have been much discussed in recent days...



Contraception and Homosexuality: The Sterile Link of Separation | Dr. Raymond Dennehy | Ignatius Insight

The widespread practice of contraception is a major force behind the rapidly growing acceptance of homosexuality in western societies as a natural, sexual orientation. Bluntly stated, the justification for the one counts as the justification for the other. Contraception formally separates the sex act from procreation, insofar as it allows a couple to have sex at any time without the possibility of conception. Therein lies its link with homosexuality. Sexual intercourse between homosexuals and between heterosexuals using contraceptives is identical in this, they are both by their very nature sterile. The increasing legislative and judicial pressure for the right of same-sex couples to marry is simply the actualization of the contraceptive mentality.

Before going further, a clarification between contraception and Natural Family Planning (NFP) might be useful. A common objection to Natural Family Planning is that it is hypocritical because its goal is identical to that of contraception--sex without pregnancy. But the two forms of birth control are worlds apart. The charge of hypocrisy rests on at least two false assumptions. This first is that the Catholic Church's condemnation of contraception supposes that it is evil to desire sex without babies. But surely there is nothing wrong with that desire. Nature does not intend every act of sexual intercourse to result in pregnancy since a woman is fertile for only a few days a month while the sex drive expresses itself throughout the month. The charge of hypocrisy also implies a failure to distinguish between a desire and the means of realizing the desire. In using NFP, the couple do nothing to obstruct the possibility of conception in that particular act; on the contrary, they remain open to the procreation of new human life. In fact, it would be wrong to think of NFP simply as a way of avoiding children since many couples practice it to pinpoint when the woman is ovulating as a way of increasing their chances of conceiving a child. NFP does not formally separate sex from procreation.

Read the entire article...

"After the mid-sixties, however, it was simply not applied any more."

From The Irish Times:

At one point, Seewald suggests that the evident episcopal mishandling of abuse cases represents a complete “failure” for the church. By way of response, Pope Benedict says: “The Archbishop of Dublin told me something very interesting about that. He said that ecclesiastical penal law functioned until the late 1950s; admittedly, it was not perfect – there is much to criticise about it – but nevertheless it was applied. After the mid-sixties, however, it was simply not applied any more.

“The prevailing mentality was that the Church must not be a Church of laws but, rather a Church of love: she must not punish . . . This led to an odd darkening of the mind, even in very good people.”

Asked by Seewald about the overall impact of the Irish sex abuse crisis, Pope Benedict says: “In Ireland the problem is altogether specific – there is a self-enclosed Catholic society, so to speak, which remained true to its faith despite centuries of oppression, but in which, then, evidently certain attitudes were also able to develop. I cannot analyze that in detail now.

“To see a country that gave the world so many missionaries, so many saints, which in the history of the missions also stands at the origin of our faith in Germany, now in a situation like this is tremendously upsetting and depressing. Above all, of course, for the Catholics in Ireland itself, where now as always there are many good priests.”

Asked by Seewald why the sex abuse scandals in the USA and Ireland had not prompted rigorous preventive investigations in other countries, Pope Benedict replies: “We responded to the matter in America immediately with revised, stricter norms.

“In addition, collaboration between the secular and ecclesiastical authorities was improved. Would it have been Rome’s duty, then, to say to all the countries expressly: Find out whether you are in the same situation? Maybe, we should have done that. For me, in any case, it was a surprise that abuse also existed on that scale in Germany.”

Referring to his pastoral letter to the Irish of last March, the pope says that “what was true for Ireland was not said just to Ireland”.

Read the entire piece, "Pope links failure to tackle abuse with 1960s reform" (Nov. 24, 2010).

Homosexuality Incompatible with Priesthood, Says Pope

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In his new book, Pope Benedict XVI strongly reaffirmed church teaching that homosexual acts are "disordered" and said homosexuality itself is "incompatible" with the priesthood.The pope's comments came in his new book-interview, "Light of the World: The Pope, the Church and the Signs of the Times," which was published Nov. 23.

