"SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical

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Benodette	"SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical		Lead	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/29/07 04:44:13	Tags : None NOV 23, 2007 (VIS) - The new Encyclical of Benedict XVI, "Spe salvi," will be presented in the Holy See Press Office at 11.30 a.m. on Friday, November 30. The document will be presented by Cardinal Georges Marie Martin Cottier O.P., pro-theologian emeritus of the Pontifical Household, and by Cardinal Albert Vanhoye S.J., professor emeritus of New Testament exegesis at the Pontifical Biblical Institute.
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Benodette	Re: "SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical	#1	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/29/07 04:49:41	Pope to sign, release encyclical on hope Nov. 30 CNS - Pope Benedict XVI will sign his second encyclical, a meditation on Christian hope, Nov. 30 and the document will be released the same day, the Vatican announced. The encyclical, titled "Spe Salvi" ("Saved by Hope"), will be presented at a Vatican press conference by Cardinal Georges Cottier, the retired theologian of the papal household, and Cardinal Albert Vanhoye, a retired professor at the Pontifical Biblical Institute. Sources have said the encyclical, about 65 pages long, explores the theme of salvation and the hope offered by Christianity in light of modern philosophy and contemporary culture. The title comes from St. Paul's letter to the Romans, in which he said: "For in hope we have been saved." The text will be published initially in Latin, Italian, English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Polish, the Vatican said. Pope to sign, release encyclical on hope Nov. 30 New encyclical due Friday Pope relies on Christian hope for encyclical
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rcesq	Re: "SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical	#2	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1780 11/30/07 04:24:11 Moderator	And here it is: *Quote:* ENCYCLICAL LETTER SPE SALVI OF THE SUPREME PONTIFF BENEDICT XVI TO THE BISHOPS PRIESTS AND DEACONS MEN AND WOMEN RELIGIOUS AND ALL THE LAY FAITHFUL ON CHRISTIAN HOPE Introduction 1. SPE SALVI facti sumusin hope we were saved, says Saint Paul to the Romans, and likewise to us (Rom 8:24). According to the Christian faith, redemptionsalvationis not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Now the question immediately arises: what sort of hope could ever justify the statement that, on the basis of that hope and simply because it exists, we are redeemed? And what sort of certainty is involved here? Spe Salvi Encyclical Letter
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Benodette	Re: Pope Benedict's Second Encyclical Is Out	#3	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/30/07 08:02:22	Benodette Acton Institute - Its called Spe Salvi, or In hope we were saved, and was released this morning, the Feast of St. Andrew the Apostle. The title is taken from St. Pauls letter to the Romans 8:24; the theme is, of course, Christian hope. This second encyclical follows Deus Caritas Est, Pope Benedict XVIs reflections on Christian charity, which was released in January 2006. You can find the English version of Spe Salvi here. Ive only had time for one read, not nearly enough for a full summary, but here are some of the highlights. There are two sections, Is Christian hope individualistic? and The transformation of Christian faith-hope in the modern age, that should be of particular interest to PowerBlog readers. In the latter section, the pope refers to Francis Bacons project, the triumph of art over nature and faith in progress. This is followed by reflections on reason and freedom, the French Revolution and Immanuel Kants reaction to it, and Karl Marx. In his analysis of Marx, the pope writes, His real error is materialism: man, in fact, is not merely the product of economic conditions, and it is not possible to redeem him purely from the outside by creating a favourable economic environment. (n. 21) This is followed by a section on the importance of freedom in human affairs: The right state of human affairs, the moral well-being of the world can never be guaranteed through structures alone, however good they are. Such structures are not only important, but necessary; yet they cannot and must not marginalize human freedom. Even the best structures function only when the community is animated by convictions capable of motivating people to assent freely to the social order. Freedom requires conviction; conviction does not exist on its own, but must always be gained anew by the community. Since man always remains free and since his freedom is always fragile, the kingdom of good will never be definitively established in this world. Anyone who promises the better world that is guaranteed to last forever is making a false promise; he is overlooking human freedom. Freedom must constantly be won over for the cause of good. Free assent to the good never exists simply by itself. If there were structures which could irrevocably guarantee a determinedgoodstate of the world, mans freedom would be denied, and hence they would not be good structures at all. (n. 24a,b) Pope Benedict's Second Encyclical Is Out SPE SALVI
