Pope: Church Is Committed to Social Justice

Pope Benedict said the Church has no direct involvement in politics but that it must remain committed to social justice, reported the Associated Press.

The Holy Father told the members of Caritas Internationalis that the Church’s charity is universal “and so it has to include a commitment to social justice.”

During the meeting, Caritas named Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegulcigalpa, Honduras, pictured at right, its president.

Vatican Turns to Solar Power

Reflecting Pope Benedict’s concern for conserving resources, Paul VI Hall and other Vatican buildings will be going solar next year, The Associated Press reported.

Vatican engineer Pier Carlo Cuscianna said June 5 that the roof of the Paul VI Hall will be redone next year, with the cement panels replaced with photovoltaic cells to convert sunlight into electricity.

Cardinal Decries ‘Black Legend’ of Pius XII

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said Pope Pius XII tried to enroll Roman Jewish men in the Palatine Guard in 1943 in order to save them from the Nazis, Reuters reported. Speaking on the occasion of the release of Pius XII, Eugenio Pacelli: A Man on the Throne of Peter, by Andrea Tornielli, Cardinal Bertone praised the book for being well-balanced, and called the lingering accusations that Pius turned a blind eye to the Holocaust “a black legend” and re-stated the Vatican’s position that he worked behind the scenes to help save Jews.Cardinal Bertone said that in October 1943, the Vatican asked the German occupiers for permission to take on some 1,425 more men for the Palatine Guard, which patrolled the Vatican and Church-owned buildings in Rome. But German occupiers and their Italian fascist allies wanted the men’s names, date of birth and race. He said, “Our people said No.”