Paul Is No Inventor of Christianity, Says Pope Notes Apostle's Faithful Transmission of Tradition VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
The importance that Paul gave in his letters to sacred Tradition proves false the claim the Apostle invented Christianity, says Benedict XVI.The Pope affirmed this today during the general audience in St. Peter's Square, which he dedicated to a continuation of his series of catecheses on St. Paul. Some 15,000 people gathered for the audience, including several groups from Eastern Europe and Oceania. The Holy Father spoke about St. Paul's relationships with the Twelve, which he said were "always marked by profound respect and by the frankness that in Paul stemmed from the defense of the truth of the Gospel." He particularly stressed the relationship with Peter, noting that the Apostle to the Gentiles stayed with the first Pope for 15 days to learn about Christ's earthly life. During Paul's time with the Twelve, the Pontiff explained, he received teaching on central elements of the Christian tradition. He then transmits this Tradition faithfully. Benedict XVI particularly noted passages from Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians where the Apostle explains the Christian faith on the Eucharist and the Resurrection. "The words of Jesus in the Last Supper really are for Paul the center of the life of the Church," the Pope explained. And the "other text, on the Resurrection, transmits to us again the same formula of fidelity," he continued. "The importance that [Paul] bestows on the living Tradition of the Church, which she transmits to her communities, demonstrates how mistaken is the view of those who attribute to Paul the invention of Christianity," the Holy Father contended. "Before proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he encountered him on the road to Damascus, and met him in the Church, observing his life in the Twelve, and in those who had followed him on the roads of Galilee. [...] "The mission received on the part of the Risen One in order to evangelize the Gentiles must be confirmed and guaranteed by those who gave him and Barnabas their right hand, in sign of approval of their apostolate and evangelization, and of acceptance in the one communion of the Church of Christ." The Pontiff concluded by affirming that faith is born from an experience of the risen Christ. "The more we try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth on the roads of Galilee, so much the more will we understand that he has taken charge of our humanity, sharing in everything except sin," he said. "Our faith is not born from a myth or an idea, but from an encounter with the Risen One, in the life of the Church." email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23708?l=english
Pontiff Greets Students From Conflict Zones VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
Benedict XVI told a group of university students from areas of conflict that he hopes they can contribute to a culture of peaceful coexistence.The Pope said this today when he greeted students from the Associazione "Rondine Cittadella della Pace" (the Swallow City of Peace Association) of Arezzo. Some of the youth were from Georgia and Russia. They were on the front row of today's general audience, accompanied by the founder of the association, Franco Vaccari, and two bishops from the region where they study. The Holy Father told them that he hopes "this encounter contributes to reinforce an adequate culture of pacific coexistence among people and to promote understanding and reconciliation." The youth arrived in Arezzo in June to receive a university education and to try to overcome sufferings from war. The association was established in 1997 to promote dialogue and peace through the experience of shared university life. It welcomes students from the Balkans, the former Soviet Union, the Middle East and Africa. email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23706?l=english
Cardinal Bertone Book to Be Presented in Moscow ROME, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
The Moscow presentation of a book written by Benedict XVI's secretary of state is being considered a "historic event."Written in Italian and Russian, "L'Etica del Bene Comune nel Pensiero Sociale della Chiesa (The Ethics of the Common Good in the Social Thought of the Church), by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, will be presented in Moscow on Friday. The volume was published Tuesday by Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad, the president of the Department of External Affairs of the Moscow Patriarchate, wrote the prologue. Editor Pierluca Azzaro described the work as a "manifesto for concrete common action based on a shared principle: Spiritual and material well-being sustain one another or fall together. At the root of conflicts and injustices that run the risk of disintegrating the community is an essentially atheist, materialist and egoistic vision of man." The presentation will take place in the context of a round table on economics and Christianity at the 5th Anniversary Convention of the Russian International Studies Association. email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23702?l=english
Prayer Day Called to Defeat Aussie Abortion Bill Melbourne Prelate Says Measure Is Unprecedented Attack MELBOURNE, Australia, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