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Benodette	Pope's new encyclical calls for a rediscovery of hope	#4	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/30/07 08:11:31	AP CNA - Today at noon in Rome, the Holy See released Pope Benedict XVIs second encyclical, Spe Salvi, which proclaims the need for hope in modern society and the necessity for Christians to recover its true meaning. The Pope begins his 75 page encyclical by explaining that the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Spe Salvi draws upon the rich treasure of Benedict XVIs learning, with references from the lives of the saints and the Church Fathers. Armed with this wisdom and the virtue of hope, the Holy Father says, The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. Naturally, this leads to the question, what is hope? The pontiff relates that to come to know Godthe true Godmeans to receive hope. Yet Christian hope is different. Referring to the New Testaments times, he writes, Christianity did not bring a message of social revolution like that of the ill-fated Spartacus, whose struggle led to so much bloodshed. Jesus was not Spartacus, he was not engaged in a fight for political liberation. Reuters Jesus brought something totally different: an encounter with the Lord of all lords, an encounter with the living God and thus an encounter with a hope stronger than the sufferings of slavery, a hope which therefore transformed life and the world from within, the encyclical explains. It is not the elemental spirits of the universerelates the Holy Fatherwhich ultimately govern the world and mankind, but a personal God governs the stars, that is, the universe; it is not the laws of matter and of evolution that have the final say, but reason, will, lovea Person. This changes mans world because the inexorable power of material elements no longer has the last word; we are not slaves of the universe and of its laws, we are free. Christians have hope because Jesus tells us who man truly is and what a man must do in order to be truly human, explains the Pope. Turning to Hebrews 11:1, the Holy Father points to the impact of faith. Faith is not merely a personal reaching out towards things to come that are still totally absent: it gives us something. It gives us even now something of the reality we are waiting for, and this present reality constitutes for us a proof of the things that are still unseen. Faith, writes the Pope, gives life a new basis, a new foundation on which we can stand, one which relativizes the habitual foundation, the reliability of material income. Pope's new encyclical calls for a rediscovery of hope People need God to have hope, pope says in new encyclical
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Benodette	The second in a possible triptych of encyclicals	#5	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/30/07 08:16:01	From John Allen Pope Benedict XVI released today what could eventually be the second part of a triptych of encyclicals on the theological virtues of faith, hope and love, in the form of Spe Salvi, or Saved in Hope. The reference is to St. Pauls Letter to the Romans 8:24, For in hope we were saved. Only the true Christian understanding of hope, Benedict argues, can save the world from the destructive power of ideology and impossible messianic expectations of politics. Benedicts first encyclical, released in December 2005, was Deus Caritas Est, or God is love. The theological virtues are listed, again by Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13:13: So faith, hope and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day," Benedict writes in Spe Salvi, released today by the Vatican. "But these are not enough without the great hope, which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God." That point leads Benedict to accent what has emerged as the core concern of his papacy: a determination to focus on the heart of Catholic identity, and on the distinctive spiritual message the church has to offer the world. "Self-criticism of the modern age in dialogue with Christianity and its awareness of hope is necessary," Benedict writes. "In such a dialogue, Christians too, in the context of their awareness and their experiences, must learn anew what their hope truly consists of, what they have to offer the world and what, instead, they cannot offer. The self-criticism of the modern age must also lead to a self-criticism of modern Christianity, which must forever learn anew to understand itself based on its own roots." Benedict XVI offers the second in a possible triptych of encyclicals: 'Saved by Hope'
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Benodette	Spe Salvi a 'Greatest Hits' collection of Ratzinger ideas	#6	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 11/30/07 08:18:56	John Allen - If one were to compile a list of the core concerns of Joseph Ratzinger, his idees fixes over almost sixty years now of theological reflection, it might look something like this: Truth is not a limit upon freedom, but the condition of freedom reaching its true potential; Reason and faith need one another faith without reason becomes extremism, while reason without faith leads to despair; The dangers of the modern myth of progress, born in the new science of the 16th century and applied to politics through the French Revolution and Marxism; The impossibility of constructing a just social order without reference to God; The urgency of separating eschatology, the longing for a new Heaven and a new earth, from this-worldly politics; Objective truth as the only real limit to ideology and the blind will to power. All those themes take center stage once again in the encyclical Spe Salvi, released today in Rome. In that sense, one could argue that the text represents a sort of Greatest Hits collection of Ratzingers most important ideas, developed over a lifetime, and now presented in the form of an encyclical in his role as Pope Benedict XVI. Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, lent credence to this reading in a Rome news conference this morning, saying that in Spe Salvi we see very clearly the hand and the style of the author, describing the encyclical as absolutely and personally the popes own thought. (In fact, Lombardi said, papal advisers are working on the draft of another encyclical, this one on social themes, and were "surprised" that in the meantime Benedict produced an encyclical more or less entirely on his own.) One should hasten to add, of course, that Benedict himself would not really see these as his ideas, but rather as foundational principles of 2,000 years of Christian teaching and tradition. Yet few figures over the last 60 years have articulated these points with the force, or the political and ecclesiastical consequence, of Joseph Ratzinger. Spe Salvi a 'Greatest Hits' collection of core Ratzinger ideas
