John Allen (National Catholic Reporter)
WYD: Benedict paints his own shade of green
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
Pope Benedict XVI continued to paint his distinctive shade of green in Australia yesterday, repeatedly voicing environmental concerns while linking them to a broader range of Christian doctrines and moral teaching.
In a session with leaders of other religions held in the Chapter Hall of Sydney?s St. Mary?s Cathedral, the pontiff said religions have a unique capacity to foster ?sacrifice and self-discipline,? including ?a moderate use of the world?s goods.?
Pope says he will bring 'Christian hope' to America
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
One week ahead of his arrival in the United States, Pope Benedict XVI said today that he is coming to America to bring a message of ?Christian hope.?
?I shall come to United States of America as pope for the first time, to proclaim this great truth: Jesus Christ is hope for men and women of every language, race, culture and social condition,? Benedict said.
Vatican fence-mending campaign with Jews picks up steam
Efforts to mute criticism of a Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews in the old Latin liturgy of the Catholic Church, which have escalated ever since Pope Benedict XVI announced last July the revival of the Latin Mass, intensified this week.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops announced two additions to the program of Pope Benedict while he?s in the United States in mid-April, both directed at Jews. After a general April 17 session with 200 leaders of other faiths in Washington, D.C., the pope will also meet briefly in private with the Jewish delegation. On April 18, Benedict will make a stop at New York?s Park East Synagogue, located near the Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations.
Trivial Pursuit about Papal Travel in America
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
By way of background to Benedict XVI?s April 15-20 visit to the United States, the following are some ?Trivial Pursuit?-style nuggets about papal travel in America.
1. With this trip, the United States will pull into a tie with Poland for the most-visited country (other than Italy) by popes in the modern era. Both nations will have hosted nine papal visits in the last half-century.
Aldo Moro affair a watershed for the West and for the Church
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
Yesterday marked the 30th anniversary of a watershed event, both for contemporary Western politics and for the Catholic church: the kidnapping of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the left-wing terrorist group the Red Brigades, followed by Moro?s execution on May 9, 1978, after 55 days of captivity.
The morning Moro was kidnapped, he was on his way to Parliament to savor what was to be his defining achievement: the compromesso storico, a plan to bring Italy?s Communist Party into a governing alliance with the Christian Democrats in order to promote national stability. It was a controversial move, opposed bitterly in Washington and elsewhere as a violation of the cardinal rule of post-war Italian politics: to keep the Communists out of power.
Chiara Lubich, founder of Focolare movement, dies at 88
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
One of the most remarkable women in the Catholic church passed from the scene today. Chiara Lubich, founder of the Focolare movement, died at roughly 2:00 am on March 14 at her home in Rocca del Papa, outside Rome, at the age of 88.
Lubich had been treated for complications related to age at Rome?s Gemelli Hospital, and then returned home for her final hours.
John Allen in Metuchen, New Jersey
John Allen will speak on "Benedict XVI and the Future of Catholicism" as part of the Cathedral Lenten Series at the Cathedral of St. Francis in Metuchen, New Jersey, on Feb. 19 at 7:30 pm. The event will take place in the Cathedral Community Room. For further information, call 732-562-1990 x1634 or 732-548-0100 x210.
On Assignment in Texas
John Allen is on assignment this week in Texas, researching an upcoming feature story on Catholicism in the Lone Star state. He will not be posting daily updates this week, but will have his regular "All Things Catholic" column this Friday.
Sainthood for Pius XII will get more study in '08, Vatican official says
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
Probably the most delicate cause for sainthood currently working its way through the Vatican system will be further studied this year, according to the Holy See's top official for saints, but he offered no projection of when Pope Pius XII might be formally beatified and, eventually, canonized.
Portuguese Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, spoke in a Feb.1 interview with the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference, L'Avvenire.
New look the latest stage of revolution at pope's newspaper
By JOHN L. ALLEN JR.
New York
In the abstract, if one were to choose some aspect of Roman life least likely to scorch the "buzz meter," meaning least likely to set tongues wagging and cause eyebrows to shoot up because of some bold new direction, a terrific candidate would have been the "gray lady" of the Italian journalistic scene, L'Osservatore Romano, the "pope's newspaper."
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