The interviewer, German journalist Peter Seewald, asked the pope whether the church's teaching that homosexuals deserve respect isn't contradicted by its position that homosexual acts are "intrinsically disordered."

The pope answered: "No. It is one thing to say that they are human beings with their problems and their joys, that as human beings they deserve respect, even though they have this inclination, and must not be discriminated against because of it."

"At the same time, though, sexuality has an intrinsic meaning and direction, which is not homosexual," he said. "The meaning and direction of sexuality is to bring about the union of man and woman and, in this way, to give humanity posterity, children, a future."  More here.

Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J., talks with "Rome Reports"...

... about Light of the World:

One of the most thoughtful and rigorous pieces of analysis written so far...

... about the Holy Father's remarks about condoms and the resulting conversation/furor, is a post on the "end of the modern world, etc." blog, written by Dr. Steven A. Long, professor of theology at Ave Maria University. Here is an excerpt:

This is often portrayed as though the Pope is saying that the disordered sexual act of sodomy is morally bad, but condom use, as something incipiently responsible and moral, is nonetheless good. That is precisely what the Pope is not saying. That is why he says the Church does not regard it as a moral solution. He well realizes that condom use introduces no new species in a homosexual act, because no contraception takes place. Rather, the condom use is wholly predicated upon, and willed as a function of, the intention of sodomy, and condom used participates the species of the sodomitic act. Hence the condom use is morally evil, and indeed gravely evil. Janet Smith, who has written penetratingly about this, notes that all that condom use does is make an already gravely evil act slightly less evil, but that the Church is not in the business of directing people to perform grave evils in a slightly better way.

But what, then, of the papal language? Can a gravely evil act really be such that "there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality"? Certainly in the epistemic order, a person who is morally coarse and living sinfully, may in beginning to reflect on the consequences of his action for others and beginning to take responsibility for these, move in such a way that were it to continue he would eventually enter into genuinely moral considerations. If this is what the Pope means, then it is surely defensible, although the language even so seems somewhat rhetorically over-freighted: simply doing an evil act in a way that prevents infection does not necessarily suggest anything other than that the homosexual prostitute does not wish his customer to die, which frankly could be from venal or vicious motives; and if it is from a better motive, the act is still similar to a strangler who gives all his victims the opportunity to make a good act of contrition, and whom he calms and kills in as gentle a fashion as possible: all of which hardly seems to count as "a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way" of living. The Church is not in the business of endorsing grave evils when they are "lesser"--because grave moral evil may never rightly be done by anyone. The rhetoric of "first step" towards "a more human" sexuality makes the epistemic motion seem more proximate to the good of a more human sexuality than in fact it is. The "first step" is, in the epistemic order, toward a moral awareness generally speaking, which must be developed and enriched far more in order to constitute any specific movement in the practical moral order toward a "more human" sexuality.

Nonetheless one must give due credit to the "can" of the Pope's formulation--something that expresses raw possibility. And it is true that those who do move from moral evil to moral good, must epistemically at some point begin to be aware of their responsibility, and such a beginning might be found in someone who before had cavalierly exposed others to infection whilst sodomizing, who then tries to minimize the occasion for giving infection. But "first step"? Normally the first step toward a purpose partakes of the genus of that purpose. If the end is genuinely moral, then the use of the condom is not a "first step" any more than the gentler strangler is taking a first step toward a moral way of living and honoring the good of life. The "first step" of the Pope's example must be understood as nakedly epistemic, not in the least moral, but with the possibility that it could lead at some point to the genuinely moral. All the efforts to speak of the instance to which the pope refers as an exceptional case or circumstance for which the Holy Father has distilled the right moral theological understanding seems thus utterly wrong, because the Pope is not saying that condom use is morally good.

Given the refined nature of these reflections, one may also think that the Holy Father perhaps placed too great a weight upon a fragile medium which cannot sustain it--but from the best of motives, the desire to manifest the true nature of the papal service to the world, and openly to engage common questions and inquiries. Further, his words appear far better than Lombardi's explanation of them, which tries to render the entire matter a function of moral theology, whereas part of the Holy Father's treatment is simply and purely epistemic, something that the media probably will never be able to grasp.

