The Pope, Africa and AIDs
Interview With Vatican Spokesman Father Lombardi
By Edward Pentin
ROME, APRIL 2, 2009 (Zenit.org).- In a lengthy interview with Rome Notes, Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi has reflected on Benedict XVI's recent visit to Cameroon and Angola, and explained his own approach to dealing with the world's media in light of recent controversies.
Speaking last Saturday in his office at Vatican Radio, he said the main highlight of the Pope's most recent visit was the presentation of the "instrumentum laboris" to Africa's bishops -- a working document on the Synod for Africa scheduled for October. The synod's theme: "The Church in Africa in Service to Reconciliation, Justice and Peace" formed the basis of his visit.
But he also referred to other key moments, such as the Holy Father's meetings and discourses with the sick and suffering, women, young people, and other religious and political leaders. "The most important messages were well received and understood," Father Lombardi observed, and the "response of the people was impressive -- hundreds of thousands came out to see him." The papal spokesman said what was most striking to many present was the Holy Father's own visible interest in the continent.
"I was speaking with someone only the other day about President Sarkozy who spent three days in three different African countries but the Pope spent one full week in just two countries," Father Lombardi said. "It's unusual for Africans to have someone important staying so long, communicating directly with the people and going out onto the streets of the cities. It really was a demonstration of participation, and they understood this very well."
As always, Father Lombardi said, Benedict XVI tried to direct the faithful not toward himself but toward Jesus Christ through his discourses and his "profound" liturgical preparation and participation. He noted in particular how the Pope again appealed to faith and reason, especially in his message to Muslim religious leaders, and how the Holy Father stressed the "socio-political aspects of Christian witness."
He said the Pope was deeply upset about the deaths of two teenage girls who died in a stampede while trying to see him in Luanda, and sent a delegation to offer his condolences to the families of the deceased. The party included the Holy Father's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the sostituto, Archbishop Fernando Filoni, the apostolic nuncio to Angola, the bishop of Luanda, and the bishop responsible for organizing the event. When they arrived, the identity of one of the girls was unknown, but she has now been identified.
The deaths occurred because of the venue of the youth gathering, Father Lombardi said, which was a stadium rather than a field where the open-air Masses were held. For security reasons, large crowds had to enter through only a few narrow entrances. "It was very sad what happened," said Father Lombardi, "but maybe it's a miracle that in the past 20-30 years there's only been one other incident like this, with John Paul II in Kinshasa in the early '80s."
On a lighter note, he said, the tortoise given to the Holy Father as a gift was "better off" remaining in Africa (it was later handed over to the nunciature). Had Father Lombardi perhaps thought of adopting it as a pet for himself? "I am not able to care for animals," he laughed.
Condom controversy
Father Lombardi, in good spirits throughout the interview, also spoke frankly about the controversy in the Western media over the Pope's comments on AIDS and condoms.
Benedict XVI had told journalists on the plane to Cameroon that the problem of AIDS "cannot be overcome by the distribution of prophylactics: on the contrary, they increase it." The Pope was simply re-iterating the Church's teaching, but the debate over his remarks still continues.
"It's very clear," the papal spokesman said, "that those who want to understand the meaning will, and if they don't, then they will never understand." He added that the Pope "wasn't particularly disturbed" by the outcry, and he alluded to other times the largely Western media has latched onto an aspect of Church teaching and misrepresented it.
"You have to reflect and judge it with a long-term perspective," Father Lombardi said. "For a couple of days, people are against what he has said, but afterward they can reflect a little and see the truth of the Pope's words and what his intention was." He referred to how the Holy Father's comments at the University of Regensburg in 2006 later led to a better understanding between Muslims and Catholics.
However, what upset many was that someone modified the transcript of the Pope's words so the sentence read condoms "risk increasing" the problem of AIDS rather than simply "increase it." Father Lombardi was not responsible for the change but it originated in the Secretariat of State.
A well-intentioned official there was trying to put the Pope's words into better Italian -- something that is often done to the Pope's extemporaneous remarks. However, the official appears to have genuinely made the mistake of changing the meaning of the Pope's words in the process. Father Lombardi said he was aware of the irritation that caused (it happened once before, on the Pope's 2007 trip to Brazil). That part of the text has since been changed back again to the Pope's original words.
So will the Pope continue to speak freely to journalists on the papal plane when he travels to the Holy Land next month? "We will see, I think yes," said Father Lombardi. That visit will be especially delicate, but the papal spokesman appears resolute not to tone down or spin the Pope's words in any way. "In every situation you can have misinterpretations or problems. If you fear this, you'd have to stay in Rome and say nothing," he said.
In spite of this mistake and various media brouhahas over recent years, commentators say that the Pope's message continues to resonate with vast numbers of people. Father Lombardi agreed: "Misinterpretation of the media is not the entire world," he said. "One is able to think with one's own mind and understand. [Many people] appreciate the Pope's teaching and understand he is saying things that are important for today's world."
