Catholic Herald: How Catholics can reclaim Britain

Source: Catholic Herald

Non-believers long for a spiritual truth which only the Church can provide. But to win souls we must focus on God and charity, not political arguments

A visible faith: last Sunday’s Corpus Christi procession through central London (Mazur/catholicnews.org.uk)

British Catholicism is in an odd position. In terms of regular practice, it is a faith in decline. Mass attendance fell 30.7 per cent between 1993 and 2010, according to the Latin Mass Society. The number of Catholics peaked in 1993 and the number of priests in 1965.

British Catholicism is in an odd position. In terms of regular practice, it is a faith in decline. Mass attendance fell 30.7 per cent between 1993 and 2010, according to the Latin Mass Society. The number of Catholics peaked in 1993 and the number of priests in 1965.

Britain is and remains a country whose environment, institutions and modes of thought are still drawn in the main from the Christian tradition. This positions the Catholic Church well to win converts, yet this is something it does very badly. A recent analysis of data from the British Social Attitudes Survey found that for every one convert made by the Church in England and Wales, 10 cradle Catholics have been lost, while only 1.3 per cent of current Catholics have been converted either from no religion or a non-Christian faith.

The Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, established in 2011 by Benedict XVI, has not seen the flood of converts from Anglicanism which many hoped for, and while the initiative responds to the decline of the Church of England, no similar initiative exists to draw home those in the Welsh Methodist churches or the Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

HAPPY 89th BIRTHDAY DEAR POPE EMERITUS BENEDICT XVI!

Today is the 89th Birthday of our beloved Pope Emeritus, Father Benedict XVI. From Catholic Defender 2000, happy birthday. I pray for your good health, joyful life and fruitful faith in the coming years! God bless you!

Photo Source: BelleNews

Full Text of Benedict XVI's Letter to Atheist

I doubt if Eduardo Manalo, grandson of the Iglesia ni Cristo's founder FELIX MANALO can comprehend this very intelligent response of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI to an Atheist.  I will not be surprised if Eduardo wouldn't and couldn't write a letter to the Pope with his objection to Catholic doctrines, practices and teachings. Surely Eduardo Manalo or any of his paid and incompetent Bible preachers would be left begging for understanding for having such an unmatched knowledge in Christian history, theology, practices, tradition-- much with reason and faith! -CD2000

Piergiorgio Odifreddi and Benedict XVI.

[Source: National Catholic Register] Exclusive to the Register, we publish below the first English translation of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI’s letter to the militant Italian atheist, Piergiorgio Odifreddi.

In September, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica printed extracts of the letter whose full contents were published in Italian on Nov. 23 by the German-language agency Kath.net.

The Pope Emeritus sent the letter in response to a book Odifreddi wrote in 2011 entitled Dear Pope, I’m Writing to You. The work was a critique of certain arguments and lines of thought found in Benedict’s theological writings, beginning with his 1967 volume Introduction to Christianity, and including his book Jesus of Nazareth, which he wrote as pope.

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Distinguished Professor Odifreddi,

First, I must apologize for the fact that I am only thanking you today for sending me your book, Caro Papa, ti scrivo, and for the kind words which you addressed to me at the time through Archbishop Gänswein. However I did not wish to write before having read your book, and since various tasks still weigh upon me, I have finished reading it only now.

Today, therefore, I would at last like to thank you for having sought in great detail to confront my book, and thus also my faith. This in large part was precisely what I intended in my address to the Roman Curia at Christmas 2009. I must also thank you for the faithful manner in which you dealt with my text, earnestly seeking to do it justice.

My opinion of your book as a whole, however, is rather mixed. I read some parts of it with enjoyment and profit. In other parts, however, I was surprised by a certain aggressiveness and rashness of argumentation.

I would like to respond chapter by chapter, but unfortunately I do not have sufficient strength for this. I shall therefore choose a few points that I think are particularly important.

THANK YOU YOUR HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI!

Photo Source: Totustuusfamily.blogspot

THANK YOU AND GOOD BYE YOUR HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI.

The Catholic Church leading Christians to Unity

Thanks to Jimmy Akin's Secret Info Club

The effort to restore full unity among the different groups of Christians in the world is known as "ecumenism." There has been a great deal of work done toward this goal in recent years. Some of it has been good; some of it has been bad.