Do read the entire post, which is challenging, but definitely worth the effort. Dr. Long is the author of numerous articles on philosophy, moral theology, and ethics, as well as author of The Teleological Grammar of the Moral Act (Sapientia Press, 2007).

"Light of the World" is an "unprecedentedly audacious book, for a pope."

From Sandro Magister of Chiesa:

ROME, November 25, 2010 – Toward the end of his book-length interview "Light of the World," which recently went on sale in various languages, Benedict XVI refers to his other book about Jesus, his "latest major work."

He recalls that "in a completely deliberate way" he wanted that book not to be an act of the magisterium, but the offering of his own personal interpretation.

And he adds: "This naturally represents an enormous risk."

On the afternoon of Monday, November 22, speaking one-on-one with the pope, the director of the Vatican press office, Fr. Federico Lombardi, asked him if he knew that he was facing an even greater risk with the book-length interview that was about to be released.

"When I asked this question, the pope smiled," Fr. Lombardi recounted.

Exactly right. "Light of the World" is a unprecedentedly audacious book, for a pope. It is the complete transcription of six hours of spontaneous, uncensored interview. On an incredibly wide array of issues, even the most uncomfortable.

The answers are short and to the point. The language is conversational but precise, simple, completely free of jargon. There are occasional flashes of irony.

Of course, the launching of the book was not without its flaws. Fr. Lombardi himself recognized that the preview of a few passages by "L'Osservatore Romano," on the afternoon of Saturday, November 20, right in the middle of the consistory, "was not handled well." On the passage about the condom, breathlessly covered by the media all over the world, it was necessary to run for cover, on Sunday the 21st, with a note of clarification approved word for word by the pope.

So the book ran into one "risk" immediately. The pope saw himself pulled into the fray straight off, on an issue he touched upon in only two pages out of 250, the same issue that in the spring of 2009, at the beginning of his voyage to Africa, had earned him a firestorm of criticism.

But if one looks at what has happened in recent days, the experiment has had surprisingly beneficial effects outside and inside of the Church.

Read the entire piece. Also, visit the Light of the World blog for much more news and information about the just released book.

Wishing You a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing You a Blessed and Happy Thanksgiving! | Ignatius Insight

Dear Readers:

Thanksgiving is a time-honored and cherished American tradition, rooted in the Christian belief that God is the source of all life and goodness, deserving our humble thanks and praise.

Here is a selection of thoughts and prayers from some Ignatius Press books and authors about thanksgiving and gratitude. They have helped me to reflect more deeply on the importance and necessity of thanksgiving. I hope you enjoy them.

Have a blessed and happy Thanksgiving!

Carl E. Olson
Editor, Ignatius Insight

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A Psalm for the thank offering:

"Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the lands!

"Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!

"Know that the LORD is God! It is he that made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

"Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him, bless his name!

"For the LORD is good; his steadfast love endures for ever, and his faithfulness to all generations."

- From Psalm 100 (99), in the Ignatius Bible, RSVCE

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Watch the trailer for "Light of the World"

Related links:

• Order the book at www.ignatius.com
• Light Of The World  - Downloadable Audio File
• Light Of The World  - Electronic Book Download
• Light Of The World  - Audio Book on CD
• Luz Del Mundo  - Spanish Edition (Paperback)
• The book's Facebook page
• The book's site, www.LightOfTheWorldBook.com
• The book's blog, "Light of the World" Official Blog

The Holy Father reflects on St. Catherine of Siena: mystic, counsellor, Doctor

From the Vatican Information Service:

ST. CATHERINE: SPIRITUAL COUNSELLOR, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH

VATICAN CITY, 24 NOV 2010 (VIS) - During his general audience, held this morning in the Paul VI Hall in the presence of 7,000 faithful, Benedict XVI focused his catechesis on St. Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), declared a Doctor of the Church by Paul VI and co-patroness of Europe by John Paul II.

