Pope Benedict XVI’s Remarks on Arrival in Mexico

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Mexico on Friday, at the start of his six-day trip to Latin America that will also take him to the island nation of Cuba.

In remarks during the official welcome ceremony, the Holy Father said he has come to confirm the people of Mexico, Cuba and all Latin America in their faith, at a time when the peoples of the region are celebrating the bicentenary of their independence.

“I come,” said Pope Benedict, “I come as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love. I wish to confirm those who believe in Christ in their faith, by strengthening and encouraging them to revitalize their faith by listening to the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and living coherently.”

Below, please find the full text of Pope Benedict XVI’s remarks at the welcome ceremony.

Mister President,
Your Eminences,
Dear Brother Bishops and Priests,
Distinguished Civil Authorities,
Beloved People of Guanajuato and of Mexico,

I am very happy to be here, and I give thanks to God for allowing me to realize the desire, kept in my heart for a long time; to confirm in the faith the People of God of this great nation in their own land. The affection of the Mexican people for the Successor of Peter, whom they always remember in their prayers, is well known. I say this here, considered to be the geographical centre of your land, which my venerable predecessor, Blessed John Paul II, wanted to visit during his first Apostolic Journey. Although he was not able to come, on that occasion he left a message of encouragement while flying over its airspace. I am happy to repeat his words here on land among you: “I am grateful”, he said in the message, “to the faithful of El Bajío and Guanajuato for your affection towards the Pope and your faithfulness to the Lord. May God be with you always” (cf. Telegram, 30 January 1979).

With this in mind, I offer my thanks to you, Mister President, for your warm welcome and I respectfully greet your wife and the rest of the civil authorities who have honoured me by their presence. I offer a special greeting to the Most Reverend José Guadalupe Martín Rábago, Archbishop of León, and to the Most Reverend Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Tlalnepantla and President of the Mexican Episcopal Conference and the Latin America Episcopal Council. With this brief visit, I wish to greet all Mexicans and to include all the nations and peoples of Latin America, represented here by many Bishops. Our meeting in this place, where the majestic monument to Christ the King on Mount Cubilete, gives testimony to the deep roots of the Catholic faith among the Mexican people, who receive his constant blessings in all their vicissitudes.

Mexico, and the majority of Latin American nations, have been commemorating in recent years the bicentennial of their independence. There have been many religious celebrations in thanksgiving to God for this important and significant moment. During these celebrations, as in the Mass in Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome on the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Most Holy Mary was invoked fervently, she who gently showed how the Lord loves all people and gave himself for them without distinction. Our Heavenly Mother has kept vigil over the faith of her children in the formation of these nations and she continues to do so today as new challenges present themselves.

I come as a pilgrim of faith, of hope, and of love. I wish to confirm those who believe in Christ in their faith, by strengthening and encouraging them to revitalize their faith by listening to the Word of God, celebrating the sacraments and living coherently. In this way, they will be able to share their faith with others as missionaries to their brothers and sisters and to act as a leaven in society, contributing to a respectful and peaceful coexistence based on the incomparable dignity of every human being, created by God, which no one has the right to forget or disregard. This dignity is expressed especially in the fundamental right to freedom of religion, in its full meaning and integrity.

As a pilgrim of hope, I speak to them in the words of Saint Paul: “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope” (1 Th. 4:13). Confidence in God offers the certainty of meeting him, of receiving his grace; the believer’s hope is based on this. And, aware of this, we strive to transform the present structures and events which are less than satisfactory and seem immovable or insurmountable, while also helping those who do not see meaning or a future in life. Yes, hope changes the practical existence of each man and woman in a real way (cf. Spe Salvi, 2). Hope points to “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21:1), that is already making visible some of its reflections. Moreover, when it takes root in a people, when it is shared, it shines as light that dispels the darkness which blinds and takes hold of us. This country and the entire continent are called to live their hope in God as a profound conviction, transforming it into an attitude of the heart and a practical commitment to walk together in the building of a better world. As I said in Rome, “continue progressing untiringly in the building of a society founded upon the development of the good, the triumph of love and the spread of justice” (Homily, 12 December 2011).

Together with faith and hope, the believer in Christ – indeed the whole Church – lives and practises charity as an essential element of mission. In its primary meaning, charity “is first of all the simple response to immediate needs and specific situations” (Deus Caritas Est, 31), as we help those who suffer from hunger, lack shelter, or are in need in some way in their life. Nobody is excluded on account of their origin or belief from this mission of the Church, which does not compete with other private or public initiatives. In fact, the Church willingly works with those who pursue the same ends. Nor does she have any aim other than doing good in an unselfish and respectful way to those in need, who often lack signs of authentic love.