The archbishop of Melbourne has declared a Day of Intercession in an attempt to stop the Abortion Law Reform Bill from being passed and put into effect as early as next month.Archbishop Denis Hart released a pastoral letter last week regarding the bill, which passed the Legislative Assembly on Sept. 11. "Make no mistake about it," he said, "the bill goes beyond codifying current clinical practice, as its proponents claim, and will set an unfortunate precedent which other states may follow. The archbishop's letter includes a list of consequences of the bill, some of which violate the right to conscientious objection. For example, it "compels a pharmacist or nurse employed or engaged in a public or private hospital or day-procedure center, if directed in writing by a doctor, to administer or to supply a drug to cause an abortion to a female who is more than 24 weeks pregnant." It also "imposes a legal obligation on doctors and nurses, notwithstanding their conscientious objection, to perform an abortion on a female in an emergency where it is deemed that the abortion is necessary to preserve the life of the pregnant woman." Archbishop Hart said the bill "is seriously flawed as much by what it omits as by what it contains." He lamented that it fails to ban partial-birth abortions, to include informed consent provision, or "to safeguard the health of women by permitting abortions to be performed by doctors who have no qualifications or training in obstetrics." Freedom of religion The archbishop of Melbourne called the bill "an unprecedented attack on the freedom to hold and exercise fundamental religious beliefs." He explained: "It makes a mockery of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and the Equal Opportunity Act in that it requires health professionals with a conscientious objection to abortion to refer patients seeking an abortion to other health professionals who do not have such objections. It also requires health professionals with a conscientious objection to abortion to perform an abortion in whatever is deemed an emergency. [...] "As one commentator has put it, it is an insidious irony that this coercion of conscience is being carried out in the name of choice. Parliamentarians are being afforded the opportunity to exercise their consciences to remove the right of health professionals to exercise theirs." Archbishop Hart also warned that the bill would put Catholic hospitals in a "vulnerable position." "Catholic hospitals will not perform abortions and will not provide referrals for the purpose of abortion," he affirmed. "If this provision is passed it will be an outrageous attack on our service to the community and contrary to Catholic ethical codes. [...] This bill poses a real threat to the continued existence of Catholic hospitals. [...] This is a significant issue for the community at large having regard to the fact that Catholic hospitals account for approximately one third of all births and are seen by many as their hospitals of choice." Discounting the Church The prelate further expressed his dismay that the "Victorian Law Reform Commission created a false dichotomy in relation to conscientious objections, a dichotomy between 'adequate justification' and 'mere prejudice.' This was subsequently relied upon in debate in the Legislative Assembly. The position of the Church is postulated as 'mere prejudice' and without 'adequate justification.'" Archbishop Hart questioned how 2,000 years of consistent teaching could be classified as "mere prejudice." "The argument itself smacks of prejudice, is a direct attack on religious expression and unworthy of a place in a contemporary mature state which values diversity of thought," he stated. Finally, the prelate announced that Sunday, Oct. 5, would be a Day of Intercession dedicated to the defeat of the bill. He invited the faithful not only to join in the day of prayer, but also to contact the members of the Legislative Council to express their pro-life concerns. --- --- --- On the Net: Archbishop Hart's letter: http://www.cam.org.au/abortion/pastoral-letter-and-day-of-intercession.html/ email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23709?l=english
Cardinal: Anti-Christian Violence Disgracing India Says People of All Creeds Are Horrified MUMBAI, India, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
The ongoing anti-Christian violence in India is a "disgrace" and horrifying to people of good will in India, regardless of their religious beliefs, says the archbishop of Bombay. Cardinal Oswald Gracias called the campaign against Christians by Hindu extremists "inexplicable," a "disgrace" and "madness," reported L'Osservatore Romano on Tuesday. "All persons of good will in India, whether Christians, Hindus or Muslims, are horrified and astonished by the diabolical hunt of Christians to kill them and destroy their homes and churches," he said. "We must not give in to the temptation to resignation, and even less so to that of vengeance. In the end, it won't be fundamentalism that prevails. Prayer, including for those who hate us, is our main weapon."Though India has often been the home of Hindu-Christian tension, a wave of escalated violence began in late August after the murder of a Hindu leader. Since then several Christians have been killed, churches