_WORLD WATCH______________________________
____________________ THE VATICAN ________________

Reduced schedule
Worries peak for Holy Week
The failing health of Pope John Paul II, a topic of increasingly intense discussion among Vatican insiders, forced several notable changes in the celebration of Holy Week and the Easter Triduum. The Pope was able to preside at all of the traditional ceremonies—a fact that his aides emphasized in press briefings. But the form of his participation was changed, and his new physical limitations were painfully obvious.

When several papal appearances were cancelled earlier in March, the Vatican announced that the Holy Father was saving his strength for the rigorous schedule of liturgical celebrations during Holy Week. But when Holy Week began, the Pontiff “presided” at the celebration of Palm Sunday Mass, leaving Cardinal Camillo Ruini to be the principal celebrant. (A prelate may “preside” by his presence in the sanctuary, allowing another priest to lead the ceremony from the altar.) Again on Holy Thursday—both in the morning, for the Chrism Mass, and at the evening celebration of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper —the Pope presided, while the principal celebrants were Cardinals Dario Castrillón Hoyos and Angelo Sodano, respectively. On each occasion, the Pope provided a homily, delivered his benediction, and joined in the Eucharistic Prayer, without leaving his spot on the right of the altar. At the annual Way of the Cross, the Pope stayed in one place, rather than following the procession around the Roman Coliseum.

Vatican officials have been slow to acknowledge the Pope’s physical infirmities. (In fact, the Vatican has never officially conceded that the Holy Father has Parkinson’s disease, despite the near-universal agreement on that diagnosis.) On the morning of Holy Thursday, Msgr. Piero Marini, the Vatican official in charge of liturgical planning, told reporters that the Pope would personally wash the feet of young priests at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that evening. Just a few hours later, the Pope watched as two cardinals performed that ritual.

In the few official announcements that touched on the Pope’s most recent physical ailments, the Vatican said that John Paul was suffering from severe pain in an arthritic right knee. The Pope was able to kneel, for lengthy periods, despite his painful knee. But he seemed to have great difficulty in walking, or even standing upright; regular observers noted that he appeared to lack confidence in his balance. Such a problem could be caused by the loss of muscle control brought on by Parkinson’s disease.

The Pope is now pushed around the Vatican on a rolling platform, on which he stands, leaning on a rail. The platform has sometimes been fixed with a kneeler at which he can pray. And he is invariably surrounded by aides as he makes the few steps from the rolling platform to his chair.

Pope John Paul seemed to summon his strength, however, as Holy Week progressed. On Good Friday, he heard confessions in St. Peter’s Basilica, following his usual practice despite his infirmities. The Holy Father entered the basilica at about noon, pushed on his rolling platform. He spent an hour hearing the confessions of penitents who were selected at random from the crowd at St. Peter’s.

Then on Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday, John Paul once again confounded the predictions of those who doubted his determination and his stamina. Despite his obvious physical infirmity, the Holy Father presided at the long Easter Vigil, and then again served as principal celebrant for the Mass on Easter morning.

The Pope celebrated the Easter vigil on a temporary altar that was erected in St. Peter’s Basilica, to save him from climbing the steps to the main altar. For the Easter morning Mass, he celebrated with Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Angelo Sodano at his sides.

Immediately after Easter, fresh rumors circulated in the Italian press that the Pontiff would enter a local hospital for arthroscopic surgery on his troublesome knee. Officials at San Carlo hospital would not confirm specific plans for treating the Pope. But they did allow that they have been placed on “red alert.” A hospital spokesman made the suggestive comment: “We will provide confirmation at an appropriate time.” But papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls soon dismissed those reports. “I can confirm that the possibility of an operation on John Paul II’s right knee has never been taken into consideration,” he told reporters.

There were other concessions to the Pope’s diminishing physical powers. He did not travel to Castelgandalfo, as he has in previous years, to relax for a few days after the rigors of Holy Week. And the Vatican announced later in April that the Holy Father will forego his habitual vacation in the Italian Alps—where, in past years, he has enjoyed long walks through the mountains.