  At the age of sixteen she became a Dominican Tertiary, dedicating herself to prayer, penance and works of charity, especially towards the sick. "As fame of her sanctity spread", the Pope explained, "she became intensely active in the spiritual counselling of many categories of peoples: nobles, politicians, artists, common people, consecrated persons, ecclesiastics, and even Pope Gregory XI who at that time resided in Avignon and whom Catherine energetically and effectively encouraged to return to Rome. She also travelled widely to promote interior reform of the Church and peace among States". She expounded her doctrine in three works: the "Treatise on Divine Providence", her "Letters" and a collection of "Prayers".

  Catherine was also a great mystic. Particularly famous are her visions of her exchanging hearts with Christ, and of the Virgin presenting her the Baby Jesus Who gives her a ring. "The living centre of Catherine's religiosity and of all authentic spirituality", the Holy Father explained, "is Christocentrism. For her, Christ was as a bridegroom with whom she maintained a relationship of intimacy, communion and fidelity. ... Like the saint of Siena, all believers feel the need to conform themselves to the sentiments of Christ's Heart, in order to love God and neighbour as Christ Himself loves. And, indeed, we can all allow our hearts to be transformed and learn to love like Christ through familiarity with Him, nourished by prayer, mediation upon the Word of God and the Sacraments, especially ... Holy Communion".

  "Around her strong and genuine personality an authentic spiritual family came into being of people attracted by the moral authority of this young woman. ... Many placed themselves at her service, considering it a privilege to be spiritually guided by Catherine. They called her 'mother' because, as spiritual children, from her they drew nourishment for the spirit. Today too the Church receives great benefit from the spiritual maternity of many consecrated and lay women, who nurture the idea of God in people's souls, strengthen their faith and orient Christian life towards ever higher peaks".

  Another characteristic of Catherine's spirituality is associated with her "gift of tears, expression of a delicate and profound sensitivity capable of emotion and tenderness", said the Holy Father. "Many saints have had the gift of tears, renewing the emotion of Jesus Himself Who did not hold back or hide His tears before the grave of his friend Lazarus and the pain of Martha and Mary, or the sight of Jerusalem during His last days on earth. For Catherine, the tears of the saints mix with the Blood of Christ", said the Pope.

  Finally he recalled how Catherine of Siena, "though aware of the human failings of the clergy, always had the greatest reverence for them, because through the Sacraments and the Word they dispense the salvific power of the Blood of Christ. The saint invited holy ministers, even the Pope whom which called 'sweet Christ on earth', to remain faithful to their responsibilities, moved always and only by her profound and constant love for the Church". From her, Benedict XVI concluded, "we learn the most sublime science: that of knowing and loving Jesus Christ and His Church".

An excellent book about this amazing Saint and Doctor is Catherine of Siena by Sigrid Undset. Here is the beginning of that book:

The opening pages of Catherine of Siena | by Sigrid Undset, the Nobel Prize winning author of Kristin Lavransdatter | Ignatius Insight

In the city-states of Tuscany the citizens—Popolani—businessmen, master craftsmen and the professional class had already in the Middle Ages demanded and won the right to take part in the government of the republic side by side with the nobles—the Gentiluomini. In Siena they had obtained a third of the seats in the High Council as early as the twelfth century. In spite of the fact that the different  parties and rival groups within the parties were in constant and often violent disagreement, and in spite of the frequent wars with Florence, Siena's neighbour and most powerful competitor, prosperity reigned within the city walls. The Sienese were rich and proud of their city, so they filled it with beautiful churches and public buildings. Masons, sculptors, painters and smiths who made the exquisite lattices and lamps, were seldom out of work. Life was like a brightly coloured tissue, where violence and vanity, greed and uninhibited desire for sensual pleasure, the longing for power, and ambition, were woven together in a multitude of patterns. But through the tissue ran silver threads of Christian charity, deep and genuine piety in the monasteries and among the good priests, among the brethren and sisters who had dedicated themselves to a life of helping their neighbours. The well-to-do and the common people had to the best of their ability provided for the sick, the poor and the lonely with unstinted generosity. In every class of the community there were good people who lived a quiet, modest and beautiful family life of purity and faith.

