FYI: Pope Benedict is scheduled to hold an historic meeting tomorrow with the secretary general of the Vietnamese Communist Party. The Holy See and the Vatican do not have diplomatic ties and relations between the two – and problems for the Catholic Church in that country - will surely be at the center of discussions. After the Philippines, Vietnam has the second largest number of Catholics in Asia.Sunday, the third day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Pope Benedict tweeted his first message in Latin: “Unitati christifidelium integre studentes quid iubet Dominus? Orare semper, iustitiam factitare, amare probitatem, humiles Secum ambulare. (English tweet: What does the Lord ask of us as we work for Christian unity? To pray constantly, do justice, love goodness, and walk humbly with Him). The Holy Father has nearly 1.5 million followers in English and 9,000 in Latin.
POPE PRESENTED WITH BABY LAMBS, BLESSED ON FEAST OF ST. AGNES
Monday morning, in keeping with the tradition for the January 21 feast of St. Agnes, two baby lambs, blessed earlier in the morning were presented to Pope Benedict. Baby lambs, traditionally less than one-year old, were carried to the Pope in decorated baskets by the Canons Regular of the Cathedral of St John Lateran.
The lambs were raised by sisters from the Roman convent of St. Lawrence in Panisperna and offered to the Pope by the canons. In summer, the lambs will move to the convent of St. Cecilia convent in Trastevere where their wool will be shorn and woven into palliums by the nuns. Every year, on the June 29th feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, Apostles, the palliums are bestowed by the Pope on new metropolitan archbishops as signs of their office.
The pallium is a white woolen circular band embroidered with six black crosses which is worn over the shoulders and has two hanging pieces, one in front and another in back. Worn by the Pope and by metropolitan archbishops, it symbolizes authority and expresses the special bond between the bishops and the Roman Pontiff. In a 1978 document, "Inter Eximina Episcopalis," Pope Paul VI restricted its use to the Pope and metropolitan archbishops. Six years later, Pope John Paul decreed that it would be conferred on the metropolitans by the Pope on the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul.
Usually in attendance at the January 21 ceremony in the Apostolic Palace are several nuns, two canons of the Chapter of St. John, the dean of the Roman Rota, and two officials from the Office of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff, and a number of other invited guests.
The baby lambs are normally tucked in wicker baskets, and both lambs and baskets are adorned with flowers. In 2004 Blessed Pope John Paul II blessed the lambs during a general audience in the Paul VI Hall as the audience and St. Agnes’ feast day both occurred on a Wednesday.
Agnes died about 305 and is buried in the basilica named for her on Rome's Via Nomentana.
Historical accounts vary about the birth, life and manner of death of Agnes but generally it is recounted that, in order to preserve her virginity, she was martyred at a very young age, probably 12. She is usually depicted with a lamb because the Latin word so similar to her name, “agnus,” means "lamb." The name "Agnes" is actually derived from the feminine Greek adjective hagnē meaning "chaste, pure." U.S. INITIATIVES ON GUN CONTROL, “A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION”
Vatican Radio posted in English the weekly editorial of Fr. Federico Lombardi, director of the Holy See Press Office, Vatican Radio and TV where he addressed the issue of gun control in the United States:
“The initiatives announced by the United States government in view of limiting and controlling the diffusion and use of arms are certainly a step in the right direction. It is estimated that Americans today possess about 300 million firearms. No one can be under the illusion that limiting their number and use would be enough to impede horrendous massacres in the future, such as the one in Newtown, which shook the conscience of Americans and of the world, of children and adults alike. But it would be much worse if we were to satisfy ourselves with only words. And if the massacres are carried out by people with mental illness or distorted by hate, there is no doubt that they are carried out with arms. Forty-seven religious leaders of various confessions and religions have issued a call to American politicians to limit firearms, which “are making society pay an unacceptable price in terms of massacres and senseless deaths.” I’m with them.
”But while American society is engaged in this debate of dutiful civil and moral growth, we cannot but widen our gaze to recall that arms, throughout the world, are also instruments for legitimate defense, but surely they are everywhere the main instruments used to bring threats, violence and death. Therefore, it is necessary to repeat tirelessly our calls for disarmament, to oppose the production, trade, and smuggling of arms of all types, fuelled by dishonourable interests for power or financial gain. If results are achieved, such as international conventions, the ban of landmines and other deadly arms, the reduction of the immense and disproportionate number of nuclear warheads…all the better!
“But weapons are and will always be too many. As the Pope said while travelling to Lebanon, we are all distraught by the massacres in Syria, but the weapons continue to arrive. Peace is born from the heart, but it will be easier to achieve if we have fewer weapons in hand.”
AMERICAN MONSIGNOR BECOMES CANON OF ST. PETER’S BASILICA
A friend of mine for the past decade, American Msgr. Francis Kelly, yesterday became the first American in almost 50 years to be named a Canon of St. Peter’s Basilica. For the past eight years, Msgr Kelly has been the director of the Casa Santa Maria, the downtown campus of the North American College. Affectionately called just “the Casa,” this 400-year old building near Trevi Fountain is home to American priests continuing their studies in Rome at nearby universities.
Msgr. Kelly, along with his new assignments, has new vestments, as you’ll see in this photo taken yesterday in the basilica’s Chapel of the Choir – also called Chapel of the Canons - during the ceremony (this photo courtesy of Christopher Brashears, NAC Head Photographer). He is being congratulated by Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of the Vatican basilica, who presided at the ceremony.
I took several photos during the ceremony but was impeded from perfect views by photographers and cameramen who were just doing their job but that meantt they had to be positioned in front ofome of us some of the time – like the important moments! The chapel was filled with guests and there was not reallty that much room to manoeuver. The decree is being read as Msgr. Kelly listens (far right: photo courtesy of Christopher Brashears).
Here are some shots of the chapel. On the left aisle of the basilica, it is closed to tourists).
Another friend of mine and Msgr. Kelly, Scottish Msgr. Charles Burns, became a Canon one year ago, the first ever UK citizen to assume this role. They are seated next to each other in the very center of this photo – not too easy to see). Msgr. Burns was the ecclesiaatical counselor to the British Embassy of the Holy See. Five American cardinals were present, Cardinals Levada, Stafford, Law, O’Brien and Harvey.
Msgr. Kelly and I will be talking soon about his new post and you’ll hear that conversation on Vatican Insider.
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