But I ask him whether today's 24-hour news cycle and the Internet require a more careful approach. "This is naturally a risk and part of the situation -- that is clear," said Father Lombardi. "But I think you also have to be confident that what you are doing is right, that what you are doing is being done with good intentions, otherwise you will be blocked by the other person."
Father Lombardi continued: "Whoever has a bad view of the Pope and the Church has already decided we shouldn't think, that we should be absent and disappear from the world. But no -- we go on. The Pope has a very clear message of spirituality, of peace and reconciliation, which he tries to convey even if it is difficult."
Father Lombardi disagrees with critics who say he is too overloaded with work (he is head of Vatican Radio and Vatican Television as well as director of the Vatican Press Office). "This is up to my superior to judge," he said. "They have given me these jobs, I didn't look for them, so whoever has given me this work can also tell me, 'Thank you, I'm going to give it to another.'" He stressed that his other position that is sometimes cited -- assistant to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus -- is not labor intensive.
"I have done this [work as Vatican Press Office director] with good will and I will do it until they say otherwise," Father Lombardi said cheerfully, adding that he was aware of the rumor being spread that he might be wearing too many hats. "I don't know if someone has started this [rumor] to produce some effect," he said with a laugh. "That is possible, but for me having this work is no particular problem."
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Edward Pentin is a freelance writer living in Rome. He can be reached at: epentin@zenit.org.
VATICAN CITY, APRIL 5, 2009 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave at today's Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square.
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Dear Young People!
Jesus went up to Jerusalem for Passover along with a growing crowd of pilgrims. On the last stage of the journey, he had cured the blind Bartimaeus, who had addressed him as Son of David, asking for mercy. Now -- being able to see -- with gratitude he joined the pilgrims. When, at the gates of Jerusalem, Jesus mounts a donkey, the animal symbol of Davidic royalty, joyous certainty erupts among the pilgrims: It is he, the Son of David! Thus they greet Jesus with the messianic acclamation: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," and add: "Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is to come! Hosanna in the highest!" (Mark 11:9). We do not know exactly what the enthusiastic pilgrims imagined the coming kingdom of David to be. But we, have we truly understood the message of the Jesus, Son of David? Have we understood what the kingdom is that he spoke of when he was interrogated by Pilate? Do we understand what it means that this kingdom is not of this world? Or would we like it to be of this world?
St. John, in his Gospel, after the account of the entrance into Jerusalem, reports a series of words of Jesus, in which he explains the essentials of this new type of kingdom. In a first reading of these texts we can distinguish three different images of the kingdom in which the same mystery is always reflected in a different way. John first of all reports that among the pilgrims who "wanted to worship God" during the feast, there were also some Greeks (cf. 12:20). Let us note the fact that the true objective of these pilgrims was to worship God. This corresponds perfectly to what Jesus said on the occasion of the purification of the Temple: "My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations" (Mark 11:17). The true scope of the pilgrimage must be that of encountering God, to worship him, and, in this way, put the fundamental relationship of our life in right order. The Greeks are persons in search of God, they are on a journey toward God with their lives. Now, with the help of two Greek-speaking apostles, Philip and Andrew, they send this request to the Lord: "We want to see Jesus" (John 12:21). This is essential. Dear friends, that is why we are gathered here together: We want to see Jesus. Millions of young people went to Sydney last year for this purpose. Certainly they had many expectations about this pilgrimage. But the main objective was this: We want to see Jesus.
What did Jesus say in regard to this request at that time? From the Gospel it is not clear whether there was a meeting between Jesus and those Greeks. Jesus' gaze reaches far higher: "If the grain of wheat falls to the ground and does not die, it will remain alone; but if it dies, it will bear much fruit" (John 12:24). This means that right now a more or less brief discussion with a few persons, who will then return home, is not important. As a grain of wheat dead and risen in a totally new way, that goes beyond the limits of the moment, he will go out to meet the world and the Greeks. Through the resurrection Jesus passes beyond the limits of space and time. As the Risen One, he is on a journey toward the vastness of the world and history. Indeed, as the Risen One he goes to the Greeks and speaks with them, he manifests himself to them in such a way that they, the ones who are faraway, draw near and, precisely in their language, in their culture, his word will be carried forward in a new way and understood in a new way -- his kingdom comes. We can thus recognize two essential characteristics of this kingdom. The first is that this kingdom passes through the cross. Because Jesus gives himself totally, he can as the Risen One belong to everyone and make himself present to all. In the Holy Eucharist we receive the fruit of the dead grain of wheat, the multiplication of the loaves that continues to the end of the world and in all times.
The second characteristic is that his kingdom is universal. It fulfills the ancient hope of Israel: this reign of David knows no more borders. It extends "from sea to sea" -- as the prophet Zachariah says (9:10) -- that is, it embraces the whole world. This, however, is only possible because it is not a political kingdom, but is based solely on the free adhesion of love -- a love that, for its part, answers to the love of Jesus Christ that has given itself for all. I think that we must always be learning both things -- first the universality, the catholicity. It means that no one can posit himself as absolute, his culture, his time and his world. This means that we all welcome each other, renouncing something of ourselves. Universality includes the mystery of the cross -- the overcoming of ourselves, obedience toward the universal word of Jesus Christ in the universal Church. Universality is always an overcoming of ourselves, a renunciation of something that is ours. Universality and the cross go together. Only in this way can peace be created.
