Papal Visit Reflection - Part I

The impact of Pope Benedict XVI visit will be long lasting. I'd like to occasionally look back at some of the moments of his visit. I think the pope's address to the representatives of several religious denominations was one of his most powerful and thought provoking speeches. We believe in a Christian Truth, and Jesus Christ is that Truth. Evangelization is difficult without Christian unity. The break up of the church into several denominations was an unfortunate event, and it has led to a weakening of Christian faith and practice to some extent. Some good has come as a result of the protestant movement in that it led to some positive changes at Vatican II. It is not realistic to expect all of the many denominations to return to one united Catholic Church, but hopefully all Christian denominations can stand together and proclaim that Jesus is Lord and savior and live according to his word. There may be a time when Christianity itself is under serious attack and hopefully Christians will be united. Hopefully there will be a peaceful future. Non-believers are also our brothers and sisters even if they don't share our beliefs, and we are also united with them in that we are all people. It is important to remember and to respect every human being as a human being, and hopefully we can help teach all those who don't know Jesus to come to know and love Him. Below is an article found on papal visit website. Read carefully and reflect on the words of the Holy Father.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pope says divisions, abandoning tradition weaken Christian witness

By Cindy Wooden
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- Using unusually strong words for an ecumenical prayer service, Pope Benedict XVI said the witness of Christians in the world is weakened not only by their divisions, but also by some communities turning their backs on Christian tradition.

"Communion with the church in every age," he said, is needed particularly "at the time when the world is losing its bearings and needs a persuasive common witness to the saving power of the Gospel."

The pope met April 18 with about 250 representatives of U.S. ecumenical organizations and a dozen Christian churches and denominations for evening prayer at St. Joseph's Church in New York.

He began by praising the ecumenical commitment of U.S. Christians and acknowledging that the agreements found in their theological dialogues have contributed to the theological agreements later forged by the Vatican and its official dialogue partners.

But Pope Benedict also focused on ways the Christian obligation to share the good news of the Gospel suffers in the modern world.

"Too often those who are not Christians, as they observe the splintering of Christian communities, are understandably confused about the Gospel message itself," he said.

But another, growing problem lies in the fact that "fundamental Christian beliefs and practices are sometimes changed within communities by so-called 'prophetic actions' that are based" on a reading of Christianity "not always consonant" with that found in the Bible and in Christian tradition.

While the pope did not offer specific examples, he has in the past questioned Christian communities that have decided to ordain women to the priesthood and episcopacy or to bless homosexual unions and ordain openly gay men and women.

The pope's concerns obviously extend to the Anglican Communion and its troubled relations with the U.S. Episcopal Church and some dioceses in Canada.

The Anglican Communion is attempting to find ways to strengthen its structures for ensuring that one national member does not take actions that make other members of the communion uncomfortable. At times, bishops have been named to oversee pastoral care of members who do not go along with the changes.

Pope Benedict said it was unfortunate that some church communities have given up "the attempt to act as a unified body, choosing instead to function according to the idea of 'local options.'"

The pope said he was concerned that in a world marked by a greater sense of global unity and interdependence, the feeling of "fragmentation and a retreat into individualism" is seen in Christian denominations just as it is in the world at large.

The unity of the early Christian community and the cohesion of its members "was based on the sound integrity of their doctrinal confession," the pope said.

But now, he said, there are signs that some Christians are taking the same "relativistic approach" to doctrine that many modern people take to moral and ethical values in general.

Christians cannot pretend that there is no such a thing as Christian truth, he said. The Christian faith is not a matter of picking and choosing what to believe and what to discard from the Scriptures and Christian tradition.

When Christians think they only need to follow their own consciences and find a church that suits their individual tastes, the result is a "continual proliferation of communities which often eschew institutional structures and minimize the importance of doctrinal content for Christian living," he said.

Pope Benedict said that when a church, like the Catholic Church, asserts its doctrines, it is not throwing up an obstacle to progress in Christian unity.

"A clear, convincing testimony to the salvation wrought for us in Christ Jesus has to be based upon the notion of normative apostolic teaching," he said. Christians must hold the faith that Jesus gave to his apostles.

Only by holding on to the sure teaching of the Gospel, he said, will the Christian churches be able to find the basis for unity and for a united witness to a troubled world.

END

Proud To Be An American (Catholic)

This week the pope is visiting our country and as I follow the events online I feel a great sense of pride. President Bush makes me proud to be an American as I watch him graciously welcome Pope Benedict XVI. His kind words are sincere and our president clearly recognizes the pope as a man of great faith. When asked what he sees when he looks in the eyes of the pope, Bush answered God. While we all know the pope is not God, we recognize him as the Vicor of Christ and the head of our Catholic Church. Although we are not God, God does live within each one of us and through our actions we can display God's love for others to see. Although Bush is not Catholic, he recognizes the significance of the pope and his moral character. Bush is also a man of Christian faith, and I will never regret helping vote him into office. Pope Benedict XVI also makes me proud to be Catholic. It gives me great pride to see him and hear his message. Like his predecessor, he is a great and holy man. With leaders such as these men, I feel confident in the direction of our country and our Church. Seeing these events online and listening to an excellent broadcast of the events has also made me proud to be Catholic. I encourage all of you to visit the site and to expecially make sure to watch the video clips. God Bless!

