By the way, the Pope gave an amazing talk Friday in English to members of Interpol as they meet in Rome. It was lengthy and I offer ample excerpts from the talk but it is well worth reading.

Also Friday, the Vatican released the Holy Father’s liturgical schedule for November, December and January and he has quite a full calendar. More about that as the date warrants.

I’ll bring you an update and photos of the Blessed John Paul II Shrine in Washington on Monday so stay tuned!

JOIN SAN ANTONIO ARCHBISHOP GUSTAVO ON “VATICAN INSIDER”

Join me this weekend on “Vatican Insider” for part two of my conversation in Rome during the synod with Archbishop Gustavo Garcia Siller of San Antonio – though he asks everyone he meets to call him “Archbishop Gustavo.” As I mentioned in this space last week, he is a good friend – we first met when he was auxiliary in Chicago – and beloved bishop and pastor, as I saw in 2010 when he received the pallium in Rome and invited me to the archdiocesan pilgrimage dinner celebrating that event.

I also met his parents that night – an amazing couple, parents of 15 children, good dancers (the musicians played “their” song) and very much in love – and you’ll love hearing the archbishop talk about them!

As you know, you can listen to Vatican Insider on a Catholic radio station near you (a list of U.S. stations is at www.ewtn.com) or on Sirius satellite radio at channel 130. If you live outside the U.S. you can listen to EWTN radio on our web page: click on the right side where you see “LISTEN TO EWTN.” Vatican Insider airs Saturday mornings at 9:30 am (Eastern time) and re-airs Sundays at 4:30 pm (ET). To go to Vatican Insider archives: http://www.ewtn.com/vondemand/audio/file_index.asp?SeriesId=7096&pgnu=

POPE BENEDICT TO TWEET FROM VATICAN

Holy See Press Office Director, Fr. Federico Lombardi announced Thursday that Pope Benedict XVI will join the millions of people who use Twitter by the day, hour or minute to communicate with the rest of the world.

The Pope will be in good company, joining celebrities, world leaders, thousands of other Church leaders and ordinary citizens. No handle has yet been given but the Holy Father has used Twitter in the past, launching news.va on June 28, 2011 and tweeting daily during Lent 2012.

Fr. Lombardi said details about the Pope’s account and handle will come when the account is officially launched, probably on or before the year’s end. Benedict XVI will undoubtedly not tweet personally on a daily basis but will have help from personnel at the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.

It is well known that Pope Benedict, 85, prefers writing everything in longhand and, while he is marvelous at synthesizing thoughts, he might need help with the 140 character limit of Twitter.

On Tuesday June 28, 2011 Pope Benedict became the first pontiff in the history of the Church to send a tweet. And here is what he wrote in that first pontifical tweet: Dear friends, I have just launched http://www.news.va/. Praised be Our Lord Jesus Christ. With my prayers and blessing. Benedictus XVI.

Of course, Twitter and tweets are recent technology so Benedict’s predecessors could not have used this form of communication. However, the Pope did want to show the world – and young people especially – his interest in communications and especially in the digital age. A tweet, of course, is a very brief message – 140 characters – that people exchange via Twitter, one of the social network’s countless components.

At the June 28th vespers of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles and the vigil of the 60th anniversary of the Pope’s ordination to the priesthood, the Holy Father launched the new Holy See portal www.news.va

By accepting the request to inaugurate the new Vatican site, the Pope also agreed to extend his apostolic blessing via the Internet. Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, is credited with the idea of inviting the Pope to launch news.va

In announcing that June papal tweet, the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, quoted Archbishop Celli as saying, “The Pope accepted the invitation immediately and willingly. As you know, communications are very important for him and he wants the Church to be present where mankind lives and meets.” Referring to the February 1931 inauguration of Vaticn Radio, Archbishop Celli said, “Times and technology have changed, but the message has not.”

During Lent 2012, users were able to follow Pope Benedict XVI on Twitter to receive daily messages during Lent. Themes from his 2012 Lenten Message were posted daily, starting Ash Wednesday, February 22. His handle was "@Pope2YouVatican”

CRIMINAL VIOLENCE, A GRAVELY DESTABILIZING THREAT TO SOCIETY, A CHALLENGE TO STATES

Friday morning in the Paul VI Hall, Benedict XVI received participants in the 81st session of the general assembly of Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, currently underway in Rome. The meeting gathers delegates from police forces and political representatives from the 190 member States which, since 2008, have included Vatican City State.

The theme for the 2012 Interpol meeting focuses on international cooperation in the fight against crime, and the Pope highlighted the importance of strengthening collaboration and exchanging expertise "at a time when, at a global level, we see a widening of the sources of violence provoked by transnational entities which hinder the progress of humanity.”

Addressing his guests in English, the Holy Father said, "in our own day, the human family suffers numerous violations of justice and law, which in not a few instances is seen in outbursts of violence and of criminal acts. Thus, it is necessary to safeguard individuals and communities by a constant, renewed determination, and by adequate means.” He define Interpol as “a bastion of international security,” and said it “enjoys an important place in the realization of the common good, because a just society needs order and a respect for the rule of law to achieve a peaceful and tranquil coexistence in society."

"We are aware that violence today is taking on new forms. .. Although some forms of violence seem to have decreased, especially the number of military conflicts, there are others which are developing, such as criminal violence which is responsible each year for the majority of violent deaths in the world. Today, this phenomenon is so dangerous that it is a gravely destabilizing threat to society and, at times, poses a major challenge to the supremacy of the State.

The Pope said, “The Church and the Holy See encourage all those who help to combat the scourge of violence and crime, as our world resembles more and more a global village. The gravest forms of criminal activities can be seen in terrorism and organized crime. Terrorism, one of the most brutal forms of violence, sows hate, death and a desire for revenge. This phenomenon, with subversive strategies typical of some extremist organizations aimed at the destruction of property and at murder, has transformed itself into an obscure web of political complicity, with sophisticated technology, enormous financial resources and planning projects on a vast scale.

“For its part,” continued the pontiff, “organized crime proliferates in ordinary places and often acts and strikes in darkness, outside of any rules; it does its work through numerous illicit and immoral activities, such as human trafficking – a modern form of slavery – the smuggling of materials or substances such as drugs, arms, contraband goods, even the traffic of pharmaceuticals, used in large part by the poor, which kill instead of curing. This illicit market becomes even more deplorable when it involves trafficking the organs of innocent victims: they undergo physical and moral humiliation which we had hoped were over after the tragedies of the 20th century but which, unfortunately, have again surfaced through the violence generated by crime carried out by unscrupulous persons and organizations. These crimes transgress the moral barriers that were progressively built up by civilization and they reintroduce a form of barbarism that denies man and his dignity!”

Benedict XVI stated unequivocally that "violence in all its forms, whether crime or terrorism, is always unacceptable, because it profoundly wounds human dignity and is an offence against the whole of humanity. … The response to violence and crime cannot be delegated to the forces of law and order alone, but requires the participation of all those capable of confronting this phenomenon. To overcome violence is a task which must involve not only the institutions and organizations mentioned, but all of society: the family, educational institutions, including schools and religious bodies, the means of social communication, as well as each and every citizen.”

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