The pope's global reach
By Phillip Blond International Herald Tribune
Thursday, April 17, 2008

When Pope Benedict XVI addresses the United Nations today, he will be the only truly global figure in the assembly. His church has a presence in every nation, yet it transcends them all and owes loyalty to none. His flock numbers more than a billion and grows by 28,000 every day.

Fifty years ago, nobody would have thought the papacy would wield influence like this today. Several factors have combined to make it so: the rise of radical Islam; the bankruptcy of secular Western values, and the return of religion as a global political force.

In this age of economic globalization and planetary climate change, nation-states are retreating to the 19th century politics of national self interest and competing spheres of influence. With nations unable to make common cause, the global stage is increasingly being left to three transnational actors: capitalism, Islam and Catholicism.

The influence of the Catholic Church as the world's largest Christian denomination is only increased by what its critics most dislike: its unity, universality and sense of mission.

Protestant Christianity is too private, fragmented and diverse to operate on a global stage. Orthodox Christianity has never transcended national interests. Islam has no governing center and so is liable to manipulation by its radical extremes, while both Hinduism and Judaism remain restricted by race and inheritance.

Perhaps only Buddhism has achieved a similar unity and universality, but it is indifferent to politics and social transformation - it becomes active only when its own religious practice is threatened.

With the failure of secular idealisms, a religion that can transform the social, political and spiritual life of the whole world becomes a global player. The organizational ability, worldwide structure and focus of Catholicism allows it to stand proxy for all Christians.

Moreover it is a constituency that, contrary to popular belief, is growing. In 1800, when there were fewer than a billion people on Earth, only 22.7 percent of the world's population was Christian; today, with a world population of over 6.6 billion, 33.3 percent are Christian.

What is more, growth rates for Christianity are static or falling only in Islamic nations and Western Europe. In the Americas, rates of church participation are high and relatively stable; churches lose members to each other, not to atheism.

The real story of the past century is the enormous rise of Christianity in Africa, Oceania and Asia. According to the Center for the Study of Global Christianity, church attendance in Africa rose from under 9 million in 1900 to more than 423 million today. The figures for Asia are equally startling, if there were about 20 million Asian Christians in 1900, today there are 355 million active members of a Christian church.

With the exception of eastern Europe where churches underwent a post-communist renaissance, the current increase in Christianity is almost wholly in the southern hemisphere. In 1900, the north accounted for 82.3 percent of all Christians. By 2025, 68 percent will be in the southern hemisphere.

These figures are not all good news for the Catholic Church. The increase in the southern hemisphere is largely in Pentecostal and charismatic Protestant denominations, and not in traditional churches.

China is a case in point. In 1949, when the Communist Party came to power, there where less than a million Protestants in China; today their number is close to 100 million, and by 2050, that number is expected to reach 218 million. At this level China would be the second most populous Christian nation on earth, but it would be 90 percent Protestant.

It is noteworthy that the conversion of Chinese - and of Africans - to Christianity really took off when colonial powers left and foreign missionaries were expelled. That enabled indigenous structures to develop, and Christianity spread rapidly.

The challenge for the Catholic Church, therefore, is to allow home-grown structures to develop while keeping them under the auspices of the universal church. The task is made all the harder by the dearth of candidates for the priesthood. Rethinking on celibacy is sorely needed.

Thus Pope Benedict's task is a familiar one - to blend the universal aspirations of Catholicism with local conditions and context. This requires courage, vision and transformation.

Benedict has also opened the first serious dialogue in centuries with Islam, the fastest growing world faith. With 1.3 billion adherents, Islam has overtaken Catholicism. The Vatican has contested the exclusion and persecution of Christians in Muslim countries.

The pope's controversial address at Regensburg was an important theological critique of Islamic nominalism, which denies God's immanent presence in the world. It stimulated academic Islam to begin to challenge fundamentalist interpretations.

Benedict is now expected to issue an encyclical on the social teaching of the church. This presents a unique opportunity: If the pope challenges both capitalism and state authoritarianism at the same time, he can open genuine social and political alternatives to the prevailing order.

Christianity last ruled when it was at its most ambitious - when the Church overthrew the Western warlords in the 10th century and qualified the logic of war with a universal European peace.

The opportunity today is different and potentially greater: the pope could be the bearer of a universal idealism that the people of the world no longer hear from their national leaders.

Vatican admonishes Couples for Christ over Gawad Kalinga
By CARMELA FONBUENA
Abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

The Vatican has chastised the Couples for Christ (CFC) group supportive of Gawad Kalinga founder Antonio Meloto for the "erroneous steps [it has] taken" when it decided to shift its focus from the spiritual to the social. The group was instructed to make a public apology.


