ZENIT, Daily dispatch
The World Seen From Rome
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VATICAN DOSSIER
* Pact Outlines Rights for Church in Bosnia
* Truth of the Knights Templar Unveiled
WORLD FEATURES
* Pope Hails von Hildebrand Project
* Africans Express Joy at Cardinal Appointments
NEWS BRIEFS
* Serra Says, Thank Your Priest This Sunday
* Catholic Charities On-site in Fiery California
* U.S. Bishops Prepare Document on Politics
* Kenyan Bishops Urge Pre-election Peace
COUNTDOWN TO SYDNEY
* Delegates Receive a Taste of What's to Come
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VATICAN DOSSIER
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Pact Outlines Rights for Church in Bosnia
President Invites Pope for a Visit
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- With a ceremony of ratification today in the Vatican, the Basic Agreement and the Additional Protocol between the Holy See and Bosnia and Herzegovina entered into effect.
Moments before Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Pope's secretary of state, and President Zeljko Komsic ratified the agreement, Benedict XVI received in audience the Bosnian leader, who officially invited the Pontiff to visit his country.
The Vatican press office reported that during the meeting with the Pope, "consideration was given to questions concerning the implementation of the agreement itself, and in particular to the Church's commitment in the fields of education, social and charitable activities, and pastoral assistance to the Catholic faithful."
"The Catholic community's contribution for the peaceful coexistence of the various ethnic and religious groups in the country was also stressed," it said.
Historical
In the Apostolic Palace, Cardinal Bertone, and Komsic -- each accompanied by their respective delegations -- exchanged the instruments of ratification of the agreement and its additional protocol, signed last April 19 and Sept. 29, respectively.
Both documents have thus entered into effect today, leading Cardinal Bertone to affirm during his discourse, "Today is a historic day [] marking the end of one stage and the beginning of another characterized, we hope, by a long and fruitful collaboration."
With the agreement, elements of the life and activity of the Catholic community in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be clarified, such as "the recognition of the juridical status of the Catholic Church and its institutions in civil society, its independence in worship and in apostolate, and of its specific contribution in the cultural, educational, pastoral, military, aid and charity fields, and in the press," Cardinal Bertone said.
In effect, he continued, "The exercise of the religious liberty of each citizen and the religious communities in a legal framework is part of the undeniable presuppositions in today's Western culture, and it is an indispensable condition for the protection of human rights in all parts of the planet."
In a multiethnic and plurireligious society such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, "the current agreement becomes the best juridical guarantee to ensure an ordered development of religious life, especially in its public implications," the cardinal said. And the application of the agreement, he added, "will contribute to overcoming the grave problems inherited from the past and constructing a better future."
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Truth of the Knights Templar Unveiled
Vatican Publishes Acts of 14th-Century Trials
VATICAN CITY, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Due to what a Vatican archivist calls a "sketchy" error, a document exonerating the Knights Templar of heresy is only now being made public.
This morning in the Old Synod Hall, the a number of Vatican officials and laypeople presented "Processus Contra Templarios" (Trial Against the Templars), a compendium of reprints of the original acts of the hearings against the Knights Templar, the group novelist Dan Brown linked to the Holy Grail in "The Da Vinci Code."
The volume is the third in the "Exemplaria Praetiosa" series of the Vatican Secret Archives, issued in collaboration with the Scrinium publishing house.
Despite its hefty price tag -- $8,377 -- the 799 available copies of the volume have been sold to collectors, scholars and libraries from all over the world, reported the Vatican press office. The 800th copy will be given to Benedict XVI.
The military order of the Poor Knights of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon was founded in Jerusalem in 1118 to protect Christians in the Holy Land.
The order eventually fell into disfavor with King Philip IV of France, who wanted their money, or perhaps, wanted to cancel the debts he owed it. The French king arrested members of the Knights and resorting to torture, extracted confessions of heresy.
In 1308, however, Pope Clement V decided to save the order, as recorded by the "Parchment of Chinon." King Philip IV later pressured the Pontiff to reverse the decision, and the order was suppressed in 1312.
The acts of the hearings against the Knights Templar (1308-1311) had been kept in the Vatican Secret Archives, but until recently, had not been reviewed since the early 20th century.
Discovery
Barbara Frale, an official at the Vatican Secret Archives, found the "Parchment of Chinon" in 2001. Frale told the Associated Press the 3-foot-wide document probably had been ignored because a catalog entry in 1628 was "too vague." "Unfortunately, there was an archiving error, an error in how the document was described. More than an error, it was a little sketchy."
