In You, O Lord, do I place my trust; You will never let me be confounded.
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The link in the subject line will lead you to a very provocative first message of Pope Benedict XVI, whom the Lord has called to be the leader of His Catholic Church.
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Pope Benedict XV pictured above, was considered a champion of peace. He was Italian-born and is best remembered for his diplomatic efforts to end conflict prior to and during World War I. By choosing the same name, Pope Benedict XVI is offering an insight into the kind of leadership he will offer the Church and the world. Just as Pope Benedict XV strove to remain neutral in his papacy at a time when Catholics were fighting on opposing sides of WWI, so Pope Benedict XVI has before him the daunting task of a papacy at a time when it appears there are Catholics on opposing sides of issues such as abortion, contraceptives, married priests, and women priests. Pope Benedict XVI has stated he wants to be a unifying influence on the Church and the world. Just as Pope Benedict XV protested against the use of weapons such as poison gas and drafted a plan to end the war, (some of which was included in US President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points peace deal in January 1918), so Pope Benedict XVI will protest against inhumane treatment of persons and for the dignity of humans. It is my hope and prayer that the nations of the world will listen to this holy man of God and will incorporate into their Constitutions, their laws, and their daily lives the same considerations for the dignity of humans.
"Where the Church itself becomes the state freedom becomes lost. But also when the Church is done away with as a public and publicly relevant authority, then too freedom is extinguished, because there the state once again claims completely for itself the jurisdiction of morality." Josef Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
" By allowing the rights of the weakest to be violated, the State also allows the law of force to prevail over the force of law." Josef Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict XVI
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