THE POPE IN THE FINANCIAL TIMES: CHRISTMAS IS A TIME FOR CHRISTIANS TO ENGAGE WITH THE WORLD

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The "Financial Times" daily newspaper has today published an article by Benedict XVI entitled "A time for Christians to engage with the world". According to an introductory note from the Holy See Press Office, "The Pope's article for the Financial Times originates from a request from the editorial office of the Financial Times itself which, taking as a cue the recent publication of the Pope's book on Jesus' infancy, asked for his comments on the occasion of Christmas. Despite the unusual nature of the request, the Holy Father accepted willingly.

"It is perhaps appropriate to recall the Pope's willingness to respond to other unusual requests in the past, such as the interview given for the BBC, again at Christmas a few months after his visit to the United Kingdom, or the television interview for the programme 'A sua immagine' produced by the RAI, the Italian state broadcasting company, to mark the occasion of Good Friday. These too have been opportunities to speak about Jesus Christ and to bring his message to a wide forum at salient moments during the Christian liturgical year".

Below is the full text of the Pope's article:

A time for Christians to engage with the world
"'Render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God,' was the response of Jesus when asked about paying taxes. His questioners, of course, were laying a trap for him. They wanted to force Him to take sides in the highly-charged political debate about Roman rule in the land of Israel. Yet there was more at stake here: if Jesus really was the long-awaited Messiah, then surely He would oppose the Roman overlords. So the question was calculated to expose Him either as a threat to the regime, or a fraud.

"Jesus’ answer deftly moves the argument to a higher plane, gently cautioning against both the politicisation of religion and the deification of temporal power, along with the relentless pursuit of wealth. His audience needed to be reminded that the Messiah was not Caesar, and Caesar was not God. The kingdom that Jesus came to establish was of an altogether higher order. As He told Pontius Pilate, 'My kingship is not of this world.'

"The Christmas stories in the New Testament are intended to convey a similar message. Jesus was born during a “census of the whole world” taken by Caesar Augustus, the Emperor renowned for bringing the Pax Romana to all the lands under Roman rule. Yet this infant, born in an obscure and far-flung corner of the Empire, was to offer the world a far greater peace, truly universal in scope and transcending all limitations of space and time.

"Jesus is presented to us as King David’s heir, but the liberation He brought to His people was not about holding hostile armies at bay; it was about conquering sin and death forever.

"The birth of Christ challenges us to reassess our priorities, our values, our very way of life. While Christmas is undoubtedly a time of great joy, it is also an occasion for deep reflection, even an examination of conscience. At the end of a year that has meant economic hardship for many, what can we learn from the humility, the poverty, the simplicity of the crib scene?

"Christmas can be the time in which we learn to read the Gospel, to get to know Jesus not only as the Child in the manger, but as the one in Whom we recognize God made Man.

"It is in the Gospel that Christians find inspiration for their daily lives and their involvement in worldly affairs – be it in the Houses of Parliament or the Stock Exchange. Christians shouldn’t shun the world; they should engage with it. But their involvement in politics and economics should transcend every form of ideology.

"Christians fight poverty out of a recognition of the supreme dignity of every human being, created in God’s image and destined for eternal life. Christians work for more equitable sharing of the earth’s resources out of a belief that, as stewards of God’s creation, we have a duty to care for the weakest and most vulnerable. Christians oppose greed and exploitation out of a conviction that generosity and selfless love, as taught and lived by Jesus of Nazareth, are the way that leads to fullness of life. Christian belief in the transcendent destiny of every human being gives urgency to the task of promoting peace and justice for all.

"Because these goals are shared by so many, much fruitful cooperation is possible between Christians and others. Yet Christians render to Caesar only what belongs to Caesar, not what belongs to God. Christians have at times throughout history been unable to comply with demands made by Caesar. From the Emperor cult of ancient Rome to the totalitarian regimes of the last century, Caesar has tried to take the place of God. When Christians refuse to bow down before the false gods proposed today, it is not because of an antiquated world-view. Rather, it is because they are free from the constraints of ideology and inspired by such a noble vision of human destiny that they cannot collude with anything that undermines it.