Frale was interested by the 1628 entry because it included a reference to Clement V's aide, Cardinal Berenger Fredol, who had gone with other important cardinals to interrogate someone.
The book reproduces all of the documentation of the papal hearings convened after Philip IV arrested and tortured the Templars on charges of heresy and immorality.
Frale said the parchment reveals the cardinals reached the conclusion the Templars were guilty of abuses, but not "a real and true heresy."
"There were a lot of faults in the order -- abuses, violence ... a lot of sins, but not heresy," she said.
"Processus Contra Templarios" was presented by Archbishop Raffaele Farina, archivist and librarian of the Holy Roman Church; Bishop Sergio Pagano, prefect of the Vatican Secret Archives; Frale and Marco Maiorino, officials of the Vatican Secret Archives; Franco Cardini, a professor of mediaeval history; Valerio Massimo Manfredi, an author and archaeologist; and Ferdinando Santoro, president of Scrinium.
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WORLD FEATURES
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Pope Hails von Hildebrand Project
Conference Remembers Catholic Philosopher
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI, expressing his appreciation and support for the work of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, said that it will have fruitful consequences for the evangelization of contemporary culture.
The Pope said this in a letter written to John Henry Crosby, the founder and director of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project.Crosby read the letter from the Holy Father during a conference hosted by the legacy project at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, held Oct. 12-13. Some 150 participants from eight countries gathered to honor the philosopher on the 30th anniversary of his death.
Alice von Hildebrand, widow of the German philosopher and keynote speaker at the conference, commented, "I was extremely happy to see that so many new people are discovering the importance of my husband's message."
Dietrich von Hildebrand was born in 1889, the son of a famous German sculptor. He studied philosophy under the phenomenologist Edmund Husserl and was profoundly influenced by his close friend, German philosopher Max Scheler, who aided von Hildebrand's conversion to Catholicism in 1914.
Von Hildebrand openly criticized Nazism from within Germany and Austria, earning him the contempt of Adolf Hitler. He is also known for his religious and spiritual writings, and his passionate defense of truth and beauty.
Distinctive contribution
Benedict XVI said in his letter: "Following my recent meeting with you and Mrs. Alice von Hildebrand, I wish to express my appreciation for the efforts of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project to promote greater knowledge of and esteem for Professor von Hildebrand's distinctive contribution to Christian philosophical thought.
"Drawing inspiration from the Augustinian tradition and its Thomistic reception in the light of Aristotelian philosophy, von Hildebrand sought to advance that tradition by creatively reinterpreting it in the context of modern thought and its concerns.
"He was far from a 'petrified' vision of the teaching of Thomas, based on a narrow and uncritical devotion to the 'words of the Master,' and could well make his own the classic dictum: 'Amicus mihi Thomas, magis amica veritas!'"
"It is this 'legacy' which has motivated your project," the Pontiff added.
Benedict XVI continued: "Grounded in the rich philosophical movement which stretches from the Pre-Socratic's through Plato, Aristotle, and Plotinus, to Augustine, Thomas and the great thinkers of the modern age, and taking up the challenge set forth in the encyclical 'Fides et Ratio,' the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project aims to enter into reasoned dialogue with contemporary currents of philosophy, bringing the full scope of reason to bear on fundamental human questions and contributing to the recovery of the sapiential dimension inherent in the 'philosophia perennis.'
"Without such a commitment to the philosophical enterprise, Christian faith would fall prey to a 'fideism' which would deprive it of its grandeur as man's free submission of intellect and will to the splendor of God's truth, and gravely compromise its missionary dynamism, whereby believers are called to offer to all a reasoned account of the hope that is within them.
"I therefore express my appreciation and support for the work of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Project, and my confidence that this praiseworthy initiative will bear abundant fruit for the evangelization of contemporary culture."
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Africans Express Joy at Cardinal Appointments
Muslims Join Christians in Showing Enthusiasm
NAIROBI, Kenya, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The Catholic president of Kenya congratulated that nation's soon-to-be Cardinal John Njue, and in Senegal, a Muslim cleric who predicted the red hat for Archbishop Theodore-Adrien Sarr.
Archbishops Njue of Nairobi, Kenya, and Sarr of Dakar, Senegal, are two of the 23 who will be elevated to the rank of cardinal Nov. 24. Benedict XVI announced the appointments earlier this month.
Senegal is a mostly Muslim country, and according to the Catholic Information Service of Africa, it was Habibou Tall, a Muslim cleric, who predicted publicly that Archbishop Sarr, 70, would be elevated to cardinal before the end of the year.