Central to the concern of the Vatican was the direction taken by CFC-founded social action group Gawad Kalinga (GK). The Vatican disapproved of CFC’s "overemphasis on the social work" and GK’s openness to donations from groups that promote artificial family planning. These issues have caused the high-profile split of the CFC in July last year.


In a March 11 letter to CFC president Jose Tale, Stanislaw Rylko of Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Laity said that CFC should "counterbalance the overemphasis on social work...." As for donations from agencies that promote artificial family control, the letter said; "Your decision to stop receiving this type of funding will help recover the good standing of your association Couples for Christ."


The letter was a result of Tale’s March 3 visit to the Vatican, where he "admitted [that] some mistakes have been made and a certain scandal and confusion [was] caused among the faithful."

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»Split in Couples For Christ May Hurt GK Housing Projects:
"Since [the split] has caused public scandal, a certain public
reparation is also needed. We urge that you prepare and spread in the
newspapers in the Philippines and on your Web site a well thought and
clear public declaration recognizing the erroneous steps taken,"
Rylko added.

Build a nation

Four letters between two Vatican officials, Tale, and Bishop Gabriel
Reyes on the issue were obtained by abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak.
Although the letters did not explicitly identify GK, it is clear—GK
being CFC's social arm—that it was what the Vatican officials were
referring to.

"It is extremely important that your Philippine problem does not
extend to the other regions of the world," Rylko said. He recognized
that CFC is the "biggest ecclesial reality that was born in Asia and
then expanded internationally."

abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak was able to talk to Meloto on the phone.
But he said he has not read Rylko's letter. When told about the
contents, Meloto maintained that GK's mission is to "build a nation."

"We are working with different universities, different religious
groups, the Muslims, and the Opus Dei," he said. "We are here to
build a nation. The problem of poverty is best fought in the slums.
We are here to save our children from malnutrition. We will just
continue to work," he said.

Vatican sides with breakaway group

The controversy over CFC's focus on GK broke out in August last year
after CFC founder and a few hundred supporters left the group and
formed a new group that wrestled against the original group for the
CFC name.

Rylko's letter effectively puts the Vatican on the side of the CFC
breakaway group of Frank Padilla--the founder of CFC--which has long
been protesting against Meloto on how GK was being managed.

GK aims to benefit 700,000 Filipino families by building 7,000
communities in seven years, or by 2010. Founded in 2003, GK has
become popular worldwide and likened to the Grameen Bank of
Bangladesh, an initiative that earned Muhammad Yunus his Nobel Peace
Prize in 2006. GK head Antonio Meloto himself earned his Ramon
Magsaysay Award for leadership in 2006.

But Padilla's group frowned on precisely the two things that
displeased the Vatican. Padilla wanted to focus on evangelization.
Some GK leaders prefer to work even with people who don't strictly
adhere to Catholic teachings.

Family planning

Padilla's group also accused GK of not pushing for naturally planning—
as prescribed by the Catholic Church—supposedly because some of GK's
corporate partners favored population control and the use of
contraceptives.

Another Vatican official, Cardinal Alfonso Lopez Trujillo of the
Pontifical Council for the Family, pointed out in a November 2007
letter to Antipolo Bishop Gabriel Reyes that "accepting donations
from those who promote abortion and contraception will compromise the
Gospel of the Family and of Life, and will greatly harm our efforts
to strengthen and defend the family and life; hence, it should not be
done."

Trujillo made the statement in response to a letter by Reyes, asking
whether groups promoting family life may receive funds from
pharmaceutical companies or abortifacient pills. Reyes is the
chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines
Episcopal Commission on the Laity.

Reyes has sided with the breakaway group of Padilla. It was him,
along with Archbishop Angel Lagdameo and Bishop Socrates Villegas,
who tried to mend the differences between the two factions last year.
But to no avail.

It is not yet clear if the unity of the two CFC groups is possible.

Pope Benedict US visit

Benedict XVI Begins His Apostolic Trip to the U.S.A.

VATICAN CITY, 15 APR 2008 (VIS) - At midday today, the Holy Father departed from Rome's Fiumicino airport. Following a flight of more than 7,000 kilometres, his plane is due to land at 4 p.m. local time (10 p.m. in Rome) at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C. This is the Benedict XVI's eighth apostolic trip outside Italy and his first to the U.S.A. as Pope.

