Musings on Pope Benedict XVI’s Papacy: Benedict XVI—On Christian Unity

By Father John Crossin

I’ll always remember Pope Benedict walking down the aisle of St. Joseph’s Church in New York, during his 2008 visit to the United States. Hundreds of assembled Christian leaders from across the country greeted him warmly, and he offered words of hope and reconciliation.

In Rome, the Holy Father greets delegations of distinguished ecumenical guests regularly. He has good personal relationships with many leaders including Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople and the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

Pope Benedict speaks on many topics in his numerous ecumenical talks, but he returns again and again to the importance of:

· Our own deeper conversion to Christ as critical to our ecumenical efforts;

· The need to purify our memories of past injuries and injustices so as to be reconciled to one another;

· The importance of humility in our dialogues and conversations; and

· The centrality of divine guidance—it is not we who will achieve Christian Unity; this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In his deeply spiritual approach to our search for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict is in continuity with Pope John XXIII and with the Second Vatican Council’s Decree on Ecumenism. He served as a theologian at Vatican II and continues its work to this day. He is very much in continuity with Pope Paul VI and Blessed Pope John Paul II’s teaching by word and symbolic action.

His prayerful demeanor reminds us that in seeking the truth together we are relying on divine guidance. He clearly seeks this guidance in his own life.

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Father John Crossin, is director of the U.S. bishops’ Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.

Musings on Pope Benedict XVI’s Papacy: Pope Benedict XVI – Promoter of Faith and Evangelization

By Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap.

Among Pope Benedict’s many concerns during his papacy have been two that joined together – faith and evangelization.  We are presently in the Year of Faith. The renewal of faith within the Catholic Church is not only to strengthen the faith of her members, but also to prepare Catholics to participate in the “New Evangelization.”  One of the ways that Pope Benedict has promoted the renewal of faith and the new evangelization has been through his Wednesday audiences.

When he became pope, Benedict dedicated his Wednesday audiences to the early Fathers of the Church. Each week he treated a different Father – for example, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus of Lyon, Basil the Great, Athanasius of Alexandria, and Augustine of Hippo. Pope Benedict noted that each of these was a man of faith who was instrumental in spreading the Gospel. St. Ignatius was eaten by beasts in the Coliseum in Rome in 107 AD and so bore witness to the faith. St. Athanasius defended the full divinity of Jesus and in so doing ensured the truth of the Incarnation for future generations. St. Augustine, through his many books, for example, his Confessions, his treatise On the Trinity, and his City of God, influences Catholic theology to this day.  Pope Benedict realized that all of the Fathers of the Church preached the Gospel and so fostered Christian culture.

Having treated the early Fathers of the Church, Benedict later treated the men and women Saints of the Middle Ages.  For example, St. Clare of Assisi, even though she lived in a cloistered convent, was beloved by the people because of her poverty and love for the Eucharist.   St. Catherine of Sienna worked for the renewal of the Church, especially the Papacy, and in so doing fostered the vibrancy of the Church in her day.   





Benedict, through the lives of the great saintly men and women of the past, has wanted to demonstrate that they are still significant for us today. Their faith is our faith and the Gospel that they preached is the Gospel that we preach today.

Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap. is Executive Director for the Secretariat of Doctrine.    

Musings on Pope Benedict XVI’s Papacy: Pope Benedict XVI – Liturgist

By Father Daniel Merz

Pope Benedict has a deep love for the liturgy, and has been rather broad minded in the sense of holding the Church’s liturgical tradition—past and present—together in a healthy tension without a rigid uniformity.

He looks at the liturgy scripturally and theologically, which is why he has paid close attention to the translation of the Roman Missal. He has been criticized for expanding the use of the liturgy from before the Second Vatican Council, but this is consistent with his concerns for continuity rather than rupture.

Perhaps he has surprised some by his gentle, pastoral tone in teaching about the liturgy. He is not heavy handed in correcting or imposing, but is patient. He is less interested in revolution, than revealing the integrity of the Church’s faith, from the Apostles to Trent and Vatican II, up to the present. Historians will judge him for the theological course which he set for the liturgy through his teachings and his own manner of celebration.


The following is a list, in summary fashion, of some of Pope Benedict’s acts in the area of liturgy:

· In 2005, he did not renew the indult for laypersons to purify the Communion vessels;

· In 2007, he promulgated Summorum Pontificum, expanding the use of the Latin, or Extraordinary Form of the Mass;

· In 2008, he asked all the Bishops to cooperate in refraining from using the Divine Name (YHWH) in the liturgy;

· In 2008 he also created three new formulas of dismissal that emphasize the evangelical mission of those at Mass;

· In 2009, he promulgated Anglicanorum coetibus, which allows Anglicans who come into full communion with the Church to keep their liturgical traditions;

· Finally, he has insisted on a strict translation of pro multis (for many) in the Eucharistic Prayer.

Clearly celebrating the Mass and fidelity to its history and tradition has marked the papacy of Pope Benedict.

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Father Daniel Merz is associate director of the Secretariat for Divine Liturgy.

Five Things to Remember on February 22, 2013

1 . Changes are coming to the way a pope is inaugurated. Check out what’s different.

2. Jeannine Marino talks to people today in a blog who have difficulty with fears when it comes to Confession. The assistant director of the USCCB Secretariat on Evangelization and Catechesis really gets into how cathartic it can be to participate in the sacrament.

3. Lent brings many questions about why Catholics do certain things during those 40 days. Here are some common scenarios and ways Catholics will talk about it. 

4 . Tomorrow’s priests at the North American Seminary in Rome explain their reactions to Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation and their hopes for the next pope in this video. 

5 . God loves you.

Five Things To Remember On Feb. 21

1. Richard Doerflinger, Associate Director of the Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities at the USCCB, wrote a guest blog for the Washington Post today, titled, “How to Reduce Abortions.” The top thing to be done, according to Richard, is to fight poverty.

2. Pope Benedict XVI will be the fourth oldest pope when he retires a week from today. See him alongside the three older popes in this Catholic News Service graphic.

3. Want to put a face to a Cardinal’s name in the conclave? Check out these yearbook-style photos, also from CNS, on our Facebook page.

4. Tomorrow, Catholics around the world will celebrate the Feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Pope Benedict XVI said last year, “The Chair of Peter is therefore the sign of authority, but of Christ’s authority, based on faith and on love.” That message takes on particular poignancy this week.

5. God loves you.

From Sinners to Saints

By Jeannine Marino

Everyone has favorite saints: Saints whose writings inspire us, whose charity compels us to give more of ourselves, or whose miraculous deeds leave us in awe. But the saints that are my favorites are the sinners; the ones who really needed a little extra help from the Holy Spirit in order to make it to heaven. Take St. Augustine of Hippo, for example. He partied in his youth, hung out with the wrong crowd, lived with a mistress for fifteen years and fathered a child outside of marriage.  If Augustine could do all that, and still experience the mercy and love of God and make it to heaven, then surely we can as well.  All Augustine had to do was repent, ask for forgiveness, and turn his life back to God.     

Thankfully, the Church has provided us with an easy way to get right with God- namely, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation, or 'Confession.'  The Sacrament of Penance is a wonderful gift- a gift of forgiveness, mercy, peace and love.  We enter the confessional burdened with our sins and misdeeds, and we leave filled with God's grace.

It's true, Confession can be difficult. No one wants to admit faults, especially to another person.  But, the priest isn’t just another person: He represents Christ. As Christ’s minister, the priest not only forgives sins, but also offers absolution. And it isn't just lay people who experience this Sacrament: priests and bishops go to confession, too!  The bishops even purposely re-committed themselves to going to Confession this Lent in their recent Pastoral Invitation: God’s Gift of Forgiveness: A Pastoral Exhortation on the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation.         

Has it been a while since your last confession? Do you have questions about the Sacrament? Maybe you're worrying: "I can’t remember the words…I have committed too many sins, God will never forgive me...What's the Sacrament even called? Is it Penance, Reconciliation or Confession?"  Don’t worry, we have all had these questions!  To help you prepare for the Sacrament, the USCCB has created some resources, including a short Q&A on the Sacrament, a Step by Step How To Guide (page two of the pdf), an Examination of Conscience and other helpful aids on our Rediscovering the Sacrament of Confession page.   

Jeannine Marino is assistant director of the USCCB Secretariat on Evangelization and Catechesis.

Five Things To Remember On Feb. 20

1. Bishop Richard E. Pates of the Diocese of Des Moines is Chair of the USCCB Committee on International Justice and Peace. Yesterday, he wrote congress to commend sponsorship of H.R. 301, a bill to establish a Special Envoy to Promote Religious Freedom of Religious Minorities in the Near East and South Central Asia. He wrote: “Such an envoy, working in partnership with the State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom and the U.S. Commission for International Religious Freedom, can address the particularly complex and dire situation of religious minorities in the region.

2. Despite Pope Benedict XVI’s papacy ending next Thursday, in some ways it is business as usual at the Vatican, according to a Catholic News Service report.

3. So much is being written about who will succeed Pope Benedict XVI that it is helpful to remember how exactly a new pope is chosen.

4. Still, it was revealed by a Vatican spokesperson Wednesday that Pope Benedict XVI could make some late-minute rule changes to the conclave.

5. God loves you.