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Benodette	Spe Salvi, says Pope Benedict	#7	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 12/02/07 18:06:07	The Telegraph - A colleague, staring at the Pope's latest encyclical, remarked, "There's no news here. It's all about God." He was right, after a fashion, for the document, the second encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI since his election two and a half years ago, is about hope and salvation. Its title, Spe Salvi, is from a phrase in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans, "In hope we were saved." But it is a very unusual kind of encyclical, quoting Dostoyevsky and discussing the Jacobean philosopher Francis Bacon. Enyclicals usually stick to the Bible and the Fathers of the Church. After all, they are universal letters to the Catholic faithful. Yet Spe Salvi speaks to the anguish and foreboding that are clearly marks of the modern world. As a German who experienced some of the evil of Nazism, Pope Benedict spends a proportion of his 25-page letter pondering another letter, "a letter from 'Hell', which lays bare all the horror of a concentration camp".... With justice comes grace, yet "grace does not cancel out justice. It does not make wrong into right. It is not a sponge which wipes everything away, so that whatever someone has done on Earth ends up being of equal value. Dostoyevsky, for example, was right to protest against this kind of Heaven and this kind of grace in his novel The Brothers Karamazov. Evildoers, in the end, do not sit at table at the eternal banquet beside their victims without distinction, as though nothing had happened." In considering justice and grace, the Pope just touches upon hell, for people "who have totally destroyed their desire for truth and readiness to love". But what of those who, as St Paul puts it, build their lives on the foundation of Jesus Christ? That foundation endures. "If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives," St Paul writes, "he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." In interpreting the words, the Pope is surprisingly hospitable to a speculation by "some recent theologians" that "the fire which both burns and saves is Christ himself, the Judge and Saviour. The encounter with him is the decisive act of judgment. Before his gaze all falsehood melts away. This encounter with him, as it burns us, transforms and frees us.".. Spe Salvi, says Pope Benedict
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Benodette	For True Progress, We Need Faith	#8	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 6214 12/02/07 18:08:45	Time Magazine - It's been nearly two decades since the defeat of the Communist atheist-materialism that had long been Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of the Catholic Church. But if Pope Benedict XVI's latest encyclical, "Spe Salvi," is any indication, the spirit of Karl Marx is still alive and well in the halls of the Vatican. Defeated, Marxism is no longer the incarnation of evil in our midst, but rather the perfect (vanquished) foil in Benedict's ongoing intellectually driven sermon that Christian faith is history's only true answer. But the Pope is not ready to declare victory. The Church's current foe, as he sees it, is still in the heart of Europe and still atheist in nature: a sort of post-Socialist, anything-goes brand of Utopia that Benedict calls "relativism" and disparages as the root of everything from loose sexual mores to a breakdown of the traditional family to runaway capitalism.... About midway through his sharply written and widely referenced 73-page encyclical released on Friday, Benedict takes his first shots at Marxism (he has attacked it before, in his first encyclical written in December 2005), which he argues was doomed from the moment it triumphed in Russia in 1917. "Together with the victory of the revolution, Marx's fundamental error also became evident. He showed precisely how to overthrow the existing order, but he did not say how matters should proceed thereafter. He simply presumed that with the expropriation of the ruling class, with the fall of political power and the socialization of means of production, the new Jerusalem would be realized." Benedict argues that Marx was flawed, above all, because he misunderstood the human condition. "He forgot that man always remains man. He forgot man and he forgot man's freedom. He forgot that freedom always remains also freedom for evil... For True Progress, We Need Faith
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Unicorn	More on "Spe Salvi"	#9	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1479 12/02/07 23:01:48	In order to gather all the press articles on Il Papa's new encyclical "Spe Salvi" in one thread, I am posting these articles which were originally posted in the "Benedict in the News' thread. Photo Sources: (Top) Reuters / L'Osservatore Romano; (Bottom) Alessandra Tarantino / AP The English translation of "Spe Salvi", is on the Vatican website, and can be accessed at this link: Encyclical Letter "Spe Salvi" From the Associated Press: *Quote:* Pope Criticizes Atheism in Encyclical By Nicole Winfield VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized modern-day atheism in a major document released Friday, saying it had led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known to mankind. But in his second encyclical, Benedict also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation had ignored Jesus' message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all. "Saved by Hope" is a deeply theological exploration of Christian hope in the afterlife that in the suffering and misery of daily life, Christianity provides the faithful with a "journey of hope" to the Kingdom of God. "We must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world is not in our power," Benedict wrote. "Only God is able to do this." Pope Criticizes Atheism in Encyclical From Catholic World News: *Quote:* Pope's new encyclical explores "crisis of Christian hope" Vatican, Nov. 30, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Spe Salvi, the 2nd encyclical letter of Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news), is a profound, tightly reasoned, but surprisingly accessible meditation on the theological virtue of hope. Following the usual practice, the encyclical takes its title from the first