"The Church needs priests who are holy, ministers who help the faithful experience the merciful love of the Lord and who are convinced witnesses of that love." The Pope said this while officially inaugurating the Year for Priests at a prayer service at St Peter's Basilica on June 19.
Pope Benedict appealed to all priests to work hard for holiness and said the Church and the world could not do without the ordained ministry. He said the Church suffers a lot because of "the sins of its pastors... either because they lead them (the faithful) astray with their private doctrines, or because they bind them in the snares of sin and death".
The Year for Priests coincides with the 150th anniversary of Cure d'Ars, St John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests.
Caritas laments women refugees' plight
In a message on World Refugee Day, Caritas condemned the lack of protection for women and girls in conflict zones, and called on governments and international organisations to act against these injustices. It highlighted the plight of women refugees who are often targets of violence in war, and noted a "collective failure" to protect women and girls from rape and other forms of exploitation.
The communiqué reported that in Colombia, 17.7 per cent of women who flee their homes reported sexual violence as the cause. Women and girls who ran away from violence in Sri Lanka reported fear of violence in the overcrowded refugee camps, and a lack of privacy which often leads to abuse. Caritas noted that in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo, 463 rape cases were reported in the past three months, over double the amount over the same period last year.
Martini supports Pope on confession
Pope Benedict's recent call for the revival of the sacrament of reconciliation, or penance as it is more popularly known, has found the support of Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini. The former archbishop of Milan and leader of the forward-looking sections of the Church in Europe, has indicated his strong endorsement of the Pope's call.
In an interview with La Repubblica, Mgr Martini said he regrets that the interest in confession has become "anaemic" in recent years. He added that the sacrament "must again be given a substance that is truly sacramental".
Jews not delaying Pius XII sainthood
The Vatican press office has issued a statement denying that the beatification of Pope Pius XII is being delayed because of pressures from Jewish groups. The press office was reacting to controversies following comments allegedly made by a jesuit who is responsible for the cause of the beatification of Pius XII.
According to some reports, Fr Peter Grumpel, SJ, had said that Pope Benedict has stalled the progress of the beatification progress because he was convinced this would be seriously detrimental to the relationship between Jews and Catholics.
According to earlier reports, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints had prepared a decree recognising the heroic virtues of Pius XII. This is considered to be a very important step on the road to beatification.
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)