The saying about the dead grain of wheat is part of Jesus' answer to the Greeks, it is his answer. Then, however, he formulates once again the fundamental law of human existence: "He who loves his life will lose it and he who hates his life in this world will save it for eternal life" (John 12:25). He who wants to have his life for himself, live only for himself, squeeze out everything for himself and exploit all the possibilities -- he is the one who lose his life. It becomes boring and empty. Only in abandoning ourselves, only in the disinterested gift of the "I" in favor of the "Thou," only in the "Yes" to the greater life, precisely the life of God, our life too becomes full and more spacious. Thus, this fundamental principle that the Lord establishes is, in the final analysis, simply identical with the principle of love. Love, in fact, means leaving yourself behind, giving yourself, not wanting to hold on to yourself, but becoming free from yourself: not getting preoccupied with yourself -- what will become of me -- but looking ahead, toward the other - toward God and the people whom he sends to me. It is this principle of love that defines man's journey, it is once again identical with the mystery of the cross, with the mystery of death and resurrection that we encounter in Christ.
Dear friends, perhaps it is relatively easy to accept this grand fundamental vision of life. In concrete reality, however, it is not just a simple matter of recognizing a principle, but of living its truth, the truth of the cross and the resurrection. And for this, once again, just one big decision is not enough. It is surely important at some point to dare to make a fundamental decision, to dare the great "Yes" that the Lord asks of us at a certain moment in our life. But the great "Yes" of the decisive moment in our life -- the "Yes" to the truth that the Lord places before us -- must then be daily re-conquered in the everyday situations in which, again and again, we must abandon our "I," make ourselves available, when, at bottom, we just want to hang on to that "I." Sacrifice, renunciation, also belongs to an upright life. He who permits himself a life without this ever renewed gift of self, deceives people. There is no successful life without sacrifice. If I cast a retrospective glance on my own life, I must say that precisely those moments in which I said "Yes" to renunciation were the great and important moments of my life.
Finally, St. John also put Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Olives in a modified form in his composition for "Palm Sunday." There is first of all the statement, "My soul is troubled" (12:27). Here Jesus' fear appears, which is amply illustrated by the other evangelists -- his fear in the face of the power of death, in the face of the entire abyss of evil that he sees and into which he must descend. The Lord suffers our anxieties together with us, he accompanies us in the last anxiety until we come to the light. Then there follow, in John, Jesus' two questions. The first is only expressed conditionally: "What will I say, 'Father, save me from this hour?'" (12:27). As a human being, Jesus also felt driven to ask that he be spared the terror of the passion. We too can pray in this way. We too can lament before the Lord like Job, present all our questions that arise in us in the face of the injustice in the world and the problems affect us personally. Before God we must not take refuge in pious phrases, in a world of make-believe. Praying also means struggling with God, and like Jacob we can say to him: "I will not let you go until you have given me a blessing!" (Genesis 32:37). But then there is Jesus' second request: "Glorify your name!" (John 12:28). The Synoptic Gospels put this request in this way: "Not my will but your will be done!" (Luke 22:42). In the end, God's glory, his lordship, his will is always more important and more true than my thoughts and my will. And this is what is essential in our prayer and in our life: understanding this right order of reality, accepting it interiorly; trusting in God and believing that he is doing the right thing; understanding that his will is the truth and is love; understanding that my life will be a good life if I can learn how to conform to this order. The life, death and resurrection of Jesus are the guarantee that we can truly entrust ourselves to God. It is in this way that his kingdom is realized.
Dear friends, at the end of this liturgy, the young people from Australia will give the World Youth Day Cross to the young people of Spain. The Cross is on its way from one side of the world to the other, from sea to sea. And we accompany it. Let us go forth with it along this road and, in this way, find our road. When we touch the cross, indeed, when we carry it, we touch the mystery of God, the mystery of Jesus Christ. The mystery that God so loved the world -- us -- that he gave his only-begotten Son for us (cf. John 3:16). We touch the marvelous mystery of God's love, the only truth that is really redemptive. But we also touch the fundamental law, the constitutive norm of our life, that is, that without the "Yes" of the cross, without walking in communion with Christ day after day, life can never be a success.
The more that, for the love of the great truth and the great love -- for love of the truth and love of God -- we can make some sacrifice, the greater and richer our life will become. He who wants to keep his life for himself will lose it. He who gives his life away -- daily in small gestures, that are part of the great decision -- will find it. This is the exigent truth, a truth that is also deeply beautiful and liberating, in which we want to enter, step by step, on the cross' journey over the continents. May the Lord bless this journey. Amen.
[Translation by Joseph G. Trabbic]
