"The Holy Family is certainly unique and unrepeatable, but at the same time it is a model for every family, because Jesus, true man, chose to be born in a human family, and in so doing, "He has blessed and consecrated that institution."
These were some of the words of Pope Benedict XVI during the Angelus prayer with the faithful in St Peter's Square on Holy Family Sunday.
Pope Benedict stressed that the birth of a child "is not just a reproductive act, " saying that child does not need a great deal of "external comforts, " but rather "the love of a father and a mother," and " the warmth of a family."
"That," said Pope Benedict, is what gives children real security," said the Holy Father.
After the pope first mentions that the use of condoms could be justified in certain limited cases, such as by prostitutes, Seewald asks: "Are you saying, then, that the Catholic Church is actually not opposed in principle to the use of condoms?"Anyone who knows anything about moral theology knows that things get murky quickly. Although there are objective standards of right and wrong, a person's intention can mitigate some of the culpability of an otherwise sinful action. But can we expect our press to actually deliver accurately on such nuance and fine distinction?
The pope answers: "She of course does not regard it as a real or moral solution, but, in this or that case, there can be nonetheless, in the intention of reducing the risk of infection, a first step in a movement toward a different way, a more humane way, of living sexuality."
.- As the Pope was preparing to leave for Malta Saturday afternoon, an outline of his schedule for the coming five months was released by the Vatican. Peppered among the four trips the Holy Father is scheduled to make by the end of September are a number of other events in Rome and the surrounding area.
The month of May will see the Holy Father in Turin to meet with the faithful and to venerate the Shroud (May 2) which is on temporary exposition. A pastoral visit will be made to Portugal from May 11-14, during which time he will be in Lisbon, Oporto and Fatima. Planned festivities include celebrations to mark the 10th anniversary of the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco Marto. Later in the month, on May 23, he will preside over Mass at St. Peter's Basilica on Pentecost Sunday.
In June, in addition to his trip to Cyprus (June 4-6) to present the Instrumentum Laboris for the October's Special Synod for the Middle East, the Pope will preside over six other celebrations, according to the official agenda. Among the most notable of these are a prayer vigil and Mass with priests taking part in the International Theological Convention for the conclusion of the Year for Priests (June 9-11) and a Mass for priestly and deaconate ordinations for the Diocese of Rome (June 20).
July and August have only one announced event each. On Sunday, July 4 the Holy Father will make a Pastoral Visit to Sulmona, Italy, in the Abruzzo region, to celebrate the 800th year since the birth of Pope St. Peter Celestine V. The local parish of St. Thomas of Villanova will host Pope Benedict on August 15, where he will preside over Mass.
During the month of September, he is planning one local and one international visit. On Sept. 5, Benedict XVI will go to Carpineto Romano, about 60 miles southeast of Rome, in observation of the 200th year since the birth of Pope Leo XIII. Later, from the 16-19 of the same month, he will travel to Great Britain to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman, spending time in England and Scotland, where he will meet with Queen Elizabeth II.
That's right, just when you thought the Catholic blogosphere's snarkiest awards contest would never end -- it ends tonight.
If it's good enough for the Pope it's good enough for me!Weideneder Brau Vertriebs GmbH, a family-owned brewery in nearby Tann, Germany, has created a special brew called Pabst Bier/Pope Beer. The label reads, "Dedicated to the Great Son of our Homeland, Pope Benedict XVI."
"We consider it to be our obligation to appreciate the election of a Bavarian Pope in a Bavarian way," says brewery Weideneder Bräu, which is local to where young Joe Ratzinger grew up. "The Pope’s Beer is a festival beer of highest quality containing only exquisite raw materials, presenting a mild character and a light colour, brewed strictly in accordance with the German beer purity law." h/t Ship of Fools
What's gold and white and red all over? The pope coming down the stairs. No, not funny, but dig those crazy red shoes![Wikipedia] The Papal shoes are the red leather outdoor shoes worn by the Pope. They should not be confused with the indoor papal slippers or the Episcopal sandals, which are the liturgical footwear proper to all Latin Rite bishops.
As did many noblemen, the Pope wore slippers (pantofole) inside his residences and leather shoes outside. The indoor papal slippers were made of red velvet or silk and were heavily decorated in gold braid, with a gold cross in the middle.
Before 1969, the Pope, like all bishops and prelates, wore Episcopal sandals during the Mass. The color of the Episcopal sandals varied to match the liturgical color of the Mass.
The Papal outdoor shoes were made of plain red Morocco leather and had a wide cross in gold braid. The cross once extended across the shoe and down to the sole. In the eighteenth century the ends of the cross were shortened, as shown in the photo of Pius VII's shoes. This old-fashioned type of dress shoe is very thin-soled and is sometimes called "pantofola liscia" or smooth slipper model.
After 1958, Pope John XXIII added gold buckles to the outdoor papal shoes, making them similar to the red shoes worn by cardinals outside of Rome.
Pope Paul VI eliminated the gold cross and completely discontinued the custom of kissing the papal foot. Paul VI can be seen wearing red buckled shoes in photographs from his 1964 trip to Jerusalem. In 1969, Paul VI abolished buckles from all ecclesiastical shoes, which had been customarily required at the Papal Court and for prelates. He also discontinued the use of the indoor velvet papal slippers and the Paschal mozzetta and shoes. Paul VI wore plain red leather shoes throughout the rest of his pontificate. Pope John Paul I, who was pope for only 33 days, continued wearing the plain red leather shoes worn by Paul VI. Early in his pontificate Pope John Paul II wore red shoes; however he quickly adopted wearing ordinary brown shoes. Paul VI, John Paul I, and John Paul II were buried in the red leather papal shoes.
Pope Benedict XVI restored the use of the red papal shoes, which are provided by his personal cobbler in Rome.[1]. In 2008, Pope Benedict XVI also restored the use of the white damask silk Paschal mozzetta, which was previously worn with white silk slippers.
The papal shoes, along with the camauro, papal mozzetta, and cloak (tabarro), are the only remnants of the former red color of the papal garments. St. Pope Pius V (1566 - 1572), who was a Dominican, changed the papal color to white, and it has remained so since.
..some philosophers have abandoned the search for truth in itself and made their sole aim the attainment of a subjective certainty or a pragmatic sense of utility. This in turn has obscured the true dignity of reason, which is no longer equipped to know the truth and to seek the absolute.
-Fides et Ratio
