Hans Kung Praises, Criticizes Encyclical

I post this because I had read in several places that Hans Kung had praised the document without reservations and some "conservatives" were posting comments implying that the pope's orthodoxy was in question. However some news agencies as well as the commentors were not dealing with the whole truth...

From 'God is love' theme of pope's first encyclical - baltimoresun.com:

"Appreciation was not universal. The Catholic theologian Hans Kung, one of Pope Benedict's strongest critics, praised the encyclical's 'solid theological substance on the subjects of eros and agape, love and charity and not drawing false contradictions between them.'

But he told the Agence France-Presse news service that the pope had failed to mention the charity the church should show toward loving couples who use contraception, those who divorce and remarry, and Protestant and Anglican clerics."

Pope Benedict's First Encyclical

From Encyclical Letter "Deus Caritas Est":

By contemplating the pierced side of Christ (cf. 19:37), we can understand the starting-point of this Encyclical Letter: “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8). It is there that this truth can be contemplated. It is from there that our definition of love must begin. In this contemplation the Christian discovers the path along which his life and love must move.

The How to Book of the Rosary

This is what I'm currently working on in terms of new projects. If you have any great "rosary" stories from the saints, or tidbits please do comment as I would like to make sure that the finished book includes all the great trivia as well as solid facts about praying the rosary.

The last chapter of the book will be "How to hold the rosary in your coffin" in case anyone is dying to know what the contents of the book are.

English Language Reports on Vatican Copyright Inaccurate?

From Catholic World News:

Some English-language reports on the dispute in Italy have suggested-- inaccurately-- that the Vatican would forbid quotations from the encyclical, or charge fees to journals that reproduced passages from the work.

Vatican officials explain that their goal is not to limit access to the Pope's words, but to prevent "premature" publication of leaked documents, and to guard against exploitation of the Pope's name.

The dispute with La Stampa began when Libreria Editrice Vaticana sent a bill of 15,000 euros (about $18,400) to the publishers of a book entitled The Dictionary of Pope Ratzinger, which was advertised as coming from "the pen or the voice of Joseph Ratzinger." The journalist who compiled that book wrote the first article in La Stampa criticizing the Vatican policy.

A DAY OF PENANCE...

I didn't know that today was so marked until I read about it in the Missalette this morning.

From Corpus Christi Parish:

FOR VIOLATIONS TO THE DIGNITY OF THE HUMAN PERSON COMMITTED THROUGH ACTS OF ABORTION AND A DAY OF PRAYER FOR THE FULL RESTORATION OF THE LEGAL GUARANTEE OF THE RIGHT TO LIFE.

Holy Father's Talk to Seminarians

The Holy Father:

The Holy Father then highlighted how this requires, "together with human maturity and close adherence to revealed truth, which the Magisterium of the Church faithfully reflects, a serious commitment to personal sanctity and the exercise of virtue, especially humility and charity. It is also necessary to nurture communion with the various elements of the People of God, so that everyone may have a growing awareness of belonging to the one Body of Christ."

"That all this may happen, I invite you to keep your gaze fixed on Christ. ... The more you remain in communion with Him, the more able you will be faithfully to follow His footsteps so that, 'love which binds every thing together in perfect harmony,' brings your love for the Lord to maturity under the guidance of the Holy Spirit."

Encyclical Will Combine JPII Text with Benedict

Interesting that even in this first Encyclical are the works of both the new Pope and the previous one:

From Times Online:

Vatican sources said that tensions had been exacerbated because the Pope had written the first part of the encyclical in German during his summer break and the second part was an adaptation of a document left behind in Polish by the late John Paul II. It had been passed to Vatican specialists for further revision but remained unfinished at the time of John Paul’s death ten months ago. The two parts had had to be “harmonised”.

The Pope, responding to growing speculation about the delay, told pilgrims at his weekly audience yesterday that the release of the text, originally planned for early December, had been delayed until next Wednesday.