words of the document, a quotation from the 8th chapter of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans: Spe salvi facti sumus-- "For in this hope we were saved." The 76-page document, presented in 8 chapters, explains the Christian understanding of hope, and contrasts it with the hope that modern secularists place in ideological systems. Pope Benedict opens the encyclical with the observation that "according to the Christian faith, 'redemption'-- salvation-- is not simply a given." But the promise of salvation provides "trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present." Christians have confidence in their eternal fate, the Pope said. "The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life." This sort of hope is not possible, the Pope argues, "without God in the world." But for the believer, hope is enough to changes one's approach to life, one's essential attitude. Thus, the Pope says, the virtue is "not just 'informative' but 'performative.'" Pope's new encyclical explores "crisis of Christian hope" From Reuters and Canada.com: *Quote:* Papal encyclical attacks atheism, promises hope Philip Pullella , Reuters Published: Friday, November 30, 2007 VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Benedict, in a new encyclical released on Friday, said atheism was responsible for some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" in history. The 75-page "Spe Salvi," which takes its Latin title from a quote by St Paul (in hope we were saved), is an appeal to a pessimistic world to find strength in Christian hope. In the second encyclical of his papacy, Benedict urges Christians to put their hope for the future in God and not in technology, wealth or political ideologies which can often be deluding. Atheism could be regarded by some as a "type of moralism," particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, to protest against the injustices of the world and world history, he said. Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God." History has proven wrong ideologies such as Marxism which say humans had to establish social justice because God did not exist, the Pope wrote. "It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice," the Pope said. Such a concept was grounded in "intrinsic falsity." Marxism, the Pope wrote, had left behind "a trail of appalling destruction" because it failed to realize that man could not be "merely the product of economic conditions." The encyclical is the highest form of papal writing and addresses all members of the Church. This document is written in a highly academic, professorial style in which the Pope quotes saints, philosophers and writers to make his point. Papal encyclical attacks atheism, promises hope From the Catholic News Service: *Quote:* People need God to have hope, pope says in new encyclical By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- In an encyclical on Christian hope, Pope Benedict XVI said that, without faith in God, humanity lies at the mercy of ideologies that can lead to "the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice." The pope warned that the modern age has replaced belief in eternal salvation with faith in progress and technology, which offer opportunities for good but also open up "appalling possibilities for evil." "Let us put it very simply: Man needs God, otherwise he remains without hope," he said in the encyclical, "Spe Salvi" (on Christian hope), released Nov. 30. The 76-page text explored the essential connection between faith and hope in early Christianity and addressed what it called a "crisis of Christian hope" in modern times. It critiqued philosophical rationalism and Marxism and offered brief but powerful profiles of Christian saints -- ancient and modern -- who embodied hope, even in the face of suffering. The encyclical also included a criticism of contemporary Christianity, saying it has largely limited its attention to individual salvation instead of the wider world, and thus reduced the "horizon of its hope." "As Christians we should never limit ourselves to asking: How can I save myself? We should also ask: What can I do in order that others may be saved?" it said. It was the pope's second encyclical and followed his 2006 meditation on Christian love. He worked on the text over the summer during his stay in the Italian mountains and at his villa outside Rome. People need God to have hope, pope says in new encyclical From the International Herald Tribune: *Quote:* Pope's writing argues need for hope By Ian Fisher Published: November 30, 2007 VATICAN CITY: Atheism may be "understandable" when confronted with evil and suffering, Pope Benedict XVI wrote Friday in his second encyclical, the highest papal teaching. But man's attempt to banish God, he wrote, "has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice," whether through Marxist revolution or science that produced the atomic bomb. "To protest against God in the name of justice is not helpful," the 80-year-old pope wrote. "A world without God is a world without hope. Only God can create justice. And faith gives us the certainty that he does so." The document, called "Saved by Hope," weaves a complex but elegant argument for the necessity of hope, drawing deeply on history, philosophy and theology. His first encyclical, issued almost two years ago, concerned charity and love. Thus, Benedict, whose nearly three-year papacy has stressed a return to theological basics, has now explicitly addressed two of the three fundamental values of faith, hope and charity. Pope's writing argues need for hope From the National Post: *Quote:* Hope that saves: Pope explores distinguishing mark of Christians in encyclical Father Raymond J. De Souza, National Post Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007 Pope Benedict XVI yesterday released his second encyclical, Spe Salvi (Saved By Hope), continuing his emphasis on the basic truths of the Christian life. His first encyclical, published in December, 2005, was dedicated to the Christian understanding of love. With this one dedicated to hope, he may be planning a trilogy covering the three most important Christian virtues, faith, hope and love. Spe Salvi puts a basic question: What