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On Life, and Life"s Healing[2010-04-05][Engleză]This morning in St. Peter"s Square, during an Easter Sunday liturgy in a steady rain, Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the former Vatican Secretary of State, gave a vigorous -- and unprecedented -- defense of Pope Benedict"s conduct of his papacy. Why it was unfitting for this occasion. And how it overshadowed the Pope"s own homily on the resurrectionBy Robert Moynihan, reporting from Rome ===================================== ROME, Italy, Easter Sunday, April 4, 2010 -- There is a simple declaration and response which have been spoken by Christian believers for 1,980 years which sum up nearly the entire content of the Christian message. Here are the words in Latin as they echoed through St. Peter"s Square this morning: "Christus resurrexit!" "Resurrexit sicut dixit." ("Christ is risen!") ("He is risen as he said.") Those first phrase makes the Christian claim -- evidently an impossibilty under ordinary circumstances -- in ordinary human experience: that Christ rose from the dead, that his crucifixion was not for him the "end." The second phrase affirms the first, and extends it to include the fact that Jesus foretold that he would rise. Implicit in the words is that the first disciples, for a moment, doubted his prediction, and so doubted his truthfulness, until his resurrection was confirmed for them with their own eyes. Both phrases are declarations of historical facts, proclamations of an event which has been seen and heard, even against all expectation, even against all hope. Both phrases are "news" in the essential meaning of the word: they bear a content, they proclaim that a certain event really happened. They are like a headline and the subtitle in a newspaper story. They are the sharing of information in the matter-of-fact way in which any news is shared: "this happened." And, Christians say, this "news report" is "good" news, because it means that death is not the last word, it means that life, and all that life contains, is the last word, the eternal word. And these were the words, this the report, that echoed in Rome this morning, in a raint St. Peter"s Square. And to all who read these words, I echo and repeat these two phrases, which were first spoken 1,980 years ago, in Jerusalem, the City of Peace, and which were spoken again this morning in Rome: "Christus resurrexit!" "Resurrexit sicut dixit." A blessed Easter to you all. ================================== Cardinal Sodano Makes More News But this was not the only news this morning. Something unprecedented happened in St. Peter"s Square (I was present throughout, in the rain). Never before did the Easter morning liturgy begin with a greeting to the Pope. This greeting, spoken by one of the Church"s most senior cardinals, Angelo Sodano, the Vatican Secretary of State under John Paul II and at the beginning of this pontificate, and the dean of the college of cardinals, went on for several minutes. (Photo of Cardinal Sodano, dressed in red with his back to the camera, as he spoke his greeting to the Pope this morning at the beginning of the Easter Sunday liturgy in St. Peter"s Square, by Albert Cesare) It was not clear whether this greeting was actually part of the liturgy, as it seemed, coming after the entrance hymn, or was simply a preface to the liturgy, like an announcement at the beginning of Mass -- though such an announcement still ought to come before the entrance hymn. But, if news is something that happens that is "new," this was news. And when this cardinal rose to his feet and took the microphone to speak, every newsman within hearing pricked up his ears, thinking, "This is something new." What did Sodano say? Essentially, that Catholics around the world love and support Pope Benedict XVI, and will continue to do so no matter how fiercely he his attacked by the media. Sodano, clearly referring to recent attacks on the Pope from the New York Times and other media outlets which allege that he did not do enough during his many years as an administrator in the Church to halt and punish priests accused of sexually abusing children, said the "people of God" would not be influenced by "petty gossip." What did Pope Benedict think of Sodano"s intervention? It is not clear. During the remarks, the Pope expression seemed to me to contain a certain puzzlement, as if he had not fully expected this intervention, but after the remarks, he embraced Sodano with what seemed to be warmth and appreciation. (Photo, from the Associated Press, of the Pope embracing Sodano after reading his greeting.) ================================= I was puzzled by this intervention. ================================= To me, it seemed neither the time, nor the place. It seemed at once inappropriate, and unnecessary. But I am traditional in liturgical matters. I do not even like clapping at a Mass -- something never done when I was a boy. Why? Few today seem to sense anything unfitting in such departures from our tradition. Clapping is not fitting because the entire Mass, as I was taught, is directed to God, and to His glory, and nothing else. And so it should be. ================================= Whether or not the Church, or the Pope, is under attack, has nothing to do with the liturgy. The appropriate place for remarks about such matters is at non-liturgical venue, like a press conference. ================================== Because there is a danger one risks through such an intervention at Mass, or on the edge of a Mass. By placing such an intervention at the beginning of a Mass -- and such a Mass, Easter Sunday Mass, Easter Sunday Mass in Rome -- one risks opening the door to the New York Times, and others, to criticize the Mass itself. Any time anyone politicizes the liturgy it is a departure from our tradition. The Mass is above politics, transcends politics, just as the kingdom of God is above the kingdoms of this world. The Mass, which is the Resurrection made present, should not be risked, or diminished, for any reason. ================================== The moral authority of the Church derives ultimately from the events of Easter morning 1,980 years ago. The moral authority of the Church is not diminished by any sin that any sinful Christian may commit. The moral authority of the Church is the moral authority of the Risen Christ. If we believe