"In Italy, many crib scenes feature the ruins of ancient Roman buildings in the background. This shows that the birth of the child Jesus marks the end of the old order, the pagan world, in which Caesar’s claims went virtually unchallenged. Now there is a new king, who relies not on the force of arms, but on the power of love. He brings hope to all those who, like himself, live on the margins of society. He brings hope to all who are vulnerable to the changing fortunes of a precarious world. From the manger, Christ calls us to live as citizens of his heavenly kingdom, a kingdom that all people of good will can help to build here on earth".

DECREES OF THE CONGREGATION FOR THE CAUSES OF SAINTS

Vatican City, Vatican City,  (VIS) - Today, during a private audience with Cardinal Angelo Amato S.D.B., prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, the Pope authorised the Congregation to promulgate the following decrees:

MIRACLES

- Blessed Antonio Primaldo e Compagni, killed in 1480 in Otranto, Italy.

- Blessed Laura Montoya, Colombian foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate and of St. Catherine of Siena (1874-1949).

- Blessed Maria Guadalupe Garcia Zavala, Mexican co-foundress of the Handmaids of St. Margaret Mary and of the Poor (1878-1963).

- Venerable Servant of God Antonio Franco, Italian bishop of Santa Lucia del Mela (1585-1626).

- Venerable Servant of God Jose Gabriele del Rosario Brochero,  Argentinian priest (1840-1914).

- Venerable Servant of God Cristobal of St. Catherine (ne: Cristobal Fernando Valladolid), Spanish priest and founder of the Congregation and the Hospital of Jesus of Nazareth in Cordoba (1638-1690).

- Venerable Servant of God Sofia Czeska-Maciejowska, Polish foundress of the Congregation of the Virgins of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1584-1650).

- Venerable Servant of God Margherita Lucia Szewczyk, Polish foundress of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sorrowful Mother of God - Seraphic Sisters (1584-1650).

MARTYRDOM

- Servant of God Miroslav Bulesic, Croatian priest, killed in hatred of the faith in 1947.

- Servant of God José Javier Gorosterratzu, Spanish, and five companions of the Congregation of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1938.

- Servants of God Fr. Riccardo Gil Barcelon and Antonio Arrue Peiro, Postulant, of the Congregation of the Small Work of Divine Providence, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Manuel de la Sagrada Familia, (ne Manuel Sanz Dominguez), Spanish professed monk and Reformer of the Order of San Girolamo, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Maria di Monserrat (nee Giuseppa Pilar Garcia y Solanas) and eight companions, Spanish professed nun, along with Lucrezia Garcia y Solanas, laywoman, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain in 1936.

- Servant of God Melchora de la Adoración Cortés Bueno, Spanish, and fourteen companions of the Congregation of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, killed in hatred of the faith in Spain between 1936 and 1937.

HEROIC VIRTUES

- Servant of God Paul VI, Giovanni Battista Montini, Italian, Supreme Pontiff (1897-1978).

- Servant of God Francesco Saverio Petagna, bishop of Castellamare di Stabia, founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts (1812-1878).

- Servant of God Juan José Santiago Bonal Cortada, Spanish founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of St. Anne (1769-1829).

- Servant of God Fr. Louis-Marie Baudouin, French priest, (1765-1835).

- Servant of God Marcelina de San José (nee Luisa Aveledo), foundress of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of St. Peter Claver, Venezualan (1874-1959).

- Servant of God Claudia Russo, Italian foundress of the Congregation of the Poor Sisters of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1889-1964).

- Servant of God Maria Francisca de las Llagas (nee Rosa Elena Cornejo), Ecuadorean  foundress of the Congregation of Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Immaculate (1874 -1964).

- Servant of God Clara Ludmilla Szczesna, Polish cofoundress of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (1863-1916).

- Servant of God Consuelo (nee Joaquina Maria Mercedes Barceló y Pagés), Spanish cofoundress of the Augustinian Sisters of Our Lady of Consolation (1857-1940).

AUDIENCES

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father today received in audience  Bishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family.

MARY'S FAITH IN THE LIGHT OF THE MYSTERY OF THE ANNUNCIATION

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The faith of Mary in the light of the mystery of the  Annunciation was the theme of Benedict XVI's catechesis during the last general audience of 2012, celebrated in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

In the annunciation the angel greets Mary with the words "Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you". "This greeting is an invitation to rejoice, and announces the end of the sadness of the world in relation to the limits of life, suffering ... the darkness of the evil that seems to obscure the light of divine goodness. It is a greeting that marks the beginning of the Gospel, the Good News", explained the Pope.

