I’ll try every so often to bring you such stories in a column I’ll call “In Brief.” Some items will be for fun, other will be more serious, all of them will give a picture of the universal Church in action.

POPE BENEDICT’S ADVICE ON TALKING ABOUT GOD

"How do we speak about God in our times? How can we communicate the Gospel to open the way to its salvific truth?" Pope Benedict both asked and answered these questions in his catechesis at today's general audience in the Paul VI Hall.

“In our continuing catechesis for the Year of Faith,” he began, “we now consider the question of how we are to speak about God to our contemporaries, communicating the Christian faith as a response to the deepest longings of the human heart. This means bringing the God of Jesus Christ to the men and women of our time. It means bearing quiet and humble witness each day to the core of the Gospel message. This is the Good News of the God who is Love, who has drawn near to us in Jesus Christ even to the Cross, and who in the Resurrection brings us the hope and promise of eternal life.”

Benedict underscored that, “Jesus gave us an example: by his loving concern for people’s questions, struggles and needs, he led them to the Father. In the task of bringing God to our contemporaries, families play a privileged role, for in them the life of faith is lived daily in joy, dialogue, forgiveness and love. The God of Jesus Christ has revealed our grandeur as persons redeemed by love and called, in the Church, to renew the city of man, so that it can become the city of God.”

The Pope explained that for St. Paul, communicating the faith did not mean "showing himself, but rather saying openly and publicly what he had seen and heard in his encounter with Christ, and how much his life had been transformed by that encounter. … The Apostle was not satisfied with merely proclaiming the words, but committed his entire existence to the great work of faith. … To speak about God, we must make space for Him, confident that He acts upon our weakness. We must make space for Him without fear, with simplicity and joy, in the profound conviction that the more we place Him - and not ourselves - at the center of our lives, the more fruitful our communication will be.

At end of the general audience, the Pope made an appeal for World AIDS day, noting that this United Nations initiative, “intended to draw attention to a disease that has caused millions of deaths and tragic human suffering, will fall on December"1st. HIV/AIDS,” he said, “particularly affects the poorest regions of the world, where there is very limited access to effective medicines. My thoughts turn in particular to the large number of children who contract the virus from their mothers each year, despite the treatments that exist to prevent its transmission. I encourage the many initiatives that, within the scope of the ecclesial mission, have been taken in order to eradicate this scourge."

President John Galbraith and officers of the New York-based NGO Catholic Medical Missionary Board, told Pope Benedict at the Wednesday general audience of their initiative to distribute large quantities of medicines to ten projects in the poorest African nations through the Good Samaritan Foundation of the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for the Health Care Pastoral. In Rome to celebrate the centenary of its founding, the CMMB committed to guaranteeing an annual donation of $10 million to acquire medicines. Accompanied by Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, council president, the CMMB leaders said, “the meeting with the Pope is an encouragement to pursue serving the poorest.”

Present at today’s audience were 500 magistrates and administrative personnel of Italy’s Court of Auditors as it marks its 150th anniversary. Also at the papal audience was a group of 90 Catholic lay leaders from all dioceses in Korea, as well as 315 pilgrims from Nigeria who had come to Rome for the consistory in which Archbishop John Olorunfemi Onaiyekan of Abuja became a cardinal

IN BRIEF

A STAMP SALE AND BERNINI’S COLONNADE: The Vatican’s Philatelic and Numismatic Office has announced on its web page that it will offer an “extraordinary postal emission” at a cost of 20 Euro ($26) to help finance the multi-year project of restoring Bernini’s colonnade embracing St. Peter’s Square. The UFN site says; “The marble is being treated and cleaned to return to their original splendor not only the 284 columns, but also the 140 statues of the Saints above. With this extraordinary postal emission, the Philatelic Office wishes to offer its own contribution to the restoration project, also with the participation of collectors and all those who love art and culture. The philatelic certificate will be available in two different versions: one bearing "Officium Philatelicum et Nomismaticum and the other one to be personalized with the full name of the person participating in the restoration.” (http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/)

TAILOR-MADE FOR A CARDINAL: Before last weekend’s consistory, Italy’s La Stampa newspaper reported on the costs involved in outfitting a new member of the College of Cardinals. Figures are from Rome’s most renowned ecclesiastical tailor, Gammarelli. The red mozzetta worn by cardinals with their choral vestments costs about 200 Euro, but the price goes up if one chooses cord buttons – which are hand made and more sought after (they cost 20 Euro each) – instead of cloth buttons. The red cassock costs approximately 800 Euro, while the three-cornered hat (biretta) without a bow, which is typical for cardinals, can cost between 80 and 120 Euro. The red and golden cord for the pectoral cross costs around 80 Euro: the price varies according to how elegant it is and the size of the bow on the back. The red fascia worn with the red cassock and the black cassock with red piping, costs about 200 Euro. A black cassock with red piping costs approximately 600 Euro, while the cardinal’s red zucchetto is priced at around 40 Euro. Finally, the red socks cost about 15 Euro for a pair. Gammarelli8 says that, given that cardinals usually purchase two sets of each of these outfits, they can expect to spend around four to five thousand Euro to complete their wardrobe. The cardinal’s ring is a gift from the Pope.

