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Pope’s announcement stuns urbi et orbi

17 Feb 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Jesus may have been weakened by his 40-day fast in the desert, but, as we hear in this Sunday’s gospel, he was clearheaded and strong enough to calmly rebut the Adversary. Pope Benedict XVI, clearheaded and strong in purpose yet weakened in body, shocked the church and the world Monday by calmly announcing he will resign from the papacy on February 28—an event that hasn’t happened in nearly 600 years.The decision, delivered in Latin and in unemotional tones by the pope to a gathering of cardinals on Monday, came “like a bolt out of the blue,” one of the participants said.During what was supposed to be a routine meeting to discuss the canonization of three potential saints, Benedict read a statement that said, in part, that after examining his conscience “before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise” of leading the world’s one billion Roman Catholics.“In today’s world,” Benedict said in his announcement, “subject to so many rapid changes and shaken by questions of deep relevance for the life of faith, in order to govern the bark of St. Peter and proclaim the gospel, both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfill the ministry entrusted to me.”In recent months, Benedict, 85, had been showing signs of age. He often seemed tired and even appeared to doze off during Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve after being taken to the altar of Saint Peter’s on a wheeled platform, but few expected the pope to resign so suddenly, even though he had said in the past that he would consider the option.Some said that Benedict’s decision to step down was one of the most dramatic acts in the history of the papacy. “This decision has been the only great reform of Benedict, and at the same time it is a revolutionary step for the Catholic Church,” said Marco Politi, a Vatican expert and author of a book on Benedict’s papacy. While in past centuries popes had stepped down over political struggles, Politi said, “This is a clear decision and a free decision made by the pope that will set an example also for the future, setting a limit for the pontificate.”Homily hint: As cardinals from around the world gather in Rome at the end of the month to begin the process of selecting the next pope, this time of transition provides an opportunity to pose a question for ourselves as a church that Alice Camille poses for each one of us in this week’s Exploring the Word. To paraphrase: What future will we as church choose this Lent? This year the challenges are new indeed. Sources: Articles by Rachel Donadio and Nicholas Kulish for theNew York Times and Nicole Winfield for the Associated Press

papacy benedict xvi resignation marco politi

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As cardinals step up, one steps down

03 Mar 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s reading from 1 Corinthians alerts its hearers to be wary of missteps in the spiritual life: “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” As leaders of the Catholic Church undertake the process of choosing the next pope, one of those empowered to take part in the selection, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Great Britain’s highest-ranking prelate, resigned and removed himself Monday from the upcoming conclave, saying he did not want allegations that he engaged in improper conduct with priests to be a distraction.“I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud,” 1 Corinthians says. O’Brien’s sudden resignation left a cloud over the proceedings about to take place in Rome. It is the first time a cardinal has recused himself from a conclave because of personal scandal, according to Vatican historians.Some said it is a sad but fitting footnote to the pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI, a man revered for his deep faith and scholarship but less so for his administrative abilities and capacity to project a positive image of Catholicism as head of the worldwide church.In one of his final decisions before stepping aside, Benedict decided Monday that the contents of a secret investigation into the 2012 leaks of Vatican documents won’t be shared with the cardinals ahead of the conclave. He met Monday with the three cardinals who conducted the probe and decided that “the acts of the investigation, known only to himself, remain solely at the disposition of the new pope,” a Vatican statement said.The investigation into the leaks is said to have revealed petty wrangling, corruption, and cronyism. Speculation had arisen that the cardinal investigators would be authorized to share the information with fellow cardinals before the conclave. That assumed the cardinal-electors would want to know details about the state of dysfunction in the Vatican bureaucracy and on any potentially compromised colleagues before possibly voting one into office.Meanwhile some voices in the church are hoping the Holy Spirit will guide the electors to pick a new leader who, like Pope John XXIII some 50 years ago, would help the church respond faithfully yet creatively to the signs of the times.Homily hint: It’s quite possible the conclave will begin in the next week. Perhaps the prayers of the faithful this weekend could include one calling upon the Holy Spirit to guide church on the right path. Sources: Articles by Alan Cowell and John F. Burns for the New York Times,Anthony Faiola for the Washington Post, and Catherine Deveney, SeverinCarrell, Sam Jones, and Andrew Brown for The Guardian (UK)

papacy cardinals benedict xvi vatican church corruption conclave keith o’brien

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Exploring the word

18 Apr 2010 - Third Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Christ is the head of his body, the church. No matter who was responsible for writing Colossians 1:18, we Christians can agree on this statement. But who should mind the store until Jesus comes again in glory is a different subject entirely. Petrine leadership has been criticized throughout history—most heatedly since the Reformation, but surely it was not unknown to the church's first generation, as both Paul's letters and John's gospel give some indication. Taking potshots at the papacy is practically an international pastime, as popular within the church as outside of it. The man who sits in Peter's chair is never traditional enough for some nor progressive enough for others. He's too political or too pious, excessively scholastic or intellectually dull. He moves too slowly; he moves too fast; he moves in the wrong direction entirely. It's the rare pope in the rarer instance who receives a chorus of approval from the world at large: "Well done!" The original Peter was a problematic figure, too, as gospel stories about him make no attempt to hide. That he had leadership skills Jesus recognized is beyond question. Peter was selected as one of three inner-circle disciples along with the "sons of thunder," James and John. This apostolic entourage participated in private retreats with Jesus and was clearly being primed for greater things. That the mother of the Zebedee boys—or the boys themselves, depending on who you were listening to—expected they might sit on either side of Jesus in the coming reign demonstrates that it was obvious to everyone how well-placed they were. That the favored seats had to be bid for also indicates the active suspicion such a chair might go to Peter. From our vantage point the conclusion seems foregone. Peter is portrayed in the records of subsequent generations as the initiator of all decisive movement within the community. "I am going fishing" is all he has to say, and the rest chime in, "We will come, too." While Thomas demonstrates an ability to think for himself, his contrariness doesn't bode well for group unity. Nathanael is characterized as negative and untrustworthy, Zebedee's sons too grasping and eager for power. The other two disciples in the story are not even named, they are so peripheral to the action. But what's most crucial about Peter is revealed in the final dialogue. He loves Jesus: Three times he swears allegiance, canceling those shameful, fearful denials. Peter now embraces the need for the cross, the certainty that he will be led to places he wouldn't go and outcomes he'd rather not reach. He is willing now, truly prepared at last, to follow Jesus. As the perfect follower, he is ready to be the chosen leader. Related scripture links Rebuke your disciples: Luke 19:39-40 No one takes my life, I lay it down: John 10:17-18 The burden of the law: Rom. 3:20, 4:15, 5:20, 7:7-25, 13:8-10 The freedom of the children of God: Rom. 3:21-31, 7:4-6, 8:14-21 Jesus returns without reproach: John 20:11-21:19 Catechism links One last fishing trip: CCC 448; 553; 618; 645; 659; 881; 1427-1429

Authors Alice Camille

pope Peter papacy Leadership Fidelity

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