and properties have been burned, and thousands of Christians have fled their homes. Despite the current situation, the cardinal explained that India "is a great country in which many hopes have been placed: I have always thought of it this way and I was moved when the Pope repeated it to me personally at the moment he created me cardinal in November of last year." Cardinal Gracias added that this hope is supported in an important way by interreligious dialogue, which he called necessary to give "hope to India and the whole world." "Religious liberty is the first of liberties," he said. "Only genuine interreligious dialogue will allow for the elimination of any possible cause of tension or disagreement between religious and ethnic groups in India. "Dialogue is vital, essential. The Church has never ceased to promote it -- a dialogue that must not be impoverished by syncretism, but must develop in mutual respect." In this connection, the cardinal said the Church "will continue to be on the side of the poor and the sick without looking to see if they are Hindus, Muslims or Christians. It will reaffirm the right to life for all: It is terrible that newborns are killed if they are female." Catholics "pray and work so that the problems that are making us suffer so much are pulled up by the roots, so that all Indians may be united, without distinction, in justice. We have a clear objective: that no one goes to bed hungry, that no dignity is offended, that no right is denied to minorities, including religious liberty, and that no poor person is abandoned," he concluded. Death threats Nevertheless, Cardinal Gracias expressed concern about the inaction of local authorities in regions where persecution has been unleashed, despite the support to Christians shown by the national government. In this connection, the bishops have addressed Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on several occasions to request his help. At present, Archbishop Raphael Cheenath of Cuttack-Bhubaneswar (the diocese most affected by the violence) is hoping to be received, along with a delegation of Catholic clergy. Archbishop Cheenath, who was on a trip when the persecution broke out, has not been able to return home because he has received death threats from extremists. "Last week I received a chilling letter in which Hindu groups threatened me, saying 'blood for blood, life for life.' They say in the letter that I will be killed if I return to Orissa," he explained to the press service of the Italian episcopal conference. Two days ago, the bishop's residence was stoned. The prelate added he did not trust the local government, "which failed when the moment arrived to protect the lives of Christians in the districts of Kandhamal and Sambalpur." For his part, Archbishop Bernard Moras of Bangalore made public a communiqué through the SAR news agency, in which he "firmly condemned" the wave of violence that his diocese is enduring, especially "the profanation of the churches and Eucharistic species" in several parishes last Sunday. email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23707?l=english
Patriarch Lauds Catholic Magazine in Russian MOSCOW, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexy II says he is very pleased with the publication of a Russian edition of the Catholic magazine "30 Days." In a letter to its director, former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church said he is "very happy to see that this authoritative monthly, published in seven languages, now also has a Russian edition." "This special issue contains rich material on the history, cultural and present-day life of Russia and the Russian Orthodox Church," the patriarch noted. He added that he is certain this initiative will promote "a fruitful dialogue between the patriarchate of Moscow and the Roman Catholic Church." The special Russian issue of "30 Days" was produced in collaboration with Moscow's World Public Forum "Dialogue of Civilizations" and is titled "The Faith of Russia, the Unity of the Church." email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23703?l=english
80 Years of Ministering to College Students St. John's Catholic Newman Center Opens New Doors By Karna SwansonCHAMPAIGN, Illinois, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
September means back-to-school, and for many young people attending colleges and universities across the country, that means returning to their "home-away-from-home." For 80 years, that home for Catholic students attending the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has been St. John's Catholic Newman Center. The largest Newman Center of its kind and the only Newman Center to offer residential housing, the center has served some 70,000 students. Earlier this month St. John's marked it's 80th anniversary by opening a new residential facility that includes 127,000 square feet of student living quarters, study and social lounges, computer labs, and a dining area. ZENIT spoke with Father Gregory Ketcham, the center's chaplain, who oversaw the $40 million expansion. He discusses the mission of St. John's Catholic Newman Center, and reflects on what's to come during the center's next 80 years. Q: Parents sending their children to college worry if their sons/daughters will come home with their faith intact. What does the Newman Center on the University