Honoris causa

A very interesting video of Cardinal Ratzinger receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Navarre. The investiture is performed by the Prelate of Opus Dei, Javier Echevarría.

Meet the Flintstones!

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Flintstones!



Thanks Eugene!

The two popes

The early signs of a great partnership and a warm friendship.

From Wikipedia:
At around 00:37 CEST on 2 April (22:37 1 April UTC), a Vatican spokesman gave a further briefing on the Pope's health and confirmed that the Pope had had the Last Rites. He refused to be taken to the hospital, and met with his closest associates, among them Cardinal Ratzinger, who said, "he knows that he is dying and he gave me his last goodbye."

Pope's Private Visit to the Birmingham Oratory and Newman's Rooms

NLM features, via L'Osservatore Romano, some images from the Pope's recent private visit to the Birmingham Oratory. You see the Pope in relative privacy, enjoying examiningover the books, vestments and relics of Cardinal Newman who was a hero of his.












d

Fr. Thomas Dubay R.I.P.

I used to see Fr. Dubay on EWTN and I was shocked to hear that he has gone to the Lord over the weekend. Father was a renowned author and spiritual director. Read a few of the remembrances at Insight Scoop, the Curt Jester, and the National Catholic Register.

This is the video of Fr. Dubay that I remember best:

Fr. Thomas Dubay S.M.

1921-2010

Requiscat in Pace.

Cardinal Ratzinger

Great footage!

Funny how he calls Ignatius Press "my friends", and gives a little bow to the other academic present (Ray's daughter).
Notice his humility when Ray tells him that he's Ray's hero.

Arise!

O my Fathers, my brothers, had that revered Bishop spoken then, who that had heard him but would have said that he spoke what could not be? What! those few scattered worshippers, the Roman Catholics, to form a Church! Shall the past be rolled back? Shall the grave open? Shall the Saxons live again to God? Shall the shepherds, watching their poor flocks by night, be visited by a multitude of the heavenly army, and hear how their Lord has been new-born in their own city? Yes; for grace can, where nature cannot. The world grows old, but the Church is ever young. She can, in any time, at her Lord's will, "inherit the Gentiles, and inhabit the desolate cities."..."Arise, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come. For the winter is now past, and the rain is over and gone. The flowers have appeared in our land.... the fig-tree hath put forth her green figs; the vines in flower yield their sweet smell. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come." It is the time for thy Visitation. Arise, Mary, and go forth in thy strength into that north country, which once was thine own, and take possession of a land which knows thee not. Arise, Mother of God, and with thy thrilling voice, speak to those who labour with child, and are in pain, till the babe of grace leaps within them. Shine on us, dear Lady, with thy bright countenance, like the sun in his strength, O stella matutina, O harbinger of peace, till our year is one perpetual May. From thy sweet eyes, from thy pure smile, from thy majestic brow, let ten thousand influences rain down, not to confound or overwhelm, but to persuade, to win over thine enemies. O Mary, my hope, O Mother undefiled, fulfil to us the promise of this Spring. A second temple rises on the ruins of the old. Canterbury has gone its way, and York is gone, and Durham is gone, and Winchester is gone. It was sore to part with them. We clung to the vision of past greatness, and would not believe it could come to nought; but the Church in England has died, and the Church lives again. Westminster and Nottingham, Beverley and Hexham, Northampton and Shrewsbury, if the world lasts, shall be names as musical to the ear, as stirring to the heart, as the glories we have lost; and Saints shall rise out of them if God so will, and Doctors once again shall give the law to Israel, and Preachers call to penance and to justice, as at the beginning.

Truly stirring words by Bl. John Henry Newman. Read the rest of his famous sermon, "The Second Spring", on the setting up of the Church in England here.

Eugenio Pacelli speaking in English

Politicians

"Legislation is the work of men invested with power, and who, in fact, govern the nation; therefore it follows that, practically, the quality of the laws depends more upon the quality of these men than upon the form of power.  The laws will be good or bad accordingly as the minds of the legislators are imbued with good or bad principles, and as they allow themselves to be guided by political prudence or by passion."

- Pope Leo XIII

Via J.P. Sonnen 

St Thomas More, pray for us!

Apparently the papal visit was a failure...