"He said he was going to pray for that to happen," the archbishop told reporters. "I know he has prayed for that to happen and I thank him for that."
Christians and Muslims alike welcomed the appointment.
"There are countries where Christians are the biggest majority, but a cardinal was not named there, and we in small Senegal with a tiny population of Christians, we got one! We are simply blessed," said Alioune Ndiaye, 35, a Christian brick maker.
Abdoulaye Diop, a 45-year-old Muslim bookkeeper, said, "The new cardinal, Theodore Sarr, will work hard to strengthen the already good relations between Muslims and Christians."
Kenya "honored"
Meanwhile in Kenya, the Catholic Information Service of Africa reported similar positive reactions, saying that many consider the appointment an honor for the entire country.
Archbishop Njue, 63, president of the Kenya episcopal conference and until Oct. 6, coadjutor archbishop of Nyeri, will be installed archbishop of Nairobi on Nov. 1, a few weeks before he receives the cardinal's hat.
President Mwai Kibaki expressed his congratulations to the prelate, saying that the Pope's appointment reflected faith and confidence in Archbishop Njue's abilities.
"With your wealth of knowledge in divinities, your energy and drive and above all your faith in God, I am confident you are equal to the task," Kibaki said. "I and my wife Lucy support you with our prayers and wish you God's blessings as you embark on the momentous task of providing spiritual leadership to the Catholic faithful."
The Daily Nation newspaper said, "The appointment by Pope Benedict is not just an honor for the Church, but for the whole country. Indeed this is an event in which Kenyans of all religious persuasions should take pride because it represents a rare honor and recognition for the country at large."
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NEWS BRIEFS
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Serra Says, Thank Your Priest This Sunday
U.S. Parishes Dedicate Day for Appreciation
CHICAGO, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- A nationwide campaign in the United States to "celebrate the priesthood" is set for this Sunday.
The U.S. Council of Serra International, a lay group dedicated to promoting vocations, is coordinating the event. It is organized at a parish level the last Sunday of October by lay people who want "to express appreciation for the devoted priests who serve them so faithfully," a statement from Serra International reported.
"The purpose of Priesthood Sunday is to engage every level of the church in the United States in a national conversation about the priesthood," said Father Richard Vega, president of the National Federation of Priests' Councils.
Serra International said: "Such a celebration is increasingly relevant in light of the declining number of priests in the United States. Only about 4,000 of the 19,000 parishes in this country currently have more than one priest. Many priests serve two or more parishes by themselves.
"The lay faithful of each parish, school or other ministry are asked to develop their own special way of marking the day and honoring both priesthood and their own priests."
Suggestions for liturgies and celebrations, as well as posters and guides are available at www.priestsunday.org.
"Affirming and supporting our priests are some of the most important things that we can do as Serrans," says Gary Davis, president of the U.S. Council of Serra International. "Our priests give of themselves every day in so many different ways. It is an honor to recognize them in a manner in which entire parishes may join together in an outpouring of appreciation."
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Catholic Charities On-site in Fiery California
ALEXANDRIA, Virginia, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- People from Catholic Charities offered hot meals and technical resources to some 15,000 people sheltered from raging fires in San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium.
Wildfires in Southern California have destroyed some 2,200 structures since Sunday. The flames burned through 431,000 acres, reaching from Ventura County in the north down to the U.S.-Mexican border. Though the strong Santa Ana winds and high temperatures that helped the fires to spread this week have died down, several blazes are not yet contained.
Catholic Charities reported that the agency also organized diocesan priests to provide spiritual and emotional care at the stadium. These and other aid efforts are being donated by the Catholic Charities organizations of California.
"Catholic Charities USA's Office of Disaster Response is working closely with local agencies to ensure that our network has the tools and resources it needs to respond to the fires," said Kim Burgo, director of disaster response.
Catholic Charities USA, which has been commissioned by the U.S. bishops to represent the Catholic community in times of domestic disaster, responds with emergency and long-term assistance as needed. Its Disaster Response Office connects the Church's social service agencies and disaster planning offices across the nation.
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U.S. Bishops Prepare Document on Politics
Statement to Urge Catholics to Participate in Civil Life
WASHINGTON, D.C., OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- The U.S. bishops will offer an updated statement on faith and politics after their general meeting next month, ahead of the 2008 election year.
The proposed statement focuses on the bishops' role in helping to form consciences in political life.