Mister President, my dear friends: in these days I will pray to the Lord and to Our Lady of Guadalupe for all of you so that you may be true to the faith which you have received and to its best traditions. I will pray especially for those in need, particularly for those who suffer because of old and new rivalries, resentments and all forms of violence. I know that I am in a country which is proud of its hospitality and wishes no one to feel unwelcome. I already knew this, and now I can see it and feel it in my heart. I sincerely hope that many Mexicans who live far from their homeland will feel the same way and that nothing will cause them to forget it or to lose the wish to see it growth in harmony and in authentic integral development.

Thank you!

Source



You can follow Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic journey to Mexico and Cuba here.
 

 

Track the Pope’s Flight in Real Time

I post this because: 1) I never knew you could do it, and 2) I think modern technology is just great!

The Pope is flying over the heart of the United States this afternoon. Track his flight here in real time…

Check it out here.

Pretty cool!

 

Pope Uses a Cane for the First Time in Public

When he arrived at the airport in Rome at the start of his six-day trip to Mexico and Cuba this morning:

Pope Benedict XVI on Friday used a cane – apparently for the first time in public – to help him walk up to a plane during an airport ceremony to see him off on a pilgrimage to Mexico and Cuba.

Benedict, who turns 85 next month, leaned on a black cane with his right hand as he walked steadily for about 100 meters (yards) to the foot of the Alitalia plane from the helicopter which flew him from the Vatican to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci airport Friday morning.

Papal aides, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the pope started using the cane about two months ago in private because it makes him feel more secure, and not for any medical problem.

Italian Premier Mario Monti and church officials greeted him at the departure ceremony. Benedict then climbed the steps of the aircraft unaided, stopping at one point to wave, before entering the plane, which began a 13-1/2 hour-flight to Mexico.

Benedict returns to Rome on March 29.

A few months ago, Benedict started using a wheeled platform to save his energy when navigating the vast length of St. Peter’s Basilica. On Wednesday, Benedict didn’t hold his usual weekly public audience, Vatican officials said, so he could rest before the trip.

 

Dissidents Occupy Cuba Church, Seek Papal Audience

Yahoo News:

Havana — Thirteen Cuban dissidents have holed up in a Roman Catholic church in Havana to press for an audience with Pope Benedict XVI when he visits in two weeks, saying they want to air their grievances about human rights on the island.

Some other dissidents and a church spokesman denounced the move, which was apparently meant to be part of coordinated protests at churches across the island that were later abandoned.

The Church of Charity of Cobre in teeming Central Havana was semi-shuttered Wednesday and only pilgrims visiting an image of the Virgin of Charity of Cobre, Cuba’s patron, were permitted inside. There was no sign of police, and activity appeared normal on surrounding streets.

The dissidents were in an area that is off-limits to worshippers, said dissident William Cepera. He said he spoke with them through a window that was later closed.

“They entered the church last night and stayed. They will not budge from there,” he said…

Church spokesman Orlando Marquez said the protest was disrespectful to the pope, as well as to ordinary Catholics hoping to visit the church to pray.

“Nobody has the right to turn temples into political trenches,” he wrote in a forcefully worded statement. “Nobody has the right to disturb the celebratory spirit of faithful Cubans and many other citizens who look with jubilation and hope toward the visit of the Holy Father, Benedict XVI, to Cuba.”

Marquez called on the group to leave immediately. He added that while Catholic officials would listen to and help anyone who sought their assistance, they “cannot accept attempts to devalue the nature of its mission or put in danger the religious freedom of those who visit our churches.”

Government officials did not immediately answer a request for comment. Cuba considers the dissidents mercenaries paid by Washington and bent on undermining the government…

The whole reports is here.

 

Pope Benedict ‘Considering’ Irish Visit

The Irish Times:

Pope Benedict would visit Ireland “soon rather than later” and was “actively considering” an invitation from the Irish Catholic Church, the Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said.

Dr Martin also said, however, that the Irish Church was not ready for a papal visit.

Speaking on RTÉ radio today, in advance of the 50th International Eucharistic Congress which takes place in Dublin in June, he said the pope had been invited.

“We haven’t got a response. He did say to me that he would be open to coming but he said, and this I agree with, that his coming would have to fit into the overall timetable of the renewal of the Church in Ireland.

“Short-circuiting that programme wouldn’t bring the benefits that a papal visit would bring and I am not sure that we are at that stage yet.”