Still the papal schedule remains crowded. And in an interview with German newspapers, one of his closest associates, Cardinal Ratzinger, reported that the Pope remains mentally alert despite his physical ailments. Cardinal Ratzinger told Die Welt that “it is normal to see John Paul II looking tired at times, because he still does an enormous amount of work.” The Pontiff “still keeps the most important things in hand,” he said. Cardinal Ratzinger said that he had noticed some change in the Pope’s behavior: “He talks less than he once did, but he asks very precise questions, and his memory is definitely intact.”

Plea for the Holy Land
Focus of Urbi et Orbi message
After celebrating the Easter Sunday Mass, Pope John Paul delivered the traditional Urbi et Orbi message, placing a heavy emphasis on the need for prayers for peace in the Middle East. Thousands of people were on hand in St. Peter’s Square for the morning Mass, and thousands more arrived later, to hear the Urbi et Orbi message.

“One has the feeling that war has been declared on peace!” the Pope said of the situation in the Holy Land. He asked Christians throughout the world to “take action so that peace will curb this tragic spiral of injustices and deaths which is bloodying the Holy Land—which, in these past few days, has been thrown once more into horror and despair.”

“War solves nothing!” the Pope declared. “It can only cause suffering and the spread of death.” In the face of the latest frightening outburst of violence, he continued, “no one can remain silent and inactive—no responsible political or religious official.” And he said that the denunciation of violence in itself is not enough; it must be “followed by concrete acts” to promote reconciliation and negotiations.

Broadening his focus to include the troubled people throughout the world, the Pontiff mentioned “the many places on Earth that resound with the cry of those who plead for help, because they are suffering and they are dying.” He mentioned the case of Afghanistan, where an earthquake has struck a land “already severely tested in recent months.”

At the conclusion of his message, the Pope wished his listeners a happy Easter —using 62 languages, including Latin, Esperanto, Hebrew, and Arabic. He then mentioned that “only peace, the gift of the resurrected Christ, can reconcile man with God, with himself, and with creation.”

Priesthood and the ministry of reconciliation
Sacrament, not scandal, was the Pope’s main focus
In his annual Holy Thursday letter to the world’s priests, Pope John Paul II concentrated on the importance of the Sacrament of Penance. But the attention of the secular media fastened on one paragraph, near the end of the 22-page letter, in which he alluded to the scandals involving priestly sexual misconduct.

The Pope based his message on a series of meditations on the Gospel encounter between Jesus and Zaccheus. The rite of Penance, he says—like that encounter—provides an opportunity for a “surprising” encounter with the redemptive power of Jesus Christ. The Pope urged priests to recall that, although many penitents might come to the sacrament with mixed motives, or inadequately prepared, the power of God’s love is still available to them.

Contrary to some expectations, the Holy Father did not focus his attention on the scandals of priestly sexual misconduct. He did, however, mention that “as priests we are personally and profoundly afflicted by the sins of some of our brothers.” He expressed his heartfelt concern for those who have been the victims of priests’ sexual abuse, and remarked that “a dark shadow of suspicion is cast over all the other fine priests who perform their ministry with honesty and integrity and often with heroic self-sacrifice.”

The most useful response to the current scandals, the Pope said, is for faithful priests to “embrace the ‘mysterium Crucis’ and to commit ourselves more fully to the search for holiness.”

In concentrating his message on Penance—for the second consecutive year —the Pope admitted that the sacrament has endured “something of a crisis” in recent years. But he said that there were signs of a new appreciation for the value of the sacrament. Particularly during the Jubilee Year (when countless thousands of pilgrims made use of the confessionals at the Roman basilicas), the Pope observed that the sacrament was attractive particularly to young people. Through Penance, he remarked, believers find an answer to “the need for personal contact, something that is becoming increasingly scarce in the hectic pace of today’s technological society, but which for this very reason is increasingly experienced as a vital need.”

