BIG C CATHOLICS

When Obama Met the Pope The Vatican described the half hour meeting between Benedict XVI and President Obama as cordial. The two leaders discussed a range of issues on which there was general agreement; i.e. bringing peace to the Middle East, protecting the rights of minorities there, including Christians, immigration reform that respects the dignity of immigrants, promoting a responsible environmentalism, a humane global economy, and more. The Pope also presented Mr. Obama with a statement on bioethics addressed to the American Church where life issues – a fundamental Catholic concern – have been under assault recently. The actions of the Obama administration in the areas of abortion, euthanasia, redefining the institution of marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and the ability of health care providers to exercises their consciences regarding procedures they are morally opposed to – are cause for concern. Benedict challenged Obama to go beyond the President’s oft repeated “com

Last time we talked about the Protoevangelium or “first gospel” in which God promises to send a redeemer to save his people from the slavery of sin. Implicit in this is that sin will grow and spread bringing havoc on humanity. The "fruits" of original sin begin with Adam and Eve's first born son, Cain, killing his brother, Abel. Cain comes from bad seed - Abel good. The murder is, of course, evil, but it also goes to show how human nature was altered and/or perverted by sin. Cain's children will grow numerous and flourish. Unfortunately, they will also spread their sinful ways. More on this in the next installment.

The following are excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI's first social encyclical: "Each person finds his good by adherence to God's plan for him, in order to realize it fully: in this plan, he finds his truth, and through adherence to this truth he becomes free (cf. John 8:22)" (1). "All people feel the interior impulse to love authentically: love and truth never abandon them completely, because these are the vocation planted by God in the heart and mind of every human person" (1). "Without truth, charity degenerates into sentimentality. Love becomes an empty shell, to be filled in an arbitrary way. In a culture without truth, this is the fatal risk facing love" (3). "A Christianity of charity without truth would be more or less interchangeable with a pool of good sentiments, helpful for social cohesion, but of little relevance" (4).

h/t Opinionated Catholic 34. Love in truth confronts man with the stupendous experience of giving. Gratuitousness is present in life in many forms, often not recognized because of a vision of existence that is merely production-oriented or utilitarian. The human being is made for giving, which expresses and realizes his dimension of transcendence. Sometimes, modern man is erroneously convinced of being the only author of himself, of his life and of society. This is a presumption that results from the selfish closing-up in oneself, which derives - to use an expression of faith - from original sin. The wisdom of the Church has always proposed keeping sight of original sin even in the interpretation of social facts and in the building of society: "To ignore that man has a wounded nature, inclined to evil, is a cause of serious errors in the fields of education, politics, social action and customs". (85) Added for some time now to the list of the fields in which the pernicious ef

h/t the American Catholic Pope Benedict’s third encyclical, Love in Truth (Caritas in Veritate), applies the themes of his first two encyclicals -love and hope (God Is Love, Saved in Hope) – to the world’s major social issues. Drawing on moral truths open, in principle, to everyone (the natural law) as well as on the teachings of the gospel (revelation), Pope Benedict addresses Catholics and non-Catholics alike, challenging us all to recognize and then to confront the social evils of our day. The first part of the encyclical examines the dynamic teaching of Benedict’s predecessors, Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II. [...] In the second part Benedict surveys the social issues that confront the human race today-assaults on the dignity of the human person such as the attack on human life, poverty, issues of war and peace, terrorism, globalization, and environmental concerns.

Besides Jesus, there may be no better model for priests than St. John Vianney, who is the patron of parish priests. Only a handful of parish priests have been canonized. Most are religious priests, missionaries, bishops, cardinals and popes. Vianney lived from 1786 to 1859. For forty-one years, he was the Cure (pastor) of the French town of Ars. He is known for his prayerfulness and piety. People would travel for miles to attend his Masses, hear him preach, and go to confession. As a result, the small town of Ars became a center of virtue and faithfulness. There is an excellent novena in honor of Saint John Vianney here .

Fr. Daren J. Zehnle Tuesday morning will see the publication of Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical letter, Caritas in Veritate . (There is still some question as to whether the English title will be translated as Love in Truth or as Charity in Truth. I prefer the latter.) For those like myself who prefer something more than a simple print out of the text (nevertheless, you can be certain I will print a copy as soon as it is available), Ignatius Press will publish the encyclical in three different formats . You can pre-order the hard copy now. To view Father Zehnle's blog go here .