John Thavis: For Pope Benedict, 2009 was the year of St. Paul, the Year for Priests, a year of international travel and a year of some controversial decisions. This week, the Vatican Report looks back over the last 12 months. I am John Thavis, Catholic News Service Rome bureau chief. Carol Glatz: And I am Carol Glatz, CNS Rome correspondent. It has been an action-packed year for Pope Benedict. He published a major social encyclical, made a trip to Africa and a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he presided over the African Synod of Bishops, proclaimed 10 new saints and even made his debut on Facebook. Those are just some of the highlights of a ministry that is extraordinarily busy. Consider that during 2009, the Pope met with more than 200 dignitaries and groups, held talks with more than 300 bishops and celebrated more than 50 major liturgies. John Thavis: On the last day of the year, the Pope leads a prayer service of thanksgiving for all the positive events in the preceding 12 months. There were many moments of deep personal satisfaction for Pope Benedict this year, for example in May when he prayed in silence before Christ’s empty tomb in Jerusalem, or in March when he arrived on his first African visit to a tremendously enthusiastic welcome by hundreds of thousands of people in Cameroon. But there were disappointments as well, notably in January after the Pope lifted the excommunications of four traditionalist bishops -- and it turned out one of the four had denied the extent of Holocaust. The Pope strongly reaffirmed the Church’s teaching against anti-Semitism, but criticism was severe, and the Pope later said he was shocked that even some Catholics had attacked him with ‘hostility’.” Carol Glatz: In July, the Pope issued his long-awaited encyclical on economic and social justice, called “Charity in Truth.” It called for reform of international economic institutions, and said one big cause of the global economic crisis was the moral failures of money marketers and investors. The Pope gave a copy of his encyclical to President Barack Obama when the two leaders met for the first time at the Vatican in July, along with a copy of a new Vatican document on biomedical ethics. The encounter between the Pope and the president was described as a friendly one, but the Vatican underlined that it expected Obama to make good on his commitment to reduce the number of abortions and listen to the Church’s input on moral issues. John Thavis: In June, the Pope closed the Year of St. Paul and opened the Year for Priests. In weekly talks and liturgical celebrations in the first six months of the year, he focused on St. Paul and gave a detailed portrait of the man who is considered the archetypal missionary. In launching the Year for Priests, the Pope wanted to encourage appreciation for the service given by the Church’s ordained ministers and promote spiritual renewal among priests themselves. At the same time, he said the Church must acknowledge that some priests have done great harm to others. In December, the Pope met with Irish Church leaders to discuss cases of clerical sex abuse, and the Vatican said he shared the “outrage, betrayal and shame" felt by many Irish Catholics. Carol Glatz: As the year wound to a close, the Pope beefed up his “green” credentials in his message for World Peace Day, celebrated on New Year’s Day. The Pope said environmental damage is a pressing moral problem that threatens peace and human life itself, and he called for action on a global and personal level. What exactly can individuals do? Well, the Pope said one step is to examine and simplify one’s own lifestyle, and make it less focused on consumerism. That sounds to me like a good New Year’s resolution. I am Carol Glatz. www.catholicnews.com

John Thavis: For Pope Benedict, 2009 was the year of St. Paul, the Year for Priests, a year of international travel and a year of some controversial decisions. This week, the Vatican Report looks back...leggi tutto