Something Nice for Paul VI

On October 19, at the close of the Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family in Rome, Pope Francis will beatify Pope Paul VI (1963-78), who oversaw most of the Second Vatican Council and its implementation.

To commemorate this milestone, this blog is featuring posts on Pope Paul -- honoring his legacy by reflecting on his individual and lasting contributions to the life of the Church. These posts are authored by bishops and lay Catholics:

• "How Paul VI Shaped my Ministry" by Bishop Howard Hubbard
• "Pope Paul VI and Dialogue -- We Wouldn't Be Here Without Him" by Bishop Denis Madden
• "Pope Paul's Call for Peace and Justice Challenges us More than Ever" by Jill Rauh
• "Finding the Challenges and Joys of Paul VI's Teaching on the Family" by Maria Wiering
• "A Church That Must Go Out -- Pope Paul's Final Exhortation" by Bishop David Ricken

and a bonus...

• "Seven Things Paul VI Did Before Pope Francis Made it Cool" by Don Clemmer

Note to diocesan editors and webmasters: These commentaries are free for your reprinting and posting. Please note the source as this blog, linking back where possible.

(CNS Photo/Giancarlo Giuliani)

A Church That Must Go Out -- Pope Paul's Final Exhortation

By Bishop David Ricken

Pope Francis has repeatedly spoken of the need for a Church that goes out from itself, bringing mercy to the margins of society. This call is evident in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (Joy of the Gospel), in which he states, “An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others.”

These words, like much of Pope Francis’s thought, draw heavily from Pope Paul VI (1963-78), whom Pope Francis will beatify, or bring one step closer to being declared a saint, October 19.

On December 8, 1975, Pope Paul issued Evangelii Nuntiandi, “On Evangelization in the Modern World.” This apostolic exhortation was shared with the hope of fostering “a new period of evangelization.” Pope Francis has called Evangelii Nuntiandi “the greatest pastoral document that has ever been written to this day.”

Evangelii Nuntiandi advanced the call of the Second Vatican Council to become a Church that reaches outside of itself and transforms the world around us (see Decree on the Apostolate of Lay People, 2). Through proclaiming Christ to the world, the Church and those who accept her message will experience a profound change of mind and heart.

Paul VI was keenly aware that evangelists had to first be evangelized. The self-righteous, the judgmental, those who feel they are better than others would not bear fruit. Repentant sinners, those who realize they can’t live life on their own and need Christ, those willing to listen to others and share their own stories of how Christ has touched their lives – those would be the needed witnesses who experience continual conversion.

Paul VI also challenges us to see evangelization as more than just a one-on-one encounter, but also the transformation of society and culture. Evangelization calls for a new way of living personally and as a people. The power of the Gospel affects, or as Paul VI states, upsets “mankind’s criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life which are in contrast with the Word of God and the plan of salvation.”

Yet Paul VI realized that even as the Gospel transforms peoples and societies, “the conditions of society in which we live oblige all of us therefore to revise methods, to seek by every means to study how we can bring the Christian message to modern man.” In other words, the way the Church spreads the Good News is always evolving. This has been evident recently in the calls for “new language” at the Synod of Bishops in Rome. It’s also the case with the many Catholics, bishops, clergy and lay people alike, who have generated a powerful witness through their use of social media, Pope Francis chief among them.

The vast and immediate reach of digital technology means today’s evangelizers have more tools than ever at their disposal. This is a gift, especially because proclaiming Christ to the world is not optional for the Church. All Christians are called to share the joy of Christ and his Gospel. Bishop Paul Bradley of Kalamazoo, Michigan, recently said on Twitter: “It’s not that the Church has a mission; rather the Mission, of spreading the Good News of Jesus, has a Church to carry out the mission.” Or as Paul VI said, “She exists in order to evangelize.”

Paul VI prayed that evangelization would become our “daily preoccupation” and “a way of life and action." With the Lord Jesus Christ as the center of our lives, may we go forth boldly, sharing the joy of the Gospel with all we meet.

Bishop Ricken is bishop of Green Bay, Wisconsin, and chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis. He tweets @BpDavidRicken.

CNS photo/Michael Alexander, Georgia Bulletin

Pope Paul's Call for Peace and Justice Challenges us More Than Ever

By Jill Rauh

Pope Paul VI spent the first years of his pontificate shepherding the Second Vatican Council to its conclusion, visiting the United States and the Holy Land and, in doing so, brought the Catholic Church into the modern world, began healing ancient divisions among Christians and challenged the entire world to peace. It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that his 1967 contribution to the Church’s social tradition, the encyclical Populorum Progressio (On the Development of Peoples) has been called the “Magna Carta on development.”