The Pope urged priests to avoid the two opposite dangers that can afflict confessors: the temptation to be overly rigorous or excessively lax. Priests themselves should be adequately prepared to hear confessions, he wrote, and should recognize the sacrament as a fundamental aspect of their work as “true ministers of mercy.”

As Cardinal Dario Castrillón Hoyos introduced the papal letter at a press conference in Rome, reporters’ questions focused on the short section about sexual misconduct—an issue which the cardinal did not wish to discuss at length. Cardinal Castrillón, the prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, pointed out that the thrust of the Pope’s message was to emphasize “the importance for each priest to rediscover and make all people rediscover the richness of the forgiveness of God.”

In response to persistent questioning, Cardinal Castrillón said that the Church is not ignoring the scandal created by priests’ sexual misconduct. The important considerations in such cases, he said, would be “to guarantee the continued sanctity of the Church, the common good, and the rights of the victims and the accused.” The inquiry into such cases, he said, should be thorough but careful, avoiding the creation of “a culture of suspicion.”

Clearly annoyed when reporters continued to pepper him with questions on the same topic, Cardinal Castrillón Hoyos declined to address questions about the proper treatment of priests who have been involved in pedophilia, or whether homosexuals should be ordained to the priesthood.

Directory of Popular Devotions
Guidelines for liturgical celebrations
On April 9, the Vatican published a new Directory of Popular Devotions and Liturgy—a 300-page document designed to help distinguish which popular customs are compatible with the Church’s liturgical traditions.

The Directory, a product of the Congreation for Divine Worship, was produced in response to the concerns about “excesses” of emotionalism in some popular rituals. Pope John Paul II had expressed his own reservations about liturgical ceremonies that are “reduced to a simply aesthetical matter,” or serve only “pedagogical or ecumenical” purposes rather than serving as acts of worship.

As he introduced the new Directory to reporters in Rome, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez, the prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, drew reporters’ attention to “the importance of knowing the value of popular devotions, of protecting their genuine substance.”

The cardinal explained that social and cultural changes can sometimes distort a pious practice, so that participants “emphasize the exterior to the detriment of the interior.” The Directory, he said, should “help rediscover in these cultural expressions the vital link of believing and living in Christ.”

In its introduction, the Directory emphasizes the important role of popular religious practices. The document discourages “unjustified criticism of popular piety made solely in the name of a presumed purity of faith.” On the other hand, the introduction notes that some popular practices may be “attached to imperfect or erroneous forms of devotion,” and at odds with the actual teaching and practice of the Church.

The Directory itself is divided into two parts. The first sets forth the main reference points by which popular rites can be judged: the theological teachings of the Church. The second part—which is considerably longer—reminds readers of the forms that popular piety usually takes: the veneration of the Virgin Mary, devotion to the saints and angels, prayers for the deceased, pilgrimages, and reverence for shrines and blessed objects.

Any form of popular piety, the Directory teaches, should serve to strengthen the faith and practice of participants, and promote communion with the universal Church. Popular rituals should encourage devotion to the Sacraments, rather than appearing as alternatives. The Vatican document asks bishops to guard against particular forms of piety, or private revelations and devotion, which may divide or confuse the faithful.

Another papal voyage
Post-Easter announcement
Pope John Paul II will travel to Azerbaidjan and Bulgaria on May 22 through 26, the Vatican has announced. This will be the 96th foreign voyage of his pontificate.

The Pope’s first stop will be in Bakou, the capital of Azerbaidjan. Only several hundred Christians live in the former Soviet republic, which is located on the Caspian Sea. The Pontiff will spend one day in the predominantly Muslim country.

From Bakou, the Pope will go to Sofia, Bulgaria. There he will encounter a mostly Orthodox population. He is expected to meet with the Orthodox Patriarch Maxim, as well as with the Grand Mufti who heads Bulgaria’s minority Islamic community.