U.S. President George W. Bush and his wife Nancy will welcome the Pope as he descends from his aircraft. No speeches are scheduled for this first meeting and the welcome ceremony proper will take place tomorrow at 10.30 a.m. local time (4.30 p.m. in Rome) at the White House, official residence of the U.S. president.

After landing, Benedict XVI will travel by car to the apostolic nunciature in Washington D.C where he will spend the rest of the day.

Tomorrow, 16 April, is the Pope's 81st birthday, and Saturday 19 April, will mark the third anniversary of his election to the pontifical throne.


President Bush Pulling Out All Stops To Welcome the Pope

Washington DC, Apr 14, 2008 (CNA).- Pope Benedict’s visit to the White House on Wednesday will be only the second time a Pope has visited the home of the President of the United States, the Associated Press reports.

In an unprecedented move, President Bush will drive out to meet Pope Benedict’s plane after it lands at Andrews Air Force Base. The papal visit will bring an audience of 12,000 to the South Lawn of the White House, where the president will host an East Room dinner honoring the Pontiff.

Until this visit, the Associated Press reports, no president has given a visiting leader the honor of picking him up at the airport.

The White House arrival ceremony for the Pope will feature the anthems of the United States and the Holy See, a 21-gun salute, and the U.S. Army Drum and Fife Corps. Both men will deliver remarks before they meet in the Oval Office.

The expected welcoming ceremony crowd of 12,000 will be the largest ever at the White House, exceeding in number the 7,000 people who came to greet Queen Elizabeth II last spring.

Though the White House dinner will feature Bavarian-style food for the German-born pontiff, the Pope will miss the dinner and instead attend a prayer meeting with the United States Catholic bishops.

President George W. Bush, speaking in an interview with EWTN, explained the reasons for his novel airport tarmac greeting of the Pope.

"One, he speaks for millions,” the president said. “Two, he doesn't come as a politician; he comes as a man of faith; and Three, I so subscribe to his notion that there’s right and wrong in life, that moral relativism undermines the capacity to have hopeful and free societies. I want to honor his convictions, as well.”

The president also described himself as a “believer in the value of human life.”

Since President Dwight Eisenhower’s meeting in Rome with Pope John XXIII, every U.S. president has met with the Pope at least once. Pope Benedict’s visit will mark President Bush’s fifth meeting with a pontiff, a new record.

While Pope Benedict and President Bush share some common ground regarding abortion, homosexual marriage, and embryonic research, they have disagreed on the war in Iraq and the death penalty. Pope Benedict has also spoken against punitive immigration laws and the U.S. embargo against Cuba, while favoring social welfare programs in ways that differ from the positions of the American president.

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions For 2008

JANUARY 2008

General:

That the Church may strengthen her commitment to full visible unity in order to manifest ever more clearly her nature as a community of love in which is reflected the communion of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Mission:

That the Church in Africa, preparing to celebrate the second Special Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for Africa, may continue to be a sign and channel of reconciliation and justice in a continent still suffering from war, exploitation and poverty.

FEBRUARY 2008

General:

That the mentally handicapped may not be marginalized but respected and lovingly helped to live in a way worthy of their physical and social condition.

Mission:

That Institutes of Consecrated Life, so flourishing in mission countries, may rediscover the missionary dimension and, faithful to the radical choice of Gospel counsels, be generous in bearing witness to Christ and proclaiming Him to the ends of the earth.

MARCH 2008

General:

That the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation between individuals and peoples may be understood and that through her testimony the Church may spread Christ’s love, the source of new humanity.

Mission:

That Christians persecuted because of the Gospel in various parts of the world and in various manners may be sustained by the strength of the Holy Spirit and continue to bear witness courageously and openly to the Word of God.

APRIL 2008

General:

That even in difficult and complex situations of present-day society, Christians may never tire of proclaiming with their lives Christ’s resurrection, the source of hope and peace.

Mission:

That future priests in young Churches may be ever more seriously formed culturally and spiritually in order to evangelize their respective countries and the whole world.

MAY 2008

General:

That Christians may use literature, art and the media to greater advantage to favour a culture which defends and promotes the values of the human person

Mission:

That just as she accompanied the Apostles in the early stages of the Church, may the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of Evangelization and Queen of Apostles, continue to guide missionaries throughout the world with maternal affection.

JUNE 2008

General:

That Christians may cultivate a deep and personal friendship with Christ so they are able to communicate the strength of His love to those they encounter

Mission:

That the International Eucharistic Congress in Quebec, Canada, may lead to ever deeper understanding of the Eucharist, the heart of the Church and source of evangelization.