WANTED: A SPONSOR FOR THE VATICAN’S NATIVITY SCENE: As a cost-saving measure this year, the Vatican’s traditional nativity scene erected near the obelisk in St. Peter’s Square has found a sponsor. Italy’s Basilicata region has come to the rescue for the governorate of Vatican City State which has been trying for the last several years to cut costs wherever possible. A note from officials in the region states they will offer local elements and a local “setting” for the birth of Jesus, situating the nativity between the town, churches and rocky hills of Matera and the wine barrels of Barile. The nativity scene “will be enriched by elements of classic iconography of the Lucan identity.” The Christmas tree that is erected yearly next to the nativity scene will come this year from Italy’s Molise region. (They have been building the nativity scene in St. Peter’s Square for several weeks now under a tentlike structure and behind walls of canvas. I could be mistaken but it looks like it will be smaller than those of past years: we’ll see on December 24 when it is unveiled. The main figurines in the scene - the Holy Family and the Magi that date from 1842 when St. Vincent Pallotti displayed them in a Rome parish – will return to the Vatican’s presepe.)

CHRISTMAS CAROLS A LA SWISS GUARDS: According to Romereports.com, Christmas is underway at the Vatican and, in anticipation of the holiday season, the men tasked with the Pope's security swap seriousness for merry music and cheer. They have recorded an album entitled “Christmas with the Pontifical Swiss Guard,” featuring harpist Daniela Lorenz, also a Swiss citizen. Guards interviewed by Rome Reports say their goal “is to have listeners experience Christmas as close to the Pope as they do.” The album has 18 Christmas songs, including Swiss, Latin American and Italian carols, giving the Vatican's Christmas an international touch. (http://www.swissguard.va/index.php?id=24&L=3)

IMAMS, PRIESTS PLAY CHARITY SOCCER MATCH IN BOSNIA: AP reported that, “a soccer match between Muslim imams and Catholic priests has helped raise funds for a new kindergarten in Bosnia. More than 4,000 people paid 1 euro ($1.30) to watch the game in the central town of Zenica on Wednesday night, cheering "Bosnia, Bosnia" and celebrating whoever scored. The Catholics won 5 -3. The match, organized by Bosnia's Inter-religious Committee, was played by priests of the Bosnian Franciscan order and Muslim imams, said Fr. Zdravko Andjic. His good friend, Imam Jakub Salkica, said both sides got along well, but joked that shouldn't raise suspicions about match fixing. Nearly two decades ago, more than 100,000 people died in this country in a war that involved Muslim Bosniaks, Christian Orthodox Serbs and Catholic Croats.”

SYNOD ON EVANGELIZATION: FINAL PROPOSITIONS 17, 18

Proposition 17 : PREAMBLES OF FAITH AND THEOLOGY OF CREDIBILITY In the contemporary context of a global Culture, many doubts and obstacles cause an extended skepticism and introduce new paradigms of thought and life. It is of paramount importance, for a New Evangelization, to underline the role of the Preambles of Faith. It is necessary not only to show that faith does not oppose reason, but also to highlight a number of truths and realities which pertain to a correct anthropology, that is enlightened by natural reason. Among them, is the value of the Natural Law, and the consequences it has for the whole human society. The notions of “Natural Law” and “human nature” are capable of rational demonstrations, both at the academic and popular levels. Such an intellectual development and enterprise will help the dialogue between Christian faithful and people of good will, opening a way to recognize the existence of a God the Creator and the message of Jesus Christ the Redeemer. The Synodal Fathers ask theologians to develop a new apologetics of Christian thought, that is a theology of credibility adequate for a New Evangelization. The Synod calls on theologians to accept and respond to the intellectual challenges of the New Evangelization by participating in the mission of the Church to proclaim to all the Gospel of Christ.

Proposition 18 : NEW EVANGELIZATION AND THE MEANS OF SOCIAL COMMUNICATION The use of means of social communication has an important role to play in order to reach every person with the message of salvation. In this field, especially in the world of electronic communications, it is necessary that convinced Christians be formed, prepared and made capable to transmit faithfully the content of the faith and of Christian morality. They should have the ability to use well the languages and the instruments of today that are available for communication in the global village. The most effective form of this communication of the faith remains the sharing of the testimony of life, without which none of the “media” efforts will result in an effective transmission of the Gospel. Education in the wise and constructive use of social media is an important means to be utilized in the New Evangelization.

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