Paul VI, who will be beatified October 19, builds on the already rich social teaching of Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) and his successors and focuses on inequality and underdevelopment. Pope Paul offers a global vision for economic justice, development and solidarity. This vision is as challenging in 2014 as it was almost 50 years ago.

Here are a few major themes of enduring relevance:

Ending poverty: a mandate for all.
Paul VI writes: “The hungry nations of the world cry out to the peoples blessed with abundance. And the Church, cut to the quick by this cry, asks each and every man to hear his brother's plea and answer it lovingly.” Ending poverty is the responsibility of all of us.

Economic justice
We must work towards a world where all people can be “artisans of their destiny” and where “the needy Lazarus can sit down with the rich man at the same banquet table.” The economy must be made to serve the human person (instead of the other way around).  We must address inequality and restore dignity to workers.  And we must remember that the needs and rights of those in poverty take precedence over the rights of individuals to amass great wealth. The Church has a preferential option for the poor.

'Development is the new name for peace'
Pope Paul’s challenge on poverty leads directly into his appeal for peace. Development is “the new name for peace,” he writes. Development leads to peace, since “peace is not simply the absence of warfare.” And war, which destroys societies and the individuals who inhabit them, and which the pope railed against in his 1965 address to the United Nations, is, to borrow a phrase, human development in reverse. Authentic development responds to the needs of the whole person, including both material and spiritual needs. It results instead from fighting poverty and establishing justice. Pope Paul would distill this in his theme for World Day of Peace 1972: “If you want peace, work for justice.”

Solidarity
True development requires a true commitment to solidarity—the idea that we are one human family, each responsible for all. Without solidarity, “there can be no progress toward complete development.” Those who are wealthy can also be poor—morally poor—as they live blinded by selfishness.  We have to overcome our isolation from others, so that “the glow of brotherly love and the helping hand of God” is reflected in all our relationships and decisions.

Think global, act local
Inequality is a global issue, and wealthy countries should act to help nations in need through “aid,” relief for poor countries “overwhelmed by debt,” “equitable trade relations,” “hospitable reception” for immigrants, and, for businesses operating in foreign countries, a focus on “social progress” instead of “self-interest.”  Sadly, these are all issues still in need of our attention.

So enduring was Paul VI’s vision, John Paul II revisited it in Sollicitudo rei Socialis (1987), as did Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate (2009). Its themes are also strongly apparent in the teaching of Pope Francis, who witnessed the “globalization of indifference” and lives destroyed by war and poverty in Latin America. Pope Paul and Pope Francis both challenge our current response to poverty and violence. They challenge us with the alternative of a vision that is cohesive and global, Catholic in the truest sense.

Jill Rauh is assistant director of education and outreach of the Department of Justice, Peace and Human Development of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Finding the Challenges and Joys of Paul VI's Teaching on the Family

By Maria Wiering

Looking back, I’m sure the moment was awkward.

My now-husband and I were on our second date: evening coffee at a laid-back café in St. Paul, Minnesota. We had been friends for years, and I wanted to investigate potential roadblocks as we moved from friendship to something more.

So, I asked, with the coolness of the Grand Inquisitor: did he agree with the Church’s teaching on contraception?

Graciously, my husband has no recollection of this moment. I recall him looking slightly uncomfortable, but he affirmed that yes, he trusted the Church.

Whew, I thought, probably searching for the next conversation non-starter.

The truth is, if he had said no, it probably would have been a deal breaker. I felt strongly about avoiding contraception, and realized I needed a like-minded spouse. The question wasn’t like asking his feelings on vegetarianism, or another lifestyle preference, even one with ethical components. I was asking him, essentially, if he was willing to surrender decisions about our family size – and therefore our personal plans and aspirations – to God’s providence.

Admittedly, it was a big ask.

In Humane Vitae, the 1968 encyclical affirming the Church’s teaching on birth control, one gets the impression Pope Paul VI also knew he was putting in a steep order. He acknowledged that abiding by the Church’s teaching could be a burden for some couples, and told them to focus on eternal life – not a card one usually has to play if the immediate upside of something is blatantly obvious. However, the encyclical is incredibly pro-woman, pro-child and pro-family, which is what has convinced me, and many others, to shape our lives around it.

After Paul VI explained contraception was an unacceptable means to prevent births, he acknowledged that couples who wished to avoid pregnancy must practice self-discipline. He promised it would bear fruit: “It fosters in husband and wife thoughtfulness and loving consideration for one another. It helps them to repel inordinate self-love, which is the opposite of charity. It arouses in them a consciousness of their responsibilities.” And, he added, it’s a good example for their kids, too.

By contrast, he pointed to the potential characteristics of a world rife with contraception use, including marital infidelity; a “general lowering of moral standards”; disrespect of women, making them “mere instruments of selfish enjoyment”; and governmental endorsement (imposition even) of artificial contraception.

Looking around today, it’s hard to argue he wasn’t right.