he rose, we believe he remains risen, will always remain risen, unto ages of ages. There is no possibility that the Church can lose the moral authority of Christ, ever, under any circumstances. To fear such a loss is to misunderstand the Church, her source and her nature. ================================== In prudential matters, Popes can err. This is Catholic teaching. Only in announcing Christ, crucified, resurrected and glorified, is the Church protected infallibly from all error. If -- I say "if" -- if grave crimes have been committed by priests in the Church, then the men who committed those crimes must be punished. If any reason, including an understandable desire to protect the reputation of the Church in society, has ever led to the cover-up or minimization of grave crimes committed by members of the Church, then this was wrong, and has dramatically compounded the original crime. If the canon law of the Church has ever been inadequate to the requirements of justice, that canon law should be revised and renewed. ================================== Let all the truth come out. Our hope is not in princes, or in men. Our hope is in Christ. "Christus resurrexit." "Resurrexit sicut dixit." ================================== How the Press Reported Sodano"s Intervention The world press immediately saw that Sodano"s intervention was the "new" thing, the "news," at this Easter Sunday Mass. And this is how it was reported. Here are key excerpts from the well-written AP story, which has now been picked up by newspapers around the world: Pope hailed as "unfailing" leader at Easter Mass By FRANCES D"EMILIO, Associated Press Writer VATICAN CITY A senior cardinal staunchly defended Pope Benedict XVI from "petty gossip" on Sunday as the pontiff maintained his silence on mounting sex abuse cover-up accusations during his Easter message. The ringing tribute by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, dean of the College of Cardinals, at the start of Mass attended by tens of thousands of faithful in St. Peter"s Square, marked an unusual departure from the Vatican"s Easter rituals. Sodano"s defense of the pope"s "unfailing" leadership and courage, as well as of the work of priests worldwide with children entrusted to their care, built on a vigorous Vatican campaign to defend Benedict"s moral authority. The pontiff and other church leaders have been assailed by accusations from victims of clergy sexual abuse that he helped shape and perpetuate a climate of cover-up toward the crimes against children in parishes, schools, orphanages and other church-run institutions. Dressed in gold robes and shielded from a cool drizzle by a canopy, Benedict looked weary as he listened to Sodano"s speech at the start of Mass in the cobblestone square bedecked with daffodils, tulips and azaleas... "With this spirit today we rally close around you, successor to (St.) Peter, bishop of Rome, the unfailing rock of the holy church," Sodano said. "Holy Father, on your side are the people of God, who do not allow themselves to be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment, by the trials which sometimes buffet the community of believers"... The accusations against the pope stem from his leadership as archbishop of Munich before he came to the Vatican three decades ago, as well as his long tenure in Rome leading the Holy See"s office dealing with a growing pile of dossiers about pedophile priests. Sunday"s edition of the Vatican newspaper L"Osservatore Romano denounced the accusations against the pope as a "vile defamation operation." Benedict hasn"t made any explicit reference to the sex abuse scandals since he released a letter to the Irish faithful concerning the abuse crisis in that country on March 20. Sodano defended the church"s priests as well as the pontiff. "Especially with you in these days are those 400,000 priests who generously serve the people of God, in parishes, recreation centers, schools, hospitals and many other places, as well as in the missions in the most remote parts of the world," the cardinal said. In rushing to Benedict"s defense, the Vatican has angered abuse victims and their advocates. Jewish leaders also fumed after the papal preacher in a Good Friday sermon told the pope that the accusations against him were akin to the campaign of anti-Semitic violence that culminated in the Holocaust. The preacher, the Rev. Raniero Cantalamessa, told Corriere della Sera daily in an interview Sunday that he had no intention "of hurting the sensibilities of the Jews and of the victims of pedophilia." "I have sincerely regretted and I ask forgiveness, reaffirming my solidarity with both" lobbies, he was quoted as saying. [end excerpts from the AP story] =================== Here are some brief excerpts from Sodano"s intervention on the original Italian, with my translation: "Noi - ha detto l"ex Segretario di Stato vaticano - ammiriamo il suo grande amore e il modo in cui, con cuore di padre, fa proprie le gioie e le speranze, le tristezze e le angosce degli uomini, oggi soprattutto dei poveri e dei sofferenti. Oggi, per mezzo mio, tutta la Chiesa desidera dirle buona Pasqua. ["We," the ex-Vatican Secretary of State said, "admire your great love and the way in which, with the heart of a father, you make your own the joys and hopes, the sorrows and anxieties of men, today above all of the poor and suffering. Today, through me, the entire Church desires to say to you "Happy Easter"."] "La Chiesa è con lei - ha proseguito Sodano - i cardinali, i suoi collaboratori nella Curia romana, i confratelli vescovi sparsi nel mondo. Particolarmente con lei sono in questi giorni i 400mila sacerdoti che servono il popolo di Dio nelle parrocchie, negli oratori, nelle scuole, negli ospedali, nelle forze armate e nei numerosi altri ambienti, come pure nelle missioni nelle parti più remote del mondo". ["The Church is with you," Sodano continued, "the cardinals, your collaborators in the Roman Curia, your brother bishops spread throughout the world. Especially with you in these days are the 400,000 priests who serve the people of God in parishes, in oratories, in schools, in hospitals, in the armed forces and in many other places, as well as in the missions in the most remote parts of the world."] Sursa: www.InsideTheVatican.com Contor Accesări: 1157, Ultimul acces: 2026-08-11 07:05:38
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