Takk pave Benedikt!
Fra LifeTeen.com.
februar 2013
Msgr. Wadsworth: En svært liturgisk pave
På denne adressen hos RadioVaticano sier msgr. Wadsworth interessante ting om hva pave Benedikt har gjort for Kirkens liturgi, bl.a.:
“When the Holy Father spoke to his own clergy, the priest of the diocese of Rome for the last time, he said two very significant things about the Liturgy: Firstly he said that the Second Vatican Council was very right to treat of the Liturgy first, because it thereby showed that God has primacy. And in the Liturgy the most important consideration is adoration. He linked this to the fact that he has desired that in the celebration of our Mass there should be a Crucifix on the altar. So that the priest looks at the Cross and remembers that it’s the sacrifice of Calvary that’s being represented in the celebration of the Mass and that the people should look at the Cross rather than at the priest”.
“The Motu Propiro really is a very important moment in which the Holy Father puts two forms of the Roman Rite which potentially have been at loggerheads which each other since the Second Vatican Council in a creative dynamic relationship with each other. The Holy Father really is reminding us that the light of tradition should fall on all of our liturgical experience”.
“In relation to the New English Translation of the Missal…it was the Holy Father who judged on the whole question of pro multis for many, chalice rather than cup, those are his particular judgements and his prerogative as the Pope. He showed a great interest in the process as it was unfolding … over ten years in the making”.
“I think we will be unpacking the significance of his impact on the liturgy for many years to come”, says Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, executive director of the Secretariat for the International Commission on English in the Liturgy.
På Vatikanradioens nettside kan man høre msgr. Wadsworth fortelle dette (en del grundigere) med egne ord.
Mer om gifte katolske prester
Avisa Dagen la sent i går kveld ut et intervju med vår egen biskop Eidsvig i forbindelse med paveskiftet. Man kan se og høre et intervju med ham her. Fra intervjuet trakk Dagen ganske tydelig ut det biskopen sa om sølibatskravet for prestene:
… I samtale med Dagen om hvilke egenskaper han håper den nye paven skal inneha, løfter han frem at han håper den nye paven skal ha en villighet til å diskutere sølibatskravet som påhviler ordinerte prester i Den katolske kirke.
– I den vestlige verden er det en prestemangel, både i Europa og tildels også Nord-Amerika. Det er på tide å ta opp endel prinsipielle spørsmål, det håper jeg den kommende paven er i stand til, sier Edsvig til Dagen.
Han understreker at den nåværende paven trolig ikke fant disse diskusjonene tjenlig, men mener at grensen for hva som er tjenlig å debattere vil flytte seg med en ny pave.
– Jeg kunne tenke meg at gifte prester, såkalte viri probati, folk som har et stabilt ekteskap god utdannelse, de har sin menighets respekt, at muligheten for at de kan bli prester blir diskutert. Jeg skal ikke ta et utfall for gitt, men tror diskusjonen kan være nyttig prinsipielt. …
Som eneste gifte katolske prest i Norge, finner jeg det ganske interessant. Men bortsett fra kirkene med østlig ritus, er alle de hundrevis (men ikke over 1000 til sammen) av gifte prester blitt ordinert etter at det er gitt dispensasjon fra paven selv, og jeg ser vel knapt for meg at dette nokså lille nåløyet kan åpnes opp så veldig mye.
Pave Benedikts siste onsdagsaudiens
Katolsk.no har oversatt til norsk pave Benedikts hilsen ved denne siste onsdagsaudiensen. Her er bare et lite utdrag:
Da jeg den 19. april for nesten åtte år siden samtykket i å påta meg det petrinske embete, hadde jeg denne faste forvissningen som alltid har ledsaget meg: forvissningen om at Kirken lever av Guds Ord. Som jeg har nevnt ved flere tidligere anledninger, var ordene som lød i mitt hjerte i det øyeblikket: «Herre, hvorfor ber Du meg om dette, og hva er det Du ber meg om? Det er en stor byrde Du legger på mine skuldre, men hvis Du ber meg, vil jeg på ditt ord sette garn – i vissheten om at du vil veilede meg også med alle mine svakheter.» …
… De siste månedene har jeg følt at mine krefter er blitt svekket, og jeg spurte Gud innstendig i bønn om å opplyse meg med sitt lys slik at jeg kunne gjøre det rette valget – ikke til beste for meg, men for Kirken. Jeg tok dette skrittet i full bevissthet om hvor alvorlig og også uvanlig det er, men med dyp fred i sinnet. Å elske Kirken betyr også å ha mot til å gjøre vanskelige og tunge valg, alltid med blikket festet på Kirkens beste og ikke på seg selv.