of Illinois campus do to assure that they do? Father Ketcham: There's certainly no "magic potion" we can give young people to make sure they don't fall away from the Church. In fact, we're not really interested in helping students merely keep their faith intact; at Newman, our greatest desire is to see students deepen their understanding and commitment to the mission of the Church, to grow in faith, hope and charity. Toward that end, we primarily invest our energy into three venues of outreach: 1. Our retreat program, "Koinonia," led by students for students four times each year; 2. FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), whose missionaries train students to evangelize their peers; 3. Faithful liturgical celebrations whereby students learn to pray with the Church and experience the beauty of our relationship with Christ. We enjoy the great blessing of being able to offer academic credit courses in Catholicism. Kenneth Howell, director of our Center's Institute of Catholic Thought, teaches two courses each year -- Introduction to Catholicism (Fall) and Modern Catholic Thought (Spring) -- through the University's Religious Studies department. In addition to being the only residential Newman Center in the country, we are especially privileged to have seven priests and two Franciscan sisters attached to our community. Spiritual direction is simply a part of life for many of our students. Q: What are the particular challenges of young people who attend public universities with a Newman Center as opposed to those youth who attend a Catholic university? Father Ketcham: It could be misleading to paint either educational path with a single brush -- for instance, one finds faculty who directly challenge belief in the Church's teachings at both Catholic and secular institutions. The same questions apply to each, and should be asked by any student evaluating his/her school choices: Is this Newman Center/university faithful to the magisterium? Does it encourage prayer? Do the priests celebrate the liturgy as they ought? Can I find honest, faithful answers to difficult moral and doctrinal questions? Will I be invited into an authentic community? That said, I believe the difference lies in what's outside. By and large, the test for the effectiveness of a faithful Catholic university's formation program lies on the other side of graduation, while on a large secular campus like ours, students fairly regularly find their faith challenged -- sometimes attacked -- in the classroom, while their moral fortitude is tested by student activities and the "party scene." Q: Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago, called the Newman Center on the University of Illinois campus "one of the most important apostolates" in Illinois. Do you agree? Father Ketcham: Wholeheartedly, yes. We at Newman have both the privilege and the grave responsibility to contribute to the renewal of culture from the ground up, by introducing tomorrow's fathers, mothers, priests, sisters and professionals of all varieties to Jesus Christ and his Church. The college years are a crucial turning point in the lives of young people: "Where sin abounds, grace abounds all the more." Just as there are serious temptations of all sorts on a large secular campus, there are great possibilities for sanctity. We really believe we have a special opportunity to lead all the students involved in our program to greater depths of belief, to greater union with Christ, and thus to have them develop the desire to share their faith wherever they find themselves through the rest of their lives. Q: Newman Hall has one of the highest retention rates and grade point averages for its residents among all university housing. Why do you think that is? Father Ketcham: I believe those two numbers echo the tone we try to set in the hall. It's a question of students' priorities -- we have a number of residents who chose Newman Hall precisely because of its Catholicity, which shows an ability to set the right priorities, and necessarily spills over into the academic sphere. Students who get involved in the communal life of the center find lifelong friends, not just drinking buddies. Meaningful relationships are what young people long for most, so they gravitate toward places where they can find others of like mind. The students also respond well to our reminders that their current vocation is to seek holiness as students. Q: What are the specific challenges and positive aspects of ministering to the youth of today? Father Ketcham: I think in many ways the problem is the solution -- young people are hungry for real connection, for concrete answers to deeply felt questions, for direction in life. It's unfortunate that most Catholic young people have not received a great deal of coherent catechesis, but this "millennial" generation is marked by openness to matters of faith. In a word, they are teachable. As I alluded to earlier, there are all sorts of challenges to living as a Christian on today's secular campuses. There's an almost ritualized approach to "fun" -- drinking to excess, "hooking up," etc. There are also courses wherein students find their most deeply held values directly contradicted. One of the great rewards of my job is seeing students wrestle with these obstacles and overcome them. I have a front-row seat for watching students experience conversion and embrace their vocations. I'm fully convinced that a number of these young people won't simply remain "Catholic" as they venture out into the world, but will seriously embrace the "great commission" as their personal mission in life. Q: What do you hope will be the fruits of this 80th year of ministry at the University of Illinois? Father Ketcham: I hope that we are able to set the stage for another 80 years on campus. Moreover, I hope that with the addition of some 300 souls to our community -- due to our recent expansion -- we see more of what we've seen over the years: more souls encountering the living God in word and sacrament, and responding to that encounter by giving themselves over to his will. email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23705?l=english
