‘Love in Truth’ Will Be Theme of Next Encyclical

VATICAN CITY – With his first social encyclical still waiting in the wings, Pope Benedict XVI has been honing his argument that the practice of real-world charity is a litmus test of Christian faith.

To three very different audiences in November – diplomats, health care specialists and the Catholic faithful – the pope emphasized the indispensable connection between the Gospel and social justice.

At his general audience Nov. 19, he envisioned God as the judge whose “single criterion is love.”

“What he asks is only this: Did you visit me when I was sick? When I was in prison? Did you feed me when I was hungry, and did you clothe me when I was naked? And so, justice is decided by charity,” he said.

The pope began working on his third encyclical, tentatively titled “Love in Truth,” in 2007, and a draft has been circulating quietly for months among high-echelon consultants.

It was expected to be published sometime in 2008, but informed sources now say next year looks more likely.

Italian Rabbis Will Not Co-Sponsor 2009 Dialogue Day

ROME – Saying they were not satisfied with Vatican explanations concerning a Good Friday prayer for the Jews, members of the Italian Rabbinical Assembly said they would not co-sponsor the annual Day of Catholic-Jewish Dialogue in January.

The rabbinical assembly and the Italian bishops’ conference have together sponsored the Jan. 17 dialogue day since 1990.

Rabbi Giuseppe Laras, president of the assembly, announced Nov. 18 that the Jewish community would not participate in the 2009 event because, “according to our point of view, nothing satisfactory” has come out of discussions about Pope Benedict XVI’s new text for the Tridentine-rite Good Friday prayer for the Jews.

The rabbi said the pope’s text encourages Catholics to pray that Jews would recognize Christ as the savior.

In addition, he said, by praying they would be enlightened the prayer implies that the Jews are blind to the truth.

The first line of the prayer, published last February for use only at services following the 1962 Roman Missal, says: “Let us pray for the Jews. May the Lord our God enlighten their hearts so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ, the savior of all men.”

Maine Bishop: Same-Sex Marriage Not a Human Right

PORTLAND, Maine – Allowing same-sex couples to marry would strip marriage of its essential component – the creation of new life – and render it meaningless and “open it up to endless revision and redefinition,” Bishop Richard J. Malone of Portland said in a letter to Catholics in the statewide diocese.

The bishop defended traditional marriage, writing that he believes opposing its redefinition is a matter of faith, reason and a concern for the good of society.

“To claim that marriage is a civil right open to all forms of relationships is a misnomer,” he said in the mid-November letter drafted after several Christian ministers at a news conference days earlier called for the state to legalize same-sex marriage.

“Marriage is an institution that predates civilization, ordained by God, and exclusive to one man and one woman who are given the responsibility to procreate the human race and to nurture, educate and pass on shared values and mores to their offspring,” Bishop Malone wrote.

Ads on Public Buses Promote Religious Vocations

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Some future priests of the Diocese of Springfield might, on their ordination day, say they were inspired by a bus.

As part of its ongoing marketing initiatives, the diocese’s Office of Vocations has begun placing advertisements on the backs and sides of area buses.

“We hope that it will generate some interest” and get people talking about vocations, said Father Gary M. Dailey, vocations director.

“It is all part of the culture of vocations that we are trying to create throughout the Diocese of Springfield.

“So I thought buses would be fun and a good way to just try and get the message out,” he told The Catholic Observer, Springfield’s diocesan paper.

Both ads feature a priest’s Roman collar and a message.

The ads on the back of buses state “Come Follow Me.”

Those on the side read “If you’re waiting for a sign from God, this is it.”

Kenyan Cardinal: Church Will Resist Legal Abortion

NAIROBI, Kenya – The Catholic Church will resist any moves to legalize abortion in Kenya, said Cardinal John Njue of Nairobi.

Cardinal Njue, president of the Kenya Episcopal Conference, led hundreds of Catholics into the streets to demonstrate against the Reproductive Health and Rights Bill 2008, which would legalize abortion. He said the bill should be opposed at all costs.

Urging legislators to vote against the measure, he reminded them they were sent to parliament by voters to make good laws.

The cardinal, who celebrated Mass at Nairobi’s Holy Family Minor Basilica after the demonstration, described abortion as murder and said it showed disrespect for life and human dignity.

“We have come here not to condemn anybody, but (to condemn) the act itself. We hope the lawmakers we have sent to parliament will confine (themselves) to making good but not destructive laws such as this attempt to have abortion legalized in the country,” said the cardinal.