La meg her nok en gang vende tilbake til 19. april 2005. Avgjørelsens alvor handlet nettopp også om at jeg fra det øyeblikket alltid og for alltid var engasjert av Herren. Alltid: Den som påtar seg det petrinske embete, har ikke lenger noe privatliv. Han tilhører alltid og fullstendig alle, hele Kirken. Den private svære fjernes så å si fra hans liv. Jeg har opplevd, og opplever det i dette øyeblikk, at man mottar livet nettopp når man gir det. ….
Dåp i Ski gamle kirke
En familie i vår menighet som bor i Langhus/Ski ønsket å døpe sitt barn i Ski gamle kirke, så jeg besøkte denne kirken for først gang i mitt liv.
Om kirken – som er fra ca 1150 – kan vi lese:
Ski kirke besto opprinnelig av to deler: skip og kor. Den er bygd i en såkalt senromansk stil med massive murer, runde buer og rett avslutning på koret. Skipet har en rektangulær form og er 12,5 m langt og 7,6 m bredt. Koret er 6,5 m langt og 4,2 m bredt (innvendige mål). Murene er rundt halvannen meter tykke. Opprinnelig hadde Ski kirke bare to små vinduer på sydveggen, et i koret og et i skipet. Koret hadde egen inngang på sydveggen. Det var to innganger til skipet, en på sydveggen og en på vestveggen.
I middelalderen hadde kirken bare noen få benker langs veggene. De fleste i menigheten sto under hele gudstjenesten. Mennene stod på sydsiden og kvinnene på nordsiden i skipet.
Det fantes ikke annet lys i skipet enn det som slapp inn gjennom det lille vinduet høyt oppe på sydveggen. Koret var derimot opplyst av en rekke vokslys. Korbuen var langt trangere i middelalderen enn i vår tid. Menigheten så derfor bare noe av det som skjedde der framme.
Av gjenstander fra middelalderen, er det bare døpefonten som er bevart. Den er lagd i kleberstein og er trolig like gammel som kirken. Opprinnelig sto døpefonten ved vestre inngang. Her kunne udøpte bli døpt før de kom helt inn i kirken.
Les mer om kirken her. Bilde av den gamle døpefonten under.
Generasjon Benedikt
Jeg kom i dag over en blogg laget av unge katolikker – Generasjon Benedikt – som skriver slik om hvordan vår siste pave har påvirket dem:
Pope Benedict has been responsible for the conversion, reversion, vocation and the deepening of faith of many young Catholics. At the time of his visit to the UK, many Catholics were luke-warm, even living their lives completely at odds to the Church. During this visit, and also World Youth Days in Sydney and Madrid, he has connected with them through his eloquence, his love and genuine concern. Who is God calling you to be?
Pope Benedict will be truly missed by our generation. Those who have met him look upon him fondly as a gentle grandfatherly figure, as he has pointed us towards Christ, at a point in time when many of us were at a crossroads, telling us not to settle for second best, but to strive for sainthood.
Over the next 40 days of Lent, 40 young people from Generation Benedict will each be sharing how he has touched their hearts and changed their lives.
Om gifte katolske prester
Jeg leste nettopp følgende om gifte katolske prester (av Damian Thompson, hos Daily Telegraph):
Recently, I was at a dinner party attended by a distinguished monsignor. The elegant red-haired lady sitting next to me introduced herself. “I’m Gill,” she said. “The monsignor’s wife.”
Gill Newton, a schoolteacher, is married to Mgr Keith Newton, who holds the title of protonotary apostolic – the highest rank of monsignor in the Roman Catholic Church. As head of the Ordinariate, the structure set up by Pope Benedict for ex-Anglicans, he is almost a bishop: he wears a mitre and conducts confirmations. He and Gill have three grown-up children.