40 Days Revive Hope for Life (Part 2) Interview With National Campaign Director David Bereit FREDERICKSBURG, Virginia, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
It's time the American people begin to put their trust less in politics and more in God, says pro-life activist David Bereit.Bereit is the national campaign director of 40 Days for Life, a campaign he says has inspired hope that a culture of life is possible in the United States and all over the world. The campaign begins today, and will unite pro-life advocates all over the country, and three cities in Canada, to pray, fast and work together through Nov. 2, the Sunday that precedes the U.S. election day. In Part 2 of this interview with ZENIT, Bereit talks about the campaign's success stories from past years and his hope that this year will be a turning point for building a culture of life. Part 1 was published Tuesday. Q: What explanation do you give for why 40 Days for Life is growing and spreading so quickly to so many new cities? Bereit: Number one it is because of prayer. It is because of the Holy Spirit. That is my strongest of convictions. In second place it is because of the amazing people that God has called to be a part of this effort. I have heard some of the most incredible stories of people who have never been involved in pro-life work before they heard about this campaign. They got involved, launched local campaigns, mobilized hundreds of people, saved dozens of lives, and really turned the tide in their communities. We have seen two abortion facilities go out of business following 40 Days for Life campaigns. We know of five abortion-clinic workers who have left the abortion industry, telling the 40 Days for Life volunteers that it was because of them and their prayers. Q: Why did you decide to make this next program, beginning today and ending Nov. 2, coincide with the national elections? How important do you think the abortion issue is in these elections? Bereit: Well, the campaign dates were the same that we used last year, because they worked very well, but we also felt that there was certainly no coincidence that the 40 days lead up to the Sunday immediately preceding the national election in America. We believe this is a crucial time here in our nation. This is the year, 2008, when the death toll from abortion has crossed the 50 million mark. This is the year when the abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, crossed the billion dollar mark in revenues, over $336 million of that coming from American taxpayers. After 35 years, if abortion was a good thing, it would be settled in the minds of people. But we have recognized that abortion has not been a good thing. It has not done any good for women, and it has certainly been destructive to the lives of the 50 million children that have been lost. There is no more important time in our nation's history than right now for people to pray, to fast, and to put their faith into action. We will be able to do big, big things, because we have a big, big God who can do all things. We took a tour of the capital recently. We got the opportunity to get down on the floor of the House of Representatives chamber. There, up on the wall, above where the Speaker of the House sits, it says in big letters "In God We Trust." And I thought, one of the problems we have had these last 35 years of legalized abortion in America, is that we have put our trust in everything else but that. We have put our trust in who resides in the White House. We have put our trust in who is walking the halls of Congress. We have put our trust in who are the black-robed judges sitting on the United States Supreme Court. We have put our trust in the state legislatures. We put our trust in politics. This year we must recognize the importance of that statement "In God We Trust," and we must return our faith there. He is the only one who will never let us down. I really believe from the bottom of my heart that this year is going to mark the beginning of the end of abortion, and I think we are already starting to see that play out all across the nation. I see it in the eyes of the people. I see them putting their work into action. I see them in position now all across the country. I am amazed. I have never seen it like this before. Last year we had some really good things happening. Reports around the country showed that people were going to planning meetings, and they had 15 or 20 people getting involved. By comparison, this year I went to three different planning meetings in Nebraska, and at these three