is the hope that can give meaning to life? Without some form of hope, Benedict argues life becomes tedious and potentially burdensome, even if it is marked by material affluence and technical progress. A person without hope finds himself in an existential difficulty: For what enduring purpose am I clinging to this life that I love and do not want to lose? "Here we see as a distinguishing mark of Christians the fact that they have a future: it is not that they know the details of what awaits them, but they know in general terms that their life will not end in emptiness," Benedict writes. "Only when the future is certain as a positive reality does it become possible to live the present as well." Hope is not then something for the future alone, a sort of wishful thinking about what might be; it offers meaning for life today. Christian hope is founded on certain faith that life is not a meaningless riddle, but a mystery progressively revealed and finding its fulfillment in the redemption won by Jesus Christ and offered to all peoples. Hope That Saves From the Pittsburgh Post Gazette: *Quote:* Benedict's encyclical warns against atheism Saturday, December 01, 2007 By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette It is God who calls humans to rise above their selfishness and who sustains them when they suffer for doing the right thing, he wrote in "Saved in Hope." His examination of hope repeats his familiar themes concerning aggressive forms of secularism that relegate faith to, at best, a private hobby. "We need the greater and lesser hopes that keep us going day by day. But these are not enough without the great hope which must surpass everything else. This great hope can only be God," he wrote. "His kingdom is not an imaginary hereafter, situated in a future that will never arrive; his kingdom is present wherever he is loved and wherever his love reaches us." His first encyclical was on love which, with hope and faith, is one of the three "theological virtues" in the New Testament. "He is obviously working on a trilogy," said J. Peter Pham, a former Vatican official now teaching at James Madison University. "It will be the culmination of a theological vision that he has spent his entire life working on." In Pittsburgh, auxiliary Bishop Paul Bradley responded for Bishop David Zubik, who was en route from Rome. "It is hope that the world seems to lack today. True hope is based on God's unconditional love and justice," he said. Benedict's encyclical warns against atheism From the Philadelphia Inquirer: *Quote:* Papal encyclical targets atheism: Pope Benedict XVI also questioned modern Christianity's focus on individual salvation. By Victor L. Simpson Associated Press VATICAN CITY - Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized atheism in a major document released yesterday, saying it had led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known. In his second encyclical as pope, Benedict also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation had ignored Jesus' message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all. The document, "Saved by Hope," is a deeply theological exploration of Christian hope: that in the suffering and misery of daily life, Christianity provides the faithful a "journey of hope" to the Kingdom of God. "We must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world is not in our power," Benedict wrote. "Only God is able to do this." An encyclical is the most important papal document, addressed to all members of the billion-strong Roman Catholic Church. In the 76-page document, Benedict said the Christian understanding of hope had changed in the modern age, when man sought to relieve the suffering and injustice in the world. Benedict pointed to two historical upheavals: the French Revolution and the proletarian revolution instigated by Karl Marx. Benedict sharply criticized Marx and the 19th- and 20th-century atheism spawned by his revolution, although he acknowledged that both were responses to the deep injustices of the time. Papal encyclical targets atheism From News.com of Australia *Quote:* Atheism is cruel, says the Pope December 02, 2007 11:00am POPE Benedict XVI has criticised modern-day atheism, saying it led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known. In his second encyclical, Benedict also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation had ignored Jesus's message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all. Saved By Hope is a deeply theological exploration of Christian hope in the afterlife: that in the suffering and misery of daily life, Christianity provides the faithful with a "journey of hope" to the "Kingdom of God". "We must do all we can to overcome suffering, but to banish it from the world is not in our power," Benedict wrote. "Only God is able to do this." In the 76-page document, Benedict elaborates how the Christian understanding of hope had changed in the modern age, when man sought to relieve the suffering and injustice around him. Benedict points to two great historical upheavals: the French Revolution and the proletarian revolution instigated by Karl Marx. Benedict sharply criticises Marx and the 19th and 20th century atheism spawned by his revolution, although he acknowledges that both were responding to the deep injustices of the time. "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God," he wrote. Atheism is cruel, says the Pope -------------------- Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