The Catholic Church in England has been ordaining married ex-Anglican clergy in significant numbers since 1992, when the C of E voted for women priests. It’s no longer much of a novelty for a parish to have a married man in charge, though he can’t technically hold the title of parish priest. There are well over 100 Catholic priests’ wives in England – and, on the whole, folk in the pews are happy. …
Resten av stykket er litt mindre på sin plass, etter min mening – for 1) det var den skotske kardinalen O’Brien som nylig foreslo at sølibatskravet kanskje burde modereres kraftig, rett før han ble presset til å gå av 2) og Damian Thompson argumenterer litt for sterkt mot den ærverdige sølibatstradisjonen.
Men det er interessant for meg – i Norge er jeg på 14. året fortsatt den eneste gifte presten, og fortsatt er min posisjon ganske uklar rent praktisk – å se hvordan de har ordnet rent dette praktisk i England
10 år gammelt intervju med kardinal Ratzinger
Innledningen (ca 3 min) her er nytt, men dette interessante intervjuet (på over 40 min) ble laget at EWTN ca 10 år siden,
Festen for apostelen Peters stol – In Cathedra S. Petri Apostoli
I den tradisjonelle liturgiske kalenderen er dette en fest med utvidede lesninger til Matutin. Her er dagens lesninger:
1., 2. og 3. lesning:
1 Peter, Jesu Kristi apostel, hilser de utvalgte som lever i fremmed land, spredt omkring i Pontos, Galatia, Kappadokia, Asia og Bitynia, 2 de som er utvalgt slik Gud Fader forut hadde bestemt, og ved Ånden innviet til lydighet og til å bli renset ved Jesu Kristi blod. Måtte dere få nåde og fred i rikt mål! 3 Lovet være Gud, vår Herre Jesu Kristi Far, han som i sin rike miskunn har født oss på ny og gitt oss et levende håp ved Jesu Kristi oppstandelse fra de døde! 4 Vi skal få en arv som aldri forgår og ikke flekkes til eller visner. Den er gjemt i himmelen for dere 5 som gjennom Guds kraft blir bevart ved troen, så dere skal nå fram til frelsen; den ligger alt ferdig til å åpenbares ved tidens ende.
6 Derfor kan dere juble av glede, selv om dere nå en kort tid må ha det vondt i mange slags prøvelser, om så skal være. 7 Slik blir troen deres prøvet. Selv forgjengelig gull blir prøvet i ild; troen, som er mye mer verd, må også prøves, så den kan bli til pris og herlighet og ære for dere når Jesus Kristus åpenbarer seg. 8 Ham elsker dere, enda dere ikke har sett ham; ham tror dere på, enda dere nå ikke ser ham. Og dere jubler og er fylt av en glede så herlig at den ikke kan rommes i ord; 9 for dere når troens mål: frelse for sjelene.
10 Denne frelse var det profetene grunnet på og utforsket, da de profeterte om den nåde dere skulle få. 11 De prøvde å finne ut hvilken tid Kristi Ånd, som var i dem, siktet til, og hvordan den tiden ville bli. Ånden vitnet om hvordan Kristus skulle lide og deretter opphøyes i herlighet. 12 Det ble da åpenbart for dem at det ikke var seg selv de tjente med sitt budskap, men dere. Dette budskapet har dere nå fått høre av dem som forkynte evangeliet for dere ved Den Hellige Ånd, som er sendt fra himmelen. Dette er ting som selv engler gjerne vil se inn i.
4., 5. og 6. lesning
From the Sermons of St Augustin, Bishop of Hippo. 16th on the Saints.
The solemn Feast of today received from our forefathers the name of that of St Peter’s Chair at Antioch, because there is a tradition that it was on this day that Peter, first of the Apostles, was enthroned in a Bishop’s Chair. Rightly, therefore, do the Churches observe the first day of that Chair, the right to which the Apostle received for the salvation of the Churches from the Lord of the Churches Himself, with the words Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church.