meetings there were 500 people. These people were on fire and they were ready to do things. I am seeing planning, intensity, and work like I have never seen. It gives me enormous hope. Q: Are you expecting any specific results from this campaign? Bereit: The most important result we hope for is that each of us who are involved grow in holiness during the campaign. That is more important than any immediate result. Yes, we hope and pray that we will see many children's lives saved. Nationally, thus far in the previous two campaigns we have reports of 514 children saved, and we want to see many more children saved. Yes, we want to see many people spared from making a decision for abortion. Yes, we want to see a lot of post-abortion healing happen. But most importantly we want our nation to turn back to God, and that is going to start through each one of us. It will begin through our faithfulness, through our personal growth in holiness. Personally, I have never had the degree of spiritual growth like I experienced during my first 40 Days for Life. Q: What are some ways that people can join in the 40 Days for Life effort? Bereit: The first thing I would tell anybody would be to get down on their knees and begin to pray. Pray about what role God has for you in this effort. Certainly for many people it will be to join in the prayer and fasting from today to Nov. 2. For many people it will be to participate in the vigil campaign in 179 cities throughout the country. On our Web site we have a list of all the locations where the vigils will be held, and people can go there, they can find the location nearest to them, they can get the information, and they can come out to the vigil. Maybe it will be one hour a day for the 40 days, the equivalent of a workweek, and they can have the opportunity to save lives. Maybe it will be once a week. Maybe it will be just once during the 40 days. They can go and be there in prayer in the place where there is so little hope, at an abortion facility or Planned Parenthood office, to be a beacon of light in the darkness there. Another thing is that people can discern if God is calling them to be a part of spreading the pro-life message through personal outreach. Maybe it will start with talking with their friends, or family members, people at their parish, people throughout their diocese, people they work with, people they go to school with or that their children go to school with, and inviting people to join together in this effort during these 40 days. On our Web site we have a section where people can sign up for the daily e-mail updates and devotionals during the 40 days. We have national leaders such as Father Frank Pavone and other clergy, other national pro-life leaders, who will be sending out a daily devotional with a Scripture reflection and a call to action for people during the 40 days. We have heard so many great reports from people that tell us it is such an inspiration to know that their intentions are being united with others around the country. For those people who are in a city that does not have an organized campaign this fall, they may discern that God is leading them to lead a campaign down the road. We are very likely to do another campaign again next Lenten season, and one again next fall. Q: What message would you like to give to people who are interested in participating in this campaign? Bereit: The main thought that keeps coming back to me as I work with people during this campaign, is that years from now in the history books, there is going to be a chapter about abortion, and about how this great injustice ultimately ended. As with every great injustice, such as segregation or slavery, or any other injustice in America and throughout the world, all of them eventually fell or will fall. Abortion will eventually fall. When it does, and when the history books are written, our children and our grandchildren are going to be reading about how abortion ended. I believe that they are going to be reading about the year 2008 and how this year was the beginning of the end of abortion. And we will have to answer to them what we did or did not do during this crucial time in American history. I believe that the faithful, God's people, who are willing to pray and fast, who are willing to hold peaceful vigil, who are willing to spread the pro-life message, and do anything they can to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, I believe that we will be able to tell our children and grandchildren, "I did everything that I could possibly do. I was willing to do the things that needed to be done in order to end abortion." It is the legacy that we are going to be known for. People will look back at us and will measure us by how we met this great evil, this great injustice. Abortion will be in the history books. The question is what role will we have played in bringing it down? That's the message I really want to get across to people. Ultimately of course, we live with the desire that when we each arrive in our heavenly home, we want to eventually hear those words, "Well done, good and faithful servant." --- --- --- On the Net: 40 Days for Life: http://www.40daysforlife.com/about.cfm/ Part 1 of this interview: http://www.zenit.org/article-23696?l=English/ email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23701?l=english