At least that's what Mathew N. Schmalz, Professor of Religious Studies at the College of the Holy Cross, thinks:

Now that Pope Benedict XVI has returned from the UK, most commentators will surely label the trip a failure, in spite of Vatican characterizations to the contrary. Preceded by a major gaffe by a highly placed cardinal and by rumors that charges would be brought against the pontiff himself, the trip seemed to confirm the depth of negative reactions that Benedict has evoked since his election. To be sure, the trip perhaps did not fulfill the gloomiest forecasts: there was an apparently cordial meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury and attendance at papal events was greater than had been predicted. But overall, the impression was one of humiliation. Benedict himself acknowledged this humiliation and did so in a surprising and compelling way.

Dude - what were you doing between the 16th and the 19th of September?!? Didn't you catch a glimpse of the news on TV? It sounds like you were unconscious or something! Did you finish this article before the Pope even landed in the UK?

Carl Olson has more.

The Apostle in Rome

The blessed Apostles [Peter & Paul], having founded and built up the Church [of Rome], they handed over the office of the episcopate to Linus. Paul makes mention of this Linus in the Epistle to Timothy. To him succeeded Anencletus [or Anacletus]; and after him in the third place from the Apostles, Clement was chosen for the episcopate. He had seen the blessed Apostles and was acquainted with them. It might be said that He still heard the echoes of the preaching of the Apostles, and had their traditions before his eyes. And not only he, for there were many still remaining who had been instructed by the Apostles. In the time of Clement, no small dissension having arisen among the brethren in Corinth, the Church in Rome sent a very strong letter to the Corinthians, exhorting them to peace and renewing their faith. ... To this Clement, Evaristus succeeded; and Alexander succeeded Evaristus. Then, sixth after the Apostles, Sixtus was appointed; after him, Telesphorus, who also was gloriously martyred. Then Hyginus; after him, Pius; and after him, Anicetus. Soter succeeded Anicetus, and now, in the twelfth place after the Apostles, the lot of the episcopate has fallen to Eleutherus. In this order, and by the teaching of the Apostles handed down in the Church, the preaching of the truth has come down to us.

- St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresy 3, 3, 3.

A.D. 180
 

Ausiliatrice

 Taken on the 4th of July, 2010 at the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin

“The world can find no helper more powerful than thee. It has its apostles, prophets, martyrs, confessors, virgins, good helpers to whom I pray. But thou my Queen, art higher than all these intercessors. That which they can all do with thee, thou alone canst do without them. And why? Because thou art the Mother of Our Saviour. If thou art silent, no one will pray, no one will come to help us. If thou prayest, all will pray, all will help.” 

- St. Anselm, Oratio Eccl.

From the Legion Handbook, p. 250-251.

Lick lick lick lick

Pope Benedict explains the good of school to children

A sign of wisdom is being able to talk to all sorts of people. See how this master theologian, one of the most brilliant minds in the Church today talks to little school children.

Via AmP

Dear children”, said the Pope in his remarks, “you go to school and you learn naturally, and I am recalling that seventy-seven years have now passed since I began school. I lived in a small village of three hundred inhabitants, … yet we learned the essential things. Most importantly, we learned to read and write. I think it is a great thing to be able to read and write, because in this way we can know other people’s ideas, read newspapers and books. We can also know what was written two thousand or more years ago; we can know the spiritual continents of the world and communicate with one another. Above all there is one extraordinary thing: God wrote a book, He spoke to us human beings, finding people to write the book containing the Word of God. Reading that book, we can read what God says to us”.

The Holy Father went on: “At school you learn everything you need for life. You also learn to know God, to know Jesus and thus you learn how to live well. At school you make a lot of friends and this is a beautiful thing because in this way you form one big family, but among our best friends, the first we meet and know shshould be Jesus Who is a friend to everyone and truly shows us the path of life.”

Ponte Vecchio on the River Arno

Taken on the 30th of June

The joy at seeing Peter

Jean reminded me of a beautiful papal verse from the Bible:

And as soon as she knew Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but running in she told that Peter stood before the gate. 

-Acts of the Apostles 12:14

There is somethig wonderful, and mysterious isn't there about the love men and women, young and old, have for the Pope? And it's not a new thing either.