It was the Lord Himself Who called Peter the foundation of the Church, and therefore it is right that the Church should reverence this foundation whereon her mighty structure riseth. Justly is it written in the Psalm which we have just heard Let them exalt him in the congregation of the people, and praise him in the assembly of the elders. Blessed be God, Who hath commanded that the Blessed Apostle Peter should be exalted in the congregation! Worthy to be honoured by the Church is that foundation from which her goodly towers rise, pointing to heaven!
In the honour which is this day paid to the inauguration of the first Bishop’s throne, an honour is paid to the office of all Bishops. The Churches testify one to another, that, the greater the Church’s dignity, the greater the reverence due to her priests. While I confess how rightly godly custom hath exalted this Feast in the estimation of all the Churches, the more do I wonder at the growth of that unhealthy error which at this day causeth some unbelievers to lay food and wine upon the graves of the dead, as if souls once rid of the body had any longer any need of bodily refreshment.
7., 8. og 9 lesning:
From the Holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:13-19
At that time Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, and He asked His disciples, saying Who do men say that I, the Son of Man am? And so on …Homily by Pope St Leo the Great. 3rd on the Anniversary of his own election.
The Lord asked His disciples Who men said that He was, and their answers were human as long as they were the answers of human reason, unilluminated by Divine light. At last, when the glimmerings of earthly conjecture were spoken, he whose Apostleship is the first in dignity, was the first to confess his Lord. And Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father Which is in heaven. That is to say, For this cause art thou blessed, because My Father Himself hath taught thee; the opinions of men have not beguiled thee, the voices of angels have not taught thee, not flesh and blood, but He, Whose Only begotten Son I am, hath revealed Me unto thee.
Thus saith the Lord unto Simon Peter: And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter. That is to say, Even as My Father hath revealed unto thee concerning Me that I am God, even so now will I also reveal unto thee that thou art Peter; I am the sure Rock of defence, the Corner Stone, Who make both one, (Eph. ii. 20, 15,) I am the Foundation, beside Which other can no man lay, 1 Cor. iii. 11, and thou also art a rock, in My Strength made hard, and those things whereof I by right am Lord, into thy hand do I give them, that thou mayst bear rule over them, for Me, and with Me. And upon this rock I will build My Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Upon this strength of thine, whereof I am the Strength, I will build My eternal temple, and upon the truth of thy confession of Me I will make to rise that My glorious Church whose spires shall pierce to heaven.
Against this confession the gates of hell shall never prevail, neither shall the bands of death take hold upon it. Thus saith He That is faithful and true. And as this confession hath power to lift up to heaven them that make it, so is it able to thrust down to hell them that gainsay it. Wherefore it is said unto the most blessed Peter And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. This power passed indeed to the other Apostles also; this the Lord’s will had effect in them; but it is not in vain that it is written that that was given to one which passed from him to all. To Peter alone were the keys given, and Peter is set as the pattern for all them that bear rule in the Church to follow. There remaineth therefore the right of Peter, wheresoever his judgment decreeth justice. Neither is there anything too hard, or too lax, where there is nothing bound and nothing loosed, save when Peter bindeth or looseth.
En mild liturgisk reformator
Dom Alcuin Reid skriver om pave Benedikts arbeid for å reformere/ forbedre liturgien, og begynner med et sitat fra Ratzinger selv:
… The inexhaustible reality of the Catholic liturgy has accompanied me though all phases of life, and so I shall have to speak of it time and time again.”
Benedict XVI was thus formed by the classical liturgical movement. This, and his conviction that some things went very wrong with the movement after the Council – in 2004 he wrote: “Anyone like myself, who was moved by this perception in the time of the liturgical movement on the eve of the Second Vatican Council, can only stand, deeply sorrowing, before the ruins of the very things they were concerned for” – is key to understanding what has become known since his 2005 election as “the liturgical reform of Benedict XVI”.
Why the liturgy? Because Pope Benedict knows that “the Church stands [or] falls with the liturgy” and that “the true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the centre of any renewal of the Church whatever”. His profound concern is that the Church worships Almighty God correctly, and thereby be fully connected to the indispensible source which sustains and empowers Christian life, witness and mission. If the liturgy is impoverished or off-track our ability to live the Catholic faith and to evangelise suffers. This conviction motivated his writing on the liturgy as cardinal – a body of work which will form students for generations. It also explains the liturgical reforms of his pontificate.