On Paul and the Other Apostles "He Insists on Fidelity to What He Himself Has Received" VATICAN CITY, SEPT. 24, 2008 (Zenit.org).-
Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI delivered during today's general audience in St. Peter's Square.The Holy Father continued today the cycle of catecheses dedicated to the figure and thought of St. Paul. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Today I would like to speak about the relationship between St. Paul and the apostles who preceded him in the following of Jesus. These relationships were always marked by profound respect and by the frankness that in Paul stemmed from the defense of the truth of the Gospel. Although he was practically a contemporary of Jesus of Nazareth, he never had the opportunity to meet him during his public life. Because of this, after the dazzling light on the road to Damascus, he saw the need to consult the first disciples of the Master, who had been chosen by [Christ] to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. In the Letter to the Galatians, Paul elaborates an important report on the contacts maintained with some of the Twelve: above all with Peter, who had been chosen as Cephas, Aramaic word that means rock, on which the Church was built (cf. Galatians 1:18), with James, the "Lord's brother" (cf. Galatians 1:19), and with John (cf. Galatians 2:9). Paul does not hesitate to acknowledge them as the "pillars" of the Church. Particularly significant is the meeting with Cephas (Peter), which took place in Jerusalem. Paul stayed with him for 15 days to "consult him" (cf. Galatians 1:19), that is, to be informed on the earthly life of the Risen One, who had "seized" him on the road to Damascus and was changing his life radically: from persecutor of the Church of God he became evangelizer of faith in the crucified Messiah and Son of God, which in the past he had tried to destroy (cf. Galatians 1:23). What type of information did Paul obtain on Jesus in the three years after the encounter of Damascus? In the First Letter to the Corinthians we find two passages, which Paul had learned in Jerusalem and which had been formulated as central elements of the Christian tradition, the constitutive tradition. He transmits them verbally, exactly as he has received them, with a very solemn formula: "I delivered to you ... what I also received." He insists, therefore, on fidelity to what he himself has received and transmits faithfully to the new Christians. They are constitutive elements and concern the Eucharist and the Resurrection. They are texts already formulated in the [decade of] the 30s. Thus we come to the death, burial in the heart of the earth and resurrection of Jesus (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Let's take one at a time: the words of Jesus in the Last Supper (cf. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25) really are for Paul the center of the life of the Church. The Church is built from this center, being in this way herself. In addition to this Eucharistic center, from which the Church is always reborn -- also for all Paul's theology, for all his thought -- these words have a notable impact on Paul's personal relationship with Jesus. On one hand, they attest that the Eucharist illumines the curse of the cross, changing it into a blessing (Galatians 3:13-14), and on the other, they explain the breadth of the very death and resurrection of Jesus. In his letters, the "for you" of the institution becomes the "for me" (Galatians 2:20), personalized, knowing that in that "you" he himself was known and loved by Jesus and, on the other hand, "for all" (2 Corinthians 5:L14): this "for you" becomes "for me" and "for the Church" (Ephesians 5:25), that is, also "for all" of the expiatory sacrifice of the cross (cf. Romans 3:25). By and in the Eucharist, the Church is built and recognizes herself as "Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27), nourished every day by the strength of the Spirit of the Risen One. The other text, on the Resurrection, transmits to us again the same formula of fidelity. St. Paul wrote: "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve" (1 Corinthians 15:3-5). Also in this tradition transmitted to Paul he again mentions the expression "for our sins," which underlines the gift that Jesus has made of himself to the Father, to deliver us from sin and death. From this gift of himself, Paul draws the most moving and fascinating expressions of our relationship with Christ: "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). It is worthwhile to recall the commentary with which the then Augustinian monk Martin Luther accompanied these paradoxical expressions of Paul: "This is the grandiose mystery of divine grace toward sinners: by an admirable exchange our sins no longer are ours, but Christ's, and the righteousness of Christ is no longer Christ's but ours" (Commentary on the Psalms from 1513-1515). And so we have been saved. In the original kerygma -- proclamation -- transmitted from mouth to mouth, it is worth pointing out the use of the verb "has risen," instead of "rose" which would have been more logical, in continuity with "died" and "was buried." The verbal form "has risen" has been chosen to underline that Christ's resurrection affects up to the present the existence of believers: We can translate it as "has risen and continues to be