"In this statement, we bishops do not intend to tell Catholics for whom or against whom to vote," the draft states. "Our purpose is to help Catholics form their consciences in accordance with God's truth. We recognize that the responsibility to make choices in political life rests with each individual in light of a properly formed conscience, and that participation goes well beyond casting a vote in a particular election."
Statements on political life have been released by the bishops every four years for about three decades.
The draft to be discussed in November explains the necessity of opposing actions that are intrinsically wrong, such as abortion and euthanasia, and affirms the obligation to promote the common good by combating such threats to human life and dignity as hunger, poverty, racism, unjust immigration policies and unjust war.
The proposed draft also urges Catholics "to become more involved: running for office, working within political parties and communicating concerns to elected officials." It suggests that Catholics should be "guided more by our moral convictions than by our attachment to a political party or interest group."
The document says "Catholic voters should use Catholic teaching to examine candidates' positions on issues and should consider candidates' integrity, philosophy, and performance."
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Kenyan Bishops Urge Pre-election Peace
Lament Anti-life and Anti-family Platforms
NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Kenyan bishops, led by Cardinal-designate John Njue, have reiterated an appeal for peace in their country ahead of elections expected to take place in December.
The bishops issued a statement today, signed by Cardinal-designate Njue, archbishop of Nairobi and chairman of the Kenyan episcopal conference, titled "Love God and Love Your Neighbor: Elections at Our Doorstep." The statement, which doesn't favor a particular candidate, mentioned five "prevailing issues" that the bishops encourage voters to avoid and consider.
This week Kenya's President Mwai Kibaki dissolved Parliament in accordance with the country's constitution that stipulates that all seats of the legislative body must be vacant before the Electoral Commission can call an election.
"We must resist and reject incitement on ethnic lines. We must foster a unified nation," said Cardinal-designate Njue in his letter.
Other suggestions included avoiding "polarization on religious lines, especially using religion as a political tool; irresponsible utterances stirring up hatred toward specific candidates; the upsurge of election-related violence, not only toward women candidates, but in general in the campaign meetings."
"The agenda of some leaders that is not life-friendly, and not family-friendly. The defense of life and the protection of the family unit is paramount, and this is not negotiable," the statement said.
Cardinal-designate Njue contended that candidates should "stress their agenda and mind with regard to the stalled process of the new constitution for our country."
Noting "the Catholic Church has members in almost all political parties of Kenya," the bishops affirmed they "have no preferred candidates, but rather our duty is to emphasize the moral aspects of political and social life."
"We yet again wish to appeal to each and every Kenyan, without exception to maintain and safeguard peace, calm and nonviolence," the bishops wrote. "All of us, from whatever part of the country we come from, or whatever political views we hold, are children of God! We are placed on this earth to know, love and serve him and our neighbor."
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Countdown to SYDNEY
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Delegates Receive a Taste of What's to Come
Confession a Key Ingredient in World Youth Day
By Catherine Smibert
SYDNEY, Australia, OCT. 25, 2007 (Zenit.org).- When the almost 200 international World Youth Day delegates arrived in Sydney last week, many were happy to see the successful logistical coordination of the event some nine months out.
The attendees of this international youth day preparatory meeting included representatives from global episcopal conferences, diocesan youth coordinators and key individuals from the Pontifical Council for the Laity. The delegates received briefings on current WYD '08 planning and operations, and provided organizers with advice and feedback.They also had the chance to partake in a sightseeing extravaganza as they were bused around the host city visiting the event venues, from Darling Harbor, where the Stations of the Cross will be held July 18, to Randwick Racecourse, the venue selected for the vigil and concluding Mass, which will be celebrated July 20 by Benedict XVI.
The head of the youth section of the Vatican dicastery for the laity, Monsignor Francis Kohn, described his time here as impressive and exciting. "This is a gorgeous city that offers many possibilities," he told me during his visit to Sydney, "and of course it's a great chance for the local population and the world to witness the Catholic Church, which is in a minority here, in all her impressive glory."
Monsignor Kohn was accompanying Cardinal-designate Stanislaw Rylko, president of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. Both Vatican officials remained unfazed by the commotion being made by some members of the Australian media regarding whether the racecourse was a real possibility as the final venue.
Monsignor Kohn insisted that in his decades of experience with international World Youth Days, he had never seen a case where the location for the final papal Mass was locked-in with the government so far ahead of the event itself.
During the meetings, Cardinal-designate Rylko expressed his sincere gratitude not just to the Church in Australia for its logistical feats, but also to the civil authorities in the country, saying "both the federal [officials] and those of New South Wales that have, right from the beginning, been very open and supportive of this initiative."