Om den tradisjonelle messen skriver han:
There was much noise before and after his historic 2007 ruling that the older liturgical rites were henceforth to be available without restriction. Yet in the midst of the cacophony the Supreme Pontiff took the trouble to write at length to the world’s bishops and explain his act. “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful,” he taught – a truth that is having an ongoing impact.
Og om å feire messen for/mot Gud:
At the heart of his reform is Pope Benedict’s conviction that Catholic liturgy “is not about us, but about God”. This explains the crucifix at the centre of the altar. It is why he publically celebrated the modern Mass facing East in the Sistine and other papal chapels. There never was a need to put a table altar in front of the altar in the Sistine Chapel (or elsewhere), but it took a pope with liturgical vision quietly to remind us of this.
Pave Benedikt – Kirkens mest sentrale teolog
Helt siden jeg nærmet med Den katolske Kirke tidlig på 90-tallet, har Ratzinger (da kardinal, nå pave) stått for meg som den viktigste teologen. Og på FirstThings leser jeg i dag at andre ser på ham på samme måte:
… it is probably best to discuss the theological body of work he produced from 1981 to 2013, rather than simply his last eight years as bishop of Rome. For if one conjoins his papacy with his long service as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, then his lasting theological legacy comes into sharper focus: For over thirty years, Benedict has effectively served as the chief interpreter of the Second Vatican Council.
A century hence, theologians and historians will look back on this period as a crucial one for the reception of Vatican II. And the role of Joseph Ratzinger, who wrote scores of official magisterial documents on all aspects of conciliar teaching, will be underscored. While these statements usually fall far short of infallible teaching, and remain open to continued theological discussion, they nonetheless carry significant weight in Catholic theology.
Just a cursory and incomplete review of documents emanating from Ratzinger’s pen shows the depth of his influence as a conciliar interpreter. He has authoritatively taught on issues that have been widely discussed since the council’s conclusion: the unique nature of priestly ministry (1983); the strengths and weaknesses of liberation theology (1984 and 1986); the precise meaning of the claim that the Church of Christ “subsists in” the Catholic Church (1985); the assent required for specific magisterial teachings (1995 and 1998); the proper understanding of the phrase “sister Churches” (2000); and the declaration Dominus Iesus on the salvific universality of Jesus Christ (2000).
Benedict’s role as conciliar interpreter came even more vigorously to the fore with his Christmas Address of 2005, a speech that will likely remain the Ground Zero of conciliar discussions. There, the pope definitively rules out “a hermeneutic of rupture and discontinuity” as well as any antipodean reading of the spirit and text of the council. He explicitly proscribes a method that would seek to discover “impulses toward the new” apart from the conciliar documents themselves. …
Pave Benedikt svært kritisk til forståelsen av Vatikankonsilet
Sist uke snakket pave Benedikt til prestene i Roma, om Vatikankonsilet, men ikke før i dag leste jeg en detajert beskrivelse/ gjengivelse av hva han sa – hos www.chiesa. I starten kan vi der lese hvordan den unge teologen Ratzinger ble innvolvert i konsilet, og mot slutten av foredraget (40 minutter uten noe manuskript) sier paven hvor ødeleggende det har vært at medienes feilaktige tolking av konsilet nesten helt fullstendig har fått forme folks forståelse. Bl.a. har liturgien måttet lide p.g.a. dette:
…. «And so also for the liturgy: the liturgy was not of interest as an act of faith, but as a matter where understandable things are done, a matter of community activity, a profane matter. And we know that there was a tendency, that was also founded historically, to say: sacrality is a pagan thing, perhaps even in the Old Testament, but in the New all that matters is that Christ died outside: that is, outside of the gates, meaning in the profane world. A sacrality therefore to be brought to an end, profanity of worship as well: worship is not worship but an act of the whole, of common participation, and thus also participation as activity.
«These translations, trivializations of the idea of the Council were virulent in the praxis of the application of liturgical reform; they were born in a vision of the Council outside of its proper key, that of faith. And thus also in the question of Scripture: Scripture is a book, historical, to be treated historically and nothing else, and so on.