In March, Pope Francis said Pope Paul VI’s “genius was prophetic.” He cautioned, however, that the encyclical should be pastorally applied with great mercy – something Paul VI called for as well.

As Catholics, we often think of this mercy being expressed in the confessional, but it should be an attitude we in the pews embrace as well. We Natural Family Planning promoters must avoid a better-than-thou air of haughtiness. A certain sense of pride is understandable, given our minority status and the kind of dedication it requires to practice it. NFP is, however, only a tool to space births, not the marital end game. A merciful attitude towards Catholics who struggle to keep this teaching, instead of an us-and-them approach, would serve all lay Catholics well.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t widely extol the benefits of NFP. I love understanding how my body works, and that my husband understands it as well. It also appeals to my crunchy, organic-produce-loving self, as it requires thought and time, but nothing artificial – and potentially harmful – in my body. It also has helped numerous friends pinpoint fertility problems and eventually become pregnant.

I’ve been married – and a mom – long enough to know that this vocation does entail burdens, some that the girl at the coffee shop six years ago couldn’t have anticipated. Those burdens, however, deepen my admiration of my husband and appreciation for my son, and are lightened by the quiet comfort and joy of cooperating with God’s plan for our family.

Maria Wiering is a staff writer at the "Catholic Review," newspaper of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. USCCB offers resources for finding a national NFP provider and local NFP classes.

Paul VI and Dialogue -- We Wouldn't Be Here Without Him

By Bishop Denis Madden

When Pope Paul VI, who will be beatified October 19, inherited the Second Vatican Council from John XXIII in 1963, his challenges included fulfilling the late pope’s wishes to “open a window” in the Church and to reach out to “our separated brethren.” Pope Paul’s approach to both of these was to introduce the concept of dialogue.

The Church hasn’t been the same since.

John O’Malley recounts in his book “What Happened at Vatican II” that the Council’s early draft on ecumenism didn’t use the word dialogue once. Then Pope Paul issued his first encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam (On the Church) on August 6, 1964. In it, he repeatedly stressed the importance of dialogue, stating, “The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it lives. It has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make.” The Council championed dialogue from then on.

November 1964 saw the Council’s Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio), which called on “all the Catholic faithful to recognize the signs of the times and to take an active and intelligent part in the work of ecumenism,” that is, dialoguing with, praying together and simply building friendships with non-Catholic Christians.

In October 1965, the Council took dialogue beyond other Christians and applied it to the world’s religions with Nostra Aetate, a brief but groundbreaking document that swept away centuries of erroneous negative teaching about the Jewish people and held up examples, essentially starting points for dialogue, where the Catholic Church saw positive elements of Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. The document noted that all religions seek answers to the big questions: What is the meaning of life? Why do people suffer? What is the road to true happiness? All of these call for dialogue.

Pope Paul put the call for dialogue with the world into action through his apostolic journeys to places including India, Portugal, the United States, Colombia, Turkey and the Holy Land. His reason for taking the name Paul as pope was to emulate the journey of the missionary disciple. His historic January 1964 meeting with Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras in Jerusalem renewed the Catholic dialogue with Orthodox Christians and led the following year to the mutual rescinding of the excommunications of 1054 that had divided the churches.

In October 1965, during his visit to the United States, Pope Paul became the first pope to address the United Nations. His remarks, essentially to the entire world, included the famous call: “No more war, war never again!” The implications are clear. The Catholic Church does not simply engage in dialogue for dialogue’s sake, but because the fruits of dialogue—engagement, friendship, respect, recognizing the human dignity of people different than ourselves—are the seeds of peace and the Kingdom of God.

Through our dialogues with others, the Catholic Church has seen much good fruit over the past 50 years. We owe it to the grace of the Holy Spirit. But in a very practical way, we also owe it to Pope Paul.

Bishop Madden is an auxiliary bishop of Baltimore and chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

God Doesn't Waste Popes

The upcoming beatification of Pope John Paul II on May 1 has generated an outpouring of praise for the late pope and the gift of his pontificate. While JPII raised the profile of the papacy to unprecedented, "rock star" levels, it's worth noting that his time as pope -- while extraordinary -- was not an isolated event in terms of a pope making a lasting impact on the Church. In fact a quick look at the modern papacy reveals that every pope brings unique gifts from God. Let's review ...

Pius IX (1846-1878) The longest serving pope since St. Peter, Pius IX convened the First Vatican Council, established the teaching of papal infallibility and used said infallibility to define the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary (a belief that had been part of Catholic tradition for centuries). The reign of Pius IX also saw the loss of the Papal States, the territories directly under the rule of the pope. This began a period in which the pope became known as the "prisoner of the Vatican." He was also the first pope to be photographed. Pius IX was beatified by none other thath Pope John Paul II in 2000.