In a recent address to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith--the Vatican department he headed before his election to the papacy--Pope Benedict outlined his thoughts on ecumenism.

Let us learn from his wisdom by reframing his remarks in a Q & A or "interview" format.

Your Holiness, why is ecumenism important?

The division among Christians, "openly contradicts the will of Christ, scandalizes the world, and damages that most holy cause, the preaching of the Gospel to every creature" (Vatican II, Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, n. 1).

Unity is therefore not only the fruit of faith but also a means and as it were a presupposition for proclaiming the faith ever more credibly to those who do not yet know the Savior. Jesus prayed: "that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me" (Jn 17:21).

Why is the search for Christian unity important today? How does this relate to the "Year of Faith" that you have called to begin in October 2012?

Pope showered with confetti

Clouded: Confetti descended no the Popemobile as the pontiff made his way into the city centre of Madrid
(Source: DailyMail.uk)

See more photos HERE!

VATICAN CITY: The Smallest Country in the World yet has One of the Most Powerful Leader

Forgive me if this sounds bragging to non-Catholics but it's a FACT that the Vatican City State is considered the smallest country in the world and it's a member of the United Nations.

Many Catholics do not know that the Vatican State is an Independent State within the City of Rome that is considered a “country” by the United Nations.

Its official name in English is The State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano) and is the smallest country in the world having only around 1,000 population mostly non-Italian citizens.

Here are some facts about the Vatican City State mostly taken from CIA The World Fact Book:

• The Vatican City is the smallest country in the world with the smallest population mostly religious priest, nuns and Catholic laity. It measures 44 hectares ( 110 acres) and has a population of about 1000 people.
• The Vatican has its own radio station which is located in a tower inside the Vatican Gardens and broadcasts in 20 languages throughout the world where you can update yourself about the Pope and the Vatican.
• The Vatican City has its own railway station which was opened in 1930 and is mostly used for freight.
• St Peter's Square and the colonnade were designed and built by Bernini which was completed in 1667. At 314 meters long and 240 meters wide it is the largest square in Rome. Bernini (with the help of his pupils) designed the 140 statues of saints which decorate the colonnade.
• The Vatican has its own Post office independent from Rome and issues its own stamps to the delight of many stamp collectors. The Vatican mail system is widely used by Romans as in most cases is a lot quicker than Italian mail.
• The Vatican City issues its own passports; the Pope, cardinals, members of the Swiss guard and clergy being the recipients.
• The Vatican City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the only site to encompass a whole country. 
• The Vatican stamps its own coins. The €1 coin which has a portrait of the present Pope is in high demand with collectors. 
• The Vatican museums are over 9 miles (14,5 kilometers) long, and it is said that if you spent only 1 minute admiring each painting it would take you 4 years to complete the circuit!
• As an independent state, it has its own Flag and National Anthem.
• The Vatican City's official language is Latin, apart from Italian and other major world languages.
• The Pope is the Head of State and Head of the the 1.1 billion Catholics in the world.
• It has its own set of laws called The Canon Law.
• St. Simon Peter was buried beneath the St. Peter's Cathedral.

Why the smallest country and considered having one of the most powerful leaders of the world? It's because the Vatican is the residence of the Pope, head of the Catholic Church which is now 1.1 billion.

The Pope was named No. 5 Most Powerful World Leader by Forbes in 2010.

The top 10 most powerful people are:

1. Chinese President Hu Jintao
2. U.S. President Barack Obama
3. King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia 
4. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin 
5. Pope Benedict XVI, leader of World's 1.1 billion Catholics 
6. German Chancellor Angela Merkel
7. British Prime Minister David Cameron
8. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke
9. Indian National Congress President Sonia Gandhi
10. Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

According to the magazine, the Pope was named the “highest earthly authority for 1.1 billion souls,” which represents one-sixth of the world's population. He was noted for “healing old wounds” in September when he became the first modern pope to visit London's Westminster Abbey, where he shook the hand of a clergywoman.

Pope, Roman Catholic Church: Pope Benedict XVI greets the crowd after he presided over a Mass at Westminster Cathedral in central London, Saturday, Sept. 18, 2010. Pope Benedict XVI said Saturday he was ashamed of the "unspeakable" sexual abuse of children by priests, telling the British faithful during Mass in Westminster Cathedral that he was deeply sorry and hoped the church's humiliation would help victims heal. Benedict also said he hoped the church would be able to use its contrition to purify itself from the "sins" of its ministers and be able to renew its commitment to educating the young.

