Cardinal: Papal Events with Bush Don’t Signal Approval

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to the White House to meet with U.S. President George W. Bush does not signal Vatican support of the Bush administration’s foreign policies, a Vatican official said.

The April 15-16 encounters with the president at the White House should “absolutely not” be seen as support of Bush and his stance on Iraq, said Cardinal Renato Martino, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace and a longtime Vatican diplomat.

The cardinal spoke to reporters April 11 during a break in an international conference on disarmament sponsored by the Vatican council.

“The pope and the Holy See cannot renounce with one visit all the Holy See’s positions of rejecting war, always encouraging dialogue to smooth over disagreements and fostering cooperation,” he said.

He said the argument that U.S.-led troops have to remain in Iraq in order to bring security and protect the Christian minority is open to question.

“Obviously the main error was to start a war, a second war” after the Gulf War against Iraq in 1991, he said.

No Free-for-All: Papal Visits Follow Tight Framework

VATICAN CITY – When Pope Benedict XVI sits down with interreligious leaders in Washington April 17, the participants will follow a set program that leaves little room for surprises.

Likewise, the pope’s meeting the next day in New York with ecumenical representatives features prayers, talks and symbolic gestures, but not free-ranging dialogue.

Those who have followed papal trips for years know that this is how it’s always been. With rare exceptions, a pope’s events are highly structured – and there are good reasons for that, according to his aides.

“In the interreligious encounter, for example, it would be impossible to hold a wide-open discussion, which really requires an open-ended time frame,” said Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, papal spokesman.

What the pope brings to interfaith and ecumenical events are principles, directions and impetus, but not a detailed analysis or proposals.

“All these meetings are very important, particularly for the symbolic value and the messages that they send. But getting into the actual nitty-gritty of development of dialogue is not possible at encounters like this,” said Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

In U.S., Pope Will Carry Staff Of Blessed Pope Pius IX

VATICAN CITY – When Pope Benedict XVI processes to the altars where he will celebrate Mass in Washington and New York, he will be carrying the pastoral staff of Blessed Pope Pius IX.

Msgr. Guido Marini, master of papal liturgical ceremonies, told Catholic News Service that the 19th-century pastoral staff, topped with a cross instead of a crucifix, “is becoming the usual one for papal celebrations.”

On Palm Sunday, March 16, Pope Benedict started carrying the older staff, which was used by every pope from Blessed Pope Pius to Pope Paul VI.

“This is the typical staff used by the popes because it is a cross without a crucifix,” Msgr. Marini said.

It is taking the place of the staff with the rugged crucifix on top that was created by Italian artist Lello Scorzelli for Pope Paul in the mid-1960s.

The Vatican’s yearbook, “Activity of the Holy See,” includes a photograph of Pope Paul holding the Scorzelli staff on Easter, 1965.

At Ground Zero, Pope Will Pray for Victims and Peace

VATICAN CITY – In addition to praying at ground zero in New York for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and for their families, Pope Benedict XVI will pray for peace and understanding in the world.

On April 10, the Vatican posted on its website the missal Pope Benedict will use during his April 15-20 visit to Washington and New York; the missal includes the prayer he will recite at ground zero April 20.

Describing the site as “the scene of incredible violence and pain,” the prayer asks God to grant eternal light and peace to all who died there when terrorists flew two planes into the World Trade Center.

It also recalls those who died the same day at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, Pa.
According to the missal, the pope will pray: “God of peace, bring your peace to our violent world: peace in the hearts of all men and women and peace among the nations of the earth.”

The pope will ask God to “turn to your way of love those whose hearts and minds are consumed with hatred.”

Cardinal Says Universities Teach Church’s Tradition

PITTSBURGH – In America and the world today, many people perceive religion and intellectual life as adversaries, but a major task of a Catholic university is to counteract this view by revealing the depth and riches of the Catholic intellectual tradition, according to Cardinal Francis E. George of Chicago.

Cardinal George, who also is president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, made the comments in a recent address at Duquesne University on “The Importance of the Catholic Intellectual Tradition in the Life of a Catholic University, the Church and Society.”

Cardinal George said, “If anyone thinks (the subject of this lecture is) not ambitious enough, perhaps we could add its importance to the world and eternal life as well. It wouldn’t be hubris to do so, because the Catholic intellectual tradition is not only important but crucial at the deepest level in all these dimensions of human life.”

He was the inaugural speaker for the Richard T. and Marion A. Byrnes lecture series at Duquesne’s McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts.