Online Edition – March 2006, Vol. XII, No. 1
News & Views
Vatican Events to Mark Anniversary of John Paul II’s Death | Liturgy Conference to Honor Pope John Paul II | Catechism Compendium Published in English | Two New Cardinals for US Makes Three from LA
Vatican Events to Mark Anniversary of John Paul II’s Death
Pope Benedict XVI will commemorate the first anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death last April 2 at a prayer vigil and Mass.
Cardinal Camillo Ruini, the pope’s vicar for Rome, announced February 25 in a letter to all the faithful of Rome that the events will express “the intense and profound heartfelt sentiments of gratitude for our beloved Pontiff”.
On Sunday, April 2, at 9 p.m. in St. Peter’s Square, the rosary will be prayed to “relive the atmosphere of intense prayer that accompanied the passing of Pope John Paul II to his final encounter with the Lord”, the letter said.
On Monday, April 3, Pope Benedict XVI will preside over a Mass to pray for the repose of the soul of Pope John Paul (because April 2 is a Sunday in Lent).
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Liturgy Conference to Honor Pope John Paul II
Commemorating the first anniversary of his death, The Liturgical Institute at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary will hold a conference examining the liturgical legacy of Pope John Paul II, April 5-7, 2006, at the seminary in Mundelein, Illinois.
During the late pope’s pontificate, many liturgical books were renewed and other documents clarified the teaching of the Second Vatican Council in the area of liturgy.
The conference brings together both established scholars and new voices representing the “John Paul II Generation”, theologians who have been formed by John Paul’s theological contributions to the Church in the area of sacred liturgy. Chanted Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer and a memorial Mass for the repose of the soul of John Paul II will be part of the conference.
The Liturgical Institute was founded in 2000 by Cardinal Francis George of Chicago to promote the study of the Church’s liturgy. Cardinal George, the US member of the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) and former head of the Bishops’ Committee on the Liturgy, will give the keynote address: “Pope John Paul II and Liturgical Inculturation”.
Other speakers include The Rev. Joseph Fessio, SJ, Provost, Ave Maria University; Brian Anastasi Butcher, Sheptytsky Institute, Saint Paul University, Ottawa; Christopher Carstens, Director, Worship Office, Diocese of La Crosse; Dr. Carmina Magnusen Chapp, academic dean, Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary; Dr. Larry Chapp, professor of theology, DeSales University; Peter A. Huff, associate professor of religious studies, Centenary College of Louisiana; Dr. James Keating, associate professor of moral theology, Pontifical College Josephinum; Tim O’Malley, University of Notre Dame; Pamela S. Wiitala, Institute for Pastoral Theology at Ave Maria University.
For more information see: www.liturgicalinstitute.org, or contact:
Barbara Nield
The Liturgical Institute
1000 East Maple Avenue
Mundelein, IL 60060
Phone: 847-837-4542
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Catechism Compendium Published in English
The English translation of the new Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, officially presented by Pope Benedict XVI on June 28, 2005, has been prepared and the book will be released on March 31 in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The Compendium is a summary of Catholic doctrine in question-and-answer format, and all language editions are to be illustrated with fourteen carefully selected images and include traditional Catholic prayers.
The project was initiated by Pope John Paul II on February 2, 2003, in response to a request by the International Catechetical Congress following a meeting in October 2002 celebrating the 10th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul assigned the task of producing the Compendium to then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
The aim of this project, Pope John Paul said then, is to create an authoritative, integral and complete text “which contains all the essential aspects of Catholic faith and morals, formulated in a simple and clear manner”. The work was mostly complete by April 2004.
Last Palm Sunday, in his Introduction to the Compendium, Cardinal Ratzinger said that “forty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council … this Compendium represents an additional resource for satisfying the hunger for truth among the Christian faithful of all ages and conditions, as well as the hunger for truth and justice among those who are without faith”.
On June 28, 2005, as Pope Benedict XVI, he formally presented this new version of the catechism at a liturgical celebration.“This is certainly not a new catechism”, the pope said during his homily, “but a compendium that faithfully reflects the Catechism of the Catholic Church” that should be “used as a fundamental tool of education in the faith”.
The Compendium can be ordered from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, by visiting the Internet site at www.usccbpublishing.org or calling USCCB Publishing at 800-235-8722. The Compendium will be available in English and Spanish and in paperback (publication number: English—5-720; Spanish—5-920; list price of $14.95) and hardcover (publication number English—5-725; Spanish—5-921; list price of $24.95).
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Two New Cardinals for US Makes Three from LA
On March 24, 2005, two American archbishops will be formally elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Benedict XVI at a consistory at the Vatican.
The elevation of Archbishop William Levada at the first consistory of the new papacy was assured. The former archbishop of San Francisco was appointed prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in June 2005.
Archbishop Sean O’Malley, OFM Cap., has led the troubled archdiocese of Boston since his appointment after Cardinal Bernard Law resigned in 2002. His elevation will bring the number of cardinals currently leading US archdioceses to nine. Boston is considered one of the “cardinalatial Sees” of the United States. Beginning in 1911, with Cardinal William O’Connell, every prelate who has led the archdiocese has become a cardinal.
With Levada’s elevation at the March 24 consistory, the US Church will have three cardinals from Los Angeles, who also attended seminary together — the others being Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, and Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia.
Three US cardinals who head dioceses are now at or beyond the age of retirement (Detroit’s Cardinal Adam Maida, 76; Washington’s Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, 76; and Baltimore’s Cardinal William Keeler, 75), and New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan is 74.
Though they must present their retirement request to the pope when they reach seventy-five, cardinals are eligible to vote in a papal election up to the age of eighty.
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