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Unicorn	More thoughts on "Spe Salvi"	#10	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1479 12/04/07 02:11:29	From Catholic News Service: *Quote:* Pope's second encyclical invites people to personally encounter Jesus By John Thavis Catholic News Service VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- It's difficult to select a single summarizing line in Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical "Spe Salvi" (on Christian hope), but a fundamental point is found in its first few pages. Christ's sacrifice, the pope said, overturned the pagan worldview of the early Christian era. In Christianity's new vision, the universe was governed not by the laws of matter but by a personal God who revealed himself in the person of Jesus Christ. "And if we know this person and he knows us, then truly the inexorable power of material elements no longer has the last word; we are not slaves of the universe and of its laws, we are free," he said. Throughout its 76 pages, the pope's encyclical on hope is not just an exposition of philosophical and theological arguments, but an invitation for people to personally encounter Jesus Christ. That invitation has been the core of Pope Benedict's mission over the last two and a half years. In his first encyclical, "Deus Caritas Est" ["God Is Love"], the pope said Christianity's main purpose was to help people accept God's love and share it -- beginning with love "in its most radical form," the sacrifice of Christ. In "Spe Salvi," the pope argued that faith in Christ brings well-founded hope in eternal salvation, the "great hope" that can sustain people through the trials of this world. In presenting Jesus Christ as the source of love and hope for contemporary men and women, the pope has tried to explain the church's beliefs in ways that are convincing without being authoritarian. Pope's second encyclical invites people to personally encounter Jesus From AsiaNews, these two articles: *Quote:* Pope: certainty of faith is the foundation of Christian hope by Franco Pisano In his second encyclical Benedict XVI affirms that the current faith in scientific progress and contesting of Gods existence based on the injustices of this world, are incapable of giving a true answer to mans questions on the future. Hope is learned and exercised in places of prayer, action, sufferance and waiting for Gods Judgement. Vatican City (AsiaNews) The heavens are not empty and life does not end in nothingness: faith in Gods existence is the origin of Christian hope, it gives meaning to our existence the existence of each person and everyone together and it allows us to look beyond fear towards the last Judgement. A judgement which may bring damnation or salvation, but which also sets out a time of waiting, Purgatory. Hope gives meaning to the history of mankind, not todays faith in scientific progress. Hope gives meaning to our waiting for justice, which cannot be found in man alone, as the great revolutions have shown by bringing nothing but death and destruction. It is entitled Spe Salvi (Saved in Hope) the second encyclical by Benedict XVI, signed and published today. In the English version, 75 pages focus on the virtue of hope, following on from charity, to which his first encyclical was dedicated. A theological Opera dense with references to the scriptures and theologians, but also to intellectuals such as Adorno, Marx and Dostoevsky. Redemption, salvation is not simply a given writes the Pope in the introduction Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if arduous can be lives and accepted if it leads towards a goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey (n. 1). Christ, in fact, was not engaged in a fight for political liberation like Barabbas or Bar-Kochba. Jesus who himself, died on the Cross, brought something totally different: an encounter with the living God and thus an encounter with hope stronger than the sufferings of slavery, a hope which therefore transformed life and the world from within. Pope: certainty of faith is the foundation of Christian hope *Quote:* Pope has also hopes for atheists by Bernardo Cervellera With his new encyclical, Benedict XVI calls on Christians to overcome individualistic views of salvation, urging them instead to be ministers of hope for the world. He calls on atheists to have the courage to do their own self-criticism in light of failed social projects and the ambiguities of scientific progress. Rome (AsiaNews) In his new magisterial encyclical Spe Salvi, Benedict XVI calls on every Christian to become ministers of hope for others (n. 34). In it he refers to the universal value of mission, something more than a plain exhortation. Christians, he says, are called to produce hope for the world in the fields of science, culture and politics. The hopelessness in todays society is for all to see. Social problems grip entire populations; hunger, disease and the lack of human rights are still seeking solutions as a result of the inanity of many government and international organisations and because many prefer not to put their power and wealth on the line and prefer to build up armies and plan wars rather than work for peace. Faced with the same problems day in and day out, humankind has tired with its younger generations less and less interested in the common good. This is true for Asia, where young Chinese and Indians can only dream about their careers and making money, but even more so for an aging West. If technical progress is not matched by corresponding progress in man's ethical formation, in man's inner growth (cf Eph, 3:16; 2 Cor, 4:16), then it is not progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world (n. 22). Vietnams government now realises that. After years of materialist ideology it is coming to grip with the fact that it has created a corrupt political class and fashioned younger generations who are now desperately trying to drown their sorrows in sex and drugs, unconcerned about the fate of their elders. For this reason it is trying to save the country by calling on the Catholic Church to educate the young and instil society with values it had lost. Pope has also hopes for atheists -------------------- Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
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mag6nideum	Re: More thoughts on "Spe Salvi"	#11	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1549 12/04/07 14:57:45	Many thanks Unicorn for keeping us informed about the reception of Spe salvi. I found this encyclical piece of writing most inspiring and even informative. Some MSM reports called it a 75 page document, but printed out it is only 26 pages. I hope people are not going to be "put of"' by what they're told the length of the work is. Spe salvishould be read by everyone, also those "out there". It is an enriching experience IMO. Other opinions from members here?
