PathToHoliness

As we’re entering Holy Week, it’s a really good time to pray for our Pope and the Church. There is much being said in the news about how abuses by some priests have been handled and it’s obvious that the Church is under attack because of their actions. There is no excuse for what those have done. It has caused great harm to individuals and the Church.

We’re seeing news reports that are speculating (is that news?) on whether the Pope should resign and polls of what people think about this or that. One I just saw from the N.Y. Times is titled, “At the Vatican, Up Against the World.” Just the title ought to tell you something. I would challenge all the people who are so up in arms about what a very small element of Church personnel have done to put their effort into prayer and look first at their own actions before casting stones. If we had more people spending their time in prayer maybe we wouldn’t have these problems. Our faith is a supernatural virtue that allows us to believe what God has revealed. The world is and always will be at odds with that.

My faith is not dependent on polls or public opinion. There are still truths of our faith that can not be changed just because someone wants them to. I’ve seen nothing factual in the news to weaken my faith. It hurts to know what some have done but I can only pity them and pray for them and I will continue to do so.

Yesterday Pope Benedict called on our Blessed Lady to protect families. Now is a great time to pray for all families and as usual, our Pope shows us the way. He spoke to a group of cloistered nuns.

. . . the Holy Father said: “To you I entrust my intentions, the intentions of the pastor of this diocese and the needs of everyone who lives in this land. In this Year for Priests I especially entrust you with clergy, seminarians and vocations. … Offer the Lord the sacrifice of your lives for their sanctification and for the good of souls”.

“Console those who weep, who suffer for human injustice; support those who waver under the burden of fatigue and look to the future without hope; encourage those who work to build a better world in which justice many triumph and fraternity reign, in which egoism, hatred and violence may end. May every form and expression of violence be overcome by the pacifying power of Christ”.

There are quite a few places you can find coverage of the Pope Benedict’s visit to the Holy Land. I did not know that he’ll on be the 3rd Pope to make this pilgrimage. Peter was first, then Pope John Paul II and now our current Pope.

Vatican
Catholic News Service, their blog, their Twitter feed
Florida Catholic
EWTN

I hope you’re praying for our Pope on his Africa trip. This man is brilliant and he exudes peace and even a sense of joy, even in the face of so much criticism and animosity. I love his statements on aids and the use of condoms. He stated the truth and the reaction from the elements of society around the world who have no respect for human life has been loud. He hit a nerve and I applaud him for it.

What I think is most amusing is how supposedly impartial journalists are offering the Pope advice in their “reporting.” I guess most mainstream journalists of today have abandoned any attempt at ethics in their reporting. For example, just take the headline to this TimesOnline article, “World Agenda: this gaffe-prone Pope should beware the Middle East.” Oh really? So you’ve judged him and offered him advice all in one headline. There’s even more in the article like “But the Pope needs to become, if not infallible, then at least less fallible on worldly matters.” I really don’t think we need any more of this reporter’s advice.

The article really is amusing. Take this statement, “Alain Juppe, the former French Prime Minister, said: “This Pope is starting to be a real problem.” I take that to mean that Pope Benedict is doing exactly what he should do. We need more leaders like him in the world!

I hope you’re getting ready for the visit from our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI starting tomorrow. There’s been a lot of speculation about his trip which I think the video Chelsea posted helped clarify.

I see lots of news online about the trip including a story in the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram which says that President Bush will be picking the Pope up personally from the airport and escorting him back to the White House. Here’s his explanation for why he’s doing so:

“One, he speaks for millions. Two, he doesn’t come as a politician; he comes as a man of faith,” Bush told the EWTN Global Catholic Network in an interview aired Friday. He added that he wanted to honor Benedict’s conviction that “there’s right and wrong in life, that moral relativism has a danger of undermining the capacity to have more hopeful and free societies.”