Han sier også mer om hvordan medias feilaktige forståelse av konsilet har vært så ødeleggende for Kirken:
“We know how this Council of the media was accessible to all. Therefore, this was the dominant, more efficient one, and has created so much calamity, so many problems, really so much misery: seminaries closed, convents closed, liturgy trivialized. . . . And the true Council had difficulty in becoming concrete, in realizing itself; the virtual Council was stronger than the real Council.
Men nå, endelig, begynner den korrekte forståelsen av Vatikankonsilet å komme til syne:
«But the real power of the Council was present and, little by little, is realizing itself more and more and becomes the true power that then is also true reform, true renewal of the Church. It seems to me that, fifty years after the Council, we see how this virtual Council is breaking up, is becoming lost, and the true Council is appearing with all of its spiritual power. And it is our task, precisely in this Year of Faith, beginning from this Year of Faith, to work in order that the true Council, with its power of the Holy Spirit, may be realized and that the Church may really be renewed. Let us hope that the Lord may help us. I, retired with my prayer, will always be with you, and together we will go forward with the Lord. In the certainty: the Lord triumphs!”
Dette vil pave Benedikt bli husket for
I videoen over – fra WordOnFire – sier Fr Robert Barron at pave Benedikt vil bli husket for: «Interpreting Vatican II correctly as an evangelical Council; his affirmative orthodoxy, which stresses what we say yes to and the joy of Christian life; and a clear Christocentrism.»
Over 100 000 på Petersplassen
Ved pave Benedikts nest siste Angelus på Petersplassen tidligere i dag var det ekstra mange til stede, som hørte paven si bl.a.:
Pope Benedict XVI prayed the Angelus with the faithful in St Peter’s Square this Sunday, the first Sunday of Lent. Tens of thousands of pilgrims were on hand, beneath a bright and unseasonably warm Roman sky. Speaking from his window in the Apostolic Palace above the Square ahead of the traditional prayer of Marian devotion, the Holy Father placed the Lenten season on which the Church is embarked in the context of the Year of Faith. “In this Year of Faith,” he said, “Lent is a favorable time to rediscover the faith in God as the basic criterion of our life and the life of the Church.”
The Pope went on to say that this always involves a struggle – a real spiritual combat – because the spirit of evil that is opposed to our sanctification seeks to throw us off the path that God has set out for us. Noting that it is for this reason that the Church traditionally proclaims the Gospel narrative of Christ’s temptation in the desert on the first Sunday of Lent, Pope Benedict said, “The tempter is subtle: he does not push us directly toward evil, but to a false good.” The Holy Father went on to explain that, ultimately, what is at stake in the temptations is faith. “In the decisive moments of life,” he said, “but, if we look closely, in every moment, we are at a crossroads: do we want to follow the self, or God?” It was a theme to which Pope Benedict returned during his greetings to Pilgrims in English:
Today we contemplate Christ in the desert, fasting, praying, and being tempted. As we begin our Lenten journey, we join him and we ask him to give us strength to fight our weaknesses. Let me also thank you for the prayers and support you have shown me in these days. May God bless all of you!
(Kilde: Vatikanradioen)
Slik forkynte pave Benedikt sin avgang
I videoen over kan man se nøyaktig hva som skjedde mandag 11. februar; pave Benedikt forteller (på latin) at han skal avslutte sin pavegjerning 28.februar, og deretter gir kardinal Angelo Sodano en første respons til dette (på italiensk, fra håndskrevne notater).
Her kan man lese mer om dette og begge talene oversatt til engelsk.
Interessant intervju med F. Claes Tande i Morgenbladet om pavens avgang
Jeg leste hele intervjuet her i dag tidlig – her er et utdrag:
– Du sa noe på tv som tydet på at du visste at paven ville gå av?
– Nei, jeg visste det ikke, men det kan synes åpenbart i etterkant. … I 2009, under et besøk i den italienske byen L’ Aquila, tok han av seg sitt pallium, verdighetstegnet han bærer rundt nakken, og la det på sarkofagen til pave Celestin V.