The high point of the papal visit to Bulgaria will be the beatification of three Assumptionist priests who were executed in 1952 by the Communist regime. The ceremony will take place at Plovdiv, about 60 miles from Sofia. The Pope will also be in Bulgaria for the feast of Ss. Cyril and Methodius, May 24, which is a national holiday.

New format for old tradition
Journalists offer meditations for Way of the Cross
In a new departure from Vatican traditions, Pope John Paul II read meditations written by working journalists when he led the Way of the Cross at the Coliseum on Holy Thursday.

Fourteen journalists, chosen from among those accredited to the press office of the Holy See, wrote the meditations for this year’s ceremony. In the past, these meditations had always been composed by religious leaders or theological scholars.

The break from tradition, the Vatican observed, was intended to highlight the importance that the Holy See accords to the world of communications. The working journalists, explained papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls, were asked to put their writing talents to work directly in service to the faith.

The journalists chosen for the task represented 11 different countries: the United States, Russia, France, Spain, Germany, Poland, Japan, Italy, Portugal, Mexico, and Austria. They represented both the press and the electronic media. All are devout Christians, Navarro-Valls said; one—the Russian journalist Alexei Bukalov— is Russian Orthodox.

In past years, Pope John Paul II had drawn the meditations for the Way of the Cross from many different sources. In 2001, he used texts by Cardinal John Henry Newman; in 2000, the Pontiff wrote the meditations for the Jubilee Year himself. Other remarkable choices have included the French writer André Frossard (1986), the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I (1994), the Armenian Apostolic Patriarch Karekin I (1997), and the French Orthodox theologian Olivier Clement (1998).

New Roman Missal
Third edition since Vatican II
Pope John Paul II has received the new edition of the Roman Missal, which contains the texts and liturgical prayers approved for use in the Mass.

The new Roman Missal—the third editio typica, or authoritative edition, to be produced since Vatican II—is used as the basis for translations into other languages. The text had been approved by the Pope as early as January 2000, and last year a 100-page “General Introduction” was unveiled. The final printing of the Missal was reportedly delayed by complications involved in the typesetting for Gregorian chants included in the volume.

The most noteworthy changes in the new Roman Missal are the expansion of the possibility for the faithful to receive the Eucharist under both species; the inlusion of prayers honoring the saints who have been canonized since the promulgation of the last edition; and the addition of some new prayers, such as a prayer for sexual continence.

Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez of the Congregation for Divine Worship, introduced the new Missal at a press conference in Rome. He pointed out that with its promulgation, this Roman Missal is now in force as the official standard for the liturgy in Latin. The editio typica is now being sent to the bishops’ conferences of the world, to be translated into the various vernacular languages. These translations must be approved by the Holy See before they come into force.

Cardinal Medina also observed that the new Roman Missal allows for some adaptation of the liturgy to the circumstances of different countries, at the discretion of the bishops’ conferences. The Missal itself sets out the principles that should guide and limit any such adaptation. Any change, he said, should be “an exception,” and should be introduced only for “the spiritual good of the individual churches, safeguarding the substantial unity of the Roman rite.”

During the 25 years since the last official edition, the cardinal pointed out, there have been 300 new saints added to the canon. In some cases, these saints take on special importance for the Church in particular areas. For example, he cited the Chinese martyrs, St. Charbel Makhluf, a Lebanese Maronite, and St. Josephine Bakhita, a former slave from Sudan. Also he mentioned Ss. Edith Stein, Brigitte of Sweden, and Catherine of Siena, who are now honored as patrons of Europe.

6th-longest papacy
St. Peter’s record seems safe
On Saturday, March 23, the reign of Pope John Paul II became the 6th-longest in history. At that point, this pontificate had lasted 23 years, five months, and seven days—thus just surpassing in length the reign of Pope Pius VII, who led the Church from 1800 to 1823.

The longest pontificate was the first one; St. Peter led the Church for 34 to 37 years. (The exact dates are unclear.) The second longest reign was that of Pope Pius IX, from 1846 to 1878. The shortest was that of Pope Urban VII, who lived only 12 days after his installation.