JULY 2008

General:

That there may be an increase in the number of those who volunteer to serve the Christian community with generous and prompt availability

Mission:

That World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia, may kindle the fire of divine love in numerous young people and render them sowers of hope for a new humanity

AUGUST 2008

General:

That the human family may learn to respect God’s plan for the world and become ever more aware that Creation is God’s great gift.

Mission:

That the answer of the entire people of God to the common calling to holiness and mission may be promoted and fostered by means of careful discernment of charisms and constant commitment to spiritual and cultural formation

SEPTEMBER 2008

General:

That those who are forced to leave home and country because of war or oppressive regimes may be supported by Christians in the defense and protection of their rights.

Mission:

That faithful to the sacrament of matrimony every Christian family may cultivate the values of love and communion in order to be a small evangelizing community, sensitive and open to the material and spiritual needs of others

OCTOBER 2008

General:

That the Synod of Bishops may help bishops and theologians as well as catechists and pastoral workers engaged in the service of the Word of God transmit with courage the truth of the faith in communion with the entire Church.

Mission:

That in this month dedicated to the missions, through the promotional activities of the Pontifical Missionary Works and other organisms, the Christian may feel the need to participate in the Church’s universal mission with prayer, sacrifice and concrete help.

NOVEMBER 2008

General:

That the testimony of love offered by the Saints, may fortify Christians in their service to God and neighbour, imitating Christ who came not to be served but to serve.

Mission:

That Christian communities in Asia, contemplating the face of Christ, may find the most suitable way to announce Him in full fidelity to the Gospel to the peoples of that vast continent so rich in culture and ancient forms of spirituality.

DECEMBER 2008

General:

That in the face of a spreading of a culture of violence and death the Church through her apostolic and missionary activity may promote with courage the culture of life.

Mission:

That especially in mission countries Christians may show with acts of fraternal love that the Child born in the stable at Bethlehem is the luminous Hope of the world.. ... From the Vatican

Frank & Gerry Padilla with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI

Br Frank and Sis Gerry are in Rome to attend the meeting of the Pontifical Council for the Family, and meet with Pope Benedict. Frank and Gerry Padilla present Frank's book, 40 Days with Mary, to His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, on April 5, 2008, at the Vatican.

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World Youth Day 2008

ABOUT WYD08

World Youth Day is the largest youth event in the world and will be held in Sydney from 15-20 July 2008.

Organised by the Catholic Church, World Youth Day gathers young people from around the world to build bridges of friendship and hope between continents, peoples and cultures.

In August 2005, Sydney was chosen to host the XXIII World Youth Day. The announcement was made by Pope Benedict XVI in Cologne at the conclusion of the XX World Youth Day in August 2005.

So began our incredible three year journey of planning, preparation and anticipation began for Sydney, Australia... and the youth of the world.

WYD08 will be the occasion of the first visit of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to Australia and we very much look forward to welcoming him to the "Southern Land of the Holy Spirit".

Through the WYD08 experience, young people from throughout the world will make a pilgrimage in faith, meet, and experience the love of God. The young people will have an opportunity to rediscover their baptismal calling and the centrality of the sacraments of the Eucharist and reconciliation, and so discover a new apostolic zeal to witness more fully the Gospel in the modern world. All in the context of the beauty of Australia and the hospitality of the Australian people!

Worthy Brief - 4/1/2008

CFC, get the real thing!

1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?

Perhaps you've seen pictures or have even visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem, what many believe to be the last standing Wall of the Second Temple. But people come from all over the world to pray there and put their prayer notes into the cracks between its stones. Believe it or not, I've actually come across a few websites which advertise their desire to receive your faxed prayer requests -- and for a low, low fee of 29.99, will take and put them into the cracks of the wall for you!

This is a very nice gesture and all ---- but who needs it? God is ALIVE! He hears us whenever and wherever we call!

When Solomon set out to build the first temple, the Lord told Him that He cannot be contained in a manmade structure. He is infinite and all-encompassing! He's not in a wall or any other man-made object! And amazingly, infinite as He is, He promises to draw near to us as we draw near to Him!

God wants to have a deep and intimate relationship with us. He wants us to experience the life-changing power of His healing and deliverance in our lives.

CFC, let's not get distracted by the man-made ways people try to connect with God – let's cry out for intimacy with Him right here and right now. And let's also not forget pray for revelation for all who seek Him – that they would see the truth of the Messiah, Jesus.

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Currently in Phoenix, AZ
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