See the crowds in New York excited at seeing Paul VI in 1965:


Even earlier: Pope Pius XI, back in the 1920s or 30s, giving an urbi et orbi blessing. The same cries of "Viva il Papa" used to ring out back then too following a papal blessing. Nothing seems to have changed:



And of course Pope John Paul II's huge powerful presence and the effect he had on crowds is great to watch.

Pope consoled PM

I was right:

Mr Cameron missed Benedict XVI's speech to politicians on Friday for the funeral of his father Ian, 77.

But at Birmingham Airport the pair had a private conversation on the tarmac, with the Premier overheard saying: "I've had an extraordinary last few days. It's difficult."

The Pontiff lay a kindly hand on his arm and told him: "You are in our thoughts."

Mr Cameron thanked him and, touching his arm again, Benedict reassured him: "You'll be fine."

The scenes came at the end of the Pope's historic four-day state visit.

From the Sun

Pope remembers his trip to UK

"Sunday, then, was a moment of deep personal satisfaction, as the Church celebrated the blessedness of a great Englishman, whose life and writings I have admired for many years and who has come to be appreciated by countless people far beyond the shores of his native land. Blessed John Henry Newman’s clear-minded search to know and express the truth in charity, at whatever cost to his own personal comfort, status and even friendships, is a wonderful testimony of a pure desire to know and love God in the communion of the Church. His is surely an example that can inspire us all."

Listen to the pope's speech, made during today's General Audience here.

From the Beatification:


The beatification rite:


Glorious! They break out singing John Henry Newman's "Praise to the Holiest in the Height".

Bl. John Henry Newman's feast is coming up: October 9th. This is an unusual choice of feast day. While most feast days fall on the day of the blessed's/saint's death (that is, his entry into eternal life), John Henry Newman's feast day falls on the day of his conversion to the Catholic Church. Quite fitting I say!

Starry Night Over the Rhone

By Vincent van Gogh

The Pope and Jake the explosives sniffer

Pope Benedict XVI yesterday stopped to give a police dog an unexpected pat while thanking some of the 2,000 members of the West Midlands Police who had helped to protect him during his visit.
After meeting the seminarians of England, Wales and Scotland at Oscott College, Sutton Coldfield, the Pope saw Jake, a black Springador who acts as an explosives sniffer for the police.
Wading through a crowd of public servants the Pope was greeted by the dog, who appeared to enjoy the attention. ( Catholic Herald)


Photo via AmP

It really was nice to see Holy Father petting that dog. It's always good to see glimpses of him interacting spontaneously - too often things are scripted and when in the UK he had to follow the directions of (the often brusque) Italian security detail which was with him.

You can see the video here. Starting at around 1:00.



The Pope's brother, Georg, recalled in an interview about the young Joseph Ratzinger that "He was a lively child, but not an earthquake. I remember him always happy. Since he was small he showed a great sensitivity to animals, flowers and nature in general. Maybe it was also because of this that at Christmas, he always received gifts of cloth animals. His love of nature and living things is one of his character traits."
See also CNA

AmP notes that is not the pope’s first public encounter with a canine. He also likes St. Bernards:


I
ndeed, affection for St. Bernards seems to run in the Ratzinger family (this is the pope’s brother, Monsignor Georg Ratzinger):

The Unattractive Church (plus some bookmarks)

It is customary for the Pope, during his flight, to meet the press corps flying with him on an apostolic journey. Here was one question put to him:

“The United Kingdom, like many other Western countries, is considered to be a secular State. There is a strong culturally-motivated atheist movement. Nonetheless, there are also signs that religious faith – particularly faith in Jesus Christ – remains alive at a personal level. What does this mean for Catholics and Anglicans? Can anything be done to make the Church a more credible and attractive institution?”

Listen to the Pope beautiful answer:


“In my view a Church which seeks above all to be attractive is already on the wrong path, because the Church does not work for herself, she does not work to increase her numbers and her power. The Church is at the service of Another. She serves not herself, not to become strong; rather, she serves to make the announcement of Jesus Christ more accessible: the great truths, the great powers of love and reconciliation which appeared in Him and which always come from the presence of Jesus Christ."

Via AmP.

You can read the entire Q&A here. I've compiled the Holy Father's speeches and homilies from his UK trip into a little booklet for easy reading. I've started with his speech at Westminster Hall.


I'll take this opportunity to bookmark a few more articles on the Papal trip:

Benedict's Surprising Visit

Benedict Busts Stereotypes

Why today's beatification of John Henry Newman is something every Englishman should be proud of.