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Unicorn	Re: More thoughts on "Spe Salvi"	#12	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1479 12/04/07 20:36:12	*Quote:* Many thanks Unicorn for keeping us informed about the reception of Spe salvi. I found this encyclical piece of writing most inspiring and even informative. Some MSM reports called it a 75 page document, but printed out it is only 26 pages. I hope people are not going to be "put of"' by what they're told the length of the work is. Spe salvishould be read by everyone, also those "out there". It is an enriching experience IMO. Other opinions from members here? Mag6, it is an honor and a pleasure to keep the Forum updated on the "progress" of Spe Salvi. To be honest, I have yet to read Spe Salvi. (Gasp!) But I did print it out, and yes, if one prints it out using MS Word, it only takes approximately 25-plus pages. I re-formatted it, however, for printing on 6.5" x 8.5" sheets, using 1" margins, and it ran to around 74 pages -- I'm having it book-bound privately, so I suppose that I shall be the first person in the Philippines to have a bound copy of Spe Salvi! Needless to say, though, I am so impatient to read it, and I hope the book binders will hurry! Now, here are two more analyses on Spe Salvi, for you and for everyone ... From the National Catholic Register: *Quote:* What Not to Hope In By The Editors December 9-15, 2007 Issue \| Posted 12/4/07 at 1:48 PM Pope Benedict XVIs new encyclical is Spe Salvi (On Christian Hope). It has a lot to say about what hope is, what the highest hope is, and how we can grow in the virtue of hope. But it also includes, along the way, a list of things that we should not put our hopes in. Listing what we shouldnt hope in is a helpful exercise, especially for Americans. Our standard of living can easily lead to a false hope in this world. Technology has made our lives more comfortable than kings and queens in ages past. We can travel great distances quickly. We can buy tomatoes, oranges, apples and avocados from around the world year-round in our corner store. We can get in touch with almost anyone almost anywhere at almost any time and we can fill our every waking moment with sophisticated entertainments. Pope Benedicts prophetic message is that much of what we hope in will fail us. What not to hope in And from the Inside Scoop, the always insightful Fr. James Schall: *Quote:* The Encyclical on Hope: On the "De-immanentizing" of the Christian Eschaton [1] Fr. James V. Schall, S.J. / December 3, 2007 I. Modern philosophy, particularly political philosophy, has been characterized by mislocating the supernatural virtue of hope. Philosophy endeavored to incorporate the transcendent order within the world. It gave man, so it surmised, a practical "hope" of a fully happy life as a result of his own efforts through the sciences of man and nature. Thus the virtue of faith became "belief" in progress. The virtue of charity became the effort to rearrange man, family, and polity so that all that separates man from man would be eliminated through no personal effort of the human subjects. As a result of this tremendous effort of modernity to make philosophy "practical," the classical notions of the last thingsdeath, purgatory, heaven, and hellwere likewise relocated within this world. The result has been, at every level, a distortion of man and a failure to understand his real dignity and destiny. The greatest aberrations of human history have resulted from this effort to reject the Christian understanding of the proper worldly and transcendent purpose of man. Heaven, hell, purgatory, and death appear in new forms. In Spe Salvi, the present encyclical on hope, Benedict XVI, with his usual insightful brilliance, reestablishes the proper understanding of the eschaton, the last things. The place of hope in our lives is grounded in the transcendent destiny of man. He is ultimately to become personally a member of the City of God. Death and suffering remain realities within the human condition. Both can be redemptive. The actual plan of salvation included them, once the Fall occurred. The Encyclical on Hope: On the "De-immanentizing" of the Christian Eschaton [Part I] The Encyclical on Hope: On the "De-immanentizing" of the Christian Eschaton [Part II] -------------------- Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
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Unicorn	An encyclical of hope for Asia, and other reports	#13	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1479 12/05/07 22:09:12	The commentaries and reports on Spe Savi continue. Here is a report from AsiaNews: *Quote:* An encyclical of hope for an Asia tormented by dangers and problems by Nirmala Carvalho Msgr. Thomas Dabre, a member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious dialogue and president of the Doctrinal Commission of the Indian Bishops conference, speaks to AsiaNews about Spe Salvi in the context of the problems in his nation and continent. Bombay (AsiaNews) On the one hand tied to Regensburg were the bond between faith and reason is addressed and on the other to Deus caritas est and its affirmation of Gods infinite love manifest in history - Spe Salvi offers Asian society and India in particular, a comforting and encouraging message of hope to a world fraught with all kinds of problems and dangers. So says Indian bishop of Vasai, Thomas Dabre, member of the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue and Chairperson of the Doctrinal Commission of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India. Speaking to AsiaNews he reflected on the relevance of Benedict XVIs second encyclical in his country and continent. The encyclical affirms that in hope we are saved, Christ is the salvation given to us in hope. We have our hope because of Christ who manifested unconditional love for humanity and this is the grounds for hope. The present day scenarios and the outlook for the future at times is bleak because of unfortunate developments of ideologies, terrorism, fanaticism and communalism on the one hand and agnosticism, atheism, indifference