So the next time you visit Rome, try to visit the Smallest Country in the world and if you have the chance to shake hands with 5th World's Most Powerful Leader would be a bonus. Don't forget to pray for his health and safety too, and pray for the Church he is representing on earth.

Pope arrives in Sicily on one-day visit

AP – Pope Benedict XVI delivers his blessing at the end of a concert in his honor held by the Santa Cecilia

PALERMO, Sicily, Yahoo!News – Pope Benedict XVI is starting a one-day visit to Palermo, where Sicilians hope he will use his words and presence to give a boost to efforts to try to rid the island of the Mafia.

Benedict sat under a canopy shielding him from the sun on an esplanade at the edge of the sea in this port city as tens of thousands of people waited for his celebration of Mass.

In the days before his arrival, some Catholics have appealed for the pontiff to declare as a martyr a Palermo priest who was slain by the Mafia in 1993 for trying to galvanize people to oppose organized crime.

Palermo Mayor Diego Cammarata drew cheers from the crowd when he recalled the slain Rev. Pino Puglisi as an inspiration for continued anti-Mafia efforts.

Google and Facebook teach Vatican the mysteries of the internet

(Article Source: Telegraph.co.uk): Media experts will join bishops from across Europe to tell them how best to communicate the Catholic Church's message in the 21st century.

Steeped in history, the Church often struggles to explain its outlook and Pope Benedict XVI has in recent months been mired in controversy over remarks about the role condoms can play in halting the spread of Aids and his decision to rehabilitate a Holocaust-denying British bishop.

During a four-day conference which starts on Thursday, representatives from the social network Facebook, the search engine Google, the YouTube video sharing website and the online encyclopedia Wikipedia will explain the importance of "new media" in the lives of young people.

The bishops will also learn how to combat the threat of hacking, with advice from a young hacker from Switzerland and an Interpol expert on cybercrime.

"The world of hackers is a separate, parallel culture that is mostly ignored by the Church but not by fans of information technology," said the Vatican's 'communications ministry', the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, which is organising the gathering.

The conference is the latest in a series of moves by the Pope, who uses an iPod and a laptop computer, to engage with modern technology.

Pope targets eliminating hunger as goal for Catholic Church

(Article Source: Catholic News Agency): Rome, Italy.- On Monday Pope Benedict XVI addressed a gathering at the World Summit on Food Security in Rome, calling hunger “the most cruel and concrete sign of poverty” and stating that “the Catholic Church will always be concerned for efforts to defeat hunger.”

Speaking at the United Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome, the Pope addressed food production and the current state of the global economy.

“The international community is currently facing a grave economic and financial crisis. Statistics bear witness to the dramatic growth in the number of people suffering from hunger,” said the Pontiff. This situation is “made worse by the rise in price of foodstuffs, the reduction in economic resources available to the poorest peoples, and their limited access to markets and to food,” he lamented.

However, despite the grave statistics and the fretting of population control advocates, the Holy Father made reference to “the known fact that the world has enough food for all its inhabitants.”

“Indeed,” continued the Pope, “sufficient food is produced on a global scale to satisfy both current demands and those in the foreseeable future. From these data we may deduce that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between population growth and hunger, and this is further demonstrated by the lamentable destruction of foodstuffs for economic gain.”

Pope Benedict also condemned “opulence” and “waste,” saying they are “no longer acceptable when the tragedy of hunger is assuming ever greater proportions.”

Giving his answer to the current debacle, Pope Benedict turned to his recent encyclical, “Caritas in Veritate,” stating, “what is missing is a network of economic institutions capable of guaranteeing regular access to sufficient food and water.”

The Pope highlighted the need for impoverished countries to be given economic initiatives through international trade. “Once they have greater income at their disposal, these countries will be able to advance toward the self-sufficiency that leads to food security,” he said.

In concluding remarks, Pope Benedict said that “the Catholic Church will always be concerned for efforts to defeat hunger,” and that “the Church is committed to support, by word and deed, the action taken in solidarity - planned, responsible and regulated - to which all members of the international community are called to contribute.”

“The Church does not wish to interfere in political decisions: she respects the knowledge gained through scientific study, and decisions arrived at through reason responsibly enlightened by authentically human values, and she supports the effort to eliminate hunger,” the Holy Father said.