The prelate's comments came after an official New South Wales government reception with the state's new premier, Morris Iemma, at the Australian Museum.
During the trip, the dignitaries and international delegates partook in daily liturgies at St. Patrick's Cathedral -- the oldest church in Sydney. They were offered an insider's glance at the program of events for next year, and discovered all the current logistical planning details from transport, security and meal distribution, as well as prayer and evangelization possibilities.
Monsignor Kohn reflected the general enthrallment of the visitors with not only the beauty of the land but the openness of its people, particularly the ones they met within the ranks of the WYD office.
"Sydney is taking on a great task that many youth are enthused about across the world," he said. "Being here this time has underlined for us just how the freshness and the multiculturalism of the nation offer a true welcome and genuine interest and concern for the other, regardless of his/her background. You can see how this is a country which is used to adapting itself to welcoming a massive influx of cultures over the years."
The priest noted how well this attitude coincided with the World Youth Day message composed by Benedict XVI: "The Pope speaks of this being a new Pentecost, a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit in this new land and I'm confident that this place will be one of great spiritual exchange as youth bring their faith and cultures to this party that celebrates Jesus Christ our savior to enrich each other."
"It seems that Sydney," Monsignor Kohn said, "just by its very distance from the ancient world of Europe, will be able to rejuvenate the face of the Church for the people of Oceania and the world through this event."
He added, "It will provide a strength of mission encouraging youth to hold onto the joy of the original faith of the early Church in an age where it's very difficult for young people to live Christianity."
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Reconciliation Revealed
One of the key elements of every World Youth Day gathering are the long lines of young people waiting to go to confession.
But why is this? In a day and age where there is a decline in Church attendance, even more are opting out of the sacrament of penance, perceiving it in the same vein they might a trip to the dentist.
Father Michael de Stoop of the Archdiocese of Sydney, which will host WYD '08, has unwrapped this mystery in his new book "The Gift of Confession: A Positive Approach to the Sacrament of Reconciliation."
Father de Stoop spelled out 25 benefits of the sacrament for all of us who may have a more standoffish approach. The book has been so popular that just weeks after it hit the bookshops and the Internet, it's already going into its second print.
"In earlier years much emphasis has been placed on the consequences of not going to confession, so it's understandable that there are a lot of anxieties in relation to reconciliation," the 35-year-old dean of St. Mary's Cathedral told me. "Fear can often blind us from the positive realities of the sacrament."
The book and its pocket-sized edition contain doctrinally accurate answers to popular questions about confession, which the author hopes will act as an important resource for laypeople and religious alike.
"I think it could have a good impact on families too," added Father de Stoop, who is the youth day vocation director. "And I hope parents won't have to do much more than just leave it on the table, as curiosity may get the better of their children especially with its cover motif of gift-wrapping that my brother Richard so brilliantly designed."
In fact, the book's creation was a family affair with Richard de Stoop producing the cover page and sketches throughout. Richard's fiancée Tajana Marusic, an English teacher, checked the grammar for the text, only to find herself engrossed in the content, especially from the perspective of a youth worker and penitent.
"I have seen, both in my life and in the lives of those young people with whom I work, just how effective the Lord's mercy and grace in this sacrament can be," Marusic told me.
At a presentation of the book last week, the archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, told me that he is "convinced that a significant element behind the anger and hostility in many young people results from displaced guilt, and all this talk about the primacy of conscience doesn't help either."
"People feel guilt," he continued, "although they may not call it guilt, which they try to bury deep inside them, only for it to emerge in all sorts of unexpected directions."
The cardinal, who wrote the foreword for this new book, added that "in an age where there is the burgeoning business of psychology, counseling, etc it's sad that there's been a fall away from the practice of confessing to a priest and Father Michael is helping renew this -- one of the most important gifts the Church offers."
The cardinal said that when young people have the chance to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, they normally go. "We've seen ourselves at the cathedral school and in our World Youth Day groups that nearly all of them do and the non-Catholics want to come too. Though they can't receive absolution, they can come for a chat and to bare their soul."
Cardinal Pell revealed that the youth will have plenty of chances to confess when they come on pilgrimage to Sydney in 2008 where "a whole bevy of priests will strategically be placed around the city to administer this sacrament, and pilgrims can be certain of it being made available at each catechesis location."
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Catherine Smibert is a freelance writer in Sydney, Australia. She can be reached at catherine@zenit.org.
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