Benedict's World Day of Peace letter

As I've noted before, I often get behind in my reading. It doesn't mean I'm not reading; actually, I read all the time. However, it's not always professional reading, or spiritual reading, or educational reading; I might be reading about current events, or I might be engaged in reading/writing, i.e., correspondence.

But...I've digressed. To come right to the point, I haven't been following the Pope lately. Now, I don't know whether the most common reaction to that admission would be disdain, puzzled confusion, or laughter; but in all honesty, I enjoy following the Pope, especially Benedict. Among the assortment of Catholic periodicals I receive, I regularly make time to read the NCR, US Catholic, America, and Commonweal, as well as our own Archdiocesan Progress, all of whom follow the Pope in varying frequencies and from varied perspectives. I'm open to still other perspectives too, as I come across them. I try to understand him.

Now, there are a LOT of Catholics, as well as their non-Catholic friends, who say privately that the pope embodies their worst notions of Church; that he is conservative, patriarchal, and that he seeks to return the Church to the "latin era." To these, he's "Pope Ratzinger," not Benedict. I think the sentiment is so very persistent because he was indeed so strong a personality under John Paul II.

However, I've tried to see Pope Benedict on his own record, apart from his previous role. He certainly seems to have made some remarkable gaffes, and I still have my questions about his (non-)actions in regard to priestly sexual abuse during his term as Archbishop of Munich, that he as Pope could have answered, but chose not to. However, his writing is surperb, and his subject-choice for his encyclicals is excellent. And in addition to these, he speaks to the culture of our times as directly as his predecessor did.

I just finished reading his 2012 message for the World Day of Peace. What he chose for his theme was "Educating Young People in Justice and Peace." What a surprising, uplifting point of view! I'm scheduled to give the homily next weekend (New Years Day), and will do my best to incorporate that perspective. Early in the letter he offers this delightful note:

"Education is the most interesting and difficult adventure in life" What a great way to start a subject! He continues, ... "Today more than ever we need authentic witnesses, and not simply people who parcel out rules and facts; we need witnesses capable of seeing farther than others because their life is much broader. A witness is someone who first lives the life that he proposes to others." A great challenge to teachers AND pastors.

He goes on, to talk about education: "It is the task of education to form people in authentic freedom. This is not the absence of constraint or the supremacy of free will, it is not the absolutism of the self. When man believes himself to be absolute, to depend on nothing and no one, to be able to do anything he wants, he ends up contradicting the truth of his own being and forfeiting his freedom."

And of course, he addresses young people directly: "To the young, who have such a strong attachment to ideals, I extend a particular invitation to be patient and persevering in seeking justice and peace, in cultivating the taste for what is just and true, even when it involves sacrifice and swimming against the tide." ...

I also caught up on Benedict's trip to Africa, as I have a strong personal interest there; however, that will wait for another post!