A Pope For All Seasons

‘Pope Benedict is an enemy of the state’

Ad Multos Annos - a blogger's conversion into a fan of Pope Benedict

Finally, the Holy Father's dinner on Saturday night was prepared by two Indian nuns and one Sri Lankan nun.

I wonder what the story behind this is

Reuters (Cofton Park)

One Protester The Pope Would Have Liked

By Greg Burke at Fox News

That’s tough stuff, material for smart folks debating in a graduate school seminar. Perhaps it’s too bad the Pope didn’t see the pizza box; he would have been amused.

And in his former career as a professor and not a pontiff, he probably would have liked to talk to the young man holding it up.

The Pope would not have agreed, but he would have been pleased that here was at least one person whose protest was not based on ignorance or malice. I think he'd have appreciated the good-natured humour of it too - something which the atheist, and anti-Catholic protestant (and that one weird group of anti-Crusade protesters) demonstrators seem to posses none of.

The PM and the Pope

Yesterday David Cameron had a brief chat with the Pope after their farewell addresses.


The Pope at one point patted the PM on his arm. Perhaps they were talking about the death of Cameron's father.


Photos: Reuters

Monsignor Georg Gänswein is truly masterful

 Getty Images

I've been watching the Pope's travels in the UK these days and been struck by how excellent the Pope's personal secretary is. He's always near the pope when he's needed, and seems to disappear when he's not.


AP

Whenever the Pope has to read something, he subtly holds the Pope's pair of spectacles near the Pope's hand. The texts of the speeches are brought to the podium with such smoothness. It is Monsignor Gänsweinwho directs the traffic of people waiting to meet the Pope. He takes charge of the gifts given to the Pope. He knows exactly when to take a gift from the Pope's hand leaving the Pope free to go on with meeting and greeting people: if the gift is of some interest or significance, he waits, and watches, smiling as the Pope discusses the gift (usually a book) with the presenter. He helps the Pope climb steps, reminds the pope about what's next on the agenda. Yesterday he even directed the photo-taking at Oscott College.


(Starting at 3:00)


Getty

He usually looks very serious, but last evening, as the papal party was preparing to leave England, he was beaming (and the Pope was smiling too) probably very relieved that this trip had proceeded flawlessly and they were heading home again.


Reuters

Getty

The Pope just took off

And Archbishop Vincent Nichols is being interviewed by the BBC. He says that finally the people got to see the Holy Father as he is - not as he is mediated by the media. "He's a gentle, sensitive, eloquent, lovely person and it is in this loveliness that he gets his message across". A truly British way of putting it. The welcome given to the Pope has been overwhelming, the Archbishop says. Thank you, to the wonderful people of Britain, for proving the media, and the protesters wrong. Judging from the comments on some of news blogs, there is much gnashing of teeth among the militant atheists. They're trying to play down the crowds, trying to say that this visit was completely irrelevant. Rubbish. Catholics, non-Catholics, normal folk, and the country's leaders all seemed genuinely impressed by the Pope and his words to the Brisitsh people.

Let's pray for the people of Britain that the "Benedict bounce", which Scottish Cardinal Keith O' Brien told His Holiness is already apparent in Scotland, bears much fruit.





Bon voyage Holy Father. God bless.

Heart, speaking unto Heart at Hyde Park

Papal Visit website







 

Reuters Pictures 


AP Photo

Powerful stuff.

Wow. Seriously?!

Reuters Pictures 22 hours ago

Demonstrators from the British protest group Muslims Against Crusades protest as Pope Benedict XVI travels towards a prayer vigil at Hyde Park in London September 18, 2010.

I LOVE these banners and slogans

Source: Daylife

They express the joy of faith and obedience.

Radiating Christ

Dear Jesus, help me to spread Your fragrance everywhere I go. 
Flood my soul with Your spirit and life. 
Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly 
that all my life may only be a radiance of Yours. 
Shine through me and be so in me 
that every soul I come in contact with may feel Your presence in my soul. 
Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus! 
Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as You shine, 
so to shine as to be a light to others; 
the light, O Jesus, will be all from You; 
none of it will be mine: 
it will be You shining on others through me. 
Let me thus praise You in the way You love best: 
by shining on those around me. 
Let me preach You without preaching, not by words, but by my example, 
by the catching force, 
the sympathetic influence of what I do, 
the evident fullness of the love my heart bears to You.