Follow The Pope's Events Online

I received this email from the Archdiocease of Atlanta and thought I'd share it with you.

View Papal Visit Events Live On The Web

A special Web site, www.uspapalvisit.org, will live broadcast events from Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 visit to the United States. From the pope's arrival at Andrews AFB to his departure from New York, the Web site created by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) will live stream the events. The events will have commentators, guests, and live phone-in interviews from U.S.bishops and others. The events also will be packaged for viewing at anytime. Coverage of events will start 15 minutes ahead of time. Check the site for times.

"It's a major event and for some a once-in-a-lifetime event. We want to make sure everyone gets a chance to experience it," said Joe Larson, director of Digital Media for the USCCB. Larson added, "We look to bring the Holy Father's visit to your computer at the workplace during lunch, at school, at church or in the home. And with the on demand video, if you miss an event live you can view the video at your leisure."

The Web site is full of information such as the papal itinerary, facts and figures on the Church in the United States, biographical information on Pope Benedict XVI and stories of the papal visit. There is also a great selection of multimedia files including the pope's video-message to the U.S., Cardinal Edward Egan's walk-through of the New York itinerary and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl and others welcoming the pope to the U.S. The first videos to premiere on the site were the finalists in a "Papal Video Contest," sponsored by the Archdiocese of Washington and open to Catholic youth from kindergarten through 12th grade.

In addition to the other features on the Web site, a blog provides an inside view of papal visit preparations, views from the pew and reflections on the meaning of the visit.

The www.uspapalvisit.org Web site is made possible by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and by donations from parishioners across the United Statesto the annual Catholic Communication Campaign collection, which provides funding for a variety of Catholic media efforts.

Sincerely,

Catholic Communications Office
Archdiocese of Atlanta
www.archatl.com

Pope Benedict XVI Makes First Visit To U.S.

As many of you already know, Pope Benedict XVI will be making his first visit to the U.S. as a pope this week; he came here 5 times when he was a Cardinal. He is expected to send a message of hope; fitting since my last post was about hope. It is a very important message always, but especially during times of difficulty and struggle. I would love to meet the pope or at least see and hear him speak. I will not be able to see him during this visit, but hopefully he will return to the U.S. and I will get to see him.

Below are two articles written in Newsweek regarding the Pope’s visit. Read both articles and then read the rest of my post. Click on the names of the authors to access the articles.

The first is written by George Weigel, who is a brilliant writer who was the author of John Paul II's biography Witness to Hope. His article portrays a very positive outlook of the visit and on its importance. The second article was written by Lisa Miller. Her article is what we have typically come to expect from our media. She uses some disheartening statistics to attempt to justify her opinion that the pope does not “connect” with the American people.

The Pope is the Vicar of Christ and the present equivalent to Peter. Jesus said to Peter that you are a rock and upon this rock I will build my church. Not all Christians are Catholic, but all Catholics are Christian. Certain issues brought up in these articles are universally rejected by all Christian denominations such as the issue of abortion. Life is a fundamental teaching of Jesus and should never be compromised or disregarded. I believe that the similarities between Christian denominations are so very closely tied and we can all agree on the most basic and fundamental teachings of Jesus Christ. Our differences, although sometimes apparent, are small in comparison to our similarities. As a Catholic, I will continue my analysis based upon my Catholic belief; most of which any Christian should be able to relate to and agree with.

While it is true that the former Pope John Paul II was and still is incredibly popular, that should not lead to criticism by comparison. Pope Benedict my have a different personality, but that does not make him a lesser person or a less capable leader. The fact that a majority of Americans do not practice their faith according to the teachings in no way justifies their actions. We are weak as human beings and we all sin, but is not a sin by the majority still a sin? During the time of Moses, the people worshiped idols and God gave us the Ten Commandments. Not all things in life are put to a democratic vote. Religious teachings and the teachings of Jesus himself are not up for discussion. Issues such as abortion are not choices to be left up by the individual. Those who argue individual freedom to justify their every action are misguided. Freedom without God is anarchy. If the numbers given in Lisa Miller's article are accurate, I am incredibly disappointed and sad. Sadly, a large percentage of people who call themselves Christians do not truly understand what they believe. I strongly feel that if a large majority of Christians truly understood what they believed and lived by the simplest and most fundamental teachings of Jesus, our world would be a much more peaceful place and the impact would have a huge ripple effect. It is our job to help make that ripple effect grow in size.

The pope’s job is not to connect to the American people, but rather to help guide us so that we might connect better with Jesus Christ! Our failings as individuals is not a reflection of the church and should not influence teachings. Throughout history there have been Popes, Cardinals, and religious faithful at all levels that have been sinners, but the teachings of Jesus have survived and thrived for over 2000 years. It is arrogant to suggest that the church that Jesus founded should change its ways to connect with us. It makes sense to me that we must trust the guidance of the Church leaders who have preserved Jesus’ message and have been guided by the Holy Spirit for over 2000 years. We are not above the Lord.

Keep the Holy Father in your prayers. Pray for a safe and successful visit. May his messages of hope, love, peace and religious tolerance in a culture that so often ignores God touch the hearts many in our nation. God bless!