The reason for the invitation to rejoice offered to the Virgin is in the second part of the phrase: "The Lord is with you". In Mary "the anticipation of the definitive coming of God is made tangible; the living God dwells within her". The expression "full of grace" further clarifies the source of Mary's joy, which "arises from her communion with God, ... from being the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. ... Mary is the being who has, in a singular way, opened the door to the Creator, who has placed herself in His hands, without limits" and lives with "care to recognise the signs of God in the journey of His people; she enters into a story of faith and hope in God's promises, which constitute the very fabric of her existence. ... Like Abraham, Mary entrusts herself entirely to the word announced by God's messenger, and becomes the model and mother of all believers".

Benedict XVI underlined another important aspect: "the openness of the soul to God and to His action in faith also includes an element of obscurity. The human being's relationship with God does not eliminate the distance between the Creator and His creature. ... But he who, like Mary, opens himself completely to God, reaches acceptance of divine will, even though it is mysterious and often does not correspond to our own wishes. ... It is thus for Mary - her faith experiences the joy of the Annunciation, but passes also through the darkness of the crucifixion of the Son, before finally arriving at the light of the Resurrection".

"This is not different to the journey of faith each of us takes: we encounter moments of light but also periods in which God seems to be absent, his silence weighs heavily in our hearts and his will does not correspond to our own", commented the Holy Father. "The more we open ourselves to God ... like Abraham and like Maria, the more He renders us able, through His presence, to live every moment in life in the peace and certainty of His loyalty and His love. However, this means leaving behind ourselves and our own plans, so that the Word of God might be the guiding light for our thoughts and actions".

After losing Jesus in the Temple, Mary "must renew that profound faith with which she answered 'yes' to the Annunciation. ... And Mary's 'yes' to the will of God, to the obedience of faith, is repeated throughout her life up to its most difficult moment, that of the Cross".

"There is a fundamental attitude that Mary adopts in relation to the events of her life", explained the Pope. "We see that she 'treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart'. We might say that she ... arranged every single element, every word, every event as part of a greater whole and, comparing and conserving them, recognised that everything originates from God's will. Mary does not stop at an initial superficial comprehension of what is happening in her life, but rather knows how to observe in depth, allowing herself to be questioned by events, elaborating upon them, discriminating among them, and thus acquiring the comprehension that only faith may guarantee. It is the profound humility of Mary's obedient faith that welcomes also what she is not able to comprehend in the action of God, allowing God to open her mind and heart."

"The solemnity of the Birth of the Lord, which we will soon celebrate, invites us to experience the same humility and obedience of faith. The glory of God is not made manifest in the triumph or power of a king, it does not shine from a resplendent palace, but rather finds its dwelling in the womb of a virgin, and reveals itself in the poverty of a child. The omnipotence of God, also in our life, acts with the often silent strength of truth and love. Faith tells us, therefore, that in the end the defenceless power of the Child triumphs over the noise of worldly powers".

OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) - The Holy Father:

- Appointed Fr. Peter Loy Chong of the clergy of Suva as archbishop of Suva (area 18,333, population 1,297,683, Catholics 101,050, priests 81, religious 162), Fiji. The archbishop-elect was born in Natovi, Fiji in 1961 and ordained a priest in 1992. He has fulfilled  pastoral roles in the parishes of Lautoka, Vatukoula and Soleva, and received his doctorate in theology from the Jesuit School of Theology of the Santa Clara University in California, United States of America. He succeeds Archbishop Petero Mataca, whose resignation from the pastoral care of the same archdiocese the Holy Father accepted, upon having reached the age limit.

- Accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the Chaldean Church presented by His Beatitude Cardinal Emmanuel III Delly, patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, Iraq, and convoked the Synod of Bishops of the same Church in Rome on 28 January 2013 to elect a successor. The Synod will be presided by Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. The Holy Father appointed Archbishop Jacques Ishaq as administrator of the Chaldean Church pending the election of the patriarch.