He said in the wake of the sexual, emotional and physical abuse scandals in Catholic-run institutions and the subsequent fall in Mass attendances, the Church here was in need of radical renewal and reform. This process would have to be further progressed before a papal visit would be of significant benefit.

“We have to see and understand ourselves where we want to go with the Catholic Church. I think a papal visit will only have a significance when many of these issues of our past are fully addressed.”

Asked when the pope might visit, Dr Martin said he didn’t know, “but I would say soon rather than later. When Pope John Paul came to Ireland the notice was very, very limited…

 

Three Nuggets from Pope’s Germany Trip

The National Catholic Reporter has them:

It probably says something about the low-key nature of a papal trip when its biggest news flash involves the shooting off of an air gun – not even a real gun, mind you – two hours before the pontiff’s arrival, in the vague direction of two security agents stationed in the central square of Erfurt in advance of an open-air Mass.

The thirty-year-old who fired the air gun was quickly apprehended, and nobody who attended the Mass was even aware there had been a brief security scare. Nonetheless, media outlets jumped on the story, largely because the Sept. 22-25 trip itself did not generate the sort of immediate political excitment that drives talk shows and news pages.

Benedict XVI warned Germans in advance not to expect a “spectacle” or “sensations” from his third homecoming but first official state visit, and the four-day swing seemed to deliver on those expectations.

For the most part, the pontiff steered clear of commentary that could have been given a political spin, such as reflections on Germany’s role in Europe, which is a matter of controversy these days given the continent’s fiscal crisis and perceptions of German unwillingness to bail out weaker economies, or the hot-button cultural issues that swirl around the Catholic church, such as abortion, gay rights, and the family.

Benedict did draw protestors, including an opposition demonstration in Berlin estimated at some 9,000 people, but for the most part his message didn’t give them much to work with.

Instead, Benedict focused on what German theologians call the Gottesfrage, or the “question of God.” His basic argument was that beneath the pressing issues of the moment lies a deeper question: Is there space for God, for a reality beyond self-interest and the human will to power, in the ultra-secular cultural milieu of the 21st century?

Only by replying “yes”, Benedict implied, will the other problems of the day become soluble.

Beyond that core point, there were three nuggets worth lifting up from the trip’s record…

They are:

Inter-religious relations

Ecumenism and Christian Geography

Small Christian Communities

Read more on these here.

 

Pope Visits Martin Luther’s Convent

And participates in an ecumenical ceremony in the Lutheran Augustinian Convent:

 

Pope: I Came to Germany to Speak About God

The Pope Visits German Homeland

The Telegraph reports:

In his first official engagement of a four-day visit to Germany Pope Benedict XVI was welcomed to the residence of German President Christian Wulff.

Benedict’s predecessor John Paul always met rapturous crowds in his Catholic Poland. The pope from Catholic Bavaria can expect less deference from the Protestants of old Prussia or the atheist generations raised in communist East Germany.

He plans an open-air Mass today in Berlin’s Olympic Stadium, which was built for the 1936 Games meant to glorify Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich, as well as meetings with Germany’s Jewish and Muslim minorities.

Benedict will end his German tour in the mostly Catholic south-western city of Freiburg.

The Papstbesuch 2011 website is here.

 

The Pope in Germany. In the Desert of Faith

In Berlin and Erfurt, Benedict XVI enters into the area of Europe farthest from God. He wants to make it a new mission territory. A report from Chemnitz, where atheists are in the majority and almost no one is baptized anymore.

 Chiesa:

“Where God is, there is the future”: this is the title that Benedict XVI wanted to give to his third visit to Germany, which begins tomorrow.

Pope Benedict has stated repeatedly that the “priority” of this pontificate is to bring men closer to God. But the case of Germany makes this urgency of his all the more compelling.

The former East Germany, together with Estonia and the Czech Republic, is the area of Europe where atheists are most numerous, and the non-baptized are in the majority.

In Berlin and in Erfurt, the city of Luther, pope Joseph Ratzinger will enter into precisely this perimeter of maximum estrangement from the faith, in Europe.

But also in Freiburg im Breisgau, the third stage of his voyage, the weakening of the Christian faith is a widespread phenomenon.

A book was recently released in Germany, published by GerthMedien, that analyzes the decline of Christianity in this country in very straightforward terms.

The title itself is eloquent: “Gesellschaft ohne Gott. Risiken und Nebenwirkungen der Entchristlichung Deutschlands [Society without God. Risks and side effects of the dechristianization of Germany].”…

Rest here.

Our prayers go with the Holy Father on his visit to Germany. May the light of the Gospel shine in the darkness.