Leo XIII (1878-1903) The third longest serving pope since Peter, Leo XIII is probably best known as the father of modern Catholic social teaching, launched with the epic encyclical letter Rerum Novarum, which addressed the plight of workers and society in the context of the Industrial Revolution. The encyclical remains the social encyclical against which others are measures, with subsequent popes observing its anniversaries with encyclicals of their own, assessing the ongoing state of socioeconomic justice in the world. Leo XIII was the first pope to be filmed, reportedly blessing the camera afterward, and first to be audio recorded.

St. Pius X (1903-1914) The last pope to date to be canonized a sant, Pius X has been nicknamed "the pope of frequent communion" for encouraging Catholics to do just that -- receive the Eucharist regularly. He's also credited with lowering the age of First Communion to "the age of reason." Today's Catholics take both of these realities for granted.

Benedict XV (1914-1922) Pope during World War I, Benedict XV is remembered primarily as a "prophet of peace," something that led Joseph Ratzinger to take the name Benedict himself upon his 2005 election to the papacy. Along with his peace advocacy and humanitarian efforts in the face of the devastation of global war, Benedict XV also found time to promulgate the first ever Code of Canon Law in 1917. It's amazing the Church didn't get around to doing this till 20 centuries into its existence.

Pius XI (1922-1939) The pontificate of Pius XI is perhaps most notable for his signing of the Lateran Treaty, establishing the sovereign Vatican City state, as it is known today (kind of a big deal). Pius XI also inaugurated Vatican Radio, whose operations continue to present day. In the way of social teaching, Pius XI issued the 1931 encyclical Quadragesimo Anno to mark the 40th anniversary of Rerum Novarum. In his encyclical, Pius XI looked at the rebuilding of society amid the Great Depression.

Pius XII (1939-1958) Like Benedict XV, Pius XII had the challenge of leading the Church through a world war. In the midst of this, he had a reputation as a deeply prayerful man and versatile teacher, authoring many encyclicals. He also relaxed the restrictions for fasting before Communion. Perhaps most notably, Pius XII defined the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in 1954, making him the last pope to date to draw on papal infallibility.

John XXIII (1958-1963) Elected at age 76 and expected to be a mere transitional pope, the pontificate of John XXIII is better described as pivotal. Convening the Second Vatican Council, he ushered in a paradigm shift in Roman Catholicism, the most significant since the Reformation. Other Christians went from being "heretics and schismatics" to "our separated brethren." In the opening address of the Council, Pope John said the Church now prefers "the medicine of mercy" over a "spirit of condemnation." The pope himself embodied this change, traveling outside of the Vatican, even traveling to Assisi by train, and appealing to people around the world with his warmth and good humor. His groundbreaking encyclical on world peace, Pacem in Terris, was the first addressed not only to the bishops of the Church, but to all people of good will. He was beatified by John Paul II in 2000.

Paul VI (1963-1978) The pontificate of Paul VI was dominated by the completion and implementation of the Second Vatican Council, which saw sweeping reforms in liturgy, interreligious affairs and virtually every area of Catholic life. Pope Paul wrote several encyclicals, including affirmations of Catholic teaching on celibacy and birth control, and his own contribution to the body of Catholic social teaching with 1967's Populorum Progressio. In his day, Paul VI was considered the "pilgrim pope" given that he was the first pope in a long time to travel outside of Italy. His message even traveled beyond planet Earth with his blessing of Apollo 11.

John Paul I (Aug.-Sept. 1978) The proof that God doesn't waste popes might just lie with the 34-day pontificate of John Paul I. In under a month, John Paul I took two unprecedented steps. First: taking the first double name in the history of the papacy. Second: by refusing to be crowned, opting instead for a simple installation Mass. His successors to date have followed his lead on the this last point, a symbolic trajectory change at the very least.

John Paul II (1978-2005) The first non-Italian pope in 400 years and the first Polish pope ever, John Paul II outdid seemingly every papal record in his 26 years on the chair of Peter. He brought the Gospel and the papacy to nearly every corner of the globe in his expansive world travels. He wrote 14 encyclicals on topics including bioethics, Mary, the Eucharist, truth, the relationship between faith and reason, and the role of the papacy. He also oversaw the publication of the revised Code of Canon Law in 1983 and the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The illness of his later years provided a powerful witness to the dignity of suffering.

Benedict XVI (2005-present) Now coming up on six years into his pontificate, Benedict XVI has engaged in unprecedented levels of dialogue with the Muslim world, been an outspoken advocate on environmental issues, made his own contributions to Catholic social teaching, allowed wider use of the 1962 Latin Mass, and created ordinariates for traditional Anglicans to come into communion with Rome while retaining the unique character of their worship. And as one Vatican official recently noted, this is only the beginning of his pontificate ...