MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI FOR THE WORLD DAY OF MIGRANTS AND REFUGEES (2012)[1] [2] Dear Brothers and Sisters, Proclaiming Jesus Christ the one Saviour of the world “constitutes the essential mission of the Church. It is a task and mission which the vast and profound changes of present-day society make all the more urgent” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14). Indeed, today we feel the urgent need to give a fresh impetus…
Pope Benedict said on Saturday the developed world could not continue to look down on Africa “with the judgmental tone of a moralizer” and impose rules, but must come up with real partnership solutions to solve the continent’s many problems. The 84-year-old pope made his appeal in an address to officials of Benin, including President Thomas Boni Yayi and the diplomatic corps, on the second day of his trip to the West…
The Pope’s Appeal to respect the earth that God has entrusted to our keeping. On Sunday, 13 November, at the recitation of the Angelus, the Holy Father asked the faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square to pray for his upcoming Visit to Benin and recommended watchfulness on the journey to God. The following is a translation of the Pope’s Address, which was given in Italian. Dear Brothers and Sisters, The word of…
The rapport between Christianity and the Enlightenment as oscillating between incompatibility and complementarity was happily defined by then-Cardinal Ratzinger in a memorable discussion in a Roman theater in 1999. “The Enlightenment, born in certain circumstances in 1700-1800s,” he said, “ was an Enlightenment opposed to Christianity, although not everywhere. There were also, and I could mention some names, currents of Christian Enlightenment at that time. Unfortunately, these efforts to reconcile a common…
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI Vatican Basilica Wednesday, 1 November 2006 Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our Eucharistic celebration began with the exhortation: “Let us all rejoice in the Lord”. The liturgy invites us to share in the heavenly jubilation of the Saints, to taste their joy. The Saints are not a small caste of chosen souls but an innumerable crowd to which the liturgy urges us to raise our eyes. This…