– Det kunne han ha gjort hundre ganger uten at jeg hadde tatt notis av det.
– Så ble det da heller ikke tolket riktig av alle der og da. Men Celestin V var paven som abdiserte samme år som han ble innsatt, nemlig i 1294. Noen sa selvfølgelig dermed at nå er det like før paven går av – noe Vatikanet avsannet straks. Men for folk som følger med bedre enn meg, ble det klart at han der uttrykte sin respekt for forgjengerens valg. Han ga det et meget personlig godkjennelsens tegn.
– Han kunne ha klekket ut en mindre kryptisk måte å gi et signal på?
– Husk at pave Benedikt er en from mann, og denne gesten var nok ikke primært et hint til verden, men noe han gjorde av fromme grunner.
– Så var det visst enda et tegn, den oppmerksomme kunne ha snappet opp?
– Ja, i 2010 utkom boken Verdens Lys, basert på den tyske journalisten Peter Seewalds mange og lange intervjuer med paven. Der ble Benedikt spurt: Kan en pave tre tilbake? Benedikt svarte: «Når en pave kommer til klar erkjennelse av at han fysisk, psykisk og åndelig ikke lenger kan klare sitt embedsoppdrag, så har han en rett, og under visse omstendigheter en plikt, til å tre tilbake.» Men, så er det et interessant tillegg der. … – Å abdisere kan en pave dog ikke gjøre når faren for kirken eller hans pavedømme er for stor. «Tre tilbake kan man i et fredelig minutt», sa Benedikt. Dette var altså i 2009. Og hva skjedde i 2009?
– Det var vel gjerne overgrepsskandaler i kirken verden rundt, og sikkert også kritikk av pavens syn på homofili og prevensjon og andre av vår tids emner?
– Ja, overgrepssakene fortsatte. Jeg tror faktisk han hadde tenkt å gå av tidligere. Benedikt hadde allerede skjerpet regelverkene, men han ville også være forvisset om at dette faktisk ble implementert over alt. ….
Pave Benedikts siste preken – askeonsdag
Messen i Peterskirken i dag, askeonsdag, var siste peken pave Benedikt ga som pave. Hele prekenen kan leses her, og den ble avsluttet slik:
…. In the Gospel of Matthew, to which belongs the so-called Sermon on the Mount, Jesus refers to three fundamental practices required by Mosaic Law: almsgiving, prayer and fasting; they are also traditional indications in the Lenten journey to respond to the invitation to «return to God with all your heart.» But Jesus emphasizes that it is both the quality and the truth of the relationship with God that determines the authenticity of each religious gesture. For this reason He denounces religious hypocrisy, the behavior that wants to be seen, attitudes seeking applause and approval. The true disciple does not serve himself or the «public», but his Lord, in simplicity and generosity: «And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you» (Mt 6:4.6.18). Our witness, then, will always be more effective the less we seek our own glory, and we will know that the reward of the righteous is God himself, being united to Him, here below, on the journey of faith, and, at the end of life, in the peace and light of coming face to face with Him forever (cf. 1 Cor 13:12).
Dear brothers and sisters, we begin our Lenten journey, trusting and joyful. May the invitation to conversion resonate strongly in us, to «return to God with all your heart», accepting His grace that makes us new men, with the surprising novelty that is sharing in the very life of Jesus. Let none of us, therefore, be deaf to this appeal, that is addressed to us also in the austere rite, so simple and yet so beautiful, of the imposition of ashes, which we will perform shortly. May the Virgin Mary accompany us in this time, the Mother of the Church and model of every true disciple of the Lord. Amen!
Ti grunner til å takke pave Benedikt
Catholic Herald nevner i dag ti ting vi bør takke pave Benedikt for at han fikk gjort i løpet av sine nesten åtte år som pave:
The pontificate of Benedict XVI was full of surprises and on Monday he sprang the greatest one of all. His abdication – the first for almost 600 years – caught even the Vatican unawares. As we struggle to absorb the news, here are 10 reasons to give thanks for his papacy.