and exaggerated fascination for the progress brought about by science technology and medicine. The person open to the developments in the world can easily get discouraged because of development in the international community and even nearer home in India and Asia. In such a discouraging situation the Holy Father proclaims this comforting message of hope. Ultimately, Christianity is a message of hope- given the context we live in today with continuous conflicts and strife- the Holy Father clarifies is what the world urgently needs today - A manifestation and revelation of unconditional love- which was manifested in the life and mission of Christ. The grounds for hope is based on God alone- not human effort. The encyclical has message of hope for all. An encyclical of hope for an Asia tormented by dangers and problems From Arch. Charles Chaput of Denver, writing in "First Things": *Quote:* On Christian Hope By Charles J. Chaput Wednesday, December 5, 2007, 6:39 AM Pope Benedict XVI released his new encyclical letter, Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), November 30, just two days before the beginning of Advent. Not surprisingly, the Holy Fathers timing was perfect because Advent, more than any other season of the year, is rooted in the virtue of hope. For Catholics, the real new year begins not on January 1 but on the First Sunday of Advent, the day when the Church begins her annual new cycle of Scripture readings and worship. The season of Advent, deriving from the Latin verb advenire, meaning to come or to arrive, has a two-fold purpose: first, to remind us of the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem and all that it implied for the salvation of the world; and, second, to ready us for Christs second coming at the end of time as king and judge of creation. Like Lent, Advent is a time of preparation. Also like Lent, Advent is a penitential seasonbut not in the same strict way. Rather, Advent embodies the words of the liturgy, which remind us that we wait in joyful hope for the coming of our savior, Jesus Christ. Benedicts new encyclical is a rich and challenging document. Its not easily absorbed in one reading. But one of its most important lines can be found right in the opening sentences. The Holy Father reminds us that, for Christians, the virtue of hope enables us to face the burdens of daily life, no matter how heavy. He writes that the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey. Faith in Jesus Christ leads us to hope for eternal life. Christs life gives our lives meaning. If we really believe in Jesus Christ, we will have confidence in the future, no matter how bleak some days or some problems seem. For, in the end, Jesus has already won our salvation and the happiness that comes with it. On Christian Hope From Fr. Robert Araujo SJ, of the Gonzaga University, writing on November 30, 2007 in the Mirror of Justice blog: *Quote:* Spe Salvi facti sumusin hope we were saved A few hours ago the Holy See released Pope Benedict XVIs second encyclical letter, Spes Salvi. [HERE in English translation] The central theme is redemption, a subject not alien to the law and therefore no stranger to Catholic legal thought and theory. The Holy Father begins his letter by relying on a theme in the Pauline corpus, Romans 8:24, in [this] hope we were saved In essence, the Popes fundamental point is about the goal of redemption for humanity and the corresponding responsibility of hope in the reaching this objectivean objective that relies on but does not depend ultimately on human institutions such as the law. The letter illustrates the right relation between God and human enterprise in this endeavor. This is justice, pure and precise. And proceeding to this justice requires hope and patience on behalf of the human familyas Benedict states, The dark door of time, of the future, has been thrown open. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life. This strikes me as a crucial element of our work in and through the Mirror of Justice projectthe name of which derives from one of Marys titles and influences the Popes encyclical as will be pointed out toward the end of my posting today. Spe Salvi facti sumusin hope we were saved -------------------- Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
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Unicorn	Spe Salvi asserts human dignity	#14	[url]	[-]
Member Posts: 1479 12/07/07 03:03:07	From AsiaNews, another commentary on Spe Salvi: *Quote:* Spe Salvi asserts human dignity, says Indian human rights activist by Nirmala Carvalho Lenin Raghuvansi, this years winner of the prestigious Gwangju Prize for human rights, says that hope in a better future cannot rely on scientific and technological progress if it does not include developing mankinds consciousness. New Delhi (AsiaNews) Hope in a better future cannot be entrusted in scientific and technological progress without developing peoples consciousness about building a world that is respectful of human dignity. This is the conclusion that Lenin Raghuvansi, director of the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and winner of the prestigious Gwangju Prize for human rights, draws from Spe Salvi, the Popes latest encyclical. Our committee supports the Popes views on the hunger, human rights violation and disease. For the PVCHR, without a change in conscience, these problems cannot be solved, he said. A change in thinking and conscience is required to change the world and create an enabling environment where the dignity of the human person is of primary importance. Spe Salvi asserts human dignity, says Indian human rights activist -------------------- Proud to be Papist! "Each of us is the result of a thought of God. Each of us is willed, each of us is loved ..." - Benedict XVI "He knocks at the door, he is close to us and thus true joy is close, which is stronger than all the sorrows in the world, and in our life." - Benedict XVI
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"SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical

"SPE SALVI," The Pope's Second Encyclical