alive" in the Eucharist and in the Church. Thus all the Scriptures attest to the death and resurrection of Christ, because -- as Hugh of Saint Victor wrote -- "the whole of divine Scripture constitutes only one book, and this book is Christ, because the whole of Scripture speaks of Christ and finds its fulfillment in Christ" (De Arca Noe, 2, 8). If St. Ambrose of Milan can say that "in Scripture we read Christ," it is because the Church of the origins has reread all Israel's Scriptures starting from and returning to Christ. The enumeration of the Risen One's apparitions to Cephas, to the Twelve, to more than 500 brethren, and to James closes with the reference to the personal apparition received by Paul on the road to Damascus: "Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me" (1 Corinthians 15:8). Because he had persecuted the Church of God, he expresses in this confession his unworthiness to be considered an apostle, at the same level as those who preceded him: but God's grace has not been in vain in him (1 Corinthians 15:10). Hence, the boastful affirmation of divine grace unites Paul with the first witnesses of Christ's resurrection. "Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you have believed" (1 Corinthians 15:11). The identity and unity of the proclamation of the Gospel is important: both they and I preach the same faith, the same Gospel of Jesus Christ dead and risen who gives himself in the most holy Eucharist. The importance that he bestows on the living Tradition of the Church, which she transmits to her communities, demonstrates how mistaken is the view of those who attribute to Paul the invention of Christianity: Before proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, he encountered him on the road to Damascus, and met him in the Church, observing his life in the Twelve, and in those who had followed him on the roads of Galilee. In the next catecheses we will have the opportunity to go more profoundly into the contributions that Paul has made to the Church of the origins; however, the mission received on the part of the Risen One in order to evangelize the Gentiles must be confirmed and guaranteed by those who gave him and Barnabas their right hand, in sign of approval of their apostolate and evangelization, and of acceptance in the one communion of the Church of Christ (cf. Galatians 2:9). We understand, therefore, that the expression -- "[f]rom now on, therefore, we regard no one from a human point of view; even though we once regarded Christ from a human point of view, we regard him thus no longer" (2 Corinthians 5:16) -- does not mean that his earthly life has little relevance for our maturing in the faith, but that from the moment of the Resurrection, our way of relating to him changes. He is, at the same time, the Son of God, "who was descended from David according to the flesh and designated Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead," as St. Paul recalls at the beginning of the Letter to the Romans (1:3-4). The more we try to follow in the footsteps of Jesus of Nazareth on the roads of Galilee, so much the more will we understand that he has taken charge of our humanity, sharing in everything except sin. Our faith is not born from a myth or an idea, but from an encounter with the Risen One, in the life of the Church. [Translation by ZENIT] [At the end of the audience, Benedict XVI greeted pilgrims in several languages. In English, he said:] Dear Brothers and Sisters, In today's catechesis we turn again to the life of Saint Paul and consider his relationship with the Twelve Apostles. In his letter to the Galatians, Paul speaks of his visits to Jerusalem where he consulted Peter, James and John, reputed to be the "pillars" of the Church. Paul's mission to the Gentiles needed to be confirmed and guaranteed by those who had been disciples of Jesus during his earthly life, and they offered to him and to Barnabas the right hand of fellowship. Paul passed on the living tradition that he had received: the words of Jesus at the Last Supper, his death and resurrection, and his appearances to Peter and to the Twelve. Paul emphasizes that Jesus died "for our sins", he offered himself to the Father in order to deliver us from sin and death. And now that Jesus has risen from the dead, he is living in his Church and in the Eucharist, where we continue to encounter him. Just as Paul's teaching is rooted in his experience on the road to Damascus, and in his knowledge of Christ acquired through the Church, so too our faith is grounded, not on myths or pious legends, but on the words and deeds of Jesus of Nazareth, and on our encounter with the risen Lord, present in the life of his Church. I offer a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors here today, including the choir from New Zealand and the groups from Britain and Ireland, Scandinavia, Africa, Australia and the Far East. I greet in particular the new students from the Venerable English College and the priests from Ireland who are taking part in a renewal course. May your pilgrimage renew your faith in Christ present in his Church, after the example of the Apostle Saint Paul. May God bless you all! Copyright 2008 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana email this article: http://www.zenit.org/article-23704?l=english
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