1 His steadfastness: In his inaugural homily Pope Benedict said: “Pray for me, that I may not flee for fear of the wolves.” …
2 His crystal-clear teaching: …
3 His reform of the liturgy: Pope Benedict’s decision to lift restrictions on the older form of the Mass was historic. As well as rescuing the Extraordinary Form from oblivion, he has renewed the celebration of the Ordinary Form of the Mass in our parishes through the new English translation.
4 His programme of purification: From the Legionaries of Christ to Vatican finances, Benedict XVI has attempted to purify the Church of corruption. …
5 His outreach to Islam: Pope Benedict did not shrink when his Regensburg lecture was violently misunderstood in parts of the Islamic world. While apologising for unintended offence, he stood by his address, which called for an alliance between Catholics and Muslims in our secular age. ….
6 His bravery: When Benedict XVI visited Turkey, at a time of intense Islamic anger after the Regensburg address, he refused to wear a bulletproof vest. His abdication showed an equally courageous trust in Providence.
7 His love of Britain: Benedict XVI felt a special affection for Britain. That is why he visited us in 2010, when so many other nations were tugging at the papal sleeve. He defended conscience in Westminster Hall as eloquently as St Thomas More ….
8 His creation of the ordinariate: The ordinariate for groups of former Anglicans is one of Benedict XVI’s greatest legacies. It is remarkable that he was able to create this new structure, bringing thousands of souls into full communion, without irreparably harming relations between the Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
9 His balance: Pope Benedict was, at first, caricatured as an “arch-conservative”. But it soon became clear that he had a daring and supple mind that confounded crude labels. In an age of unbalanced thinking, his thought stood out for its harmony and integrity. With his notion of “the hermeneutic of continuity” he reconciled fidelity to tradition with the creativity needed to meet the challenges of our time.
10 His humility: Even within the Church it is hard for men to renounce power and status. Pope Benedict has shown remarkable humility in sacrificing his own papal ministry for what he believes is the greater good of the Church. Let’s pray for him, and for his successor, as we have never prayed before.
De 800 martyrene fra Otranto, Puglia
Før pave Benedikt kunngjorde sin svært overraskende avgang, mandag 11. februar, hadde han kunngjort at de litt over 800 martyrene fra Otranto (som jeg besøkte i 2006, og så kapellet over), nå skal helligkåres. Slik leser vi om dem på Wikipedia:
On 28 July 1480 an Ottoman force of 90 galleys, 40 galeottes and other ships (carrying a total of around 150 crew and 18,000 troops) from Valona landed its force beneath the walls of Otranto. The city strongly resisted the Ottoman assaults, but it only contained around 6,000 inhabitants and was unable to resist the bombardment for long. … …
… The townsfolk’s leader was now the old tailor Antonio Pezzulla, known as Il Primaldo, who also refused to convert to Islam. On 14 August Pasha tied up the survivors and transported them to the nearby colle della Minerva, where at least 800 were beheaded, with their parents and families forced to assist in and attend the executions. Primaldo was the first to be beheaded – tradition holds that his decapitated body remained standing until the final person was beheaded, despite his executioners’ efforts to push him over. The chronicles record that an Ottoman Turk called Bersabei saw how bravely the Otrantines were dying, converted to Christianity and was impaled by his own comrades.
After thirty months Otranto was recaptured by an Aragonese force under Alfonso of Aragon, son of the king of Naples.
On 13 October 1481 the bodies of the Otrantines were found uncorrupted and were translated to the city’s cathedral. From 1485 some of the martyrs’ remains were transferred to Naples and placed under the altar of the Our Lady of the Rosary in the church of Santa Caterina a Formiello – that altar commemorated the final Christian victory over the Ottomans at Lepanto in 1571. They were later moved to the reliquary chapel, consecrated by pope Orsini, then to a site under the altar where they are now sited. A recognitio canonica between 2002 and 2003 confirmed their authenticity. … …
… The martyrs will be canonized on 12 May 2013 – this was announced in a consistory on 11 February 2013, during which Benedict also announced in Latin his intention to renounce the papacy, taking effect on 28 February.
Pave Benedikt trekker seg tilbake
Bildet over er fra onsdagsaudiensen 6. februar.
Her kan man lese pave Benedikts «avskjedskunngjøring», og katolsk.no følger utviklingen videre ganske tett her.