- Blessed John Henry Newman

Newman’s life also teaches us that passion for the truth, intellectual honesty and genuine conversion are costly. The truth that sets us free cannot be kept to ourselves; it calls for testimony, it begs to be heard, and in the end its convincing power comes from itself and not from the human eloquence or arguments in which it may be couched....Finally, Newman teaches us that if we have accepted the truth of Christ and committed our lives to him, there can be no separation between what we believe and the way we live our lives. Our every thought, word and action must be directed to the glory of God and the spread of his Kingdom. Newman understood this, and was the great champion of the prophetic office of the Christian laity. He saw clearly that we do not so much accept the truth in a purely intellectual act as embrace it in a spiritual dynamic that penetrates to the core of our being. Truth is passed on not merely by formal teaching, important as that is, but also by the witness of lives lived in integrity, fidelity and holiness; those who live in and by the truth instinctively recognize what is false and, precisely as false, inimical to the beauty and goodness which accompany the splendour of truth, veritatis splendor....

By letting the light of faith shine in our hearts, and by abiding in that light through our daily union with the Lord in prayer and participation in the life-giving sacraments of the Church, we ourselves become light to those around us; we exercise our “prophetic office”; often, without even knowing it, we draw people one step closer to the Lord and his truth. Without the life of prayer, without the interior transformation which takes place through the grace of the sacraments, we cannot, in Newman’s words, “radiate Christ”; we become just another “clashing cymbal” (1 Cor 13:1) in a world filled with growing noise and confusion, filled with false paths leading only to heartbreak and illusion.

One of the Cardinal’s best-loved meditations includes the words, “God has created me to do him some definite service. He has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another” (Meditations on Christian Doctrine). Here we see Newman’s fine Christian realism, the point at which faith and life inevitably intersect. Faith is meant to bear fruit in the transformation of our world through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the lives and activity of believers. No one who looks realistically at our world today could think that Christians can afford to go on with business as usual, ignoring the profound crisis of faith which has overtaken our society, or simply trusting that the patrimony of values handed down by the Christian centuries will continue to inspire and shape the future of our society. We know that in times of crisis and upheaval God has raised up great saints and prophets for the renewal of the Church and Christian society; we trust in his providence and we pray for his continued guidance. But each of us, in accordance with his or her state of life, is called to work for the advancement of God’s Kingdom by imbuing temporal life with the values of the Gospel. Each of us has a mission, each of us is called to change the world, to work for a culture of life, a culture forged by love and respect for the dignity of each human person. As our Lord tells us in the Gospel we have just heard, our light must shine in the sight of all, so that, seeing our good works, they may give praise to our heavenly Father (cf. Mt 5:16).

- Pope Benedict, Vigil of the Beatification of John Henry Cardinal Newman

Read the whole of the Pope's homily. It's sublime, as usual. 

Lead Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’encircling gloom, lead Thou me on!
The night is dark, and I am far from home; lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou shouldst lead me on;
I loved to choose and see my path; but now lead Thou me on!
I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
Pride ruled my will. Remember not past years!

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on.
O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till the night is gone,
And with the morn those angel faces smile, which I
Have loved long since, and lost awhile!



A beautiful hymn by Blessed John Henry Newman.

We Love our German Shepherd!

Reuters

God bless our Pope, God bless our Pope

 

God bless our Pope, the great, the good!

Boris meets the Pope

“I told the Pope,” said Boris, “that what was wrong with Britain was that the Roman Emperor Honorius told the Brits in 410 AD that Rome was no longer able to protect them.

“From that time,” said Boris to the Pope, “the British have had a sense of desertion, of confusion, of rejection.”

What did the Pope make of that? I asked Boris. “He looked hunted. His eyes flickered around the room.”

Did he saying anything? “Yes”, said Boris. “He said: ‘Very interesting’.”

Boris was accompanied last night by Lara Johnson, his 17-year-old daughter, who is an admirer of Benedict XVI and who speaks pretty good German.

Earlier in the day the Mayor had issued a statement exclusively for readers of the Catholic Herald: “In return for a general absolution,” ran the statement, “I have granted the Popemobile an exemption from the congestion charge.”

From the Catholic Herald.

