Thirty-seven years ago, the then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger delivered a homily on the occasion of the death of Pope Paul VI who died on the Feast of the Transfiguration, 6-8-1978. It is still relevant today:
“Paul VI increasingly let himself be led where as a human being, he did not want to go alone. More and more the pontificate meant for him wearing the cloth of another, being nailed to the cross... He gave new value to authority as service, bearing it as suffering.
“He took no pleasure in power, in position, in a successful career. Paul VI carried out his service by faith. From this derived both his firmness and his willingness to compromise. For both he was criticised, and some comments after his death were even in bad taste. But today a Pope who is not criticised would be failing to carry out his duty to this age.
“Paul VI stood up to the intense scrutiny of the media and of public opinion. He could do this because he didn’t consider success and approval the measure of truth and faith, but rather his conscience.”
Appeal to oppose UK assisted-suicide Bill
Bishop Mark Davis of Shrewsbury, England, has advised members of his diocese to take an active role in opposing a Bill that would allow for assisted suicide in Great Britain.
Davis said the proposed legislation was “the first step on the road to euthanasia”. He added that it did not include adequate safeguards against abuse. “We have good reason to fear that the right to die will quickly become the duty to die,” he said.
Catholics were urged to lobby their representatives in Parliament to oppose the Bill.
Bishops on pilgrimage to Compostela
The famous and popular pilgrimage to the cathedral of Compostela in Spain was the subject of a pastoral letter by the French and Spanish bishops whose dioceses are part of the Camino de Santiago (Way of St James). The pilgrimage, which hails from the Middle Ages, stills attracts large crowds from around the world.
In their pastoral letter the bishops conceded that 70 per cent of those who make the journey are not doing so for religious reasons, but they nevertheless urged Christians who live on the route to show them hospitality. They also proposed that those doing the pilgrimage for a spiritual reason could proclaim the Gospel to the others on the journey.
‘Go to confession’
In his Angelus message last Sunday, Pope Francis said: “There are people who are afraid to go to confession, forgetting that they will not encounter a severe judge there, but the immensely merciful Father.
“When we go to confession, we feel a bit ashamed. That happens to all of us, but we must remember that this shame is a grace that prepares us for the embrace of the Father, who always forgives and always forgives everything.”
Pope Francis’s August prayer intentions
The Vatican has issued Pope Francis’s prayer intentions for August. His general intention is: “That volunteers may give themselves generously to the service of the needy.” His evangelisation intention is: “That setting aside our very selves we may learn to be neighbours to those who find themselves on the margins of human life and society.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)