The family of Jacopo Benincasa was one of these. By trade he was a wool-dyer, and he worked with his elder sons and apprentices while his wife, Lapa di Puccio di Piagente, firmly and surely ruled the large household, although her life was an almost unbroken cycle of pregnancy and childbirth—and almost half her children died while they were still quite small. It is uncertain how many of them grew up, but the names of thirteen children who lived are to be found on an old family tree of the Benincasas. Considering how terribly high the rate of infant mortality was at that time, Jacopo and Lapa were lucky in being able to bring up more than half the children they had brought into the world.

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Also available from Ignatius Press:

• Catherine of Siena  - DVD

• Lay Siege to Heaven  - Paperback

• Catherine of Siena  - Electronic Book Download

• Catherine of Siena (Downloadable Audio)  - Downloadable Audio File

• Catherine of Siena  - Audio Book on CD
• Sermon in a Sentence, Vol. 3 : St. Catherine of Siena  - Hardcover

Shedding Some Light on "Light of the World" | Mark Brumley & Carl E. Olson

Shedding Some Light on Light of the World | Mark Brumley & Carl E. Olson | November 23, 2010 | Ignatius Insight

Mark Brumley, President of Ignatius Press, and Carl E. Olson, editor of Ignatius Insight, talk about the unprecedented and heavily anticipated interview with Pope Benedict XVI, Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times, by Peter Seewald.

Listen to mp3 audio file (21:00):



• RIGHT CLICK to download mp3 audio file (9.6 megs)

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Light Of The World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times

By Pope Benedict XVI and Peter Seewald

Never has a Pope, in a book-length interview, dealt so directly with such wide-ranging and controversial issues as Pope Benedict XVI does in Light of the World. Taken from a recent week-long series of interviews with veteran journalist Peter Seewald, this book tackles head-on some of the greatest issues facing the world of our time.

 Light of the World: The Pope, The Church and The Signs Of The Times, the much anticipated book-length interview with the Holy Father by Peter Seewald, available in stores Wednesday, November 24th. The book can, of course, be ordered online, or look for it in your local Catholic bookstore, as well as in major bookstores.

Those looking for more information can visit:

• The book's Facebook page
• The book's site, www.LightOfTheWorldBook.com
• The book's blog, "Light of the World" Official Blog

The book will be available in hardback. It also will be available in a Spanish edition, Luz Del Mundo: El Papa, La Iglesia Y Los Signos de los Tiempos, and as an Audio Book, read by Kevin O'Brien and Jim Morlino.

Fr. Joseph Fessio pens guest blog post for Reuters...

... titled, "Did the Pope 'justify' condom use in some circumstances?", in which he writes the following:

It is important to note that there are two very serious mistranslations in the Italian version of the Pope’s remarks, upon which many early reports were based, since the embargo was broken by the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. (That’s another story.) First, the German speak of “ein Prostituierter”, which can only be a male prostitute. The normal German word for prostitute is “ [eine] Prostituierte”, which is feminine and refers only to a woman. The Italian translation “una prostituta” simply reverses what the Pope says.

Equally problematically, “giustificati” = justified, was used in the Italian  translation of “begründete”, and arbitrarily resolves the ambiguity one-sidedly.

The Pope responded: “She [the Church] does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality” (italics mine).

In the first place a solution which is not “moral” cannot be “justified”. That is a contradiction and would mean that something in itself morally evil could be “justified” to achieve a good end. Note: the concept of the “lesser evil” is inapplicable here. One may tolerate a lesser evil; one cannot do something which is a lesser evil.

But the crucial distinction here is between the “intention” of the male prostitute, viz. avoiding infecting his client, and the act itself, viz. using a condom. Since this distinction has been missed in almost every report I’ve read, it calls for some elaboration.

This distinction, in moral philosophy, is between the object of an act and the intent of an act. If a man steals in order to fornicate, the intent is to fornicate but the object is the act of theft. There is no necessary connection between stealing and fornicating.

Read the entire post.

• Visit www.LightOfTheWorldBook.com for more information about the Pope's new book.
• Visit the book's blog for more reactions and thoughts about the book.