Haha. A hunted look sounds like a perfectly fitting response to this Mayor of London. 
 

The Pope speaks to the British People

Mr Speaker,

Thank you for your words of welcome on behalf of this distinguished gathering. As I address you, I am conscious of the privilege afforded me to speak to the British people and their representatives in Westminster Hall, a building of unique significance in the civil and political history of the people of these islands. Allow me also to express my esteem for the Parliament which has existed on this site for centuries and which has had such a profound influence on the development of participative government among the nations, especially in the Commonwealth and the English-speaking world at large. Your common law tradition serves as the basis of legal systems in many parts of the world, and your particular vision of the respective rights and duties of the state and the individual, and of the separation of powers, remains an inspiration to many across the globe.

As I speak to you in this historic setting, I think of the countless men and women down the centuries who have played their part in the momentous events that have taken place within these walls and have shaped the lives of many generations of Britons, and others besides. In particular, I recall the figure of Saint Thomas More, the great English scholar and statesman, who is admired by believers and non-believers alike for the integrity with which he followed his conscience, even at the cost of displeasing the sovereign whose ”good servant” he was, because he chose to serve God first. The dilemma which faced More in those difficult times, the perennial question of the relationship between what is owed to Caesar and what is owed to God, allows me the opportunity to reflect with you briefly on the proper place of religious belief within the political process.

This country’s Parliamentary tradition owes much to the national instinct for moderation, to the desire to achieve a genuine balance between the legitimate claims of government and the rights of those subject to it. While decisive steps have been taken at several points in your history to place limits on the exercise of power, the nation’s political institutions have been able to evolve with a remarkable degree of stability. In the process, Britain has emerged as a pluralist democracy which places great value on freedom of speech, freedom of political affiliation and respect for the rule of law, with a strong sense of the individual’s rights and duties, and of the equality of all citizens before the law. While couched in different language, Catholic social teaching has much in common with this approach, in its overriding concern to safeguard the unique dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, and in its emphasis on the duty of civil authority to foster the common good.

And yet the fundamental questions at stake in Thomas More’s trial continue to present themselves in ever-changing terms as new social conditions emerge. Each generation, as it seeks to advance the common good, must ask anew: what are the requirements that governments may reasonably impose upon citizens, and how far do they extend? By appeal to what authority can moral dilemmas be resolved? These questions take us directly to the ethical foundations of civil discourse. If the moral principles underpinning the democratic process are themselves determined by nothing more solid than social consensus, then the fragility of the process becomes all too evident - herein lies the real challenge for democracy.

Read the entire, momentous speech here.
How wonderful to have a leader who can talk so eloquently on the difficult issues of they day. The BBC reporter yesterday noted that the Pope did not condemn - he politely raised questions that British society would have to answer.
 
And, to end the day, via the Telegraph’s live blog.:
“Eagle-eyed Pope fans spot Benedict walking up and down in front of the building, rosary beads in hand before retiring for the night.”

An obedience free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age

Dear friends, we are all aware of the challenges, the blessings, the disappointments and the signs of hope which have marked our ecumenical journey. Tonight we entrust all of these to the Lord, confident in his providence and the power of his grace. We know that the friendships we have forged, the dialogue which we have begun and the hope which guides us will provide strength and direction as we persevere on our common journey. At the same time, with evangelical realism, we must also recognize the challenges which confront us, not only along the path of Christian unity, but also in our task of proclaiming Christ in our day. Fidelity to the word of God, precisely because it is a true word, demands of us an obedience which leads us together to a deeper understanding of the Lord’s will, an obedience which must be free of intellectual conformism or facile accommodation to the spirit of the age. This is the word of encouragement which I wish to leave with you this evening, and I do so in fidelity to my ministry as the Bishop of Rome and the Successor of Saint Peter, charged with a particular care for the unity of Christ’s flock.

- Pope Benedict XVI at Westminster Abbey

This is an important theme of Pope Benedict's: do not conform blindly to the spirit of the age. He also tells the Anglicans that as Peter's successor he has a specific duty to care for the unity of Christians.






Photo source: Daylife

Benedict 16

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 17: School children wearing Benedict 16 football shirts approach the stage during The Big Assembly gathering at St Mary's University College during day two of Pope Benedict XVI's four day state visit at Twickenham on September 17, 2010 in London, England.